intrigue ' sirius [editing]

xi. support

chapter
↳ eleven
moodboard
↳ millie & girl support

-

"I already told you," Remus said as the four begrudgingly made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. "I don't go into heat once a month. That's a muggle werewolf myth — more possibly only about females — and I have no part in it. Real lycanthropes don't go into heat, only dogs do. So, if anything, you should be asking Sirius."

"Oh, I'm always in heat," Sirius said as he rummaged through his bag for a piece of gum. "That's why I don't sleep with any covers over me. Just a shirt."

"Being in heat doesn't mean you're hot, Sirius," Peter said, "It's means you want to mate."

"What?" Sirius stopped rummaging. "Like sex? Do dogs do that?"

"Do dogs have sex?" James laughed, "Honestly, Padfoot, how else are puppies made?"

Sirius looked frustrated. Finally finding a stick of gum, he unwrapped it and shoved the minty substance between his lips. He could use a smoke right now, but this was the best he could do inside of the castle. "No, I mean, I didn't know dogs had schedules for it. I didn't know dogs had schedules for anything. How come I'm not more organized?"

Peter took a glance inside of Sirius' bag, which looked like a bottomless pit of treat wrappers, spare parchment, and random poetry books. "As long as you know where everything is, you're organized."

Remus bit his lip to keep from laughing, "I'm not quite sure that's how it works, Wormtail."

Sirius really expected to see Millie at the Slytherin table. He could always pick her out, her now strawberry-colored hair very easy to spot in a crowd of blacks and browns. Usually she was with Regulus or Lucinda, the captain for Slytherin's team. Today, however, she was over at the Ravenclaw table. It seemed Lucinda had followed her, and the two of them, along with Demetria, were giggling over something Millie had said.

James clapped Sirius on the back, "Don't stare too long, Padfoot, or your brother might start to worry."

"Please," Sirius scoffed, "it's just... she seemed a bit down yesterday. I wonder what happened." He didn't want to tell any of the boys that she had been crying, or that the sight made him feel uneasy and depressed. It was like his stomach had decided to tie itself in a knot and grow tighter and tighter the more tears fell out of her eyes. It wasn't really something he felt Millie would want the boys to know. It wasn't something he wanted the boys to know.

"I wouldn't worry about it," James said softly. "Everyone has their mood swings. Maybe she got a nasty letter from home, or her favorite book character just died."

"Does Millie even read books?" Peter questioned aloud. "I'll have to ask her."

"Mail's here," Sirius changed the subject and sat down at the closest bench. "Maybe your mom sent more fudge."

-

As soon as the howler fell onto Lucinda's lap, everything in Millie's mind told her to grab Lucy and run. Run far away, into she and Demetria's secret room, where no one would hear whatever came out of the maroon envelope. But she never had time. Lucinda wasn't paying attention to the envelope she opened. Perhaps she'd never seen a howler. Perhaps she didn't know what was about to happen in front of everyone.

"LUCINDA TALKALOT! I WOULD'VE SWORN ON MY GRAVE THAT YOU WOULD NEVER BE SO STUPID AS TO RUIN YOUR ENTIRE CAREER. A BABY, LUCINDA, A BABY. YOU HAD A SCHOLARSHIP! YOU WERE ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING WEIGHT-LIFTERS OF THE DECADE AND YOU GO AND DO SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THIS? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO THE FATHER IS? OR ARE YOU JUST SLEEPING AROUND HOGWARTS FOR FUN. DO NOT COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. IN FACT, DON'T COME HOME AT ALL UNLESS THAT BABY IS GONE AND YOU ARE PLANNING TO GET RIGHT BACK INTO TRAINING. I THOUGHT I RAISED YOU RIGHT, LUCINDA, I REALLY THOUGHT I RAISED YOU RIGHT."