Sunday 6th January 1974

Gryffindor Common Room, 19:00

"Hi guys!" James all but bellowed in greeting as he ran over to them, almost knocking over Evans and a very small first year.

"Watch it, Potter!"

"Sorry!" James called behind him.

Sirius braced himself as James caught him up in one of his patented bear hugs. He gasped as pressure was put on his ribs, they were still particularly tender. Father had gone at him again after that Riddle guy had left. Something they were discussing got Father all worked up again. Which was never a good thing. Especially since his body didn't get a chance to recover in the first place.

Speaking of not getting a chance to recover, James still hadn't let go of him.

"James! Too tight!" he wheezed.

"You okay, Siri?" James asked worriedly, looking him up and down.

Sirius quickly tried to school his features. There was no point in worrying his friends. That, and he didn't want them to know. It was kind of pathetic and that was the last thing he wanted to be seen as.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

They had no reason to disbelieve him. What was with all these questions?

"It's just that you-"

"I better go unpack," Sirius interrupted, not wanting James to go on.

He didn't need them to pry into his business!

"But-"

Sirius shook his head and made his way towards the stairs to the dormitory.

"I'll be back in a minute."

They watched Sirius trudge his way up the dormitory stairs, a frown on his face.

"What's wrong with him?" James asked.

Remus shrugged. "Maybe he's just tired?"

"After the holidays?"

"Well, I'm tired."

"Yeah, but you have a reason. Tomorrow and all."

"Shh! Not so loud!"

"He's always like that after the holidays."

They all turned to look at him.

"What are you talking about, Pete?" James asked suspiciously.

Peter shrugged. Wasn't this obvious? He gestured after Sirius.

"Sirius always come back from any holidays in pain."

Remus frowned. "Do you think he's injured?"

Peter sighed. For all the smarts his friends had, they could be incredibly dense sometimes.

"I think he has been injured."

"Do we need to take him to Madam Pomfrey?" James asked anxiously.

He shrugged again. "He never goes."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't need to go," Remus said.

"Pot. Kettle." Peter coughed.

Remus was really the last person who should be talking about not seeking medical help.

"Did you smell any blood, Remus?" James asked and then frowned. "You can smell blood, right?"

Remus nodded. "It's the easiest thing to smell."

"Is it because wolves are predators?" Peter asked, getting distracted.

"Not sure. Probably. It's a very pungent smell," Remus said, frowning in thought.

"And Sirius definitely doesn't smell like it?" James checked.

"No."

"Then why is he sore and hurt?" James wondered out loud. "Did he fall or something over the holidays?"

"After every holiday?" Peter asked sceptically.

Sirius was definitely not clumsy like that. Actually, he was probably the most graceful one of them all - all that ballroom dancing training. So, something had to be happening to him at the end of each holiday to make him be in pain like that.

James bit his lip and looked up towards the dormitory.

"You don't think someone's hurting him. Do you?"

Remus shook his head. "He's the heir to the Black Family. No one would dare hurt him. Aren't there laws about that?"

"There are?" Peter asked in amazement.

James shrugged. "Yeah. Comes under Line Theft or something."

"Oh."

Honestly, you thought you knew stuff about the Wizarding World and then stuff like this came up.

"But that whole family's nuts," James said. "Everyone knows that!"

"I thought the Blacks were a respectable, if dark leaning, family?" Remus asked.

"Respectable? Yeah. And they're the dark family but they're still nuts!" James said. "Who knows what some of the older members might be doing to Sirius!"

Tuesday 8th January 1974

Slytherin Common Room, 08:30

Severus couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. How could he have let this happen? He was usually so good. So prepared. Ahead of the game.

How had he managed to do none of his Christmas homework? Like, at all. Not even a little bit. Okay, some had an opening paragraph but that was basically a repeat of the original question or topic given to them. So, he still had nothing.

It was just incomprehensible. He had had so much spare time over the holidays, it wasn't like had been doing anything!

And now he had less than half an hour before the start of the day and he had none of his Christmas work done. None. How? Why? He was usually so prepared. So organised. Wait, he'd already said that. But his point still stood. And he had to make a decision.

Would it be better to say he forgot his homework and he'd return it in the next lesson or quickly scrawl something resembling an essay now? Severus looked up at the clock. Twenty minutes now until the first lesson. Less if you included the time it would take him to get there. He wouldn't even be able to get a third of the way through an essay in twenty minutes. This was going to have to be "I must have left it in my trunk" ones. Professor Flitwick wouldn't get too angry, he was too nice. Maybe even nice enough to believe that he had lost it to give him a few extra days? Hmm, something to try. Like he was going to have to try and get another four done by the end of today...

Heaving his bag onto his shoulders, Severus sighed. It might just be possible. If he skipped lunch and maybe tried to get some done during other lessons. Maybe if he sat near the back and used his textbooks as a cover...

Friday 11th January 1974

Library, 12:30

Yes, yet again Alice was in the Library. A place that was becoming depressingly familiar. Even this table was now her table instead of a table. Something she'd never dreamed of happening. Actually, for her first two years in Hogwarts she didn't think she ever set foot in the Library. Well, she was making up for that this year. By the tenfold. All over stupid Runes.

She didn't even know why she was agonising over them so much. Mother and Father would be pleased if she dropped it. They wanted her to drop it. It would be easy to drop it. To give in. Go back to having a normal life.

But she didn't want to. She wanted to study Ancient Runes. She wanted to be good at them. To understand them. There was still something exciting about them. Something mysterious and enthralling. Despite the fact that they were so frustratingly difficult to understand.

"Oh, not this again."

Alice looked up to see Mary standing over her, hands on her hips.

"Hi, Mary."

Her friend didn't even respond to her. Instead, she threw herself into the opposite chair, making Alice's parchment flutter.

"Oh, hi Mary," Mary mocked in a stupid voice. "How are you doing, Mary? Do you want to eat lunch alone, Mary?"

"You wouldn't be eating lunch alone," Alice replied, scanning a list of runes to try and figure which was the odd one out. "We have plenty of friends."

"But not my best friend! My best friend is too busy studying to care about me!"

"Uh huh," Alice said, only half listening. Something about her studying too much again? It didn't matter. Work had to be done. She felt Mary watch her for a few moments and then shook her head.

"You can't be behind on homework already."

"I'm not," Alice replied, not looking up from her textbook.

"Then what are you doing, missing lunch?"

"I just needed to see if I could-"

"That was a trick question," Mary interrupted. "There's never any reason to skip lunch."

"What about if you're sleeping?"

"Then you're sick and need to see Madam Pomfrey who will also make you eat lunch."

Alice rolled her eyes. Something told her that Mary was hungry. Just a bit.

"I'll get something when I'm done here."

"But you're not going to be done here and then it will be time for class and you won't have eaten anything."

Alice looked at the clock and realised she just about had time to go down to the Great Hall to grab lunch and then head to class. But she wasn't finished here yet. Oh well, she hadn't been that hungry anyway.

"Alice! You can't keep skipping meals!"

Seriously, Mary's dramatics were starting to get annoying.

"I don't constantly skip meals."

"You do it enough."

Alice rolled her eyes. See what she meant about dramatics?

"If you're struggling so much why don't you ask your Professor for help?"

"I just... I just can't okay?"

She couldn't explain how stupid she was and how much she wanted, needed, to succeed. It was embarrassing.

"And why not? It's what he's there for, right?"

Not for incredibly stupid people like her. There was no way he could help someone like her. She didn't want to be told that it would just be better if she dropped the subject. She needed to prove herself.

Mary sighed at her and tugged the textbook out of her hands.

"Hey!"

"You need a break," she said firmly. "And something to eat."

"But I need to understand this."

"You aren't going to understand anything on an empty stomach."

Alice's stomach gurgled to prove a point.

"But-"

"You're going to eat. Then read Witch Weekly with me. And then finish all other homework but your Ancient Runes. Then you can do Ancient Runes. Maybe. You've got the whole weekend in front of you."

"But-"

"No."

With that, Mary closed Alice's textbook and put it in her bag. She also swept all of her parchment into an extremely untidy bundle. Alice rubbed at her eyes, feeling too tired to bring herself to complain.

Monday 14th January 1974

Gryffindor Third Year Boys Dorm, 18:00

A shadow fell over his book. Right at the best part too.

"You're blocking my light," Sirius told James without looking up.

The shadow did move. If anything, it covered more of his page. He sighed.

"What do you want?"

Sirius dog-eared his page and set his book to one side. Something told him that this wasn't going to be quick. Not if the way James was twisting his hands together was anything to go by.

"James?"

Was he going to talk or what? He was kind of freaking Sirius out a bit.

"Um-"

"Spit it out."

Normally, Sirius would be more patient but James was acting really weird and he had interrupted him from a really good book. That was enough to make anyone snap.

"Are you okay?" James blurted out quickly and then his mouth audibly snapped shut again.

Sirius froze at that and looked at James suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

James shuffled his feet and chewed on his lips. "Well, after the holidays-"

"I told you, I was fine. Nothing was wrong."

Why was James pressing on this? One, it was none of his business and two, it was nothing to worry about. It was weeks ago anyway. Okay, just about a week. But still, nothing for James to be constantly thinking about. It didn't concern him.

"But you were-"

"-fine," Sirius finished for him, reaching for his book again. "I was fine. Just tired from the holidays."

"But-"

"I really want to finish my book now," Sirius said pointedly, opening his book to the wrong page.

"Sirius."

Sirius just ignored him. Even if it made his heart ache a bit. James sounded so upset. No. Sirius hardened his heart. It was nothing he needed to know. He flipped to the right page and buried his head in his book. He could still feel James staring at him. Sirius kept reading.

Eventually, James left. Quietly. The door didn't even bang shut. Sirius couldn't see the words on the page.

Tuesday 15th January 1974

Gryffindor Third Year Boys Dorm, 07:05

Remus watched as Sirius left the Dorm without even waiting for anyone or saying something. Not even a "I'm starving". He turned to James.

"What did you do?"

James paused in putting his sock on his foot.

"Me?" he squawked, losing his balance and falling over in a way that would be conical if Remus wasn't so worried. "What makes you think I did something."

Remus gave him a look and folded his arms. James almost immediately started fidgeting. Honestly, this was why, when questioned, they never got away with their pranks. James just wasn't good under pressure.

"Ok, I said something!" James burst out; it only took him thirty seconds this time. "But it wasn't anything bad."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Remus asked, "James, what did say to him."

"Uhh..."

"James."

"See, now, Moony, I-"

"James Fleamont Potter-"

"I asked him if he was okay! Okay?" James finally said and then grumbled, "I should never have told you my full name..."

"Oh, James, why did you do that?" Peter asked in dismay.

"What do you mean 'Why did I do that's?" James demanded. "Of course, I did it. That's what you do when you're worried about someone!"

Okay, James getting worked up was not going to help anyone. They didn't need to be fighting as well as Sirius avoiding them.

Peter gave him a long-suffering look and rolled his eyes. James really was oblivious sometimes.

"You can't just come out an ask him like that," Remus tried to explain but James wasn't having any of it.

"What am I meant to do? Say nothing?"

"Of course, not but straight out asking him puts him on the defensive."

"But he hasn't done anything wrong!"

"No," Remus said as patiently as he could. "He hasn't but asking makes him feel like he has."

James gave him a suspicious look. "How do you know this? Has he talked to you?"

"No, he hasn't talked to me," Remus sighed, suddenly feeling very tired.

He was worried about Sirius too, you know. And annoyed with himself that he hadn't noticed that anything was wrong like Peter had. And frustrated at James for being so blunt and forthright. It was an exhausting mix of emotions to process. Thank Merlin the full moon had passed because he didn't think he'd be able to cope with that as well.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" James demanded. "I'm not doing nothing!"

This sort of thing was difficult for James, Remus knew. He always wanted to be doing something, fixing what needed fixed. Now, this situation needed fixed but James couldn't be the one to fix it. It was difficult for James to wrap his head around and Remus got that. But Sirius' feeling mattered too.

"Just be there for him. He'll talk if he wants to."

Great Hall, Gryffindor Table, 07:45

"Morning, Sirius."

"Hi, Sirius."

"Pass me the coffee, please."

Sirius passed Remus the coffee, shuddering as his friend put an unholy amount of sugar in it, and then looked around suspiciously at his suddenly appearing friends. They didn't seem to notice as they grabbed themselves some breakfast, James casting a quick glance down the table where Evans was sitting and Peter already managing to spill his pumpkin juice. Just a normal morning.

"Do you think we'll get our Charms tests back today?" Peter asked through a mouthful of toast.

"We only had it on Friday," Remus said. "He might not have had time to mark them."

"I hope not. I couldn't get the last few questions."

"I still think it was unfair of Flitwick to give us a test just a week after getting back," James said. "What do you think, Sirius? Sirius!"

Sirius jumped and shook his head. He hadn't raised that they were talking to him.

"Yeah, unfair," he replied absentmindedly.

Wait, what had they been talking about?

"We're all still thinking of the holidays," James continued to complain.

"We had just finished a topic," Remus pointed out. "We always have a test at the end of a topic."

"But right after Christmas?"

Sirius looked at them all, not completely understanding what was going on. They... weren't trying to pry into his business or acting all concerned. They were just... acting normal? Talking about school work? Not watching him?

It was weird. He had prepared himself for a day of deflecting questions and ignoring concerns. Even had some rehearsed lines already to go but it looked like none of that was going to be needed? Not that he was complaining or anything. No way. Getting back to normal was what he wanted after all. Yeah. Back to normal.

"I think we should have a protest and refuse to do it," Sirius jumped in.

"Oh! I like that idea," James said.

Remus gave him an exasperated look.

"No."

"If we get the whole class-"

Sunday 20th January 1974

Library, 14:00

"Hi, Frank!" Elsie chirped brightly as she dropped into the unclaimed chair next to her Gryffindor friend.

Well, she hoped it was unclaimed, there weren't any robes across the back of it or pieces of written on parchment in front of it, unlike the other, temporarily abandoned ones.

Frank briefly looked up from his textbook and returned the greeting.

"Mind, if I sit here?" she asked a bit belatedly.

"No."

Well, that was a bit short of him but Frank could be like that sometimes so she didn't let it get to her.

"Anything been happening to you? I feel like nothing ever happens around here. Certainly not with me. Fourth year has been so boring. All the Professors want is to make you work, work, work."

Which Frank just continued doing and didn't answer her. See? It couldn't be healthy. Honestly. Something had to happen.

"Well, actually, something did happen. Winnie, though don't tell her I called her that, told Ethan off something awful for asking her out. Apparently, you don't do that at fourteen and it's completely inappropriate."

Of course, Winoa did end up going out on a date with Ethan. But only because he inappropriately used puppy-dog eyes. Apparently. Anyway.

She was about to continue updating Frank on everything when he interrupted her.

"Elsie, do you have any work to do?" He finally asked her in exasperation.

"No."

"No?"

She didn't think that he could sound more incredulous of he tried.

"Nope."

"You have no homework? No revision? No coursework?"

Okay, maybe he could sound more incredulous. And his voice could also get ridiculously high.

"Oh, I have all that," Elsie replied dismissively. "Just not with me."

"Not with you?" he asked in a strangled tone.

"Nope."

She'd said that, hadn't she? Maybe he should get his ears checked.

'THUNK'

And his head because that was a pretty loud noise which couldn't be good.

Tuesday 22nd January 1974

Ravenclaw Common Room, 19:30

Chryssie tucked her feet under her and out of the way as a dark-skinned boy ran past with a tape measure in hand. Apparently, he and his friends were measuring the available floor space in the Common Room. Why? She didn't know. She did however know enough about her fellow Ravenclaws that getting in their way of knowledge was a bad idea. Hence the tucked away feet.

"Ha!" the boy exclaimed from the table. "I told you your measuring charm was wrong, Savage! I get it to be ten feet three inches from the wall to here."

"Your tape measure is obviously defective, Shacklebolt."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Rolling her eyes, Chryssie got back to her book. It was on the clans of Scotland and was very interesting. And seemed fitting considering the location of Hogwarts. She would have to show Lily the McGonagall tartan, she'd love that. Maybe at breakfast, if they managed to go at the same time. This was the weird bit about being in different Houses. You weren't guarantor to see each other. It was even weirder after the holidays when they only saw each other. It was hard to get used to all over again. She missed her big sister sometimes but then she couldn't go days without thinking of her. Was that weird? It was probably weird.

Oh, she would have to see if she could find some sort of history book on Scottish clans. The things that were hinted in this one were quite intriguing. Especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Chryssie tilted her head back so she could look at the bookcase behind her. Such a book was probably up there somewhere. It was where most of the history books were, after all.

'Ziiiiip'

"Ouch!"

"Ha! Told you that tape-measuring thing was dangerous and not to be trusted!"

'THUNK'

"Now that was just mean!"

Another voice joined the two boys' ones and she did not sound amused.

"And how are you going to explain that to Professor Flitwick?"

That caught Chryssie's attention. She looked up from her book to see the two boys, Shacklebolt and someone, crowded around a bit of wall not far from her where... a tape measure was embedded? What on earth had she missed?

Thursday 24th January 1974

Flitwick's Office, 08:40

Kingsley and Callum exchanged sheepish looks as Flitwick directed them out of his office with a final, "And please refrain from causing any further damage to the Common Room."

In their defence, they (or rather he, Kingsley) hadn't realised that you could embed things in the wall by throwing them.

Not that they threw the tape measure exactly. Well, that's the story Kingsley was sticking to. Admitting to attempting bodily harm on a friend was not something you admitted to your Head of House. Even when said friend probably deserved it.

"That wasn't too bad," Callum said optimistically.

Kingsley gave him an incredulous look.

"We got detention. With Filch."

"But it's only for two days."

"It's still not good!"

"It's not all bad either."

Kingsley just shook his head, wondering how Callum's mind worked sometimes. Probably not best to dwell on to be honest.

"The only reason we got detention is because you managed to get that tap thing stuck in the wall."

"I didn't think it would embed itself there!" Kingsley argued. "And it's a tape measure not a tap whatever you called it."

Honestly, that was more of a sign that the walls were obviously not up to scratch than his "impulse issues". Hmpf. There was no way he had enough strength to embed a bit of plastic and metal into a stone wall! At the very least it should have shattered on impact.

"Good thing you're not on the Quidditch team," Callum teased. "Or else we'd be on a losing streak."

"If I was on the Quidditch team I wouldn't have missed," Kingsley retorted, sticking his tongue out for good measure.

Yes, they were fourth years but that didn't mean they couldn't be immature.

"Did you even get your measuring thing back?"

"Tape measure," Kingsley corrected again. "And I think it's still in the wall."

He certainly hadn't moved it. They exchanged knowing looks and Callum grinned.

"We never did finish measuring the Common Room..."

Monday 28th January 1974

Gryffindor Third Year Boys Dorm, 08:30

Sirius' light was blocked again. By James. Again. He couldn't help but feel a little bit uneasy - it wasn't like the last time this happened things had gone particularly well.

"Yes?" he asked, wanting to get this over with.

They had been doing so well too, getting back to normal. No one had brought up his family or given him too many worried looks (which was the best he was going to get with Worrywart Potter). Even the aches and pains from his injuries had decreased almost to nothing. Just as long as he didn't twist his left arm a certain way, he was good. It made Quidditch practice a little difficult but he was managing.

"Uh, well..."

Sirius sat up a bit straighter to look at James properly. It was weird seeing James so anxious and inarticulate. Not that he was ever as articulate as Sirius now but that wasn't the point. This unsure James in front of him was an unnerving sight.

"Say something," Sirius spat out.

Yes, he probably could have been more encouraging but James was making him nervous. Especially with the way he was twisting his hands.

"Here," James said gruffly, pushing something into his hand. "This is yours."

Automatically, Sirius' hand closed around it, it was cold metal, and opened his mouth to ask what it was but James all but fled the dorm, door slamming in his wake.

That was extremely odd, even for James. Frowning, Sirius looked down to the item in his hand. It was a small metal disk on a chain. He brought it closer to his face to see what was embossed on it. It was the Potter Coat of Arms. Very accurately drawn. But why was it given to him, a Black? A Black Heir nonetheless.

James managed to make it down to the Common Room before he let out a shaky breath. He'd been holding it the whole time he'd been with Sirius but releasing it now didn't make him feel any better. Actually, it made him feel even more anxious. Because he hadn't even been brave enough to wait for Sirius' reaction, good or bad. Oh, he hoped that it was good. He didn't want Sirius to fall out with him again.

And, surely it could only be a good reaction? It was a sign that James considered Sirius to be really close. Close enough to offer the protection of his House. Or maybe it could be taken as Sirius couldn't protect himself. Which wasn't good. That would probably make Sirius annoyed at best and angry at worst.

Maybe he should have stayed and explained...