All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

Summer 1977 ( Part 5 )

There’s a starman waiting in the sky

He’s told us not to blow it

‘Cause he knows it’s all worthwhile

He told me

Let the children lose it

Let the children use it

Let all the children boogie

 

Monday 29th August 1977

For the second full moon, Moody bound Remus to the bed in the attic. Sirius thought it was barbaric, but Remus insisted that he didn’t mind—the wolf did, though; he howled all night, long, mournful sounds that tugged at Sirius’s heart.

Despite the noise, however, Remus appeared to be in better shape; there were no open wounds, no bandages when he came downstairs. He was dressed in a new set of robes that Mrs. Potter had left in his room, and when he asked James about it, the other boy grinned.

“They’re for going out in,” he said, taking a bite of toast, “Diagon Alley today!”

There were only a handful of days left before they’d be boarding the Hogwarts Express, and it had been decided that the boys would spend the remainder of their summer in Diagon Alley. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were leaving for a few weeks, and though they refused to share any details about their trip, James was certain that it was something to do with Dumbledore. According to Moody, Diagon alley was crawling with undercover aurors, and everyone seemed satisfied that it should be safe enough for the three boys.

Their Hogwarts letters had arrived just a week before, and when James opened his envelope a shiny gold pin fell out. He’d gaped, for a moment; then,

“Bloody hell!”

Sirius had squinted at the engraved letters—HEAD BOY. “What the fuck?!”

“Language!” Mrs. Potter tutted, but she’d been smiling, clearly delighted.

Of course, James hadn’t been keen to wait around for his parents to fuss over him—he’d rushed immediately to write a letter to Lily, sending it off by owl and waiting eagerly next to the window until, twenty minutes later, they discovered that Evans had been named Head Girl.

“It’s fate!” James crowed, “Destiny!”

They travelled by floo to the Leaky Cauldron, a cosy (if a little tatty around the edges) pub that doubled as a B&B and sort of all-purpose meeting place for any wizards coming in or out of Diagon Alley. James had set them up with two twin rooms, and after checking in they lugged their trunks upstairs. Neither Sirius nor Remus had been able to come up with an excuse as to why they should share, so Sirius was in with James, Remus with Peter. The rooms were adjoining—not that it made much difference. Sirius doubted that there would be any sneaking into each other’s beds unnoticed, not with the creaky floorboards and absence of bed curtains.

Diagon Alley was jam packed, as it usually was near the end of summer, with students and their parents stocking up on school supplies. The marauders stopped by Gringotts first, where the goblins were extremely accommodating. They found Lyall Lupin’s vault, and Sirius was shocked to see how little Remus’s father had left him—he had always known that the Lupins didn’t have much, but…still. It hardly looked like enough to last Remus a year out of school.