Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine...everything belongs to J.K. Rowling....she's a genius, bla, etc...
His mother was going to kill him. He was positive. The first Black to be sorted into Gryffindor. It was suicide, but he had hoped all along during the sorting that he'd end up there. Perhaps he was about be expelled now though, and wouldn't have to explain to his horrified mother why he wasn't put into Slytherin, the so called "house of honor".
Sirius pulled off his soaking robes and handed them to Professor Morrow as he was told. He was standing with Remus and James in a narrow room almost empty other than the dusty paintings filling the walls. There was a large desk at the end of the room with his very angry looking new professor stading behind it with his arms folded. Immediately after the three of them were sorted (all of them into Gryffindor), this man ordered them to follow him to his office. They had been silent since.
The three boys stared at their professor, expecting the worst; waiting anxiously for the yelling, the punishments, and the lectures. But the man just stared back at them, hands now set behind his back, chin tilted slightly upwards, watching them.
"Explain yourselves," he finally said flatly with equally unreadable expression. "And I do suggest you tell the truth."
"Well, there was the storm-," James started immediately.
"And the boat was rocking...," Sirius added.
"Uncontrollably..."
"And the waves-"
"It was mad..."
"Nothing we could do, really"
"Which is why the boat was rocking..."
"But I was the one who tipped it, Professor," Remus interrupted calmly, speaking for the first time since they arrived in the room. "With all the rocking...I...well I dropped my wand into the water...I know it was stupid, but when I leaned over the boat for it...we just sort of...well, we tipped."
Sirius took to nodding stupidly while Remus told the story coolly. Morrow watched them for a while longer as a dead silence filled the room. "Very well," the professors nodded. "And I thank you, Mr. Lupin, for telling me the truth. Because today is your first day, you will all remain unpunished. Now I want the three of you to go directly to your dormitories and get a fresh change of clothes before returning to the feast. And don't go thinking you'll be so lucky every time. If Professor Roklen would have spoken to you first..." he trailed off, shaking his head.
"Thank you, sir," Remus said, backing out of the room.
"Right, thanks," James nodded.
"And Mr. Lupin...," Professor Morrow added, "take the left corridor to your dorms, now...oh, and you'll need this." He handed Remus a folded piece of wrinkled parchment. Remus pocketed it and led the boys out of the room.
"You didn't have to do that...I mean, it wasn't even your fault," James was telling Remus as the three of them reached a safe distance from the professor's office.
"Yeah, I mean...." Sirius added, "it was my fault,really...."
Remus shrugged. "It was nothing. In the long run I was saving myself, really. If I'd of let the two of you continue babbling on about a deadly storm for an hour, I'm sure I'd be sitting with you on the train ride home right now."
"Oh come on, our story wouldn't have been that bad," James grinned.
"Yeah, for your information I'm personaly very gifted in the art of story telling...and besides, we were just getting to the good part," Sirius mockingly whined.
"Where a mysterious sea creature would bite a hole in the bottom of the boat..."
"And to clog the leak I would stick my wand in the hole..."
"But then he realized it was my wand..."
"And suddenly the mysterious sea creature came back and stole James's wand..."
"So I couragously dove in after it..."
"And I was leaning over to watch..."
"To watch me wrestle victoriously with the hideous beast..."
"For about two seconds before the creature overcame him and it became an entirely pathetic struggle to watch James cry as he was whipped around the lake..."
"So it would seem from the safety of the boat," James snapped as he glared at Sirius. "Why aren't you jumping in after me yet?"
"Well, I was trying but Remus here was holding me back..."
"He was?"
"Mmm hmm. Cackling like a maniac and telling me to let you drown..." Remus laughed as James clapped his hands over his mouth in an overdramatic gasp and inched away from Remus. "And of course I wouldn't stand for it," Sirius continued, "but just as I was about to escape from his grasps and jump in to save you, the boat tipped."
James thanked Sirius, shaking his hand wildly while pretending to wipe tears from his eyes with his free hand and swoled mockingly at Remus. Their laughter echoed in the hall canceling out the squeaking sound of their wet shoes.
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Sirius nearly collided with James as Remus stopped abruptly without warning. Remus had been leading them through winding corridors for the last five minuets, apparently not quite sure where exactly he was going.
"Er...Remus," Sirius said hesitantly, "you don't know where you're going, do you?"
James gasped loudly, "Don't you see? This must be another ploy to have me killed, Sirius."
Sirius widened his eyes in over exaggerated shock and gasped, "You're absolutely right, Jamesy...the man is out of his mind! And now he's cornering us in a dark corridor..."
"Where I plan to eat you, exactly," Remus grinned, rolling his eyes. "Seriously though...they should have signs put up around this place or something." He turned around, looked up at the ceiling, around at the walls, then back down the corridor.
"I say we keep walking," James suggested, "I mean...we have to end up somewhere..."
"Not necessarily...," Sirius warned, "I've heard there are tons of dead ends and corridors that lead no where, staircases that move, doors that disappear..."
"Look, Professor Morrow wouldn't tell us to take this way if it didn't lead somewhere," Remus countered, "let's just...let's just keep walking."
"Or maybe we are expelled, and this is just the professor's clever way of getting rid of us..."
"James, you're an idiot," Remus grinned.
"Hey, look! Ha, I told you this was the way!" Sirius yelled as they made their way to an opening at the foot of a very large flight of stairs. "We've made it!"
James snorted and rolled his eyes. "And it's all because of your brilliant navigational skill, Sirius."
They were standing below a ripped banner hanging over a portrait of a woman in bright pink clothing, sleeping in her frame.
"Welcome Gryffindor first years," Sirius read out loud off the poster.
"So...," James began, looking around, "where's the entrance?"
"Maybe she knows," Remus whispered, stepping up to the painting of the woman.
"So ask her," Sirius whispered back.
"You ask her."
"You're closer, Remus."
"By about an inch..."
"Still...that's one inch closer than I am..."
"Someone just wake her up already," James said irritably.
"Why don't you?"
"Honestly Sirius," James huffed as he stepped up to the portrait. He reached out a finger and began tapping it gently. "Excuse me, lady....er....hello?"
The woman grunted and scratched her nose, then began snoring softly. Remus shrugged as started tapping the woman's painted shoulder. "Er...mam? Wake up...er...please wake up...we kind of need your...your assistance..." He tapped her shoulder harder for a little while then shook his head as he turned back to James and Sirius. "Maybe she was painted just to sleep all the time."
"Oh come on," James yelled in frustration. "Wake up!"
He stomped his foot on the stone floor, creating a loud clapping noise which echoed down the hall. The woman snorted again and opened one eye, seeing the three of them she immediately brightened up and smiled, fully awake. "Password?" she called in a high pitched voice.
"Pass...," Remus stared in apparent confusion, "oh, right..." He pulled the piece of paper Professor Morrow handed him earlier. "Is it...er...," he unfolded the paper and read, "Dragonsbreath?"
The woman smiled as the portrait flung open, revealing a hole leading into their common room.
"Thanks," Sirius called back to her as he stepped forward. He couldn't believe it. He was standing in the Gryffindor common room. A Black standing in Gryffindor. He grinned as he stared around at the cozy looking chairs and warm fireplace. His mother was going to kill him.
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"Is the door shut?"
"What?"
"The door, Sirius, shut it," James demanded.
"Why? What's the big deal?"
"I just...you were the last one up....just shut the damn door"
"But it's hot up here." Sirius listened in the dark as James climbed out of bed and evidently knocked something heavy over, swore, and shut the door.
"Why do you need the door closed, James?"
"I don't know...I just do...ever since I was little...it's weird, but it drives me crazy when the door's not closed."
"What, like, just when you sleep?"
"No...all the time."
"Maybe you're insecure," Sirius whispered."
"Maybe you're an idiot and need to let me sleep," James whispered back.
"Can I open a window?"
"Do whatever you want."
"Why does having the door open bother you and not the window?"
James let out a very loud, very fake snore.
"Fine, I'll shut up," Sirius muttered, getting up from his bed and walking to the window. A sliver of the moon was glowing brightly and the sky was full of stars, as he opened the window, he let in the sound of frogs quietly chirping from the lake and trees shaking in the light wind. Sirius walked back to his bed and pulled the curtains shut around him.
He listened as James shifted his weight, springs creaking under him. 'Remus and the other boy must be sleeping' he thought to himself, staring at his fingers as his eyes focused in the dark. All his life, he'd had difficulty sleeping, especially when other people were around.
"James, are you still awake?"
"No," James grunted back.
"I can't sleep."
"My God, Sirius," James whispered, "just shut your eyes and relax."
"I can't...I just can't stop thinking about you," Sirius joked.
James laughed and Sirius heard him throw apart his curtains. A dim light shined through in the dark and Sirius watched through his curtains as his friend's shadow sat up in his bed.
"Alright...so what do you wanna do?" James asked him quietly Sirius grinned as he silently pushed his curtains apart and sat up to face James.
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"We'll look around this floor first and see if we can find anything interesting," James was instructing silently to Sirius as they crept quietly down the staircase from the boy's dormitory. "Then tomorrow night we'll take the next level up. But we'll have to take Remus with us in case we get caught…he's already proven himself a worthy candidate to get us out of trouble with the profess-"
"Shh," Sirius interrupted him suddenly. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"I don't know…like…breathing or something."
From the top of the stairs, Sirius could see a young girl sleeping on scarlet couch near the fire breathing heavily and sighing in her sleep.
"Should we wake her up?" Sirius whispered.
"Why on earth would we want to do that?"
"You ever sleep on a couch all night? Not a pretty sight in the morning, trust me. Besides it's called being a Good Samaritan."
"Alright fine, go ahead…you can wake her up."
"What? Me…I said we, not me…"
"Sirius…what is the matter with you and waking people…"
"Nothing, I just….fine, I'll go wake her up."
Sirius rolled his eyes and crept down the stairs and over to the couch, pausing when he stood in front of the sleeping girl.
"My God," he whispered, standing still with his eyes widened in shock.
"What? What's wrong?"
"James, this is Lily Evans."
"So? Who's Lily Ev-"
"Shh, keep your voice down," he hissed stepping away from the girl as though she was poisonous.
"Why? We're waking her up, remember?"
"No…no we won't wake her….change of plans, we're going to walk away now…very slowly."
"Honestly Sirius, what is wrong with you?"
"Shh. Don't say my name."
"Okay, sorry."
"I'm not kidding; keep your voice down, James."
The girl on the couch coughed as Sirius grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him away.
The second she sat up, Sirius flung himself down wildly on the floor. Lily snapped her head towards the two of them at the noise of Sirius falling.
"What was…," she began quietly.
"Sorry, I….I was er…I was just going to wake you," James covered quickly.
"Oh," she yawned, rubbing her head, "right…thanks."
"No problem," James muttered, rubbing his hair and shuffling his left foot at the carpeting.
Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged on James's robes. James glanced down long enough to see Sirius jerking his head towards the boy's staircase, clearly hinting for them to leave.
"Well, you seem to be fine so…," James started.
"Wait a minute…you're that Potter boy, aren't you?"
James stood startled for a second and Sirius listened as he mumbled a slow "yeah".
"You were one of those boys who showed up to the sorting soaking wet, weren't you?"
James grinned and replied yes. 'Bad idea, mate. Evans won't appreciate that at all.'
Sure enough, as expected Sirius heard her give a disgusted huff of disapproval.
"And you must be friends with Black then, am I right?" Her voice sounded distinctly more irritable.
"Yeah...I mean…I suppose. Er…are you? I mean, do you know him?"
She huffed again and Sirius could sense the scowl that was most likely fixed on her face.
"Unfortunately," she replied curtly, "I just can't believe he's here, what are the chances?"
"Right well, I'll tell him you said hello," James smiled at her in a joking manner.
Sirius flinched as he caught a glimpse of her glaring and crossing her arms. She huffed one more time, then rolled her eyes and walked away.
"Goodnight!" James called after her as she turned to glare one last time and quickly took the stairs up to the girls dormitory without another word.
James looked down at Sirius with confusion in his eyes and shrugged.
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