Right Down to My Socks, Buster
Sirius led James around the carousel. He had dried off, and actually managed to put on a clean shirt and brush his hair, which sat in choppy feathers around his shoulders. James was surprised at how well the guy cleaned up. He might even know what he’s doing.
On the second floor above them, Regulus flicked on the lights, making James jump in surprise at the sudden change. The buzzing yellow lights illuminated the large room and finally let James see the carousel in non-creepy lighting.
It was massive, with fading red and white stripes around the sides and fun little lights along the inside. There were mirrors on the inner core, making it look much larger than it actually was. There were painted panels depicting children at a fair, eating cotton candy and funnel cakes. It was nice.
James still didn’t like the horses though.
Regulus leant on the railing of the overhang he was standing on, calling out to Sirius, “You feeling alright this morning?” Sirius paused midway through hopping onto the platform, grinning at Regulus who gave him a wry look.
“Right as rain, Reggie!”
Regulus rolled his eyes at the nickname and muttered something under his breath before calling again, “Good. Well, could you open the carousel a little early today? I’ve got some business before hours.”
James briefly had time to wonder what on earth they used a carousel for before Sirius waved an okay and Regulus walked off, shutting the door behind him with a snap that echoed through the room.
Sirius sighed, beckoning James forward as he walked around, checking straps on all of the horses and patting them on the heads as he did so. James grimaced, holding his hands close to his chest just in case any of the porcelain ponies came alive and tried to bite him. They were staring at him.
“Great guy, Regulus. Won’t admit it, but he loves his big brother. Runs the bar out there, too. Just don’t ask him to make you his strongest drink, because he will,” Sirius said fondly. James wondered if that was what had happened to knock Sirius out so thoroughly last night.
Sirius chuckled, checking the last horse before opening up a panel in the core of the carousel and climbing into the center.
He waved for James to hand him a tool box that was poorly hidden away in the small gap between the platform and the core. James huffed, handing him a wrench, “Yeah, I’m sure. Hey, am I actually gonna learn something around here or not?”
Sirius leant back, grabbing the wrench and poking around until he found the right gear. “Well, you can start with polishing the horses,” he said, grinning to himself.
At James’s incredulous look, Sirius arched an eyebrow at him, wrestling with the wrench before he heard a rusty creak and the bolt tightened. “What’s your rush?” he asked, sighing.
James gritted his teeth at Sirius’s nonchalant attitude, “I want to get Riddle.”
Sirius paused before poking his head out and giving James the most infuriatingly unconvinced face. “Do you know anything about him?” he asked.
James snapped, waving the toolbox at Sirius and almost hitting him in the face (to which Sirius didn’t flinch.)
“Yeah, he croaked McGonnagall! What else do I need to know?”
Sirius ducked back into the core as a few screws flew out of the toolbox, scattering across the floor. James glared at Sirius as he bent down to pick up the screws.
Sirius’s voice floated out of the gap, “Plenty. Does he bet on the fights? Ponies? Does he gamble? Who does his dirty work? What else do you know?”
James swallowed, putting his anger back in check, “He runs a numbers racket on the south side–”
“--and a packing company, a chain of banks, and half the politicians in Chicago and New York. Not much you can do if this blows up on you,” Sirius interrupted him before James could even finish his sentence. James pocketed the screws and shook his head fiercely, waving all of that away in an instant.
“I’ll do it anyways.”
Sirius didn’t bother to stop, looking around for the right gear. “Why?”
“Because I don’t know enough about killing to kill him.”
There was a pause.
Then Sirius yelped in pain and as there was a nasty thud and metallic clatter. Sirius stuck his head back out, rubbing a spot on his forehead where he dropped his wrench.
He stared at James, not quite succeeding in hiding the smile that was working its way onto his face. It was the right answer. Sirius wasn’t sure he even knew it until now. Hell, James didn’t even know that’s what he wanted until he blurted it out. But he could see the effect his words had on Sirius.
Sirius didn’t duck back into the carousel. He instead kept his eye on James, speaking slower. “You can’t do this yourself, you know. You’ll need a mob of guys like you and enough money to make them look good.”
James felt himself grow incensed as Sirius began to take this seriously. (haha)
“I know plenty of guys,” James defended. There was Peter and…well James was pretty sure Pete had a cousin..and lots more who would jump at the opportunity to help him!
Sirius’s voice stayed hard as he kept going, brushing past James’s words, “It’ll be hard. Different from conning winos in the street.” James interrupted him, waving Sirius off. “I never played for winos–”
“--You’ve got to keep the con running after you got his money, he can’t know you conned him. No matter what you take, he’ll take more,” Sirius snapped. His knuckles were turning shite from his grip on the wrench.
James frowned as Sirius’s tone just bordered on being harsh. Why was he trying to stop James? Why was he talking about Riddle like this? If he was such a bigshot, why would he even hesitate…?
“You’re scared of him.”
James hit the nail on the head. Sirius stared back at him, going silent for a moment. James could see a muscle twitch in his jaw before he raised his hand and prodded James in the chest.
“Right down to my socks, buster...”
“…We’re talking about a guy who’d kill a couple of grifters over a chunk of money that wouldn’t support him for two days,” Sirius huffed. Sirius climbed out of the core of the carousel, taking the toolbox from James and tossing his wrench back in.
James watched him for a moment. His voice carried a different undertone than before. It sounded almost like..
“You’re going to go for him.”
Sirius froze for a moment before he straightened up. He frowned as though annoyed, but James could tell he was working hard to keep the tone of excitement out of his voice.
“I just don’t need some idiot tagging along only to turn around at the end saying it’s not enough, because it’s all we’re gonna get,” Sirius snapped.
James grinned to himself as Sirius promptly turned his back, motioning for James to follow him. James hopped off, a grin coming to his lips. It would be enough. Seeing the look on that bastard’s face when he lost his money would be enough.
“Do you think you could get a mob of guys together?” James asked, excitement and determination bubbling in his gut.
“I don’t know, it’s a big operation,” Sirius scratched his chin.
He pulled a lever that lit up the carousel. Happy music began to play from the music box in the core and the horses began to move up and down like they were galloping.The lights flashed in a swirling pattern as the platform ground into motion.
“I doubt I could get more than two, three hundred guys.”
Sirius grinned and grabbed onto one of the supporting beams along the outside of the carousel, hopping onto the platform and letting it carry him away.