Pawns & Players - Sirius Black

-40-

The only crime is pride  - Sophocles

The Common Room's whole dynamic had changed in just hours. Remus couldn't look into Sirius's eyes, James was, as the boy had already guessed, defending his best friend but then had apologized to him and Peter looked completely clueless on what he had to do. He had apologized to the boy but was mostly around the two others and everything was an indecipherable mess. No reaction out of any of them made sense, nor did it seem like it was going somewhere.

On the other hand, the girl watching them on the other side of the room with her two best friends, clueless about the situation, was visibly enraged. Whether it was the action itself, Sirius's lack of guilt, or Remus's reaction, it didn't sit right with her and had two options. Leaving the situation to itself was one, not the one she would choose.

She believed in actions and their consequences. Actions over empty words. Actions for indefinite revenge. And no one was there for justice, an abandoned sky and overpopulated ground, searching for fairness in nature was pointless.

Long story short, she would have to burn down her nonexistent moral compass once again.

-

"Are we ready team ?" James was concluding his speech right before leaving the locker room when he held her back with excusing eyes.

She lifted her head expectedly, waiting for him to continue.

"Laurie I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt Moony and apologized to him. I just thought it was a regular prank like we always do and that he would yell at us if he was mad" His voice sounded truly remorseful and sincere.

"Did Sirius ?"

"He didn't apologize yet but must've also felt ba-"

"I don't have a problem with you James, good luck with the game" 

Maybe Remus was right. Maybe James was completely incapable of accepting that Sirius might've done something bad, or more so, incapable of understanding the gravity of his actions as everything was just a game to them.

Walking towards the pitch shared by the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams, who very obviously didn't seem to get along well, she saw the usual view in the stands. Remus and Lily were there, no matter what, followed by Peter and Frank, next to Dorcas wearing a shirt with Marlene's head on it. Turning her head around to watch the Keeper's face lighten up at the view, she took off on her broom.

It certainly was a long game, all three Gryffindor chasers were standing a solid game against the three Slytherin girls, tying the scores one after the other for each side, when she spotted the Golden Snitch on the far other side of the pitch.

Regulus must've also laid eyes on the nearly invisible target as they both dived sharply.

"LADIES, GENTS AND ANYONE WHO DOESN'T IDENTIFY WITH THE TWO, THE BEST SEEKER IN HISTORY AND BLACK ARE BOTH CHASING THE BALL"

"It's called the Snitch Miss Macdonald" Minnie scowled the girl next to her, shaking her head disapprovingly with a discreet smirk.

"HIT HIM WITH THE BAT LAURS"

"No, this is it- hand me the speaker"

Brushing against the boy's robes, she turned her head around, grinning at him challengingly while receiving the same response.

"I advise you resign now to avoid further embarrassment Alexander"

"The embarrassment you underwent last year you mean ?" Focusing on the Snitch in front of them, she continued. "I'm intending on carrying on the tradition"