Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...unfortunately.

AN: Thank you to Iounn who betaed part of it for me. And also lend me the potions professor from her story, so no stealing his name...please ask for her permition.

Sirius Black snuck into the stalls behind the care of magical creatures' paddock. He knew what he was looking for, three of the nundus had given birth and now they were old enough, the cubs were now kept separate from their mothers. Sirius shivered in delight. This was going to be his best prank ever. He reached the stalls and looked down at the little cats that could kill a man with one breath. Waving his wand and muttering the charm that he had found in the forbidden part of the library he watched as each cub fell asleep, though they were already large enough to be nearly fully grown. Sirius lifted them all into a big bag, which he shrunk afterwards and, having tried to lift it, cast a weight reduction charm on. As he carried it back to the school making sure that no one saw him, he cackled in what he hoped was a suitably villainous criminal mastermind way. He was certain that James wouldn't mind his borrowing the invisibility cloak…he just hadn't got round to asking yet.

The school had met for dinner in the Great Hall; chatter was heard over the usual munching sounds that went with the full plates in front of each student. Sirius was sitting at the Gryffindor table with a sly smile on his face making his friend James Potter both suspicious and nervous. That expression usually meant something was going to happen. Something of a humiliating nature. He narrowed his eyes as Sirius excused himself and left the hall in a hurry, the doors slamming shut behind him. Behind the doors Sirius stopped and then crept close to entrance to hear what was about to happen. He couldn't wait to see everyone's expression when they realised the nundus weren't breathing poisonous gas but burping butterflies. It had taken hours to perfect that charm and practise it on himself. Hearing a commotion he pressed his left ear to the door. A terrible yowling like the screeching of nails on a black board was heard and then 18 nearly fully grown nundus jumped out from under the Gryffindor table. The student body screamed, many jumping up trying to flee towards the doors on the far end of the Great Hall. Suddenly a loud burp erupted from one of the nundus sending a large cloud of poisonous gas up towards the enchanted ceiling. The teachers looked at each other in bewilderment. Nundus breathed poisonous gas, they didn't burp it. However the next nundu did the same and soon the Great Hall was filled with the toxic gas. Panic filled the hall, which only made more and more students crash into each other and fall unconscious from the gas. The students and teacher that could still run, managed to reach the doors but they were locked, and it seemed disaster was about to ensue. Then, without warning, the doors swung open and between them stood a laughing Sirius Black. He didn't laugh for long.

Sirius was sitting in the library. At least here, everyone just threw him evils and didn't say nasty things to him. Even if he pretended that he didn't care, he did deep down. Why did everyone hate him just because he was a Black? Even James had stopped talking to him once it had been revealed that Lily was in the hospital wing. It had just been a little prank. It wasn't his fault that he hadn't realised that charms that worked on humans wouldn't work exactly the same on magical creatures. Dumbledore had told him he should be grateful that he had only been suspended those three weeks. He watched the other students as they whispered and purposefully ignored him. It wasn't like they were angels or anything. Hell he bet that Lucius Malfoy owned more dark arts objects than that old creep they were all talking about joining in the dark circles. Bellatrix would rhapsodize over his power and how he was going to restore the might and honour of the wizarding world, whilst giving Sirius triumphant smirks. His family hated him ever since he had been sorted into Gryffindor, as if hadn't already been clear he wouldn't follow in his family's footsteps. And then his father had disowned him over the summer. And now…now his friends had abandoned him as well, he wondered if his life could get anymore awful. He heard quiet footsteps as someone passed his isolated spot and looked up. The boy passing him was in his house, and had strange golden eyes that watched him with calm and curiosity. Sirius' eyes narrowed in what he refused to call jealousy. Everyone loved that boy, he was so lucky. He got good grades in class, never disrespected a teacher or got into trouble, always handed his homework in on time and even the girls loved him now that he, Sirius, was out of the running. It really made you want to hate the kid, but he was so nice to everyone that you couldn't. Which, in Sirius' opinion, made you hate him even more.

"May I sit here?" The quiet words that flowed with silk out of that sweet mouth startled Sirius. He shrugged,

"If you must." The boy settled himself opposite from Sirius and opened his book. Soon he was deeply engrossed in his studying, making little notes on the parchment next to him here and there. This gave Sirius enough time to study him thoroughly. His hair had the colour of runny honey; the eyes were golden with little flecks of green peppered here and there if you looked closely. His robes were slightly too big for him which added to the whole, fragile and vulnerable look. It must be that which made all the girls want to cuddle and protect him. How could one person be so completely oblivious to their luck??

"Chocolate frog?"

"What?!"

"Would you like a chocolate frog?" The golden eyes were focused on him now, inquiringly.

"Why are you being nice?"

"Shouldn't I be?"

"Nobody else is, everyone hates me; just because I'm a Black."

"I'm sure they don't, I heard they're just upset because of what you did a few weeks ago."

"It was just a little prank, completely harmless."

"A lot of people got hurt. It was a dangerous thing to do."

"Why aren't you pissed like all the others?"

"I wasn't there, I was ill in the hospital wing." Sirius' mouth formed an oh but he soon caught himself again.

"Yeah well. I'll have one of those chocolate frogs if you stop bothering me. I don't need a little goody two shoes giving me sympathy."

"I was only trying to be nice. You looked upset."

"I don't need you feeling sorry for me." Sirius thought the boy looked slightly hurt but when he looked more closely, the calm eyes were still watching him with the same gentle gaze. Angrily Sirius got up. Fuck the lucky bastard. He wasn't going to sit there under that pitying stare. He'd rather put up with all the evils than those eyes raised sympathetically towards his from the school's own perfect boy. He left the library without another word, the golden gaze following him until he was out of sight.

For the next few weeks, Sirius found himself often in the company of the honey haired boy. Whether it was when someone needed a partner in class or if he was sitting by himself at dinner or if he was just lounging around in the common room; the other boy always seemed to find him. Sirius wondered if the boy was following him on purpose or if so, when exactly he would stop pitying him; and when James would get the stick out of his ass and talk to him again. If James didn't come to his senses soon he'd have to tie him down and force him to listen. And if that Lupin boy didn't stop following him then he would completely flip one day. Just yesterday he had sat next to him in defence against the dark arts and partnered him in curse defences. The way he had calmly swung his wand and send him crashing gently to the floor had nearly driven Sirius insane. Then in Potions, Sirius had got his own back by making Remus' potion smell hideous, the boy had thrown up all over the potions classroom, causing Professor Kantemir to deduct 20 points from Gryffindor from him for causing damage yet again to another student. It just wasn't fair was it?

Now he was sitting in the common room; thankfully the golden eyed stalker was no where in sight. He picked up a book. Now that he didn't have any friends, he had a lot of time left for studying and what really fascinated him was how one became an animagus. When he was older he was going to become one so he could listen in on people's private conversations or to just get away from annoying people who followed him. A weight made the sofa cushions sink down. He glanced up and nearly growled. That boy again!

"What do you want?" He kept his voice purposely low and threatening.

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"To rub it under my nose how perfect you are."

"What?"

"You're so damn lucky and you don't even know it. Everyone hates me because I'm a Black. They're already so prejudiced. I'm not like them, I'm not going to follow in their footsteps but nobody bloody cares do they? My family hate me because I'm refusing to study the dark arts. My father hates me. You know what he says to me every single day when I'm home if I go home? He says "Sirius you're the biggest disgrace that ever walked this earth. You are disgusting…vile! You should be grateful we don't drown you like a sack full of kittens." My mother screeches at me whenever I see her. My cousin hexes me anytime she sees me in the corridor. My friends all think I'm a monster just because one little prank went wrong." Sirius hunched his shoulders in self-pity. "How was I meant to know that it wouldn't work? I didn't mean to hurt anyone but nobody bloody cared did they. But you wouldn't know what it's like would you? You don't know what it's like when everyone hates you, when you have to keep stuff about yourself a secret. What it's like to be called a monster by everyone. You just don't know how damn lucky you are." Sirius stopped his tirade, fuming. There he'd said it. He'd told the boy exactly what he thought. Maybe now the annoying boy would leave him alone. When he looked over he was shocked. Big sad eyes were being turned towards him; eyes that were filled with hurt, pain and shame. Eyes that were caverns into a world that sent Sirius tumbling down and made him wonder if he hadn't been wrong.

"If you call me lucky, then you haven't got the slightest idea." The calm facade was pulled back onto the face and the boy squared his shoulders, got up and turned around. Then he hesitated and turned back to face Sirius, saying in an icily cold voice, "You might want to stop being so self-involved and open your eyes. Everyone has problems. Everyone." And he left Sirius sitting there stunned, still drowning in the deep pools that had been fixed on his face.