Value to Survival

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

—C. S. Lewis

The air in the Potions lab was stifling. Around the room, fifteen student tables held cauldrons of boiling liquids every color and scent imaginable. Remus Lupin slouched on a center stool, sorting and classifying any ingredient his professor could find.

"How's it coming along, Mr. Lupin?"

Professor Slughorn was sitting behind his desk, his chubby ankles propped on one corner while his eyes skimmed the Prophet.

"Just fine, Professor." Remus bit his lip, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. It wasn't Slughorn's fault he was stuck here—the overweight man was only reacting to the evidence he had been given. Sirius, however, had a lot to answer for.

Remus had told him it was a bad idea; that their first Hogsmeade trip was the following day; that a stupid prank wasn't worth the consequence of missing it. Remus had even promised to skip the bookstore and go straight to Zonko's with him if he would just agree to go back to the dorm.

As always, however, Sirius offered a wink and an "It'll be fine, Moony!" just as he released a damn pixie into Slughorn's office.

One of the boys had been right, and it wasn't Sirius.

Remus could still picture the look of pure glee on his face when he unleashed the tiny creature—the tiny creature that squealed with delight when it was let loose; the tiny creature that flew right into an urn on the mantle and scattered its contents like cheap confetti.

But it wasn't confetti. It wasn't floo powder either.

Remus had been too overcome by his own pathetic, morbid curiosity to notice Sirius making a run for safety—toward the dorm and one of James' made-up alibis. He had been too engrossed by the coating of ash on the oak floor to hear the heavy footsteps upon it.

Even through the silent cacophony of his mind, however, Remus was not too lost to hear the deep clearing of a throat or to see the poorly suppressed fury in Professor Slughorn's eyes.

But was Sirius the object of that fury? Nope.

There goes Hogsmeade.

It wasn't that Remus was always innocent when it came to the Marauders' stunts. Given enough pressure, he would even admit to being the puppet master of a few of their more enjoyable pranks. Turning the walls in the boy's loo florescent magenta? Sure. Charming each goblet in the Great Hall to make slurping noises when they touched one's lips? Brilliant! But he never targeted specific people. His father had always said that it was too easy to cross the line when a joke was at someone's expense, rather than just a good laugh for everyone, and letting the pixie loose in Slughorn's office didn't just cross that line.

It ran a good metre over it.

But, all things considered, that wasn't what had Remus so upset.

Sirius had left him. Remus had been at Hogwarts for three years, and despite his insecurities when it came to his friends, they had never abandoned him.

Until now.

Now he was stuck sorting potion ingredients while Sirius, Peter, and James traipsed around Hogsmeade.

Some friends.

Slughorn snapped his sausage fingers, bringing Remus' thoughts back to the surface. Four ingredients to go, he thought. Just in time to make it to dinner and listen to Sirius recount every moment of his day.

Joy.

— — — — —

Remus closed the classroom door just as the bell announced the start of dinner. His feet began to lead him to the Great Hall, but his brooding mind forced them into another direction. He took the opposite staircase and started making his way to Gryffindor Tower.

"Oi! Remus, wait!"

Remus stopped but refused to turn around as nimble footsteps raced toward him. A shaggy head of hair appeared an instant later, a pair of cheeky eyes shining underneath of it.

"Where're you going? Dinner's just started."

"To bed," was Remus' gruff response. He moved to leave, but a hand on his arm kept him in place.

"Wait," Sirius' brow wrinkled in confusion before his lips pursed in sympathy. "Detention was that bad?"

Remus' jaw clenched. "Well, it wasn't exactly Hogsmeade."

Suddenly finding the toes of his trainers immensely interesting, Sirius looked down.

"Look, Remus, I'm—"

"—It's fine, Sirius."

Remus watched Sirius' head shoot up at the anger in his friend's voice. Guilt rushed through his stomach. Why did Sirius have to look so much like a rejected puppy when Remus wanted to be upset with him?

Remus sighed—and softened.

"It's fine, Sirius. I'm glad you had fun at Hogsmeade."

The other boy cocked his head to the side, his forehead creasing.

"I didn't go to Hogsmeade."

"What?"

"You really thought I'd go without you? I already feel like a git for leaving you earlier. I wasn't about to do it again."

"But Peter and James—"

"—They went by themselves. Had a grand old time, by the sound of it." Sirius showed his teeth in an awkward smile, his usual charm long-forgotten. "We'll find out next time, yeah? James said Evans stayed in the bookshop for nearly an hour. I can only imagine how long you and I'll be in there."

Remus' resolve broke and a grin spread across his face.

"Both of us?"

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Well of course, you wanker." Sirius took hold of the smaller boy's arm, steering him back down the stairs. "Let's eat dinner in the kitchens tonight, yeah? The Great Hall's too crowded."

The last of Remus' tension dispersed as he allowed Sirius' confident steps to lead the way. Like it or not, Remus knew he was stuck with this tosser for the foreseeable future.

And admit it or not, Remus knew he was glad for it.

A/N: Thank you all for reading!

This was written for Season 3, Round One of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.

My objective, as captain, was to write about my keeper's (basscymru) favorite character, Remus Lupin.

Final word count (for judging purposes): 961