romantically - 𝖜𝖔𝖑𝖋𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗

II

warning: some strong language in this chapter

It seemed like it was hopeless. Sirius wouldn't talk to anyone, not even James or Remus. He was emotionless, distant, and no one could get him to open up. Even the prospect of pranking the Slytherins couldn't cheer him up. In classes, not only did Sirius more or less pay attention, but sometimes he even took notes. Professor McGonagall had taken him aside one day to ask if he felt alright, and his response was simply "Oh yes, Professor, I'm doing fine". She was so bewildered that he hadn't called her 'Minnie' that she'd just let him go without another word.

After James tried for what seemed like the billionth time, Remus stepped in. "Forget it, James," he said, but he said it gently. "Sirius will be all right, we just need to give him some time. Eventually, he'll come around." 

James sighed. "But he's not even happy anymore. He's not Sirius."

Remus shrugged. "He's just going to move further into this shell he's in if you keep pressing him. We need to give him time, that's all."

Wise words aside, James knew that Remus had always had the most in-depth understanding of Sirius, perhaps better than he did. Remus generally had a good understanding of what seemed to be anything and everything, but in situations like these, it was Remus who always knew what to do. Especially with Sirius, somehow. In their fourth year, Sirius had gotten into what seemed to be his first genuine relationship, not just a fling, with Marlene McKinnon, Lily's best friend. This had lasted less than two months, about a month and a half, before Sirius had broken up with her. He seemed to retreat into a sort of cold and angry attitude. James and Peter didn't know what to do. Neither of them had been in a relationship before, or dealt with the aftermath.

Sure, plenty of girls had asked James out. There was no denying that lots of girls were attracted to him -- Quidditch extraordinaire, team captain, and he wasn't bad-looking, either. But he had always told them that he wasn't available. After exasperated questioning from Remus -- "James, that's the third  girl this month, and it can't all be just because their noses aren't shaped the way you like or whatever!" -- he had solemnly told Remus that he was still not giving up on Lily Evans.

As for Peter, he'd tried countless times to ask out a girl. The truth was, he had never really had much luck. He'd gone on dates, sure. In third year, he went with Emmeline Vance to Madam Puddifoot's, but accidentally made a passing comment on Mary MacDonald's new haircut, and Emmeline walked out on him. 

Both of these unfortunate dating experiences left both boys with no clue what to do. Remus, who had just gotten into a relationship about a month after Sirius and Marlene had got together, with a boy a year ahead of them whose first name was also James (which had made conversations extremely confusing and awkward), was left to deal with the issue. 

James was shocked to the core when, a few days after Remus had gone to the dormitory to talk to Sirius, the latter turned out to be quite back to normal, like his usual self. The first thing he did was to sneak into the Slytherin dormitory after sneaking around the dungeons to find out the password. Then, he stuffed some mini-sized Filibuster Fireworks into Severus Snape's underpants. Needless to say, after that, James and Peter, even in their disbelief, accepted that Sirius was back to normal. 

So James believed Remus, when the latter said that Sirius probably just needed time. Shrugging, he followed Remus out of the dormitory, and they went to the common room to study for their O.W.Ls, which were happening later in the year. 

"You must really care about Sirius to be this worked up." Remus remarked, when James grabbed his Herbology book and started ticking off the plants that Professor Sprout had hinted might be tested -- and he was ticking off the right ones, to Remus' amazement.