The Losing One || Sirius Black

29. Initial Denial

Sirius Black

Sunday, 28th May 1972.

Hogwarts

April and almost all of May had passed in the blink of an eye. Remus and Peter did keep their promise when it came to mischief making in second semester and joined James and Sirius on most of the pranks. The Marauders were unstoppable.

Firstly, they charmed all desk chairs to release a farting noise every time someone sat on them, but conveniently, there were four uncharmed ones in every classroom. Then, Sirius and James laid the foundation for the exploding rocks prank.

They scattered little rocks all over the Clock Tower Courtyard and, due to the ground already being made of stone, the rocks were practically invisible. Remus and Peter then helped them to cast a time-delay spell so that all rocks would explode at the same time, when the courtyard was the busiest. Needless to say, this one earned them a three week detention.

Of course, they couldn't leave Snape's gang out of their plans, so the Marauders slipped them some hiccupping potion during dinner. Remus insisted on it being during dinner so that the Slytherins wouldn't have to skip any classes. The best part was the sight of red Snape trying to yell at Avery while being unable to keep from hiccupping. Oh, and they weren't caught this time.

Then James got some magical chalk from Mr. Potter. Whenever someone would use it, it would write the complete opposite word. It was hilarious watching as Slughorn tried to write the instructions for the potion they were brewing. Instead of writing counterclockwise, on the board was written clockwise which resulted in major explosion from every cauldron in the classroom.

All of these actions and their research on how to actually make a readable map made the semester pass in the blink of an eye. Sirius couldn't believe that his first year at Hogwarts was coming to an end in less than a month.

Truthfully speaking, he wasn't ready to return back to 12th Grimmauld Place, but he kept telling himself that the return will only be for a couple of weeks. That somehow sounded better than saying two months.

This time, compared to the last, he wasn't scared of returning there. Sirius knew that Regulus wouldn't be mad at him for not sending the letters, they had that talk on Christmas. Orion and Walburga already punished him for getting sorted into the wrong house so there was no reason for panic there either.

Now, it was more of an inconvenience to return to Islington if Sirius didn't count the excitement that rose in him at the thought of finally seeing his little brother.

Of course, he will miss James, Remus and Peter a lot, but he will have Regulus. Even better, he will not have to leave Regulus again on the 1st of September because this time the younger Black will be joining him in the journey to Hogwarts.

Sirius couldn't wait to introduce Reg to all of his friends, especially James. There was this vivid dream in his mind of the five of them sitting together in the Marauders' compartment on Hogwarts Express, but Sirius will have to wait for that moment to become a reality for a few more months.

Of course, there was another reason besides Regulus that kept his head up when it came to the 12th Grimmauld Place, the Black family's library. The restricted section was a complete bust. The only good thing that came from that mission was another secret passageway and Remus' brilliant idea for the map.

Sirius still couldn't believe how smart the boy was. The creativity and thoughtfulness somehow radiated off of him. It was one of his favorite moments when Remus would put on his thinking face. His brows would come closer just a tiny bit, but not enough to consider it a full frown and his eyes would squint—