As always, a big thank you to Ambush99 for her wonderful betaing skills.
Chapter 17
"Sirius, are you sure you're okay with this? We could just steal some food from the kitchens if you want," James asked, for what seemed like the hundredth time, as they made their way slowly towards the hall. It was slightly later than usual, so he hoped it would be less crowded. After Sirius's partial collapse earlier, he was beside himself with worry.
"I'm fine, Prongs. I promise."
James nodded, his jaw tight. "Who sent you the letter?" he asked, eyeing the scrap of parchment in his friend's hand.
"My brother," Sirius replied quietly, handing it over.
James took a moment to read it, frowning as he did.
Sirius,
I hope you feel better soon.
Love Reggie.
"But I thought, well, on the train," James started.
"He didn't know."
"He was in the same bloody house as you!"
"Sure, but he wasn't in the pub," Sirius bit back.
James somehow resisted the urge to sigh, as his friend tried to spin his bullshit story again. He ran a tired hand through his dishevelled and wild hair. "Mate, on the train he was, well, so dismissive of your 'death', I just. Shit, I don't know."
"Prongs, it's not his fault. My family, well it's complicated," Sirius replied tiredly.
"Complicated?! Yeah, that's a word for it," James started.
"Mate, can we not talk about it? I just, I just want to try and pretend things are normal again."
'Normal', James thought. Things were far from normal, but if that's what his friend wanted, if that's what was getting Sirius through the day, then it would be a cruel person who denied him that small pleasure, and he wasn't going to be that person. "Sure mate. So, who do you think is going to be the winner out of Hufflepuff and Slytherin?"
"Slytherin," Sirius replied simply.
"Damn," James swore. "That's what I thought. I was hoping you were going to say Hufflepuff. But no worries, as soon as you're fit again, we're unstoppable."
"James, I can't..."
"Not now, but Muggles break bones the whole time and they carry on playing sports. You and Jones are the best beater team the school's got."
"James, I won't-"
"No, I won't accept it. We'll find a cure. You will be fine!"
"Prongs, please, I really just want to pretend nothing happened, even if it's just for an hour," Sirius said desperately
"Okay, that's cool. Let's, let's get some food. Moony and Pete are meeting us there. You and I both have detentions, so it's kinda normal," James said with a forced smile.
"Yeah, normal," Sirius replied quietly, adding a smile for good measure, as he wandered into the hall, settling down next to one of his other friends. "Hey, Moony."
"Hey, Padfoot," Remus greeted.
"How was your day?"
"Boring, but you know, double Divination, so always a barrel of laughs."
"I did try and warn you guys," Sirius replied, spooning some mashed potato onto his plate.
"Yeah, you did and yeah, you were right, but we've only got a few months before we can give it up," Remus replied, worry laced in his voice as he observed his friend's meagre portion. "But Transfiguration wasn't too bad. My silver goblet earned me ten points for Gryffindor."
"Nice one, Moony," James said, clapping his friend's shoulder. "What did old McGonagall say about me missing her lesson? When do I have detention?"
"James, I-" Sirius started.
James waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm a couple short of your record. I can't have you beating me on detention records."
"You're going to have to try harder mate," Remus said, speaking up.
"What?"
"She didn't give you a detention. She got all, well emotional. I thought she was going to cry or something, " Remus said quietly, his cheeks flushing.
"Pull the other one," James replied, eyeing his friend with raised eyebrows.
"I told you. She just told me to take notes for you both, and you if had any questions to let her know."
"Aww, McGonagall has a crush on ickle Prongs," Sirius joked.
Remus raised his eyebrows, trying not to laugh at James' reddening face. "She got emotional when I mentioned you," he said pointedly, as he turned to face Sirius.
"Oh, come on!" Sirius protested.
"Yeah, actually. When she told me you were being released, McGonagall got all emotional. I think she has a crush on you!" James countered.
"She got all emotional in front of you!" Sirius sparred back.
"Maybe she has a crush on both of you?" Remus suggested innocently.
"Piss off Moony, you weirdo," Sirius and James chorused together.
Remus looked and laughed at his two friends and their red faces. "Pork chops?" he said with a smile, trying not to laugh.
"That would be great, cheers," Sirius replied lightly, slightly glaring at his friend.
Remus took a couple onto his plate and stripped them off the bone before dropping them onto Sirius' plate. "What else?"
"Moony, you didn't-"
"You guys do it for me after a bad moon, I'm just returning the favour. Now what else?"
"Gravy."
"Well obviously, you're not a savage."
Sirius bit back a laugh and a grin. Just for a second he thought everything was normal again, that everything over Christmas hadn't happened, before dark feelings and memories returned. "Thanks, Moony."
"Hi guys," Pete panted, as he arrived red faced and out of breath. "Oh, hi Padfoot!"
"Hi Pete, how was…" Sirius trailed off, as he struggled to remember the other boy's timetable. "Sorry, I can't remember."
"Oh, Merlin don't worry, Padfoot. I can barely remember my own timetable. Extra Potions," Pete cut in. "Terrible, I melted another cauldron. I added the crushed beetles too early, but I got it on the second try."
"Nice one. Well done, Wormy."
"Thanks," Pete replied, as he grabbed his plate and began to pile food on it. "Oh, old Sluggy has asked me again if you two would join his Slug Club," he finished.
James sighed dramatically. "But it would be SOOO boring."
"Isn't Evans a member?" Sirius said through a mouthful of mashed potato.
"Yes, yes she is," James confirmed in a tight voice as he remembered their last conversation.
"Well, maybe join. You might be able to impress her," Sirius replied, missing his friend's tension. "Or you could fail miserably."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Oh post," James said, as he watched a flock of owls descend into the hall, feeling relieved for the excuse to change topic.
Sirius eyed a familiar looking owl amongst the group of owls. For some reason he knew to refer to them as a 'parliament', why he did not know, but it had to be something to do with his family's 'education'. The owl dropped an expensive looking parchment in front of him, before quickly taking flight again. He stared at the parchment for a moment, at the elegant, green penmanship. The envelope didn't have the Black family crest, and in any case the writing did not belong to his mother or father, yet it was oddly familiar. Sighing, he slowly reached forward, only to have his hand dramatically knocked away. "What?" he heard himself say distantly.
Remus watched as the owl struggled to take flight after it dropped the letter in front of his friend. It almost seemed as though the owl was drunk or something, he thought as he tracked its unsteady flight across the hall. The owl suddenly became still and plummeted to the ground. He flicked his eyes between the letter and the space where the owl once was. Barely thinking, he grabbed the bowl of peas, emptying them on the floor before knocking Sirius' hand out the way and covering the letter. "Get him out of here," he hissed at James.
"What?" James started, as he looked between the upturned bowl and Moony.
"The owl's dead!"
James didn't need another warning. Whatever killed the owl was probably laced into the letter intended for Sirius. Jumping up, he grabbed Sirius under the shoulders and pulled him up, away from the table. "We need to go."
"Prongs?"
"I'll explain everything later I promise, but we need to get you out of here," James said as gently as he could. He exchanged looks with Remus.
"Pete, get a teacher, preferably Slughorn," Remus said quickly, his eyes never leaving the bowl.
"Sure," Pete replied, as he sprinted towards the teachers' table, his food long since forgotten.
James quietly led Sirius off to one side, away from the hall. "Sirius, are you okay?"
"Umm, I, yeah I'm fine," Sirius replied hesitantly.
"Padfoot," James said quietly, his hand not leaving his friend's shoulder. "Mate, this has gone too far. I know you're scared, I am too, but you can't carry on like this."
"Like what?" Sirius said, making a weak attempt to challenge James.
"I know you weren't beaten up in a pub. You told me what happened."
"I, I didn't know what I was saying. I was probably hallucinating or something."
"Sirius, you know that owl was meant for you. I don't want you to die, but what if Remus or Pete had picked it up? What if a firstie had picked it up?" James watched as Sirius looked away. "Come on, we'll go to Dumbledore together."
Sirius shook his head. "No, he won't believe me. He'll think I'm a stupid sixteen year old looking to cause trouble."
"He won't Padfoot, he'll believe you."
"You don't understand, Prongs. You don't understand what they're like. You have no idea how much power they have. I'm just a stupid sixteen year old, looking to get out of more trouble."
"Padfoot," James replied in a tight voice, as he pulled his friend into a hug. "I believe you."
"But that's not going to be enough, is it? They'll say we are two kids seeking attention. They'll never believe us," Sirius said desperately, as he stumbled to one side and slumped against the wall.
"Padfoot, no they won't. They'll believe us," James started, as he wrapped an arm around his friend's thin, shaking shoulders.
"No, they won't. I'm not talking to one of the teachers. They hate me. They think I'm an evil, lying, waste of space," Sirius muttered as he stared at his feet.
"No, they don't," James said gently. "Why do you think that?"
"Because, because, well-"
"Dad. We'll talk to my dad."
"Prongs?"
"He's a lawyer," James started.
"I know what your dad does, James. He's not just a lawyer, he's a named Partner at Abbott, Macmillan and Potter. They are the most influential and expensive law firm in the wizarding community. I can't afford that. I don't have a Knut to my name," Sirius exclaimed, as he raked a hand through his lank, dishevelled hair. "And why would they take a case as stupid and as small as mine?!"
"Padfoot, they used unforgivable curses on you. They tried to bloody kill you! Yeah, I think it's a big enough bloody case! When I asked dad about healers not telling anyone what their patients said, dad said the same applied to lawyers and their clients."
"James, it doesn't matter; I can't afford it. Your dad probably charges 100 galleons per hour!"
"Then I'll get a paper-round!" James exclaimed. "Sirius, you can't go back there. They'll kill you!"
"Ten galleons," Sirius mumbled to himself.
"What mate?" James asked softly.
"Nothing," Sirius said quickly, as he looked away.
"Okay," James said slowly, his arm still wrapped tightly around his friend's shoulders. "Let's ask McGonagall if we can use her fireplace to floo call my dad. He'll help, Padfoot, I promise you, he'll help."
Sirius nodded, not having the energy to do anything else. He allowed himself to be led away from the great hall and towards their Head of House's office. He vaguely wondered what Remus and Pete were doing with the supposedly poisoned letter. He wondered what it had been poisoned with and who had sent it. As he slowly made his way down the corridors, he heard James' reassuring voice. He leant towards his friend and nodded, more to reassure James than himself.
