Chapter the Third
"So it was a person." James settled back in his chair, minorly sweaty from Quidditch practise, and ran his hands through his wet hair. The common room was relatively empty- people had already started going down for dinner- but the two boys felt like staying by the fire for a bit. "It's raining like a waterfall out there, did you notice?"
"I've never seen them here before," said Sirius. "Besides, just gliding by, without a word-"
"Sounds like you're a little freaked out," laughed James. Sirius laughed too. "Nah," he said. "It was a little disturbing, though."
"We've got other stuff to think about- oh, hey, Peter."
A slightly stunted, eager-to-please kid had trotted up beside them and pulled up a chair and muttered a greeting in a high voice that sounded like a squeak. Water dripped from his hair as well. Sirius was curious.
"Where've you been, Peter?"
"Watching James play Quidditch," he answered nervously, shooting James a look of fervent admiration.
"Peter- it was pouring," said James, concerned but at the same time evidently chuffed.
"Well-" Peter shrugged, his cheeks bright red.
"Forget it. Let's go to dinner," said Sirius, getting up.
"You know," remarked James lightly, as they were coming out of the portrait hole, "I reckon you're going to find out who that person in the corridor was before long. I mean, nobody can wander around this castle without being found out for long, can they?"
"Mmm." Sirius looked around him, but nobody was wearing a full-length cloak. "We'll see."
"We're working on the Wronski Feint right now, but soon, you know, we might move onto something a bit more advanced," said James with an air of carelessness, running a finger back through his fringe.
The gaggle of girls around James sighed appreciatively. Sirius looked at his friend and chuckled. The fan club grew larger by the day. (The girl with black curls peered bashfully at him around the jar of mint sauce and whispered something tentatively to her neighbour, who started to giggle.) Idly he played with the food on his plate- with Remus indisposed and James preoccupied, there was nobody to talk to about interesting stuff like midnight raids or past pranks. He needed some entertainment.
With an ease that was almost illegal, he set about baiting the two people sitting opposite him. Vincent Delfune and Rory Flitwick usually got along fine, but a few clever verbal manoeuvres set them bickering.
"You've got to be kidding, Vincent! The Chudley Cannons haven't won the League in years!"
"Rory, I'm warning you- if you insult my team one more time you'll be Transfigured into a Chudley Cannons hat, see if you don't!"
"Come on, admit it- the Wasps beat them out of the game!"
"The WASPS? What a sorry excuse for a team are THEY- they can't even catch the Snitch, the Seeker's blind as a bat!"
"He is NOT!"
Yes, definitely entertaining. Vincent's face was going a glowering shade of red, and Rory was squeaking wildly. He kept on jumping up and down, meaning that his head appeared every few seconds above the tablecloth and then disappeared again. Even when standing on his chair he couldn't reach the table.
Sirius settled back and watched them, attempting to maintain a look of interest and restrain his rising grin. Eventually he got bored- they had resorted to insulting each other's families now- and turned in his seat to look around the Hall. There was Snivellus, shovelling food into his greasy snout- and Evans, animatedly carrying on a discussion which looked at a distance to be about something interesting, at least from the energy which she and her friends were putting into it, but which Sirius knew was probably about homework. He sighed, and his eyes wandered idly to the Staff Table.
The person in the cloak was sitting at the far end, calmly eating soup.
As though aware they were being watched, the head- still fully swathed- turned in his direction, looking, it seemed, straight past the teacher sitting opposite, directly at Sirius.
There was a moment of spellbound silence, where the air hummed and stood still.
Then the head looked towards Rory, who was now shaking his fist in Vincent's face, and swung evenly back to stare at Sirius again. There was no face to be seen.
He felt something unpleasant stir inside him, and realised in a horrible flash that it was shame.
"So it was a person." James settled back in his chair, minorly sweaty from Quidditch practise, and ran his hands through his wet hair. The common room was relatively empty- people had already started going down for dinner- but the two boys felt like staying by the fire for a bit. "It's raining like a waterfall out there, did you notice?"
"I've never seen them here before," said Sirius. "Besides, just gliding by, without a word-"
"Sounds like you're a little freaked out," laughed James. Sirius laughed too. "Nah," he said. "It was a little disturbing, though."
"We've got other stuff to think about- oh, hey, Peter."
A slightly stunted, eager-to-please kid had trotted up beside them and pulled up a chair and muttered a greeting in a high voice that sounded like a squeak. Water dripped from his hair as well. Sirius was curious.
"Where've you been, Peter?"
"Watching James play Quidditch," he answered nervously, shooting James a look of fervent admiration.
"Peter- it was pouring," said James, concerned but at the same time evidently chuffed.
"Well-" Peter shrugged, his cheeks bright red.
"Forget it. Let's go to dinner," said Sirius, getting up.
"You know," remarked James lightly, as they were coming out of the portrait hole, "I reckon you're going to find out who that person in the corridor was before long. I mean, nobody can wander around this castle without being found out for long, can they?"
"Mmm." Sirius looked around him, but nobody was wearing a full-length cloak. "We'll see."
"We're working on the Wronski Feint right now, but soon, you know, we might move onto something a bit more advanced," said James with an air of carelessness, running a finger back through his fringe.
The gaggle of girls around James sighed appreciatively. Sirius looked at his friend and chuckled. The fan club grew larger by the day. (The girl with black curls peered bashfully at him around the jar of mint sauce and whispered something tentatively to her neighbour, who started to giggle.) Idly he played with the food on his plate- with Remus indisposed and James preoccupied, there was nobody to talk to about interesting stuff like midnight raids or past pranks. He needed some entertainment.
With an ease that was almost illegal, he set about baiting the two people sitting opposite him. Vincent Delfune and Rory Flitwick usually got along fine, but a few clever verbal manoeuvres set them bickering.
"You've got to be kidding, Vincent! The Chudley Cannons haven't won the League in years!"
"Rory, I'm warning you- if you insult my team one more time you'll be Transfigured into a Chudley Cannons hat, see if you don't!"
"Come on, admit it- the Wasps beat them out of the game!"
"The WASPS? What a sorry excuse for a team are THEY- they can't even catch the Snitch, the Seeker's blind as a bat!"
"He is NOT!"
Yes, definitely entertaining. Vincent's face was going a glowering shade of red, and Rory was squeaking wildly. He kept on jumping up and down, meaning that his head appeared every few seconds above the tablecloth and then disappeared again. Even when standing on his chair he couldn't reach the table.
Sirius settled back and watched them, attempting to maintain a look of interest and restrain his rising grin. Eventually he got bored- they had resorted to insulting each other's families now- and turned in his seat to look around the Hall. There was Snivellus, shovelling food into his greasy snout- and Evans, animatedly carrying on a discussion which looked at a distance to be about something interesting, at least from the energy which she and her friends were putting into it, but which Sirius knew was probably about homework. He sighed, and his eyes wandered idly to the Staff Table.
The person in the cloak was sitting at the far end, calmly eating soup.
As though aware they were being watched, the head- still fully swathed- turned in his direction, looking, it seemed, straight past the teacher sitting opposite, directly at Sirius.
There was a moment of spellbound silence, where the air hummed and stood still.
Then the head looked towards Rory, who was now shaking his fist in Vincent's face, and swung evenly back to stare at Sirius again. There was no face to be seen.
He felt something unpleasant stir inside him, and realised in a horrible flash that it was shame.
