The Clockwork Locket || SIRIUS BLACK

The Slug Club

"Mr. Black, if you would please keep all fours of your chair on the floor while I am teaching, that would be greatly appreciated."

Professor Flitwick looked at him sternly from where he stood in front of his desk, but Sirius would never have guessed the professor was there if he hadn't craned his neck around to look.

"Sorry, Professor," he said, letting the front two legs of his chair fall back to the floor with a dull thunk. He shook his long hair from his face and grinned when he heard a dreamy sigh from the Ravenclaw girl sitting three seats away. "Bad habit, you see."

The professor gave a little huff, rolling up the sleeves of his robes as he prepared to demonstrate a spell. "Well, better points off your House than mine if I catch you doing it again," he warned, and the boy grinned sheepishly as the professor continued with the lesson.

Sirius let his mind and gaze wander, already familiar with the basics of the Substantive Charm and not needing to rehash the same principles. His eyes were drawn inadvertently to two rows in front of him, where he could just see the back of Cassie's head if the bloke in front of him sat at an angle.

She was twirling a piece of her long brown hair around her finger as her right hand moved across the parchment in front of her, taking notes on whatever Flitwick was saying. Occasionally she'd pause, tilting her head to listen better, before continuing writing. Sirius didn't know how long he'd been watching the cyclical movements until his eyes shifted to the right, where Alice Fortescue usually sat, but now where a tall, lanky Ravenclaw boy had taken her place.

He knew Cassie was in some sort of row with her dormmates, and he assumed that that was why Alice was now sitting in the front with Frank Longbottom, and why Marlene kept shooting the dark-haired girl furtive glances over her shoulder every now and then. Lily sat determinedly forward as if she were above it all, and this annoyed him since he knew that she was the one who had confronted Cassie in the first place about her hanging around himself and the others.

His eyes flicked back to the Ravenclaw bloke sitting next to Cassie, noticing how tense he seemed and the way his eyes would drift to her face before darting away. Sirius scowled. Cassie was probably acutely aware of her seatmate's discomfort, but to her credit, she didn't seem put out by it, only continuing her notetaking.

He was slightly irked that he or one of the other Marauders wasn't sitting by her, but after the grace period of last week, Flitwick had subtly reminded them that they weren't supposed to be sitting together – hypocritical, of course, now that Alice had moved seats, yet Flitwick didn't seem too bothered by it. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that anytime Cassie had sat with them, they would push their desks into a giant group, and the tiny professor finally just got annoyed about it, but still. Sirius would rather have her back there than next to a bloke who looked ready to piss himself if she looked at him the wrong way.

The image made him chuckle under his breath, imagining her sending one of the withering looks she used to cast him on the Ravenclaw and him running from the room, screaming. James looked over at his soft laughter, raising his eyebrows and pushing his glasses up his nose.

"What's so funny?" he asked as Professor Flitwick sent them off to practice the charm with their partner. Sirius jerked his chin to the Ravenclaw.

"Poor bloke is terrified of her," he said. He watched him turn tentatively to Cassie and ask her something, and she nodded, though her hair was covering her face, so he had no idea what her expression was like.

James snorted as jars filled with a strange white mist soared around the room, landing on each pair's desks. Flitwick demonstrated the charm once more before returning to his own desk, and Sirius immediately seized upon the opportunity to tilt his chair back again.