Chapter 2
"Congratulations, this is your second year at this school!" Minerva McGonagall welcomes her students on the first day of school, checking to see if any of the students are missing.
She doesn't even need the list anymore, he knows them all too well.
Cheers accompany her for the next few moments. The woman looks around at the students, wanting to notice how they have changed during the holidays. Some came back tanned, others had less hair than before (some more), someone started wearing glasses, someone grew a few centimeters.
She picked up on all the little changes.
Minerva McGonagall was happy to start the new year. She was looking forward to another year at Hogwarts.
Her gaze lingers a moment longer as she looks towards Sirius Black, who is at the very back of the group.
This wasn't like him. Sirius Black was not shy. He didn't stick at the end.
Sirius Black liked to be in the center of events, he liked when eyes were on him. He wasn't one to be calm or composed or withdrawn. Sirius was confident and brave. He didn't let anyone humiliate him. Sirius Black always got what he wanted. He stood at the head of the crowd, he was a leader, he directed others, he was good at it. Sirius Black was loud and attention-hungry, and he liked being admired. Sirius Black was one of the most troublesome students Minerva McGonagall had ever taught.
However, Minerva did not see that specific smile on his lips. Sirius Black's smile.
The boy looked depressed, and that didn't suit him at all. Sirius' face was always filled with mischief, a smile never left his lips, but not now.
Something was obviously wrong.
Someone tries to say hello to him and he jumps away from the person in fear, then masks it with a smile and an awkward apology.
Minerva frowns in thought.
A shadow of sadness flashed across Sirius's face as he made eye contact with Minerva for a second.
Immediately afterwards, the indifferent mask returned to his face.
The tired look, however was much harder to hide. The boy looks miserable.
This year his uniform isn't wrinkled, it's actually annoyingly perfect. If Minerva could at least complain about the tie being too loose, but no.
Sirius walking perfection Black.
.
.
.
Minerva shakes her head, Sirius must have lost a lot of weight over the holidays.
What else Minerva notices is that his mood quickly returns along with his mischievous smile when Peter, James and Remus join him.
Ah, marauders.
The twelve-year-old hugs them all gently but quite quickly, as if trying to avoid touching them.
This behavior does not go unnoticed by Minerva McGonagall.
Sirius may have been punished for being friends with them, and he may not miss another one, but if James Potter, Remus Lupin, Lilly Evans, Mary McDonald, Marlene Mckinnon and Peter Petergiew weren't worth it, who or what could be? Sirius would do anything for them.
He was twelve years old and his heart was filled with naive, childlike love for four boys and three ladies.
He finally felt good among them. He'd like to say "just like home," but that wouldn't be a compliment.
Sirius Black had found friends and he wasn't going to lose them because of some harsh words (and curses) from his mother.
☆☆
Minerva McGonagall, in her entire life, had never paid attention to anyone more times than to these famous four.
She's never had so many complaints about the same people over and over again. Never.
And yet, there was still something that told Minerva to understand these kids and not punish them too much for their minor transgressions.
She knew they were capable of something big, that they were trying to fulfill their potential.
How many times she and Albus had searched for counterspells against the spells invented by the Marauders, and how many times she had watched them handle magic better than many adults.
Magic was like air to them, it awed her, she couldn't deny it.
How charming these boys were, how curious, how intelligent and talented.
Something told her to smile indulgently and help in any way she could. She was always a fair person, so she always listened to all versions of the event.
Marauders, on the other hand, had a gift, a very useful gift, for softening her anger with a few smiles.
How could Minerva be angry at Potter for running down the hall when he was winning the Quidditch Cup for Grifindor the next day? (She had a weakness for Quidditch, that was a fact)
How could she punish Remus Lupine for not completing his homework when she knew he had spent the entire previous day helping other students in the library?
How could she scream at Sirius when he felt so small under the weight of her words? She didn't have a heart of stone.
How could she subtract points from the Gryffindors for Black and Potter's absence from classes when she was aware that they were spending time with Remus, trying to comfort him before the next full moon?
Loyalty. Isn't that the mark of a good Gryffindor?
As head of their home, she was responsible for them.
Taking responsibility for Black, Potter, Lupin, Pettergiew, Evans, Mckinnon and McDonald was like suicide. (Did Minerva complain? The answer is no)
Already in the first year they showed what they were capable of, but in the second year it was not much better.
She suspected that there was no one at school who didn't even recognize them by this point everyone knew about Marauders. It was hard not to notice this group in the corridors of Hogwarts.
☆☆
"Mr. Black, I admit, I'm disappointed," Minerva informs, looking down at the boy.
Sirius suddenly is again, five, seven, ten, eleven. He stands in front of his mother again, hears her cold voice again informing him angrily that he is nothing more than a mere disappointment.
The voice saying that Sirius doesn't deserve to be called Walburga's son, that he doesn't deserve his surname, that it's just a mistake.
A mistake, a disappointment.
Minerva blinks in surprise. Sirius doesn't smile mockingly like he usually does during their conversations. He doesn't roll his eyes.
He looks really concerned, dejected, as if this statement hurt him, as if it hit him straight in the heart. There are tears in his eyes, Minerva is sure of it.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said quietly, his voice breaking. Minerva didn't expect this.
☆☆
Minerva McGonagall watched calmly as two of her students disappeared from class after every full moon.
She looked into the hospital wing once, out of sheer curiosity, and saw Remus Lupin sleeping, exhausted after a long night, and Sirius Black sitting next to him, whispering a book of poetry.
It happened again and again. Sirius Black spent all his free time (not free time also) accompanying his friend.
Once he understood what was happening to Remus, once he knew why he was disappearing, once he knew the reason for his scars, he couldn't leave him alone.
Sirius had read a lot about it. He read about werewolves, although he didn't find many books, he took a few of them from the forbidden books section, he tried to find ways to help Remus.
He had heard a lot about werewolves, read a lot about them. He should have been afraid, he should have been disgusted, scared, but he wasn't.
Sirius knew Remus Lupin, he knew that boy, and he saw that Remus would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone.
He wondered how hard it must be for him to worry about hurting others.
Remus was sensitive, Sirius felt sorry.
He had read somewhere that the pain of lycanthropy was comparable to the cruciatus curse. If Remus went through this every month, he felt sorry for him.
Minerva and Poppy Pomfers would get emotional every time they found the two of them and let them continue it all.
Minerva wrote them sick leave and excused their absences, she even gave Sirius points for helping his friend.
Sirius Black was definitely a good friend.
☆☆
"Sirius, can I have a word with you?" Minerva McGonagall interrupts a meeting of friends with one sentence.
"What did you do this time?" Lupin asks, raising an eyebrow, a stupid smile on his lips, and Sirius sticks his tongue out at him before running after the professor.
"Yes, professor?" he asks, closing the door to her office behind him.
Sirius liked this place. It was friendly, warm, nice, pretty.
"I've heard that you've been avoiding Defense Against the Dark Arts classes lately," McGonagall sits down in her chair, pointing to the other one, the one opposite her.
"It could have happened, Professor," Sirius said after a while. He couldn't lie to her (he didn't want to).
"What is the reason for this disappearance?" She doesn't seem nervous, as if she knows more than Sirius.
"Not anything special," he muttered quietly. He didn't feel comfortable at the moment.
"What section are you working on now, Sirius?" She doesn't look away from him and it stresses him out.
"Boggarts," he looked down.
"Boggarts," Minerva repeated, thinking, "What is the reason why the bravest boy I know, who ever set foot in this castle, refused to face his fear?" She asks, Sirius doesn't even pay attention to the compliment. "Sirius, you can overcome fear," she says softly.
"I know that," he still didn't look up, "I know," he repeated.
"You'll have to pass the exam, Sirius, you can't run away from it," she points out.
"I've dealt with boggarts before, believe me, it's really nothing difficult, it's a very simple spell," he rolls his eyes.
Walburga Black's laughter echoes in his head, because when she discovered his fear...
"I know you're a good wizard, but I'll believe it when I see it," she continues "and now, Mr. Black, if you don't want to present your abilities to the whole class, I can talk to the professor to do it outside of class," she offers.
"I don't want to," he says like an offended child. As if his mother informed him that there was broccoli for dinner and he didn't like broccoli, so he said I don't want to. With the slight difference that Sirius couldn't say 'I don't want' to his mother, not if he didn't want to receive the curse.
"Because?" Minerva pushed. Sirius Black attracts her attention, not in a good way, she is worried about his behavior.
"I know what it will turn into," he said quietly, very quietly. Deciding on the truth.
"It's good to be aware of your fears," she praises him, wanting to comfort him a bit "if you know what it will turn into, shouldn't it be easier?" he asks slowly.
"I don't want to fight it," professor gave him a short look. He didn't count on her understanding, so it's okay.
"Don't you want to fight your fear?" She asks, surprised. This image doesn't match the Sirius Black she knows.
"I don't want to fight the shape it will take," he corrects. He feels like he just shouldn't do it.
"Sirius," Minerva sighs heavily, not knowing how to reach him.
"Okay," Sirius gives up, "now?" He suggests.
"What now?" Sue asks, surprised.
"I want to get it over with," he says, shrugging.
He and Professor McGonagall are with another professor in the Defense Against the Dark Arts lab.
"Remember, Sirius, no one will judge you, okay?" Minerva assures.
"Can you guarantee that?" He raised his eyebrows. "I'll ask after the fact," he suggested "shall we start?" He asks, reaching for his wand with boredom.
The man opens the wardrobe and a boggart flies out, wandering around until it finally stops in front of Sirius.
A tall, slim woman, a head taller than Sirius. She has long black hair, currently tied in a bun, and her eyes are blue, cold. She wears a black dress.
There is no doubt. Walburga Black.
There is a wide smile on her lips. Sirius purses his lips. Not wanting to look at the professors' faces, he didn't want to see their profession.
"Ridiculous," he says, waving his wand with a blank expression.
Walburga Black still stands before him, this time without a smile. Her face is contorted in anger, no.
"It failed?" Minerva asks surprised.
"It worked," Sirius shrugged. The boggart disappeared into the closet.
"Congratulations, Mr. Black, the task was completed flawlessly, and how quickly, congratulations," he praises, ignoring thoughts about the reason for the boggart's shape.
"But," Minerva frowns, "nothing has changed," she says, surprised.
"The expression has changed, Minerva," the man noted. Sirius nodded.
"Oh, I see," she nodded, "shall we talk, Sirius?" She asks gently.
"I think you promised not to judge," he pointed out.
He didn't turn to look at her as he left the hall.
It's stupid. This is very stupid. Because why was he most afraid of her when she smiled? Why did he find her anger funny? Why was Sirius Black a brat, afraid of trivial things?
☆☆
"What are you doing, Remus?" Sirius asks, jumping onto his bed. Remus had just made the bed, he sighed, closing his eyes.
"I'm packing a parcel to send to my father to give to my mom, she would be scared of the owl," he informs.
"Yeah, and why?" Sirius continues curiously. "Lilly also sent something to her parents, is it some muggle thing?" He asks.
Remus frowns, then remembers that holidays are different in the wizarding world.
"Yes, mother's day. On this day, you give your mother a gift," but it wasn't a good definition, not for Sirius. "A day when you appreciate someone who loves you unconditionally. Who supports you, shows care, listens, hugs, comforts, gives advice, celebrates successes and supports dreams. Someone you care about.
"Yhym," he nodded "hey, you know what?"
"Hm?"
"I have a great idea," Sirius smiled broadly.
Minerva McGonagall, entering her office, which should have been closed and no one was allowed to enter it, found traces proving that someone had been there after all.
She approached the desk with her wand raised, expecting everything.
She wanted to check what kind of package it was on her desk and see if it would explode.
There were flowers on it.
Minerva frowned in surprise.
She leaned over the package to read on the brown paper:
Happy Mother's Day! (sorry for the intrusion) I hope you like the gift, Professor. We love you!
~ Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Petergiew, Lilly Evans, Mary McDonald, Marlene McKinnon <3
Oh, Minerva didn't cry at all.