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Addled Minds


Sirius woke up, shivering, a new dusting of snow falling over him, sprinkling his fur with little white crystals that clung a moment then melted away. Clouds rose from his nostrils as he lay, blinking into the dark. He sat up, shaking the dusting off himself, looking about. Bilius Weasley was gone, the bottle lying in the bracken beneath the edge of the trees. The fence was still intact, a small amulet rocking in the wind, glowing green in the pale blue moonlight. His muscles were sore from the fall and he struggled to sit up, looking around, taking deep breaths… but he couldn’t smell Remus.

He got up, limping as he moved across the ground, his paws slipping on the snow. The fence had been damaged - not enough to let go, but enough a few of the posts were cracked. Sirius looked at the place where it’d been broken and there were paw prints in the snow on the other side, shreds in the dirt where the wolf had scraped and clawed and tried to dig through… but hadn’t succeeded.

Bilius Weasley must’ve run away.

Sirius hoped he had, at least.

He sat in the snow, breathless, and transformed back into a person. It wasn’t until he was sitting in the snow, shivering, that he realized his nose was bleeding and a trickle of it fell across his upperlip as he leaned against the fence posts, panting for breath as the cold and the pain in his ribs stole each lungful he took away.

Finally, he struggled to his feet, pushing himself up by gripping onto the fence post. He knocked a small string of bells with his fist and they jingled in the night, the sound of them terribly sharp in the silence. It was his shoulder and right rib cage that hurt the most, and he clutched at them with his left arm as he staggered, a bit dizzy, toward the village down the path. He could see Bilius Weasley’s steps in the snow, faint for the snow must’ve only just begun as he’d made the steps, and he followed them through the trees that lined the path to the clearing by the Shrieking Shack, and out to the sleeping town. The prints led right into the Hog’s Head pub.

Sirius pushed open the door.

“BIGGGG… WILD LOOKIN’ THING… WITH WILD YELLOW EYES… I’M TELLING YOU LOT! IT’S OUT THERE…” Bilius was shouting, his arms flailing about the air, sounding positively mental. “FANGS S’LONG AS MY ARM, THEY WAS!”

Patrons around the room chuckled from behind their steins of firewhiskey and mead. One man shouted, “Have another couple’a pints, Weasley!” and the crowd of them cracked up rowdily, hooting and laughing.

The bartender was wiping the counter, shaking his head, his eyes glued on Bilius warily.

“I haven’t drank a lot tonight -” Bilius argued, but he was so obviously lying… Sirius could still smell him as plain as ever, even with his human nose.

A middle aged wizard shouted, “Right, Weasley ain’t been drinkin’ - that’ll be the day!”

“Don’t any of you believe me?!?” Bilius pleaded, looking quite desperate.

People were laughing at him.

“I believe you,” Sirius said, and his voice rang over the rest of the room, bold and loud. He clutched his ribs and stared across the room at Bilius. “I believe you, mate,” he said a second time, a bit quieter.

Everyone had turned to look at Sirius in surprise - including Bilius.

“That’s the Black boy,” a couple whisperers said quietly.

“Sirius Black… Orion Black’s son.”

“Dark family, they are.”

“Dangerous,” whispered a witch. “Very dangerous.”

“That’s him there.”

“Looks exactly like Orion used to, doesn’t he?”

“What’s happened? He has blood on his face and hands…”

“Filthy, look at him.”

“Obviously up to no good.”

“What’s a boy like that doing about the school? Shouldn’t be allowed. You never know what a dark wizard’s up to…”

Bilius said, “SIRIUS BLACK!” at the top of his lungs, “SIRIUS BLACK! YOU SAW IT TOO? The GRIM?”

Sirius blinked in confusion, “The -- wait, the what?”

“The Grim... the great black dog that predicts one’s death…” hissed a witch near to the door behind Sirius.

“Weasley thinks he’s seen a Grim,” snickered a youngish wizard in the corner.

Another wizard murmured, “What’re they teaching these kids at that school if it ain’t about omens and dreams?”

“You really believe me, Sirius?” Bilius’s words trembled thickly, as murmurs and mutters went up all over the pub, witches and wizards mocking him quietly.

“I believe you, Bil,” said Sirius solemnly.

Bilius set his jaw and he looked ‘round at them, “I’m not crazy… and I’m not a drunk… could quit anytime I’d like except the memories that burn my mind, you know. You lot… you’d all do the same if it was you, if it was your head. I bloody welcome the grim. I bloody welcome him!” He staggered out of the pub, shoving past Sirius and into the snowy streets.

Sirius looked around at the dumbfounded witches and wizards in the pub. One wizard - the one who had said he looked like his father and had said he, Sirius, was obviously up to no good, the one who had snickered, That’ll be the day - shook his head as the pub door slammed behind Bilius and he said, “Bloody, drunken bard - time’s done addled his brains.”

“YOU’D BE ADDLED TOO YOU OLD BASTARD IF YOU’D SEEN YOUR BEST MATE CURSED DEAD BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES, WOULDN’T YOU?” Sirius bellowed, suddenly angry, drawing his wand, “Bloody heartless piece of sh --”

The older man drew his wand, “You don’t want to get in’ter it with me, boy! Give me a reason to blast a bloody Black and I’ll take it heartily!”

“Enough! Do your dueling in the streets!!!” the bartender roared from behind his bar. “THERE’S NO DUELING IN THIS PUB -- EVER!”

The old man stared at Sirius and slowly lowered his wand and settled himself back into the seat he’d been occupying, keeping his eye on Sirius. Sirius spun about on his heel and grabbed at the door, yanking it open so that a swirl of snow carried through on the wind. He stormed out into the street and looked down for the fresh prints left behind by Bilius Weasley.

Sirius found him by the fountain, sitting on the stone and quaking. He walked over and sat down beside him.

They were quiet for some time before Bilius finally said, quietly, “They all say I’ve lost my mind.”

“Have you?” Sirius asked, because it was the only words he could think to say.

Bilius looked over at him, “I bloody wish I had…”




James had never seen a sun take so long to rise. The moment it had covered the grounds he got up and shoved his feet into his slippers and ran out of the dormitory, through the Great Hall in his pyjamas and bathrobe, flapping open. He ran out the portrait hole and along the corridor… down the stairs, taking a good deal of them two at a time and even sliding along the banister on a couple of them, making the best speed he could down to the entrance hall, where he threw himself down before the door and he waited.

Breakfast started, he could smell it… students walked past him, glancing at him sitting there on the floor staring at the door with wide, nervous eyes.

“Look at that, the lunatic’s finally gone mad,” cackled Evan Rosier as the fourth year Slytherins made their way to breakfast with snickers.

Severus Snape among them, he stared at Potter, thinking this sitting before the door way bit to be odd behavior, even for James Potter. He stared hard at the back of James’s head… It was a mess in there, a crumpled pile of thoughts that seemed to jumble about one another… flashes of teeth… and blood… and cracking bones…

“C’mon then, Snape! You ruddy prat!” Rosir stood in the frame of the door, Regulus peering up at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Sorry,” Severus muttered, and he moved along, following Evan into the Great Hall.

“What was that about?” asked Regulus lowly.

“I’m not sure,” Severus murmured, tearing his eyes away from James as head followed after Evan and the other Slytherins in to their usual places about the table.

Still James sat by the door, not even moving when Peter stopped by to lean over his shoulder and ask whether he was coming to eat… and soon after if he was going to Potions… James just waved him off each time.

“Are you alright?” Lily’s voice was concerned as she came up behind him. “Peter said you were acting rather mad out here. What’s the matter?”

James barely looked up - even for Lily Evans. “Fine,” he murmured.

“Are you waiting for Sirius and Remus?” Lily asked.

James nodded.

“I’ll wait, too,” Lily suggested and she lowered herself onto the stone floor beside him.