"we've got no time for getting old"

*

"Who's got the bandages? Prongs?"

"Nah, I do."

"Well, Frank, be a doll and pass me them, hm?"

Frank grinned in the dark and tossed Sirius the roll of bandages. A nasty cut on his arm was a small price to pay for a cursed garnet necklace, and really, it was his fault. Tripping on the corner of that coffee table was an accident, but still his fault.

"Don't bother with those, I can fix that," James volunteered, moving forward with his wand. Remembering the spells Lily taught him back in school, his brow furrowed in concentration as he muttered an incantation.

The cuts vanished.

"Blimey, Prongs," Sirius said in awe, prodding his healed-over skin as if the injuries would return any minute. "You actually were paying attention to Evans!"

James frowned. "What did you think I was doing?"

"Staring obsessively at your ginger princess."

A loud snort from Frank caused the other two to laugh as well. "Don't you reckon we should get out of here?" He questioned, his eyebrows quirked up in amusement.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, deadpan. "Don't you like hiding from Death Eaters in a broom closet?"

"Not everyone's as comfortable in broom closets as you, Sirius."

It took everything in James not to laugh hysterically. "YOU DID NOT!"

"Aw, does being pressed this close to my hot bod make you nervous, Franklin?"

"Great. This is so great. Now I'm going to have to go home to my wife and tell her that I came out of the closet with two other men."

"You've never even see me at my best," Sirius bragged.

"Padfoot, you have a wife, too," James pointed out.

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, Longbottom. I'll be canceling our illicit affair on account of my incredibly beautiful wife."

Frank pretended to look hurt and murmured, "understandable."

"While I do love watching this closet soap opera thing, I do reckon we should be heading out," James said, peeking out the small crack between the door and the frame. "We can joke later."

"Yeah, we better head out before Lucy decides he fancies a broom ride," Sirius added. "You know, hiding in a broom closet with you lot in Malfoy Manor was not exactly how I expected to spend my Valentine's Day."

"Really? I didn't picture it any other way."

Sirius whacked James, except it wasn't James. He accidentally hit Frank right across the face, who yelped, "OW!"

They heard shuffling outside of the door.

"Oh no," Sirius muttered, his eyes wide. "We ruined this, didn't we?"

"Yep yep yep. Moody's gonna kill us!"

"Shut up, James!"

Sirius closed his eyes for a brief moment then opened them, a hazy plan coming into focus. "We need to get back to the motorcycle."

"Why don't we just apparate?" Frank asked hurriedly. "Once we get off the property, the enchantments break."

"I'm not leaving the motorcycle behind! Do you know how much I paid for that? And I look great riding on it!"

"Not the time, Pads," James reminded him.

"Right. Okay, so I think we should-"

The door to the closet swung open and shut all three boys up. They came face to face with a clearly surprised Lucius Malfoy, who barely had time to open his mouth before Sirius' fist collided with his cheek. He stumbled backwards, hand clutching his face.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Sirius screeched, abandoning all plans of stealth and taking off like a shot. Frank grabbed the wand from his pocket before running after Sirius.

"Stupefy!" Lucius shouted, but Sirius ducked and stuck out his tongue for good measure.

A house elf walked into the room to examine the commotion only to be barreled into by Sirius, who apologetically yelled, "Sorry!" The little elf scurried away and ducked behind a chair to keep himself safe.

"Sirius!" Frank yelled.

"What?!?"

"Where's James?"

Both boys spun around to see both of the Malfoys in pursuit, but no sign of their friend.

"Sweet Merlin, did he get lost?!?"

"He has the necklace! He better not be lost!"

"Forget the necklace for a minute! If I go home to Evans without him, I'm dead! Forget that, I'm worse than dead! JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER!"

They began to duel against Lucius and Narcissa, edging closer and closer to the front doors.

"Impedimenta!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Crucio!"

The hexes and jinxes continued to fly, injuring no one because the teams were so evenly matched. While the best pair in the Auror Department was James and Sirius by far just because of how well they worked in tandem, but Sirius and Frank were almost as in sinc. Moody's training, though irritating and difficult, had adeptly prepared them for dealing with Dark wizards. Even so, Narcissa and Lucius were years older than them and also fought with one mind.

"BOMBARDO!"

The fighters barely had time to glance up and see James zoom above them on a stolen broom before the ground in between them exploded, leaving a gaping hole in the beautiful hardwood that Lucius fell through.

"Lucius!" Narcissa shrieked. Her head snapped up and her cornflower eyes met Sirius' briefly before she ran out of the room, presumably to save him.

James landed on the ground and beamed, a triumphant sparkle in his eyes. "Come on!"

"Wait, do you have the necklace?"

"No, I left it in the bathroom when I stopped there on my tour," he shot back sarcastically. "Of course I do!"

"Um, dudes, escape! Remember?" Sirius exclaimed. He stuck his wand behind his ear. "Run!"

They reached the front door, James covering the other two just in case someone came back. He knew it wouldn't be long before the Malfoys made a reappearance.

Sirius jiggled the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. "It won't open! It's locked!"

"It's locked," James mocked before yelling, "ARE YOU A DAMN WIZARD OR WHAT?"

"Shoot, you're right! Alohamora!" 

A new voice was heard from down below. "I'm fine, Narcissa. Stop fussing over me! We need to get them, who knows what they've taken!"

"No pressure or anything, but how's that door going?" James muttered, not bothering to turn around. His eyes swept around the beautifully cold manor, just waiting.

"Um..."

"Maybe you're Alohamora-ing it wrong," Frank said hurriedly, pushing Sirius aside. "Pronunciation is key. Alohamora!"

Nothing.

"It's Alohamora proof!" Sirius cried. He moved past James and readied himself for something that the other boys couldn't figure out. "They've enchanted it!"

Frank frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Sirius, wait!"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Sirius ran at the door at top speed, throwing himself shoulder-first into the door with all of his might. It didn't even budge and he fell to the floor, groaning dramatically.

James stared down at his friend, his eyebrows raised. "Was that really necessary?"

"THERE THEY ARE!"

Frank raised his wand and yelled, "Protego!" just as Lucius shot a spell at them. The shield charm did the trick and deflected the hex, but it wouldn't hold for long.

"We need a new way out!" James said, pulling Sirius off of the ground and dusting off his shoulders. Sirius winced a bit, already feeling the bruises forming on his skin.

"I've got one." Frank shot a stunner at Narcissa, who blocked it. "James, do you remember the Triple Threat Play?"

James' forehead creased as he considered Frank's idea. "Mitchell's Triple Threat Play?"

"That's the one."

"But that was experimental! We never pulled it off! We were too heavy! Besides, we'd need a..." James gasped as he put the pieces together and held up his broom. "Oh, I get it now!"

"I don't!" Sirius yelled.

"Doesn't matter, just get on!" James hopped onto the broom and motioned frantically. After a second of hesitation, Sirius slid on behind him, and then Frank.

James kicked off of the ground and the broom rose in the air, albeit much slower than the average broom due to the weight of three young men. However, Lucius Malfoy did love to treat himself with the best of everything, so the broom was the newest Nimbus model, the best one in the entire world.

"You have good taste, Malfoy!" He shouted as they flew above the perplexed couple. "I'd get the window fixed if I were you!"

Lucius glared and spat out, "what window?"

James winked. "This one."

Seconds before they hit the glass, the boys yelled, "Protego!" in unison, which protected them from the shards. Rain poured down on them and Sirius' barking laughter rang out in the night as they landed in the gardens.

"Which bush did you hide the bike in?" Frank asked. "We don't have much time."

"Um..."

"SIRIUS!"

All three boys began to search through random bushes, looking for Sirius' beloved motorcycle, their way out. Frank continuously shot spells at the doors, keeping the Malfoys at bay. They could hear their bickering from inside, though. In any other situation, it might have been funny.

"This is the worst planned mission ever," James mumbled.

Sirius rolled his eyes and kept sorting through the perfectly-trimmed leaves. The rain fell harder as precious seconds slipped away. Something sharp and pointy hit him hard on the back.

"OW!"

Turning around, he saw a majestic peacock sizing him up. The animal was a beautiful snowy white except for a black singe mark on its feathers. Sirius wondered how that particular burn occurred, but then the peacock began to peck him ruthlessly, almost like it thought he was someone else.

"OW! CUT IT OUT!"

"Padfoot, stop messing around and help me!"

"This - OW - stupid - OW - stupid bird - OW - has - OW - a - OW - vendetta! I've - OW - never even seen it before! OW! STOP THAT! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!"

"I found it!" James shouted gleefully, pushing back vines to reveal Sirius' motorcycle.

Sirius grinned and pointed his wand at the vicious peacock that seemed bent on pecking him to death. "Petrificus Totalus!" It toppled to the ground, frozen, and Sirius did a quick victory dance before mounting his bike. "Come on, escape time!"

Somehow, all three of them fit on the seat. Sirius revved the engine obnoxiously just as the Malfoys broke out of their own house. Hexes soared past them as he drove, Frank deflecting as many as he could.

"This old girl doesn't drive well in the rain," muttered Sirius. The motorcycle was having trouble making it through the bigger puddles of mud. "Maybe bringing the bike was a bad idea!"

"I've got a good one!" Pointing his wand at the tires, James yelled, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The motorcycle rose into the air and continued driving in the rainy sky, much to the delight of all three passengers.

"PRONGS, I LOVE YOU!"

"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, PADS!"

"I'M SUCH A THIRD WHEEL, BUT WE ARE FLYING!"

"THIS IS WAY BETTER THAN A BROOM!"

"YEAH!"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!"

"Moody's going to kill us, right?"

"YEAH!"

"YEAH!"

"YEAH!"

They rode in the sky for over an hour, Sirius driving the motorcycle, James levitating it, and Frank creating a magical protection so the rain wouldn't get on them or the bike. Throughout the journey home, the boys sang Elton John songs at the top of their lungs. It had been a rough year so far. They all needed it.

When they finally touched ground in some shifty alley, careful to avoid the prying eyes of Muggles, Sirius grinned. "So, who's bringing the necklace to Moody?"

"No offense, but I kind of want to get home to see Ali," Frank said, his face lighting up at the prospect. "I've really missed her and I mean, we've still got-" He checked his golden watch. "-A solid fourteen minutes left of Valentine's Day."

Sirius considered keeping his mouth shut, but he couldn't help it. "And I want to get home to Eva. I know she doesn't like being alone and the last few weeks have been hard on her."

"James, we're sorry, but-"

James held up his hands, a smirk on his face. "Nah, it's cool. Get home to see the wives, I'll go see Moody."

"Thanks, Potter," Frank said gratefully. "And thanks to both of you for watching my back out there."

"No problem. That's what we do," James said, waving him off. "Say hello to Alice for us."

"Will do." Frank winked and disapparated, leaving Sirius and James alone.

Sirius shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. On his hands he wore the fingerless gloves Regulus had gifted him with for his seventeenth birthday. That seemed like an eternity ago.

"Get going," James said, nudging Sirius back towards the motorcycle. "You made your excuse, now go."

"All right, all right." Sirius sat down on the seat and ran his hands down the handles. "Oi, Prongs. We've got to figure out how to make this thing fly full-time."

James grinned excitedly at the possibility and rubbed his hands together like a kid with a diabolical revenge plot. "I like the sound of that."

"See you at work tomorrow?"

"Obviously. Hey, give Blondie a hug for me. A brotherly one. Not whatever nonsense you pull when you wrap your arms around her. I don't want her getting the wrong idea or anything."

Sirius mock saluted. "Aye-aye, captain."

He drove off into the night, the rain absolutely drenching him, but he couldn't care less. They'd completed the mission and he would see her tonight. That was enough for him.

When he crept into the apartment, he expected Eva to be lounging on the couch, reading or sketching. She wasn't one for staying up late, but she hated living on her own. To his surprise, she wasn't in the living room, although a fire was roaring merrily in the fireplace. Sirius bent down to pet Gray, their new addition to the apartment, but the fluffy cat scurried away and hid under the armchair, just like always.

Sirius softly called out, "Eva?"

No one answered. Paranoia began to fill him up, but he took a few deep breaths, then checked the bathroom. After the bathroom, he poked his head into the bedroom, where he breathed a sigh of relief.

Eva had fallen asleep on the bed, evident by the art supplies scattered all across the quilt. She lay there in sweatpants and an Abbey Road t-shirt, her blonde curls completely covering her face.

Part of him wanted a warmer greeting home, but she looked so damn cute all curled up on the bottom of the bed.

After taking a quick shower and changing into dry pajamas, Sirius cleaned up all of her colored pencils and collected her notebook, smiling at the half-finished sketch of The Three Broomsticks.

Merlin, I adore you, he thought, staring at her in the darkness of their bedroom. Carefully, he lifted and moved her to the top half of the mattress. She didn't even stir. Then he climbed into bed beside her and pulled the covers over them, pressing a soft kiss her forehead before closing his eyes. A few minutes later, she rolled over on top of him. He could tell she didn't really know she was doing it, otherwise she'd be awake and freaking out over his presence. Smiling, he wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting on her head, and fell asleep.

this chapter is my peace offering for the depression that was the last few chapters

:)

qotd: favorite holiday?

aotd: Christmas