Chapter 115

Mummy McGonagall

"Are you going to tell me why you skipped an entire month's detentions?" McGonagall looked angrier than Sirius had seen her all year. Sirius just shook his head though he was upset inside. He did not like upsetting her, at all. He didn't know why, or when it had started, but the first look at her face when she realized it wasn't just her detentions he was skipping violently informed him of this fact.

He'd been planning on going to the detentions with the other teachers, but James was worried they'd notice and mention it. Both Slughorn and Professor Sprout would, without a doubt, recognize the smell, even if they didn't know why it would be in their mouths, and they didn't know what other teachers mixed a lot of potions. If one of them even mentioned the scent of mandrake leaves to McGonagall it would be over, they'd be expelled... or worse. It just wasn't worth the risk.

And now, as his head of house, McGonagall was furious.

"Sirius Black, I do not know what to do with you! You've been avoiding me, directly disobedient to my summons and entirely apathetic to my orders to stay after class. I've tried to help you, and you go and pull a stupid stunt like this! I gave you the benefit of the doubt over the last month, but I'm not stupid enough to believe your silence was only a result of a dare when you skip all of your detentions that month as well! Do I look that stupid to you?"

Sirius shook his head, he felt sick for some reason he couldn't explain.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?" She repeated, and he flinched at being yelled at.

He didn't flinch when his mother yelled at him.

"I promised..." he said quietly.

"What?" She wasn't yelling anymore, but he still felt awful.

"I promised I wouldn't say anything." He wasn't looking at her anymore, hating the feeling she was forcing on him. Why could she make him feel this way, what power did she have over him to be able to control his emotions with just a voice. His own mother didn't have that much power over him.

McGonagall didn't respond immediately, watching him closely. She must have found what she wanted because she seemed to calm down a little.

"You promised who?" She asked though she thought she already knew the answer.

"James, but mostly Remus." Sirius didn't look up at her, he wanted to leave. He severely wanted to leave.

She was quiet, breathing heavily a few times to calm herself completely.

"I suppose no one was really hurt, by your absence, and I'm honestly not sure what those detentions were even for in the first place," she finally sat back down and he knew then that she was very much aware of how much her words affected him. She wouldn't have let him off if she thought he didn't feel guilty at all regardless of the werewolf's involvement. It made him a little angry.

"Can I go now?" he asked, was he shaking?

She looked at him. "I suppose, but you will be here for detention tomorrow. I will not accept any excuses. And I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but you're not actually allowed to go to Hogsmeade Saturday."

"But..."

"No buts... don't think I've forgotten that you haven't turned in a permission slip. Yes, I know why, Black, but rules are rules, no slip, no Hogsmeade. You know this, and yet every time I go chaperone you are somehow there, even though I watch the students leave every single time." She had a small smile on her face now, and he knew she wasn't all that upset any longer. He still wanted to leave.

"Professor..." he said as he stood up gathering his bag, "if you think I've been here four years and haven't found a way out of this castle without being seen, then you may as well give up teaching altogether."

"And why is that, Black?"

"Because you clearly don't know anything," he said as he made his exit.

His teasing smile disappeared the moment the door shut. He leaned against the door taking deep breaths to calm himself, it wouldn't do to have people see him so rattled, especially by a teacher. It wasn't his nature, and it scared him that it was something that could actually happen. When had he cared about what any teacher thought of his behavior?

Sirius let a curse out without realizing he'd even done it, and the door opened again. It would have knocked him over if he was anyone else.

"I heard that, Black." McGonagall warned. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"But Professor...!"

"It'll be another ten points if you continue that sentence."

"I'm going, I'm going." Sirius huffed and rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath but careful not use any controversial language.

"I heard that too!" She called after him.

"Then you've got ears better than Moony." he whispered, satisfied when she didn't reply.

He'd barely gotten three steps in the common room when he heard James calling him.

"Padfoot!" James whined and Sirius groaned, he knew exactly what that whine meant. "She said no, again! Why does she keep saying no?"

James was about three seconds from a temper tantrum and Sirius wasn't going to do anything to stop it. James' temper tantrums usually ended with some poor soul getting hilariously humiliated in front of a large group of people. Sirius wasn't about to hinder that, he needed the stress relief.

"Probably because she doesn't want to go out with you," Sirius replied in his most deadpan manner. As much as he enjoyed the tempter tantrum, the part leading up to it was painfully annoying and he was not in the mood for annoying.

"Of course she want's to go out with me, who wouldn't want to go out with me? Look at me!"

Sirius looked, more to prevent excess whining on the part of James than because he thought he'd actually find anything new.

"Messy, uncombed, hair; boring hazel eyes; medium height... yeah, you're gorgeous, Prongs." Sirius rolled his eyes only half concentrating the conversation.

"I'm not medium height!" James defended and Remus chuckled under his breath,

"You're very average, James," Sirius repeated.

"I'm not average! My grades are higher than yours." James was pouting by now and the female population in the common room seemed desperate to disagree with Sirius, but none would dare try to enter their little bubble as the last girl that tried ended up with a face full of pimples that took even Madam Pomfrey a week to remove.

"Yeah, because girls look at your grades as a requirement for potential matches." Sirius turned back to James a humored smirk on his face and his arm thrown on the back of the chair he'd plopped down on. He saw James' face turn slightly pink, jealousy (most likely) that Sirius was gorgeous while he was distinctly average-looking. At least Sirius wasn't the only one having a bad day.

"Evans would." James looked away.

"Obviously not, because she keeps turning you down, doesn't she?" Sirius' smirk grew when James had no argument for this.

"Merlin's shoes! You're both completely blind aren't you?" Remus laughed, unable to hold it in. "She isn't turning you down for the way you look!"

"Oh yeah, smarty pants? Then why is it?" Sirius' smirk turned evil, he knew exactly what Moony was going to say and exactly how James would react.

"She just plain hates you, as a person. It's what's inside that's disgusting, not what you look like." Remus went quiet very quickly as he realized what he just said and how bad it sounded, turning pink.

"Thanks for that..." James responded, with all the sarcasm he'd picked up from Sirius.

Sirius' laughter was heard even in the highest dorm rooms.

"I didn't mean..." Remus started, still pink, "what I meant was..."

Sirius was half on the floor and Peter looked confused.

"I need to go hit something." James growled storming out the common room. Sirius naturally followed still laughing, despite James' repeated orders to leave him alone if he was going to be such a prat.

"I have to come," Sirius told him when he could finally breathe enough to speak, "y'know in case one of those things happens to hit back."

James glared at him. "I can fight my own fights, y'know."

Sirius shrugged, his smile still present but laughter fading at James' attitude. "So? Fighting with a friend is more fun than fighting alone."

James clearly tried to stay mad, but Sirius' words forced a smile on his face. "I guess." He looked around before finding a target, a Ravenclaw 6th year, she had glasses and messy hair and reminded James far too much of Sirius' teasing earlier. Sirius looked around for any hint of a teacher, McGonagall would be so mad if she found out about this.

"So? How'd it go?" Remus asked Sirius after James and Peter were asleep. Sirius was in bed, but Remus must have been able to hear his breathing.

"How'd what go?" He asked, glad he couldn't see Remus' face. He just wanted to forget he'd even talked to the Transfiguration teacher that day.

"You're dodging the question... it was bad then." Remus knew him far too well. How did he keep anything hidden, ever, if everyone could read him like a book?

"She got mad, yelled a bit, and let me off the hook because I was acting like a toddler." Sirius did not want him to know that he'd used Remus as an explanation, even if it was the actual explanation. He agreed with James, Remus could not know that all of this was for him, the werewolf would not take that well at all.

"What do you mean?" Sirius heard Remus get out of bed and walk over.

"Nothing, go back to bed." Sirius wished he'd pretended to be asleep, not even remembering that Remus could tell the difference though he'd known it just a second ago.

"Go on, Sirius. What happened, you know I won't tell anyone." Remus sat at the edge of the bed, the curtain making him feel like their conversation was more private than he should.

"Why is this so important all of the sudden?" He looked up, Remus kept his distance since they were fourteen rather than the eleven years old they'd been last time Remus felt the need to come over and cheer Sirius up in the middle of the night.

"It's always been important, Sirius. James was just too preoccupied to notice, that's all." Remus shrugged and Sirius chuckled.

"He really is dense." Sirius sat up, hoping to change the subject.

"You are too, don't forget." Moony laughed smacking him with one of his own pillows. Sirius wrestled the pillow away gently, knowing that with the full moon only four nights away Remus wasn't in any condition to fight back. "And your attempt to distract me isn't going to work."

"I know that." Sirius put the pillow back, fluffing it as he tried to avoid Remus' eyes.

"So..." Remus prompted, a laugh still in his smile.

"So, I dunno, I just started acting weird. Like, sick or queasy." To Sirius' surprise, Remus just laughed. "What? What's so funny?"

"Aww, she made you feel guilty," Remus said in a voice that sounded suspiciously like someone cooing over a child.

"She did not!" Sirius felt his face turn red.

"She so did," Remus teased, he didn't laugh for long since his ribs seemed to be hurting him. "Sorry, Padfoot, there's nothing wrong with it. It's more your reaction that's funny."

"Of course, there's something wrong with that. It's not fair, she shouldn't be able to make me feel things like that," Sirius pouted.

"I think it's a good thing. Everyone, especially people our age, needs someone who will hold them accountable for their actions. I get the same way when I get in trouble with my mum, feeling sick or like I might start crying. It's important that someone can make you feel that way, otherwise you'll get into all sorts of real trouble, like prison trouble. And no one wants that."

"I suppose when you put it that way it doesn't seem so bad..." Sirius still couldn't look him in the eye. "But I'll still deny it if anyone finds out."

"Of course you will." Remus laughed though it was still subdued enough to make Sirius worry.

"Go to bed, Moony. Pomfrey left you some potions to help." Sirius wrapped his arms around his knees, he hated seeing Remus so sick. If only they'd hurry up and get done with the animagi training, he was getting impatient.

"Those are for when I really need it, Padfoot, you know that. I'm still sleeping enough to function just fine." Remus tried to get up but instead was having a bit of a war with the bed's curtains.

"Take one anyway. We're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, there's only two more trips this year, you won't have any fun at all if you're all sleepy." Remus looked skeptical. "Go on you've done more rebellious things than that in your sleep."

Remus chuckled at this, "Of course, you're never going to forget that incident are you."

"Not as long as I live," Sirius teased with a smirk.

A/N) What is the incident they're talking about? What do you think it is? What is the wildest, most rebellious thing you could imagine Remus doing while sleepwalking? Let me know what you think it was.