Chapter 19
"Pads, wake up!" Sirius groaned, swiping at James as he shook his shoulder.
"What?"
"Come on! We're going to Hogsmeade!" Peter added excitedly. Pushing James away, Sirius sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"What time is it?" He murmured.
"Almost seven." Remus replied. Surveying his friends, he realised they were all already dressed. "Come on, Padfoot, we're going to be late for breakfast!"
"Give me five minutes." Sirius yawned, sliding off his bed and grabbing his clothes from his trunk, before heading into the bathroom. He managed to shower and dress within five minutes, surprising himself.
"That really was only five minutes." Peter said with a nod.
"I'm a man of my word Wormy." Sirius grinned, grabbing his hair brush and forcing it through his knotty hair.
Peter laughed. "You sure are."
When Sirius was ready, they headed down to breakfast, ate quickly before finally making their way to Hogsmeade.
The snow was crisp and someone had made a snowman in the grounds, Sirius had never made a snowman before he got to Hogwarts, and making one with James and Peter was definitely one of his core memories, one he had used last year when casting a patronas for the first time.
"We should make a snowman when we get back." Peter said excitedly as they followed the path down from the castle.
"A snow dog." Sirius corrected with a grin.
James chuckled. "A snow Padfoot!"
"Not that I doubt your artistic talents, but do you think you could actually make it look like a dog?" Remus asked.
"Do you doubt us Moony?" James gasped dramatically.
"Don't worry Moony, they'll have a live model." Sirius flashed him a grin. He was trying to slip back into their old rhythm, the four of them messing about, joking, but it was hard sometimes.
"That won't look suspicious at all." Remus rolled his eyes.
"We'll just say he's something weird from the forbidden forest." James shrugged.
"Excuse me Prongs! Something weird? Me?" Sirius held his heart as though he was offended.
"Don't take this the wrong way Pads, but you are a little weird." Peter patted his arm.
"Wormy!" Sirius wailed.
"It's all the sneaking around you do." Remus said pointedly.
"I don't sneak Moony, I strut." Sirius replied, waving at Madame Rosmerta, who was sweeping the snow from the doorstep of the three broomsticks as she got the pub ready to be opened for the day. She tutted, but waved back. "I told you she loved me."
"She tolerates you because you bother her." Remus rolled his eyes.
"Jealous are we?" James chimed in with a laugh. "Not Pads' fault he's irresistible."
"I knew you wanted a piece of this Prongs!" Sirius laughed. It felt good, like old times.
"You two are ridiculous." Remus chuckled, pushing open the door to Scrivenshaft's quill shop.
"Why exactly are we here?" Peter asked. Remus sighed, leading them over to the collection of owl feather quills.
"I broke my quill doing that defence against the dark arts assignment." He replied.
"You don't carry a spare?" Sirius asked, examining a peacock feather quill from the other side of the aisle and waving it in Peter's face.
"No, and we don't all get let off from assignments." Remus added pointedly.
"Lily made me talk to Minnie about why I ran out of class. She suggested I skip the module for my mental health." Sirius shrugged.
"Get off Pads." Peter laughed. "What do you do instead of class?"
"I just transform and go for a wander." Sirius replied, putting down the quill. "Followed a centaur for a mile until he got sick of me the other day."
"Is that safe?" James asked.
"I don't know, probably?" Sirius said, picking up a bottle of pink ink.
"Don't, Minnie will kill you." Peter advised. Sirius frowned.
"But my notes are so boring, how am I supposed to remember everything if I'm bored reading it?"
"That..." Remus began, but he paused. "Is actually a good point." He bought his new quill and then led them out of the shop and to the post office, which had Muggle post and owl post, as well as a range of Muggle stationary products, sweets and post cards.
Remus handed him a packet of what looked liked fluorescent tubes with lids.
"What are these? Are they edible?" Sirius shook the packet. Remus laughed.
"No Pads, they're called highlighters. They're Muggle pens, you swipe them over certain words in your notes and it makes the word have a bright background." He explained.
"Really? And muggles made those? Without magic?" Sirius stared at him, he couldn't help feel excited, he always said he took Muggle studies to annoy his parents, but in truth he found it fascinating.
"Yeah." Remus was smiling at him. Sirius picked up a pack of thin pirces of wood with colourful, sharpened ends.
"What are these?"
"Coloured pencils, you use them to colour pictures and draw." Remus replied. Sirius immediately thought of Evan, constantly doodling in lessons. They were good drawings too.
"Amazing." He said, realising he had been staring at the pencils in silence for a moment. He went over to the counter, who luckily accepted wizarding or Muggle money and bought the two packets, tucking them into a pocket of his robes.
"I told you he actually enjoyed Muggle studies." James was saying when he met them outside the shop.
"I didn't realise how little you knew about muggles." Remus commented as they headed to Honeydukes.
"Moony, my parents once told me I would be contaminated if I went near a Muggle." Sirius replied. "They told me my blood would be less pure by... What was the word they used? Association."
James snorted in surprise. "They said what?"
"I didn't know Muggle borns existed until I got to Hogwarts." Sirius added with a shrug.
"That's why you asked me if Lily was real!" James laughed. "Oh Merlin, your parents are fucked in the head."
"Well they are cousins." Sirius nodded. His friends stopped in their tracks.
"I beg your pardon?" Remus' eyes were wide.
"I haven't told you?" Sirius wasn't fazed.
"No!" Peter exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah, I'm surprised I'm not engaged to one of my cousins to be honest." Sirius opened the door for his friends. "I really haven't told you all this?"
"Merlin Sirius! No!" James ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh. Well now you know."
"Is this normal for you?" Remus asked.
"How else do you think the Black family stays completely pureblood? All pureblood families are at least a bit inbred and related. Me and Prongs are probably fifth cousins are something." Sirius picked up some liquorice wands.
"What?" James' jaw was on the floor. "We're related?"
"Probably, I think one of my ancestors married into every sacred 28 family, and the pureblood families left out of it."
"Left out?" Remus asked.
"The Potters, the Moody's, the Cabbes, the Princes, The Goyles and the Browns were either supporters of Muggles prior to the list being made or had possible Muggle ancestry." Sirius said, wondering if Barty liked chocolate frogs. He added them to his collection, who didn't like chocolate frogs?
"How do you know all this?" James asked.
"Mother deemed it important I know the difference between a pureblood and a blood traitor."
"Your mother is insane." Remus commented.
"I know." Sirius shrugged.
"Why are you buying so many sweets?" Peter asked. Sirius had a notoriously small sweet tooth.
"I want something sweet." Sirius replied. He picked up some chocolate bars to replenish his supplies that he snuck into Remus' belongings so he never ran out. James had blown his cover, which meant Remus knew that he had been sneaking chocolate into his trunk every day after that full moon.
"Are you depressed?" James asked, eyes wide at Sirius' haul.
"No, I mean, I don't think so?" Sirius considered. "Why?"
"I've never seen you buy so many sweets." Peter commented. Sirius hadn't grown up allowed to eat sweet things often, although Kreacher often made a sherry trifle, which probably wasn't suitable when they were younger. They ate it anyway.
"Oh, they're not all for me." Sirius replied, heading up to the counter with his haul, it was even bigger than Remus' haul of chocolate, and he famously had a chocolate bar for every occasion. He'd been vindicated on this when they learned that chocolate helped you feel better after an encounter with a dementor.
"You realise that leads to more questions." Peter said as he followed him to the counter. Sirius grabbed a couple galleons from his pocket.
"Are you going to ask them?" Sirius countered as he took the bag from the sullen girl, who only worked there because her parents owned the shop.
"No." Peter replied. Sirius laughed.
"That solves that one, then."
"You're a menace." Peter shook his head, but he was laughing along with him.
"Wormtail, please. Tell me something we don't already know."
"What do we know?" James asked, opening a packet of Bertie Botts every flavour beans.
"Pads is a menace." Peter said.
"Oh without a doubt." Remus laughed.
"It's my brand." Sírius shrugged. Out if the corner of his eye he saw Evan wink at him, which was a bit unsettling. Evan definitely had something planned.
"Pads?" James offered him a Bertie Botts bean, Sirius took one.
"If this is vomit, I'm never speaking to you again.* He wanted before eating it.
"What is it?" Peter asked, noticing Sirius wasn't pulling a face.
"Mint."
"Lucky." Remus said, taking his own. "Eurgh, earwax." He gagged.
"That's definitely the worst flavour." Peter laughed. "Oh, grass."
"I quite like the flavour of the grass one." James commented. They all stared at him.
"Ew, Prongs." Sirius said, shaking his head.
"What?" James defended himself.
"I mean, it makes sense, his animagus form is a stag." Remus considered.
"Deer eat grass?" Sirius asked. They all looked at him.
"What did you think they ate?" Peter asked.
"Leaves and shit, not grass though." Sirius replied.
"They eat them as well." Remus explained.
"Ew." Sirius pulled a face. "Animals piss on that."
His friends burst out laughing.
"Why is that what you think of?" James asked.
"My animagus is a dog, Prongs. I'm the one pissing on the grass." Sirius replied. "Eat your bean."
"Yes boss." James took a bean and ate it. "Ooh, cinnamon."
"Ah, not the best one." Remus commented. "Three broomsticks?"
"Yes! I need a butter beer." James agreed. Sirius followed his friends to the pub, it was nice, to feel the way things used to be.