Siriusly NOT Interested
CHAPTER 1 -
"Good morning," Momo Wong said as she walked into the kitchen of her home one July morning. The room was vacant and quiet as it had been for most of the summer.
The Wong family was indeed a big, powerful, and busy family in both the muggle and wizarding world. Like so few families were now-a-days, they were a strong full-blood group. Momo's Grandfather took her in without hesitation when her parents died tragically fourteen years ago. Although she was excited to be seeing more of her large family, she couldn't help but notice that being closer to them didn't mean seeing them. Her grandfather's house was more like a bustling hotel; people were always coming and going. Now that it was summer, the family was off on vacations and business trips. As cliche and sad as it sounded, Momo was used to being alone.
She yawned loudly, stretching her arms high above her head as she made her way to the pantry. She glanced at the selection of cereal, taking her favorite brand when she found it. She shook the book gently while retrieving a bowl and spoon from the dish rack beside the sink; she frowned.
"Not much left," she mumbled aloud, aware that no one was around to hear them anyway. She glanced around in her refrigerator, pulling out a carton of milk; it felt light too. She took a seat at the table, hoping there was enough for a decent breakfast. "I suppose I'll just have to go to the market today." She poured the last of the cereal and milk into her bowl.
Today's Daily Prophet lay discarded on the table. Momo wondered if her grandfather had left it behind just before leaving on his trip to China. One of his sisters, MoMo's great Aunt Hana, had fallen seriously ill from her last vacation out of the country. He had left early that morning, hoping to help his family while Hana is sick, also worried about her health. Momo had suggested that she accompanied him but he waved her suggestion off. He told her not to worry and that it was unnecessary but thoughtful for her to come along. He also said there was already enough of the family fussing over Hana as it was without both of them there.
Suddenly she was aware of the faint tweeting noises from outside the kitchen window. Absent mindlessly, Momo got up and opened the window. It was a gorgeous day; the sun was shining brightly, peaking out over the morning clouds. The birds were already awake, making much noise as they fed their noisy young the first meal of the day in the surrounding trees. Rabbits frolicked about, munching on the wild grass just outside the forest's edge. The grass looked lucious and green in the sunlight as a warm breeze gently brushed against Momo's cheek. A smile spread across her face, feeling nothing but relaxation and peace. She pondered if she should read out on the hammock after breakfast since the weather was so fine.
Momo returned to the table, the cereal waiting for her as she took a seat once more. Flipping open the Daily Prophet she was instantly engrossed in an article about the Qudditich World Cup. A spoon full of milk and cereal was lifted and hovered at shoulder height above the bowl as Momo read. Her right hand waited obediently until she was ready to take a bite but before she could even consider it, a bludger came soaring through the open window, smashing right into her breakfast, breaking her bowl. The milk and cereal splattered all over MoMo and the paper as the bludger bounced off the table and went sailing into the kitchen ceiling. It continued to the sink and shattered all the dishes on the drying rack.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!" MoMo cursed in surprise, as she jumped off her chair. The spoon slipped from her hand as the bludger set its new target on her. She opened her arms wide, waiting for the impact.
WHAM!
It collided into her chest, knocking all the air from her lungs in a loud gasp but she held the bludger tightly against her stomach as it jerked about violently. Searching the ball for any evidence of its origin, she saw the initials she expected to see.
Holding the ball against her hip with new found strength from her anger, she opened the backdoor with much force. It slammed against the wall, causing the hangings on the door to clatter loudly against the glass. Momo glared angrily past her backyard and focused on her neighbors house...where James Potter lived, being her only neighbor in a 3 mile radius.
"JAMES HAROLD POTTER," Momo screamed at the top of her lungs, stomping her way through her yard to his. She practically knocked the door down as she punched-knocked against it. "OPEN UP, POTTER! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" She heard movement behind the door followed by harsh whispers. She continued her banging. "DON'T MAKE ME BLAST THIS DOOR DOWN AGAIN, YOU WANKER!"
Finally the door swung open to reveal James Potter. His untamable black hair stood out on all its ends as his glasses lay slightly askew on his nose, hiding a pair of soft hazel eyes. He wore his quidditich protective pads and his favorite quidditch t-shirt in a lazy fashion. Leaning against the door frame, he crossed his arms against his chest and grinned his handsome grin at her. Sadly for him, Momo had never been swayed by the grin in all her 17 years of knowing him.
"Momo!" he said with false surprise. "What brings you to my humble home on this fine, FINE morning?"
"My kitchen," Momo said lowly, glaring hard at him.
"'Cuse me?" James said playfully.
"MY KITCHEN," Momo shouted. "THE ROOM THAT WAS ONCE MY KITCHEN IS A BATTLEFIELD BECAUSE OF YOUR BLOODY BLUDGER!"
"Now, now," James smiled mischievously at her. "My bludger? How could that be when- -" he stopped short when MoMo thrusted the quivering bludger in front of his face. The initials J.H.P. read clearly in black ink. James coughed, "That could be ANY J.H.P.- -" he stopped short again as Momo turned the ball around to reveal more writing. PLEASE RETURN TO JAMES POTTER, OF GRYFINDOR HOUSE, IF FOUND! was written in bright red ink. James started again, "That could be ANY James Potter, of Gryffindor house."
"Don't you bullshit me, James!" she yelled, her eye twitching slightly. "It is WAY too early for that!"
"Yes, well, I think it's too early to use language like that!"
"JAAAAAMMMMMEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Momo said as she held the bludger over her head dangerously, stepping closer to him.
"Allow me to handle this, old chap," said a slow, smooth voice that Momo was all too familiar with. A figure stepped out from the shadows just inside the house, unveiled by the morning light to be none other than Sirius Black. His handsome face played host to his famous mischievous smile as his jet black hair gleamed slightly in the sunlight. His ice-colored eyes took in Momo's full appearance in a unctuous manner, making her blush. She had not fully realized what she was wearing until it was too late.
"My darling," Sirius called out loudly in an overly dramatic voice, clutching his chest above his heart. "It's been too long since my eyes last glimpsed your heavenly guise--"
"--It's only been a week or so, Black," Momo tried to interject but no one can interrupt Sirius when he gets going.
"--and low and behold when I was so profusely graced with our paths to cross--"
"You were graced, but it is a punishment for me--"
"--I get an exceedingly generous eye full of you. I must say, the baggy t-shirt and boxer pajamas are a good combo look for you! I think this is the most leg you've shown since I caught a peek of you in the girls bath!" Sirius added an obvious wink at the end.
Momo stood in pure shock with her mouth slightly open and her face completely red. She blinked furiously at him, as if she were still processing the information she just received. James took this opportunity to whisper urgently to Sirius.
"I thought you said you were going to handle this!" James said harshly, close to Sirius' face.
Sirius looked a little confused. "I AM handling this!"
"NO, you're making things WORSE!"
The color in Momo's face had risen from red to crimson to sunset as several moments past. Her hands were gripping the bludger so tightly the boys couldn't even see it twitching anymore. They were sure Momo's anger had subsided the ball's own anger. If eyes could actually glare daggers, James and Sirius would have been dead from being impaled by too many of them at Momo's hand.
"Die," Momo said low and steadily as she forcefully thrusted the bludger into Sirius' chest. A loud "OUF" came out of his mouth from the impact. "In fact," she continued, "ALLOW ME TO HELP!" She raised her fist swiftly and angrily but when she threw it towards her childhood friend, he and Sirius were no where to be found.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" James instructed Sirius as they made a ran for it in the yard. They had somehow avoided Momo with lightning speed, as if they had been expecting a psychical punishment for their carelessness in playing quidditch with a bludger and for James' carelessness to have let Sirius to handle the situation with Momo.
"Now really, boys. It is much too early for you to be quarreling about quidditch," Mrs. Potter said, stepping out onto the back porch to find Momo chasing the two black haired Marauders around the yard. "Oh, Momo, dear!" she called out happily. "I thought I heard you screaming about! Come give us a squeeze, ducky, and tell me just what my troublesome sons have done NOW."
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Mrs. Potter burst out into warm laughter after Momo told the tale of the morning events. "Oh, my," she said gently, flipping over a pancake with her wand. "No need to worry, dear. You'll be eating breakfast here and I'll send Harold over to fix up the damage these troublemakers caused. You two are lucky I intervened."
"You can say that again, Mum!" James said, nibbling on some toast.
"Three cheers for the ever so beautiful and caring Mrs. Potter!" Sirius added, raising his glass of milk in toast.
"Oh stop," Mrs. Potter waved her free hand at him. "You're just trying to butter me up." She started up a fresh lilt of giggles when Sirius gave her a flirtatious wink.
Momo, who sat across the table from James and Sirius, stared at him with a look of pure disgust. "What are you even doing here?!"
"I ran away from home," Sirius said simply, through a mouth full of eggs.
Momo's angry expression vanished in a blink of an eye. "What?"
"It's true," James chimed in, pouring some orange juice into his glass. "I found him sitting on a curb in the pouring rain outside of that new pub on the corner of Pendragon, sopping wet with all his possessions and his motorcycle."
"Why he didn't just come straight here is beyond me," Mrs. Potter butted in, bringing a fresh plate of pancakes for Momo. The plate clattered slightly on the wooden table as Mrs. Potter placed them in front of her. "You know you're always welcome here, Sirius. You're like a second son to Harold and me."
He gave her a warm, heartfelt smile before he noticed Momo's worried glance. Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "It's no big deal. I've been meaning to do it for a while."
"You're not even 17 yet," Momo reminded him, waving her fork a bit.
"That's a minor detail," he replied, sipping his milk. "I'll be as good as legal in less than a month!"
"Don't remind us," Harold Potter said as he set down a bag at the entryway. His eye length, messy black hair was disheveled, as always; a common trait in the Potter family. His sapphire blue eyes were not something James inherited, however. "I thought I heard a familiar voice. Momo, how have you been?"
"I'm just peachy, sir! It's nice to see you too!" Momo replied eagerly, happy to see one of her favorite neighbors. "But it's Thursday, isn't it? And before noon, no less. Shouldn't you be at the Ministry?"
Harold chuckled as he poured him a glass of orange juice for himself. "Sharp as always, I see. The misuses and I are taking off on holiday."
"We're going to visit some of Harold's relatives in (think of name in Britain)," Mrs. Potter said happily. "Just for a week or so. Can't leave these rapscallions alone for too long, you know ducky. We might come home to a house full of newts."
"I swear. You let loose a few amphibians once and they never let it go," James mumbled, his voice hinting a bit of annoyance. Sirius snickered silently, his smile hidden behind his glass of milk as he pretended to drink from it.
"Oh, Momo," Harold said, jerking as if physically remembering something. "Your grandfather left me a memo at the office. Since he's off in China and Emily and I are leaving, why don't you and the boys stick together? You know, look out for each other and what not?"
"It would put our nerves at rest knowing we have at least someone watching these two," Mrs. Potter murmured to Momo, glancing at James and Sirius.
"Oh well," Momo started quickly and nervously. "I don't really--"
"Great idea, Harry!" Sirius said, jumping up to give Momo a one arm squeeze. "I couldn't have said it better myself!"
"Brilliant, dad!" James added, jumping up to give Momo a one arm squeeze also, taking up her free side. "I'd feel much safer with Momo nearby!"
"Then it's settled!" Mr. Potter clapped his hands. "Now come help me move the bags to the living room, boys, so I can shrink them before we leave."
"Bollocks," Momo whispered to her pancakes. As she looked at her reflection in the syrup, she realized just how horrific this summer was going to be.