“…people hid behind that curtain, he had heard them whispering the first time he had entered the room “ Sirius was hiding, simply lurking out of sight…”
-J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Sirius woke up on a park bench with exceedingly sore legs and a very stiff neck. He had run for miles the night before, in fact it had started raining (as was the usual case in London), but he hadn’t stopped until his legs refused to carry him any further. Running allowed him to put off thought for a while, but now he regretted his midnight sprint through the city as he rubbed his aching calves. As he came to full senses and looked around, he realized that it was already well into the next morning, with ruddy-faced London businessmen bustling about the sidewalks carrying their briefcases in one hand and their morning tea or coffee in the other. Most of them glanced quickly at Sirius and then avoided eye contact as they walked by, obviously assuming that he was a homeless person.
Not very much in the mood to vacate his spot on the bench, Sirius sat and thought quietly to himself as he watched the Muggle vehicles rush by in frenzy. He hadn’t had much time to think quietly to himself recently, although many months ago he had had nearly twelve years of nothing to do but just that.
He should have gone after Regulus. He should have chased after him and embraced him as the long-lost baby brother who he hadn’t seen in over a decade, the long-lost baby brother who he had thought to be dead. Regulus deserved a better brother than one that let him wander off, drunk, into the night. There was so much Sirius had meant to say to him, though of course it wouldn’t have done any good. If it was true that neither of them had attended Hogwarts….
Magic didn’t seem to work anymore. That was going to be one major setback in the quest to find Harry and the others. Sirius had already tried to Apparate without success, and he was also no longer able to change into his Animagus form. He pulled out his wand, but it felt cold and lifeless in his hand. Not caring if the Muggles saw him, he muttered “lumos.” Nothing happened. Apparently, his wand was useless in this topsy-turvy alternate universe in which he had found himself. Nevertheless, he tucked it back into his pocket.
Without his magic, Sirius suddenly realized, he was completely worthless. However, overriding that feeling of helplessness was the gnawing sensation in his stomach that he knew all too well as hunger. There was a small café across the street, but it took a great deal of effort just to convince his leg muscles to allow him to stand up.
He almost got run over trying to cross the busy Muggle street (“watch it, asshole!” yelled one remarkably rude driver after swerving his bulky vehicle so as not to flatten Sirius), but inside the café it was peaceful and quiet. The cheerful chatter of people eating their breakfast was like the constant lull of the ocean; Sirius found it almost soothing. He listened to the casual conversations as he sipped his tea and nibbled away at his crumpet, neither of which he intended on paying for, seeing as he lacked Muggle currency.
“So, any plans for the summer?”
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you! We’ve rented a cottage “ John and I “ in the Lake District!”
“I hear it’s beautiful there. Perhaps even romantic…?”
“Haha, no. It’s a two-bedroom cottage. We just want to get away from the hectic city, y’know? That way he can work on his novel and I can focus on my painting. The landscape there would be a perfect subject, don’t you agree?”
“I thought you had given up on that whole artist dream. What about the firm?”
“It’s never too late to achieve childhood goals, I say.”
Sirius continued to listen intently as he discovered that the latter speaker was, in fact, secretly hoping that John (her boyfriend, presumably) had, in reality, suggested renting this cottage in the Lake District in order to pose a memorable setting for where he might propose to her. Later in the dialogue, possible baby names were discussed, and the consensus was reached that “Diane” would be the optimal name for a girl, and “Franklin” for a boy. The conversation, though trivial, intrigued Sirius, and several times he had been tempted to interject but restrained himself. (For example, when the name “Franklin” was agreed upon, he wished to interrupt and point out that Franklin was actually a terrible name, in his opinion.)
Conversations such as this one continued to arise throughout the morning, and Sirius continued to listen to them, as he continued to order more and more crumpets and tea that he was never going to pay for. At one point the girl pouring him his tea gave him a strange look, but perhaps that was because he had begun to spin his wand between his fingers, for lack of anything more amusing to occupy his time.
When the audible conversation became dull, he would work on the plan formulating in his head, which consisted of 1) Attempt to call the Knight Bus, and if that didn’t work, 2) Find out if anyone could possibly direct him to Grimmauld Place, and if that didn’t work, 3) Come up with a better plan. This was about as far as the formulating in his head got before the crowd of people on lunch break began to trickle into the café.
Sirius was just about to start seeking the opportune moment to make a run for it (the girl who had been serving his tea all morning was already becoming quite suspicious) when a tall, slender blonde wearing tight-fitting business clothes caught his eye. Her face was small and sharply angled; she was about his age, maybe a few years younger. She was swirling the lemon around in her ice water when he swaggered up to her otherwise empty table and took a seat. It was time to work the Sirius Black charm.
“Yes?” she said, not looking up from her glass.
“You seem to be eating alone,” Sirius said in an intentionally low voice. “This is a problem that must be fixed immediately.”
“That’s nice, but I’m actually waiting for somebody, so if you don’t mind…”
“Waiting for somebody? A boyfriend perhaps?” Sirius advanced his chair just a few more inches closer to hers.
“Actually no, but good guess. He’s my husband.”
Sirius’s smiled quickly disappeared. Damn. Now he had to think of a way to escape before this turned ugly. Before he could do anything, however, the woman was gazing up at somebody who was obviously standing behind him.
“Am I interrupting anything, dear?”
Sirius froze. He didn’t turn around, because he didn’t need to. He knew that voice. This version of the voice sounded older and more tired than the way he remembered it from fourteen years ago, but it didn’t matter, because he would recognize that voice anywhere. His heart almost leapt out of his chest, but of course it didn’t, because hearts can’t actually leap out of chests. That’s what rib cages are for, and Sirius was surely grateful for his now.
“…James?” he said in an uncharacteristically high voice, reminiscent of his youth. He turned around and, indeed, it was him “ a more wrinkled version of him, but it was him in the flesh. At first, Sirius was filled with jubilation at the sight of his old friend, but the happiness slipped away when he began to speak.
“Sorry, do I know you?”
“It’s me! Sirius!” Sirius was standing up now, making a scene in the café. There was no way he was going to make it out of there without being noticed now, but he didn’t care.
“Doesn’t ring any bells.” James wasn’t even looking Sirius in the eye. He was smiling lovingly at the blonde lady.
“Hold on.” Sirius turned to the woman. “This is your husband? James Potter?”
“Do you know this man?” James asked her. She shook her head.
“THEN. WHERE. THE. HELL. IS. LILY?” Sirius had now officially lost his temper.
“I don’t know anyone named Lily, and I’d appreciate it if you’d leave my wife alone!”
“YOUR WIFE IS LILY EVANS POTTER. YOU HAVE A SON. HIS NAME IS HARRY. I AM HIS GODFATHER,” he bellowed.
“My wife is Carolyn Potter, mister, our son’s name is Franklin, and you are most definitely NOT his godfather. Now leave us alone, or I’ll call the police.” He held up a strange-looking metal device with buttons on it and a screen.
“DAMN YOU, PRONGS! GO TO HELL!”
With that being said, Sirius stormed out of the café, leaving Dr. and Mrs. Potter to their lunch.
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Behind the Curtain by Virgil
Chapter Notes:This second chapter is dedicated to Kreacher for no particular reason.
Chapter Endnotes: Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! Remember: reviews = love. Stay tuned, because Chapter Three is nearly finished and should be in the queue shortly.