The Marauders: Year Six Part 2 #Wattys2017

A Right Clumsy Bird

Peter and Wendy were spending a morning off together, sitting behind the green houses in the shade of a couple trees. They were sharing a chocolate broomstick, passing it back and forth, reading textbooks intently. Peter's fingers brushed hers as he took the sweet back and he hesitated, looking at the point of contact between their skins. Wendy looked up. "What is it?" she asked. "You alright?" A bit of the candy was stuck on her lips.

Sirius Black's voice was echoing about in his head from that night after the Quidditch match. Seeing their fingers touch like that had stirred up a bit of nervousness in Peter that churned about in his belly. His eyes moved from their fingers to her eyes.

"Peter?" Wendy asked, even more concerned now.

Peter lowered his fingers from the broomstick and cleared his throat. "Do you reckon that we're moving on slower than other couples?"

Wendy raised her eyebrow. "What?"

Peter flushed. "Its just that Sirius Black said —"

"Do you usually take dating advice from Sirius Black?" Wendy asked, and as Peter began to nod, she continued, "Because that's a terrible idea Peter!"

He looked surprised. "It is?" he asked.

Wendy nodded solemnly. "Very bad."

"Why's it bad?" Peter asked in confusion.

Wendy sighed, and turned to Pete, letting her divination textbook slide off her knee. "Because boys like Sirius are after just one thing and they don't consider what others are comfortable with. You and I are going at exactly the pace we're both comfortable with. It may be too slow for Sirius Black or James Potter or it might be too fast for some one else. But for us, Peter, it's just right. And bloody hell, that's all that matters! We're the only one it really bothers, yeah?"

Peter nodded as he digested her reply.

"You're comfortable as we are, aren't you, Peter?"

A smile crossed his lips and he nodded happily.

"Good, so am I." Wendy smiled and turned back to her textbook, leaning against Peter as she read. Peter felt a good deal better, as he usually did after talking to Wendy.

An owl flew into the side of James Potter's head as he lay about beneath the great tree by the lake on the edge of the grounds. Sirius was in the tree, floating leaves to land on Remus's book as he poured over it, staring quite intently at the words. The owl let out a hoot as it fell to the ground beside James, a letter tied to it's prone leg. "Right clumsy bird you are," Sirius snickered, sitting up.

James had let the snitch he'd been playing catch and release with escape and it buzzed off into the sky, zipping away until it was but a golden glint in the sky. "Bugger!" James cried. Remus didn't even look up, but waved his wand and a silent accio retrieved the snitch. "Oi, thanks mate!" James said, snatching it from the air and pocketing it as the owl stood and shook it's wings out. Then, with as much dignity as it could muster now it had toppled over, the owl stuck its leg out at James, offering up the slightly bent scroll. James untied it and handed over a couple owl berries and it flew away quickly, feathers still a bit ruffled in the wrong direction.

"What'd you get, Prongs?" Sirius asked, leaning to peer over James's shoulder.

"A letter from mum and dad!" he said, and he tore it open. Every time James received a letter from Dora and Charlus at school, a small pit arose in his stomach, afraid to find bad news. It was easily his greatest fear. It was good, however, and he grinned as his eyes scrolled over the note. "Ohhh, Padfoot, you're going to like this."