The current charms teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, former marauder and mischievous werewolf Remus Lupin rushed into the Black´s study where he found his best friend. Sirius´ feet lay on the silkclad armchair while the rest of him had somehow remained on the carpet. Coffee cups, magazines and sweets wrappings were littered around him. He opened one eye and flashed his famous disarming grin at Remus.
Remus kicked him in the ribs without hesitation: " You´d better take your dirty boots away. If I were you I wouldn´t want to provoke this Weasley woman. I just arrived and stepped on some cloth tatters. Merlin. It was worse than your mothers portrait before Snape persuaded her to protect the Slytherin entry at school." Sirius laughed, massaged his ribs but didn´t move his feet. "Get yourself a drink." he said. " Molly is devoted to me. And look!" He blew a dark red bubble from his mouth: " They finally invented blood-gum! Amazing!"
Remus sighed and took something that looked harmless from the small bar compartment. " I don´t mean Molly but Ginevra," he said," who I can´t really imagine as devoted to someone more like devouring somebody if you know what I - " he coughed. " By the way: What am I drinking here!"
Sirius lifted his head a few centimeters from the floor. " Oh." he said wickedly " Forgot the word but you should mix it with water or something. Really! It´s only 5 o´clock! What would your former and scaring redhead-student say about these drinkig habits of yours! Tss."
Lupin sat down in the armchair and shoved Sirius feet aside. "You´ve never seen her Bat Bogeys and I think there is even more that she knows," he mumbled," believe me, I saw her during this death eater attack at the Leaky Cauldron, she´s really mean."
" f´course oh brave and fearless war-wolf." replied Sirius amused and started sorting through his newspapers. "Ah," he said and held up a long roll of parchment," here it is, Molly finally released the list. She wants to reopen the house next week and I have to pre-select. You´ll help me, won´t you! Some of these ladies are so young that you must have taught them when you were at Hogwarts for the defence job." He looked at Remus with wide opened, pleading eyes. " Can´t let me marry someone ugly, right?"
Remus got cautious. Slowly, he took the parchment from Sirius. He had learned a long time ago, that Sirius´ casual behaviour often concealed deeper feelings, or in that case, fears.
" They´re really trying to catch you now, uhm?" he whispered compassionately.
Sirius nodded softly. " I have to," he stated, " I´m the last. You know what I mean, not because of the money, I surely never cared about that. But what about the Black talents, the magical abilities that run only through our genes?
" What about your cousins?", Remus asked," With one of them you could sire kids with the Black-magic."
" Yeah, but that´s too risky and Moony: Think! Bella is dead as is Andromeda. Tonks is half-muggle and this leaves only Narcissa. And you know how she hates me. She would kill me in my sleep!
Remus snickered. " How did you explain your refusal to Molly?", he asked curiously.
" Told her the sourpuss was infertile and nutter.", Sirius said proudly.
The door opened behind them and someone came in. They overheard it and Remus took another big gulp from his glass.
" Well, poor Cissy Black," he remarked. " It´s never nice if you are just married because you have the same shade of grey in your eyes as someone else."
Sirius giggled. " Couldn´t tell Molly that I had this hanky-panky with Lucius, could I ! I mean,- he was older than me for example!"
Their laughter was interrupted by a startled curse. Ginny Weasley stood in the door frame, pale as usual and looked totally livid.
" You fucked Lucius Malfoy!", she yelled bansheelike at Sirius.
"Yeah, keep your shirt on!", he shouted back, still laughing, " And he was beautiful and no, I´m not gay and now mellow out!"
"He´s bad and so is your taste!" Ginny yelled.
" He´s not always been a dark wizard and now he´s dead, so what´s it to you at all!"
Sirius had become really upset now, Remus could tell. It was just that he had not the slightest idea how to stop these two squallers.
" What it is to me? You have no idea what he did to me with this fuckin´ diary, you don´t know a single thing about me, not that you would be interested in me, I mean in knowing things , I mean things about me, what I wanted to say, I - aargh!" The door slammed shot and they heard Ginny kicking something down the stairs.
The two wizards sat frozen on the carpet and stared at the door.
Sirius restored his poise at first and scratched his nose. " You know", he said," her brother Bill is really taking things in one stride, keeping cool, you know? I think it´s after 5 now, give me something of your glass there, mate!"
" Her bum´s better." chuckled Remus and clinged on his drink with years of practice till Sirius stood up and collected one for himself.
"What about this list now, do you know a Miss Mimpsy-Porpington ? Oh Merlin, this will take us at least two days. And who is Maeve Quigley? Wait, her brother is the captain of the Ballycastle Bats, thats not bad.."
Their buzzing was only interrupted by the ping of their glasses every once a while and the rustle of paper till night air filled the room.
AN: mmuuaahhh: Evil Swanhild won´t let the cat out of the bag and tell Sophy when Sirius discovers Ginnys pensive-secret. Or if it´s gonna be Sirius at all.. Swanhild is a Slytherin by heart and won´t share useful information but for her own benefit!
Swanhild thanks deeply for the reviews and speaks about herself in the third person like Dobby (shudder).