Marauders - Always - Part One

Not An Option

James followed Sirius up the stairs of the all women-occupants building that Marlene and Emma's flat was on the top floor of. James had never visited Em and Marlene at home before, and was surprised to find some of the girls on lower levels had hung their laundry out to dry on the railings overlooking the stair well in front of their flats so that he and Sirius were climbing the stairs with brassieres flying like flags. James turned a bit red and tried not to look, and Sirius laughed, turning back to look at James, mocking, "You've seen plenty of these things by now, surely, with a Prongslet on the way..."

"Yes but they were all Lily's," James said.

At the top, Sirius knocked rapidly on the door, standing on his tip toes to peer into the small peephole in the door. He couldn't see anything, of course, but it always got him the same reaction when he did it.

The door opened up, "Sirius Black nobody wants to look out their peephole and see the inside of your nostril!" Marlene said.

Sirius grinned, "You love my nostril, rather!"

"I most certainly do not," Marlene replied.

Sirius grinned.

"If you're here about your leather jacket, I was going to return it in the morning," she said. "Although I ought to keep it - as payback for the Polaroid camera."

"You wouldn't dream of it," he said.

James cleared his throat and Marlene looked up in surprise, spotting him. "James. Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Wow, what a way to say hi, Miss Manners!" Sirius said.

James said, "What Sirius isn't doing so well at explaining is that we're here in account of an emergency... We sort of need Em."

"Sirius's leather jacket is hardy an emergency..."

"It's Remus's friend, Spencer," James interrupted Marlene's laughter, "He's been accidentally poisoned and St. Mungo's turned him away. We're hoping Em can help us."

"What's wrong with Spencer?"

The door was opened wider and there was Emma and Lula before them. Lula's eyes were red from crying, her hair half down from the lovely Grecian-goddess updo that she'd had it styled in all night at the party. Marlene was wincing, and Emma looked worried. It was Lula, though, who had asked what was wrong.

James glanced at Sirius, and Sirius said, "Food poisoning. Obviously." He cleared his throat. "Em - a word, perhaps?"

"Is he alright?" Lula asked.

"He'll be grand soon enough," Sirius answered, putting on the sunshine as Emma extricated herself from the cluster of girls and stepped into the hallway as James stepped back from the door.

"Are you sure?" Lula asked.

"I mean, he's probably still sopping off after you doused him with that lemonade," Sirius chuckled, "But otherwise --"

Lula looked upset and she turned and ducked back into the depths of Emma and Marlene's flat. Marlene sighed heavily, "We just got her calmed down," she said.

"Yes well," and Sirius lowered his voice, "Spencer hasn't got food poisoning but actual fucking poisoning. Aconite," he clarified, looking to Emma, whose eyes widened and jaw dropped.

Marlene looked at Emma and back at Sirius, then said, "I'll go talk to Lu." She turned and ducked back into the flat.

Emma looked between Sirius and James the moment the door had closed, "Aconite poisoning, but that's extremely serious. Very toxic stuff. You lot need to get him to Mungo's immediately and --"