Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all the things. I just write this stuff.
Part of the Emotions Challenge (emotion: heartbroken), Year Long Scavenger Hunt (A45 – [dialogue] "What time is it?" "Three." "In the morning?") and Lexi's Story Baking Challenge (must include Sirius and Sybill and the quote "My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today.") on HPFC.
Seer and the Seer
"You're not the only one that needs to get out, Seer," James had said, pleading with his best friend to let him come with to Hogsmeade through the secret passage, but it really wasn't up to Sirius. Remus had taken over control of the Marauder's homework schedule, and brought it upon himself to ensure they were getting good grades. James, however, had neglected his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay for a good long while, and Remus was making him stay this time.
Sirius was vexed, because he had been hoping that he and James could sneak into The Hog's Head kitchen and nick some liquor bottles, but no—Professor What's-His-Name had to stick them with an essay, the subject of which James despised: dark witches and wizards. Sirius had finished it in a heartbeat, because he had known Mary Macdonald was going to be in the Common Room at six and he had needed a good snog. Lust can make a man do the unthinkable, even write two rolls of parchment on Merwyn the Malicious and his famously hooked wand. Sirius was not going to think of that as a euphemism.
"Please, Remus," said James. "I'll do it tomorrow morning."
"My advice is," Remus said slowly, "never do tomorrow what you can do today. And if that doesn't convince you, I'll make sure you sleep in in the morning."
Sirius sighed heavily and walked out of the Common Room while the two friends bickered amongst themselves. When he got to the passage, he said the magic words and slipped inside. His wand tip lit the way as he made the journey under Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. When he had gotten to The Three Broomsticks, he noticed a woman sitting outside the door, but he couldn't see her face. She had a thick jumble of hair atop her head that cascaded down into her face. She was shivering.
"Oy," he said, trying to get her attention, "you alright?"
She lifted her head and he recognized her immediately. Sybill Trelawney. She had been a few years his junior at Hogwarts. What she was doing outside The Three Broomsticks was anyone's guess. She sniffed as she looked up at him.
"M-me? I'm fine," Sybill said, shivering all the more. "The s-s-snow should be clearing up any m-moment. It's really you as s-should be concerned."
Sirius gazed at her, raising an eyebrow. "How do you figure?"
"T-time is always the enemy of t-those without much of it."
"Why aren't you going inside? It's freezing out here."
Sybill shook her head quickly. "The s-snow will be gone, soon."
Sirius shook his head, too, but for a different reason entirely. He left her there, because there was nothing he could do to help her.
He remembered her from when they had been at school together. She was a strange one, a little too eccentric and way too bushy-haired for Sirius' tastes. He ordered a Butterbeer and sat down in a booth. When he was just about to take a sip of the warm liquid in his goblet, he heard Madam Rosmerta at the counter say, "Sybill, dear, won't you sit down?"
The words she mumbled Sirius couldn't hear, but he heard Rosmerta say, "You most certainly are not a failure."
He heard soft sobbing coming from the front of the bar. Sirius sighed, chugged his glass of Butterbeer and moved to get up out of his seat. He walked over toward Sybill and Rosmerta. Sybill jumped a little when she realized he was standing next to her.
"So you aren't alright, then," said Sirius casually, hopping up on one of the barstools. "Why is it that when a man asks that question, you're fine, but when a woman doesn't even ask, you tell her the truth?"
Rosmerta tutted and put a hand on Sirius' arm. "You leave Sybill alone, you firebrand."
A customer called her name and she went off to help them, leaving Sirius and Sybill alone together. Sirius smiled pleasantly, but Sybill looked away, her cheeks streaked with tearstains.
"What are you supposedly a failure at?"
Sybill sniffed and ran her hand over her hair. It didn't help much. "My great-great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney. She was the greatest seer that ever lived, so they say."
Sirius nodded his head, well aware of her affiliation.
"I'm not like her at all, but everyone expects me to be. I dabble in divination, but I know there's no rule that says a seer's offspring must be seers as well."
"So you're not a seer," Sirius said unconcernedly, "big deal."
Sybill threw back her head and wailed. Sirius tried to shush her so that she stopped wailing, but he couldn't stop her tears from falling.
"What I meant to say was, not all those who dabble in divination need to be a genuine seer. Why do you think they teach it at Hogwarts? You think every one of those students will someday rival your great-great-grandmother? I really doubt it."
Sybill sniffed again. Sirius produced a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She wiped her tearstained cheeks and then blew her nose into it. She tried to offer it back to him, but he quickly said, "No, you keep it."
They sat at the bar for awhile drinking glass after glass of Butterbeer and laughing about parental expectations and how far from perfect they were. He spotted Rosmerta grinning at them once when he had looked her way. That's when Sirius thought that it was time to leave. He said his goodbyes and made his way back to the passage.
When he got up to the Gryffindor Common Room, he was surprised that no one was there. He took the stairs to the boy's dormitories and when he opened his room's door, James, Remus and Peter were talking in hushed voices at the window.
"Padfoot!" said James quietly, rushing to his friend's side. "Where the hell have you been?"
"What time is it?" asked Sirius, confused.
"Three," said Remus.
"In the morning?"
"No, we're having a lunar eclipse—yes, of course, in the morning. Where were you all this time?"
Sirius thought back. It hadn't seemed like five hours. But he wasn't about to tell his friends he had spent all that time with Sybill Trelawney. They would take the mickey out of his so fast he'd have whiplash.
"I went running in the Forbidden Forest," he said shamefacedly. He heard three small gasps.
"Without us? Your best friends?" asked James.
"You had an essay, Remus was watching you to make sure you did your essay, and Pete—well, Wormtail can't keep up with me anyhow."
They all started whisper-arguing over his betrayal and how disappointed they were in him, but he wasn't really listening. He was thinking about Sybill. They had talked about how much of a disappointment they both were to their respective parents, and Sirius had said, "Don't let their expectations rule you. Don't break your own heart because you feel like you can't measure up."
And then she said something unbelievable.
"You measure up, Sirius Black."
She was a sweet girl, Sybill, but she didn't know a thing about him.