Chapter 140: Generation Y in the Millennium
Everything appeared to be the total opposite of what it was supposed to. Almost everything…
Well, the same boys and girls were born to the same families, except that they were all living a life that was so different from the 1960s and 1970s. This time, they were the Generation Y that were born in the 1980s, and hitting the millennium in their late teens. In the magical universe, all of them became friends at the same time in school during their teenage years. In our world, they met one another at different point of their life at various places.
And the biggest difference of all, they are all normal youngsters without the slightest clue to the magical community around them.
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Twenty-six-year old Lily Evans parked her yellow Volkswagen Beetle at the staff parking area in the underground car park and walked briskly with confidence towards the lift lobby of a modern office-cum-hotel block. She believed that a person's footstep may reveal many secrets, such as her mood, character, occupation and taste.
One of her philosophy in life is that she will never change the pace of her footsteps for any man, although she is already in her mid-twenties. Hitting thirty is not a big deal, as she strongly believes that when she turns forty, she will be even prettier. After all, beauty comes from wisdom. People said her independence and strong personality kept men at bay, which is why she is still unattached. However, she said that these men are useless, and are just not worthy of her time and attention.
"I don't care how you do it. Pass it to another printer or rush it out overnight. I will have 70 airtime slots on TV and radio for the publicity. If you can't finish on time, you'll have to compensate us for our losses." Lily spoke firmly to the person at the other end of the line on her cell phone as she walked into her office. As one of the Managers for the Public Relations and Advertising Department, she led a small team of staff in promoting the hotel to various corporations. She had been with this job for a few years, starting out initially as an executive after graduating from a local university with a Business Degree.
"Rae, please contact the manager of ZH for me." She said to one of her colleagues after hanging up the phone.
"Aren't you supposed to be on leave, Lils?" Rae asked.
"Cancel my leave for me, please." Lily asked Rae who nodded in understanding. "Oh, and I want an urgent meeting for our team in half an hour. Thanks."
"Nicole, can I have the file for ZH Corp?" She turned and asked another of her colleague.
"Sure." Nicole nodded and looked through the files on her desk.
"Thanks." With that, Lily walked towards her office on a Friday morning, when she was supposed to be on leave.
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A red Audi A3 turned into one of the staff parking lot in the Ministry of Education car park. Stefanie Black picked up her handbag, locked the car with a 'beep' and walked towards the one of the many office buildings. It was the usual Friday morning rush whereby everyone was trying to get to work as quickly as they could, trying to finish off everything before the weekend ahead.
Twenty-six-year-old Stefanie Black had been working in the ministry Research Department since graduation a few years ago with a Psychology Honours Degree. Starting off as an intern, she moved on as the Research Executive and promoted to Manager within three years.
"Morning Stef." Eleanor greeted as she walked over to join Stefanie at the lobby. Eleanor was two years younger and was Stefanie's junior in high school and university.
"Morning." Stefanie greeted warmly. "So glad it's almost weekend. This has been one hectic week."
"More like one hectic month." Eleanor laughed as they walked into the lift together. She joined Stefanie's department since graduation and had been working with her since then.
"I know. Can't wait for this whole thing to end." Stefanie agreed. As it was the school break for students, there were several educational conferences held for the primary and secondary school teachers organised by their department.
"Morning." Another of their colleague, Joanne, walked out from the opposite lift from them.
"Morning. Aren't we all late today?" Stefanie joked. The women laughed and headed to their respective desks in the office. She placed her stuff at the side of her cluttered desk and switched on the computer.
"Right, what do I need to finish today?" She muttered to herself while looking at her to-do list in her organiser and checking her email inbox.
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Arabella Figgs ran into the subway station, down a flight of stairs towards the platform and managed to rush into the train just as the doors were closing. "Ouch." She rubbed her forearms that were hit by the closing doors. She took the seat closest to her just as the train was about to start moving. She was so engrossed in reading her book that when she looked up, the morning crowd had already filled up the space in the train. Just then, she noticed an elderly man standing not too far from her who was carrying heaps of stuff and looking around for an empty seat. Without hesitation, she stood up with the intention of giving her seat to the old man. A middle-age lady tried to rush to her empty seat before she even walked away.
"I'm sorry, Madam." Arabella said politely, preventing the lady from sitting down. The middle-age lady walked away in embarrassment. "Sir, over here." She called out to the elderly man as she pointed to her previous seat. He was delighted to see a young lady offering him her seat and proceeded over with several 'excuse me's.
"Thank you." The old man said gratefully as he tried to put his stuff onto the ground before sitting down. As the train jerked while stopping at the next station, several apples fell out from his toppled bag. Arabella was the only one who helped him to pick up the fruits.
"Thank goodness they're not spoilt." Arabella said honestly as she took a closer look at the apples while packing it back for him. "They look really delicious."
"Yes." The old man smiled and was thankful to her kindness. "Thank you so much for this."
"That's okay, you're welcome." Arabella smiled warmly at the elderly. "Do you want to put his mat under the seat too?"
"Its okay, this one is not necessary. I can hold on to it as I doze off easily on the train." The old man was impressed and gave approving nods to Arabella's kindness.
"That's alright. I'll wake you up when you reach your stop. Which station are you heading to?" Although Arabella was running a little late for work, she helped the old man to his stop and carried his stuff until he was safely out of the subway station before turning back to catch the next train to work.
Twenty-six-year-old Arabella Figgs is a secondary school teacher ever since graduation from a teaching college a few years back. Her kindness and compassion towards all living being makes her a wonderful woman with an angelic personality.
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"Come in." James Potter responded to the knock at the door to his office.
"Did you ask for me, Boss?" A pretty lady in her early twenties sashayed into his office.
"Do you know why I wanted to see you?" James looked up from the opened file at the lady.
"Because you want to date me?" The lady asked flirtatiously.
"It's your report I'm after." James said firmly as he slammed the file down. The lady jumped slightly at the sound.
"Boss, I didn't mean to be late. Justin promised to do it for me but he backed out at the last minute." The lady tried to explain.
"I told him to. If he dares to do it for you, I'll fire him immediately." James scolded. "Don't think you can use your beauty to make men do things for you."
"I earned this job with my capability." The lady argued in a higher pitch.
"Is that so?" James was looking slightly annoyed.
"Yes."
"Why are you taking more than a week to do a proposal then?" James asked.
"I thought.." The lady stuttered.
"You thought you can get Kent or Justin to do it for you? Dream on. You should just find another job then." James crossed his arms.
"Are you firing me?"
"Have I not made myself clear enough?"
"Don't plead with me. I wouldn't mind if tender your resignation either."
"Fine! I've been waiting for this day!" The lady messed up his table and scattered his documents all over the floor before leaving his office with a loud slam.
"What the-" James muttered as he sort out the mess created by his ex-employee. At twenty eight, he is working as a Manager for the hotel's Public Relations and Advertising Department. With his talent, he was promoted from an Executive to Manager within two years since he joined the company.
After graduating from university, he took time off to travel around the world before starting work at his present job. Although his family owns Potter Hotel all around Europe, his father felt that he was not prepared to manage their family business yet and got him to take up a job in another hotel chain to learn the necessary skills.
"I wonder what makes Joseph hired her in the first place." He sighed.
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"Hey Lils, how was work today?" Arabella asked as Lily walked into the apartment after nine p.m. on a Friday night. "I thought you were on leave today."
"Yes, I was. But there were some urgent meetings today and I had to cancel my leave. Luckily, I still managed to make it for the family portrait shoot over lunch and had dinner with my parents." Lily rubbed her shoulders as she waited for the water to boil.
"You're such a workaholic." Arabella teased as she took the box of green tea out of the cupboard for Lily.
"Thanks. I don't want to either, not like I had a choice." Lily sighed and lazed on the couch as she sipped her hot tea. "Where's Stef?"
"Not back yet." Arabella said. "Do you want some dinner?"
"No thanks. Had sushi for takeaway. Probably should head to bed real soon. I'm so exhausted." Lily yawned. They heard keys jingling outside the door.
"Looks like Stef is back too." Arabella opened the door for Stefanie before she could.
"Thanks." Stefanie walked into the apartment and poured herself a glass of cold water. "How's your day?"
"Good." Arabella replied.
"Exhausted." Lily exclaimed from the couch.
"Me too." Stefanie replied. "Wanted to finish the meeting minutes before the weekend and it took me longer than I thought."
"Want some dinner?" Arabella asked.
"Yes please." Stefanie begged. "I'm starved."
"Three minutes." Arabella took out the container of her leftover beef bolognaise from the fridge and shoved it into the microwave.
It was interesting how the three of them met and became friends since then. Lily and Stefanie were classmates and good friends in primary school but went to different classes in the same high school. Subsequently, both of them went to different universities while maintaining their close friendship throughout the whole time. After returning back to London and finding a job in the city, Lily decided to flat with Stefanie and Arabella, as they were looking for a third flatmate and this apartment was a lot closer to her workplace than her family house.
Stefanie and Arabella were classmates and friends throughout high school but were not very close. After an incident in the beginning of their final year, Arabella then became good friends with Lily and Stefanie.
"Arabella, still here at this time?" Stefanie ran up to Arabella who was walking ahead of her out of the school gates in late afternoon.
"The teacher wanted to see me." Arabella replied. "What about you?"
"I left some Biology lab reports behind, but I can't seem to find it." Stefanie said sheepishly. "I've looked everywhere. Do you have it?"
"Yes, I can lend it to you." Arabella smiled.
"Don't you need it?" Stefanie asked as they had a Biology test the following week.
"I've gone through them. It will be fine if I revise it again just before the exams." Arabella told her.
"Really? Thank you so much." Stefanie gushed. "Can I stop by your place later to have a look at it?"
"My house?" Arabella said uncertainly.
"Yup." Stefanie nodded, but she saw Arabella having some difficulties, she changed her mind. "That's okay. Please bring them for me tomorrow. Let's go. It's getting late."
Stefanie walked ahead while Arabella hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Stefanie, do you want to come to my place now?"
"Sure." Stefanie nodded and smiled appreciatively back. Arabella rarely spoke a word as they walked back to her house together.
When they arrived, Arabella stood outside her place for a moment while Stefanie encouraged her to go in together. A sloppy drunken man suddenly walked out from the opened doorway towards them. From outside, they could see several empty beer bottles on the table. Arabella was trembling in fright as the man walked closer. Stefanie held tightly onto Arabella's clammy right hand.
"The wretch is finally home." The drunken man shouted at Arabella. "Who is this?" He yelled at Stefanie.
"Hello, how are you?" Stefanie greeted as politely as she could. She was kind of afraid of that man too.
"How are you?! What the hell with that!" The drunken man snorted.
"You!" He turned to Arabella. "Where are you books?" Arabella kept quiet. "What are you staring at?" He raised his right hand and slapped Arabella who screamed in pain. "Still staring? Why? You can't remember my face?" He gave her another slap and pushed her to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Stefanie asked out of concern and bent forward to hold her. Tears were streaming out of Arabella's eyes and a bruise was starting to form on her left cheek.
"What is this? You are still staring at me? You want hit me?" Arabella glared back which angered him further and he started beating the both of them. Stefanie used herself as a shield and tried to protect Arabella.
"What are you doing?" A woman came running out from the house and pulled the man away. "He had too many drinks." Another woman from the neighbouring house came forward to help the two girls too. "Get him inside."
"She is not my daughter! That wretch!" The man shouted as he loosened both women grip forcefully. "I thought you are dead!" Both girls looked up at the crazy drunkard. Stefanie stood up suddenly and gave him a hard push.
"What the..!" The man fell down on his bum.
"Let's go." Stefanie glared at him angrily, although she was feeling the pain from his beating, she grabbed Arabella's hand and brought her away.
"Where to?" The man shouted as the two women pulled him back to his feet. "Don't come back." Stefanie and Arabella ran as fast as they could out of the horrible place.
"Get a grip of yourself." One of the women shouted at him.
As they ran, they could hear the man shouting "Don't come back! Don't ever come back!" After what felt like forever, they arrived back at Stefanie's house. Her mother was waiting at the gate as Stefanie was running later than usual.
"Did you girls run home?" Mrs. Black asked kindly. "Oh my god!' She exclaimed the moment she saw Stefanie's messed up hair and bruised face. "What's the matter with you?" She turned Stefanie's face over anxiously for a closer look.
"Had an accident, Mum." Stefanie shrugged off. "Daddy?" She called out.
"What's the matter?" Mr. Black came downstairs with Stefanie's calling. "I'm coming."
"Come here." Stefanie ushered Arabella to her front. "She's Arabella, my classmate." She told her parents. "Say hello." She said softly to Arabella.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Black, how are you?" Arabella greeted shyly in embarrassment.
"Good.." Stefanie's parents nodded, looking very surprised.
"She's staying over tonight with me." Stefanie told her parents. She then steered Arabella upstairs towards the direction of her room before her parents could even respond.
"Stef." Her parents stood in shock for a moment before calling her back.
"Wait here." Stefanie directed Arabella to the large couch in her bedroom and made her sit down.
"Stef, don't bother.." Arabella said shyly.
"You don't have to go back there." Stefanie told her firmly. She gave Arabella a nod before going out of her room.
"What's going on?" Mrs. Black asked the moment Stefanie came out of her room.
"What are you saying?" Mr. Black asked disapprovingly.
"She is my classmate, and she'll be staying with us. That's all I'll say, for now." Stefanie told her parents softly, before going back into the room. Her parents just stood outside, very confused but could probably guess what was wrong with her friend. Stefanie put her hand across Arabella's shoulder, "From now on.."
"He's not my father." Arabella explained as tears streamed down her bruised face. "He's my step-father, not my real father." She started sobbing.
"Don't cry." Stefanie hugged her as she cried even harder. "It's okay now. Don't cry. Everything's okay."
Since that day, Mr. and Mrs. Black took Arabella in and treated her as their second daughter. They provided her with a place to stay, family love, and even paid for all her education until she graduated from teaching college. Arabella had always been very grateful to Stefanie and her parents' kindness and felt that God was extremely kind to her.
"Are both of you keen to go out for dinner tomorrow evening?" Lily asked as she channel-surfed with the TV remote control. "I don't feel like doing the cooking this weekend."
"Sounds good." Stefanie agreed and turned to see Arabella's respond from the kitchen. "Belle?"
"Fine with me too." Belle brought the heated dinner and served Stefanie.
"Thanks Sweetie." Stefanie said gratefully as she helped herself to the delicious bolognaise penne in front of her.
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Sirius Black called his personal assistant the moment he got out of the airport on Saturday morning. He had just rushed back to London from a meeting in Edinburgh the day before. With numerous flights and serious lack of sleep in the past week, he was in an even more irritable mood than usual.
"Yes, I've received it." Sirius told his assistant, Lee, on the line. "I'm on my way. Good,. Right away. Yes." He broke into a run towards the taxi stand. After waiting for ten minutes for the cab, he was stuck in slow traffic for another fifteen minutes.
"Can you hurry up?" He commanded the taxi driver after checking his watch almost ten times.
"It's too jammed. We can't move much." The taxi driver gave the most obvious reply. "There isn't space to overtake again."
"Then take the bus lane! I'll take responsibility for any consequences." Sirius exclaimed in a louder tone. The taxi driver gave a snorted and ignored his comment. "Get over there quickly! I'll be responsible for it."
"What can you be responsible for?" The taxi driver argued. "I'll be fined if this gets on the camera. How do I know who you are?"
"What the-" Sirius was not sure which option he was more annoyed with, him being late for an important meeting with a client or the taxi driver not knowing who he was.
By the age of thirty, he became the Chief Executive Officer of Sage Enterprises that owns several hotels and supermarkets. He has also been nominated for one of the ten Young Entrepreneur Awards previously and featured in several magazines in the last few years.
He paid the taxi driver and dashed out of the cab after being caught in the slow traffic for another fifteen minutes. He needed to get back to the hotel within half an hour and decided to go for the train instead. Since he was a regular jogger, he had the stamina to run long distances and managed to make in back to the hotel within forty-five minutes.
"Sorry, I'm late, Mr. Robinson." Sirius said the moment he entered the conference room. He turned to his assistant. "Lee, get the data ready for the meeting."
"Yes, Sir." Lee nodded and left the conference room promptly to fetch the documents.
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"Dad, sorry I'm late." Remus greeted as he entered his father's office. Remus had been working for his father after law school, and at twenty-nine, he is a legal consultant for several corporations.
"Take a seat." Mr. Lupin said.
"What is the reason for making me reporting to office on a Saturday morning?" Remus asked. "You can't possibly be missing your son suddenly." He joked.
"I'm not missing my son." Mr Lupin said in a serious tone. "I just called in the company's legal consultant."
"What's the matter?" Remus asked after his father gave a loud sigh.
"Take a look at this." Mr Lupin handed Remus a legal document and he looked up in surprise after reading the first few pages of the Will. "Do you think this is a good idea?" He asked his father.
"Probably? The old man is not a fool." Mr. Lupin commented with a small laugh. "I'll let you to settle this issue with his grandson."
"He won't agree if he gets to know about this." Remus shook his head.
"He has to know it sooner or later." Mr. Lupin as he adjusted his spectacles. "The President wants you to handle this."
"Why me? There are other senior attorneys who more experienced in this area." Remus shot back. "Is it because of my relationship with him?"
"Absolutely." Mr. Lupin nodded.
"The President wants me to handle this time bomb?" Remus laughed as he shook his head.
"Do you think you father should do it then?" Mr. Lupin replied. "This is an order. I'm your boss and I've the final say." He stood up and turned back to his desk.
"Father." Remus followed suit.
"He says he wants this done by Monday."
"It is going to be one busy weekend." Remus said begrudgingly. "I thought I could enjoy my weekend for a change." He picked up the Will and slid the document back into the envelope.
"I supposed Dad is standing on the side of the President."
"What's with that? Does it matter whose side I'm on?" Mr Lupin argued. "Aren't you on your good friend's side then?"
"I'm a lawyer, Dad." Remus said rationally. "I'm with the winning side." Both of them laughed at the comical side of the situation.
"I'm with the winning side too." Mr. Lupin stood up and picked up his briefcase. "Aren't you going home?"
"Didn't drive today. Can I hitch a ride with you?"
"I am going to charge a fare for the ride." Mr. Lupin teased as both men walked out of the office.
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"Cheers to our career." The three men held up their beer, gave a toast, and emptied half the bottle in a few mouthfuls. They were having a drink and hanging out at Sirius' penthouse that overlooked the city skyline since it was conveniently located between James' and Remus' apartments, as well as being the largest among them with two guest rooms.
James and Sirius had been friends as far as they could remember since both their families were business associates and worked in the hotel industry. Both of them attended the same schools and graduated from the same university, except James was two years later. Sirius was like an older brother to James. When they were in high school, they got to know Remus, who happened to be the son of their family lawyer. Since then, the three boys hit off so well that they became close mates.
Sirius was the first to finished university and joined his family business starting off as the General Manager and became the Chief Executive Officer within three years. His father and grandfather continued to manage the company as President and major shareholder of the Sage Enterprises while he oversees the daily operations. His parents bought him a penthouse in downtown London and BMW as a graduation present and as an encouragement for his effort.
James and Sirius had flatted together for more than a year during their university years and decided it was a bad idea to continue that trend in their working life. Remus was discouraged by James for the idea of flatting with Sirius as there might not be any peace of him. Sirius was infamous for his playboy antics throughout his younger days, but had toned down heaps since he started working.
The three men met up at least once a month to hang out at Sirius' place since that was probably the only place with some privacy since Sirius and chaos seemed to be synonymous. James and Remus owned a studio apartment each at a different suburb since they were at a different income level compared to Sirius.
"How is the spitfire at work?" Remus asked James. "Still causing trouble with you?"
"She may look pretty and all, but in fact she's a shrew, a devil in disguise. You don't want to know." James laughed. "Enough about her, I had just fired the tenth, or was it the twelfth, female executive from my team yesterday."
"How long had she been working there for?" Remus laughed. "Two weeks?"
"I can't remember, three or four weeks perhaps." James shrugged. "Remind me to hire someone based on their capability and not looks when I'm working for Potter Hotels."
"It is good to have some gorgeous women at work." Sirius said. "Makes the place more interesting, you know."
"Is that why most of the female employees working in your hotels and supermarkets looking like they came out from a fashion magazine?" Remus joked.
"Of course." Sirius said in a serious tone. "All employees have to go through the etiquette and image course as part of their training. Honestly, the presentation and image is very important. It's the branding we're talking about here."
"I might just steal that idea from you if I ever become the CEO of Potter Hotels." James laughed. At this point, his father is still the CEO and major shareholder of the corporation, his mother is the Finance Director and older sister who is the General Manager of the hotels.
"As my legal consultant, you need to make sure no one, especially those competitors from the same industry, should ever copy my management ideas. You have to sue them to bankruptcy for any infringement." Sirius told Remus in a mock serious tone.
"As my legal consultant, you need to provide your most useful proposals to ensure the company is progressing forward without breaking any plagiarism or copyright law." James told Remus in a similar mock serious tone.
"Okay, I get it. I'll document everything into a hundred-page contract to make sure both of you are working as legal business partners and progressing forward with positive competition." Remus held up his hands in a surrendering gesture.
"Is that what my lawyer should say?" Sirius asked cheekily.
"I'm a lawyer, I don't take sides." Remus stated a matter-of-fact. "My paycheck depends on both of you, remember?"
"I can double your salary, come to my side." Sirius offered jokingly.
"I can triple your salary, come to mine." James added. "That's only after I become the CEO." The three men laughed and clink their bottles once again for a toast.
"On a more serious note," Remus started, "Sirius, your grandfather had altered his Will again, and your father had also approved the terms." His expression became a lot grimmer.
"Let me guess. Is my name in it?" Sirius frowned.
"Yes, it's there and it's the very first article." Remus took the brown envelope out of his briefcase.
"What are the terms?" Sirius' expression looked a lot grimmer. "Grandfather won't hand the company shares to me without conditions attached. If it's the same conditions again, my answer is still 'NO'." Remus and James exchanged a looked as Sirius skulled down another beer out of anger. "Don't worry, he played me once. I can't let him decide my future and I won't put my life in his hands."
"There are terms, but it's different from the last time." Remus continued when Sirius finished what he wanted to say, at least for now.
"Hurry up and tell me. I've heard the word 'terms' too many times." Sirius was getting irritated. "What a downer to ruin my weekend."
"Why the hurry.." Remus muttered under his breath. James chuckled slightly. "All the assets under his name will go to your future wife."
"My future wife?" Sirius was stunned.
"Yes, the President's choice of lady who is qualified to be part of your family, his granddaughter-in-law in this case. Whoever marries her will inherit everything." Remus told him.
"Isn't it the same? Making me marry someone he selected." Sirius snorted in disgust. "This is no difference from last year. I'm not a fool, I won't be played twice." He stood up and walked away.
"Don't interrupt." James pulled Sirius back. "Remus hasn't finished yet."
"The real problem is in the remaining contents." Remus continued when Sirius stopped trying to get away.
"There are still more?!" Sirius shouted.
"According to the President, it doesn't matter who marries her. Anyone with the legal family name Black that marries her will inherit all his assets. It is not just your game. Whoever marries her practically will get the company. You should know that if this news gets out, anyone could take over the Sage Enterprises."
"Who is she? Daughter of a major company?" Sirius turned around, his anger rising instead of calming down. "Electronics business? Or finance?"
"Neither. It's not someone that you and I know." Remus told the truth, as he always did. "I honestly don't know, and it's possible that even your parents don't know who she is."
"You might not be after the property yourself, but other people aren't like you." James added. "There are thousands of people out there with the same family name who could just be the relatives you never know."
"Drop it! I'm going crazy here." Sirius went into his room, and the next sound coming out was some 'crashing' and 'smashing' sounds.
"If you gonna do it, then put your act together quickly." James called out to Sirius when the noise in his room subsided. "The situation is in your advantage now." The next sound coming out from Sirius' room was his stereo blasting deafeningly loud.
"He really needs some anger management course." Remus laughed. The two men opened another bottle and continued drinking in silence as the music from Sirius room was so loud that they had to shout in order to hear each other.
"Ten minutes." James shouted and they continued to stare out at the skyline with blasting rock songs as background music. As James had suggested, the music was turned off after ten minutes. Sirius came out again, looking a lot calmer but still angry.
"Grandpa's request is absurd." Sirius took another bottle of beer and rejoined them at his in-house bar.
"That is the old man's wish. We've to respect that." Remus told him.
"What old man? His age may be big, but his brains are better than most of us." James and Remus chuckled at Sirius' comment. "Look at this. He bound me tight again, leaving no room for me to move."
"Are you tied up now?" James teased. "You can't move?" Sirius sent him a sharp glare.
"Yes, I can't move an inch." Sirius muttered.
"He just wants you to settle down and get married." Remus commented teasingly, grinning away with James.
"Are you kidding me?" Sirius argued. "If I was the obedient grandson who listens to his grandpa, then he wouldn't have made these kinds of Wills."
"What are your plans for now?" James asked. "You know your grandfather's temperament."
"His temper is worse than mine." James and Remus shook their head and sniggered a 'yeah right' under their breath. "Anyway, I'll have to see that woman first."
"Try to see her good points." Remus advised. "He won't pick just some random woman in the streets for the CEO's wife."
"Does anyone of you know that woman?" Sirius demanded. Both men shook their heads. "Did you two conspire with my grandfather to get back at me or something?"
"We've always stood by your side, and always will do." Remus told him and gave a pat on his shoulder.
"I know, both of you are like my best mates ever." Sirius finished another beer. "I'm just too depressed and grumbling, that's all." They were silent for a few minutes before Sirius spoke again. "I'll go see who this woman is, the one that my grandpa likes so much."
"It's weekend now. We'll go on Monday." Remus offered.
"Cool down first before you go, so you don't blow of your top when you meet her." James laughed and Remus nodded in agreement when Sirius seemed to be holding back his frustration to this comment.
"I know." Sirius lowered his voice back to the normal decibel level. "I'm so vexed now, can't imagine how I can pull through the weekend."