Roses All The Way Down【Sirius Black】

ⅩⅢ. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬

Virginia shook her head as she stood with four boys next to a witch statue.

"Absolutely no. I'm not sneaking in. I don't sneak, I don't-"

"If the next word out of your mouth is sin," James warned, narrowing his eyes down at her.

"Well I don't," she protested with a scowl, "and I can't believe you're going along with this," she looked at Remus with pleading eyes, expecting him to save her.

He raised his hands, "I'm sorry Mentee, there's nothing I can do. They've got this stuck in their stubborn little heads."

She groaned, "alright fine. But if we get caught-"

"We won't," Sirius said with a crooked smile, throwing his arm lazily over Virginia's shoulders. She glared at him but didn't protest. "Now," he dragged her along with him to the statue and tapped the Witch's eye with his wand. He muttered a spell under his breath and the statue jumped to the side. Behind it was a long tunnel, Virginia narrowed her eyes.

"C'mon Ginny," Peter said jovially, bustling into the tunnel.

"Gin, practice your light spell, why don't you?" Sirius encouraged, utilizing another unsanctioned nickname.

"Lumos," she said confidently, lifting her wand into the sky slowly. The tip lit up and she smiled at it, waving it proudly to light up the tunnel a bit. Behind them, they heard a pattern of heavy footfalls and the five hurried to get into the tunnel and seal it behind them.

"Now remember, if we see a teacher scramble and hide," James instructed with a bossy tone, "and Ginny make sure you stick by me since you're the only one not allowed to be here at all." Virginia nodded her semi-understanding although she didn't know why staying by him would help her any. When they reached the end of the path, they paused for a moment before Remus pushed his hands against the ceiling above them. Virginia's eyebrows furrowed but that only lasted a moment when it slowly raised and shifted to the side. Peter scrambled up, followed by James and Remus and Sirius. Sirius then pulled Virginia up. She looked around to see they were in some sort of cellar with an incredible smell. The five of them made their way up the stairs into a sweets shop before dispersing into the crowd.

Virginia took a deep breath, they had gotten through the first hurdle. "Now," James raised his finger dramatically, "to the Three Broomsticks." Virginia didn't know what he was talking about but followed the four boys anyway. Outside of the shop, the Autumn air was a little blustery. The Marauders formed a sort of shield around her and she chuckled to herself, ducking her head down.

"Crap," she heard Remus mutter, "Lily, Dorcas and Mary incoming."

"Oh no, Mare probably wants to talk to Peter," Virginia muttered without thinking before clapping a hand to her mouth. Four heads swiveled to look at her.

"What did you just say?" They all chorused.

"Don't make it so obvious that I'm here," Virginia hissed at them but of course, the damage was already done.

"Hi boys," Mary said with a smirk, "what are you hiding."

James leaned forward with a devilish smile, "Maybe the better question is what are you hiding?"

Mary snickered, "nothing much," she peered past the boys and her eyes grew wide when she caught sight of Virginia, "how the hell did you sneak her out here?"

"With our mad skills," Sirius crossed his arms loftily.

"Well you and your mad skills better not go into the Three Broomsticks, it's positively swarming with Professors. None in Madam Pudifoots though if you're looking for someplace to eat," Dorcas said sharply, crossing her arms.