I Just Thought They Were Noisy
"I don't understand. Why do Gryffindor and Slytherin have so many classes together?"
I complained to Mary as I trudged back to the common room, utterly exhausted. "Potions Class is with Slytherin again today. I can't imagine how it'll go."
"It's definitely going to be another disaster." Mary was still shaken too. Although she shared a dormitory with Lily, James and his friends looked so much like schoolyard bullies that she always sat at the back in class. "I think I'll sit in the corner again. I'm really afraid you'll start fighting." She looked me up and down. "Didn't you sleep well? Merlin, you don't look very lively."
"I was preparing for class." I quickly changed the subject. "Where's Lily?"
"Coming, coming!"
Lily hurried up behind us with her books, and as she approached, she made a point of glancing at my neck. The bruise had still been there when I got up that morning, so I'd used Episkey to make it disappear faster. Somehow, that one little spell had nearly drained all my magic.
Harry Potter game designer! Do you know my pain?!
"Good morning, Merlin."
Remus's voice came from my left. I looked up to see him giving me a gentle smile, and I was deeply touched. "Good morning to you too, Remus."
As Remus and I exchanged greetings, Sirius and James came out of the dormitory, talking and laughing. The instant Sirius saw me, his face turned as gloomy as if I owed him eight million. I'd been about to follow Lily out, but when I heard [Sirius's affection -1], I turned right back, hooked an arm around James, who still looked half-asleep, and dragged him away.
Sirius: "?"
Sure enough, he gave me another [Sirius's affection -1].
James had just gotten up, and his brain didn't seem to be working at all. I'd dragged him all the way to the door, but he still hadn't fully come to his senses. He even greeted Lily enthusiastically when he saw her. "Hi, Evans!" Then he raised a hand, presumably to ruffle his hair, and finally noticed that I had my arm around his neck. "Merlin? When did you get here?"
"Your brain really doesn't work when you've just gotten up, does it, James?" I let go of him, speechless. Lily immediately pulled me over and began wiping my hand with a handkerchief from who knew where. "How could you touch someone like that? Stay away from all of them next time."
"You'd better keep an eye on her first, and tell her not to go around..." Sirius trailed off and swallowed the rest. I looked at him in confusion, only to see him avert his eyes with a strange expression and stride out the door.
Sirius, people who leave sentences unfinished are asking to be hit!
After breakfast, Lily went to find Snape, so I left the Great Hall first. At the entrance, I saw James gesturing animatedly as he walked, saying that he'd explored a new secret passage last night and that taking it to class would cut a long way off the journey. He was talking so happily, right up until he turned and saw my baleful stare.
"I remember your excuse for turning me down yesterday was, 'Everyone should get a good rest today.'"
"I didn't invite Sirius either!"
James hurriedly patted Remus on the shoulder. "I went with Remus. Ask him if you don't believe me!"
Remus was pulled in front of me. He looked a little embarrassed under my gaze. "It really was just James and me."
"You actually led our dear, well-behaved Remus astray." I was heartbroken. "Remember to bring me next time, or I'm reporting you."
James knew I was joking and simply said cheerfully,
"Definitely next time."
Just as the mood was becoming warm and friendly, Lily and the others came out. I had just raised my hand to greet them when I saw James frown noticeably.
[James seems about to pick a fight with Snape...]
[1. Point fingers at Snape with James]
[2. Confess to James]
[3. Confess to Snape]
[4. Forget it, go to sleep]
They might as well rename the game Hogwarts: A History of Confessions, 1971.
[4. Forget it, go to sleep]
I set my sights on Sirius, who was approaching from a distance, and prepared to distract James. Sorry, Sirius. For the sake of temporary peace, I'll have to sacrifice little you.
"Why are you so far behind, Young Master Black? Surely the bones in your legs aren't even more fragile than mine?"
[Sirius's affection -5]
That was quite a drop this time, and I was a little surprised. I really hadn't expected him to care so much about his physical health.
"I went too easy on you yesterday, didn't I?" Sirius was even angrier than I'd expected, and he came straight over. James, who had been about to make trouble for Snape, hurriedly stepped between us, put an arm around each of our shoulders, and forced us forward.
"Class is about to start, it's about to start! We'd better hurry to the classroom!"
As it turned out, I'd been too naive. The conflict between James and his friends and Snape wasn't something a single interruption could dispel. Potions Class had barely begun, and Professor Slughorn was still praising Lily for brewing a perfect Cure for Boils, when a sharp hissing sound came from the back. I instinctively turned around and saw acidic green smoke pouring from Snape's cauldron. The potion had splashed all over him, covering him in swollen red boils.
Given Snape's talent for Potions, he would never have made such a basic mistake. James and his friends must have thrown the Porcupine Quills in before Snape had taken the cauldron off the heat.
Lily had clearly noticed it too. As she charged toward the back with her wand in hand, I covered my face, unable to watch.
[Sirius's affection -5]
I had no idea what he was going crazy about again.
Amid the familiar chaos, the potion was knocked over, and in the end, James and Snape both landed in the Hospital Wing.
★
Even lying in a hospital bed, James couldn't stay still. He waved his hand at Snape from a distance as though he were holding a sword, making Severus roll his eyes at him.
"This is terrible. We don't have any classes this afternoon," James said to Sirius with a long sigh. "If it weren't for that awful Snivellus, we could've gone out and had fun this afternoon."
"It's all right, mate. It'll be the weekend soon," he comforted James. "We've still got plenty of time."
"Ow. Looks like I can only lie here for a while now." James slapped his forehead in dismay. "How many points did we lose this time?"
"Ten each for Gryffindor and Slytherin."
James laughed at that. "Slytherin lost points too? That's not bad."
Sirius wanted to say something more, but Madam Pomfrey had already come to chase them out, so he had no choice but to leave the Hospital Wing with Remus.
When he returned to the common room, he sat down on the sofa. After a long silence, he finally let out a long breath.
At that moment in the common room, he had instinctively wanted to say, "Tell her not to go around flirting with other people." He wouldn't have thought it too much, but it really sounded-
A little jealous.
Of course he wasn't jealous of James, and he was even less likely to feel that way because of Merlin.
That word wasn't appropriate to say aloud, so he swallowed it. He simply said nothing more, wanting only to leave the place that annoyed him as quickly as possible.
But as a fellow student in the same house, avoiding Merlin was nearly impossible. In the Great Hall, he'd deliberately found a seat with his back to Merlin, only for Merlin to start wandering back and forth in front of him again as soon as he stepped outside.
"Why are you so far behind, Young Master Black? Surely the bones in your legs aren't even more fragile than mine?"
A taunt of that level wouldn't have angered him at all, but when Snape walked past, he suddenly realized that Merlin was distracting James.
She was covering for that Slytherin.
That Gryffindor traitor!
His anger made his prank on Snape in Potions Class even nastier. He threw the Porcupine Quills in before the cauldron had been taken off the fire, then laughed with delight as he watched the potion splash all over Snape and boils break out across his body. He wanted to see how Merlin would react, but when he looked over, he saw Merlin covering her face, her shoulders shaking.
...Was she crying?
His mind went blank for a moment, and his hands stopped moving for several seconds. He only came to his senses when Evans walked up to him.
Merlin, she actually likes Snape?!
─────
[Author's note]
★Reminder★
Future developments are related to current affection levels and previously completed side quests. During the incident in which James and Snape come into conflict outside the Great Hall, James will only step in to stop the argument with Sirius if his affection level is high enough.
★Side quest reminder★
[Sirius's darkening stat unlocked. Current darkening: 1%]