The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part Two

Just Like You Told Me

It took several minutes before Peter and the girl came back down the corridor, the mediwizards appeased by whatever Peter had to say. She stayed close to his heels, her yellow-and-black Hufflepuff uniform jumper a tiny bit tight about her middle and her hair unruly. She looked nervously between the boys and her eyes landed and lingered on Sirius.

"This is Oni Lamm," Peter said.

"Hi," Oni said, and she held out her hand to greet Remus.

Remus stared at her with a funny look on his face, then turned and looked at Sirius, who was also staring with a funny look on his.

James pushed 'round Sirius and took the offered hand, shaking firmly. "James Potter," he offered, then, "These are Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. They do know manners, they've just seem to have misplaced them. Sorry about them."

"So you're Oni Lamm," Sirius said, staring at her.

"And you're Sirius Black," Oni replied, staring back at him.

James looked between the pair of them, then asked, "You two know each other or something?"

"We were betrothed, Prongs," Sirius answered. "But this is the first time we've met."

Remus muttered, "Except for when we've been getting curry the last year."

"Only during break from school," Oni said.

"So what were you doing? Hanging about nearby to - to try and collect on your betrothal?" Sirius asked.

"Because you can't. He's married," Remus input.

Sirius, James, Peter, and Oni looked at Remus.

"What?" Remus asked, looking at James, then Sirius, "You are."

"You say it as though I'm about to run off with my cousin," Sirius said pointedly.

"You do have to cut him a break that you threaten to do that on Tuesdays and Bank Holiday," James murmured.

"You are a very different sort of cousin," Sirius answered.

"And also you don't actually do anything on Tuesdays or Bank Holidays, yeah?" Remus said, half joking.

Sirius looked at him with a grin and a sparkle to his eyes. "What happens on Tuesdays and Bank Holidays stays on Tuesdays and Bank Holidays," he answered.

James looked at Remus and shook his head no.

"I'm much more interested in the younger Black brother anyway," Oni added.

All four Marauders heads snapped to look at Oni.

"What? Regulus?" Sirius said and he instinctively turned his body as though blocking the door to the hospital room behind him. He stared at her, his face completely straight, eyes cold, "It's extremely heartless of you to bring up my dead brother. You clearly haven't kept up with the family very well." Sirius's entire body had gone into a protective stand.

Oni stared right back into Sirius's eyes. "I'm here to see Freddy, actually."

"Nope. Not gonna happen. He's injured and not taking visitors. You might as well march back off to Hogwarts." Then, "Wait. How do you fucking know Freddy?"

Sirius felt like Oni's mouth moved in slow motion as she said, "He came and told me about it himself, didn't he? The same as he did you!"

Silence fell between them all. James looked uncomfortably toward the room, and muttered something about blood not being so bad after all, and ducked back inside the room, leaving Peter, Sirius, and Remus in the corridor.