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What Else Happened


For the first time ever, James was actually dreading the ride on the Hogwarts Express. Lily was going to be there and he was really nervous about how she’d treat him after their fight after the cinema. He was embarrassed, too, because he’d been stupid and arrogant enough to believe that Evans would fall hopelessly in love with him after just one date and he’d done everything so horribly wrong that there was no way she’d even say hi to him, he was sure of it. Charlus patted his shoulder, “Chin up, son, it’s all going to be alright. Everyone goes through heartbreaks when they’re your age. You’ll be seeing another fine witch by Valentine’s.” He smiled reassuringly.

“Yeah. Thanks, Dad,” James murmured and he waved with one open palm and shouldered the bag he’d taken home for the holiday, headed off to Platform 9¾, not feeling any better than he had when they’d first arrived. He could feel Charlus’s eyes on him, watching ‘til he was certain James was safe through the barrier.

The steam of the Express poured over the platform and James held onto the strap of his bag, eyes cast downward, wanting to just get to the compartment on the train, but seeing as there’d been a good deal of rumors and drama surrounding him before the end of term, everyone seemed to want to stop him and ask him how he was or else to exclaim over the fact that he was alive. “Look at you! Living and breathing and everything!” said an over excited Harry Warbeck, “Incredible!”

“Yeah, I’m a real miracle,” James said dryly, and he hurried about the train as fast as his feet could carry him.

Peter was already in the compartment. James walked in and kicked the door shut, throwing himself down on the bench with a heavy sigh. “Oh bloody hell am I glad that little holiday was over… absolutely ridiculous turn of events… I haven’t had such a horrible holiday in all my -- Blimey, Pete, what’s the matter?” James had suddenly realized that Peter was crying into his robes - not a single chocolate frog wrapper in site, his fat little face red and splotchy.

“M - My - my sister’s… she’s… we dunno what happened…” he choked the words desperately. “She’s gone - gone mad. She wasn’t - wasn’t talking for the longest - then - then she suddenly - just a couple nights ago -- she started talking a little, babbling mad things, and then she - she was - was - she stopped --” Peter looked up at James with big wet sad eyes. “Dad brought her to St. Mungo’s and they’ve - they’ve diagnosed her and she’s staying at the Janus Thickey Ward for incurable magical damage… Her mind’s gone, they say she’ll never get well and --”

James could barely breathe, he felt like his whole chest had been compressed tight. Carefully, he got up and moved to the bench beside Peter, putting his arm over his shoulders, “Mate… I’m sorry…” he said lowly. “I dunno what else to say…”

Peter covered his eyes with his squashy little hands and tears leaked from between his fingers, his shoulders shaking. “First mum… and the dreams… and now this…” He choked on his sobs. “I had a horrible dream the night it happened, too, James, like my mind knew what was happening and I was sort of feeling it with her... I’ve been having awful dreams ever since mum died but they’ve been worse - so much worse - lately. Especially over holiday.”

James rubbed Peter’s back. “What sort of dreams?” he asked gently.

“Of mum. In a cage. In the dark. And she’s always crying and screaming,” Peter shivered as though cold. “The night -- Maggie -- I dreamed mum was screaming my name, calling me. And I’ve dreamed loads about going and finding her in this horrible place and the Dark Lord’s there.” Peter’s voice trembled.

“That’s an awful dream,” said James lowly, feeling quite horrible for Peter. He wondered why Peter had never told him and the other boys about the dreams he’d been having. He wished he’d known, he might’ve been a bit more gentle ‘round the edges for Peter, a bit less nasty to him...

“Awful,” shook Peter.

James hugged Peter best he could, though it was awkward for sure, neither of them being as huggy-feely as, say, Sirius, who spent most of his time using one of the lads as an armrest.

The door opened and James looked up to see Annalee McKinnon, and his stomach flipped over itself with nerves. He suddenly realized that he’d never written her to apologize for disappearing from the Yule Ball, or to break up with her for that matter, and he had a sudden, sinking feeling that perhaps she’d spoken to Lily and heard about the cinema and was here to reprimand him for seeing another girl while they were still together (at least in her mind).

James was about to apologize when Annalee said to Peter, “I heard about your sister.”

Peter didn’t dare look up, his face too splotchy, he didn’t want to be seen crying like a little baby. But Annalee didn’t take his lack of response personally. Rather, she crossed the compartment and slid onto the bench on the other side of him, putting her arm ‘round him, too, like James, and - much to James’s shock - she kissed the side of his face.

James blinked in surprise as Peter leaned toward her and Annalee hugged his round form, her pretty face smooshing into his unruly straw-like hair as he cried quietly. He suddenly felt like quite the third wheel in his own compartment and he got up, grabbed his bag and said, “I’ll -- I’ll let you two --” he thumbed to the door and Annalee nodded, hugging Peter close. James quickly ducked out.

In the corridor, he stood for a moment as the compartment door shut behind him. Had Snape somehow messed up his memories? When did the Peter-and-Annalee bit happen? At least he didn’t need to feel badly about going out to the cinema with Evans anymore - at least not for that reason. There were loads of other reasons to regret that.

James wondered what else had happened since he’d been hit with that curse in the entrance hall…

“Hey Potter,” came a friendly voice and James looked up to see Frank coming along the aisle, pulled by Ali, who was checking in compartment windows for a place to sit. “How’s it been since we saw you last?”

James shrugged.

“You hear about Maggie Pettigrew?” Frank asked, a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah, Peter’s just told me,” he said slowly, glancing back over his shoulder. “Annalee McKinnon’s in with him…”

“Annalee McKinnon!” Frank peered over James’s shoulder with interest, then, seeing Annalee was kissing Peter’s red cheeks, his eyebrows went up, “When in hell did that happen?”

“Got me,” James shrugged, “Last I remembered I was at the Yule Ball with her and then I was blast to bits by Snape and woke up in St. Mungo’s.”

Frank said, “Odd pairing, but I s’pose if it works --”

“C’mon, I’ve found an empty one,” Ali called from down the hall, waving for Frank to hurry up to the compartment she’d found.

“Hey,” James said, “Mind if I ride with you lot? My compartment’s a bit full, if you know what I mean?”

Frank laughed, “I can’t promise you there won’t be a fair amount of snogging in our compartment either…” he winked. “But c’mon, the more the merrier. Not for the snogging, of course. That’s best kept between me and Ali. No offense.”

“None taken,” James replied.

So James followed Frank and Ali into the compartment she’d found and settled himself into the window seat that was usually dog-eared for Remus in the Marauders’ compartment. He half expected to have Lily walk in at any moment - a risk he was willing to take to have a place to sit - but she never did. “They’ve had a row,” Frank whispered when James asked about Lily’s unusual absence. Usually, where ever Ali was, there was Lily and vice-versa. “About you.”

“About me?” James asked, confused.

“Yeah, after you left the cinema. Oh blimey, they had it out good,” Frank shook his head. “I had to drag Ali away.”

James’s face turned red, “What about me, though?”

“Just whether you were being a bully to Petunia or a knight to Lily,” Frank answered quickly, just before Ali had turned back from the sweet trolley with her treats. James realized too late that he’d missed the trolley, but the information he’d got from Frank was worth more than any sweet he could’ve partaken in anyway. If Ali was on his side… then… well, maybe Lily would come around. Maybe she’d realize she’d been foolish for shrieking at him like she had and she’d be gracious enough to grant him one more chance…

The Express made it’s way ever northward and the winds started picking up outside, snow falling against the window panes, the steam of the train white-white against the black sky as it got dark outside. Soon they were changing into their robes and preparing to disboard the train onto the platform at Hogsmeade. There was a whistling, howling in the wind and James pulled his Gryffindor scarf tighter ‘round his neck, his glasses fogging up. He tripped once on the steps in the snow, unable to see through his glasses.

Suddenly they were pulled from his face - “Impervius!” - and put back on and he found himself staring at a short Hufflepuff girl named Emma Abbott who smiled, “There you are.” She pointed to her own glasses, “Been having the same problem myself.”

“Thanks,” he said, “‘ppreciate it.”

“Not a problem at all. I’m glad to have been a help.” She ducked away, and James noticed that her hair was a brilliant shade of teal.

He was still staring after her, considering her teal hair, when Peter came up beside him, “Hey,” he said. He looked a fair amount better than he had last time James had seen him. He looked up at James anxiously. “You aren’t sore about me and Annalee, are you? You never came back to the compartment and --”

“I ended up in with Frank and Alice,” James explained, “That’s all. I’m not sore at all, you’ve done me a favor, rather, I was going to have to break up with her and you’ve saved me all the muck of that.” He smiled, “So… when’d that happen?”

“Yule Ball. When you left. We sat there at the table together and she realized you weren’t coming back and I asked her to dance and she said yes, and I thought for sure she would only do it out of obligation and want to go after one dance, but as it turns out I’m rather good at dancing --” (actually he was abysmal at it, but Annalee had found that cute and endearing) “-- and she wanted to keep on. Next thing I knew, she was kissing me in the hall by the Fat Lady and --” Peter blushed, “It was really nice.”

James smiled, “Peter, very good.”

“Yeah…” he said. “She was really kind about Maggie.”

James patted Peter’s back. “Listen, about that, mate, if there’s anything I can do… please, just let me know and I’ll do whatever I can to help you, alright? I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks,” Peter murmured. “I’m still in that weird stage where you don’t quite comprehend it yet, you know? Like it hasn’t sunk in all the way. I’m sort of afraid what’ll happen when it does… Like what if I go mad, too?”

James shook his head, “You won’t go mad, Peter… You’ve got us lot behind you when it sinks in. We’ll make sure you’re okay.”

Peter smiled. “You’re a great mate, James.”

“I do what I can,” James replied, and in a very Sirius-y move, he slugged his arm about Peter’s shoulder and said, “Now let’s get us a carriage and get inside before I bloody freeze to death out here!” He pulled Peter along the path to where the thestral-draw carriages stood all in a row…

They rode to the castle in the carriages and ran up the stairs to Gryffindor tower to collect Remus and Sirius for dinner, seeing that they weren’t at the Gryffindor table already when they arrived inside from the cold. Peter wanted to change anyway, seeing as he was soaked from the knees down after accidentally jumping into a snow drift when he got out of the carriage. James laughed as they ran up the steps, “Hopefully, I don’t find Moony turning into a bloody werewolf this time,” he said as they jogged up the dormitory step, “Right awkward that was - I mean, I can’t imagine a single thing I could walk in on that would be worse to find than a werewolf on the evening of a full moon night!”

He pushed open the door and stepped inside…

Sirius was laying across his bed, arms up, Remus sitting on his stomach, bent forward and kissing him, their hands entwined above Sirius’s head.

James let out a shout, dropping his book bag to the floor with a loud thump and Peter let out a cry and covered his eyes as Sirius sat up, knocking Remus to one side so that they ended up in a tangled mess of limbs on the bed. Sirius’s lips were swollen from snogging and his hair the messiest James had ever seen it. James stared wide-eyed at the blushing Remus and the grinning-in-amusement Sirius.

“What in the -- when did -- what did -- you -- you two--- when??” James stammered, dumbfounded.

“I told you he wouldn’t get the riddle,” whispered Sirius to Remus.

Remus was quite red. “Well he really should have, you all but spelled it out.”

“Porridge, I’m telling you. Porridge.”

Remus shook his head.

Realizing James was still gaping at them, Sirius grinned, “Surprise! We snog each other now!”