There was no hiding the fact that Evan was searching the castle for Sirius, just like there was no hiding the fact that the Marauders were no more. Best of all, it was his wretched second cousin who was on the outs. 

The whole school knew the famed foursome had a falling out. From what Evan knew about Sirius (quite a bit, thanks), James (considerably less), and Lupin (meh), he hazarded to guess that it was Sirius who fucked up. At the very least, he was the one the others seemed to be most angry with.

The following was what Evan had gleaned from sharing a dorm with Severus: Sev was involved, somehow, was visibly upset, and was more tight-lipped about it than a muggle’s marble statue. 

The truth of what happened was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, but it was a riddle Evan could use. He would take this mysteriously gift-wrapped box of riddles and use it to beat Sirius with. Metaphorically, of course. Evan would never sink so low as to strike another wizard with a present. 

Stepping outside, Evan turned a corner, deviating from the path, and found who he was looking for. Of course, it wasn’t entirely a happy accident. Evan had asked around, put some feelers out, and well, ask and ye shall receive. He smiled terribly. People like Sirius and he did not smile as a show of harmlessness. They bared their teeth. 

“So what happened?” he asked, sauntering, no, gliding, toward Sirius. He came to a stop directly in front of his former best friend. Suddenly, his whole demeanour changed. Voice quiet and tender, he said, “If you ever need someone to talk to, don’t come to me; I know firsthand how it feels to lose a best mate. Betrayal hurts. But you’re really good at that, aren’t you?” Evan gave Sirius a reassuring smile (no teeth) and pat him gently on the shoulder. 

Evan took a step to his left, Sirius’s right. Then another. It was a steady pace, step, step, in time with his own heartbeat. “Let me guess: you did something that made your friends realise you’re a Black through and through.” 

“Want to know how I know it’s you who fucked up?” Evan took a step closer to Sirius. In a harsh stage whisper, he said, “Because you’re the only one with a history of turning on friends.” He straightened up and returned his tone to normal. “Potter and Lupin and Pettigrew are steadfast. But you?” Evan simultaneously chuckled softly, shook his head, and bit his lip. “No such luck.”

“So what happened?” he asked casually, lighting a cigarette. “You can tell me; after all, I’m the only person in your life who has never run as fast as they can away from you after seeing what’s truly in your soul.” Evan’s lips twitched upward as he stifled laugh. “Well, your mummy doesn’t run, does she?”

Vivienne felt her entire body on edge.  It occurred to her, not for the first time, that everything had changed.  Somebody knew the one thing she’d worked so hard to keep hidden for years. Someone normal.  Someone who could use it against her.  They’d been silent for the most part as they made their way to dinner, and Vivienne was both thankful for the respite as much as she hated letting her thoughts spin out of control.

She glanced over at Sirius as they walked, hoping that she might be able to figure out what’s going inside his head simply by looking.  Nothing about this day had gone according to plan, and she had a feeling it was just going to get stranger from here.

She stopped when Sirius did, staring at the door in front of them for a second, trying to calm her nerves.  “This is it?”