Once lessons were in full swing again, Sirius was swept back into the internal rhythm of Hogwarts and each week seemed to pass more quickly than the last.
Most of his teachers followed the same pattern: assign a textbook reading, give a lecture, and then require an exam or essay on the same subject. It was a lot of work, but given the repetition, Sirius often understood and mastered the material long before he was tested on it.
His dorm-mates, too, had fallen into a comfortable routine. Each of the boys had their favorite subjects and helped the others whenever needed. Peter did best at low-pressure subjects that required patience (and didn't involve wand-work), such as Astronomy and Herbology. Remus was their resident Charms expert, but all four friends also relied heavily on his meticulous History of Magic notes. James took to Transfiguration particularly well; every now and then, just for the fun of it, he'd transfigure nearby objects into whatever thing popped into his mind first. Like the time when he transfigured Peter's quill into a roasted chicken drumstick halfway through a Charms written exam…the look on Peter's face—and on Professor Flitwick's—was priceless.
Sirius was happy to find that he and Remus shared an interest in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Sirius's best subject. They spent many a lazy evening by the common room fire, debating the finer points of Defense theory. Sirius often felt he learned more from a conversation with Remus than a whole hour of lecture in class, even with James lolling across from them in an armchair, making loud and pointed yawning noises.
James did like Defense, but he was more interested in practicals than theory. He was now far ahead of the others in Defense spell-work, having attended every meeting since January of Dueling Club, which was run by the Defense teacher, Professor Desjardin. Apparently, James really was serious about learning to fight, as the self-appointed ringleader of the anti-Snape mission he'd christened the "Snivel Patrol." The other boys stopped into Dueling Club sometimes, too, but none with as much commitment as James. Peter seemed altogether uninterested in fighting and mostly tagged along to watch.
During one Dueling Club meeting in late February, Lily poked her head into the room just as they were starting to learn the Stinging Hex. Sirius watched as she gave Remus a friendly wave, but then caught sight of James standing next to him and ducked right back out the door again. Sirius wasn't surprised. Lily remained annoyed at James for his unsolicited Valentine's Day present—which involved accompanying her around in the corridors for the entire day, belting out a "bad little ditty" about how "Evans is so pretty."
"He's so immature!" she'd complained loudly in between every jaunty verse. "I don't understand why everyone thinks he's so funny!"
"Oh, lighten up, Lily, you have no sense of humor," Colin Prestwich had commented.
"I think that's why he picks on you," Samantha Jordan had pointed out.
But Lily did not buy this argument. She refused to laugh at any of James's jokes and showed him only a strained politeness whenever she was forced to interact with him. Sirius could tell she was trying her best to avoid him, but she found only limited success because of the Snivel Patrol: James was adamant that they continue to lurk around near Lily, especially when she was with Snape.
For the first month or two, Sirius, Remus, and Peter complied with their Snivel Patrol duties, trying their best to appear nonchalant and wondering whether or not Lily noticed their increased presence around her. But they soon became tired of spying when they found no proof that Snape intended to harm Lily in any way. In fact, their observations had confirmed Remus's suspicions that Snape and Lily were good friends. Snape seemed to care a lot about her, sometimes delighting her with quirky charms or helping her carry books if she checked too many out from the library at once. From listening in on a conversation between a few first-year girls, they learned that Snape and Lily had grown up in the same neighborhood and knew each other before Hogwarts.
All of this frustrated James to no end. He remained convinced of Snape's malicious intentions despite the lack of evidence, and although his three friends eventually dropped out of "this wild goose chase," as Remus put it, James continued. He began to follow Lily around more persistently, Snape or no Snape. (Sirius suspected Snape had little to do with it anymore.) The Snivel Patrol was now a one-man mission.
As February turned into March, the winter slowly became a wet spring. When the weather was good, Sirius went flying fairly often, as both James and Remus now sought him as a flying buddy (although, for the latter, this continued to be a secret). The fresh air helped to clear his head. When it rained, Sirius passed the time indoors, playing card games and bickering cheerfully with Peter about whose favorite professional Quidditch team was doing better in the league.
He also spent rainy evenings exploring the castle with James, who just couldn't sit still for long. These days, they pushed their luck farther and farther past curfew, delving into remote corridors at James's insistence. Apparently, James's father had had too much mulled mead over Christmas and divulged to James a number of Hogwarts legends he'd heard as a student: stories of haunted bathrooms, passageways behind statues, and wormholes that devoured students in one corridor and spat them out, days later, in another. Now James was determined to discover all the castle's secrets, no matter how many times he narrowly escaped capture by Filch. And Sirius was only too happy to chase thrills with him. It was the best way for Sirius to avoid the dark thoughts of Grimmauld Place that kept popping up in his mind, especially as the months went by without a single letter from his parents.
In late March, all the Gryffindor first-years threw a combined birthday party for Remus and James with cake, firecrackers, and Exploding Snap in the common room. Sirius was pleased to see that the other Gryffindors were finally warming up to him, now that they realized he had no intention of treating them poorly just because he was a Black. The other boys in his year sometimes chatted with Sirius at mealtimes or invited him to study together, and he had a standing game of Wizard's chess against Casey Wood every Tuesday night.
It was funny how these things worked. Just as the House of Black felt less and less like home to Sirius, Hogwarts was beginning to feel more and more like home.
One April afternoon after their combined Potions lesson, Professor Slughorn paused at the classroom door as the Gryffindors and Slytherins began to file out. "Mr. Black, Ms. Evans, and Mr. Snape," he said. Slughorn's tone was warm and his expression rather conspiratorial. "Please wait here a moment. I'd like to speak with you."
Sirius looked up from packing his schoolbag, startled, and locked eyes with James. James appeared just as confused as Sirius felt—what could Slughorn want? It was possible that Sirius was in trouble, but he couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong recently, and besides, it was unlikely that Lily had ever broken a rule in her life.
James reluctantly left the classroom without Sirius, casting angry glances at the table where Lily remained seated next to Snape.
Slughorn closed the door behind the last of the other students before declaring jovially, "I have very good news for you three. You are being offered something every Hogwarts student hopes for: an invitation to my party this Saturday. You may have heard of this group: my regulars affectionately dub it 'the Slug Club.'" He chuckled, clearly enjoying the name. "This is a fantastic opportunity for a young witch or wizard. Many delightful and, dare I say, important people will be attending. Now, I don't make a habit of inviting many first-years, but I believe you three do fit the bill. I only invite the brightest and most promising of students, you see."
Sirius could feel Snape's sullen gaze on him, and tried not to fidget.
"For instance, Ms. Evans," Slughorn continued, smiling warmly at Lily, "your essay on the moral implications of harvesting unicorn blood was the most thoughtful and well-written one I've seen in decades of students. With your permission, I'd like to submit it to a Potions journal for publication. And please, my dear, when you're the top magical theorist of your generation, you'll be sure not to forget your old Professor Slughorn, won't you?"
Lily nodded, flushed with delight.
"And Mr. Snape, your performance in Potions, including your extra credit work, has been consistently outstanding. I've never seen a first-year produce such flawless Potions work at the fourth-year level. I expect great things from you, young man. Perhaps one day, you'll run an apothecary unlike any other in Europe, and special orders will start pouring in from Morocco to Denmark to Greece, and beyond. Quite a profitable business that would be, wouldn't it!" Slughorn exclaimed.
Snape ducked his head, but Sirius caught a ghost of a smile on his thin lips before his greasy curtain of hair obscured his face.
"And Mr. Black." Sirius turned from Snape to see Slughorn regarding him oddly, as he often did. It still made Sirius uncomfortable after so many months. "I believe you'll find many of your relatives and family friends among the esteemed list of Slug Club members from over the years. Admittedly, none of them has ever been in Gryffindor House before. Quite curious, that is, my boy. But every single Black who has passed through my classroom has done remarkably for his- or herself, and with such good blood running through your veins, I'm sure you are no exception. I am proud to have the opportunity to educate yet another member of your fine family, and I wait eagerly to see what's in store for you."
Sirius wriggled in his seat, feeling sick to his stomach. Somewhere to his left, he heard Snape emit a soft, almost imperceptible snort. "Thank you, sir," Sirius said through gritted teeth.
"So, it's settled then!" Slughorn exclaimed. "I'll see you three in my office on Saturday night at six. Don't eat any supper beforehand—we'll have plenty of food you won't want to miss!"
He'd barely escorted them out into the corridor and closed the classroom door behind them before Lily squealed and began jumping up and down, clutching Snape by the shoulders. "Oh, can you believe it? The Slug Club—as first-years! This is so amazing!"
Snape allowed Lily to pull him into a big hug, and Sirius was appalled to see his pasty face break into a brittle grin. The expression looked weird on him, grotesque, as if his face muscles weren't used to stretching in that direction. The hug went on for several seconds and Sirius thought he saw Snape press his face into her hair, which made Sirius's stomach churn even harder.
Snape must have noticed Sirius watching, because he pulled away the next instant and snarled, "What are you looking at?"
Lily turned around. "Congratulations, Sirius!" she said warmly. "Isn't this wonderful news for all of us?"
"Yes congratulations, Sirius," Snape imitated with a sneer. "Congratulations on being born with two arms and two legs, and not getting shite on your fingers when you wipe. You should pat yourself on the back, you really earned it."
Sirius glared at him. He wasn't sure why Snape was being so vicious just now. Maybe he disliked Sirius for being friends with James, whose Snivel Patrol activities were becoming more and more obnoxious. Maybe he was embarrassed at being caught experimenting with Dark magic so many months ago, or still scared that Sirius and James would report him to the teachers for it. Or maybe he hated Sirius for simply being there, in that moment, to see him sniff Lily's hair and grin when she hugged him.
"Sev, that's not nice!" Lily exclaimed. "You should apologize."
Snape snorted loudly.
"You know, you should really get that snorting problem checked out," Sirius snapped, irritated. "A nose of that size, who knows what they'll find lodged up there."
Snape's eyes were cold with fury, and he took a step toward Sirius and raised his wand.
Sirius felt his temper rising, a ball of fire clogging up his chest. So many years of good breeding had taught him to always swallow it back down, to always be polite, but lately Sirius had been feeling less and less well bred, to tell the truth. "Oh, are you looking for a duel, Snivellus?" he taunted. "Better be careful not to slip in your own grease puddles."
Snape looked even angrier at the mention of James's nickname for him.
"Sirius, please stop it," Lily insisted, trying to step in-between them. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He didn't mean it. Just let it go, won't you?"
"I did mean it," Snape said at once. "People make such a big sodding deal over his bloodline, but he's a mediocre wizard who gets things handed to him when he doesn't deserve them."
"Don't do this, Severus," Lily begged.
But Snape pushed on. "Well, let me tell you, Black, no matter who your mummy and daddy are, you can only get so far in life as an immature, brainless bugger, running around with your immature, brainless bugger friends, like that arrogant imbecile Potter!"
"Hey!" Sirius shouted, sidestepping Lily and shoving Snape, hard. "Don't talk about my friends that way!"
Snape stumbled and caught himself against the corridor wall, but he dropped his wand and it clattered across the floor. Lily looked on, white-faced. She kept glancing frantically at the classroom doors around them, obviously wondering if she should run and get a teacher.
Snape looked Sirius straight in the eye as Sirius approached him. "Thinking about hitting me, are you, Black?" he whispered nastily. "You'll just prove my point. Muggle fighting is dirty, graceless. If that's all you can do, you're just like all the other worthless Gryffindors – all brawn, not a shred of brain. Your father would be really proud."
Lily screamed as Sirius's fist connected with Snape's face. Snape struggled to get free, but Sirius had pushed him up against the wall and shook him violently by the front of his robes, refusing to let go. A small part of Sirius's brain registered Lily's cries for help, Snape shouting at Lily to hand him his wand, Lily's sobbing refusal of "No, you'll get in trouble." But most of his brain was engulfed in anger. It felt good to let his temper out fully, like he'd never quite done before. His disgust at Snape, his shame at the reason for Slughorn's invitation, his sorrow at receiving the silent treatment from his family, his frustration at how their narrow-minded worldviews had backed him into a corner…
The blast of a spell forced him apart from Snape. Professor Slughorn had come out of his classroom to investigate the noise and it was his invisible shield spell that now kept Sirius at bay. Lily stood at Slughorn's elbow, trying to explain the situation through her tears. Slughorn was talking—chastising the boys for fighting, no doubt—but Sirius couldn't really concentrate on his words. All he could hear was the roar in his ears.
It seemed that Saturday night, instead of attending the Slug Club, he'd be attending his first detention.
Author's Note: Hi all, here's another one, hope you like it! I wrote it fairly quickly because I just got a boost of inspiration this month. As always, I'd love to hear what you think, so reviews are much appreciated.
