The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Trouble

Trouble

James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin sat side-by-side-by-side-by-side across the desk from Gideon Prewett in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Remus had his fingers tangled about Sirius's at their hips. James stared straight down at his trainers, and Lily stared, pale and nervous, at Gideon.

The door to Gideon's office opened, burst, really, and there was Mrs. Potter, breathless and frazzled, her eyes red from crying. Remus felt Sirius's fingers tighten 'round his at the sight of her, and James sank in his chair... low... low... low... and Lily glanced over at him as he slid down until his chin touched his chest and he sort of resembled a turtle peeking out of his shell.

Dora's eyes were piercing. "Yes, that's right, James Charlus Fleamont Potter, you best be looking quite ashamed of yourself!"

She'd four-named him. James turned red. He was in so bloody much trouble. Dora never four-named him. Even when she was just regular angry, he was still only James Charlus. Never, ever did she tack on the Fleamont bit.

This is what it's like to face certain death, James thought.

"You disappeared from the hospital, didn't tell your father where you were going, didn't bother to tell me you were leaving him - all alone, he was! What if something happened?! - and you go off without a trace! Not at the house - Kingsley sent a patronus to check! Nothing! Then I get an emergency owl from the Ministry! An emergency owl from the Ministry for Magic, James Charlus!" Dora's hands shook, "Do you have any idea, the things I thought! And I find out it's because you were flying a motorcar! OVER LONDON!"

James kept his eyes down.

"Honestly. A flying motorcar!"

Sirius shifted his weight then, accidentally calling attention to himself.

Dora turned, wagging a finger at him. "AND YOU!" she said, "You! Sirius Orion!"

As upset as he was that she'd turned on him (Sirius's eyes had gone wide when she did), Sirius still couldn't help but thrill at the fact that while Dora Potter had used his middle name to yell at him, she had not used his last name. As though she understood what a horrible insult his last name seemed to him. As though she - could it really be? - thought of him as hers, as a Potter more than a Black.

"Sirius Orion! Flying a MOTORBIKE! Those things are dangerous enough on the ground, not to mention you add flying to the mix!"

Sirius flushed, "Well... at least I wore a helmet this time."

"Yes a helmet will do such a lot of good when you get sucked into an aeroplane's propellers!" Dora said.

"There weren't any --" Sirius started to say, but Dora's expression made him stop.

"Your father is worried sick about both of you!" she said, angry. "As if he -- or I, for that matter! -- needed anything more to worry about - with everything that's going on! As if we didn't already have plenty on our minds!!!"

Sirius's cheeks were quite red.

Lily looked up in concern. There was something horribly sad about the tone of Mrs. Potter's voice and Lily glanced at James, remembering the owl that had come that day when they were at the sea... "It's my dad," he'd said. The memory made her stomach knot up. She felt guilty for not being there properly for him.

"Could've been killed - could've crashed! Broken the statute of secrecy! You're just bleedin' lucky you're underage or they'd be sending you to prison, more than like!" Dora yelled. "You can't do these things anymore James, you turn seventeen this year! Do you think -- I want - for even a second -- to imagine my sons in Azkaban?"