Chapter Text
From an outside perspective, Sirius had anything he would ever need. Anything tangible that he could name could and would be bought on his behalf. Whatever problems he had, they weren’t for lack of opportunity; but somewhere between the chauffeur and the constant guarding from other staff at the estate (who were generous if they even let him around the neighborhood) Sirius completely lost his more intuitive assets — in this case, a sense of direction. Perhaps it never developed in the first place, as it was unlikely he’d ever need it. He could navigate a rocky business deal by thirteen and round up investors at half that, so what use would he have for knowing where he was or where to go? When he and Reg were young in the new house, they were told by the staff that if they ever got lost, to sit down and wait. To not bother exploring or figuring out where they were — just wait for someone to find them.
“We’ll give you a map, you know. You don’t have to memorize everything,” said Frank, tugging Sirius away from the giant information board. It was mundanely scenic — the dull blue paint chipping off the edges of the wooden framed map, wreathed in overgrown ferns and wildflowers. The camp was decidedly massive, sprawling over miles of dense rolling forest, broken up by streams and trails and of course, the Silver Lake — which was the destination of every main road. Poetic. The Clubhouse, where they first met, was on the edge of the forest and mostly used for administration work. At the center was the Great Hall, which was color-coded with almost every utility and immediately became Sirius’ favorite spot. He had the unfortunate feeling he’d really begin to value having food, air conditioning, and a bathroom all in one place. There was also a fieldhouse, a pool, designated camping spots, and a dozen more areas Sirius was sure he’d never remember the routes to.
“Where are we now?” Sirius asked, scanning the labeled paths leading to the cabins, the medic, the equestrian center. Frank leaned towards the map and tapped a spot with his finger, maybe a couple inches from the main lodge. They looked at each other for a second, quiet except for the buzz of wildlife and the chattering from the rest of the group up ahead.
“You’ll be fine.”
* * *
By the time the tour was over, Sirius’ feet were aching and his stomach sounded like Paul’s truck. They had encircled nearly the entire grounds and ended up towards the center of the camp, where the trees became increasingly sparse until they entered a large clearing that had been made into a courtyard. Benches, small gazebos and open pavilions were scattered along the outer ring of the clearing, housing crooked chess sets and pool tables. There was a ring for tetherball, a faded hopscotch grid, a woven basket filled with fraying jump ropes. The dining hall, finally, was just past the flagpole and looked like it was glowing. Frank was wrapping up his explanation about the central hub of camp as they all sped up toward the smell of grease and food. Sirius had left the dirt path and was about to step onto the porch when Alice threw an arm out, blocking them from moving past. She turned around and clapped her hands to gather their wavering attention.
“Alright guys, I know we’re all hungry, but —” Her smile wavered as she was met with a chorus of groans. “Just one more thing before we go in. Starting Sunday at ten a.m. — that’s arrival time, unless you’re James Potter.” Marlene and Lily chuckled as they watched James’ face redden.
“I have a really good excuse, I swear.” He smacked a hand over his heart to seal the promise. “I just need a few more minutes to come up with it.”
That earned James a shove to the shoulder from Peter, who knocked him into Remus and nearly sent them both sprawling, had Sirius not grabbed hold of Remus’ arm on the way down.
“Oh shit — thanks.” He said gruffly before wrenching his arm out of Sirius’ grip like it was made of hot iron, almost losing his balance again in the process. Trying not to be offended, he bobbed his head in a nod and they watched as James stumbled, just for a moment, before finding his footing and going to shove Peter back.
“Okay, hold it!” Frank held up a hand to cease the roughhousing, looking like a conductor of a very shoddy band. “Let us say this one thing and you guys can get your food, damn animals. Go ahead, Alice.” He gestured behind him and Peter scratched his nose to hide his growing embarrassment. Sirius cast a side glance at Remus next to him, but he was fixated on picking a hangnail.
“As I was saying — thank you Frank — starting next week on arrival and continuing until we close in August, Camp Silver Lakes operates on a strict nickname-only policy for counselors.”
A few oohh's and riiight’s floated out of the crowd as the chatter grew. Sirius felt his brow furrow as he tried to feign understanding — his name was too short for a nickname, he had already tried everything; the staff at home called him Sir sometimes, and that would have to be enough. He waited for a look from Regulus to confirm he had even heard her correctly but his brother was avoiding his eye again. So much for a buddy.
“Okay, okay, I know you’ve all got ideas already. Whatever it is, you’ve got to know it by Sunday — preferably before.” She put her hands up in a warning. “I know timing it can be kind of tough, but it’s tradition and every staffer gets one, so you really have to stick with it — even if you hate it—”
“Make sure you remember our real names, too.” Frank interrupted, leaving Alice to nod politely as he continued. “That’s just as important, if there’s ever an emergency we need to be able to refer to each other or give information correctly. You can’t call the cops and tell them Chip and Raz are missing,” He gestured to himself and Alice, “or Hammy needs an ambulance.” He waved a hand in the air at the proverbial Hammy. “Not without getting your call dropped, that is.”
“So where did Chip and Raz come from?” Dorcas raised a hand in the back of the small crowd. Alice shook her head sadly.
“It’s a secret, just our year of counselors know it. Maybe I’ll tell you one day, but not now.” she winked, and Dorcas looked unsatisfied with the answer.
“Does it have to be a secret?” Peter followed Dorcas’ lead in raising a short hand, using the other to adjust his cap. “Like, what’ll happen if I tell people?”
“Oh, nothing.” Frank shrugged. “You’ll probably want it to be a secret, though, ‘cause no one gets to pick their nicknames — that’s too easy. You give them to each other.” More chattering ensued, but Frank spoke over it easily. “The more humiliating, the better. I encourage you guys to get creative, get to know each other — the embarrassing name stories are always the best kind, so don’t feel too bad about it. Any other questions?”
“Can I tell you my excuse?” said James with an excited gleam in his eye, glasses still askew from his confrontation with Peter.
“Fine,” said Frank. “Go ahead.”
“No way,” Marlene groaned.
“Can we please eat now?” Lily cut in. “This could go on for hours,”
“Alright, alright. Come on,” Alice waved them all inside to a small chorus of cheers.
In response, James just shrugged his shoulders, keeping his expression carefully amused as everyone pushed past him towards lunch. Even Peter left him behind, bounding up the stairs two at a time. Sirius tried to see if he could do the same — he could stretch three. He turned around to look down at James from the top of the suddenly empty staircase.
“You coming?” he asked, earnestly. James’ practiced unbotheredness wavered, just for a second.
“I’ll go through the back way. I have to grab something real quick.”
“You know where to go?”
“Oh, sure. I know this place like the back of my hand.”
Sirius was immediately jealous as they turned opposite directions, both heading to the same place.
It helped, James would later admit over his lunch, that he had spent every summer at Camp Silver Lakes since he was six.
“I can see how that would be an advantage.”
“Nah, you’ll catch on,” James said, taking a hearty slurp of lemonade.
Sirius looked up from his sandwich and took in his surroundings. The Great Hall lived up to its name, at least in his eyes. The wooden ceiling met in a high arch, broken up by massive skylights that flooded the mid-afternoon sun onto the weathered round tables, making him want to curl up and nap in the rays like an old cat. Shiny paper stars hung from the ceiling in no particular pattern, occasionally catching the sun as they spun in lazy circles. Coloured pennant banners reached between the rafters and across the large windows, cut off only by the area with the cafeteria bar — where the entire wall was filled with posters, menus, and instructions for camp etiquette. Joined by Andy while Ted helped the returning cooks, they were a clean dozen and only took up one table in the corner. And now that almost everyone had recovered from the hike, the conversations from earlier had returned in full swing.
“Come on Pete. If you can’t handle that hike, I’m not sure how you plan to get through the rest of the summer.” said James, clapping Peter harshly on the back. Peter was still noticeably red, and was now trying to sneak James’ lemonade into his empty glass.
“By hoping those kids are still shorter than me,” said Peter. “I get outrun pretty easily.” Lily hid a snort behind her hand, probably remembering an example.
“I hope your roommate is fast, at least. For everyone’s sake.” James choked out, nodding in Andy’s direction.
“Thought I’d be with you.” Peter frowned.
The table quieted for a second as a wave of tension rolled over them. Sirius turned next to Reg and pulled a face, getting an eye roll in return. James looked frozen at Peter’s side.
“I don’t know, man.” James shrugged. “Will you?”
Everyone turned to Andy as if only now realizing the power she held as director. She took a deep breath before seamlessly transitioning into business mode like she had done earlier.
“This week is about team-building, and we’ll be paying close attention to make the cabin assignments as efficient as possible.” Skeptive glances were cast across the table. “I haven’t decided who’s bunking with who — but you’re all in the same cabin until Sunday, so make the most of it. Or — no, don’t do that. The older counselors are gonna be next door, and I don’t want to hear anything gross you guys might get up to. Don’t be gross.” She faltered at the end, but her point was made nonetheless. Seated quietly on Andy’s right, Remus was beginning to look like this job was turning out worse than he expected.
After lunch was the swimming test, which they had to do in their normal clothes. (Ted claimed it was more realistic that way, in case of emergencies.) After Mary parted reluctantly with her pile of golden jewelry and Sirius tucked Alphard’s lighter into his shoe, Marlene and the head lifeguard — another tall blonde, with a strong jaw and impressive appearance — split them into groups. Marlene took the girls and Reg to the lap pool on the other side of the poolhouse, and Emmy Vance, or ‘Vette’, handled the rest of them. James made the argument for taking his shirt off (I’d have it off anyways. You know I would, Vette.) and folded his concert tee neatly next to his glasses and the girls’ jewelry. Once he had snapped on his goggles, they were all fighting the urge to laugh in his face.
“Got a problem with my outfit, Blackwell?” James raised his eyebrows so obnoxiously he broke the goggles’ seal on his face. Sirius vaguely recognized the reference, some fashion critic vapid old ladies loved to keep up with. His mother was a fan, most likely. Could also be a viable pun, if he thought James remembered his last name.
“If it works for you, man. I thought it’d be the jeans slowing you down, not the poor vision — but alright.” Sirius said through choked laughter, kicking his shoes off into the pile with everyone else’s.
“Hey, watch it — these things are like Bond gadgets. They’re prescription!” James waved a finger in Sirius’ face, folding his socks into his tennis shoes with the other hand.
“You can say they’re a gift from your mother. It’s okay, she already told me. See, when we—”
“Oh, you—”
Emmy interrupted him with the sharp tweet of her whistle. She doled out the instructions and lined them up neatly on the edge of the pool, loose pebbles and grass-filled cracks in the pavement digging into their feet. It had been however many months since Sirius had swam, he wasn’t even sure. His family had never been a fan, and he lied his way out of his school’s swimming unit to avoid getting his hair wet. He was pondering a less embarrassing excuse when her whistle blew and he was up first; he felt a palm on his back and then the water hit him like sheets of ice, filling his nose and searing his eyes until he was aware enough to shut them tight. His hair was most definitely wet.
“Stop floundering, Black! Show ‘em what you’re made of!” He heard the muffled cry from above.
He was a decent swimmer, at least — but he was slow in his recovery from the shock. By the time he made it to the other end, Emmy blew her whistle a second time and he heard another smack and the cacophony of limbs hitting water — at least his punishment wasn’t personal.
His burst of energy had long drained from him by the time he was done, but going first, he had time to watch a couple of the girls return from the other side of the poolhouse — drenched, flushed, and actually wearing swimsuits. James crawled out of the pool behind him — he had made much better time than Sirius had — and struggled to keep his soaking jeans above his hips as the girls went to grab towels from the bin.
“These things are awful, James.” Lily snapped the elastic against the back of his head as she walked past. His hand flew up, and he ripped the goggles off with a sigh of exasperation.
“They’re prescription. How come you got to wear swimsuits?” He shoved the goggles into a soaking wet pocket as Mary passed him a towel, not-so-subtly looking him up and down.
“Dude. Did you push me?” said Sirius, ruffling his hair dry. “I have like, half the pools’ worth of water up my nose.”
“Oh, that’s where it all went. I was wondering why it was so shallow.” Remus’ voice came from behind him as he reached past with freckled arms to grab a towel from Mary, who fixed him with the same look she gave James. Why was he the only one not getting checked out?
“I think that’s just scaling. Your ideal shallow end is like seven feet deep.” said Sirius, acutely aware of how short he must’ve looked next to him. Sirius was average height — above average, even. Not that it mattered.
“Nah, I’d have to be on my tiptoes. Six foot ten?”
“Liar.”
“I’d buy it.” said Mary, eyes flicking back and forth between them. “You were barely taller than me last year. Shot up like a weed.” Sirius removed himself from the conversation before it turned to comparison.
“Peter, did James push me?” Sirius bent down at the edge of the pool as Peter began to climb out, still red in the face.
“You were the one who brought up his mother.”
“Whatever.”
“It’s just a rite of passage.” Peter ran his hands through his soaked hair, bringing it back in front of his face. “Vette pushed me after all of you started.”
“And James just got in on his own?”
“Remus pushed him, don’t worry about it,” said Peter quickly, sensing Sirius’ plan before he realized it himself. He was going to worry about it.
“Wow, who’s gonna push Remus?” Emmy interrupted, passing out green cards to indicate they all passed. “Put that in your lanyard when you get one.”
“Me, in a minute.” Sirius handed his card to Peter, who handed them to Lily, who slid them under the strap of her top. James, of course, turned to watch her, leaving Remus unguarded; his time was nigh.
“Don’t come any closer — I can see what you’re doing.” Remus backed away, holding up his hands in warning. “You should be thanking me, I got James.”
“It’s not about me, Remus. It’s about justice. I didn’t get to push anyone. You didn’t get pushed. We need to balance the scales.” said Sirius. Lily and Mary cleared out of the way to make a path between them. Remus shook his head. Sirius nodded. Remus shook his head harder.
“You can’t run from this.” Sirius raised his arms in a display of bravado. His bravado was limited considering the circumstances — his hair was wet and hung heavy in front of his face and he was decked out in dark gray, so he imagined he looked something like a drowned rat — but it made a good show nonetheless.
“That’s just what — Well, if you — yes I can.” Remus sputtered out half a sentence before taking off in the other direction to a flurry of surprised laughs.
Sirius leaped after him, pushing off the hard concrete as they circled around the pool's edge. Remus was faster than he had any right to be, but Sirius gained on him with every step. They were cheering on the other side, Emmy was yelling but neither of them was stopping, and they had nearly made it full circle when Marlene and Regulus came out of the gate, both sopping wet and looking disgruntled.
Sirius, fully gruntled, kept charging at Remus who was making for the open gate — but he would have to get past those two first and neither of them looked like they planned on moving. Remus tried to get past Marlene anyway but she grabbed his arm and blew her lifeguard whistle, so shrill and loud that Remus stopped in his tracks and Sirius caught up to him, tackling them both into the cold water.
Marlene’s whistle cut off with a chirp as she was pulled in along with them, letting go of Remus’ arm just a moment too late. Sirius resurfaced with little effort, dodging his victims’ attempts to push his head back under. He kicked up water in Remus’ face and floated away on his back, choking with laughter.
“I’ve already failed at my job.” Marlene groaned, climbing out of the pool and letting Mary pick her up. “Does the whistle mean nothing to you?” She fumbled her fingers around it and pulled it taut against her neck, displaying the whistle on the end.
“Yeah, no more of that — I’m serious.” Emmy pointed at Sirius from the pool deck like she hadn’t instigated the whole thing in the first place. James and Peter were both red from laughter, and the girls were trying to hide their own amusement for Marlene’s sake.
“They’re just being idiots, Marlene. It’s not your fault.” Lily patted her friend dry with a sympathetic expression. Sirius made tentative eye contact with Remus as they approached the same ladder, offering a silent truce.
“I could use a pat down, you know.” he said, grinning up at Lily — still fully clothed. The rails of the ladder were ripped from his hands as Remus yanked him by the back of his shirt, throwing him back into the water. He accepted defeat as Mary helped Remus ahead of him.
“He’s so cute. Why do you think he acts like that?”
“One too many dives in the shallow end, I’d bet.”
“Who’s left, then?” Sirius interrupted, pretending he hadn’t heard them. His eyes fell on his soaked brother, looking mortified in the pair of swim trunks they had found in the bins that morning. “Just you, Reg? I hope you’re faster than —”
Regulus turned, but didn’t run — he just whipped his wet hair out of his face and stomped away, steam practically pouring out of his ears. He was followed by Marlene, who drew her whistle across her neck in a way that said ‘just back off’ — as if he hadn’t got that impression already.
“Okay.” He mumbled in response to nobody.
“No need to be such a dick about it,” said Lily, crossing her arms over her striped beach towel. Why was everyone up his ass today?
“I was just messing around — I was trying to include him! How are you going to have a problem with that?” Sirius defended himself. If they reacted to that he couldn’t tell, as his elbows were currently tangled in his shirt so he could take it off and wring it out — between that and the cold shoulder he was getting from everyone, he was genuinely at risk of hypothermia.
“Regulus didn’t pass the swim test. He can’t even doggy paddle, it’s kind of upsetting,” said Dorcas, eyes still locked on the gate they had left out of. Sirius had scoffed at her out of pure instinct, but his face began to burn with the weight of eyes on him. Regulus skated on ice five times a week, but couldn’t swim? How could he have guessed that — of course the others wouldn’t see why it was ridiculous, they didn’t know either of them. But then they went and found that out first and started to think they did know him, and they knew him better than Sirius did, which didn’t make any sense. Even if he did know, he could be a dick about it if he wanted to, they were brothers.
“Marlene and Vette are going to teach him.” Lily reasoned, “But pushing him would’ve been embarrassing and mean and you should really know better —”
“Why don’t you know better? I mean, how do you not know your brother can’t swim?” said Mary, a curious eyebrow raised nearly to her hairline.
“If he’s so embarrassed it’s not like he’d advertise it, especially not to his brother,” said Peter, already reapplying his sunblock. “I know I wouldn’t.”
“Your brothers are insane, Pete, I wouldn’t tell them my middle name. Anyways, come on, guys,” said James, looking much more respectable after putting his shirt and glasses back on. His jeans, however, were soaked through and looked like he had a much more embarrassing accident than what had just occurred. “So Sirius didn’t know. It’s not a big deal, I doubt Regulus wants it to be. Let’s just move on.” James nodded at him casually. Sirius nodded back.
“Yeah, thanks. So what next?” Sirius asked Vette, who flipped through a few papers on her clipboard aggressively, as if excited to get them moving as soon as possible.
“Andy and Ted are out front with the golf carts. They’re gonna get you moved in. Then rest hour, then dinner — which has to be good because I’m starving. I’ve been working all day putting together these stupid tests.”
Almost everyone checked out after they heard ‘golf carts’, and were already snatching up loose belongings and racing to the front gates.
The now familiar trill of the whistle rang in their ears.
“No running! I’m not joking, Potter. Two more steps, you can do it.”
James tiptoed to the front gate, flung it open, and nearly tripped over Mary on his mad dash toward the carts. Sirius almost did the same, a few paces behind. Having already done enough damage, he dodged her and let the other girls pick her up. It was his good deed for the day.
* * *
Their cabin was fine. Quiet, but he supposed everyone was tired. He had the top bunk next to James, who started stringing up decorations like he was moving in for far longer than a week. Dinner was fine, but he missed the coziness of the cabin. He missed Ted and Andy’s house, their short cushy couch and mostly-working guest bathroom. In theory, he liked walking outside to get everywhere — it helped that every corner of the grounds was gorgeous, from the notice boards to the view from the tiny window in the bathroom. The golf cart was fun. Which part was the best, though? He knew what was worst, but no one wanted to hear him say it. That whole thing was just awkward and embarrassing, and now how he wanted to make an impression. Next to him, Peter introduced himself. His high point so far was seeing all his friends again. His low point was getting bathroom duty. That was easy; Sirius was jealous for a moment. God, he hated icebreakers.
“My name’s Sirius, I turn 17 in November. I’m from Boston.”
“Hi, Sirius. Do you have your license?” asked Alice, as polite as anyone could be. It didn’t help, he blamed her for running this anyway. Having been cleared of all but a couple of tables in the back, the Great Hall had ample space for them to sit on the hard linoleum floor and do whatever social torture Andy and Alice had agreed upon. The lights hadn’t all been turned on, so the late afternoon sun was pulling most of the weight. It was quieter than lunch and dinner since they had finished cleaning up and the cooks had left the building for the day. In all honesty, the space felt completely different. Maybe it was because he was getting interrogated.
“No,” he said, trying not to sound annoyed. “Not yet. I’m pretty busy.” Regulus scoffed at him from across the circle.
“High and low point?”
“High would probably be… seeing Andy after a while or just learning about everything. I’ve never been here, so…”
“A lot to catch up on?”
“Yeah. And the low point…” He avoided his brother’s eyes. “When I fell off the golf cart.” A wave of laughter rolled through the group as they remembered the incident. That was actually pretty fun, but the answer came easy.
“Okay, that’s icebreakers wrapped up.” Alice clapped her hands together. “Be grateful, us three have to do another round of this tomorrow.” Emmy looked like she wanted to cry.
“You guys know the way back, right? We’ve got a meeting at the Clubhouse.” Frank’s eyes darted to his watch. “We ran a bit overtime.”
“Yeah,” said James quickly. “We’ll get out of your hair.” Sirius wanted to object but James shot him a look that advised otherwise. He wasn’t trying to bother — but he hadn’t gotten a map yet.
* * *
James and Peter clearly hadn’t been given a map either, since they were leading everybody terribly off course. After a few too many minutes had passed, in which they were both peppered with Lily’s objections, the girls split off to go back to the cabin by themselves. Regulus hung in between the groups, kicking a rock along the dirt path.
“Where are you guys going?” He asked. “Lily said the cabin’s that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction, back into the grassy field.
“We’re taking the scenic route.” James shrugged. “You don’t have to come.”
“You’re going, Sirius?”
“Hell yeah, I love scenery.”
“That’s stupid. You haven’t even been here a day, you’ll get lost, and curfew’s soon,” said Regulus. Of course soon meant two hours, to Reg. Sirius sighed dismissively, but it only wound his brother up more.
“Well, if Sirius tells us where to go, we won’t listen. We’ve been going here since we were kids.” Peter said, exasperated. “We know what we’re doing.”
“What he said. You can go back if you’re scared of a couple trees.” Sirius waggled his fingers obnoxiously.
“You’re being oblivious on purpose,” said Reg, ignoring Peter completely.
“How?”
“There are bears in the woods,” Regulus said as if delivering a life-changing prophecy. Sirius just stared back, surprised at his ability to keep a straight face.
“No one’s gonna go to a summer camp where kids are getting eaten by bears.” Sirius gestured around them. “I think we’re good.”
“This part is actually called the Forbidden Forest.” Remus cut in. “But I’m pretty sure that’s unofficial.” He backed off quickly after another scathing look from James.
“Whatever. The medic’s that way, when one of you breaks an arm.” Regulus pointed behind them again.
“How do you know that? Did you get a map?” asked Sirius, genuinely. He really needed one. Regulus fished one out of his pocket and shoved it in his brother’s general direction.
“I want it back.”
“Already?”
“Later,” Regulus said, rolling his eyes. “I’m going with the girls. See you.”
“Okay.”
Sirius watched, toeing the line between annoyed and touched, as Reg turned to catch up to the rest of the group. Once he was out of earshot, he turned back to the guys.
“So where are we going, actually?” he asked James.
“Past the normal cabins… here, do you have a pen?” James asked, taking the map from Sirius and scanning it closely.
“Yeah, is red okay?” Remus started digging around in his jacket pocket. How many options did he have? James nodded and uncapped the pen with his teeth, making Remus cringe. With Sirius and Peter over his shoulder, he scribbled a small circle around a spot in the woods — not so far in they’d be running from bears, but not close either — and a few arrows indicating a path.
“Right there. I’ll explain on the way. Also, your brother needs a new map.”