The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

Broomsticks

It had been a few weeks and everyone was getting so much more comfortable in the home over the ice cream parlor so on that Saturday morning the house was full of invariable chaotic energy. Five boys, all yelling, and Meg shouting for the younger four of them to sit down and eat their breakfast while Jasper was trying to get Oliver to come out of his room -- It felt like a real family. Especially when Oliver finally came downstairs like a typical moody teenager and dramatically fell into his chair at the breakfast table.

"YERTLE DOESN'T LIKE THIS CEREAL!" Eli shouted.

"Yertle's a turtle, he shouldn't be eating Ricicles anyways dumby," Michael answered.

"Yeah!" cried Nate.

Kevin rolled a grape across the table, "Give him this."

"He doesn't like grapes," pouted Eli.

"He does so!" Nate argued.

"All turtles like grapes, I'll bet," Michael said, "Yertle's a stupid turtle."

"He's not stupid!" wailed Eli.

"He is so!" Michael replied.

"Not, not, not," Eli snapped.

"HE KNOWS TRICKS!" cried Nate.

"He doesn't!" Kevin snapped, "Rolling him over doesn't count as him knowing tricks."

"No that was funny!" Nate cried.

Oliver put his head down in his elbow and groaned.

"Here you are, honey," Meg's voice was gentle by his ear and Oliver looked up to see a bowl of Ricicles before him, the milk freshly poured over and a glass of orange juice and Oliver smiled sleepily at her, taking the bowl up in his hand and leaning back in his chair, holding it as he ate, watching the other kids arguing.

"Turtle off the table, please," Meg sang, and she reached over Nate's head and plucked Yertle up from the table.

Jasper had just walked back into the kitchen and Meg turned and handed Yertle to him without any context and Jasper held Yertle a moment, looking him over. "Hullo good sir."

Eli let out a shriek of laughter and suddenly all eyes were on Jasper as he conversed with the turtle, having Yertle answer him in a funny, pseudo-sophisticated voice.

There was a sound then from the hearth and Jasper turned about and saw James Potter's face in the fireplace. "Mornin' Odairs!"

"Hey Potter!" he cried and all five boys heads snapped to look, perhaps none as excitedly as Oliver's though. "Good morning, come on in."

There was a pause, his face disappeared and a moment later in a brilliant flash, James himself stepped out of the fireplace.

"WHAT!" Nate exclaimed, "How'd you do that!"

"Magic," James grinned as Nate stared between James and the floo - Eli's eyes wide, too, right beside him.

Jasper put Yertle in the turtle tank they had in the kitchen - Yertle had tanks all over the Odair house now, safe places to put him when Eli had something he needed to be doing, like eating his breakfast. Meg and Jasper had put a large tank in what had become Nate and Eli's room so that Yertle's full time habitat was big enough for the turtle to explore and get exercise, but he had at least one safe place in each room to avoid any turtle accidents from occurring.

"Sirius got off house arrest yesterday," James told Jasper, "And today the whole lot of us are spending the day out side by my place and we're thinking of playing quidditch. We wanted to know if you lot wanted to join in?"