Pragma // s.b.

8

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"All I'm saying", Skye said, tendrils of curly blonde hair springing out of the bun thrown on top of her head, "Is that if we were all to skip this class, there is nothing that Professor Terence could do". Maggie let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her light blue eyes. "That's not how it works", she exhaled as we pushed past a group of Slytherins blocking the stairs descending into the Potions dungeon.

I happened to agree with Skye, I thought it was a brilliant idea to ditch class. However, Skye and I wanted to avoid this particular class for very different reasons. I pulled my robes tighter around myself as the temperature dropped the closer we got to the Potions classroom. Most everyone was already gathered outside of the classroom, waiting for the door to be thrown open and us to be invited into the room. Skye shrugged and popped a peppermint into her mouth, momentarily appeased.

Olivia stood in the corner with Lewis, chatting animatedly. The Gryffindors stood to their right, guffawing over something Potter had just said. So, the usual. What was not so usual, was the fact that Remus Lupin pushed his way out of the circle of Gryffindors and over to where I was positioned between Maggie and Skye. "Hello, Briony", his lopsided grin making its way onto his face.

Of course I had told all the girls about my encounter with him in the library as soon as I had returned to the dormitory, but it didn't stop the shocked expressions from forming on their faces. "Hi, Remus", I slightly smiled back, very aware of almost everyone's eyes on me. I turned to introduce Skye and Maggie, but they had swiftly scooted away, joining the conversation with Lewis and Liv. I glanced over Remus' shoulder, and made direct eye contact with none other than Sirius Black himself. I quickly looked away.

"So, did you finish all your work?", Remus said, ignoring the confused looks of the Hufflepuffs around us. Tanner and Amber were whispering not so quietly about their theories on why we were talking. "Yeah", I nodded, "Eventually". He smiled, and I noticed freckles dotted around his eyes and lips, "Good". There was a pause, then, "So, I was wondering if you wanted to...", but he was cut off by Professor Terence flinging open the door and calling us all in.

"I'll talk to you later!", I called as I was whisked into the classroom by the crowd of students. He nodded jovially and moved to his seat. I braced myself for what I knew was going to be an incredibly awkward Potions class next to Black. My hair was pulled half up half down, so it wouldn't get in the way of my work, but pieces kept falling over my eyes and obscuring my vision. I tucked them behind my ears as I slid into the desk.

"Good morning, sunshine", the unmistakable voice and smokey scent of Sirius filled my senses. "I thought I told you not to call me that", I rolled my eyes at him. I looked him up and down. There was something so wrong about him, it was almost right. His tie wasn't tied, just simply draped around his neck, loose and free. His shirt wasn't buttoned up all the way, so the top of a tattoo was visible, sticking out from under his collar. His wand haphazardly hung out of his pocket, looking as if it could fall out at any moment, but didn't.

"Don't play all innocent with me, Carter", he smirked, his thin cheeks pulling closer to the corners of his dark eyes. I narrowed my hazel ones at him. "What are you on about, Black", I folded my arms and leaned my back against the cool wall beside me. Black scooted down the bench so we were closer than before. I sucked in my cheeks, chewing on the inside of my mouth. "You seem to have somehow seduced our little Mooney with those big doe eyes and flowery sorcery", he said in a scolding tone, as if I were a school child who had acted up in class and he were the teacher.

I let out a snort, "Flower sorcery? What does that even mean?". Black leaned even further forward and began batting his eyelashes in a very overdramatized way, "I'm Briony Carter", he said in a high pitched voice, "I smell like honeysuckle and vanilla. I'm not afraid to speak my mind! I'm going to steal away your friends one by one as a not so subtle revenge plot", he then shook out his hair in a dopey way and giggled in a high pitched tone.

My mouth hung open for a solid minute, then I burst into a fit of laughter. That had to be the weirdest, most insane thing I had ever heard. Did he actually think I was trying to somehow undermine their group by becoming friends with Remus? I wiped away a tear that had formed from my laughter. "Was that supposed to be an impression of me?", I let out in between giggles. Sirius raised an eyebrow at me, clearly not expecting that to be my reaction.

"That was just sad, Black", I continued, brushing back the stray hairs that had further loosened after my fit of laughter, "I think it needs a little work". He clenched his jaw, clearly unsure of how to respond. "Just stay out of my business, Carter. And don't mess with Remus", he said, suddenly serious. I stopped laughing and looked at him. His eyes were softer than usual, and to my surprise, he looked genuinely concerned.

"I promise I'm not trying to do anything to hurt him", I said softly, leaning forward so I was no longer propped against the wall, our faces now only inches apart. His eyes searched mine, looking for trances of sincerity. He slowly nodded. My nose burned with his musky scent and suddenly realized how close we actually were. I let out a cough and, collecting myself, smiled sweetly, "For you on the other hand, I can't make the same promise".

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