The Grievances of Youth

Chapter Four

Sirius watched as James Potter sat down next to Remus at the Gryffindor table, clapping the other boy on the back as he did so. Great, he thought, now he would have to try to get through to the Potter as well if he wanted to make friends in this foreign house.

Sirius paid little attention to the rest of the sorting, with only a few more names being called until it was over. Finally, as the last first year trundled over to their assorted table, Professor Dumbledore stood up and moved over to a bejewelled podium. Silence fell immediately.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts," his soft voice rang out, full of power despite its hushed tone, "I trust that you all had an enjoyable summer break full of relaxation and rest and are now ready to begin the new school year brimming with enthusiasm and ready to learn. This is also true for those of you who are new to the school. I also hope that you are all prepared to start a new period of life and get involved in the school as you will all be welcomed in with open arms. Regardless of whether you are old students of the school or new I wish you all an enjoyable year, full of learning and happiness and yes, even some mischief and fun.

I also want you to welcome another new addition to the school Professor Fletcher who will be your new professor of defence against the dark arts, I will tell you now that he is looking forward to getting to teach you all and hopes that you will enjoy his teachings and lessons.

One last thing whilst I have you all listening, there has been one other addition to the school this year. A whomping willow tree has been added to the grounds during the summer. I must ask that you do not try to go near it as it is dangerous and will lash out."

At this announcement Sirius noticed that Remus had grimaced and for some odd reason looked almost guilty. What an odd reaction to have, was he somehow involved in the decision to plant the tree. Sirius decided that he was being kept in the dark about something here and he was going to find out what.

"Now, enough from me, I am sure you are all eager to get fed, if your grumbling stomachs are anything to go by, so without further a due let us all feast." Dumbledore stated interrupting Sirius suspicions.

With that the headmaster sat down at the head of the Great Hall. Cheers rang out as the students celebrated their love of the school and it's leader. Sirius noted with interest that even the majority of Slytherins were cheering, with the notable exception of his cousins and their crowd. However his attention was drawn away when the food started appearing.

Sirius watched in awe as delicious looking platters appeared along the full length of the table. They were all brimming over with succulent dishes, it looked like heaven.

Sure, Sirius had seen food simply appear before, the work of house elves he suspected, but he had never seen such vibrant and colourful works of art such as this food looked to him. It was amazing.

As one the students swarmed forward, piling their plates into mountains in their eagerness to try the ambrosial goods.

"He could definitely afford to eat that much he looks like he hasn't seen a proper day's meal in his entire life,"

Remus sighed as he heard the student's exclamation; used to the judgment of others at his sallow appearance. However, when he looked he saw that the student had made his comment about Remus but rather the small Black sitting at the end of the table.

Remus watched as his fellow scholars greedily loaded their plates to the breaking point with food and glanced over again at the Black and his mountain of food. For once Remus had to agree with this harsh judgment. Again Remus took in the small stature of the young boy but this time he also noticed his hollowed cheeks and thin structure. Sirius looked like he needed more then the now small looking amount of food to fix his bony bearing.

He turned to look at James to see if he had registered the other boys comment and found him staring intently at Sirius too. In fact many of the student body appeared to be focused on the youth, though he couldn't say that they were for the same reasons Nonetheless the boy in question did not seem bothered by his spotlight in fact unless you were paying close attention it looked as if he didn't even notice the stares. Again Remus' werewolf senses betrayed the boy's mask as he could make out the faint grimace that turned down the corners of his lips and the tension of his muscles.

By this point Remus felt decidedly sorry for the little boy and wondered if he should or indeed could help in some way, however unless Remus wanted all the attention suddenly directed at himself he could think of no way to help.

It appeared that James on the other hand had the perfect solution. Remus watched with a mixture of dread and excitement as James pulled out his wand from under his robes. He saw the tiny movement of the wand as a dreadful cacophony of screams suddenly filled the air.

All around him Remus saw people reach for their ears, trying to protect them from the awful sound. Before most of them had managed to complete this task, the wailing stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

James' plan had worked everyone was now caught up in trying to search for the source of the chaos. Out of the corner of his eye Remus saw Sirius smile in James' direction and Remus took a moment to appreciate the observational skills of the small boy, as he pretended to search like the rest of the students.

A soft chuckle sounded and eyes whipped round to face Professor Dumbledore as he stood once again.

"Ahh the chaos has already begun, the school year has now officially started," he chortled. "and with that I think it is time for bed. Prefects please escort the first years to their dorms. I wish you all a good nights sleep and may you all have a wonderful first day tomorrow."

Sirius once again found himself caught in a crowd of first years traipsing down an unknown corridor.

"Here we are, this is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room and dorms, protected by our own lovely portrait, The Fat Lady. Now, you can only be admitted entry if you say the correct password. This will be changed regularly so do try and stay on top of it, this month the password is "fidem habere." The prefect announced as he stood in front of the portrait.

As soon as he had said the password the door swung open admitting the waiting students who continued their exploration of Hogwarts inside.

"Now this will be your common room, it is a relaxing place as long as you don't bother the older years, so do try to avoid messing around too much." the prefect intoned, continuing his tour, "Now if you would just follow me you will find your dorms with you belongings already there."

As Sirius was led towards a staircase at the side of the room he glanced around. Plush armchairs and couches littered the area, small tables at their sides. It looked warm and snug. Much more cosy and comforting then Sirius' own house. It was so nice and friendly; Sirius could already feel himself filling with joy at the thought of settling down in front of the fire without his parents breathing down his back and making him recite their families motto five times. He had found himself a home.

A.N. Thank you for your encouragement Kammy, it is so nice to hear. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I promise you the next chapter will have the boys in their dorms. I am so sorry for this chapter taking a while to be put up and I will try and put the next chapter up later today. Thanks for reading xx