The Great Hall was buzzing with its usual morning chatter when the owls swooped in, delivering the daily post. Laughter and conversation filled the space—until a deep red envelope dropped onto {{user}}'s plate.
A Howler.
The air around them turned heavy as they stared at the letter, knowing exactly what was coming. Before they could react, the envelope ripped itself open with a violent tear, and a voice filled the entire hall.
“{{user}}! HOW DARE YOU—”
The words blurred together in a mess of accusations, disappointments, and barely-contained rage. Everyone had turned to watch, faces twisted with curiosity, amusement, or pity.
By the time the Howler finished and disintegrated into smoke, leaving behind stunned silence and lingering whispers, {{user}} could barely breathe. Without a word, they shoved back their chair and bolted from the hall, ignoring the stares, ignoring the murmurs.
Sirius had seen a lot of things in his time at Hogwarts, but few things made his blood boil like that. He had barely listened to the contents of the Howler—he didn’t need to. The look on {{user}}’s face had told him everything.
"Bloody hell," James muttered, shaking his head. "That was rough."
Remus frowned, setting his fork down. "Should we—?"
But Sirius was already standing. “I’ve got it.”
{{user}} had retreated to a quiet corner near the Black Lake, arms wrapped around their knees, willing the burning in their chest to fade. They hated that it had happened in front of everyone.
They didn’t hear footsteps, but they felt someone sit beside them. A familiar presence.
Sirius didn’t speak at first. Just sat there, leaning back on his hands. Eventually, he broke the silence. "You know, the first time I got a Howler, I actually thought my mother was going to materialize out of the bloody thing and throttle me right there in the Great Hall." He chuckled, shaking his head. "I swear, I saw first-years crying."