The Marauders: Year Six Part 2 #Wattys2017

Doing a Bit of Recovery

Time moves on, of course, it always does, and soon it was nearing Lily's birthday and the close of January. James, for one, would be quite pleased to see the heinous month gone, and, hopefully, with it the stares he was getting all around Hogwarts. It seemed, now that students were back and crowding the halls, James was the focal point of the entire student body - but in quite a different way than he was used to. Sure, as Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and an overall popular bloke he got a good deal of attention rather regularly, but these days it was a different sort of attention.

For one, he wasn't expected to do any homework - a fact that was rather good as he had become quite a professional at shirking it off. "It isn't fair," Sirius muttered from behind his textbook, staring at James napping by the fireplace late at night while the other three Marauders (plus Lily) struggled to stay awake and write their meters of parchment for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Would you rather have been the one tortured and nearly killed, then?" Lily snapped, though only half-heartedly, as she was fighting nodding off herself.

Sirius scowled, but turned back to his scroll.

Homework was not the only thing James Potter was mysteriously exempt from these days. More than once, the Marauders were caught out of bed after dark in the castle and even old Filch didn't hold it against Potter - telling him in a forced voice to get going before he decided on lumping him in for the punishments. "Okay that's really not fair," Sirius argued, but Remus simply shook his head to quiet him.

James, honestly, felt quite bad about it, and he would spend a lot of his free time during the Marauders' detentions laying about the dorm, not doing the homework he wasn't required, staring up at the ceiling and trying to distract himself from gnat-like thoughts that persistently buzzed about his mind. A good deal of the times, he would get so bloody bored and lonely that he would dig through his trunk and pull out the mirror to talk to Sirius. "How are you enjoying the detention, mate?" James would joke as Sirius groaned in his desk in McGonagall's room, the muffliato keeping prying ears away. "Sorry I couldn't join you."

"Like hell you are," Sirius replied.

"Sure I am; what else better have I got to do than accompany you to detention?"

"Literally anything," Sirius replied dryly.

"That's right - literally anything," James answered with a hitched grin. His eyes twinkled, "Anything I want to do at all!"

Sirius put the mirror down, quite annoyed.

Whatever he told Sirius, though, James didn't want to do much, and he would have been quite merry to be seated alongside his mate in detention. After all, the detention might be able to distract him from the terribly morose thoughts in his head. He would never admit this to any of them, of course - although he had the distinct feeling that Remus already knew. More than anything, he wanted things to go back to normal.

Worst of all, at least in James's mind, was the change in Lily Evans. She seemed almost shy around him, like she was always questioning whether he wanted her there or something. He did - he definitely did - but could never quite conjure the words to tell her so, and therefore she just always kept on wondering and acting funnily. He hated it. He missed their banter and their friendship nearly as much as he missed playing quidditch, which he hadn't quite been able to bring himself to play...

Frank Longbottom had very nearly choked on his bangs and mash one morning when James Potter had walked up to him in the Great Hall and held out the shiny brass Captain's badge to him. "Here you are, Longbottom," James had said simply. "I reckon you'll want to hold try outs before the Hufflepuff match to line up another Chaser."