February 1977.
❝ my best friends are with me ❞

          It was a Sunday, the second day that students were allowed at Hogsmeade. No matter the time of the day, Hogsmeade was always bustling with activity, each visit offering something new. It was a busy town that never seemed to sleep. There were pubs and restaurants that most students hung out at—Imogen's favourite being the Three Broomsticks. There were also a wide range of small shops, each having a unique aspect which made it stand out. The downside to the shops was that they were small and always packed with students.

A trip to Hogsmeade was never complete without a trip to the joke shop, located in the centre of the town. The marauders could never resist, they had found themselves at the store every single time.  There was an unspoken agreement to skip Honeydukes—the candy store. It was the busiest shop in town. Despite their wild behaviour, the marauders always just seemed uninterested. Honeydukes was old news, and they had other things to focus on.

Only students in their third year or the years above had the freedom to step past the walls of the castle and explore the town. McGonagall had set up a schedule, determining which year levels were allowed to go on what weekend—this was to avoid it being any more busy than it already was.

It was the 6th year's weekend to go, each student wrapped up in thick clothes and fluffy snow boots, desperate for the warmth the air didn't provide. Winter was coming to an end, and the snow was beginning to melt, though the air was still a harsh, biting cold, especially far from the castle grounds. Hogsmeade always had a cold environment, always making students' hands tremble, the cold settling in their bones and flowing through their veins.

When visiting the town, students only had two days. On Saturday, the group split up. The three girls shopped around, gossiping and chatting. There weren't any significant topics, though Imogen thought it was nice to spend time with her friends. The four boys were off doing who knows what, though Imogen could confirm they did go to the joke shop.

On Sunday, the marauders, Imogen, Mary, Marlene and Lily, had all agreed to meet at the Three Broomsticks pub for the afternoon. Earlier in the day, the boys flew high on the quidditch pitch, spending the morning practising their skills. The girls had a calmer day, resting and chilling before getting ready to enjoy each other's company, the excitement for the afternoon slowly building.

Imogen shivered in the cold, the chilly February air hitting her like sharp knives against her skin. The appealing temperature and warm fire in the pub were the only things stopping Imogen from turning back to the castle. The girl dreamed of the warmth of her bed, the thick quilt and the crackling fire. She had spent the past week wrapped up under the covers or sitting alone in the common room. Imogen had made a promise to Marlene to get out—she had no choice but to continue going. The past week had been hard, though she had the weekend off from both her studies and stress. Though Imogen knew that was just a temporary relief before the next wave of stress hit.

Imogen and Sirius walked ahead of the group, the boy laughing over the time Aubrey Evergreen flipped off the teacher. Aubrey had always tried to be a perfect model student, her outfits clean and her work tidy. Though when it came to her behaviour, she was far from perfect. She was a menace on the same level as the school's biggest troublemakers—the marauders. The Seagrave girl thought about Aubrey and how she needed better friends but there was again something else on her mind, clouding her every thought.

          "Oh Merlin!" she muttered under her breath, "I forgot my coat!"

          Sirius turned to her, his eyes widening in both shock and disbelief. It was freezing out, there was still some snow left, but Imogen left her coat? "You forgot your coat? In this weather?" he asked to confirm, looking to see that she was not, in fact, wearing a coat. Instead, Imogen wore a beige-coloured sweater, its warm, knitted fabric barely shielding the girl from the chilly breeze. Layered on top of the sweater was a blue scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, the soft wool brushing the bottom of her chin with each step she took. Although she had warm clothes, it was nothing without a coat, which provided full protection from the cold.

          The blonde only nodded, not knowing what else to say. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly. "Immy, there must be something wrong with your mind because not even Pete forgot his coat—and he's got the worst memory!" is all Sirius could say, looking ahead to see the three broomsticks pub right infront of them. He could hear the loud chatter from inside and could see the warm fire through the window. "Let's just get inside, it'll be warm there, we can figure out what to do afterwards." Sirius smiled.

          Before Imogen could reply, James wrapped his arms around the two, bringing them closer as they finally walked into the welcoming warmth of the busy pub. "So—what are you two lovebirds doing all alone? Were you cuties about to kiss?" he teased with a smirk, earning an eye roll from both his friends—who were clearly unimpressed. Teasing was common when it came to James. But just like them, the Potter boy was also unlucky with his own romantic life. It was in 5th year that he decided to become a 'matchmaker'—Sirius and Imogen being his first target. He started to tease the two daily, shoving them closer together and setting them up with alone time. A year had passed, and James had yet to make progress in their romance, but had helped with their growing friendship.

          Everyone knew that Sirius and Imogen were not together and never have been. Neither of the two even realised their actual feelings towards each other—even though everyone else had. "Imogen is going to freeze to death. She somehow forgot her bloody coat!" the boy complained, giving Imogen a small side-eye.

          Imogen gave the boy a playful glare in return. "I just have a horrible memory!" she argued, taking off her fluffy scarf but leaving her sweater on.

          The door opened with the jingle of the bells above. The three felt a brush of the cold air they had just escaped. Through the door came Remus and Peter, with Mary, Marlene and Lily following close behind. "What did you forget now Imogen?" Marlene questioned—only hearing the end of the conversation.

"Her coat," James explained.

"You and your bloody memory, you're just as bad as Peter!" The blonde sighed, linking arms with Imogen as they found their table. Of course Marlene claimed the seat next to her best friend—the rest of the group each finding their own. It was as soon as the seats were filled that the waitress came around, carrying butterbeer for everyone. Imogen adored butterbeer with her whole heart, a simple pleasure of warmth, something she could never get enough of. Kallista and Vincent never allowed Imogen to have butterbeer back home, so she took Hogsmeade as an opportunity to drink it until her stomach hurt.

"That's what I said!" Sirius piped up.

Lily scoffed, untying her vibrant hair from the ponytail and letting it fall like a soft wave against her shoulders. "Honestly both Pete and Ginny need to get a remembrall!" she sighed, finally getting comfortable and taking a sip of her drink.

"Why am I being dragged into this?" Peter, who sat directly opposite from the Seagrave girl, complained. Before anyone could say anything, the boy leant in towards her, a mischievous grin on his face. "So, what did Sirius say to you while you were walking ahead? Confess his undying love for you yet?" he teased before taking a large sip, no—chug of his butterbeer.

Imogen snorted, nearly choking on her own drink—why did everyone think that? She and Sirius were just friends—best friends! "Nope, as we said before, we were just talking and I realised I had forgotten my coat."

Peter groaned, though his grin only grew wider, indicating he had thought of another way to tease the two. "You're telling me you hang out all the time and always go off alone, and you haven't had any sort of romantic interaction?" he practically interrogated, his voice sounding desperate for information. Peter had always seemed stupid, but when it came to making jokes and teasing people, he had learnt from the best—James Potter. The Potter boy sat at the head of the table, smirking as he listened to the conversation intently.

Imogen let out a small sigh in defeat—when would they let it go? Yes, maybe she might have some feelings for Sirius, but that was her own business! "Sorry to disappoint you but no." she answered his question, looking around the room at everyone else, "James and Lily are basically in love with each other, Remus has his own thing with Anaya, and Marlene and Joe have something special, if you want romance look at them!" she shook her head, with nothing else to say, she took another sip of her butterbeer.

"James being in love with Lily is an understatement—he is obsessed with her." Marlene smirked.

James glanced at the blonde, his expression a mix of frustration and irritation—he was not obsessed! With a dramatic roll of his eyes, the boy began to speak. "All I get is betrayal and mockery from the people I call my friends, it's not my fault I'm in love!" he complained, throwing his arms up in the air. James—just like Marlene—was always full of energy, he loved joking around and being dramatic, and as much as it annoyed his friends, Imogen found it quite funny. The boy was ready to burst into laughter—everyone was. The room was full of warmth, from both the fireplace next to their table but also the group's love for each other.

"Speaking of love, wouldn't you just love to go out with me, Lily?" James asked again. That was it. Every single person exploded into a fit of giggles and laughter, even Lily. She only rolled her eyes, signifying that the answer was still no—yet another rejection. Sirius, who had been keeping track over the years, had counted nine rejections. Each time James was rejected, he was miserable, moping around the common room like it was the end of the world, though this time, he sat there, still laughing, shrugging the eye roll off like it was nothing.

As the laughter died down, Imogen spoke up, "So, Peter—" she turned to the boy, a small smirk spread across her face. If Peter planned to question her and Sirius' relationship, then she would question his— "If Sirius and I aren't in love, what's the latest gossip with you then? Are you planning on running off with someone we don't know about?" she joked, laughing with Marlene who sat next to her. Imogen didn't mean to make fun of Peter, it was a commonly known fact that the boy was beyond hopeless with relationships—far worse than Imogen.

In fact, the whole group was a mess when it came to their relationships—especially when it came to hopeless romantics. James was in love with Lily, everyone in the world knew that, though no one knew that the redhead reciprocated the feelings. It was obvious that Remus was in love with Anaya Hassim, even though he denied it the second anyone mentioned it. Marlene and Joe had something between them, no one knew exactly what it was, though it was more than friendship. Mary had something secret going on with Sage. As much as she tried to hide or deny it, Imogen knew the two girls, and she knew something was going on.

"Well, you should know that dozens of girls are practically throwing themselves on me," Peter smirked, leaning back on his chair proudly and with confidence. On the other side of the table James had basically spat his butterbeer all over the table—he wasn't able to hold in his laughter.

"Yeah, what girls?" he asked after managing to clean himself up, wiping the foam of the beer from the bottom of his chin.

Peter thought to himself quietly. "No comment," he spoke before taking a sip of what was left in his glass.

Everyone remained quiet, thinking to themselves. Marlene was too busy staring at Joe—who sat with her own friends. She was unable to take her eyes off her. Marlene was completely lost in the girl, taking in every feature and every detail. Finally, she drew her attention away and spoke up, "You don't talk to enough girls to even name one." she joked, turning her attention back to Joe. The group once again burst into a fit of laughter. Peter himself couldn't help but grin—Marlene was known for her snarky jokes and insults, so the boy didn't take it to heart. Peter used to get offended by any insults regarding his life, though he moved on from being upset by them and learned to find the good in things. He was just happy to have friends—before Hogwarts, he only had James.

As always, the conversation ended up drifting to other subjects, casually shifting from topic to topic as everyone added their own thoughts and opinions. As usual, Mary updated the group on the newest drama—apparently, Anaya had broken her wrist during quidditch training and was out for the first game back after the holidays. James was quite happy over this fact. Of course, Remus scolded his friend, explaining that he should not be celebrating someone's injury.

Imogen found herself more relaxed than she had been after the long week of stressing and overthinking. Of course, her mind kept wandering to her parents and their words, but her attention was always brought back by the laughter of her friends, their little jokes or silly comments. Imogen always knew when she had her friends around, things would be fine.

"You good?" Sirius nudged her lightly, gaining nothing but a small nod from her friend. She didn't know. She was good—she was with her friends, and when she was with her friends, everything was good. But at the same time, its wasn't. She was drowning in the stress, and she knew she should've listened to Marlene. Imogen hadn't yet spoken to Sirius about the letter. Usually, he was always the first person she would go to about things like that, but she didn't want to stress him—especially now with his perfect life.

          "I'm fine, thanks." Imogen smiled, giving him another reassuring nod. She took a sip of her beer as the others at the table all laughed at whatever James had said. She couldn't help but notice Lily looking at the Potter boy with a different look—a look of love. Did Imogen look at Sirius that way too? Imogen couldn't help but feel like she was the same with Sirius, her eyes always drawn to his, her cheeks always burning when he spoke.

           She didn't want to have another thing to think about, she and Sirius were best friends, nothing more, though Imogen's cheeks flushed pink as she thought of the boy. He was always caring for her, always listening to what she had to say, always checking in with her, and most importantly, he was always putting a smile on her face. Imogen couldn't deny that sometimes Sirius made her stomach flutter with butterflies, but she had never thought of him as more than a friend.

          Did Imogen like Sirius Black?

         After more glasses of butterbeer, many more conversations and many more times laughing, the group had gathered their things, preparing to head back to the castle. Imogen wrapped her arms around herself the second she stepped into the cold. Night was approaching, and the air remained freezing, the final chill of winter refusing to fade away.

         As the group walked through the town of Hogsmeade, the slushed snow flattened beneath their feet, and the cold breeze brushed against their faces. Imogen kept to herself, slightly falling behind the group. Sirius had noticed a shift in the girl's mood, especially since they left the Three Broomsticks. He had expected it was the cold, but he could also tell there was something else—she had been in a mood all week.

          "What's wrong Immy?" Sirius asked calmly, joining her behind the rest of the group.

          Imogen's hair flew with the breeze. She hesitated to speak, she didn't want to share anything that could stress Sirius out. "I got a letter from my parents," she admitted. The words just spilled out before she could process what she was saying. "They want me to find a pureblood before the summer." Sirius just listened, remaining quiet. Further in the distance, their friends laughed and chatted between themselves.

          "What?" he let out, his voice full of confusion—he didn't exactly understand. A pureblood by the end of the year? Sirius deliberately slowed his walking, making sure their friends were far ahead. He wanted to widen the distance between them so the two could talk. This was Imogen's business, and he didn't want anyone else to overhear it—especially Mary. It had no business going around the school, that would just make things worse. Sirius turned his head back to Imogen, who had matched his slow speed in walking.

          The boy had heard the rumours about his younger brother possibly being arranged in a marriage. His mind was full of concern and worry for the boy he used to be so close with. He would always cherish the rare moments of laughter they had shared, a distant memory that was slowly fading—not even feeling real anymore. He hadn't had any interaction with Regulus in over a year, he couldn't let things like that affect him—it had nothing to do with him. But this was Imogen. Even the thought of anything bad happening to her made his head spiral. She was so innocent, always doing things for others; she was so sweet, undeserving of anything bad. Sirius had always pictured the bright future ahead of her—one he might be involved in. Something ruining that image felt like glass shattering inside of him.

          Imogen swallowed the lump in her throat. Everything in her body screamed to just shut up, to not stress the boy out, but deep down, she needed to speak to him. She had always been there for Sirius, and he would always be there for her—no matter what the circumstances were. "I have to find someone to spend the rest of my life with—or I won't be welcomed home." Imogen explained, pushing her blonde hair away from her face.

          She felt different than she did when telling Marlene. Instead of sadness, she felt embarrassed—humiliated that she had to deal with that. She felt stupid that it was affecting her so much. Imogen knew Sirius would understand, but why did he have to? Why was this happening?

          For a moment, Sirius didn't speak at all, which just made Imogen feel worse, though she didn't say that. The boy ran a hand through his dark hair; little flakes of snow rested gently on the top of his head. "They can't do that," he spoke, trying to refuse it. The anger inside him was bubbling. The picture of Imogen with a great future began to burn inside his mind. As much as Sirius refused it, he knew they could do that. Kallista and Vincent could and would do whatever they wanted—no matter how it made their daughter feel.

         Imogen looked down at her feet, the brightness of the white slush was starting to fade from the growing darkness of the sky. The snow squelched under her boots as they walked—just the two of them, in silence. "Sirius, we both know they can, and if they want to, they will. I'm not the heir. Still, I've spent my whole life living up to their impossible expectations," she spoke, wiping a small tear that fell from her eyes. "Running away or getting disowned won't just fix my problems. As harsh as they are, they are my parents—they are still my family," she finished.

          Without another word, Sirius wrapped his arm around the girl, bringing her into his warmth. The two continued to walk closer and closer to the castle, the building looming over them the closer they got. Each light through the windows shone like a star in the night sky—as always, it was a beautiful sight. "I know, but you can't let them control your life like this, Immy. You have to stand up for yourself—you shouldn't always follow their stupid rules."

          Imogen's chest had been hurting for far too long. The stress was becoming a lot, a large grey cloud that always loomed above her. The two could see the group in the distance, still laughing the same way they were when they had left the pub. Sirius looked to his best friend, her hair blowing messily in the wind, her cheeks flushing pink from the cold; he also noticed her smile—it was the biggest he had seen in a week.

         His gaze turned to Lily and James and he also smiled, watching as James wrapped his arm around the redhead. "They really are a perfect match, aren't they?" he spoke softly. Imogen nodded in agreement, melting into Sirius' warmth. Between the two, they had an unspoken mission—they were going to get Lily and James together by the end of the school year, no matter what it took. Just like James had planned for them. Sirius brought Imogen closer, giving her a small squeeze before letting her go.

          Imogen looked at him with a devilish smirk. Without another word, Sirius let her go, and the two just ran, the cold chill of the wind blasting in their face as they raced back to the group. Both of them smiled to themselves—they had no clue what it was they were feeling.

          All they knew was that they had each other, and that was all that mattered.

( maeve yaps ! )

this is probably one of my favourite chapters tbh, I love Imogen and all her friendships and this was so fun to write. I know it took me ages while I was getting back into the routine with school but I promise the next chapter will be sooner!

I'm so sorry I haven't replied to  any comments, I always reply in my head and forget—I promise I will from now on! ily all <33

edited by the amazing riri <333

gif by anaya / howlingforregulus !