It All Fell Down | A Marauder's Story

Six

"My biggest fear is that eventually you will see me the way that I see myself." - Anonymous

     Sirius Black's head jerked slightly against the palm of his hand. He sat up straighter, realizing he had begun to doze off. A sound could be heard as he cleared his throat slightly, and he shook his head trying to force the tiredness out of his system. His being sleepy was clouding his brain, and he found it rather obnoxious. His grey eyes stared at the board as Professor Binns droned on and on, and all Sirius could think about was how much he regretted skipping breakfast that morning. I would kill a man right now if it meant I could have a cup of coffee, he thought to himself.

     James nudged him with his elbow and slid a piece of parchment towards him that read: You okay?

     Sirius picked up his quill to scribble back in his boxy handwriting. Last night was a bad one, Prongs. Worst one I've seen in a long time. Moony may be out for a while.

     James frowned at the words but made no move to write a response to contradict his friend. He simply crumbled the paper in his hand, smearing ink along his palm, and tossed it into his bag to be forgotten in the bed of rubbish collecting at the bottom.

     "Something you would like to share, gentlemen?" Sirius and James both jumped as they lifted their sleepy eyes to look at the professor who was now right in front of them.

     "No, sir," James said quick, blinking sleep from his eyes.

     Sirius huffed at his now racing heart. "Professor, is there anyway we could get you some kind of ghost bell or something? You're going to give someone a heart attack sneaking up on them like that."

     Professor Binns' teeth clamped together. "Both of you– detention this Friday."

     "Both?" James demanded, hazel eyes widening.

    "Yes, Potter," Professor Binns snapped, turning to glare at the boy, daring him to argue. "I know what I said."

     James stared on in disbelief. "That's not fair," he argued. "I didn't do anything."

     The professor lifted his chin. "Potter, don't push it."

      James bit his tongue. He felt rather compelled to continue being snarky, but their first Qudditch match was this Saturday. He couldn't risk missing that because of a second detention. So, he kept his mouth shut. He crossed his arms with a sound of annoyance and stared out the window for the rest of the class period, sulking in his new Friday plans.

     "Sorry, mate," Sirius apologized as they left the class, scrunching his face into an apologetic look. James shrugged.

     "He does need some sort of noise maker or something," Marlene commented, pursing her lips.

     "Dude," Lily countered, giving her a look of disbelief.

     "What?" Marlene asked. "You're telling me he's never scared you because you didn't know he was coming towards you?"

      Lily smirked. "See," Marlene smiled triumphantly.

     "Why are you lot so sleepy?" Charlie asked, as they made their way to the infirmary watching the three boys yawn simultaneously.

     James shook his head trying to force the sleepiness from within. "Right," he commented, scrunching his nose. "We forgot to tell you that little detail."

      "They're anamagi," Lily answered excitedly, a gleam in her eyes.

     "A little louder, Red," Sirius responded with a roll of his eyes. "I think there was someone in the astronomy tower who didn't hear you."