The Marauders and Sirius Black's Mixtape

My Walkman

When I hear a song that I really, really love for the first time, I sort of tuck it away somewhere in myself and wait until I find out what it means to me. That sounds funny, I know, but hear me out. It's as though I know that somehow that song will MEAN SOMETHING to me one day, but I can't quite tell WHAT just yet, so I hang on and wait until the meaning comes out. Eventually, something will happen to me and in the moment that song comes into my head and I realize that this moment was the reason why that song got stuck inside of me and forever in my head that song is related to that very moment.

That's what happened to me with Hey Jude and they came busting out of me and now I can't ever hear Hey Jude without thinking about tiny boats on the water in front of Hogwarts on Graduation.

I've had some funny songs come out at the strangest times that don't seem like they should be related at all, but they're related in my head.

For example, I feel the need to sing Hey Jude any time I'm sitting in a boat. No matter how much the song doesn't apply to the situation.

But you should've seen how those prison guards stared at me when I started singing.

James would've been proud.

Would've been proud too when I got my Walkman.

Have you heard of Walkmans? Let me tell you about mine.

I got this letter from Harry once:

Dear Padfoot,

Thanks for writing me. I wish we could talk more, seems a lot to get to know about one another. Once we get your name clear and we can live at your house, I will have loads of questions.

You mentioned you enjoy music and that you were looking forward to listening to more of it now that you were free. I realized you might not have very much opportunity to get any music though depending where you are. Hopefully the owl will be alright carrying this - Hermione helped me to pick it out and purchased it for me, since I'm stuck with the Dursleys. She said it is a very good Walkman and that the headset has excellent tone.

I am not sure, I'm not much into music as Uncle Vernon doesn't care for the racket, he says today's music is nothing but noise. Him and Aunt Petunia listen to horrible boring stuff, but I doubt that your music is boring. Perhaps you can play it for me sometime?

I told Hermione to get that tape version of the record you mentioned was your favorite, and it is in the player for you.

Miss you. A lot.

From, Harry James Potter.

Little blighter's just like his father, signing his full bloody name as though I don't know who just "Harry" is. James had the excuse of being traumatized by Lilith thinking Jasper was "J" when he was stupid and signed a note with just a single letter (not that singing "James" wouldn't have solved that too, just saying Prongs) but what's Harry's excuse?

Anyway, the signature aside, the owl was really nice to receive especially since it came with my Walkman.

A Walkman is a portable music player. It plays these tape cartridges that are smaller than 8-tracks a better quality. The sound is lovely. Not as good as records, but much easier to carry about as they are smaller. And - as I have learned from my ickle cousin Nymphadora - you can make these things called mix tapes by transferring music from one tape onto another in any order you like.

It's fabulous.

The first tape Harry got me, by the way, was Night at the Opera by Queen.

Nymphadora sent me loads of tapes while I was hiding. She made all these specially curated mix tapes of songs she liked and put them in special orders to make the songs tell stories and evoke certain memories in particular orders like a journey... She's quite gifted. Even if she could do with a better selection of music. She missed out on me not being around to teach her what real music sounds like and she listens to all this weird electronic sounding stuff with synthesizers.

I suppose it's my own fault. I had the chance to show her Freddie Mercury in his full, wonderful glory and what did I do? I showed her bleedin' Blondie and Bowie as her introduction to music and I've forever bent her in the wrong direction.

If only I'd done right by her, she'd be a musical genius with those mix tape things, I swear.