claret, sirius black

25

chapter 25

ASKING JAMES POTTER to borrow the invisibility cloak without a suitable mischief-making excuse is as impossible as you'd expect.

"What do you need it for?" He asked, lay all over his unmade bed, throwing a rolled up ball of socks up and down. "Are you planning something without me?" His right eyebrow quirked up, a suspicious smirk on his face.

Sirius shook his head. "I just need to borrow it." He said, drawling. "I was going to steal it but I couldn't find it," he told James, his lips pursed.

"Tell me why," James dragged his words, bored and eager to know what Sirius was up to and why he wasn't asked to take part.

"No!" Sirius laughed. He and James had opted to skip their Divination lesson; their teacher doesn't notice if they don't turn up - despite having the so-called 'inner sight'. They both hate Divination after only choosing to take it to mess around. Peter and Remus were in their classes, Peter was in Herbology and Remus was in Arithmancy along with all the other students who opt to take as many subjects as they can.

James narrowed his eyebrows, soon softening his tan face to smirk at Sirius.

"Oh," he smiled.

Sirius looked confused.

"Ohhhhh," he repeated, still smirking. "I get it," James said, throwing the ball of socks across the room at Sirius' head.

"There's nothing to get!" Sirius rolled his eyes and his voice came out a few octaves higher than he wanted it to. "I just need to borrow it," his voice was still high.

James raised his hands, "Fine." He said. "You can borrow it," he winked, leaning underneath his bed to fetch the silver cloak. He threw it across to Sirius' bed.

-

After lunch was Sirius' Care of Magical Creatures lesson, which takes place just inside of the forest. He made sure to put the cloak into his school satchel which is almost always empty apart from a selection of Honeydukes sweets he stashes to eat in lessons. He asked Lenora to meet him by one of the entrance doors of the castle - so he stood against the door waiting for her to come out. Fashionably late, of course.

Lenora almost bludgeoned Sirius again when she came out of the door, she swung it open as if she was an intruding parent eager to catch their child up to something. He had to step away from the door to prevent getting another Lenora Claret induced black eye.

"Oh, sorry," she apologised as she noticed Sirius, she pulled her bottom lip down to show her teeth in an awkward shrug. She shut the door behind her.

Lenora's under eyes had a purple hint and her skin had once again greyed. It had been four days since Dumbledore announced that the forest would be strictly forbidden, even more so than it was before. Her lips looked slightly mauve, they were chapped and she bit the skin off as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's fine," Sirius chuckled. He led Lenora towards the forest, she didn't ask what they were doing she just walked with him. As soon as they reached Hagrid's hut Sirius stopped, he checked that his class was still patiently waiting on the outskirts of the forest for the teacher to lead them in. The class of twenty were still standing there, Professor Kettleburn is always late.

"What are you doing?" Lenora asked finally as Sirius opened his bag, pulling out the sleek, silver cloak. Her eyebrows raised. "Is that a -"

Sirius lifted his finger and placed it on her mouth to shush her. "C'mon," he said, pulling the cloak over her head and then getting underneath it himself, "Kettleburn will be nearly there now, we don't want to miss them going in."