Laughing Fountain: Thanks for your review :) You're right about Sirius. I also think the same :) And Christine is back in this chapter :)

Chapter 3 - Back To School

"Sirius Black has been expelled!"

"He wanted to kill Severus Snape!"

"Dumbledore did the right thing. Sirius should've been expelled since his first year at Hogwarts!"

James cursed under his nose each time he heard the students gossip about Sirius. As he entered the Gryffindor common room his fellow housemates stopped talking and turned to look at him.

"What?" James asked, and everyone went back to their conversation as nothing happened.

James went to his room and saw Remus and Peter playing wizard chess.

"Check mate!" Remus said as his knight smashed Peter's King.

"I'll never win this game!" Peter whined.

"Oh come on Wormtail! Don't lose hope. I'm sure you can win." Remus said.

"Try playing with Longbottom. You'll win for sure." James said and lay on his bed.

"What's wrong James?" Remus asked.

"All that stupid gossip about Padfoot is making me angry." James said, and sighed. "I really wonder where is he now."

"I'm right here!"

James turned his head toward the voice. "Padfoot!" he exclaimed and got up. He gave Sirius a hug but Sirius stood there like a stone.

"Hey Padfoot. What's wrong?" Peter asked.

"Listen, we're sorry to leave you like that." James said. "I know you must be angry and mad at us. But we didn't know what to do."

"You could've told McGonagall that you were there with me! You could've lied to her and told her that you saw Snivellus lying there when we arrived! You know that McGonagall never trusted me!" Sirius snapped.

"We really did want to do something about it." James said. "But we…"

"You were scared that you might be expelled, right? And I thought I can call you friends!"

"You can call us friends." Remus said.

"Huh! Look who's talking! You were there with me all the time but you didn't open your mouth!" Sirius replied.

"Padfoot, I am really sorry that this happened. It was my entire fault. And I'll tell McGonagall about it." Remus said.

"And I'll make sure McGonagall gives me another room to stay at. I don't want to have a bunch of traitors as friends anymore." Sirius said and left the room.

"Is he crazy?" James asked. "Something is VERY wrong in his brain."

"I wonder why is he angry that much." Peter said. "He never acted like that before. I mean, every time we did something, he did all the confession and took the blame on himself."

"You're right Pete. There has to be something else." Remus said.

"But how are we going to know?" James asked.

"I don't know." Remus said. "How about asking one of the girls to ask him? He likes being around them you know."

"Good idea." Peter said.

"But you're forgetting one thing." James said and the other two looked at him. "Everyone is gossiping about him, and they don't seem to be friendly about him anymore."

"So, what're we supposed to do now?" Peter asked.

"I say we leave him to calm down for a couple of days." Remus said.

"Okay." James said. "And let's go to the Great Hall now. We'll be late for lunch. Besides, I heard others gossiping about a new student that will be sorted."

"New student? But it's November!" Remus said.

"They say she has been transferred from Beauxbatons." Peter said.

"How do you know?" James asked.

"Well, it happens that I also have ears." Peter said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah. Right." James said. "Alright, let's go then."

The three Marauders went to the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table. James looked around looking for Sirius, but he wasn't there. After a few moments, Sirius entered the Hall and all the students stared at him with a shocked look on their faces.

"Isn't that great that he can do that to them?" James whispered to Remus.

"Yeah. But I wish that he's not mad at us when he does that." Remus replied.

"Didn't expect me to return, did you?" Sirius said loudly and looked at the students in the Hall with a smirk on his face. He also had a parchment rolled in his hand. He walked gracefully to the Gryffindor table, but instead of joining his friends he sat at the far end of the table, away from the other students.

As the teachers entered the Hall, they sat in their seats. Sirius noticed that Professor McGonagall brought the three-legged stool and the sorting hat and put it in front of the house tables. Then she walked and sat in her chair next to Dumbledore.

Everyone in the Hall started whispering at the sight of the Sorting Hat. Sirius was confused. He wondered about the new students who were about to be sorted. On the other hand, was the hat for him? Was his punishment to be re-sorted to another house?

At that moment, professor Dumbledore stood up and held his hands up. All the students stopped talking and looked at him. The Hall was silent.

"Good afternoon my dears. Before we start our lunch, I have a few announcements to make." Dumbledore spoke. "As you all know, a few days ago Mr. Severus Snape has been severely injured and he is now at the care of the healers of St. Mungo's hospital. Nothing is threatening his life now, and I believe he will join us in a couple of weeks. You will wonder about the person who caused the injury, but I will not give names. That person has received punishment and House points will be taken from his house. So, for causing a serious injury to a fellow student with no obvious reason, I take 500 points from Gryffindor."

All the Gryffindors whined and growled, and they turned to look at Sirius with disgust. Remus, James and Peter lowered their heads and blushed. Sirius kept staring at his parchment. However, the Slytherins roared with laughter and applause. The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs remained silent. They eyed Sirius with anger, but they didn't make a sound.

Dumbledore raise his hands again, and the Hall went silent. "Now, to the second announcement." He said. "We have a new student who has been transferred from the French school of witchcraft, Beauxbatons."

Sirius turned to stare at Dumbledore. He knew only one person who has been transferred from Beauxbatons this year.

"As the rules of Hogwarts say that each student should be sorted to a house, then we should give our new student the chance to be sorted too." Dumbledore continued. "Dear students of Hogwarts, please welcome your new schoolmate Miss Christine Williams."

The doors opened and Christine walked in shyly. She was confused by the huge amount of the eyes staring at her. While she walked in, she noticed a pair of familiar eyes. She turned her head and saw Sirius looking at her with a surprised look on his face. She smiled at him and mouthed "hi" before she continued her way to the Sorting Hat. Professor McGonagall got up from her seat and walked over to Christine.

"You will sit on the stool and I'll put the hat on your head." McGonagall said. "It will sort you into your house."

Christine nodded with a smile and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall put the hat on Christine's head, and it seemed that the hat has gained life at the moment it touched her head.

To everyone's surprise, the hat didn't sing it's annual welcoming song. Instead, it welcomed Christine in a different way.

Welcome to Hogwarts,

My little beauty.

You'll find the answers,

Of questions you'll meet.

"Thanks." Christine whispered.

"Where should I put you?" The hat asked.

"I don't know." Christine replied in a whisper.

"Slytherin is not your place. That one I can tell." The hat said. "Ravenclaw would suit you best, as you're smart and cleaver. But you are also brave and daring, which makes you a good Gryffindor. But most you care for friends and you are loyal to the end. So, that leaves no choice. Hufflepuff!" The hat said the name of the house so loud, and the Hufflepuff table roared with applause.

Christine took off the hat and got up. She put it on the stool and walked to the Hufflepuff table, where the students welcomed her happily.

Sirius sighed. He really wanted her to be in Gryffindor. At least on of his housemates wouldn't have been mad at him.

Dumbledore stood up again and waited for the students to calm. "Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Williams." He said as he looked at Christine who smiled at him and blushed. "Now, I know that you are as hungry as I am, so… tuck in!" and with a wave of his hand golden plates appeared in front of each student and the tables were filled with different types of food.

Sirius didn't eat anything. He kept staring at Christine who seemed very busy with speaking to her new housemates. She turned and looked at him and smiled. Sirius smiled back when she waved her hand at him. Then she turned back to continue her conversation with the other Hufflepuff girls.

While everyone in the Great Hall was busy in eating and talking, Sirius got up and went to his room. He didn't get the chance to meet McGonagall to ask her about a room change. He only received his detention letter from her and he didn't like it at all. He had a month of detention, and he didn't know how was he going to spend it.