Boys Will Be Bugs

Chapter 93: Pub

Remus took Sirius to the bar a few hours later, once the Sun began to set and they'd all finished having dinner. Mrs Potter had made butter chicken with rice and Remus stayed because he thought it would be rude not to— which was code for him not being quite ready to go home yet. He felt guilty to admit it, but Potter Manor was far more welcoming at the moment than his own house. Dinner would probably have just been something basic, like chips, or cereal if neither of them could be bothered to cook anything. Other than that, they'd likely sit in front of the TV until bed. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but the Potters offered a nicer alternative.

It turned out that three people in the fireplace was a pretty tight squeeze and made the journey to the pub even more uncomfortable than it already was. That didn't stop them from picking Peter up on the way there, though, who— according to James— hadn't been nearly involved enough in the events of the past few days and needed to be caught up on everything that had happened. Peter was both impressed and concerned for Sirius, but was quickly assured that Sirius was safely hidden away and didn't have to worry about being bothered by his family anymore.

Which was code for... they weren't going to talk about the long term repercussions yet.

The pub was busy as always, and Remus wasn't easily able to catch Selene alone for long enough to explain everything, since she was manning the bar pretty much on her own now. Remus got himself a chair and began mixing a few drinks in order to lighten the load and eventually he was able to ask her about a prospective job for Sirius.

"He needs a place to work," said Remus. "He can't live with the Potters forever, and he needs money."

"I can't exactly give him much," replied Selene. "I only hired you because I could get away with paying you pocket money."

"Charming," scoffed Remus. He handed a bottle of Firewhiskey to one of the patrons without even looking. "But it doesn't have to be a lot of money. To be honest, I think he just needs some sort of motivation. He's been a bit lost ever since he left home."

"I don't mind hiring him," replied Selene. "God knows I'm not about to turn away some disowned kid from a job here, I mean that would be going against the whole reason for this place, but both of you will have to more or less rely on tips for proper wages."

"That's fine, I already do."

"And you're still planning on working here?" Remus frowned.

"Of course I am," he said. "I was only taking a break."

"I know, but I'm still worried you've got a bit too much on your plate right now."

"I'm fine! Besides, I'm fifteen, most kids my age have a part-time job."

"Yeah, but not usually one that's so chaotic, or one that goes on so late. I just don't want you losing sleep."

"I'd lose sleep anyway, I never get to sleep until about one in the morning."

"Well, that's a problem, Remus." Remus waved her concerns away with a noncommittal gesture.

"Forget it, it's fine. I'd like to continue working here."

"Alright, well, I'll get you a proper chair to sit down in and I'll make the drinks easier to reach if you'd like."

"How?"

"Oh I can easily charm them so they come to you when you need them. I do that myself sometimes when the bar's particularly busy."

"Sounds good," he said. "Thanks." Selene nodded and walked away to clean up some of the booths that had been left with crisp wrappers and empty glasses strewn all over them. Remus caught sight of Sirius sitting at one of them. He was sitting with his back to the wall, feet up on the chair with his knees to his chest. He was staring at the patterns in the material of the seat and vaguely chewing at his nails. He wasn't doing anything, it didn't even look like he was fully present in the room. Remus watched him for some time; he couldn't go over to him because he was the only one tending the bar at the moment, but he signalled James over and asked him to give Sirius a butterbeer and maybe try to talk to him.