After parting ways with Lily and their new friend, James and the rest of the boys dragged themselves up the stairs, terribly tired from the fun, yet long day that had just come to an end. Although the sobering charms, courtesy of Alice and Marlene, deprived each of them the state of intoxication, doesn't mean it got rid of the nasty hangover that followed. Sirius' hands were pressing against his head in pain until he was able to crash on his own bed, and Peter felt as if he were going to vomit.

"So, Prongs," started Remus, the one least affected by a horrible hangover, "what do you think of Harper?"

"She's nice. Quiet, not my type," he replied back quickly while getting into his bed and pulling up his covers.

Sirius chuckled, without caring if Frank Longbottom woke up in the bed beside him. "Please, as if you'd go for anyone other than Evans," he snickered. So did Peter.

"Oh shut it, you git," James snarled back.

"It's not my fault that you've fancied her for two whole years and she still calls you a bloody toe-rag," he muttered back under his breath, earning a glared back from James.

"He's been patient, give him that," added Remus.

"You know, she actually didn't call me a toe-rag today, Padfoot," spoke James as he turned off the lights in the dorm room.

"Glad to see you're getting somewhere," Sirius spoke with sarcasm, receiving another one of James' glares, but a giggle from Remus. "Anyways, Moony, what's your opinion on Harper?"

Immediately, Remus answered sophisticatedly, "well, in the few hours that I've gotten to know her, she's very smart and kind, and funny when drunk. She seemed pretty nervous when we all met her, though," he described. James and Sirius immediately laughed at his details.

"I see Moony's been paying close attention to our newest recruit," Sirius mischievously said back to Remus, leaving him both flustered and frustrated.

"No, no, no, Padfoot, it's not like that," Remus said, shaking his head. "Well then, what about you? What do you think of her?" he snapped back, hoping to get a similar reaction out of the ill-tempered Sirius Black.

"I dunno," he spoke back calmly.

"Oh, come on! Give us more than that," said Remus.

"Well, I met her less than a day ago, to begin with," Sirius spoke, jokingly, but noticeably defensive. He continued with, "but, I guess she seems cool." He didn't like being put on the spot, this time included.

Within moments of their last conversation, each of the boys' eyes grew heavy. Peter had already fallen asleep, and one by one so did the rest of the boys. All except Sirius. There in his bed, Sirius lay with pale moonlight shining against his face. He told himself the reason why he couldn't sleep was that the moonlight was too bright, but something deeper than the moon took away his sleep that night.

Sirius' grey eyes caught sight of James' invisibility cloak hanging on their dorm's collective coat rack, as it usually was. No, not yet. It's only the first night, Sirius thought, but his mind wandered and told him to take the cloak. So he did.

Sirius would never get used to watching his body disappear before his own eyes. Each time he used the invisibility cloak was like the first time he ever ran the magical fabric through his hands; it was a type of magic that continued to amaze him regardless if he had seen it a hundred times. And even though his life was full of it, certain aspects of the wizarding world didn't usually cause him to take a second look.

Magic: he was born into it. It had been his life, all laid out for him to explore. But Sirius felt as if he had done much of the exploring already. It was almost too easy for him to thrive in the wizarding world, being a member of the Black family, even if he didn't necessarily agree with their familial traditions. As much as Sirius hates it, the Blacks are a feared family, leading them to have practically anything they desired with little to no work. And in his past, Sirius grew to fear his own family as a result. They hated their own son for being sorted into Gryffindor at age eleven. They hated their son for befriending a first-generation witch. They hated their son for choosing not to discriminate against those whose blood was deemed "impure."

He didn't want to follow their rules; he didn't want to succumb to their ways and live life by taking the easy way out. They continued to hate their son for wanting to be good.

Sirius found comfort in James and the rest of the Marauders. The world of magic that they lived in was so drastically different than the one he grew up knowing. It was good magic. And the good magic that surrounded Sirius at Hogwarts gave him hope for a good future, without people like his nasty, racist parents gaining power through fear and not hard work.

So, Sirius embraced the good magic, eating up every last bit of it even if he didn't like to show it. James' invisibility cloak was just one of the few things that Sirius couldn't get enough of. For tonight, at least, Sirius inched past his sleeping roommates, carefully creeped past the empty common room, and slipped past the portrait entrance without turning a nose.

And so he walked. He walked around the beautiful school that he was proud to call home. He walked to ease his mind from every thought that was crowding it. Past the Great Hall, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and all the way to the Astronomy tower he went, avoiding the few patrolling prefects along the way.

Taking these walks eased Sirius more than anything else. He didn't have to be anyone in particular. He was invisible. There was no image, no face, no prejudice pureblood name that he would be forced to associate with for the rest of his life. No reputation as Hogwarts' biggest flirt to live up to, no stress, no pressure, even.

At the top of the Astronomy tower he spotted his star, the brightest shining one in the sky. Even the North Star couldn't outshine Sirius. He liked to think that maybe the stars would align for him, that he'd have a brighter future than the rest of his dimly-lit family. He enjoyed being the brightest. He knew he would live for excellence, even if it meant breaking ties with his own lineage. They were, after all, his own curse that kept his thoughts tied down. But with the right people by his side, the right friends, the right place, the right environment, Sirius just knew that he would thrive.

James kept Sirius' mind off of big, scary ideas and kept him towards the light-hearted, little things in life. The pranks, in particular, acted as the perfect distraction. He was thankful for his best friend, the strong stag who he could relate to more than anyone.

Peter taught Sirius that there is always someone that has it worse. He admired Peter's way to make everything going on in his life no more than a slight problem. He was thankful for the little rat who had grown to be a great addition to the Marauders.

Remus and Lily kept Sirius both on his toes and in line. They inspired him to stick to his academics and helped keep his mind from wandering too far off from where it's supposed to. He was thankful for the brave wolf and the intelligent red-head who always looked out for him.

And together, all their magic that he knew of was good. They were good, and he would take the Killing Curse for each one of them in a heartbeat.

But Harper, Sirius wondered, was she good? Surely he wouldn't take the Killing Curse for her now, he had just met her. But something was off about her. Maybe she was a little too quiet. Maybe she wasn't as delicate as he thought. Maybe she was more than just "cool." Maybe she...

Maybe Sirius had thought about the new girl for a little longer than he should have.

A/N: so that's the seventh chapter! please leave a comment or vote if you enjoyed this chapter! thanks for 120 views!!

A/N UPDATE (6/15/20): i'm genuinly proud of how i rewrote this chapter. i've never really written something rly deep about sirius before, before it was just surface-level stuff. also it took me two and a half hours soooooo lowkey proud of myself, idkkkkk. anyways, i'm about to hit 124K! that's a loooooot.     - callahan