"YOU UNGRATEFUL, SELF-SERVING LITTLE BRAT! HOW DARE YOU BE SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! YOU HORRIBLE BOY! AND TO ACTUALLY THINK SUCH AN AWFUL CHILD COULD COME FROM MY FLESH; COULD BE A BLACK! YOU WILL PAY FOR BESMIRCHING THE BLOOD OF YOUR ANCESTORS; THE PURE BLOOD!"

At that, the Howler from Walburga Black burst into flame in the hand of the boy who it had been written to: Sirius Black, who, consequently, had the eyes of everyone in the Great Hall on him.

"You've just got to love my dear old mum," he said, grinning.

A few people laughed, most looked away.

"You alright, Mate?" James Potter, a friend he had only met two days ago, asked quietly. He was sitting beside him, so it wasn't difficult to do without alerting everyone else who was still looking at him.

"Mentally, emotionally, psychologically, yes…physically, my mum seems to think embarrassing me in front of the entire school isn't enough punishment and conveniently forgot to charm those flames not to burn me," he said, holding up his left hand and examining several second-degree burns on his palm.

"Bloody hell!" James said, also examining his new friend's hand.

"Did I mention that my mum can be a downright bitch when she wants to be?"

"Only about a hundred times, and you weren't kidding," James commented, his voice sounding dazed with something that could only be described as shock.

"We Blacks are notorious for our short tempers, violent outbursts, and arrogance for being pure-bloods," Sirius said, dropping his hand down under the table before anybody could notice the injury. "I picked that thing up in my left hand for a reason. I know my family too well not to expect anything unkind they send me to hurt me. I'll go to the infirmary after lessons this afternoon, if I go any sooner than that, I'm sure one of my cousins will…erm…notify her that I did not accept my proper punishment. I'm fine, it's nothing that hasn't happened before," he assured James, who was looking thoroughly horrified that any parent could be so cruel.

"No, you won't," James whispered. "I'll go nick some healing potions from Madam Pomfrey, right now. I'll find and old shirt to rip to cover it up, to make sure no one notices that it's healed."

"I'm fine, really, there's no need for that," Sirius insisted. "I don't want you to get in trouble on my mother's behalf. If it were because of something I did, it would be fine, but she's not worth the time."

"No one'll see me, I have an Invisibility Cloak. I really don't think you should suffer on your mother's behalf, either, especially when she wants you to, and you have a choice." And with that, James got up and left the Great Hall, without finishing his breakfast.

All day, Sirius walked around the school, trying to hide the ripped cloth that covered his freshly healed hand from everybody but his cousins, around which he was careful to never let it out of their sight, and occasionally winced when he used it, for effect. That night, he, James, and the other two first-year Gryffindor boys, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, stayed up late into the night, getting to know each other better, as it was the first night that they had had at the school without having to worry about getting up early for lessons the next day.

Apparently, James was a pureblood whose parents were old when they had him; he was all they ever thought and talked about, and they also would do anything for him.

Peter was apparently a Muggle-born, which Sirius had no problems with, despite his family history; his parents were nice, but not incredibly so like James's.

Remus was a Half-Blood, his mother was a witch, and his father was a Muggle, who was evidently ill with a disease that allowed him to leave the school to go visit him once a month.

Sirius was a pureblood whose parents treated him like shit.

A/N

This is the first chapter of a story that I have been writing for a very long time. I mean VERY long. I started it a couple of weeks before Deathly Hallows the BOOK came out, if my memory is correct. I could be wrong, though. It was a very long time ago. I never posted it before now because I was fairly sure I was never going to finish it. I only have eight chapters written, and they're not exactly in chronological order. And most of them are unfinished. I decided to post the first chapter because I really like the idea of it and I might get more motivation to keep writing if somebody likes it. It's basically the story of Sirius's life from his first day at Hogwarts after he leaves school.

This is my obligatory apology for STILL not updating Nightmares Under Purple Skies. I'm lazy, alright! I PROMISE I haven't given up on it!