Chapter Three
"Peter, are you aware that you, the one who got us in this mess, don't have a kid to sit for yet?" James asked his friend that Thursday morning. "But yet, I have three jobs lined up, and--"
"I have four." Sirius sneered. "Peter, you're paying us back for all those times we…"
"No!" Peter cried honestly. "I want a job! I'd take yours, but, people specifically want certain features to their babysitters." The other two groaned.
"I hate you Peter." James told him, "Have I told you that?"
"Every day this week." Peter replied sadly.
"He's here!" The little girl gasped. "Lucy! He's here!"
Lucy? Sirius thought to himself. She did invite her friend! He groaned loudly. Lucky for him, no one heard. The small, blonde haired girl reappeared a minute later with another girl, who looked about the same age, but quite a bit taller. She had freckles and brown hair.
"He is cute." Lucy whispered to Susie. Susie giggled back and they went into a fit. Sirius found it hard to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
"C'mon!" Both girls grabbed his arms and pulled him closer to his doom.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Susie asked him, plopping onto the sofa. Sirius self consciously sat in the armchair across from her, leaning back. Lucy sat beside her friend. Both looked eager.
"Er…" Sirius replied nervously. This was harder than getting Career Advice from McGonagall. At least she didn't have a massage crush on him. Merlin's beard! He scolded himself. The thought haunted him throughout the rest of the conversation.
"Are you a good kisser?" Lucy piped in.
"Well, you'd have to ask – I mean, why are you…" His voice trailed off. The last thing he wanted was for these girls to stalk his old girlfriends.
"Where's your mother, Susie?" He asked desperately.
"She Apparated when I told her the babysitter got here!" She informed him. "Want to play with Shirley?" Sirius began racking his brain for the many possibilites of who Shirley could be.
"Who's that?" He asked fearfully.
"My Pygmy Puff!" Susie yelped. "She's so cute! You'll love her." She dragged him up the stairs into a room filled with pink frilly carpets and bed sheets. It was Sirius' worst nightmare come true. In the corner, almost camoflauge because it was beside a frilly pink curtain, was the pigmy puff.
"She's adorable." Sirius lied.
"I know!" Susie squeled.
"He likes them too!" She whispered gleefully to Lucy. Peter, he thought, you'll pay for this…
[Meanwhile..
"I'm James." He said coolly to the little boy he had been left with.
"I like flying!" The boy screamed. "I like flying." Nathan's mother gave James an apologetic look and rushed out of the house. James was filled with spite at the old hag.
I hope Moony gets out of his room on the full moon… He secretly thought to himself. The little boy was now zooming around the room, making whizzing noises like he was flying.
"So…" James said. "Who's your favourite team?"
"Bulgaria!" He replied hyperly. He spent the next five minutes raving about the team, and how one day he would play for them." James told himself not to mention that if the boy made it that far, he'd be on the England team. He thought this might be too big a blow for the boy.
"I play Quidditch." He mentioned, big mistake. Nathan's eyes almost popped out of his head.
"Teach me, teach me!" He exclaimed. "Daddy's broom is upstairs!" He hurried away.
"Your mother said…" Who was he kidding? James never followed the rules, and without a bit of adventure, he'd die on the job. Besides, she'd never find out.
"Don't fly towards the house!" He called to Nathan, who was zooming around the backyard. Too late. He had run into a window. He ran up to the small boy, who was lying on the ground.
"Fix it!" He shrieked to James.
"I – I can't do magic outside of school!" The boy began to tug on James.
"Mummy will see!" He cried. "She'll know!"
"Know what?" A voice said suddenly. James saw Nathan's mother's face through the broken window. He wasn't going to be paid, that was for sure.
[And back..
"Well, you're very cute, Susie..." Her and Lucy giggled. Sirius had never felt so uncomfortable in his life. "But, well, I'm a little too old for you." Susie looked crestfallen.
"That's what Timmy said!" She began to cry. "I bet you're lying." She continued. "He was only two months older." She sniffed, and Lucy gave him a disgusted look. Sirius was in shock. The girls ran up the stairs back into Susie's room.
What now?
