Letters in the Owlery
James stretched and tossed his quill onto his unfinished Charms essay with a dramatic sigh.
"I give up," he declared. "I’ll finish it later."
"You always say that," Remus muttered without looking up from his own parchment.
James ignored him and stood up. "I’m going to the Owlery to send a letter to my parents. Anyone want to come?"
Sirius, after learning the new information that his family gaslighting him by rewriting books, didnt want mutch to do with them at all. But he couldn’t let down his siblings, and he promised he would write. "Yeah, actually. I need to write to my siblings."
James blinked. "You’ve got siblings?"
Sirius smirked. "What, you thought I was the Black family’s only disaster?"
James grinned. "Figured they’d have stopped after you."
Sirius snorted. "Unfortunately for them, no." He grabbed a blank sheet of parchment and a quill, quickly scribbling down a few lines before rolling it up. He didn’t want to overthink it, just enough to check in, let them know he hadn’t been murdered for his Sorting.
The two of them left the common room, heading up through the castle toward the Owlery. The halls were quieter now, most students having settled into their usual afternoon routines.
"So, how many siblings?" James asked as they walked.
"Three," Sirius said. "Regulus is a year younger than me, he’ll be here next year."
"Think he’ll be in Gryffindor?"
Sirius let out a short laugh. "No chance. He’d probably die before disappointing our parents." His voice was lighter than he felt.
James tilted his head. "You close?"
"Yeah very." Sirius didn’t mention that they had to be because they didn’t have anything but eachother in that house.
James was quiet for a moment. "And the other two?"
Sirius carried on. "Irene and Astraelle. They’re little, Astra’s only three. They don’t really understand everything yet."
James whistled. "So you’re the oldest sibling then?"
"Yeah," Sirius said, though the words felt strange. He didn’t feel like a big brother, not really. He barely got to be one, he was more like a parent to them, he basically raised them his whole childhood anyway.
James shoved his hands in his pockets. "My mum’s an only child, but my dad’s got a couple of siblings. I’ve got loads of cousins, though. They’re all in Mexico, though, so I don’t see them much."
Sirius tried to smile, but something inside him twisted.
"Your parents sound nice" he said but his voice was quiet.
James talked about his parents like they were people. People who laughed, who teased, who loved him. It was effortless, natural, foreign.
Sirius had never spoken about his parents like that.
James must have noticed something in his expression because he nudged him with his elbow. "What about you? Got any good family members?"
Sirius exhaled. "Andromeda. She’s my cousin, probably the only one I actually like. And my uncle Alphard, although he kinda got unofficially kicked out the family so I don’t think I'll see him mutch anymore."
James frowned but didn’t push.
By the time they reached the Owlery, the sun was already starting to sink lower in the sky. James immediately found his family’s owl and tied his letter to its leg before sending it off. "Alright, your turn."
Sirius hesitated, looking down at his rolled-up parchment. He’d kept it simple:
Reg, Irene, Astra—
I’m fine. Gryffindor isn’t as bad as everyone says. Hope you’re all okay. Try not to let Mother get too horrible.
—Sirius
It wasn’t much. It wasn’t what he wanted to say. But he didn’t know what else to write.
Would Regulus even want to hear from him? Would their parents read it first? Would they even let the girls see it?
James must have noticed his hesitation because he clapped a hand on Sirius’s shoulder. "They’ll want to hear from you," he said quietly.
Sirius didn’t answer. He just tied the letter to a school owl’s leg and watched as it soared into the sky, disappearing into the sunset.
"Come on," James said after a moment. "It's dinner right now, the others will allready be at the great hall"