All the Young Dudes ( Sirius' Perspective )

Seventh Year : Apologies

Here you come again

Looking better than a body has a right to

And shaking me up so

That all I really know

Is here you come again

And here I go

 

Saturday 1st April 1978

“No Remus today?”

Lily smiled up at him, squinting slightly against the afternoon sunshine. Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but James got there first, jogging to catch up and slinging an arm around Sirius’s shoulders.

“Nah, they’re still fighting.”

Sirius shrugged him off, scowling.

“We are not fighting,” he grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets, “He’s just gone to make a phone call.”

“Oh, to who?” Lily asked, politely ignoring his sour tone, “His mum?”

“No,” Sirius muttered, “His friend.” Grant. Sirius’s scowl deepened.

James and Lily exchanged a look, which Sirius pretended not to see. After a moment, Lily said,

“Well, I suppose he’ll be joining us after…?”

Sirius didn’t respond, only grunted and shrugged, scuffing at the ground with his shoe. Lily gave James another pointed look, but finally let the subject drop. She and Prongs chattered quietly for the rest of their walk into Hogsmeade, with Sirius only half-listening, still feeling grumpy and irritable.

He and Remus weren’t fighting. In fact, they were hardly even speaking; Sirius was fed up with getting snapped at, and had resolved to remain aloof until Moony apologised. The problem with this strategy was that Remus had also seemingly decided to remain aloof, and the result was a lot of very pointed ignoring each other and passive aggressive comments across the dinner table. They were still sleeping in the same bed, which Sirius was secretly grateful for—he’d grown used to the warm weight of Moony beside him, and it no longer felt right to sleep alone. But they didn’t talk, and they didn’t touch, and in the mornings Remus would inevitably elbow him as he tried to untangle his limbs from the sheets, causing Sirius to wake up and glare spitefully at the other boy as he stumbled into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

All in all, it had not been a very good end to the week.

Sirius cheered up, marginally, once they reached the Three Broomsticks, where Peter, Mary, Yaz and Marlene had already claimed a corner booth. James stopped by the bar to grab three more butterbeers as Sirius and Lily slid into their seats. After a bit of shifting around so that the couples could sit together, Sirius ended up squashed between Peter and Mary, who promptly stole a sip of his butterbeer (her own glass was empty).

“Right then,” she said, smacking her lips and ignoring the dirty look that Sirius shot her, “What’s the plan for today?”

“Homework,” Lily groaned, slumping, “I’ve still got to start that Potions essay for Slughorn, I haven’t had time yet…”