Chapter 3

Leah woke up the next morning refreshed and ready for the day. After she and Lily were dressed they went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Only a few people were there that early for which Leah was glad. She didn't want to be bothered about her new friendship with Sirius Black.

During their conversation the night before, Leah found that he was quite nice and loved to play pranks. Leah had told him about some of her ideas for the Slytherins and he was more than ready to help her.

She just hoped that James didn't bother him too much. From what she could tell, Sirius was the sort of person who held everything inside and refused to tell anyone about it. She knew that she would have a lot of problems with that.

"Morning," Sirius said, sitting down across from Leah and Lily.

"Morning," they both replied.

"You're not very talkative today, are you?" he asked playfully.

Leah glared at him and took a bite from her toast.

"Ah, I see, eat no talk, is that it?"

"I'm so going to hurt you before the day is over. You know that right?" Leah asked, forcing herself not to grin.

Sirius shrugged.

James woke Remus and the other two boys in the first-year boys' dorm. Black had already left and James was glad. If he ever saw his face again it would be too soon.

James had spent part of the night wondering about his sister's insistence that Black was a good person but he couldn't see how that was.

James, Remus, and the other two boys, Peter Pettigrew and Robbie King, walked out of the tower and towards the general direction of the Great Hall. They ended up taking two wrong turns before they reached the hall in time for timetables to be passed out.

James saw Leah and her new friend Lily talking with Black nearby. The three appeared to be having a serious conversation about something. James was curious, but tried not to show it. He knew that Leah would come to her senses and see what Black was sooner or later.

After breakfast, James followed the others to their first class, Charms with Professor Flitwick.

James sat with the other first-year boys and watched as his sister sat next to Black and he felt a fresh surge of hatred.

The Gryffindors had this class with the Ravenclaws which James found as a relief because their next class, Potions, was with the Slytherins. His day was not going to go well and he hated to think of what Leah's would be like hanging around with Black.

"Hey, James," Leah called out to him once Charms was over. "Let's talk." She fell into step beside him and they walked down to the dungeons.

"Surprised you're not with Black," James said, wincing at how harsh he knew he sounded.

"You're a real prat, you know?" she retorted, glaring at him. "All you can think about is yourself…"

"I'm thinking about you being around him. The Slytherins aren't going to like the fact that one of their own was placed in Gryffindor…"

"Touching, James, really," Leah said. "If you're so worried about our safety, then quit being a prat and talk to him."

"No."

"You never know, he might end up being one of your best friends if you ever got past the fact that he's a Black."

"Not in this lifetime."

Leah shook her head. "I give up, James. You really need to learn to work with people. All our lives we've been sheltered and now we have the chance to make friends, but you won't see past dad's views."

Potions class, Sirius knew, would be hell. It was with the Slytherins and he had an idea of what the Purebloods now thought of him. Honestly, he didn't care. He was happy where he was. For once in his life he had real friends.

Leah and Lily were, in truth, the only friends that Sirius could ever say hat he had. During his childhood, his parents had brought people over, but the children were always Pureblood fanatics like their parents. Sirius hated them.

But now he had a Potter and a Muggle-born as friends.

He waited for Lily and Leah outside the Potions classroom. James Potter and Remus Lupin walked past him. They both glared at him, but Sirius only smiled.

"You have a talent with making enemies, I see," Lily said.

Sirius shrugged. "It's a gift, I think. Where's Leah?"

"Right here," Leah said. "Shall we?" Sirius shrugged again and Lily nodded. When the three entered the potions classroom, the first thing they noticed was that all the Slytherins were on one side of the room while all the Gryffindors were on the other. Sirius found this quite funny as he Leah, and Lily sat down in the seats at the very back of the room.

Sirius noticed several of the Slytherins glaring at him. He simply smiled back. Leah elbowed him in the ribs.

"What?"

"Are you trying to start something with them?" she whispered harshly.

"It already has," Sirius replied. "It started the moment they realized I wasn't like them."

"Just don't start cursing them. I'd hate to have a reason to spoil my prank for James on them."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really. So be nice."

"As you wish," he replied with a grin. Leah glared at him and turned back to her potions book as the professor entered the room.

"Now pay attention," Leah ordered.

"Yes, Mother."

"Do you even know the meaning of the word serious?"

"Well…" Sirius said with a shrug. "I suppose not. Sounds familiar though."

"Shut it, both of you," Lily scolded.

Leah was trying not to laugh at Lily as the professor explained the basic properties of their potions ingredients. Sirius knew all of this so he allowed his mind to wander, not really sure what he was thinking about, just thinking.

And the next thing he knew, Leah had hit him.

"Ow, what was that for?" he whispered harshly, rubbing his arm where he was sure a bruise would form.

"Pay attention, we're getting an assignment."

He glared at her but paid attention to the professor's instructions.

"Now you will divide into groups of two or three to work on this potion. You have one week. I want a sample of the potion and an essay from each of you explaining the process you followed to make it, in detail."

The class broke off into pairs and began to work. Sirius worked with Leah and Lily had opted to work with one of the other first-year girls.

"What are we making?" Sirius asked as Leah began to gather ingredients.

"You really annoy me."

Sirius shrugged. "I try. What are we making?"

"A sleeping draught."

"Oh."

"Eloquent."

"I try. Do you know how to do this?"

"Of course, I do," she said, looking affronted.

"Just checking." He glanced over his shoulder and saw Snape and Rosier glaring at him coldly. "Nice."

"What?"

"Purebloods want to hex me, I think."

Leah looked at the Slytherin side of the room. "Yes, I'd say they do. What do you propose we do about it?"

Sirius shrugged. "Haven't a clue."

"Well, you have to do something."

"Aren't you going to help?"

"I still have to get my revenge on James."

Sirius nodded. "I have an idea."

"Pray tell," she said leaning closer to him so that she could hear his whispered plan.

"Potter and Black are plotting," Severus Snape told his partner, Evan Rosier.

"Do you really expect anything less?" Rosier asked. "According to Lucius and Serena, especially Serena, both Potters have a superior knack for causing trouble and we both know how Black is."

Yes, Severus knew all too well what Sirius Black was like. Growing up, all of the Pureblood families were associates, most working at the Ministry or dealing in Dark Arts. His parents, Urien and Valkyrie, owned a Dark Arts shop disguised as a mage ware shop on the edge of Diagon Alley. Because his parents were often busy with the various duties of running two different shops, Severus was often sent to stay with other Purebloods. Many days, he was sent to the Black family manor.

He had hated Sirius Black from the start. Regulus was sufferable at times, except when he chose to follow his older brother around like a rat looking for food. The few interesting parts of his stays at the manor were the times when Lucretia Black punished her eldest son for some, imagined or not, infraction. Those were always interesting to watch.

School was going to be interesting. Black was a Gryffindor and friends with at least one Potter and a Mudblood.

Sirius Black, Gryffindor. Nothing could be more interesting.