CHAPTER 38
THE MOTORBIKE
"Hey, Moony," James opened the door to reveal his friend sitting in the hall with a backpack slung over his shoulder, "Think you brought enough? Don't know how we're going to make room."
"Funny," Remus said, walking into Sirius's flat, "Where's Padfoot?"
"I don't know," James shut the door, and walked to the couch, flopping down, "He just told me to wait here and let you guys in. Left me the keys and left. Said he had a surprise."
Remus furrowed his brow, and then took his bag into Sirius's room, "Did he say anything else?"
"Nothing," James said, "But you know him. Always making an entrance. Is Wormtail coming?"
"Yeah," Remus said, "I've been sending owls to him since June, and all he's been talking about is visiting this place," he laughed, "It's like the highlight of his summer."
He sat down on the couch, and dust flew from it and swirled into the air.
"And just in case you were wondering," he said, "I am werewolf free for the next week."
"That's good," James commented, "Wouldn't want to turn this place into the Shrieking Shack, would we?"
"No, we wouldn't," Remus said grimly, and then let out a deep breath, "I wonder where he is."
***
"You know how to drive those things, right?"
Sirius smiled slyly at the salesman, and said, "Man, I was born to drive those things."
"You do have your permit, don't you?" the balding, pudgy man had glasses smaller than Dumbledore's, placed on the end of his nose. He wore a uniform vest that read, "RICK'S MAGICAL MOTORS."
In front of him stood the most beautiful sight that he had ever seen. Black, sleek and shiny, with white streaks. Cloaked capability. Four flying speeds. Leather seating. It would go perfect with his jacket.
"Yeah, just got it yesterday," Sirius said, and then ran his hand over the seat.
"Well, it is a lofty bundle of money," the salesman said, "You do know how much these things cost, right?"
He was staring at Sirius as if he was expecting him to grab the bike and fly out of the store without paying. But what was new? Sirius looked the type.
"And I'm ready to pay in full," Sirius took out a handful of Galleons, and showed them to the salesman.
The look on the man's face was one of pure joy. He didn't care whether or not Sirius was Voldemort or not, he had a customer reeled it. He grabbed Sirius's money, and pointed to the inside of his dealership, "Follow me."
Sirius grinned.
Minutes later, he was flying out of Diagon Alley, his cloaking device on while he drove through the sky and clouds. This was life! Everything was coming together for him. He now had his own vehicle, his own house, friends .
Yes, everything was perfect.
He saw his flat building below, and revved the motorbike closer to the ground. Finally, he landed, and blew his windblown hair out of his face.
"Hey, mates!" he shouted up at his window, "Look who's come home!"
A few seconds later, Remus and James were poking their heads out of the window, and James laughed, "It's a motorbike!"
"Those things are supposed to be dangerous," Remus commented.
"Oh, geroff, you know you want to take it for a ride, Moony," Sirius chortled, jumping off of it's seat, "Get down here!"
They disappeared from the window, and quickly appeared at the doorway of the building, looking at the bike like it was a new toy. They were practically drooling over it.
"How much did it cost you?" James said.
"About seven hundred galleons," Sirius said, "It's used. But it's still looking new."
Remus ran his hand across the chrome body, "How fast does it go?"
"Faster than Snivelly from a soap bar," Sirius said, "It's amazing! Want to take it for a spin?"
"Do I? Do you have to ask?" James jumped onto the bike, and turned the ignition.
"Should we expect you back sometime today?" Remus grinned, as James hovered in the air, and then disappeared.
***
"Nice dinner, Padfoot," James commented, putting his fork down on his now empty plate, "Didn't know you could cook."
"I can't," Sirius said, slamming the trash can lid down, "It's called 'takeout.' An excellent Muggle invention. Sort of expensive, but hey, I don't have any complaints yet."
Peter nodded, swallowing the last of his dinner, "It was delicious."
"Glad you liked it," Sirius sat back down at the table, holding his mail, "And so nice of you guys to write to me."
"Well, we were going to see you," Remus said, "It seemed pointless."
"Is that the paper?" James asked, peeking over his shoulder.
Sirius raised his brow, and then said, "Yes, and we're not looking at it today."
He stood up again, and walked back to the trash can. He opened the lid, crumpled the paper, and threw it in. James sighed, and crossed his arm. Remus looked from Sirius to James, and then back to Sirius.
"So I guess that you've been keeping up on the war, hey?" he said.
"I'm not talking about it this entire week," Sirius said defiantly, "This is our week. And I'm not ruining it by reading that rubbish about the end of the world."
"It's not rubbish," James said, "At least, to some of us that are blood traitors."
"And what would you call me, Prongs?" Sirius said, sitting back down and leaning on the back two legs of his chair, "A good little pureblood? I'm sitting at a table with a blood traitor and a werewolf - no offense, Moony."
"None taken," Remus said.
"I've been blacklisted, along with the rest of you," Sirius said, "Well, at least Wormtail's still a good little boy."
"Just because my family is pure, doesn't mean that they support You- Know-Who," Peter retorted.
"And what is all this 'You-Know-Who' business?" Sirius growled, "His name's Voldemort."
Peter shuddered.
"He's right," Remus turned to him, "You should use his real name."
"And look, I'm being pulled back into this conversation," Sirius stood up, and walked to the kitchen, "I'm not talking about it anymore. End of discussion. On with life."
"I'm glad some of us can ignore it," James muttered, looking glumly at the tabletop, and then mussing his hair.
***
It was quiet that night in the flat. James had kicked Sirius out of his bed, and was snoring loudly from the bedroom. Remus was back on the spare mattress, and Peter had claimed the couch again. This left Sirius the floor. But it didn't matter, because he couldn't sleep. He was crouched on the window seat, looking out at the skyline of London. It was so peaceful. It seemed more like a picture out of a book than the real thing. This city that had gone through so much heartache, still stood proud and tall. Plagues, poverty, fires, revolution, Grindelwald ...
And now Voldemort.
His mind had been racing the entire night, ever since dinner. He had sworn that he wouldn't think about it. But his brain wouldn't shut off.
Sirius looked at the sliver of the moon above, and narrowed his eyes. That little light, that crest of light . it changed lives. Remus was a monster because of it. Sirius, Peter, and James were Animagi. The Shrieking Shack had been built. They had the Marauder's Map, and knew Hogwarts better than any other student in history. How could one light in the sky do all of that?
Little things can make a difference, Sirius thought. Little things do change the world.
James sounded with a particularly loud snore from the other room.
Sirius felt his shoulders sag. He had wanted to change his destiny. He had wanted to rewrite the stars when he was little. It was easy to say back then, when he had a house with his family, and when the biggest thing he could do to rebel was to beg the Sorting Hat not to be placed in Slytherin. Now it was a life or death situation.
It wasn't so easy now.
He didn't have a family. He had given everything up to become who he was. And now, when the call to duty came, and he was graduated, and he could change the world - Would he?
Would Sirius Black, son of Dark Wizards and purebloods, give his life for Muggles and Muggle-borns? If the time came that his own hide was at stake for Remus, or James, or Peter - would he save them?
He looked back at the skyline, illuminated by the moon. And he knew his answer to that question.
"You still up?"
Sirius jolted a bit, and saw James now quite awake standing at the doorway, "Did I wake you up?"
"Nah," James mussed his hair, "Not really. You know me, can't sleep when it's … all weird in the world …"
Sirius sighed, and then stood to his feet, "A ride then?"
***
The Leaky Cauldron was near to empty as Sirius and James showed themselves out, a few butterbeers in them (James more than Sirius). They clapped each other on the back, job well done, and continued on down the alley where they tapped bricks and entered a quiet Diagon Alley. No one was there , which made it even more of a drunken adventure.
"I like it enough," James started, "I really do. It's just a bit … Muggle-ish, don't you think?"
"Nah," Sirius said, "I like the normalcy of it all. And every time I make a Muggle friend, my mum shrivels up and dies a bit more. I can feel it, and it brings me a great lot of joy."
And then they saw it. Three shadows in an alley Sirius was quite sure he'd been down one too many times. Sirius stopped James abruptly, and pointed at them.
"What the hell are three people doing in Knockturn at this late hour?"
"What aren't they doing?" James laughed, "Forget on it, let's get going. I hear the Fizzing Fireballs is open later than anything here ---"
"No, seriously, what are they ---"
And then the three shadows came into the streetlight. And Sirius grabbed James and ducked behind a doorframe.
The first was with white, long hair. The second with a ghoulish face. And the third ---
"Snivelly?" James cracked a smile, and Sirius grew dark.
Lucius Malfoy touched Snape's shoulder, and Sirius quieted James's laughing. "As your friend, I am going to tell you what I believe to be the right choice, Severus, "the bratty albino prat said to the oil rag, "It is a great honor. And we shouldn't take our recommendation lightly."
"I'm not, I --- if I speak to her one more time and --- I was planning on trying to speak to her in the fall --- I wouldn't want to regret my decision, Lucius."
"She is gone from you, Snape," Lucius said, "This is a much larger choice than anything she is concerned in."
"That is not true."
"Oh for God's sake, she's just a Mud ---"
And Snape's wand was out. Right underneath his friend's nose. Lucius stared at him incredulously.
"Don't," Snape said, "You are the closest person I have to a friend, Lucius. But don't. You dare."
"Have you ever thought you ain't gotten no one else 'cause you always on about this?" the third boy said, and Snape looked ready to kill.
"And keep your lackey quiet," Snape said, and Lucius snarled at him.
"You standing up to me, Severus?"
"Snivellus more like it!" James laughed, and Sirius pressed him back to the wall. But it was too loud and too late. Snape and the other three snapped around, caught their shadows in the light, and Snape's eyes blazed fury.
***
"HOLY DAMN IN HELL!" Sirius crowed.
The speeding motorcycle took the sharp corner so fast in the darkness that James nearly lost his dinner. Sirius gave out a howl, throwing his leather gloved fist into the air, "EFFING MOTORBIKE THIS IS!"
"Keep going! They don't have us!"
Three stolen broomsticks from Diagon Alley with three ugly gits charged at them through the night sky, pecking along from afar like crows. James had been quite sure they could've taken them back at Knockturn but Sirius knew when to pick his fights and was quite sure after the third time of getting blood sprayed on his new leather jacket that he and a very-gone James was not going to cut this one.
With a wink of its red tail lights, the motorbike vanished up a narrow side street and James held on for dear life. Leaning hard on the controls and crashing the gears, Sirius charged on. A quarter of an hour they'd been on this ---
SCREECH! The bike came to a halt, and the two boys stared up at a towering brick wall. And then they looked in the other direction, to where a Muggle police car was crawling towards them like some growling luminous-eyes predator.
"Oh, Merlin, what the hell are they gonna do, shoot at us," James muttered, and Sirius waved his hand.
"A bit of fun, that's all, Prongs."
There was so little space between the car doors and the walls of the alley that the two Muggles had difficulty extricating themselves from the vehicle. Sirius could tell it injured their dignity to have to inch, crab-like, towards the miscreants. The first dragged his generous belly along the wall, tearing buttons off his shirt as he went, and finally snapping off the wing mirror with his backside.
"Get off the bike!" he bellowed at them, but they only sat basking in the flashing blue light. Enjoying every minute of it.
But with Sirius's lead, they did as they were told. Finally pulling free from the broken wing mirror, the portly one glared at them.
"No helmet!" he yelled, pointing from one uncovered head to the other. "Exceeding the speed limit by-by a considerable amount! Failure to stop for the police!"
"We'd have loved to stop for a chat," James said,"Only we were trying--"
"Don't get smart-you two are in a heap of trouble!" snarled the second Muggle, "Names!"
"Names?" repeated Sirius, "Er-Well, let's see. There's Wilberforce...Bathsheba...Elvendork..."
"And what's nice about that one is, you can use it for a boy OR a girl," said James.
"Oh, our names, did you mean?" asked Sirius, as the Muggle spluttered with rage."You should've said! This here is James Potter, and I'm Sirius Black!"
"Things'll be seriously black for you in a minute, you cheeky little-"
But neither James nor Sirius was paying attention. For there, at that very moment, was their first problem reincarnated and dashing into the alley from above. Severus, Lucius, and Ugly Lackey all armed and bleeding and turning different colors of pus and boils as badly as the person next to them.
And then in identical, fluid movements, James and Sirius soberly reached into their back pockets and whisked out their wands.
"Drumsticks?" jeered the Muggle, "Right pair of jokers, aren't you? Right, we're arresting you on a charge of--"
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" they howled, and the policemen wheeled around, then staggered backwards. The police car was rearing up into the air ---
The fat Muggle's knee bucked and they both fell on top of one another as flump-bang-crunch- they heard the mean on brooms slam into the suspended car and fall, apparently insensible, to the ground, while broken bits of broomstick clattered down around them.
And Sirius started his bike without hesitation.
"Thanks very much!" called Sirius over the throb of the engine."We owe you one!"
"Yeah, nice meeting you!" a still quite staggered James slurred, "And don't forget: Elvendork! It's unisex!"
There was an earth-shaking crash, and the Muggles threw their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back to the ground. Now it was the motorcycle's turn to rear. Before the policemen's disbelieving eyes, it took off into thin air: James and Sirius zoomed away into the night sky, their tail light twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby.
***
"You WHAT?!" Remus looked at the drunk James laughing uncontrollably on the couch. Sirius sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.
"Only a bit of fun really, that's all," Sirius said, "It really ---"
"You are --- Dumbledore already is watching you carefully because of what happened last year, and now this? And Snivellus? Really?"
"Oh stop being such a mother!"
"Oi! Yeah! A mother!" James sniggered, and Remus looked to him.
"You gotta admit though, Remus," Sirius said, a big smirk across his face, "It does lighten up the mood of all this war bullocks to see Snivellus's nose smashed against a car door. I mean, it was quite satisfying for me, wasn't it for you, James?"
James broke into another round of laughter.
"And look at him," Remus said, "You think that's good for him? To be like this?"
Sirius shrugged again, "I find it a perk. Seeing him happy. You should try it sometime, Remus."
Remus gave out an aggravated explicative and reached out his hands to choke Sirius before James caught his breath and said, "Wah --- whait wait wait. I --- hoo --- I ---" and then broke out into laughter again.
Which only made the other two break their bickering and join him.
And soon the only one not laughing was little Peter, who quietly watched the other four from his place near the corner.
*a portion of this chapter was taken from J.K. Rowling's notes. All unoriginal words are accredited to her.