The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 36- Here We Go Again

James, Remus, Peter, and Branwen tumbled from the fireplace into a room they were all too familiar with. McGonagall was seated behind her desk, fingers tented, square-rimmed glasses glinting in the green light of the Floo flames. Seated on two stiff wooden chairs in front of the her were Sirius and Regulus Black.

"Sirius!" James lost no time rushing to embrace his friend and Sirius nearly toppled his chair to the floor to meet him. They clasped together as though it had been two years since they were parted, rather than two months.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, boys, Miss Potter," McGonagall inclined her head to the newcomers, then consulted her watch. "You have a few hours yet if you'd like to go to your dormitory and unpack."

"A few hours until what?" Regulus was watching them all with narrowed eyes. He had no idea why his mother had insisted he come to school early with his brother. He was furious to have missed the train ride which should have been a time to reunite with his friends and not these ridiculous Gryffindors. His mother had only told him to keep an eye on Sirius and report back to her.

"Mr. Black," McGonagall spoke to the youngest brother, "I've spoken to Professor Slughorn and he told me that he could use your help in the Potions classroom this evening. He indicated there would extra points for your House, so I suggest you take him up on it."

Regulus sat for a moment, eyes darting between his professor the other students, but finding no way out, he slunk from the room. Before he crossed the threshold though, he shot one more glance in Branwen's direction.

Had her hair always shone like that, dancing above her shoulders like a curtain of black flame? Or was it just a trick of light in the dim room? And surely she had put on weight over the summer, only she didn't look any fatter, just....softer. He frowned to himself. What exactly did she see in those boys she fawned over? Sure, Potter was her brother, but Sirius was a real prat, Lupin looked like an overgrown bowtruckle, and Pettigrew was just a pig.

Regulus could feel his teeth grinding as his jaw tightened, so he shook his head, clearing away the curious thoughts. Then he pulled his shoulders back and strode toward the dungeon stairs.

The Gryffindors followed shortly after, making their way up to their common room. The Fat Lady was shocked to see students arriving so early, and told them so. "What are you five doing here? The train can't have arrived already! Go back wherever you came from. And don't make me tell the Headmaster!"

James rolled his eyes."Dragon-nest."

The Fat Lady gasped. "How do you know the new password? Professor McGonagall gave it to me only this morning!"

"Dragon-nest," Sirius repeated.

With a disgusted huff, the Fat Lady swung open and allowed entrance.

Branwen ran to her room first; her trunk had already been delivered, so she dug around in it for the packages she needed, then set off to rejoin the boys. She was half-way up the stairs to the boys' dormitory when they flattened into the anti-sneaking slide.

"Really?" she brushed herself off. "Are we going to be doing this again?" A moment passed, then the stairs resumed their usual form. She smiled. "Thank you."

The room was suspiciously quiet when Branwen pushed open the door. She had expected the boys to be chatting away, catching up on their summer adventures, but all four of them were huddled on the hearth rug, their heads bowed over something in James' lap. Sirius chuckled and pointed at whatever it was and Remus hissed something in reply.

"Hello, boys. What are we looking – ah!" Branwen bounced over to peek over their shoulders, then fell back shrieking, her hands over her eyes. "James! Mum forbid you to buy those magazines! What are you doing with that here! And why are you all looking at it!"