Chapter Six “ Finding Friends
It was Friday at last! Sirius didn’t have any idea what time James and his parents would show up at the Blackwaterfoot Lodge. That didn’t matter, Andi had given him some Muggle money, so he headed toward the lodge with a dim ideas of what to do to fill the hours until his best friend arrived.
Idly brushing his hair back he ambled along a path he’d found, heading in the general direction of the lodge. If he knew James, the first thing he’d do would be to send up sparks announcing his presence. Sirius chuckled, imagining Mrs. Potter chiding her son about magic in front of muggles and James replying that muggles never saw anything and would think nothing of it.
A lilting laugh caught his attention. Looking around quickly he spotted Maeve strolling along with another girl. They hadn’t seen him, so he took a moment to observe the girl who was probably his brothers’ future betrothed.
Morag resembled her sister only in height and figure. Where Maeve had bright carroty-colored curls, she had straight mid-brown hair. He couldn’t tell what color her eyes were from where he stood, but her expression was dour. It was no wonder he’d never noticed her at Hogwarts.
It looked as though they were headed toward the lodge. He absently wondered if Morag would recognize him, dressed as a muggle and none of the other marauders around. He and Maeve had enjoyed a long stroll through the village shops, and while they had talked about many things, he realized they had never really introduced themselves.
A surge of anticipation shot through him when they settled at one of the outdoor tables and spoke to one of the waiters, obviously ordering something.
He sauntered on at a casual pace. No need to let them know they’d become his target. He wondered what the best way to approach them would be when he spotted his cousin’s husband sitting at the table closest to the harbor.
Sirius called out heartily, “Ted! Good Morning, old fellow! Andie told me you were staying here!”
Ted Tonks, an attractive man of about thirty years, looked up from the paper he was reading startled to be hailed by anyone other than his wife. Spotting Andie’s favorite cousin he raised a hand and called out, “Good morning you young reprobate! What brings you to this part of the world?”
Sirius sniggered, knowing Ted meant the muggle world, not Scotland. He sauntered to his cousin-in-laws table and sat down. “Mother banished me here for the summer.”
“Ah, I knew reprobate was the proper description of you!” Ted replied with a grin.
“She’s trying to teach me a lesson of some sort.” Sirius replied dourly. He could see the girls out of the corner of his eye. Neither of them was paying attention to either him or his cousin.
Ted noticed the direction of his gaze and chuckled. “Lovely scenery here in Scotland, wouldn’t you say?”
Sirius met his gaze and snickered, “Yes, indeed.” He decided now was not the time for the girls to notice him; leaning forward he asked in a low voice, “Has Andie told you what’s going on here?”
Ted folded his paper and answered casually, “She told me she had to come here for a betrothal.”
Sirius snorted, “Yes, fortunately my brother’s.” He inclined his head toward the table the girls were sitting. “The brunette is Morag, my brother’s future intended.”
Ted glanced quickly at the girls and asked, “And the redhead?”
“Her sister, Maeve.”
Ted kept his laughter to himself, it was quite obvious Sirius was quite interested in Maeve. “Have you had lunch?”
“Actually, no. Escaping the Manor was more important.”
Ted motioned a waiter over and ordered for Sirius. “Bring this hungry young man some of that excelled Broccoli & Howgate Blue cheese soup and the Arran beef braised in Guinness.”
Sirius raised an eyebrow and asked, “Didn’t think I could order for myself?”
“Of course you can, but you must try these dishes. I’ve just finished and they were marvelous!” Ted replied blithely.
Another waiter set steaming bowls of soup in front of the girls, a breeze carried a mouth-watering aroma to their table. “If you ordered me some of whatever that delicious scent is I’ll forgive your presumption.” Sirius declared.
A wistful expression crossed Ted’s features, “How are things up at the Manor? I admit I miss my girls. I’m hoping Andie will bring Nymphadora here this afternoon.”
Sirius paused, trying to put the feeling into words, “Things are tense. But I may be feeling that because mother decided to have me pass the summer without my wand.”
“Without your…”
“Wand.” Sirius bit off bitterly. “The whole house is becoming cramped with relatives I’ve pranked and/or hexed all my life and here I am without a wand! Can you imagine?”
“Ah, no,” admitted Ted.
Sirius turned his glare toward the harbor. James couldn’t get here soon enough!
Ted observed his cousin-in-law in silence until the waiter approached with the soup. “Buck up there, ol’ boy. Tuck into this excellent nosh and we’ll put our heads together and try to think up something for you.”
Sirius nodded morosely and picked up his spoon. Surprisingly the soup was delicious and it seemed only moments before he was scraping the bottom of the bowl.
“You don’t have to dig a hole in the bottom of the bowl you know. I can afford to buy you another.” Ted offered with a chuckle.
A slight flush tinged Sirius’ cheeks as he set down the spoon. “Meals up at the Manor are a ‘Formal’ affair. It’s hard to choke down the food when everyone’s glaring at me.” He sat back, rotated his head on his shoulders relieving stiff muscles that hadn’t relaxed much in the past few days. “I do take care to act as though none of it bothers me.”
“Keeping up appearances?” Ted asked archly.
A bark of laugher escaped Sirius, “Abso-bloody-lutely!”
Two waiters approached the table, one whisked away the empty bowl and the other deposited a mouth-watering dish of succulent Arran beef braised in Guinness. “Ah, Ted, I could get used to dining with you.”
“While I don’t mind your company you young scamp, I’d rather see my girls.” Ted replied with a bit of a pout.
Between bites of tender beef Sirius regaled Ted with the story of his mischievous daughter and her bath time antics.
Ted sniggered, “I have to admit, you just made staying here a bit more tolerable, knowing Andie and Nymphadora are wrecking havoc at the Manor.”
“Ted, without them, I wouldn’t be able to stand it!” Sirius declared.
Sirius looked around and realized the girls had left while he’d been eating. Dismayed, he thought, ‘Padfoot, your losing your touch. Letting that pretty girl get away without chatting her up first!’
Ted, noting Sirius’ change of expression said, “Not to worry, scamp, you’ll see her again.”
Sirius looked up in surprise and started to deny any interest when they were interrupted by a bellow from the doorway of the lodge. “Never fear, your rescue is here!”
A grin spread from ear to ear as Sirius leapt from his seat, running to grab his friend in a bear hug, pounding him on the back exclaiming, “It’s about bloody time!”
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As always, special thanks to Kerichi, the best Beta around!
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