𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐒 / 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐒 / 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐖𝐒

𝟎𝟑 - 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭

"And what do you think you're doing, Ms. Potter?" James chuckled, eyeing you with a knowing wink as he took a bite out of the corner of the piece of toast. "Did you really think you could fool the most foolish wizards in all of London?"

"I could only hope," you pouted, accepting defeat and stepping into the kitchen. There were still remnants of a broken plate scattered across the stone floor. But you barely took notice of it, too preoccupied with the knowledge that there weren't just two boys sitting at your kitchen table, but three.

James and Sirius sat side by side. The latter was leaning back with his feet propped up on the low kitchen table. Behind them, the tall bay window illuminated the space with natural golden light that rippled through the curtains and seemed to form a spotlight around the third boy, who was sitting a little further away with a copy of The Daily Prophet open in front of him.

Remus Lupin blinked up at you, half-hidden behind the creased, yellow sheet of paper. He'd certainly gotten taller over the summer and his tawny brown hair appeared as a rich honey color in the morning light. A series of thin, pale scars littered his face and neck.

The largest one was painted over the bridge of his nose in the shape of a thin blade. It seemed that every time you saw him, it grew dimmer and dimmer against the already pale complexion of his face. But it still called your attention nonetheless.

"Remus?" You smiled, stepping closer in half-disbelief. "When did you get here?"

Remus let the newspaper flutter down until it sat flat against the surface of the table before opening his mouth to reply. Before he could, however, James held up his finger to silence him and waggled the piece of toast in the air in your direction. "You're avoiding the question, (Y/N)."

Right. He wanted to know what you were up to.

Realizing there was no longer a point in hiding yourself, you rolled your eyes and shuffled forwards until you were close enough to pluck a shiny red apple out of the fruit bowl at the center of the table. Sirius looked on with a look of lazy amusement. They no doubt woke up only moments before you did. The only difference was that they weren't on a time crunch.

"Where's Peter?" You asked again, taking a bite out of your apple. You hoped the question would distract them from remembering that you were under interrogation. The Marauders were obviously being assembled just in time for school and Peter was by far your favorite, despite his timid nature. You often felt guilty because your brother's in-your-face demeanor tended to overshadow him.

"Wormtail is meeting us at King's Cross on Sunday," Remus explained, folding his hands over the newspaper without taking his eyes off of you. It was the first time you had heard his voice in just over three months. Perhaps that's why the sound sent a pleasant shiver down your spine. 

Yeah, that must've been it.

Sirius snickered and reached forward to snatch another piece of toast off of the silver platter. "Why?" He tested in between massive bites. "You miss him?"

Remus' eyes narrowed slightly at the implication that you might be interested in someone — Peter Pettigrew of all people — but cut it out quickly as not to be spotted by either you or his friends who sat at his right.

You scoffed and shot Sirius a playfully dirty look. "Go chase your own tail, you mutt," you teased. But it proved to be ineffectual when he shrugged and popped the rest of the toast into his mouth. It was too late. He knew he had gotten to you.

Also apparently finished with his breakfast, James stood up and tapped his wand against the corner of the table, whisking away the last shred of evidence that there had even been a broken plate on the floor. "Can't imagine you got all dolled up for Wormtail, though."

Suddenly aware of your appearance, you looked down and patted down the front of your skirt. Your outfit teetered on casual and was pulled together by the sheer (Y/F/C) traveling cloak pinned nearly against your collar. "I didn't," you admitted with another roll of your eyes. "I'm going to Diagon Alley with the Black sisters."

"Alone?" Chirped Remus, setting down his mug and shooting James a worried look.

Here we go, you thought, balancing on your heels and inhaling deeply through your nose. It seemed that everyone in the kitchen had something to say about how you chose to spend your time. "Merlin's beard, what has all of your wands in a twist?" You scoffed.

"You're not going anywhere," James said. Despite his authoritative tone, he wore his usual upbeat smile. "Not without us."

Both Remus and Sirius nodded in agreement, hands folded over their chests as if to amplify their poor attempt at looking stern.

"Oh, I see," you tsked, matching their mannerisms. "It's all 'go away, (Y/N)' and 'no girls allowed, (Y/N)' until I want to go shopping with my friends."

James' jaw tightened and he leaned against the backrest. "Fine," he sighed, waving you off with the flick of his wrist. "Go get kidnapped by a goblin or a giant for all I care."

"Maybe I will, just so you have to go through the trouble of saving me," you huffed through a smile, taking his offhanded permission and spinning back out of the room, knowing his approval wouldn't last once he realized just exactly what he had agreed to let you do.

As you skipped out of the kitchen, you barely caught the sliver of a frown weaving itself onto Sirius' face. He watched you up until the moment you disappeared around the corner, swallowing thickly and turning to Remus who had fluffed up his newspaper and was once again taking a long, casual sip from his mug.

Sirius wasn't entirely comfortable with the relationship you had with his cousins. The Black girls had a well-known reputation for mischief. And not the fun kind, either. The last thing he wanted was for you to get in over your head, for lack of a better term. But he stomached his nerves the best he could for your sake. Sirius couldn't bear to be the one to break the news to you that your best friends weren't entirely as genuine as they seemed.

Knowing Bellatrix, it wouldn't be long until they tried to lure you someplace you wouldn't know how to get yourself out of. And he vowed to be there when she did.

"We're not seriously letting her go alone?" Sirius hissed, hoping your retreating footsteps meant that you were no longer within earshot. All three of them understood the reluctance to let you out of their sight. It only took a single letter from Sirius to start the conversation of Death Eaters between James and Fleamont, which then spread to Remus and his family soon after.

They were only rumors, but the blackened shadow that threatened to engulf the entire wizarding community became harder to ignore every passing day. It wouldn't be long until the minister issued an official warning on the matter. But until then, leaving the protected walls of the Potter house put a target on your back.

"Of course not," Remus mumbled, setting down his pumpkin juice and licking his lips.

"Then what?"

James adjusted his glasses with the sleeve of his deep burgundy sweater before resting them back onto the bridge of his narrow nose. Once he could properly see his two friends, he shot Sirius a mischievous wink and sat up straighter.

"We'll follow her, of course."

(A/N: I'm so glad that I got the urge to write today. I've been meaning to finish this chapter for so long. It's super frustrating because I have every chapter from 3-46 planned out and I just need to write them down. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you see any mistakes!)