Educating Sirius

The fifth year class settled into their places quickly, yet noisily. Many commented loudly on Sirius's redecoration of the Dark Arts room whilst others wondered what he had in store for them.

Quickly scanning the new faces, Sirius saw that Ebony had joined Neville Longbottom at the back of the room whilst Harry, Ron and Hermione chose a desk right in front of his own.

Sirius walked over to the door and closed it, blocking out the views of Fred and George Weasley who had begun to follow their new mentor around like lost sheep. Settling down into the comfy armchair behind his desk he addressed his class again.

'Right fifth years quieten down.'

The fifth years, however, did not quieten down. There eyes all seemed transfixed upon the unusual posters that stared down upon them from each of the offices four walls.

'Quidditch World Cup 1977?' Dean Thomas chuckled. 'I wonder if the players wore flares!'

'Werewolf Protection Society?' Lavender Brown laughed. 'No need to ask what that's all about?'

To Sirius's dismay Hermione too joined in with the class's disturbance.

'Oh look Harry!' she enthused. 'He put my S.P.E.W poster up! He promised he would!'

Gradually the students all engrossed themselves in their own, unrelated conversations making enough noise to rival an erupting volcano.

Sirius watched his class with confusion.

Why would they not listen to him?

 He knew that to gain their attention he would have to shout but somehow he could not find it in his heart to do so.

How could he reprimand a class for acting exactly as he had all those years ago?

Luckily Harry had spotted his godfather's look of confusion and helpfully bellowed,

'Shut up!'

Sirius smiled thankfully at his godson, who had obviously forgiven him for his previous neglect.

'Ok,' Sirius hesitated, 'So you haven't covered the Vampire Cycle yet have you?'

'Yes,' the class mumbled monotonously.

'Really?' Sirius asked in surprise as he began to fumble with the papers on his desk.

'How about Deflecting Advanced Body Bind Charms?'

'Yes,' came another toneless grunt.

Sirius swore under his breath. Where was Moony with those notes?

He looked to his godson whose eyes had now filled with pity.

'Er…ok,' Sirius tried again. 'What was the last topic you studied?'

'The distinguishing of the Werewolf from the Common Wolf,' said Hermione helpfully. 'But…we've already been tested on that.'

She gave Sirius an apologetic smile.

'We all got top marks,' Ron grinned widely 'Heaven knows how'

Sirius frowned at his student knowing full well that he ought to tick him off for ridiculing a member of staff, but not really knowing how. Instead he took up a piece of parchment and scribbled on it hurriedly.

Moony,

Where the hell are you with those notes? I'm dying a very slow death in here, what shall I do?

Padfoot

Sirius folded the parchment into the shape of an aeroplane, which rapidly shot out of the room completely unaided.

Dean Thomas raised his hand immediately.

'Yes?' Sirius replied importantly, 'And you are?'

'Dean Thomas, sir. Enchanted Parchment-Planes are strictly forbidden, sir.'

'I know.' Sirius grinned widely. 'It was because of me that they were banned in the first place.'

Several of the students looked mildly impressed, Hermione however tutted loudly.

'However,' Sirius continued. 'if Professor Dumbledore wishes to hand me a detention I will not complain.'

Many of the class seemed to be taken aback by their new professor's attitude. Ron stifled a giggle whilst Harry looked completely unsurprised.

The old 'Hogwarts Sirius' seemed to have emerged from nowhere. He watched the expression of his students with utmost satisfaction as he would have done in his school days. Pushing shoulder blades into the back of his chair he attempted to swing back onto its hind legs. Finding that the chair was too heavy to move, he gave up and instead ran his fingers through his hair in an expression of utter coolness.

Sirius found that Remus did not reply immediately (he was obviously a lot more concerned about the 'no planes' rule) and Sirius found himself with an uncomfortable silence to fill.

'So then,' he started, 'Any questions regarding last term's work?'

No one replied. The students all shuffled awkwardly in their seats, waiting to begin their lesson.

'What is it?' Sirius asked testily.

'Don't you like being in the same classroom as an ex-convict? There is no need to worry I assure you. As long as you hand your homework in on time I will not see fit to kill you!'

Suddenly the hands of half the class shot into the air.

'Now that's more like it!' Sirius laughed jumping to his feet.

'Yes, Dean?'

'Sir, is it true that you escaped from Azkaban by turning into a cloud and drifting through the bars?'

'Err…no,' Sirius replied flatly, lowering his eyebrows. 'And when I said 'any questions' I didn't mean…'

'How did you do it then?' Parvati Patil called out.

'Did you manage to steal a wand?' Seamus asked, as one by one the class began to shout out their own (absolutely ridiculous) theories on Sirius Black's great escape. It was not long before the noise became deafening.

'ALRIGHT!' Sirius yelled, silencing his students.

He looked slightly harassed as he answered,' No I did not have access to a wand, no I did not turn into a cloud and NO I cannot tell you how I did it!'

'Why?'

'BECAUSE I SAY SO!'

'But…'

'It is completely irrelevant to this subject,' said Sirius calmly as his raised tones were clearly having no affect.

To his dismay one hand still lingered in the air.

'Yes Dean?'

'It isn't irrelevant though Professor. Surely it is important that we know how to escape from dark creatures like Dementors?'

Sirius sighed very loudly and sat heavily upon the arm of his chair.

'I cannot, as a professor of this school, tell you how I escaped from Azkaban as what I did was wholly illegal. To escape from Dementors, Dean, you must repel them with the Patronus Charm, as you well know.'

Dean opened his mouth in protest but his words were drowned out by the voice of Ebony Martin.

'What was it like in there?' she asked unsurely, as though not certain that she wanted to know the answer.

Sirius did not know what to say. His initial inkling was to ignore the question but a part of him knew that Dean Thomas was right. If he could prevent these innocent faces from suffering as he had, surely he must do everything in his power to do so. He had once refused to speak of his escape in the fear that a real murderer could copy his efforts. But Azkaban was no longer a prison for dangerous souls. The fortress was currently under Voldemort's control. Sirius knew that he could not encourage his class to become illegal Animagi, the process was too dangerous and his own penalty would be high. He could simply relay his experiences in the hope of conveying the basic instincts of survival.

Sitting down properly at his desk Sirius stole several moments of contemplation before asking, 'Where would you like me to start?'

'At the beginning,' Ebony breathed.

'Right,' Sirius breathed heavily.

The beginning?

The beginning seemed so long ago, yet close enough to touch. Was it possible that so much time had passed?

Before he had time to ponder on the wasted years between, Sirius found himself in a place that he had once prayed never to revisit.

The small rowing boat rocked unsteadily upon the angry tide, almost thrusting it's occupants into its watery depths. The smell of the sea hung thickly in the cold night air. Sirius scanned the landscape with interest. The black ocean went on for miles, completely untouched by man. The blank canvas of sea and sky although beautiful during the day, seemed strikingly sinister at night. During the hours of sunlight this stretch of water would be filled with fishing boats, steamers and luxury liners-there was only one use for the sea at night. As soon as the moon had fully risen the Azkaban Runners set sail. Dozens of condemned men would find themselves being thrown into cramped little boats to be escorted to the wizard prison, away from the eyes of the innocent. 

Sirius made sure that he took in every last detail of the view around him- this would be the last he saw of the world; the last time he saw the sky, the last time fresh air filled his lungs. Somehow, even as he watched his life ebb away with the passing current, Sirius could not afford himself any pity. He knew that every inch of sky that passed over his head would bring him closer to the end he prayed for. James and Lily had died because of his foolishness-his greatest wish was that he to would die and join them. Harry and Ebony had both gone away, and for their own good. If Sirius could not protect his best friend from harm, how could he ever hope to be of use to two young children?

The imposing structure of the wizard gaol slowly came into view on the sharp line of the horizon. The building stood taller and wider than anything Sirius had ever encountered. Its grey stone walls stood like great tombstones, stark, windowless, and soulless. Two flaming beacons adorned the outer corners of the building but Sirius guessed that these soul sources of light served merely to guide the Runners.

Sooner than he had expected Sirius found himself docked at Azkaban's Cliffside. He found himself being thrown up onto a rocky pathway that lead up to the entrance of the prison. For the first time he became aware of the two Aurors who had accompanied him on the boat. He had never dared looked at anything but the hands of the rowers during his journey, but as one of the Aurors spoke he found himself turning to look at the gruffly-spoken man in the face.

'Doubt even the Dementors would want to touch your rotten soul.'

Sirius flinched as the man's single beady eye bore into his own, as though searching to see if their really was a soul hidden within his evil bones. The man's other eye, which was a wild electric blue, spun rapidly in his head as though it had already given up hope of a find.

A large, burly security troll came to escort the prisoner inside the building. Sirius became uncomfortably aware of the manacles on his hands, which weighed so heavily he thought his shoulder blades might snap under the weight. The chains at his feet meant he could only walk extremely slowly but he did not care; he was in no hurry. Slowly and surely he clambered up the steep stony causeway, taking in the building that was now to become his home, his existence and, eventually, his grave.

'Errrr….Professor Black?' Dean Thomas called out.

Sirius gave a start. He became uncomfortably aware of the fact that he had been staring at a pile of books for the last five minutes.

'Sorry,' Dean went on. 'But you looked like you'd gone to visit another planet!'

'Not wrong there,' Sirius though bitterly as he regained his composure.

'Where were we again?'

He wished he had never asked as no sooner had he spoken that the class once again erupted into a storm of pointless questioning.

'What's in there?' Parvati said curiously.

'Nothing much.' Sirius answered bleakly. 'Just rows and rows of iron bars.'

'There must be something.' Neville persisted, earning himself a punch in the arm courtesy of Ebony.

Sirius pondered this a while and then answered, 'Well there's an entrance hall, I suppose there must be somewhere that inspectors go, but in the main prison there is nothing but cells…and stairs…that lead to more cells.'

'Where's the toilet?' Lavender asked coyly.

'In your cell,' Sirius said simply.

'And the shower?'

'For god's sake it isn't a hotel Lavender!' said Sirius with wild exasperation.

'Where do you go when you aren't in your cell?' Parvati persisted.

'You don't leave your cell.' Sirius replied bitterly, and with a great deal of agitation.

'You exist simply within a small, cramped cage. Everything you do, you do in your cell…not that there is a lot to do when you no longer have control of your mind!'

'But you must be allowed out sometime!' Parvati seemed scandalised.

Sirius took a long, deep breath. His face grew dangerously red.

'Yes Parvati, you get to leave…WHEN YOU ARE FINALLY DEAD!'

Sirius finished with such ferocity in his voice that many of the students squealed or jumped in fright. One voice however remained calm as it spoke.

'Professor?'

Sirius turned to find Lupin standing in the doorway of his classroom, his face white.

'I have some notes for you. Would you come outside to discuss them?'

Sirius left the room, feeling extremely glad of Moony's intervention, however Remus did not look at all pleased.

'What are you trying to do, give them nightmares?' Lupin demanded as he snapped the classroom door shut behind him.

'I don't know Moony,' Sirius replied shakily. 'They wanted me to tell them how I tricked the Dementors…it seemed a fair question…and then…'

Remus placed a brotherly hand on his friend's shoulder.

'You have to let them know who's boss Padfoot.' Remus smiled weakly, 'You were always good at that.'

Sirius ran his fingers carelessly through his long, dark hair.

'Who am I to tell anyone to behave Moony? After how I behaved at school, I have no right…'

'But they don't know that Padfoot,' Remus said reassuringly. 'They just see plain, old Professor Black whose past is of no consequence to them.'

Sirius took the page of notes from Remus' hand and nodded silently. Without further time for doubt he re-entered the classroom, thanking Lupin with a smile as he closed the door.

'Right!' he called out with a grin. 'Seems you are due to start studying the defensive properties of the Phoenix and other magical birds. Turn to page seventy of your text books please.'

The students began silently turning the pages of their textbooks, obviously wary of their new professor following his outburst. Ron watched Sirius in anticipation, with the expression of one sitting in the front row at a boxing match. Harry and Hermione looked a lot more concerned. They both tried to catch Sirius' eye but he did not seem to notice.

'So…'  said Sirius attempting to sound more upbeat. 'We know all about the uses for Phoenix tears but how can we use this in our own brand of magic?'

Hermione's hand shot straight into the air, evidently no one else knew the answer.

'Yes Hermione?'

'We can use the 'reparo' spell when combined with the summoning song of the Phoenix. The chanting of Phoenix song strengthens the force of 'reparo' when being used to heal wounds of the flesh. This practise was common before the Great Union of Magical Brethren. In modern society it is more practical to use pre-bottled tears'

'Well done Hermione! Ten points to Gryffindor,' Sirius enthused, delighted to have his lesson back on course.

The topic of Phoenix Song was quickly exhausted. Sirius flicked quickly through his own copy of 'Dark Arts for Dummies', seeking inspiration after completing his lesson plan earlier than he had expected. With twenty minutes to spare he worried how he would spend the rest of the lesson. His search through the textbook proved inconclusive and he began to grow desperate.

'You can all recognise the anatomical structure of the Phoenix I suppose?' he asked distractedly as he struggled to come up with any ideas.

'Not really,' a voice at the back of the room murmured.

'You all have some sort of diagram though?' Sirius asked as he leafed rapidly through the mound of lesson plans on his desk.

A negative murmur came from the students.

Glad to have found an activity for his students Sirius searched quickly for a suitable picture.

'Haven't got a diagram either,' he concluded. 'Only one thing for it.'

Opening his desk drawer Sirius pulled out a single golden feather. The students all watched him with curiosity as he delicately placed the feather upon his desk.

'I hope Dumbledore doesn't object.' Black muttered to himself as he traced the length of the feather gently with his fingertips.

He felt the feather instantly become hot, so hot that his hand recoiled quickly, just in time, as the feather suddenly turned to ash. The small mound of ash scattered itself magically across the surface of the desk and then carefully arranged itself so that it portrayed the outline of a phoenix. Slowly, as if in slow motion, the ash levitated; there was a bright golden flash, followed by a crack.

The students gasped.

There sitting upon Sirius' desk, was Fawkes the phoenix. Harry smiled in recognition of the bird that had saved him in the Chamber of Secrets. Other pupils, who had never visited the headmaster's office, looked at their teacher in confusion.

Fawkes was clearly in mid-season; he was fully grown and perfectly coloured in shades of scarlet and gold. He chirped a friendly greeting and shuffled his tail feathers importantly.

'Class, I would like to introduce you to Fawkes. For those of you who don't know he belongs to our headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.'

Sirius was pleased to see that many of his students looked highly impressed.

'You now have fifteen minutes to complete a sketch, which we will label next lesson.'

The class immediately began to scribble upon their parchment as Fawkes obediently stood perfectly still, occasionally accepting owl-treats from his new admirers.

With his lesson progressing well Sirius almost forgot to dismiss his class. It was only when a crowd of rowdy sixth years assembled outside his office that he realised how much time had passed.

'Right,' Professor Black called, 'you may pack up and leave now.'

To his great surprise a loud grumble travelled amongst the fifth years. His class had obviously been a success.

Sirius began to scribble the title of his next lesson upon his blackboard as the class packed up and left. When he turned around again he was surprised to find Harry and Ebony gathered around his desk.

'Can I help you?' he asked adopting his 'Professor Tone.'

He quickly noticed that neither Ebony nor Harry looked remotely happy, in fact they both seemed quite upset.

'Was all of that true?' Ebony asked quietly, her dark eyes widening.

'What?'

'About Azkaban?'

'Oh,' Sirius said in hushed tones. 'Well, yes,' and then, seeing the saddened look upon the young faces before them he said. 'Can we discuss it at lunch time…I have a class.'

'Sure.' Ebony said as she exited the classroom.

Sirius turned his attention to Harry.

'Is that what you wanted?'

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

'I saw what you were like when you escaped,' he replied thoughtfully. 'I knew that it must have been awful.'

Seeing the unhappy look on his godfathers face he added. 'I just wanted to say sorry; I know I've been a bit of an idiot since you came back.'

Sirius grinned 'You should have seen what I was like at fifteen.'

Harry seemed to ponder this for a moment. He clearly would have liked to have seen his godfather at the age of fifteen, although Sirius guessed that his father, James, had more to do with Harry's reasoning than he did.

'Well,' Harry continued unsurely. 'Just to let you know that you did a really good job…you're almost as good as Remus!'

Harry grinned as Sirius pulled a face of mock insult.

'Almost? Get out!'

When Harry left the classroom Sirius pushed aside his feigned expression of inferiority. He knew that he had a long way to go before he could steal Remus' crown but, for his first week, he knew he was doing a pretty good job.

There you go, two chapters in one! Aren't I kind?

So, that was Sirius's first lesson with Harry and Co. Humph…nothing left to reply to…oh well. Please come back for the next chapter where Sirius opens up more about his time in Azkaban, (if you hadn't guessed, Azkaban is quite important in this fic) cue more italicy flashbacks (yes, I'm growing very fond of them) and horrible memories. Errrrr….no, nothing else to say…bye bye!