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The Marauder: The Puppy Interview | Buzzfeed
“If I start crying, you guys can’t make fun of me.” Peter starts, fixing the cardigan on his body until it sits how he wants it to.
“Considering I cried when we got the phone call, it would be a bit hypocritical of me,” James replies, leaning back on his hands, with his legs sprawled out in front.
“I feel like I should say this now; we are not taking any dogs home.” Remus comments. He stares at Sirius as he speaks because he knows it’s him who’s been making little remarks all week about how cute the dogs were in the other interviews they’ve watched and how a little puppy would be the perfect addition to their band. A mascot, they put it.
“But, what about-“
“No buts Sirius.” He cuts them off and Sirius actually starts pouting. They roll their eyes and face away from Remus.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Sirius murmurs in James’ direction before turning and sending Remus an innocent smile.
“Are you guys all set?” Laura, the director, asks. They all give her an eager nod and the crew get into places.
The camera cuts to the four sitting in their usual positions, wide-eyed and grinning, ready to start.
“Hi, I’m Sirius Black.” Peter starts with a smirk.
“I’m Peter Pettigrew.” James continues and the look on his face makes it seem like this bit is the funniest thing they’ve ever done.
“I’m Remus Babygirl Lupin.” Sirius says, expression neutral.
Remus can’t help the laugh that escapes him as he looks at Sirius, completely startled. “Uh, are you sure that’s your middle name?”
“Hmm, it might be fit-arse, I should check my passport.” They reply, tongue in cheek.
James chokes on a breath in shock but Remus just shakes his head, playfully glaring at Sirius. He finally turns to the camera and sighs before he speaks. “And I’m James Potter. And today, we’re going to be attempting to answer some fan questions whilst playing with puppies.” He shrugs with a smile.
“RELEASE THE PUPPIES!” James cries out, raising his fists into the air triumphantly.
The door to the studio opens and in come running around 8 puppies, all different shapes and colours, tinier than any of them could even fathom. The 4 boys can’t hide their astonishment as the dogs come tumbling into their enclosed area. A few climb onto Peter first, considering he was the closest to them and he lets out an accomplished sigh as if he’s won something.
They wriggle uncontrollably, jumping from each person to the floor and then back again. It takes them all, dogs, and humans alike, to settle down, and even that is a generous term. James proceeds to start crying once a dog jumps into his lap and makes himself home. Peter starts a game of tug-of-war with one of the puppies using a chew toy and the other two fight to hold onto as many as they can.
“Are you guys ready to answer some questions?” Laura asks, chuckling to a few other crew members.
No one except Remus actually looks up and even he gives an apologetic smile. “We’ll try our hardest.”
“Well start off easy.” She laughs.
What are your favourite songs from the new album?
Peter starts – or at least tries to as one of the puppies starts running circles around him. “Oh, this little guy thinks he’s in the Olympics.” He coos. “My favourite off the album? Probably Keep Driving. In the bridge-” Peter pauses as one of the puppies uses his chest to push up on his hind legs, “Hi boy. Yeah, the bridge is one of my favourites as it’s just an amalgamation of things we’ve said to each other or just moments in our friendship that we’ve remembered. Most of them are inside jokes but that’s one of my favourites. It’s like a little look into our minds. It’s a cute, fun song.”
“Aw Pete, that’s beautiful.” James coos as he lets a puppy wriggle out of his grasp. Another comes stumbling into his lap where a chew toy sits. “For me, it’s About You. Mostly because my girlfriend Lily sings on it, and it makes me want to cry every time I hear it but also because I really love the story it tells.”
“My favourite off the album…” Sirius laughs as the puppy in her hands licks her cheek. She pulls the dog down into her lap and strokes its hair. “Definitely Me And Your Mama. I love the production of it, and it’s hands down my favourite to perform. It’s very dramatic. Oh! And Ribs - that one always makes me cry.”
“Yeah, I’d say the same. We wrote it in one night as well, it was like it was pouring out of us and songs like that, I think, are the best ones. But I’m also impartial to See you Again. It’s a fan favourite - they really love when Sirius and I sing over each other. I always get a little tongue-tied singing 'okayokayokay' over and over again but it is a good one.” Remus glances at Sirius and then the camera, holding a chew toy out for any of the pups that run past.
What are your favourite songs that aren’t your own?
Peter goes to open his mouth to answer, but then immediately looks alarmed at the tiny dogs in front who started wrestling with each other. Remus throws a chew toy in their direction, and it distracts them enough for Peter to answer.
“Hands down Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin. The drums on that are insane.” Peter replies with a broad smile on his face.
“That’s so hard!” James drawls out, turning around to grab a puppy from behind him. He leans down and smells its fur before letting out a content hum. “It’s a toss-up between She’s a Rainbow by The Rolling Stones and You’re Kind of Lover by Freddie Mercury.”
“Oh please, not my skirt, come on, where’s your toy?” Sirius gently scolds one of the puppies pulling at their skirt and tucks it under her thigh. “Musette and Drums by Cocteau twins.” She tucks her hair behind her ears and then picks up a toy shaped like a burger from Remus’ lap and holds it up for the puppies to jump at.
“I showed you that song.” Remus sends him a smug smile.
“Yeah well…” Sirius purses their lips, “it’s a good song.”
Remus cocks a brow at them as if there’s more to the story but ultimately decides to drop it and answer the question. He scoops up the black lab that had been pulling Sirius’ skirt and rubs his thumb down his head. “I mean it changes all the time. Yesterday it was Francis Forever by Mitski. Today I heard Letter to Hermione by David Bowie after the longest time so that’s probably my answer right now. Tomorrow it will probably be Chun-li by Nicki Minaj, you know. My answer changes all the time. I can't have one favourite, that's mean.” He says, telling the puppy specifically.
If you weren’t in the band, what would you be doing?
“Whatever this job is.” James laughs, pulling two dogs up against his chest who then proceed to nip at his jaw. He closes his eyes and makes a face as if he’s about to cry again. “Honestly, I wanted to be a vet when I was younger, and it was for this exact reason.”
“Something in academia probably, I was really nerdy at school,” Remus adds, letting the puppy in his hold lick his hand.
“Was?” Peter shoots a side eye at Remus and then one back at the camera which makes James and Sirius laugh. “I would probably be…” He looks up, tilting his head left to right as he searches for an answer. “A backup dancer for Taylor Swift. I need to be on stage one way or another.”
“A stay-at-home mother,” Sirius says, cradling the golden retriever in their arms and swaying it back and forth. He looks up at the camera and smirks before breaking into a quiet chuckle.
What's your favourite memory from living together in school?
“Oh! When Remus had to dye his hair blonde because he lost a bet!” James answers loudly, looking towards the boy at the end and using the little border collie’s paw to wave at him.
“Laugh it up, but I distinctly remember getting asked out for the school ball like 27 times.” Remus throws him a smug look just as one of the puppies jumps into his lap and tries to burrow into his jumper. “Where are you going, huh?” Remus slides him through his shirt until his little head pops out from the top. Sirius tilts his head with a smile, leans over and tucks his head under Remus’ shin to give the dog a little kiss.
“Doesn’t matter though, you only went with Sirius.” James retorts, scoffing over his shoulder.
“Hey! I’m a catch! Moony had fun, Moony tell them how much fun you had!” Sirius quips, glaring at Remus.
“I had a lot of fun at Prom,” Remus deadpans, staring directly into the camera. “My favourite memory of school was when we were in year 9 and Peter managed to hack into the school security system, so we knew where everyone was at all times. We used to carry around walkie-talkies whilst setting up pranks and Peter would let us know if a teacher was coming around the corner.”
“That is a good one!” Peter grins brightly as he holds a toy up above his head and lets the puppies around him jump at it. “One of my prouder moments. Sorry Minnie! Minnie was our headteacher.” He fakes a whisper to the camera.
“When we turned the maths corridor into a slip and slide on our last day of school. I hated our maths teacher.” Sirius adds with a cheeky smile. “Pete, what about you?”
“That one time I threw a shoe at the school bully, and it clocked him right on the head and he still to this day has no idea who threw it,” Peter smirks at the camera whilst the other three nod in agreement.
What is your favourite snack to have whilst on tour?
“Salt and Vinegar crips. I’m not fussy about the brand but the tangier the better.” Sirius starts, sitting up on her knees to pull back one of the dogs running out of shot. She rocks back onto the floor, folding her legs to the side as she bounces the white lab up and down.
Remus slowly draws his eyes away from Sirius and into the camera as he lazily strokes the black lab that wriggled out of his jumper and settled into his lap. “I’ve got quite the sweet tooth, so you’ll always find a cherry Bakewell in our dressing room…and on stage…and probably in my pocket. And just bars and bars of dairy milk chocolate. But those are for everyone, not just me.”
“Then why do you fight anyone that tries to take one?” James mentions in a suggestive tone, but Remus wasn’t paying attention – it seems his attention has been taken by Sirius pushing their hair over their shoulder to stop the puppies from pulling at it.
Peter sighs and shakes his head at James. “I love a Jaffa cake. And Iron Bru. I’m Scottish; I can’t go long without one – it’s in my blood, practically keeping me alive right now. What about you Jamie?”
“Bombay mix. And I know it’s a bit of a cliché but it’s crunchy and spicy and the perfect snack. If I can’t get any then…” James pauses for a moment with a contemplative look on his face as one of the pups jumps over his sprawled-out legs, “Monster munch.” He decides with a grin.
“What flavour?” Peter asks.
“Obviously pickled onion.”
“Obviously, it’s the best one. I don’t think I’ve even tried the other flavours.”
“I wouldn’t recommend them.” James shudders, squeaking one of the chew toys to gain the puppies’ attention.
You all play an array of different instruments. Who decides what instrument a person will play on each song?
“That’s really dependent on who feels comfortable on which instrument and who came up with the melody, lyrics, percussion etc. It’s different for every song. We all play multiple ones but we each have an instrument that we specialise in.” Remus starts, holding one of the puppies up by its stomach. The little guy kicks his legs out and wriggles excitedly.
“Yeah, it’s different for every song. I’ve been playing the drums the longest, so I tend to play on songs where the drums are a bit more difficult, but I also play the piano when we do About You. It also depends on who wants to play which instrument in each song. Remus wanted to play the drums on West Coast, so we decided to play the bass on that one.” Peter adds, stretching behind James to grab onto one of the puppies. Unfortunately, it slip away just before he can grab them.
“There are definitely times when we’ve swapped instruments during the tour. We like to keep people on their toes, so they don’t know which songs we’re about to play. We realised quickly that if we get into a specific formation, for example, if I’m on the drums, Sirius and Peter on guitar and Remus on bass, then everyone knows we’re Looking Out For You. So we tend to mess with the order of it – as long as we practice and feel comfortable enough to do it, we have a lot of fun.” James says, eyes flitting back and forth from where Sirius is playing tug of war with the little black lab and to the camera, trying his hardest to give a coherent answer.
There’s a little pause as if the others are waiting for Sirius to add something but he seems too distracted by the dogs. “Crap, what was the question? I’m on vocals most of the time anyway. I just go where I need to be, I’m easy. Sorry, I’m not sure who thought I’d be able to answer any questions, I genuinely can’t think about anything other than taking this little one home. Hi, smoosh.” He picks up the black lab that’s been flitting between him and Remus over the course of the video and presses kisses all over its head.
“Sirius.” Remus drawls out and sighs, exasperated, but it’s evident that even his hard exterior is melting just by looking at the two. “Right. Next question.”
Who have you been the most starstruck by?
Sirius plants the black lab in Remus’ lap, cleary as a tactic to sway his thoughts about keeping one of the puppies, and then proceeds to grab the grey lab who’d been skittering around Peter’s end for the last 20 minutes. They pluck the toy keys up from James’ lap and start jangling them to get its attention. “Elton John. He guessed that I was gay within 30 seconds of us meeting. It was amazing.”
“I met Brittany Spears whilst shopping in a Traders Joe's in LA. Top 5 moments of my entire life.” James says to the camera with wide eyes.
"That one has to be the coolest one. I mean, we spent an entire night in year 8 learning the routine to womanizer." Sirius replies, exchanging a look of disbelief with him.
“It’s funny because it’s never who you expect. We met Stevie Nicks and I always thought I’d lose my shit, but I was able to hold a conversation with her. Ice Spice on the other hand…” Remus blushes, bowing his head down as the others stifle a laugh.
“We met Ice Spice at the VMAs and Remus is one of her biggest fans. I’ve never seen him stutter so much.” James leans over, closer to the camera as if he's sharing a secret.
Remus, on the right, shakes his head and sighs. “It was so strange because we are such a similar age, but I was so in awe. I barely remember what I even said.” He covers his eyes with his palm and Sirius coos, rubbing a hand up and down his back.
“Once I was in the urinal next to Harry Styles. Good guy, he’s got a steady stream.” Peter answers and the others scowl, unsure if they should smile or not.
What are your favourite TV shows/movies?
“Okay, quick-fire answers. TV show has to be Community. Favourite movie is probably Crazy Stupid Love. That garden scene where they are all fighting is genuinely my favourite scene ever. I want to meet whoever wrote that and kiss them.” James starts, mindlessly rubbing the brown lab’s belly.
“My favourite TV show is Stranger Things…and Fleabag! And my favourite movie changes. I always say Pitch Perfect, but I recently watched Aftersun, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s normally some form of a rom-com.” Sirius says, running her nails up and down the puppy's head as they nip at her legs.
Remus still has a contemplative look on his face, so the camera turns to Peter, who’s play fighting with two of the puppies. “My favourite TV show- hey, don’t bite each other!” He panics and pulls them apart hurriedly. “Sorry, my favourite TV show is called Wayne. It’s about this teenager in Boston and how he just gets caught in a bunch of shit he shouldn’t. It’s funny and very violent. And my favourite movie is either Parasite or Isle of Dogs.”
“Moony’s taking a while because he doesn’t want to hurt the other movies’ feelings.” Sirius mocks, frowning at the camera before looking pitifully at the boy next to him.
Remus shifts his jaw to the side whilst he squints at Sirius playfully. He turns to the camera calmly. “My favourite TV show is Normal People and my favourite Movie is Notting Hill. There, happy?” Remus turns to see if that satiated Sirius.
“Perfect choices, Moony,” Sirius replies, mirroring Remus’ smile.
What was your first concert?
“We all have the same answer for this one since we snuck out of our boarding school to see them.” James slowly lays down on his back letting one of the dogs nip at his face excitedly.
“It was Lorde on her Pure Heroin tour, and it absolutely changed our lives,” Sirius says, nodding along with the rest. “She’s so captivating on stage and obviously her songs mean so much to people; they meant so much to us growing up. We’re also quite a similar age to her so we could really relate to a lot of them.”
“Yeah, it blew our tiny 14-year-old minds.” Remus agrees, letting out a soft laugh.
“I think it was when she was playing – oh that one is peeing. They’re just pissing all over the floor – okay.” Peter points to a puppy behind the camera.
“Oh, it filled the square perfectly.” Sirius snorts at the pattern on the carpet, pulling one of the dogs back so that they don’t disturb the crew members helping to clean it.
“He looks shy now, come on, come here, boy! It's okay, we all have accidents.” James taps the floor in front of him with a bright smile and two come barrelling towards him.
“I’ve completely lost my train of thought, but yeah, Lorde was insane. I don’t think we had ever felt so seen before.” Peter answers, glancing down at the puppy perched upon his thigh. He scratches the dog's head, and it lets out a little whine and tail wag.
You guys have always released EPs. What made you decide to release a proper album?
“One of the reasons was because we were getting a bit more attention and we were in talks to play some bigger venues. I think there’s something a bit noncommittal about an EP – it didn’t feel as big or serious as a proper album and I love that we have a bit more fun with EPs. But I also think that it was just time.” James answers easily, sitting up on his elbows as he watches 3 of the dogs wrestle in front of Peter.
"But we love every single song we put out and we will continue to play some of our old songs on tour. It also just happened that the songs that we were writing sort of fit together in a way that hadn’t before, so that collectiveness felt enough for it to be a proper album.” Remus continues, glancing over at James with a nod.
“And there’s nothing to say that we won’t release an EP again. We might even release a visual album. That’s the beauty of this industry. We release music but there’s no real right or wrong way to do it.” Peter gestures to the camera with a smile.
“Putting the album out was a bit stressful. I do miss our EP days.” Sirius adds, bringing his face close to the black lab. “I’m going to write a song about this. It’s going to be called Moony, let's take this one home, please!” She pushes her face next to the dog and bats their eyelashes.
He rolls his eyes and turns to play with one of the other puppies. “The title’s too long.” Remus eventually comments.
Do you have any tour superstitions or preshow rituals?
“Before each show, we always get into a huddle and make sure we’re all okay – just some last-minute encouraging words,” James says.
“I always make sure to drink some hot tea to soothe my throat.” Sirius shares, pushing the dog’s cheeks together and giving its nose a little kiss.
“I think we’re a lot more superstitious than we let on. James always fidgets with his Kara; Remus has to scoff down a Bakewell tart and I always tap my drumsticks on the side of the stage three times before we go on. Sirius tends to burn some sage but that’s once we get to the venue.” Peter reveals, pointing to each member. James holds up his wrist to show off his Kara and nods in agreement. Remus' cheeks blush up as he looks at the camera bashfully.
“Listen, some things just work.” James shrugs his shoulders.
What do you miss most about not being famous?
“Not much.” Remus scratches the frenchie’s tummy before looking up introspectively. “I find it hard to believe that we are that famous anyway. Sometimes the pressure gets to you. I'm scared we won't be able to top this record. But that's the sort of self-doubt that everyone feels, don't they?"
“Yeah, absolutely." Peter agrees.
"Time is a big thing for us - just having time to do mundane things.” James smiles softly at the camera. “Don’t get us wrong, we love our job, but sometimes we’ll miss a friend’s birthday and get upset. I think we’re still trying to find that balance because we love working and we don’t want to crash, but we never take enough time off. Balancing our time is a big thing.”
“It’s sometimes quite frightening how much attention we get. That freaks me out from time to time, especially when we do big venues. You sort of have to take a step back and think wow, this is a lot of people. We have something like 8 million followers, and I can’t even imagine how many people that is in real life. That’s the population of London, you know.” Peter adds, mildly flustered.
“I don’t love the fact that I can go out with a friend and wake up the next morning to a million dating rumours. And I understand that curiosity but that’s something that’s always going to be private. It’s scary enough dating someone and sharing yourself with them without the input of every entertainment source on the planet.” Sirius muses, pressing his lips into a tight smile.
"That also goes for when you are publically dating someone. I can't tell you the amount of times I get a text from a friend asking if we are still together because I was photographed with Mary, who is our stylist and Lily's best friend! Lily gets a nice laugh out of it but it does get annoying very quickly." James rolls his eyes and shares a helpless look with Sirius.
What do you do when you have downtime?
“Relax. During the process of making an album, your brain is on even when you’re sleeping or supposed to be resting. So I make sure to really turn off, not think about the next song we’re going to write or a concept for a new project – just sleep and rest. Drink more water.” Peter makes finger gun genstures at the camera, before he squeaks a toy to get the running dogs’ attention. He does it again behind his back and the dogs stop in their tracks, trying to find where the sound is coming from.
“Resting is a big one. I like to go back home, and spend some time with my family and friends. I love to cook so I make sure to spoil Lily when I can.” James blushes, reaching out to grab one of the dogs.
“I tend to catch up on whatever I’ve missed. TV, films, especially music that’s come out. I like to keep up with what’s going on in music. I’m always listening to new albums, new projects, see what people are doing. I also pull out my old skateboard and pretend I'm 15 again.” Remus says, playing tug-of-war with a chewed up rope toy.
“So you’re still working?” James asks.
“No, this is different. It’s my own hobby – I didn’t judge you for yours!”
“That’s because cooking is an actual hobby!”
Sirius holds out their hands, promptly stopping the brewing dispute. “Okay, I’ve thought of mine. I watch edits of us on TikTok.” She grins, biting her tongue.
“No, you don’t!” Remus exclaims, pulling an odd face as he turns to face them in disbelief.
“It’s true! I’m always lurking, I see what you guys post. You should see the way they edit you, Moony. I honestly get flustered. They’re really good.” Sirius pretends to fan himself. “I even saved a few of my favourite ones. I’ll show you after this.” She winks and Remus blinks quickly, visibly flustered. The camera cuts to the next question.
Can you do a fit check, please?
“Of course! My top is from a brand called Better. It’s essentially a corset made up of belts and honestly, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever worn. And my skirt is from Mui Mui. Shoes are docs, obviously.” Sirius swings his legs up from the side, grabbing the bottom to show the camera, awkwardly. She sets her leg down carefully, mindful of the dog sitting next to her and fixes her skirt.
Remus is then called to go but he seems slightly too infatuated by Sirius’ outfit, the other two sigh and so Peter goes up next. “My jeans are Abercrombie, and my T-shirt was gifted to me by our friend Marlene. It’s just white, with a giant red heart and Noel Gallagher’s face in the middle. It’s one of my prized possessions. This grey cardigan...I have absolutely no idea but it's really soft!”
“These brown trousers I’ve had forever, I think they might just be Next or H&M really. But my shirt is really cool. It’s got cats holding red balloons or flowers and it’s from a brand called Harago.” James sweeps his hands over the pockets on his chest where the cats are embroidered.
“My trousers are like a stone, mousey colour and are from a brand called Zegna, at least I think that’s what Mary said.” Remus looks around for confirmation and luckily Sirius nods. “My jumper, it’s brown and has a little button in the V neck…I’m not good at this. This is from Mr. P I think. I’m really not sure, I turn up and Mary dresses me and I say thank you because she makes me look like I don’t have a twig body and I love her very much.” Remus shrugs, picking a puppy to deter the attention away from himself.
Peter, what is the first song you ever learnt on the drums?
“Well, the first song I learnt with my teacher was We Will Rock You by Queen, but it was extremely easy, even for 6-year-old Peter.” He taps on his thighs absent-mindedly as he thinks, inadvertently gaining the attention of the puppies who jump up on his legs. “I was really proud when I learnt The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. That was the first proper song I learnt by myself.”
“What’s your favourite sequence to do from the album?” Remus asks.
“Hands down, Me and Your Mama. That’s a good song, man. Drums on that are very cool.”
What was it like having Lily sing on one of your songs?
“Oh! It was amazing!” James gushes loudly, scaring the little puppy in front of him. James grimaces once he realises he startled the dog, but it then goes bouncing around Peter to find a toy, so he continues, unbothered. “We were just mucking about in the studio, trying to get the bridge down and we each recorded it, trying to see what would work. And then Lily walks in from the break room, singing the song under her breath and I’ve always known she has a beautiful voice, but it was in that moment I looked at the others and made a face, and they instantly knew. So, after a lot of convincing and a lot of begging, she finally agreed and it’s definitely my favourite song now. She sounds like an angel and I’m in the process of slowly convincing her to come on stage with us. So fingers crossed!”
“The number of messages we’ve gotten about getting Lily on stage…” Remus exhales with a smile. “We’re going to have to rebrand as Lily Evans and The Marauders.”
What was the first song you guys wrote together?
“Oh god, it was so bad. I can still remember it.” Remus grimaces, hiding his face behind the black lab that had made a home in Remus’ lap.
James laughs loudly, throwing his head back whilst Peter and Sirius share a look.
“It was our first attempt at creating real rock and roll. Proper grunge. Full of rage and emotion. Deep stuff; a real deep, introspective take on our life and what it means to be teenagers together in this world full of greed and hate! It was straight teenage angst!” Sirius cries out dramatically, getting close to the puppy's face and ultimately scaring it. “Boys, would you like to perform it for the world?”
“Our pleasure.” James clears his throat and shares a look with Peter. He picks the puppy off his lap and gently places it in front of Sirius before nodding at Peter.
“1,2,3,4!” Peter taps in on his thighs quickly before the two start mimicking the sounds of a poorly put-together melody. “I hate school! I hate work! I hate my teachers! I hate to learn! I hate science! I hate maths! I hate carrying books on my back!” The two cry out; James shredding it on an air guitar whilst Peter headbangs to the lyrics. On the other side, Sirius can’t seem to stop laughing and Remus hides his face in his hands, shaking his head vehemently.
“Stop! Please! I can’t bear it!” Remus pleads, throwing his hands out to stop the other two. They eventually concede and fall back onto the ground, mindful of the puppies bouncing from the shift in energy.
“Surprised we didn’t score a record deal with that one,” Sirius mentions, scratching the black lab behind its ears.
Peter clicks his teeth. “Shame, isn’t it.”
“We weren’t even teenagers. We were 11 and had known each other for approximately 20 days.” Remus shares with the camera.
“Whatever it was, it was sort of life-changing. It was the first song we wrote as a band and that has to count for something, doesn’t it?” James asks, looking around at his band members with a hopeful smile.
“I hope whoever stars as younger us in the biopic does the song justice.” Peter laughs, laying back with a puppy on his chest.
Sirius, you’ve mentioned how you wrote the majority of Me and Your Mama. Can you explain a bit more about the meaning of that song?
“Ha! The amount of questions and theories and speculation I’ve seen about this song is insane!” Sirius sighs, throwing her head back.
“Well, the title isn’t exactly clear, is it?” Remus quips, raising an eyebrow at him.
“If you listen to the lyrics of the song, there isn’t actually anything to mention that this is about me and some secret child I’m hiding from the world. I’m going to say this once. I do not have any children and this song isn’t about me and some woman, I promise you all.” They place a hand on their chest and huff, weakly glaring at the camera. “Also, there are 3 other members of this band, and we have producers and mixers and friends and family who got to listen to the song months before it came out. I’m not going to reveal what the title means but just because I wrote the song, doesn’t mean I gave it its name. That could come from anyone.” His lips slowly grow from a smile into a smirk, as if there’s something they’re obviously hiding from the camera.
The others don’t react in any meaningful way, except James, who looks as if he’s trying to stop a smile beaming on his face as he plays with the puppies.
Remus, you and Sirius wrote most of the songs off this album. What was it like and was it any different than writing the songs for your EPs?
Remus slowly and carefully pets the black lab that’s perched in his lap, sleeping calmly. “Since this was our first proper album, we wanted to spend some time conceptualising it first. James and Peter are involved in the songwriting but it’s mainly Sirius and I starting and then all of us coming together to fine tune them. In terms of what it was like…” Remus trails off, turning to look at Sirius with a sweet smile.
“Go on, then. Be honest, what’s it like working with me? I’ve been rumoured to be a diva, you know.” Sirius teases playfully, picking at his lips.
“Sirius is…” Remus pauses, exhales, and then smiles before continuing, staring straight into the camera with no hesitation. “She’s like a shot of espresso. And being around them…it-it’s like being bathed in sunlight.”
Sirius' head gently turns from where he was playing with the puppy on the floor towards Remus. Their face immediately softens, and something passes through their eyes, something like shock and disbelief. It’s obvious he was not expecting that, and by the look on Peter and James’ faces, it was a surprise to them all. She blinks quickly, lips slightly parted as she sucks in a breath whilst Remus carries on.
“Um, he’s very energetic, obviously, but he’s also very enthusiastic about the work and I think more people should know that about them. We’ve been in this industry for a few years; we know how people work and Sirius just has a quality that comes very naturally to her and not a lot of people are lucky enough to have that. I don’t think I do. I call it her Midas touch because every song they work on turns into something beautiful. Those few months when we were writing together every day, I used to wake up with the biggest smile on my face. You know, I was excited to get up and work together. If you ever have the privilege to pick Sirius’ brain, I would highly recommend it.”
Sirius looks more astonished than earlier, their mouth almost dropping completely. Remus sends the camera a quick smile before turning to meet Sirius’ gaze; that’s where his face really brightens up. Sirius chews on her lips and blinks quickly, physically shaking herself out of whatever trance Remus has put her under and swallows harshly. “Oh. That was very kind, thank you.” They finally reply, voice hoarse as they look down, fiddling with the end of their skirt.
“It’s just the truth.” Remus tilts his head to the side, a dimple poking into his cheek as he places the black lab into Sirius’ lap. It curls around into her lap and lets out a little yawn.
Peter clears his throat, “Any last questions?”
The camera cuts to the outro scene with the 4 of them sitting relaxed as the dogs round up into little balls, curling near each other.
“Thank you so much, Buzzfeed for these wonderful and…thought-provoking questions!” James looks into the camera with his best Hollywood smile.
“These adorable puppies are adoptable at Battersea Cats and Dogs home in London.” Remus continues.
“Except this one. This one is coming home with us. Aren’t you, pup?” Sirius says to the black lab in a silly voice. It was obviously a favourite between the two, even if Remus wouldn’t admit it.
“Sirius, I just said-“
“I’ve already named him!”
“I mean it, we don’t have-“
“But look at his little face!” Sirius pushes their faces together and pouts.
Remus sighs and rolls his eyes. “I’m saying no-“
The video suddenly cuts to Sirius in front of a camera, as if he’s filming himself at home. “Hi, Buzzfeed. I just wanted to give you guys an update since it’s been a few weeks since we adopted Frankie. More than anything, I wanted to give you guys a bit of an insight into what Remus has been like with him, because if you thought I was bad, Remus is 10x worse.” Sirius smiles at the camera before it cuts to a short montage of Remus sleeping with the little black labrador perched on his chest, and a short video of Remus teaching him how to spin and giving him a treat once he does it so perfectly. There are a few more pictures of Remus and Frankie, one where they are sharing a blanket and then another of them wearing matching coats.
The screen finally cuts back to Sirius who’s smiling so much, it’s threatening to spill into a full laugh. “As you can see, Frankie is now his favourite, and nothing can come between them. If you even mention that he didn’t want Frankie in the first place, he will firmly deny it and then get into a strop.” She lets out a little laugh, looking over the camera and making a face as if someone’s behind it. “Anyway, we love Frankie so much and it was such a joy adopting him. If you can, we would...highly recommend it. Check out our album, The Marauders, coming out February 14th and we’re also going on tour! This was by far our favourite interview, thank you so much Buzzfeed!”
The camera cuts and the BuzzFeed logo fills the screen.