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What Now What Now


Sirius and Remus didn’t go as far as James probably would have liked - but Sirius refused to go too far. He stood in the shop across the way, forcing Remus to look through the window display at James and Lily and report to him exactly what was going on.

“They’re just standing there,” it had started.

Then, “They’re talking… he tried at grabbing her hand and chickened out… No he’s doing it now… no, chickened out again…”

Sirius shook his head.

“They’re inside… Can barely see them… Alright there they are. They’re talking more. Going to order. She just took his hand!”

“Yes,” Sirius hissed. “Go Evans! Get the bloody chickenshit bastard!” An elderly witch who was looking at various colours of giant yarn balls in a big basket beside him glared at him. “Sorry, I have tourettes,” Sirius said and she harumph-ed and waddled away. Sirius spun on his heels and attempted to jump up to see over the display of giant sewing machines that he was too short to see over. He grabbed Remus’s shoulder. “What now, what now?”

“They’re waiting for the ice cream,” Remus said. “Ow, be careful, please. My back hurts.” Sirius had tried climbing Remus’s back. He stopped and glanced at his wrist and saw the full moon was approaching and he stood calmly by Remus then, rubbing his back, feeling sorry he’d tried at climbing on him so close to the full moon when he was sore like that. “They’re going to a table and -- OHHHhhhhhh!”

“WHAT! WHAT?!” Sirius jumped up and down wildly, but still couldn’t see. “WHAT?”

“He’s just dropped one of the cups of ice cream on her!”

“NO!”

“YES!” Remus winced, “No! James! ...Oh no. He’s touched her chest trying to clean it off. He’s as red as a beet.”

Sirius smacked his forehead. “Has she swatted his face yet?”

“No actually, she’s laughing. Bloody hell, she’s laughing.” Remus looked at Sirius.

“Don’t look at me, look at them -- look at them!” Sirius commanded, caught up in the drama that was the Jily Date.

Remu said, “Calm down, you’d think this directly affected your life.”

“It does directly affect my life.”

Remus said, “I mean like it’s your date.”

“It is my date!” Sirius said. “Bloody hell, this goes wrong and I’m the one that has to listen to him bitch about it for the next Merlin-knows-how-long, you know?” He paused. “Now what are they doing? Put your bloody tallness to use, mate!”

With a sigh, Remus turned to look again and said, “Alright, they’re talking again… talking… eating ice cream… talking… James looks like he’s talking about Quidditch. You know how he messes up his hair more than usual when he talks about flying?”

“Like he’s trying to make his hair look like he’s just come down?” Sirius asked, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah. He’s doing that.”

“Bloody git.”

“I think Lily’s just said that very thing to him.”

“Good!”

“He’s gotten up.”

“What? They’re done already?”

“It looks it.”

Sirius smacked his forehead, “He must be doing poorly.”

“I dunno,” Remus answered, she’s smiling and staring after him - he’s returning the dishes and spoons to the counter… Florean Fortescue’s talking to him now…” Remus paused. “Alright they’re coming out of the shoppe… she’s taking his hand again.”

“YES. GO EVANS!” Sirius pumped the air. “Bleedin’ hell at least one of them has bullocks in this relationship.”

“Can we not talk about James’s bullocks, please?” Remus asked, glancing down at Sirius.

That same elderly woman was back and she glared at Remus this time and Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus from behind and hugged him, staring at the woman, and said, “My boyfriend’s got tourette’s too.”

The old woman looked very disturbed.

“Sorry,” Remus said as she hurried away.

Sirius looked at Remus. “Don’t be apologizing to foolish old bats like that,” he said. Then, “Quick. Look for Prongs. What’s he doing now?”

Remus looked, but James and Lily were gone from view.

Damnitalltofuckinghellfuck!” Sirius said all in one breath.

Suddenly the shopkeeper appeared and clucked her tongue at them. “Out of this shop, you little hooligans!” She waved them along until the two boys had stumbled on out of the shop and into the street and Sirius made a very rude gesture with both hands at the door as the woman glowered at them from behind the pane of glass in the shop door. He grabbed onto Remus’s hand tightly as Remus tried quite hard to ignore the twisting in his stomach that such encounters caused him.

Suddenly there was a loud shriek down the street and Remus looked up - so did Sirius - and it was to see Lily and James by the Daily Prophet’s newstand on the corner, where a house elf stood, waving the paper at passers-by, trying to sell the afternoon edition.

“Shit,” Sirius said, and he and Remus ran down the alley to where they were.

Lily had grabbed the newspaper from the house elf and had unfolded the newspaper looking at the photo of Jasper Odair, holding his little prisoner number, his eyes blackened and nose bent funny, a look of stunned surprise on his face knuckles white with stress. She gasped and read the article outloud in little gasps as James shoved the payment into the houseelve’s hand for the copy as Lily ruffled the pages.

A hate crime against muggles! Madness! Tried as an adult by the wizengamot! Faces a life sentence!!!” Lily’s face was red with anger, then pale with fear, she turned to James, “They’re sending him to Azkaban?!” She stared up at James, “Did you see this? They’re trying to send Jasper to Azkaban!”

James hesitated, “I know, I saw it this morning. My dad’s gone to the Ministry to try and help him out. Mum’s in a right fit because he’s still not doing perfectly well and --”

“YOU KNEW?” Lily cried, turning to him, “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”

“I guessed you already knew, is all, you get the Prophet don’t you?” James asked.

Remus and Sirius had come to a stop a few steps behind James.

“Well yes, but I was so bloody busy getting ready to come see you this morning -- didn’t look at it -- oh my gods, James. Jasper.” She stared down at the paper again.

“I’m sorry. I thought -- I dunno, I thought you knew.”

“No! I never would’ve c--” Lily stopped before she could say the word come, but she’d said enough of it that he knew what the word was and he stopped and looked a bit hurt. Sirius put his palm on James’s shoulder and he looked to see it was him and then shrugged him off. “I don’t mean because I wouldn’t have wanted to, but just because -- I dunno, this is very upsetting. You understand. Don’t you?”

James nodded.

Lily looked at Jasper’s face in the photo and tears filled his eyes. “Bloody hell, he’s probably scared right to death.”

James said, “Yeah…”

Lily hugged the newspaper to her chest. “Do you reckon he can have visitors? I need to see him.”

James stared at her, at the way she looked so desperate about it - and he drew a deep breath, “I reckon my dad could get you in to see him.”

“Please?” Lily’s eyes were pleading.

James felt sick. But he nodded. “Yeah. Course. Here...um… come on. We’ll go to Rey’s house and… and you can ask him. C’mon.” James waved Sirius off again as Sirius was about to say something, to stop James from interrupting his date with Evans to bring her to see her exboyfriend, but Remus caught Sirius’s shoulder and shook his head with an expression that clearly said let them go and Sirius hung back and watched as James gently guided Lily down Diagon Alley toward the Leaky Cauldron.

“Well fuck,” Sirius murmured.

That same elderly witch happened to be walking by.

“Merlin’s left tit, woman, I have a filthy mouth, alright? Stop looking at me like that!”