Whoops.
It turns out I have not so much lost my ability to write, but that either I've lost my ability to write anything good or I've lost the ability to like my own writing. Can't work out which. I have a whole load of half stories which won't finish themselves. Damn damn damn.
One thing I love so much about reddwarfer is that she always says such lovely things about The Unconventional Way even though I've still not been able to finish it, so for her birthday (last week, ahem) here is one section of part five that's not too bad:
New beginnings
Sirius’ Uncle Alphard died that October. Sirius was more angry than anything, wandering in an aimless dream, randomly shouting ‘bastard!’ at inappropriate moments.
‘He didn’t have to die, did he? He could have just lent me a bit more money; he didn’t have to die and leave me it all.’
It wasn’t actually all of the man’s money, his home was given to a close friend, and some money went to Andromeda and her family, but what was left over was a bloody lot of money.
The funeral felt weird to Sirius, organised by Andromeda who knew that the disowned members of the family should stick together. It wasn’t much of a funeral even, just a few of the old man’s friends hanging around his old house, saying what they’d liked about him.
James felt out of place, he and Peter having gone simply to make up numbers when Sirius was worried that his uncle had few real friends and obviously no family that would bother. James told himself he might be needed for moral support, but really he knew that was most definitely Remus’ job now.
Afterwards, Alphie’s oldest friend, a Mr Barley, took Andromeda and the four of them around all his properties, which now belonged to Sirius. Sirius thought they were all ghastly, all unused, dusty London houses, old musty buildings in Muggle-populated areas, and couldn’t understand why his uncle had kept them.
But when Remus took a shine to one, a thin three-storey in a nice area, Sirius decided to keep it.
‘Why would you keep this one?’ Remus asked in surprise.
‘You can have it,’ Sirius told him matter-of-factly.
‘But-‘
‘Not just for yourself or anything, I’ll live here with you.’
James grabbed Peter by the sleeve and dragged him from the room, motioning for Andromeda and Barley to follow. He knew for a fact that none of the four of them had really discussed anything about living arrangements after school; there were more pressing things to worry about; exams, careers, the fact that the world was going to hell in a hand-cart. This was the first real, serious mention of their post-Hogwarts lives, and it was clearly something that Remus and Sirius should talk about alone.
James closed the living-room door behind them and Peter immediately pressed his ear to it.
‘Don’t know why you’re doing that; we’ll hear it when Remus starts shouting,’ James told him.
‘I don’t get it, ‘Andromeda said, ‘those two aren’t…?’
James nodded slightly, still waiting for the screaming to start on the other side of the door. Barley looked rather uncomfortable.
‘Really?’ Andromeda asked, ‘those two are-‘ Her face didn’t know whether to look shocked or amused, and seemed to settle for a combination of the two.
‘You think we should live together?’ Remus asked Sirius once they were alone.
‘Yes.’
‘Oh.’ Remus hadn’t really given much thought to it, being unable to imagine what it would be like not to live with all three of his friends. ‘Well, we don’t need a whole house like this.’
Sirius shrugged. ‘We could convert it into flats, give us something to do while you look for a job and I bum around in my pants swigging wine from the bottle, or whatever.’
‘I suppose.’
‘Then we can sell the spares on, or rent them out, then keep the other.’
‘Mm.’
‘D’you want the upstairs or the downstairs?’
‘Up. At the top. Like the view.’
‘Okay.’
‘I’ll pay you rent,’ Remus insisted.
‘No you won’t.’
‘Will.’
‘Nah. You can pay me in sex, like a good little whore.’
Peter sniggered randomly, still in position at the door, and James frowned at him.
Remus ignored that comment. ‘Your uncle wouldn’t have minded, would he? I wouldn’t want to do this if he’d have hated the thought; this is his legacy to you.’
‘Nah, he’d think it was great; another way to piss off the family.’
‘Oh, so that’s what you’re doing all this for, pissing off your family. Should have known it was nothing to do with me.’
Peter sniggered again.
‘What?’ snapped James.
‘Remus reckons Sirius is just doing it to piss off his mother.’
Andromeda laughed, loudly, the first laugh anyone had heard all day. ‘What did Sirius say to that?’
‘Dunno, s’all gone quiet.’
‘Right, enough of that.’ James opened the door a little way. ‘Have you two quite finished? Can we come back in?’
Remus and Sirius tore themselves apart, both looking rather pink in the cheeks, and James found he felt strangely content himself.
One thing I love so much about reddwarfer is that she always says such lovely things about The Unconventional Way even though I've still not been able to finish it, so for her birthday (last week, ahem) here is one section of part five that's not too bad:
New beginnings
Sirius’ Uncle Alphard died that October. Sirius was more angry than anything, wandering in an aimless dream, randomly shouting ‘bastard!’ at inappropriate moments.
‘He didn’t have to die, did he? He could have just lent me a bit more money; he didn’t have to die and leave me it all.’
It wasn’t actually all of the man’s money, his home was given to a close friend, and some money went to Andromeda and her family, but what was left over was a bloody lot of money.
The funeral felt weird to Sirius, organised by Andromeda who knew that the disowned members of the family should stick together. It wasn’t much of a funeral even, just a few of the old man’s friends hanging around his old house, saying what they’d liked about him.
James felt out of place, he and Peter having gone simply to make up numbers when Sirius was worried that his uncle had few real friends and obviously no family that would bother. James told himself he might be needed for moral support, but really he knew that was most definitely Remus’ job now.
Afterwards, Alphie’s oldest friend, a Mr Barley, took Andromeda and the four of them around all his properties, which now belonged to Sirius. Sirius thought they were all ghastly, all unused, dusty London houses, old musty buildings in Muggle-populated areas, and couldn’t understand why his uncle had kept them.
But when Remus took a shine to one, a thin three-storey in a nice area, Sirius decided to keep it.
‘Why would you keep this one?’ Remus asked in surprise.
‘You can have it,’ Sirius told him matter-of-factly.
‘But-‘
‘Not just for yourself or anything, I’ll live here with you.’
James grabbed Peter by the sleeve and dragged him from the room, motioning for Andromeda and Barley to follow. He knew for a fact that none of the four of them had really discussed anything about living arrangements after school; there were more pressing things to worry about; exams, careers, the fact that the world was going to hell in a hand-cart. This was the first real, serious mention of their post-Hogwarts lives, and it was clearly something that Remus and Sirius should talk about alone.
James closed the living-room door behind them and Peter immediately pressed his ear to it.
‘Don’t know why you’re doing that; we’ll hear it when Remus starts shouting,’ James told him.
‘I don’t get it, ‘Andromeda said, ‘those two aren’t…?’
James nodded slightly, still waiting for the screaming to start on the other side of the door. Barley looked rather uncomfortable.
‘Really?’ Andromeda asked, ‘those two are-‘ Her face didn’t know whether to look shocked or amused, and seemed to settle for a combination of the two.
‘You think we should live together?’ Remus asked Sirius once they were alone.
‘Yes.’
‘Oh.’ Remus hadn’t really given much thought to it, being unable to imagine what it would be like not to live with all three of his friends. ‘Well, we don’t need a whole house like this.’
Sirius shrugged. ‘We could convert it into flats, give us something to do while you look for a job and I bum around in my pants swigging wine from the bottle, or whatever.’
‘I suppose.’
‘Then we can sell the spares on, or rent them out, then keep the other.’
‘Mm.’
‘D’you want the upstairs or the downstairs?’
‘Up. At the top. Like the view.’
‘Okay.’
‘I’ll pay you rent,’ Remus insisted.
‘No you won’t.’
‘Will.’
‘Nah. You can pay me in sex, like a good little whore.’
Peter sniggered randomly, still in position at the door, and James frowned at him.
Remus ignored that comment. ‘Your uncle wouldn’t have minded, would he? I wouldn’t want to do this if he’d have hated the thought; this is his legacy to you.’
‘Nah, he’d think it was great; another way to piss off the family.’
‘Oh, so that’s what you’re doing all this for, pissing off your family. Should have known it was nothing to do with me.’
Peter sniggered again.
‘What?’ snapped James.
‘Remus reckons Sirius is just doing it to piss off his mother.’
Andromeda laughed, loudly, the first laugh anyone had heard all day. ‘What did Sirius say to that?’
‘Dunno, s’all gone quiet.’
‘Right, enough of that.’ James opened the door a little way. ‘Have you two quite finished? Can we come back in?’
Remus and Sirius tore themselves apart, both looking rather pink in the cheeks, and James found he felt strangely content himself.