No Warnings
Chapter 20: Forward Motion Part II
James felt extremely conflicted in the stands of the first Quidditch match of the year. His son was the Slytherin Seeker, but the former lion couldn't help but cheer his old house on. That didn't change the fact that James was eternally proud of his son. The youngest Quidditch player in a century and a prodigy in the sport of Quidditch and flying. Sirius clapped James' back.
"Is it me, or has Slytherin cut back on the cheating?" Sirius laughed.
"They definitely used to cheat a lot more back in the day. It wasn't a Quidditch match back then without a little cheating anyway. You remember that one game our fifth year?" James looked at his best friend. Sirius laughed whole heartedly.
"I'll never forget that match! I got my ass handed to me by my little brother! All hell broke out after that!" laughed Sirius. James was glad to see that his friend was able to look back on his brother without feeling guilty or depressed.
"That was the match where I broke my arm…well Severus broke my arm." James shook his head.
"I bet the grease ball is gloating right about now, huh," Sirius said. "Harry sure gave me one hell of a scare. He's a great showman just like we were."
"Let's just hope that it only applies to Quidditch, and not our…other extracurricular activities." said James as he watched his son be raised on the shoulders of his teammates.
"As long as he's not too straight laced. It'd be a shame if he turned out to be like Remus and be content with a desk job." Sirius shuddered at the thought of having to sit behind a desk all day everyday.
"Give Remus a break; you and I both know that he hates his job. He would make a fantastic teacher though. I've been trying to convince him that he should try for a teaching position here at Hogwarts." James said as he and Sirius made their way out of the stands.
"Yeah, but he doesn't think it would be a good idea. It will take more than just you and I to try and get him to come here. Dumbledore himself would have to ask." Sirius looked at his best friend. "How is our beloved professor?" James couldn't tell if his friend was being sarcastic or not.
"Severus says that he is doing well, and Harry hasn't said anything either. He also seemed fine when Lily and I had to come here for that flying incident."
"The Malfoy brat should have gotten worse." said Sirius.
"Harry was the one who chose the punishment." James was proud that he son had been lenient with his classmate. If it had been him when he was younger, James would have done something particularly cruel. "Even though it was the twins' idea, I don't think they will let Malfoy get away with this as easily as Harry did."
"They are too much like us. I'm sure that they will give him what he deserves." James laughed at what his best friend said. It was true that the twins were almost exactly like they had been when they were young. The only difference was that they were in Slytherin and not Gryffindor. "So, do you want to talk to your son or do you want to go out with little old me?"
James looked at his son who was laughing and cheering with his housemates. Green and silver looked good on his son, James admitted to himself. He would have been happier with red and gold, but James could feel his magic pulse happily with his heart.
"Let's just go have a chat with Professor McGonagall. We both know that she'll need some encouragement and that she will want to yell at me."
"Minerva!" said Sirius with a loud bellow when the transfiguration professor came into view in the Grand Entrance. The normally severe woman smiled when she saw Sirius and James. It was a good sign all things considered.
"James, Sirius, it is so good to see the both of you," she said as though she was greeting sons rather than former students.
"So what do you think of little Harry?" James asked.
"He certainly lives up to your boasting," the older woman smiled. Her expression turned cold after a moment and then became bright again. "It's a shame he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. We would have been near undefeatable. At least a different house got a trouble maker this time around. Severus looked as though he ate a lemon when Harry was sorted. I had a good laugh about it."
Sirius barked out a laugh, "James was more than a little shocked as well. You should have seen the look on Lily's face. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen in my life."
"Oh, I bet. I'm sure that she is very proud of him. He's the top of his class right now, and he's not involved in the kind of things that you two were doing when you were students. Aside of course the few problems with the twins and Mr. Malfoy." the transfiguration teacher shook her head.
"Lily will be glad to hear that." James smiled.
"How is Lily doing?" Minerva asked.
"She's been keeping busy with her work. She was a little worse for wear when Harry first left, but she's gotten better. I think it was good for her to have Harry away from home for a long while."
"Now, she's been researching magical diseases, right?" McGonagall asked.
"At the moment yes. She was researching magical charms until she met this young woman who was hit with a near debilitating illness. Apparently it's one that only effects pure-blood lines. In fact, Lily couldn't be here because she was meeting with this young girl today." James explained. "Poor thing is stuck half way across the world from home."
"An American?" Minerva asked.
"Yeah, I've met her once, and she seemed nice, but she looks like she was sicker than a Black Lake mermaid in the Caribbean. Sirius gets to meet her today. If you want to see Lily you can come with." James said watching Sirius being fawned over by several of the Gryffindor students, particularly the female Gryffindor seventh years.
"That would be lovely. To be honest I was severely disappointed that she wasn't here today."
"Lily would have been cringing in her seat had she seen that match," laughed Sirius. James nodded goodheartedly.
"Where will we be meeting Lily?" Minerva asked.
"At the Three Broomsticks, with-uh…Peggy, I think her name is." James said. "I want to congratulate my son on a game well won, but I think I'm too Gryffindor for his class mates." The three Gryffindors laughed.
"Then let's head to Hogsmeade then," said Minerva.
James, Sirius and Minerva walked into the Threebroomsticks and James' dark eyes locked onto his beautiful wife's bright hair. No matter how rough things could get between the two of them, no matter how much they disagreed on things James would always love sweet Lily.
Sitting across from his red haired wife was a brown haired girl who looked as though she could be blown away by a hard breeze. Lily spotted the trio and smiled bright. That smile never ceased to take the Potter patriarch's breathe away. James couldn't help but smile back and walked up to Lily.
The redhead kissed her husband when he bent down to her and took a seat next to her. "Minerva, it's so good to see you," Lily stood to hug her old head of house.
"It seems like it has been ages. Now, introduce me to your young friend here." Minerva said happily.
"Hello," said the lively voice of a frail looking girl. Her hair was a dark shade of brown and her eyes a warm milk chocolate. She was smiling up at the new faces. "I'm Peggy Addlewood."
"Minerva McGonagall," the professor shook the young girl's hand when she sat down.
"Sirius Black," James saw the smile that was a sure sign his best friend had gone into flirt mode. James shook his head. The young girl smiled back at Sirius and looked down. Sheesh, James thought, Sirius was quite the charmer.
"Peggy, would you like to have an early dinner?" Lily asked her patient.
"I would hate to intrude, and I have work soon," Peggy said.
"Nonsense, we just got to meet you and you have to run off, Stay." Sirius said with his most flattering smile. To Peggy's credit she barely batted an eye at Sirius.
"Sorry, but I really can't stay. Maybe another time. It was nice to meet you both." Peggy smiled and got up. Sirius pouted a little as he watched the young girl leave.
"Sirius Black!" Lily hissed at the Black head when Peggy was out of hearing distance.
"What?!" Sirius said defensively at the looks that Lily and Minerva were giving him.
"All three of us have known you since you were eleven. You were completely hitting on my patient!" Lily hissed at Sirius.
"She did a good job at rebuffing his flirting," James laughed. "Next time be less subtle there, Padfoot."
"James!" gasped Lily with exasperation. "No! Sirius, I don't want you bothering Peggy at all! She's been recovering from a near fatal disease! She doesn't need any more distractions than she already has!"
"What is that supposed to mean Lils?" asked Sirius with mock hurt.
"She's been working two jobs trying to pay for her stay at St. Mungo's, and trying to complete her research into magical architecture on her own." Lily explained.
"Doesn't she have any family back in America that can help her?" Minerva asked with shock.
"Yes, but she's even more stubborn that Remus is. She hates the idea of not being able to fend for herself. I took me two months to convince her not to pay me and every now and then she'll say she feels bad." James could see the frustration on his wife's face. She had talked about Peggy several times before and she always said the girl was proud.
"Is it that her family is poor?" Sirius looked bewildered and intrigued by the conversation.
"No, she said the Addlewood family is one of the richest families in America. She just doesn't want to be one of those, and I quote, prissy pureblood brats who get everything from mommy and daddy." Sirius barked out in a fit of laughter at the quote that caused everyone around them to stare.
"She seems quite lovely," Minerva snickered under her breath. "Maybe a bit rough around the edges like some of my former students.
"Where does she work?" Sirius asked quite seriously. The stern look on his face didn't suit him. James could see through his faux look. James knew that his friend was more interested in Peggy than he appeared.
"Sirius, you are not going to her workplace!" Lily said. Sirius dropped his stern look.
"Come on Lily," Sirius whined. James laughed at his friend.
"I don't think you're going to win this one Sirius. Lily is pretty determined." James laughed.
"At any rate, let's get something to eat. You Mr. Black can harass Lily about Miss Peggy later. I want to catch up with Lily." said Minerva. Sirius threw his arms up into the air.
"Goodbye, Minerva. I'll write to you soon." Lily hugged her old professor.
"Don't over work yourselves," Minerva waived to the trio of former Gryffindors.
"So, will you be coming with us back to Godric's Hollow?" Lily asked Sirius.
"No, I'm going to the Sports Shop to pick up a new broom cleaning kit," sighed Sirius. The Black head noticed the panicked look on his friend's wife. "She works at the Sports Shop!"
"No! No! You are not going to bother her at her place of work! Sirius, don't you dare!" Lily yelled at Sirius Black but he was already walking briskly toward the Sports Shop. "James, do something!"
"Lily, you know when he gets something into his head there's no stopping him until after he's made a fool of himself." James shook his head as his wife took off after Sirius who looked as excited as a dog on a walk.
Sirius walked into the Spintwitches Sports Shop a little faster than he wanted and stumbled into the store rather loudly causing everyone in the shop to look up at him. Including the dark haired girl he had met earlier that day. Her soulful brown eyes were wide and then she smiled bright at him and looked down as if she was embarrassed. She glanced up at him and looked back at the young child she was helping.
Lily stumbled in moments later and James followed in a casual manner just after. "Sirius, stop being obnoxious, let's go," said Lily.
"I'm just here to buy a broom cleaning kit. Calm down, Lily." Sirius said with calm casualness. Sirius watched Peggy help the little girl she was with pick out flying goggles. When she was finished she immediately went over to the three adults that were standing awkwardly at the door.
"Can I help you?" asked Peggy. Her voice was sweet, yet strong like a leaders. She looked at each of them in the eye before settling on Sirius.
"Yes, I was looking for a broom cleaning kit." Sirius said with a smile.
"Are you looking for a jack-of-all-trades kit or a specialty kit?" Peggy lead Sirius to the kits section of the store.
"I actually need a tuning kit. My model two Silver Arrow leans to the left a little too much." Sirius frowned in thought. The broom had been his grandmother Hester's broom when she had been young, and it had been given to him when she died.
"A Silver Arrow…" Peggy looked at the items that were stocked on the shelves. "I don't think we carry anything that will work for a Silver Arrow. The newer tuning kits don't work is as well with older brooms."
"You would be better off taking it to a specialist. The Worsker family stopped making repairs for the Silver Arrows about four years ago, but people like Jerry Walsh or Dieter Beilschmidt are experts in tuning and repairing older model brooms. How serious is the leaning?" Peggy looked up at Sirius. The dark haired man was staring at her simple beauty. He noticed that her hair was actually a very deep, very dark shade of red, and her face was in the shape of a heart and she had a thin scar that ran along her temple.
"How did you get that scar?" Sirius brushed his fingers along the girl's temple. The girl smiled out a huff.
"I got that in a particularly brutal game of Quodpot." Peggy shook her head, causing her hair to swing around. "It was a rookie mistake; I didn't get out of the Quod's blast range and a piece lodged itself into the side of my head. I was lucky to get away with just a scar."
"You play Quodpot?" asked Sirius in disbelief. The frail girl standing in front of him looked like she would break with the slightest touch.
"I was the best player for two years back in the States. The Spangleshire Eagles tried to recruit me, but I wanted to study magical architecture instead." the tall girl explained.
"Magical architecture?" the question was clear in his voice.
"Take somewhere like the Leaky Cauldron. It's completely invisible to Muggles, but anyone with a magical signature or has been around someone with a magical signature it becomes visible. And it is a portal to one of the busiest magical cities in Britain through a brick wall. That takes skill and rigorous planning and that's not including the amount of expanding wards put into the very wood that was used to build the tavern.
"Rowena Ravenclaw's work on Hogwarts was what brought me to Britain. I want to study her work and emulate it into a modern school for North America." Peggy's warm eyes were bright. "It's all just so fascinating."
The young girl looked up into Sirius' eyes and blushed, "And now we are completely off subject." Sirius shook his head.
"That's okay. Have you ever been in inside of Hogwarts?"
"I was given permission to study the grounds during the summers before I got sick, but I was never able to because I was so sick. But I've spoken with Professor Dumbledore and he says when I'm well enough I can explore the castle."
"You know, I know the Hogwarts Castle very well. If you ever want to explore the castle, I'll pull some strings and show you around."
"Pull some strings?" Peggy laughed, and Sirius wanted to hear it again.
"Peggy," someone called from the back of the store.
"Um, I'll get you the information of a few broom repairers, just give me a sec." Sirius watched Peggy go to the back room. He must have been staring again, because he jumped when James slapped him on the back.
"You have that girl wrapped around your little finger." James laughed.
"You are both so bad!" Lily growled.
"If Sirius has her wrapped around his little finger, then she has him wrapped in a hug." James laughed harder. "Seriously, have you seen him this taken with a girl before?"
"Did you just make a Sirius joke?" the Black head tried to change the subject.
"You're right. I've never seen him be so interested in someone before." Lily smiled, "By the way, what strings would you have pulled if she said she wanted to take a tour at Hogwarts?"
James laughed between his best friend and his wife. Sirius pouted and waited for the frail looking girl to come back. Maybe it was true that he was smitten with the girl. He certainly liked listening to her speak and laugh. Not to mention he found her expressions to be adorable.
Sirius smiled when the girl with black cherry hair came back into view. James and Lily were right. The Black head was being smitten by this new and exciting young woman.