Chapter 2
Sirius Black was outrageously late.
His mother had told him the night before that they should have left around nine in the morning, but he didn’t make it on time. At nine forty he was rushing down the stairs of his suburban house, a small suitcase in one hand and his headphones in the other. Standing in front of the door, his brother Regulus, calm and collected, handed him the backpack that Sirius miraculously decided to prepare the night before. He had stuffed his suitcase with underwear, black jeans, basic t-shirts and his outworn leather jacket that was still too warm to wear at the end of summer.
“Thanks, Reg” was all that Sirius said, while his brother rolled his eyes and opened the front door. They got in the car without saying anything else. His mother waited no more than three minutes to start scolding Sirius for his “utterly reproachable” behaviour.
“You know, you can at least try to be on time, considering that you’re an adult now and we’re helping you to move to Milan for university.” She was saying while opening the little mirror in the car.
“I told you I could take the train!” Sirius replied. Walburga Black scowled, then came back to look at something in her mirror.
“Did you take everything you need?” his father intervened.
“Yes, dad.”
“You sure? Because from my point of view, it seems that you’re leaving for a holiday weekend rather than a semester.” Orion continued.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sirius snapped.
“What I mean, is that I hope my first-born is taking his studies seriously, and not just like another joke.”
Sirius was beginning to feel furious, and he didn’t even spend ten minutes in the car with his parents. “I am taking engineering seriously; I chose to study it.”.
“Then focus on studying, being on time for lessons and try to not…cause any trouble.” His mother finished.
Regulus was silent as always, hiding his face behind a book. His father kept on driving. Sirius sighed but he didn’t reply. He put on his headphones and blasted his Bowie as much as he could to shut the whole world out of his vision. He leaned in his seat and closed his eyes, wondering what it would be like without them, to finally be alone, in Milan. Finally free.
When Sirius woke up he didn’t see the country anymore. His eyes opened on a completely different scene. The sky was plain and almost blinding, behind the skyscrapers towering above the car. From the window of his passenger seat he could see no mountains anymore. Everything was so different from his home. He feared he was going to miss that stillness of his old place. He opened a bit his window to catch some air. The loudness of the city hit him with full force. There were cars rushing down the streets, horns sounding from every direction and trams crossing between roads. He watched the city unravel from the window of his passenger seat, a city full of possibilities. Bars, cinemas, theatres, shops, monuments, churches, universities, that city seemed filled with life. Everything felt exciting and nostalgic at the same time. Sirius was sad for leaving all his friends back home; their lessons started in the fall, so they had plenty of time to hang out with each other a little more. For them it was still summer and nothing was really about to change yet. He was sad about leaving them, moving to the city, away from home, and yet he liked the idea of moving in a place where he knew nobody, where he was nobody. It felt exciting, getting to know new people, getting to live a life he never lived before. It was almost midday when they found Sirius’s new place. They parked the car on the main street, in front of the infamous students’ accomodation.
“So, you are going to live in a monastery?” Regulus said before getting out of the car. They were the first words his brother uttered since they left home.
“It’s not a monastery, it’s a dorm with a lot of people, managed by the friars of… I don’t remember which order.” Sirius explained. Regulus silently raised his brows. “I like the idea of living with many people.” He continued.
“Well, surely there must be someone you’ll get along with.” Their mother said ironically.
Regulus shrugged his shoulders and muttered “If you say so”. Sirius didn’t understand if his brother was talking to him or to their mother and neither if he was ironic or not. You could never be sure with Reggie.
“As if the church didn’t get enough money as it is.” Walburga commented, observing the building. “At least the neighbourhood is said to be one of the best in the city.”
“And they don’t let girls enter either?” his father curiously asked Sirius, while handling him his suitcase.
“I think it’s mixed, but maybe there’s a curfew for guests.” He simply answered.
“Sirius” his mother called. He turned to face her, while Regulus and his father went ahead towards the dorm’s entrance.
“What?”
“Remember what I said. Don’t get in trouble, especially… that kind of trouble…with girls I mean. Be careful. We really don’t have time to manage all that.” Walburga said looking Sirius deeply into his eyes. They were so similar, even if Sirius would never admit it. He cringed a bit when he grasped the meaning of her words, then he wanted to laugh to her face, but she was already smiling to him.
“That’s not a problem you’ll have to worry for.” He simply replied. She just nodded and lightly patted him on the shoulder, before crossing the front door of his new home.
At the entrance of the dorm, on the ground floor, there was a little reception desk behind a glass. Sitting at that desk there was an old man, crumpled on a bunch of keys. He had long, straight, dark hair streaked with grey and when he looked up to the Blacks he didn’t smile. He didn’t say anything at all.
“Hello, I’m Sirius Black and I have a room-” he started, but the man quickly shut him up.
“I know who you are.” He just said, handling him a key. “You’re in Gideon’s.”
Sirius took the key and looked at the number carved in the key chain. “What’s Gideon’s?”
“Your chamber. Yours and the one’s of your kind.” The man spitted out. The Blacks looked quite confused, until a woman appeared at the desk, coming from an office behind it. She was slim and tall, with thick, curly black hair.
“Hi, I’m Alice. I’m your prefect, so you can ask me for whatever you need. And this is Argus Filch, our janitor. Forgive him for his…unkind manners.”
“Oh, I’m Sirius, I’m new.” He replied shaking her hand. Then he introduced his family.
“Well, should we go upstairs? I’ll take you to your room and then I can show you and your family around.”
Alice said guiding them to the elevator. She pushed on the third floor’s button and crossed her arms, leaning onto the mirrored wall.
“So…what’s Gideon’s?” Sirius asked her, remembering the janitor’s words.
“That’s your chamber. There are four of them, divided on each floor. The first is Judith’s, the second is Ester’s and the third, the largest one, is split between Gideon’s and Seth’s.” she explained.
“The janitor said that it was mine and of the ones of my kind.”
“Yeah, don’t mind that, it’s just an old thing. The friars thought the chambers reunited people with the same character, people who were similar in some ways. Now it’s just for tradition, it doesn’t really mean anything anymore.”
“Why the biblical names?” Regulus asked to Sirius’ surprise, since he never talked much with strangers.
“Because the friars chose them. It has been like this since forever. Since the creation of the place. It was all a monastery before part of it was turned into a students’ dorm. There are some friars still living on fourth floor.”
“Told you it was a monastery.” Regulus whispered to his brother. Sirius smiled and rolled his eyes. Their mother looked at them with her dark, intense eyes, as if she wanted to shout ‘stop being boys and start behaving like adults’, but she stayed silent.
“Here we are.” Alice said as the elevator’s doors opened on the hallway.
A few minutes later, Sirius was staring at the closed door of his new room. The number thirty-three was elegantly carved into the wood.
“So, are you planning to go inside or do we just wait here doing nothing?” Regulus asked.
“I think I should knock first.”
“Why? It’s your room after all.”
“What if he’s naked?” Sirius pointed out.
“Then it will be his problem, not yours. Or he could just be a psycho.”
Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head “Ugh, thanks Reg, always so supportive”. Then he gently knocked on the door. A boy opened it. Sirius was very relieved noting that he was definitely not naked and he didn’t seem a psycho. He was fully clothed, wearing a white t-shirt and loose cargo pants. He also had some red Converse on, seeming about to go out.
“Hi, sorry to barge in, I’m your new roommate.” Sirius said.
“Oh, hi. Don’t worry at all, come in and make yourself at home, well it’s actually going to be your home so-”
“I’m Sirius” he just said, partly to shut him up and partly because he already liked him.
“I’m James.” The other replied, vigorously shaking Sirius’s hand. Then James looked at Regulus, who was watching him intensely through his grey eyes. “And you are?”
“Regulus Black” was the only answer.
“He’s my brother.” Sirius explained opening his suitcase on the floor.
“Yeah, I figured. You two look almost the same.” James was still looking to Regulus. Sirius silently chuckled.
“Were you leaving?” the younger Black asked in a neutral way.
“Ehm… I was headed to the coffee shop but I think I can stay to show your brother around. Did Alice sent you up?”
“Yes, she’s actually talking to my parents right now.” Sirius answered getting up from the floor.
“Fine. Come, I’ll show you how everything works here.”
“Thanks, man.” James guided Sirius through the corridors of their chamber.
“So, remember, these are the two hallways of Gideon’s, on the right side there are double rooms while on the left side there are single ones. We share the kitchen, the dining hall and the living room with the chamber of Seth. I know, thirty people sharing a kitchen does not seem particularly appealing, but I can assure you it has been quite calm these past few days, probably because a lot of people hasn’t arrived yet.” Sirius liked how swiftly James talked. There was something catchy and fast about him; some sort of pure energy that Sirius craved from the people around him. James gestured a lot while explaining him where the washing-machines were and how to use the kitchen’s stoves.
“So, this is the dining hall, as you can see, you can eat here or you can study. There’s plenty of tables… and remember to pick a locked cupboard, to put there all your groceries and stuff. You also have right to a personal shelf in one of the fridges. Oh, and by the way, I recommend you the second fridge, on the left; it’s the newest one. Well, of course it’s also my fridge.” James said with a smile, his brown eyes narrowing a bit as two dimples appeared on each side of his lips.
Sirius looked at the red cupboards in the dining hall, matched with the tables’ surface and the colour of the sofas in the living room, in front of the television. The place seemed large enough to fit many people, but everything also appeared quite comfortable, like a warm, real house. A house in which Sirius could not feel any emptiness in.
When Sirius had finally said goodbye to his parents and to Regulus, promising his mother that he would return back home some weekend ahead, he came back to his room. He opened the door and found James chatting with Alice, asking her how they would take turns to use the washing-machines.
“I’ll leave a sheet in the common area, so you can write turns, splitting with Seth’s.” she was explaining to him.
“Okay, thanks.” James said. When Alice turned and saw Sirius she seemed to remember something quite important.
“Oh, guys, I forgot to tell you before. Remember, fourth floor is off-limits for you. Always.” She said before saying goodbye and leaving the room.
Sirius looked at James for a moment, his chocolate brown eyes gleaming in the midday light filtering from the window, a small smile spreading across his lips and that cunning expression forming on his tanned face. He could swear that his roommate was having his exact, same thoughts. They absolutely needed to see the fourth floor.
That afternoon Sirius went in the kitchen to finish to tidy up all his stuff. Then he went to the dining hall, where the cupboards were. Standing in the dining hall, reordering his cupboard, there was a boy. Sirius noticed that the boy was slightly taller than him and he moved the groceries slowly outside and inside the cupboard, trying to find the perfect combination. He was humming a song, but Sirius couldn’t understand the words.
“Hi” Sirius said. Then he opened his cupboard, which was close to the boy’s one.
“Hi” the other boy replied, quietly. There was something about him, Sirius thought. Something calming and undefined, something unusual that immediately caught his attention.
“I’m Sirius” he simply said. There was no handshake.
“Remus”
“So… you’re a senior?” Sirius asked, absolutely sure that he was older than him.
“Uh?”
“Are you in your senior year?”
“Ehm, I’m actually a freshman.” Remus replied raising his voice a bit.
“Oh, sorry, I thought you were older for some reason.”
“Well, I’m not. Are you?” the boy asked slightly annoyed.
“What?”
“Older, a senior…” Sirius swiftly realized he was repeating his own words from before.
“Oh, no, I’m a freshman too.”
“What’s your major?”
“Software engineering.”
“Ah, I would have never guessed.”
“Why?”
“You don’t seem the type.” Remus answered shrugging his shoulders and smiling a bit. He closed the cupboard and then he leaned against it, his bony shoulders trespassing from a white t-shirt, in contrast with the vibrant red of the lockers. Sirius studied his face; his expression was calm again and his detached attitude kind of reminded him of Regulus, but this boy… this Remus, seemed way more kind and affable than his cold little brother.
“What you’re going to study?” Sirius asked, also leaning his shoulder against the red cupboard. He tilted his head a little and looked into Remus’s eyes. At first, they seemed brown, but then, after a second look, he realized they were actually hazel, under the sunlight filtering from the large windows.
“Law”
“Never would have guessed that.”
“Don’t tell me.”