after dark || James Potter

A.D. 1:5

Lucinda Sparrow never went back to the Orphanage for Winter break. She always  preferred the old castle to the chaotic two-storey compound she grew up in. An added feat that made her love spending the holidays in school was that the halls were quiet, and the food was always good.

    A bonus point for this year's Christmas was that Sirius decided to stay at Hogwarts, too. He had finally relented to the brunette's pleading, as he can also admit that spending the break away from his family sounded like pure heaven. Of course, he had also asked the rest of the boys if they also wanted to stay behind this year, but they had all said that their families were expecting them home.

    Although disappointed, Sirius was still pretty elated at the thought of both him and Lucinda being away from the Borough of Islington and getting to spend time together for a whole two weeks.

    And that was exactly what they were doing, as for the third day in a row, Sirius and Lucinda were spending time together in the Room of Requirement. Honestly, they only ever went out to eat and sleep, as both preferred their beds to the couches the room provided them.

    The room of requirement continued to provide them the same space since they discovered it two years back. It had a fireplace, with two long couches opposite each other and a coffee table in between. Their record player was sat on a small table by the wall on the right, and a shelf full of records were beside it, while the opposite shelf had rows and rows of books (for Lucinda, of course, as Sirius only ever read novels when he had absolutely nothing else to do). The floor was wood, but the center, where the couches stood, was covered by a red carpet. On the far ends of the room were large windows which overlooked the black lake and had cushions on the window sills.

    Somehow, every time they entered the room, the fireplace was going and it was always warm. They guessed it was to add a comforting and homey feel to the place, and it was even more appropriate now that it was the holiday season. The fireplace was even decorated with Christmas ornaments and Lucinda was left, once again, in awe of magic.

    Like always, Lucinda and Sirius occupied couches opposite each other, both lying with their legs outstretched and their heads on the soft pillows.

    "So," Sirius starts, finally getting the courage to talk to Lucinda about something that he and the boys have been discussing in the weeks leading up to the break, "Remus tells us that you've known about his... condition for a while."

    Lucinda hums.

    "Why didn't you tell me you knew? That would've made everything easier! I hated giving you lame excuses about Remus because I know you never believed me," he huffs.

    She raises her eyebrow at him, "It wasn't really my place to ask you about Remus, and it wouldn't have been right to just confront the boy. If he wanted me to know, I figured he'd tell me."

    "I guess," the Gryffindor says, "anyway, how long have you known?"

    "The summer before third year. I was reading through our DADA book when I realized."

    Sirius nods, "we've only just found out by that time."

    There was an empty silence, and Lucy could tell that Sirius wanted to say something, so she prods, "what is it?"

    Sighing, Sirius sits up and turns to her. It's now or never, he thinks. "The boys and I have been thinking about what we can do to help Remus during full moons," he starts but then stops, "well, James and I, really."

    "How could you possibly help a werewolf when they turn?" Lucy asks, bewildered, "and why would he need your help, anyway?"

    "He hurts himself, Cinds," Sirius whispers, and Lucinda furrows her brows as she, too, sits up. He continues, "he locks himself up at the Shrieking Shack and is left there all alone until he turns back. He bites and scratches himself. We just... want to lessen his pain."