OUTCAST | SIRIUS BLACK

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

DON'T BLAME THE RAIN FOR WHAT NATURE GIFTED YOU WITH
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"Why do I have a feeling mum just sent us on a wild goose chase?" James asked as they stood in the middle of the local foodstore, near the Potter Manor. They were surrounded by muggles who were doing their daily shopping.

"Because she did," Seraphina deadpanned. "I doubt Painswick's local grocery store imports dates from Africa or the Middle East when the population here is about the size of the students at Hogwarts. And I highly doubt they grow in Glouceshire."

"Why would she do that?" James complained.

"Maybe because you asked her what she was going to make for dinner five times in the past hour?" Remus suggested. He and Peter were both visiting the Potter Manor for two days so the large house was by no means quiet at the moment.

"Or because you made the mistake of commenting on how her apple cake yesterday was a bit dry," Seraphina added.

"It was dry," James exclaimed.

"Maybe, but you didn't have to point it out. Next time, try to eat it in silence like the rest of us," Seraphina told him as her eyes browsed through the many shelves inside the store. Thanks to Remus and his knowledge of muggle clothes through his mother, they managed to blend in pretty well in the crowd. "Where is Black and Peter?"

"Padfoot wanted to browse through the vinyl records and Peter might have gotten stuck in the cake aisle when we looked for the dates," James informed her.

"When you say stuck," Seraphina started but she didn't even have to finish before Remus answered.

"He is choosing what he is going to buy. No one is actually stuck anywhere," he assured her, putting his hands in his jeans pockets. Jeans were a muggle invention Seraphina wasn't sure she liked. They weren't as comfortable as the trousers she sometimes wore in her school uniform.

"Let's find them and go back home. We have a thirty minute walk ahead of us, and I think it's going to rain soon," Seraphina said, straightening up from where she had been leaning against a wall. They quickly located Peter who in the end decided that it wasn't worth it to spend money on sweets when he could eat whatever Mrs Potter had planned for the evening - and he informed them all that the older woman had promised him pudding.

Seraphina noticed how a few muggle boys their age looked at her intently but they quickly scattered away when they noticed the glare James and Remus sent their way. She searched the aisle for Sirius when James said, "They swarm around him like lions who are hungry for meat."

She stopped and followed James' eyes to see Sirius standing over by the vinyl records with three muggle girls around him. They looked around their age and were all giggling at something while grinning at Sirius. And much like when she had caught him with Gwenog Jones, Seraphina felt a knot in her stomach.

Much like the other times that feeling decided to show its ugly face, Seraphina tried to ignore it. She didn't have the right to feel that way. Especially after he had kissed her and she had told him that nothing could ever happen between them. No matter how much she liked kissing him.

And she couldn't really blame the muggle girls for being interested in him. Dressed in a black leather jacket over a white shirt and with his hair falling messily, yet elegantly, over his forehead, he looked as handsome as ever. Like one of those really hot movie stars that covered the front pages of muggle newspapers.

What then surprised all of them was that Sirius barely was flirting back with the girls. All he did was flash them a half-hearted grin, which to be fair was enough to make them faun even more over him, but for Sirius it was worrisome. Everyone's bewilderment grew when Sirius noticed them, politely excused himself from the girls and approached his friends.

"Did you find the dates?" he asked them.

"No," James said slowly. "Turns out we are on the wrong continent - are you sure you don't want to talk to them?" he pointed over at the girls who were not so subtly still checking out Sirius.

"Nah, not really," Sirius shrugged casually. "Let's go home then. Sephy said it's going to rain, so we better hurry."

With that Sirius took the lead and they walked out of the store. "Something is seriously wrong," James whispered to Remus and Sera while Peter walked a few feet ahead of them with Sirius. The clouds on the sky were a few shades darker now, so it looked like Seraphina was going to be right about her prediction. "And I don't even mean siriusly wrong. I mean seriously."

"He is hurting, Prongs," Remus reasoned. Both he and Peter had been caught up on what had transpired when Sirius left his family. At least on everything James knew. "He may not have liked his family, but they were still his family. Now he is all alone."

"He is not alone," James whispered firmly. "He has all of us."

"Yes, he does. But it will still take him some time to get over the fact that the people who are supposed to love him are completely out of his life," Seraphina said, looking at Sirius sadly. Even from behind she could see that something was wrong. His entire demeanour seemed more withdrawn than it had been during their Fifth Year.

"How do we fix this?" James asked, looking worriedly at his best friend. "I don't like seeing him like this."

"I might have an idea," Seraphina muttered. She just needed a bit of time and maybe a bit of help too.

"Looks like you were right, Sephy," Sirius announced, turning around to continue to walk backwards. "It's starting to rain."

"I'm always right," Sera smirked, earning a small genuine smile from Sirius.

"Bloody rain," James muttered and what seconds ago had been a few drops turned into a full on downpour. "It always ruins my hair."

"Don't blame the rain for what nature gifted you with."