Up to No Good

Up To No Good

by Leanne

Chapter Two

Differences

"Persephone, you bitch! Where the hell are you?" Severus's dad shouted just outside his door. "I swear, if I ever get my hands on that stupid whore, I'll beat the fuck out of her," he muttered.

In his mind, Severus begged for him to come into his room and see the scene; he needed someone to know. At the same time, he wanted no one to know. He didn't want their fake pity, their uncaring eyes.

The woman on top of him quietly got up making the springs squeak a little bit.

"We have to fix that squeaking. Our alternative would be the floor." She kneeled on the bed in the proximity of Severus's knees looking at the floor and rubbing her back. "What d'you say, Severus?" she whispered getting out of bed and putting on her robe, covering her naked skin.

Severus did not reply. Instead, he pulled the covers over him and curled into a ball against the cold wall. He watched her stride to the window, creak it open, and climb out. Severus closed his eyes, and accurately predicted what would happen in the next ten seconds.

"Where the hell are you coming from, you slut?" his father screamed from the other room.

"Why do you want to know?" she questioned nonchalantly.

"I'm your bloody husband; I have every right to know where you go and who your fucking."

"My, my, aren't we a little suspicious today?" Severus heard his mother's voice drawing closer to the wall that separated his parent's room from his own.

"YOU'RE NAKED, YOU STUPID WHORE! WHAT ELSE COULD YOU HAVE DONE?" his father screamed once more.

"GIVE ME MY FUCKING ROBE BACK, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" his mother yelled.

"Tell me who you've been fucking."

"It's none of your busi- OW! Let me go!" Severus heard a crash and a loud thump on the wall in between the two rooms that echoed throughout the house. Other crashes, thumps, thuds, and screams harmonized with each other in a familiar melody.

Severus clamped his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the noise. The sounds finally subsided. The door to his parents' room could be heard opening and heavy footsteps pounded their way down the hall and stopped outside Severus's door.

"OPEN UP!" It was his dad pounding on his door.

Severus drew the covers up tighter and remained in his bed. He was aware that his breathing had slowed to a stop, but his heart hammered in his chest. His dad kept pounding and swearing outside his door. There was a sudden silence that spread through the house ominously. Then, Severus's dad jammed his whole weight against the door breaking it off its hinges.

Severus dared himself to open his eyes and look at his father. His dad was furious. His whole face was red, his eyes murderous, and his shirt was torn--most likely the work of his mother.

He grabbed Severus by the hair and pulled him onto the ground. He hit his head on the frame of the bed and crashed into the stone ground. This pain would only be the first of the night. Severus felt his scalp burn and the cold stone calming his comparatively minor injury.

"YOU SICK LITTLE BASTARD!" Severus's father was over him.

Without warning he drew back his leg and kicked Severus in the ribs. Then grabbed him by the hair on the back of his head and pulled him to his feet. He punched him hard in the cheek and made Severus almost fall over. Severus did not say a word, fearing the result it would cause. His father stopped him from falling and pushed him back into a wall.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GREW UP TO BE A SICK SON OF A BITCH. STICKING IT TO YOUR OWN MOTHER!" He punched him in the stomach. "AREN'T YOU GONNA SPEAK, YOU MONKEY? YOU SICK PERVERTED BASTARD!" He grabbed Severus by the ears and started bashing his head into the wall.

Severus got so dizzy with pain he felt like his head would split open. His head throbbed as it continuously met with the wall. Severus imagined that his brain had blown up in his skull and blood would start pouring out his eyes. His father repeatedly threw his head against the wall mercilessly. Severus closed his eyes, attempting to block out the pain with no success.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU AIMING FOR? A BROTHER AND A SON IN ONE NEAT PACKAGE?" His father kneed him in the crotch and Severus doubled over but his father punched him in the chest.

Severus wished he were dead, he could not take it. Something trickled down his back and he knew it was not sweat. His head exploded with pain so intense he thought it would burst. His heart felt heavy but he would not cry for that would only make it worse for him. He sank against the wall down to the floor and curled against it. Every single part of him hurt fiercely. He knew his father was still standing over him.

He heard his father roar in frustration and anger and finally kick Severus into a corner. He lay there as his father walked out of his room, pushing his mother, who had been standing in the doorway with silent tears pouring down her face.

That would be the last he saw of his father.

*'~'*

"Oooh. What's this? A letter from your boyfriend?" said Petunia Evans reaching for the crumpled piece of parchment on the table. Lily looked up from her Charms text at her sister.

"It's actually the recipe of a potion that makes you grow warts all over your skin," Lily lied.

Petunia dropped the parchment instantly as though it might contain samples of the potion within its folds. The parchment really contained only a note from her friend Mariana about one of last year's potions test, but Lily loved the reactions she got from Petunia when dealing with magic.

Lily had spent her childhood in the still ennui that hung in the Evans' household, her life wasn't much different a decade later. During holidays, the joy of seeing her family once again transforms into wistful thinking of returning to Hogwarts.

She sprawled on her bed, her quill racing left to right on the parchment. She had already surpassed the required length, but once she got started talking about something it was impossible for her to stop. Her sister sat Indian-style on the floor pretending to do her summer homework but really observing Lily and occasionally going through Lily's school trunk looking for something to amuse herself with. She was currently looking at Lily's Remembrall, holding it carefully with two of her long skinny fingers, turning it slightly, and staring at the faint red smoke developing in the interior of the globe.

The doorbell rang, startling the two girls. Lily dropped her quill, which resulted in a large ink blot on her parchment, and Petunia dropped the Remembrall. It blazed bright yellow for a second and settled back to normal. Petunia sprung from the floor to the mirror on the wall, oblivious to the brilliant flash of light from the Remembrall. She checked her reflection twice and fussed with her hair, frowning at herself. Lily wondered momentarily why she was doing this but then remembered that Petunia had invited her boyfriend to dinner.

Petunia gave Lily a warning glance before leaving as if to say, 'Don't blow anything up while I'm gone.' Petunia had never taken the time to understand magic or Hogwarts, which was to Lily's advantage because she could torture Petunia with threats of getting turned into a frog if she sneezed a certain number of times or something silly like that.

Lily heard the door open, greetings being exchanged, and finally her mom calling for her to come down. She dropped the quill she had just picked up. She didn't want to meet her sister's boyfriend; he was probably as conceited and as poor of a conversationalist as her sister. All the same, she got up and briefly examined herself in the mirror.

She had on slacks and a big T-shirt. Petunia, in contrast, wore her new shirt and the skimpiest skirt with high socks and penny-loafers. Lily's dark auburn hair was up in a messy loose ponytail. She had on no make-up, though her skin glowed with the result of the summer heat. Worrying slightly about her appearance compared with everyone else's, she stepped out of the room.

She ran down the stairs and almost ran right into the guy that she presumed to be Petunia's boyfriend.

"Whoops, I'm sorry," she apologized and stepped around him.

He was a bit on the porky side, which differed from the whole Evans family's gauntness. His blond hair was in a schoolboy cut; plastered to his scalp and forehead. He probably had a neck under the three chins, although it was hard to tell. He had on a suit and half a bow-tie was visible from under his chins, looking as though he had come from church. She did not see how Petunia could possibly think to fancy him. Lily reminded herself that not everyone could be as handsome as...

"Lily, I'd like you to meet young Mister Dursley. Vernon, wasn't it dear?" her mother asked politely.

"Ye-Yes, ma'am." His voice was slightly high for a chubby person.

"Vernon, this is Lily, Petunia's sister."

Lily smiled and stuck out her hand to shake his. "Pleased to meet you," she said in her best guest-greeting voice. He took her hand and she immediately noticed that it was sweaty.

"Pleased to meet you," he returned the greeting.

"Shall we step into the den? I'll go get some drinks. Is Cola okay, Vernon?" her mother inquired.

"Sure," he grunted.

Lily could hear the politeness in his voice slipping. She excused herself and followed her mother into the kitchen.

"Mum, I don't have to stay, do I?" Lily asked, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Yes. Put that apple back, you'll be full for dinner."

"I don't have the appetite of a bird, mother." Lily frowned as her mother took the apple out of her hands. "And beside, I'm not dressed for dinner."

"Go change then," her mother replied fishing in the refrigerator for drinks. "Honestly, Lily, if you brought a boy home, wouldn't you want to parade him around and show off?"

"Not really," Lily said shrugging.

"It's Petunia's night, honey, you always get the attention. Let her have some."

"Fine. You don't have to send me on a guilt trip."

Lily trudged upstairs, put on some casual, but appropriate dinner clothes, and came back down just in time to see everyone taking their places at the dinner table. Her mom was placing a loaf of Italian bread with accompanying butter and olive oil spread. Vernon looked bemusedly at the food.

"Oh, is this the dinner?" he inquired sounding disappointed.

"No dear, just the appetizers," Lily's mother explained patiently.

"Oh good," Vernon sighed. "There's more."

Lily fought hard against the urge to laugh as she sat between her sister and father. Dinner lagged on monotonously and they talked of politics and current events. Inevitably the subject of Lily's school came up.

"You don't attend the same school as Petty, do you, Lily?" Vernon asked using his nickname he made for Petunia. The nickname had amused Lily for a few minutes but he abused it by using it excessively.

"No, I don't," she replied, quickly lifting her glass of milk to her lips so that she wouldn't have to say anymore.

"Oh, Lily, don't be modest," her dad said. Lily stared at him with evident horror on her face. "She was invited into a most highly venerated institution in Ireland a couple of years ago. We weren't too elated with sending her so far from home but, of course, we were very much inclined to acquiesce to their request."

"Oh," he said shortly, obviously not used to hearing such big words in his life.

An uneasy silence hung in the air. Vernon scrapped his plate with his fork, trying to pick up the last morsels of food. Petunia started tapping her acrylic nails on the table as she did when boredom hit. Lily's mother stared at the lot of them, her mind working on something to say to end the silence. Her father downed the last drops of wine in his glass and reached across the table for the bottle.

"Mother, didn't you make some dessert?" Lily suggested, hoping that the answer was yes.

"Why yes, dear, I did. Thank you for reminding me. Is everyone done with their plate?"

"I'll help you, Rose." Lily's dad stood up, cleared the table of the glasses and plates, and chivied Mrs. Evans into the kitchen.

Vernon sunk into his chair with a sulking expression. He cast a sideways glance at Petunia. "Let's go up to your room and snog," he said, with no concern as to Lily's presence. Petunia stood up and left the room. Vernon grabbed a handful of chips that were on the table and followed his girlfriend.

"Don't do anything on my bed!" Lily yelled after them but they did not hear.

"Don't do what on your bed?" said her mother walking in with a tray holding three bowls of treacle pudding.

She looked around the dinning room in search of the missing guest and his girlfriend. Lily quickly explained where they went and why.

"Oh," said her mum looking a little stricken. "Why don't you take this up to them. I bet the boy would enjoy some treacle pudding and it's your sister's favorite."

"But mum! They're..."

"Lily."

Lily would rather have swallowed a hippogriff's egg than interrupt her sister's snog session, but there was no arguing with her mother. She trudged up the steps, taking her time.

When she reached the door, she heard none of the kissing noises or the usual silence of a snog session, but talking.

"...So the first plumber says, 'Look at all that water' and the second plumber says, 'Yes and that's just the top of it!'" Vernon was saying.

Lily didn't even realize that this was a joke until she heard her sister's hyena-like laugh.

"Hey, what's this?" Vernon said. Petunia stopped laughing abruptly.

"Shit," Lily mumbled under her breath realizing that she had not put away her school books.

"Oh, it's just some books that Lily's been reading. Vernon, tell me another joke."

Lily could hear the anxiousness in her sister's voice as she struggled to steer the conversation away from the current subject. Lily felt as if the floor had taken hold of her feet, refusing to let her move. The Ministry would fry her to a crisp if a Muggle knew of the magic world.

"A Comprehensive Book on Potions? The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6)? History of Magic?" Vernon read off all the titles of the books.

Lily hoped dearly that he would not find her trunk. The books could be explained but a trunk full of witch robes, pointed hat, and moving pictures could not be.

"She is such a freak!" Petunia screamed. "I swear I didn't even know that that was what she was reading. She believes in this stuff. I always thought Mum had dropped her on her head when she was a baby, this just proves it."

"But you don't believe in this m-magic and s-s-spells business, do you, Petunia?"

"Of course, I don't."

"I thought she looked like one of those freaks. You can tell from the look of them. I've never seen one, of course... I mean, they don't exist. Do they?"

"No way. Lily's just lost her brain, so she thinks this stuff is real."

"And so does Newt Scamander also. Whoever lets these people publish their books?"

*'~'*

The new law said that no one was to Floo to anywhere at night. The Daily Prophet announced a break-in murder of two households the night before by Death Eaters. Dumbledore had called all Aurors in for an emergency meeting and decided upon this new restriction for the safety of all. The law was passed without much objection, but the a problem still existed in the time they set. Their definition of 'night' was eight o'clock in the morning. People were to start a fire in all of their fireplaces and the Ministry would turn it to black at midnight. The fire, although translucent as a normal fire, was very solid if walked into.

This left James and Sirius, still puffy eyed and tousle-haired from sleep, in front of the fireplace waiting for the black fire to turn to normal orange once more. Sirius slouched in an armchair, head down as though sleeping, but James could feel Sirius's eyes on him as he paced the width of the fireplace. He stopped and ran a hand through his hair. He felt it stick up in the back and crisscross above his forehead. Sticking his hands in the pocket of his robes, he began pacing again.

Sirius had awoken James around six-thirty in the morning claiming that he couldn't sleep. James had just ignored him until he transformed into his dog form and started whining and barking in his ear. They had come down fifteen minutes later, dressed and ready to leave. They had wanted to get to Hogsmeade early so that they could spend some time shopping before the big meeting was to take place. But they had forgotten the Floo-Rule. An hour passed in silence because Sirius didn't feel up to talking and James didn't know what to say.

"James," said a sleepy voice behind him. He looked around. It was his mother, in her night clothes, yawning hugely and rubbing at her eyes. "Why are you up so early?" She sounded tired and only half-awake.

"It's Sirius's meeting with his parents today," explained James.

"Oh, yes, I remember. But isn't that in the afternoon?"

"We wanted to spend time in Hogsmeade before."

"Did you two have any breakfast?"

"No, and I'm starv-" James started to say, but Sirius interrupted him.

"We're fine, Mrs. Potter. We were actually just about to leave in a minute." Sirius checked his watch, nodded, and stood up. James's stomach growled in opposition but Sirius ignored it.

"I could whip something up in a jiffy. I'll pack you something."

"We're going to Hogsmeade, mum. I'm sure we could get something there."

"Alright," she said walking over to James and attempted to flatten his hair with no success. "You two be careful. Don't eat too much of those sweets or drink too much butterbeer." She kissed James on the forehead and repeated the process on Sirius and left the room.

"What was that about?" James questioned as his stomach growled again.

"Oh look, the fire's normal again. Come on," Sirius said, ignoring James's inquisition. He grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from a bowl on the floor and threw it into the fire which turned a brilliant green. Sirius stepped in, shouted "The Three Broomsticks!", and vanished into the fire.

"I'm hungry," James mumbled to himself, feeling grumpy. He threw in the Floo Powder and stepped into the fire, letting the warmth wash over him. He shrieked into the fire his destination and the fire swallowed him in a swirl of fireplaces, finally spitting him out into the Three Broomsticks.

James stood up, brushed the soot off his robes, and looked around for Sirius. There weren't many people there; some early commuters and a few Hogwarts teachers. Madam Rosemerta stood at the counter, as always, wiping the cups clean. She waved and smiled when she saw him and he returned the greeting. James saw Sirius head out to the street.

They spent six hours shopping and eating in nearly every store in Hogsmeade. Sirius was sulking though. They even passed one of their favorite joke shops but Sirius was uninterested in going in. He didn't even laugh when James pulled a prank on him by throwing a ball of disappearing-Goo on his head. James could tell the arrival of the meeting with his parents bothered Sirius but he was helpless to make him feel better. James had learned five years ago that there was no cheering up Sirius if he was in a bad mood.

They finally stepped into The Three Broomsticks at two-thirty and found a table in a corner of the room. There were more people in the pub than before. Students from the village had come with their friends. Some of them waved at James as he sat down. Sirius was not paying attention to his surroundings, however. His head was down, his arms crossed and he tapped his foot impatiently.

"What's with you today, Paddy?" James questioned. Sirius looked up.

"I don't want to go back. They're going to make me go back."

"I'm sure they'll listen to both sides and come up with a fair decision. Which in your case, would be to rule against you staying with them since they're so horrible."

"'Mr. Black, you're just going to have to stick with your parents and gradually build a decent relationship with them. I am sure you hold a certain amount of affection and love toward them deep down.'" Sirius said in a calm but nasally voice.

"Do you really think your parents are going to say, 'Okay, fine' and gather you into their arms for an amorous hug?"

"They won't know what my parents are like and why I ran away. If they did, they wouldn't arrange this stupid meeting. I don't want to talk to my parents again. I don't want to see them. The whole reason I ran away was because I can't stand them. Now I have to come back and speak to them like its no big deal!" Sirius half-shouted, his voice rising with every word. James heard a few people around them mutter. Sirius lowered his tone to a normal indoor level. "Fucking pricks of Ministry rule-makers and shitty family counselors should go and - "

"Teressa Cardell," announced a voice behind James. He turned around in his seat as Sirius whipped his head up. "Private family counselor. Or 'shitty' family counselor by your terms, Mr. Black. Dumbledore's rather busy with security reasons at the moment. He sent me."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Cardell." Sirius half stood up and offered his hand to shake.

She shifted her briefcase and shook hands with Sirius. "It's Ms. Cardell but please call me Teressa."

James stood up and introduced himself. He caught her hand as it fell to her side and shook it.

"James Potter," she commented. "Where do I know that name? Are your parents in the Ministry, Potter?"

"Aurors," James replied proudly.

"Yes. Must have met them at a party or something. Nothing important, really. I just don't like not knowing where I know a name from." She shrugged.

"Yes, I hate when that happens," James said trying to relate.

"Why are you here, anyway?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him. "You're not a relation, are you?" She looked between Sirius and James as if trying to determine if they were brothers.

"No but Dumbledore said it would be okay if I - "

"I have specific instructions to speak with the ones involved only."

"Oh, it's alright though. Sirius doesn't mind." James looked towards the corner where Sirius was seated. Sirius was staring at the sugar bowl with intense concentration.

Teressa did not poke the subject any further, instead she conjured a chair and took a seat in between James and Sirius. She pulled a packet out of her briefcase and started leafing through it.

"Alright, Mr. Black. Let's hear your side before your parents arrive, shall we? It says here that you ran away from home on the night of July Twenty-fifth. Is this correct?"

"Yes," Sirius answered, a bit tense.

She was taking notes on the packet in front of her. "Were they abusive?"

"No, not physically."

"So, yes, as in they were abusive emotionally?"

"I guess."

"What did they say or do?"

"What?"

"What have they done to emotionally abuse you? Did they make you do chores? Did they yell at you for your marks?"

"No, my marks are fine. They expected me to do things."

"Sexual favors?"

"NO!" Sirius retreated, disgusted. James started to snicker behind his hand but the counselor glared at him.

"This is exactly why I did not want you here," she snapped crossly. "I won't get a truthful answer from him - " She waved the packet in the direction of Sirius, almost smacking him in the face with it. " - if you are sitting there snickering as if it's all so funny. Hahaha. If you were in his seat, and your parents were asking for sexual favors and you were to tell me that, how do you think you could do that with your friend sitting there snickering at you?"

"I-I'm sorry. It won't happen again," James assured her, taken aback by her sudden coldness.

"Listen, Teressa," Sirius said, gaining the counselor's attention once more. "Nobody's asking for sexual favors from anyone. Now can we get on with it?"

"Alright," she sighed throwing James a glare. "I was beginning to enjoy that. So what did they ask of you?"

"They ask me to support the Dark Lord."

"You-Know-Who?"

"Yes, I told you. The Dark Lord."

"Are your parents one - er - two of those horrible witches and wizards who run around with those masks? What do they call them? Blood Drinkers or Flesh Eaters...?"

"Death Eaters," Sirius corrected her.

"Right. Those are the ones. I really think they should get a new name, wouldn't you say? Death Eaters," She scoffed as she wrote it down. "I can't see how you eat death. Do they go and dig up bodies and eat them?"

"It's supposedly that by them 'eating' death, they transcend it," Sirius explained.

"Oh." She paused, staring at him. "Were you involved with them?"

"No, I used to hear them talk. They insisted on talking about those things in front of me in an attempt to make me one of them."

As Teressa wrote Sirius's reply down on her packet, James's stomach roared particularly loudly. Teressa looked up and threw him another glare. He smiled weakly.

"Paddy, what do you say I go get something for us to eat? Do you want anything, Teressa?"

"I packed a corned beef sandwich. I'm fine," she replied. She went on with questioning Sirius. "Now, Mr. Black, why does your friend call you 'Paddy?' I can't see how one can get 'Paddy' from Sirius." James could still hear them as he walked to Madam Rosemerta at her counter. "That is your name isn't it, Mr. Black. Or is it Padius? Let me look..."

"James Potter," Madam Rosemerta greeted him with a smile. "Why you're here before The Express." She put on a serious face. "Have you got business to deal with? Opening shop in good ol' Hogsmeade?"

"Nah. Not yet anyway. I came with Sirius. He has a meeting..."

"Oh, is that why you're here? A meeting." She pulled two mugs off the rack. "Butterbeer?" she asked.

"Yes please. What's the special today, ?"

"Uh-uh. Don't you think you can call me by the first name. I'm still decades older than you."

"Decades? Here I was thinking you were younger than me."

"Hey-hey, stop your flirtin'. You go on and do that with Lily, now. Order something, I don't have all day."

James beamed. "You still haven't told me what the specials are."

"Chicken and Spanish Rice. Soup of the Day's Chilli."

"Alright, can I get two of those along with the two butterbeers, please?"

"Ernie!" She shouted to the cook in the kitchen behind her. "Two hot specials!" As she filled the butterbeers, two plates zoomed onto the counter.

"So, what's this meeting about?" She asked glancing over at the table where Sirius sat with Teressa.

"I don't know if he wants people to know."

"Aww. Now, come on. I won't tell a soul."

"I'd feel better if Sirius told you himself."

"Okay. Well, that'll be fifteen Galleons, dear."

James paid her, balanced the mugs on top of the trays and took it carefully back to their table.

"But you've never thought about playing for the Gryffindor house team?" she was saying as he set the food down.

"No, I guess not. Hang on, what's all this have to do with why I ran away?" Sirius questioned, pulling his plate closer to him and fishing around in his food with his fork.

"Alright, how do your parents feel about you not playing for Gryffindor?"

"They hate that I'm in Gryffindor for one..."

The inquisition went on and James ate his food laggardly as he listened and watched the two. Getting bored with Sirius and his counselor, he let his mind wander to thoughts of Lily. He wondered what she was doing right this instant. He pictured her hurrying around her tidy room neatly packing all her belongings into her trunk. He smiled at the thought of her kneeling by her trunk and finding the snitch he had placed in there last term. Then came wistful thoughts of the year before. He replayed the million or so times he had asked her out in his mind. Only in each scenario, she would say yes. She would get onto his broom with him and they would ride up into the sky. Her hair would fly into his face and he would smell the scent of her flowery shampoo. Then she would kiss him as the sun set across the lake releasing an array colors that cast a glow on her hair and skin. He would bring her down and awe her with his ability to transform into a stag. She would marvel at his beauty, agility, and speed when as he takes her on his back into the forest...

James broke out of his daydream with a snap and checked his watch. He realized with a start that they had been there for over thirty minutes and Sirius's parents had yet to make an appearance. He looked to see if Sirius and Teressa were concerned about this but Sirius was too busy telling his life story while her hands sped across the parchment as she wrote everything down. James wondered why he hadn't thought about this earlier. Sirius parents wouldn't come. Why would they? James had never really thought of what it might be like to have them sitting down at a table and talking to Sirius and about the horrible things they've done. James almost laughed at the thought. He had never met Sirius's parents, but from all he's heard, they sure didn't sound like the type to sit and have a decent conversation with a family counselor and their son that ran away.

Fifteen minutes later, Teressa checked her watch and exclaimed at the time that had elapsed since she came. She stuffed her packet back into the briefcase mumbling about people who cannot be punctual and didn't have the manners to inform people if they couldn't make it to meetings. She gave Sirius an "it was nice meeting you" smile and a half nod to James. Then, putting on her professional face once more, she stole a piece of chicken off of James's plate and bustled out of the room.

Sirius pushed his plate away from him and looked at it for a long minute. Then he turned to James.

"Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah, sure," James answered. He stuffed the last mouthfuls of rice into his mouth and drained his bottle of butterbeer.

Sirius was already out the door by the time James was done, so he had to run to catch up with him. The streets of Hogsmeade were getting busier. Kids from the town were already heading up to Hogwarts to get an early start. Others were running in and out of shops merrily, buying books, and candy, and other things to last them the year. The hazy sun reflected off the windows of shops, illuminating the street.

Sirius walked in silence until they reached a shabby looking hut. It was the 'Shrieking Shack' as people had begun calling it. He looked up at the broken-down house as though wishing he could enter it.

A little boy walking past with his mother stopped by Sirius them and looked up at the house. "You better not look at it for too long, mister. The ghosts might see you."

Sirius looked down at the kid but did not answer. The little boy's mother called to him and he ran away.

"Are you okay, Padfoot?"

Sirius looked away from the house. "I'm fine, Prongs."

Sirius had never been the best liar.