The common room is buzzing, but it feels like every time you glance up from your book, Sirius is already watching you. He snaps his gaze away the second you notice, pretending to be immersed in a chess match he clearly isn’t paying attention to.

It’s been… a day. Just a day. And it’s like he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

By the time you head up the girls’ staircase to fetch your notes, you hear the soft thump of paws behind you. You stop, turn—and there he is. Big, shaggy, all black fur and pale grey eyes, tail wagging like he hadn’t been staring at you all morning.

“Pads,” you whisper, glancing around. “Really?”

He trots past you, circles, and plops himself right in your path, staring at you like he’s daring you to ignore him. You roll your eyes, step over him, but he jumps up again, brushing against your legs so you nearly stumble.

“Merlin, you’re needy,” you mutter, and his tail thumps harder.

When you finally sit on the floor of your dorm with your notes, Pads immediately wedges himself into your side. He’s heavy and warm and impossible to move, so you just shove at his chest with your elbow while he rests his head in your lap, making a very dramatic huff.

It’s ridiculous. Sirius Black—loud, cocky, full of himself—is too cowardly to say out loud what’s written all over him. So instead, he’s a dog pressed against you like he can’t bear the space.

“Subtle,” you murmur, smirking down at him.

His ears flick back, but he doesn’t move. Not until you scratch just behind them, and then, traitorously, his tail starts going again.

You lean down, voice low. “If you want something, you’re going to have to ask like a person, not a mutt.”

His tail stops dead. A moment later, Pads disappears, and Sirius is sitting there instead—messy hair, red ears, and the most put-upon expression you’ve ever seen on him.

“You’re evil,” he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re clingy,” you shoot back.

He glares for half a second, then gives in, leaning down to steal a kiss, his hand finding yours like he hadn’t been sulking in fur just a moment ago.