HP Fic- Too Many Cooks 8/???
Nov. 3rd, 2004 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarotgalFor someone too depressed to write last night, I just posted two things. LOL I make no sense at all. But, yeah, that Obi-fic got me in the mood to pick up 'Too Many Cooks' again. Haven't posted anything from it since February, so I figure now's as good a time as any.
Part 1- Discovery * Part 2- Breakfast * Part 3- Chamomile Tea * Part 4- A Potion * Part 5- Chicken Soup * Part 6- The Black Ledger * Part 7- Apples
Same ratings apply to this part
Too Many Cooks
Part 8: Exercise
“We’ve returned!” announced Peter, his arms full of books. He held the door to the dormitory open against his back as Sirius entered with more books, and Remus entered with a dinner tray and a few more books tucked under his arms.
James pulled himself up off the pillows to watch the book-laden procession. They seemed not to have noticed that all day he hadn’t been hungry enough to eat for here they were about to force a full dinner on him. “All you’ve had to eat today was a little bit of breakfast and a small bowl of chicken soup,” Remus said, obviously getting into the business of reading James’ mind now, though not knowing how much breakfast Sirius had forced on him or how he’d eaten an apple and a quarter in their absence.
Deciding it was best to change the subject quickly, he turned his attention towards the books. “Are there any left in the library?”
“Not many,” Sirius said, flopping down on the bed beside James, the pile of books in his lap. “We virtually cleared out the entire section on basic healing practices.” He put an arm around James’ shoulders and patted the stack of books. “With these, we’re going to find you cures. When we’re through with you, you’ll be so healthy on your date with Evans that everyone else will look sick by comparison.”
“Frankly I’d settle for not sneezing and coughing every few minutes,” James said with a shrug.
“Well, then the best thing to do would be to have a good, healthy dinner and some more tea,” Remus set the tray down in front of James.
He stared down at the food in his lap. He wasn’t feeling sick to his stomach at the sight, but he wasn’t exactly feeling hungry, either. “I’ll have a little of the tea,” he said, reaching for the empty teacup and the thermos. “But I’m not hungry.” In fact, he wasn’t much in the mood for tea, either. But he thought perhaps striking a bargain with them was the best bet.
Peter, Sirius, and Remus all exchanged looks.
James tried to ignore the look as he poured and sipped the tea. It needed more sugar, so he added a few spoonfuls and sipped some more. He felt their eyes upon him, and sighed, setting the tea down. “What is it?”
“Well, we were reading through some of these books during dinner,” Peter started to explain.
Sirius picked up the thread, “And it says it’s important to keep eating healthy when sick. You need to keep your body on schedule and getting the same nutrition.”
“You forced a big breakfast on me,” James said. “I figured that out on my own. But I’m just not hungry enough to eat.” He pushed the tray away took up a box of tissues again. His nose was tickling, and he knew by now what that meant and how much time he had to prepare. “hahShoo! hihKShooo! hahChoo!”
Sirius continued on. “Well, maybe not, but there’s a technique we should try.”
Remus had taken the tray back, not allowing James to spill any of it and use that as the reason not to eat. “You sure about this, Sirius?” he asked, skeptically.
“Oh, come on, Moony. It’s from a book. You trust those, don’t you?” Sirius asked, and Remus had to admit he did.
But James started shaking his head and pressed himself back against the pillows, flattening them against the headboard in an attempt to get further away from his friends. “Oh no. I don’t think so! If Remus is skeptical of this—”
“I’m not!” Remus interrupted. “Really, James, this will help.”
But James seemed terribly set against it, not even knowing what it was yet.
Sirius leaned back, too, so he was even with James. “For us to work our magic on you, you’ve got to agree to put yourself in our hands entirely, completely. You’ve got to trust us, James. We only want to help you feel better. We won’t do anything to hurt you.”
James had a feeling he’d heard that somewhere before and didn’t want to think about the particular prank during which it had been said. But he did trust his friends, and he was sure they had his best interests in mind. At present, his own concerns lay far from his lack of hunger and closer to the sharp tickle in his nose. “ahhh…” he began, trying to warn the others of his need to sneeze, rather than startle them all out of thought with it. In reaction, Peter picked up the box of tissues, Remus handed him one from it, and Sirius put his hand on James’ back to steady him. They all waited patiently and silently for him to finish sneezing before it had even begun. “hahh… hahShoo! hehShooo! hehShhhh! ehhhChoo!” Peter blessed him, Remus handed him another few tissues, and Sirius rubbed a hand up and down his back. James smiled weakly. His friends wanted to do nothing but help him. “Okay,” he said finally.
“Okay?” Sirius repeated in confirmation.
James nodded. “Okay, I trust you all.” He sighed and waved his arms in a sort of grand gesture. “Do with me what you will, but heal me.”
“Then first thing’s first,” Sirius said, grabbing James’ hand and pulling him up and out of bed. “Exercise.”
“Excuse me?” James said, plucking a tissue from the box in Peter’s hands and rubbing it against his nose.
“One of the books said that if a sick patient doesn’t feel hungry, the best thing to do is to exercise,” Peter explained helpfully. Then he added, more quickly and softly, “Of course, another book said not to force a patient to eat or drink or to keep it from him…”
James looked ready to protest again. Remus spoke up, “But they all said it would be best to eat. Build up your strength in order to let your body fight the virus. And exercise seems the natural way to get you hungry. Not only that, but increased oxygen helps clear nasal passages, so exercise should help you there, too.”
James groaned inwardly and wished he had just faked sleep until it was all over. Of course, his nose wouldn’t let him get away with something like that. He sighed, resigning himself to the idea of exercise. “Let’s get this over with,” he said.
Sirius grinned. “Good. Let’s start with some jumping ja—”
“Warm-up stretches,” Remus corrected him. “James has been in bed all day. Can’t go from napping to intense aerobics in five seconds flat.”
With a sigh and a nod to Remus, Sirius agreed. “Warm-up stretches.” After a few minutes of those came the jumping jacks. Following those, Sirius instructed him to jog around the room a few times. Then, “Twenty-five push-ups,” Sirius commanded with that same amused grin.
Though physically fit from Quidditch, push-ups were not James Potter’s forte. “Sirius!” he groaned.
“Make that thirty,” Sirius replied. Then he cocked his head. “Have to work up an appetite, haven’t we?”
James coughed and got ready to argue, though he knew it might mean more push-ups and he wasn’t sure he could handle the ones he’d been assigned already. “F-fide,” James said, grabbing a tissue from the box Peter was holding for him. He blew his nose in indignation and lowered himself to the floor. His first push-up was harder than he thought it would be. His arms wanted to give out halfway through, but he managed to push his body up off the ground and lock his elbows.
“One,” Peter counted. He squatted down in front of James, intending to count for him. Satisfied, Sirius turned and grabbed Remus around the waist, giving him a kiss as though they’d not kissed for days instead of just hours or minutes, more likely. As James’ body hit the floor again, Peter smiled at him. Then he spoke brightly. “It’s okay, James. I’ll count for you. Just keep doing those push-ups!”
James grumbled but obeyed. If this was what it took to start feeling better, he supposed it was worth it. And already the dinner was looking better to him than it had a little while ago so the plan seemed to be working to some extent. Up he went again, his arms shaking a little as they supported most of his weight.
“Five!” Peter called out the count. Confused, James looked up at his friend, eyes narrowing. He knew Peter could be a little slow at times but surely he was up to counting. James was certain he had only done two push-ups. But, after his eyes darted over to the distracted Remus and Sirius, Peter gave James a firm wink.
With a sigh and a smile, James lowered himself back onto the ground. He understood that getting some exercise was for his own good. But thirty push-ups was a bit extreme. He was quite grateful that Peter thought so, too. Peter always knew how to get on James’ good side.
After two more push-ups, Peter called out “Ten” and “Fifteen” came after two more. James was so slow with the push-ups that the timing seemed about right. Neither Remus nor Sirius seemed the least bit suspicious at the number. And James faked a few coughs about halfway through to give himself a few moments to rest.
Unfortunately, after James’ tenth push-up, which Peter called his twenty-fifth, Sirius came over to supervise the rest and James was forced to do an honest five for his last five.
And those five were grueling. It took all his strength to push himself up off the ground the few inches until his arms locked at the elbows. His arms still shook and he collapsed back onto the ground after each. He was grunting, panting, snuffling. And when he’d completed his last five, Peter offered him a fistful of tissues into which to blow his nose. James did so without hesitation.
After several more laps around the bedroom, James fell upon his bed with a groan. He was going to need a shower after this, at this rate. “Cad I just eat dow?” James begged, willing to do anything to stay still for just a few minutes. He could barely catch his breath, and could not breathe through his nose much at all.
“I think that could be arranged,” said Remus, pulling the tray over. James sat up against the pillows, on top of the covers because he was hot from the exercise. He blew his nose thoroughly several times before he ate anything. And he stopped several times because of sneezes.
“hahh-Choo! huhShooo!” James sneezed into the crook of his elbow, careful not to overturn or sneeze upon the tray of food. Remus and Peter had both held onto the tray and its contents to guard against the former as well. Afterwards, he sniffed and wiped his hand over his sweaty forehead while it was there.
“Could be worse, Mate,” Sirius said, passing him a few tissues. “We could have made you run laps around the Quidditch pitch.”
James groaned. He didn’t want to leave his bed right now, though realistically, he knew he’d have to leave to use the loo. But he definitely did not want to leave the tower. The last thing he needed were the Slytherins realizing he was sick and spreading the word around. He’d still have to be careful to avoid Lily for the next two days as it was. “I appreciate that you didn’t.” He’d also made up his mind to try and eat anything he was given from now on to avoid any more exhausting exercise routines.
Next up- Part 9: Hot Shower
Part 1- Discovery * Part 2- Breakfast * Part 3- Chamomile Tea * Part 4- A Potion * Part 5- Chicken Soup * Part 6- The Black Ledger * Part 7- Apples
Same ratings apply to this part
Too Many Cooks
Part 8: Exercise
“We’ve returned!” announced Peter, his arms full of books. He held the door to the dormitory open against his back as Sirius entered with more books, and Remus entered with a dinner tray and a few more books tucked under his arms.
James pulled himself up off the pillows to watch the book-laden procession. They seemed not to have noticed that all day he hadn’t been hungry enough to eat for here they were about to force a full dinner on him. “All you’ve had to eat today was a little bit of breakfast and a small bowl of chicken soup,” Remus said, obviously getting into the business of reading James’ mind now, though not knowing how much breakfast Sirius had forced on him or how he’d eaten an apple and a quarter in their absence.
Deciding it was best to change the subject quickly, he turned his attention towards the books. “Are there any left in the library?”
“Not many,” Sirius said, flopping down on the bed beside James, the pile of books in his lap. “We virtually cleared out the entire section on basic healing practices.” He put an arm around James’ shoulders and patted the stack of books. “With these, we’re going to find you cures. When we’re through with you, you’ll be so healthy on your date with Evans that everyone else will look sick by comparison.”
“Frankly I’d settle for not sneezing and coughing every few minutes,” James said with a shrug.
“Well, then the best thing to do would be to have a good, healthy dinner and some more tea,” Remus set the tray down in front of James.
He stared down at the food in his lap. He wasn’t feeling sick to his stomach at the sight, but he wasn’t exactly feeling hungry, either. “I’ll have a little of the tea,” he said, reaching for the empty teacup and the thermos. “But I’m not hungry.” In fact, he wasn’t much in the mood for tea, either. But he thought perhaps striking a bargain with them was the best bet.
Peter, Sirius, and Remus all exchanged looks.
James tried to ignore the look as he poured and sipped the tea. It needed more sugar, so he added a few spoonfuls and sipped some more. He felt their eyes upon him, and sighed, setting the tea down. “What is it?”
“Well, we were reading through some of these books during dinner,” Peter started to explain.
Sirius picked up the thread, “And it says it’s important to keep eating healthy when sick. You need to keep your body on schedule and getting the same nutrition.”
“You forced a big breakfast on me,” James said. “I figured that out on my own. But I’m just not hungry enough to eat.” He pushed the tray away took up a box of tissues again. His nose was tickling, and he knew by now what that meant and how much time he had to prepare. “hahShoo! hihKShooo! hahChoo!”
Sirius continued on. “Well, maybe not, but there’s a technique we should try.”
Remus had taken the tray back, not allowing James to spill any of it and use that as the reason not to eat. “You sure about this, Sirius?” he asked, skeptically.
“Oh, come on, Moony. It’s from a book. You trust those, don’t you?” Sirius asked, and Remus had to admit he did.
But James started shaking his head and pressed himself back against the pillows, flattening them against the headboard in an attempt to get further away from his friends. “Oh no. I don’t think so! If Remus is skeptical of this—”
“I’m not!” Remus interrupted. “Really, James, this will help.”
But James seemed terribly set against it, not even knowing what it was yet.
Sirius leaned back, too, so he was even with James. “For us to work our magic on you, you’ve got to agree to put yourself in our hands entirely, completely. You’ve got to trust us, James. We only want to help you feel better. We won’t do anything to hurt you.”
James had a feeling he’d heard that somewhere before and didn’t want to think about the particular prank during which it had been said. But he did trust his friends, and he was sure they had his best interests in mind. At present, his own concerns lay far from his lack of hunger and closer to the sharp tickle in his nose. “ahhh…” he began, trying to warn the others of his need to sneeze, rather than startle them all out of thought with it. In reaction, Peter picked up the box of tissues, Remus handed him one from it, and Sirius put his hand on James’ back to steady him. They all waited patiently and silently for him to finish sneezing before it had even begun. “hahh… hahShoo! hehShooo! hehShhhh! ehhhChoo!” Peter blessed him, Remus handed him another few tissues, and Sirius rubbed a hand up and down his back. James smiled weakly. His friends wanted to do nothing but help him. “Okay,” he said finally.
“Okay?” Sirius repeated in confirmation.
James nodded. “Okay, I trust you all.” He sighed and waved his arms in a sort of grand gesture. “Do with me what you will, but heal me.”
“Then first thing’s first,” Sirius said, grabbing James’ hand and pulling him up and out of bed. “Exercise.”
“Excuse me?” James said, plucking a tissue from the box in Peter’s hands and rubbing it against his nose.
“One of the books said that if a sick patient doesn’t feel hungry, the best thing to do is to exercise,” Peter explained helpfully. Then he added, more quickly and softly, “Of course, another book said not to force a patient to eat or drink or to keep it from him…”
James looked ready to protest again. Remus spoke up, “But they all said it would be best to eat. Build up your strength in order to let your body fight the virus. And exercise seems the natural way to get you hungry. Not only that, but increased oxygen helps clear nasal passages, so exercise should help you there, too.”
James groaned inwardly and wished he had just faked sleep until it was all over. Of course, his nose wouldn’t let him get away with something like that. He sighed, resigning himself to the idea of exercise. “Let’s get this over with,” he said.
Sirius grinned. “Good. Let’s start with some jumping ja—”
“Warm-up stretches,” Remus corrected him. “James has been in bed all day. Can’t go from napping to intense aerobics in five seconds flat.”
With a sigh and a nod to Remus, Sirius agreed. “Warm-up stretches.” After a few minutes of those came the jumping jacks. Following those, Sirius instructed him to jog around the room a few times. Then, “Twenty-five push-ups,” Sirius commanded with that same amused grin.
Though physically fit from Quidditch, push-ups were not James Potter’s forte. “Sirius!” he groaned.
“Make that thirty,” Sirius replied. Then he cocked his head. “Have to work up an appetite, haven’t we?”
James coughed and got ready to argue, though he knew it might mean more push-ups and he wasn’t sure he could handle the ones he’d been assigned already. “F-fide,” James said, grabbing a tissue from the box Peter was holding for him. He blew his nose in indignation and lowered himself to the floor. His first push-up was harder than he thought it would be. His arms wanted to give out halfway through, but he managed to push his body up off the ground and lock his elbows.
“One,” Peter counted. He squatted down in front of James, intending to count for him. Satisfied, Sirius turned and grabbed Remus around the waist, giving him a kiss as though they’d not kissed for days instead of just hours or minutes, more likely. As James’ body hit the floor again, Peter smiled at him. Then he spoke brightly. “It’s okay, James. I’ll count for you. Just keep doing those push-ups!”
James grumbled but obeyed. If this was what it took to start feeling better, he supposed it was worth it. And already the dinner was looking better to him than it had a little while ago so the plan seemed to be working to some extent. Up he went again, his arms shaking a little as they supported most of his weight.
“Five!” Peter called out the count. Confused, James looked up at his friend, eyes narrowing. He knew Peter could be a little slow at times but surely he was up to counting. James was certain he had only done two push-ups. But, after his eyes darted over to the distracted Remus and Sirius, Peter gave James a firm wink.
With a sigh and a smile, James lowered himself back onto the ground. He understood that getting some exercise was for his own good. But thirty push-ups was a bit extreme. He was quite grateful that Peter thought so, too. Peter always knew how to get on James’ good side.
After two more push-ups, Peter called out “Ten” and “Fifteen” came after two more. James was so slow with the push-ups that the timing seemed about right. Neither Remus nor Sirius seemed the least bit suspicious at the number. And James faked a few coughs about halfway through to give himself a few moments to rest.
Unfortunately, after James’ tenth push-up, which Peter called his twenty-fifth, Sirius came over to supervise the rest and James was forced to do an honest five for his last five.
And those five were grueling. It took all his strength to push himself up off the ground the few inches until his arms locked at the elbows. His arms still shook and he collapsed back onto the ground after each. He was grunting, panting, snuffling. And when he’d completed his last five, Peter offered him a fistful of tissues into which to blow his nose. James did so without hesitation.
After several more laps around the bedroom, James fell upon his bed with a groan. He was going to need a shower after this, at this rate. “Cad I just eat dow?” James begged, willing to do anything to stay still for just a few minutes. He could barely catch his breath, and could not breathe through his nose much at all.
“I think that could be arranged,” said Remus, pulling the tray over. James sat up against the pillows, on top of the covers because he was hot from the exercise. He blew his nose thoroughly several times before he ate anything. And he stopped several times because of sneezes.
“hahh-Choo! huhShooo!” James sneezed into the crook of his elbow, careful not to overturn or sneeze upon the tray of food. Remus and Peter had both held onto the tray and its contents to guard against the former as well. Afterwards, he sniffed and wiped his hand over his sweaty forehead while it was there.
“Could be worse, Mate,” Sirius said, passing him a few tissues. “We could have made you run laps around the Quidditch pitch.”
James groaned. He didn’t want to leave his bed right now, though realistically, he knew he’d have to leave to use the loo. But he definitely did not want to leave the tower. The last thing he needed were the Slytherins realizing he was sick and spreading the word around. He’d still have to be careful to avoid Lily for the next two days as it was. “I appreciate that you didn’t.” He’d also made up his mind to try and eat anything he was given from now on to avoid any more exhausting exercise routines.
Next up- Part 9: Hot Shower
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Date: 2004-11-03 09:56 pm (UTC)~A
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Date: 2004-11-03 10:44 pm (UTC)I think that it's so adorable that they've all teamed up to help! They kinda each have their own role too, which is very cool.
I'm already fleshing out their roles further in the next chapter, so you're right on track with your thinking. Excellent! :-)
I love this story and am quite excited that it's been resumed!
Thanks! I love all my WIPs... and feel badly I can't work on them all at the same time. I'm definitely glad you enjoy this one, though! I have a lot of fun writing it :-)