The Clockwork Locket || SIRIUS BLACK

The Clockwork Locket

The Friday before the Hogsmeade trip was met with grumbles and complaints when students awoke to find themselves finally embracing the oncoming winter. The grounds had frozen over sometime in the night, though no snow had fallen, and the sky was a chilly grey that matched the surface of the Black Lake.

Cassie, in particular, was none too thrilled by the colder weather. Winter had always been her least favorite season ever since she could remember; the lack of colors and the perpetual cold put her off from it, though she would concede the points of Christmas and the brief holiday away from school. However, thinking about going home over the break was too stressful, so it was with heavy resignation that she forced herself to get out of her warm bed and face the day.

"Has anyone seen my scarf?" Marlene shoved aside the pile of clothes she'd been looking through and flopped on her bed with a sigh. "I can't find it anywhere."

"Is it the one you're sitting on?" Lily asked. She pointed to the blonde girl's bed, and Marlene shifted so the red-and-gold striped scarf was revealed underneath her.

"What would I do without you, Lils?" she said gratefully.

"Drive yourself insane because you'd have no one to talk about your crushes with?" Lily suggested. Marlene scoffed.

"Don't be silly," she said. "Cassie and Alice would listen to my boy talk, right?"

She turned to the other two girls, beaming, and they both responded "No" in unison.

Marlene huffed. "C'mon, it's not that bad."

"Mar, you're on to a new bloke every week," Alice said, rolling her eyes, but her voice was playful. "It's a little hard to keep up with your 'boy talk.'"

She frowned. "That's not true."

"Not this year, so far," Lily chimed in, tossing the other girls a secretive smile. "She's only been able to talk about one."

Marlene flushed. "Lily!"

"What?" Alice squawked, upending part of her trunk's contents in her surprise as she stared at the furiously blushing Marlene. "Who is it?"

Before she had a chance to reply, Lily gasped and jabbed an accusing finger at Alice. "What is that?"

They all turned to see her staring at something that had fallen out of Alice's trunk. Cassie blanched. The prize Alice had won from the Marauders was displayed proudly atop a pile of her socks – a bundle of Honeydukes sweets with a note pinned to it in familiar bright green ink: Congratulations on winning your task! Please enjoy a complimentary package of Honeydukes' finest to celebrate your victory (and don't forget to flaunt your newfound flair for rule-breaking to one Frank Longbottom). Signed, James P., Sirius B., Remus L., and Peter P.

Lily looked as if she'd swallowed a lemon as Alice began to splutter.

"I didn't – it isn't – Cassie did it, too!" she cried.

Cassie turned on her, affronted. "Way to throw me to the wolves!"

Lily frowned as she looked between the two girls and the sweets. "You actually played that silly game Potter and his idiot friends came up with?"

"They're not all idiots," Cassie protested, thinking of Remus. She rolled her eyes when Lily gave her an unimpressed look. "Okay, yeah, maybe they are sometimes. But it was just a bit of fun, Lily. You're not going to throw us in detention just because we participated, are you?"

Lily sighed, rubbing her forehead, and Cassie sensed she was about to start channeling her inner prefect.

"I understand it's just a game," she said. "But think of what would've happened had you been caught by Filch! Alice, you're not a troublemaker, and Cassie, what you did was a huge risk if you're worried about your parents finding out. I'm not going to give you detentions, but I think you two should be a bit more careful, especially when those Marauders are involved."