Waking up showed Sirius’s full range of emotions; He was homicidal when woken, grumpy when showering(with the occasional side of psychotic-ness that came with late nights and early mornings), and back to his laid-back persona by the time he got out, ruffling his hair with a towel and wrapping a second around his waist as he stepped out of the shower. Many a girl would kill for this sight of him, Sirius thought unabashedly, taking the time to admire himself in the mirror as he ran his fingers through his hair. It hadn't been properly cut since the beginning of summer, and now reached the middle of his neck. He'd have to get it cut before it grew to his shoulders, he decided with a frown.
His time in the mirror was soon cut short by James’s call, and after making sure the towel would stay tucked Sirius marched out into his dorm. Peter was still asleep in his bunk while Remus had gone to read on James’s, his book still propped open on his lap even though his head was craned to look over James’s shoulder.
“What is it, Prongs?” Sirius asked, carefully sitting down next to his best friend. James cringed slightly as his friend’s still-wet skin dampened his shirt but said nothing of it, instead pointing at a spot on the map. Sirius recognized it easily.
“The girl’s dormitory. What of it? You haven’t been stalking Evans again, have you?”
“I do not stalk her. And it’s the new girl.” James said with an air of someone who thought something should be obvious. “She’s not there.”
“How can she not be there? Where is she?” Sirius’s brows furrowed. It was still an uncommon time to be up- At least for a Saturday- and none of the girls ever emerged from their dorm before at least nine. James shrugged, looking annoyed.
“I don’t know! She’s not on the map at all. She could be in one of the passageways, but that's unlikely. People rarely find those on their own..” James said, brows raised. Sirius shrugged mildly, looking away from James to stare back down at the map. He was about to dismiss it, and tell his friend to stop creeping on the new girl when footsteps appeared by the Hogsmeade passageway, a name appearing soon after.
“She’s there.” Sirius said, surprised. “By the Hogsmeade passage. There.”
He leaned over his friend to point. James squinted behind his glassed before he nodded, shutting the map quickly. “Right. C’mon, then.”
“C’mon where, exactly?” Sirius asked, watching as James pulled himself off the floor and stuffed the map into his back pocket. James rolled his eyes, obviously exasperated.
“Well aren’t you curious about where she was? Let’s go find out. You too, Remus.” He encouraged, nodding towards the door. Remus gave a loud snort, rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to his book.
“No. It’s her business, let her be. You’ll scare her.”
Sirius laughed then. “I doubt she’s as timid as she looks.” He grinned, glancing up at James. “Let’s go.”
But James stopped, staring at Sirius with raised eyebrows. “You should probably put clothes on.”
“...Right.”
_
A few minutes later Sirius and James were walking quickly through the hallways, checking the map every now and then for a reference as to where the new girl may have gone.
“She’s just down there, Pads. Hurry up.” James said, speeding up his pace only to slam to a stop before he turned to corner. He grunted when Sirius ran into him, the latter letting out a small laugh.
“It’s not a spy mission, James.” He said, nudging his friend lightly before turning the corner himself. The new girl- Luna- stood there, staring up at one of the castle paintings with a bemused expression. Her hands were clasped behind her, long fingers intertwined as she rocked back on her heels.
“What’s so interesting?” Sirius asked as he came to stand behind her. Luna jumped, letting out a faint sound of surprise before she laughed, her hand flying to her chest.
“Don’t do that! And what are you two doing here?” She asked curiously, eyes going to James as he took appeared from around the corner, the map still clutched in his hand.
“We were just taking an early morning walk. Just-so-happened to run into your lovely self.” Sirius grinned brightly, batting his eyes in the way he had seen many a flirtatious girl do. Luna laughed, grinning amusedly as she leaned away from him, holding a hand out as though to distance herself.
“Right.” She said slowly, blue eyes darting between Sirius and James before they dropped to the map. “What’s that?”
“That is nothing.” James was saying, too slow to protest when Luna snatched the map out of his hands, unfolding it and staring at it curiously. Sirius glanced at James, hoping desperately his friend had had the good sense to wipe the map clean before walking over, though by the expression on his face he obviously had not.
“What is this?” Luna’s tone was filled with awe, eyes wide. “A map?”
Well, it was too late to hide it now. “Of the school, yeah.” Sirius said, leaning towards her again, this time with less flirtatious intent and more to see what she was looking at. She had only flipped to one side of the map, the one that showed where she, James and Sirius were standing. Amusedly, Sirius noted how it looked as though Luna’s and his names had overlapped, forming the name ‘Lurius Swick’.
“And everyone inside then, as well.” Lune mused before she seemed to have caught on to something, her brows furrowing deeply. “Were you watching me?”
“You?” James spluttered, waving it off as he reached to take the map back. “Don’t be so vain, of course-”
“You were, weren’t you?” Luna said incredulously, mouth popping open. “How utterly despicable of you. And you can watch everyone on this?”
“Well, yeah.” Sirius shifted uncomfortably, nodding. Luna grinned.
“That is absolutely brilliant.”
James looked shocked. “It is?”
Luna nodded eagerly. “Of course. Did you make it yourselves- How did you come up with that sort of magic? I’ve only known of a few wizards that would be capable of that feat.” She said, her words slowing as she took a moment to study both boys, her smile turning into a faint grimace. “No offense, but you don’t exactly look the parts.”
Sirius gaped. “That is rude-”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Luna looked unbothered by her blatant rudeness. Instead she glanced back down at the map, brows furrowing. “Is this allowed here, by the way? Because people are coming down the hall.”
She held the map out, and Sirius took it gratefully, looking down at the three names that were currently making their way up to theirs. Making out at least one of the three jumbled names, he swore.
“Prongs- It’s Snivellus.” He said sourly, pointing his wand at the map and quickly muttering ‘Mischief Managed’. James looked annoyed, while Luna stared at Sirius with mild amusement.
“Where in the world do you come up with all these nicknames?”
“Question for another time, sweetheart.” He said, turning just in time to see the three Slytherin students turn down the hall, lead by the one and only Severus Snape, shoulders curled and a sneer already smeared across his face. Sirius was disappointed to find his brother was walking to the left of him.
“Potter. Black.” Severus said unpleasantly, coming to stop a few feet away from them. When he caught sight of Luna his eyebrows raised. “And you must be the new Gryffindor bitch.”
Luna’s mouth popped in surprise before her lips narrowed into a thin line, eyes flashing dangerously. The expression was unreadable, but very interpretable, and Sirius didn’t hesitate to take a step or two away from the girl.
“That would be me, yes.” Luna said crossly, arms crossing loosely over her chest. “And who would you be?”
“You don’t need to know my name.” Severus sneered. Luna’s bottom lip stuck out slightly as she thought, considering this.
“Alright. I’ll come up with my own names, then.” She said, staring at the three critically before she continued. Her expression turned thoughtful as she glanced at Snape. “You will be assface.”
Snape seemed to find this very offensive.
“You shall be Globber.” Luna said to the second, tapping her lips lightly in thought as she turned to Regulus. Her blue eyes narrowed for a moment, and Sirius wondered what horrendous nickname she might bestow upon his little brother, only to be surprised when she smiled.
“And you’re Regulus.”
Regulus looked just as surprised as Sirius felt. His little brother’s eyes widened almost comically, and he moved away from the new girl in one quick step, his robes swishing with the movement.
“How do you know that?” He asked warily. Luna paused momentarily, watching him carefully for a moment before she spoke.
“I knew someone. They mentioned you from time to time. There was a photo.” She said lightly. Regulus’s brows furrowed in confusion, but before he could say anything more on the matter Snape butted in, still red in the face from his previous interaction with Luna.
“Don’t listen to her, Regulus. She probably just talked to your brother.”
“I can one-hundred percent guarantee that she did not.” Sirius said, less in defense of the girl and more in the matter that he was curious to know exactly how she knew Regulus. When he spoke Luna looked over at him with confusion, brows furrowed as she made a small calculation in her mind, and was apparently surprised by the conclusion.
“You’re that Sirius?” She asked in astonishment. Sirius hadn’t realized he was a ‘that’ anything. At the lack of reply, Luna rolled her eyes in agitation.
“You’re Sirius Black. You ran away from home, didn’t you?” She pressed. Nodding slowly, Sirius looked to James for help, not entirely sure how to respond. How exactly did she know this information? His family didn’t speak of him anymore, and very few people knew what happened the past summer unless they had read page seven, column eight, of the Daily Prophet’s July edition.
“He did, yeah.” James replied for him, obviously as wary as Sirius himself was. Luna nodded quickly, turning back to Snape, Regulus and Globber with a thoughtful expression.
“Ah. Oh, how awkward. I should've assumed she wouldn't- Well.” She huffed quickly, turning to watch the three Slytherins carefully. “You three may go now.”
“We may go?” Snape asked in outrage. Luna’s eyes flashed quickly, the blue flattening into what Sirius thought was a silver colour- but it was gone before he could really be sure. Luna smiled, but not pleasantly, her head tilting just a bit to the side. It reminded Sirius scarily of his deranged cousin.
“Yes.” She said softly, the smile twitching lightly. “You may.”
Snape seemed unconvinced, but when Regulus tugged lightly on his robe and muttered something Snape nodded carefully, his eyes remaining on Luna. Regulus had already turned away, walking down the hall.
“Very well, bitch.” He sneered, black eyes narrowed as he turned away from them, following Regulus. Globber followed last, and soon the three were out of sight. Luna sighed softly, and Sirius felt his eyebrows raise in surprise.
“You handled that well.” James commented. Sirius nodded twice in agreement.
“Scarily so. You sounded like my cousin.”
“Bellatrix.” Luna said, giving a jerky nod. “Yes, I'm aware. That’s what I was hoping for.”
“You knew her?” Sirius asked in surprise. In the times he had seen Bellatrix, she had never mentioned a Luna. Luna shrugged weakly, clasping her arms loosely behind her back.
“Don't- Don't say anything. She was my godmother.”
Sirius blanched.
“She was your what?” James asked in surprise. Luna grimaced, obviously uncomfortable.
“Godmother. It was as awful as it sounds.”
“I- You need to explain more. Definitely.” Sirius said, staring at the girl with unabashed curiosity. Luna gave a wry smile, shrugging in an indifferent way.
“I can try?”
“Please do.” James said. Sirius approached the girl, linking his arms with the girl before she could protest.
“C’mon now, sweetheart. Let’s have a chat.”
_
If by chat they had meant a thorough interrogation, then Sirius would have used the word chat correctly. She was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, curled up on the chair and staring at the four boys across from her. The first two- James and Sirius- Had called the other two when they had first arrived back at the common room, and dragged them downstairs.
“So Bellatrix Lestrange really is your godmother?” The one with the book said- He was the one Lily had introduced her to last night. Remus. Luna let out a soft sigh, nodding slowly.
“She was. But she was still Bellatrix Black last time I saw her.”
“Yeah, okay.” Sirius said, obviously uninterested in that tidbit of information. “But how was she your godmother- I mean, there has to be some connection-”
“She was good friends with my mother.” Luna murmured, picking at the fabric of the chair. It felt rough under her finger tips.
“Who was your mother then?” Sirius had been the most relentless with his questions, asking and prodding and poking enough that Luna was starting to regret letting he and James drag her here in the first place. She would much rather have followed the sweet smell that came down the passageway she had found- The one-eyed witch, while intimidating upon first glance, had a promising passageway behind her. Luna considered herself lucky that someone had carved the password on the bottom of her staff, and she was determined to go and find the source of the sweet smell within the week. For now though, she thought with annoyance, she would have to endure the boys' questions.
“Ursala Swift.”
“Ursala?” James asked in distaste, while Sirius rolled his eyes, flipping his black hair in a rather dramatic gesture as he sunk back into the couch.
“Well I never heard of her.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “Well she’s certainly heard of you- Bellatrix hated you. She wouldn’t shut up about how awful you are.”
“Did she mention how devilishly handsome I was as well?”
“Only that your arrogance would be your downfall.” Luna snipped in agitation. Sirius’s smirk fell slightly, a more serious expression appearing on his face as he leaned over, elbows resting on his knees.
“Well you should know I’m not very fond of her. And if she was friends with your mother, and your godmother, that gives me a very good reason to not be fond of you. If they raised you, you can’t be much different.”
Luna’s mouth popped open in surprise. Was he really daring to insinuate that she was like her relatives? “You absolute hypocrite! How dare you even- Even attempt to say that I am anything like my mother!”
Did he not understand the hard work she had gone to? At making sure she stayed hidden? Of the months of sleeping in abandoned tree forts and under bridges? And all just to get away from her family?
He apparently did not, as he was still staring at her with the same skeptical eyes. Luna was furious.
“You of all people should understand! You, who ran to get away from your own home! But obviously no one could possibly be like the incredibly unique Sirius Black, oh no, obviously I’m a fraud because no one could possibly have similar motives or reasons!” She said, rising from her chair. It took a considerable amount of self control to not stamp her foot.
Sirius’s expression had fallen slightly. “I didn’t mean-”
“Yes you very well did, and if you continue that sentence I shall be more than happy to brand you as a liar! Just because I didn’t run away from home with the flair that you did does not mean that my reasons are so different! I just didn’t want my face plastered all over the papers!”
“Nor did I want mine! My parents wanted to exploit my departure- They thought that publicly disowning their son might better their chances with the damn Dark Lord!” Sirius was standing up now, and Luna didn’t like the way he towered several inches over her.
“You know nothing of what people will do to impress that bastard!” She yelled back, eyes glinting dangerously in the light. “You think you were the only one disowned? At least you left on your own accord!”
“My parents wanted me gone!”
“Mine wanted me dead!”
His expression was priceless. Wisely he shut up, but remained standing, staring down at Luna with a surprised expression.
“Why?”
Luna was taken aback by the question. She stared back at him evenly, sky blue eyes narrowed in anger. Sirius’s temper had obviously gone, eyes once filled with malice only now showing open curiosity. Luna decided to indulge it.
“Cause I wouldn’t be some pureblood snob.” She sneered viciously. “And personal reasons on top of that.”
“I don’t see how you can get much more personal than that.” James quipped from where he sat on the couch, watching the two with mild amusement. He was readily ignored.
“I’m sorry to hear of your misfortune, Luna.” Remus said honestly, and Luna looked over at him, nodding gratefully. He, Luna decided, was the most likable of the four boys. He had a genuine appearance about him that the others didn’t, though she was sure he got up to his fair share of mischief.
“Thanks, but it’s fine. I’m sort of glad, really. It was a dark time, but it’s over. It’s in the past. And I’d like it to remain there, so if you didn’t bring it up again that would be great.”
They didn’t.
~
Two days later Luna sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, reading through one of the potions book. Most she had covered while schooling with her mother and brother, but some were new to her- She took special interest especially in the Felix Felicis potion. Such a thing would be very good for her to have.
“Hey Luna.” Lily Evans greeted, sliding into the spot across from her. Luna looked up with a faint smile, closing her book in the process. Lily was really the only girl she had come to know well in her dorm. The girl was friendly, smart, and the fact that she was muggleborn did appease that small part of Luna that wanted to spite her mother, whether her mother knew or not. Simply knowing that she would disapprove thrilled her.
“Hullo Lily.” Luna greeted, pulling her book off of the table as she spoke. Dinner would be starting soon, and it wasn’t something Luna wanted to miss. She had long heard of some of the stories her brother told her, and some spells, and she was rather eager to try them.
“How’ve you been?” Lily asked, and the girls stroke up a rather normal conversation as students started to file in, all ready for dinner. It was particularly noisy as the four boys Luna had become rather fond of filed in, whooping and acting all-together crazy. While they had been on rather off terms after her interrogation, later the same day they had all forked over their servings of chocolate pudding to make it up to her. They had became good acquaintances since, if not friends.
Lily was just telling Luna about how well one of her potions essays was going when Luna raised a hand, hushing her quickly. A group of Slytherin students were quickly walking into the hall, and Luna carefully raised her wand, eyeing for the subject of her mischief. She cast the spell as soon as she located him, watching as the light blue spell hit him just as he sat down at his table.
Snape’s socks loudly began to sing the chorus of ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’, and to Luna’s pure delight, at the same moment Albus Dumbledore entered the room. Snape turned bright red, staring down at his feet with an alarmed expression, not even attempting to try and stop it as they students turned to stare, not sure whether to look at Snape or Dumbledore, who did a short jig.
The song was short and died down only after the first chorus, but it was enough to make the hall break out in a short round of applause, quickly waved down by Dumbledore. His gaze swung first to the Gryffindor table, staring at James and Sirius. But, Luna noted gleefully, they were too busy laughing to still be of much suspect. When Dumbledore’s gaze dropped to her she didn’t bother to try and hide her large grin.
“Miss Swift?” He asked, and Luna stood politely, ignoring the shocked and slightly appalled look Lily gave her as she did so.
“Yes Headmaster?”
“Thank for that lovely performance, but..” Dumbledore said, smiling with genuine pleasantness all the while, “Please do try to contain yourself next time.”
“Certainly sir!” Luna said, her tone unusually chipper and implying there would most definitely be a next time. Dumbledore nodded once before continuing to his seat, and Luna once more took hers. Lily was still staring at her, green eyes wide.
“You did that? Why-”
“How the hell did you manage that?” James Potter had scooted himself down the bench of seats and was now sitting next to Luna, a wide green stretched across his face as Sirius came to join them, sitting across from them both. Luna smiled lightly, the adrenaline of the prank slowly dying down and returning her to her normal demeanor.
“It was a spell my brother taught me when I was younger- Really simple.” Luna said, picking up her fork and beginning to work on cutting up her steak when the food appeared. “You can choose any person you want, you know, as long as they’ve got socks on, and any song that comes into your mind.”
“And you just now thought to tell us of it?” Sirius cried, mouth wide open. “The possibilities with this spell are endless! We could charm hats-”
“Or shirts.” James chimed.
“Or glasses!” Sirius added, grinning giddily. Luna chuckled quietly, shaking her head in amusement before adding:
“I bet we could charm trousers too.”