The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part One

Found Choking on a Pastille Scarf

For the second time in a day, Sirius Black was found smoking on the embankment outside the Auror Training Center. He grinned widely when he saw his target emerging from the center, clad in a long grey trench that aurors wore, but wrapped in a brightly colorful striped scarf.

"Frankiiiieeee!" Sirius drawled, tossing his cigarette and stomping it as he walked toward Frank Longbottom. He grinned, "Pastille pickin' Mama, pass those pastilles 'round, mate!"

Frank looked up, "Huh?"

"Your scarf, Frankie, it looks like a tube of Rowntrees." Sirius flung an arm about Frank's shoulders.

Frank looked down at the scarf, "Oh. Alice knitted it for me."

"Excellent, well I admire your bravery to wear it... Now listen, mate, I've got a bit of a conversation to have with you, and I do need you to be quite straight with me."

"As opposed to gay with you?" Frank asked, "I know you're taken, Black."

"Funny Longbottom," Sirius said, "Reckon I could free up a couple Thursdays a year for you, but that's not why I'm here, darling." They'd walked a bit away from the still emerging after-work foot traffic, and they were against the stone bulwarks, looking down at the dock of a sight seeing ferry boat on the Thames. Over the way, Tower Bridge loomed on the horizon. Sirius sat himself down on the stone wall, and Frank stood a couple paces off, hands jabbed into his pockets.

"And why are you here then?" Frank asked.

Sirius grinned, "Tell me about auror training."

Frank stared at Sirius a moment, then sighed, "What's on? You don't really want to know about training..." He looked around, "What are you trying to distract me from? Where are the other idiots?"

"The lads have nothing to do with this, I do want to know about training, and stop being a git."

Frank studied Sirius a moment, then said, "I dunno, it's a lot of doing paperwork for the licensed Aurors, a lot of drills and Moody has us running agility courses to increase our wand response time. Last week I was running a course and --"

"That's lovely. What about in your first year of training? Did you work many assignments?"

Frank's eyes narrowed, and he stared at Sirius for a long moment.

"I'm just curious!" Sirius said.

Frank replied, "Look, Black, I've had a long day and mum's waiting for me back home, so I better --"

Sirius jumped down from the wall, heading Frank off. Under his breath, he asked, "Why would Underhill give a rookie auror, only a few months in, an actual case? Is that heard of? Did you have to go looking for ickle mossing tots, too, your first year?"

Frank sighed, rolled his eyes to the sky, and muttered something about Sirius being a persistent bastard.

"Longbottom," Sirius said, "C'mon, let's be real here. If a little girl is missing, why isn't every auror in London out looking for her?"

Frank kept his face perfect straight.

"Why isn't it in the papers and why isn't anyone treating this with any urgency? I get it the parents are dead, but surely somebody is interested in what happened to the little snot-popkin, yeah?"

Frank closed his eyes in some mixture of annoyance and amusement, and finally said, "Alright, listen, but you can't tell James or he and I will both end up revoked and I'll bloody hex you to next Tuesday."

"I rather enjoy Tuesdays, so it isn't the threat you think it is, but I swear on your pastille scarf I won't say a word."

"Alright, well, if you do, you'll be remembered as the bloke what died from choking on a pastille scarf, you understand?" Frank said. Sirius grinned. "Bleeding hell," Frank muttered, "C'mon at least come with me to get a pint while we talk, it's cold as a Dementor's arse out here."