InsaneJournal

 

Leaving Hogwarts for the final time seemed qualitatively different – a moment of transition that catapulted them into adulthood where jobs, houses and marriage awaited. James didn’t know if he was ready. He was quite sure that the others weren’t.

 

“Oi, stop thinking and start swimming!” Sirius called, before taking a running jump off a small rocky outcrop and into the lake.

 

Of them all, Sirius was the least accomplished swimmer. James wasn’t much good himself since swimming didn’t figure in the Pureblood upbringing, even amongst liberal families like his own.

 

Peter had been swimming since he was three and allegedly had excellent technique, despite his reluctance to engage in any activity that might be described as exercise. Remus was far better than any of them, swimming with the effortless fluidity of a seal.

James and Sirius wrestled with the water and Peter lounged in it, but Remus glided as if the water offered no resistance. Remus was pants on a broom though, James reminded himself, so perhaps there was a trade-off.

  

“Horny!” Sirius called, splashing energetically in James’ direction. “Get in the water!”

 

James stood and ran towards the rock Sirius had used, curling into a ball midair and hitting the water with an incredible splash.

 

When he surfaced, the others were blinking droplets out of their eyes, and Peter and Remus were retreating from the inevitable water fight.

 

“You did ask for it,” James said, grinning, as Sirius sent an arc of water flying in his direction.

 

James splashed back and within seconds there was water everywhere, the two boys a blur amongst the spray.

 

“Fancy a dive?” Remus asked.

 

“Yeah. Best let em get it over with,” Peter said with resignation, and they swum towards a huge log which protruded from the water at a sharp angle.

 

The log had been spelled into steps, making it possible to climb up and dive off. Not many people dived from the top, but there were plenty of takers for the lower steps.

 

As Sirius called a breathless truce in the splashing contest, James saw Remus climbing carefully up the slippery wood to the highest point. He stood there for several seconds, arms outstretched, and then arced forward in an swallow dive.

 

It seemed to take a long time for him to fall, wet body glittering against the backdrop of trees, sky and water, before making a perfect vertical entry into the water.

 

Remus surfaced quite a way from the log, and then Pete dived off in a much less elegant manner. James glanced sideways at Sirius and saw the way he watched Remus, a mixture of pride, desire and excitement on his face.

 

They’d never talked about this thing that had developed between Sirius and Remus, partly ‘cause there didn’t seem a need and partly ‘cause James had no idea what he’d say. It wasn’t unheard of for boys – or girls for that matter – to experiment at school and James wondered if it was part of Sirius’ project to do everything that his parents disapproved of.

 

James couldn’t see that Remus would just mess around, though, and if it meant more to him than Sirius then… It might not end well, he felt, but things wouldn’t be any better for his interference.

 

He watched Remus climb up again, looking slight and vulnerable as he balanced high above the water.

 

“I,” Sirius announced beside him, “Am going to swim across the lake!”

 

It took a moment for the words to register, and James was startled into saying “What?”

 

“Swim across the lake,” Sirius repeated. “It’s now or never.”

 

James stared, conscious that doubt was written across his face. “It’s a long way,” he said. “Be sad to drown on your last day at school.”

 

“A tragic end to the white sheep of the Black family,” Sirius agreed cheerfully. “I won’t drown though. I mean, I can swim can’t I?”

 

“Badly,” James said bluntly. “You sure Pads?”

 

“Yeah!” Sirius said with a grin, wading through the shallows towards the water’s edge. He walked round to the top of the rock and paused at the top, looking at James “Meet me on the other side?”

 

Before James had time to reply, Sirius had jumped off and was swimming in the direction of the far shore. It was a very long way.

 

One of the Hufflepuff beaters had swum across the lake during their fourth year, but James had never heard of anybody else trying. The lake was a couple of miles around and at least four hundred metres across at this end.   

 

He glanced at Remus and Peter who were still messing around at the log, at his wand which was piled with his clothes under a tree, and then back at Sirius.

 

Using a ponderous breast-stroke, Sirius was getting further into the cold, deep water which housed the giant squid. While the squid was generally benevolent, James didn’t think it would stretch to rescuing people who ought to know better.

 

What was the worst that could happen? James asked himself. If Sirius got tired or something then James might be able to summon him. Or… levitate him, maybe. He could probably transfigure a twig into a large, floating object of some kind. It would be all right, he was almost certain.

 

Except you don’t know if any of those things will work, he reminded himself. And your wand is all the way over there. People drown in about three minutes.

 

Sirius was still moving, his head barely visible above the dark water. He was perhaps a quarter of the way across.

 

James wavered for a moment and then realised that Remus was coming towards him in a rolling crawl, head popping up when he arrived at James’ side.

 

“Where’s Sirius?” he enquired.

 

James took a deep breath and said, “He’s swimming across the lake.”

 

Remus whirled around, eyes scanning the water. “Shit!” he said, with feeling. “What do we do know?”

 

“He might be alright,” James said loyally. “He’s doing okay so far.”

 

While this was true, it was increasingly difficult to see Sirius as he got further away. Worse still, James thought that Sirius’ pace was starting to slow down.

 

“He’s an idiot!” Remus snapped, starting at the blob which was Sirius’ head.

 

“Yeah, but he’ll be furious if anyone intervenes,” James said reasonably. “We’ll just have to wait and sort things out if anything happens.”

 

Remus’ head turned, his eyes piercing. “Do you know any spells to deal with someone who’s drowning?” he asked sharply, “Because I don’t.”

 

“Well…” James said. “Well, no.”

 

At this unpromising juncture Peter arrived and said “What’s going on?”

 

“Sirius,” James said, indicating the middle of the lake.

 

Peter’s eyes widened. “But…Sirius doesn’t swim that well.”

 

“No shit,” said James, and would have continued except that Sirius had stopped. He’d paused about halfway across, at the worst possible time to run into problems. James hoped that he was treading water.

 

There was a horrible silence as they all watched him, and then Remus cursed.

 

“All right,” said James thinking quickly. “I’ll grab my wand and run around the other side. You guys get your wands and stay-”

 

“No,” Remus interjected. “Take your broom. I’ll run.”

 

It wasn’t easy to hurry in shallow water but they did their best, and James grabbed his wand without caring that he was dripping all over his robes and over several nearby students. He focused for a moment, visualising his broom up in the Gryffindor dormitory, and then commanded “Accio James Potter’s Nimbus 1200!”

 

There was a low whirr and a few screams as it whistled past people sunbathing on the lawn, then the broomstick thunked into his palm.

 

James swung a leg across it and took off. As he flew across the edge of the lake he looked down, seeing weeds and roots at the edge and then nothing but dark, deep water. There was no sight of either the squid or Sirius.

 

James flew lower and accelerated, searching the water as if Sirius was a snitch – and then spotted him ahead, swimming determinedly towards the far shore. James released a breath that he hadn’t realised he was holding and stopped, hovering above the water.

 

He shouldn’t intervene, James decided. Sirius was bloodyminded and…well, considering what a stupid idea it had been, he was doing remarkably well. If Sirius could swim this far then maybe he’d make it, and James could follow along behind just in case.

 

He looked back towards Peter standing nervously on the opposite bank. Remus was charging barefoot through the trees around the shoreline, branches waving wildly as he passed.

 

Sirius continued in what was by now a slow, faltering breaststroke. James estimated that he was a little over two thirds of the way across when he paused again, treading water in a clumsy manner that implied he was very tired. James drifted closer and heard Sirius’ panting breaths echo across the water.

 

Then Sirius blurred. By the time James realised what he was doing, Sirius had transformed and the large black dog was swimming towards the shore.

 

Only Sirius, James thought with awe, could do a wandless animagus transformation when at imminent risk of drowning.

 

He seemed to swim much better in canine form because the dog was paddling confidently, legs churning the water and black head held high. James watched as he got closer and closer to the edge, now a hundred metres, now fifty, now less than twenty.

 

Once it became obvious that Sirius was going to make it, James urged the broom forwards so that he could greet Sirius’s victorious arrival. He dismounted and turned to see the huge black dog stagger out of the water. It paused for a moment, shook itself vigorously, and then transformed into Sirius.

 

“I did it!” he cried, looking exhausted. “Told you, Prongs-”

 

Remus shot out of the trees, panting, and shoved Sirius so hard so that he fell back into the water.

 

“You stupid bastard!” he shouted, “You could have died! Did you even think, Sirius, about how I would feel if-“

 

“I didn’t die!” protested Sirius, looking insulted.

 

“I know,” Remus yelled, “And now you’ll take it as proof that you can keep on with these ridiculous stunts! There’s a war coming and I love you and you can’t keep-”

 

“What?” Sirius asked, pausing in his struggle to get upright. “You just said-”

 

James gripped his broomstick, trying to decide whether to throw something or to flee.

 

Remus paused as if waiting for his brain to catch up. Then he continued, angrily but in a quieter voice, “Well I do, whether or not you like it.”

 

“I do like it.” Sirius said, and extended a hand. Remus hesitated, took the hand and was tugged firmly down into the mud. Sirius kissed him, rolling their bodies over in the shallow water.

 

“It goes both ways, you know,” Sirius said breathlessly. “There hasn’t been a good time to say it, but-“

 

James fled. As he sped towards Peter, he glanced back to see his two friends grappling with muddy enthusiasm. It would be best, James thought, to give them a few hours to sort things out. Some conversations were not best suited to the last train home from Hogwarts.