the_debt_of_time

"You got it?" Mia sat up from the drawing room sofa where she had been snuggled up beside
Remus. She was delighted for her friend, though a slight glint of jealousy dug under her skin.
Sirius walked into the room, a half-eaten apple in his engine-grease-covered hands. His long black
hair was pulled back into a loose knot at the back of his head, and oil stains covered his white t-shirt.
"Got what? What'd I miss?"
"Here!" Lily grinned and thrust several other letters she had been carrying out to each of them,
handing the last to James without so much as a glance as he followed Sirius into the room. "Hogwarts
letters just arrived, and I'm Head Girl!"
"Congratulations, Lily. No one deserves it more than you," Remus said, ignoring the teasing glare
Mia was throwing at him.
"Open yours, Remus!" Lily squealed. "Let's see your Head Boy badge."
Remus suddenly frowned. "You don't know that I got it; in fact, I'd prefer I didn't. I even asked
Dumbledore to take my name out of consideration. Between N.E.W.T.s and... everything else, I doubt
I'll be able to keep up with the responsibilities of a prefect, let alone Head Boy."
Mia squeezed his hand in understanding. She knew that he had set up a meeting before term ended
in June to discuss his future with the headmaster. Remus had been the top pick for Head Boy, but knowing
that his future could depend on his N.E.W.T scores, he was determined not to let anything get in the way
of getting top marks.
Lily frowned, her shoulders slumping forward a bit at the news. "I'm sorry you feel that way,
Remus, but honestly, who else would they pick?"
"Oh, fuck."
Mia, Lily, and Remus turned to look across the room, where James stood looking pale and wide-
eyed as he held his Hogwarts letter in one hand and something shiny in the other.
Sirius laughed as he read over James's shoulder. "This is the best day ever."
"You got Head Boy?" Mia yelled excitedly. She should not have been surprised, having known
Harry's parents had been Head Boy and Girl; still, it was quite different thinking of them as Harry's
parents and not "Lily and Jamie."
"You got Head Boy?" Lily echoed Mia's statement with an incredulous tone, looking slightly
horrified and maybe even a little offended considering how hard she had worked for her badge and title.
Remus laughed in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."
"I don't understand." James looked up, confused.
Lily folded her arms across her chest. "That makes two of us."