“-oot, wake up. Pads! Sirius!”
Sirius felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him to wake him up. Blearily he opened his eyes and let the dark skin, round glasses, and messy hair of his best mate, James Potter, fill his vision.
“What?” He asked groggily, chasing off the last bit of tiredness as he fully woke up.
“Class is over.”
Sirius looked around and saw students packing up their things and began filing out. In the front of the class Professor Binns, the soporific ghost somehow was erasing the blackboard.
“Thank Merlin.” Sirius couldn’t help but let that phrase slip from his lips. History of Magic was his least favorite class and not just because they shared it with Slytherin, but how bloody boring it is. He would take Potions or Divination any day. At least in those classes, they get to do something instead of just sitting and listening as Binns drones on and on. He couldn’t help but compare it to when Walburga would go on rants about pureblood families and their lineage and legacies, trying to imprint all those useless facts in his head so he could be the perfect pureblood heir. “I couldn’t be happier that I slept through that. If I have to listen to all the tactics used in the Goblin rebellion I’ll take a swan dove off the Astronomy Tower.” He chuckled. “Moony better appreciate those notes you took for him.”
It was the full moon last night so Remus had to spend the day in the hospital wing under Madam Pomfrey’s watch. Of course, Remus being the swot he is always refuses to spend the whole day lazing around in a cot and missing out on classes. So to make him stay the rest of the Marauders promise to take notes for him.
“Huh?” James's face scrunched up in confusion. “I didn’t take any notes, that was Wormy’s job.”
At that Sirius turned to his other friend who was sitting on his other side and seemed to be doodling on a parchment. A parchment that did not have a single sentence of notes.
“Peter,” Sirius said slowly, “Did you take any notes for Remus?”
“What?” Peter squeaked, looking up from his doodles. “That was your job!”
“My job? I always sleep through History! You know I can’t stay awake through that nonsense!”
“Well, I thought it was fine! It looked like Prongs was taking notes anyway!”
Sirius raised a delicate eyebrow at James who returned it with a sheepish smile. In front of James was a parchment with elegant and loopy words written on it, nothing like James's usual chicken scratch handwriting. The first sentence read ‘You are cordially invited to the wedding of Lily Joanne Evans and James Fleamont Potter’.
“Unbelievable,” Sirius muttered at the same time Peter said. “Moony is going to kill us.”
“Hey hey Moony isn’t going to kill us. We can still get the notes from someone else.” James said, looking around the room for someone they could ask to borrow notes. It seemed he found one as his face broke into a grin. “Like Lily!” He quickly stood up and made his way to the redhead who had just seemed to finish gathering all of her stuff and was about to head to the door. “Hey! Evans!”
Not even bothering to spare him a glance, Lily Evans raced out of the classroom.
Sirius let out an undignified snort. One that probably would have gotten him a backhanded slap if Orion or Walburga ever heard it. “She probably thought you were going to propose again.”
James let out a huff. “Well, who do you suggest?”
He hummed in response and began searching around the room himself. “What about Snivellus?” He asked as he narrowed his eyes at the slimy snake who was still gathering his belongings. “Greasy bastard probably wrote down what Binns said word for word. Could just steal it from him, not like he needs to be the top student for another class. I swear that being one of ol’ Sluggy’s prized pupils has gone to his head.”
Both Peter and James wrinkled their nose at that. “I don’t think Moony would like any notes soaked in grease.” Was James’s response.
“Maybe Marlene?“ Peter suggested before Sirius had a chance to give a creative and lovely sonnet about Snape’s disaster of hair and the grease it produces or simply insult him. Honestly, Sirius wasn’t sure which one he was going to say.
The three Marauders all turned their attention to their blonde friend who had just slipped out the door into the hallway.
“Oh never mind.” Peter sighed. “She probably didn’t bother to take any notes anyway.”
Mrs. McKinnon was a history fanatic. She made sure to pass all her knowledge onto her kids, taking them to different historical sites for vacation and giving them lectures about it, then quizzing them later on it all to make sure they were paying attention. Because of this Marlene never paid attention in class yet always got the top grade on every test.
“No, but Meadowes would have.” Sirius felt his trademark mischievous smile appear on his face.
Dorcas Meadowes was constantly trying to one-up Marlene since she declared her her rival at the end of first year. Always studying and improving her skills in areas she lacked but Marlene excelled. Marlene was the same way. The two of them can get pretty intense because of it. On the pitch, Meadowes would constantly aim bludgers at Marlene. And whenever they practice dueling in Defense Against the Dark Arts, the two always pair up against each other and end up destroying a part of the classroom.
Her notes would probably be so detailed Remus would kiss him if he got them for him.
“Um… I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Peter said hesitantly. But it was too late Sirius was already walking to her with nothing but how happy he was going to make Moony in his mind.
“Meadowes!” Sirius barked. Meadowes stopped what she was doing and narrowed her eyes. Normally that would be enough to deter Sirius. Everyone heard the rumors of how first year Dorcas Meadowes beat up two seventh years for daring to tease her for being a Slytherin. Even her own house made sure not to mess with her after she sent Lucius Malfoy to the Hospital Wing for calling her a ‘half-breed’. But today Sirius is a Gryffindor on a mission, nothing will deter him. “I would like your notes.”
She stared at him, incredulously. “My notes?”
“The notes you took today, yes.”
Meadowes pursed her lips pensively as if she was trying to determine his reasoning. “Okay.”
“Okay?” He could practically feel Peter and James’s shock radiating off of them behind him.
“Yes. On one condition.” She replied.
“And that condition?” He could already hear Remus’s thanks now.
“You win them from me in a duel.”
His thoughts came to a screeching halt. “What.”
“We duel. If you win you get my notes. If I win I get to take something of yours.” She answered. Both Peter and James had begun to hang their heads at another lost cause. They would have to tell Moony that they forget to take notes when they go visit him in a few minutes.
“Deal.” Sirius, too impulsive for his own good, accepted.
Peter let out a squeak while James hissed “What are you doing?”
“Saving us from Remus’s temper.” And winning himself a kiss. He could just see it now, Remus's beautiful golden eyes staring up at him in amazement after gifting him the notes and telling him how he battled Manic Meadowes for them.
“Shall we duel now then? Since everyone is gone and we have the classroom to ourselves.” Meadowes asked not seeming phased by James and Sirius’s conversation. Her lips were curled up in a smile and her brown eyes had an odd gleam to them.
Sirius checked around the room and saw that she was right. Everyone had already left, even professor Binns. “Of course.” He couldn’t keep Remus waiting after all.
The two moved to the front of the classroom away from the desks with Peter and James following behind them.
“The duel ends when one of us ends up on the floor, whoever is standing wins. Physical contact is allowed. Do you agree to my terms?” Meadowes spoke sharply, already standing ten paces away from Sirius.
Sirius felt thankful for her allowance of physical contact, it would give him more chance at winning. “I agree.”
“Potter.” James immediately straightened upon hearing his last name. “Would you mind refereeing?”
James nodded and stood in front of both of them with Peter standing fearfully behind him. He gave Sirius a hesitant look as if asking if he was sure about this. Sirius gave him a smile in return. Despite Meadowes’s reputation, Sirius was confident in his skill. He had gone toe to toe with his crazy cousin several times. He might’ve not won once or even dueled to a drawl, but he survived three minutes against her and against Bellatrix Lestrange née Black the strongest duelist the Black family has ever seen, that was an achievement.
“Wands at the ready!” James called. Both raised their wands to the combat position. “At the count of three.”
“One.” Sirius gripped his wand tightly, knowing what he would cast first.
“Two.” He could see his victory now.
“Three!”
“Petr-“ Meadowes began but Sirius beat her.
“Expelliarmus!”
Meadowes’s wand flew from her hand.
Sirius had little time to enjoy his small victory or cast another spell because Meadowes came barreling at him and socked him in the jaw.
The force was enough to knock him painfully on his rear.
“Victory goes to Meadowes.” James relinquished with a grimace in Sirius’s direction. Dread ran down Sirius’s spine as he realized what that meant. He was going to get a kiss from Remus and he had to give something up to Meadowes. Slowly he raised his gaze to meet Meadowes’s eyes, she wore a smug grin as she looked down at him.
“Now for my prize.” Sirius feared what she would ask for. Something he cherished of course if only to humiliate him and make him suffer. His leather jacket, his hair care products, his favorite ring that Remus got him and that he always made sure he wore, his record collection-
“I want Regulus.”
“What!” He was gobsmacked. And by his friends’ faces, so were they. Trying his best to regain his composure, he stood up. “I hate to break it to you but Reggie doesn’t date anyone who isn’t a pureblood. Wouldn’t want to embarrass the family and all.”
Meadows’s looked disgusted. Honestly, she shouldn’t be surprised, it’s common knowledge how the Black family is full of bigots. His baby brother was one of them. Always ready to please their parents, that one.
“One, ew, I would never want to date him.” Sirius found that statement quite rude. Regulus was a catch, probably the third most handsome bloke at Hogwarts next to him and Moony. If there was one thing the Black family was known for, other than their madness, was their beauty. Each member of the Black family looked as if they were sculpted from stone and was given the breath of life by Aphrodite herself. Not to mention how wonderful of a partner Regulus would be. He loved to read Cissy’s sappy romance novels when they were kids, probably still does, and would talk his ear off about how he would shower his future partner in rose petals and make sure they knew they were cherished. He wanted to marry for love and be happy instead of marrying for the sake of family and being bitter like their parents. “He is not my type and I know for a fact I’m not his. And two, I meant I want your rights as Regulus’s brother.”
“What.” Sirius dumbly replied.
“From today on I am Regulus’s older brother.” She spoke proudly before glaring at them. “And if any of you dare to mess with my baby bro I will personally see to it that you end up in a cot in the Hospital Wing.” With that, she grabbed her stuff leaving the three marauders stupefied.
“What.” He found himself repeating, unable to process what just happened.
“Do you think it’s too late to steal Snape’s notes?” Peter chuckled nervously. James let out a strangled noise. And Sirius, Sirius felt like screaming.