Moon man
“Where did you go?” The sun asks, he could feel Pandora’s hand in his, but she wasn’t visible.
“You’ll find me, little sun, only when the time is right.” Her voice trails off, fading into the starry sky. The sun turns to the moon and he sighs. “If she’s not the moon, who are you?”
“You’ll learn.” The moon speaks in a voice much too deep to be feminine, “Soon we will meet.”
James had always been an early riser, and was quick to learn Sirius was not. But he’d dealt with much more grumpy and annoying morning people (Gilderoy) so he pretended to leave Sirius behind.
“I’m awake— James, wait for me! Oi, stop and wait! I said I’m coming!”
James had lost a lot in those four years he wasn’t present. He hadn’t even realised he wasn’t in England anymore and was astounded when Sirius told him he’d been shipped to New Zealand. On the brightside James had always wanted to visit New Zealand. And how he didn’t click at how warm it was considering it was March, he didn’t know. It was also not very helpful given the fact that Sirius’ family owned a holiday home and wasn’t from there so he didn’t actually know his way around.
“Wait— So what happened to the teddy?” Sirius was clutching his stomach with laughter. Turns out he knew of Gilderoy and wanted to know everything James had done to annoy him. The joy that James bought Sirius was something new, a feeling he didn’t know existed until James came long.
“Gone. No one knows where. But I lost my football too, you know. So it was kind of just a lose-lose situation.” James frowned for a short moment before joining in with Sirius’ laughter. He found it hard to be grumpy around Sirius, just like Pandora. Was this what she meant, and was James having to continue her journey without her? He knew if he did she wouldn’t let him do it alone. So she must have been the one to set the fire. Pandora must have known if she did, he and Sirius’ paths would align and he wouldn’t be left alone.
That also meant that Sirius would marry Pandora if he knew that she lit the fire. James didn’t like the sound of that, and she never seemed like the girl to marry someone because they wanted to. Pandora would marry someone she knew was meant for her. James knew that their souls were intertwined, and he also knew that they weren’t meant to be together romantically. Though she did agree that if by fate's design they end up in that situation, she would happily marry him. But James didn’t like the idea of sealing her off of freedom, and he truly believed that when the time was right, she would find the right person.
“I heard Stewart Island is nice.” Sirius said as he unfolded his map, pointing at a small island below the South Island, then pointing at another spot, “We’re here, in Queenstown. Not too far is it?”
“Where's the edge of the world?” James asked, trying to grasp the fact that he was in a foreign area. The question sounded dumb but Sirius began scratching his chin.
“I was thinking, we stay there for a bit, then keep heading south.” Sirius dragged his pale tattooed finger down the map, “And if we reach the Antarctic, we can go east or west from there.”
“Good idea.” James nodded, leaning over Sirius’ shoulder so he had a clear view of the map. “But, Sirius?”
“Yeah, James?”
“I know we’re in Queenstown, but uh. . . where exactly.” He tried to look around his surroundings as if it would help decipher his position on the map. But all he had a clear view of were trees in all directions.
“Yeah.” Sirius did the same thing James did, then turned the map upside down. “I dunno, but I feel like we should go this way.” He began walking in a random direction, and James stayed rooted to the ground.
“We just came from that direction.”
“Right, just testing you.” He turned around and began walking in the same direction they’d been heading all morning. The sun had risen high in the sky, coating the two in an uncomfortable amount of sweat but they kept walking. James had decided to ditch his socks when he’d practically lost half of one and Sirius’ prison shoes weren’t much better so he ditched them too.
Despite how much James liked Sirius, he couldn’t help but feel miserable that he wasn’t Pandora. He’d spent so much time laughing with Sirius, he’d forgotten about her and then started feeling guilty. He distanced himself from Sirius, following behind him and they walked in silence. One thing that James liked about Sirius was that he could respect boundaries, and if James didn’t want to talk, he wouldn’t push it.
Not paying full attention to his surroundings, he came to an abrupt stop into Sirius who had turned around with a finger to his lips. Nervousness filled James' stomach and he began to feel sick. Was it a rabid animal? Did they get caught by the police? James slowly peaked around his shorter friend and his panic dropped. It was a man sitting at the foot of a tree reading.
“He could be the FBI!” Sirius’ eyes were wide with concern. James frowned and pushed past him.
“I’ve been expecting you.” The man said, not looking up from his book. He had a beauty to him, not like Sirius’ but more angelic, like Pandora. His hair was a golden brown, almost blond in the sun, and he had silver scars lining his body. One prominent one across the bridge of his nose and along his cheekbone.
“Pandora told you we were coming?” James asked, immediately approaching the undisturbed man while Sirius hid behind a tree, whisper-yelling at James to come back and hide.
“You did.” The man replied, looking up with his golden eyes, through thick eyelashes. He closed the book and handed it to James, which he recognised as Pandora’s copy of Future Memory. A sense of recognition hit him like a bus. He knew exactly who this man was.
“You’re the moon.” James declared, earning a look of approval before calling over his shoulder. “Sirius, it’s not the FBI.”
He peeked his head around the tree with a skeptical look, “Who is it then?”
“He’s the moon.” James told him. Sirius nodded slowly before emerging from the tree, his feet much more dirty than James.
“So you’re the moon man?” Sirius studied him carefully before holding a dirty hand out for him to shake.
“Remus Lupin.” He held out an equally dirty hand and offered a firm handshake that made Sirius melt under his touch.
“Sirius Black.”
“The brightest star.” Remus nodded and James gasped loudly. How could he have been so stupid? When the star James talked to wouldn’t talk back, Pandora showed him to the brightest star, Sirius. And when Pandora discovered he thought she was the moon, she sent him to meet the actual moon, Remus.