Shite, what have I done? Albus thought as he sat down to eat breakfast in the Great Hall on Tuesday. Regulus sat next to him, sipping his tea while he read the Daily Prophet. He looked at the new kid and smirked at his frustrated face. "Something the matter, Reeves?"
"No, it's nothing." But, it was. Albus changed his schedule with his head of house, Professor Slughorn, and then realized what a horrible mistake he made. He's never even taken Arithmancy, and he dropped Ancient Runes third year because it so boring! And, now he's in the latter part of the year, signing up for new classes. He wondered if Snape did that on purpose so that Al would fail the end of year exams. Goddamn Slytherins, Al thought, but I'm a Slytherin. Oh well, if he fails, he fails.
Regulus snorted at the response from the older housemate. "Seems like something. What? Your schedule not to your liking?"
"Something like that. I've never taken Ancient Runes or Arithmancy in Ilvermorny."
"Look, they're easy classes in my opinion. If you absolutely need help, I might be willing to offer my assistance." Al smirked at the response and went back to his breakfast.
Potions with the Gryffindors... Nothing could possibly go wrong. Albus sighed as he walked out of Ancient Runes, his head spinning from all of the deciphering and symbols. In his school year, there wasn't too much house rivalry. Slytherins and Gryffindors only glared at each other, an occasional prank or two, but nothing more. But, from his dad's stories, he could only assume the worst.
He quietly slipped into the classroom, sitting at an empty table. While he brought out his textbook (courtesy of extras Dumbledore had in stock) and his supplies, a boisterous group of four Gryffindor boys came into the classroom. They all sat in the back, splitting into two groups. At the first table sat a boy with unruly black hair and glasses. He smiled at the boy next to him, who had shaggy black hair with grey eyes. The other pair consisted of a boy with light brown hair and brown eyes, and another boy with mousy brown hair and blue eyes. From his father's stories, Al could only assume that these were the Marauders, and the one with the glasses is his... grandfather. Albus had the strong urge to hug James Potter, but he kept his composure. He always wondered what his father's parents were like in person, and he wanted to care for them like he cared for Arthur and Molly Weasley.
Maybe Al was staring for too long or maybe it was evident that he was a Slytherin that Sirius Black decided to make Al's nightmare of a confrontation into reality. "What the hell are you lookin' at, snake?" Sirius spat.
Al looked away and muttered, "Nothing." His response wasn't good enough for Sirius, so he stood up from his chair and strode down to the new kid.
"Really? Well, I don't believe you. Snakes always have an ulterior motive. Keep your head down from now on, and we won't have any problems. Understood?" he asked right next to Al's ear.
Al was furious. This was my dad's godfather?! I swear, did these so-called 'heroes' change drastically as adults? "Look, I don't want any confrontation, but you cannot talk to me like that. Have some decent manners. I am your classmate," Albus said with composure.
"Did you hear that, James? He says I can't talk to him like that." Sirius laughed, and James let out a chuckle from the back as well. Al was aggravated, hearing his grandfather support his bullying. Then, the classroom door swung open, revealing Regulus Black with Severus Snape in tow. Regulus saw Sirius smirking and dangerously close to Jeremy Reeves.
"Brother, go sit down before I have the urge to write to mother about your abysmal welcoming manners. I know how much you love her punishments," Regulus said, smiling tightly. Sirius paled considerably and muttered angrily while walking back to James, who was glaring at Snape. The younger Black then proceeded to walk down to Albus's table. "Starting fights already, Reeves?"
"I swear, I did nothing. I looked at them as they entered the classroom, and your older brother got irritated at me looking at him," Albus explained, exasperated by the entire situation. Regulus chuckled, and Snape smiled slightly.
"Rotten luck. Well, I'm going to go sit with my regular partner. Snape, why don't you sit with Reeves? You don't want to get into trouble with Potter again by sitting with Evans girl, do you?" Snape looked at Regulus and nodded. He sat down next to Albus, pulling out his frayed textbook and supplies.
"Do you have any talent in brewing potions?" Snape asked quietly. Albus shrugged and said, "I suppose so." In his year, he was about average when it came to potion brewing. He only got O's on his potions because he would always partner with Scorpius, who was bloody brilliant at every subject. Him and Rose Weasley were neck and neck on being the top student in their year.
Snape sighed with Al's response and said, "Just don't botch the potion, Reeves. I'll do the hard work." Al was offended at first, but then, realized that Snape was going to be one of the best Potions Masters in the twentieth century.
Class started as soon as Slughorn came in with a cheery smile on his round face. "Today, we will be brewing the Girding Potion. The Girding Potion was created..." The professor talked at length about the potion that he remembered brewing earlier this year with Scorp, except Scorp did all the work. When Slughorn let them start their potions, Albus was still zoned out, and Snape glared at him.
Al was tapped harshly on the shoulder by his partner, who ushered him towards the cupboard to get the ingredients. He brought back the correct ingredients and listened to Snape for the duration of the brewing. Everything was going to plan until the Marauders put their heads close together and started whispering. Snape uncorked a vial and was about to scoop some of the potion into the vial when Sirius threw two more Doxy eggs into Al and Snape's potions. It started bubbling uncontrollably, and Albus faintly heard Slughorn's panicked voice to take cover, but it was too late. The potion blew up the cauldron and landed all over the two boys, promptly knocking them unconscious.
A/N: Thanks for the support everyone. I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters. When I started writing this story, I was a bit aimless, but I think I can see a proper storyline now. Please continue reading and reviewing my work. Until next time...