Orphic » Sirius Black

Chapter 9 - Cassia Callister

Thank Merlin Juniper had to be busy.

The day after the party people appeared in the Great Hall just for lunch, some still with unwashed makeup or half dressed in their pajamas. Juniper tried to wake up as early as she could, but was not able to get out of bed until past midday. Only Judson and her sat at the Ravenclaw table to eat while the rest of their friends slept. So did the Marauders, apparently, as Juniper assumed they were almost dead on the carpet of their common room after having quite a night when they didn't show up.

It was funny to see the destroyed and happy faces of everyone around, gossiping about the night before like it had been the most memorable one. But Juniper was having trouble keeping her eyes open and was freezing, even though she was wearing a jumper and two scarves: hers and Judson's. It was not even that cold, but she could not stop shivering every now and then. Besides, she didn't share the common amusement. It had not been that outstanding for her.

In fact, all Juniper wanted was to forget it. The memories from the party drove her insane, and she did not know how to push them off. And the feelings! She had to hate them too. She did not want them. Any of it. She reprimanded herself for caring too much about... about what? Sirius Black? She had to be joking.

Her head hurt every time those black eyes ghosted on her mind, the way he was staring at her intently as he ate Emily's face off. It did not make any sense why he would do something like that. Maybe he was drunk, just as much as her or even more. Still, she did not know how to handle this on her own, so she let it slip all on her personal counselor.

After a serious talk with Judson, in which she told him what was bothering her so much—avoiding the heart-aching parts, of course—she considered his advice.

"He's always been like that," he had said. "Don't take it personal, just stay away from him."

And she did, in a way. Because it's not that she decided to ignore Sirius on purpose, it just kind of happened. In between the approaching exams and her sudden urge to sneeze all the time, she barely had time to think about something else. Her evenings were summarized in long visits to the library and occasional extended naps when her body chose to shut off.

The only worse thing than having loads to study and homework to hand in, is to have all that while being sick. But a common flu was not going to stop Juniper from succeeding.

It had come out of nowhere, and she hated having her nose red all the time, but she was determined to finish with all the papers and prepare herself for their exams. Every waking moment was a study opportunity, good to practise wand movements in the hallways or during lunch. She'd stay in the common room for long hours at night, regardless of Judson telling her to go to sleep.

Transfiguration was, by far, her favourite and the easiest to learn. Charms followed close, but she was having trouble with Herbology. She wouldn't admit it, though. Everyone knew that she wasn't into plants and fungi, but it had never occurred to her that it could be such a difficult subject.

Margaret saw her once at the greenhouses trying again to remove a fang from the Fanged Geranium and offered her help, but Juniper told her that she was alright. She had to do it herself, even if her hand was scarry from the bites of the plant, or she'll never pass the practical exam. Besides, Juniper was sure she could do it. She only had to try harder.

She had to admit she envied Maverick's ability of not letting anything get to his nerves. He just sat there with his sketchbook while she and Judson practised some spells. He even drew them shooting at each other with stressed expressions and laughed when they forced him to actually do something more productive.

Once, Juniper and Judson tried to study with Remus. They had met at the library and spent a whole afternoon revising for the upcoming Ancient Runes examination. It had gone pretty well for the first hour or so, until Sirius arrived and interrupted the perfect calmness of the environment. He just sat beside Remus, insisting on leaving, and distracting the three of them completely. Remus eventually agreed on going with him, for the sake of Judson's state of mind, who was a few moments away from hexing Sirius.