*Disclaimer: These are J.K. Rowling's characters, not mine*
"What do you reckon that's all about?" Sirius's handsome face was drawn into a scowl, and he was glaring at something over his shoulder.
"What's what all about?" James asked, only half listening, as Lily was walking a few feet in front of them and had attracted most of his attention.
"That," Sirius repeated, jerking his head in the direction of a small group of Slytherins huddled outside the doorway of an empty classroom. "What's he doing talking to them?"
Sirius had spat out the final word with such malice that James jerked his focus away from Lily and turned to see what would cause his friend to react with such venom. The cluster of Slytherins included Snape, the sight of whom nearly always filled James with anger, as well as Mulciber and Avery, neither of whom were ever a welcome sight, but it was clear that their presence was not what had Sirius so upset. The fourth Slytherin in the group, standing slightly apart from the other three and looking distinctly shifty and nervous, was Sirius's brother Regulus. James knew that although the two brothers had barely spoken since Sirius ran away from home the previous summer, his friend could not help keeping tabs on his younger brother's movements, although he would deny this vehemently if confronted.
"They're not even in the same year. There's no reason for them to be talking to him, unless…" Sirius broke off, but his meaning was clear. It was common knowledge that Snape, Mulciber, and Avery aspired to become Death Eaters once they left school, and if they were talking with younger students like Regulus, the likely implication was that they were trying to get new recruits to join their cause.
"I don't like the look of it, either," James replied, "but maybe it's not what we think. I mean, your brother wouldn't really go in for all of that, would he?"
"Regulus is impressionable, always has been. I don't think he'd ever actively seek them out to join up, but if they feed him enough of their bullshit and make it seem like it's the only logical choice, I think he'd be easy to manipulate. And he always did like making Mummy and Daddy proud, and I'm sure they'd think he was making the right choice." Sirius frowned, then pulled out his wand and took a step toward the group of Slytherins. "I'm gonna say something."
"Padfoot, wait," James cautioned, grabbing his friend's wrist. "Maybe you should wait and try to talk to Regulus when he's alone. If you confront him now, it'll just turn into a duel."
"And?" Sirius asked, gripping his wand more tightly. "I've never known you to turn down an opportunity to hex Snape and his little friends."
"I have no problem with hexing Snivellus and friends, I'm just saying, I think you'd have better luck getting through to your brother if you talked to him alone. "
"Fine, you go ahead, and I'll handle it, then," Sirius replied impatiently.
"Right, and let you take on four Slytherins alone? Not bloody likely. Come on, let it go for now. We can't be late again this week, or McGonagall will have our heads. Also, we're blocking the hallway." Indeed, the normal flow of corridor traffic had been disrupted by the presence of the two Gryffindor boys, and they had attracted several angry glares from students who had nearly collided with them.
Sirius sighed angrily, but nodded. "All right, let's go," he said, but he could not help glancing back one last time at the group of Slytherins, who had evidently not wanted to be late for class either, as they had dispersed in the opposite direction. Gits, Sirius thought, as he turned and began heading for the Transfiguration classroom.
Despite James's advice to let it go for the time being, Sirius found himself unable to put the encounter behind him. The dark possibilities of his brother's potential Death Eater involvement plagued him through the afternoon lessons, during dinner, and into the evening, leaving him irritable and unable to focus on anything for very long. When he had finally given up on both a Transfiguration essay and an unsuccessful game of chess with Remus and stalked off to bed, he tossed and turned restlessly. When he finally fell asleep, it was a shallow, fitful sleep, full of troubling dreams that he was unable to remember in the morning, but which nevertheless filled him with a vague sense of foreboding. This could not go on, he decided. If he saw Regulus talking to that group of Slytherins again, he would confront them, and if he had to do it alone, so be it.
Two days later, Sirius got his opportunity. He was headed back to the common room after dinner with James, Remus, and Peter, when out of the corner of his eye he spotted his brother trailing Snape down a deserted corridor.
"I forgot something in the Great Hall," he muttered to his friends. "I'll meet you up in the Common Room in a minute." He brushed off their offers to go with him and took off after Regulus and Snape, not wanting to lose track of where they had gone.
Rounding a corner, he stopped short as he saw that Regulus and Snape had stopped next to a suit of armor and had been joined by Avery and Mulciber. He pulled his wand from his pocket and remained out of sight, almost enjoying the pounding of his heart and the excited warmth that flooded his face in the moments before a fight. All his hatred for Snape, his disgust at the bigoted ideas that the Death Eaters stood for, his disbelief and outrage that Regulus could be persuaded to become a part of any of that rubbish, his residual sadness at leaving his brother behind, all of these emotions tumbled around in his mind and morphed together into an all-consuming rage. Unable to remain silent any longer, he stepped into view.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Sirius's voice was low, almost a growl, and his eyes flashed dangerously.
Snape's face betrayed a hint of fear before he managed to mask it with anger, but Avery and Mulciber only glanced at each other and smirked.
"Black, this is none of your concern," Avery said, eyeing Sirius's drawn wand with no trace of fear. If anything, he looked slightly bored, but this only made Sirius angrier.
"I'll decide what is or isn't my concern, Avery. I want to know why the likes of you are talking to my brother." He eyed the three older Slytherins with distaste, but didn't meet Regulus's gaze.
"Regulus, why don't you tell your brother you don't need looking after, so he can run along back to his blood traitor friends," Mulciber said, eying Regulus pointedly.
"He's not my brother," Regulus muttered. He stared determinedly at the ground, and he had spoken so quietly that his words were almost inaudible, but Sirius had understood as clearly as if he had shouted. He felt the weight of those words like a punch to the gut.
"What was that, Black?" Snape asked, and the glee in his voice tempted Sirius to toss his wand aside and use his fists to banish the smirk from that sallow, hook-nosed face. He resisted, however, because despite himself, he wanted to hear what Regulus had to say.
"I said, he's not my fucking brother," Regulus repeated, his voice stronger than before. He met Sirius's eye for the first time in months, and his gaze was cold, devoid of any familial affection.
Mulciber and Snape laughed triumphantly, but Avery remained bored and faintly impatient. "Well, you heard him, Black. You're not wanted here, so bugger off. I don't have time for your little family drama," he said, drawing his wand.
Sirius brandished his wand angrily, and Mulciber and Snape both drew theirs, readying for a fight, but Regulus held up a hand. "Wait, I'll take care of this. You guys go ahead. I'll meet up with you in a minute." He had addressed his comments to the three Slytherins, but his gaze was still fixed on Sirius.
"Have it your way, then," Avery replied, and, with a pointed glance at Snape and Mulciber, who both looked ready to argue, began to head off in the direction of the Slytherin common room. The other two slunk off after him, Snape looking back and appearing reluctant to miss this opportunity to take on Sirius when he was outnumbered and so obviously ready for a fight. He seemed to decide against it, however, and merely leered mockingly at Sirius over his shoulder before he hurried to catch up with his friends.
"What do you want, Sirius?" Regulus asked, once the footsteps of the other three had faded away.
"I want to know what you're doing having cozy little conversations with those gits. You know what they are, Reg. You don't want to get mixed up in all that shit." He tossed the hair out of his face angrily and met his brother's gaze.
"You lost the right to give me advice when you walked out on our family," Regulus shot back. His composure had started to slip, and steely coldness in his eyes had been replaced with anger. "I tried to get you to stay - I fucking begged you, but you left anyway."
"I had to leave, Regulus. I couldn't stay-" Sirius protested, but Regulus cut him off.
"You didn't have to, you wanted to," Regulus corrected, sounding bitter. "You can be so bloody selfish, Sirius. I bet you never even bothered to think about what it was like for me, after you left, what it was like for Mum and Dad-"
"I don't give a fuck about them!" Sirius spat.
"Oh trust me, I know-" Regulus began, but Sirius talked over him.
"But I do still care what happens to you. Don't do this, Reg. Don't throw your life away," he pleaded.
"'Throw my life away'?" Regulus repeated, scoffing. "Merlin, don't be so dramatic."
"I'm not being bloody dramatic," Sirius cut in. "You know what they're about, what they're prepared to do!"
"Yes, I do, and I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices. I told you if you walked out that door we would no longer be brothers, and I stand by what I said. You made your choices, and I've made mine." He turned to leave.
"Don't just walk away from me, like a bloody coward!" Sirius shouted, grabbing Regulus's wrist.
"I have nothing else to say to you," Regulus said coldly. "Let go of me."
Sirius released his hold on his brother, but did not retreat. Instead, he held up his wand menacingly. "Don't walk away from me, Regulus," he repeated.
"What, are you going to hex me?" Regulus retorted.
"Yeah, unless you're too afraid to face me without your Death Eater friends to protect you," Sirius taunted.
Regulus made no response except to draw his own wand. The two brothers stood glaring at each other for a moment, before they both shouted spells at the same time. Sirius blocked Regulus's attack easily, and Regulus ducked Sirius's spell, which instead hit the suit of armor behind him with a loud clatter. They tried again, and this time Sirius's spell hit Regulus squarely in the chest, knocking him off his feet. Regulus's aim was not as accurate, so his spell merely grazed Sirius, creating a small cut on his cheek.
"Is that all you've got?" Sirius shouted, and Regulus was about to respond when they were interrupted.
"What's going on here?" Lily Evans had just rounded the corner and stopped, staring between Sirius and Regulus in confusion and disapproval. She took in Regulus's position on the floor, Sirius's cut face, and the almost palpable rage vibrating between the two brothers, and hastily realized what must have happened.
"Get out of here, Evans," Sirius said warningly. "This is none of your business."
Lily persevered, undeterred. "You shouldn't be dueling in the corridors. You should both go back to your common rooms and cool off." She took a step in Regulus's direction, intending to give him a hand up, but he recoiled.
"I don't need your help, Mudblood," he snapped, standing up and brushing dust off his clothes angrily.
The sound of that word uttered by his little brother shocked Sirius more than anything else that had occurred that evening. He spluttered in protest, but before he could form any coherent reprimand, Lily held up a hand to silence him.
"I'm a prefect, so I suggest you follow my instructions unless you want to lose points for Slytherin," she retorted, looking totally unphased by the way Regulus had just spoken to her. "Back to your common rooms, both of you."
Regulus looked as if he wanted to argue, but thought better of it. "I meant what I said, Sirius. Don't fucking talk to me again," he said, meeting Sirius's eye, before heading off down the corridor.
Sirius watched his brother's retreating figure, filling up with rage until it threatened to overwhelm him. Stowing his wand in his pocket, he balled his hands into fists and took a step towards the nearest wall, unaware of everything but his irrepressible need to punch something. Before he could make contact, however, Lily had reacted quickly with a spell, so his fist merely collided with empty air instead of solid stone.
"What the hell are you doing, Evans?" he demanded.
"Stopping you from breaking your knuckles, I expect," she retorted. "But go ahead, if you're so keen on it, as your decision-making seems to be top-notch right about now."
Sirius opened his mouth to argue, but could not form a single coherent response, so instead he emitted an irritated sigh and stalked away, kicking the suit of armor as he went.
Lily shook her head slightly in exasperation, then cradled her face in her hands for a moment, taking deep breaths and trying to bring her heartbeat down to a normal pace. She had feigned indifference when Regulus called her a Mudblood, but it had bothered her more than she had let on. It was not the first time she had been called the insulting name, and yet there was something unnerving about hearing it thrown in her face by a younger student, someone she had never spoken more than a few words to in her life and yet had looked at her with such disdain and revulsion that it sickened her. She gave herself a moment to pull herself together, then stood and strode purposefully after Sirius. She was not quite sure why, as he had made it perfectly clear that he did not appreciate her involvement in this, whatever "this" was, but she felt she should go after him and make sure he was okay.
Sirius had gotten a bit of a head start, and yet Lily caught sight of him easily after a few minutes of jogging in the direction he had stormed off. Perhaps he was kicking more Hogwarts artifacts, Lily mused, as that would be sure to slow him down. She caught up to him outside on the steps, where he had sat down with his long legs splayed out in front of him, seemingly unaware of the brisk January cold.
"Mind if I join you?" she asked, although at that moment she desired nothing more than to turn around and head straight for the warm, cozy Gryffindor common room.
"Be my guest," Sirius grunted, not looking at her.
She sat down on the least-icy patch of the steps she could find, then rummaged in her bag for her cloak, hat, and gloves, glad she had shoved them in there after Herbology before heading straight to the library. Even after she had pulled on the extra layers, she felt the icy bite of the wind.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked Sirius, but he merely shook his head, evidently warmed from within by the heat of his rage, which was still radiating off him in waves.
Sirius pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and selected one, lighting it with his wand and taking a deep drag. He then offered the pack to Lily, but she shook her head, so he returned them to his pocket with a shrug. They sat in silence for a few moments, Sirius smoking his cigarette moodily and Lily trying to stop her teeth from chattering.
After a few minutes, Sirius met Lily's gaze. "He shouldn't have said that to you," he said, after exhaling a long stream of smoke into the winter air.
"It's not the first time I've been called a Mudblood," Lily replied, shrugging. She fought to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but she was not completely successful.
"That doesn't make it okay," Sirius observed.
"No, it doesn't," she agreed.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Lily wondered idly why she was still sitting here, shivering in the cold and breathing in Sirius's secondhand smoke, but she could not seem to pull herself away. Then, almost as if he had sensed her thoughts, Sirius broke the silence.
"He's been talking to Snape, Avery and Mulciber. My brother, I mean. It's no great mystery why he's hanging around them, but I just thought, if I could just talk to him, maybe I could put a stop to it before it's too late." He shook his head. "Stupid, really, to think he'd want to listen to what I have to say, as we haven't really talked since the summer, when he punched me in the face and disowned me as a brother." He laughed bitterly.
"You know what the worst part was?" he continued. "He accused me of being selfish, of never thinking about what he went through when I left." He looked at Lily, his eyes dry but so full of pain that Lily looked away, feeling that it was wrong, somehow, for her to intrude on this emotional moment. "I thought about him every day after I left, Evans. Every fucking day. I even wrote him letters, but he never replied. So I convinced myself my parents weren't letting him read the letters, or were stopping him from replying, that once we were back at Hogwarts I could talk to him and fix everything." He paused to stub out his cigarette, then promptly pulled out another one and lit it.
"But he refused to talk to me, so I thought maybe he just needed some time, you know? He made it pretty clear today, though, that there's no fixing it. That I'm really not his brother anymore." The last words seemed to cause SIrius physical pain to speak aloud. "And now my former brother is going to become a Death Eater and I'm at least partly to blame, because if I stayed at home maybe I could have gotten through to him. But now I just have to stand by and watch him make this huge fucking mistake."
He fell silent and looked at Lily, as if he had only just realized she was there. "Bloody hell, Evans, I just spilled my guts to you, and you probably don't give a shit about any of this." He chuckled and looked slightly apologetic. "You sure you don't want a cigarette? It's the least I can do after I forced you to listen to the Black family saga." He held out the pack to her, a peace offering of sorts.
"Fine, give me one, then," she assented, pulling a cigarette from the proffered pack and lighting it clumsily with her wand. She took a tentative drag, then immediately erupted into a coughing fit. Sirius smirked.
"Shut up," Lily said, trying to get her coughing under control."Why the hell do you smoke these?"
He shrugged. "Why do I do most of the shit I do? I don't really think about why, I just do it."
"Clearly," Lily retorted, taking another drag on the cigarette and coughing only slightly less this time. They sat smoking in silence for a minute before Lily spoke again.
"You're wrong, you know. About me not giving a shit, I mean. I do. Because I've been there, and I know how you feel, and it's bloody awful."
"How the hell would you know how I feel?" Sirius demanded, his voice sharper than he had intended.
"Right, because nobody could possibly understand the brooding, mysterious, tortured Sirius Black!" she shot back, losing her temper. "I suppose your problems are too complicated, too deep, for anyone else to grasp, least of all me, perfect Lily Evans, because I have it all together and don't have any problems of my own!" She scowled at him and took another drag on the cigarette, rather surprised at her own outburst but not particularly remorseful.
Sirius looked taken aback. "Sorry, Evans, that wasn't what I - I mean, I was just surprised, that's all. Sorry, I'm being a prat. I'm listening, if you're still inclined to share details of your personal life with the brooding, mysterious, tortured Sirius Black." He grinned at her. "Nice description of me, by the way, except you forgot 'handsome' in that list."
"I left out 'modest,' too, apparently," she replied, grinning back at him. "Anyway, what I was going to say before your rude little outburst, is that I don't get on with my sister. I haven't in years, since I started at Hogwarts, really. We used to be close, but..." She trailed off and sighed. "She was jealous. She didn't like that I had magic and she didn't. I guess she felt like I was leaving her behind. But instead of admitting that, she called me a freak and rejected me because of what I am. We haven't been close since. My birthday is Sunday, and she couldn't even be bothered to send me a card. My parents had to include a note with their gift, saying that Petunia sends her love but she was too busy to send anything herself." She sighed again and brushed a few strands of dark red hair out of her eyes with a gloved hand.
"When my sister decided I was a freak and didn't want anything more to do with me, I suppose I turned to Severus instead. He was my first wizard friend, and, I don't know, I felt like he understood me." She glanced at Sirius. "I know your opinion of him," she said preemptively, for Sirius appeared to be about to cast judgement on her choice of friend. "I'm not friends with him anymore, haven't been since he called me a Mudblood that day last year down by the lake. But for a long time, he was my best friend. And then to have him start spending time with Avery and Mulciber, to have him pick their pureblood mania over me, to have him publicly say how little he thinks of me, well, it really hurt." She brushed tears out of her eyes angrily. "So, anyway, I know it's not exactly the same, but all I'm saying is, I know how it feels to have a broken relationship with a sibling, and I know how it feels to have someone pick the Death Eaters over a relationship with me, and honestly, it makes me feel like punching a wall sometimes, too."
Sirius laughed. "I think I'd enjoy seeing that. Although, I should warn you, it hurts like hell afterwards."
"Noted," Lily replied. "Also, I'm not sure if this helps at all, but I just think, you know, you can't blame yourself for other people's choices. Cause I used to think, sometimes, that maybe I shouldn't have come to Hogwarts, because if I hadn't, my sister would still want me in her life. But that's stupid, obviously - I had to come here, I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't-"
"Plus you would never have had the pleasure of meeting me and James," Sirius added.
Lily rolled her eyes but continued, "And if my sister doesn't accept who I am, well, that's her choice, and really has nothing to do with me. So I don't think you should blame yourself for what your brother does. If he wants to join the Death Eaters, that's his choice, and if you told him your opinion on it and he didn't want to listen, well, then it's out of your hands. From what you and James have told me, it seems like getting out of the house was the best thing for you, for your mental health, and if he holds that against you, he's the selfish one, not you." She fell silent, hoping she had not said too much.
"Thanks, Evans. That means a lot. And thanks for telling me all that, about your sister and Sniv- I mean, Severus, and all. It really does help, knowing I'm not the only one with family baggage." He stubbed out his second cigarette, then turned to her, as though something had just occurred to him. "Hang on, Sunday is your birthday, right?" he asked, his face thoughtful.
"Yes, it is," she answered hesitantly, not sure where he was going with this.
"And you'll be seventeen," he continued.
"Yes…"
"Which means you'll be of legal drinking age," Sirius observed.
"Correct."
"Evans, what are you doing for your birthday?" he asked, his face lit with excited energy.
"Not much. Tomorrow I have to do prefect duties and I have a ton of homework due Monday. Mary was going on about getting some Firewhisky from you and maybe just having a few drinks in our dormitory Sunday night. Do our nails, eat chocolate, talk about how you are in bed - you know, Mary's idea of a fun night." She did not sound excited at the prospect.
"I'm excellent in bed, for the record," Sirius said, grinning. "But, as fun as a girly night in talking about my shagging skills sounds, how about instead we all go into Hogsmeade and get you drunk at an actual pub?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"It's not a Hogsmeade weekend," Lily pointed out. "How do you propose we get out of the castle without getting caught? I'd rather not get expelled, if it's all the same to you."
"Evans, you do realize that you are speaking to one of the most skilled rule-breakers that
Hogwarts has ever had the privilege of educating, right? James, Remus, Peter, and I have made it our goal to know the castle, the grounds, and the village better than anyone else here, and I don't like to brag-"
"Yes you do," Lily interrupted, raising her eyebrows skeptically.
"I don't like to brag," Sirius continued, as though she had not spoken, "but I daresay we've succeeded. Have you ever wondered how we get Firewhisky and Butterbeer and Honeydukes stuff any time we decide to have a party? Or how we get food from the kitchens at all hours of the night without getting caught? We know what we're doing, Evans, and I am prepared to use our advanced knowledge and skill to guarantee you a night of well-deserved mischief and intoxication. What do you say?" He stood, then offered her a hand up.
"I don't know," she said hesitantly, taking his proffered hand and standing up slowly, her
limbs stiff with cold. "I mean, how can you be sure we won't get caught?"
"I can't be 100% sure," Sirius admitted, "but I can guarantee probably 85%, 90% if I don't drink too much - I'm a bit of a loud drunk." He did not look at all embarrassed by this admission, but seemed to consider it a point of pride. "Come on, Evans, I'd say we both deserve to have some fun. We can bring Mary, too, so she doesn't accuse you of ditching her."
"Mary's not of age yet," Lily protested. "Will Rosmerta even let her in that late?"
"James and Remus aren't of age yet either," Sirius replied. "Don't worry about that, Rosmerta and I have an understanding. I'll make sure it's all handled, just leave it to me."
"What sort of understanding-" she began, but Sirius cut her off.
"Need to know basis, Evans. Just because I'm prepared to reveal one of our secrets doesn't mean I'm going to give everything away. Anyway, does this mean you're in?"
"Fine, I'm in," she assented, deciding it was more trouble to argue than it was worth.
"Excellent," Sirius replied, heading into the castle with Lily following close behind. They had only made it halfway to the Gryffindor common room when they nearly collided with James, who was staring down at a piece of parchment in his hand and was paying very little attention to where he was going.
"Padfoot! Evans!" James said, looking a bit frantic and hastily shoving the parchment into his pocket. "You were gone for a while, so I thought I'd come and find you," he explained. "I was afraid you might have…" His voice trailed off, and he eyed the cut on Sirius's face.
"Afraid I might have gotten into a duel with Regulus?" Sirius supplied, and James nodded.
"Well, I did, but Evans here stopped us before it got out of hand. So we sat outside for a while, smoked a bit, had a heart to heart - you know, just a typical Friday night." Sirius shrugged, then looked to Lily for confirmation. "Right, Evans?"
"That's about how it went," Lily agreed.
"You smoked, Evans?" James asked, incredulous. "That behavior seems far too delinquent for someone like you."
"Yes, I smoked, Potter," Lily replied, sounding indignant. "I smoke from time to time, what of it?"
"No she doesn't," Sirius couldn't help adding. "Not before tonight, anyway, as I'd say this was clearly her first cigarette, judging by the way she about coughed up a lung. She's getting there, though, as far as delinquent behavior goes. In fact, she's agreed to sneak into Hogsmeade with us on Friday to get drunk at the Three Brooomsticks." He grinned at James, watching his face to gauge his reaction.
"Really?" He tried to keep his voice casual, as though this was not the most exciting news he had heard in months. "You sure you're up for it, Evans? I mean, it will involve a fair bit of rule-breaking."
"Yes, I'm sure," she insisted. "I'm increasing my delinquent behavior, remember?"
"If you say so," James replied. "Well, in that case, I'd be honored to buy your first legal drink for you. And your second, and third, and maybe a fourth, depending on how much of a lightweight you are." He eyed her, as though he could judge her alcohol tolerance by sight alone.
"You're not buying all my drinks," she cautioned, but James ignored her as he and Sirius continued to chat excitedly about their plans for Friday evening. Lily smiled to herself, more excited than she felt was warranted, but she chose not to examine this thought for the moment. It had been such a strange day, and it was almost her birthday, after all, so she decided to cut herself some slack.
When they reached the portrait hole, Lily gave the password and went in first, but James stopped Sirius before he could follow her through.
"Are you okay, mate?" he asked, studying Sirius's face for any trace of residual emotion.
"I'm okay," Sirius assured him. "I mean, Regulus is a git, and I don't think there's any chance of it ever being all right between us again, and he all but told me he's joining the Death Eaters, and yeah, I was pretty bloody angry, but then I talked to Evans, and, I dunno, I feel better about it." He shrugged. "You know, Evans is a good egg. I know it's been a long road, but I think you're actually getting there. And when you finally get her to go out with you, hang on to her, yeah? I think she's good for you. Good for all of us, really. She calls us out on our bullshit, and Merlin knows we both need that."
James clapped his friend on the back. "She's really something, isn't she?" he agreed. "I'll do my best. Thanks, Padfoot." With that, the two stepped through the portrait hole and took their favorite seats by the fire to begin planning their Sunday night excursion.