Party Games

Chapter 7: True or False

"True or false," Sirius said amiably. He was settle dunder the Marauders' favorite tree, ripping grass out of the ground while Lily looked on in disinterest.

"Sirius," she said wearily. "I only asked you to help me find Remus. I know you know where he is."

"Wait - wait," he cried, pulling more grass by the roots. "True or false - I've got a bottle of brandy hidden under my bed right now."

"True." Lily crossed her arms. "Now if you'd just -"

"No, sit down," Sirius said eagerly. "First of all, it's false."

"False!"

"Yes..."

"You don't seem like the type."

"It's actually wine," Sirius said, smiling wryly. "And it's not mine! It's Peter's, and sometimes he shares it with us and we have a jolly old party. Your turn."

"Fine," Lily said stiffly. "True or false. I've red hair."

"No way to play!"

"Fine - er...I keep a diary."

"True!"

"False." Sirius tried not to look surprised.

"True or false - my favorite sweet is peanut clusters."

"...true?" Lily guessed.

"False," he said proudly. "That's actually James's. Mine's Drooble's Best."

"Well," said Lily, irked that she had not yet gotten one right. By now, Remus was in the back of her mind as she struggled to find one last question to distract Sirius with. In all honesty, she was nervous - she had to find her friend on time, she had to counter the true/false questions, and she had to pee. Really badly. "Erm - true or false... I like cantoloupe with pepper on it."

"False?"

Lily sighed - he was right. She said this, adding, "I actually don't like cantoloupe at all."

"True or false - the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me was you stopping to play this game." Sirius smiled at her.

"I - erm - oh, surely you must be joking!"

"Yeah, I am," he admitted. "That's a false. The nicest thing anyone ever did for me was in first year. I was all alone at the platform, because my little brother wasn't old enough to go to Hogwarts at the time. My parents said good-bye and left me there - and the first person to talk to me was this square-jawed kid with glasses and messy hair."

Lily raised her eyebrows, looking skeptical.

"He stuck out his hand and said, 'My name is James Potter, I'm a blood traitor and we're going to be best mates, you and I.'"

"How could he know?" asked Lily, stunned.

"He said he saw it, and I suppose I saw it too. We're a different type, the Marauders."

Lily smiled. "He saw it? In your eyes, or what?"

Sirius shrugged. "Yes, mostly. It's up to you to decide whether you think that's true or false."

"Lily?" That was Remus, she knew, and as Lily left she found herself thinking more about James Potter than she'd have liked.