James and Remus stepped out of the floo at the entrance of the Auror Training Center on the west embankment. There were a great number of witches and wizards headed into the ATC, and a couple young witches waved at James as they went by. James half waved back, focusing on Remus instead.

"So about Sirius," James said delicately, "Are you two... okay?"

Remus nodded, "Yeah we're fine. Sirius is just being extra siriusy, that's all. He can drive me mad, but I love him, no matter how mad he makes me."

James smiled. "Good."

Remus smiled, too, then sighed, glancing at a big clock in the center of the entryway for the Department of Magical Justice. "I gotta go or I'll be late! They're expecting me!" He turned and hurried away, rushing as much as his achey knees could carry him.

James watched him go, then turned and hurried on go his training.

Diagon Alley was overrun with witches and wizards, and Sirius clutched his sheet of adverts as he ducked his way through the crowd, motorbike tucked safely in his pocket. The first place he stopped was Quality Quidditch Supplies because, even if they hadn't placed an advert in the paper, Sirius wanted to give them the first crack at hiring him.

When the bell over the door ding-donged as he walked in, the man at the counter looked up and sighed. "Sirius, I still don't have any openings for you."

He frowned, "Oh c'mon Stanley, you know you could use a good set of muscles 'round here." Sirius flashed his toothiest grin and played at flexing his arm.

"Aye and that's precisely why I don't have a position for you! Somebody might mistake you for a Keeper's Ring if you worked here."

Sirius sighed, "C'monnnn Stanleyyyy, mate, I know everything there is to know about Quidditch. I'm a bloody expert. And I'm an excellent salesman. I could sell a rug to a homeless man, I reckon."

Stanley stared at Sirius and solemnly shook his head, "I'm sorry, kid, I'd love to help you out, but with the school seasons over and the local teams all out of the running for the Cup, my sales are dropped for the season. I can't afford to take on another employee at the mo'. Come back in the fall when things start picking back up again."

Sirius sighed.

"Now if your friend James Potter's looking, that kid's got some muscle. You tell him I'd consider it if you popped in."

"James is in the Auror Training Program," replied Sirius, "He doesn't need a job like I do, Stanley."

"Come back in September."

Back on the street, Sirius shook out his page of advertisements and started looking over the list. A bunch of rubbish he wasn't interested in, really. He wished there was a joke shop on Diagon Alley that he could try working at, but Zonko's had closed their London branch the year before, and there wasn't much else. What was hiring were places like Gomer Grimes Gnome Removal Service (they were seeking a degnoming agent), Eeylops Owl Emporium (janitorial work cleaning cages), and Goldie's Cauldron Shoppe (though Sirius suspected that was a muscles-required sort of position, too).

He visited each of the places with help wanted adverts and a couple that didn't have anything listed but agreed to let him leave behind a CV just the same. It took him most of the morning, and he wandered down Diagon Alley til he was tired. He sat down in one of the violently green tables outside of Florian Fortescue's and took out his coin purse, shaking it to have a look-see what he had left in his pockets. There wasn't much, but he was hungry, so he went inside the ice cream parlor and walked up to the counter.

"Odaaaaaaaaaaaaair you are!" he called out, seeing Jasper Odair behind the counter, wearing a white shirt with a lime green and hot pink striped bowtie and bright green apron 'round his hips.

Jasper looked up from scooping purple ice cream into a cup and smiled, waved with the scoop, then finished off working with the little girl and her mum that stood at the counter. When the mum had paid and they'd left to go sit in the corner of the brightly lit shop, Sirius stepped up and Jasper grinned, "Hey Sirius, how're you doing?"

Sirirus grinned, "Positively brilliant, couldn't be better. You?"

"I'm good," Jasper nodded, smiling back, "Glad to hear you're well. I heard you're getting hitched soon."

"Yes! To Remus Lupin." Sirius beamed.

"Congratulations!" Jasper nodded, "I'm actually engaged myself." He flushed bright red.

"You are?" Sirius gasped, eyes widening. "TO WHO?" Really what he wanted to know was -- male or female? It would end a couple of years-old-half-joking question that he and James had been yelled at many times by Lily for making.

"Her name is Ethel Needlemire and she's a muggle," Jasper said. He paused, "Dunno how to break it to her about the magical community. I haven't had to yet since I don't practice magic, strictly speaking, having been expelled and all..." He hesitated, then shrugged. "I don't think she'll mind once I figure out how to do it, mind."

"Should be damn proud if anything," Sirius replied. "You're muggle born, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jasper nodded.

Sirius nodded, too, the moment a bit awkward. Changing the subject, Sirius stepped forward and looked into the ice cream case. "So what's in stock today?" he mused.

Jasper waved a palm, "Quite a lot of flavors, made up some of these myself. I've been experimenting with flavors lately, Florean showed me some tricks back in the Spring. He's away on vacation all summer and he didn't want the shop to get boring while he was gone. I've got here a mango-cherry-pepper flavor, butterbeer-nougat, marshmallow-honey, and a lavender-white-grape. Plus the usuals. Forbidden Fudge chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, buttered popcorn..."

"I'll take a go at that mango-cherry-pepper then," Sirius said, and he tossed his money on to the counter while Jasper went and got one of the striped ice cream cups to scoop Sirius's treat into. It was a high key of orange color, with great chunks of red cherries.

"So when are you and Remus tying the knot?" Jasper asked, sliding the cup across the counter to Sirius and ringing him in.

"Just a couple weeks," Sirius reached into his pocket and fished about for a few moments, biting his tongue as he shifted through a good deal of things stowed away. "Was supposed to be this month..." Sirius murmured, looking down as he dug about, "But... some stuff is going on late in the month and... didn't wanna muck things up because of that... so we pushed back to early July... Where the bloody hell is it?" Sirius tugged his jacket off and held his eye up to the pocket.

"Extendable pockets, ey?" Jasper asked, smirking.

"Yeah... bloody hell, can't ever find a thing in them, though," Sirius complained, and finally he felt the stack of invitations and drew one out. "Here you are." He held out the invitation to Jasper.

The invitations were bright, gaudy things, with a big heart-shaped picture of Sirius and Remus in the middle. In the picture, Sirius was trying desperately to kiss Remus, and Remus, ever shy of the public displays of affection, was pulling back and trying to duck out of the heart. The rest of the card was pistachio green with a rainbow that ran in a great arch from one side of the card to the other, and a unicorn stood upon the rainbow, prancing into a brilliant sunset.

"Wow," Jasper said, looking the card over, "Couldn't possibly miss that coming in on an owl, could you?"

Sirius looked at the card as Jasper turned it over in his hand to read the back. "Well that is the point of it, isn't it? To get a person's attention?" He had a slightly defensive tone to his voice, and Jasper looked up at Sirius, one eyebrow tweaked - It was clear that Sirius had been through this argument at least once already.

Jasper nodded, "Yeah, yeah of course. I wasn't saying it would be a bad thing, only that I am sure it stands out amongst every other owl, that's all." He finished reading and looked up, "May I come?"

"Oh sure, of course, keep that invitation there. And hey if you break the news to Emily -"

"Ethel."

"- bring her along too!" Sirius finished.

Jasper smiled and slid the card into his apron pocket. "Thanks, Sirius."

"Of course! The more the merrier, that's what I say!" His smile faded slightly, "I mean, not that everyone understands that about it. It's a party, it's meant to be celebrated! But some people are making it all about the money and what we can afford, and that sort of rubbish. But you can't put a price on love, can you Odair?"

Jasper had a feeling that this "some people" was one and the same as the one who Sirius had argued his point about the invitations against. Knowing the Marauders quite well from school, Jasper could hardly imagine Remus Lupin happily approving of those eye-shocking invitations.

"Well," said Jasper carefully, "I suppose there has to be some financial limit... like, you oughtn't spend every penny you have on a thing... It's just the wedding after all, there's still the marriage afterwards you'll need money for."

Sirius eyed Jasper a moment.

"I'm just speculating of course and every couple has their own way of doing a budget," Jasper said quickly.

Sirius sniffed and took a bite of his ice cream. He tapped it with his spoon as he swallowed the mouthful he'd just taken. "This is good stuff, Odair."

"Thanks," Jasper replied, and he reached under the counter for a wet rag and started cleaning the finger prints of children off the glass case that kept the ice cream protected.

"You ever make pistachio flavor?"

"I've had it from muggle places, but we haven't made it here, though..."

"Oughtta give it a go," Sirius said brightly.

Jasper smiled. "I'll add it to my list. Pistachios and... what if we paired it with a bit of chocolate and some cherries?"

"Brilliant!"