Part 4 - Growth and Ganja
Stealing their grandmother's best set of plates and goblets and silverware for the fourth year in a row was slightly more difficult than it had been in the past. The old woman had definitely gotten wise and hidden the expensive stuff quite well. But Mina was determined, not to mention rather clever. The traditional Marauder lunch feast would continue as scheduled.
Of course, the diversion Mina had created in order to succeed in her customary back-to-school thievery made her and her brother have to leave the house a bit early. They arrived at the train station with nearly three hours before the Hogwarts Express would leave.
"Not that I don't enjoy our feast," Remus remarked lightly, his nose already stuck in a book as he took a seat in the compartment, "But don't you think this is getting just a bit ridiculous?"
"She started it," Mina insisted, flopping huffily down onto the opposite bench, "And I always return all her silly rubbish. Cleaned and polished. The old bat should just shut her big mouth and count her lucky stars."
Remus shook his head, chuckling a bit.
Not for the first time, Mina noticed that her brother had gotten a bit taller over the summer. He was almost as tall as she was now, and he had also started to fill out in the shoulders.
Well, at least he hadn't filled out in the chest. Massively. At least he hadn't had to sit through the most awkward and embarrassing shopping trip of all time. Looking for bras with a ninety-year-old woman was just traumatizing, especially when the old bat proceeded to loudly question whether or not the shopkeepers thought Mina's breasts were abnormally large for a skinny girl of just fourteen, whether they were even symmetrical.
Mina had been grounded for weeks after angrily kicking over a whole row of mannequins, but the small act of anger had totally been worth the absurd punishment.
Whatever. She wouldn't have to deal with her grandmother again for several months at least, more if they decided to stay at school during the holidays. The thought alone made Mina smile.
She was so caught up in her daydream that she forgot to be sneaky about letting loose with a great big yawn.
Instantly, Remus's attention left his book and focused squarely on his sister. "Mina," he murmured plaintively, all big, pleading amber eyes.
Sighing, the girl scolded, "Just don't start. I'm fine. Not even close to the record."
"We had an agreement," Remus answered with a frown, "You promised."
"I'm fine," she insisted once more.
With a calculating stare, her twin demanded, "How many days?"
Frustrated, Mina kneaded her temples and tried to think of the last time she'd slept. "Um..." the girl wondered aloud, "I got a few hours on... Friday, I think."
"Friday morning?" Remus gaped, quite clearly upset, "When you passed out on my floor? You were only out for twenty minutes! That doesn't count!"
Mina scoffed, insisting, "Well, it was still sleep. I still have another day and a half."
Remus got all sulky and tried to do that thing where he pouted and made Mina do anything he wanted. Bloody brat.
"I'm going to walk around a bit," Mina announced, jumping to her feet in an attempt to avoid being manipulated into taking a dose of Sleeping Draught. Maybe later that night, if Remus kept up with his pestering, but not just then; she didn't want to miss out on the train ride. The Marauder feast was time-honored and always tremendously fun.
The platform was still well and truly deserted, and Mina was at a loss for how she was going to entertain herself.
Like some merciful, benevolent higher being had been listening to the girl's thoughts, Sirius Black came stumbling through the pillar.
He had also grown over the summer, looking taller and more muscular, his handsome face leaner. Just slightly gaunt, but time with his family had always had that effect on him. His gray eyes widened when they landed on Mina, trailing up and down her newly pubescent body in a rather transparently appreciative manner.
"Sweet Circe," the boy announced with his usual blinding but slightly and unconsciously cruel grin, "If I had know that that's what you were doing over the summer, I definitely would've invited myself along."
"Nice to see you, too, prat," Mina responded, punching the flirtatious boy lightly when he decided to step well inside her personal space. She snapped, "Stop being slimy and start being fun. I need entertainment."
"And dear old Moony refused to oblige?" Sirius questioned, falling into step beside her and leaning his arm on Mina's shoulder. He was quite a bit taller than her now, so the arrangement was fairly comfortable for the both of them.
With a sigh, Mina reported, "He was on me about sleeping."
Chuckling just a little bit uncomfortably, Sirius asked, "Going for the record again, Sunshine my love?"
"No," his companion declared, "The twin nagged me pretty consistently all summer to take the potion. Bloody foul ooze."
"Weeeeellll," Sirius chirped excitedly, glancing about for authority figures in the way he usually did when he was about to suggest a round of general rule-breaking. "I've got something much better for you to try," he declared, digging into his pocket and producing a sandwich bag half full of-
"Sirius Orion Black!" Mina crowed, returning his dangerous, challenging smirk, "Is that what I think it is?"
He beamed, waggling his dark eyebrows and the dried green herb and crooning, "Only one way to find out."
xxXxx
They emerged from the smoke-filled men's toilets to chaos on the platform and the sound of the train's shrill whistle.
Not realizing that it was not the departing whistle (not even close), Sirius immediately and hysterically shrieked, "We're going to miss it!" He grabbed his trunk in one hand and Mina's hand in his other and took off running. He didn't stop running until he got them both firmly onto the train. Which was not moving. Bugger all. He then began his search for the Marauders' compartment; Mina was absolutely no help, being high off her cute little arse and all.
Bloody hell. Since when did Sirius think Mina had a cute little arse?
Since she grew herself one, his brain helpfully supplied, Not to mention those stupendous tits.
"Don't talk about Sunny like that," Sirius hissed venomously. He then snickered at himself. He had this tendency to respond to his own thoughts when he'd been smoking. The group of muggle friends he'd made over the summer had found it absolutely hilarious and had made sure to induce the phenomenon as often as possible.
It had been a good summer.
"You know what?" Mina announced, seemingly unable to stop giggling. She practically snuggled Sirius's arm, nuzzling and sighing happily.
Sirius had never seen her so happy, had never seen her face so free of anger and worry, not even while she was asleep. And, he noted absently, Mina was very pretty. Not stunning, just pretty without even trying. The deep blue of her eyes reminded him of lake water on an overcast day, murky and tempestuous and cold. Her shapely lips curved up at the ends (when she wasn't scowling), and her messy, sandy hair wasn't quite brown or blonde but somewhere in between, barely skimming her shoulders and obviously DIY, as she tended to hack it off whenever it got even slightly long. She also had adorable little ears and just a handful of dust-speck freckles across her soft cheekbones and petite snubbed nose.
"Sirius!" the girl giggled again, her grin toothy and slightly feral, "Sirius! You know what?"
"I do not know what, Mina-Bo-Bina," he replied quite formally, sticking his head into a compartment full of second-year Hufflepuff girls, flashing a charming grin, and feeling rather smug when they didn't even wait for him to leave before they began to shriek giddily. "Are you going to tell me what?" Sirius questioned, his randy teenage mind already working through candidates for his next broom cupboard rendezvous. Girls were too easy sometimes; all he had to do was hit them with that smile of his, and they practically fell over themselves to get him into their knickers. And while that was very nice, there was just no challenge in it anymore. Merlin's pants, he was just fourteen and already a bit burnt out on casual sex… there was something very wrong with that, something more than just an almost criminally short attention span...
"Yes," Mina responded, nodding, giggling, "I am going to tell you that I hate both my parents."
Sirius blinked, taking a moment to catch up with the conversation before murmuring, "Oh... well, that's understandable. I'm not too fond of your parents either, nor of my own."
Continuing like he hadn't spoken at all, Mina declared, "They are stupid, selfish people who never should've been allowed to procreate, except that that would've been bad because then Remus and I would not have been born." She stopped quite suddenly, getting a funny, thoughtful look on her face and then flopping abruptly to the floor. "Oh no," she cried, eyes wide and genuinely terrified as the rest of her lean body took on a becomingly inelegant boneless sprawl, "What if I don't exist?"
"Merlin, Sunny," Sirius laughed, unconcerned by the traffic jam and strange glances, "You exist. I'd be pretty bat-shit crazy if you didn't, seeing as how we talk all the time. You ok? Ya, you're ok. Let's get that cute little arse up."
She looked up at him and, forgetting her momentary panic, began to cackle.
Sirius felt himself turn red, commenting, "Did I just say that out loud? I did, didn't I? Bloody buggering fuck! It's not my fault! You're the one who grew the cute little arse! Not to mention those stupendous tits!"
The cackling stopped, Mina staring up at him with a soft, kind of starry expression. "You really think they're stupendous?" she asked all breathlessly, her short, choppy hair spread out like a tarnished halo and her snug t-shirt riding up as it made the appropriate answer quite obvious.
Sirius felt his trousers get tight as he nodded and finally managed to haul Mina back to her feet.
Pouting, hanging off his arm, Mina loudly whispered, "Not abnormal?"
"Abnormal?" Sirius repeated, frowning, "If by abnormal you mean amazing. And I happen to be an expert on the subject... Who told you abnormal?"
"Grandmother," Mina pouted, "When we went bra shopping... She usually doesn't say anything about how I look except to complain about my hair. I just figured there was something wrong with me if she bothered to bring it up."
With a sigh, Sirius truthfully explained, "The only thing wrong with you is your uncanny ability to resist my charms."
Mina snorted in a rather unladylike fashion, laughing, "You're only saying that because of the stupendous tits, you incorrigible horn-dog. But thanks anyways." After a brief beat, she added, "You always make me feel better. Even at the monthly."
"I do not need to hear about your monthly," Sirius proclaimed desperately. It was one thing to compliment Mina's tits and quite another to acknowledge her... functions.
"Not mine," she insisted, giggling uncontrollably, "Remus's!"
"Oh." He flushed. "I knew that." The conversation probably sounded completely barmy to any outsiders who happened to be listening. But, then again, most Marauder conversations did, especially since they'd found out the Furry Little Secret (as James like to call it) and started training to become Animagi.
Mina went on giggling for awhile longer, still seemingly unable to stop. It was a captivating sight, one that Sirius noticed was gathering quite a lot of attention from the people they passed. Most just seemed stunned that cranky Mina Lupin (often referred to behind her back as "Mad Mina") was being so bubbly and smiley. But there were other looks too, lingering, admiring ones from blokes as old seventh year. Sirius knew exactly what thoughts and fantasies and dastardly designs lurked behind those looks, and he suddenly found himself shielding her defensively, actually growling at the other guys and desperately trying to find the compartment so that he could hide her away. Protect his Mina. For the first time in his short life feeling rather territorial about her in ways that had nothing to do with their close friendship...
When he did find the compartment, letting himself and his giggling companion spill through the door, Sirius realized too late that going in there in such a state may not have been the best idea.
"What did you do to her?" Remus demanded almost instantly, catching his sister as she launched herself at him for a big squishy, squealing hug. The young men tenderly petted her tousled hair and glowered up at Sirius, keen senses probably already having detected the cause of the behavior.
"Er," Sirius searched, "It's... medicinal?"
James burst out laughing, so hard he had to double over and hold his sides.
"You stupid bastard!" Remus gaped, so livid he was actually shaking, so incensed that he began to advance on Sirius and had to be restrained by a still cackling James and a rather confused Peter.
"I thought it would help her sleep!" Sirius defended, keeping his distance, making sure the path to the door was in no way obstructed. Not that he could likely run very far without falling flat on his face... He should've known this was a bad idea. Mina was rabidly protective of Remus, and, although he wasn't quite as militant about it, Remus was just as protective of her.
"Don't be such a kill-joy, Mooooooony," Mina snickered, snuggled up in his lap and tracing the apparently fascinating pattern in his thin sweater, "This stuff is awesome. And I am starving, so let's get the feast underway." She wriggled and squirmed, apparently too uncoordinated to manage to stand on her own. She gave up with a sigh, pouting, "Food! Somebody get me food! And sparkly stolen things!"
Nobody moved.
Mina whined and then started laughing again. "I order you to get me food!" she shouted to the room at large. After another few moments of not getting her way, the girl zeroed in on Peter. "Pete," she pouted, "Be pal and set up the feast, ya?"
Peter had pretty much always been hopelessly helpless where Mina was concerned, so damn eager to impress the girl that had once needed to be convinced that he was worthy of sharing her oxygen. He was the same with Sirius and James, but that was more hero worship; with Mina, it was practically devotion.
"Sure, Sunny," Peter said, actually blushing as he dove to open her trunk. He'd stopped blushing at Mina halfway through first year, when she'd threatened to castrate him if he didn't. The newly acquired stupendous tits seemed to have both strengthened her persuasive power over the boy and regressed him to a stuttering, stammering, smitten eleven-year-old.
Well, Peter could hardly be blamed. The stupendous tits were having some strange effects on Sirius as well. The longer he watched Mina sit on her brother's lap, the more he wanted Mina to sit on his own... and that was just odd.
It was going to be a long year.
xxXxx
As irate as Remus was, every ounce of fury just melted from him the second Mina fell asleep on his lap, her forehead tucked right up against his neck and her thin arms wrapped around his thin shoulders. He smiled sweetly down at his sister, brushed a few strands of hair out of her utterly peaceful face and some spaghetti sauce off her cheek. Adjusted her emerald-encrusted tiara.
Sirius released the breath he'd been holding, flicking happily at the sapphire earrings dangling from his ears.
Conversation was kept to an uncharacteristically dull minimum as the remainder of the train ride passed. Which was fine. Perfect opportunity for a nap of his own. Sirius woke refreshed when the train reached the station and, as the only one with actual muscles, was volunteered to carry the still asleep Mina to the carriages. Which was also fine. Mina wasn't heavy at all and felt warm and soft in his arms, giving these occasional happy sighs and cuddles that Sirius started looking forward to like a kid does Christmas.
Merlin's balls. He really was developing a severe problem. She was Mina Lupin. Little Sunny Sunshine, toughest bird around. His best friend. His other best friend's sister. For all intents and purposes, his own sister. An infatuation was just unacceptable. He needed to channel these urges toward other, sluttier girls, ones who he didn't really care about eventually hurting.
"Tell that to my stupid, soppy heart," he whispered, already perfectly aware that no other girl could ever measure up to Sunny. In fact, he'd been comparing his flings to Mina even before that day without even realizing... it was the main reason that most of them ended so quickly.
"Mmm, Sirius," Mina muttered, rousing slightly as the carriage set off with a jolt. Curling into his chest, wriggling on his lap, the girl moaned, "You smell good."
"Thank you," Sirius stated stiffly, actually blushing as James snickered beside him, "You also smell nice." Lemongrass, if he wasn't mistaken. Tart and complex.
"I stole Remus's shampoo," Mina whispered, then giggling and blaring, "MOONY! Sirius says you smell nice!"
Damn the transitive property. That wasn't the first time it had gotten Sirius in trouble, nor would it be the last.
James went back to laughing hysterically, and Remus looked at all of them, Sirius especially, like they'd gone rather batty. "Um," he drawled, raising an eyebrow before diving back into his book, "Thanks, Sirius... sweet of you to notice."
How do I get myself into these situations? Sirius wondered.
"Probably has something to do with all that inbreeding," he answered himself, "It's a wonder I don't have twelve toes."
Everyone stared for a few moments, silent and confused. And then they were all laughing again.
Bloody hell. It was going to be a really long year.
xxxxxxxxxx
C'mon. It was the seventies. Of course there were a few potheads in the Marauders. Hehe. Reviews are some kinda wonderful :)