All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

Second Year : The Long Last Day ( Part 2 )

Sirius didn't exactly want Mary and Marlene following him up to their room-Remus's birthday had been a special occasion, but it would be weird to have girls in the room if his friends weren't there-so he told them to wait in the common room while he went to grab the books. Marlene looked a bit put out, but Mary dragged her over to sit down on one of the couches all the same.

Sirius raced upstairs, trying to stifle his irritation with Mary. He did need to return the library books at some point, and they still had some time while James finished up his end of the prank. But he wanted to make sure that he was out in the halls to witness it when all their work that morning finally came to a head.

Unfortunately, he hadn't exactly left his room in perfect order. It looked like Remus had tried to pack a bit that morning-his bed was entirely devoid of everything except his pyjamas, and James, who was the tidiest of all of them, had already made his bed and neatly packed his trunk. Peter's area was still a mess, clothes half-packed and trunk flung open, as if he'd been interrupted halfway through trying to tidy his things away.

Unlike his friends, Sirius hadn't even begun to pack. His records were sprawled across the room, his posters were still up, and his clothes lay in haphazard piles. Books, quills, papers, stray gobstones, chocolate frog cards, and various other items were strewn about, cluttering his space. He sighed in frustration, glancing at the clock again as he began frantically searching for his forgotten library books.

There were three of them, all related to transfiguration, all checked out in hopes that they would contain information helpful to his animagus pursuits. Sirius felt a twinge of guilt whenever he thought about how little headway he'd made in his research over the past year; while he'd spent quite a bit of time looking more into the theory behind animagi magic, he hadn't had the patience to do a deep-dive into the potion ingredients they'd need. Sirius knew that he'd probably have to dedicate ample time to looking up each individual ingredient, where it could be found, and how to properly collect it. He'd told himself he had plenty of time, but now, on the last day of term, he hadn't even started.

He resolved to spend the entire summer researching as he tore apart his trunk, tossing out nearly everything inside-onto the floor, the bed-until he finally found the last book, abandoned in the bottom corner. He checked the clock again-if everything had gone according to plan, it was only a matter of minutes before their prank began. Sirius tossed the books into his satchel and ran downstairs, where Mary and Marlene were still waiting in the common room.

"There you are!" Mary bounced up from the couch, "We were just beginning to wonder if we'd have to come check on you." Marlene stood more slowly, a sullen expression on her face.

"Sorry," Sirius said quickly, hurrying them towards the portrait hole, "Had to find them all. Let's go!"

"Someone's in a rush," Mary shot him a bemused smile, but she looked delighted as he grabbed her arm to pull her out into the corridor. Marlene followed behind them, staring at the floor.

Sirius tried to contain his excitement as they walked down the hall towards the library. Mary was chattering on about something, but he was hardly listening to her, too busy glancing at every clock and bathroom doorway they passed. Any minute now...

Suddenly, Marlene gave a little shriek and stopped short. Sirius spun around-he'd been craning his neck to look at the clock on the wall. His face split into a broad grin. Further down the hall, huge waves of pink foam were spilling out of the boys' bathrooms. Along with Marlene, there were a few other exclamations of surprise.