The Brothers Black

Chapter 11

I arrived at detention promptly at 5, but James was't there yet. That meant I had the privilege of waiting in Filch's company alone.

When James arrived (half an hour late), it wasn't much better. Filch grumbled confusing instructions about organizing files. He gave me a key to his office and told me to make sure to lock up when we were finished. I was supposed to give the key to Mrs. Norris afterward. How or why I was supposed to give a key to a cat, I didn't know.

Attempting to organize hundreds of files with someone who is not talking to you is quite a difficult task. We worked in silence for a few hours, just sorting envelopes and giving each other the occasional glare. It wasn't until I picked up a very interesting file that the silence was broken.

What caught my eye was a red piece of paper tied on the end of the file, like it was important. The red was an interesting contrast to Filch's dull office, so it caught my interest. I peeked inside the pile and found a collection of extremely familiar pink envelopes.

"This one's for your pile," I called at James with a grin, wondering if he knew that Filch had saved his fake secret admirer letters.

He rolled his eyes, thinking I was just handing him an ordinary file, and reached over to grab it from my hand. He glanced inside, then back up at me. At the same time, we both started laughing so hard that we rolled out of our chairs and knocked over all the files we had organized so far.

After I was able to catch my breath, we sat up off the ground and started picking up the files again. I swallowed and looked over at him. "I'm sorry, J. You're right. I'm getting in over my head."

He shook his head. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad. There's no way you would have known."

"That I would have known... what?" I felt like there was some big secret being kept from me.

"Nothing. But you know what I don't know? Where to put these." He pointed at the pink envelopes he was still holding.

We both fell back into a laughing pit, but I didn't forget how he ignored my question once more.

It turns out detention goes a lot faster when you're actually talking to your brother.

"Okay, so we hate Audree and Lucinda now, got it," he said, after I explained my argument with them.

"Hate is a strong word, but yeah."

"Well, who else have you met here? Any boys?" he said it so tauntingly that I actually wanted to throw up.

"No!" I responded, but the blush in my cheeks gave me away.

"I saw that, squirt. No hiding from me."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes. "I sort of like this boy, but I'm not telling you who."

He furrowed his brow. "Do I know him? Do you even know him? Would Mum approve? Would Dad? Are you dating? Are you–"

"James! Enough. I'm not telling."

"Will you at least tell me what House he's in? Just please don't say Slytherin."

"Ew! I will tell you that – I would never like a Slytherin boy. He's in Ravenclaw, for your information."

James seemed to approve of that, so we spent the rest of the detention organizing and chatting about other things. Anything besides my love life was fine with me.

When all the files were organized, at least in some way, James said goodbye. I walked over to the door and starting twisting the key in each lock (6 in total). I wasn't sure what was in Filch's office that would warrant so many locks. Files? Love letters?

When I finished, I heard a meow, and to my right, sure enough, was Mrs. Norris. I wasn't quite sure how to give her the key, but I bent down next to her and held it out in front of her.

"Cats don't eat keys, you know," said a vaguely familiar voice.

I looked up to see a tall figure towering over me in green and black robes. It was Black. Of course, it had to be Black.

"What are you doing, following me around?" I stood up and sighed. I was not in the mood for another fight.

"I could ask you the same thing."

I couldn't deal with him right now. If he thought I was following him around, then leaving would definitely prove him wrong. I picked up my bookbag and stormed past him, hoping to get through at least one confrontation without starting a fight.

"Running to your big brother, are you?" he called after me.

I kept walking. I was not going to give in.

"Looked like you needed him today," he said.

Unfortunately, he knew how to push my buttons. I spun around. As much as I wanted to be patient, I wasn't going to let him get away with anything else today. "Can't you stop being such an insufferable git?"

"Nope," he smirked. "It's a natural talent." He looked me up and down and frowned. "Why do you look so dirty?"

I looked down at my soot-covered robes from Filch's grimy office. My eyes narrowed, "I just finished doing four hours of detention for something that was entirely your fault, and I would really appreciate it if you would let me go back to my dorm in peace, thank you very much. And, for your information, I did not need James or your brother today. I was doing just fine on my own. And if I remember right, you were the one who ran away."

"That's where you're wrong, Potter," he nodded, his mouth tilting up. "I wasn't running away. I was avoiding detention."

I rolled my eyes, although I recognized that he might have been right, as much as it pained me to admit it. "Why don't you do us both a favor and leave me alone?"

He shrugged, turned, and began to walk away. "As you wish," he called over his shoulder.

I crossed my arms and waited a few seconds, watching his figure grow smaller in the hall. He seemed different today. It was the first time I had ever talked to him alone.

He was definitely still an insufferable git, and his change in behavior didn't make me any less mad at him. I turned to storm off back to my dorm, but I glanced over my shoulder once more and caught eyes with Black, who was doing the same. I put my head down and walked a little faster. I was embarrassed, but I didn't know why.