warrior | sirius black

thirty two

thirty two

✯

"Alright, class. Now, we are almost at the end of our eight weeks and your exams are just around the corner. Today is going to be your last chance to practice before the actual test. So, I suggest using this time wisely and not goofing around," Mr. Rogers looked directly at the two cheeky boys before continuing to venture around the room and observe his students,

Rosie turned to Lily, who was sitting just outside of her circle. "Alright, we've gotta ace this test."

James overheard her comment and snorted loudly. "You two have nothing to worry about, you've literally never failed a test, ever."

"Shut it, James," Lily remarked, effectively shutting him up. "Ok, now, Rosie, focus," Lily instructed Rosie. 

Rosie breathed in and remembered the steps. She thought about the hidden spot just by the counter in the Great Hall and let her body take her there. She felt her body twist and landed on her feet, her stomach lurching forward as she felt nausea trickling in her abdomen. She opened her eyes and saw that she had ended up just where she wanted. 

Rosie eagerly stepped out of the shadows and gave Lily a thumbs up, to which she responded with a gleeful clap. Before Rosie apparated back to her spot, she noticed that Gryffindor was falling behind in house points and that Ravenclaw was catching up -- it usually ended up as a competition between the two houses. She shrugged and closed her eyes again, the same twisting feeling creeping back, luckily without nausea this time.

Mr. Rogers walked by the two girls and smirked satisfactorily. "Ah, Miss Winters, I see you are doing excellently per usual." Rosie sighed internally as he gave her the same compliment every lesson, but accepted it gratefully as it was, after all, still a compliment.

"Thanks, Mr. Rogers," she replied whilst turning to help Lily.

"I have no doubt that you will pass perfectly tomorrow," he commented before walking away.

"Thank you, Mr. Rogers," Rosie called after him. The middle-aged man only smiled in response as he continued to watch the room of various teenage wizards all moving about.

"Teacher's pet," Sirius coughed. Rosie turned to glare at him as he looked away and whistled innocently.

"Oh, shut up," Rosie grinned before turning to help Lily as she had helped her. The two girls didn't really need the extra practice but figured that they might as well use the extra time to get used to the sickly feeling in their stomach that bubbled up when they apparated.

Rosie and Lily found themselves with spare time as they decided to rest and just hope for the best. 

"So, how're things with James?"

"Honestly, I'm really happy and didn't expect this," Lily answered. "He's really grown up," she added, her eyes diverting to the loud group of boys a few feet away from them. 

Lily wasn't wrong either. The boys had matured. While their playful nature didn't change, they had more responsibility, played fewer pranks (or at least cut them down from every night to once a week), and really thought more about their actions and thoughts.

"I can tell," Rosie noted. "We made the right choice, Lily," she told her with a faint smile.

"Even if it didn't seem so at first."

--

Later in the evening, the Gryffindor students found themselves doing the usual: catching up on homework, talking, eating, and relaxing. It started off as a seemingly normal night until a small Ravenclaw boy walked up to the group with an announcement.