Pureblood Dreams

by Lilybet

Chapter Two

September burst into life, filled with chattering children eager to begin their magical training. The journey back to Hogwarts had been awkward; Remus steadfastly ignoring Sirius even after James had spoken up on his behalf. It appeared as if Sirius' one mistake was going to cost him dearly.

Sat at the Gryffindor table Sirius heard whispers around him, the Marauders' difficulties obvious as Remus made his way past him to sit next to the empty seats shortly to be filled by first year students. James muttered a quick apology at Sirius before hurrying past to sit next to the werewolf, there to continue his crusade to reunite the canines.

Sirius sighed; things had been weird with James over the holidays, but after they had had a late night conversation, and Sirius had been hexed for a couple of weeks straight, the spectacled boy had truly forgiven him. He knew that convincing Remus would be a more arduous task, but Sirius was nothing if not stubborn. Though it seemed like his first hurdle was getting his friend to stay in the same room as him voluntarily; getting him to talk would have to wait.

The great doors opened, breaking him out of his morose thoughts, the new first years following Professor McGonagall in. Sirius allowed himself a tiny grin; new victims for pranks, and so small and sweet they looked too. His eyes flicked from face to nervous face trying to guess which house they would end up in, something he had done ever since his own unexpected sorting.

As he reached the end of the line (Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff) he frowned. Too young to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but far too old to be a first year, a girl about his age entered the hall. Long dark hair obscured her features and her flowing purple and black robes were from no school Sirius knew of.

Muttering started up all over the hall as students from other houses noticed the new arrival, and he half turned to Remus to ask if he recognised any of the symbols decorating her hems, only to remember that the book-lover was half a table away and not talking to him.

The sorting proceeded rapidly, with Sirius getting about half his guesses confirmed (better than the disaster of last year when he'd managed a grand total of two right guesses), leaving him feeling smug. A glance down the table revealed that James had tried to take over for him with the other Marauders, the spectacular look of failure on his face only serving to make Sirius' grin grow wider.

Then he noticed that the unknown girl was sitting next to the first years, and thus the Marauders, and he moved back to kicking himself. If he hadn't been such an idiot then he would be there rather than here, finding out who she was, where she was from, whether she was single – all the important things.

"Welcome one and all! My congratulations to our new arrivals; I hope you find your way around the castle, and that your teachers don't dock too many points when you don't." announced Professor Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye, "A particular welcome to Miss Le Fay who will be joining our sixth years, I trust you will all make her very welcome. As always we have a new teacher – Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Charles Buskist."

Clapping accompanied the new Professor's small nod; a faintly coloured man with a neatly trimmed goatee and widow's peak hairstyle, he looked more like a teacher in favour of the Dark Arts rather than the Defence of them. Then again, their last teacher had been in the habit of wearing a cape and he'd been a charming, if somewhat dim, man. Until, that was, he'd tripped on its swirling folds whilst talking to Professor Sprout and fallen into the Venus fly-trap (the enlarged magical variety which had grown a taste for human flesh).

Sirius paid no attention to the rest of the Headmaster's speech, nor to the hot food bursting into view on the four house tables, raising the noise level of students exponentially. His mind was instead fixed on the problem that was Remus Lupin. An elbow in his side from an overenthusiastic third year forced him out of his musing, and he started filling up his plate.

XOXOX

"And I'm telling you, Remus, he does!" James argued, his voice carrying back to where Sirius was trailing. The first two days of school had passed without incident, but Remus' silence was still stony, leaving Sirius unhappily removed from the centre of the Gryffindor sixth year group.

"Enough!" came the forceful reply from Remus, "All I've heard from the both of you is how sorry he is, and I've had enough. Nothing either of you say is going to change things, so just stop bothering me about it!"

Sirius sagged - for a moment he had thought that Remus had given in and was going to forgive him. His pace towards Charms slowed even further, and he suddenly wished that he hadn't bothered to get out bed that morning.

Not even the sight of Miss Le Fay standing outside the classroom could peak his interest. It was very rare for a student to join the school in the Upper years. Occasionally a Muggleborn pupil would wait to finish Middle School, arriving in Second Year, but for someone to turn up just to take the last two years was weird.

As the door opened and the class (Ravenclaw & Gryffindor) filed in, James joined him, muttering, "I'm sorry, Padfoot. Maybe if we -"

"No." interrupted Sirius, "He's made his feelings clear. Let's just drop it, alright."

"Okay, if you're sure." James said worriedly, settling into his seat between the estranged boys.

"Welcome back. This year we will be covering advanced Charms work. Along with the non-verbal skills you will be practising in all your classes, we will focus on conjuring objects, illusions, and controlling the elements." Professor Flitwick said, his excitement about the sixth year course making his voice even higher than normal.

"We will be starting with illusions. Miss Le Fay, I believe this is something you have had already covered?"

"Yes, Professor." replied the girl in question, who, Sirius noted, was sitting with the Gryffindor girls from sixth year: Lily Evans, Alice Cooper, and Beatrice Carr.

"Would you mind giving a quick demonstration?" asked Flitwick.

"Um, okay Professor." said Le Fay uncertainly, "Corporeal or non-corporeal, sir?"

"Oh, let's start with non-corporeal shall we?" said the Professor with a wave of his hand.

Le Fay nodded and pulled out a pitch black wand with her left hand. With a flourish she waved it in a complex motion, without saying a word, and a flash of light coalesced to form a tabby cat sitting on the desk looking slightly startled.

The girls next to her gasped, it was a perfect illusion of a cat. Tentatively, Lily reached out towards it, only to find her hand passing straight through its body to hit the desk below. The cat looked at Lily with an odd expression and went back to washing its paws.

"Ah, hum." Professor Flitwick cleared his throat, gathering the attention of the class back to him, "As Miss Evans had so nicely just demonstrated, this is a non-corporeal or bodiless illusion. If you would be so kind, Miss Le Fay..." he gestured at the cat which was now batting futilely at Lily's fingers.

Another wave of Le Fay's wand and the the cat's paw suddenly connected with its target. Lily yelped in surprise, pulling her hand back sharply, then tentatively reaching back out towards the feline. This time her fingers felt the soft fur and she began to stroke the tabby, a smile growing on her face.

"Excellent." praised Flitwick, "The corporeal illusion is to the eye exactly the same as the non-corporeal illusion. However, the other senses are now similarly fooled as to the reality of the illusory object. The cat now..."

XOXOX

Remus' attitude was as unshifting as the mountains as the weeks passed; no matter how many times Sirius apologised or tried to ease the situation by acting normally (i.e. pranking the first years) around the werewolf, Remus remained stubbornly unforgiving of his actions.

Sirius wandered through the library, hoping vaguely that he might surprise Remus in his natural habitat. There could be a chance that the beast would feel more comfortable when hiding in its lair, Sirius snickered to himself. He turned a corner, and as he noted the dust motes floating through the air in an absent way he overheard two familiar voices in one of the study areas.

Tiptoeing over, Sirius pulled out a convenient text and smiled as he confirmed his suspicion; Lily Evans, sitting with her back to him, talking to Le Fay. Though he had had every Charms and Defence lesson with the girl, Sirius still hadn't had a proper chance to look at her. She had the same black hair and slim form as his cousin, Bellatrix, enough that from behind there was a passing resemblance. But that was where it ended; when she turned around her open smile and deep blue eyes showed a very different character.

"Morrigan?" Lily said, and Sirius leaned forwards to listen, "I've been wondering, how come you didn't come to school before this year? I know what Professor Dumbledore told me as Gryffindor Prefect for our year but..."

"Then you know all there is to know." Morrigan Le Fay said lightly, blotting her parchment of excess ink.

"Oh, come on." Lily said slyly, "'To get a more rounded education'! You know more about Charms than Flitwick! And I bet you could teach a thing or two about Runes."

"There's more to school than books and learning you know." Morrigan replied, "At least that's what they'd have us believe."

"Oh I know." Lily said with a wink, "I bet you'd like Sirius to teach you something."

"Wha- Ha! Lily!" Morrigan gasped in shock.

"The look on your face!" giggled the red-head, fending off the balls of discarded parchment now being hurled at her.

"Are you quite finished?" asked Morrigan snidely,

"Only if you've run out of parchment." quipped Lily.

"I could just conjure up some more." mused Morrigan, "Or maybe a flock of fairies..."

"Ah. Alright. I'm done." Lily said, not wanting to be attacked by conjured fairies, "But you didn't really answer my question, you know."

Morrigan scribbled something down and muttered under her breath before pulling another book towards her.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Lily asked.

The other girl looked up and fixed Lily with a stare that Sirius had no desire to be on the end of; it looked as though Morrigan was trying to read Lily's soul. "You want know why I'm here?" Morrigan sighed eventually, continuing at Lily's quick nod, "Well, I'm trying to find something. It's an artefact that was lost, and it would be helpful for Mot-the Ministry. "

"I see." acknowledged Lily, "That explains all the..."

Morrigan laughed quietly as Lily looked around the room aimlessly, examining the window frames, cornices, everything.

"Have you got Dearheart's Appreciation over there?" Morrigan asked, examining her pile of books.

"Nope." Lily replied, her curiosity obviously satisfied for now.

Morrigan slid from her chair and walked around the table towards the bookcase Sirius was spying through. He barely had time to duck before she was looking right at the space he had created to see through.

"I was sure it was right here." she muttered.

Sirius turned over the book in his hand which he had pulled from the case, and the golden lettering reading 'The Appreciation of Illusions' by A. Dearheart' jumped out at him. Stifling a groan, he decided to take the bull by the proverbial horns; the girls were doing Charms homework, something he would need to do at some point, he had a book they needed, and they had information he wanted...

Moving in a crouched run down the stacks he approached the girls from the opposite direction from his own books.

"Ladies!" he greeted, sliding into the seat next to Lily.

"Sirius. What do you want?" she returned in a mildly annoyed voice. Though she still harboured some angst about the whole Snape-Remus issue, she had more or less returned to her usual level of putting up with Sirius (somewhere between shouting at him and ignoring him).

"I think it's more of a case of what you want." he said silkily, shaking the book in his hand.

"Is that...?" Le Fay asked, a knowing tone in her voice that made Sirius faintly nervous.

"Hmm, The Appreciation of Illusions? Fascinating read." Sirius confirmed, flicking through the text and praying that she hadn't spotted him spying.

"I don't suppose I can borrow that." Morrigan stated rather than asked.

Sirius looked between the book and her with a 'What? This?' look on his face, before setting it down with a firm hand on top.

"How about we make a deal?"

"Sirius!" Lily warned, knowing how Sirius' 'deals' usually ended up (goo, lots of goo).

"Lily!" he mocked, wondering if he could take care of two birds with one stone. More information on this mysterious artefact and help with his homework... the possibilities were endless. As was the staring match which Lily was refusing to break.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of being properly introduced." Morrigan said, waving her hand between the pair.

"Sirius Black, infamous member of the Marauders." he announced, holding out his hand as he blinked the stare-feeling out of his eyes.

"Morrigan Le Fay, heir of Tintagel." she replied, shaking the proffered hand.

"Wonderful," Lily grumbled, "Now that we're all introduced...What do you want in return for that book, Black?"

Sirius tried not to flinch at his last name; it was one thing to hear it from teachers or say it himself, but whenever he heard it in harsh tones it reminded him forcefully that he wasn't a part of that family any more. The Slytherins had kindly informed him of his ex-family disinheriting him, in loud voices complete with snide remarks. Regulus in particular had yelled out about the singe mark on the family tapestry where his name used to be.

"Simple really, Tiger-Lily." he said, pushing a teasing note into his voice that had been so easy last year, "Your assistance will gain you this valuable volume."

"Don't call me that. Assistance with what?" Lily shot back.

"Charms." Sirius smiled – charmingly.

"Lily? We do need that book, and unless there's another copy I think helping him is the only way." Morrigan suggested, "Though I'd love to know how you plan on using our help without your stuff." she added, raising an eyebrow.

Score one for Le Fay not being Bellatrix, thought Sirius. Dear Bella wouldn't help him if he was standing in a herd of enraged Hippogriffs wearing eau d'ferret.

"I have a remarkable memory." he boasted, not planning to admit that his quill and ink were in Gryffindor tower looking decidedly unused.

"Yes, I bet you can remember every one of your pranks from the last five years." Lily sighed.

"In loving detail." he grinned.

"Pranks?" inquired Morrigan.

"Oh no! Don't get him started!" pleaded Lily, "He'll go on for hours about them. All the 'Marauders' will. Let's just do the Charms work and get rid of him as fast as possible."

"Is that any way to recommend a fellow Gryffindor?" Sirius pouted, or tried to around the grin that had bubbled up.

"I wouldn't recommend you to the Giant Squid, let alone another human being." snorted Lily.

"I don't see what James sees in her, really I don't." Sirius said to the ceiling before coming back to earth with a grin, "So, these pranks of mine. They are absolutely wonderful, crafted with ingenuity and love."

"And I bet they lead you to all sorts of places in the castle..." Morrigan said, trying to lead Sirius carefully. If he knew the castle well enough it would certainly cut down on her searching time.

"Detention mostly." Lily answered for him, trying to gently pull the book out from under Sirius' elbow.

"Now, now. You don't get this just yet." Sirius said, taking firmer hold of the book.

"Fine then. Charms." Lily scowled, "Shall we?"

XOXOX

Two hours later and it was a groaning Sirius who stumbled into the common room holding his head. The girls had taken him at his word and filled his head with so much information about illusions he thought he was going to become a pretty pattern on the ceiling.

"Sirius? You alright, mate?" James' voice tugged him over to their familiar chairs by the fire, "You look like you got into a fight with a dragon."

"And lost." added Peter.

"Your soon-to-be-girlfriend is evil." accused Sirius, dropping his bag by the chair as he slid into comfort.

"She is not!"

"She made me recite everything she and Morrigan told me back to her until I could remember it word perfect." groaned Sirius.

"You shouldn't have told her you had a perfect memory then." Remus said, gathering up his stuff in preparation of vanishing as he did whenever Sirius sat with the Marauders.

"It was 'remarkable', and how do you know that?" Sirius retorted, in no mood to pander to the werewolf's injured feelings.

"Why should I tell you anything?" Remus said venomously, "You can't be trusted."

He picked up the last of his heavy books and stalked away, talking the stairs two at a time in his haste up to the dormitory.

Sirius growled and punched the chair arm, muttering under his breath about werewolves and a lack of brains. As he put his overworked head back into his hands he caught sight of James' worried look and Peter's nervous one. It really wasn't fair on them, he thought sluggishly, they were stuck in the middle of a seemingly never-ending argument. Maybe it would be easier if he didn't hang out with them anymore.

He made to drag himself out of the chair, planning on telling Remus he could have the pair, no matter how much it would hurt to lose his friends. A hand falling on his shoulder stopped him short of his intended action.

"Oh no you don't." James said, pushing him firmly back into his chair, "We're stronger together."

"But we're not together, are we?" argued Sirius.

"We will be." James replied softly, "Peter? Go check on Moony, would you?"

Peter scampered away, the relief on his face obvious as he left the tension behind him. James crouched down at Sirius' side and fixed him with the patented you-will-listen look of Potters everywhere.

"Padfoot. He will get over this, you know that. He's just confused and upset; we all promised that we'd never let anyone find out about his furry problem, and you were the one who convinced him we would keep to that. But once he realises how sorry you really are, how much you're kicking yourself because of this, he'll come round."

"I know, Prongs, I know." sighed Sirius, twisting his tie between his fingers, "He just needs time, blah, blah, blah..."

There was a silence as the fire popped and settled in the grate. The common room was empty except for the pair of them, everyone else tucked up in bed dreaming of magical things. James stood up and paced once across the floor to the window and back, pausing to look up at the gibbous moon.

"Look, if you want we can try the letter thing again. I think I've got that non-tear spell down this time." James suggested.

Sirius just groaned.

"Bad idea? Or headache?" James asked.

"Your soon-to-be-girlfriend is evil." Sirius reiterated, clutching his head.

"I'm sure she's got your best interests at heart." James smirked, "Bet you can do that Charms homework now."

Sirius groaned again in reply.

XOXOX

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