Chapter 6
"We should head to Hogsmeade Island today," Evans suggested at breakfast the following morning. "It's not supposed to be far from here, and we found this map to buried treasure on the beach there. If there's as much loot as we've heard, we can split the gold amongst all of us and still be rich."
"You can have my share, Evans," Potter suggested hurriedly. "I'm bloody loaded."
If James had thought this would impress Evans, he was certainly wrong, as the woman rolled her eyes and went back to her oatmeal. Feeling sorry for his friend, Sirius cut in.
"That sounds like a fucking delight! I've never been on a treasure hunt. I actually don't quite need the gold either, so someone can take my share too. Maybe when we're on the island, we can hit the pub. I could use a night of booze and music," he said.
"Agreed," McKinnon contributed.
Everyone began nodding and chattering excitedly. Sirius leaned over to Remus.
"What are you going to do with your share of the gold, mate?"
Remus instinctively scooted away from Sirius--ouch--but responded.
"Probably gonna put it towards the new ship...maybe I'll use some of it to pay for a new tattoo, though."
Sirius's stomach jolted when he thought back to the moon tattoo on Remus's chest and nearly shuddered when he pictured the man with another. Bloody gorgeous.
"That's smart, saving for the new ship. You're not in, erm, a rush to purchase a new one, though, right?" Smooth, Sirius. Very smooth.
Remus shook his head, making his soft curls bounce. "No. Not in a rush, Sirius."
Sirius wanted to continue his conversation with Remus, but James nudged him and whispered.
"Hey mate, do you think there might be a romantic location on the island where I could possibly charm Evans?"
Sirius privately thought the answer was no, but did not want to share it. James had a hopeful look in his eyes and a huge smile on his face.
"Perhaps, Potter. But I reckon you should back off a bit, maybe play hard to get or something," he said gently.
"I think that'd just confuse her, to be honest."
Sirius shrugged. He figured that if Potter was set on wooing Evans, it'd all work out in the end. No one had the determination or charisma of James Potter.
After breakfast, the crew gathered above deck and took their positions. This meant that James manned the steering wheel and Sirius stood nearby and pretended to help.
"So Lupin...he seems cool, eh?"
Sirius blushed. "Yes, Remus is cool, Potter."
"You don't think...he's dangerous or anything, right?"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "I trust Remus. If he wanted to kill us, he'd've done so by now, don't you reckon? It's not like we're particularly threatening."
"Oh, really," James said, eyebrows raised. "I'm plenty threatening. I was trained in the palace, you know. I could beat him in a fight."
"Keep dreaming, posh boy."
"You're one to talk," James replied, laughing good-naturedly. "Hey, what if I flirted with you instead of Evans? She might see how charming I can be and then get jealous."
"Thought you didn't want to confuse her."
"Well, I thought about it," Potter began. "And it really seems like my usual methods aren't working. Might as well try something drastic."
"It's fine by me, then," Sirius agreed. It wasn't like Remus had shown any outward interest. But if he was interested...well, perhaps this deal would work for him and James both.
The ship came to an abrupt stop. The two men gave each other anxious looks, and immediately Evans began to shout.
"BLOODY FUCKIN' HELL POTTER!" she screamed.
The other members of the crew looked over the railing, and groans could be heard.
"Really Potter?"
"You two should have looked where we were going."
"This fuckin' blows!"
"What's going on?" Sirius asked, embarrassed.
"We appear to have, erm, run aground," James explained, just as embarrassed. "There's a sandbar here, you see, and I should have veered north. My bad."
"Potter! I thought you knew what you were doing!" Remus cut in, running over to the steering wheel. He had offered to steer, but James had protested--he said that Remus was a guest, and should use the sailing time to rest and relax. Not the best idea, in hindsight.
"I'm sorry, Captain," James said, smiling cautiously. "I was just distracted by Sirius. He's so bloody beautiful." James said this last part particularly loudly in hopes of catching Evans' attention and shot Sirius a soppy look. Sirius cringed. Potter was going to kill his game.
Remus frowned. "Potter, if it happens again, you will get to know Al's knives very personally. We're going to be stuck here until the tide comes in, you fucking idiot."
Remus looked hot when he was angry.
"You know, Cap, we can make the most of this," Dorcas argued as she climbed down the rigging. "We could do something fun."
"Like swimming!" Fab suggested.
"Or knife-throwing lessons?" Longbottom added hopefully.
"I've got it," Potter said confidently. "Sandcastle building contest. Lower the ladder, Shacklebolt!"
And so the crew found themselves on a thin strip of sand, making teams for the competition.
"I'll partner up with Sirius," James said with mock eagerness. "Sirius, you're so talented at stuff like this."
"I'd be honored to be your partner, Potter. If we win, you'll owe me a kiss," he replied, hoping Remus was listening.
"Enough talk," Remus cut in. "Evans, come on."
The groups split off--Macdonald was preparing dinner, and offered to judge at the end. Sirius was concerned about this, because he'd caught her staring at Vance and figured she'd play favorites.
"You reckon Evans is jealous yet?" Potter muttered as the two began scooping up sand. Sirius hated the feeling of sand under his fingernails, but soldiered on.
"Sure, mate. Very jealous," he answered sarcastically.
"What, is there something wrong with my flirting?" James answered, immediately self-conscious.
Sirius looked up at his friend as he started forming a sand gazebo. "It feels very forced, Potter. We don't have much chemistry. Try being more.. I don't know, touchy. And funny."
"That's shit advice, mate."
"Just trying to help."
As they worked on their sand manor--modeled after James' family's gorgeous London flat, complete with a gazebo and a guesthouse--Sirius tried to give James romantic smiles. They threw sand at each other and held hands. James toned down the soppy comments. Sirius had performed better in his secondary school Swan Lake matinee, but this would do. It was sort-of fun. It kept him from staring at Remus, who was hard at work on his creation with Evans.
"Alright babes, times up!" Mary shouted, grinning at them from the deck. She scurried down the ladder and held her long patterned skirt in one hand to prevent it from getting sandy. Sirius respected that. Mary looked at each sandcastle one by one.
"Here, make it look like we're whispering to each other," James suggested, leaning over to get his mouth close to Sirius' ear.
"God, you're wearing so much cologne, it's foul," Sirius replied with a loving smile on his face.
"I figured Evans might like it."
"She does seem to be watching us, actually," Sirius answered, grinning.
"Lupin too, though. You don't reckon he's got a problem with two blokes, you know, kissing, do you?"
Sirius felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. "He's been giving us dirty looks?"
"Something like that, yeah. I'll punch him for you, mate."
"That's not..." Sirius started, anxiously. His entire life had been filled with shooting longing looks at blokes while he waltzed with the finest ladies in London. He'd been pretending for so, so long. It was part of the reason why he'd left. And he thought that on the Gryffin, he would be away from all of that. But he might have been wrong.
"Potter and Black! This is marvelous, truly. I'm very impressed," Mary interrupted Sirius's unpleasant thoughts. "I have to admit, I think this one takes the cake."
"Brilliant!" Potter wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist, lifting him off the ground and spinning him. Sirius forced a smile.
"I couldn't have done it without you, darling," he said to Potter.
James put him back on the sand and began to brag to the competition. Sirius wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers. He was going to confront Remus.
He walked over to the sandcastle that Remus had constructed with Evans. Shoddy workmanship.
"Well done, Black," Evans said drily. "I'm surprised that you got so much work done, though, since bloody Potter couldn't keep his hands off you."
Sirius gave Evans a cocky smile. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."
"Sod off," she answered, but she was grinning.
"Remus, can I speak to you for a moment?"
Evans nudged Remus. What was that about?
Remus, who'd been staring at the sand, gave a slight nod. Evans walked off.
"If you have a problem with two blokes kissing, you're not welcome on my ship-"
"Where is this coming from?" Remus asked urgently, pretty eyes wide.
"Potter. He said you'd been shooting us dirty looks all morning. That attitude is downright-"
"Sirius. It wasn't that. Kiss...kiss whoever you want, okay?"
Sirius could tell, just by looking in Remus' eyes, that Remus was being genuine. So why had he been cranky?
"Stop interrupting me, Remus. If you don't have a problem with my being queer, why were you glaring?"
Remus bit his lip. "I just...don't reckon Potter likes you like that. It's-you should be with someone who gets you, no? He just, well, doesn't look at you like someone who loves you would."
Sirius tried not to stare at Remus' lips as he said this. He decided that Remus could be trusted with his and Potter's secret.
"He doesn't. He wanted to make Evans jealous, mate," Sirius replied, laughing. "Don't tell her this, obviously. It'd break Potter's heart."
Remus tossed his head back and laughed--really laughed. It was a beautiful sound. Sirius had heard orchestras perform, gone to the opera, was a classically trained pianist. Suddenly one of those things seemed quite so special.
"Your secret is safe with me, Sirius," Remus told him, looking down at Sirius once more. Sirius noticed that he had some sand on his nose, and without thinking, he reached up and wiped it off.
Remus blushed. Sirius smiled. For that moment, they were the only two people on the beach.