Aaaaaaand we're back with more James and Sirius! I hope you guys enjoy this little piece :")
Promts used: (phrase) wish upon a star, (word) wanderlust, (emotion) surprise, (word) universe.
I would love you forever if you left a teeny tiny review down below hehe
Sirius was on the Gryffindor Tower, the little nook the Marauders had claimed as their own in First Year a sort of safe haven for him. He took a long drag of the cigarette that he held loosely between his fingers, breathing out deeply as he looked at the smoke travelling through the dark night sky. Suddenly, he heard the panel beside him loosen, finally coming off after a couple attempts and James' smiling face peered out. He suspended the cigarette in mid air, dusted his hands off and offered one to the other boy, heaving slightly as he pulled him up. He sat down on the ledge again and took another drag, silently conjuring another stick for James, who immediately lit it wandlessly, copying Sirius' previous movements.
They sat silently for a long time, long after their snubbed their cigarettes butts and Vanished the remains. The night sky was devoid of any stars, creating a beautiful illusion of serenity and emptiness all entwined together. Because that is what beauty is it not?, Sirius thought, just a mere illusion.
Suddenly, James turned so that he was facing Sirius and placed his right hand on the latter's head, palm down, resisting the urge to fist his hand in the insanely soft locks.
Sirius gave him a weird look and said, slowly, "What do you think you're doing, Prongs?"
James grinned cheekily and replied, "Making a wish!" And proceeded to close his eyes and mumble inaudibly.
Sirius swatted at the large hand weighing down on his head, "And what is my role in that?"
The other boy dodged his attack, but pulled his hand back, "It's a long story, you see. Well, not really long, it's actually pretty short. But that's how most of my interactions with Evans are." He shrugged.
"What does Evans have to do with this?"
"Everything, Padfoot. Everything!" James shuffled forward and continued with an eager expression on his face, "I was trying to ask her on a date, you know I planned to right? I thought since this was the first time in a couple years that I've done this, she might say yes. But no, she refused again." Here his shoulders drooped a little, the eagerness slightly fading, but perking right up when Sirius placed a hand on his forearm and squeezed in silent support, offering him one of those rare smiles of his that were only reserved for him, Remus and Peter, and never failed to make him feel better. He knew better than anyone how much Evans' rejections actually hurt him, and even tried to dissuade him from doing it again and again but well, he couldn't help it. He liked Evans, and if one day, she said yes to him he would make sure she didn't regret it.
With his former eagerness, and a touch of mischief now, he continued, "I said, what could I do so that you'd say yes. She said, 'go wish upon a star'. So I did!" He ended with a triumphant look on his face, and looking as if he was ready for any physical attacks he might be subjected to when comprehension dawned on the younger boy. And as soon as it did, a hand came to smack at his face which he easily dodged, laughing while he did.
"Look, Pads. I'm a little desperate here, and I've been waiting for the stars to come out all evening, and when they weren't, in a moment of genius, I remembered I had my own personal star not a metre away!" He ran his hand through his messy hair, the cheeky grin never leaving his lips.
Sirius scowled at him for a moment before conjuring another cigarette and taking long drags from it. Silence enveloped the two boys for the second time that night, their breathing and the puffs coming from the younger boy the only sounds in the otherwise silent sky.
Sirius Vanished the cigarette again, and spoke, his voice coming out slightly raspy, "Did you know how often muggles travel?"
James glanced at him sideways for a second before turning to look at the vast Hogwarts Grounds again, "Not really. Moony's parents are not rich enough to travel a lot, and I've never really talked to others about their travel plans."
Sirius snorted, "Not bloody likely if you're trying to get up their skirts, Prongs."
"Hey, I resent that! You make me sound like some sort of a whore," James protested.
"Aren't you?" Sirius laughed as he leaned back to dodge the punch aimed at him.
"Whatever. Why are you suddenly so interested in how muggles travel?"
"It's less how muggles travel and more the fact that they travel you know?"
"You know you're not making any sense right, Padfoot?" James gave up on watching the empty grounds and just turned sideways to watch Sirius, who made a sound of frustration, slightly tugging at his own hair.
"I mean. How often do we travel? Explore the world? Yeah, families like yours and mine go over to opulent places like Paris or Italy or the Caribbean but how much do we really travel? What about those who're not from Ancient and Noble Houses and don't have vacation homes stashed away in every corner of the universe? They're not muggle enough to use their transportation, but they're wizard enough to not be able to, or even want to, mingle properly in all muggle areas. How do they see the world?" Sirius' hands were moving everywhere by this point, trying to emphasize his point, his grey eyes lighting up with passion.
James spoke slowly, surprised at the sheer intensity in his friend's voice, "You mean, how does a wizard look at all the places that are predominantly muggle? How does he fit in?"
Siris pointed his finger at it, "YES! Yes, exactly that! We, as a community, are so closed off, so narrow minded, something that is only accentuated by our reluctance and unwillingness to travel. We neglect to see other cultures, other opinions, other ways of living, be it muggle, wizard or creature, and that can only be detrimental to our collective intellectual capacity!" He ended his tiny speech by taking a huge breath to make up for the lack of oxygen.
A little amused at this point, James pointed out, "Basically you're trying to trying to say that you want to travel the world and learn about different communities and look at different places and immerse yourself in their history, aren't you?"
He only got a jerky nod in response, the other boy's cheeks slightly pink due to his earlier outburst.
James forced himself to not laugh, sensing it wouldn't be received well, that he needed to be reassured, not mocked or laughed at, "Well, you know there's a word for that right? You're not weird, or unnatural for being so enthusiastic about this."
Sirius looked up at him with his left eyebrow cocked, a questioning look in his eyes. James moved closer so that he was right beside the other boy, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him in to his chest, feeling him instinctively snuggle up.
"Wanderlust."