The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

Can't Bring Me Down

Sirius trotted 'round the building, clutching his rose, his whole heart just fit to burst with joy and disbelief at his own experience. He kept looking at the folds of the petals on the rose to reassure himself that the whole thing had been real.

He made it to the front of the venue, near the door where they'd gone in, and there was still quite a bit of crowd lingering. Many people stood about talking and he could see there was a traffic jam in the road past the lot, where all the cars were trying to go to leave. Somebody was playing Queen on a portable 8 track player and the sound of Freddie's voice - sounding so different to Sirius now than it ever had before, as though hearing it in life had made the tapes sound like a memory - filled the air as he looked around for Remus, James, and Lily.

He came to a stop under a street lamp that glowed a pool of warm light and stood there, craning his neck, trying to see over the crowd. He hated being so short.

"Excuse me, can I bum a fag?"

Sirius looked up and found a young man standing beside him. The guy looked... familiar. Sirius studied him a moment warily, then reached into his pocket and got the box of Marlboros out, shaking one free and holding it out to the guy. It didn't occur to him to wonder how the kid knew he would have a smoke on him. Sirius lit the cigarette with his silver lighter and he pocketed both the cigarettes and the lighter again.

The kid stood there, holding the cigarette, letting it burn without taking a drag.

"Good show?" he asked.

Sirius said, "The best."

"I'm Freddy Jenkins, by the way," the kid said. He took a smallest little breath of the cigarette, the smoke coming back out almost immediately. He still coughed.

"Alright?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," the kid's voice pinched a bit as he slammed his chest, recovering.

"You never smoked before, huh?"

"I have!"

Sirius shrugged - letting it go. He was in way, way, wayyyy too good a mood to argue with a little twit like this. He turned to look around for his husband and friends.

"What's that rose for?" The kid asked. He was holding the lit cigarette at arm's length like it was a grenade.

Sirius couldn't help himself, it didn't matter if it was a total stranger, he was too excited to keep it in. "Freddie fucking Mercury gave it to me!"

The kid blinked in surprise. "He what??? No way. You met Freddie Mercury?!"

"Yeah I did!!! Just now, 'round back! He - he knocked me down in the back lot!" Sirius lit up like the sun. "And he was so fucking cool."

The kid's face was bright with excitement too. "I am so happy you got to meet him, Sirius, I - I really am - I -"

Sirius's face went funny. "How'd you know my name?"

The boy stammered, "Earlier. When we met in the lot. Remember? When the bus came and we were waiting on line. I was talking to your friend -- ?"

"Oh. Lily told you? Right. Sorry. I was distracted... What was your name again?"

"Freddy Jenkins."

Sirius nodded. The kid did look familiar  in a way he couldn't quite pace. If they'd talked to him earlier, Sirius reckoned that explained that, then. He didn't remember talking to the kid earlier but who knew - he barely remembered his name himself. 

But fuck - Freddie Mercury knew his name, didn't he?

Did anything else matter?

As though in answer to whether anything else mattered, Sirius suddenly heard his name shouted and he looked up to see Remus Lupin running across the lot, his eyes wild with relief, and Sirius grinned, running to Remus in return, his arms spread wide, the rose carefully clutched in his fist as he slammed into Remus, hugging him with one arm as Remus wrapped himself about Sirius.