Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue. I don't have any money anyway.

A/N: Sorry to anyone who's reading this for the delay. Been trying to work on 5P1S, but decided that I had better either update this or delete it-which I'd never do. A warning, though: updates will be sporadic at best until I finish 5P1S, or until this becomes more popular than 5P1S. Whichever comes first, since I like them both equally-it really doesn't matter to me which one I update first, so it makes sense to let you guys decide. Please try not to hate me too much.

Chapter Three: Getting Lost

Finally the last first year (Yanier, Lauren) had taken her place at the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore stood up. "I have a few start-of-term announcements to make," he said. Down at the Gryffindor table, Sirius groaned. More delay before they could eat.

The Headmaster's eyes twinkled in Sirius' direction. "However, they will keep until after the feast. Tuck in!" With that, food appeared on all the tables.

Sirius immediately dug as if there would be no tomorrow, with the other new Gryffindor boys not far behinnd. Eventually, though, even he began to slow down and take an interest in something other than his plate.

"Full?" Remus asked, trying not to laugh.

Sirius shook his head. "Gotta save room for dessert," he explained.

James, Remus, and Peter all stared at him. "You're not full," James said, just to make sure.

"No," Sirius replied, giving James an odd look. "Why?"

"Maybe because you've already eaten more than anyone else?" Remus suggested.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy. I need my strength," Sirius defended himself.

James snickered. "Don't grow too much, or you'll be able to intimidate that giant sometime in the next year or two."

"It's all part of my Master Plan," Sirius said seriously. (A/N: Serious Sirius. Hee hee hee...oh, right, the story. Sorry, carry on!) "All will bow down before me, the Great-"

"Excuse me," a boy interupted. Sirius blinked at him. "Could you pass the potatoes?"

"Sure," Remus said, passing the aforementioned dish.

"Kevin Price," the boy introduced himself, taking the potatoes. "I guess we'll be dorm-mates."

"Guess so," Sirius said unenthusiastically. He didn't appear to like have the description of his Master Plan interrupted.

Kevin frowned slightly and turned back to his plate.

"That wasn't very nice," Remus scolded, looking at Sirius.

"Neither was interrupting me," Sirius retorted.

"Relax, Remus. We can get to know Price when we get up to the dormitory," James said, trying to forestall any arguments.

Remus gave Sirius a reproachful look, but let the subject drop as desserts appeared.

Finally, the last of the food vanished , leaving the plates as clean as they had been at the beginning of the feast.

Dumbledore stood up again. "The start of another year! First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is, oddly enough, forbidden, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. Also, a new tree, identified by Professor Sprout as a Whomping Willow, has been planted on the grounds, and I must ask all students to avoid it as well, or run the risk of serious injury.

"As some of you may already know, our former caretaker, Mr. Pringle, retired at the end of last term. His duties will be taken over by Mr. Filch. I trust you all will show him the proper respect.

"Now, off to bed with you!"

Halfway down the table from the first year, a girl and boy, both with red badges stood up.

"First years! Gryffindor first years, follow us!" they called.

Sighing, the four boys struggled through the crowd, barely managing to keep the Prefects in sight as they left the Great Hall. As they reached the Entrance Hall, the press of bodies dispersed, allowing the four first years to breathe again.

"Well, that was fun," James said. "Let's not do it again."

"We better do something," Remus replied. "I don't see the Prefects."

"What?" Peter squeaked. "Then how are we supposed to find our dorms?"

"Someone said Gryffindor Tower down at the feast. Let's just head up and see if we can find it on our own," Sirius suggested.

Maybe it was a mark of how tired they were, but not one of the others objected. Together the four new Gryffindors started up the marble staircase.

"Now which way?" Peter asked when they reached the top, peering down the left-hand corridor.

Sirius shrugged. "When in doubt, go right," he said, fitting actions to words.

Four or five staircases and countless corridors later, the four boys found themselves in a drafty tower room littered with the unmistakable signs of owl habitation.

"The Owlery," Peter commented.

"Obviously," James replied, rolling his eyes. Remus frowned, but stayed silent.

"Well," Sirius said, sighing, "Let's head back down and pick another staircase."

"Um, this may not be the best time to mention it," Remus said hesitantly, "but there are a hundred and forty-two staircases here at Hogwarts."

The other three stopped in their tracks. "A hundred and forty-two?" James repeated faintly.

Sirius groaned. "We'll be searching all night."

"Well, the sooner we continue, the sooner we'll find it," Remus said. 'Hopefully,' he added silently.

"Remus is right," James said resignedly. "Let's go."

They continued wandering for the next hour, finding the Divination classroom, what they presumed to be the Astronomy Tower, simply because it seemed the tallest, and several more besides. As James half-jokingly pointed out, the only tower they hadn't found was the one they were looking for.

"This is pointless!" Sirius finally burst out. "We're never going to find it!"

"Find what?" asked a stern female voice from behind them.

The boys whipped around to face the woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall before the Sorting Feast. The same thought went through all their brains: 'Uh-oh.'

Whee!!! I finally finished this chapter!! YAY! Not sure how well I did Dumbledore, but, oh, well. Sorry about the cliffie, I couldn't resist!

kurtcobain4eva: Hey, thanks for reviewing! Don't worry, Sirius' cousins will get more evil as the story continues. Except Andromeda, of course, since Sirius says that she was his favorite cousin...though come to think of it, that's really not saying much. -)

Sparky Cola: Yeah, I have some words that probably wouldn't be used in that place/time, but I'm an American and I've never even been to England or any other part of Britain, so I don't know what words they'd use instead. Plus I wasn't alive during the seventies, so I don't know the difference between 'new' words and 'old.' I'm glad you like my writing!! Personally, I prefer other authors' works, but it's nice to know that some people like mine. Thanks for reviewing!

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