sanguine ⏩ sirius black

08.

"YOU HAVE FULL PERMISSION TO PUNCH ME," Josh repeated for the sixth time that morning, tempting Farrah to actually do it.

Still, the girl shook her head and continued cutting her pancakes, "Josh, for the last time, if I wanted to punch you, you would already have a bruise on your face. Now, stop it."

He sighed and leaned forward in his seat, rubbing his face with his hands. After the trio had left the Hufflepuff common room last night, Farrah had carefully gotten the boys to bed and slept on the floor between their beds, just in case either one of them needed help. The two boys awoke that morning to see Farrah bundled up on the ground, with buckets beside her and her wand loosely in her hand as she snored lightly.

They woke her up and within the hour, the trio was at breakfast, Farrah relating the story of why they left the party to them.

"Merlin, Farrah," Josh said, "I owe you big time."

"Don't you always?" the girl replied as she swallowed another piece of pancake.

Regulus, on the other hand, hadn't said a word since she told them the entire story. Farrah didn't push him, assuming that it was due to what Sirius said. Regulus still hadn't told her the terms on which Sirius left and she was beginning to think that it was on worse terms than she previously thought.

She looked over at her grey-eyed friend and when she saw the distant look in his eyes, she changed the topic while nudging him in the side, "Anyway, we have a lot of work to do for Monday and I don't know about you two but I know that I won't be doing any work after the feast tomorrow."

Regulus blinked, as if now returning from whatever land his mind had drifted off to, and nodded, "Yeah, exactly. That'd be the worst."

"So," Farrah said as she stood up, "To the library, then."

With a small sigh and a heavy groan (no need to say what came from who), the boys got up from the Slytherin table. Looping their arms with hers, the three friends left the Great Hall to go finish the work pile that would surely kill them if they left it alone for too long.

The next day, Sirius was bouncing on the couch in the Gryffindor common room with excitement. All of his planning for the past three weeks would finally pay off tonight. The prank was simple. A trick he had pulled from a Muggle book he had read earlier this year. But it would also be effective, as he had introduced a few spells into the prank to give it that little extra oomph.

"Padfoot," James said as he dropped down in the couch next to the boy, "Are you gonna tell me what the prank is now or will I never know?"

Sirius looked around, making sure no one was in earshot before he whispered, "Okay, but you can't tell Moony or Wormtail."

James nodded and Sirius launched into full explanation. The idea came from this horror book, Carrie, that he had read not too long ago. In it, some kids dropped a bucket of pig's blood on the girl's head as a prank in front of the entire school. Sirius hadn't used pig's blood but he charmed the goo he had created to stain for two weeks and smell for up to three days.

When James asked the obvious question, who was the victim of the prank, Sirius replied with a smirk, "That's the real kicker. MacMillan."

James froze, "As in, Farrah MacMillan?"

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, but that's why you can't tell Wormtail or Moony. They'll warn her and it'll take the fun out of it."

"Wow Padfoot, I... I don't know what to say," James said.

"I know right," Sirius replied, "That'll show her to mess with us. I'm betting the journal will be back in our hands before the night is up after this."

"Sirius," James said, causing his best friend to look at him, "Don't you think you're taking this a bit far?"

"A bit far?" Sirius said, "Not only is she holding my journal hostage and using it to blackmail us, she took 50 points from Gryffindor and gave me two weeks detention!"

"Because you were in the Forbidden Forest and you shoved her best friend to the ground."

"Why does it sound like you're taking her side?" Sirius asked, his eyes narrowed at James.

The Potter threw his hands up in defense, "I'm not taking anyone's side! I'm just stating the facts. Padfoot, you're taking this whole thing with Farrah to a whole next level."

"She's a Slytherin, Prongs! I'd think you of all people would be on my side."

"There are no sides!" James exclaimed before he sighed, "Padfoot, you're missing the point. She's not Snape or Mulciber or the lot of them, she's actually a really nice girl. And she's gotten us out of a few sticky situations in the past."

"Like what?" Sirius said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Like," James said before he snapped his fingers and spoke in a hushed voice, "When we needed the Mandrake leaves for the transformation."

Sirius rose an eyebrow, "She did that?"

"You'd be surprised what a good connection with teachers could get you. The point is, she did it for us without question and without asking for something in return," James stood up and rest his hand on Sirius' shoulder, "But I know nothing I say will change your mind with this prank. Just, remember there's a line we don't cross and you're about to take a big leap over it."

James left Sirius on the couch in silence, the Black boy rethinking the entire prank. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and sighed. Was he really taking things too far? He let his mind run over the past few months. Meeting Farrah, their odd interactions, how it shifted from being nonchalant to serious when Regulus became involved.

Regulus.

The thought of his brother had Sirius feeling all the emotions he had felt on the night he left home. While he had felt liberated from the suffocating hold that Grimmauld Place had on him, he was also hurt by his brother, feeling betrayed that the boy would turn his back on him.

Just like that, any doubt about the prank vanished from his mind. He was going through with that prank.

And Farrah MacMillan would learn why Sirius Black was not to be messed with.