Disclaimer: same as chapter 1.

Author's notes: the students' timetable is inspired by J.K. Rowling books, but I cannot vouch for a hundred percent accuracy.

Chapter 4: the first classes

Sirius' confrontation with his mother's Howler had brought incredible results! He had dealt with the offensive missive like a seasoned wizard, earned forty points for his house in the process and he had been definitively adopted by his fellow Gryffindor students! Most importantly, Mary McDonald seemed interested in him, and that very thought was making Sirius' heart beat a little bit quicker – she was a very nice girl! Sirius had been the first and only member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black to be sorted in the lion's house of Hogwarts – a legendary feast in the school's millennia-old history – but he had also defied his parents by trying to destroy their letter instead of cowering in fear under their wrath. The young boy was now a local curiosity amongst the Gryffindor students, but he kind of liked the attention as long as everybody acknowledged that the Sorting Hat had indeed placed him in the right house.

Well, to be truthful, not every student was willing to befriend the young Black: there was still one or two who were cautious around him, especially James Potter, but Sirius was too elated by his success to bother notice that reluctant attitude. He had proven to every person in Hogwarts that he truly belonged to the Gryffindor house, and he really didn't mind to write a hundred lines to content that fool of a Professor Nitric!

After that eventful breakfast, Sirius went to the boy's bathroom next to the Great Hall to wash his hands and face, which had been darkened by the snot created by the explosive Annihilatio Totalicus spell of Professor Scott. That impromptu scrubbing did the trick and soon, Sirius was ready for his very first day at Hogwarts. Grabbing his leather schoolbag, he took it out the timetable and read:

MONDAY

9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Defence against the dark arts, Pr. B. Scott, classroom 2-2.WW

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Herbology, Pr. C. Demeter, main greenhouse (class held with Ravenclaw students)

12:00 p.m. – 01:00 p.m.

Lunch, Great Hall

01:00 p.m. – 02:15 p.m.

Charms, Pr. F. Flitwick, classroom 3-4.EW (class held with Hufflepuff students)

02:30 p.m. – 03:45 p.m.

Astronomy, Pr. M. Le Verrier, Astronomy Tower

04:00 p.m. – 04:30 p.m.

Afternoon Tea, Great Hall

04:30 p.m. – 06:00 p.m.

Study period, Houses' common rooms or Hogwarts' library

06:00 p.m.

Dinner, Great Hall

07:00 p.m. – 09:00 p.m.

Free time

09:00 p.m.

Curfew at the Houses' dormitories

Sirius' stomach clenched after reading this: how was he going to find classroom 2-2.CEW? There wasn't a map of Hogwarts printed on the verso of the timetable and the school was huge! He didn't want to arrive late at his first DADA class and make a bad impression on Professor Scott, who had intervened on his behalf in the Great Hall. He racked his brains for five long minutes and then, he figured it out: "2-2" probably meant classroom 2, second floor, and the "WW" was the abbreviation for the castle's west wing. The moving stairways were probably located in the middle of the castle, allowing the students to have easy access to its northern, southern, western and eastern parts. Sirius made up his mind, tucked the timetable back inside his bag, and headed for the bathroom's door when it swung open, letting in a fair-haired boy with a contemptuous smile on his face.

Of all the rotten luck! Lucius Malfoy! But Sirius' pulse calmed down when he realized that this time, Malfoy was without the company of his dim-witted bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the black sheep of the Black family!" hissed the blond boy. He had so much venom in his voice he would have made a herpetologist very happy! "How gracious of you to show up, I was just in the mood to eradicate some vermin from Mother Earth's surface. You'll do perfectly!"

"Oh, yeah?" growled Sirius while rolling up his sweater's sleeves after dropping his bag on the tiled floor. "Well, you've got another thing coming, Madfool! Remember the letter you've sent to your folks about me helping Remus in the Hogwarts Express, the one my Mummy dearest mentioned in her Howler? Well, you'll pay for this, you dirty sneak: I'm gonna kick your Pureblood posterior!"

Lucius Malfoy suddenly blanched; probably because he had realized a bit too late that his goons weren't around to protect him! The Pureblood would-be noble had probably dismissed them before entering the bathroom: bad mistake, your Lordship!

"If you touch me, Black, you'll suffer dire consequences!" said the Slytherin student with a quivering voice.

"Not feeling so though, are you, Malfoy?" snarled Sirius. "What's the matter, you miss your lackeys so terribly you're suddenly feeling the need to find them? You're too chicken to fight without help? You're such a coward you're not even able to go to the bathroom on your own!"

"I don't need comments from a flea-ridden Gryffindor! Your own parents will disown you and you'll be thrown in the streets! You shouldn't bother to study, Black: your only future is to beg in the gutter, dressed in rags; or, even better, locked up in Azkaban!" Then, Lucius Malfoy added with a sneer: "Or maybe your mudblood-whelped girlfriend will ask her blood traitor father to adopt you?"

Sirius howled in rage at the insult addressed to Mary McDonald, a girl he happened to like! He roughly grabbed Malfoy by the arm and made him spun around like a spinning top, and then his right foot collided hard with the other boy's lower back.

"That's for your denunciation letter, you dirty sneak!" said Sirius.

Lucius Malfoy yelped in horror and rage, unable to believe that someone would actually dare to hit his noble bottom! But he didn't have the time to react to this outrage because Sirius' foot landed again on the same spot.

"That's for insulting Mary!"

Another yell from Malfoy, but the young Black wasn't finished with him: he kicked another time for good measure ("And that one is for calling me a blood-traitor!") before releasing his opponent, who slammed against one of the sinks while cradling with both hands the suddenly painful part of his anatomy. Black had kicked him with the precision and the force of a football player!

"Now, go ahead and write to your Daddy, you slimy snake! And don't forget to tell him you got your ass kicked by a Gryffindor!" barked Sirius, but Malfoy, red-faced with shame and humiliation, didn't answer.

Sirius was so angry he could hardly see, and in a mad moment he considered pounding his nemesis to the ground until he'd beg for mercy! But for all his combativeness, he also had a chivalrous nature and he wasn't the kind to hit a fallen man. That kind of action would be worthy of a "You-know-who" follower, and Sirius would rather eat dirt than imitate this kind of behaviour. Besides, he had a class to attend, his very first step towards freeing himself from his parents. After a last glance at Malfoy, he grabbed his schoolbag and exited the bathroom, refusing to waste another moment of his time with that future Voldemort boot-licker.

Sirius had guessed right about the location of the DADA classroom; within minutes he was comfortably seated in a large room cluttered with strange-looking artefacts, with large glass-stained windows and the enormous skeleton of a winged prehistoric animal hanging from the ceiling. The walls were covered with sculpted wood panels; there were eight rows of three students' desks facing a century-old oak table covered with books, and a freshly-cleaned blackboard was standing next to it. Sirius had chosen a seat on the third row while Mary and her friend Lily had opted for the front one. He would have loved to seat next to them, but the only chair available was already occupied by another student!

Sirius took out from his bag a red-covered book, which title was "Facing the dangers" by Bayard Knight, a notebook and his quill, pen and ruler to settle them on the desk. He filled up the notebook's standard label by writing on it:

NAME:...Sirius Black

SUBJECT:...DADA

YEAR:...1st

And, under the dotted lines, he added: "Gryffindor rules!"

Sirius looked around and he saw James Potter and Remus Lupin seated in the back row, whispering while occasionally glancing at him; Sammy Brown seemed engrossed by the luminous images of the glass-stained windows; two girls were talking about a wild-combed pop star; but Sirius saw no sign of Peter Pettigrew, the mousy-faced boy who slept in his dormitory. Where on Earth could he be? The lesson would start in any moment!

As on cue, the classroom's back door opened and the red-haired teacher entered, throwing his leather briefcase on the oak table with a loud thud, making the books stocked on it jump in the air in a cloud of dust.

"Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Sir!" answered twenty-one young voices in unison.

"I am Professor Barisan Scott, your Defence against the dark arts teacher, DADA for short. In here, you will learn about defensive spells, magic misuses, unfriendly creatures, but, most importantly, the dangers of misplaced ambitions amongst wizards and witches, which can turn them into loyal followers of "You-know-who"; by the way, that sorry excuse of a man calls himself Lord Voldemort."

A collective gasp of surprise rang across the classroom: that name was so frightful no wizard or witch could even consider pronouncing it out loud, and yet Professor Scott had said it as casually as if he had been talking about the weather!

"Yes, class, I've said it. For the life of me, I can't understand that nonsense prevailing in the magic world, about not saying his name would protect you from danger. Saying "You-know-who" or "He-who-must-not-be-named" won't stop him or his minions to appear at your doorstep and murder your family. It is useless to bury your head in the sand like the legend says about ostriches. Here's my first lesson to you, children: Fear won't shield you from danger. If you choose to confront perils when they appear, you have a good chance to be the victor. And it is my job to prepare you for when the worst happen: may it be in the form of creatures acting on instinct, or a person driven mad by that Pureblood nonsense and who wants to kill you, simply because you don't match his or her standards."

The boys and girls seated exchanged nervous glances, especially the Muggle-born ones: they were, after all, only eleven years old of age and they had attended "normal" primary schools, meaning they hadn't had a lot of experience about the magic world or the war plaguing it. Then, one hand was raised:

"Yes, Miss?" asked Professor Scott.

"Lily Evans, Sir," said the pretty red-haired girl. "Excuse me, but do you mean what eventually, we'll have to fight against other wizards and witches when we will be grownups?"

"Yes, Miss Evans. Unfortunately, this conflict doesn't show any signs of calming down, and followers of "You-know-who" - also named Death Eaters - are very resolute in imposing the ideas of their lord and master on the entire world. This means that they would use any kind of force to convert you to their cause. This school is supposed to be a peaceful haven, safely away from warfare and violence, but unfortunately some students have already subscribed to the Pureblood ideology under their parents' influence, so they won't miss a chance to boast around their so-called superiority and bully some of their classmates. What I say may frighten you, but I have never believed that keeping children in ignorance is for their own good: in fact, secrets and lies can have deadly consequences!"

Sirius silently approved the teacher: he had learnt at an early age that it was better to be warned about conspiracies plotted by evil-minded persons, including his own parents!

Professor Scott's green eyes hardened like emeralds when he added: "However, I am not going to turn you into little fighters before sending you to the front lines, while adults would remain safely behind. In fact, the very idea of child-soldiers disgusts me! I want you to be prepared so you'll be ready to fight aggressors who could consider you as easy preys because of your tender years; but concerning the war currently brewing within our world, its combatants should be exclusively adults, but certainly not children or teenagers. And no one, even Headmaster Dumbledore, will convince me otherwise!"

A silence followed Professor Scott's words, and Sirius felt uneasy at the idea of young wizards-in-training battling against full-fledged sorcerers; he had a good imagination and he had played the part of the hero countless times in cowboys and pirates' games, but how could anyone ask him to fight wizards at only eleven years old of age? Besides, how could responsible adults send inexperienced children to fight enemies in their stead? That very idea was simply monstrous!

But a horrible thought crossed the young Black's mind: his parents would certainly agree to send him to certain death; their own glory and their Master's were far more important than their son's life!

Sirius glanced around the classroom and saw that some of the students looked uneasy, but others looked at Professor Scott doubtfully, as if they were trying to figure out whether he was pulling their legs or not. Then, the teacher smiled and opened his briefcase.

"All right, let's start with our first lesson: the Pink Pixies! Open your books at page…"

At the same moment, the classroom's front door opened and a small, brown-haired boy wearing the Gryffindor colours poked his head in.

"Er… E-Excuse m-m-e… I was l-l-looking for r-room 2-2.WW…. for the D-D-DADA class…. Is it… Is it here, S-S-Sir?"

Sirius' gray eyes widened: it was Peter Pettigrew, the awkward kid!

"Yes, it is, young man!" answered Professor Scott with a kind smile. "Come in!"

Unbelievably, Pettigrew looked even more scared after the DADA teacher had invited him to enter the room. In fact, he was acting as if he was walking inside a lion's den, clutching his book bag so tightly his knuckles had blanched and his lower lip was trembling uncontrollably!

"Now, now, my boy! There's no need to be afraid, you are not in trouble!"

"I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry I'm l-l-late, Sir! I l-l-l-lost my way and I-I-I had t-to ask another teacher for d-d-d-directions…" started to explain Pettigrew, but Professor Scott waved away his explanations with a smile.

"It is perfectly normal to have a hard time finding your way through the corridors on your first day at Hogwarts. Your lateness is excusable and you haven't made your house loose points. Now sit down – there a desk available on the back row – and open your book at page 3."

Pettigrew obeyed instantly, sliding down on the chair as if he wanted to disappear under the desk. Sirius was starting to wonder about this classmate; he always seemed to be scared out of his mind and ready to flee the premises of Hogwarts at the first opportunity! But last night, the young Black had overheard Pettigrew's conversation with Sammy Brown in the dormitory, where he had said both his parents belonged to the magical world; consequently, he must have heard of Hogwarts since his childhood. So why was Pettigrew so nervous, acting as if he had come to this school unwillingly? Maybe he had been worried to end up in Slytherin? But the Sorting Hat had placed Pettigrew in Gryffindor – after a long delay, true, but still! - so it would surely mean the boy had good potential and was courageous. So why was he acting so strangely?

Sirius shook his head, and then he turned his attention towards Professor Scott's lecture.

The rest of the lesson went smoothly. The DADA class had been very interesting; Professor Scott explained for about an hour the origins of the Pink Pixies and how their favourite pastime was to spook out travellers on desert roads at nights. Those ugly-looking creatures could be easily knocked off on their backs by a Flipendo spell, rending them as powerless as overturned turtles, and the teacher had shown the students how to cast it by waving their wands in a spiral-like movement.

Afterwards, the children had spent the rest of the lecture practising the Flipendo on various objects – books, artefacts, empty birdcages, whatever was available for experiment. James Potter had succeeded in casting the spell after his third attempt, making his DADA book fly across the room like a red comet. Peter Pettigrew utterly failed after ten tries and he busted out crying after dropping his wand on the floor, his small frame shaking in heavy sobs – the teacher had a hard time to calm him down.

Lily Evans had managed to "Flipendo" a vase after her sixth try, but she got a reward for her perseverance: a hidden Bertie Botts' Every Flavoured Bean came out of the ceramic! Mary McDonald had succeeded on her eighth attempt, just at the moment when she was losing hope, but her spell had perfectly made a large box tumbling all over with a loud bang. Remus Lupin had made it on his fourth attempt, but he gave a contrite smile after his school bag nearly fell on a boy's foot.

But of all the students, it was Sirius who had had the best results: a perfect Flipendo spell on his second attempt! It had made the pile of books on the teacher's desk fall on the floor but Professor Scott didn't seem to mind: in fact, he had even complimented the young Black in front of his classmates!

After the DADA class, the Gryffindor students went to the school's main greenhouse to attend their first Herbology lesson, along with the Ravenclaw first-years. Professor Ceres Demeter was a plump woman with apple-like cheeks and each of her fingernails was painted in a different colour, imitating a rainbow; her wide-brimmed hat was constantly covered with soil, moss and humus, so a miniature garden was growing on it, sporting flowers and berries. She looked like an amiable person, but her red cheeks turned green after she had read the name "Black, Sirius" on the students' roll.

"Herbology plays a very important part in the magic world. Plants are living organisms and some of them had appeared on Earth since the early times of its formation, so they must be treated with respect. Too many wizards and witches dismiss plants for being only ingredients for potions, or they are interested only in the dangerous ones to brew mixtures against their enemies. That kind of action is the absolute corruption of herbology, and I won't have it in this class. Anyone caught using plants to make poisonous beverages against students from non-magic families will be expelled from this school at once. Do I make myself clear?" said Professor Demeter while casting an angry glare at the young Black, seated in the second row.

All the students looked at Sirius, who felt furious at the silent and unfair accusation. He had often thought his parents could poison themselves with their own saliva if they'd accidentally bit on their tongues, but he had never considered brewing lethal beverages in his life! So why Professor Demeter was looking at him like he was a fat and hairy caterpillar chewing on the leaves of her favourite plant? But the Herbology teacher had obviously a grudge against the Most Ancient and Noble house of Black, and she seemed willing to give her student a hard time simply because of the circumstances of his birth.

Sirius sighed: that was the price he had to pay for being different from the rest of his family. He could only hope the rest of the Hogwarts teachers wouldn't have the same kind of prejudice against him. He took out his Herbology book (a green-covered one, bearing the title "Herbier for beginners" by Flora Natura) from his bag but when he looked up, Sirius was surprised to see James Potter looking at him. And this time, the bespectacled boy didn't have a distrusted expression on his face: in fact, he was staring at Sirius as if he sympathized with him.

But the young boy didn't have the time to elaborate on his classmate's eventual change of heart. The voice of Professor Demeter rang out through the main greenhouse: "Mister Black! Are you listening to me?"

Sirius jumped on his seat and turned his attention back to the teacher.

"Yes, ma'am." That was an automatic answer, the one he used when he was too tired to argue with his mother.

"Good! Then you'd be kind enough to tell your classmates what a Calluna vulgaris is?"

Sirius got on his feet, his anger making his gaze turning stormy-gray. He hadn't done anything wrong and he didn't deserve Professor Demeter's contempt. He had a very low tolerance for injustice and that woman was going to learn about his rebellious tendencies! Looking at the teacher straight in the eyes, he said:

"That's the Latin name for the heather shrub, ma'am."

Professor Demeter's look of astonishment was priceless, as if she couldn't believe a first-year already knew the answer to that difficult question! But in spite of her surprise, she refused to back down so she asked:

"And what is the Bellis perennis, Mister Black?"

"That's the lawn daisy."

"And the Onopordum acanthium?"

"That is the Scotch thistle, Professor Demeter."

"And where would I go if I wanted to find a Ranunculus acris?"

"Any field would do, ma'am. Ranunculus acris is the designation of the meadow buttercup."

Professor Demeter was purple with rage; her plan to admonish Sirius had backfired badly since the boy had obviously read "Herbier for beginners" already and knew by heart the Latin names of all the plants mentioned in the book. A few muffled laughs could be heard among the rows of desks: Sirius had beaten the teacher at her own game! Mary McDonald was stifling giggles behind her hand while Lily Evans was gesturing wildly to her to be quiet. The Ravenclaw students, supposedly the most intelligent bunch of Hogwarts, looked worryingly at that potential rival. Pettigrew looked more afraid than during the confrontation with the Howler at the Great Hall, if possible! Lupin gave an "I-told-you-so" grimace at Potter, who shrugged lightly with an "I-stand-corrected" expression on his face.

Sirius smiled inwardly. All summer he had to hide in his secret hut, situated in a remote location of the Black Manor's park, in order to read his school books in peace but he had gained more than a nice tan out of it: he also had a good advance on his studies! But Professor Demeter looked furious by the young boy's success and the amusement of his classmates, so she said in a sharp tone:

"Sit down, Mister Black! The rest of you lot, be quiet! Open your books at page five and I don't want to hear a pin drop!"

The following hour wasn't very nice. Enraged at being proven wrong by a student she had decided to hate, the Herbology teacher barked her lesson more than she taught it. She interrogated every child with the harshness of a police officer looking for a serial killer, made Pettigrew shake all over after he admitted he didn't know what the Latin name of the sunflower was, and finally released the class with a lot of homework to do for the next lecture, with an extra essay for a Ravenclaw student who had happened to have groaned too loudly.

"Well, at least she didn't take points off Gryffindor because I answered correctly!" thought Sirius, but something was telling him that one of the Hogwarts teacher wouldn't be burdened by this kind of scruples.

TBC….