𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 ❧ sirius black

XIII - The Perks of Veritaserum

Gazing upon what James said was her final clue of this whole process, Hermione knew exactly where it would take her. After all, she knew that there was only one person that she hadn't seen today at all, and by looks of the clue, it was without a doubt the person that she expected.

"Little Sluggy,
Shall we begin our search for the stars?"
You should know this, seriously.

Sirius, and the Astronomy tower. Of course. Hermione's best class may not be Astronomy, but she knew that this clue would lead her there regardless. It's... thoughtful, really, Hermione thought as she pondered over what Sirius has spoken to her on the first day of class, written on the parchment.

"Thanks, James."

"'Course, Sluggy. See you later," James finished as Hermione exited the Potions classroom. As she left, however, James couldn't get Harper's amortentia preference out of his head. Something about "wet dog" made him grow curious.

Meanwhile, apparently during the time that Hermione had spent on that task, the night had fully taken over the sky. The stars burned bright, and the moon itself provided enough glow for anyone lost within the darkness so pull themselves back.

Thankfully, Hermione didn't have to worry about getting lost in the dark while on her way to the Astronomy tower. It may be anything but bright, but that tower let her gaze upon those beautifully blazing stars, even if she didn't fully understand them. At least Sirius did, however.

Speak of the devil, there he laid on the ground of the astronomy tower, gazing up at his namesake, who provided the brightest glow of all.

Being up at the top of this tower gave Sirius that feeling of invisibility that he longed for so greatly, despite his lack of James' cloak. He almost wished that Harper's second-to-last task took up more time than anticipated; he wanted to soak up the lack of pressure that he left in this moment. But only the thought of Harper led Sirius' mind down a rabbit hole that he couldn't quite drag himself out from.

His thoughts shifted to the new girl. To Harper. To the astronomy class that he shared with the her, allowing Sirius to associate her with the brighter things in life that he would always desire, even when the world around him continued to grow dark. At the one place he felt safe and accepted, in the one class that he didn't completely loathe, she was there. He didn't care if he had only know her for less than two weeks, Sirius knew that she was good. He just knew.

While staring up at his star, Sirius felt more relaxed than he had since the start of the school year. That is, until the girl he couldn't get off of his mind crept up from the spiral staircase.

"Sirius! There you are," spoke the new girl, out of breath from the steep lengthy, stairs.

He stood from the ground and fluffed his hair as routine. "Hey, Harper. Long day?" he chuckled, and watched as she smiled in return.

"It sure has been hectic," Hermione laughed, "Lots of tiring tasks, for sure."

"How was the black lake? Good to see you didn't drown," Sirius stumbled.

"Oh, that one wasn't so bad. The hardest one was definitely Peter's task. I can't believe you guys found the lost diadem!" Hermione exclaimed.

"James and I, yeah. I swear that room's filled with Merlin knows what," Sirius laughed, distracted by Harper and lost in conversation. Fixing his hair yet again, he nearly forgot why she was here in the first place.

"Oh, your task, I almost forgot," Sirius spoke in a jumbled fashion. Something was up, and Hermione could tell.

"Hopefully it isn't too difficult, I'm exhausted."