Owl Post (Potions Class)

By Sarah Elisabeth

In the middle of a Potions class, five students can be seen passing notes—had anyone bothered to look, that is.

The first note, in the shape of a rather large nose, was thrown at one James Potter from across the room, courtesy of one Sirius Black.

Look at Snape. Do you see how smug he looks with Remus sitting next to him? He's not even trying to hide that he's enjoying Moony's company. He is actually ENJOYING Moony's company! I was positive that something was up with him. Is there? Am I missing anything? Remus said it was a mutual whatever it is…but is it really? Is it really Prongs?

James Potter read the note carefully, occasionally looking up to stare at the two boys mentioned in the note, and then looking up to stare at the author, as well. He scrunched up his face in concentration and quickly scribbled something onto the back of the parchment, kicking it underneath the desks and back to Sirius.

Yes, I do believe it is a mutual whatever it is. Remus said so. And I guess we have no choice but to believe him, right? When has he ever lied to us? And…if Snape likes him…well, there's nothing we can do. He wouldn't hurt him if he liked him, I assume.

The note did nothing to alleviate Sirius' fears.

But how can we be sure? Can anyone really be sure about anything where Snivillus is concerned? I still think something is up. I think that he's USING OUR MOONY so that he can get back at us for trying to kill him.

James Potter read the note and scoffed. His response:

YOU tried to kill him, mate. I saved his greasy life.

A second note hits Sirius in the back of the head, crumpled and dirty. Peter Pettigrew waves eagerly, claiming ownership of the note.

What are you and James passing notes about? Is it about Remus and Snape? Do you know that from where I'm seated, I can see Remus sliding his hands along Snape's thighs? I nearly vomited a bit in my cauldron.

Sirius emits a strangled sound and jumps from his seat, nearly knocking over his chair in the process. He turns, horrified, to look at Remus and Snape. Snape glares at him, disgust evident on his features. Remus, frowns, confusion seen on his face. He jumps back into his seat after a quickly muttered "sorry" when he feels two notes hit him in the back.

The first one is from James: What the hell was that about?

The second is from Peter: Haha I was kidding! Disgusting, I know, but it didn't call for that sort of reaction, did it?

Sirius writes to Peter first: It wasn't funny! I had…images! In my mind! Moooooonyyyy touching Snivellus! Don't tell me these things, Pete.

Then he writes to James: I fucking hate Peter. He put…images! In my mind!

Sirius charms both notes to fly to their intended recipients, then goes to work on his potion. It's already beyond repair, but he figures he should at least appear as though he's doing some work. It is as he's crushing his Antipodean Opaleye dragon eggshells a minute later that another note crawls up to him, in the shape of a wolf. The eggshells are immediately forgotten and Sirius grabs the note, knowing exactly who it's from before starting to read it:

Was that jump earlier because you happened to catch Severus trying to grab my arse? Really, Sirius, it's nothing you've never done with all the girls you've been with.

Once again, Sirius jumps from his seat. This time, he shouts, "Oh, bloody hell!" and his chair flies back. He attempts to catch it, trips, knocks over his cauldron, and glares at Remus. "Bloody buggering hell!" Remus grins.

"SIRIUS BLACK!"

Sirius paled at stared at Professor Slughorn. "Ye-es?"

"15 points from Gryffindor. That is the second interruption from you this class period."

"Yessss…"

Slughorn frowned. "Are you ill, lad? What happened?"

Sirius coughed. "Just..um..images. In my mind. Is all."

From across the room, Severus snorted. "It's the Black family madness, is all."

"Shut up, Snivellus!" Sirius spat, then quickly sat down, cursing him under his breath.

Slughorn rubbed his hands along his stomach and went back to his seat. "Back to work now, everyone. Back to work!"

One final note hits Sirius that day:

Don't worry, Padfoot. I've grabbed at Severus much more than he's ever grabbed at me.

Sirius Black didn't know whether to cry or vomit. Later that day, he did a little bit of both.