The Potter's backyard was certainly a sight for unbelievably sore eyes. For one, it was huge, spanning out into an empty meadow, ending only when the edge of a thick forest forced it to. Secondly, James had converted it into a simple, yet very practical quidditch pitch. A quidditch pitch that he was putting into good use as I marched my way further away from the house. Mrs. Potter was sitting at the wooden table that had been sitting there, the exact same place, since my very first visit. Her worried eyes were focused on her son.
" James, not too high, please! "
I laughed, coming up at her side. She hadn't noticed me yet, and I wasn't in the mood to send her into hysterics, so I cleared my throat gently. She turned, her worried expression still bending her pretty features.
Catherine Potter was a thin, but strong woman, a trait in which she showed off admirably while crushing my ribs with a hug.
" Sirius! James didn't mention that you were coming so early! " She pulled away, holding me out at arm's length. Her eyes swept over me, and I shifted uncomfortably for a moment.
" My, my, I do hope those Hogwarts girls have some self control, because I dare say they're going to need it this year... "
" Oh, they've got it, " Came a familiar voice. I turned, causing Mrs. Potter's hands to fall from my arms. " they just wont use it. " James said, grinning as he leaned his Shooting Star against the edge of the table.
Mrs. Potter laughed, pushing her shoulder length black hair behind her ears.
" I don't doubt it. " She muttered, giving both of us a smile before turning to head for the house.
" Dinner at six, boys! " She called, not turning back to look at them. She had announced it as though it was a national event, although in this house, it sort of was.
" Gotcha, mum! " James yelled after her, moving closer to the table.
" Hey, mate. " He smiled, taking a seat. There was a pitcher of what looked to be lemonade sitting in the middle, with a glass placed right beside it. " Took you long enough. "
I strode around the bulk of the table, sinking into the stiff, sun warmed wood.
" I left the second I got the message. " I told him, pulling my wand from my pocket. With a few swift movements, along with a couple choice words, there was a plastic cup sitting directly in front of me. I took it upon myself to pour a large amount of the blissfully cold liquid into my cup, filling it to the brim. James didn't hesitate to follow suit.
" Must be Es, sometimes she gets sidetracked. I sent it yesterday morning. " He drank heavily from his glass, wiping the sweat from his brow.
" Any new moves? " I asked him, motioning to the makeshift pitch. I was eager to get back into the loop on things that were going on. James was the best quidditch player that Hogwarts has ever seen. He would never say that, of course, but anyone who watched him knew.
" A few, if your lucky I'll let you try some of 'em. " He said, pointing a finger at his broomstick. It wasn't exactly the best money could buy, not because his family couldn't aford it, but because his parents decided that James should be responsible for buying his quidditch supplies... and he didn't have a job.
" Where's Moony? " I finished my drink, bringing my wrist to my mouth and wiping the moisture from it in one, quick swipe.
" He's coming tonight actually, sometime after dinner. " James certainly seemed happy about the prospect of seeing Remus. I couldn't deny that I was as well.
" Full moon was what? Eight days ago? " I'd been keeping track of the moon phases since the beginning of last year, it was one of the few ways I could sympathize with Remus, aside from what we did during the school year.
" Yeah, I owled him the day after, and he told me that he'd try and be here the day you came, if not shortly after, so I sent him another letter yesterday. "
" Great, any word on Pete? " I already knew the answer, but decided to ask anyway.
" His dad wont let him leave the house till school, of course. " James responded, sounding irked. Peter was never able to come over during the summer, for reasons unknown to the other three of us. We didn't like to pry, although sometimes it was rather worrisome.
" Surprise, surprise. " I pushed my summoned cup away from me, and reached over for the broom.
" May I? "
" Go ahead, just try not to embarrass me. " He told me, shaking his head slowly. I laughed, though it was slightly sarcastic.
Minutes later I had taken to the air, and just as expected... I made a complete fool of myself.
--------------
All and all the day had been rather eventful, with Mrs. Potter's dinner bringing a few others into the house. Mostly fellow Ministry workers, which had followed Mr. Potter home from work at the thought of Catherine's cooking.
Personally, Ministry business bored me, not that I would have ever said that out loud at the dinner table, as they continued speaking about what the next Wizengamot meeting was supposed to entail. Meaning I spent most of the time flinging mashed potatoes at Feilis, James' cat, as it prowled around people's legs, no doubt hoping for a piece of steak to fall from the table.
That night, after Remus' arrival we didn't stay up very long, because James' mother had promised to take us into Diagon Alley the next day, to get our school supplies. We all stayed in James' room, him on his bed, Remus on the leather recliner next to the closet, and me on the floor, under the window.
Steady snoring told me that James was asleep, and Remus was silent as usual, the only sign that he was actually breathing was the rise and fall of the afcan that he had draped over him. He'd been the first to fall asleep, not even participating in the rounds of Exploding Snap that I'd started with James. He'd claimed to be tired, and that he was still recovering from the past week. We hadn't questioned him any further, and said nothing as he'd pulled the blanket over his head to sleep.
Now however, I was beginning to wish that I had someone to talk to. For some reason, I couldn't sleep. I could hardly even lay down, I was just too restless for some reason. I'd surely regret it in the morning when Mrs. Potter would come to gather us, and I was dead tired.
I decided that I was hot, with both my long sleeve sleeping shirt on, topped off with my wool blanket. Sighing, I peeled the blanket off, and sat up. The window to my right was low, almost reaching the floor, so I had no problem propping myself up on the sill.
As silently as I could, I lifted the tiny latch, and pushed the glass out with my finger tip. Immediately I felt the cool night air rush through the thin crack of the window, blowing into my face gently. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax a bit, now that I wasn't quite so warm.
The sound of the trees rustling in the dry summer air was almost enough to convince me to try to sleep again, but not quite. My eyelids fluttered open and I gave the surrounding neighborhood a quick scan. It was a lovely place to live, in my opinion anyway, James would tell you otherwise. In general, the houses were close together, except for the Potter's house, which was sitting at the end of a back road of the neighborhood, sitting catty-corner against the woods.
This was no coincidence, in fact, it was the reason they'd bought the house in the first place. This place was inhabited by Muggles, but that didn't change James' father's love for quidditch, or his son's. So they used the coverage that the woods provided, along with a few look-away charms, to hide the fact that they flew around their yard on broomsticks more than twice a day.
The house was turned so that James' window faced the closet house around. Well, house was really not strong enough of a word. It was, by definition, a mansion of sorts. It stood at least twice as tall as the Potter's house, which was three stories if you counted the attic. It was also old, but in a beautiful way. It looked Victorian to me, although I knew nothing about house construction or decor.
As long as I could remember, that house had been empty. I'd been staying here every summer since my third year at Hogwarts, and not once have I ever seen a soul leave, or go in.
This is why, when I saw a dim light flickering from the window that was just about level with the one I was staring out of, I felt myself sit up a little straighter, leaning farther out the window.
If I squinted, placing a hand to my forehead, I could just make out a person, through the thick glass window of the mansion. They turned to the side, and it was very clear that it was a woman, a young one by the looks of her blond hair. She was carrying a candle, which would explain the flickering light. I couldn't tell what it was she was doing from so far away, but I was very curious. James hadn't mentioned that anyone had moved into that house.
I twisted around to see James sprawled out on his stomach, the quiet snoring sounds just as steady as ever. Even if I had wanted to wake him up, it wouldn't have worked. James slept like a dead man.
I looked back out the window, and was surprised to see that the girl was staring right back at me. Caught off-guard, I didn't move for a few seconds, too surprised to register the fact that I should probably be looking away right about now. She was adjusting her position in order to get a better look at me, and I quickly gained enough sense to pull the window shut, cutting of the breeze that had been blowing through.
Dunking my head below the molding of the window, I waited for a bit, hoping that she'd loose interest and turn away. After almost a minute, I took my chances and peeked over the window sill, focusing on her window intently.
She was gone, the light I'd seen before had been extinguished, and there was nothing unusual about the familiar house anymore. In fact, I was beginning to wonder whether or not I'd imagined everything. It had been an awful long time since I'd gotten a good nights sleep, perhaps this girl was a creation of my woman and sleep deprived mind.
She hadn't been, she couldn't have been.
One thing was for sure, I had a few questions for James Potter.