Chapter Four: The Marauders together again
Sirius' time at the Potters' was immensely enjoyable, as always. The family was so different from his own that he could scarcely believe they were the same species. He relished being able to laze about without the worry of endless chores, and to have the chance to brush up on his Quidditch skills with James. As the Potters lived so far out in the country, it was easy to find a place where they could fly their brooms without being seen. They didn't see Adriana very much, as James tried his best to keep Sirius out of her way. Sirius still couldn't help thinking of her, though, especially on hot summery days. The two times they had seen her since Sirius' arrival, James had dragged his friend away as quickly as possible, with only the minimal amount of conversation involved. Sirius, in turn, tried hard not to mention her too often, but couldn't stop himself sometimes. "Does she go to Hogwarts?" he asked one day as the two lay in the garden, playing Wizard's chess. "Does who go to Hogwarts?" James asked cheerily as if he didn't know, and at Sirius' face he feigned a look of surprise and answered, "Oh, Adriana. I think she'll start this year; they moved from France, I think." "I didn't think I'd seen her at school," Sirius said contentedly. "Well, maybe you just didn't notice her," James suggested, and chose to ignore the second of Sirius' glares as his black knight smashed a white pawn from the board. Sirius looked surprised at this setback in the game. "Oh, wasn't concentrating," he said absently. "No, you don't do a lot of that lately," James grinned. "Just enjoying the freedom while we can, mate," Sirius sighed as he rolled over onto his back on the grass, facing the blue sky with his eyes closed."Sure," James agreed, and realised that the game had been abandoned for now.
They wiled away the next few weeks doing their best to live up to Sirius' words of enjoying their freedom while they could. This meant neglecting their homework and opting instead to play Quidditch, fix the motorbike and generally lounge about. With one week of the holidays left, and having received their Hogwarts letters announcing the booklist for the sixth year, they decided to make the obligatory trip to Diagon Alley. They entered the Potters' living room fireplace and, with the help of a little Floo powder, stepped out into the dusty air of the Leaky Cauldron. "Hello there, boys!" Tom the barman called across as they appeared. "Will it be the usual pint for you both?" He held up two glasses, ready for their consumption. Sirius went forward eagerly, but James grabbed hold of his shirt. "Not today, Tom, we're on Hogwarts business." "Ah, maybe next time, then." Tom went back to his work. James headed across to the entrance to Diagon Alley, pulling a very disappointed-looking Sirius behind him. "Focus on the job at hand, you alchy," he hissed in Sirius' ear as they waited for the magical archway to appear. The first place they went to was Quality Quidditch Supplies, to check out any new racing brooms. James was very keen on a Cleansweep 7, but Sirius, whilst dragging him away from the shop window after quarter of an hour of ogling through the glass, reminded him that his Silver Arrow was perfectly acceptable for now. As they continued down the street, talking and laughing and discussing different Quidditch brooms and teams, Sirius suddenly pointed across the road and shouted, "Moony!" while James made a howling wolf noise beside him. Remus hurried to meet them, grinning widely. "Watch out, you're so going to give away my secret identity if you're not careful!" "Your secret identity?" James repeated in mocking tones. "What do you think you are, a superhero?" Sirius asked jokingly. "Wolf- Man!" he declared, and Remus growled dangerously to add to the effect. Remus had also just arrived, and together the three of them went to Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, before paying a very necessary visit to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. They dumped their bags of new robes and books on the floor and each ordered a big sundae for lunch, as they chatted and caught up with each other. Just as Sirius was telling Remus in detail everything about Adriana, to Remus' wonder and James immense indifference, they were interrupted by a squeaky voice calling over to them, and turned to see the fourth Marauder, Peter Pettigrew, coming over to their table. "Hello, Wormtail," James greeted him warmly. "Your voice hasn't broken yet, then?" "Not yet, Prongs," Peter laughed a little too much before asking, "Have you come for your new school stuff?" "Yep," Sirius indicated the bags at their feet as Peter sat himself down between him and James. "Have you got all your stuff yet, Wormy?" James asked. "No, I just got here with my parents," Peter answered, "But I got rid of them straight away," he added, and laughed. "Yeah, independence, man," James agreed with raised eyebrows. "Wait, wait, wait." Sirius suddenly half-stood from his seats and stared over the heads of James and Peter. He grabbed Remus' arm and pointed very indiscreetly. "Look, Moony, look, there she is!" Remus looked in the general direction of Sirius' wavering finger, a bewildered expression on his face. "There's who? Where are you pointing?" "Adriana!" Sirius said impatiently, still staring over. She was with a few other girls, just having come out of the Magical Menagerie. Sirius saw that she had a sleek black cat cuddled in her arms, and for the first time he was envious of an animal. Remus' eyes practically popped out of his head when he finally saw her, and Peter, craning his neck to see, breathed, "Wow! She's amazing!" "Oh, for God's sake," James groaned, very irritated. "Get over it! Peter, make Padfoot sit down, he looks ridiculous!" Sirius, who may as well have been standing on his chair, sat down again, and said slyly, "Oh, look who's with her – Lily Evans," and waited for James' turn to ogle. To his surprise, James looked dismayed. "What's Lily doing with her? Hasn't she got enough friends?" he glowered, but kept staring over nonetheless. Sirius grinned and turned to Remus. "Well, what do you think now?" he asked, nudging him in the ribs. "Did I exaggerate or did I not?" "Remus tore his eyes away from the group of girls. "You did not, my friend," he answered. "She is truly amazing." "Hear, hear!" Peter squeaked. "Does she go to Hogwarts, Padfoot?" "She will, in September," Sirius declared, his grin growing wider. James whipped round on hearing this. "Yeah, that'll be a problem," he said. Faced with his friends' blank expressions, he elaborated, "You can't all go after her, that would be a complete comedy. The Marauders would split up and it will end in tears, I promise you." Sirius smiled again. "Nah, you're talking dirge!" he crowed, and gazed over at Adriana again. But Remus looked more serious. "No, he's right," he realised slowly. "I'm not that bothered, I'll leave it to you two to try," he told Sirius and Peter. "Alright!" Peter cried, as Sirius slapped him on the shoulder appreciatively. "Anyway," Remus continued, "we're acting like any of us could get her in a second – she probably wouldn't look twice at any one of us." "Well, you're probably right about Wormtail," Sirius started soberly, treating Peter to a sympathetic look before he grinned wickedly again, "But I'm a prince, mate!" "You bastard, Padfoot," James told him. Sirius laughed, but James had never looked more serious.