@siriusprotectionsquad event: get to know the members
i like these cold, grey, winter days. days like these let you savour a bad mood
The winters were always exceptionally cold at Hogwarts. It never mattered how many blankets Sirius wrapped himself in, or if he turned the boiler in the dorm room the highest it could go, or even when he enchanted his slippers to be self-heating, he was still cold. James would tease him, suggesting he should live out the winter months in his animagus form, then Sirius would snarl back, which would’ve been menacing if he wasn’t wrapped in Lily’s Scooby Doo blanket.
This resulted in a daily morning debate, in which Sirius would argue that it was too cold to leave the dorm dressed normally, but he wasn’t about to let everyone see him looking like a twat. James would reassure him that he in fact was a twat, while Peter giggled, and the girls left to actually get to breakfast on time for once.
“The blanket really doesn’t look that bad, Sirius.” Remus assured him, fully dressed and fully prepared to leave them all for the sake of getting something to eat.
“That’s fine for you to say, but if I got out looking like this, he,” Sirius flung an arm out of his blanket to point at James, whose eyes widened in surprise as he’d been eating a biscuit and hadn’t been paying attention, “will never let me live it down.”
“Aw, cmom, Pagefoof. I promish I’ll ownly tease you fwor two weechs.” James tried to say around his biscuit.
“He’s asking for a maximum two weeks teasing.” Peter translated.
“Thanfs, Wormtail.”
“I’m not giving you that much fuel,” Sirius huffed, hurling his blanket off and throwing it in the direction of his bed, “I’ll just have to suffer.”
“Sirius you don’t-” Remus started.
“It’s fine.”
~
Mcgonagall caught him shivering through the whole of Transfiguration, and though his teeth had rattled so much he was worried they’d fall out, he hadn’t mentioned any of it to her. She made sure to press the point that he should visit Madam Pomfrey if he was feeling unwell, but after minutes of silence let Sirius leave to find the others waiting outside. He strode straight to Remus, dropping his head onto his chest as the taller boy wrapped the shorter in his cloak.
“I take it it went well then?” James teased, not expecting the elbow to the ribs he received from Peter.
“What did she say?”
“She thinks I’m ill.”
“Well she’s not wrong.” Sirius lifted his head to scowl at Remus, the smirk on the other boy’s face just making him feel even worse. “C’mon, let’s go sit you in front of the Common Room fire like you’re our house cat.”
“I hate cats.”
“I know.”
~
“When are you going to tell me what’s really going on?”
It had been hours since last light, and the four were still sat in front of the fire, with Sirius on the floor wrapped in as many blankets as they could scavenge and the others crammed on the sofa. Peter had tried to stay up and help keep Sirius warm, but had soon fallen asleep curled up next to Remus like a large dog who thinks they can fit in your lap. Until a few moments ago, Sirius was sure that Remus was still engrossed in his book, but as he glanced at him now he noticed the book had fallen into his lap, and his head was now gently resting atop Peter’s. Which left James, who was, as Sirius watched him now, very much awake, and staring down at him as if there was something he was supposed to say.
“What?”
“I know Moony’s noticed too, but I think he feels like he hasn’t got the right to say anything to you about acting weird cause he’s-” James stopped himself and glanced around, momentarily forgetting they weren’t in the private safety of their dorm room. “Well anyway, I do. And I need you to tell me what’s going on, cause this isn’t just your average winter of being cold, mate.”
Minutes of silence passed between them, Sirius chewed his lip until he was sure he was going to get an ulcer in the morning, but said nothing. James shook his head and moved as if he was about to wake up the boys when Sirius blurted out-
“It’s my mother.” He watched as James settled back down, eager to listen, he took a deep breath. “Over the summer I spent so much time away from home, not just when I was with you, some nights I just wouldn’t go home. And when I was home Walburga wouldn’t let me breathe for two seconds without screaming at me that I wasn’t loyal to the family, that I was a traitor and all that other shit. That’s why I went dark those last two weeks of break, Prongs. She wouldn’t let me leave the house, wouldn’t even let me send an owl. And I didn’t tell you because- I didn’t tell you cause I knew you’d come up with some scheme and- and I checked and your parents can’t adopt me unless the ‘House of Black’ agrees to it.” He made the air quotations with his hands, letting the blanket fall from his shoulders and watching it settle on the floor as he made no move to pick it up.
“Sirius I- shit, mate. You- the shivering, you’re that scared to go back?”
Sirius nodded.
“Shit, right.” James scrambled down from the sofa to wrap his arms around his friend, he would’ve toppled him over if Sirius hadn’t squeezed so hard back. “Listen, Padfoot. Nothing’s gonna happen to you, alright? Even if we have to chain ourselves to this bloody castle no one is going to make you go back there. Me, you, the boys, maybe even the girls, we’ll all stay here for Christmas, you don’t even have to think about it. Okay?”
Sirius nodded against James’ shoulder, pulling back to smile at his friend, before they both burst out laughing at how their eyes had begun to water.
“Oh, fucking hell are you still up?” Their heads whipped round as they witnessed Peter rising from the sofa, stretching out his back and yawning loud enough to wake the whole castle.
“Bloody hell, Pete.”
“What? Just cause I don’t swear as fucking much as you two doesn’t mean I never do. Now let’s go the fuck to bed.” He glanced down at the mass still on the sofa. “Can someone help me carry Remus? He’s one heavy bugger.”
James couldn’t control his giggles as he clapped Sirius on the back, and after a few false starts helped Peter get Remus on his feet and walking. Sirius grinned as he watched them, scooping up his blanket and following close behind. He listened to Remus’ half-asleep mumbling, Peter’s near constant swearing and James’ stifled laughter as he tried to let the rest of Gryffindor house sleep. Sirius’ smile grew, and as he watched the three idiots in front of him attempt to tackle the stairs, he felt comforted by the promise that they would keep him safe, through everything, and always, the Marauders.
