The Marauders' Years: Year One
Chapter Thirteen
The Howler
Peter and Remus took interest in the conversation at this point and both watched the owl as it soared over Sirius's head, dropping the brightly colored letter into his cereal.
"Why would they send you a Howler?" Peter asked, staring at the letter as one would stare at a potion that was about to explode.
Sirius didn't say a thing; he was too busy wracking his brain for a suitable answer to this new dilemma.
"They aren't mad at you for not visiting during the holidays, are they?" James pressed, determined to get Sirius to start talking again.
"Best open it," Remus warned, pointing at the red envelope, it was beginning to smoke as all Howlers do if ignored for too long.
Sirius was well aware that it would just yell louder if he didn't open it, but that still left the problem with keeping it from broadcasting whatever was upsetting his mother.
Should he try pouring a jug of pumpkin juice on it? Or maybe eating the letter? No…he couldn't eat it, Howlers burst into flames after all, imagine if it did that in his mouth? Sirius quickly shook away the mental image that thought induced, and glanced around the Great Hall, maybe by some miracle, help would arrive and he would be spared.
Help did not arrive in time, or, after time.
Before Sirius could come up with a new plan of action, the seal on the letter flew off rather forcefully, and his mothers voice filled the entirety of the Great Hall, magnified no less than a normal Howler, yet it seemed her screeches of anger were at least triple the normal decibel level. Things on the table rattled with the noise, and Sirius could have sworn he saw a glass shatter, but all further distractions were banished from his mind as his brain started to register what was being said... or rather, what was being screamed.
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! HOW DARE YOU GET SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! THE DAILY PROPHET TURNS UP WHEN I DIDN'T EVEN ORDER IT-"
James stared first at the Howler and then at Sirius; the other boy's face was turning red, though James couldn't tell if it was from anger or pure embarrassment.
"-COULDN'T BELIEVE IT, I OWLED BELLATRIX TO SEE WHAT KIND OF MISTAKE THE DAILY PROPHET HAD MADE, BUT SHE TOLD ME IT WAS RIGHT! YOU'VE GONE AND BEEN SORTED IN WITH MUDBLOODS AND FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, DID WE TEACH YOU NOTHING? WAIT TILL YOU GET HOME, I HAVE HALF A MIND TO DRAG YOU BACK NOW! YOU'VE BESMIRCHED THE BLACK FAMILY NAME, NO SON OF MINE SHOULD BE IN GRYFFINDOR, YOU'RE THE SHAME OF THE MOST NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK-"
"Finite Incantatum!"
The letter exploded in a rather impressive, yet small, fireball as the spell crashed into it. Everyone immediately turned to look at where the spell had originated, only to see Sirius.
His chair had fallen over backwards when he had leapt to his feet, and he still held his wand pointed at where the letter had been. James noted that Sirius's hand was shaking, and, judging by the look on Sirius's face, definitely with anger. Before anyone could say a word, Sirius jammed his wand back into the pocket of his robes, turned right around, and stormed out of the Great Hall.
Bellatrix and Narcissa, sitting over at the Slytherin table, smirked as they watched him go. It had been a simple, yet effective plan, sending that old copy of the Daily Prophet to his over-reactive mother. That would put him in his place and teach him not to try and blackmail them, as well as showing him exactly what Slytherins were made of.
The echoing crash of the doors, as Sirius exited, seemed to shatter the startled silence that hung in the air and everyone began chattering away. James and the remaining Marauders stared at one another in alarm for a moment, before quickly racing off after Sirius.
Five minutes later, Peter rushed back into the Great Hall and snatched something off the table before turning and re-exiting the hall.
-
James hurried up the changing staircase, trying to catch up with the red dot on the map labeled 'Sirius Black'. Remus was right behind him, and Peter only lagging slightly.
They were all relieved when they finally caught up with him.
"What was that all about, Sirius?" James asked, jogging up beside him.
"Nothing, mind your own business," He snapped in the form of a reply.
James stopped and Sirius continued on to wherever he was going. Before James could continue after him, Remus grabbed his shoulder and shook his head slightly.
"Lets wait for him up in the common room, I think he needs to cool down."
James nodded reluctantly, and the three made their way up to the seventh floor.
-
Sirius, meanwhile, had stormed into the library and earned a severe glare from the librarian, Madam Pince. Taking a deep breath, he walked past rows of ancient tomes, mixed with brand new books, until he reached a small table near the back of the library. A towering shelf on invisibility blocked his view of Madam Pince, and her view of him.
"Wish I had been invisible," He muttered fiercely, glaring at the shelf as if it were responsible for all of his problems.
He didn't stay angry and brooding though; the musty smell and the echoing silence of the library had a calming effect at any time and it usually put Sirius right to sleep. He stared sleepily at an abandoned quill and piece of parchment for a full five minutes, before he even realized what he was looking at. He blinked several times, then pulled the parchment and quill slowly towards him and began to write.
Mum,
I'm sorry I disappointed you...
He wrote for several minutes before he signed his name at the bottom, rolled up the letter, and stuffed it into his pocket. Feeling slightly miserable now, he stood up and made his way from the library and off towards the Owlery,wondering how he could have been so stupid as to let himself be sorted into Gryffindor, he had practically suggested it! If he had refused, would the Sorting Hat have placed him in Slytherin with the rest of his family?
With these thought swirling through his head, he headed down the hall to his right, intent on taking a little known shortcut, and getting the letter sent as quickly as possible.
-
It was nearly midnight when Sirius gave the password to the Fat Lady, who told him off for being up so late. He'd avoided Andromeda at all costs, then gone and apologized to Bellatrix, which hadn't been a fun experience, but a looming sense of shame had fueled his efforts, and now he was ready to just pack up and go home if he got word to.
He didn't expect anyone to be in the common room at such a late hour, but as soon as he stepped into the room, three pairs of probing eyes were watching him.
"I don't want to talk."
James frowned, "Your mum is mental, I can't believe she didn't want you in Gryffindor... The old hag…sorry," he added, as an afterthought.
Sirius frowned as well, and then shook his head. "No she was right, I shouldn't of-"
"You're not actually blaming yourself for being in Gryffindor?" Remus cut in, a look of surprise on his face.
"Don't listen to all that stuff she's saying," James ordered.
Sirius raised an eyebrow in silent question, waiting to see what else James had to say.
"Look at it this way...Bellatrix, that git in Slytherin, she's your cousin right?" At a nod from Sirius, James continued. "She's the one always insulting everyone and making snide comments. She said something to Evans yesterday that upset her; we're the only ones that have the right to pick on her! Anyway...do you really want to be like her?"
When Sirius hesitated for a second, James quickly dealt out the rest of his speech with a sly smirk, "Snape is in Slytherin..."
"What was I thinking?" Sirius cried in horror, quickly reverting to his old self. "How would I survive if I was in the same house as that slimy git? I bet he doesn't bathe, that's why his hairs so greasy. Not to mention the horrors of Bellatrix and Narcissa! Those two spoiled brats wouldn't let me play pranks on anyone; I must've gone temporarily mental!"
"I thought he was always mental," Peter commented with a raised eyebrow.
Remus laughed quietly, as he watched Sirius continue with his rant. "He is, but don't tell him that."
- Jade-chan
Jade's Note:
In loving memory of my Aunt Brenda.
In hopes that there will one day be a definite cure for cancer.
