A/N: This chapter references several classes that are noncanon. The reason for this is that it is impossible to believe that Hermione would need a time-turner when she only has three classes more than canon Ron and Harry. Another thing is that one of our fellow authors has created a schedule that has thirteen open hours when a student is taking all possible electives. Admittedly there is no day class for Astronomy but still, there is plenty of time for more classes. Also, where are the classes that lead into the healer field, to become an Unspeakable, a wandmaker, in the government, or a curse breaker? There are so many jobs out there in the wizarding world yet we are supposed to believe that you can get all of them through only twelve classes, and that you need a time turner in order to take all twelve classes? I doubt, especially considering the fact that we KNOW Percy Weasley took twelve classes to NEWT level. The Arithmancy numbers for both Hermione and Nico come from The Sorcerer's Companion: Arithmancy Calculator, which can be found at: www sorcererscompanion net/arithmancy html The description about Ancient and Noble Houses comes from another author's story, however I cannot remember the author's name, or the name of the story. And I finally got my Hogwarts letter, thank you Pottermore! My username is MirrorMahogany19649 of Slytherin House. Oh, and thanks to the22thdoctor for being my first reviewer!

Altered Fates

Part Three: Sirius Trouble

Chapter Three: First Week Back

The next morning, the Weasley twins delivered the course schedules to the five friends and Hermione was pleased to discover that they would be starting some of their new classes that day. Ron however noticed a slight problem with her schedule. Because of how many classes Mione was taking, several of her classes were at the same time. For example, Arithmancy, Divination and Muggle Studies were all at 9, while Vocal Magic and Care were both at 1. Mione just said that she fixed it with McGonagall and moved on to another subject. After breakfast, Nico and Hermione headed to their first Arithmancy class with Professor Septima Vector.

Professor Vector was a fairly beautiful witch, but like Professor McGonagall, she was a no-nonsense teacher. "Arithmancy. To many it is merely another version of divination, but unlike divination, there is no guess work or possibility of chance. This is math, pure and simple. By corresponding letters to numbers, we can learn about our weaknesses and strengths, overcome obstacles and predict the future." After a basic math test to make sure everyone could do the math, she then revealed a basic numerology chart, showing what letters corresponded to which number, as well as a calculation method. "Using this, I want you to take your partner's name and determine their Vibrational, Character, Heart, and Social numbers and then determine how accurate that is to your partner."

With some quick calculations, Nico quickly discovered Hermione's Vibrational (1,) Heart, Character (both 4,) and Social (9) numbers. Nico could not say he was surprised by the results, as they both described Hermione perfectly. Vibrational ones primarily dealt with new beginnings (perfect for a Muggleborn,) were independent, focused and determined. Fours were described as "practical, reliable and down to earth; they prefer logic and reason to flights of fancy. They are good at organization and getting things done," and "stubborn, suspicious, overly practical and prone to angry outbursts." Nines on the other hand would "dedicate themselves to service, often as teachers, scientists, and humanitarians. Strongly determined, they work tirelessly and are an inspiration to others." That was Hermione all over. Maybe there was something to this Arithmancy after all.

That notion was dashed when Hermione showed him his numbers. Like Mione, his Social number was 9, which was accurate, but when it came to his other numbers, there were definite flaws. He was described as a Vibrational 9 while his other numbers were both 3: "indicates talent, energy, an artistic nature, humour, and social ease. Threes are often lucky, easygoing, and highly successful, but they can also be unfocused, easily offended, and superficial." Some of that did describe him well, but social ease? Easygoing? Unfocused, easily offended and superficial? He was anything but. For homework, they were given the task of doing the same calculations for all of their friends.

After Arithmancy, they went to Transfiguration, where McGonagall started teaching about Animagi, which brought a smile to Nico's face as he was already an Animagus and he was teaching his friends how to be ones as well. However, most of the class didn't react at all to her change from human to a tabby cat and back again. "Really, what has got into you all today?" said Professor McGonagall, staring around at them all. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class."

Nearly the entire class turned towards Harry, but nobody spoke. Then Hermione raised her hand. "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and —" Nico stared at her in shock. What was she talking about, just coming from Divination? How in Godric's name was that possible?

"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning. "There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

"Me," said Harry angrily, showing a slight burst of his temper, which managed to damage one of the books. Fortunately Hermione quickly repaired it before McGonagall could do anything about it.

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady eyes, quite upset about the damage to the book, no matter how temporary. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favourite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues —" Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white.

She took a breath and then went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney…" She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

During lunch, they talked about the divination lesson, and by the time it was over, Nico was quite glad he had decided not to join the class. Trelawney seemed like a fraud, especially considering the fact that several of her small predictions had not come true. He fully expected that at least Hermione and Harry would be quitting the class at the end of the year, if not sooner. After their discussion, the five friends headed down to Hagrid's hut for their first Care of Magical Creatures class, which they unfortunately had with Nico's recently discovered cousin and his gang of Slytherins. Hagrid promised them a great lesson, "A real treat" as he called it, and led them into the Dark Forest. Once they reached a small stone boundary, he stopped and said "Right, you lot. Less chattering. Form a group over there. And open your books to page 49."

Draco actually asked a good question for once "Exactly how do we do that?"

Hagrid answered as though it were obvious. "Just stroke the spine, of course. Goodness me." Draco was doubtful, but to Nico's eyes, it looked like he smiled after Hagrid was proven right. Hagrid then left to collect the creature they were studying, leaving Draco free to taunt Harry and insult Hagrid. To Nico though, it almost seemed like Draco was only doing it so that he'd have some of Harry's attention, but he shook the thought from his mind. Why would his pureblood maniac cousin want to associate with a lowly half-blood? Fortunately, Hagrid quickly returned with what appeared to be a horse-eagle hybrid that he called Buckbeak. Ron asked what it was, with Hagrid quickly responding "That, Ron, is a hippogriff. First thing you wanna know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures. Very easily offended. You do not want to insult a hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do. Now, who'd like to come and say hello?" Pretty much everyone backed off immediately, leaving only Harry and Nico standing where they were, and since Harry was the closer of the pair, Hagrid called on Harry. He reluctantly walked up while Hagrid gave him his instructions. "Now, you have to let him make the first move. It's only polite. So, step up. Give him a nice bow. Then you wait and see if he bows back. If he does, you can go and touch him. If not, well, we'll get to that later."

Very reluctantly, Harry bowed and exposed his neck to Buckbeak, with Hagrid giving little hints and tips the whole time. Buckbeak apparently didn't like Harry and made threatening motions towards Harry, causing Hagrid to tell him to back off. Still bowing, Harry started to follow Hagrid's instructions. But with his first step back, Harry stepped on a branch, so Hagrid told him to keep still. Hermione was so scared that she grabbed on to the nearest arm, which just happened to belong to Nico. Then, to everyone's surprise, Buckbeak bowed his head, so Hagrid said that Harry could go and pet him. Draco and his gang pushed forward, obviously hoping to see Harry get attacked. But Buckbeak did no such thing. In fact, Buckbeak seemed to be starting to like Harry nearly as much as he did Hagrid, so Hagrid had Harry ride him. Picking Harry up (despite Harry's objections,) Hagrid put him on Buckbeak's back and gave the hippogriff a slap, causing him to go off at a run and take off. Buckbeak took Harry on a flight over the castle and the Black Loch, with Harry quite obviously enjoying the ride, whooping out in joy.

Once Harry returned to the ground, Hagrid gave Harry ten points for his success, while Draco pushed forward. Nico quickly realized what his cousin was going to do and followed him. As soon as Draco was close to Buckbeak, he called out "You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute!" Buckbeak was quite obviously offended at that, but before he could do anything to the Malfoy heir, Nico tackled him, taking the hit for his cousin. Buckbeak's talons dug deep into his back, nearly hitting his spine. Once Buckbeak realized he hurt the wrong person, he bowed to Nico, and took a snap at Draco. Draco on the other hand turned to Nico and asked "What did you do that for?" He was obviously confused as to why a Gryffindor would risk themselves for him.

"Call it a misguided sense of family loyalty, cousin," Nico whispered

"What?" he whispered back.

"When you tell your father about this, as I'm sure you're going to . . . you can tell him that you got his nephew hurt because of your stupidity. Hagrid clearly said to never insult a hippogriff," Nico gasped out. Hagrid took thirty points from Slytherin (ten for disobeying instructions and twenty for causing another student to get injured) while giving twenty more points to Gryffindor and then asked for Harry and his friends to help him take Nico to the hospital wing, calling out class dismissed. While they were going there (with Nico being levitated to prevent further injury) Nico told Hagrid "You better continue the lesson next time, professor. I'm looking forward to flying on Buckbeak." Hagrid just smiled at Nico, pleased to hear that Nico didn't blame him and wanted him to continue the hippogriff lesson. Ron on the other hand had overheard everything, and glared at Nico, the old dislike for the other Gryffindor quickly turning into hatred. Draco, unnoticed by the other Slytherins, gave his cousin a small smile of thanks as he walked to Madame Pomfrey's.

Madame Pomfrey mended his back inside of five hours, causing Nico to nearly miss dinner, as well as missing Charms. While he was there, Draco visited him and said, "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened. You were right, I should have paid more attention. Because I didn't, you were hurt, and if there's anything I've learned from Mum, it's to always value your family."

"Thanks Draco, and don't worry about the apology. We are family, and I'd jump between you and a hippogriff again if it meant you were safe. You are the only member of our family that I've met that I could also like. At least you don't try to torture or kill me, you just joke around. Speaking of which, I'll do my best to create a countercurse for the Mudblood spell. Sorry about that, I was a little crazy when you said it." Draco smiled at his cousin, and forgave him for the curse, although he was a little worried, and concerned. What did Nico mean about their family torturing or killing him? Damn, why couldn't he be a legillimens like his godfather? "Besides, I don't think that you're as much of a prat as you act. If I could win you over to our side, that helps both us and you out when Voldemort comes back. Even tomorrow might be a day too late, so I might as well forgive and forget." Draco smiled at his cousin, glad that he worried about him. Then Nico asked him a question he really hoped he wouldn't. "Draco, why do you really taunt Harry so much? Do you really hate him, or is there some other reason?"

Draco sighed, then answered. "No, I don't hate him, I don't think I ever could. Part of the reason is, at least when I taunt him, he pays more attention to me than he does to the Weasel. Second, haven't you noticed by now that the Weasel reacts more than Harry does when I taunt Harry? It's a lot of fun getting on his nerves." The last part was all said with the classical smirk on his face.

"But why do you hate him? I mean, you couldn't have known him before the train, could you?"

Draco paled again. If he told his cousin the full truth, he probably wouldn't believe him. Well, at least he could educate Nico on family history. "I actually did know him from before, but that's a story for another time. We Malfoys have hated the Weasleys for a long time now. See, around 1820, Emily Malfoy was married to a Conaire Weasley and was pregnant with his child. Then some mudblood caught his eye and he divorced her. Aeneas Malfoy, Emily's father and our ancestor gathered a few of the British Wizarding families together, including the Blacks, Potters and Longbottoms, and declared a feud against the Weasleys. Within ten years, the alliance had destroyed their reputation and stripped them of anything of value, except for one piece of land. Ever since then, the Weasleys have been attempting to regain their status, but the closest they've gotten is Mr Weasley's position as Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department, and Bill Weasley's position of Cursebreaker at Gringotts. They've hated our family ever since, and ignored most of the other families that were involved. Pretty much the only other family they still hate is the Black family."

"Wow, long feud. What happened to their fortune and I guess Wizengamot seat?"

"The Wizengamot seat was given to us, while the money was split between us and the Black family, and the land was given to the Potters. Hey, listen, if you want, we can get to know each other and I can tell you more of our family history, although it would probably be best if others didn't know."

"I'd like that, cousin." Draco smiled and turned to leave, but Nico stopped him by asking "Hey, Draco? What's that on your sleeve? I never noticed it before now."

Draco looked down at his sleeve, not seeing anything that could have caught his attention, until he looked at his shoulder, where a new patch had been added. "Oh, you mean the patch? Well, for any of the Ancient or Noble Houses, we have family crests that the children can start wearing in their third year at school. This is the Malfoy patch. I'm a little surprised that Longbottom and Potter aren't wearing one. I'll get you one for when you're ready to let everyone else know about our relationship."

"Thanks, but Draco? What are the Ancient and Noble Houses? My mother has been focusing on teaching me the Dark Arts, not Wizard Society."

Draco shook his head and explained, all the while wondering what his aunt could have done to get cool and collected Nico to hate her so much. "The Ancient and Noble Houses are basically our nobility. An Ancient House is one that can trace itself back at least ten generations, and a Most Ancient House goes back at least twenty generations. The Malfoy family has, unfortunately, only been in England for the past six generations. We were a Most Ancient and Noble House in France before the Revolution, which affected both worlds. Supposedly we're descendants of Charlemagne, but as he wasn't a wizard, it's hard to prove. Any way, a Noble House, which we count as, have a title up to baron, which is our rank. A Most Noble House goes from viscount to duke. A small number of families count as both Ancient and Noble, like the Black or Potter families. It's far more common to just be one or the other. Hell, even the Weasley's can count as an Ancient House, though I'm not sure if they're a Most Ancient House." Draco then left Nico to his thoughts, while pondering his own. Why weren't Potter and Longbottom wearing their family crests? As the last scions of two Most Ancient and Noble Houses, they should, so why not, especially considering they held two of the highest titles in the kingdom? When Nico arrived at dinner that day, he found that Sirius Black was spotted in Dufftown, a village only a few miles to the east, which meant he was getting closer to whatever he was hunting. After the discussion about Black, Nico told his three friends about his encounter with his cousin in the Hospital Wing. Neville was a little doubtful about Draco's intentions, but Harry and Hermione were willing to give him a chance.

On Wednesday, Nico, Harry, Hermione and Neville started Cursebreaking, and continued in Neville's favourite class, Herbology. The next day, Thursday, Snape started bullying Neville in potions again. Of course, he only did it when Neville wasn't working with Nico as he knew that together they were a formidable potions team. Trouble was, when Nev wasn't working with Nico, he was terrible in the classroom because Snape positively terrified Neville. And seeing as how Snape threatened to test Nev's Shrinking Solution on his Houdini-like toad Trevor, that terrified him even more. That ended up as a good news, bad news situation. The good news was that Neville managed to successfully brew the potion and Trevor survived. The bad news: he did it with Mione's help and Snape knew it, causing him to take ten points from Gryffindor. After class, Nico and Harry let Snape know about the Basilisk and that he could have his pick of the portions that he needed. Snape actually thanked them before sending them away.

After lunch, their next class was DADA, their first one with Professor Lupin, and the first time they had the class with the Ravenclaws. To their surprise, Snape was waiting in the room and he made a nasty comment about Neville, claiming that he couldn't do anything without Mione or Nico whispering instructions in his ear. Lupin just raised his eyebrows and said "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation, and I am sure he will perform it admirably." Snape left the room in a flurry of robes, slamming the door behind him. "Don't mind him. He apparently still holds a grudge against me from our school days. Funny, but I'd thought that he would forget it by now." Then a closet behind them shook, and everyone turned to stare at it. As it shook again, Lupin said "Intriguing, isn't it? Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside?" Dean identified it as a boggart, to which Lupin congratulated him and asked "Now, can anyone tell me what a boggart looks like?"

Hermione quickly answered "No one knows. Boggarts are shape shifters. They take the shape of whatever a person fears the most. That's what makes them so-"

"So terrifying, yes. However, that means that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Harry wasn't quite sure, but he ventured a guess based on what it was. "Because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely. It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake-tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart. Let's practice it now. Without wands, please. After me: Riddikulus!" After they practiced that, Lupin continued "So much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it into a shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain. Neville, would you join me please?" Neville was a little shocked at that, as he'd never been called on to do anything in class before, except for Herbology. When he got in front of Lupin, Lupin asked "Neville, what frightens you most of all?"

"Professor Snape."

"Professor Snape. Yes, frightens all. And I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Yes, but I don't want the boggart to turn into her either!"

"No, it won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes, very clearly in your mind." Neville started describing them, but Lupin interrupted, saying "We don't need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, when I open that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do." He then leaned in and whispered something into Neville's ear. Lupin then turned to the wardrobe, called out "Wand at the ready," and unlocked the door. The boggart-Snape walked out of the wardrobe, but Neville quickly called out Riddikulus! and boggart-Snape quickly ended up in a green dress and vulture-covered hat and carrying a red handbag. Everyone burst out laughing at the image (none louder than Neville, glad to finally get some kind of revenge on the greasy-haired git,) and Lupin got them all into a line, letting the next person face the boggart. Ron quickly decided on how to face his boggart, while Nico and Harry panicked. Nico briefly thought that his mother and her family was his greatest fear, but then his thoughts turned to the Dementor. What could he possibly fear more than that? His thoughts were interrupted by a burst of laughter as Padma's snake became a large jack-in-the-box. Nico turned back to the problem at hand, trying to think of how to make a bloody Dementor less frightening, let alone funny.

Inspiration hit him as Lupin turned on a record and Ron put roller-skates on his Acromantula. When Lupin called him up, the boggart immediately changed to a Dementor and turned to attack Nico. But a quick Riddikulus and the boggart-Dementor quickly gained a grass skirt and a flower necklace and started dancing the hula. Everyone burst into laughter at seeing the dreaded Azkaban guard doing the famous Hawaiian dance. Then Harry stepped forward to face the boggart, but Lupin jumped between them, and the boggart turned into a partial view of the night sky, with the full moon in plain view. Lupin said the incantation almost lazily and it quickly turned into a balloon and retreated into an open trunk. Lupin quickly gave five points to everyone who faced the boggart as well as five to Mione, Harry and Dean for answering his questions.

Nico was the only one with a class after Defence, and it was the one he'd been most looking forward to: Wandlore. To his surprise, there were only seven other people there, and they were made up of people from all three of the other houses. From Slytherin there was: Theodore 'Theo' Nott, Daphne Greengrass and his cousin Draco; from Hufflepuff: Justin, Hannah Abbot, and Susan Bones; and from Ravenclaw: Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil, Terry Boot and Michael Corner. Professor Evan Tudor quickly came in and gave his opening speech. "I am glad to see so many of you interested in the difficult yet fascinating subject of Wandlore." The handful of students all stared at him in shock, what on Earth did he mean so many? Professor Tudor saw their shocked looks and immediately explained. "I can understand your confusion, so let me explain. Because Wandlore is said to be such a difficult subject, it is very difficult for me to have enough students to keep this class available. Luckily I managed to convince Dumbledore that so long as I have five students start each year, this class should stay open. Now, this year, I will be teaching you about the different woods and cores that can make up a wand, how they react with each other, and what they can teach us about it's user." The lesson quickly passed as they learned about the twelve most common woods used for wands: birch, rowan, ash, alder, willow, hawthorn, oak, holly, hazel, vine, ivy, reed and elder. By the end of the lesson, all eight were wondering why the class was so often described as one of the hardest in the school. Then on Friday, Harry received word that someone was willing to come to Hogwarts and render the basilisk the next month.

A/N: I know I didn't cover the meaning of 9 when it comes to Vibrational numbers, so here it is. It represents the attainment of satisfaction, accomplishment and success. It deals with intellectual power, inventiveness and influence over situations and things as well as the ability to make a positive influence over others. Nines are determined individuals that work tirelessly to achieve their goals. They can be arrogant and conceited. Oh, and I must credit Faye-the-book-wolf and his/her story Lily and the Marauders Read Book Three for the idea on what to do to a Boggart-Dementor. Thank you Alice Smith! PLEASE let me know what you think of my version of Draco Malfoy! And one quick question for those who know: how do squibs work into the traditional measure for blood purity?