ink - sirius black

lost family and fireplaces

December 11, 1976
1:09 pm
Diagon Alley

Even though there were still two full weeks until Christmas, Euphemia had still insisted on shopping for gifts at Diagon Alley one afternoon when the two boys had just been lazily joking around the house without much of a goal.

Mrs. Potter had been right to go then, though, because the shops were already packed full of shoppers frantically trying to find the perfect gift before stock ran out.

"Merlin, they're acting like their lives depended on this," James said with slight amusement as he looked at the line going halfway down the alley from Flourish and Blotts. "Where are we going?"

"Well, your mother and Sirius are going to to wait in that line like their lives depend on it," Fleamont said, and James rolled his eyes at the joking mockery. "You and I are going somewhere else to shop for Mia."

"See you in a bit," James called over his shoulder. "If we don't return, it's because I got kidnapped into some apothecary while dad tries to find the perfect scent for mum."

Sirius gave him a salute as the two Potter men walked away. Him and Mia joined the very end of the line, and they honestly couldn't complain about the wait because of how beautiful the alley was around them.

Fluffy clumps of mid-December snow had settled in among the rooftops and fabric awnings and crunched underneath their feet as they attempted to stay on the path other shoppers had already carved for them so that they wouldn't sink.

The air around them was very cold, but it would have been ten times more biting if so many people hadn't been moving around and dragging their body heat with them. Sort of like the jack o'lanterns for Halloween in Hogsmeade, magically illuminated tinsel had been strung between the two sides, making them feel like they were in a Christmas wonderland.

"So, tell me more about this girl," Euphemia said, turning to her son with a smile. "I've gathered a bit from the story, but I want more. And James isn't here to make fun of you, so take that as a blessing."

"I will, that was torture with him last night," Sirius scoffed as they inched forward in the line. "And, what do you want to know? I could start anywhere."

"What's her personality?" she prompted with an exasperated sigh at his tight lips. "Do I have to ask you every question individually?"

"Well she's really clever, but not in the normal way with books and facts and things," Sirius started. "She's really good at finding holes in logic, making your argument sound stupid, connecting dots, finding patterns and then applying them, those sorts of things."

"So I'm guessing you're talking about the second one with experience?" Mia asked with amusement, and Sirius nodded with a huff. "What else?"

"She's southern, you know that," Sirius continued, becoming more free with his words. "So she was all these little phrases that none of us understand, and they can be rather insulting. Oh yea, her accent also increases when she gets mad, it's like a warning sign that you're in for it."

Euphemia watched with a soft smile as Black slowly seemed to get in a better and better mood the more that he talked about her.

"She's the Seeker for Gryffindor," he explained, loosely gesturing with his hands. "And she's really good at it, she played for Thunderbird at Ilvermorny. Her hearing is amazing, she says that it helps her with seeking."

"Has Gryffindor done well for the House Cup so far this year?" Euphemia asked, and Sirius nodded.

"We've won every quidditch game, the only things that we really get counted off for are pranks, most caused by us," Black said with an air of pride. "Oh, that reminds me, she also made an alliance with Peeves on her first day."