Chapter twenty
"What are you planning?" Sirius asked the moment Evan and Barty joined him by the lake.
"I don't know what you mean." Evan feigned innocence.
"You winked at me." Sirius continued.
"Am I not allowed to wink at you?" Evan asked with a smirk.
Sirius looked at him. "You know what I mean." Barty laughed.
"So, did you open your present?" He asked. Sirius shook his head, taking it from his pocket. "Why not?"
"Evan said it was for valentine's day."
"It is valentine's day." Barty pointed out.
"I haven't had a chance, so I thought I'd just open it with you." Sirius shrugged. "Oh, I got you both something, I haven't had chance to wrap it yet."
"You got us something?" Evan asked on surprise. Sirius nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. He grabbed the packet of pencils and the chocolate frogs from his pockets and passed them over. "Are these... For drawing?"
Sirius nodded again.
"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." Evan murmured, while Barty made some sort of gremlin noise at his chocolate.
"You're talented." Sirius shrugged. Evan tackled him into a hug. "Ow."
"Thank you."
"Thanks Sirius!" Barty added once Evan had let him go. "Okay, now open yours."
Sirius picked up the box, undoing the binding and opening it. Inside lay a thin silver bracelet, decorated with the Sirius constellation. "You got this for me?"
"Do you like it?" Evan asked.
Sirius nodded. "I love it, thank you."
"Reg said you're quite particular about jewellery." Barty explained.
"Most of my jewellery is family pieces." Sirius explained, snapping the bracelet around his wrist. "how does it look?"
"Perfect." Evan grinned. "I'm out of smokes." He added. Sirius laughed and pulled a packet from his pocket, offering it to him.
"You really like it?" Barty asked, moving to lay his head against Sirius' legs. Sirius nodded.
"I don't have a lot thats... Truly mine." He replied.
"Things that are yours, not the heir to the Black family." Evan guessed. Sirius nodded.
"Yeah, so it's like a piece of the real me."
"Like your hair." Evan said mournfully, examining a lock between his fingers. Sirius hummed in agreement.
"If she cuts it again, I'll kill her myself." Barty announced, he was playing with Sirius' fingers lazily.
"I won't be going back. Reg was right. We got out, we can stay out." Sirius replied. The lake rippled as the giant squid surfaced briefly.
"You'll both go back to Potters?" Evan asked.
Sirius nodded. "It's always felt safe."
"Even if it means Potter and Regulus get close again?" Barty asked with a grin. He liked trying to shit stir.
"I don't think anything would happen between them, and while the thought of my best friend getting with my brother grosses me out, I know James wouldn't hurt him." Sirius replied. "If I start living in the Slytherins common room, you know what happened."
"I'll sacrifice one Black to the Gryffindors to get another." Barty nodded. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"And you say Gryffindors are dramatic."
"Didn't Potter use scourgify on Snape for insulting him?" Evan raised an eyebrow. Sirius chuckled.
"Oh, yeah. That was funny."
"Snape spend a day rinsing his mouth with water to get the soap out." Evan pointed out. "I'm pretty sure he cried."
Sirius frowned. "Oh man, I forgot he had feelings."
"You're a terrible person." Barty supplied.
"Now I feel bad."
"You should." Evan added. "I know it's generally Potter casting the spells, but you don't help, you just laugh."
"Well it's always funny when it's not happening to you." Sirius said, but he was still frowning.
"And it was funny." Barty nodded. "But also mean."
"Merlin, I am a terrible person." Sirius sighed. "I'd apologise but I'm a little scared of him."
"You're scared of Snape?" Evan laughed. "How?"
"It's those eyes. Plus he's always muttering and writing stuff down in that potions book, I think he knows spells I never would in my wildest dreams." Sirius explained, spinning the bracelet around his wrist.
"That is a fair assessment." Evan nodded.
"Maybe I'll talk to Lily, she knows Snape pretty well."
"He's definitely in love with her." Barty agreed. Sirius stared at him in surprise.
"He is?"
"By Merlin, you're oblivious!" Evan elbowed him. "Yes."
"What else have I not noticed?"
"I think the real question is what you have noticed." Barty laughed. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"You two are way too invested in other people's drama."
"Of course we are, we're people watchers Sirius, we live for the drama." Barty explained.
"Merlin, get a life!" Sirius laughed. Evan gasped dramatically.
"How dare you!" And then he was up, scooping Sirius over his shoulder and dumping him in the lake, making him squawk.
"Evan! What is wrong with you?" Sirius asked as he ungraciously stumbled up, shaking himself like a dog. Evan just laughed, shielding his eyes from lake water.
Sirius was still soaked when he reached the dormitory.
"What the fuck happened to you?" James asked as Sirius dug around for his pajamas.
"Evan threw me in the lake."
Regulus, who Sirius hadn't noticed was sitting on his bed snorted. "did you insult his hair?"
"On a technicality I called him boring." Sirius replied, heading into the bathroom.
The shower was almost boiling, the way he liked it. Almost like he could burn off his sins in the water. He took his time, washing his hair and realising just how many crevices of his body grit from the bottom of the lake had hidden in.
When he emerged, his brother was still sat on his bed.
"Merlin Reg, get your own friends!" He teased his brother, moving to sit beside him.
"You keep stealing them." Regulus replied dryly. Sirius shrugged.
"Yeah, they're mine now."
"Pads!" Peter threw a chocolate frog at him, he caught it.
"Thanks Pete!"
"He literally has a stack of his own." James pointed out.
"Leave him alone Prongs, just because hes a better friend than you." Sirius teased, examining the chocolate frog card. Emeric the evil. Fitting.
"Do you want me to throw you in the lake too!" James shot back. Sirius cackled.
"Lucius and Narcissa are getting married in the summer." Regulus informed him.
"So soon?" Sirius was surprised, usually engagements lasted longer than nine months.
"The Malfoys are running out of money." Regulus explained.
"Of course." Sirius rolled his eyes. "And they told Father they were an 'up and coming' family."
"She's happy though." Regulus said, Sirius cocked his head.
"Is she though?"
"She says she is." Regulus replied. "Bella isn't so sure either."
"Bella hates Malfoy." Sirius retorted. "And Narcissa says a lot of things."
"What are you getting at?" Regulus asked.
"We must be what is expected of us." Sirius echoed the words his cousin had spoken to him.
"You've never believed that before." Remus cut in making Sirius jump. He'd forgotten it wasn't just he and his brother in the room.
"It's not me who believes it."