All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

First Year : Astronomy

It was nearing the end of February when Sirius finally managed to crack the code. Well—“crack” might be a bit of a stretch, as he wasn’t sure exactly what it was that made Remus decide to join them. But he had managed to find a prank that the other boy was willing to be a part of, and he felt almost giddy as they crowded under the cloak and made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

“Good to have you back, Lupin,” Sirius said, once they had safely reached their destination.

“What d’you mean?” Remus asked, eyes on James, who was scaling a ladder in the corner. Their goal was the cage of pixies on the highest shelf, which Sirius had noticed earlier that week in one of their classes. “I haven’t been anywhere.”

“Come on, mate,” Peter said, holding the ladder steady, “It hasn’t escaped our notice that you’ve been avoiding us like the plague.” Sometimes Peter’s tactlessness came in handy.

“I haven’t,” Remus frowned defensively, “Just been busy. You know, studying and stuff.”

“Well, I hope you’re over that phase now,” James said cheerfully, clutching the cage in both hands as he navigated slowly back down the ladder, “I’d really appreciate it if you stopped working so hard – it makes me have to work hard, you see, and I’m not used to the competition.”

“Oh, do one, Potter,” Sirius rolled his eyes, rummaging through some of the desks to keep busy. He beat Potter half the time in classes, and they both knew it.

Remus seemed ready to change the subject, crouching down and gazing at the little blue pixies. “How are we going to get them into the dining hall?” The creatures were sleeping right now, curled up at the bottom of the cage.

“Under the cloak,” James said, spreading it with a flourish so that they could crowd back under, “Come on Sirius.” Sirius was on his hands and knees, double-checking under the teacher’s desk to make sure there were no hidden levers or switches.

“What are you even looking for?” Peter asked, muffled under the cloak.

“One of the Ravenclaws told me there was a trap door under here,” Sirius said, sighing when his search failed to reveal any incriminating secret-passage-entryways. He dusted off his knees, frowning. “Liar.”

“This is Black’s newest obsession,” James explained for Remus’s benefit, pinching the cloak closed over their heads, “Finding secret doors.”

“Hogwarts: A History says there are loads of undiscovered passages!” Sirius insisted, “Like that one you found, Lupin. There are definitely more, I want to find at least one before we leave.”

“There’s also supposed to be a monster hidden somewhere in the castle,” James whispered back, as they made their way along the halls towards Gryffindor tower. Peter shivered.

“A risk I’m willing to accept,” Sirius declared, although he had to make the declaration in a whisper, “My legacy is much more important.”

“Typical,” James laughed.

*  *  *

The cloak worked like a charm. They managed to get the cage of pixies undetected into the great hall, arriving early so that there would be fewer students. James levitated the cage carefully under the table, and they all sat down, buzzing with barely-contained excitement.