Winter In The Shade | Sirius Black x Female Ravenclaw Reader

XIX

"I can't believe you got away with that." you laughed, rocking on the spot you sat on the grass, your hands holding onto your knees to keep yourself from falling on your back from the laughter.

To your left sat Remus, holding back a smile as he watched in marvel around the small circle you formed on the ground, he was shaking his head with the brightest smile finally breaking over his face as he looked over you with the shrug of his shoulders. As much as Remus Lupin had the facade to be a rule follower with his shiny prefect badge held proudly on his chest, you had learned he had only that reputation due to his ability to know every single rule and how to get away with breaking them and not get themselves stuck in the detention for the rest of their years at Hogwarts and even more time after they graduated. He had that gleam in his eyes as the rest of them narrated the events of the previous days, the proud knowledge that if it wasn't for him, none of their late night adventures would be possible.

James and Peter, of course, could not have been any other way but standing just a few short steps from you, reenacting everything that had happened. The Slytherins were their favorite targets for their pranks, no one knew exactly why and put it on the ancient rivalry that had been going on since the time the founders themselves had walked those very same halls. If you wore a green robe you had a target on your back. Older students didn't have luck that week, apparently a strange case of some disease Madame Pomfrey hadn't been able to name had gotten loose on the dungeons. Teachers and prefects alike had been summoned to the infirmary to discuss the subject, no one had been able to discover what was the cause of the sudden appearance of scales over the arms of the Slytherin students.

"You should have seen Professor Dumbledore's face." Remus added, earning the burst of laughter from James and Peter who finally fell to the grass and rolled there, clutching their stomachs. They obviously had heard this part of the story before. "I'm sure he had as much trouble as I did to keep his smile to himself."

"Tell her what he said, Moony." Sirius said, making you look in his direction with a smile of your own. His cheeks hurt from his smile at that point, his body eager to move but he sat next to you, legs bent so he could rest his arms over his knees in a lazy position. His hand had a ghostly touch over your shoulder, sometimes moving to tap in your back with a rhythmical pattern. If he only moved his arm a little closer, he would have been holding you.

"Professor Dumbledore thinks it's only right that the Slytherin students be proud of their symbol," Remus said with his best imitation of the professor's calm voice "They shouldn't worry about embodying their house emblem."

The shock of what Dumbledore had said lasted but a brief second before you burst out laughing, joining Peter and James on the grass. Low chuckles reached your ears but you had no willpower to stop laughing at the thought of the older students with scales on their arms and a sour mood, the cherry on top being professor Dumbledore comments.

"Next thing we know you all will grow manes and I'll have feathers." you said, once you calmed down, moving to sit back in your place.

Sirius scoffed, making you turn in his direction with a bright smile, his face closer to yours than you had anticipated. "You think this hair grew in just one day?" he asked, shaking his head dramatically so his hair will move just like silk over his shoulders "I don't think so. This is my pride and years of care."

You scrunch your nose at him, missing the way James and Peter mocked Sirius as they ran their hand through their own hair. You only turned when Remus almost spit out his drink, coughing loudly as he hit his chest and turned to the side.

"You all wished you had hair like this." Sirius said with a glare, flipping his middle finger in the air for all of them to see. They all let out a whistle as their hands were raised in the air, the humor never leaving their faces as they all knew hitting Sirius' ego was the way to win with him.