Fic: The Summer of Sirius - July 8 & 9
Part 5 - Sirius & Remus & James paint and discuss. (Harry Potter, Pre-Azkaban, PG)
Written for dogdaysofsummer
Prompts 8 and 9
Title:The Truth
Rating:PG
Word Count:1,115
Disclaimer:JK Rowling's characters, not mine.
Summary:Sirius and Remus and James paint and bicker.
Previous Parts: July1&2&3, July 4&5, July 6, July 7
July 8, 1978
“Oh, you cleaned,” commented James Potter as he surveyed the flat.
“Yeah, me and Sirius were here yesterday. We would’ve cleaned a lot more but we got, um, sidetracked,” said a blushing Remus Lupin as he remembered the glorious hour that he and Sirius spent snogging on the floor.
“Oi, I saw the banner outside. What’s that about?”
Remus smiled. A large white banner printed with “England” had recently appeared outside the building, hanging from an upstairs window. Since it’d been hung, much hollers, hisses, and curious looks had plagued it.
“Belongs to the bloke who lives above Sirius. Nice fella. Big football fan. And an optimist too,” remarked Remus.
“Strange neighbors,” whispered James.
A loud bang made them turn to the front door as it burst open, revealing a breathless Sirius Black with three large paint cans in his hands.
“Hey there!” Sirius practically shouted.
“What color did you get?”
Sirius shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face. Remus recognized that expression and immediately began to worry.
“Sirius.”
“Did you choose black?” asked James.
Sirius shook his head. “Very tempting but no.”
Remus breathed deeply. “Beige? Ivory?”
“Nope.”
“Red?” inquired James.
“Nope.”
“Sirius, what color did you get?” asked Remus sternly.
“Gold. With glitter,” he proudly replied.
James laughed. “You didn’t.”
Sirius laughed too and nodded. “Like the golden snitch.”
Remus shook his head. “You can’t paint your house gold!”
“Cool!” exclaimed James, high-fiving Sirius.
“Tosser.”
“Hey, unless you decide you’d like to live here too, I can paint it any color I want,” Sirius explained.
Remus glared at Sirius. Sirius stared back defiantly.
“Uh oh,” whispered James.
“Sirius,” muttered Remus.
“Gold it is!” yelled Sirius as he bent down to open the paint can. James eagerly tried to help.
Remus crouched down between the boys and the can and placed his hands on the lid. “Sirius, don’t.”
Sirius looked into Remus’s bright eyes. “Why not?”
“Yeah, Remus, why not?” asked a grinning James.
Remus rolled his eyes at James and then looked at Sirius. “Because I don’t want to stare at gold walls when I live here,” whispered Remus loudly.
“You guys,” groaned James.
Sirius nodded solemnly. “I understand,” he said before opening the lid.
“Sirius!” said Remus loudly.
An innocent-looking Sirius removed the lid and showed his friends the contents: gray, not gold, paint.
“But I thought-” began a confused Remus.
“Oh, you didn’t really think this was gold, did you?”
Both James and Remus looked at him with open mouths. Sirius tried not to smile as he looked at them seriously. Remus huffed and smacked Sirius’s head with his hand before turning away.
“What’d I do?” asked Sirius as he winked at James.
“Man, you two are funny,” remarked a laughing James.
The three Marauders sat in the middle of the guest bedroom, their wands pointed at the thick brushes floating in the air, painting the walls with up-and-down strokes.
James looked at his watch. “How much longer? This place is extra small; it shouldn’t be taking us this long.”
“Hey, Prongs, if you want to do it like the Muggles, help yourself,” suggested Sirius.
James sighed but kept his wand out. “You sure about gray, Sirius? Isn’t the place depressing enough?”
Sirius glanced at Remus. “Hey, as long as my future roomie likes it, I like it.”
Remus smiled in spite of himself. “You tricked me.” Sirius proudly shrugged.
“If I were you, Moony, I’d stay at home. Do you know about the two blokes who were killed last week in the building at the corner?” asked James.
Both Sirius and Remus looked at him.
“And I learned a woman was shot in her own bed about a year ago. She lived two blocks from here. Very dodgy neighborhood,” continued James.
“Sirius likes it here, James,” declared Remus.
James lifted his eyebrows and fixed his glasses.
Remus shifted so he looked directly at James. “Could you stop that?”
“What?”
“Stop criticizing.”
“What?” asked James again.
Sirius touched Remus’s wrist and softly said, “Remus.”
Remus, however, was too incensed to stop what he had wanted to say to James for the past eight days. “We know you hate the flat, but you ought to keep your negative opinions to yourself.”
James looked incredulous. “What? I don’t hate it. I said it was-”
“Nice,” muttered Remus. “You said it was nice like a dungbomb during dinner is nice.”
“Remus,” Sirius firmly said.
“It’s not as nice as your place but this is Sirius’s home. His home. He likes it here and he’s gonna live here. It doesn’t matter if it’s too small or too gray or too dangerous,” said Remus in a rush.
Sirius, sitting between the two, looked down at the floor and said nothing.
“I don’t have a problem with-” began James before Remus cut him off.
“Yes, you do. You make snide remarks here and then won’t even talk about it with him at home-”
James looked at Sirius. “You tell him what we talk about?”
Sirius frantically shook his head as he stared at James with wide eyes. “No, no, I don’t. I just wondered-”
“-Why it’s not good enough for you,” interjected Remus.
James stared hard at Remus before lowering his gaze to Sirius. “You think I hate it?” he asked quietly.
Sirius shrugged. “You don’t seem happy for me, James.”
James sighed and said, “Just so you know, I don’t dislike it because it’s not good enough for me; I don’t think it’s good enough for you. Remember, you’re a Black. By name, by blood. You lived like a king up until a year ago. Then you lived pretty well at my house too. To go from that to this concerns me. It upsets me. You deserve better, Sirius; you deserve more. And I hate that you can’t have it.”
The other two said nothing.
“You know my parents are willing to help, Sirius,” added James.
Sirius shook his head. “Thanks. But I like this place, even if it is small. And I’m gonna get a job and maybe I’ll get a good one that pays handsomely and then I can get something bigger.”
James glanced at Remus and then back at Sirius. “I never meant to-”
Sirius put his hand on James’s arm and said, “Prongs, I know. I know.”
James looked at Remus. “Moony, I . . . you know.”
Remus slowly nodded. “Yeah, but stop being an arsehole, okay?”
James laughed. Sirius gave Remus a grateful smile.
“Let’s finish painting, boys,” said Sirius.
The next day, James and Sirius spent the afternoon packing most of Sirius’s things, talking about the past, the flat and their futures.
Written for dogdaysofsummer
Prompts 8 and 9
Title:The Truth
Rating:PG
Word Count:1,115
Disclaimer:JK Rowling's characters, not mine.
Summary:Sirius and Remus and James paint and bicker.
Previous Parts: July1&2&3, July 4&5, July 6, July 7
July 8, 1978
“Oh, you cleaned,” commented James Potter as he surveyed the flat.
“Yeah, me and Sirius were here yesterday. We would’ve cleaned a lot more but we got, um, sidetracked,” said a blushing Remus Lupin as he remembered the glorious hour that he and Sirius spent snogging on the floor.
“Oi, I saw the banner outside. What’s that about?”
Remus smiled. A large white banner printed with “England” had recently appeared outside the building, hanging from an upstairs window. Since it’d been hung, much hollers, hisses, and curious looks had plagued it.
“Belongs to the bloke who lives above Sirius. Nice fella. Big football fan. And an optimist too,” remarked Remus.
“Strange neighbors,” whispered James.
A loud bang made them turn to the front door as it burst open, revealing a breathless Sirius Black with three large paint cans in his hands.
“Hey there!” Sirius practically shouted.
“What color did you get?”
Sirius shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face. Remus recognized that expression and immediately began to worry.
“Sirius.”
“Did you choose black?” asked James.
Sirius shook his head. “Very tempting but no.”
Remus breathed deeply. “Beige? Ivory?”
“Nope.”
“Red?” inquired James.
“Nope.”
“Sirius, what color did you get?” asked Remus sternly.
“Gold. With glitter,” he proudly replied.
James laughed. “You didn’t.”
Sirius laughed too and nodded. “Like the golden snitch.”
Remus shook his head. “You can’t paint your house gold!”
“Cool!” exclaimed James, high-fiving Sirius.
“Tosser.”
“Hey, unless you decide you’d like to live here too, I can paint it any color I want,” Sirius explained.
Remus glared at Sirius. Sirius stared back defiantly.
“Uh oh,” whispered James.
“Sirius,” muttered Remus.
“Gold it is!” yelled Sirius as he bent down to open the paint can. James eagerly tried to help.
Remus crouched down between the boys and the can and placed his hands on the lid. “Sirius, don’t.”
Sirius looked into Remus’s bright eyes. “Why not?”
“Yeah, Remus, why not?” asked a grinning James.
Remus rolled his eyes at James and then looked at Sirius. “Because I don’t want to stare at gold walls when I live here,” whispered Remus loudly.
“You guys,” groaned James.
Sirius nodded solemnly. “I understand,” he said before opening the lid.
“Sirius!” said Remus loudly.
An innocent-looking Sirius removed the lid and showed his friends the contents: gray, not gold, paint.
“But I thought-” began a confused Remus.
“Oh, you didn’t really think this was gold, did you?”
Both James and Remus looked at him with open mouths. Sirius tried not to smile as he looked at them seriously. Remus huffed and smacked Sirius’s head with his hand before turning away.
“What’d I do?” asked Sirius as he winked at James.
“Man, you two are funny,” remarked a laughing James.
The three Marauders sat in the middle of the guest bedroom, their wands pointed at the thick brushes floating in the air, painting the walls with up-and-down strokes.
James looked at his watch. “How much longer? This place is extra small; it shouldn’t be taking us this long.”
“Hey, Prongs, if you want to do it like the Muggles, help yourself,” suggested Sirius.
James sighed but kept his wand out. “You sure about gray, Sirius? Isn’t the place depressing enough?”
Sirius glanced at Remus. “Hey, as long as my future roomie likes it, I like it.”
Remus smiled in spite of himself. “You tricked me.” Sirius proudly shrugged.
“If I were you, Moony, I’d stay at home. Do you know about the two blokes who were killed last week in the building at the corner?” asked James.
Both Sirius and Remus looked at him.
“And I learned a woman was shot in her own bed about a year ago. She lived two blocks from here. Very dodgy neighborhood,” continued James.
“Sirius likes it here, James,” declared Remus.
James lifted his eyebrows and fixed his glasses.
Remus shifted so he looked directly at James. “Could you stop that?”
“What?”
“Stop criticizing.”
“What?” asked James again.
Sirius touched Remus’s wrist and softly said, “Remus.”
Remus, however, was too incensed to stop what he had wanted to say to James for the past eight days. “We know you hate the flat, but you ought to keep your negative opinions to yourself.”
James looked incredulous. “What? I don’t hate it. I said it was-”
“Nice,” muttered Remus. “You said it was nice like a dungbomb during dinner is nice.”
“Remus,” Sirius firmly said.
“It’s not as nice as your place but this is Sirius’s home. His home. He likes it here and he’s gonna live here. It doesn’t matter if it’s too small or too gray or too dangerous,” said Remus in a rush.
Sirius, sitting between the two, looked down at the floor and said nothing.
“I don’t have a problem with-” began James before Remus cut him off.
“Yes, you do. You make snide remarks here and then won’t even talk about it with him at home-”
James looked at Sirius. “You tell him what we talk about?”
Sirius frantically shook his head as he stared at James with wide eyes. “No, no, I don’t. I just wondered-”
“-Why it’s not good enough for you,” interjected Remus.
James stared hard at Remus before lowering his gaze to Sirius. “You think I hate it?” he asked quietly.
Sirius shrugged. “You don’t seem happy for me, James.”
James sighed and said, “Just so you know, I don’t dislike it because it’s not good enough for me; I don’t think it’s good enough for you. Remember, you’re a Black. By name, by blood. You lived like a king up until a year ago. Then you lived pretty well at my house too. To go from that to this concerns me. It upsets me. You deserve better, Sirius; you deserve more. And I hate that you can’t have it.”
The other two said nothing.
“You know my parents are willing to help, Sirius,” added James.
Sirius shook his head. “Thanks. But I like this place, even if it is small. And I’m gonna get a job and maybe I’ll get a good one that pays handsomely and then I can get something bigger.”
James glanced at Remus and then back at Sirius. “I never meant to-”
Sirius put his hand on James’s arm and said, “Prongs, I know. I know.”
James looked at Remus. “Moony, I . . . you know.”
Remus slowly nodded. “Yeah, but stop being an arsehole, okay?”
James laughed. Sirius gave Remus a grateful smile.
“Let’s finish painting, boys,” said Sirius.
The next day, James and Sirius spent the afternoon packing most of Sirius’s things, talking about the past, the flat and their futures.