prompt:Marauders-era

competition: The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, round four

Friends Like These

"I have something to declare," announced James Potter, with his hand on his heart.

"Not interested," said Sirius Black, who lay, eyes shut and lounging as only Sirius Black could lounge.

Remus Lupin didn't look up from the essay he was editing. "Really don't have the time."

James's bottom lip jutted out, sulking. "Peter?"

Peter Pettigrew smiled. "Piss off, Prongs."

James shook his head with rapid force. "No no no no, you're all wrong."

A tiny smirk worked its way out from under Remus's studious impression. "I highly doubt it."

James glowered at him. Remus, eyes on the parchment in front of him, remained unaffected. James turned his glare to Sirius, to much the same result, and finally to Peter, who feigned fascination with the ceiling.

"I'm going to find new friends."

Sirius made a highly sarcastic noise in the back of his throat and James weighed the pros and cons of cursing him. "Good luck with that."

"Bye now," said Remus, with a tiny wave.

Peter giggled.

James stayed rooted to the spot, his arms crossed indignantly over his chest. His hazel eyes were narrowed like the slit from a knife.

Peter giggled again.

"Has he gone yet?" Sirius asked, presumably to Remus. "I've been waiting six years."

"Unfortunately not," the other boy replied. "We'll have to stand his presence some moments longer."

Sirius sighed an ungentlemanly word and threw himself further back into his pillows.

James through his hands into the air. "This is bullying!"

"Do you hear something, Moony?"

"Nothing of any consequence, Padfoot. Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. May just have been a fly. Or a tick."

James let out a near scream of frustration.

Mister Moony sighed and scribbled at the page before him. "Wormtail, you must stop leaving the window open. They pests are horrendous this time of year."

"I will kill everyone you love," said James, though he didn't entirely mean it.

"I- Uh- What? I didn't..." stammered Mister Wormtail.

An almost frighteningly bright light alighted in James's eyes, and he turned to face Wormtail with a grin far more enthusiastic than any that usually greeted Peter's presence.

The boy-who-was-sometimes-a-rat recoiled, pulling his legs up off the floor and onto his bed with the rest of him.

James sat down beside him. "Hello, Peter."

Peter looked nervously to Remus and Sirius. Sirius, upon his bed, moved his hand across his neck in a I'll-slit-you type motion. Remus, on the floor, leaning against said bed, looked up from his work-in-progress to slowly shake his head back and forth.

Peter looked nervously back at James, who was still staring at him so intently and smiling so creepily, and then down at his hands, knotted in his lap. "I think my stomach's grumbling," he said, not as convincingly as he could have, seeing as it actually was doing just that.

"Do you know how much you mean to me, Dear Wormy?" asked James. "It's really quite a lot. Too much to even put into words, really. Heaps."

Wormtail looked at his watch. "Is that the time?"

"You have really beautiful eyes."

At this, Wormtail did turn and look at James, his so-called beautiful eyes wide with alarm. He didn't say anything, though, probably out of shock.

Nonetheless, James jumped to his feet. "This is bullying!" he cried. It may have been more dramatic had he not proclaimed the exact same thing a mere minute earlier. He was met with no response.

James turned to whining. "Guuuuys, the joke isn't funny if it I'm not apart of it."

Sirius may have muttered, "It is," under his breath.

While it may have been something he needed to express, what it did was draw James's attention onto him.

Their eyes met and Sirius had a brief moment in which to announce, with dawning realisation, "Shit."

James pounced upon him, with little regard for weight or elbows. Remus scuttled out of the way of flying feet and Peter whooped and James shouted and Sirius squirmed and squealed, though he would deny this later.

The two wrestled like only feuding friends can. There was struggling, kneeing, slapping, perhaps even a hair-pull, but James was stronger and more determined and with a grip on each wrist he held Sirius down.

"Get off me, you queer," said Padfoot, with a crinkling of his aristocratic nose.

"No," smiled Prongs. "You're going to listen to my announcement."

"Moony, he's trying to snog me."

Remus shrugged and smiled from the safety of Wormtail's bed. "Better you than me."

Sirus opened his mouth to reply but James shushed him with a finger against his lips. Then, throwing his hands up into the air, full of life and energy and excitement, James shouted, "I'm in love!"

"With me?" asked Sirius.

"You wish," said James, but his face was falling. "You're not reacting properly."

"You're always in love," said Peter, rather honestly.

"Everyone knows you're absolutely blind for Lily," said Remus, matter-of-factly.

"No, but I wasn't for a while. After the thing, you know? But it's good again."

The others just looked at him.

James crossed his arms over his chest. "Shut up and pretend to be happy for me."

"If you get off me then I'll gladly pretend just that." Sirius wasn't trying so hard anymore to keep the indifferent look on his face.

James did as he was asked and a split second later he was engulfed in hugs and cheers and his hair was ruffled and his cheeks pinched and his best friends laughed and congratulated him and teased him and they were genuine and he was happy and he shook them all off.

"Alright, lads," he said, "That's enough." He learnt towards the window, and attempted to fix his hair in the reflection. 'Fix,' here having the meaning of 'ruffle artfully.'

"JAAAAMESY BOY!" said Sirius, and the others clapped and cheered.

James tried very hard not to smile. He didn't know what he'd do without his Marauders.