Finding My Perfect Ending 》Snirius/Snack

Chapter 4 - Prince's Spells

Sirius entered Gryffindor's common room after giving the password to the fat lady. He scanned the room and felt content that none of his friends were present, presumably enjoying themselves outside. Dropping his bag on the floor, he sat on an armchair adjacent to the fireplace. Mary Mcdonald who was doing her homework on a sofa across his armchair, raised her eyebrow as she eyed the book on his hand curiously. "Would you look at that? Sirius Black reading a book, that's new.." she said, sarcastically. 

"Impressive, isn't it? It's a secret talent of mine," he quipped, playing along with the joke. 

Mary chuckled, shaking her head before returning to her homework. "Indeed, very impressive," she sighed as she resumed her work. He waited for a few seconds to see if she had any further comments, but when she remained silent, he took it as the end of their conversation. He held the book and observed it when he was suddenly interrupted by her remark. "That's not your book," she pointed out. Sirius snapped his head up to look at her whose eyes were still glued to her book. 

"What?" 

"I said, that's not your book," she repeated again, didn't even bother to look up from her work. 

"How would you know?" he asked warily. 

Mary raised her head with a lackluster expression, and Sirius followed her gaze to the book before returning his gaze to her. Her expression seemed to say, "Are you kidding me?" as she stated in a flat voice, gesturing towards the book in his hands, "That's a used textbook, and it looks very battered." 

"And what's about it?" 

Mary looked at Sirius with a mixture of confusion and disbelief, her forehead furrowed and her bangs swept to the side. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Sirius Black, really? Do I have to spell it out for you? B-L-A-C-K. Black. Your family is one of the wealthiest wizarding families in the UK. Are you seriously suggesting that they would buy you second-hand books?" she exclaimed, her tone incredulous. 

Sirius' heart sank as he realized that Mary was right. He felt a pang of embarrassment shoot through him like a bolt of lightning. "Um, well, I borrowed it from the library," he muttered, running his hand over his curly hair in a nervous gesture. But the moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. The library didn't carry official textbooks, let alone ones that were as tattered and worn as the one he was holding. Sirius could feel the heat rise in his cheeks as he struggled to come up with a plausible lie. 

Mary's eyes narrowed as she took the book from Sirius's hands, inspecting the cover with a scrutinizing gaze. The edges were tattered and frayed, and the spine was cracked from years of use. She flipped through the pages, taking note of the faded text and dog-eared corners. "The library?" she repeated incredulously, looking up at Sirius with a mix of disbelief and amusement. "I didn't know the Hogwarts library carried such ancient relics." She handed the book back to Sirius and resumed her seat, a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "Well, alright then." she said in an unconvinced tone. 

Mary sat back down on her chair and started to put her books and quills back into her bag. The rustling of papers echoed in the silent library as Sirius watched her with curiosity. "Going somewhere?" 

She turned to face Sirius and held his gaze for a few moments before letting out a heavy sigh. "Mulciber took away my wand at lunch today. That son of a bitch," she clicked her tongue in displease. She looked so done and tired of him and Sirius seriously couldn't blame her. Mulciber had been bullying her since their fourth year. It was rather odd to him since she was the only Muggle-born he seemed to pay so much attention to. "He told me to meet him at 3 pm to get it back, and now I have to waste my afternoon just to meet that guy," she grumbled as she slung her bag over her shoulder.