Lollipops ↬ Sirius Black

Lollipops - Chapter 22

"Merlin's beard — where is Sirius!" James Potter exclaimed for what had felt like the hundredth time.

At the moment, James was alongside two of his three best mates in the Great Hall—Remus and Peter. Sirius, however, was nowhere to be found. Once the four had gotten off of the carriages, Sirius seemingly disappeared, an incoherent excuse slipping his lips before he ran off. It was strange.

The boy had yet to show up from wherever he'd gone off to, which definitely brought up the confusion and curiosity of James, Remus, and Peter.

Remus and Peter simply believed that Sirius had gone off to kiss up to another girl, but James knew better; there was no way that Sirius would skip over a feast, unless he deemed the matter as very important. And, if there was an important situation occurring, then Sirius would tell him of it. He was sure of it. This had to be more than just a girl.

"Who cares if Sirius isn't here? More food for us!" Peter piped up in an attempt to lighten the mood. Remus chuckled heartily, and James snickered too, thumping Peter on the back as he did so. But, although Peter's words were... lightening, James was still stumped.

Eventually, the food on the five tables disappeared, and after a marvellous feast, Professor Dumbledore shared his closing speech with the students and staff before he dismissed the pupils of Hogwarts.

As him and his two friends exited the Great Hall, James kept a stern eye out, which was pretty easy to do so, as he was taller than a lot of people. However, with no such luck, James saw no sign of a shaggy, black-haired boy, so he retreated back to his dormitory, where Peter, Remus, and their other roommate, Frank Longbottom, exhaustively wished each other a good night.

He lay in bed, the snores of Peter soon filling the room. Though suddenly, a thought struck him:

The Marauders Map.

James realized that he could simply peer at him and his friends' creation (the Marauders Map), and find out where Sirius had been off to; maybe even find out who he was with—if he even was with someone, that was.

James lunged into the trunk that lay flat against the edge of his bed. The Marauders Map was at the top of his pile of nonsense in his trunk, because it was his most valued article.

"Lumos," he muttered, and then; "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He murmured the sacred words in a hushed breath. The scriptures and words began to form in front of him on the enchanted map of Hogwarts.

It wasn't going to be a difficult process to find Sirius. Most people were in their beds, so the names of people that would usually fill up the corridors in the Marauders Map were now tucked away in their corners. Of course, there were the prefects and occasional Professor who roamed the halls—even some lovesick students who missed each other over break were mingling in empty classrooms — but none of these people stood out to James.

For, the label was as clear as day; Sirius Black was in the Kitchen.

But, just as James was about to ponder over why his best friend was in the place, he saw another name. He squinted to make sure that he was seeing correctly, even though his eyeglasses were on. But, yes, he had to be seeing correctly—Naomi Serdeys was in the Kitchen too.

————–

The next day, Naomi found herself in Potions class. The students of Hogwarts were quickly brought back into their usual schedule of attending class, as Christmas Break ended on a weekday. Naomi was no exception, so she followed the directions that Professor Slughorn gave her and her classmates, just as she would any other day.

They weren't making any potions that day; just answering a couple of questions written in their textbook. However, as Naomi opened her textbook to its designated page, she found that a ripped piece of parchment was tucked safely in the page.

Naomi looked around, and everyone was doing their work like they should've been. So, with apprehensiveness, she gingerly unfolded the note and read it.

Meet me in the library after third period.
J.P.

Naomi frowned. Was this note given to the wrong person? Was it even intended for her?

Despite her doubts, she began to think; who withheld the initials J.P.?

Jackie Porter, she thought, Jean Papollata, Jamie Pastures, James Peters...

Given that there were various students in Hogwarts with the initials 'J' and 'P', Naomi supposed that she'd just have to go to find out after third period. Though suddenly, she realized that Potions class was her third period, and class had just ended—she was going to have to go to the library now.

–————

When Naomi arrived at the library, she looked around; how was she to find this supposed 'J.P.'? The library was mostly empty, with only three students there, two of them likely having a free period.

The other student, though?

Well, Naomi simply believed that he was going to skip class. It was James Potter.

As her eyes cast over the boy, she suddenly realized that he was frantically waving his arms around. She frowned in slight confusion. Was he waving to her? However, not more than a second later, she realized that the boy was not waving at her, but waving her over. For, this was the supposed 'J.P.'.

James' hair was as messy and troubled as ever before, but it didn't look as troubled as his facial expression was. Nonetheless, Naomi rushed over and placed herself in front of the boy, sitting in the seat opposite of his.

"Hello." James said, a goofy grin easily falling onto his lips.

"Hi," Naomi began cautiously. When the boy said nothing, she changed her tone and became polite. "Is there anything that you need?"

"Ah, yes," James spoke in a feigned posh manner. He spoke as though something dire had happened, but he sounded silly at the same time, and Naomi had to stop herself from chortling. "I'm assuming you received my note?"

Naomi nodded. "Yes."

And then suddenly, James looked troubled again. He rushed all at once, "Look, Serdeys, it kind of pains me to say this, and I feel sort of terrible, but— "

"Wait," Naomi abruptly cut him off. A horrid feeling formed in her stomach; did James know of her cancer? Yes, it had to be. Remus must've told him, and that was likely why he appeared as so solemn. She didn't even have time to feel betrayed towards Remus, she just dreadfully continued in a slow and pained tone. "If this is about what I think it is..."

"Yes, it is," James frowned and looked at her concernedly. Naomi's stomach churned, then dropped. But then, James said something that gave her a whole seperate feeling. "This is about Sirius."

————–

Thank you very much for 11,000 reads. I appreciate your constant support and enthusiasm!

QOTD: Favourite article of clothing to wear?
AOTD: T-shirts.

Love you all,
Manny