Can You Lot Keep a Secret?

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It was a few days before Sirius was out of St. Mungo's and allowed to go home, the skin on his chest healed at last. "Now you best be taking it easy for a time," Dora Potter said, scurrying after him in the streets after leaving Mungo's, "Taking your potion everyday as the mediwitches prescribed. I won't have you neglecting your injuries and end up back here with some sort of awful side effect! Do you understand me?"

"Yes mum," Sirius said, and although he rolled his eyes, he smiled quite brightly, too.

"Careful," James commented, "She'll pester you about every bleedin' thing until kingdom come if you let her." He kissed Dora's cheek. "I'm kidding, mum, I love you."

"You better," Dora said, "Gave you life, I did, and blast me if I can't take it away."

Remus smirked as James pretended to look quite appalled.

She walked with them from Mungo's to the Leaky Cauldron, where she admonished James to carry Sirius's books for him once they'd gotten what they needed, and reminded them about twelve times over to be back before dinner, then stepped through the floo back home.

They watched her go and the moment the fire had returned to it's normal orange glow, Sirius declared, "Alright, I'm dying from laying about. Let's get into it, blokes."

So they walked down Diagon Alley together, three abreast, Sirius's arms thrown over the other two boys' shoulders as they passed colorful shop windows along the cobbled streets. They ducked into the candy shop across from Ollivander's and got themselves some sweets and into the Diagon Alley branch of the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop, where James found himself looking at some of the equipment.

"You playing this term, Prongs?" Sirius asked, seeing James fingering a pair of dragon hide gloves in Gryffindor red-and-gold.

James rubbed the material of the gloves. "Possibly, dunno. Maybe. I - I might be busy."

"Busy with what?" Remus asked as Sirius inspected a beater's bat that promised unparalleled aiming capabilities. 

James hesitated.

Remus grinned, "With Evans?"

"Snogging all about the castle," Sirius said, "Taking up all the best snogging places."

"If we haven't already occupied them," Remus smirked. Then, to James, "Is that what you meant?"

James put the gloves back up. "Can you lot keep a secret?"

"Yes," Sirius said quickly as Remus said, "I can.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius asked, nudging Remus's shoulder.

"It means I can," Remus said. "And it means that you're a liar. Yes? Please. Have you met you?"

"Yes and I'm a very charming bloke with excellent secret keeping skills."

"Bloody hell, you've never kept a secret in your life," Remus said, shaking his head. He turned to James, "What is it, Prongs?"

"Yes what?" Sirius asked, and he drew an X over his heart, "Cross my heart I'll take it to the bloody grave."

"Just have it etched onto your epitaph, yeah?" Remus teased.

Sirius stuck his tongue out, and then turned his full attention on James.

James reached into his jumper pocket and withdrew the Headboy badge - freshly polished.

Sirius's eyes widened, as did Remus's, and Sirius swept in and took it out of James's hand, holding it up to look at it. "Bloody hell, where'd you knick this from then?" he asked.

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