Barking Mad (Sirius/OC)

Those walls I built

Chapter 14

Remember those walls I built?

Well, baby, they're tumbling down

~Halo - Beyoncé

Ravenclaw won the game, as we had all expected, but all anyone was really talking about was our prank. They didn't know that it was our prank necessarily, but it had 'made by a Marauder' written all over it. People were giving them all speculative glances and clapping them on the back in passing.

Sirius' ridiculous smirk hadn't lessened once that afternoon. It wasn't as weird as I had expected spending time with Sirius on a Saturday afternoon was going to be. I found out that Sirius was marvellous company to keep when you had nowhere to be and nothing to do. He could make the worst mundane task fun and worth repeating.

Darkness had fallen faster than expected that day. Sirius was laughing at something embarrassing I had done (honestly, I didn't mean to fall flat on my face! How was I supposed to know there was a foot in my way?), when the unexpected happened.

I didn't think that my speech had helped any, but James surprised me when he sat down next to Sirius that evening. He looked worn out, but there was a smile on his face and it was directed at Sirius.

Sirius stopped laughing abruptly and stared at his best friend. "Yes, James?" he asked in a bored voice.

I bit my lip and wondered if maybe I should leave the scene while I still could. The look Sirius sent me however made me stay put. I gave him a reassuring smile that I didn't really feel and he nodded faintly.

James watched the exchange in silence and wrung his hands. "Those were some wicked fireworks," he commented at last.

Sirius cocked his head to the side. "Thank you."

James sighed. "I remember us discussing them in our first year. I'm glad you finally did it."

"I am too."

I shifted uncomfortably and wondered if there was anything I could do for them. I stared at the two and saw Sirius give James a look.

James sighed. "Look, Padfoot-"

"Prongs-"

"Okay, you go first," Sirius said quickly, sitting up a bit straighter.

You'd think James was about to propose with the wild anticipation in Sirius' eyes, I thought.

"I missed you, mate." James spoke quietly and decisively, making me believe that he had thought those words a lot in the past week.

"I missed you too. I was an arse."

"A complete tart," James agreed.

Sirius smiled and went in for the hug. They gave each other a good smack on the shoulder and Sirius chuckled a little.

I raised an eyebrow. They were shitting me, right? This couldn't be their big moment of resolving their problems and reconnecting with each other, right?

James opened his mouth, about to say something, but then stopped again. He gave me a confused look and mussed up his hair. He looked back to Sirius when he said: "Could we talk somewhere in private?"

Sirius gave me an apologetic smile. "Do you mind, love?"

I shrugged. "I guess not," I grumbled, moving away from the duo. I saw Lily sitting at one of the crowded tables and walked over.

"Ditched you, did he?" Lily asked, without looking up from her DADA textbook.

"I think they're making up," I said, using her chair for support since all the other chairs were currently taken.