The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Sirius Black's Main Squeeze

Sirius Black's Main Squeeze

Saturday morning was a bit overcast, but that didn't stop James from humming Kokomo by the Beach Boys as he pulled the price ticket off his brand new pair of bright red swim shorts, which had a yellow waistband and a blue drawstring. He shaved under his chin and along his jawbone and ran his hands through his hair, making the strands look wind-blown and winked at himself in the mirror as he gave himself the thumbs-up, grinning in a playboy manner. Downstairs, Dora gave him a two thick-layered bacon sandwiches and a bag of crisps to put in his bag to eat on the ride to the sea and she made him swear to use sun potion to keep from burning. "Mum, it's cloudy out," James groaned as she shoved the potion into his hands, "What do you think I'm going to get? A cloud burn?"

Dora said, "Just wear it! Last thing we need is you coming home looking like you've been in a fight with an ash winder."

"Listen to your mother James," Charlus said, and he coughed rather violently as though to punctuate the sentence, but waved it away when Dora hurriedly poured a bit of his dousing potion to quelm the smoke rising up from his lungs. Charlus let out the smoke like James would've done with a cigarette, his eyes watering, and James looked away, feeling like he was witnessing something he ought not to.

Part of him felt guilty going. He'd fought with himself half the night about it, honestly. He was worried about Charlus and what might happen while he was away - even if it was for only a day. He'd come home from Hogwarts to find his father far worse than he'd expected. Charlus Potter had scales in great patches over his cheek and on his lips and though he wore long sleeves, even in the horrid heat, James could see there were some on the backs of his hands, trailing away beneath the cuffs of his shirt.

"Not to worry, not to worry, my boy," Charlus had said when he'd seen James looking at them warily, "They can scrape them off at St. Mungo's. Takes a bit of work, but they come up... only minor scarring..." But the teal scales multiplied at an alarming rate and it seemed that they'd nearly doubled just since James had been home from school. And Charlus Potter was no longer able to hide the smoke when he coughed. Windows were open all over the Potter house to allow the smoke to escape, but there was a very distinct, woody scent to the air now everywhere in the house, a scent that would not go away, no matter how many cleansing spells Dora cast about...

James slid the bottle of sun potion, two sandwiches, and the crisps into his bag quietly. He licked his lips, "Are you lot sure you don't need me? To go to Mungo's?"

"Yes," Dora said too quickly.

James looked at Charlus.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt is coming by to assist us," Charlus said. "We are in good hands."

James nodded.

"And it's just routine scale removal they're doing, yeah? Nothing... nothing I should be there for?" James asked warily.

"Routine as could be, my boy," Charlus assured him. He smiled, but James could tell he was repressing another cough, holding it back, the fire burning against his lungs. He coughed lowly and the smoke streamed from his nostrils.

James hesitated, "You'll send an owl if you do need me, yeah?"

Charlus crossed his heart with his fingers and winked at James as he raised his handkerchief and Dora insistently waved his dousing potion before him. Charlus took the bottle and uncorked it, taking a swig of the potion without measuring it out.

Whatever Charlus said, however, James found himself thinking about it the entire time he was on the Knight bus, where, rather than riding about on the bean bag chair as he would've done usually, he pressed himself into the corner and held on, trying to stay as steady as possible as he thought, telling himself that dragon pox was one of those terrible diseases that always look worse than they oftentimes are. The scales are just alarming, they aren't an indication of the severity of it. My dad's strong - the strongest I know; he'll pull through it. If anyone could beat dragon pox, it'll be Fleamont Charlus Potter, for sure..