Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Let’s Go See the Giant Spiders [bonus]

The Great Hall at Hogwarts. Sirius sat near the middle of the Gryffindor table, half a plate of poast potatoes and a cut steak in front of him.

He wasn’t eating. His knife and fork rested on either side of the plate, tines up, blade leaning against the rim.

His right hand lay on the table. His left hung below it, doing something no one could see.

His gaze had settled on the ring of juices around the edge of his plate. Just staring.

James sat to his right, fork raised, a chunk of potato speared on the end.

He wasn’t eating either. The fork had been up for a while, his eyes drifting sideways toward Sirius.

Lupin sat across from James, cup in hand, the rim touching his lower lip. His gaze moved from Sirius to James and back again.

Peter sat beside Lupin, head down, working through his own plate, glancing up now and then before ducking back to his food.

All three of them had seen it. Sirius and Regulus walking in through the Great Hall doors together, splitting apart at the threshold.

Regulus toward the Slytherin table. Sirius toward Gryffindor.

Neither spoke. They didn’t even look at each other. One went left, one went right, like a single current splitting into two streams, each finding its own path.

James set his fork down. It clinked against the plate.

He looked at Lupin, eyebrows lifting, chin jerking toward Sirius, pulling a face.

Lupin set his cup down, shrugged, then gave a small shake of his head.

James’s brow furrowed. His gaze swung back to Sirius.

Sirius looked the same as always on the surface. Slouched, easy, that effortless edge of cool he carried without trying. But something was off. James could feel it.

He wanted to ask. Kept almost asking. Wanted to know if that little Slytherin snake had said something to him again, or worse.

When Sirius went quiet like this, James read it as deflation. It made him not himself, not the version who seemed ready to throw down with anyone at any moment.

James waved a hand in front of his face. No reaction. He waved again, nearly poking Sirius in the nose.

Sirius blinked. His gaze lifted from the ring of meat juice, turning toward James.

James leaned forward, chest nearly pressing into his plate, and squinted at him. "What’s wrong with you?"

Sirius looked at him for a moment, shook his head, and turned back to the plate.

James opened his mouth to try again, but Lupin coughed from across the table.

He turned. Lupin was watching him, lips pressed together, giving another small shake of his head.

James swallowed whatever he’d been about to say. He picked up his fork, shoved the long-suffering potato into his mouth, and chewed harder than necessary.

Lupin raised his cup, took a sip, eyes landing on Sirius for a beat before pulling away.

They finished dinner like that. Sirius stood, slower than usual, like his body was moving on its own while his mind stayed somewhere else.

He dropped his napkin on the table and followed the crowd toward the doors.

James and Lupin exchanged a look and stood at the same time.

Peter was still chewing. He crammed the last piece of meat on his plate into his mouth, cheeks bulging, scrambled to his feet, and nearly tripped over a chair leg.

The walk from the Great Hall to Gryffindor Tower was normally a production with the four of them.

James would poke his wand at the people in the portraits. Sirius would fire back commentary. Lupin would laugh from the side. Peter would scurry to keep up.

Tonight it was subdued. James started sentences a few times, got halfway through, looked at the back of Sirius’s head, and let the rest die.

Lupin walked at the rear, hands in his pockets, trailing at a careful distance.

Back at the tower, the Fat Lady asked for the password. Someone gave it. They climbed through.

The common room was busy. Younger students played Exploding Snap by the fireplace. Older ones claimed the couches to talk.

Sirius crossed the common room, pushed open the dormitory door, and went in.

Four beds, one in each corner. Sirius’s was by the window, blankets unfolded, heaped at the foot.

James’s bed had two discarded robes tossed across it. Lupin’s had a few books stacked on the headboard.

Peter’s was the neatest. Pillow centered, blanket folded, sheets smooth.

The floor was scattered with shoes, socks, a few crumpled balls of parchment. On one of the desks sat a half-eaten Chocolate Frog.

The wrapper had been torn open and tossed aside. The frog wasn’t moving anymore, splayed on the desk, limbs stiff.

Sirius walked to his bed, kicked off his shoes, didn’t bother changing, and dropped onto the mattress. He propped himself against the headboard.

The pillow got shoved aside. He didn’t reach for it, just leaned against the bare wood, legs stretched out, ankles crossed, hands resting on his knees.

He stared at the Quidditch poster James had stuck on the opposite wall. The Chudley Cannons players swooped back and forth across it, one of them waving at the stands every few seconds.

James followed him in and stood beside his bed, looking down. Lupin leaned against the doorframe, staying outside.

Peter came in last, standing behind Lupin, half his face poking around the frame.

James watched Sirius for a while, then turned to Lupin.

Lupin tipped his chin toward Sirius. Your call.

James turned back. Watched him a moment longer. Didn’t ask.

He walked to his own bed, swept the two robes aside, and sat down. Elbows on knees, fingers laced, staring at the floor.

The dormitory went quiet. The fire was in the common room, not here. The only light came from a magical lamp on the wall, its glow a warm yellow, casting long shadows.

James stood up, walked to Sirius’s bed, and dropped onto the edge of the mattress. It dipped under his weight.

He poked Sirius in the arm. Then poked him again.

"What is going on with you?" James tried to keep his voice down. He wasn’t great at it. "You’ve been like this since dinner. I talk to you, nothing. I ask you, nothing. You just sit here staring into space. Who are you trying to spook?"

Sirius’s gaze drifted from the poster. He glanced at James, then looked away.

James leaned closer, voice picking up speed. "Did they tell you to come home again? Did your mum write? Or was it..."

He paused, jaw tightening, like he was trying to pick his words. He didn’t pick them well.

"Was it your brother? What did he say to you this time? I knew it, that little snake..."

His voice rose. "Every time he talks to you, you go like this. Last term, this term. What did he say? Is he pulling that family rubbish on you again? Did he do something? Tell me, and I’ll..."

Lupin came over from the doorframe and put a hand on James’s shoulder. James flinched but didn’t stop.

"And don’t worry about the holidays. You’ve got nowhere to go, you come to mine. My parents said so. Come whenever you want, stay as long as you want. They miss you." James’s tone was dead serious. He thumped his chest, palm slapping against his robes with a muffled thud. "The Potter house is always open. Always."

One corner of Sirius’s mouth moved. Not quite a smile. Just a twitch of muscle.

James pushed on, voice turning rougher. "That whole Black family thing, you should’ve chucked it ages ago. Your brother running with those people, sooner or later he’ll... Look, you two aren’t on the same path. You already made the right choice. He wants to play pure-blood prince, let him. Just don’t let him drag you back."

Sirius’s brow creased. "He didn’t do anything to me."

James blinked. He leaned back, studying him. "He didn’t? Then why have you been walking around like someone scooped your soul out?"

Sirius didn’t answer.

James stared at him a while longer, then shifted forward again, lowering his voice. Less urgent this time, but more intent. "What is it, then? Talk to me. It’s us." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Sirius was quiet for a long moment. Then: "It’s nothing. Just thinking."

James watched him. Kept watching. Then he flopped backward onto Sirius’s bed, arms folded behind his head, eyes on the ceiling.

"Thinking about what, to end up like this?" His tone slid back to its usual register, loose and half-irreverent. "I was starting to think someone had hit you with the Imperius Curse."

Sirius didn’t respond.

James turned his head sideways. "Really fine?"

"Really fine."

James held the stare a few seconds more, then sprang off the bed and crossed to his own desk. He yanked open a drawer and rummaged through it.

He pulled out a glass jar. Inside was a spider. A big one. Legs spread, it was nearly palm-width, body dark brown and bristling with hair, crawling back and forth inside the glass.

The lid had a few small holes punched through it. One of the spider’s legs poked out through a hole, then retracted.

James carried the jar back to Sirius’s bed, climbed up, and shoved it in his face, giving it a shake.

The spider tumbled over inside, all eight legs thrashing.

"Look at this." Excitement had crept into James’s voice. "Caught it at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Night before last. Hagrid let something slip once, said there’s a whole colony of spiders deep in the forest. Massive ones. They can talk."

Lupin walked over and stood beside the bed, looking down at the jar, frowning.

"You believe everything Hagrid says?" Lupin’s voice was measured, but serious. "Name one thing he’s told us about that wasn’t dangerous."

"That’s what makes it interesting." James didn’t waver. "We’ve been in the Forbidden Forest before. A spider colony, so what? We’d just look from the edge. We wouldn’t go deep."

Lupin shook his head. "That’s what you said last time. And then Hagrid had to come rescue us."

James waved it off. "That was a fluke. This time’s different. This time we’re prepared."

Lupin looked at him, then at Sirius, and sighed. "You say that every time."

James ignored him and turned to Sirius. "You in?"

Sirius had been listening to them bicker. The wire strung tight in his head loosened, slowly.

He reached over, took the jar, peered at the spider inside, and set it back down. "Sure."

James grinned, hopped off the bed, and landed on his shoes. He shoved his feet in without untying them.

He tucked the jar into his robe pocket, patted it, pulled it back out to check the lid was tight, then stuffed it in again.

Lupin sighed again. He leaned against the bedpost, arms folded. "When?"

"Tonight," James said. "After curfew."

Peter’s head appeared around the doorframe. His face had gone a shade paler.

He was staring at James’s pocket. Through the holes in the lid, the tip of a spider leg jutted out, twitching.

His throat bobbed. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

Lupin glanced at him, then back at James. "This is too rushed. We haven’t prepared anything."

"Prepared what? Bring your wand, that’s it." James pulled his wand from his pocket, spun it once between his fingers, and slid it back.

Lupin was quiet for a moment, then gave a single nod. "Fine. But we stay at the edge. Just looking."

James didn’t answer, but his face said we’ll see when we get there.

He went back to his bed, punched his pillow loose, leaned into it, and pulled out his wand to spin between his fingers.

Lupin sat on the edge of his own bed, picked up a book, opened it, read a few pages, and closed it.

Peter curled into the corner of his bed, arms wrapped around his knees, eyes fixed on the pocket where James had put the jar.

Sirius stayed propped against his headboard. He was thinking about what Regulus had said.

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