Marauders - Always - Part One

Portraits

When they'd finished, Lily went back to the bedroom to get dressed, James plodding along behind her, and the moment she stepped in the room, she started gagging again at the scent of Roger's food - which was mostly gone, only bits were left on the plate and he now lay in the middle of the sheets, soaking up the sun rays from the residual heat of his owners' bodies.

Lily whipped right back around through the door, nearly knocking James over, and back into the bathroom.

James looked at Roger and went over and picked up the empty can and finished plate. He stuck his nose close to the can, sniffing, and murmured, "I mean it's disgusting but really, Evans..." Quickly he vanished what was left, can and all, and cleaned the plate with magic before going back to the bathroom after Lily.

Meanwhile in East London, Peter was banging on the bathroom door. "I gotta goooooo!" he whined loudly. "Sirius, c'mon I gotta gooooo."

The sound of the toilet flushing echoed out of the bathroom and Sirius came out, looking miserable. "Shut the hell up it's too early in the morning for all that shouting."

Peter shoved around Sirius and slammed the door behind him.

Sirius groaned and made his way back to the bedroom.

Remus was already gone, off to his classes, and Sirius melted onto the bed, hugging his stomach and mentally going over what he ate the night before. What would have done this to him? Rue the existence of whatever it was... He lay across the bed, groaning a great deal and making a federal production out of the horridness of his own existence, feeling utterly sorry for himself.

"You always were one to be quite over the top when you were feeling ill," came a voice from the wall.

Sirius glanced up from his pillow at the portrait of Regulus. "Shut up you ickle sodcake. Like you're one to talk, always whimpering about the house - mummy my tum-tum hurts, mummy my throat feels yucky."

"I was a child. You'd be doing that now if Remus was here."

Sirius held up his middle finger.

"You're fine," Regulus said.

"That's what Mother told me the time it turned out to be my ear drum bursting," Sirius murmured.

Regulus stared at him.

"D'you remember that? And I had to be rushed to Mungo's? And nobody felt bad for not listening to me when I complained for days that my ear ached. No, I got yelled at and told to shut up about it and to be a man."

"Is that what happened?" Regulus asked, frowning. "I never knew."

Sirius snorted, "How did you not know?"

Regulus shrugged, "I don't know."

Sirius sighed and clutched his stomach. "Well, see then, maybe you ought to be nicer to me now, seeing as my stomach ache could be like my colon exploding or something - you don't know."

"It's not," Regulus answered.

"And how do you know?"

"I just know."

"What is it then?"

"Morning sickness," Regulus said.

Sirius snorted, "You're stupid." He closed his eyes and rolled about on the mattress, milking his agony. He stretched finally and sat up, looking up at the portrait. "Hey you said before there was a reason you were able to be sentient that you couldn't remember or talk about or something."

"Yeah?"

"How long does it usually take a portrait to become sentient?"

"I don't know."

Sirius sighed. "What good are you then, if you can't answer questions?"

"You know, questions like that can be answered by books."

"Yeah but it's easier to ask you."

"Is it because you don't know how to work a book? You open the cover, see, and there's words inside --"

"Shut the fuck up Regulus."

"As you wish," the Portrait answered and he pretended at going still.

Sirius stared up at him, eyebrow raised.

The portrait sighed. "I apparently can't just go away at will like most portraits can."

Sirius grinned. "So you're stuck there, putting up with whatever I choose to do all day? It's a good thing Moony's not here."

"Gross."

Sirius smirked, then slid off the bed, "Actually... I think I need some musical therapy to make me feel better - since I'm deathly ill and all. What do you wanna listen to?"

"You know I know nothing about music."

Sirius grinned. "Well, what a perfect new after-life hobby for you." He magicked his record player open and was flicking through the black case of vinyls he owned. Finally, he withdrew one and held it up. "You look like Bob Dylan... you ought to get to know him, for your hair's sake."

"My hair's sake?"

Sirius pointed to the brushy haired face on the record.

Portrait Regulus's eyebrow raised.

Sirius dropped the record and the warbling notes filled the room. 

"Come gather round people, wherever you roam..."