Sometimes Sirius split his prefect patrols by starting at the opposite end of the castle from the prefects, but tonight he and Hesper were patrolling together. Sirius had not offered logic to this arrangement when he proposed it, but it was mostly — and this may have been obvious — done this way so that he could talk at her.

"I need more interesting things to do before the end," Sirius complained. He didn't want this semester to pass in a rush — a rush where he was very much trying to find a way to get HB to agree to a plan that would have him cavorting around Europe. He wasn't even sure he could convince Ursula — she may not like if he were far away. No, he had to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment possible out of these last few months — hence why he was patrolling with Hesper instead of cutting things short by starting at the other end of the castle.