Chapter Text
late July, 1982
Sirius regarded the bright blue expanse a little nervously. If he did what he planned, the pristine blue would be marred. It looked nice now; should he even bother trying for more? What if it went wrong? What if he could never hope to create what he wanted...
Look lively, man! said a voice in his head, a voice he hadn't heard in person in almost a year, but which he could still sometimes hear so clearly nonetheless. If we'd hesitated over all our pranks, where would we be?
Sirius smiled, envisioning ridiculous glasses, even more ridiculous black hair and a mischievous grin. Taking a deep breath, he dipped the brush in the bowl of orange paint and got to it.
He completed the first fish and stood back to look at it critically. He was hardly an expert artist, and the fish looked rather wobbly, but a fish it was nevertheless. He smiled, pleased. Maybe he could do it after all and paint a whole aquarium on Harry's bedroom wall.
"The artist at work," came Remus's teasing voice from the doorway.
"Shut it," grumbled Sirius, already plotting his next creation.
"The door, or..."
Sirius snorted. "I'm concentrating."
"Yes, I can see that. This is very important work."
"It is, rather."
"Painting a wall?"
"The Book said that colours are important for young developing minds." The Definitive Guide to Raising the Young Wizard (in Sirius's opinion the greatest book ever written) had much to say on the subject of decorating a child's room. Also, it was Harry's second birthday, and Sirius wanted to do something special to mark such an important occasion.
Remus came over and studied the wall. “Nice fish,” he remarked. He nudged Sirius and then flicked his wand. The fish came to life and started swimming happily across the wall.
Sirius grinned and dipped his brush into the white paint so that he could make the fish a friend.