Cosmic Stardust - Jegulus

Chapter 15

Half term break came up before we knew it. Most people just stay at school since it's only a ten day holiday. James and Sirius told me they weren't going home but I could if I wanted. There wasn't really any point, so I decided to stay at school, like I do every other half term. Millie was going home but Dora was staying so at least I wouldn't have been entirely alone.

Since the beginning of the school year, Pandora has become increasingly close with my brother and his friends, mainly Mary and Alice but she's close with Frank and Peter too. Sadly, this means she keeps wanting to drag me up to the Gryffindor common room to see her Gryffindor friends who conveniently consist of my brother and his friends.

It's the first day of the break and my plans of relaxing with a book in bed were ruined when Dora barged into our room demanding we go up to the Lion's den. For some reason she always makes me tag along, so I knew it was a useless effort to try and stop her. She'd drag me up there by the ears if she had to. So that's how I ended up trudging up the stupid amount of stairs to the Gryffindor common room, linked at the arm to my blonde friend.

Both of us knew the password to the portrait and once we stepped inside, we found my brother and his friends all scattered around the red and gold themed room. It was disgusting. "Dora," Sirius gave an excited cheer when he saw us, standing up to welcome us. I rolled my eyes in fake annoyance, "don't even say hi to your own sibling," I muttered and got flicked in the face by Sirius while James attempted horribly to hide his snort of laughter from where he sat playing exploding snap with Dorcas and Lily on the carpet. I glanced over briefly and momentarily wondered why the box of cards had 'e' scribbled on the end of the game title, but my train of thought was ruined when Pandora pulled me over to the sofa where she somehow managed to squeeze me between Remus and Peter, perching herself on my knee. If it were anyone else, I'd have been terribly uncomfortable by this arrangement, but she's my best friend, probably the only person I feel truly comfortable with other than my brother.

She went right into conversations while I just listened. Remus turned to me and asked about my current book when the common room door opened. I expected it to be another student, so it took me a little by surprise when Professor McGonagall walked in, back straight, head held high. Out of everyone in the room, she turned to look directly at me, "Ah, Miss Black. You're needed in the Headmaster's office. Your parents are here to collect you."

The whole room went silent and everything inside me went silent too. Why would my parents be here to collect me now after they haven't bothered to get me since I ran away? What about Sirius? At the mention of my parents, my body switched into auto pilot, that pureblood veneer that I grew up with coming back full force after having faded slowly. I stood and Pandora slid off my knee and onto the floor. She didn't even complain about being dropped as I stepped around the people on the floor and made my way over to the Professor. Just as we were about to leave the common room, Sirius stood to follow.

"This does not concern you, Mr Black," the woman spoke rather harshly. The next person to stand was James, the pair always standing up for one another when they do stupid things. "Nor does it concern you, Mr Potter."

Sirius stared at me but thoughts of my parents clouded my mind, not able to figure out what he was silently trying to tell me. "After you," McGonagall hummed, stepping out of the way of the door. I bowed my head slightly as I passed through the archway, McGonagall right behind me so I didn't bother to look back at my brother.

We walked in a tense silence, only the sound of our shoes on the stone floors to fill the silence. The transfiguration professor's face looked taut as we walked, and when she stopped to say the password to Dumbledore's office, it still stayed that way when we got to the top of the stairs and she opened the door to the Headmaster's office.