BETTY, sirius black

singing, "happy birthday to you"

          "Regulus!" She exclaimed with a small grin, startled by the younger boy's presence at the tower she thought had been vacated for the weekend. "I wasn't expecting you to be the type to come up here."

          "Oh." The boy laughed nervously, looking up at Saiorse with squinted eyes as the sun shone down on them. Although the snow still fell from the white clouds above Hogwarts, Saiorse didn't bother to wear a jacket. She loved the feeling of the cold, the icy winds blowing against her as she listened to soft music, read old, dusty books that really made her think. "I was just...thinking about stuff, I can — I can leave if you want — "

          "No, no, no, it's fine, I mean as long as you don't mind me." She quickly interrupted, plopping down next to him as she kicked her legs against the tall, stone wall beneath her. "Do you mind if I play my radio?"

          Regulus nodded with a grin, earning a smile from Saiorse as she pressed the small, yellow button. "Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band." The radio sang.

          Saiorse could tell by the way Regulus was sitting, how his body language let her read him like a book. How his arms were crossed in a reserved manner, how his feet were pointed away from her, how he checked his watch every seven minutes. He had something on his mind that he didn't want to talk about.

          She shook the thoughts from her mind, reminding herself as she had time and time again, get yourself out of other people's business. Reading people had become a habit from being alone every now and then, noticing their body language, their small quirks they had. It was a hobby, really.

          "Happy birthday." Regulus nodded, breaking the comfortable silence as Saiorse looked down at her shoes.

          "Thanks." She smiled. "How'd you know?"

          "Overheard my broth — " He paused for a moment, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Sirius speaking about it to Potter in the halls along the East Wing."

          He was thinking about Sirius. "Ah, yes, the baboons of Hogwarts." She grinned, her mind suddenly trailing off into the endless abyss. "Do you believe in evolution?"

          "What the bloody hell is evolution?" Regulus asked with his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth turned up in a grimace.

          "Ah, I must've forgotten. Many purebloods aren't as academically diverse in the mind field." Saiorse smirked jokingly, leaning back on her elbows. "Apparently, like, we all came from monkeys."

          Regulus snickered, digging a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. The same kind Sirius smoked. "That sounds absurd."

          "I believe in it." Saiorse grinned, gratefully taking the cigarette from Regulus' outstretched hand, accepting his light. "We had to come from something, right? I mean the universe didn't just come from Merlin's nutsack or whatever the fuck wizards think happened when the Earth appeared."

          "I can tell you with total assurance that no one thinks the Earth became from Merlin's sperm." The boy laughed, shaking his head with amusement as he blew out a spectral of smoke.

          "Mm, debatable." Saiorse tsked, tapping the end of her cigarette on the edge of the building. "I've heard a very drunk Severus Snape talk about how the great and powerful Merlin had sex with America, and the U.K. was born."