"Are you sure this is going to be fun James? There aren't even any hippogriffs" said Sirius Black, leaning against the wall as his best friend bought them both tickets.

"Yes! I mean, they wouldn't be so popular with the muggles if it wasn't." replied James, handing Sirius his pass and walking over to the turnstile. "Didn't you say you wanted to see some lions? Besides, if Evans thinks I know more about what she likes…" his face slid into the familiar goofy smile he always had on when talking about Lily.

Sirius rolled his eyes at his friend, but walked inside all the same. Maybe this 'zoo' thing would be at least a little entertaining. Most things became more fun with James around. Before he had met his fellow Marauders, Sirius was in a permanent state of boredom. Everything before them had been dull and oppressive, resentment against his family and their pure-blood mentality being his only thing to focus on. Since going to Hogwarts, he had found release. Now that he was seventeen and had managed to move out of that stuffy old house and in with James, the world was much brighter.

The world was certainly brighter that day; the pair of them were sweltering before they even reached the lions. "This is why I hate going to muggle things." Sirius complained. "We can't use any magic to cool off."

"Look, I didn't know it would be this hot! Stay here, I'll get us some drinks. I saw a machine a while back."

Sirius looked sceptical, "Are you sure you can use that muggle money properly? Remember what happened last time? We can't go back to that theme park ever again you know."

"I've been practising since then. I think I've got it down. There won't be any…er…incidents this time." James had the decency to look embarrassed as Sirius laughed. "Anyway, wait here!"

Sirius shook his head at his friend's back as James ran off, amused. He leaned against the wooden fence behind him nonchalantly. He smiled at a couple of pretty girls who were looking over at him at whispering, making them blush. He was just wondering how much longer James would be when he felt something warm and wet on the back of his neck. He almost jumped out of his skin, whirling around to face whatever had sneaked up on him, his wand raised in one hand with the other wiping off whatever was on his neck. Then he froze.

Before him was the most beautiful animal he had ever seen. It looked at him, its head tilted to one side, its tongue poking out slightly from where it had just licked him. Great black eyes were watching him, surrounded by brown fur. Small paws were dangling in front of it, it was slightly hunched over. Its great ears were up, as if it were listening to everything in the world. Sirius slowly put his wand back into his jeans pocket and walked forwards. He felt like he was in a trance, this awesome creature's sweetness seemed to be calling him forward. There was no way he could ignore this pull. He reached out a hand tentatively over the fence, and the kangaroo moved its head closer. He fondled between its ears and it closed its eyes. He kept stroking, marvelling at how soft it was, and how compliant this animal was.
After several long moments, or it might have been half an hour-or possibly several sunlit days, Sirius was jerked out of his reverie by James racing over and grabbing his arm, pulling him away from one of the best experiences of his entire life.
"Sirius, hurry! They're after me, we have to go!"

"I- what?" Sirius faltered for a second, then started running alongside his friend, "what happened? Deatheaters?"
"No, not them! The security guards!" James shouted as they ran.
"What are you talking about?"
"I was trying to buy these drinks and it didn't go well. In here!" he said, and they sped into the reptile house.

Snakes and lizards watched silently as they slowed. They glanced around to check no-one was looking, and then James pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and threw it over them. They moved quietly over to the wall so people wouldn't walk into them.
"What did you do to make them chase you?" Sirius whispered incredulously.

James looked uncomfortable, "well, I couldn't get the money to work so I tried just summoning the drinks. They thought I was stealing them-"
"because you were" interrupted Sirius

"No I wasn't! I was going to leave some money on top to pay for it, they just spotted me before I managed it."

"Sure you were James, sure you were."
James grinned, passing Sirius his drink. They waited in silence as the staff walked around trying to find them. Sirius thought back to what was happening before he was pulled away. What was I thinking? It's a bloody kangaroo! Just because it was looking at me like that doesn't mean I- I don't really want to go see it again I just- It was just really soft so I-
Yet again, James stopped him. "I think they've stopped looking for us now, but I don't think we can keep going around the zoo. There doesn't seem to be anyone in here anymore. It was fun while it lasted though wasn't it, eh Sirius? Sirius?" James pulled off the cloak and looked into his friend's face properly for the first time since they'd come to the reptile house. "Sirius, what is it?"
Sirius was looking devastated, his face creased up as if in pain. He shook his head to try and clear it of the single thought going around and around in it, I can't go back and see her. I can't go back and see her. I can't go back. Tears started filling his eyes, despite his struggles to stop them. He didn't want James to see this. He didn't want him to think he was weak. He didn't want this pain.

"Sirius, come on, let's…let's get outside. Come on mate, here we go." James' voice was concerned but commanding. Sirius allowed himself to be pulled gently out of the reptile house. He faced into the cool darkness of the door they had just come out from, with James facing the other way, looking at his friend worriedly. I can't go back and see her.
"Here we are Sirius, deep breaths. Tell me what's wrong when you can, I'll try and contact…contact…" James trailed off, staring at something over Sirius' shoulder. "Er, mate, I think you should see this."
Sirius turned and blinked, his eyes growing wide with shock. There, right before him, was the kangaroo. His kangaroo. Behind it were many more, every kangaroo in the whole zoo seemed to have congregated in front of him, and every muggle there seemed to have disappeared. James was exclaiming about how many there were, but Sirius only had eyes for one. He walked forwards, slowly at first, and then broke into a run. He wrapped his arms around his kangaroo and hugged it hard. He didn't let go as James notified the Order about all of these escapees; he held on as all the other kangaroos were checked for signs of magic by Dumbledore; he kept the embrace until he fell asleep, with the soft warmth of the animal next to him as the sun sank beneath the horizon. He had the sweetest dreams he had ever had that night and slept more soundly than he had even before Lord Voldemort had begun his rise to power. He felt safe for the first time in years.

'kangaroos bounce for freedom'
'Fifteen kangaroos escaped from Chilcoat Square Zoo in Hampshire yesterday. Keepers remain puzzled as to how they got past the locked doors and fences, although some visitors say that there were some youths acting suspiciously around the enclosure slightly before the breakout. The zoo assures that they increasing measures to keep the creatures from doing so again, and have rounded up almost all of the escaped kangaroos. However, there is one that has not yet been re-captured or seen since then. If anyone has any information as to the whereabouts of the animal, please contact…'

Sirius stopped reading. He knew most of it by heart anyway. He tacked the muggle newspaper clipping, yellowed with age, back to the kitchen wall next to the picture of his fifteen month old godson. He knew how it really happened now, Dumbledore had told him the day after when he had woken up. Apparently, a toddler had accidentally unlocked the enclosure by magic. Of course, this didn't explain how they had come over to the pair of wizards in the reptile house but Sirius had a vague idea about that. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out some fruit, laughing as he felt something damp on the back of his neck. "Calm down dear, I've got your breakfast right here." He cut up the fruit and put it in a bowl, placing it on a side table so it would be easy for his kangaroo to reach. He smiled contentedly as he watched her. Even if the world had gone crazy, even if he came close to death everyday with the Order, even if James kept going on and on at him to get a proper girlfriend, he was happy as long as his kangaroo was here with him.