Sirius strolled into the corridor only to see Remus talking to Wendy Chang. It reminded him a bit of a Muggle programme he once saw of a lion hunting gazelles.
"Oi! Tang! I think you're frightening Remus, " he said, chuckling.
James slipped around a corner, grinning. It faltered only slightly when he saw Wendy with Remus. She wasn't part of the plan. His step almost slowed, but he quickly reasserted himself and made for Remus' side.
"Ahoy, Miss Tang," he said, eyeballing her books. "Fancy meeting you here. Out for a stroll?"
Peter was the last to arrive, scurrying around the opposite corner, filled with a familiar nervous energy that could only ever mean he was up to something covert, suspect and/or illegal.
Oh though, hang on, he thought, making out the unfamiliar female shape in the darkness, That's not a Marauder. Pete ground to a halt.
"Wot's she doing here?" he asked, peering suspiciously at Tang.
"I was just wondering the same thing," said Sirius, raising an eyebrow. "Eclair, Pete? Freshly baked from the kitchens!" He pulled the bag he'd been carrying off his back and unzipped it to reveal the bounty.
"Ahoy there, boy-os," Wendy said, grinning round at Remus' friends who had quite rapidly materialised one after another and were trying their best, and failing, to look absolutely innocent, as if they weren't up to any trouble, oh no.
"Obviously Remy and I here are having a secret love affair that none of you know anything about, but I'll stop ravishing him now so that you can have one of your little midnight tea parties. I think this," she added, plucking an eclair from Sirius just as he was handing it to Peter, "should be enough to buy my silence."
She turned back to Remus, who was looking a little fish-like with the gaping. "Be seeing you in a dark corner some other night, Remy," she said, taking a bite from her eclair. Mmmmm, tasty. "You ever want to talk about... er, 'books'," (she jerked her head ever so slightly at Sirius) "you know where to find me
( ... )
Remus didn't think he had ever blushed harder in his life. He desperatly wanted to sink into the floor and never come out again. Maybe Mrytle had room for him in her toilet...
Remus remembered to breathe, then turned his gobsmacked face to his friends, trying to hide how throughly nonplussed he was.
"Well!" He sounded a bit like a mouse. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Well." That was better. Still a little higher than usual, but less like a mousekateer. "Um, shall we? Then?"
James returned Sirius' gesture in full, the bow, a grin, and a wink. Once Wendy had wandered off he turned his grin on Remus and draped a companionable arm across Peter's shoulders.
"Yes, shall we, gents? Art is long and time is fleeting."
Pete stared forlornly after the retreating eclair, and the gobby Claw who had so cruelly parted him from it. There was no justice in this world.
"I can't believe you asked her out, Moony. She's scary. No wonder it didn't last. Anyway yeah, what we doing with these nymphs, then?" The scene in the tapestry continued on behind them, the fawn finally succumbing to unclean whims. "That's just dirty," Peter observed.
"Well, she's... Not exactly... Scary..." It was a lie. Wendy terrified him. "Anway." He pulled the map out and spread it on the ground. "There's definatly something behind this tapestry. See the space? It's either a small room or a passage of some kind. It is our duty to find out which."
He grinned. This sort of thing always made him feel like a pioneer in an old muggle film. Boldly going where no man had gone before...
Pete pulled up one corner of the tapestry and started patting the walls behind it. He was looking for holes, cracks, anything that might allow a small rodent body with a knack for contortionism to pass through it. Once satisfied with his assessment, he stood back to give the boys his expert opinion.
"Blow it up," he stated, perhaps a tad rashly. A mutual look from the other Marauder's suggested that this might not be the best idea in the current climate of an almost-silent corridor. "Alright," he said, puffing a bit, "blow a teeny tiny section of it up. Make a hole big enough to let me crawl though. Yeah?"
Remus tried to ignore Sirus' smirk, which he was sure had something to do with him being stalked and eaten alive by Wendey.
I should never have introduced him to television
"Well, I think there has to be another way in, besides blowing the wall up. It's a good thought though Pete. If all else fails we'll try your way. I think that we should try a charm for something first though."
"Oi! Tang! I think you're frightening Remus, " he said, chuckling.
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"Ahoy, Miss Tang," he said, eyeballing her books. "Fancy meeting you here. Out for a stroll?"
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Oh though, hang on, he thought, making out the unfamiliar female shape in the darkness, That's not a Marauder. Pete ground to a halt.
"Wot's she doing here?" he asked, peering suspiciously at Tang.
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"Hullo lads! Wendys was just, uh, getting books! She'll be, um, heading back now?" God he wished he could have made that sound less like a question.
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"Obviously Remy and I here are having a secret love affair that none of you know anything about, but I'll stop ravishing him now so that you can have one of your little midnight tea parties. I think this," she added, plucking an eclair from Sirius just as he was handing it to Peter, "should be enough to buy my silence."
She turned back to Remus, who was looking a little fish-like with the gaping. "Be seeing you in a dark corner some other night, Remy," she said, taking a bite from her eclair. Mmmmm, tasty. "You ever want to talk about... er, 'books'," (she jerked her head ever so slightly at Sirius) "you know where to find me ( ... )
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Remus remembered to breathe, then turned his gobsmacked face to his friends, trying to hide how throughly nonplussed he was.
"Well!" He sounded a bit like a mouse. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Well." That was better. Still a little higher than usual, but less like a mousekateer. "Um, shall we? Then?"
Reply
"Yes, shall we, gents? Art is long and time is fleeting."
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"I can't believe you asked her out, Moony. She's scary. No wonder it didn't last. Anyway yeah, what we doing with these nymphs, then?" The scene in the tapestry continued on behind them, the fawn finally succumbing to unclean whims. "That's just dirty," Peter observed.
Reply
"Anway." He pulled the map out and spread it on the ground. "There's definatly something behind this tapestry. See the space? It's either a small room or a passage of some kind. It is our duty to find out which."
He grinned. This sort of thing always made him feel like a pioneer in an old muggle film. Boldly going where no man had gone before...
Reply
"Blow it up," he stated, perhaps a tad rashly. A mutual look from the other Marauder's suggested that this might not be the best idea in the current climate of an almost-silent corridor. "Alright," he said, puffing a bit, "blow a teeny tiny section of it up. Make a hole big enough to let me crawl though. Yeah?"
Reply
Reply
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I should never have introduced him to television
"Well, I think there has to be another way in, besides blowing the wall up. It's a good thought though Pete. If all else fails we'll try your way. I think that we should try a charm for something first though."
Reply
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