Glass Houses

Chapter twelve

Sirius fell onto his bed with a groan, not bothering to throw a shirt on as he hugged his pillow and  shut his eyes, wishing he was dead.

He rolled over and almost gasped, pain shooting through his shoulder and down his arm. He had fought Marlene a few hours earlier, and although he had won by a hair, she'd got in a few good hits, the kick to his shoulder clearly the most noticeable.

Sirius twisted his head and winced when he caught sight of the blooming bruise on his shoulder, only just brushing the tip of the magpie's outspread wing. The tattoo wasn't as painful as it had been last week, but it still burnt a bit under a hot shower, or when someone patted his back. (He thought James did it just to be a pain).

He could feel himself drifting off peacefully when the dormitory door was pushed open, banging against the wall loud enough to make Sirius jump. His eyes flew open and he squinted as the light of torches burnt spots in his vision. He sat up, running a hand through his hair and looking around, catching a glimpse of James and Peter next to him looking equally as confused.

"Get up now!" someone shouted.

Sirius would recognise that voice anywhere, and he grimaced as a light illuminated Fenrir's face from below, the shadows making him look like some sort of monster. Scattered around the room were other Dauntless. Some Sirius thought he'd seen wandering around the Pit, and some he'd never seen in his life.

"Something wrong?" Fenrir growled at Sirius, who realised too late that the other transfers were getting out of bed.

"Sorry," he muttered, getting up and spotting Moony across from him, also holding a torch.

Moony was already looking at him, his eyes skirting down Sirius' bare torso before looking away abruptly. Sirius flushed, suddenly feeling extremely exposed.

"If you're not at the tracks in five minutes, we leave without you!" Fenrir shouted.

"Where're we even going?" Lily asked, her hair in a bun on top of her head.

Fenrir grinned, "On a field trip missy. Now hurry up!" he called to the rest of the room, leaving first with the other Dauntless running behind him.

Sirius threw on a shirt and shoved his feet into his boots before jogging to catch up with James. He puffed a bit as they entered the Pit, a bead of sweat rolling down his back as they kept running.

"Mental," James muttered to himself, "Middle of the night, shining fucking torches in our faces..."

Sirius grinned beside him as they made it to the tracks. Peter joined them not long after, his hands on his knees as he breathed.

"Okay Pete?" James asked.

Peter gave a thumbs up, "Yeah, fine," he puffed.

Lily and Marlene ran up to them, and Marlene pointed at the black crates next to the tracks, long guns resting on them.

"The hell are those?" she asked.

Lily's eyes widened, "Are we shooting things?"

Sirius frowned, reading the label on the boxes: PAINTBALLS. "Nah," he said, "They're not real bullets."

Sirius had read about paintballs, and he was glad he wasn't wearing a shirt he particularly cared about.

"Grab a gun!" Fenrir shouted.

People surged forward, and Sirius grabbed the first gun he touched. It was long and heavier than the ones they'd been practicing with, but not so heavy that it was uncomfortable to hold. He saw other Dauntless members grabbing a box of paintballs, so he did too, shoving it in his pocket and slinging the gun strap across his chest.