Sirius had never been one for silence. The Marauders were loud by nature, and he thrived in the chaos—quick remarks, easy laughter, and the kind of charm that had Hogwarts wrapped around his finger. But right now? Right now, he was quiet. Because right now, he was watching you.

You sat at the Ravenclaw table, chin resting in your palm as you read, absentmindedly twirling your quill between your fingers. It shouldn’t have been captivating. It shouldn’t have made Sirius completely forget whatever prank he and James had been planning. And yet, there he was, leaning on one elbow, utterly and completely bewitched.

“You’re drooling, Pads,” James muttered beside him, barely looking up from his toast.

Sirius scoffed, forcing himself to sit back, arms crossed. “Am not.”

Remus snorted. “Right. Because you haven’t been staring for the past five minutes like a lovesick puppy.”

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but then you did something dangerous—you laughed. Soft, barely audible over the morning chatter, but Sirius caught it. He didn’t even know what had made you laugh, but it didn’t matter. All he knew was that he wanted to hear it again.

“Merlin,” Peter mumbled. “He’s gone.”

James sighed dramatically, clapping a hand over his heart. “Rest in peace, Sirius. Taken too soon by a hopeless crush.”

Sirius rolled his eyes, but the smirk tugging at his lips betrayed him. Maybe he was gone. But if it meant catching another one of your smiles, he didn’t really mind.