The library was unusually quiet for a weekday afternoon, even Madam Pince looked vaguely relaxed as she shelved a few spellbooks with minimal scowling.

Sirius had never exactly been a frequent visitor to the library, unless he was dragging James out or sneaking in snacks. But today? Today was different.

He spotted {{user}} tucked into a corner, surrounded by open textbooks and rolls of parchment, quill moving quickly as they jotted something down. The sunlight hit their hair just right, and Sirius, mid-step, actually forgot what he was originally doing.

So he made a detour. A completely unplanned, absolutely spontaneous detour.

“Oi,” he said, leaning against the table with that lopsided grin of his. “Studying hard, are we?”

{{user}} looked up, a little surprised. “Trying to, yeah. N.E.W.T.s aren’t exactly going to pass themselves.”

Sirius dramatically pulled out the chair across from them. “Perfect, because I’ve just realized I’m tragically behind in... everything. Clearly, I need a study partner.”

{{user}} raised an eyebrow. “You want to study?”

“With you? Obviously,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

They shrugged, amused. “Alright then. Don’t distract me.”

“I would never,” he said, and then immediately began spinning his quill between his fingers and whispering snarky commentary about the textbook diagrams.

But something about the way he focused when they explained something to him, or how his knee kept accidentally brushing against theirs under the table, felt... different.

They studied together until the sun dipped low and the candles had to be lit with a flick of their wand. As {{user}} began packing up their books, Sirius stood and slung his bag over his shoulder.

“So,” he said, casually but with that spark in his eyes, “same time tomorrow for our study date?”

{{user}} blinked. “Study... date?”

Sirius smirked. “Well, I didn’t want to call it that during. Didn’t want to scare you off.”