The Misadventures of Padfoot and Prongs

As night fell on Godric's Hollow, two boys of sixteen whispered excitedly to each other in a dimly lit bedroom. The orange glow given off by the setting sun illuminated a map of London that was laid out across the wood floor. The boys were sitting next to the large piece of paper, staring at it with wide smiles.

"We're really going to do this, aren't we?" said one of them, mostly to himself. Hazel eyes shined brightly behind his glasses as he once again absentmindedly tried to smooth the black hair that stuck up stubbornly at the back of his head. "And you're sure it'll fly?" He turned to his friend as the question left his lips.

"James, I've been having that thing worked on for months. It'll fly," said the other boy, not at all concerned over that particular detail. His grey eyes flitted across the map once more. "All we have to do is wait until your mum and dad go to sleep, and then we're free to go anywhere we like."

Footsteps echoed beyond the bedroom door, signaling the approach of one of James' parents. "James? Sirius? What have you two gotten up to?" a feminine voice called from somewhere down the hall.

"Quick, Sirius, get the map!" James whispered harshly before he jumped up and crossed the room, slipping through the door and into the hallway. Sirius grabbed the map and folded it as fast as he could. He jammed the paper underneath his pillow and flopped down onto the bed, casually crossing his legs at the ankle, hands resting on his stomach.

"What are you two doing that you've got yourselves cooped up in there on a summer evening like this?" Sirius heard the muffled voice just before the door opened.

Mrs. Potter stood in the doorway with James behind her. The relief was clear on James' face as he saw that Sirius was not caught doing anything that could jeopardize their plans. Sirius smiled at her and raised a hand in greeting.

"Evening, Mrs. Potter," He said cheerfully. "When will dinner be ready? James and I are feeling a bit peckish, and you know how much I love your cooking." The older woman smiled at the compliment.

"Soon, dear. Be downstairs in ten minutes, the both of you, or your dinner will get cold," she said, turning around and heading down a flight of stairs that lead to the living room on the first floor. Once she was out of sight, James sighed.

"That was close," he said, walking back into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"I think we've had closer calls than that, mate," said Sirius, folding his arms behind his head. Suddenly, James laughed.

"Like that time we slipped a Swelling Solution into Snivelly's morning pumpkin juice and-"

"-he ballooned to twice his size!" Sirius finished, roaring with laughter over the memory. "I thought we were done for when the slimy git waddled toward us at the Gryffindor table, wand out, trying to get curses past his thick tongue!"

"We were lucky he couldn't prove it was us. Filch has been just itching to catch us up to something."

"Yeah, to him, we're Public Enemies One and Two."

Before James could reply, Mrs. Potter called up to them from down the stairs. "Dinner is ready! Come on, you two! Before it gets cold!"

James and Sirius left the bedroom and made their way down the stairs, turning left into the kitchen. The smell of roast beef and mashed potatoes wafted towards them, their stomachs rumbling audibly with hunger. Taking their seats at the table, the two of them filled their bellies as fast as they could, eager to get back upstairs.

While they ate, Mr. and Mrs. Potter made interesting conversation. Sirius enjoyed their company over that of his own family; the Potters were so much more pleasant.

After dinner, James and Sirius cleared their plates from the table and were about to head back upstairs when Mr. Potter stopped them.

"Hold up, boys," he said. "We have to be up early tomorrow morning if you want to catch the train to school, so make sure you get to bed at a reasonable time."

James and Sirius looked at each other, the corners of their mouths fighting to lift upwards into a smile. "Of course we'll go to bed at a reasonable time. Goodnight Dad, Mum," he said and they dashed up the stairs and back into the bedroom.

"Did you ever owl Moony back?" James asked randomly as he shut the door behind them.

"Bugger! I completely forgot about that. Hang on, I'll do it now," Sirius said as he reached into the night stand's drawer to retrieve his quill, ink bottle and parchment. Slamming the parchment onto the wooden surface, he began to write.

Moony,

Sorry about the late reply. I've been working on something completely brilliant. It's top secret, so I can't tell you now, but Prongs and I'll fill you in on the train.

You said you saw Evans, yeah? When I read that bit to James he went absolutely barmy. I do believe our boy's in love.

Anyway, I better be off now. Rules to break and mischief to get up to, you know how it is.

Padfoot.

"Where'd that owl of yours go?" Sirius asked as he folded the letter in half twice. Just then, a great black owl swooped in from the open window and landed on its perch. "Bloody good timing," Sirius tied to note securely to the bird's foot and watched it fly away again.

"So now we wait?" James asked.

"Now we wait," Sirius smiled.

Four hours later, the Potters were sound asleep in their bed. James and Sirius crept out of their shared bedroom and tiptoed down the stairs, cursing the heavens as the bottom step creaked loudly in protest of their weight. As swiftly and silently as they could, they made their way through the house to the back door. Slowly easing it open, they slipped through it and hurried across the grass of the backyard toward a large tree.

Beneath the tree rested Sirius' most prized possession; a 1959 Triumph Bonneville T120. It was an ordinary-looking motorbike with a sidecar large enought to accomodate a full-grown man. Sirius had spent a significant amount of money to pay a wizard that was of age to bewitch it to fly. Together, they rolled the motorbike across the lawn and out of the backyard.

Once they had it in the street, Sirius climbed on and James hopped into the sidecar. After a quick look around to make sure no one was looking at them through their windows, Sirius turned on the bike. Instead of the low purr of the engine he had been expecting, a loud bang erupted from the tailpipe, black smoke billowing out of it.

Sirius panicked and quickly sped off into the sky, a jet of black exhaust trailing behind them. He could hear James laughing hysterically from beside him, but he waited until they were hidden in the clouds before he hit him in the arm.

"Sod off!" Sirius yelled, his cheeks tinting pink from embarrassment. This only made James laugh harder.

"I-I can't believe that just happened!" He yelled between giggles.

"I said it would fly! I never said anything about it being quiet!" Sirius defended himself.

"Oh, Merlin, that was good," James said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

A quarter of an hour later, they arrived in London. Having never seen it at night, they took in the sight of the brightly lit buildings in an awed silence. They found it incredible that Muggles were able to create such wonderful things without the use of magic.

Sirius circled around in the air for a bit, trying to locate a place to land his motorbike. Soon, he found a deserted alleyway and glided downwards through the air toward it. He slowed down before they crashed into the pavement and he parked the bike against the brick wall. He hoped the anti-theft charm on it would hold until he got back.

"Where to now?" Sirius mused aloud as they left the alleyway.

"Over there! They have a cinema. I've always wondered about those," James said.

"A what?" Sirius asked, a blank look on his face.

"They're called cinemas. Muggles watch these things called films at them. Come on, it'll be fun."

With a shrug, Sirius followed his friend into the strange building.