Written for:
-Anna ((I really hope you like this. Think of this as my way of thanking you for the wonderful, wonderful reviews?)
- Task: Psychology- Sanguine-Monopoly
Word count: 1920
"So, you really up for this, Padfoot?" James Potter was almost bouncing on his feet from the energy that was coursing through his veins. He knew the extra strong coffee he had almost inhaled that morning would come back to bite him in the ass, but he really didn't care in that moment.
He was finally going hiking!
Of course, his parents had strictly told him no when he first proposed the idea to them, thinking it was too risky for him. Without magic, on top of that! They were surprised that he would do something like that, even knowing how well, reckless he was.
But he had really wanted to try something new, he was tired of the same old going to classes and coming back to sleep thing he had going, and the moment he read about this in a muggle magazine Lily brought to Hogwarts with her, he knew this was an adventure he could sign up for! It had been just unconventional and unique enough to catch his fancy and he would be damned if he didn't at least try it out.
After months of begging, pleading and bribery he had finally convinced his parents to agree, albeit reluctantly, and Sirius to accompany him.
Of course, what really cinched it for Sirius was the fact that they were going to hike on a muggle trail, with a completely muggle hiking group. Merlin knew how fascinated that boy was with all things muggle. Only Arthur Weasley could give him a run for his money, James reckoned.
"Ay, Prongs. I already told you didn't I? Plus, the girls, mate, the girls," He sent a lecherous grin his way, winking in an overly exaggerated manner.
"Oi, cut it out, Pads. I don't want people to be creeped out by you so soon. At least let the hike start first, that way they couldn't escape you even if they wanted to."
Sirius shoved him playfully, "Fuck off, Prongs. Where's your tour guide anyway?" He looked around the little office they were sitting in, trying very hard not to fidget with the wand holster strapped to his forearm that was hidden by his shirt.
"There she is," James announced as a pretty blonde entered through a side door, presumably the office. He stood up to shake her hand, smiling slightly at her.
She faltered slightly as she got a good look at the menace that was James Potter. His rugged look was a recent venture, with a stubble on his usually clean shaven face and hair even more messed up than usual. The half smile his lips were quirked up in were enough to charm anyone, witch or wizard, and this muggle woman in her early twenties was no exception.
From where he was sitting, Sirius snorted, used to this behaviour now. At least the girls in Hogwarts were used to them, but it never failed to amuse either of them when they went out and came in contact with others.
He stood up himself to introduce himself, and his best mate who apparently forgot to do so.
"Hey, I'm Sirius. And the idiot here is James. Nice meeting you," He gave her hand a light squeeze, noticing how her breath hitched slightly when he did so and his lips pulled up into a tiny smirk.
"Uh- Nice to meet you too. I-uh I'm Anna," She blushed slightly at her stammering.
"Great to see you, Anna. I can't wait to get this show on the road!" James piped up.
The lady in question nodded fervently, visibly composing herself before she led them towards the back entrance, where the rest of the group was waiting for them, along with two other guides.
After the introductions, the group was taken to the starting point of their trek. They were given a few basic instructions, some survival tips (James snorted at that one) and some other advice and told to get on.
James and Sirius lagged slightly behind the rest of the group since they didn't want anyone accidentally overhearing their conversation, because Merlin knew their talk wouldn't be muggle-friendly.
"What'd you tell Dumbledore? I mean, I meant to ask you but well, you know what happened," Sirius asked in a slightly hushed voice.
"The truth, actually. You know the old man would find out in a heartbeat where we were if we were out for the whole day, especially since it's the weekend and everyone expects us to create some trouble," James grinned rakishly.
"True, true," Sirius agreed, "But he just said yes like that? No questions whatsoever?"
"Well, he had one request. He wanted us to give him a full account of how it was, for future reference."
Sirius laughed out loud at the mental image of Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald and one of the most powerful wizards alive, trying to climb a hill and duck tree branches, all decked out in muggle clothes.
James laughed along with him, guessing correctly where his thoughts were headed, for he was thinking the same thing.
"Well, you guys seem very amused," A voice somewhere to their left said, making James jump in surprise.
"Woah, Anna, you scared me. Give a bloke a little warning next time, eh?" James breathed.
"Sorry," Anna blushed, her skin turning a pretty shade of pink.
"No harm done, love. James' is an idiot, as I told you before, pay him no mind," Sirius announced, wedging himself between the two.
He offered a hand to the blonde, and only had to wait a couple seconds before she got a determined look in her eyes and took it.
James smirked at the pair, "You two have fun, I think I'll go ahead to catch up with the group. I've read that this is a particularly nice patch of forest, really quiet and isolated. Wouldn't want to get lost." And with that he walked away, whistling and twirling the wooden stick in his hand.
Sirius stared at him for a second before shaking his head at his best mate, "Sorry about...that. Ignore him?"
Anna laughed, a pretty tinkling sound that made Sirius smile, "If you say so, you know him better."
Sirius bowed his head in acceptance, "So, how long have you been hiking?"
Anna tilted her head, "Hmm, that's a good question. As a hobby, since I was 9. My mom used to love the outdoors, so we frequently visited the woods, climbed various mountains, and camped out. Professionally, about 2 years now."
Sirius whistled, ducking under a low tree branch, "That's hella impressive. This is our first time hiking. Where we're from, we don't really have a lot of hiking opportunities."
Anna looked interested, "Oh? Where ARE you from, anyway? And what made you come hiking?"
"Well, we live in England, but we go to boarding school in the Highlands of Scotland, and the terrain there isn't really favorable for outdoor activities." Anna nodded in agreement.
"As for suddenly coming out to hike, Prongs-uh that's James, looked through a mugg- uh a magazine and saw a hiking advertisement sort of thing, and well, he wanted to try it out as soon as he could, to get away from the monotonous school life. And since I'm his designated scapegoat, here I am," Sirius spread his arms to the side and shrugged to accentuate his point.
Anna sent him an amused look, "So you guys get into a lot of trouble at this school of yours? I can't imagine the title 'designated scapegoat' came just come about on its own."
Sirius' lips turned into a mischievous smile, "Perceptive, are we? I would say we aren't completely opposed to...having fun."
Her eyebrows raised a bit in disbelief and Sirius laughed, holding his hands up, "Okay, okay. We like to play pranks, a lot of them. Mind you, it's not just me and Prongs, we have two other reckless idiots in our little group. They're just not as reckless as we are."
Anna nodded thoughtfully, "Of course, from what little I've seen of you, I can't imagine it'll be easy to match up to you guys in recklessness."
Sirius flicked her nose playfully, and she giggled, twisting out of his reach.
"Cut it out, will you, Padfoot?" James shouted from a few metres away.
The man in question scowled at him, "Piss off, Prongs!"
He could hear James' laugh all the way where he was standing, "We're here for the view, Pads. Not that the one beside you isn't a pleasant view because it is." He turned to wink at a blushing Anna, "But come up here and look at this one as well." With that he turned away to look at the beautiful view in front of him.
As Sirius was chatting their lovely tour guide up, James looked at the vast expanse in front of him. He felt a sort of peace spreading throughout his body, calming all the nervous energy he always seemed to be running on.
While people knew him as the constantly active, always chattering, never sitting still type of person, it was the ones closer to him, mainly just Sirius, who really knew how much he liked the peace. Of course, that was subject to him being alone because he couldn't stand silence when he was around people, hence his need to fill it with words and actions and pranks.
But when he was alone, like this, it was then that he craved the silence this place afforded him. Sure, there were other hikers around and Sirius was flirting with the blonde beauty behind him, but in that moment, with the snow capped mountains and a flowing river in front of him, he felt as at peace as he physically could be.
There was no tapping his fingers out of boredom, his mind wasn't whirling with random thoughts of pranking and his knee wasn't bouncing with nervous energy.
He felt calm.
In that moment, he understood why people liked nature, why some risked their lives to participate in certain outdoor activities, because this serenity was worth all of it.
James was leaning against the wall, fingering the pamphlet for adventure sports he had picked up from the front desk. He was waiting for Sirius, who had apparently managed to impress Anna so much that they were planning on meeting for a coffee date someday. If he strained his ears, he could just make out their conversation, and it simultaneously made him want to smirk and gag.
Sirius had his fingers entwined with Anna's, "It was really nice meeting you, love. I hope we can see each other again. Without the pesky best mate hovering around, preferably."
Anna laughed, leaning into him, "Of course. But you live so far away, however would it work?"
Sirius bent a little to place a feather light kiss on the corner of her mouth, "Don't you worry about that, sweetheart. If you're still working here in a month, then you can be sure to expect me standing outside."
Anna nodded, and wrapped her around his neck, and Sirius' wound around her waist, squeezing tightly. They stayed like that for a few second before Anna pulled back, and blushing furiously, pecked the raven haired man on the lips, making them pull up in a huge smile.
Sirius caressed her cheek once, before he reluctantly stepped back.
He walked back to where James was waiting, a shit eating grin on his face. Sirius took one look at him and groaned.
"Shut up, Prongs."