"I was thinking about leaving again
It all depends
Are we just friends?"
In which Madeline Potter
and Sirius Black aren't
allowed to fancy each other,
...
𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 chapter twenty-six; A Lily Evans Laugh " Getting involved in anyone else's' relationships or. . . whatever is pointless. And rude. "
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JAMES POTTER NOTICED something off in his best friend when winter finally melted into spring. The snow had all faded away, bitter cold a faint memory as students traded coats for shorts and skirts, all knocking knees in tall grass and pink tinted noses matching bright smiles as they rushed back inside for class.
And Sirius was quiet.
He'd been collapsing into himself in recent days, hiding beneath a layer of leather jacket and thick eyeliner haphazardly smudged in his waterline. His cigarette habit had returned, smoking packs so quickly James had to wonder where they came from.
When the Marauders dragged him outside, Sirius only laid back, leaning on one elbow, smoking with his other hand, and staring. He made no effort to join in conversation, to wrestle James in the dining hall or shove his face between Remus' quill and parchment to find out if the boy would notice before writing on his cheek, not even to pay attention to Peter and laugh at his sometimes funny jokes.
Nothing.
"I know what's wrong," James announced one morning at breakfast, making Sirius cock an uninterested eyebrow.
"Let's hear it, then," Sirius said boredly, leaning on the table, "The doc' is in."
"You, my dear friend," James began, pointing, "Haven't got laid in a particularly long time."
Sirius put every ounce of effort into keeping a stone face, know James would catch the slightest crack.
"Last year it was all about being the playboy," James continued, leaning back. He stayed for a moment, before grinning, "Unless Padfoot's found a girlfriend he's not told us about."
Remus Lupin found his gaze drift to the Ravenclaw table on instinct. He hid a frown behind his bacon, watching Madeline smile falsely as Bluebelle and Kai laughed loudly. It was clear to him that it was all a show, she made faces as she forced food into her mouth, filling an appetite that wasn't there, and her face only lifted when their eyes were on her.
She wasn't doing much better than Sirius.
"I'd never have a girlfriend," Sirius scoffed harshly, too harshly if you asked James.
"Not a one-girl kind of man, are we?"
"Relationships are for idiots," Sirius told Remus, stabbing a piece of egg with his fork, "Of which, I am not one."
"Alright, so, what's with the lack of birds?" James questioned with a laugh, "You lose your touch, mate?"
