The contract
The crowd roared as Sirius Black barely fended off Fabian Prewett in the first DRS zone of the track. It was the final race of the season, the cars racing each other on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and for the first time in a while, the world champion was still undecided.
It had been a nail-biting season, with James Potter in second place of the championship, and whoever outscored the other in this final race would become the champion of the world. What added to the suspense was that both James and Sirius drove for Marauders Racing, a team that had been re-branded by their team principal Minerva McGonagall.
Sirius lowered his speed as his car went into corners 6 and 7, wasting no time to press his foot fully on the throttle again to have more than a second on the Prewett twin in his Quidditch Falcon car in the next DRS detection zone.
The air was thick with the smell of burned rubber and fuel but nobody really cared, every single person present at the circuit buzzing with adrenaline and excitement. The Marauder let out a curse as he saw Fabian gaining an advantage on him, his DRS open. Technically, he didn’t need to finish first, Fabian could win the race and Sirius would still have his championship if he were to outscore his best friend, teammate, and rival all in one. But he’d be damned if he didn’t get P1 in the race where he was going to be crowned champion of the world.
Having just passed the DRS zone and braking for the 9th corner of the circuit, he let out a small sigh of relief when Fabian was still behind him, desperate for that win. They entered the third sector of the circuit, where they couldn’t go full speed because of the many corners there. And once they passed the finish line, there was only one more lap to go. One lap and the season would be over. One lap and either Sirius or James was the world champion.
“Try and keep it in the lines. That was a dangerous move, just bring it home.” The crackling voice on the radio told him. A smile unconsciously made its way on his face as he muttered “understood” back. He would absolutely ignore that advice in favour of keeping his first position, but the voice of the man on the other line, although crackling and robotic through the radio, made him feel warm inside. He had promised himself at the beginning of the season that if he were to win the WDC he would kiss him, finally confess his feelings. But that was because it seemed impossible for him to achieve. And now it was looking like he’d have to go through his promise or he would be branded a coward. Granted, he was the only one that knew of the promise, so it wasn’t like anyone could call him out on it and, if he wanted to, he could pretend like the promise never happened. But he’d know though… and that was enough for him to push through because he refused to be a coward in his own mind.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely registered crossing the line and starting his final lap. In his mirror, he could see Fabian getting frustrated by his defending and pushing a bit harder. Sirius was about to press his foot harder on the throttle, ready to further the gap between them when suddenly the Prewett boy seemed to lock up. His car refused to go safely into the corner and before Sirius had registered it, Fabian Prewett was out of the race and into the wall.
The Marauder swallowed, his throat tightening. “Is he okay?” He immediately asked Remus, the man on the other side of the radio. It remained silent for a while, his nerves rising the longer Remus stayed quiet.
“He’s fine, car seemed to lock up and he headed into the wall at turn 3 but he has made it safely out of his car,” he heard some vague cheering behind Remus as the man shushed them before continuing. “A safety car will be deployed until the car is off the track.”
Sirius’ ears started ringing. A safety car… with less than a lap to go… the world championship was his. By the time the safety car would leave, he would’ve already crossed the finish line.
The following moments happened in a blur as he zoomed passed the crowd and crossed the finish line. The crowd went ballistic and fireworks started to go off as he faintly heard the commentators:
“Unbelievable! Sirius Black in the Marauder car crosses the finish line, takes first place and wins his first-ever world championship!”
***
Sirius sat with his arms crossed and a furiously clenched jaw. “No.”
McGonagall shot him an unamused glance “It's not up to you—“
“I said no,” he interrupted, his glare murderous. “Tell Hogwarts I’ll tear up my contract and walk away right now if they go through with it.”
They were seated in a rather large office, situated at the top of the Marauders Racing building. McGonagall, Marauders team principal, had called in a meeting with both Sirius and James to discuss some news before the start of pre-season testing. Sirius had spent his vacation partying and procrastinating on kissing Remus. He still had time, he kept telling himself, as long as the new season hadn’t officially started yet, he could still fulfil his promise.
James had been quiet the entire meeting, observing his best friend and calculating when to intervene.
She sighed, rubbing her temple and obviously done with the black-haired boy in front of her. “The deal has been finalised, Sirius. Your brother Regulus will have a seat at Slytherin Racing next season, along with Barty Crouch it seems. Although it is very out of character for this team to hire two rookies, it is done and—“
“I refuse to race against my brother,” Sirius cut in again. James grimaced, noticing to displeased look of their team principal by being interrupted yet again. “He’s a bad person, Minnie. Not only will he be a danger on track, he’ll give the sport a bad image.”
“Padfoot, I think you should at least give him a chance,” James said, speaking up for the first time. “I’ve seen how he drove in Formula 2 and he’s actually decent without playing dirty.”
Sirius shot him an angry look, not happy that his best friend had refused to take his side. After an uncomfortable silence, he finally relented.
“Fine, whatever, I’ll race him, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”