THE SNEAKEASY
PART 13
James and Sirius were quite dispirited the next day after receiving word of their coming suspension the night before.
"I am in so much trouble!" James moaned.
"You're in trouble? What about me?" said Sirius.
"You're not in trouble! You're parents already hate you! They can hardly hate you more!"
"They can express it in new ways!"
"Me, on the other hand, being from such an ideal perfect little loving family, I'm the one who has something to lose! And I sure want to know who to blame!"
It was Sunday. They had just been wandering around, wallowing in their worry without paying attention to where they were, when they heard a voice. It was unmistakably Toady's voice, and she did not sound happy.
"That trip to Canada should have been ours, Beau!" she raged. "I was going to report them! I had that trip to Canada in my hand! But that was all ruined by those hypocrites McKinnon and Lupin! They never get off their sanctimonious backsides unless there's honour and a trip to Canada in it for them! So transparent!"
They could hear Toady and Marceau go away.
"Well! I never!" said Sirius.
"Look where we are!"
Yes, they had absent mindedly wandered off to the library again. They took a few steps deeper into it. There they found Remus, behind a huge bubble, seeming complete again. Seeming a complete traitor! Sirius popped it. He was going to check him for the Mark of the Traitor!
"Well! I never!"
"So that's how it is, is it?" James asked, his arms crossed.
"How what is?" Remus asked, tearing gum from his face.
"You! Reporting us!"
"I told you I'd do it."
"But for a trip to Canada?!"
"Mhm."
"You really would report us and get us suspended for a trip to Canada," said Sirius, "just so some more irritating prefect wouldn't get the glory and pens?"
"It just seemed like a good time to follow the rules."
"Hearing you say that makes me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside!" said Sirius and hugged him.
"The honour and glory wasn't so important to me. I just didn't want anybody else to have it! Is that weird?"
"Never heard you say anything less weird."
"I didn't want you to get suspended. But you would have gotten suspended either way."
"We would have done the same thing!"
"Anyway," said James. "We should pack. So Padfoot, have you decided how you want to spent our one day in suspension?"
"One day off is so little! I would have liked to go someplace exotic, like Guadaloupe. But we can't, because we just had to be suspended on a Tuesday!"
But hey, they'd come up with something. Or rather, come down with something.