The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part One

The Black Family Flair for Drama

By the time Sirius Black returned to the flat in East London, Lily and Remus had already soothed Tonk's whining and shipped her off back home to Andromeda, who, it turned out, had simply insisted Tonks keep her hair brown during a family dinner. "She really hates it when Andromeda makes her stay natural," Remus sighed, "She likes her hot pink hair."

Sirius said, "Beastly little thing, running away from home over something like that!"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, you're one to talk. It sounds to me like Tonks inherited just a smidge less of the Black family flair for drama than you did."

"Excuse me, I have not inherited anything from those people," Sirius said, dramatically.

Remus's eyebrow remained raised. "No?"

"No!" Sirius said, "I am offended that you could dare to suggest such a thing!" He said this with such a lofty voice that even he heard the Black in him and flushed, then, "Well anyway, it isn't as though any of the others on my pruned branch have it as grandly as I do."

"Regulus," coughed Lily.

Sirius glared at her.

"Practically twins," she coughed again.

"Excuse you -" Sirius started.

"Yes, excuse me. Had myself a coughing fit," Lily smirked.

Sirius smirked back.

"So where did you pop off to?" Remus asked. He was glad that the encounter with Tonks hadn't taken a dreadful amount of time, he was exhausted and honestly didn't have the energy for any dramatics. Especially though he wasn't maritally obligated to put up with.

Sirius shrugged, suddenly nonchalant. "Just, you know, about."

"You said you were off to see Frank," Lily reminded him.

Sirius nodded slowly, "Oh, yeah - yeah that's right, yeah. Frank was there."

Remus and Lily shared a look of mutual suspicion, and both turned back to Sirius. "Alright, out with it, what've you been doing, young man?" Lily demanded.

Sirius feigned shock. "Really, of all the things - accusations against me are really piling right up tonight, aren't they!"

"Out with it, sir," Remus said.

Sirius sighed, "Alright, but you can't be on to telling Prongs about it or he'll lose his job or some rubbish."

Lily looked concerned, "What?"

Sirius drew a deep breath, "I know the answer to the case he's working on."

James left Fallengunder disappointed and frustrated, not ready to go home because going home felt like giving up and he felt itchy all over now, like he couldn't rest unless he'd solved the case. This, he reckoned, was how he ought to have felt all along.

So instead of going home to the flat in East London, he found himself wandering the streets of London proper, past Harrods and on toward Piccadilly and the bright lights of the circus. There were always people milling about, and he ducked through the crowd, keeping his head down, smelling the food and the grime that cities always reek of. He felt like his brain was moving in a high speed chase - the answers always just a few sharp corners ahead of his conclusions. He passed a few blokes he knew from the Training Center, aurors who he'd seen bringing in their quarry to the Ministry holding center below Scotland Yard. He knew they often went and had a drink at a small wizarding pub located in a nasty old tube stop off one of the side streets that the Muggles didn't frequent, and he even nodded hullo to one or two of them that eyed him as they recognized him. But for the most part, he didn't pay them much attention - which is why it was a bit of a miracle when his ears pricked at a familiar voice - one he'd heard before, but didn't know and he looked about to see who was talking.