The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Black Sheep

"Find it hard to believe anybody with the name Black was involved in something like that," Sirius muttered.

"Mia was the one who made us our badges." Professor Urquart smiled fondly. "S.S.E.A.W., they said. She liked acronyms."

Sirius thought of the P.A.H.W.F.A.H.W.W.N.D.J.P. badges he'd made and he looked down at his toes. Perhaps he had a bit more in common with this person, whoever she was, than he'd thought when Profesor Urquart had said it.

He hesitated. "You... truly don't know what became of her?"

"I truly do not, I'm afraid," Professor Urquart answered. "I was in my Fifth Year when she came to Hogwarts, graduated long before she had done, and I lost track of many of the folks that were in S.S.E.A.W. over time... especially as I got involved with the Ministry... I only reconnected with Minerva because she ended up working for me for a time." He paused. Then, "I shall have to see if Minerva knows what happened to Mia Black."

"Why would Minnie know?" Sirius asked, curious.

"Ah, because they were best friends for most of their careers at Hogwarts," Elphinstone replied.

Sirius made a face. It was weird thinking of Minerva McGonagall as anything except exactly the way she was now. Mini-Minnie running about the halls of Hogwarts was something that made his head sore just thinking of it. Even though they'd long ago found the photographs and notes and things pinned about the alcove off the Trophey Room Passageway and recognized one of the smiling girls in the photographs as Minerva McGonagall, he still couldn't quite wrap his brains about the idea of a young Minnie.

A smile trembled over Professor Urquarts face. "Speaking of best friends," he murmured, "I do believe we are not alone." And he turned about, leaning to peer beyond one of the suits of armor that blocked Remus Lupin from sight. He chuckled, "Mr. Lupin, you're not as well hidden as you may believe yourself to be."

Sirius looked up as Remus came about the corner and he visibly brightened at the arrival of his Moony. "So sorry," Remus said as he walked over, his hands in his pockets, looking rather ashamed. He sidled over, chin against his chest. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just checking on Sirius is all."

Elphinstone Urquart smiled, "As any good friend would do."

Sirius looked up, ready to correct Professor Urquart on exactly what sort of friend Remus was to him, but Remus said, "Actually, Sirius is a good deal more than that to me. He's my - my boyfriend."

Sirius smiled. "Aw Moony." Sirius grabbed his hand.

Professor Urquart nodded a moment, then said, "Very well. Come along, back to the classroom. We've a good deal to cover for our first day and we haven't even begun yet..."

So they trooped back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

When they pushed open the door it was to find James and Lily sitting at their desks, each breathless and staring stiffly straight ahead. James's hair stood up funny in the front and James clutched the edge of the desk so tight his knuckles were white and he refused to look at Sirius, even as Sirius leaned forward, trying to force eye contact as Remus sat down in his own desk. The fact that James's hair was a mess was no news (after all, when wasn't it a mess?), but Lily's hair was a mess, too. Sirius studied her a long moment and she was very careful not to look his way.

At lunch, Sirius told the others about Mia Black and the conversation he'd had with Professor Urquart. "Whoever this Mia Black person is, it sounds like I could bloody start a club with her and Andromeda. We could call ourselves The Black Sheep. Get it? 'Cos we're Blacks and they call rejected people black sheep?" Sirius grinned at his own funniness and bit into his sandwich with glee.