November 1, 1981
Author's Note: This is kind of weird, but I had an idea about this and it wouldn't go away, so here this is. If you don't really get it, here's the basic plotline: the scene between Sirius and Pettigrew through the eyes of a Muggle. This was also written to help me get over my writer's block for my seventh year fic. There are several POV switches (three, in fact), so be prepared.
Jean bounded inside. "You ready to go, Leslie?"
I nodded, taking my backpack from the table. "This is going to be so much fun," I commented to my friend.
She nodded, too. "We haven't been shopping together in ages! Come on!"
"All right, all right, let me go get Mum so she can drive us," I called for my mother, who came in looking bedraggled.
"Okay, Leslie, Jean, let's get you two out of here, I need a break," she said sleepily. I laughed.
Jean was waiting impatiently by the door. "About time," she retorted.
My mum drove us to the London Shopping Center. She went over the basic rules with us, not to go with strangers, to be careful, yadda, yadda, yadda.
"Come on Mum, we're both fifteen, we know how to take care of ourselves," I whined.
"Goodbye, Mrs. Cardouv," Jean piped up. My mother smiled at Jean.
"Bye, Jean." She turned to me again. "Be careful, sweetie,"
I sighed. "Yes, Mum."
"I'll be here at six."
"Yes, Mum, we'll be right here at 5:55."
She sighed. "Have a good time." She kissed me on the forehead, and started for the car.
"Bye, Mum," I called. She waved, and I watched her walk towards the car. Jean tugged on my arm.
"Come on," she whined. "We don't have much time before your mum comes back."
"All right," I murmured, following my friend slowly. For some reason, I had this strange dark feeling, like something was going to happen…
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"Something wrong, Les?" Jean asked as she slurped up the remainder of her strawberry-banana shake.
Her voice startled me. "Um, no," I muttered and tried to grin innocently. "Why would anything be wrong?"
She shrugged a little. "I don't know. You're unusually quiet."
I wondered if I should tell her about my feeling. After all, we were best friends, right? She wouldn't laugh, a least not a lot, anyway. So I told her.
"Well, Jean, I just have this really weird feeling. Like…like something horrible is going to happen. Like…I don't know…" I trailed off, fiddling my thumbs.
Jean looked at me strangely. "How could something horrible happen in a sleepy place like this?" She motioned around as she spoke. "Nothing ever happens here."
"I know," I said, rubbing my temples. "But I just-" I suddenly wanted to drop the subject, so I laughed. "It's probably nothing. Anyway, have we been everywhere yet?"
Jean looked at her list of stores closely. She made a few check marks. "Just about…yeah, we haven't been to Terry's Figurines yet! I've heard loads about it, you know, it's got all these neat sculptures and stuff…"
I looked at my watch. It was 5:53. Remembering my promise to my mum, I asked, "Where is it?"
Jean looked up abruptly. Apparently, I had interrupted her babble. "Um…I think it's somewhere near the entrance. Why?"
I pointed at my watch. "We need to go,"
"Aw, come on, how come you've always got to be so responsible? Your mum's bound to be a little late…"
I shook my head. "You know my mum. She's always on time,"
Jean looked as if her whole day had been ruined. I sighed. "All right, why don't you go to this store, and I'll wait for Mum outside, so we won't get in trouble. I warn you though, we won't wait for you too long."
She laughed and gave me a small hug. "Thanks, Les! Let's go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me along until she got to the store. I waved bye and lingered for a moment longer, watching her squeal over a figurine of a wolf. It almost seemed like…I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts and walked outside.
I looked at my watch again. 5:57. Not exactly perfect timing, but I did have three minutes until Mum came. I shifted the weight of my shopping bags, and wished there was an empty bench around.
Suddenly, I heard loud shouts from the street on my right side. Juggling my heavy bags, I rushed to see what was going on.
Many people were lingering around, but I soon saw where the shouting was coming from. A tall, dark brown-haired man was looking angrily at a shorter man, who was quite chubby. The tall man looked depressed as well.
I snuck a little closer, and noticed that there were others watching them as well. I wondered what was going on.
The tall man's lips moved, but I couldn't hear what he was saying: I was too far away. He reached for something inside his jacket I couldn't see.
The shorter guy sobbed, "Lily and James! Sirius, how could you?" The tall man-Sirius, I suppose-looked infuriated and pulled out a long stick. Was he going to hit the other man with it?
But the shorter man was faster. In a movement that I am sure only I saw, for I was watching from behind him, he pulled out another long stick and hid it behind his back. What was it with sticks and these people?
Then-his lips moved, and with a flick of his wand, the whole world exploded.
Epilogue: (Jean's view)
I walked out of the shopping center, feeling happy. I eyed the little penguin figurine I had just bought one more time before putting it away and looking for Leslie. She was nowhere to be seen.
I was puzzled. "Leslie," I called. "Leslie!" My voice became more urgent as I looked around, for I was worried.
Suddenly, I heard a loud explosion coming from the street. I shifted the weight of my shopping bags as I ran to see what was going on.
Many people were there, looking extremely terrified. I rushed through the crowd, and screamed at what I saw.
About a dozen dead bodies were strewn around the street. I quickly recognized the one nearest me-it was Leslie. She was deathly pale, and her shopping bags looked they had been carelessly dropped. Her eyes were closed, and yet, there was no sign of struggle. I would of thought she was merely asleep if…I didn't know how, but somehow, I knew she was dead.
A loud sound suddenly caught my ears. I looked up to see some man with a long stick in his hand. He was laughing! How could anyone laugh at a time like this? I gaped at him, unable to speak.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a big group of strange-looking people appeared. Most of them went up to the laughing lunatic (As I now called him) and handcuffed him. The others rounded the big crowd of people and I up.
I noticed suddenly that I was no longer in the middle of the street, but instead inside a large office, with the other people. They obviously had no idea how we had gotten here either, and were whispering excitedly.
A man with a pin-stripe cloak got our attention. He asked, "Who here can tell me exactly what happened?"
Several people put up their hands, and then the man saw them separately. I waited anxiously, for I still wasn't sure what had happened. All I knew was that Leslie and about eleven other people were dead.
The man and the last person stepped out of his office. I watched the man anxiously, for he looked nervous. He cleared his throat, and announced, "Thank you all for your time and honesty. You can leave after I do one more thing…" he trailed off as he pulled out a long stick. "Obliviate!" He yelled, and I remembered no more…
Epilogue: (2)
Jean's memories were wiped so that she didn't remember going shopping with Leslie, and the newspapers informed her of her friend's death, calling the cause a gas explosion. Sirius Black was put on trial and found guilty of killing Pettigrew, Leslie, and the other Muggles and for working for Voldemort.
Author's Note: Weird, huh? I just thought it would be kind of fun to do. Don't ask me how they were able to recall the time when one was dead and the other had her memories wiped, they just were, kay?J If you found this confusing, tell me in your review exactly what was confusing and I'll try to clear it up. And to whoever to I got the whole "world exploded" thing from, I'm sorry, but those words had such power that I had to use them.
Disclaimer: Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Cornelius Fudge belong to J.K. Rowling. Leslie Cardouv, Jean, and Leslie's Mum belong to me. But you already knew that, right?