Diamond in the Rough
Chapter Three – Letters and Introspection
James –
Send help soon. I find myself in a constant state of despair at the moment and am in desperate need of a daring rescue. Preferably by a blonde goddess in skimpy robes – but I guess you'll have to do. Peter has done nothing but whine since we got here. A few ideas:
"The food's too hot!"
"My room is too cold."
"My room is too small!"
"My poor owl can't breathe in the small room that's too cold!"
You get the picture. Holden really isn't that bad of a guy, I guess. But he treats this place as if it were a majestic castle. It's almost enough for me to want to rip out my beautiful strands of hair and scream at the bloody git, "Don't you see?! It's all falling to pieces! We're all going to die!"
But that might be a bit overdramatic, and I really should keep my actions within reason. Peter might begin to complain, after all.
Sirius
*******
Sirius:
Don't worry. If I weren't kidnapped and locked up in my room, I would probably come join you. Summer vacation in Godric's Hollow really isn't that much better, you know. My mother has taken a liking to the Evans. Yes, the Evans. And here's the best part: Mum's tutoring Lily. The oldest Evans girl, I'm sure you've met her. She's the only witch in her family, and Mum decided that Lily was smart enough to get a bit ahead in school. Does she do that for me, her only child? Heck no. Instead, she dotes on the rich snob as though she were a goddess herself.
Annoyingly yours,
James
*******
James –
I'm beginning to get the idea that you don't like this girl. But hey, look on the bright side. If she's a goddess, you could always send her to rescue me!
Sirius
*******
Sirius:
Nice try. No, really. You're too good of a friend for me to do that to you. I'm not joking. Today alone, the prat managed to implode our kitchen into a pile of dust and feathers. Mum fixed it, mind you, but the lesson wasn't quite the same after that. She said she was sorry, but you could tell that she was highly amused by the whole thing.
Right about now, I'd be wishing to have someone like Peter around. At least he'd be a reminder that there are people in the world that will worship the ground I walk on (said with the utmost of modesty, mind you).
Always modest,
James
*******
James –
I am disgusted.
Disgusted,
Sirius
*******
Sirius grinned to himself as he folded the letter into a neat square and tied it to James' owl, Helwig. Wincing as it nicked his finger affectionately, he shoved it out the window and slammed the shutters behind it. Helwig stumbled off of the windowsill and caught her wings in the air before flying off, but Sirius didn't mind much. He was more concerned with being as quiet as possible. It he didn't make a noise until dinner, there was a slight chance that Peter might forget that he was home – and then he wouldn't have to suffer through another battle over wits and tears.
He had no such luck.
"Sirius! Sirius, are you home?" Peter pushed open Sirius' bedroom door, to find him flopped over on his bed, lying on his back with arms flung out to his sides and head drooping over the edge, hanging upside down. Blood was beginning to rush into his face, giving his cheeks a nice crimson glow. "Are you experimenting with new perspectives on life, Sirius?"
The darker-haired boy was appalled. Did Peter, the Peter – Peter that cried (literally) at the drop of a hat – just crack a joke? His mouth hung open, only he found it harder work to keep his jaw up than he would have, if his head had been up-right. He closed it and blinked. "No, not really, I'm trying to see how long I can do this without passing out."
"Oh, good."
He sighed. Of course. Peter hadn't been joking. He was serious. As usual.
"What do you want, Peter?" Sirius hauled himself up, groaning as his stomach muscles cried out in protest.
"I don't want anything," the boy said, rather indignantly.
"That's what Napoleon said," Sirius chided, folding his legs underneath himself and sitting Indian-style on the patchwork quilt that spread over the expanse of his bed.
Peter gave him a look of confusion.
Sighing, Sirius clapped a hand to his forehead and groaned as he rubbed at his eyes. "Oh, just nevermind. Anything I say goes over your head, it's not worth it."
Peter pursed his lips together in anger. Crossing his arms over his chest so fast that he almost smacked himself in the face, he glared machine guns at Sirius, but Sirius could only snicker.
"G'on, Peter. If you leave, it'll only make me happy. If you stay, it'll only make you miserable. Either way, I win and you lose. So just go about your daily life without making mine wretched, as well."
The pudgy boy stomped his foot and grunted.
Sirius bit his lip to keep back gales of laughter. "Oh, that's just Kodak, that is. Not only are you a blubbering twit, but you're acting like a three-year-old!"
A few seconds later, Sirius' door had been slammed against the frame and the walls had shaken with the force. A glass figurine toppled to the floor and shattered on the hardwood floor. Grumbling, Sirius drew out his wand and pointed it at the now-ruined tiny orb. "Reparo!"
The pieces flew back onto the shelf, reassembling themselves into one molded shape before landing gracefully on the wooden shelf. Glaring towards the door, he muttered a few curses that would not be found in The Standard Book of Spells. As he tossed his ebony wand back onto his bed, he ran a hand through his mussed hair, not bothering to glance in the mirror. "Stupid prat," he muttered. "Always ruining everything."
Groaning, he held his head in his hands as a sudden thought hit him. Remus had never had a bad word to say about Peter…yet Sirius and James knew that he loathed Peter just as much as they did. Remus never ceased to amaze…
Peter had never been one for learning quickly. But he had a good ear for spying. It had only taken him a matter of weeks after the Secret Room Incident to realize just what Remus, James, and Sirius were planning to do. He didn't resolve to keep it a secret, either.
As expected of Peter, he went running off to tell the first person he saw that yes, Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Fortunately, the first person he found was James.
"James!" he had cried.
James had had his nose buried in a book, examining the most grotesque side effects of the Animagi transformation, muttering to himself. "Ew…turned into a slug and squashed under a wizard's boot…turned into a goldfish and flopped about hopelessly for hours before finally suffocating to death…" he read aloud. Upon hearing his name, his head snapped up and he slammed the book shut with one hand. "Yes? Oh, hello, Peter."
"James, Remus is a werewolf, and I know what you're doing! I know what that book's for, too!"
Raising an inquistive eyebrow, James had instinctively put the book behind his back. "Do you?"
Peter had nearly been bouncing in glee. "Yes! You're going to become an Animagi, and you're not going to be registered, because it's illegal to learn it on your own. And then you're going to be in loads of trouble…"
"I should hope not, Peter."
"Oh, you will. Just wait till I tell Professor McGonagall!"
It was then that Sirius had appeared around the corner, toting a bag full of even more books. "What was that about a goldfish? Rather unfortunate…Ugh, hey Peter."
Peter's face had turned even more sour as he caught sight of Sirius. "And you! You're going to be in even more trouble!"
Sirius shrugged off Peter's accusatory finger. "I rather like to think so, thanks very much."
James then leaned over to Sirius, and whispered in his ear, "He knows."
"What!" Sirius had exclaimed. "He never knows anything! What he could he possibly know?"
James sighed, and glanced towards Peter before answering. "Well…everything."
Sirius' shoulders drooped. "Blast," he muttered.
Peter's arms were now crossed indignantly over his chest, a rather smug look on his face. "Well, there is one solution."
Sirius' black eyes narrowed. "If it involves polishing your shoes, you can forget it." James couldn't help but nod.
Peter rolled his eyes rather prissily and then glared at the two of them. "If you make me an Animagi, too, then I won't tell."
"Well, I would hope not, seeing as how that would be an unbelievably stupid thing to do, since it would make you illegal, as well," Sirius replied.
Peter blew out an exasperated breath and dropped his arms. "Fine then! I'll just go tell Professor McGonagall! Or better yet, Dumbledore!"
Sirius waved a hand in the air. "If they haven't expelled me already, they'll hardly consider this news. I'd rather like to think that they've been expecting it all along."
James groaned, clapping a hand to his forehead and shoving his glasses against the bridge of his nose. "Fine, Peter, we'll help you," he muttered.
Peter paused. "You're honest, now?"
James nodded. Sirius shook his head vehemently, black hair flying. James punched him in the side. Sirius then nodded, just as vehemently.
Peter regarded them for a moment, and then pursed his lips in thought. "Well, all right then. But if you finish it before me, and don't help me after that, I'm telling."
Rolling his eyes, Sirius mumbled, "Way to be mature."
Remus had been less than happy when he had learned of the recent development. Sirius couldn't blame him. Being with Peter in werewolf form would have given Remus the perfect opportunity to finish the younger boy off, but if Peter became an Animagi, there would be no alibi. But Remus had merely plopped onto his bed, shrugged his shoulders, and nodded.
"Well then," he said, "I guess he just needs something to make him feel wanted. By all means, let him join."
And Sirius' jaw still hurt from hanging at that comment.
But now, he felt just the slightest pang of guilt at having berated Peter so. Maybe he didn't really deserve it. Maybe he was only acting like this because he was thinking of his father.
"OW! STUPID OWL!" he heard.
Somehow, he doubted it.
*******
Sirius:
You really are a prat. I want you to know that. While you're busy playing Dungeons and Dragons with Peter, I'm being forced to baby-sit Petunia Evans. She's five. Five. Five, as in, I get to be the guest at the tea party while she serves up scalding hot tea and rock-hard crumpets. You need a goddess in skimpy robes? Heck, I need an anesthetic.
Feeling oddly like a dressed-up stuffed animal,
James
*******
James –
I mock thee!
Mocking,
Sirius
*******
Sirius:
Bite me. Literally.
James
*******
There was something oddly satisfying about that last message. It made him laugh, at least. Folding the parchment back into its neat little square, he tucked it away in the top drawer of his dresser, where all of his letters were now kept. Sighing, he threw himself down on his bed, coughing as a flutter of feathers exploded from his pillow. He waved a hand in his face and blew a few of them out of his eyes, waiting for them to clear away.
Snapping his fingers as he finally remembered, he rolled over onto his stomach, and withdrew an old leather book from underneath the bed. Holden had given it to him the night before, after hearing another argument between Sirius and Peter. As usual, Sirius had all but begged Peter to clue him in on the specifics of Powers, and Holden had thought that this book might be of use. Making a face at the dusty cover of the volume, Sirius highly doubted it.
He flipped it open to the first page, raising an eyebrow as he saw the olden script scrawling across the pages: "Mssrs. Armand, Niger, & Niles Proudly Present the Guide to Powers." He blinked.
"Okay, so I was wrong. Sue me."
He flipped another couple of pages, chewing on his lip as he glanced at the none-too-pleasant illustrations. There was one of a man turned inside out, one of a sun next to the moon – with no light coming from either, and one of a large explosion. He could only guess that the source of the bits of shrapnel flying by in the picture was the earth itself. He winced, and slammed the book shut.
"Okay, so maybe I didn't want to know what Powers were. Maybe Peter was right." He thought over that for a moment. "What am I saying?" He banged his forehead against the thick leather of the book, and let out an almighty groan. "I'm too young to have ulcers, aren't I?"
"Not entirely. I knew a five-year-old that had one, believe it or not."
Sirius lifted his head to find Holden Granger standing in his doorway, leaning against the frame casually. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know that you think Peter was right and that you're a complete idiot for ever thinking that. Don't worry, can't say that I blame you."
Sirius sighed, and drew himself up into a sitting position, leaving the book where it lay. "Well, it's good to know I'm not the only sane person here."
"We're all sane, in our own state of mind." Holden left the doorway then, and crossed over to Sirius' bed, sitting down on the edge of it. He lifted the book in one hand, and flipped through it disinterestedly.
"Yeah, just don't go all…philosophical on me, or anything." Leaning his back against the wall, Sirius drew his knees up to his chest. "Tell me, Holden…what do you know of Powers?"
Holden glanced at Sirius quickly, and then set the book back down on the bed. "Enough to have harnessed them. I'm not particularly Powerful, mind you, but I have the Eye to see the talent. I see it in you."
Sirius dragged a hand through his bangs, shoving them to one side. "Argh…I said no philosophical statements."
"Cryptic, you mean."
He waved a dismissive hand. "What have you. Same thing."
Holden cleared his throat, and looked out the tiny window for a moment. "Well, all I can say is that I'm glad that you came to me when you did, Sirius. Otherwise, you may have been left without any way of controlling these Powers."
Sirius narrowed his eyes, slightly, but only in defense. "So I'm not intelligent enough to understand this stuff?"
"No, not at all. Just…inexperienced. You need time to work everything out before it's clear to you. That, and you need to understand the dangers of it."
He now had the boy's attention. Sirius snapped his head up and met Holden's gaze in the flickering light that echoed off the candle on his dresser. "Dangers? What sort of dangers?"
Holden shrugged, looking away. "I heard about what happened to your friend, Remus. Voldemort wanted to recruit him, didn't he?"
Sirius silently nodded.
"He wanted to recruit him because he had certain talents. He could harness the powers of the Dark side. You may be a different story, but it's essentially the same thing."
"But…then why didn't he try to recruit me at the same time?"
Holden smiled slightly, and looked back at Sirius once more. "Well, you are sharp, aren't you?" He backed down at the adamant glare that Sirius gave him. "Well…I imagine it has something to do with the fact that a wizard capable of Powers is not revealed until the first time he uses them. You've used them already."
Sirius blinked. How could he know? "You mean…the lake, and all that?"
It was Holden's turn to look confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand. I was talking about this room. Haven't you noticed that's its grown?"
Sirius furrowed his brows, and followed Holden's hand as it swept the expanse of the tiny, cramped room. He tilted his head to the side slightly, noting with some amusement that there was more space between the back wall and his bed than there once had been, and that his dresser was no longer against the wall – instead, it was almost in the middle in the room. "Well, no, I hadn't," he answered. "Guess I'd been preoccupied."
"Indeed."
"Well, you know. The usual Peter-bashing and complaining to James kind of gets in the way."
Holden nodded.
"Oh, stop looking at me like that, I'm a perfectly normal teenager, really. Just not very perceptive."
"And prone to make things happen that you aren't even aware of. I might suggest some lessons in this, but I don't think you'll be too eager about it."
"What! Why not? As long as there are no rules, I can't break them. That should be a challenge for me, in itself. I would enjoy that."
Holden smiled secretively. "Well, you see, that's just the problem. There are more rules that you'd know what to do with."
"Like what?"
"Oh, like how to hold your wand, what time of day to use your Powers, the Powers you're allowed to use, that sort of thing."
The boy scoffed. "You must be joking."
Holden shrugged and stood from the bed. "'Fraid not. Let me know when you're ready."
"I'm ready now!"
The secretive smile returned. "No, you're not. Trust me."
Sirius made a look of disgust. "How is it that everyone knows what I don't want to hear, whilst I remain adamant that I do?"
Holden had his hand on the doorknob. "Well, you're very transparent, you see." And with that, he shut the door and left Sirius to brood alone.