When the Stars Align

Chapter Two

I've attached a .gif of my headcanon Sirius in the sidebar, so feel free to take a look at that!

ALSO! It would be really awesome if you could vote for this story. Although the chapters are short, I try to make sure they are as interesting as possible, so if you like the way I write or you like where I'm going with the story, please just take the time to click the vote button. It would be very appreciated!

Always,

Brielle

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Sirius woke with his hands and feet aching. He'd spent some time in his animagus form the previous to escape the taxing questions about his well-being from James and the eager ears of Peter, who was waiting for him to mess up so that he could replace him as James' best friend. They wouldn't be able to find him on the map when he was in his animagus form.

He'd gone down to the lake and looked at the shaggy black dog that stared back at him in his reflection. He couldn't hide from his friends forever, he supposed. Although sometimes it was nice to imagine a different life, a more solitary one. He wouldn't have to worry about James' opinion or how much it hurt when Remus ignored him.

With a sigh, he'd turned back into Sirius Black and invited his friends to come and find him. It was nice to wonder sometimes, but the harsh reality was that he'd chosen this path. He'd made his bed, and now he had to lie in it, no matter what that meant.

In the morning though, he regretted the time he spent as Padfoot; he always did. As a dog, his body contorted in such painful ways and he grew claws out of his hands and feet. Of course, it didn't leave marks when he transformed back into a human, but the pain of having knifes shoved through his skin and contracting back into his hands was there all the same.

He knew he shouldn't feel sorry for himself; at least he got to choose whether or not he became Padfoot. Remus wasn't so lucky with his werewolf transformations. Every morning was Hell for his best friend at that time of the month. He threw up, sometimes for an hour non-stop. And he had cold sweats when he woke. It was like watching someone going cold turkey from heroin or cocaine. It looked so painful.

The worst part was that Remus wouldn't let Sirius help him anymore. He wouldn't talk to him at all and he had no clue what he'd done wrong.

Sirius begrudgingly got ready for classes. He waved at Remus in the common room, only to have him respond with a glare. What the Hell did he do?

Sirius walked to his first class, his shoulders hung and his head down. James passed him in the corridor and slapped him on the back. "Don't frown like that, you'll get stuck like that. I mean it, I'll charm you so that you can never smile again. Brighten up."

Sirius shot a forced smile at James and kept walking past him to his first class, which was Potions.

He took his seat quietly and rested his head on the desk, only wanting to back to sleep, where he wouldn't be able to feel his hands and feet on fire and he wouldn't let Remus' attitude get to him. Where he wouldn't think of what had happened at home.

But sleep wouldn't come. Not with the presence of a shadow hovering over him. His lifted his head with labor, as it felt like someone had stacked a pile of books on his head. He saw his ancient neo-goth professor standing over him with a scowl.

"Good morning, Professor Flogley," he said monotoned.

The teacher huffed, "Cheating will not be tolerated in this class, or this school, for that matter, Mr. Black."

Sirius frowned, his face contorted with confusion. "I can't say that I know what you're talking about, Professor."

"This is the first time in six years that you're doing well in my class, I suspect that you have copied Mr. Snape's notes," professor Flogley stated, as if he had just caught Sirius in the act.

"I can assure you, Professor, that is not the case. I've just had more time to study," Sirius defended himself. Now that his friends weren't interested in him, he had been focusing more on his school work.

Professor Flogley pursed his lips and spat, "If I find that you have been using Mr. Snape's notes to pass this class, you will be in detention for the rest of the school year!"

"Professor, Sirius Black is not even smart enough to /think/ of my notes. He's about as sharp as a screwdriver; he would need a whole different head to solve two different types of anomalies. He's probably only doing well because his /boyfriend/ is ignoring him," a deep voice interjected as the person it belonged to took his seat next to Sirius.

"Ah, Mr. Snape, I suppose you've got a point," Professor Flogley always found joy in listening to Severus insult him.

"Yes," Snape agreed with him; that he did have a point.

"I trust you'll let me know if you suspect that Mr. Black is using your work to pass off as his own," he didn't even day it as a question. He was always looking for a reason to put Sirius in detention.

He returned to the head of the class to begin drawling on about today's lesson.

"Thanks, I guess," Sirius said, then added for good measure, "...Snivelous."

Snape glared at him, "I insulted you, you shouldn't be thanking me."

"You helped me get out of trouble, and by the way, that screwdriver insult: very clever," he smirked at him.

Snape rolled his eyes and huffed. They didn't speak again after that.

After those day's classes, Sirius decided to wander around outside for a little while, not looking for anything in particular. Not expecting to find anything interesting. Just spending some time alone. Some /more/ time alone, he should specify. He ventured down by the lake, starting to skip stones across the water, watching the ripple effect that the stones had on the water.

He had done a pretty good job of keeping his thoughts contained since he'd gotten home from the Winter holiday, but he couldn't do that anymore. All he couldn't hear was the ringing voice of his mother screaming at him, telling him that he was a disgrace to the Black family name. How no son of hers would be homosexual. His father hitting him, and hitting him, and hitting him...

He didn't know where he was going to go after the school year ended. All he knew was that he couldn't go back home.

He threw one last stone with such force that it didn't skip, just splashed and sank to the floor of the lake.

Sirius, turned, frustrated and started stalking off of the beach when he noticed someone sitting near the edge, by the trees.

He had found Remus' hiding place at last.