Chapter 16
After their midnight adventure Sirius and Remus finally got into the common room. They didn't get caught, thankfully, so they took a moment to savor the peacefulness of the night. Sirius walk to a window to admire the cloudless night.
"Look Remus! There's Cor Caroli, it's still visible!" He pointed up at the stars.
"I'm sorry Sirius, what are you talking about?"
"I don't know how to translate it..." Sirius thought really hard, squinting his eyes for just a second and slapping his forehead with his palm. Remus though it was the most adorable thing ever. "I think you could call them The Chasing Dogs? I don't know what's the name for this is in English, I've never learned it, sorry."
"You don't have to apologize for that. I can't see anything this far anyways. I don't have my glasses on me..."
"Oh- sorry didn't realize.."
Remus placed his hand on Sirius's shoulder gently. Still remembering his injuries. "It's okay, mate. So tell me, where are you in the sky, huh?"
"Me?" Sirius paused "Well, Sirius is... not visible right now, it's you can only see it during winter, part of Canis Maior -The Big Dog?" The way Sirius raised his voice at the end of the question, to exaggerate his uncertainty.
Fuck. He's so adorable.
"Make sure to show me your star in December, then, alright?" Remus looked at Sirius and squeezed him a little. "And now go to sleep, will ya?"
"Only if you come with me." Sirius winked at him.
"You are horrible, Sirius." Remus chuckled and rolled his eyes. He was met with Sirius's quiet chuckle as they walked up the stairs. They cast Silencio around Sirius's bed, to avoid waking their friends, but they try to remain silent.
"There, pick your fighter, Remus." Sirius opened his bedside table. Revealing a few apples and pieces of bred. "I don't have anything else. Sorry."
"Sirius, stop apologizing, I-i beg you." He bit into the apple enjoying it's taste and the way it calmed his hunger, "M-hm I hope there is bacon for breakfast."
Sirius couldn't help but to giggle a little at Remus's satisfied face.
Why am I gigging so much?
His eyes were tired. But he still couldn't help but to look at Remus. "Remus, don't worry." Sirius yawned as he laid his head on his pillow. "On friday. I will be there with you, don't worry. I won't leave you alone-"
"Sirius, don't say it like that-" he tried to protest to Sirius's statement however his friend started to snore so there wouldn't be point. "You are a different breed Black." Remus shook his head and put a blanket over him. He watched him for a bit, wondering what is he dreaming about tonight. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't pleasant. His friend looked sad and angry when he slept, maybe he remembered something unpleasant...
The rest of the week flew by faster than the boys would have liked. James and Pete worked at the amplifier every free minute they got. It turned out Remus was right and Lily's help was essential to their plan. After she fix a mistake James and Pete were trying to puzzle out for more than three hours it was clear she was a part of it. James's promise, in which he vowed not to play any over the top gestures, remained sort of unbroken. To Remus and Pete's amusement it seemed as though he couldn't help himself. Remus helped them whenever he could, but the pain of upcoming transformation was becoming more and more unbearable and he couldn't focus because of his head, that felt like it will burst out at any second.
"Lily. please take James away from me. He's so stupid it feels like it's becoming infectious." Remus stood up. "I'm going to check on Sirius and his life on the edge."
"I CAN HEAR YOU AND YOU ARE NOT FUNNY REMUS, DON'T COME HERE!" Sirius shouted from the other side of their room, where he was finishing the last two pages of his Charms homework. "I AM NEARLY DONE I SWEAR!"
"NO YOU ARE NOT." Remus shouted back "YOU SAID THAT TWO HOURS AGO AND THEN YOU SPEND AN HOUR TALKING TO MARLENE!"
"Don't shout Remus, some of us are trying to study." Sirius smirked at Remus, who clenched his fist in frustration.
"He's an idiot." Complained Remus as he sat back down next to Lily.
"Are you jealous, Remus?" teased him Pete.
"Don't start, Wormtail!" spat back Remus.
Finally, it was Friday morning and the boys woke up extraordinaly early to make their prank happen. The boys it was meant only Sirius and James. They let Remus sleep and Pete just wouldn't wake up no matter what they tried. So it was left to the two of them to execute the plan.
"Looks like it's just the two of us now, Prongs! The best of the best!"
"You bet, Padfoot!" They grabbed the map and started to carefully make their way into the kitchen.
James suddenly stopped and turned to Sirius. "Wait a minute, Padfoot. Are you sure you're up for this? You seem kind of out of it lately."
Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm fine, Prongs. Let's just get this over with."
James eyed him suspiciously, but didn't push the issue. They continued down to the kitchen, where they carefully set up their prank. As they reached the kitchen, they could see that the house-elves were already bustling around, preparing breakfast for the students. James and Sirius made their way towards the stove, trying to remain as quiet as possible.
"Okay, Padfoot, you do the honors," James whispered, handing him a small jar.
Sirius grinned mischievously and carefully opened the jar, releasing a swarm of small, flying pixies. The pixies immediately started wreaking havoc in the kitchen, throwing utensils, spilling ingredients, and generally causing chaos.
The house-elves were immediately on high alert, trying to catch the pixies and restore order. James and Sirius quietly slipped in the kitchen, they found the pot with pumpkin juice straight away. It was standing there, unguarded, just asking to be pranked. They easily slipped their potion into it. Feeling incredibly pleased with themselves they left the kitchen. It felt almost too easy
"That was brilliant, Padfoot!" James exclaimed, as they made their way back to their dormitory.
Sirius laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty good. But we couldn't have done it without Lily's help. He came up with the idea of using the pixies."
James nodded, a grin still plastered on his face. "Yeah, Lily's always been good with that kind of stuff, she's kinda amazing, isn't she? But it's still nice to have a successful prank without any mishaps for once. I hope."
"I hope as well, Jamie."
”Jamie?” Chuckled James.
”Whatever, dude.” Sirius saved his hand in James’s face.
“No, I think its’s actually quite nice.” James nodded getting lost in thought. “Sirius, can I ask you something?”
”Go ahead I guess.” Sirius answered.
”What’s your brother like? Like really like?”
Sirius looked at him confused. ”Reggie? Why do you want to know about Reggie all of a sudden?”
“Why not?” Questions James his friend back. “Just tell me.”
”Alright. Fine.” Sirius paused. “I guess he grew up a bit faster than I would have liked him to. I tried to protect him against your mother and her insane ideologies and punishments. But I failed. I couldn’t do it. And during the Summer I left the house and left him alone. He has big mouth now. He says pretty much anything to anyone, excluding mother. He is really smart and always tries hard to help me with anything and everything he can. And surprisingly, a bit of Rosier is rubbing off on him, you should have seen him act at the infimary. He is more than capable with manipulation. I guess he got that from Rosier and father. I DON’T MEAN IT IN A BAD WAY!” Sirius quickly added. “I don’t think he would ever do it to people he cares about… at least not in that way. I hope…”
”Act in the infirmary? Why?” Asked James, confused.
”Fuck, I forgot I didn’t tell you the truth about the imfirmary, did I?”
”No, you haven’t! We bearly talked during the week!” James punched him, making his wounds hurt a little more than Sirius would like. The friends felt a little guilty for not spending time with each other.
”Well…. I didn’t just trip and fall or get Hexed, James. I’ve been cursed… Long story short. I got Crucioed and it still hurts like a motherfucker and I think I’ve gone insane.”
Sirius spoke so casually it took James a good minute before he realized what had Sirius just confessed. “WAIT! Sirius But that’s illegal! We have to report her! The ministry will take action!”
Sirius shook his head. “That us not how it works James.” He paused. “But I appriciate the gesture.”
“I mean—“James wanted to say something, he wanted to fight for Sirius, but his friend’s face told him all that mattered. He shouldn’t push this issue any further. “I would at least give you a hug, but…” James sighed.
”Not a good idea James, everything still hurts like a mother-fucker.” A small smile appeared on Sirius face. “Maybe later. We could also play some Quidditch after the weekend.”
”Well! You know I can’t say no to that!” James chuckled.
”Oh- I just remembered!” Sirius started. “How is your Animagus form coming up?”
James sighed, dissappointed in himself. “Between playing Quidditch and eating, Pete and I practiced everyday. But still nothing. I don’t understand how you got the hang of it in a year!”
”It’s okey, you’ll get the hang of it soon enough.” He gave him a friendly pat on the back. “So tonight it’s just me and Moony, huh?”
”Are you sure it’s a good idea, Padfoot?” James was worried for his friend,
”Anything for our Moony, right?” Smiled Sirius with a saddened expression.
”I guess you are right.” James took a deep breath.” Anything for our Moony.” He nodded.