Genetics • Sirius Black

Chapter Fifty One: Goodnight.

Truly, the limitations proposed by sleep are only restricted by one's own will and willingness to bear dark circles. Days are too short to be held down by such conventions. With that in mind, if Regs uncovers my discovery, I fear I will only be let out of my dorm once I spend at least three days in slumber. He worries too much.

In the early hours of the morning, a glasses-wearing boy tip-toed up the steps of his dorm room. Though tip-toe would be quite generous, in reality, the boy was far too tired to tip-toe. His steps more mimicked the sluggish crawl of a garden snail.

"Lumos." James Potter muttered, letting the soft light show his door. Very slowly, he turned the nob and gently closed the door after him.

When he turned back around, the room candles lit up, and Sirius Black sat at the edge of his bed. "What are you doing back so late?"

"I was— were you spying on me?" Wincing at the light, James noticed a crumpled piece of paper peaking out of Sirius's blankets. Tinted parchment with words that disappeared as soon as they came.

"Obviously not." He scoffed. 

"Right."

"I was just monitoring your movements, just as a precaution."

"So, you were spying on me?"

"Fine, I was spying on you! Happy?" Sirius got up from his bed to follow James to his. The other two boys had gone to sleep with the curtains drawn tight (they were charmed with noise-canceling enhancements since the teen boys figured some bits should be left private). James plopped down on his bed and undid his shoelaces. "It's awfully late for potion making." Leaning on one of James's bed posts, Sirius crossed his arms.

"She's really invested right now." Taking off his shoes, James turned his head up to Sirius. "And as I recall, you'd stay out till sun up."

"Only cause she was a stubborn arse about it sometimes." The grey-eyed boy insisted.

James snorted and then unbuttoned his white shirt. "What's the muggle phrase, pot calling the kettle black."

A huff of air left Sirius's nose, and he eyed his friend as he got ready for bed. "What do you even do, anyway?"

"Same thing you did, only without annoying her as much."

Lips pressed together, Sirius felt a hot emotion burn in his chest. A haughty expression painted his face; he said, "I don't think you should stay out so late. Moony asked a question about you, and I nearly fumbled on the story."

"I wasn't exactly keeping track of the time." James dismissed, tiredness leaking in his voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius stood up straighter.

"I mean, my hands were a little occupied, and I couldn't be looking at my clock every five minutes." Pulling up his light blue sleep pants, James tilted his head.

"You just lost track of time?"

"I suppose."

Eyeing James's back, Sirius noticed how muscular it looked in the low light. He was incredibly handsome, not in the same way Sirius was, but he was more of a wholesome handsome. Soft brown curls, and gentle features, even grew into his eyebrows last year. Plus, despite being a seeker, he wasn't as scrawny as most of them. He was well-built, despite being quite a few inches shorter than Sirius. Still, with Freya Grey being so petite, James was probably the perfect height for her.

Sirius picked at his fingernails. "So, what? You guys talk?"

"No, we operate in complete silence the whole few hours." Sarcasm stuck thickly to James's words as he pulled on a shirt (the Slytherin was rubbing off on James a bit too much). "Yes, of course, we talk." Tiredness clear on his face, James looked at Sirius. "You good, Pads?"

"Yeah," Sirius smiled; why would he not be? "Goodnight, Prongs."

"Night, Padfoot," James murmured as he plopped on his bed and went to sleep. But Sirius did not share the same fortune and instead tried to make out patterns on his bed curtains. A sick feeling stirred in his stomach, and he was having a hard time pushing it down.

He was not the only restless soul in the dorm. One bed down was Remus Lupin with his curtain every so slightly opened, his ears straining until the dark room was filled with nothing but James's soft snores. Curling deeper into himself, Remus felt the room turn colder. Marauders schemed together. They were supposed to be brothers... but Remus could not help but feel that his brothers had finally gotten enough of him. No more inviting poor pitiful Mooney to activities. No more telling him secrets at nightfall.

Last full moon had been rougher than usual. Maybe they'd finally had enough. Sirius and him hardly even talked these days. They were never as close as James and Sirius were, but at least if Sirius was planning something stupid like attacking his brother or getting drunk for the Slugclub dance, then Remus at least got to hear the why. Had Remus been too distant too soon? He hadn't meant to be cold after the incident with Severus Snape, but how else was he supposed to react? He should have forgiven him sooner.

Flipping his back to the curtain's opening, he cringed into himself. "Why must you ruin everything?"

***

Six books were splayed out in front of Freya Grey. Her bed had more paper than sheets, and she held her wand up to each and every one of them, rotating quickly between each page. The first book had a monster, bigger than any man, back ripping in blood and a severed hand dangling between its teeth. Violent. Uncontrollable. Savage.

According to the data, a werewolf could kill at least two dozen people in one full moon with its blood lust. Those attacked but not killed instantly would become werewolves themselves, sentenced to a life of bloodshed and anger. Interesting, but not new or relevant to her search.

The book next to it was a book on moon cycles and the indigenous peoples of the Americas, not much information on the witches of the area since most were slaughtered or driven into hiding because of muggle affairs (rather annoying since they seemed to have the best understanding of werewolves).

Below that one was three books on paralytics. She knew aconite was intense for humans, but she needed to figure out how severe it would be on active werewolves seeing as they apparently were astronomically more powerful than the average witch.

Finally, on her lap was the magazine article that cited the magnificent discovery on its way to being patented.

She could not help but feel that she was missing something. Something big, grand even. But in potions, that grand thing could be anything from temperature to a drop of water... or both. A thought struck Freya, and she closed all her books at once, then pulled out her notebook. Quickly, she scribbled her thoughts down, trying her best to get her hands to keep up with her mind. 

Once she finished, she inspected her notes. "I suppose, you'll rest soon, Remus." 

A/N: Hey, I'm moving Emmeline Vance(introduced in "Scatter!") to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, and I'll be changing those mentions accordingly, but she will be casted as Tati Gabrielle.