Six years was a long time to be ostracized by everyone you loved. Just ask Sirius Black: the bane of his parents' existence. One would think that Sirius must have done something horrible to be so hated by his own flesh and blood, when in reality, simply being good was reason enough for them.

You see, the Black's were a family of particularly powerful wizards. Each of them had been educated at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and sorted into Slytherin. Sirius, on the other hand, was almost immediately placed in Gryffindor, where he further sullied the family name by associating with muggle-born wizards. The horror! Because of this, family relations became so strained that Sirius was one of the few boys to actually count down the days until summer ended. And this year was no exception.

Sirius groaned, glancing at the calendar tacked to his wall. There were, unfortunately, five long days until he returned to school. To anyone else, that would seem like nothing, but in the Black household, it felt like a lifetime.

"Master Sirius," a high-pitched voice whined, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Your mother is wanting you!" The voice giggled. "You's been a bad boy, hasn't you?"

"Oh, shut up, Kreacher," he moaned in response. Kreacher the house-elf quite literally lived to please Sirius' parents, which meant he could torture their son as much as he liked. Sirius wasn't above retaliating. Besides, he needed something to entertain himself with while he waited for school to begin.

Reluctantly, Sirius trudged down the stairs, mentally bracing himself. His mother was like something out of one of those muggle horror films. All she ever did was shriek and moan and hex whoever looked at her the wrong way. It took all of Sirius's patience to be in the same room as her.

"You rang?" he said dryly, marching into the living room. The Black matriarch lounged in her armchair, glaring daggers at her eldest child.

"That's no way to talk to your mother, young man," she reminded him tartly. He was tempted to point out that that was no way to treat her son, but thought better of it. After all, it was a bit early in the morning for a duel.

"My apologies, your highness," he drawled, bowing sarcastically. Mrs. Black pursed her lips, but did not comment.

"You're not going to Hogwarts this year," she finally announced. Sirius felt his heart stop beating. They couldn't ban him from Hogwarts, could they? Not without reason? He hadn't done anything that bad last year, except that mess with Moony and Snape. But that had been all cleared up... So there had to have been some kind of mistake...

"W-what?" he finally choked out, too shocked to make a snide remark. His mother smiled sickeningly.

"I've had a letter from Dumbledore. It seems the castle is in danger from the Dark Lord, as they call him. So all your classes have been relocated." Sirius sucked air into his lungs. Relocated - that wasn't so bad. He'd still be with his friends and (more importantly) away from his parents. Everything would be fine.

"Where?" he demanded, more confident now. Mrs. Black shrugged.

"Oh, a few places. I expect some will go to Beauxbatons. You're brother's going to Durmstang - he's thrilled. They're sending different years off to different places, you know. Trying to make room for all the students. I've just suggested that they might have more room if they cleansed the school of all those stupid mudbloods-"

"Would you please just tell me where I'm going, Mother?" Sirius managed through gritted teeth. This woman never failed to drive him mad. It was as though she couldn't go five minutes without bringing up her hatred for muggle-born wizards. If they were so useless, why did she waste so much energy complaining about them?

"Sixth years," she began slowly, smirking at her son's annoyance. "Are to be attending Veneficus Hall." Sirius's brow furrowed. He'd heard of most wizarding schools, but never that one.

"Where's that supposed to be? Mars, right next to Pigfarts?" he spat. It was obvious to him that this was some poorly planned joke of his mothers to get him to go away. Knowing her, the real Veneficus (if there even was one) was probably some institution famous for churning out Death Eaters. Still smiling serenely, Mrs. Black conjured a map with a flourish of her hand.

"Actually, Sirius... It's in America. New York, to be exact."

Sirius was dumbstruck. For once, his mother had said something that made him happy. America was definitely far enough away from his family, and if what his mother said was true, he would get the chance to explore New York with his best friends in the entire world. He could quickly feel himself growing more and more excited. His imagination was running wild. He'd heard stories about America before, and now he would be able to live there for a whole year. The magic, the food, the culture... He grinned to himself. He was willling to bet there would be more than a few cute New York girls for him to, ah, befriend.

Eagerly, he snatched the map from his mother's hands. There it was, Veneficus Hall.

"How are we getting there?" he wondered aloud, in too good of a mood to be rude. Mrs. Black rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you read the letter yourself, you lazy brute?" It was harsh, but Sirius was more than used to much worse. Taking the letter off the coffee table, he waited until he his mother had left the room.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Orion Black,

I regret to inform you that the safety of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been threatened by a wizard who refers to himself as the Lord Voldemort. This wizard stands for cruelty unheard of in the wizarding world today, and supports the total annihilation of muggles. Although this threat is not yet immediate, we have deemed it best to close the school temporarily.

However, as we know how important it is for young witches and wizards to be taught properly, we have arranged for all students to be educated in various other wizarding schools around the world. Students will be separated based on their year. Each of your sons will be sent to a different location.

Regulus Arcturus Black, as a fifth year, shall be taught at the Durmstang Institute. Sirius Orion Black will be sent to Veneficus Hall, a reputable American school, with the rest of the sixth years. Students will be transported by Portkey on September 1st. Portkeys will leave from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Please remind your children to bring all of the books they may need, despite their not being at Hogwarts.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster

Sirius beamed. He certainly wasn't pleased that Hogwarts was in danger, but it seemed like Dumbledore had everything under control. Besides, he'd always wanted an excuse to travel. Regulus wouldn't even be there to bother him. It was like a dream come true. It seemed impossible that he was going to have to wait to leave. Suddenly, five days seemed even longer than six years.

"It'll be worth it, though," he muttered to himself. "It will all be worth it in the end."

A/N: What did you think? If you didn't like it, please bear with me; I'm a bit out of practice. Besides, it's only the first chapter! Anyways, I just thought having them go to America and not just meeting an exchange student was a cool idea. Please comment and keep reading! Thanks!