A/N: Thanks if you're adding this to your favourites or alerts, it does mean a lot to me (but if you could find the time just write a little bit about what you think , even if it's just abuse, then I would be very grateful too). Thank you for reading! Any requests for particular memories you'd like to see?

"So what was it like?"

"You know, the usual."

"Th-the usual? How often do you discuss your NEWT options and future with M-McGonagall?"

"For Merlin's sake, Peter, d'you have to take everything so literally?"

As alphabetical order would have it, Sirius Black was the first of the four friends to have his careers talk, and it was as such that he was filling-in the eager remaining three in the bustling Gryffindor common room.

"Pete, shut up and let him tell us what it was like."

"I w-, I was just saying."

"And I'm just saying it wasn't that big a deal."

"Enough, Sirius, just tell us why you look so smug."

"Well, McGonagall's discussing my options, telling me what an exemplary transfigurations pupil I am-"

"Like that's a surprise."

"And she's going on about how I can pretty much do what I like because I'm amazing at all my subjects-"

"Less boasting, more talking."

"Yeah, and besides, she'd say exactly the same thing about me."

"Fine, fine; I was just recounting the story how it happened! Then she went on for a bit about me being complacent, arrogant -"

"-A trouble-maker who's wasting his talents."

"Got it in one, James – you'd think she'd have made the speech more interesting the hundredth time around. Anyway, I'm sure you can look forward to the same."

"Can't wait. Wish I could be there for Pete and Remus' though; 'you could do so much more if you didn't hang around with those two'."

"And we wouldn't have it any other way."

"Qu-quite r-right too."

"Anyway, it wasn't all positive. I'm telling her about the sort of stuff I'm interested in – maybe becoming an auror, a curse-breaker or something, maybe helping out in the war – don't look at me like that Pete, we've got to do something. So she tells me what NEWTs I'll need to take – nah don't look so worried; that's not the problem, all of them sound piss-easy."

"For you, maybe."

"So I'm about to get up, and she says that my parents have been in touch and were wondering what NEWTs I was planning on doing, what career paths I was considering – they'd even given her some suggestions."

"What? I hope you told her what they could do with their suggestions…"

"Believe me, I wanted to. I mean, what were they expecting? 'Mum, dad; up 'til now we've never seen eye-to-eye, but upon hearing your suggestions I realise that I do want to spend my future living off our awful family name.'"

"Y-you'd be very r-rich if you did though."

"Yeah, but wealth doesn't seem to be worth it on the whole when it comes attached to idiotic blood-obsessed psychopaths."

"S-so what did you s-say?"

"I asked her if I could take one more NEWT, on top of the ones we'd already discussed."

"Hang on, you look smug because you're becoming a nauseating geek like Lupin here?"

"Keep up that talk, Potter, and I'll see to it you get a detention."

"Mate, you've been a prefect all year and you've failed miserably at keeping us lot under control."

"I'm just lulling you into a false sense of security."

"Or you secretly love our pranks."

"One of the two."

"Ah well, can't complain; when you don't have a go at me, Evans comes and does it for you."

"…There's got to be something perverse about being that into someone telling you off."

"S-so, Sirius – what did you ask about extra NEWTs for?"

"Well, on top of the others, I'm going to take NEWT Muggle Studies."

"Ha – b-b-brilliant!"

"Your mum's going to murder you."

"She's going to murder us all, probably."

"Yeah, well; I told McGonagall to let them know I'm looking at careers in muggle liaisons, although my back-up plan entails becoming a caretaker like the great man Filch himself."

Astra Tallis snorted into her notes on the benefits and the limitations of using summoning charms. She had not meant to eavesdrop per se, but it could hardly be helped when the boys in question were sitting on the armchairs next to her.

Besides, it was hardly as though she had gone to sit by them – she had been a good fifteen minutes into her work when Sirius Black had sauntered over with an oddly satisfied smile on his face, sitting in one of the armchairs next to her, casually flicking through a Muggle Studies book. For some reason she got the impression that he was going to talk to her, because – really – there were seats elsewhere, next to people from his year.

As such she kept glancing over at him from the corner of her eye, subconsciously taking note of the arch of his cheekbones when he smiled like that. Almost immediately she realised that she was being hopelessly naïve, however, upon the arrival of the rest of his group – he was obviously waiting to tell them what had happened.

But when she'd snorted just then she was almost certain – though not certain enough to inform Alice, who'd probably think she was becoming some sort of mentally-unstable fantasist – that Sirius Black had looked right across at her and given her an amused, slightly lopsided smile before returning to his conversation.

The only response she could manage was widened eyes, a gulp and a quick return to her notes, acting as though nothing had happened. Indeed, she looked exactly as she had done a few minutes ago, and only a close observer would have noted that her lips were now inexplicably curled upwards.