The Marauders: Year One | #Wattys2016

Return to Hogwarts

Return to Hogwarts

Orion and Walburga were quite pleased to be rid of Sirius - nearly as pleased as he was to be rid of them and Regulus and the hideous Kreacher. They delivered Sirius unceremoniously on the corner at King's Cross and had left before he'd even gotten his trunk onto the trolley to go in to Platform 9¾. He huffed indignantly as he struggled with the heavy trunk, with no luck at heaving it up. Suddenly, the trunk moved quite easily and he looked up to see James Potter at the other end of it.

"Heya, Black," James greeted him with a grin. Behind him, Sirius could see James's parents loading his own trunk onto another trolley, with Bubo in his cage, balanced precariously atop of the trunk. He looked Sirius over, "Blimey, mate, what are you wearing?"

Sirius had spent the last month of summer collecting articles of Muggle clothes each time he was able to sneak out of the house. He'd assembled quite the motley collection of outfits. Ripped jeans, which he safety pinned-shut again, old t-shirts advertising bands he'd never really heard of, and a leather jacket that he liked a rather lot and wore frequently. He grinned. "Isn't it wonderful? Muggle fashion. They call it punk rock," he informed James. "It's very rebellious."

"You look like you fell down and skinned yourself," James said, pointing at the hole at Sirius's knee.

"No, no, they're cut that way on purpose," Sirius explained, "It's cool."

"If you say so," James replied, shrugging.

"All the muggles are wearing them," Sirius answered.

Dora came over, followed by Charlus with the trolley. "Is this your friend?" Dora asked, smiling.

"Mum, this is Sirius Black," James said.

"Hello Sirius," said Dora, "I've heard a lot about you."

"Tons!" Added Charlus, smiling. "Good to meet you." He held out a hand and shook Sirius's.

Sirius smiled, "Nice to meet you, too, sir... ma'm."

Charlus led the way through the station, while Dora tried desperately to flatten down James's hair as they walked, her hands smeared with potion. "Stop it, mother," James complained, batting Dora away. "You've put enough of that in my hair."

"What is that?" Sirius asked, turning his nose up at the smell of it as they walked.

"That, my boy," said Charlus, stopping at the barrier to the platform and turning to look over at Sirius, "Is Sleekeazy Potion."

"Oh bloody hell," whispered James, eyes rolled heavenward. Sirius got the impression James had heard this a time or two.

"Sleekeazy Potion is a very special mixture I've invented at work in the Magically Useful or Helpful Pattens Office at the Ministry," Charlus said, "It's used to sleeken unruly hair - if used correctly and regularly," he added as James ran his fingers through his hair, purposely messing it up again. "It's based on this brilliant muggle concoction called petroleum jelly. Do you know what that is, Sirius?"

"No sir."

"Charlus Fleamont Woodrow Potter," snapped Dora, full-naming her husband as she might have her son, "For Heaven's sake the boy doesn't need a chemistry lesson. Let's go before they miss the train!" She pushed James forward, "You first, dear."

James ran forward through and onto Platform 9 ¾ quickly, soon followed by Dora.

Charlus turned to Sirius. "There's some other ingredients, including gomas barbadensis, but the real kicker that does the trick is the asian dragon hair." Charlus grinned. "Working on getting it mass produced. There's some that think the dragon hair might harm the dragons in the collectin' of it, but the asian dragons, they moult, you see. So the hair's just harvested off the Tibetan mountains is all. No harm done, and just a couple drops and poof! Sleek, nice looking hair - tamed from it's unruly ways. Sleekeazy Potion... TM.." He smiled and gestured toward the barrier, "After you."