The Clockwork Locket || SIRIUS BLACK

The Meaning of Names

September slipped into October faster than anyone could truly notice. The mornings became frostier, the temperatures cooler, and the trees lining the grounds and bordering the Forbidden Forest burst into an array of sunset-colored leaves before their branches became skinny and bare in preparation for winter.

Autumn was in full swing, and soon, the first snowfall would come, which led to many students taking advantage of the fading good weather and spending the majority of their free time out on the grounds. Those in fifth-year and up could not join them, however, as the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. workloads kept piling on, which led to an early onset of colds and other stress-induced illnesses amongst the older students, and a sense of enmity towards the younger ones.

"Look at them," Cassie said bitterly, staring out a window of Gryffindor Tower that overlooked the lake and scowling at the first years she could see chasing each other around and making random objects float. "Having fun, oblivious to the anxieties of being old, living carefree lives. It sickens me."

She was on her second hour of homework, with two rolls of parchment laid out before her for Transfiguration alone, not even counting the extra two she would have to write for Potions and Herbology. The stress of classes and homework was finally starting to catch up with her – so much so that she'd almost made a second-year girl cry earlier when she'd been talking too loud in the common room and Cassie had snapped at her. (However, after a harsh admonishing from Alice, Cassie had been forced to track down the girl and apologize.)

"Then close the curtains and stop looking," Marlene retorted. Her voice was thick and nasally from the sinus infection that had attacked her yesterday, but after a trip to the Hospital Wing and some Pepper-Up Potion, she was back to good health – though her attitude could use some work, in Cassie's opinion.

Cassie sniffed in disdain. "I will do no such thing. I will watch them prance around with no responsibilities to remind myself of my suffering and the obscene amount of homework I still have to do before bed."

There was a dull thunk on the table across from her the end of her sentence. She and Marlene turned to see Alice with her head down, her deep breathing indicating that she was fast asleep.

"Me too, Al," Cassie sighed, dropping her quill and stretching out her fingers as Marlene poked Alice's cheek to no avail.

"Yeah, she's out," she confirmed. Cassie snorted, wishing sleep would come that easily to her. All of her dreams of late ended with her jolting awake in a cold sweat as Professor McGonagall's voice echoed in her head, telling her she was too stupid to attend school any longer and mocking her for not doing her homework. That alone was enough to put her off from sleep for the past week.

"Where's Lily?" she asked, shoving her Transfiguration homework out of the way to make way for her Potions, not realizing she had pushed it onto Marlene's own homework as the blonde girl shrugged and in turn placed it on top of Alice's head.

"Dunno. Probably having a mental breakdown in the bathroom again."

Cassie rolled her eyes in exasperation. If she thought she was stressed, it was nothing compared to Lily; the girl had become the walking definition of anxiety. Anyone who spoke more than a sentence to her was liable to be yelled at, and crying hysterically had become a sort of hobby for her. It frightened Cassie immensely; if this was Lily now, she didn't want to be anywhere near her by the time the actual exams came around. She would likely end up the victim of a brutal murder if she even cracked a joke.

"Blimey, I'm hungry," Cassie moaned, reaching across the table to take a look at Alice's watch to see how long they had until dinner. Marlene nodded, distracted, and hastily took out a tissue from her pocket to blow her nose loudly.