"Sirius,
are you sure you want to this?" Dumbledore asked.
"If it's
going to help Harry stay safe, I'll do anything." Sirius replied. Dumbledore
knew the reply before he asked the question but he was offering Sirius a last
chance to turn back.
"Fair
enough, you know that you can't turn
back," Dumbledore stated and after receiving a nod in reply added, "The only
ones that know are you, me, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professor McGonagall and,"
"Snape,"
Sirius finished for him in a loathsome voice. Dumbledore smiled at the way the
grudge was still alive after all the years. "Why did he have to know anyway?"
"Because
Severus would recognise you from your school days and he would recognise the
effects of the potion, there would be no point in not telling him."
Sirius
sighed at this obviously true statement. He was starting to wonder if he was
doing the right thing. What would happen if someone found him here. These
thoughts were all pushed from his mind when he heard all the other students
milling into the hall. He nodded to Dumbledore, who walked out of the hall with
his blue robes billowing behind him. Sirius could hear him addressing the
school through the curtains.
The next
thing he saw was all the first years coming into the hall after they had
crossed the lake with Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. McGonagall started the
sorting ceremony, Sirius noticed that they seemed to be a few more students
this year. It didn't matter to him, they were just all students to play tricks
on. Finally he heard Dumbledore announce that there were two other students to
sort both of whom were going to be entering 5th year. Sirius found
himself wondering who the other new student was he was also worrying about
where the sorting hat would place him. If he wasn't in Gryffindor the whole
thing would be pointless, he wouldn't be able to watch Harry.
"Sirius
Travesura," McGonagall announced. He'd thought of the name himself, it meant
mischief in Spanish. He walked up to the stool, sat down and placed the hat on
his head.
"It
seems I made a good choice before," the hat said as it spoke into his ear,
"Your friend was the same as well. GRYFFINDOR" the hat announced to the hall.
Sirius began to walk over to the Gryffindor table, puzzled by the hats
statement about his friend. He remembered what it was like the first time he
did this. There were no other first years sorted so far and he was unsure on
where to sit. He sat near the head of the table and was soon joined by the
people who would become his best friends; Remus Lupin or Moony; the two faced
rat Peter Pettigrew or Wormtail and his best friend, his partner in crime,
James Potter or Prongs. They didn't know it then, but for the next 7 years the
4 of them would be almost inseparable and they would sit at the head of the
table everyday. He looked towards the head of the table and saw Harry, Ron,
Hermione and Remus sat there. Remus? What was he doing there? Why had he taken
the potion too? He went up to the table and sat down. He threw Remus a
questioning look.
"I'll
explain later," he said.
"How did
you know you'd get in Gryffindor?" Harry asked.
"That
was the only part of the plan which could fail," Sirius responded, "He told you
what he's doing here?"
"No and
he won't tell Ron or Hermione either," Harry answered.
"If he's
got a plan, we'll find it out when he wants us to, or when I make him talk."
Sirius told his Godson, "For now we eat." Then he started eating some of the
grand buffet in front of him. There was chicken, beef, Yorkshire pudding,
bacon, eggs and everything else that you could have wanted. Desserts included
chocolate moose, jelly, ice cream and apple pie.
After
stuffing themselves with as much as they could eat they headed up to Gryffindor
tower, ready for lessons the next day.
"Sleep well?"
Lupin asked on the way to breakfast the next morning.
"Yeah,
better than I have in a long time." Black replied, "What are you doing here?"
The
reply he got was, "What's it got to do with you?"
"Nothing
I was just being nosy."
"As
usual."
When
they got to the great hall there was hardly anyone else there. This was
probably because it was half past 6 in the morning and everyone else was still
in bed.
"Why did
we get up at this time anyway?" Lupin asked.
"I was
awake and I got up. You just followed me."
The pair sat down at the Gryffindor table and
talked about nothing in particular until the others showed up.
"We were
wondering where you two had gone for a while." Hermione told them.
"It's
the morning, we were hungry, we went to breakfast, I think it's a bit obvious
where we had gone." was the answer that Lupin gave them annoyed that they had
to be under supervision.
"Have we
got the new timetables yet?" Hermione asked eager to change the subject.
"No not
everyone is here yet," Sirius answered.
The roof of the sky opened up and hundreds of owls
flew in through the roof. Three alone went to Neville carrying various things
which he had forgotten to bring, which for the first time included his wand.
Harry received a note from Hagrid asking him if he, Ron and Hermione wanted to
go and see him. Harry gave Hedwig a reply saying that they would and sent her
back to Hagrid. But not before she stole some of Harry's toast and give him an
affectionate nibble on the ear.
Ten
minutes later nearly all of the students were at breakfast and the teachers
began to hand out their timetables.
McGonagall paused at Black and Lupin and told them that they had to pick
their extra subjects before tomorrow. Just after McGonagall left Harry took a
look at his timetable and groaned. Not only have we still got Potions and Care
of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins we've also got Herbology with them and
not the Hufflepuffs.
"That'll be great fun," Ron said in his most sarcastic voice.
"It will
won't it," Black agreed with a thoughtful look on his face. Ron looked at him
wondering what he was thinking. He was going to ask but he was interrupted by
Dumbledore.
"As many
of you will have noticed there is no new member off staff present to take Defence
Against the Dark Arts. The teacher appointed for the position is dealing with
important matters abroad and will not be present for two weeks. Your lessons
shall be used as you see fit until then." Dumbledore announced to the school,
"All other lessons will start as normal. May I remind everyone that the school
rules haven't changed since last year. Mr Filch also wishes me to tell you that
Singing Shoes have been added to the list of banned objects, the full list of
which some of you should read. His words not mine, he added as though he
thought the list was in large a bad idea.
"That is
all please proceed to your first lesson," he finished.
All of a sudden all the students in the hall got up
and began to make their way to lessons.
The
Gryffindors first lesson was Transfiguration and they made their way up to the
classroom. On the way up they were following some first years. One of the first
years got stuck in the vanishing step and Sirius helped her out.
"Thanks," she said.
"It's fine," Black replied
"Hi, I'm Trinity Hope" the first
year told Black.
"Sirius," he told her. Trinity
carried on down the corridor towards Charms and Sirius carried on towards
Transfiguration. All the time he was thinking about Trinity and he suddenly had
a greater idea of why Remus had come back.
Transfiguration
itself was boring they were working on transfiguring a mouse into a ferret.
Next lesson they would be doing the theory behind it and McGonagall had advised
them to read up on it.
Next they
would have had Defence against the Dark Arts so Black and Lupin took the
opportunity of a free lesson to sneak into Hogsmeade and visit Zonkos to stock
up on tricks before the first Potions lesson in the afternoon. Harry, Ron and
Hermione chose to miss the trip and relax by the lake.
"Why did
we have to have potions on the first day?" Ron asked, "Do you think that the
whole world hates us?"
"No the
whole world doesn't hate us, just Snape," Harry replied in a sarcastic tone.
