Mortem . Sirius Black

chapter seventeen

November 23rd – Hogsmead

The marauders, Ellie, Tony, and Nephera were all walking through Hogsmead, enjoying their Saturday despite the freezing cold and the thick layer of snow that decorated the town. All of them noticed the Slytherin's lack of outerwear, but none of them thought too much about it, simply assuming that she didn't get cold easily.

Sirius, however, remembered their conversation from that night in the forbidden forest, and frowned slightly, though he didn't mention it. None of them ever mentioned that night, not even to their closest friends, the most Sirius had ever talked about was his rant in the room of requirement, and he was sure the rest of the marauders hadn't understood a word he had said.

Similar to that night, neither of them mentioned the morning after the full moon, covering up the awkward interaction with layers of sarcasm and hateful comments thrown in each other's direction.

They all sat down on a bench that was located on the main street of Hogsmead, everyone but Nephera grumbling at the cold.

"Why are we not in the three broomsticks, again?" asked James, pulling his scarf tighter against his neck

"Because the three broomsticks is loud, and filled with people," argued Nephera

"And because you're a cold-blooded serpent that simply doesn't feel the cold?" snapped Sirius

"Or maybe you're just a pussy that can't handle it,"

Tony rolled his eyes, scooting closer to Remus who wrapped his arms around his shivering boyfriend "So you don't mind the cold then?" he asked

"Not in the slightest." Replied the Slytherin

Tony's expression quickly changed from annoyed to playful, and he grabbed a handful of snow, launching it towards the brunette's face. Nephera gasped dramatically, before flicking her wrist and sending three snowballs back at Tony, one of them hitting Remus.

The second the small ball of snow hits the werewolf's face, a full-out snowball fight ensues. The marauders, plus Tony, were ganging up on Ellie and Nephera, but with a little help from Nephera's wandless magic, and Ellie's sheer and utter determination, it was a fair fight.

The relationship between Nephera and James had started with a shot competition, which defined the tone of their friendship. They were very competitive with each other, always finding different ways to establish who was the best at random tasks, and this snowball fight was no exception. So, when the Gryffindor got fed up over the fact that Nephera was unfairly using her wandless magic to beat them, he promptly launched himself across the makeshift battlefield.

Nephera, however, had gained enough experience through her dealings with her father to be able to recognize when someone was about to attack, so when she saw the Gryffindor lean back slightly, she stepped to her right, causing him to fall face-first into a huge pile of snow.

James groaned, rolling on his back "How on earth did you know I was about to do that?"

"Let's call it, life experience," she said, laughing darkly "And you're not as subtle as you think,"

Sirius's ears rang once again with her words from that night in the forest But for us, it's more than just a party trick, right? Call it survival mechanisms

No one else seemed to notice the first part of the girl's sentence, as James was too caught up in her saying that he wasn't as subtle as he thinks he is. The curly-haired boy started arguing about that with Remus, as Tony and Ellie jumped in as well, prodding at the Gryffindor.

With part of their group occupied by the argument, Sirius let his eyes trail towards Nephera, only to find that she was already staring at him. The Slytherin knew that while everyone else would dismiss her comment as a joke, the raven-haired boy wouldn't, and that was only proven when his eyes connected with hers.