*Disclaimer: I own nothing, that sums it up nicely I think.
Remus flipped through the rest of August to find the content mainly on an Amber Rose and Sirius’ “excursions” with her. To his shock, it was greatly detailed and even though slightly curious, Remus withheld the urge to read Sirius’ romantic innuendos.
The entries continued this way until mid August where there appeared to be a breakup. The rest of the month was uneventful, save for a visit to Diagon Alley and a prank Padfoot and Prongs had pulled on a Muggle shopkeeper (this was in a way to get back at the woman from Notting Hill). Sirius voiced his happiness much more with the Potters in his entries now and admitted to calling Mrs. Potter mum. If you can believe it, this was a big step for Sirius. Remus’ interest fell to an entry dated September the 1st…
September 1st, 6th year:
We left York last night for London (I hate that ruddy Knight Bus, I’ve been banged blue), as it’s quite a ways north and made it to Kings Cross at ten. It’s the earliest I’ve ever been to the train (Regulus liked to dawdle a lot, made me late every time, purposely I think).
The Potters insisted on seeing us off (that meant waiting with them for another hour, and I suppose that was alright, it just meant no mischief, which was quite hard to refrain from). So James busied himself with looking through my things, I had the odd suspicion he was searching for his birthday present, he’ll be sixteen in a week.
He came to this old thing and laughed about how we got it. He’d thought I’d thrown it away and was shocked that I was really using it. I thought that might set him to curiosity and attempt to read it, but instead he showed me something really wicked. He said it was much easier than writing and highly entertaining to go back to. So, we tinkered with the diary a bit and now I feel it up to my standards. Just watch, this was September 1st of my 6th year, welcome to my world…
Remus felt a familiar tug behind his navel, his world began to twist and contort as he was jettisoned twenty years back into the memory of Sirius’ 6th year. His journey stopped with a hazy end out side of the Hogwarts Express.
Parents huddled teary eyed over their children wishing last goodbyes, the clatter and clank of cages and baggage was to be heard over the growing chatter that engulfed the platform. It was all so familiar to Remus. He could smell the engine exhaust and feel warm morning breeze and that magic that was Hogwarts filled his every cell.
“I ‘ave it all planned Moony, dates and everything. We just need Sirius and I’ll…” the voice drifted by, sparking Remus’ attention. James! That was James, and he was talking to Moony, himself.
Remus craned his neck looking for the two. His eyes caught the back of a tall boy with untidy brown hair, who was now boarding the train. To his side slumped Moony, sandy blonde hair slightly disheveled, but nothing in comparison to James.
Remus started to sprint, intent on catching up with the boys. His body flowed through countless witches and wizards, who seemed not to notice his existence. James and Moony were now inside the train, he didn’t want to miss them. Where was Sirius, after all, this was his memory.
Remus' question was quickly answered as a voice from behind called, “James, Remus, hold up!”
The body of sixteen year-old Sirius Black whizzed through Remus and gallivanted up the stairs into the train. Remus felt himself follow and was led into one of the front cars, where James and Moony sat discussing intently over a piece of parchment.
James’ face alighted when Remus entered (for a moment he feared James could see him, but discovered it was Sirius he was greeting).
“Been waiting for you mate,” said James, “I’ve just been telling Moony about our plans.”
“Excellent,” aaid Sirius briskly, taking a seat next to James. “You know we start tonight don’t you Remus?”
“I’ve heard so,” sighed Moony looking to James’ piece of parchment with an expression of skepticism. “I just… I mean I’m not sure we can pull this off in time, on such short notice s’all… I want to do it though.” He put in quickly, eyeing Sirius’ countenance.
“Of course we can do it tonight!” chimed James. “We want to start off with a bang! Don’t we?”
“We’ve spent most the summer planning this Moony, we’ve looked at everything from every angle, what could go wrong?”
“Evans could kill Prongs, that’s what could go wrong and I’d lose my chance of ever going out with Mackenzie McGavott,” Moony muttered.
“If all goes well it won’t even affect them and if it does… well there are always other girls,” Sirius said passively, waving the matter away with his hand.
“Easy for you to say Padfoot,” grumbled Moony.
“Come now lads, lets have joy and cheer. Padfoot’s right nothing will go wrong and as for Evans killing me, well I always liked a girl with a fiery spirit,” James laughed to himself. “So it’s settled then, tonight in the Great Hall.” Sirius nodded and Moony was forced to agreement.
“Where’s Peter?” asked James abruptly, the train’s whistle had just sounded announcing the time and the trains departure.
Moony looked to his watch. “It’s eleven now, I don’t know where he could be?”
“He probably got lost in one of the other cars,” said Sirius hopefully, peering around the car door.
“You sound very happy about that,” commented Moony.
“Oh no, I didn’t figure we were that lucky,” smiled Sirius kiddingly.
“Hmm, well he’s around here somewhere,” shrugged James.
The minutes began to tick slowly by. Moony got out a book, James kept trying to hex a beetle on the floor, and Sirius took to gazing dreamily out the window, a bored lofty expression on his face. Five minutes turned to ten and ten to twenty and now almost an hour had lapsed.
“You know I am starting to wonder where old Wormtail’s gotten off to. Did they leave him on the platform?” Sirius asked suddenly. His words brought James out his daze and Moony from his reading. “I mean…”
Laughter began to ring from outside the compartment door, in the corridors, followed by a loud bumping and thumping and a low moaning. Sirius slid open the door to find Wormtail sprung out on the floor, his arms jinxed flat to his sides. The Marauders peeped their heads down the corridor to see the slender glowering figure of Bellatrix Black.
“Cousins,” Sirius shook his head disapprovingly.
“That’ll teach you to come sniffing into our car you nasty little rat!” Bellatrix cackled.
Curls of rich brown framed her face with a grace, and deep black eyes glimmered menacingly, accented by high arching elegant brows. In her long white fingers she twirled her wand, daring Wormtail to oppose.
Wormtail looked wildly about the corridors hoping to find an ally, some sort of defense. Sirius who was some two cars back, grabbed Wormtail by his shirt collar and tugged him swiftly into the Marauder’s compartment.
“Sirius!” cried Peter joyfully, disengaging himself from Padfoot’s grasp. “There you are.”
“Here I am? Where were you?” Sirius exclaimed, quite shaken.
“B-bl- Black!” Wormtail shuddered, “Bella… B-Bella…”
“Bellatrix,” said Sirius flatly, hands on his hips.
He looked to Peter then remembered the growing group of Slytherins down the hall. He peeped warily out the compartment to find Bellatrix’s face but inches from his. It caused him to jump back.
“Don’t tell me I scare you too,” she smiled, sugary sweet, honey tones in her voice.
Sirius obviously didn’t want conversation with his cousin so slammed the door in her face. James sealed the door magically shut, and jumped to Peter’s side, now a crumpled mess on the floor.
“I don’t know what happened!” he chattered, “I was just looking for you guys, checking all the cars and she… she…” Peter couldn’t get the words out taken by another round of the shakes.
“Jinxed you did she?” Sirius finished for him. “You were gone almost an hour Wormtail, don’t tell me you were in the Slytherin car all that time.”
“Well I was sort of hostage,” Peter gulped.
“Hostage?” asked James wrinkling his nose.
“Yes, well they took to interrogating,” mumbled Peter, recovering slightly. He was able to pull himself to the seat.
“Interrogating? You? About what, Wormtail?” Sirius asked, eyebrows raised.
“Y-you,” Peter gulped again, avoiding Sirius’ eyes. He knew they were bearing down on him.
“What would…” Sirius fell to a whisper. “Me, about what Peter?” Sirius checked him boldly, his head cocked back high and commanding.
Peter shrunk away. “Just about your family,” said Peter simply, edging down in his seat.
Sirius bit his lip, furrowing his eyebrows. “Anything about my father?” This time Sirius’ voice was shaky.
“Y-yes,” Peter squeaked, now more timid than ever.
“What’d you tell them?”
“N-not much, there’s nothing to tell really. You never talk about him, your dad.”
Sirius let loose a sigh of relief. “Bella was just getting to you Wormtail, she knows everything about my family, why should she ask.”
Peter looked nervously from side to side, suddenly on edge. "She um… she wanted to know things too about… Moony.” James and Sirius jumped to their feet nearly ringing Peter by his throat.
“I’ll skin you alive Wormtail if you told them anything about Remus you hear!” threatened James, gripping Peter by his shirt collar. Peter shook his head in a fury.
“N-never! I just…”
“You just never of told them anything I hope,” said Sirius quietly, knuckles clenched at his sides, white faced.
“I-I told them to shut their filthy mouths about Remus!” Peter cried (Remus had the feeling this hadn’t been the truth at all, that Peter had pacified his friends with that lie, as to keep his nose clean).
James let loose his grip, letting Wormtail fall softly back to his seat. Peter looked to his friends longing for approval. James and Sirius breathed freely, relief flooding them.
“Well I hope next time you just stick with us Wormtail,” Moony said finally. “It’d sure get you out of a lot of trouble. Sirius can’t always come to your rescue.”
Peter nodded again, looking to his feet, completely abashed.
“You have a wand Peter, you should learn to use it,” said James irritably, he’d had quite enough of Wormtail and began to wish that he’d stayed in the Slytherin car.
The rest of the journey was in silence. Sirius, who was now rather cranky after the mention of his father, went back to his lonely daydream, and James and Moony sat going over their plan for the evening. Peter appeared to be listening intently, but had a glassy eyed look that gave Remus the assumption that his thoughts were probably elsewhere. He bit his nails mindlessly, mumbling to himself on occasion.
In regular circumstances Sirius would have whacked Peter on the back of his head and told him it was a filthy habit, but nothing seemed to faze him now.
Remus had just begun to settle into this memory when he was tugged forward again in a whirlwind of color, this time landing in a stairwell outside the Great Hall. Sirius was alone and the growing chatter from the doors ahead proved that the start of term feast had already begun.
“Black!” called a voice. Sirius whirled around, his eyes meeting those of a pretty blonde sixth year girl. Remus recalled her as Blaire Jennings, seeker for the Ravenclaw house Quidditch team.
“All right Jennings?” he smirked as she descended down to meet him, her face drawn in a mischievous grin. Blaire bat her eyelashes and blushed deeply.
“Oh,” she giggled, “Just fine, and you?”
“As good as I’ll ever be,” Sirius shrugged. She was nearing him, her eyes hazy and lost. She was very close now.
“That’s very good then,” she said silkily, tousling his hair with her fingers. Sirius bit his lip, but didn’t budge. Blaire slid her arms around his neck, looking temptingly into his eyes.
Remus felt unusually out of place, as if this were a great intrusion on Sirius, but to his luck, the moment of unease passed swiftly.
“Maybe later,” said Sirius, pushing her off gently. Blaire looked extremely put out, but smiled sweetly up at him.
“Then I’ll be waiting.” She raised an eyebrow and left Sirius in the stairwell, heading to the Great Hall. Sirius had been straining a smile and now he let his cheeks rest, frowning slightly.
“You’ll be waiting forever then,” he said quietly when Blaire was gone.
Though Blaire Jennings was quite good looking, Remus knew she was not up Sirius’ alley. Like it’s been mentioned before, Sirius had his pick of the lot and he was very selective. You had better be a beauty with brains for Sirius or he wouldn’t even think twice about you. Blaire was a beauty with pudding for brains and a reputation for toying around. Sirius wouldn’t dare dirty his feet in her water.
He looked around, it was almost time. James had said the signal would be an obvious one, half the school running like mad out of the Great Hall. All Sirius had to do now was wait. Remus too felt an anxious excitement, any moment he knew havoc would be wreaked.
Inside the Great Hall he knew, that he, young Moony was eyeing Miss McGavott with a doleful, longing look. He would be wondering if she’d hate him for the rest of his life and that James was starting to understand Moony’s concern about his death and Lily.
Remus’ thoughts were disrupted by a tap on his shoulder. How could that be? This was Sirius’ memory no one could touch him, nor see him.
“Remus, Remus dear.” The voice was so distant, but it burst into view as Molly Weasley and the visions of Sirius’ diary vanished. There he was again in Buckbeak’s loft gazing into concerned motherly eyes.
“Goodness me you look peaky,” she said, feeling his forehead. “You best have something to eat. Arthur insisted on Muggle take out, Chinese actually, not bad stuff. Come have a bite with us, will you?”
It took Remus a moment to gather his thoughts and respond.
“Yes. Molly, yes all right.” He tucked Sirius’ diary in his pocket and dusted off the hem off his robes.
He was so disappointed, his hunger at it’s greatest minimum, he had so counted on seeing the results of the Marauders' prank. He calmed himself and put his intrigue to rest, he could come back to it later.
Remus followed Molly down the stairs, feeling a guilty pang. Sirius did always like Chinese.
A/N: Funky ending huh? It was my brothers suggestion, he’s weird. More to come, more to come. I’m lazy so I ended this chapter that way. Thanx all for your reviews, I really appreciate them.