Englishmen in New York
“I’m sorry, is this seat taken?”
Sirius Black looked up at the handsome stranger from the guidebook he was reading- The New York City Travel Guide.
“No,” Sirius answered the stranger, moving the heavy black leather bag from the seat beside him to his feet. The stranger sat down next to him, and Sirius noticed he was carrying a cane.
See me walking down Fifth Avenue
A walking cane here at my side
I take it everywhere I walk
“That’s quite the bag,” the stranger commented, gesturing at the bag that was now resting at Sirius’s feet. “Going somewhere special?”
“Trying to get away, actually,” Sirius admitted, because there was something in the stranger’s kind brown eyes that made him want to trust him. “I’m Sirius, by the way. Sirius Black.”
The stranger chuckled.
“Another member of the strange names club, I see,” he smiled. “I’m afraid I had the ill fortune of being named Remus Lupin.”
“Oh, that’s not too bad. My mate Peter, he’s dating this chap called Xenophilius, can you imagine?”
The stranger- Remus- paused to scrutinise Sirius for a moment.
“You just used ‘mate’ and ‘chap’ in the same sentence,” he said, eventually.
“What of it?” Sirius asked, trying to remain cool and formal while finding the mysterious Remus Lupin more intriguing by the minute.
“You’re English too.”
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk
I'm an Englishman in New York
“Excellent deductive reasoning, Mr. Lupin.”
“I should hope so- I’m a detective by trade.”
“Really, my family ought to hire you.”
“Oh?” Just like Sirius, Remus found himself increasingly fascinated by the smooth-talking man sitting next to him.
“Knowing them, they’re probably considering hiring somebody like you to come find me. A handsome, polite, smart and thoroughly English gentleman detective is exactly the sort of fellow they’d exploit, if they’re even looking, that is.”
“Charming,” Remus grimaced. “Well, this is my stop. Good luck, Sirius Black.”
Remus got off the train, leaving Sirius with a myriad of new emotions, a warm feeling in his chest, a longing to meet the strange Mr. Lupin again, and a lingering chocolatey scent from the seat beside him.