Melancholy || Harry Potter's twin brother

3: chapter fourteen

"Sirius! Can we talk?" Professor Lupin startled the boy as he packed up his books after his defence against the dark arts lesson. He just nodded and followed the teacher into his office. "Take a seat." Lupin offered as he made his way around the desk.

"Am I in trouble?" Sirius asked with a frown, he was rarely asked to stay behind after lessons.

"No, I just wanted to check in with you." Lupin explained with a comforting smile. "We haven't had chance to chat properly after the boggart lesson."

"Oh." Sirius frowned. "What's up?"

"I'm a bit worried about you Sirius, if I'm honest." Lupin told him gently. Sirius frowned, he couldn't think why. Sure he wasn't the top of the class, but he wasn't far off, for the most part he handed his homework in on time and he was rarely late.

"Why? I haven't done anything wrong." Sirius was getting an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach and he was beginning to feel uneasy.

"I don't quite know how to put this, how long have you been working with Aro?" He finally asked. Sirius froze, his eyes growing wide as he tried to comprehend what the man had just said to him.

"W-what?"

"I knew your parents and I even made them a promise to look out for you... Sirius I'm your godfather." Lupin finally told him. Sirius ran a shaking hand through his hair.

"Woah professor one thing at a time. Who is Aro?" Sirius tried desperately to play dumb.

"You can't fool me Sirius, you have his brand on your collar." Lupin shook his head, Sirius never had the top button of his shirt done up, and as it was slightly too big (trust him to be in the middle of sizes) it wasn't difficult to see his slightly too visible collar bones.

Looking down at his shirt in confusion, Sirius wanted to scream. "What in Merlin's name? Where did that come from? I'll kill him! I swear to God I'll-"

"Sirius! I'm trying to protect you, I need to know if I can still save you from this." Lupin was calm with an air of anger that didn't quite suit him.

"I don't know what you mean, professor I think you need to see a brain doctor." Sirius got up and ran for the door, dashing out of Lupins office as quickly as he could.

"Sirius come back!"

He knew where he needed to go, it just happened to be the other side of the castle. He sped up and down the corridors before finally making it to the Ravenclaw tower. He looked at the portrait, who looked back at him, coughed and said.

"I have a bed but do not sleep, I have a fork but do not eat I have a mouth but do not sleep, what am I?"

"How am I supposed to know?' Sirius asked desperately.

"Think boy!" It yelled at him, he pulled a face at it.

"Bed, mouth, fork. House?" Sirius asked.

"No."

"Ummm.... the sea?"

"Close but no."

"Oh! River!" Sirius grinned.

"Took you long enough." The portrait swing aside to let him in and he found Ollie straight away, sat in a corner, reading. He all but ran over to him.

"Ollie!" The blond looked up in surprise at the Hufflepuff boy.

"Sirius what are you doing here?" He asked, before noticing the look on the boys face. "What's wrong?"

"He knows, Lupin knows." Sirius explained. Ollie looked offended at this and dragged him into the corridor.

"How?"

"He saw this? When the hell did that get there?" Sirius pulled back his shirt to fully reveal the mark on his skin.

"Wow, I've never seen one so pronounced before." Ollie looked amazed as he examined the mark gently. "So you didn't notice it before he pointed it out?"

"No." Sirius sighed before explaining everything that happened.

"You probably shouldn't have implied that he was crazy." Ollie said after a moment of silence.

"Should I have told him everything instead?" Sirius demanded, he was beginning to feel really fed up with everything.

"No, but you're going to have to be careful, especially if he's your godfather." Ollie told him, he seemed to have a knack of calming Sirius down, that was getting more and more practiced.

"Why?" Sirius asked, he sighed and sat down on the floor. Ollie sat down beside him.

"Because it gives him a right to know and if he exercises that before you've told Aro you don't want him to know, then he will find out everything." Ollie told him, Sirius rubbed the mark on his collar with a frown.

"So how do I talk to Aro?"

"Tell him next time he checks up." Ollie replied, he examined the mark on Sirius' skin again. "Did you not feel anything when it appeared?"

Sirius shook his head. "Why do I have it?"

"Its supposed to help you get in touch with your centre of power." Ollie knew all the answers, which helped Sirius feel a lot better. Ollie pulled down one of his socks to reveal a matching mark to Sirius' "See, I have one too."

"Ollie?"

"What's wrong?" Ollie had noticed Sirius' expression change.

"I have a really bad feeling." Sirius sighed. He'd suddenly felt really unsettled. "I think we're being watched."

Both looked around, but could find nothing to indicate anyone was watching.

"I think you're just on edge, why don't you go back to your common room?" Ollie suggested, Sirius shook his head.

"Look! There!" Sirius pointed at two eyes and a long nose peeking out from behind a statue. Ollie cast a light spell, 'lumos' so they could take a better look. "I swear I've seen that dog before."

"Really?" Ollie asked as the dog wandered over to it, with a cautious hand he scratched the dog behind the ears.

"When Harry and I caught the knight bus, it was in the park." Sirius nodded as the dog licked his hand. He couldn't suppress a laugh.

"Are you sure it's the same dog?" Ollie frowned.

"Positive, but how did he get here?" Sirius stroked the dog as he settled into his lap.

"Maybe he followed your scent." Ollie said, he too couldn't resist the dogs charms.

"Let's take him to the kitchens, I bet he's hungry." Sirius said. "Are you hungry boy?" The dog barked happily as the three got up.

"We should name him something." Ollie said. Sirius nodded.

"What about..." he paused as the dog sneezed and then let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Snuffles."

"Snuffles, Sirius that's pathetic." Ollie shook his head.

"What do you suggest?"

"Rover."

"That's worse! Okay, we found him near your common room, so how about Rowan? After Rowena." Sirius suggested, the dog yipped.

"That's decided then, come on." Ollie shook his head with a laugh as they continued on their way to the kitchens with their new friend.