The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Manners, Evans

Manners, Evans

"I've never ridden in a muggle motorcar before," Sirius Black said. He stared at the little red car - a Morris Mini, Sirius recognized it from some of the automobile and motorbike magazines he'd taken to reading the year before at school, knicked from the bookshelves in the Muggle Artefacts Museum. He was standing in Lily Evans's driveway, holding the strap of his small bag. It had to be nearly 40 degrees outside, yet Sirius was still wearing his leather jacket and a pair of jeans that had been ripped in several places and repaired with safety pins. His hair was wilting.

Lily Evans hoisted a suitcase into the boot of the car. She was wearing a short blue sundress with a string that tied 'round the back of her neck instead of sleeves. Sirius had a feeling James Potter would like that sundress very, very much. And James Potter would especially enjoy the view that Sirius currently had as Lily leaned over the bumper to lay the case flat, standing on her tiptoes, her bum sticking out of the boot, barely covered by the hem of the skirt.

A little blue car drove up - a really nice little blue car, and of the two little blue things (Lily's dress and that car), Sirius was far more interested in that car and he turned, raising his sunglasses to look at it, his eyebrows raised. The car came to a stop at the curb out front of the Evans's house and the driver door opened and a round boy with a thick neck and black hair got out. He was wearing shorts and a short-sleeve plaid shirt with sandals. The boy straightened his shirt then walked around the pretty blue car to the driveway, pausing to look Sirius over with judgemental eyes - though Sirius was too busy staring at the car to notice the boy.

The boy eyed Lily for a moment, then said, "Hello. Is Petunia inside, then?"

Sirius finally noticed the boy for the first time and he stared at him for a long moment. This, by his description alone, had to be Petunia's Rhinoceros, Sirius realized, remembering last Christmas, when James had used the two-way mirrors to tell Sirius all about his trip to the Evans's house and how Petunia Evans had a boyfriend who sold drills who was the most boring person alive.

Boring, probably.

But damn did he have an alright taste in cars.

"Hullo Vernon," Lily said, her voice sounded friendly, but she really hated him. She said, "This is my friend Sirius Black," and she waved her palm at Sirius.

Vernon cast a bored look at Sirius, then held out his hand in an obligatory fashion. "Vernon Dursley, pleasure to meet you."

Sirius stared at Vernon Dursley's hand a moment, then grasped it and shook it a bit more vigorously than was really necessary. When he let it go, Vernon wiped it off on his shorts. "Sirius Black," said Sirius. "What kind of car is that?"

"That's a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT."

Sirius drifted toward it and Vernon winced, following after him.

"It's fucking amazing," Sirius said. "Oooh are the seats leather?" he reached through the open window to run his hand over the cream coloured seat, grinning when he found that they were, indeed, leather. "Is it yours?"

"Yes," Vernon said, his voice pinched.

Sirius said, "Lucky."

"Busy, more like. I work very hard." He paused. "What do you do?"

"Do?" Sirius asked.

"For a living?"

Sirius blinked. "Oh. Um. I'm still in school."