Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter one hundred and twenty-two

June 6th - Transfiguration Hall 

It is often said that you have not known true freedom until the moment you exit the exam hall, having just finished the final exam of your senior year. Nephera could wholeheartedly agree with that statement, for walking out of the Double Doors of the Transfiguration classroom was one of the best moments of her life, "Merlin, that wasn't all that hard, was it?" asked James, "Well, everything except question fifteen," 

"Ah, yes," laughed the Slytherin, "Describe the progress of becoming an animangus, we certainly wouldn't know, would we?" 

The marauders laughed at the girl's words, recognizing the irony of the situation. Finishing NEWTs was indeed very relieving, especially since all of them deemed they had done a good job on most of the exams, yet it was still rather bittersweet, "Three more days here," sighed Peter, looking around the familiar walls, "Almost doesn't feel real," 

"We'll be back one day," said Sirius, "We'll have to visit Moony while he teaching, won't we?" 

Everyone laughed at that, moving towards the Great Hall for lunch without stressing about something for the first time in days. Another point of excitement for the entirety of the seventh year was the bonfire that would be happening that night. 

The bonfire by the Black Lake had been a tradition for the finishing class of the school for years now, one that the Professors were completely unaware of. Well, they said they didn't know about it, but Nephera doubted that McGonagall hadn't caught wind of it after so many years. The fact that this year, the marauders and Nephera had taken over planning the entire thing was the icing on the cake, and everyone couldn't wait for midnight to come. 

The students piled into the Great Hall, chatting excitedly about how they had done in their exams. It was a weird feeling, knowing that school was over and they'd be leaving in three days, entering the real world and having jobs. 

Nephera thanked Peter for pouring some water for her, "What's the plan for tonight, exactly?" 

"I'm handling the drugs, Wormy's taking care of the alcohol, Prongs is handling the food, and you and Pads are in charge of music," explained Remus 

James nodded, swallowing the bite of pasta, "Everyone's coming, right?" he asked, "Seventh years, I mean," 

"They should be," replied Peter, "Well, except maybe mr. Death Eater over there," 

He pointed across the Hall over to the Slytherin table, where Theodore Nott was sitting, pushing around the food in his plate with his fork, only partially listening to what Regulus and Barty were talking about, "I feel kind of bad for him," joked Sirius, "He lost all his buddies after they tried to kill us," 

"Worry not, they'll be reunited soon," snarked Alice, who had just walked into the Hall as well, taking a seat next to Nephera, "What should we even wear tonight? Jeans and a shirt?" 

The brunette shrugged, "It's not exactly a formal event, not to mention that we'll be too- Oh, I have the perfect shirt," 

The pixie-haired witch laughed at the childish expression on the Slytherin's face. It was rare to see Nephera so excited over something, and Alice was pleased to see that just for one night, the girl wasn't feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders, "You're getting ready at our dorm, right?"

Before Nephera could answer, Lily piped in, "Of course she is," she smiled 

It appeared that the redhead was feeling increasingly guilty for the way she had been treating Nephera, so after their confrontation in the corridor a week before, she had taken to be the sweetest person she could be to make up for it.