Pragma // s.b.

32

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Life was good. It was as simple as that. The sun seemed to shine just a little bit brighter, the birds sing a little louder. I hadn't realized the toll that stressing out so much over the Marauders had taken on me. I was eating less, barley sleeping, and not able to focus at all on my classes. Now, I made sure to try every type of muffin laid out in front of me on the long Hufflepuff table. My bed was warm and soft and offered a place for me to relax, and when I woke up, I was well rested and ready to start my day. Potions quickly returned to being my favorite class, and after some begging from Amber, I began tutoring the Hufflepuff girls, along with Lily Evans and a few of her friends including a very pretty girl named Marlene.

Potter, in a way only he could, endlessly made fun of me once I found him and Peter and apologized. "Such a naive little Hufflepuff", he clicked his tongue, "You really shouldn't believe all of the silly little rumors you hear". But then he pulled me into a hug and ruffled my hair. "It's good to see you, Carter", he grinned, causing lines to appear at the corner of his mouth. "Right back at you, Potter", I had replied, smiling over at Peter who lightly waved and moved a strand of dirty blonde hair out off his baby face.

As amazing as everything was for me at the moment, it did take some damage control on my part to get things back to normal. First, I had to talk to Ronan. There was no point pretending he wouldn't notice that I was back to being friends with the Marauders. There was also no point fooling myself into thinking it wouldn't take some serious convincing on my part to make him okay with it. So, one evening after dinner, I bit the bullet and waited outside the Gryffindor common room for my brother.

    I tugged at the bottom of my braid in anticipation as I watched countless Gryffindors enter and exit the common room. Finally, an elated voice called my name from behind me. My eyes easily found Ronan as he walked down the hallway surrounded by his usual gang of Gryffindor boys. "Hello there", Greg winked as the group approached, not given me a chance to get even one word out. "Hi, Gregory", I sighed, but smiled. Greg ran a hand through his jet black hair, "Have you finally reconsidered my offer to be your boyfriend?". I snorted. "Let me know when you go through puberty, then I might reconsider", I winked.

The group of boys burst into laughter, shoving Greg jokingly. I reached out and threw my arm up and over Greg's shoulders, "You know I love you". He just feigned hurt, wiping away a fake tear, then cracked a wide smile. Releasing my arm from around Greg, I turned to Ro, "I need to talk to you". He nodded and waved goodbye to the group.

The conversation went just as well as you would imagine. There was some yelling, some arguing, and admittedly a few tears on my part. Finally, Ronan stopped spitting out insults and let down his guard. He listened to me. Of course I couldn't tell him exactly why the rumors were wrong, but I assured him over and over again that I knew they weren't true. I grabbed his arms and asked him if he really didn't trust me. I reminded him of how our parents raised us, how we both inherited their ability to judge character. I told him I loved him, but he needed to set aside his pride and listen to me.

He obliged. The weight that had settled on my chest since his very first warning about Sirius and the rest of the boys lifted, leaving me feeling more free than I had in ages. I leapt up and kissed my little brother on the cheek. "Briony, the only reason I'm letting this go is because you are so annoyingly moral, and you usually have your head on straight", Ronan had said as we approached the Gryffindor common room, "If you have your reasons to believe they are good, I trust you". Then he bade me goodnight and I practically skipped all the way down to my dormitory, where Liv waited with a steaming mug of tea in hand and an expectant look. 

Her thick eyebrows knit together, the steam from the lemony tea slightly obscuring her face. "Bri, think of everything you went through. Are you sure you're right in trusting them?", she had sighed wearily. I reached out and lightly took her hand. "I'm sure",I said, my voice strong and secure. She allowed her shoulders to relax slightly, but didn't stop yet. "And you can't tell me why you've had the sudden change of heart?", Olivia pursed her lips. It was my turn to let out a sigh.

"I promised I wouldn't say", I guiltily let out. If only she knew the weight of the secret. Her dark eyes narrowed and scanned my face. "Alright", she exclaimed, "I know you too well to even think for a minute you wouldn't have a valid reason for inviting them back into your life". A huge grin spread across my face and I pulled her into a tight hug. The tea sloshed out of the mug and down the front of both our robes. Lucky for us it had cooled off enough for it to be funny, and not painful. We both burst into fits of giggles, changing out of our now lemon scented robes and into comfy pajamas, making our way down to the common room arm in arm where the rest of the girls as well as Tanner and a few of his friends waited, an intense game of exploding snap set up in the middle of the room.

I was thrilled with life, and although the weather was becoming colder, my heart was growing warmer. Ronan and I had both received large packets of candy from our parents along with long letters updating us on the everyday life at the farm. Sirius had eaten most of the sour candies when he realized I had a stash of candy in my book bag, but I didn't mind. Most days after Potions, he would walk me wherever I was going next. Sometimes it was to the library, or the Hufflepuff common room, or the Great Hall. It didn't seem to matter where my destination was, Sirius seemed to have an excuse to why he was headed in that direction.

So, as Professor Terence finished the lecture on the use of gillyweed in Potions one rainy afternoon, Sirius leaned over as I was packing up my bags and pulled out a lemon drop. "Where you headed today, Briony Carter?". I rolled my eyes and stood, "Well, Sirius Black, probably back to the dormitory. And it wouldn't hurt you to say please", I finished, eyeing his bulging cheek. He just winked in response, pushing himself up so he stood, towering next to me.

Side by side, we began to make our way out of the classroom and into the chilly hallway. "What day is it again?", Sirius shoved his hands deep into his pocket. I looked up at him and laughed, "It's Friday. And you already asked me that once today. I'm beginning to think you don't listen to anything I say". Letting out a bark like laugh, he flung his arm around me in a friendly way. "I'm too distracted by your pretty little face to listen to anything that comes out of your mouth", he smirked.

Over the past week or so, he had been letting things like this slip out of his annoyingly attractive mouth. Small compliments, his hand brushing against mine, just little things that made a million butterflies erupt in my belly. I tried not to let myself enjoy it so much, but I couldn't help myself. I knew Sirius was a pathological flirt, and he had a million girls hanging around everywhere he went, but I couldn't help but feel special when he looked at me.

We walked down the hall together, the tall dark Gryffindor and the small sunshiney Hufflepuff. We were an unlikely duo. So wrong that it was almost right. Where Sirius had tattoos, I had flowers strung in my hair. Never in a million years would I have thought we would fit so well together, but we did. I didn't know where things were going, and for once, I didn't really care, as long as Sirius was by my side.