sanguine ⏩ sirius black

01.

The Black laughed and threw an arm around the girl, "Ah, I sure did miss you."

Farrah shifted and made herself comfortable next to Regulus, resting her head on his shoulder as the two fell into a mindless conversation about their vacations and all the things that they did not put in letters.

Much to the duo's surprise, Farrah and Regulus had become best friends in their first year of school.

Almost two months into the first school term, almost everyone in the school knew Farrah as a bubbly and free spirit. She was one of the only Slytherins that you would see with a smile on her face at any point of the day, no matter what was going on. She was nice to everyone and in turn, everyone liked her.

However, there was just something about Regulus Black that made her tick.

After their first altercation on the train, Farrah had made it a point to avoid Regulus every chance that she could (which was very difficult to do, seeing as they were both housemates and classmates). She was mostly successful in it, barring a few awkward run-ins on the way to or from a class.

Then, one day, as if Professor Slughorn had sensed the tension between the two, he did the one thing that Farrah had been praying that no teacher do.

He paired them for an assignment.

Farrah, who hadn't fully learnt how to express her dissatisfaction to teachers yet, tried to request a change in partners but the Potions teacher either didn't hear her or simply ignored her complaints.

Though both parties were very unhappy with the pairing, they somehow agreed that they would meet in the library that night to get the assignment over with. Somehow, everything that could have gone wrong, did. Before it was curfew, Regulus and Farrah had ended up in the hospital wing, Regulus with a broken nose (he had pissed Farrah off and she threw a hardcover book at his face) and Farrah, apologizing for snapping at him and telling him off for aggravating her in the same breath.

From that point on, the two had become inseparable.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Regulus said as he nudged Farrah's head with his shoulder. The girl sat up and Regulus reached into his pocket, pulling out a small object from his pocket. He waved his wand over it and Farrah watched as it grew into a leather-bound journal.

"I have to give this to my brother," he said.

Farrah rose an eyebrow, "I didn't know that you had a younger brother."

Puzzled, Regulus replied, "I don't. I have to give it to Sirius."

"Oh," she said, "I didn't know Sirius liked to read."

"I didn't even know that my brother could read," Regulus said, "But this isn't a novel. It's his pranking journal. Mother threw it in the trash after he left but I got Kreacher to get it back."

"Aw," Farrah cooed, "You do have a heart."

"Ha ha," Regulus said, "You coming with?"

The girl stood up and nodded, "I have to talk to Peter and Remus anyway."

Meanwhile, in the last compartment on the train that was known to be the Marauders' compartment, Sirius Black was cursing himself as he scoured through his trunk, looking for his most prized possession.

"Don't worry, Padfoot," James said as he watched his best friend, "I'm sure you'll find it when we get to school."

Sirius shook his head, "You don't understand. If it's not in my trunk, that means that I don't have it. Which means that I left it at Grimmauld Place. Which means that it's gone. My pranking journal is gone."

"Padfoot," Remus said, "Even if you don't have it, it's not the end of the world."

"Not the end of the world?" Sirius said as he snapped around to look at the werewolf, "Not the end of the world? That book has a layout of every single prank we've ever done! Every single prank that I had spent countless hours planning for us to do in our last two years! It even had the layout for the map. That book was the key to-"

The boy's rant was cut off by the door of the compartment sliding open. Regulus stood in the doorway, Farrah standing behind him, as Sirius narrowed his eyes at his brother, "I know that your mother taught you to knock. Why don't you put the one useful thing she taught you into practice?"

Regulus, who was looking forward to seeing his brother after not seeing since he ran away, was taken aback at the sudden snark from his older sibling, "Everything alright?"

"It will be, once you leave," Sirius replied.

Regulus huffed before turning to Farrah and murmuring, "I can't deal with this."

The younger Black stormed down the corridor and left Farrah standing in front of the Marauders' compartment, watching as he disappeared into their compartment and slammed the door. The girl sighed and was ready to go after Regulus when Peter stopped her, "Hey Farrah."

"Peter," the girl said with a smile, "Remus. Have a good summer?"

The two boys nodded, asking the girl about her vacation. Farrah replied, "It was great. I'd tell you all about it but I think I should go calm Reggie down."

"Tomorrow night then?" Peter asked, "Usual place?"

"Usual time too. I'll see you boys later."

Farrah then left the Marauders alone, going to spread some positivity to Regulus before the two of them had to go to the Prefects' meeting. As she entered the compartment, she was surprised to see that Regulus was sitting in the compartment with his eyes closed. He was taking deep breaths, a sign that he was trying to calm himself before he exploded on someone. His hands were balled in fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white and his pale face was getting red, all indications that it was a proving to be a difficult task.

She quietly shut the door and sat next to him, speaking in a soft tone, "Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Sirus this summer?"

Regulus shook his head, his eyes remaining closed as he spoke, "Not yet. I will eventually."

Farrah nodded, even though he couldn't see her, "Remember I'm always here for you."

The Black boy opened his eyes and turned to Farrah, his steely gray eyes staring into her bright hazel ones, "I know that. And I'm grateful for it."

Farrah smiled, "Well, let's get to that Prefects' meeting and see what horrendous tasks we'll have to do."

Regulus snorted, "Yes. Strolling the corridors after hours. What torture!"

The two broke out in laughter, going to the Prefects' meeting with their arms hooked as they both prepared themselves for the year ahead.