Thursday 13th May, 1977

"So you just think of becoming a dog and you become one?"

Sirius shot me a glare. "Watch your tone, baby Potter." I gave him an unamused look and he continued. "Yes, that's basically all it is. It's sort of like moving your arm or leg; you just know how to do it."

I sighed, laying my head on Remus's lap. "Well, that's a bit boring, isn't it?"

The marauders and I were outside for lunch, and as no one else was in sight we'd decided to start the conversation on Animagus. Or rather, I had, and let me tell you, I can be very consistent when I want something. The marauders can back me up on that.

So there we were, discussing and dissecting everything about Animagus. So far they had refused to transform, claiming it was unsafe to do in such a public area, but I had my ways and was determined to see at least one of them in their Animagus form before lunch was over.

Sirius scoffed, staring at in disbelief. "Did you just call me boring?"

I shrugged. "Your words, not mine."

Sirius looked at James for help but he just sighed. Sirius turned back to me, eyes narrowed as he muttered something along the lines of "the audacity" before he barked my name, catching my attention that had wandered to counting all of Remus's scars.

"Fine, Y/n, you wanna see something cool, is that it?"

I sat up from Remus's lap, staring at Sirius's agitated figure with curved lips. "I mean sure, if you can show me anything cool, that is."

Sirius gave one last scoff before furtively looking around and taking a deep breath. I blinked and a dog was in his place. I shot up, a gasp leaving my mouth as I stared at the scruffy black dog that was Sirius Black. It was crazy, seeing a dog but knowing it was one of your friends.

I took a step forward, and that was all incentive Sirius needed to bound over to me and lunge. I tumbled over with Sirius the Dog on top of me, licking every inch of my face. I squawked and shrieked, flailing my limbs around as I tried to get him off me.

Remus whistled sharply, and it was only then that Sirius stopped his attack, happily bounding over to Remus and laying his head in his lap, making puppy dog eyes up at him. I scowled, scrambling upright as I wiped my face on my jumper. Or Remus's jumper I should say, since technically it was his, but he never wears it because its always being worn by one of his friends. I was the current holder of it, but I knew I wouldn't keep it much longer because I'd seen some of the envious glances James had shot at the jumper. It was only a matter of time before it went missing.

"Oh, there you are Y/n."

I turned around at the sound of Regulus's voice, finding him jogging to me with a small smile on his face. The smile disappeared when he noticed Remus, James, and Peter behind me, having not noticed their presence before he had called out to me.

It was obvious he regretted his actions, because now the marauders knew he was here, which only promised awkward conversation and a tense atmosphere. I noticed Regulus's eyes searching the group, no doubt looking for his brother, who was currently a dog. I noticed when his eyes landed on Sirius the Dog, though, because his eyebrows raised and for a split second he looked like a 6 year old in awe as he stared at the dog. Then he blinked and the expression disappeared, though I could still see it hiding under the surface, in his eyes which shone with excitement.

"Is that a dog?" he questioned, completely forgetting his apprehension with the marauders.

I grinned at his reaction. "Yeah, it is. It's a- er... a stray. Do you wanna say hi?"

Regulus smiled slightly and took a step forward, and I noticed panicked looks on all three of the marauders faces. There was no need though, because as soon as Regulus moved forward Sirius the Dog was right in front of him, barking and jumping on him.

Regulus laughed, the sound full of pure giddiness as he bent down to properly pat Sirius the Dog. His expression was so happy, so free, and I realised he didn't have a mask on. It was the first time he'd gotton rid of his mask around the marauders, and it was all because of Sirius, though Regulus didn't know that. Even so, it was nice to see, and I knew that it was a step forward in their relationship, because while Regulus didn't know Sirius the Dog was Sirius, Sirius certainly knew who Regulus was.

"Hey boy," Regulus said in between pats. "What's your name? Hm?"

He looked up at me in answer and I felt panic seize me as I tried to come up with a name. "Oh, um- his name... is... Snuffles! His name is Snuffles."

Regulus smiled and looked back to the dog. "Snuffles? What a nice name." he scratched Sirius the Dog behind the ear and Sirius's tail wagged even quicker as he let out a pleased whine. "You like that don't you boy? What a good boy."

I smiled and moved to stand beside James, the both of us sharing a look. He sighed in defeat as he stared at Regulus getting along with Sirius the Dog. "You're so insufferable when you're right, you know that? But you are. I can tell it would be good for both of them if they got along. Are you happy now?"

I grinned at him. "Very."

After a while, I managed to drag Regulus away from Sirius, because he had actually come to me for a reason, which was the study session we had with Dorcas for our free period. As we walked to the library, Regulus talked about the dog nonstop, wondering how it got to Hogwarts and if it needed any food or water. I had to reassure him multiple times that Snuffles would be fine, and even so Regulus was still worrying about him.

We got to the library and found Dorcas waiting for us at one of the tables. She flashed us a smile when she spotted us and we got to business rather quickly, a silence descending upon the group as we focused on studying for our O.W.L.s which were less than a month away.

That was until Marlene walked past, giving us a quick greeting, and I watched the way Dorcas's eyes seemed glued to her figure. I smirked.

"Hey Marlene, do you wanna study with us?" I offered, struggling to hide my grin when I saw Dorcas's eyes go twice their usual size.

Marlene smiled and agreed, taking the spare seat next to Dorcas. I watched for the next hour as Dorcas sent furtive glances at Marlene every so often, and the sly looks Marlene sent to Dorcas. It was obvious they were both into one another, so I grabbed Regulus and relocated our study session to outside in the courtyard.

We were interrupted a while later by an owl that had a letter for Regulus. His expression turned sombre as he stared at the letter, and I thought I saw the Black family crest before Regulus stuffed it inside his pocket. I wanted to ask him about it but knew better to prod so I decided to ask him about it later. It was obvious he was in a bad mood and I didn't want to help worsen it.

We continued studying for a while longer until our next class, where we had to bid each other goodbye. After that the rest of the day went by quickly, and then before I knew it I had Prefect duty with Dorcas.

The only problem was she hadn't shown up.

After 20 minutes of waiting, I decided to do it on my own. I decided to go a different route, so I'd pass by the Hufflepuff Common Room, hoping I'd run into Dorcas on the way.

I certainly found her.

As soon as I turned the corner, I saw Dorcas pressed up against the wall with Marlene hungrily kissing her. It was so unexpected I let out a startled laugh, alerting the other two to my presence. Dorcas let out a gasp, eyes widening as she realised she was late for patrol. Marlene just smirked, looking very proud of herself as she gave Dorcas one last kiss goodbye before leaving.

The rest of the night was spent with Dorcasapologising profusely for being late, but I didn't care in the slightest.Instead, I made her tell me everything that had happened between her andMarlene, feeling relieved that they had finally gotton together.

A/N:

reggie and sirius 🥺 they will never not be the most important thing ever to me

dorlene!!! so happy they finally got together!! actually really liking the dynamic of Hufflepuff Dorcas and Gryffindor Marlene

important question for the new story i'm writing: should y/n have a marvel or starwars pencil case? (it'll make sense when u read the story i promise)