Sirius Black

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Remus reassured Sirius stretching his arms first and then his back. “It was a tight hug, but, yeah, I’m fine,” he confirmed, the sensitivity slowing coming back to his limbs. “I can walk. I don’t need you to carry or, worse, levitate me. Let’s go. I wouldn’t mind a snack and a cup of tea. You in?”

“Oh, sod off, I’ve gotten better at moving people with levitation spells,” Sirius replied, huffing out a laugh. “I wouldn’t say no to tea and biscuits, and I think Peter is already there.. so we better hurry.” Throwing his arm around Remus' shoulders to nudge him in the direction of the Castle.

Normally, legalities wouldn’t faze Marlene, but when her limbs and well being were at stake? “I think our adventure stops here,” she cooed, grabbing hold of Sirius’ cheek and pinching hard.

The old pinching cheek move. “Ouch.” Sirius didn’t mean to but he pouted, knowing when something had gone in the wrong direction. “Is my lack of an Apparition license the only obstacle? Because in a few months, I’m going to get it.. and then, the world is our oyster.”

“Of all the things I could be a muse for…” Mary replied with a heavy sigh and a tired smile, having given up attempting to talk Sirius out of his plan, “Please at least make it easy to clean up. And don’t get caught. It’s too early in the year for you to land yourself in detention already.”

Lips pursing slightly, Mary tried her best to keep her thoughts away from certain events from the previous school year, but it was nearly impossible. Avoidance only worked for so long. “Yeah, you’re right. Most people aren’t singling people out like that, ” she finally agreed in a quieter voice than before, one hand reaching behind her neck to awkwardly run her fingers through her hairline. She still wasn’t quite used to her shorter curls. It was just another reminder of how many things had changed for her.

Sirius’ smile was bright, a bit cheeky, but it was clear that for him that was meant as a high compliment. “Tsk,” he scoffed, almost looking offended. “Of course I won’t be caught.” His confidence bordering on cockiness. 

“Exactly.”

“You look too smug for someone that has an incompetent beater on their beater.” Sirius narrowed his eyes, a suspicious look about him. 

“Kinda disappointing. You should know by now: always bring a camera,” Remus commented, clicking his tongue in a playful display of disapproval. 

He smiled and was about to say something else when Sirius went for his wand. He held his breath while his friend took care of the unfriendly hugging plant. The moment he was completely free, he quickly stepped away, letting out a loud sigh. “Thanks, mate.”

Marlene knew better than to go off to Merlin knew where with a strange man. But seeing as Sirius was only strange and barely a boy, much less a full grown wizard, she saw no harm in accompanying—mainly amusement.

“Depends on how clean of an apparator you are,” Marlene replied dryly. “If you even can. How old are you again? Twelve?”

Mary ran a hand over her face, her smile fond but almost tired. She’d known Sirius long enough to understand that it was nearly impossible to change his mind once he’d set it on something. She just wished she hadn’t helped him with the planning. “I didn’t mean to give you an idea,” she said, shaking her head, “No one wants rotten mushrooms in the Great Hall.” No one except Sirius, it would seem.

“The Philosopher’s Stone?” Mary repeated, “That’s certainly ambitious.” She shrugged at his question, hugging her Charms textbook to her chest. “I like Charms because it seems like the most useful, you know? Those spells are things we’re actually going to use in our day-to-day life. I guess DADA would be probably my second favorite. It’s important to know how to defend yourself, of course, but someone like me isn’t going to need dueling spells all that often.” Being more skilled at defensive magic might have helped her in her previous year at Hogwarts, but Mary chose to push that thought from her head. Now wasn’t the time. She didn’t need to go down that road.

“That only shows who flawless of a muse you are,” the words rolling easily off his tongue, with a little note of teasing and a smile that was a mixture of mischief and fondness. “That’s exactly the point, and I’ll make sure to keep it contained to the Ravenclaw’s table.” His shoulders straightening with self-confidence that bordered on cockiness. He had no doubt he could managed the prank without incidents.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Mary, whose eyes had closed for a moment as they caught their breath, lifted her head again when she felt Sirius rise next to her. She grabbed his hand and bounced to her feet, excited by the prospect of ice cream. “Ready. I can’t wait to see all the flavours I can choose from.”

“You really seem to have it out for the Ravenclaws this year,” Mary observed with a shake of her head, “But who knows? Maybe they like mushrooms.” Her eyebrows raised, looking over at Sirius as they walked, intrigued. “I didn’t realize you were interested in Transfiguration theory, Sirius. What else are you hiding up there?” she asked, teasing as she poked Sirius on the side of the head.

“I try to change it around. This is the year of the eagle. Next can be the snakes, again. This way we don’t get too bored,” Sirius replied, as if this was an actual plan that had been written down somewhere. Color-coded, too. “You are right, so I better learn how to make the mushroom being rotten. No plates plus stench. That’s a marvellous idea.” One could almost see his thoughts going into motion, taking this seriously enough to actually go through searching for the right spell for it. 

Mary laughed—quieter this time—before lying back down against the sand, her eyes blinking in the sun. “Take as long as you need,” she replied, before turning her head to grin over at Sirius.

“Good,” Sirius mumbled, lying down on the sand enjoying the sun on his wet skin. He stayed quiet, comfortably so, for all the five minutes he had asked for. Then, almost on the clock, he rose up, all of a sudden, “okay, we can go.” Standing, with only a wobble from the sand shifting underneath his feet, he offered a hand to Mary. “Ready for ice cream.”

“Of course we will. Tryouts were last week, and if I do say so myself, I picked us a winning team.”

“I don’t know. The beater---what’s their name---didn’t look so good,” Sirius said, keeping his serious façade up, only to see if he could get James to get heated about Quidditch. “Didn’t almost knocked one of you?”

Bertram rolled his eyes. He refused to waste his time conversing with simpletons. “Try not to strain yourself with all that thinking. I know it’s quite challenging for you.”

With that, Bertram exited the compartment. After all, he ought to prepare for the upcoming prefects’ meeting. 

Sirius’ smirk widened at seeing Bertram rolling his eyes. Waiting for his retort, he was about to quip back when Bertram left. He huffed, a bit annoyed that he didn’t get to keep verbally-sparring, but then he figured this time it was a draw between the two of them. Bertram got his last words, and Sirius got to keep the seat. Or that how he decided to see it, whistling contently on his spot.