The halls of Hogwarts were packed with students, as always, in the mad rush between classes. Most students had to fight to get through the crowd, jostling for space in the packed corridor. The thick sea, parted, however, as two boys approached. One was tall and had dark hair that fell into his grey eyes and to his shoulders. He flipped his hair elegantly out of his eyes, and a group of girls who had practically pressed themselves to the walls to make room for the boys, gave off tittering giggles and sighs as they stared longingly at the boy.

"Oh, Sirius Black. He's so dreamy..." one whispered.

On Sirius's other side was a slightly shorter boy, with untidy black hair that stood up in all different directions. His hazel eyes were bright with laughter and filled with the lordly confidence of a king on his throne. He ruffled the back of his hair, and raised his wand lazily at a boy, perhaps a year younger than himself, who had been too busy struggling to get a large tome of a book back into his school-bag, and had consequently failed to get out of the way on time.

"POTTER!"

The wand quickly disappeared and a red-haired girl came storming up the hall from behind the two boys. Potter gave no outward evidence that he had heard his name being called, though the rest of the students had all stopped what they were doing to watch the scene.

Potter had stepped towards the boy, who looked up and started with terror.

"J-James Potter!" he gasped. "Sorry! Ah. So sorry!"

"Potter, don't you dare-"

Potter bent down and grabbed both the tome and the book-bag from the boy. "Here, let me help you," he said, and with some jostling, was able to shove the tome into the bag. With a flourish, he closed it, and handed it back to the boy, who looked so overcome with shock, that it was a miracle he hadn't yet fainted.

Potter turned to suddenly be face to face with the pretty red-head. His innocent smile melted into an easy grin. "No need to shout, Evans," he said, "People might get the impression that you're desperate."

The girl, Evans, looked past Potter at the dumbfounded boy as though expecting to see him harmed in some terrible way. Her green eyes only registered a brief flash of surprise when she saw him unharmed. The boy looked even more terrified to be under her fiery glare. He quickly swung his bag over his shoulder and high-tailed it down the corridor. When Evans looked back at Potter, her eyes were fierce once more.

"The only thing I'm desperate for, Potter, is to be rid of you," Evans retorted cooly. She whipped around and stalked off down the corridor, with her nose in the air. She was quickly joined by a group of tittering Gryffindor girls, who had watched the scene from the side-lines.

"We both know that isn't true!" Potter called back, somewhat lamely.

The action over, students began moving along the corridor once more. Sirius Black stood next to Potter, who remained frozen, watching Evans' retreating back. Her red-hair standing out amongst the crowd.

"That makes how many?" Black quipped.

"That one didn't count. I didn't actually ask her out," Potter replied. "Poor Evans, she's so in love with me, I pity her. I truly do. The way she pines... it's embarrassing."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and slapped James affectionately on the back. "Come on, mate. Muggle Studies awaits."

Muggle Studies was not a popular course. Sirius Black and James Potter were two of a handful of students who had enrolled. The two boys had very good reasons for enrolling in the class, however. The idea had intrigued Sirius, who thought that taking Muggle Studies would be a fantastic way to infuriate his parents, who were puritanical pure-bloods. James saw it as a way to impress a particular muggle-born girl, whom he admired. This had been their reasons three years ago when they were beginning their third year. Now, in their sixth, there was another prevalent reason as to why Muggle Studies was essential to their education.

A force outside of Hogwarts had been growing, that shared the same beliefs as Sirius's parents and were willing to put them into political action. Attacks against muggles and muggle-born wizards and witches had been rising in the wizarding world, and the ideology had spread to Hogwarts. Muggle-born bullying had increased in recent years in both number and severity. By attending Muggle Studies, Sirius and James let the rest of Hogwarts know that they stood against this pure-blood movement, and they weren't afraid to let the world know whose side they stood on.

The fact that the course was an easy 'O' had absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Good afternoon, class," the Muggle Studies Professor, surname Gillies, was a thin, wizened old witch. She was kind-hearted almost to a fault, and often let her classes rule over her instead of the other way around. On this particular day, however, her back was straight and her jaw strong as she surveyed them all.

"Today, I have an important practical assignment for you all, reviewed and approved by the Headmaster himself," the entire class straightened and gave her their full attention. It was rare for Professor Dumbledore to have a direct influence over a class assignment.

"I am sure you are all well aware of the growing movement of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters. It is no use to pretend that attacks on muggles have not been rising in both number and frequency," she paused for a brief moment. "There is an obvious difference between muggles and witches and wizards – and that is the use of magic. Throughout this course I have tried to make it apparent to you that while muggles do not possess magical ability, they have made up for this lack through another ingenious talent – that of technology. The products of this creative practice and invention have been the focus of our study these past years."

Sirius and James grinned at each other as they remembered some of their previous lessons. There had been the encounter with a hair-dryer that had left James' hair standing on end, looking even untidier than usual. And since their very first lesson on motorized vehicles, Sirius had become obsessed with cars, and in particular, motorbikes, of which he vowed to purchase one day.

"It is, however, time for you to understand what it really means to live life like a muggle in a world where wizards rule, which is the world He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers desire. This assignment will take place over the duration of the weekend. You will journal about your activity and insights upon muggle living each day. This journal is to be submitted on Monday, and upon handing it in, your wand will be returned to you."

"WHAT!" Both James and Sirius burst out, and were joined in many protests from other students.

"But Professor-"

"Without our wands how can we-?"

"Mad! Absolutely mad!"

Professor Gillies held up a hand and waited for the protests to subside. "At the end of todays class, you will submit your wands to me, and over the course of the weekend they will be kept safe in Professor Dumbledore's office."

Again a course of protests erupted from the class.

"But Professor, what are we supposed to do if we need our wands?" James asked, thinking about all of the Slytherins who would only be too happy to catch himself and Sirius without their wands.

Professor Gillies' usually tight-lipped expression expanded into a mischievous grin that could easily rival Sirius or James' own. "Well, Mr. Potter, I suggest you do as the muggles do: get creative."