epiphany ♕ | 𝗷𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

33

TIME IS INFINITE BUT LET'S START with forever. In a friendship, most would say friendships don't last forever. You'll depart from your beloved's and move on. Sometimes people betray you, and that hurts. Yet, growth is all that comes with betrayal.

"Wake up!" Sirius yelled. She jolted up in a flash, turning around frantically. Sirius Black was smiling sheepishly. The boy didn't seem tired from yesterday. Not that he knew she saw Remus's wolf form.

"Aren't you tired?" she heavily said. Sirius gave her a confused expression. He sat on the edge of the couch she was sleeping on.

"Tired?" his tone inquisitive, "From what?" she bit down on her lip. Siobhán had busted her cover. She was sure James Potter hadn't told them of her midnight stroll.

"From running around all night." she eventually said. Sirius's eyes widened at the fact she must've known.

"You know..." he whispered. "You know!"

He jolted up from the couch and started pacing back and forth. Siobhán sat up, clutching the pillow laying at the end of the couch. "I know what?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony's situation." he whisper-yelled. She nodded as he went back to sit down on the armchair in front of her. "How did you find out?"

"Well, I went on a midnight stroll." she began. "I wasn't planning on going towards the forbidden forest but the moonlight took me into another reality." Sirius heaved out a sigh.

"I know I shouldn't have been careless enough to go outside on a full moon," she admitted. "There were some markings on this tree—S, and R. I found them intriguing and I decided to search further."

"S and R?" Sirius arched an eyebrow. She nodded, licking her lips.

"Yeah, the markings were fading. They seemed old, pretty sad." she clasped her hands. "Do you know anything about those carved letters?"

Sirius thought about the past. He remembered the time he and Remus went outside, late at night, to hang out. They brought a dagger for protection and eventually came up to a tree. Remus had told him to carve the first letter of his name. That happened in 2nd year, barely children.

"First, you have to tell me about how you realized," Sirius smirked, placing his hand on his thigh. She groaned at his demands. "You won't get your information then."

"Fine." she sternly spoke. "I'll tell you, but don't try manipulating me again." Her smile came innocently. She had learned that special trick from the one and only, Sirius Black. "I heard howling after finding the tree. So, I decided to run, run away super fast. I went through the forest in hopes nobody was following me. I was correct until I was on the steps, trying to enter the castle."

Sirius nodded, interested in her story. "Sounds suspenseful." Siobhán put a finger up to her lips. She hadn't finished her story. He pressed his lips into a thin line and let her continue.

"You know who I saw?" her tone playful. "James Potter. The James Potter, shirtless. To my dismay, he had to be in front of me and shirtless!"

"Of course he's shirtless." Sirius laughed. "The dimwit hates wearing a shirt after turning into his animagus form."

"He inquired me about what I was doing." she half-smiled. "While we were talking, Remus appeared out of nowhere, all in his wolf form. I was told to run so I did, but I wanted to see what would happen. So, I hid behind a pillar and watched the interaction. There he was, James Potter, in his stag form."

"Blithering idiot," Sirius muttered under his breath. "James always has to make some sort of mistake that could risk us everything."

"Good thing I'm on your side." she scrunched her nose with a smile. Sirius nodded, tilting his head in the process.