The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Control Your Mates, Lupin!

Control Your Mates, Lupin!

It was Oliver Kent who tumbled from his broom first, his maroon and gold tie catching on the handle as the broomstick tried to escape, dragging him a few feet away from where he'd fallen by his little neck. Any other of the first years and the broom wouldn't have been strong enough to drag him off like that, but Oliver was about as tiny as firsties come. He finally hit the grass with a great burst of air from his lungs, and lay there, curled up, covering his head as though expecting the broom to inflict more damage upon him.

A hoot of laughter echoed across the stands.

"C'MON LAD, YOU'VE FALLEN ALL OF TWO FEET! YOU'RE FINE!" Sirius Black's voice echoed over the pitch as Lily landed her broomstick and ran over to help Oliver Kent up. James and Frank were helping the other first years to the ground again, hovering a couple feet up on their brooms.

Lily glowered up at Sirius.

"Sirius!" Remus moaned as Peter snort-laughed behind them.

Sirius was leaning over the rail of the stands to be heard and turned to look back at Remus, "Whaaat? Moony, look at him. He's laying there like a little slug, and he's only fallen a few inches!"

"That was more than a few inches," Remus argued.

"Mooy, my love, you've fallen further trying to get out of bed before," Sirius said. "GET UP YOU LITTLE MUPPET!"

James covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

"You lot are positively awful!" Lily yelled, "You're an absolute bully, Sirius Black! Bugger off if you're not going to be nice!" Her eyes moved to Remus. "And you -" Remus slid lower on the bench, withering at her glare, "CONTROL YOUR MATES, LUPIN! ...fine job of prefect you're making, sitting there letting him bully a child like that," she muttered.

"Yes, control us, Moony!" Sirius giggled uproariously humored.

Remus turned red, "You do need to be nicer, Pads... I mean... he's only a first year..."

"I'm not being mean! Not really --" Sirius argued.

Remus gave him The Look.

"I'm not!" Sirius insisted, "I'm doing the boy a favor, really."

Peter looked nervously between the two of them, trying to decide whose side was smarter to take, glad for once that they weren't asking him his opinion.

"And mocking him is a favor how?" Remus demanded.

"Gotta toughen up if he wants to play quidditch, doesn't he?" Sirius asked, "And if he isn't tough enough to handle my heckling then he'll fold up like a salt covered slug against the Slytherins!"

Remus shook his head as Peter laughed at the vivid description.

"You know it's true. You know first hand what a load of bastards the Slytherins are!"

"Still. Stop being mean to the firsties. Please. Before you get me in trouble or worse I have to actually give you a detention or something," Remus begged.

Sirius's eyes were defiant. "Like to see you try."

Remus's face burned red.

"That's what I thought," Sirius said, and he turned back to the pitch. "IS THE LITTLE BEAN ON HIS FEET AGAIN OR WHAT!?"

Lily gave Sirius a very rude gesture and turned back to Oliver, who was still shaky on the ground. "C'mon Ollie," she said, using the little nickname Wally had given his mate. He was wiping the goop from his nose with the back of his too-big robes. "Are you alright?"