Painted Scars // WOLFSTAR

Year Two: Hogsmeade

At Hogwarts, the weekends were when the real fun started.

The curfew was later, the Prefects were more lax, and there was less of an opportunity to get house points taken away. The real beauty of the weekends at Hogwarts, though, was the opportunity to goof off with friends in the corridors of the school.

A few weeks had passed, and everything was going smoothly for Sirius. No one had any idea about Remus, the two of them weren't fighting anymore, and Snape hadn't done anything to get back at them. So it was safe to say that Sirius was going to enjoy his weekend; which meant visiting the balcony on the fourth floor, that he and his friends frequent.

"Have you guys seen this mirror before?" Peter asked as they made their way to the balcony. On the wall that they were about to pass was a grand mirror with an intricate frame that Sirius hadn't ever noticed. It looked like it was trying to blend itself in with the wall.

"Oh, cool," James said, walking up to it and checking himself out. Sirius rolled his eyes, coming up behind him and ruffling his hair. "Oi! I spend all morning on that!"

"Really? I couldn't tell," he teased. James brushed it into place with a scowl.

"There's no point in fussing with it," Remus said, leaning against a pillar on the other side of the hall. "There's no fixing that hair." It was true; James looked like he had a bird's nest on his head 24/7.

"Can we get back to the mysterious mirror that randomly appeared?" Peter asked impatiently, walking up to it and running a finger along the frame.

"It is weird. How come none of us have ever noticed it before?" Sirius questioned aloud. He wondered if it had been there previously; he didn't notice it today–not until Peter pointed it out–so maybe it had been there all along.

"I understand us not finding it, but you would think James would've seen it," Remus said blasély. "He can sniff out a reflective surface like a police dog."

"Git," James said, smacking the side of his head. Sirius ignored them, tapping the glass with the back of his knuckle.

Remus perked up, throwing James' hand off of him. "Wait. Do that again." Curiously, Sirius knocked on the glass a second time. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, and the three boys eyed Remus quizzically. "Move," he said, coming up to the mirror and pressing his ear up against it, knocking for himself.

"What is it?"

Remus licked his lips with a smirk. "It's hollow."

He investigated the mirror for a while, tugging on it and running his hands along the top and bottom, before sliding his hands under the left side of the frame and pulling it open to reveal a secret tunnel. "Remus, you're a genius!" James voiced.

The passage was long and wiry, and too dark for them to see far ahead. It was tall enough for the second-year boys to stand, but the walls appeared to be a tight fit for anyone bigger than them.

"Holy shit!" Sirius said, very articulately, stepping inside recklessly and waving the others in. They all followed, except for Peter, who stood awkwardly outside of the frame.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? What if it's a trap? What if we get in trouble?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged on Peter's arm. "Don't be a scaredy cat. They wouldn't put a secret entrance in the school if they didn't want us to find it!"

"I don't think–"

"Aw, just come on, mate. I'll protect you," James grinned, making Peter sigh and reluctantly agree. Sometimes Sirius thought James might be magic itself with how convincing he could be. When Peter stepped through the frame, he pulled it shut, effectively locking them in. "Nowhere to go but forward, now!"