Intended

[thirteen]

There are delights at Hogwarts that Sirius has forever dreamed of. He laughs as he races down corridors, fingers stuffed in his ears, and an explosion rocks the classroom he has just left. He has a natural inclination towards mischief, and soon enough he and James make themselves known as right terrors of the school.

Their games are not always without reason- more often than not, it is payback for an insult, even if there are times that Sirius will play a trick on someone for nothing more than sheer amusement. For him, the simple thrill that comes from the adrenaline rushing through his veins is enough incentive for the next silly prank. Detentions are an inconvenience, but only a minor one, and he never allows anyone, not even Andromeda, to dissuade him.

He reminds himself he has eleven years of fun to catch up on, eleven years worth of tricks to play that he has been denied.

‘What's that you've got there?' Sirius asks one day as he spots James shuffling into the common room, something obviously hidden under his robes. James only shakes his head and motions for him to follow him up to their dormitory, one finger on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes that means that some mischief is afoot.

Certain things cannot be discussed in the crowded common room, or they may be overheard like last time. Sirius is not about to let himself be caught out again by some smart-aleck prefect who can go and tell one of his cousins about his and James's shenanigans. It doesn't matter if he is reported to Narcissa; she simply pretends that he does not exist. But Andromeda… if there is one thing that annoys him about Andromeda, it is that she has no patience for his pranks and he doesn't fancy another detention… or another week of her giving him the silent treatment.

Making sure that no one is looking at him, Sirius furtively glances around before he rushes after James. They bound up the stairs as fast as they can, taking them two at a time; Sirius almost trips on one of them but he is up again easily, almost clipping James's heels as he runs. There is an urgency in James's steps that Sirius picks up on. They burst into the dormitory in a flurry of black robes and stifled laughter and expectancy, but even as Sirius opens his mouth to ask James about what he's planning he sees the sudden movement from the corner of his eye.

He clicks his tongue impatiently as he spies the boy sitting on the bed near their only window, looking up at both him and James through large brown eyes. He blinks at them in an owlish manner, lingering surprise and slight annoyance showing in his expression. In his hands is a book on magical creatures; Sirius glances at it but is only able to catch a glimpse of an illustration before the boy closes the book, his finger marking the page he had been reading.

‘Clear off, Lupin,' James tells the boy. Again, all he does is blink at them, eyelids fluttering slowly.

‘Why?' Lupin asks. Sirius can see the tiredness in the boy's face and the pallor of his skin. Lupin fixes him with a weary stare that is reflected in his sluggish movements as he heaves himself off the bed. He finds himself becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the presence of the boy and he looks away, but even when he looks back Lupin is still staring at him.

James snorts derisively. ‘Because,' is the only excuse he offers, and from his voice it's obvious that James, too, is distinctly nettled by the gaze Lupin has fixed them with.

Lupin steps across the floor, his feet light on the wood so Sirius isn't aware that he is leaving until he's almost at the door. He glances back at them with a look that suggests only mild annoyance, and Sirius thinks that he sees a sullen, sad shadow creeping across his eyes but when he blinks it's gone, and the door is being pulled open slowly.

‘What are you planning?' he asks, his casual tone failing to hide his obvious curiosity. While he doesn't look the type to tell a tale, Sirius is unsure if he wants Lupin to know what they are up to.

‘If you really need to know,' Sirius growls mockingly, taking a step towards him, ‘we're planning on hunting down a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest .' Even if his response comes out a little harsher than he intended it to be, he expects the boy to laugh with them. Or to just roll his eyes at his joke and walk out… after all, everyone knows that there are obviously no werewolves in the forest and even if they were, Sirius is not so foolhardy that he would consider hunting them.

What he doesn't expect is for Lupin to blanch so that he looks a terrible, sickly white, or for his eyes to widen fearfully and start darting about. He doesn't expect the book to fall from Lupin's shaking hands, or for him to turn and flee down the stairs, his footfalls echoing long after he has disappeared.

‘What's eating him?' James asks, and Sirius shakes his head in bewilderment.

He crosses over to the door, shutting it, but not before he picks up the fallen book. Even without opening it, he can see that the pages near the end seem more worn than the rest of the tome; there are folded corners marking specific pages. The inside cover bears the words, ‘Property of Remus John Lupin' written in small, cramped handwriting. As Sirius skims over the book, he can tell that some pages have been read again and again: there are passages underlined neatly in ink and comments scribbled in next to illustrations, crossed out and rewritten almost illegibly in a shaky hand. He pauses at the picture he had glimpsed before, now recognizing it as a werewolf, and he vaguely wonders if Lupin's extreme reaction at his remark had anything to do with the boy's apparent fascination with the creatures.

‘Come on , I can't stand here holding these dungbombs all day!' James whines.

Reluctantly abandoning the book on Lupin's bed, Sirius bounds over to James, pushing the niggling thoughts away from his mind as he tries to think up a plan. However, he can't help but sneak a couple of glances over his shoulder at the book, wondering why any eleven-year old boy would find reading about werewolves interesting.

*