DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ87: A NORMAL DAY AT POTTER MANORϟ

"James, for Merlin's sake, get your own toast."

Rhea snatched her toast back from James's hands, scowling at him irritably. Sirius guffawed obnoxiously and Luna innocently shoved slice of toast into his mouth, making him choke.

"Luna," Sirius coughed violently, swallowing. "I hate you."

"Stop fighting." Aunt Mia said absently, stirring a large pot of soup with the help of Katie, the House Elf. "Can someone go wake Monty up? What is he doing?"

It was a normal Sunday at the Potter Manor, and everyone had woken up extremely late. Two weeks ago, their graduation had taken place. Lily, Remus and Peter often dropped in at Potter Manor every few days, especially since they had nothing to do. 

But that didn't mean they were entirely free to do whatever they wanted.

They had to file in applications and run in and out of the Ministry to apply for jobs like the good little kids they were. James, Sirius and Marlene had already signed the forms to undertake Auror training, while Mary had opted for Healer training. 

Peter had moodily confided in them that he wasn't good enough to get a job in the wizarding world, to which Aunt Mia had assured him that he'd find something soon enough. Remus, on the other hand, had all the right grades, but no one would really hire a werewolf in the Wizarding world. 

Rhea could tell this had upset him more than he let on, but he tried to stay optimistic for her sake.

Lily, on her part, was still in a dilemma. She had the right grades to apply for auror training, but she had no interest in it. Which was the same in Rhea's case—as much as she'd make a good auror, she wanted to aim for something else.

The two girls had made an appointment with one of the Ministry officials to take an aptitude test, which would allow them to organise their thoughts enough to choose a career path.

"How did James manage to become a morning person with Uncle Monty as his dad?" Rhea presently wanted to know, buttering her toast generously. "Are you sure you're not adopted, Jamie?"

James scowled at her, tearing his toast with his teeth like a dog. "Shut up, Arquette."

The teenagers froze, their spoons halfway to their mouths. 

Aunt Mia looked over towards them curiously. "What was that? Is that a nickname of sorts?"

Luna sent her a smile. "Yes, Aunt Mia. 'Arquette' means archer. Rhea is a lovely archer."

Rhea choked on her toast, her eyes watering. "Yeah, that's right." She cleared her throat, nodding. "I-er- am excellent with a bow and arrow."

Sirius snorted into his glass of pumpkin juice, winking at Rhea when she glared at him. "She surely is. She hit the bullseye when she aimed for Moony's heart."

James spat out his toast and began to laugh loudly, ignoring all table manners. Rhea blushed furiously, her bracelet turning pink too. Luna chuckled airily and continued to eat her toast. 

Aunt Mia gave them an amused smile, turning back to the stove with a shake of her head. "You four...don't think I haven't caught on to your lies, kids. One day I'll unravel them—mother knows best, after all."

"Yes, Mum." The four of them chorused with grins, sharing meaningful looks behind her back. 

They were interrupted by a huge yawn coming from the doorway, and they all turned to look at Uncle Monty, who had just woken up. His hair was incredibly messy as though it was a hamster's nest, and his glasses were askew as they sat on the tip of his nose. 

"Good morning." He murmured, walking over to Aunt Mia and giving her a clumsy kiss. James retched dramatically at his father's affection. 

"Morning!" Rhea, Luna and Sirius said in sync, beaming at Uncle Monty as he pulled out a chair for himself. 

"Sunday," he sighed in relief, opening the Daily Prophet sloppily and squinting to scan the contents. "Thank Merlin it's a Sunday—or else I'd be running around like a headless chicken with Moody breathing down my neck. Why are you so red, Rhea?"

"I'm not red." Rhea huffed, her bracelet betraying her words. "It's just a temporary problem of my blood vessels flooding my cheeks with blood."

"That sounds like something Remus would say." Luna chimed in dreamily, a knowing smile tracing her lips. 

Rhea banged her head on the table. 

"Ah, yes." Uncle Monty frowned a little, putting down the newspaper. "Remus Lupin. Good kid."

Sirius and James snorted quietly. Uncle Monty raised his eyebrows. 

"I'll still be having a chat with him, though." He continued sternly, looking at the back of Rhea's head, which was still lying on the table. "I'm afraid there's only one thing teenage boys think about, and he ought to know—"

"Argh!" Rhea groaned, hitting her forehead on the table repeatedly as James and Sirius sniggered. "Will you stop it? Contrary to popular belief, he's not a walking-&-talking hormone who's trying to fulfil his manly needs!"

"I was once a boy too, Rhea." Uncle Monty insisted, ignoring James's sarcastic 'Really?'. "Teenage angst is not uncommon, but all the same, it won't harm you to be extra careful—"

"I tried giving them the talk, uncle Monty." Luna interjected sadly, "But every time I brought up the Moon Frogs and Blibbering Humdingers talk—"

"Shut up!" Rhea roared, an incredulous grin on her face. She banged her hands on the table and stalked out of the room, leaving echoes of laughter behind her and Uncle Monty's advice calling out to her. 

"Can't even eat in peace without wanting to puke!"

"I hope you know all about protection—"

"Uncle Monty!"

So, you know...just another normal day at Potter Manor.