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Who: Sirius (

pottershotter), and eventually Beiste (

usskickass).
Where: The hallway outside Beiste's room and Beiste's room itself.
When: The 20th.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Beiste's Christmas present to James and Sirius was the first three Harry Potter books. They've finished them, and like the very annoying people that they are, they've taken it upon themselves to pester her for more.
The Story:

Sirius shows up just down the hall from Beiste's room, waiting for James. He's grinning, because this plan is absolutely brilliant. They'll just apparate into Beiste's room, and go from there. The end result is that they'll have more books to stick their noses into, and they'll be one step closer to finding out the secrets Beiste hasn't told them.

He taps his feet a few times, waiting for James to arrive. He's only starting to get impatient. He wants his best mate to come along for this, because well, it's going to be hilarious and it's also important. Very important.

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James can't help his tardiness. He's had his face in those books pretty much since they received them, reading and re-reading them, trying to extract every last detail. At times he was horrified, at others he was awed. He's going to have a son with Lily! But...they're going to die. Reading about the Dursleys made him both angry and queasy. He had never even seen this boy, but he was furious that they had just tossed him into a cupboard under the stairs. And don't even get him started with all that confusing business about Peter, and Sirius the falsely accused ex-con.

However, fury won't get them more answers. So he shows up where he and Sirius agreed to meet, even if he missed the when of it.

"Sorry." He grins a little bit, and gives a shrug. "I got caught up in a book."

The minute he sees James, Sirius remembers all the details of the books he's just read: the fact that James married Lily and they had a son, and that he was named their son's godfather. It boggles his mind, really. And yes, he couldn't help but rage a bit when he read about what James's son's relatives did to him.

What staggered him the most, and knocked him down a peg or two, was the whole business with him being thrown into Azkaban and blamed for the murders of his best friends. So yes, he understands why James wasn't exactly on time. He understands being buried in the books, but he also needs to read more.

"It's fine, mate," he says when James arrives. "I was caught up in one too." He claps him on the back. "That was an illuminating read."

What else is there to say? The books were illuminating, and saddening, and completely maddening all at once. But they wanted to know what happened, and now they know.

"Oh, yes," James concurs. "It was completely enlightening. I couldn't put it down."

Joking about it kind of helps, talking about it like it was on the Wizarding World's list of best sellers. But James is already scheming and searching for loopholes. Almost everything he's read so far bothers him, but he's sure that this isn't how things are meant to be. It can't be.

So they'll just have to do something about it.

"So, now that I'm finally here, why don't we go pay our dear friend here a visit?" he says. "There's still more books, after all. And there's still plenty of time for whoever this author is to reveal that Lily and I have been hiding in the Swiss Alps this whole time."

It's just one of over a hundred possibilities he's come up with in the last month or so.

"Who would have thought that the two of us would be this excited about a book?" Well, excited may not be the right word, but it fits with their joking manner. Sirius doesn't want to believe the books are true, because what's written in them can't be the way their stories go.

There is much brainstorming and plotting ahead, because he is not about to let this lie.

"That's a terrific idea, James," he replies. "We should see what else she can tell us." Or give them. He hopes that she'll remain cooperative.

"So, are you ready to go?"

Edited 2012-01-21 20:56 (UTC)

"Remus would be pretty proud of us," he adds.

Really though, James wishes Remus was still in Wonderland. He and Sirius are bright on their own, of course, but Remus is brilliant. Notice that Remus is not the one in those books who winds up dead or winds up in prison; no, he's the one who becomes a professor. He'd have some good ideas about all of this.

He just grins at Sirius though.

"Of course I'm ready! I was born ready! What's taking you so long anyhow?" And he laughs and claps him on the back in return. Yep. They're ready.

Sirius nods. "He would think we were playing a trick on him, though, since I'm pretty sure he's convinced that he'll never rub off on us."

It's unfortunate that Remus isn't with them now. They really could use his brains. And yes, the fact that Remus became a professor says a lot.

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about ways to prove those books wrong." He laughs and shrugs before going on.

"What do you think, James? Should we drop in on our good friend?" Emphasis on the words drop in. "A little apparition never hurt anyone, anyway."

"No, never," James agrees. And then pauses. "Well. Aside from all those people who get splinched, but I'd like to think we've got this down by now."

You know, with the year or so that they've been legally able to apparate. Whatever. Laws are for people who didn't teach themselves how to turn into animals when they were fifteen.

"But yes, let's go drop in on her," he says, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Preferably before she hears us talking out here. We can't lose the element of surprise now."

And in just a blink, they apparate into Coach Beiste's room, giving a whole new meaning to breaking and entering.

Shannon was just about ready to head out for the day. She enjoyed running in the winter-- it was brisk. But it always left her rushing back in for a hot shower, and that meant reapplyin' her makeup...

Being a lady was hard work and a whole lotta hoops.

And it was this set up that lead to her painting a stripe of lipstick across her cheek upon the sudden appearance of the two young wizards in her mirror. "Holy--"

She spun around, eyes wide. "What the heck're you two thinkin'? I might've been in my unmentionables!"

The thrill of apparating was something Sirius would never get used to. It was exhilarating and fun, as long as splinching wasn't involved. The only thing that made it better was when he could use it to take someone completely by surprise.

That was why he couldn't help but laugh at Beiste's face and her reaction when he and James just appeared in her room.

"Well, hello. Did we surprise you?"

The fun of taking someone by surprise when apparating is dramatically increased when said someone is a muggle. There's a laugh that wants to sneak out of James as he looks from Sirius to Beiste.

"I imagine we must have," he answers for her. "Sorry to startle you, but we really just couldn't help ourselves. We...just wanted to thank you for that generous Christmas present, and it just couldn't wait a second longer."

James peeks around, to see just where they apparated to. He doesn't seem at all phased by the fact that she could have been in her knickers when they turned up. If anything, it might have been even funnier that way.

"We figured this was a bit flashier than writing out thank you cards," he adds.

Edited 2012-01-21 23:56 (UTC)

It was recklessness like this that made it not all that surprising that...

Crap. They were going to want the rest of the books. Beiste winced and turned back to the mirror, wiping off the errant lipstick with a tissue. Anything to stall. Anything to give her time to think.

"Well, I'm glad you liked them. Sorry you had to read...certain parts, though." She looked at them in the mirror. "You read 'em pretty fast, though."

"I have to say, there were parts that I just can't believe," Sirius said. "I mean, can you imagine me going to prison?" He laughs heartily at that. Joking about it is better than the alternative.

James laughs too. "That was a bit much."

He wants to add that it implies that he could ever get caught doing any of the less than legal things they've done, but 1) it isn't that funny given the circumstances, and 2) isn't she a teacher where she's from anyway? It probably isn't the brightest idea, so he keeps quiet on that front. He just gives Sirius a little look that should convey most of that without any words at all.

"They were good though," he adds. "Real page-turners. We couldn't put them down, even with the darker parts."

In fact, those were the parts James paid the closest attention to.

"There's more of them, aren't there?" he asks, innocently enough.

Beiste hesitates. There's no point in lying but she just doesn't know if she can bring herself to give these two the rest of the books. Not knowing what happens to Sirius, not to mention James's son over the course of them...

"Yeah, there's more." She pauses, carefully weighing her words as she continued. "What did you really think of those books, though?"

Sirius catches most of what James meant to convey, as far as not revealing some of the questionable things they've done is concerned. Instead, he nods in agreement with James's description of the books. "I knew there had to be more. The way the last one ended and all," Sirius says. "What I wonder is, how much of this is real?"

He taps a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "Whoever wrote these obviously knows some things, but that doesn't mean it's decided, does it?"

"It's a good question," James chimes in. "I mean, plot aside, the little details are incredibly accurate. The spells, the places, the people...I kept reading it and waiting for something to be wrong, so I could claim the rest of it wasn't true."

But it might be. It scares him, but he's not about to let it show.

"It's certainly not decided though," he says. "If it is real...well. In your world it's a book series. I'm sure the good-doers will defeat the evil-doers in the end somehow. Right now, when and where we're from, everyone is a bit stumped on just how to make this war end. I figure that if we finish these books, we'll be able to end it ourselves, instead of having to wait almost two decades to make my orphaned son do it."

It's crazy, but James has always been a little crazy with his plans. He's determined; if this is true, he's not about to just sit here and let it happen, if he can help it. He won't let his best friend go to jail for his murder. He won't let his unborn son grow up in a cupboard under the stairs. He won't let Lily die.

He tries not to think about how well that last one is going to go according to those books and stands his ground.

Beiste looks between them. They really thing this is all fact, don't they? And yet they think they can change it?

"You...you know this is all written down already. Whether it's fictional or real, how can you be sure you can change it?" She shakes her head, frowning. "And anyway, other people have gone home and come back and they don't remember a thing about this place while they're gone. How're you gonna be different?"

Sirius nods along with everything James has just said. "Exactly. It's like James said. No one we know has a clue how to put a stop to the war that's going on. But if we can just get the rest of the books and finish them, maybe we can pick up some clues how to end it all." He shrugs. "It's a lot better than just letting all that happen and waiting for his son to come along and finish it."

Sirius even grins a little. "All right, so maybe we haven't the foggiest idea how we're going to change it, but that's all part of the adventure." It is a crazy plan, and it's not really much of one since they haven't thought out all the details, but crazy plans have just as much of a chance as succeeding as not-crazy ones. There's too much at stake to not make an effort. "We're going to be different because we have the most to lose."

Not to mention they have the most to gain.

"Sirius is absolutely right," James says. "We're also going to be different because if anyone can do it, it'll be us. I don't know if you've noticed, but we happen to be exceedingly clever. We'll find a way to remember."

And he waggles his eyebrows a bit in that oh-so-charming way.

"We'll know what to change if we finish the books," he adds, more seriously (no puns intended). "If it's this accurate on details, it'll be equally accurate on dates. We already have some clues about what to do. For instance, who...to not secretly make our secret-keeper."

It's hard to say. Peter is one of his best friends. He's still holding out hope that it's wrong, because Peter would never...but it's most likely true, if everything else is. James doesn't really know how to feel at all. There hasn't been time for it to sink in.

"Yeah," she mumbles, "sorry about that. Really."

She can't imagine how they feel. One of their best friends totally betrayed them. They know they're going to die or go to jail if they don't make the right choices. And the next books just make things worse.

"What if, hypothetically, there's nothing you can do?" She looks between them, trying to make sure they were actually considering it and not just allowing their masculine bravado and youthful naivety cloud everything. "Do you really want to know anything more after all that junk?"

Sirius waves a hand at Beiste. "Why are you apologizing?" She had nothing to do with what was in the books. Yes, what they read has been difficult to swallow, and Sirius would rather not spend any time thinking about James dying, Peter betraying them, and him going to jail. "We asked for this," he reminds her, determined to not let her feel bad for something they asked for.

"We still have to try. I can't not try now, knowing what we know now." Sirius glances at James, certain he feels the same. "We need to be prepared for what's coming, and the only way that's going to happen is if we read those books."

Sirius looks away then, his mind racing with possible things that could happen in the other books. It's almost too horrible to think about, especially since he's still processing the first three books.

James jumps right in the moment Sirius falters.

"We'll never know if there's nothing we can do until we give it our all," he says. "Unless we've done everything that we can think of, we won't have done enough. We can't just sit back and be afraid of what we might not be able to accomplish, or of what might happen if we fail. We have to just...do everything we can, and that includes learning everything we can about it. Even if it's painful."

He's still processing it too. The betrayal still stings, but he pushes through it as best as he can to do what he has to do. It's practically the definition of a Gryffindor.

So after that heartfelt speech, he looks up at her with that charming grin.

"Come on," he says. "I think we've made a pretty good case, don't you?"

Beiste is still afraid of what this'll mean. But she can give him that. "Yeah, you have."

She moves to her bed and starts rummaging underneath it. After a few moments, she pulls out individual copies of the next two books.

"These two are longer. Take your time." She hands them each their books. "And-- and short of You-Know-Who, if anybody shows up here? Finish readin' before you do anything, okay?"

Knowing the twists about Snape and the Malfoys made her just slightly nervous that they'd have an issue if those people showed up.

Sirius just nods along with everything James says. It's funny how they've always managed to think the same about most things. This is no exception.

James is right about everything. If they stopped now, they could hardly call themselves Gryffindors. But then he notices that Beiste has just pulled out the next two books, and he reaches for them with eagerness that's more like desperation.

"Of course we will," Sirius says, glancing in James's direction. "We'll be sure to read every detail before we do anything, right, James?" Excluding You-Know-Who, of course.

He holds his copies of the books like they are the most important things he's ever had. And in a lot of ways, they are.

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I am the worst tagger ever you guys, I'm so sorry.

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