Chapter 4. Slytherin and Sadness
The Hogwarts Express slowed to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. Sirius got up from his seat, leading his friends and his brother. He saw Hagrid holding up a lantern and calling for first years. Sirius patted his brother on the back before walking over to the carriages, watching Regulus go to the boats.
"Sirius, you coming or what?" James called to him. "The carriages are leaving!"
Sirius ran over to them, jumping into the carriage right as they started to move. He sat next to James, feeling the carriage move along the path, leading to Hogwarts, his first real home.
Suddenly the carriages stopped. Sirius got up and followed James out the door. They walked up into the Entrance Hall and through the oak doors into the Great Hall.
"I'm so glad we aren't first years anymore." Sirius said happily as he sat down at the Gryffindor table. "I hated being the youngest people here."
"Well we're still only second years, pretty young compared to almost the entire school." Remus pointed out.
"Yeah but now there are people smaller than us!" Sirius said, refusing to let Remus burst his bubble.
"Who's that?" Peter asked, pointing to the man sitting next to Professor McGonagall. Sirius looked at him. He had dark, straight hair about shoulder length. His collar was up and buttoned so that no neck showed. His eyes were dark too and he didn't look happy. His face was a scowl and his eyes were surveying the children at each table and judging them, as if already deciding who would be worth his time. Sirius felt himself flashing back to his youth, the first time he saw that face.
Suddenly the double doors opened up and McGonagall led a line of nervous first years. She put a stool down in front of the Teachers' table and placed a shabby hat down on it.
The hat opened its mouth, startling some of the first years, and began to sing. Sirius yawned and sat back, leaning his head in his hand, not listening. He already knew all about the Houses, all he cared about was his brother's sorting.
"Black, Regulus." Professor McGonagall called, reading from her roll of parchment. Regulus walked up to the stool on shaky legs and sat down, pulling the hat onto his head, blocking out his sight. Before he was enveloped by the Hat, the last thing he saw was Sirius waving to him.
"Another Black eh?" The Sorting Hat said. "But maybe you're more like your brother than the rest of your family."
Regulus said nothing but the Hat continued to voice his thoughts to him.
"You've got brains, I'll give you that, but I don't think Ravenclaw would be good. Neither would Hufflepuff. So it's down to Slytherin or Gryffindor. What do you think; your brother or the rest of your family.
Regulus felt emotions rush through him. He could choose! But the chose, his family or his brother? The decision would change his life: he could be a disgrace to his family, but have his brother with him, protecting him. Regulus didn't want to be a mindless follower of his family's ideas but he didn't want to be a disgrace either.
"Would you prefer if I chose for you so you can just be angry at me if it doesn't turn out right?" the Sorting Hat said obviously sensing Regulus's uncertainty.
"You have a spark of courage that would grow in Gryffindor but I think you'd be better suited with the Slytherins. This is your last chance to speak your mind."
Regulus thought of Sirius and was about to stand up for himself, prove he was a Gryffindor but then he imagined his mother's face and the thought vanished.
"Very well. SLYTHERIN!"
"SLYTHERIN!" Sirius heard the Sorting Hat yell and he heard the sound of his heart breaking along with it. In that moment he knew that everything had changed. His brother wouldn't be a Marauder-in-training, he wouldn't be in the dorm right below his, they wouldn't see each other, and, without his influence, Sirius knew that Regulus would fall for all of the pureblood garbage that their family and every other Slytherin believed. In that moment, when his little brother's sad eyes caught his, when his brother turned his back on him and walked to the Slytherin table next to Snape and Avery and Malfoy, Sirius knew that he was losing his brother and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it.
James thought he was the only person up when he awoke at six in the morning. It was raining outside and James assumed that thunder had woken him up. Being unable to fall asleep again he got dressed in his school uniform and went down to the common room. He saw someone sitting on the couch and staring at the fire and, for a second, he thought it was Lily, before he realized that it was not only a black haired person, but also a boy, and his best friend.
"Sirius?" James asked, walking up the couch. "What's wrong mate?"
Sirius didn't answer; instead, he just looked away from James and into the fire.
"It's about Regulus, isn't it?" James asked though he already knew the answer. "Listen, it doesn't matter if your brother is in Slytherin, he's still your brother." James said. He thought he heard a stair creak but ignored it.
"It's not because he got sorted into Slytherin." Sirius chocked out. James was surprised to see that his friend appeared to be crying. "It's because now I can't stop him from listening to what they say, their ideas. He's easily influenced and likes to make people happy, and they're gonna turn him into another evil, prejudice puppet. I've been losing him for years and now I've lost him. I've failed."
"Mate, you haven't failed. I know he's your brother but if he's going to just turn his back on you, which hasn't even happened yet mind you, then he isn't worth it. You still have brothers, you have us." James stood up. "Come on, why don't you go upstairs and get dressed for school, unless you don't want to, I could tell our teachers that you're sick."
"No, that's okay. I'll see you in a few." Sirius said before going upstairs to their dorm.
"That was really sweet." Someone said from behind James. He turned to see Lily Evans standing behind him, a book in hand.
"Honestly, you and Remus with your books, it's like you're never without one." James said with a chuckle.
"That was really sweet what you did for Sirius." Lily repeated.
"That? It was nothing; I was just helping my mate. He'd do the same for me." James said.
Lily gave him a strange look that James couldn't identify before wishing him a good morning and beginning to read. James went up to his dorm to wake up Remus, Peter, and Frank.
On the first day of Defence Against the Dark Arts the second year Gryffindors and Slytherins (who have the class together) were waiting outside the classroom for Professor Tenebrae. To say the least, neither group was happy about sharing a class with the exception of Lily and Snape. James wasn't very happy with the arrangement and not just because of his dislike of most of the people in the Slytherin House. Though he would never admit it he was extremely jealous of Snape's relationship with Lily. He was jolted from his thoughts by the Professor opening the classroom door and telling the class to take a seat.
James walked into the classroom at the back of the line and noticed the class split down the middle into a Gryffindor half and a Slytherin half. He didn't dwell long on this before sitting down next to Sirius and pulling out his stuff.
"So," Tenebrae began. "This year I am supposed to teach you about Dark creatures. We will start with basic water creatures, and then study smaller creatures of certain areas. After winter break we will begin to deal with larger animals and then start studying part human animals. Finally we will study larger and more dangerous animals until the end of the year."
"Isn't that more Care of Magical Creatures?" Sirius asked.
"Raise your hand when talking in my class." Tenebrae said angrily.
Sirius raised his hand high and repeated the question, keeping his arm up. "Isn't that more Care of Magical Creatures?" The Gryffindor side of the class laughed.
"10 points from Gryffindor." Professor Tenebrae said. "I will not have that kind of fooling around in my class."
"I wasn't fooling around I asked a question. I didn't realize that was against your class rules." Sirius shot back.
"Another 10 points from your house Mr. Black." He said. "And another word out of you and it will be detention."
"Now we will start with the Grindylow. Mr. Black care to tell the class what a Grindylow looks like, where it is native to, and how it lures its prey?"
Sirius sat in his chair, his mouth clamped shut as he looked directly into Tenebrae's eyes.
"Mr. Black, your answer?"
Sirius remained silent. Lily Evans, meanwhile, had her hand raised and was practically standing up trying to get Professor Tenebrae's attention.
"Mr. Black, if you do not answer me this second-"
"What? You told me not another word in class or I get detention, I'm just trying to follow your rules Professor but you're making it very difficult." Sirius said, trying to sound innocent. James could see the glint in his eye.
"Detention. Tonight, eight o'clock, my office." Tenebrae said angrily. "Now tell me what a Grindylow is Mr. Black or it will be another day."
"Why don't you jump in the Lake with your hands tied behind your back? You'd get your answers." Sirius said angrily. James saw that this wasn't going to get any better.
"Detention for the week." The professor said. Just then the bell rang and James practically pushed Sirius out of the class. Saved by the bell he thought.
"What were you thinking?" Remus asked the moment they were all out of the class. "The first thing I get, but by the last minute of class you were practically threatening him!"
"Tenebrae is one of my parents' important pureblood friends. I've had the pleasure of meeting him before at one of my parents' banquets, not a pleasant experience mind you. I was misbehaving in front of my father and Tenebrae and our kind professor suggested that my father beat me. Being the smart ass I am I told him that they already did and so he suggested some more painful methods." Sirius said grimly.
James didn't ask what "methods" Sirius meant but they sounded unpleasant. James also had a feeling that, despite Sirius having had a bad experience with their new Defense teacher, part of it was taking out his anger about his brother's Sorting.
"Well look who it is." Avery said from behind them. "I saw your brother last night Black. He'll make a great addition to our House."
James saw this was going to get bad. Very bad. He looked for a way to stop the fight but it was inevitable. He mentally sighed, already knowing the consequences that him fighting would have on his relationship with Lily.
"They aren't worth it Sirius." James said quietly so only his friend could hear him. He knew it was useless but he also knew he had to try.
"We're gonna teach him everything we know and by the end of the year he'll be just like us." Mulciber said goading Sirius on even more. James was about to retort when Sirius punched the Slytherin directly in the jaw with all of his strength. Mulciber fell to the floor in pain. Avery pulled out his wand and shot a hex at Sirius. James, who had pulled oh his wand, blocked it, sending it flying back at him. Snape came out from behind his group and shot a jinx at James who easily dodged it. Remus sent full body-bind back at Snape who dodged. Avery wasn't as lucky and was hit by it. James did one too, this time hitting the greasy haired Slytherin in the chest.
Sirius walked up to the frozen body of Avery and the in pain Mulciber. "Don't talk about my brother like that again or next time it will be worse." he threatened.
"Well well." James turned around at the sound of a voice and felt his heart drop at the sight of Professor Tenebrae standing behind them. "Fighting in the hallways, are we? Fifty points from Gryffindor. And a week detention each." he said with a smile. He pulled out his wand and unfroze Avery and Snape. He flicked his wand and healed Mulciber. He let them go to their common room before turning back to the Gryffindor boys. He reminded them of their detention and left them.
"Ugh! He's so annoying!" Sirius yelled angrily.
"He didn't even punish the Slytherins!" James added.
"Doesn't matter he'll be gone by next year anyway." Remus said with a shrug. "The job's cursed; no Defense teacher has lasted for more than a year."
"Good, I don't want to see him for the next six years." Sirius said bitterly.
"Whatever, let's go to lunch." James said, leading them as they walked down the corridor and to the Great Hall.
The Marauders walked down to the trophy room as they were instructed to at eight o'clock that night. They entered the room to see their defense professor there waiting for them with a cruel smile on his face.
"Welcome to your detention boys." he said. "You are to clean the trophy room for tonight's detention. All of the trophies must be polished, the floor mopped, and the shelves dusted. You will work until the room is up to my standards." He pulled out his wand and conjured the supplies they would need. "I will be back in an hour to check on your progress." With one look at the second years he left the room, a smile still on his face.
"What a jerk." Sirius said annoyed.
"I know. Did you see his face? He was smiling, feeding on our misfortune." James said dramatically. "Who wants to do what?" he added gesturing to the cleaning supplies to his left.
"I'll polish the trophies." Remus volunteered.
"I can dust the shelves." Peter offered.
"I'll mop." Sirius said.
"I'll mop too, it's a big room." James said picking up the mop. "And when me, Sirius, and Peter are finished we'll help you with the trophies." he added.
James started mopping. They worked pretty well for about ten minutes. That's when James bumped into Sirius halfway through the room.
"Why'd you bump into me!" Sirius yelled, pushing James back.
"Hey!" James yelled pushing Sirius. Sirius reeled back a little before raising his mop up threateningly. James raised his in response and they charged at each other with a battle cry.
Their mops met with a clash above their heads, splattering soapy water on both James and Sirius. James pulled his mop away from Sirius and swiped the mop at his friend's legs. Sirius jumped over it and went to stab his mop at his friend. James quickly used his to parry the incoming mass of wet spongy material. James felt proud of his deflecting when he got hit with a mop in the face.
James spluttered for a second before getting an evil idea. He reached behind him and grabbed his bucket of water. He then dumped the water on Sirius's head.
"What the hell!" Sirius yelled shaking his hair like a dog to get the water out. He was about to tackle James when they both got hit in the face with sponges. James and Sirius turned to looks at Remus who looked pleased with himself.
The ensuing water/soap fight lasted for a while and James lost track of time in the mop duels and dodge sponge game they had created.
"Excuse me?" James heard an angry voice from behind him. He turned around to see a livid Professor Tenebrae.
"Heeeyyyyy Professor." James said, stretching out his sentence.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily. "You are supposed to be cleaning this room. Fifty points from Gryffindor! Now clean up this mess and don't say another word."
James didn't say anything but continued to share looks and smiles with his friends. They finished their detention without another word until they were dismissed and told to meet him in his office tomorrow at eight for their next detention. Despite their loss of points for their House, and the fact they had detention for the rest of the week, they left in high spirits.
"That was really fun!" Sirius said happily.
"You do realize that detention isn't supposed to be fun, right?" Remus said as they reached the Fat Lady. "Whomping Willow." he added. The woman in the painting nodded to the boys and let them into their common room.
"Ah." James said, sinking into the red arm chair in front of the fire and closing his eyes.
Remus pulled out a book and a piece of parchment from his bag. "Did you guys do your Transfiguration essay yet?" he asked. James, Sirius, and Peter moaned. "It's due tomorrow." he added causing them to moan louder.
"Why would you do this to us Moony?" James asked. "Why?"
"You too with the Moony thing?" Remus asked rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Do you want McGonagall angry with us? We've already lost enough points for Gryffindor today, not to mention our week of detention."
"Stop using logic!" Sirius yelled, throwing a pillow at Remus.
"No he's right, we've gotta do our essays." James acquiesced. "Do you have a spare parchment and quill?"
Remus pulled out some parchment, quills, and inkwells from his bag. Peter got off the couch and went over to Remus too. James, Remus, and Peter all spent the next hour writing their Transfiguration paper before finally finishing. Sirius had gone up to their dorm and went to bed already and when he finished, James went up and joined him. He drifted off into a dreamless sleep, sighing with bliss as the darkness enveloped him.
A/N: A long chapter with a lot happening. I think it might be the longest I've written. I hope you guys liked it. I enjoyed writhing Regulus, he's very similar to Sirius but he's too unsure of himself, I feel like this will lead up to his decision to leave the Death Eaters and attempt to destroy Voldemort. I will continue Sirius and Regulus's relationship throughout my fanfiction series. What did you guys think of Professor Tenebrae? His name means darkness in Latin. Anyway, review please and I'll be updating soon.