Greek Tragedy | Sirius Black's Son

Chapter Nine

ooh wee ooh, i look just like buddy holly
oh, oh, and you're mary tyler moore
i don't care what they say about us anyway
i don't care 'bout that
weezer, buddy holly

✧

Snowflakes swirled around in the air and landed softly on the ground, adding to the powdery layer of snow already there. Icarus trudged through it, wishing that snow wasn't as cold as it was; his feet were freezing. Next to him, Alan had his head tilted back and his tongue stuck out of his mouth as he tried to catch the snowflakes. Icarus felt tempted to trip him. Phillip was on the other side of Alan, and Renée was on Icarus's right.

Icarus had asked Renée if she wanted to come to Hogsmeade with his friends and him in order to make up for ditching her in the library. She had said yes, and now here they were, walking to Hogsmeade in the snow.

"He's seen snow before, right?" Renée asked, looking at Alan as he jumped into a pile of it.

"He has," Icarus confirmed, stopping and watching as Phillip attempted to drag Alan out of the snow. Eventually, Phillip gave up and returned to Icarus and Renée. They resumed walking and Alan soon joined them, snow sticking to him. His cheeks were red, and so was his nose, but he was grinning like a madman.

After a few more minutes of walking, they saw the tops of buildings and houses, lights glowing from the windows. They hurried down a small slope, careful not to slip and fall. They reached The Three Broomsticks and entered. The warm air and cheerful atmosphere enveloped Icarus immediately and they found a table near a corner to sit at.

"Phillip, I'm cold," Alan complained once he sat down.

"Well, maybe don't jump into a pile of snow next time," Phillip said.

Four people Icarus recognized entered the pub: Professor McGonagall; Professor Flitwick; Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper and the new Care of Magical Creatures professor; and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. He watched as they ordered drinks from Madam Rosmerta. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a Christmas tree move a few inches.

"Is it weird to see your teachers drink?" Icarus asked when Madam Rosmerta returned to the adults' table with their drinks in hand.

"Depends on the teacher," Alan answered. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Trelawney was knocking 'em back between her classes."

Madam Rosmerta started up a conversation with the adults that, even though Icarus could hear what they were saying, tuned them out. Well, that was until he heard his last name get mentioned. Then suddenly his ears perked right up.

"I didn't hear a rumor," Madam Rosmerta said.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" That was McGonagall, sounding exasperated.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta whispered, and Icarus barely caught it.

"I'm sure of it," said Fudge.

"Icarus?" Renée asked.

Icarus held up a hand at her, then signalled to the professors' (and minister's) table. Renée must have known what he meant by that because she didn't say anything else, nor did Phillip and Alan.