Twists of Fate: Entangled Threads || Sirius Black FF

Chapter 68: Career Advice

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Biting his nails, his silver eyes remain trained on the girl before him. It had been a couple of days since he nearly told Severus how to get into the Whooping Willow. Since she revealed to him that she knew about Remus' secret, and since her scars had been momentarily exposed for him to see. Sirius Black held no fear for himself, or his classmates, if his theory turned out to be correct; that Sandy was a werewolf. No, he would never fear her, nor hate her for possessing lycanthropy. And yet, this (mistaken) fact proved to be one of the few things he could not stop thinking about.

It had occurred to him that if Sandy Reese was indeed a werewolf, she had no one to share that burden with. Except perhaps Dumbledore. Sirius knew that she didn't shift in the Shrieking Shack herself, for they had never seen her. If she was a werewolf, she'd shift elsewhere, likely alone. However, there was also the matter that she didn't seem to miss any classes. Ever. No matter what mischief she ever got into, no matter what troubles she went through, she always insisted on keeping up with her studies and classes. The only exception he could think of  was the time they caught her having a panic attack, and forced her to stay in the common room for the remainder of the day. 

In spite of that, he justified her perfect attendance with her potions skill. She seemed to know just what potions to give Remus, to help him regain his strength quicker after a full moon. Perhaps she too was taking potions to avoid missing class. And, he had to admit, she always did look rather knackered, which, although he originally had believed to just be due to nightmares and whatnot, now he was wondering if it was related to lycanthropy. All of these thoughts just lead him to convince himself more and more that maybe, just maybe, there were in fact two werewolves roaming the halls of Hogwarts. 

However, he couldn't be more wrong, for Sandy, in fact, was not a werewolf. Admittedly, the claw scars on her right ankle were indeed caused by such creature. By Remus Lupin himself, during that one fateful night at the end of her first year. But there had been no exchange of fluids, such as blood or saliva, during that attack, therefore making the transmission of lycanthropy impossible. His claws had only 'nicked' her leg before Sirius Black had turned into his Animagus form, and pulled the werewolf off the 11 year old girl. Sure, she had some scarring as a result of that night, as well as the memory, but that was it. 

While Sirius mentally panicked, unsure how to handle the situation (as he knew involving the other four would not be welcomed by Sandy, whom was already keeping a secret for him), Sandy was entirely relaxed, chatting with Peter in the common room. "You can't just choose a career because 'it's what James and Sirius are doing'! You have to choose something you personally like, and are good at. I mean, do you actually want to be an Auror?"

The boy opened his mouth, and closed it, repeating these two motions for a few moments before shrugging. In a mutter, he responded. "I mean, Aurors are groovy."

"Yes, sure. But, do you want to be one? If James and Sirius suddenly decided on a different career path, would you stick to that choice?" Sandy waited for his response, even though she already knew it. After yet another pause, Peter winced and shook his head. So, with a small smile, Sandy continued on with the conversation. "Exactly."

"But," He mumbled, looking down and fiddling with his thumbs as he pondered how to defend his choice. "I just, I don't really know what to do."

"That is entirely normal." In her mind, Sandy had come to a conclusion. Peter from her timeline had, in part, gone bad due to wanting to get out of James and Sirius' shadow. So, a way to help her current friend, and ensure his future life as a good person, had to be to expose his individuality. To show him what made him special, and make him feel valued. "Even people who have graduated do not know what to do. And that is why one should brainstorm on what we're good at, and what we like. Focus on you, not on others."