Love You In My Mind // Sirius Black

Chapter 15

I'd gotten released from the hospital wing later that day, just before lunch.

The marauders had been released earlier than me, straight after being treated by Madam Pomfrey, so I didn't get to spend any more time with them.

They were either roaming through the castle or catching up on some lost sleep.

It frustrated me a little bit that they were Gryffindors and I was a Ravenclaw, because I could never spend time with Sirius and Remus, or even James and Peter, inside of our common rooms, which made meeting each other much more complicated.

At lunch, I found out that my Ravenclaw friends had already finished their homework yesterday, when I was being treated.

So that left me alone with three essays and one practical assignment.
Being alone had the advantage of being able to choose where I wanted to be, though.
Since it was a nice spring day; sunny but not too hot, I brought my stuff outside and sat down under a huge tree, with a view over the black lake sparkling in the distance.

I really wasn't too fond of doing homework right now, but I had to do them some time, right?
So I started the Potions essay for Professor Slughorn.

I had been busy for quite a while, yet I had only finished two essays (I had often caught myself just staring at the lake, oops).
Only a Transfiguration exercise and an essay for Astronomy were left. I was currently doing the latter when someone sat down next to me.

Startled, I looked to my left, where Sirius was making himself comfortable.
"You're such a nerd."

At his sight, the butterflies in my stomach went wild, like they always did. I'd been crushing on him for almost a month now, I realised.
That was longer that I'd thought it would be, and that worried me a little. When would those feelings finally disappear?

But still, I was super happy to see him sitting next to me, though I had to play it cool.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm just living up to the expectations of being a Ravenclaw. Or maybe not, because I've fallen behind. Nevermind. How did you find me?"

Sirius smiled secretively and held up his left hand, in which he held a blank piece of parchment.

I felt oddly great for knowing what he meant. "Aah, okay."
And I felt amazing, knowing that Sirius had actually searched for me. They were the smallest gestures that made me know he cared, and those gestures meant more than anything to me.
The warm feeling intensified.

So much for my crush disappearing.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, skooting closer.
I could feel my heart pounding, and I had difficulties breathing.
He was sitting so close to me that our shoulders were occasionally touching, and somehow that was too much for my brain to handle. Stupid, useless thing.

Sirius looked down on my empty parchment, and the star chart next to it. "Astronomy?"

I forced myself to snap out of it and stopped staring at his side profile. I blinked. "Ehrm, yeah. I saved the worst for last."

Sirius' head snapped towards me, and no word on earth could describe the shocked and disbelieving expression on his face. "The worst?!"

His reaction unsettled me, so I blushed even more. "Yeah," I mumbled quietly. "I suck at Astronomy; it's my worst subject."

Sirius didn't reply for a while, he just kept staring at me with this indescribable expression.
"Wooow," he finally said. "I can't imagine you being bad at something so easy and amazing!"

"I take it you're good at Astronomy?"

"The best! I love it!" He smiled brightly, the shock almost completely gone. It had to be, when he was already being able to compliment himself again.
"I can teach you, if you want?"