Disclaimer: JK owns everything...Oh Boy, talk about parrots...
Author's Note: Four months. FOUR MONTHS??!! Was my little ficcy worth the wait? Probably not, anyway, I decided to continue with it on an afternoon when I should have been studying math (yuck)
Well, It's time for another question answering session. Again, I remind you all, that I plan to make this series pretty long, so it'll be natural to leave a few time gaps in between each chapter (I'm not doing it deliberately, I've got math to do remember? *double yuck*) I received a review (bless all my reviewers!) from a certain Critical, informing me that he/she didn't believe a mere hundred Galleons would be enough to buy all school supplies. Ah, but Critical, if school supplies were that costly, how would the Weasley's manage to buy them? In the first book, it says that they have only a few galleons in their Gringotts account.
But I admit, I did exaggerate the Firewhisky price (I forgot to say, I own that trollish guy. Yay)
PG13 for several ickle thingies (talk about parrots again)
Chapter7: The Boy in the Glasses
"Anything of the trolley dears?" said a pleasant voice, jerking Sirius out of his stupor. He looked towards the doorway of his compartment to see a pleasant old lady looking at him. She was wheeling a trolley, on which a variety of wizard sweets were placed, few of which Sirius had ever had the pleasure of tasting.
"Dears?" he said staring at a chocolate with a green wrapper, feeling his mouth go wet. "I think I'm alone...."
"I don't think so" she said. "there's another young man here that I can see..."
Sirius turned his head quickly, and found himself looking at a boy seated opposite him. He was rather thin, with glasses and a shock of untidy black hair. There was a certain charm about his face, different from Sirius's charm, which was natural good looks. He was eying Sirius with a strange look, almost as if he was sizing him up. As Sirius stared at him, a strange feeling was sweeping through him. He had never met this boy before, but he seemed strangely familiar. Had he seen him in a dream? No...his recent dreams had largely featured nothing but that great black dog. Sirius stared into the grey eyes of the boy for a few moments. He tried to think of words to describe him. For some reason, the image of a great silver creature, with huge antlers kept coming into his mind. It was too blurred for Sirius to say what it exactly was.
"So what can I help you with?" repeated the woman. Sirius tore his gaze away from the boy, back to the cart. He bought himself a packet of chocolate frogs. The boy opposite had bought some pumpkin pasties. Sirius carefully opened the wrapper of a chocolate frog, aware that the other boy was looking at him. As soon as the woman had wheeled her trolley away, the boy said, "Have we met before?"
Sirius looked up at him again. No strange sensation swept his body now. He felt perfectly normal.
"I don't think so..."
The boy smiled, proving Sirius right in thinking that he possessed charm. He was pretty convinced, that girls like Julie would have quite a good haul this year.
"It's strange..." said the boy. "You look kind of familiar"
"So do you" said Sirius. "I think I might have seen you in a dream or something..."
The boy raised an eyebrow. Sirius felt himself go red. It had been stupid to suggest that he was having dreams about a person he had laid eyes on barely seconds ago. He looked down and continued peeling the wrapper of his chocolate frog.
"You know..." said the boy, and Sirius looked up. "You seem kind of like a dream character too..."
"Yeah...well, now that we've met each other in reality...I guess we should forget the dream part of us..." said Sirius, trying to skive of the dream topic. When he realized what he had said, he wished he hadn't said it. It sounded rude. The boy however didn't seem offended.
"Yeah I guess so...my dad always says it doesn't do to dwell on dreams" Though these words sounded serious, Sirius could tell from the expression on the boy's face, that he hardly cared what they meant.
"Um..yeah..." was all he could say.
The boy stared out of the window for a few moments, before twisting his head towards the door of the compartment as Sirius did the same. Two people were having a conversation, which Sirius found too boring to listen to. He turned his attention back to the boy instead.
The boy was staring intently at the compartment door. He seemed to be listening to the conversation going on outside. As he listened, an expression came over his face, that filled Sirius with excitement. He knew that expression. It had possessed his face countless times since his very young years. It was the expression that took his face whenever he came up with a brilliant prank idea. It was the Look of a true prankster. Sirius could hardly believe that he was staring at a boy like himself for the first time since his dark childhood at Grimmauld Place.
Without any preamble, he said "What have got in mind?"
The boy looked at him and seemed distracted. He hurriedly forced himself to look puzzled, as Sirius could tell. "I beg your pardon?"
"Oh c'mon" said Sirius "What piece of trouble were you planning?"
The boy stared at him suspiciously. "How did you know?"
"I saw a look - I mean the Look on your face. You are a real prankster then aren't you?"
The boy raise an eyebrow at Sirius, though he looked less suspicious. "And how would you know what the Look looks like?"
Sirius stared back. He wondered if the boy would believe him. "Because, I'm one too...I'm a veteran troublemaker"
The boy looked disbelievingly at him. Sirius realized that the boy wouldn't believe him unless he actually saw the Look on his face. He forced himself to plan a prank to pull on the people outside. He didn't need to go into details, just the thought of pulling a prank on them sent thrills up his spine. He knew that the Look must have materialized on his face. He looked at the boy who seemed shocked to see the Look on him.
"Believe me now?"
The boy stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "I guess I have too" He looked out of the window for a moment before looking back "I should also tell you, that before now, I have never seen the Look on anybody's face except my own..."
"Neither have I" said Sirius, grinning back.
"Wait a minute....maybe that's why we've been dreaming about each other. We're the only two real pranksters alive at this moment"
"Hey, that sounds sensible enough" said Sirius, thinking that that really was a rather reasonable explanation. It certainly explained why the boy looked familiar. It did not however explain the dog in his dreams.
"So we've had quite a long conversation. We've realized that we both seem familiar to each other. We've concluded that it's probably because we dream of each other. We've realized that we're both probably the only remaining real pranksters in the world. But we don't know each other's names..." the boy looked at Sirius expectantly.
Sirius laughed. "Sirius Black" he said, extending his hand.
The boy took his hand with a grin. "James Potter" he said.
"World be Warned of the havoc about to be wreaked, as the only remaining pranksters with the Look unite..." Sirius looked nervously at James. "...or do they?"
"What do you think?" said James with a scolding air. "That we'd just leave each other...to let our talents rot...when utilized they might make history?"
"History?" said Sirius, "Sounds good, I reckon I consider myself in..."
James laughed. "Black...did you say your last name was?"
"Er...yeah"
James looked at him straight. "Look, meaning no offence, but I heard your family are kind of...well I dunno what to say..."
Sirius nodded. "I think the phrase you're looking for is 'pure-blooded, maniacal freaks' right?"
A temporary silence met his words. James looked shocked. With quite some effort, he opened his mouth.
"You called your own family that?"
"Well I don't consider myself a part of that family anymore" said Sirius calmly. "It's a long story why, beginning with my inability to understand that darn Doctrine of Pure Blood"
He related his story to James, beginning with Regulus's punching sessions, and concluding with his escape plan. He didn't forget to include detailed descriptions of the pranks he had pulled. At the end of his story, he found James's reaction different to that of Frank's. Frank had been astounded to hear Sirius's escape plans, but James far from being surprised was almost envious.
"I must say, you planned the whole thing really well" he said.
"Yeah - thanks"
At that moment the compartment door opened. Sirius and James turned towards the door. A girl stood at the doorway. Her hair was a dark shade of red, and the most striking thing about her appearance was her green eyes. She looked at Sirius first and then at James, for a few moments before opening her mouth.
"Sorry, I thought this compartment was empty. There's much less noise coming from it than from the other ones..."
"That's solely because there are only two people in it..." said Sirius. "We haven't got a problem if you want to sit here, right James?"
He turned to look at James, when there was no reply. James was staring at the girl. Sirius didn't know whether he found her attractive, or was planning to prank her..."
"Right James?" he repeated.
"Errr...yeah, right" said James, tearing his eyes from the girl, back to Sirius. "Target Number One" he whispered.
"No man..." whispered back Sirius. "She looks too innocent...a Muggle born more likely..."
"That's what makes it fun..." whispered James.
"But I reckon we should lie low a bit....get to know her better..."
"Okay...as you please..."
The girl seemed unaware of the whispered conversation that had taken place as she progressed from the door of the compartment and seated herself on the same seat as Sirius, at a safe distance.
"So" said James "May we know your name"
"Lily Evans" she replied, with a smile. "What about you?" She looked so pleasant, that Sirius didn't feel he had the heart to prank her.
"I'm James Potter. This is my friend Sirius Black"
Sirius felt oddly good for two reasons. One was that James had called him his friend, when they had met only that very day, and the second was that Lily had given him a smile. With each passing moment, he was losing the will to prank her more and more. He began to feel guilty. James didn't seem as affected as he did. He hoped it didn't show on his face.
"Are you a born witch?" he asked, to distract himself from the guilt he was feeling.
"No" she replied. "I'm a Muggle born. I received my letter to Hogwarts just some time ago. It sure was a shock when I saw an owl for the first time..."
Sirius forced himself to laugh, willing himself to imagine what it would feel like to have an owl tapping at your window for the first time. James was glaring at him. "Abort" Sirius mouthed.
"Muggle born, huh" said James. "That means you probably won't be too experienced with magic..."
"Oh you'd be surprised at what I can do" said the Lily. "I always used to make strange things at school happen. As soon as I got my books, I learnt almost everything in them. I'm quite well versed with most hexes, charms, counter-curses and things..."
"Piece of cake" muttered James staring out of the window, suggesting that he had probably done the same. Sirius blushed hoping that no one noticed it. The truth was that he had done what the girl had at the age of nine. He hoped that didn't suggest that he was some kind of intellectual freak.
"I did all that when I was seven" continued James, taking a considerable load of weight of Sirius's chest.
"Good for you" said Lily.
James glared, first at Lily then at Sirius. Sirius shook his head, hoping that James understood he sympathized with him.
"Well" said Lily. "I think I should go and get changed into my robes now. We should be reaching pretty soon. Thank you, for allowing me to sit here for awhile"
She smiled at Sirius and threw a contemptuous glance at James, before walking out of the compartment.
"I say..." said James looking at Sirius. "Was she pretty or wasn't she?"
Marauder: Awww, poor Jamesie sure doesn't know the right way to show off...