maraudingmutt

[To say that Sirius Black was confused was more than just a bit of an understatement. To begin with, he'd been pretty sure he was dead. . . Then there was that little matter of . . .Well. . . The last he remember was being in the Department of Mysteries fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. Certainly not on a beach or anywhere near a beach. The man in his ragged robes tightened his grip on his wand, clearly more than a little on edge.

If you knew Sirius - or even if you'd only seen his younger self on the island at some point - you might not recognize this man as the same cheerful youth. His hair was untamed, down to his elbows and his face gaunt. The cheerful spark you might have noticed on his younger self was diminished replaced instead with a haunted look - the look of a man who had more than his fair share of troubles in his lifetime.

You might possibly be able to tell if you looked close enough. . . Or perhaps if you knew him well enough. . .But for the most part he was completely unrecognizable as the young man that ran the pet shop here on the island. He was also quite on edge - as if he expected someone to come out with their wands drawn at him any moment now.]

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I never thought you'd.....

{He laughs and can't stop grinning like an idiot or blushing for once.}

"I'd what? . . Like a bloke? Neither did I until you finally confessed to me. Dear old Prongs never quite let me live it down that you had to say something first."

[He seems to be a little more cheerful talking about this, seeming almost. . younger as he spoke about it. His eyes, at least, seemed a bit brighter.]

{He chuckles.}

I guess I managed to work up some Gryffindor in me after all if I confessed.

{After all if he did it once and it worked surely he can do it again when he sees the younger you.}

[He was grinning now.]

". . . Well, there wasn't much chance of me admitting it. I hadn't even quite come to terms with it when you said something. I'm glad you did though."

I'm sure I'll be glad when I do, as well, but for now...I don't see a problem with you staying in your own room.

{He smirks.}

You'll have to run your pet shop too. Merlin knows I can't go near the animals.

" . . . 'pet shop'. . .? . . . I have a pet shop?"

[. . . This almost worried him, actually.]

Oh yes, you do~

{He was hoping for that actually. It's not often he gets to see your plans come back and bite you (albeit an older you) in your arse.}

" . . What kind of pets am I selling. . . ?"

[. . This has him even more worried.]

{He grins a little wickedly.}

The most prominent in my mind, because you of course, are you, are nifflers. You know I would help if I wouldn't just make it worse.

{Only in this case...he probably wouldn't.}

" . . . Nifflers? . . That's it?"

[. . He sounded relieved.]

{Blinking at you.}

What were you expecting? Dragons?

" . . Well. . . Yes, actually."

{His tone takes on it's usual dry and reprimanding qualities.}

You're still in school. Illegal trading isn't something you've gotten your hand into yet.

" . . 'yet'? Why, Moony! I'm hurt by the accusation!"

{Smiling fondly at you.}

No you're not. You've got a taste for dangerous things, Pads. Pranks, motorbikes, and apparently werewolves. I have just cause to suspect you of dragons later in your life.

"The most dangerous pet I own in the future is a hippogriff - I promise. And besides~ Werewolves and pranks can hardly be considered dangerous. I've even found that werewolves can be rather cute and cuddly on occasion."

{Blinking at you as another blush crawls across his cheeks.}

I'll show you the apartment.

{He muttered, embarrassed.}

[You're just going to get another one of his bark-like laughs as he waves forward.]

". . .Lead on."

{He does walk back to the apartment building a little absently as he tries to take stock of what he's learned. He wants to believe you, and he does because you wouldn't lie to him....but at the same time it seems a bit too good to be true.}

[His hands are currently in his pockets as he follows you. He takes in the island around them curiously - though really he's finding it nice to be out in the fresh air instead of stuck in the stale air of Grimauld Place.]

". . .How long have you been here?"

A few weeks...

{He's distracted slightly by his own thoughts, but stops in front of the apartment building once they reach it.}

Most everyone live in here....only a few live over shops, or in other places.

". . And I suppose my younger self has been here about the same amount of time?"

[It was so strange to be able to simply walk out in the open without having to worry about being sent back to Azkaban - but not strange in a bad way of course. ]

{He nods and leads the way towards their actual apartment.}

Yes, though you ran around as Padfoot for a few days while we got our bearings. Magic doesn't always work quite right here, less likely the harder the spell....but we've been locking the door just fine with it.

"I se--"

[He started then trailed off.]

" . . wait. Who the bloody hell were you calling dense?"

[. . . He just now remembered that bit. ~~Not proving your point or anything.~~]