Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the wonderful wizarding world and all credit must be given to Ms. JK Rowling, however, anything unrecognisable is of my own creation.
A/N: Just incase anyone missed the update (on Sept 9th 2015) I've rewritten parts of the last chapter, because I wasn't happen with it. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Chapter 17: Plant Pots
The following evening, Sirius and I walked to McGonagall's office for our detention. Sirius has spent all day, telling me that McGonagall's detentions are the absolute worst; that last time she'd made him and James manually polish all of the silverware in the trophy room. I assumed that Sirius's stories were most likely severely exaggerated, however, I wasn't looking forward to detention. Reaching McGonagall's office, we found the professor waiting for us.
'Mr. Black, Miss. Granger... this evening, you will be cleaning plant pots for Professor Spout in the greenhouse, without the aid of magic.' I watched Sirius frown at the 'without aid of magic' part, though he didn't seem surprised. We then followed Professor McGonagall through the castle to the greenhouses, where I was stunned to see a large number of plant pots, which needed cleaning. I guess Sirius wasn't exaggerating when he'd told me about McGonagall's detentions. McGonagall conjured a wire brush for each of us, before speaking. 'I expect each pot to be spotless. I will return in 1 hour to check on your progress.' Once McGonagall had left, Sirius and I started cleaning plant pots: Sirius spoke.
'Perhaps I've always underestimated McGonagall... this is kind of romantic.' I laughed, looking towards Sirius.
'Romantic... really?'
'Well, there's a great view of the stars.' I laughed.
'You're an idiot.' Sirius pouted, making me laugh again. 'Thanks, for getting detention.' Sirius grinned.
'Anytime, Mynee.' I smirked.
'I'm sure... but I won't be making a habit of it.' Sirius frowned.
'Oh, I hoped you'd decided to become a Marauder.' I laughed: Sirius continued. 'How's your animagus transformation coming along?' I shrugged.
'I've not attempted the incantation yet, I'm a little nervous about it going wrong... but I've been practicing my meditation.' I'd started sneaking off to the Room of Requirements to practice my meditation, or sometimes I took advantage of the library when it was quieter in the evenings. I hadn't attempted the incantation, because as I said, I'm anxious about ending up transfigured halfway between human and animal form. I finished off the plant pot that I was currently cleaning, before fetching another, and as I did Sirius spoke.
'I could be around, when you attempt the incantation: then I could fix anything that goes wrong... though, I doubt you'll need saving. Mynee is a genius, remember?' I flushed, before telling Sirius that I'd like him to be there, when I attempted the animagus incantation. I leaned across the bench to kiss Sirius: a gorgeous smile appeared on Sirius's lips. 'I really like having detention with you, Granger.' I laughed.
'You're not bad company yourself, Black.' Sirius laughed.
'So... are you still going to Slug Club next week?' I nodded.
'Yes. I promised Lily... it can't possibly be that bad; plus, I heard that the house elves make the most amazing profiteroles for Slug Club.' Sirius remained silent, meaning I continued. 'Did you get an invite?' Sirius nodded.
'Yeah, Sluggers sends me one every time. I... I was thinking about accepting it this time though.' I sounded a little surprised as I spoke.
'Really?' Sirius shrugged, continuing to scrub the plant pot in front of him.
'Sure, it couldn't hurt, Sluggers is an alright dude.' I smirked: I'm not sure Lily will be too impressed that Sirius is coming to Slug Club, but I know Slughorn would be delighted to see him.
Sirius and I continued cleaning the plant pots; time seemed to fly by, meaning McGonagall soon returned. McGonagall looked suitably impressed when she saw that we'd finished cleaning all of the plant pots, so she dismissed us from detention. We stopped by the kitchen on the way back to Gryffindor Tower, because Sirius was hungry: I watched Sirius load his pockets with pumpkin pasties, shaking my head. He spoke.
'What?' I smirked.
'Nothing... come on, lets get back to the common room.' I'm pretty sure Sirius left a trail of crumbs as we continued walking to Gryffindor Tower. He'd demolished all of his pumpkin pasties by the time we'd reached the Fat Lady's portrait. I spoke the password, and we entered the common room, where we found that James and Lily had fallen to sleep in front of the fireplace, in each other's arms. Sirius chuckled beside me.
'Let's draw on their faces.' I glanced towards Sirius for a moment. I was honestly going to stop him, but when he pouted I caved. I watched Sirius conjure a marker-pen and proceed to warily draw on James and Lily's faces. Sirius spent a few minutes working on his masterpieces, before returning to my side. 'Finished, let's go to bed.' I smirked, as Sirius led me up to the Marauders' dormitory. The next morning, there was a scream, which I dare say woke the whole of Gryffindor house: and it was followed by a certain redhead's voice.
'Black!'
A/N: Hope you all enjoy this chapter, sorry it's a bit short... I've got some longer chapters coming up soon though when Hermione tells Sirius the truth. Remember to leave a review. Love RoxannetheLaugh x.
