Silent Screams | J. POTTER

8 | season of forgiving

James had let the whole trying to get Romi to forgive Sirius thing go and decided to stick to merely trying to keep them in the same room together. Despite his best efforts, it hadn't been going well. Romi would do anything to not be near him. Any excuse she could think of and she was gone.

Remus had ultimately forgiven the boy but he certainly hadn't forgotten what he had done. Their conversations were minimal, consisting of awkward 'good mornings' and poor small talk. So all in all, James was having the time of his life - note the sarcasm.

Romi hated that Remus had forgiven the boy so easily but she had decided it was time he made decisions for himself. If he wanted to forgive Sirius, that was his choice. She certainly hadn't planned to forgive him anytime soon. He has messed up immeasurably and Romi wasn't sure there was anything Sirius could say or do to get her to forgive him anytime in the near future.

Sirius had grown more anxious leading up to the holiday break than he had ever been before. While James kept it brief when he explained it to Romi, apparently Sirius had received a letter from his mother that wasn't exactly comforting. It was always something with his family. Usually some form of a blood purity right or something he needed to be on his absolute best behavior for.

Romi felt bad for him when she found out. She knew better than anyone how poor his relationship was with his family and how much he hated - or more accurately, feared - returning home. He would prefer to stay with James but he never had a choice. The Wizarding World was different from the Muggle world in that an unsafe home was expected for most kids of the pureblood variety. There wasn't much to be done to fix that.

Which truthfully made Romi feel worse because her and Remus would be staying with the Potter's for the holidays while Sirius was stuck with his dreadful family. No one - not even after everything that happened - deserved to deal with those wretched people. Certainly not Sirius.

"Romi," someone spoke up from behind the couch that she laid on in the Gryffindor common room. She had been reading when her mind had wondered. She sat up on the couch and turned to see that it was Sirius. She scowled, though it wasn't as deep as it had been prior and he seemed to notice because he perked up. "I know you're mad at me. You probably hate me, and with good reason, I'm an idiot. No, not an idiot, I'm...Well, I'm something worse than an idiot but I really am sorry."

Romi huffed, leaning her head back for a moment. She shook her head before turning to look at him again, "I don't hate you."

He sucked in a breath, "You don't?"

"No, I don't," she sighed, placing her book face  down on the couch, "I should but I don't. You're my brother, no matter what. But I'm still royally pissed at you and you're not forgiven. Not even close." He nodded quickly in agreement, "What do you want?"

He looked down at his hand as he played with them, "I got a letter from my mom."

She gestured with her head for him to join her and he did quickly, taking a seat next to her, "James told me. Sort of."

"I guess it's Narcissa's and Malfoy's wedding over the holidays," he explained. "I'm supposed to behave myself and not be a disappointment or whatever. I'm not sure I know how to do that."

"Why not talk to James or Remus about this?"

"You always know what to say," Sirius admitted.

Romi let out a sigh, "Just shut your mouth and keep your head down. Make it through the next few weeks with no incidents. If you can do that, maybe I'll think about forgiving you."

He smiled slightly at this, "Really?"

She nodded reluctantly, "But you have to put an effort into not angering them. While I'm aware that your parents are the devil incarnate, don't tempt them. No taunting remarks. No blatant disrespect that's called for or uncalled for. You only have to deal with them for three more years and then you're free. You can't really be free if you're dead."