Wednesday, September 8, 1796
Sirius stepped through the portrait hole and into the almost entirely deserted common room, dropping his bag and promptly sitting down in his favorite chair. He slouched down and stretched his legs out in front of him, trying to decide whether to spend this free period doing homework or taking a nap in preparation for their full moon adventures later that evening. Before he had gotten any further than pulling a book from his bag and eyeing it distastefully, Mary came down the staircase from the girls' dormitory and took the seat across from him, setting down her bag by her feet.
"Hello, Black," she said, looking pleased to see him. "I thought I was the only one with this free period." She gestured around at the common room, empty except for a studious seventh year seated by the window and absorbed in a book. "I was all prepared for a year of very lonely Wednesday afternoons." She glanced at the book in his hand and beamed. "Are you doing the Charms essay?"
Sirius looked down at the book in his hand without enthusiasm. "I was trying to decide whether to do the essay or take a nap," he admitted.
"That's a tough decision, but I think you should skip the nap and do the essay so you can help me." She pulled a piece of parchment from her bag and unrolled it, frowning. "I have most of it done, but I'm stuck on the last bit."
Sirius took the parchment from her and read silently for a moment, then flipped through his book until he found the desired page. "Here, this is what you need to finish the last part. Also, I'd change the second paragraph a bit because you're not describing the wand movement exactly right - it's more of a little wiggle rather than a flourish." He demonstrated for her.
She looked at him skeptically. "I'm not writing 'little wiggle' in my essay," she protested. "I'm going to sound like an idiot."
"No you won't," he argued. "Flitwick will know exactly what you mean. You do have a point, though, I suppose, because that phrase has Sirius Black written all over it, and he'll know I told you to write that." He thought for a minute. "Just describe the wrist movement as a bit looser, I guess. It doesn't have the same ring as 'little wiggle,' but it will have to do."
She giggled. "We've definitely reached our quota for use of the phrase 'little wiggle' for the day." She pulled quill and ink from her bag and stretched out on the floor, writing silently for a few while occasionally consulting the book. Sirius did the same, and for a while the only sound was the turning of pages and scratching of quills. When Mary was finished, she handed her essay to Sirius for approval.
"Yeah, looks fine to me," he said, shrugging.
"Thanks," she said, waving it around to let it dry before rolling it up and placing it back in her bag, along with her quill and ink. Sirius examined his own essay, frowning slightly then crossing out and rewriting several sentences, before putting it away and returning to his chair.
"You're already done?" Mary asked, incredulous.
"I work fast," Sirius said, shrugging. "Since we've finished our work, I think we've earned a cigarette, don't you think?" He jerked his head in the direction of the 7th year seated across the room. "I'd say we could just open the window and blow the smoke outside, but he's a prefect and doesn't like me much, so it's a no go. The Astronomy Tower is really the best place, it's quite peaceful up there, but I'm far too lazy at the moment, so let's just go up to my dormitory."
He stood and offered her a hand up, and she took it after a moment's hesitation. He led the way up the stairs, pulling open the dormitory door and dropping his bag unceremoniously on the floor before pulling his cigarettes from his pocket and offering one to Mary.
"Ladies first," he said, before taking one for himself and lighting it with his wand, then opening the window a few inches. He inhaled deeply, then blew the smoke out, feeling himself relax as he watched the smoke drift out the window and mix with the golden light of the afternoon.
"I've never been in any of the boys' dormitories," Mary admitted, surveying the room with interest. "Hang on, let me guess which bed is yours." She looked around at the four poster beds, frowning in concentration, before she pointed to one triumphantly. "That's it," she said confidently.
Sirius raised his eyebrows at her. "You're right," he admitted. "What gave it away?"
"It just has a very Sirius Black feel about it," she said, grinning. "Plus, I can't see any of the others putting up motorbike posters."
Sirius grinned back. "What, you can't picture Peter driving a motorbike?"
She laughed and shook her head, her eyes continuing to rove around the room. "Is that your Quidditch team?" She pointed to the Chudley Cannons poster next to his bed. "The Cannons, is it? Are they any good?"
Sirius eyes her suspiciously. "Are you having a go at me?"
She frowned. "No, why?"
Sirius shook his head. "Oh, well they're just, I dunno, some people would consider them a bit of a joke, I suppose."
"Why?" Mary asked, interested. "Is it because their uniforms are so ugly?" She wrinkled her nose. "I don't fancy that horrible shade of orange."
"No, not because of their uniforms," Sirius said, amused. "It's because they haven't won the league in a while."
"Well that just shows you how much I know about Quidditch, which is next to nothing, if you couldn't tell. When was the last time they won?" she asked curiously.
"1892," Sirius said, smiling ruefully.
"You're joking!" She laughed and widened her eyes. "And you still support them? Why don't you switch to a team that wins a bit more often?"
"You don't just abandon your team when they don't win, Macdonald!" Sirius exclaimed passionately. "I've supported them since I was a kid, and I'm not about to stop now just because they're in a bit of a rut."
Mary held up her hands. "All right, all right, I'm sorry." She took a long drag on her cigarette, then looked at Sirius thoughtfully with her head slightly tilted to one side. "That's nice, actually, that you've stuck by your team for so long. It shows loyalty and dedication, and, I dunno, all those Hufflepuff-type traits."
"Macdonald, did you just criticize my Quidditch team, then insult me by calling me a Hufflepuff?" Sirius put out his cigarette and left it on the windowsill, then crossed his arms and fixed her with an appraising look.
Mary giggled. "Technically I didn't call you a Hufflepuff, I said you showed Hufflepuff traits," she pointed out.
"Well, that just sounds like semantics to me," Sirius argued. "I helped you with your homework and shared my cigarettes, and this is how you repay me?" He shook his head disapprovingly. "You'd better start being a bit nicer, Macdonald, otherwise I may have to ask you to leave."
She rolled her eyes, putting out her cigarette and flicking it out the window.
"Great, now you're littering," Sirius said, throwing up his hands in mock outrage. "There's the door, Macdonald." He pointed at the dormitory door. "Don't let it hit you on the way out."
"Oh, shut up," she muttered, leaning in and kissing him. When she pulled away, she laughed softly at the expression of mingled surprise and pleasure on his face.
"I suppose I won't have to kick you out of the room after all," he said, grinning.
"Well, that's good," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the bed. "This would be awkward to do down in the common room."
"Don't rule it out," Sirius said.
"Black, stop talking," Mary ordered, and he obliged.
"Padfoot, are you up here?" James called, pushing open the door and bursting into the room without waiting for a reply. "We've got to hurry if we want dinner before-" he broke off, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Ugh, it smells like sex and cigarettes in here." He glanced at Sirius's bed where Sirius and Mary still lay, mostly covered by blankets, then his eyes traveled to their clothing strewn across the floor. "Hello, Macdonald," he said, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
"Hi, Potter," she said, tucking the blanket more tightly around herself. "I like your dormitory, although I have to admit, I was sort of expecting you to have a heart-shaped photo collage of Lily hanging on the wall."
"You know, I normally do," he said, smirking. "It fell down, and I haven't gotten around to doing a Permanent Sticking Charm on it yet."
"Moony's going to yell at you," Peter observed as he stepped through the door and the scent of cigarette smoke immediately assaulted his nostrils. "Hopefully it airs out by the time he's back." He stopped short when he noticed Mary in Sirius's bed, turning bright red and dropping his bag in surprise.
Sirius laughed at the expression on Peter's face, but Mary gave him a friendly wave. "Hello, Pettigrew," she said cheerfully. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." She smiled apologetically, then gestured at the pile of clothes on the floor. "D'you think you could pass me my clothes?"
Peter gaped at the assortment of clothing piled by the bed, which included a pair of pink lace knickers, and blushed even harder. After a moment, Sirius made an exasperated noise, then threw off the blankets and padded across the room to retrieve the clothing. Peter spluttered incoherently and stared determinedly down at his feet.
"Don't be such a prude, Wormtail," he said, tossing Mary's clothes onto the bed before beginning to get dressed.
"Merlin, Black, you're not shy, are you?" Mary observed, struggling to get dressed underneath the blankets.
"Not in the slightest," Sirius replied, pulling his shirt over his head and shaking his hair out of his eyes. "You can look now, by the way, Pete."
"I take it this means your free period was better than expected?" James asked, smirking.
"It certainly exceeded my expectations," Sirius agreed. "Plus, we finished the Charms essay, so all in all, not a bad Wednesday afternoon, wouldn't you say, Macdonald?"
"No complaints here," Mary said, now fully clothed and searching for her shoes. "Except I do feel a bit bad. I'm afraid Pettigrew may never be able to look at us the same again."
Peter, still red in the face, shook his head. "It's fine, I just wasn't, you know, expecting it," he muttered, not meeting her eye.
"We'll hang a tie on the door or something to give you a heads up next time," she assured him.
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Does that mean we're going to make this a weekly thing?"
She shrugged. "Why not? Seems like the best use of our Wednesday afternoons, don't you think?" She glanced at James. "Is Lily down in the common room?"
James shook his head. "No, she stopped by the library."
"Excellent. I'd better go, then, so she doesn't see me coming out of the boys' dormitory and ask a bunch of questions."
James frowned. "You're not ashamed of being with Sirius, are you? Because he is a beautiful, beautiful man, and any girl who has the privilege of shagging him should consider herself lucky."
"Aww, thanks, Prongs," Sirius said, nodding appreciatively.
Mary rolled her eyes. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you only asked out Lily all those times to hide your true love for Black. Anyway, it's not that I'm ashamed, I just know she wouldn't approve, but as I don't really give a monkey's what she thinks, I'm going to go ahead and do what I like. I just don't feel like listening to her lecture me, that's all." She headed for the door, calling "See you lot later!" over her shoulder as she went.
"And to think I was excited about getting my Charms essay done and beating Prongs at chess during our free period this morning," Peter said, shaking his head wonderingly. "You know, Padfoot sometimes I wish I had your life."
Thursday, September 9, 1976
"Hullo, Moony." Sirius, James, and Peter stood clustered around Remus's bed in the hospital wing, exhausted but cheerful. Sirius clutched a bar of chocolate, which he deposited on the small bedside table before sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Remus opened his eyes, blinking several times before croaking out a greeting that was barely audible. The bright autumn sun streamed through the window, illuminating the pallor of his skin, the dark circles under his eyes, and the fresh cuts and bruises on his face. He smiled, then immediately grimaced when the motion caused one of his cuts to begin to bleed again.
"How're you feeling?" James asked, plopping down in the chair next to the bed and folding his hands behind his head.
"Oh, just bloody peachy," Remus replied wryly.
"Okay, how bad is it this time?" Sirius said. "Is it got run over by the Knight Bus bad, attacked by a dragon bad, or me drinking my weight in firewhisky and falling down the dormitory stairs then waking up in my underwear bad?"
Remus thought for a minute. "Third one, I think," he said, laughing softly, then frowning and touching his ribs gingerly.
"I took excellent notes for you today," James said quickly, attempting to distract Remus from his pain.
"It's true, he barely even stared at Evans because he was too busy writing things down," Peter added.
"Thanks, Prongs," Remus said, sounding slightly more cheerful. "I love it when it's your turn to take notes because you always draw such amusing doodles."
"Oh, this one is excellent," Sirius assured him. "Show him, Prongs."
James dutifully pulled a piece of parchment from his bag and unrolled it, revealing a page of detailed notes and a hastily-scrawled doodle of a stag flinging Bertie Botts off his antlers for a shaggy dog to catch, while a rat watched and applauded.
"Well, this is just silly," Remus said with a slight smile. "Rats can't clap, everyone knows that." His face fell, and he glanced around quickly before speaking. "Did I do that?" He pointed at a red mark on Sirius's neck.
Sirius looked confused for a moment, then laughed. "No, Moony, you're a very gentle lover."
Remus let out an exasperated sigh. "No, really. It's fine, I'm not going to get upset, I just, you know, like to know."
"We understand that, and wouldn't have a problem with telling you if anything goes wrong, except then you spend the next week apologizing for something you have literally no control over, and that's just a bloody waste of time," Sirius said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter anyway, because this really wasn't you." He smirked, then gestured at his neck. "This is from Macdonald."
James nodded appreciatively and Peter grinned despite blushing slightly at the memory, but Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, "Oh?"
"That's right, we never had time to tell you," James said, and he and Sirius took turns describing the events of the previous afternoon, with Peter chiming in occasionally to add to the story. When Madam Pomfrey came to check on Remus, the four boys were laughing so hard that she had to clear her throat loudly to get their attention.
"Now really, boys," she chided, striding briskly across the room to hand Remus a cup of potion.
"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey, didn't mean to be so loud," Sirius said, grinning at her. "It's all Remus's fault, though. He keeps telling us the dirtiest jokes, and we can't help but laugh."
"I'm sure," she said, arms crossed disapprovingly, but her stern demeanor did not reach her eyes.
"Here, we brought you this," James said, pulling a chocolate bar from his pocket and handing it to her.
"Thank you, boys," she replied, accepting the chocolate bar with a small smile before bending down to adjust a bandage on Remus's arm. "How are you feeling, dear?" she asked kindly.
"A bit better," Remus said, and Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly as she noted the slight color that had returned to his cheeks.
"Madam Pomfrey, you're a marvel, you know that?" Sirius observed, watching her dab salve onto a cut above Remus's eye. "Look at that, he didn't even flinch. You have such gentle hands, doesn't she, Remus?" He met his friend's eye, completely straight faced.
James and Peter both looked at the ground, trying desperately to maintain neutral expressions. Remus turned bright red and glared at Sirius, then choked out through gritted teeth, "Yes, I suppose she does."
Madam Pomfrey appeared slightly confused, but she smiled appreciatively at Sirius. "Thanks, you're kind to say so. I do try." She gave Remus one last appraising look, then nodded. "I'll be back in a bit to reapply that salve, but you should be all set to leave in a few hours." She bustled away, waving at the four Marauders as she went. As soon as she had disappeared, they burst into hysterical laughter.
"I hate you so much," Remus said, torn between amusement and embarrassment.
"Yeah, yeah," Sirius said, pulling himself together and passing Remus the chocolate bar. "Shut up and eat your chocolate."