Making Up

Although preparing a little Halloween surprise had only been an excuse when I told Lily about it earlier, once I got back to the dormitory, I really did start considering whether to prepare something.

I wasn't planning to sneak out tonight, and I always went to bed late, so I decided to write down some Halloween games. Just as I was racking my brains so hard they were about to shut down, a scene from Tom and Jerry flashed through my mind. I perked up at once and quickly scribbled a line on the paper.

"Prepare pumpkins that look like mice."

Pumpkins couldn't have been easier to find, and making them look like mice would only take a little Transfiguration. Getting these "mice" to run around, however, would require some more intricate spells. I knew how to cast them, but unfortunately, I would definitely collapse afterward as though I'd just suffered a serious illness.

After writing down all the materials I needed, I realized I still had to ask the House-elves for some pumpkins. Looking at the clock, which had just passed eleven, I was tempted to go. Halloween was coming up, and I didn't have much time left to prepare, so I finally got up and decided to visit the kitchen. All I had to do was ask the House-elves, anyway. I could be back in bed before midnight.

Intending to make it a quick trip, I walked out of the dormitory and immediately spotted James sitting on the common room sofa. He seemed to hear me behind him, because he turned around at once and stared straight at me.

[James looks like he wants to say something to me...]

[1. Throw your arms around him and tell him you've been waiting for him for a long time]

[2. Unable to contain how much you've missed him, burst into tears]

[3. Ask James if he's seen Sirius]

[4. Forget it. Go to sleep]

I didn't know why Sirius had appeared among the options.

I ignored James and headed straight for the door. As I passed him, he got up and grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop and turn to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, Merlin." He seemed to have steeled himself, and his expression was unusually tense. "And I definitely didn't become friends with you because of Evans." In the dim light of the common room, his hazel eyes glowed warmly, like flowing, melted chocolate. "I really do consider you a friend. It isn't because of anything else."

I'd wanted to act a little nonchalant, but he seemed completely unaware of how hard he was gripping me, and my expression was about to twist in pain. It felt like a shame to bring it up during an apology from James, something that happened once in a hundred years, but if I didn't say anything, my hand was really going to break. So I tugged hard, trying to free my arm. The boy must have been afraid I'd run away, because he grabbed me even tighter. In the end, I had to shout, "Let go first! Or at least loosen your grip!"

Only then did James belatedly look down. When he saw the ring of red marks his grip had left around my wrist, he immediately let go. Then, as if remembering something, he grabbed me again, though much more gently this time.

"Sorry." He ran a hand through his hair without thinking, looking very frustrated. "It's just that when I called you in class before, you ignored me, and after class you'd walk away whenever you saw me. I was afraid you'd just run off..." His voice grew quieter and quieter until I couldn't hear him at all.

I thought this was a good opportunity. If I could make James aware of his arrogance sooner, perhaps he could grow up faster than before. After thinking for a moment, I chose my words carefully. "Before I accept your apology, James, can I ask why you came to apologize? Was it because I was ignoring you, so you wanted to make up with me?"

James looked surprised by the question, but he still answered me. "That's part of it, but Remus told me you were really ill at the time, and as your friend, I didn't notice at all. I didn't show any concern afterward, either. All I thought about was inviting Evans to watch Quidditch practice..." A faint blush appeared on his face as he spoke. "I was wrong."

Hearing him mention Remus reminded me that I hadn't really spoken to Remus much these past few days either, so I asked without thinking, "What about Remus?"

"He's already gone to bed," James said briefly, then leaned closer. "So can you forgive me?"

Making James aware of his flaws ahead of time wasn't going to be easy. A cake had to be eaten one bite at a time, so I nodded and smiled. "You've realized your mistake, so of course I'll accept your apology."

"I knew you'd accept it." The next moment, James happily hugged me, then patted his chest rather proudly. "You're the first person who's ever gotten me to apologize!" He kept shaking his head as he spoke, remarking, "See, this way really does work," "Remus was overthinking it," and "Sirius treats Merlin like she's something to be feared."

Me: "..."

All right, I should have known this boy's personality would be hard to change.

Although I'd accepted James's apology and Lily knew about it, she was still very annoyed with him. So I rarely spoke to James and the others when Lily was around. As a chatterbox, I naturally couldn't hold back my overwhelming urge to complain, and there were things I couldn't very well say in front of Lily. So whenever we snuck out at night, James and I would talk from beginning to end, leaving the others (specifically Sirius) unable to get a word in. As a result, Sirius's favorability toward me dropped by five points in a row.

"Sirius looks like a pet dog you've abandoned," I whispered to James. "Shouldn't you go comfort the poor puppy?"

The carefree James hadn't noticed at all that his good friend was already looking at me the way he looked at Slytherin students. He patted me on the shoulder unconcernedly. "It's fine. You're my friend, and Sirius is my friend too. Spend a little more time together and you'll work out those little misunderstandings."

[Sirius's favorability -1]

Clearly, Sirius had no intention of working things out with me.

James also wanted to do something big for Halloween, so he made a point of gathering the four of us to discuss what we should do.

Sirius: "We should get rid of Merlin."

Remus: "How about we do nothing? We've already lost more than fifty points again..."

Me: "Let's make something to eat. I'm hungry."

James was at his wits' end and earnestly urged us all to set our hearts on evil. "Everyone's part of our little group. I was counting on us to do something earth-shattering!"

"What big thing?" I put on a horrified expression. "I'm not planning to rob Gringotts with you."

"No one mentioned Gringotts." Sirius was as laid-back as ever, sprawled bonelessly on the sofa with his legs on the table. "Don't project your own thoughts onto James."

I didn't snap back, not because I had nothing to say or didn't want another conflict with Sirius, but mainly because I really had robbed Gringotts, and I was already considering whether to do it again.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"

Seeing tensions flare between us again, James coughed twice, then abruptly changed the subject. "Our little group of four is pretty much settled now. Shouldn't we come up with an impressive name? The kind that strikes fear into people the moment they hear it!"

"You're not actually planning to rob Gringotts, are you?" I couldn't help remarking. "But judging by our fighting strength, we might as well call ourselves the Phantom Troupe."

James apparently didn't know that a Phantom Troupe that had lowered the bar for Soviet robbers had appeared just a few years ago. He merely thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that name isn't cool enough."

"Then how about the Azure Dragon Gang?" I continued trying to suggest all sorts of random names.

Sirius got up and moved two seats farther away. Good. At least one more person could sit down when he was there.

"Stop talking." James firmly rejected my naming ability, then tried to stir up the other two's enthusiasm. "Our name has to be impressive! It has to be awesome! And it has to sum up what we do! Well, Remus, Sirius, have you thought of anything suitable?"

"How about the Gryffinboys?" I cut in again. "It fits our definition."

That strange expression appeared on Sirius's face again—he always looked like that when something I said amused him but he didn't want to laugh.

"Although I've never liked Merlin, she does have a point." Sirius folded his arms, doing his utmost to show his resistance to me. "But Gryffinboys sounds awful. Someone like her could only come up with a name like that." After criticizing me as usual, he got to the point. "I think we could call ourselves the God of Destruction."

I thought at least some of what James had said was right. With his help, Sirius and I really had grown a little closer. At the very least, we had barely spoken for almost half a month before this. But thanks to James's efforts, Sirius had finally been unable to suppress his urge to complain and started talking to me.

"You think yours is much better than mine?" A name like God of Destruction sounded pretty good with "Dark" in front of it, but on its own, it was just far too chuunibyou. "Yours is even worse than mine!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, do me, James, a favor and stop arguing for now, at least." James kept waving his hands, then looked at Remus. "Remus, what do you think?"

"I think Study Group is nice," Remus said easily.

"I think everyone has a point." James nodded and smiled, thinking it was a brilliant idea. "But it still feels too hasty. Maybe we could check the library and see if there's anything we can use."

"James, this is the first time I've heard you suggest going to the library on your own initiative for anything other than finding Evans." Sirius looked very gratified.

James readily accepted the jab with a smile, and was even rather proud. "That means I've improved, Sirius. This is a major breakthrough! I'm always changing." He winked at Sirius and me. "As members of this group, you should learn from me more often too."

For the first time, Sirius didn't roll his eyes at me-because he was rolling them at James.

─────

[Author's note]

★Tip★

Getting along with Sirius is extremely troublesome. A moment's carelessness can send his favorability plummeting. However, Sirius will definitely show great malice toward people he dislikes, so if his favorability is deeply negative but you haven't been subjected to pranks or practical jokes, the situation isn't actually that bad.

★Side quest reminder★

[Sirius's darkening meter unlocked. Current darkening level: 3%]