The Marauders: Year Two | #Wattys2016

Number 12

Number 12

Sirius would have prefered if the Express took all of eternity to arrive back to King's Cross station. He kept his spirits up on the train, pushing out the thought of arriving, joking with the lads, until at last the wheels ground to a halt and the whistle blew and the hiss of the steam letting loose from the engine echoed all around him. He watched with apprehension as the other three got their things down from the racks overhead, just fine with being the very last one to do so.

Remus ducked low to peer out the window. "I see my dad," he said. There was a sort of hollow tone to his voice. It was, after all, the first time Remus had been home since last summer - when his mother had been killed. With all the drama and changes that had gone on at Hogwarts that term, it had been very easy to forget that beneath all the stuff that Remus already had to contend with, he was still dealing with the loss of his mother. He sighed. "I better go..." He started for the door. Loads of students were passing by the compartment and he was forced to pause in the frame of the door to wait his turn. He looked back at them. "Whatever it is you're doing this summer that you won't tell me about? Just please be careful, alright?"

"Like Sirius said, mate, just don't squash any bugs for a piece," James grinned.

"Except spiders 'cos they ruddy deserve it," squeaked Peter.

Remus looked helplessly at them in confusion but before he could reply, the sea of students had swept him up like a rip tide and he was gone.

Sirius turned to Peter, "And what if you turn into a spider?"

Peter shuddered, "Don't even suggest it!" he whined, "They're horrid!"

James smirked. "See you, Peter," he said. "Don't forget the plan."

"I won't forget the plan," Peter said. But James worried because Peter had already been told three times to remember his scarf and yet Sirius still had to duck out after him, waving it about to remind him about it.

Sirius sighed very heavily, watching Peter melt into the crowd.

James looked at Sirius. "You alright?"

Sirius shrugged.

James studied him for a long moment, "You can come home with me, mum and dad won't mind. I think dad rather fancied having a second boy in the house."

Sirius shook his head, "I really want to, but I've got to think about Regulus."

James nodded, "Alright, I understand that. But if you change your mind - there's always extra pyjamas at my place, alright?"

"Thanks mate," Sirius said and he pulled James into a bone-crushing hug for a moment before quickly letting go and jumping back. "Blimey, look at us, carrying on like we aren't going to see each other in just a couple weeks."

James smiled. "Yeah. Well, you are, anyway, I'm just standing here playing the victim." Sirius punched his arm and as the last of the students passed by the compartment, James rushed out to follow them up, carrying Bubo's cage, followed by Sirius.

Out on the platform, James said bye to Sirius and he rushed across the concrete to where Dora stood, alone, flanked by the auror Moody. Sirius watched as James was greeted by them and whisked away - turning back to wave once more to his mate before disappearing. Sirius watched Remus and his dad leave, too, and Peter with his mother. He watched as one by one the students of Hogwarts disappeared through the brick wall into King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾ emptying quickly, until it was just him, Sirius, and the last wisps steam of the engine.