Hey hey guys! Here's another chapter for you. Sorry it's kind of late in the day, I was so beat today. I've been doing online job training that takes a long time, plus yesterday I was running on three hours of sleep so I slept super late today. But it's here and I really hope you like it because I'm loving showing this story off to you guys again. 3
So, I've been thinking about some stuff and for anyone who actually reads my AN's I wanted to share. First of all, this story is definitely only going to go through seventh year. I still haven't decided if I want to go AU like I'd originally planned, and I don't know if I have the heart to write what really happens after the boys get out of school. Stopping after seventh year would mean everything that I write can follow canon. If I did write an Order story later (which I would probably only do if I decide on an AU), people who want canon can read ISS as a stand-alone. Secondly, as I've been writing, I've found that there's sort of a theme to each year. I'll tell you the theme in the first chapter of each new year, but since I already missed my chance for first year, I'll tell you that one now: Friendship. Super cheesy, I know XD
Okay guys, that's all for now. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you in two weeks. Love ya!
~SXS
FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN
"...ius...Sirius!" Someone was shaking him from his deep sleep.
"Huh? Wa'isit? Five more minis..." Sirius mumbled with his face buried in the pillow.
"You really should get ready for breakfast, Sirius. You want to have time to actually chew your food before class." The voice speaking to him sounded familiar, but not who he usually expected in the morning. Prying his eyes open and sitting up, the room swam into view. The wall-sized window across from him was letting in the early morning sun, causing him to squint. But his room had never had such a large window before. Not to mention the extra three beds, all lined with scarlet sheets and covers, and curtains hanging around them.
Then he looked up into the face of his new friend Remus and remembered that he wasn't at home at all. Thank Merlin! "Rem?" He pushed himself up in the bed. "What time is it?"
"About seven."
"UGH!" Sirius flopped backwards and put the pillow over his face. "This is a ridiculous hour to be awake."
"You better get used to it. This is how it's going to be from now on." Remus's rubbing-it-in tone coupled with the fact that he was exhausted made Sirius want to punch something. Nevertheless, he sat up again and swung his legs over the side of the bed to get up. "I'll wait for you if you like."
"You don't have to. I'll catch up." Sirius gathered his uniform and robes from his trunk and started to go towards the bathroom. However, he had forgotten about the line on the floor and stepped towards it without looking down.
"Sirius!" Remus grabbed his shoulders from behind at the last second and pulled him backwards, causing both of them to topple over, the werewolf winding up under his friend.
Sirius was ready to be cranky that he was now on the floor, but then realized what Remus had been trying to prevent. "Thanks for the save. But we've got to stop doing this," he said, sitting up and flipping around so that he was facing the tawny-head beneath him with a smile. Just then, the door to the room opened and James walked in.
He looked at the two boys in disgust. "I should have known that freaks like you two would be into that sort of thing."
"Can it, Potter. It was an accident. What are you doing here anyway?" Sirius said, quickly getting up off of Remus and giving him a hand to get up.
"It's none of your business. And anyway, I don't believe that bull for a minute. I'm watching you, Black. Stay away from me." James pointed to his eyes, then to the boys, before opening his trunk and digging through it.
Sirius growled in annoyance and stormed off to the bathroom, this time being careful to avoid the line. James found what he was looking for and left the room again, with one last quick glare at Remus. Said boy decided it was best to wait on his friend after all rather than risk a confrontation with their roommate on the stairs.
After a minute, Sirius emerged dressed and ready to go, and the two of them made their way down to the Great Hall. Once there, they went to the Gryffindor table and looked up and down the benches for Lily, but didn't see her anywhere. They decided to sit on their own and started to load their plates. Eggs, bacon, toast, sausages. Everything was hot and delicious, and both of them remarked on how they hadn't had a better morning meal in years.
Suddenly, owls started swooping into the Hall, perching in front of students to give them packages and letters. The first years were transfixed by the scene, never having seen so many of the messenger birds in one place before. One large, regal looking owl with sleek black feathers and yellow slits for eyes caught the attention of many. It flew to the Gryffindor table and down the length, stopping in front of Sirius. It extended its leg towards the surprised pureblood boy. Attached to it was a red envelope that looked as though it had been overstuffed.
"Oh no...A Howler." Sirius started to get up but the owl clutched his arm with its talon. He hissed in pain as the claws dug through the fabric of his shirt and into the skin. The other leg shook at him, trying to dislodge the letter.
"What's a Howler?" Remus asked. Sirius reluctantly pulled the letter from the bird's leg and resumed trying to get up, but the owl did not dislodge from his arm and started flapping in the opposite direction, pulling him to stay in the Great Hall.
"Get off, you wretched thing!" Sirius cried, shaking his arm violently, but the bird held on strong. "Bloody hell!"
The scarlet envelope started shaking in his hand, threatening to burst. Many of the surrounding students had started to get up vacate the area, knowing what a Howler would entail. Sirius threw the letter into the air just as it exploded with a shrill cry of, "SIRIUS ORION BLACK!"
The entire Great Hall was silenced and turned to the floating letter. Only the sound of the owl's flapping wings remained, though it needn't have continued as Sirius was struck completely motionless at the sound of his mother's screaming voice. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD LOVER! DISGRACING THE FAMILY NAME BY BEING IN GRYFFINDOR! JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU GET HOME! YOUR FATHER WILL DEAL WITH YOU PROPERLY, YOU DIRTY ROTTEN BLOOD TRAITOR!"
Then it stopped and the echo bounced around the Great Hall before finally silencing. The paper fell to the table and burned up in flames. The owl finally freed Sirius's arm, its task complete, and flapped out of the Great Hall.
No one spoke.
Remus was shocked by the entire ordeal. He'd never seen anything like that before, but then again, his parents had no reason to receive Howlers in the mail. The voice reverberated in his ears, almost sounding familiar, even though it was impossible for him to know the woman who had sent the horrible message.
Sirius's face burned in shame and he bowed his head low. He hadn't thought he would have to deal with his mother's wrath until he returned home for the summer (he was definitely not going home during the holidays if he could help it). But now, not only did he have to be reminded that his safety was only temporary, he was embarrassed in front of the entire school. They would probably think he was some kind of Muggle hater now.
He heard someone quietly snickering and knew it would have to be James Potter. And he could guarantee that the Slytherins were gloating and saying he got what he deserved. This only made Sirius bend lower towards the table to try to hide as best as he could.
Remus could see how upset Sirius was over this incident, but he wasn't sure what to do. Was it alright for him to try to comfort him physically when they hardly knew each other? Thankfully he was saved from having to figure this out when approaching footsteps broke the silence. Professor McGonagall's voice shouted through the Hall as she walked towards them. "Now, now, everyone back to your breakfast. The show's over, there's no reason to stare." She stopped right behind Sirius when she finally reached them. "Are you alright, Mr. Black?" she asked more quietly. He merely nodded once and her lips pressed into a thin line. "If anyone bothers you about this later be sure to let me know and I will deal with them."
"Yeah, sure..." She stood there for a moment, with a hesitant hand out towards him, but she saw that she would get no more of an answer from the boy. She then made her way back to the teacher's table, reprimanding students along the way.
Noise slowly rose back to its usual volume as everyone resumed the meal and their conversations. Sirius, who had been standing since trying to escape, sat back down at his spot with his head down, rubbing his arm where the owl had clutched him. He didn't really feel like eating but his stomach was still hungry so he lifted a fork. Before he could take a bite, however, two identical heads suddenly appeared over both of his shoulders. "That was brilliant, mate!" said one.
"And here I thought that we'd be the ones to get the first Howler of the year. You didn't even give us the chance!" the other exclaimed. They both stepped back and Sirius turned around on the bench to face them. It was the pair of red-headed twins that had the room across the hall.
"Allow us to properly introduce ourselves. Fabian...," the first started.
"...and Gideon Prewett," the second added.
"At your service," both finished, bowing.
"And if we heard correctly..." Fabian said.
"Your name is Sirius Black?" Gideon asked.
Sirius found it weird that they were finishing each others' sentences, but still answered. "Uh...yeah."
"Great to meet ya!" Fabian and Gideon each took one of his hands in both of theirs, and shook vigorously causing Sirius to wobble. Remus chuckled which caused them to turn to him.
"This your friend?" Fabian asked, jerking a thumb at Remus.
"Um..." Sirius turned back to the boy next to him, suddenly fearful that the Howler might have scared him away. But Remus simply smiled and nodded shyly, and his shoulders dropped in relief.
The gingers took both of his hands now and shook with the same vigor. "Good to meet ya'!"
"What's your name?"
"Remus Lupin," he said while his whole body was being shaken through his arms.
"Excellent! I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine." Fabian and Gideon let go and grinned identically at the two of them. By now it was hard to tell which one was which and by consequence, who was speaking.
"And now if you don't mind..."
"We're going to go back to our breakfast."
"See you in class!" they finished together and then with another bow they walked back up the table to where they were sitting before.
"Well...they were interesting," Remus commented, watching the duo. One thing was for sure, they certainly had that special twin connection.
"Yeah..." Sirius turned back to his breakfast and tried to eat again, but now he felt something welling up inside of him that he had to say. "Remus…Thanks. You know, for sticking by me." He felt something like a blush creep up his cheeks. He didn't know what was more embarrassing: the Howler or the fact that he was being sentimental.
Remus just smiled, glad that he was able to help cheer the other boy up. "Yeah, of course. That's what friends are for right?"
"Yeah!" The pureblood then brightened considerably, back to his regular self. "Anyway, I wonder when we're going to get our class schedules."
As if on cue, the Heads of Houses stood from the professor's table and started down the rows, handing schedule cards to each of the students. Once Sirius and Remus had theirs, they eagerly looked them over together.
"Let's see what we've got. First up is Potions. And oh joy, with Slytherin." Sirius stuck his tongue out.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad." Though Remus wasn't too fond of the idea himself.
"In case you haven't noticed, Slytherins don't like me," Sirius said. "So I don't want to be stuck in a room full of them. That Severus Snape kid is in there too."
Remus knew he didn't have a right to judge anyone being what he was, but he had to admit there was something strange about Severus just from their experiences the day before. And how did ones hair become so naturally greasy? He shook his head of the thoughts. "We don't really know him. Maybe he's not so bad."
"He automatically assumed I would be a slimy snake like him. That's not exactly positive points in my book." It became obvious to Remus at that moment that anyone who judged Sirius by his family history was immediately on his black-list (no pun intended). "Anyway, after that is Charms with Ravenclaw. And then History of Magic. Snorefest."
"I'll bet. I heard the professor is an old ghost who just drones on nonstop," Remus said, remembering what his parents had told him about their own experiences in Hogwarts. "Let's see...Herbology with Hufflepuff. Oh, Defense Against the Dark Arts sounds fun."
"But it's with Slytherin. Then again that might be a good thing," Sirius said, smirking a little. "We can always use them to practice our defensive spells on."
Remus decided not to try to argue why that wasn't the point of the class.
"Ooo! Flying lessons!" Sirius nearly bounced out of his seat in excitement seeing the next class. "I've always wanted to fly a broom. Mum never let me get a practice one because she said I would wind up destroying the house." Sirius paused with a finger to his chin. "She was probably right, but that's not the point."
"It's probably better that way. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to get yelled at by your mother in person," Remus said, and Sirius shuddered. "After flying is Transfiguration. And then there's Astronomy with Ravenclaw, but that's only Wednesdays at midnight. Otherwise there's dinner and curfew is 10 in the common room." He folded his schedule card and put it in the pocket of his robes.
"Sounds like a good line-up to me, save for the few classes we have with the dungeon dwellers," Sirius said, doing the same to his card. "I never thought I would be this excited to sit and listen to a teacher. I used to have a tutor when I was younger for basic stuff, but she was so boring! Not to mention when I made mistakes she used to have me dust the house as punishment. I'll bet Mumsy dear put her up to that."
"That sounds terrible. My parents taught me everything I know so far."
"Your parents sound nice. But I guess anything does compared to mine." Remus wasn't sure what to say in response to that, so he just nibbled on his toast. Sirius shrugged and took another strip of bacon.
When the two had finished eating, they headed back up to their dorm, got their books and cauldrons, and went back down to find the dungeons. They had to ask a few upperclassmen on the way, but they were eventually led to the right set of stairs and descended below the first floor to the bottom level of the castle.
Once down there, it was easy to find the Potions room. There was a crowd of first year snakes and lions waiting outside the door for class to begin. Remus and Sirius took a place near the back of the group and a moment later Lily stepped over with Severus.
"Hey boys," she said.
"Hello Lily," Remus said. "We missed you at breakfast."
"Oh...I was there. I just…came in later." The redhead chuckled and turned slightly pink. "Anyway, are you ready for our first real class in magic?"
"Potions isn't really magic. It's more like cooking," Sirius said, earning a glare from Severus.
"Potions is just as much magic as anything else," the Slytherin retorted. "It's a special kind of magic to be able to complete a potion perfectly. Absolute preciseness is needed or any amount of horrible things could happen."
"Right..." Sirius looked to Remus and raised his eyebrows. Remus shrugged. Just then, the door opened and a large man stepped out.
"Ah yes, hello! My first class of the day. Come in, come in, and welcome to first year potions." He gestured the kids through the doorway and then went to the front of the class to take his spot. "My name is Horace Slughorn, though you Slytherins know that already. And you will of course call me Professor Slughorn."
The students shuffled inside and took places at the tables lined up in the room. Sirius noticed how all the Slytherins and Gryffindors sat on opposite sides of the room, except for Lily and Severus who took the last row table on the left side together.
Remus and Sirius sat in the middle on the right side and pulled their books out of their cauldrons. Slughorn began to write instructions and ingredients on the blackboard with his wand. When he finished he turned to the class with a sort of jolly air.
"Well, let me give you a bit of a rundown on how this course is going to go for the year. You will come in and I'll have written the assignment for the day on the board. You will begin immediately and attempt to finish by the end of the class. If you should require help, you may work with your classmates or ask me if you're really stuck in a rut.
"Today we'll be making a simple potion, the cure for warts. You'll find the list of ingredients here and if you are missing anything, there are extra supplies in the back closet behind my desk. Make sure you follow the directions with the utmost precision and there will be no need to call Madam Pomfrey for...disaster recovery.
"You have an hour to complete your potions, then please put them into a vial labeled with your name and place them on my desk for grading. If you finish early, please begin to read the first chapter of your book, which will be your homework. You may begin."
Remus and Sirius set to work on their potions. It proved to be much more difficult than they had thought and within a few minutes the two were working together in one cauldron to try and finish their brew.
Halfway through the class, two students stood and walked to the front of the room with filled vials. Everyone looked up in shock to see that not just one, but two of their classmates had actually completed their assignment already, when they themselves were having so much trouble.
Slughorn looked up from his book when he heard the sound of glass being set on the table. "Finished already?" he asked with eyebrows raised.
"Yes, sir," one of the pair said.
"Are you sure you did everything right? And that you didn't rush through just to finish?" He eyed their glasses as if afraid they were going to explode.
"Why don't you test them and find out?" the other challenged.
The entire class watched as Slughorn cautiously picked up one of the vials. He turned it over in his hand and examined the color, shook it to examine the consistency, then opened the top. He wafted the fumes of the contents to his nostrils and inhaled deeply. He then went through the same process with the other. "Well, no problems there. Let's see if it actually works."
The professor took out his wand and waved it at his hand. A small patch of bumps appeared on the back. Then he took the potions and poured the contents of one on some of the warts and the other on the rest. There was a silence in the room as everyone waited to see if the cure worked. After a moment there was a bubbling on Slughorn's hand and a sizzling sound. Then the warts imploded and the skin on the back of his hand became smooth and unblemished.
"Why, I don't believe it! This must be the best work any of my first year students have ever done in all my years of teaching," Slughorn said as an impressed smile spread over his face. "Well done, very well done. Eh, what are your names?"
"Lily Evans, sir."
"Severus Snape."
"Ah, yes. Lily, Severus. You keep up this kind of work and you will pass my class with flying colors." Slughorn stepped around his desk and put his hands on their shoulders, spinning them to face the class. "These two are an example to all of you, and on top of it all they come from two different Houses. That just proves that anyone can become a great Potions Master. You may sit down now."
As Lily and Severus returned to their seats, James grabbed the former's wrist. "Nice job, Lily. I'll bet that slimy Snivellus had to cheat off of you to finish his potion."
Lily tugged her hand away. "Don't touch me, you git! And for your information, Severus doesn't need to cheat off of me. In fact I only finished with his help." She glanced at his cauldron and grinned. "You look like you could use some help yourself." James turned back to his potion and yelped when he realized that it was overflowing with a green, sticky mess. Peter started to whimper and back away while Slughorn raced over to stop the flow. Severus smirked as he walked past and the two continued to the back of the room.
Sirius and Remus eventually completed their potion as well, with a few minutes to spare. They spent the rest of that time cleaning up their cauldrons and hoping that their potion was at least good enough to pass
"I'm sure it was fine. At least we didn't have any problems like Pot-head," Sirius said.
"True, very true," Remus agreed. "You're actually pretty good at this for it being similar to cooking. I suppose that makes you girly." Sirius stuck his tongue out at the teasing.
Slughorn dismissed the class at an hour on the dot, and the two headed with the rest of the Gryffindor first years to their next lesson. The Charms classroom was located on the main floor of the castle, near one of the towers which Remus assumed was the Ravenclaw tower since the Ravenclaw Head of House was also the Charms teacher.
When Sirius and Remus approached, the Ravenclaws were already standing outside. The former peered around at the other first years and spotted the strange girl from the night before who had been Sorted first (Amanda was it? he thought) standing by herself away from the rest of her Housemates. She didn't look too bothered by her isolation, however, and busied herself studying the intricate designs on the stair railing nearby.
Before Sirius could say anything about her to Remus, a tiny man bustled up to the group of lions and ravens. "Oh terribly sorry, I should have left the door unlocked. Please do enter. Alohomora!" The man waved his wand at the door and a clicking sound was heard. He turned the knob and the door opened.
"That is just one of the many spells you will learn in my class. Come, come, let us begin to learn the fascinating world of Charms." The students filed into the room. Ravenclaws and Gryffindors mixed together in their seating, being much friendlier to one another than they had with their 'favorite' House in the class before.
The room was large and rounded with the desks lining one wall and a large space in the center where the professor would teach. There was a raised platform in the middle to give the short man some extra height. Sirius watched as the loner girl from the other House went to the far side of the room and sat looking intently at the professor.
"Well now, welcome to Charms class! You Ravenclaws will already know, but I must reintroduce myself for the sake of the Gryffindors. I am Professor Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw and Charms Master. I will be your Charms professor from now until you leave this school in seven years.
"Charms is probably the most common magic. For those of you who are Muggle-born and have ever seen what they call a 'magician' these spells are usually what they use to create their illusions. Charms can range from simple hexes and jinxes to complex spells of all sorts. You will find that when you become legal witches and wizards that this will be the kind of magic you use most in your everyday life.
"Today we are going to practice one of the easiest of all charms, the levitation charm. There is both a wand movement and an incantation needed to properly use the spell. Please watch as I make one of these feathers float." Flitwick took a feather out of a large bag and placed it on the ground. Then he swirled his wand around once and gave his wrist a flick while saying, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The plume began to lift into the air and hovered about a foot above the head of the professor. Many of the students made sounds of awe. "So long as you concentrate, the feather, or whatever object you are floating, will continue to hover. But when you break concentration..." Flitwick looked away and the feather immediately fell to the floor. "It will drop. Make sure that until you are more skilled in magic that you do not try to levitate objects that are fragile, lest you accidentally break them.
"Now, you will each be given a feather. As soon as you have yours you may begin to practice." Flitwick proceeded to levitate a feather to each student in the room. When Sirius and Remus had theirs, they immediately began to swish and flick.
There were a few moments of frustrated wand movements and attempts at correctly pronouncing the spell before some feathers could be seen floating above tables. Professor Flitwick was bustling around the room to each student who had succeeded in their task and offered advice and compliments. "Not such a hard flick, Longbottom." "A little more emphasis on the leviosa and it will go higher next time!"
Sirius was beginning to get annoyed that his feather was still sitting on the desk. "Wingardium leviosa!" he shouted and swished at the thing violently.
"Sirius, you're being too rough," said Remus who had already gotten his feather to float rather early on. He took Sirius's wand hand and moved it himself. "Say the incantation while I move your hand."
"I don't see how that will make a difference," Sirius said. But sure enough with Remus's guidance, his feather had started to lift slightly. His friend gave him a smile and one raised eyebrow. In return, he stuck out his tongue, and decided to blow Remus's feather across the room.
"Sirius! Why did you do that?"
"Because I don't like it when people beat me in stuff."
"Well, you can go get it then!"
"Okay, okay." Sirius made to get up and retrieve the plume. But before he could move out of his seat, the feather flew right back over to Remus and landed softly in front of him.
Remus turned toward Professor Flitwick to thank him for returning his feather, but he found that the little man was currently in a deep discussion with one of the other students, facing the complete opposite direction. Sirius noticed this as well. Puzzled the two of them scanned the room for their secret helper until Remus's eyes locked with the loner Ravenclaw girl. She was busily toying with her feather, but when she saw that he was looking her way, she gave a small smile and returned to her work.
"Sirius...did she?"
"No. She's only a first year too. No one is that good." But as the boys continued to watch, they saw that she was lifting not only her feather, but also her books, and moving them around in crazy patterns with an almost lazy look on her face. The students around her wore looks of annoyance. Mumbles of 'What a show off' were heard across the room, though they still watched, impressed.
Eventually Flitwick noticed this girl's talent and made his way over to her excitedly. "My dear, that is quite astounding! This is the kind of ability expected of a third year, perhaps higher. Ah, but I shouldn't be surprised. Your uncle was just as gifted in the art of Charms."
The girl nodded and stopped levitating her items. She didn't cast another spell for the rest of the class and instead started to read her Charms book. Remus and Sirius both agreed that she must have been skipping ahead to a harder chapter.
"I'll bet she fancies you. That's why she was so eager to help," Sirius teased after class was over, elbowing Remus in the ribs.
"How could she fancy me when we don't even know each other?" Remus turned and watched her walk the other way. He had to admit, there was something intriguing about that girl. But he shook the thoughts away and concentrated on memorizing the way from Charms to his next class.
Looking on his schedule, Remus and Sirius found that their next destination was History of Magic. They rolled their eyes to each other, knowing it was going to be quite boring. In spite of this, most of the Gryffindors were full of excitement and chatting about the other Houses and their experiences in their first two classes.
"How about those Slytherins, eh, Fabby? Seems like they don't know how to make any other faces than sneering or gloating."
"One of them tried to trip me as I went to hand in my potion!"
"The Ravenclaws seem nice, but they're so much faster at working out how to perform charms."
The group soon arrived at the classroom and took their seats, waiting for the professor to arrive. A few moments later he materialized through the back wall. The ghost moved towards his desk and opened a large book that was already sitting in the middle.
"My name is Professor Binns and this is History of Magic. Please copy notes as I speak because everything I say will be on a test sometime during the year," Binns said in a monotone. There was a shuffling sound as students pulled out parchment and quills to take notes. Professor Binns looked down at the book, cleared his throat, and began to lecture. "Magic has been recorded in history as far back as..."
It wasn't long before Sirius found his mind drifting. Professor Binns's unchanging voice combined with the fact that he just wasn't interested in any of this nonsense made it very hard to pay attention. He soon found himself staring blankly into space and just letting himself go wherever his mind wanted.
Of course he wasn't the only one. All around the room, the Gryffindors' heads were drooping, their eyes unfocused, and they were barely copying anything down. Even Remus was having a hard time staying awake. After an hour of everyone catching up on their sleep, the Gryffindors went down to the greenhouses for their first Herbology class with Hufflepuff before lunch.