The most amazing place on earth
Sirius was overjoyed. This was the most amazing place on earth, no doubt. He was sitting on a slightly larger rock, naked feet ankle-deep in grayish-brown, sandy water, digging with his hands to make the pit, slowly filling more and more with water, even deeper. Shoes laying forgotten at the side, luckily still dry. His new friend – they sure had to be friends by now, constructing together on the best building site Sirius had ever been to – was standing by the pump pushing the iron handle up and down making water run in little rivulets through the sand. The boring little playgrounds in the parks, Michelle took them to sometimes, were nothing compared to this!
Sirius just realized he didn’t even know this boy’s name.
“So what’s your name, then?” The boy stopped the pumping and looked over.
“It’s Remus.” Remus. Sirius had never heard that name before. He quickly followed with his own.
“I’m Sirius.”
Remus looked at him now with a puzzled frown on his face.
“Serious? Like earnest? I didn’t know that could be a name.”
Sirius laughed at that. “Not serious like earnest. S-I-R-I-U-S – like the star. We’re named after stars, my brother and me.” Sirius glanced at Remus with expectantly raised eyebrows. He almost wished the other boy would say some other weird thing again, he liked the unusual answers he got so far. But Remus just shrugged his shoulders, mumbling “Okay”, before he started with the pump again. After a short while he stopped though, addressing Sirius again:
“What’s your brother’s star?”
“Regulus, that’s part of the Leo-constellation, it means ‘lion’ in english.” Sirius was always quiet proud to explain his brother’s name. It was so fitting. Reg – the little lion.
“I know that Leo means lion. There’s a Leo in the herd, you know, he’s 7 like me and has the bushiest mane, that’s why Mum named him Leo. I like lions, too. They’re like big golden cats.” Remus stared in the distance for a moment before focusing on the now dried up tiny riverbeds in front of the pump and quickly started pushing again. Sirius studied the other boy more closely now. He looked so focused on what he was doing, hardly taking in his surroundings. Just like Reg, when he was drawing. He’d already noticed that Remus wasn’t the biggest talker, but as soon as he spoke about horses or now lions, he lit up and the words just streamed out of him. Sirius smiled. He just would have to ask the right questions then.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Reg and Michelle approaching their construction site. Reg stopped just shy of the little pool that had formed around the rock Sirius was sitting on and observed the whole scene with wide eyes. He then fixed his gaze on his older brother and Sirius could see exactly what Reg would say right now, if he would talk, that is. Mum told you not to make a mess, Sirius. This definitely is a mess. Reg looked to Remus then with an intrigued expression on his face. But then Michelle started speaking and Remus stopped with the movement and watched. The pump was a little loud and squeaky, after all.
“Your mother won’t be happy about this, Sirius. Actually she will lose her mind, if I’m honest…” Michelle cast a worried look over Sirius with his feet all muddy and wet, edges of trousers soaked, splashes of wet sand on his face and in his hair. She felt sorry already for everyone who would have to witness Walburga discovering Sirius in this state, himself included of course. She had experienced Mrs. Black throwing a fit for way lesser things with Sirius many times...
“I don’t care! This is the best! I can’t be stopped. It’s so much fun, come on Reg, try the pump! Can he, Remus?” Sirius already stepped out of his little pond – almost landing himself on his butt because the sandy edges gave way under his feet, but he dodged that bullet, for now at least. He reached out for Reg’s hand and led him over to Remus and the pump.
“Hello Regulus.” Remus gave that little wonky smile and stepped aside, indicating for Reg to try.
Reg looked at Remus with a searching stare, Sirius knew that one well, his little brother always seemed to figure out something while looking at other people. Probably he wondered if it was okay to take Remus’ spot, if Remus was alright with that, if he was allowed to do that at all and 10 more things for sure.
“Just try it, Reg. You can do it.” Sirius let go of his brother’s hand and gave the handle one push himself to demonstrate how it worked.
“Try not to get wet, Regulus,” Michelle cautioned from the side with a sigh. She knew she should put an end to all this right now but she also was quiet aware that this was exactly what the two young boys needed. They were kids, only their mother didn’t seem to get that. Michelle constantly found herself in the predicament whether to turn not only one but two blind eyes to mainly Sirius’ shenanigans, encouraging Reg to participate at least a little bit - or doing damage control so the older brother wouldn’t be the target of Walburgas scolding yet again. But Sirius always seemed to take the consequences in stride, he just had to follow his ideas, fool around, all in all be a normal boy, granted a bit on the wilder side, but well, some boys simply were like that. Michelle was pulled out of her thoughts when she finally heard the little squeaking of the metal pump. A little smile found it’s way onto her lips as she watched Reg looking so proud while pushing the pump with all his might, little muscles straining on his arms.
“Great job, Reggie! Look! There’s so much water coming! Oh! I have to lead that stream the other way! Keep pumping!” Regulus grit his teeth moving the handle some more - clearly exhausted already, while Sirius jumped down from the little platform where the pump was, to dig another bed for the stream to flow the direction he intended it to. His arms were already completely wet and sandy again, shirt and pants unsalvageable at this point. At the side of his vision, Sirius noticed how Remus overtook the pump’s handle again, Regulus clearly out of strength but smiling quietly nonetheless, everything just being perfectly fine until he heard an audible gasp.
Sirius slowly turned his head the other way and – oh no – there stood their mother.
It was a weird phenomenon. While being immersed in whatever wonderful activity or even just the planning of something interesting to do, Sirius never thought of his mother and her stern face even once. Not the scolding, not the consequences. He knew he had it coming somewhere deep deep at the back of his mind, but it never bothered him much. Until the very moment where he realized he’d been found out. The picture of his mother staring at him with that furrow between her brows always hit him like a brick wall, a moment of shock directly to his chest. Some desperate feeling of inevitable fate. Oh no.
***
Remus knew something was wrong the moment this foreign woman with her gleaming white sneakers showed up at the edge of the sandpit. Regulus quickly took a step even further away from the pump and Sirius face looked frozen somehow. Remus had never seen that look on another kids face before. It rather reminded him of the horses, the moment they completely froze sometimes when something upset or worried them. He absolutely had no idea how to behave or what to do with himself now. They hadn’t done anything wrong, had they? But the two new boys looked like a disaster was about to happen any moment, so surely something was very wrong. In the distance, Remus could see his own mother approach with a tray of lemonade and glasses and he let out a little sigh of relief. If his mother was on her way with lemonade, everything would be okay – right?
***
Walburga let her eyes wander over the whole watery scene before her and for the first few moments just shook her head, completely shocked. Sirius knew by then that he could probably pack his things and leave, the quiet always meant worse things to come than the screaming.
“I don’t believe this. I leave you outside for what – a little less than an hour? And this is what you end up in? Sitting in a bog? A muddy ditch? And oh my God look at your clothes! And your hair!! I think I have a heart attack! Never in all this time have i seen such a mess! Sirius! What were you thinking!?” Walburga quickly rubbed a hand over her eyes before pinning her stare on her oldest son again.
“OUT! Come out of this swamp immediately!”
“No! No mum, I’m not at all finished and I still need to --” Sirius carefully took a few little steps back -squelch-splish- away from his mother, deeper into the swamp, as she’d so nicely called it. She would never in a thousand years set a foot into this wonderfully muddy place, so he was probably safe for a little while longer. And this was set up for disaster already anyway, why not enjoy it a little longer why he still could? These were desperate times, obviously.
“Sirius, if you don’t come out this instant, I swear I pack you back into the car and drive you home myself!”
At this, something snapped deep inside him, he just won't do it. He won't leave. They couldn't make him!
“Come and get me then. Iswear I will finally make a real mess, just you wait! This isn’t half the mess I can make! I will thrash and kick and splash around until you don’t remember the color of your dress or the white of your shoes! I promise I don’t care! This is not a swamp by the way, it’s our building site and I have important stuff to do!” He crossed his arms defiantly and cast a quick glance to his brother and Remus by the pump – both looked shocked to the core, oh well – before looking back at his mother with a stubborn tilt of his chin. He had enough. Finally there was a place where he had so much fun, and he was even allowed to be there, at least from what Remus had told him, no complaining neighbors or elder ladies with their idea of calm and order… just his dear mother who complained about anything anytime anyway. He couldn’t take it a second longer!
His mother took a little step to the side, looking as if debating whether to actually set foot into the squelchy water to get her son, then huffed out a breath and half turned around, ready to leave.
“I will call your father right now, Sirius. It clearly can’t go on like this any longer.” And then she was gone.
Sirius sank down on his rock from before and put his head – sandy wet hair and everything – into his hands. All the fight had left him at once and he felt some hot tears burning at the corners of his eyes. His bloody tongue, always creating the biggest mess with words! What did Remus think of him now? And Reg? Would Reg still whisper to him? He had botched everything up so thoroughly this time, what would happen now? What would his father say? Do? Sirius didn’t know but it wasn’t good for sure.
***
Remus had watched the scene unfold before him with a helpless stare. His eyes wandering from Sirius to his brother – who still looked as if he’d seen a ghost, all white in the face – to their mother, who Remus thought looked really scary and angry but what did he know – and back to Sirius again. Remus didn’t like how the black-haired boy sat on this rock now with his head in his hands. He must be really sad, too. Remus would be sad if his mother talked to him like that. He glanced at his mum just in case. She wasn’t angry with him, was she? He caught her little smile with endless relief before she cleared her throat.
“Michelle, why don’t you set up the lemonade over there, fill the glasses and there is a little cake to slice, too, maybe Regulus would like to help you?” Hope indicated her head to the laden tray sitting on a small chair next to a rickety old garden table under the nearest tree. Michelle quickly nodded, glad that somebody took control of this mess of a situation. She took Reg’s hand and quickly marched off towards happier places.
Hope unnoticeably shook her head the tiniest bit before taking off her sandals and rolling up her pant-legs. She knew from experience that in situations like these, it was best to stop thinking and just do the practical thing. The kids needed somebody to decide how to go on from here, how to do the next best thing. She took a few practiced steps into the sandy water and looked at her son with a smile.
“Well, Remus, time to get dry again I’d say. Come help me a moment will you?” She held out her arm and Remus quickly trudged the three steps over to grab her hand. Hope led them both over to Sirius on his rock who sat stock still his gaze fixed on the water before him. Stubborn. Helpless right now, yes, but so so stubborn. She cleared her thoughts again and bent down a little before the new boy.
“What do you think Sirius, want to come along and we sort out some dry clothes for the both of you? This looks rather cold and uncomfortable by now.” Sirius quickly looked up at her with unsure big blue-grey eyes, then back down to the water.
“After that we can all have some nice cake and lemonade, how about that?” Hope smiled at Sirius to let him know everything was fine, but what the boy said next almost broke her heart on the spot.
“I don’t think I’m allowed to have cake after that.” Sirius pressed his lips together and tried really hard to keep the threatening tears at bay. If he was even alive in the next hour, it would surely not be eating cake and drinking lemonade. He blinked quickly and one treacherous tear fell onto his knee. A shaky breath escaped his lungs, too, to top off the whole miserable situation.
“Well, let’s just change the clothes for now, that surely can’t hurt, hm?” Hope reached out her hand again – an offer – and, looking up again, shrugging slightly, Sirius took it.
“I guess…” Slowly he got up. Hope gave him an encouraging smile and then led the two boys out of the building site – one little guy on each hand.
***