𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 / 

inspired by   …   the likes of  patrick verona  ( ten things i hate about you ) ,   wei ying   ( mo dao zu shi ) ,   kenickie  ( grease ) ,   ’  school’s not important.   if you wanna be a dog,  roof - y'know ?  ’   ( vine ) .

location .    a  thrift  shop  in  wixen  london tagged .   @samueldavics​​​

sirius  brings  a  hand  through   the  rows  of  records      on  display  in  a  single  corner  of  the  shop ,   trying  to  flicker  through  signs  of  magical  anomalies .    mary’s   record  player   very  much  could   not   play  anything  that  needed  magic  to  function ,   however  the  hell  that  works .    still ,   sirius  certainly  isn’t  about  to  risk  embarrassment  heading  into  a  real  and  true  muggle  record  shop  to  find  something  on  his   own .    there  are  the  occasional  muggle  findings  in  shops  like   these  ,   though .    he  picks  up   a  particularly  plain  slab  with  an  artistic  looking  painting  at  the  front   —   and  nothing  but  runes  he  fails  to  recognise  explaining  anything .      “   would  you  reckon  this  is  a  muggle  record  ?   ”       sirius  flips  the  disk  around  in  his  hand ,   nudging  the  customer  at  his  back .   “   they  usually  make  more  of  a  show  naming  themselves ,   don’t  they ?  ”

          looking  at  sirius  ,  a  familiar  taste  rises  in  the  back  of  alecto’s  throat  .  it  is  unmistakably  competitive  ,  akin  to  the  way  she  feels  around  amycus  in  the  presence  of  their  parents  .  the  knowledge  that  sirius  has  a  brother  of  his  own  clues  alecto  in  to  the  reality  that  he  is  likely  goading  her  into  argument  with  practiced  proficiency  ,  and  yet  she  cannot  resist  rising  to  it  ,  as  if  she  were  enchanted  to  fly  .  “  well  ,  i  think  you’re  shit  at  it  —  ”   she  bites  ,  rather  lamely  ,  but  babbles  spill  past  her  lips  directly  afterwards  ,  cushioning  the  redundancy  of  her  quip  with  their  deluge  ,  “  if  you  speak  to  a  person  in  a  language  they  understand  ,  it  goes  to  their  head  .  if  you  speak  to  them  in  their  language  ,  it  goes  to  their  heart  ,  ”  foul  ,  she  thinks  ,  caught  in  the  whirlwind  of  speech  ,  “  but  at  present  ,  the  world  has  to  many  mouths  that  talk  and  too  few  minds  that  think  .  ”  it  is  horribly  ironic  ,  alecto  knows  ,  and  as  the  recognizable  ,  unstoppable  ,  unbearable  urge  to  fill  the  space  around  them  with  words  subsides  ,  she  clenches  her  fists  tight  ,  nails  digging  into  flesh  .

“   maybe  i’m   not   trying  to   give  you   a     decent   conversation ,   carrow .  ”     sirius  doesn’t  have  to  wait  very  long  for  his  wish  to  be  granted ,   however   —   and  soon  alecto  gives  him  something  new  to  work  off  of .   “   see ,   you  get  it  !   partially ,  ”     he  exclaims .    sirius  sets  about  bringing  his  hands  out  to  motion  off  in  his  own  ramblings .    “   there’s  a  game  in  balancing  who  and  when  you  speak  to  with  regards  to  their  thoughts  and  feelings ,   but  i  feel  like  you’re  disposing  your  own  words  too  quick .  ”      there’s  probably  more  to  be  said  about  the  way  alecto  actually  carries  a  conversation .   the  seeming  need  to . . .  what ,   get  the  last  word  in ?    thoughts  for  another  time ,   really .   he  needn’t  dig  into  it .     “   the  world   feels   like  it  has  too  many  speakers  because  you  see  too  many  conversations  hit  nothing  but  surface  level .    you’re   receiving  too  much  directed  to  your  head .  ”   his  eyes  particularly  flicker  down  to  the  hands  he’d  seen  fidgeting  in  clear  annoyance  only  moments  prior .    his  smirk  returns  full - force .    “   tell  me ,   carrow   —   how  do  you  feel  right  now ?  ”

all she does is narrow her eyes and look away, what an arse to keep up the lie when she could see through it. but whatever, she didn’t have the energy to push today. “how did you know that?” it wasn’t a secret but still, she didn’t think he’d be interested in where she worked these days.”

sirius  only  counter’s   marlene’s  question     with  an  incredulous  squint  of  his  own .   he   might  have  been  asking  around  to  confirm ,   but  he  also  isn’t  lying  in  his  statement :     “   because  i’ve  been  to  hogsmeade  ?   i’ve  seen  you  come  around  the  shop  enough  to  put  two  and  two ,   together .   ”      he  snorts ,   shaking  his  head .      “   adds  to  your  credibility  about  being  busy ,   not  noticing ,   i  suppose .  ”

He doesn’t reply this time, instead raising an eyebrow in disbelief and judgement. Yes, Severus didn’t want to be in Sirius thoughts, because that just meant trouble coming his way, and he’d gone through enough of that during their time in Hogwarts. And that’s what bugged him. They weren’t in Hogwarts anymore. The place might have felt like hell for the first half of it, Severus felt safer there than he did home, and he felt safer there than he did these days too. Although confident that he could defend himself if the need should occure, he was not belligerent, not the way he thought Sirius was. Still, that didn’t mean he’d let him belittle and insult him anymore and it felt nice seeing that smirk vanish. 

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what it is you’re doing here.” Taking a look around the room, the Slytherin alumnus approached cluttered shelves, his eyes scanning the labels. Sirius’ boss and Severus’ had this much in common : they really had a thing for hoarding. Some of those boxes didn’t look like they had been touched in a while. Made him wonder if the one in his hands would meet the same fate. “Not that I care, of course,” a lopsided grin on his face, he took a step back at the sight of extended hands. “An empty box, sure, but that’s not an empty box.” He pointed out. Cat like grin still in place, he reached in his front pocket for his wand, compelling a chair to come closer to him. “Might be a while before he arrives.”

talk  as  he  might ,   there  isn’t  a  bone   in  sirius’  body     that  wants  severus  to  stay  there .    sirius  is  very  much  on  a  precipice  when  it  comes  to  total  composure  whenever  they  share  a  space  together .   a  twig  ready  to  snap ,   really .    it’s  hard  to  dispose  of  years  worth  of  hatred .   that  much  is  made  more  evident  by  the  years  he   has   tried  to  dispose  of  it .    sure ,   not  trying  very   hard ,   but  there’s  the  occasional  conscious  attempt .   sirius  would  argue  severus  doesn’t  necessarily  make  it  any   easier   to  drop  the  grudge .    sirius  certainly  feels  like  growth  should  be  a  two - way  street ,   and  he’d  also  ask  for  nearly  double  it  from  severus  in  particular .   without  that ,   he  feels  entirely  justified  to  keep  prodding  as  he  does .   just  not  as . . .   publicly  as  he  might  have ,   once .

“   i   work   here ,  ”    sirius  grits  through  his  teeth .     “   what  impression  did  you  have  on  my  being  around  diagon  alley  so  often  beforehand ?    that  it  became  a  roaming  ground  for   daily  walks ?   ”       he’s  distinctively  seen  severus  around  more  often  than   he  cares  to  count .   sometimes  on  purpose .   most  often  not .    “    it   will   be  a  while ,   severus .   and  i  don’t  need  you  discomforting  customers .   just  drop  the  box   there   if  you’re  so   insistent ,   ”    sirius  moves  back  behind  the  counter ,   arms  coming  over  his  chest  after  vaguely  motioning  to  the  door .   he  frowns  at  the  chair  snape’s  pulled  up  as  if  it’s  personally  wronged  him ,   but  bites  down  on  pushing  any  further  comments  in .

“Cause you’ve been asking around? Galloping gargoyles, I’d suggest you find yourself a new obsession,” then came the realization that he could do so much worse than insulting the Black boy. He could stay. “Have you lost your mind again?” Holding the box closer to his chest, Severus took another step inside, his shoulders relaxing. All alone, this idiot couldn’t possibly be much of a threat, right? “I’ll wait for him to come back. I’m not sure Mr. Borgin would appreciate it very much if such a valuable item ended up in the wrong hands.” Besides, he needed to get paid for it. “I’m sure even you can understand that.”

“    don’t  like  keeping  in  my  thoughts ?   ”     sirius  drawls ,     coming  forward  up  against  the  desk  they  keep  for  business .    his  mocking  expression  vanishes  at  snape’s  words ,    a  frown  marring  his  humour .    “   the   wrong   hands ?    do  you  think  i’m  here  to  get  my   rings  fitted  ?   ”    sirius  leans  over  the  wood  below  him  with  his  arms  extended .    an  invite   for  the  delivery ,  really .    like  hell  he  was  going  to . . .  what ,   humour   snape  for  some  half - hour ?   merlin .    “   don’t  be  a  dolt .   i  can  handle  a  box .  ”

open for anyone.

tag   :@unforgivableboost​

❝      ——   it   is   rather   a   curious   question   though   ,      don’t   you   think   ?      so   give   me   your   answer   :      why   is   a   raven   like   a   writing   desk   ?      ❞

“   they’re  both  stabbed  with  quills ?   often  found  alone  ?   aren’t  you  meant  to  be  out  of  hogwarts  for  good  now   —   why  are  you  asking  me  this ?  ” 

For @sirisblk​ 

You’ve got to be kidding me. The words don’t make it out of his mouth, but judging by the look on his face, Severus was not entirely pleased to be running with his former tormentor. “Is your boss here? I have a package for him,” and he’d rather not let it fall in such turbulent hands. Even if that would have been a good riddance, him blowing up with the store, Severus would have rather remained professional here. One of them had to be the bigger person, after all.

there’s  always  a   lull   in   the  shop  when  sirius     is  left  alone .   now  commonly  due  to  the   newly  established   rule  that  he  can’t  meld  anything  unsupervised .   seemed  a  bit  useless .    it  was    one   incident .   still ,   it  makes  that  his  head  pops  up  eagerly  at  the  sound  of  any  visitors .    it  falters  only   slightly   when  he  recognises   this   form  in  question .    “   you’ve  got  a  package ,   sniv ?    first  i’m  hearing  of  it .   ”     had  he   promised   to  be  more  cordial  once  ?   maybe ,    but  by  all  accounts ;    no  one  was  around  to  chide  him .     “    just  give  it  here .   he’s  out .   ”

his words sounded like somewhat of a challenge to the fiery-haired girl, her eyebrow raising as she smirked at him.  ❝ now that, that sounds like you want me to bite you harder.. tell me i’m mistaken.  ❞ she mumbled, copying his actions and moving her face closer to his.  ❝ why don’t you show me how hard you can bite, this time?   ❞ she teased, purposely brushing her lips against his before pulling away.

he  flickers  his  gaze   down  on  instinct ,    eyes  on  the  area  of  jeannie’s  lips  he’d  imagine  the  exact  picture  she’s  painting .    he  doesn’t  make  to  break  the  space  between  them   (   the  very  space  he’s  told  himself  he’d  keep ,   if  only  moments  ago  )  ,    but  he  doesn’t   stop  her  from  coming  any  closer .   feels  jeapordised   by  the  act  of  her  pulling   back .    “   bend  so  quick ,   macdonald ?  ”     he  asks ,   lip  quirking  up  at  the  tease .     this  time  he  does  initiate ,   hand  coming  under  her  cheek  to  pull  them  both  in .    “   and  just  how  hard  do  you  think  that’ll  be ?  ”

𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘: closed starter for @sirisblk​ 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: flourish && blotts, diagon alley, london

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ - she’s letting her fingers run along the spines of several books - eleanor has always loved reading, ever since she was little. she finds the specific book she had been looking for, scanning the letters on the spine before ATTEMPTING to reach it. the problem was that it was too high up, and she only stood at 158 cm. what to do ?

that’s when she notices a man (much taller than herself) looking for books, too. she was always surprised when she saw people (other than students) inside FLOURISH && BLOTTS . rather shyly, she taps the man on the shoulder before asking for help. 

“ u - um, hi ! could you help me reach something? i’m sorry if this is a bother - you don’t have to help ! ”

one  thing  sirius  certainly  failed   to  account  for     coming  out  of  school  was  the  lack  of  a  library  resource .   mary  would  have  his  head  if  he  tried  to  stock  their  loft  with  any  more    "  junk  "   than  he  already  accounts  for   (   yes ,   he  will  prioritise  parts  over  books .   he's  well  aware  the  pages  are  opening  maybe   once   in  their  lifetime  ) .    so  he  developed  a  bit  of  a  strategy :   come  to  flourish  and  blotts ,    browse  it   like   a  library ,   and  leave .    right  now ,    he  simply  needs  a  confirmation  on  an  autobiographical  point  he'd  made  the  other  day .    he  wasn't  finding  much  on  it  at  all ,   however . 

a  voice  takes  him  out  of  his  ministrations ,   and  he  looks  up  at  the  shelves  with  a  small  laugh ,   shutting  the  book  he'd  been  skimming  in  the  process .     “    which  one  are  we  reaching  for  ?   ”

❝      good   weather   ?      how   did   ye   spend   seven   years   up   in   the   highlands   and   still   think   there’s   a   chance   a   that      ❞         and   another   real   laugh   sprung   forth   at   that   ,      it   was   an   exaggeration   to   be   sure   but   not   by   much   .         ❝      aye   naw   but   ,      school   wraps   like   the   middle   a   june   no   the   end   fae   real   schools   .      mind   english   schools   dinnae   wrap   up   till   the   end   a   july   .      we   really   got   the   best   a   both   holidays   wise   .      no   october   week   mind   ,      a   bloody   miss   october   week      ❞         a   smile   then   that   let   on   that   they   really   did   not   assume   sirius   to   be   getting   a   single   word   of   what   they’d   just   spoken   .         ❝      absolutely   awful   without   exception   ❞

“    because  i  spent  my  time  there   in  the   bad     weather  months ,   love .   keep  up .   ”    he  grins ,   nudging  mary’s  side .    he  looks  at  them  attentively   enough   as  they  explain  on .   once  again  it’s  almost   amazing   to  sirius  that  mary  has  her  opinion  on  just  about  everything  he  could  prod  about .   thus ,   of  course ,   he’ll  continue  to  prod ,   regardless  for  how  much  he  actually  thinks  it  matters  himself .    “   yes ,   yes .   sounds  just   dreadful .   absolutely ,   ”     sirius  gives  a  nod  and  pauses  for  the  effect  of  it  all  of  three  seconds  before  going  back :    “   so  what  i  got  from  that  is  muggles  —    especially  scottish  ones ,   mind   —    complicated  some   other   part  of  their  schooling  yet  again ?   ”

she huffs in annoyance, but turns around only to cross her arms over her chest, both defiant and protective in study. “by lying?” she can’t let that go. “i haven’t been avoiding you, sirius. life just got in the way, again.” and maybe they’d said things to one another that shouldn’t have been said in anger, but they were who they were. 

“   who’s  lying  ?  ”    sirius  counters .   but  he  drops     the  aggression  with  an  equal   huff   at  marlene’s  response .    “   right.  ”    that  doesn’t  comfort  him  much.    he’d  certainly  been  avoiding  her .    “   you’re  at  dogweed  now ,   aren’t  you ?   ”    he  asks ,   arms  coming  around  to  cross  in  front  of  his  chest .

❝ oh, you definitely underestimate just how hard i can go - my bite can definitely be worse than my bark.  ❞ she all but challenged him before smirking.  ❝ though, you know just how hard i can bite.   ❞

sirius  pauses  a  moment  before   his  eyes  merely    narrow  down  jeanie’s  way .   he  leans  forward ,   head  inclined  in  question .    “   now ,   you’re  telling  me  that’s  the  best  you  bite ?   ”

⋆ 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 ⋆ | @sirisblk​

❝ i don’t believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape.  ❞

“   ah ,  duck  tape .   i  remember  that  one  !       the  sticky  paper  muggles  use  to  bring things  together  because  they  don’t  have  welding  charms ,   isn’t  it  ?  ”

⋆ 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 ⋆ | @sirisblk​

❝  i’m a curious bitch, you know that, and i can be a good fucking detective if i have to. ​ ❞

“   no  need  to  bring  out   the  detective  work   —   i  already  said  i’ll  hand  you  the  gift  when  it’s  done .  ”

          alecto’s  eyes  roll  ,  and  with  the  sheer  size  of  them  it’s  not  likely  to  go  unnoticed  .  she  keeps  her  lips  clamped  shut  ,  lest  any  more  unnecessary  words  bubble  up  without  her  consent  .  “  do  you  fancy  yourself  the  messiah  of  conversation  ,  sirius  black  ?  ”  she  questions  simply  ,  voiced  hushed  but  coated  with  a  venom  that  can  only  be  attributed  to  jealousy  .  in  her  younger  years  ,  alecto  had  longed  for  popularity  —  to  be  liked  .  now  that  the  babbling  curse’s  remnants  made  that  almost  impossible  ,  she  had  settled  ,  albeit  uncomfortably  ,  into  the  role  of  follower  .  jabs  at  her  social  competency  ,  however  ,  still  stung  —  despite  her  advancing  age  .

“   i  fancy  myself  a   decent   conversationalist ,     should  i  want  a  decent  conversation .    one  thing  that  helps  that  is  humouring  the  needy ,  ”     he  prods .    by  all  accounts ,   alecto  was  meeting  him  about  half - way  on  the  very  scale  he’s  setting   —   but  whatever  it  is  that  makes  her  feel  the  need  to  jump  in  and   correct   herself  just  as  sirius  feels  appropriately  indulged  rustles  him  all  over  again .   really ,   she  could’ve  just  left  off  on  that  first  half .    “   another  is   making  do   with  minimal  resource .   if  i’m  barely  given  so  much  as  a   hello ,   i’ll  try  instead  to  lead  to  a  very  specific  topic ,  ”    sirius  makes  to  motion  the  wall  again ,   smirk  raising  over  his  features  once  more .   “   spots   on  a  blank  canvas .  if  you  will .   ”   

⋆ 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 ⋆ | @sirisblk​

❝  how come i’m the one with a resting bitch face but you’re the one with an attitude? ❞

“   a  balance  to  the  world ,    love .    can  you   imagine   if  your  snark  hit  as  hard  as  your   sneer ?  ”