Author's Notes: Eep, sorry! I tried to get this out sooner, but nothing came to me. However, I really like this chapter for some reason. Probably because it's my longest one at over 3, 000 words. No applause is necessary, just give money. ;) Plus, you get to see the real character behind Riz. No one has mentioned anything about her. I'm still curious as to what you guys think. So here's the new thing, rather than trying to get out a chapter every week, I will update as soon as I get five reviews. That's it, guys. Five. Not twenty or fifty. Five. Do that, and you'll get a new chapter. Speaking of which (I don't want to write at the end of this chapter, so it's all going here. :P) I lied. Next chapter won't be Halloween, it'll be somewhere in between. I feel I need to introduce the other professors, but this was already really long, so I didn't get the chance. Any speculation on how you think the non-canon professors will be? Whoever can guess how my Potions professor will be will get their named mentioned somewhere. Now for the review mentions to replace my disclaimer. HA HA, I'M NOT WRITING ONE! ahem

Magnolia Lane:I love the idea, too, about them hating each other. No idea why. I know why they become friends (In my story, at least), but now I have to figure out where to put it. :P And I finally got to watch The Notebook. I didn't cry, but I really, really liked it.

Miss Piratess: Woo hoo! You are physic! What am I thinking now? You're absolute right! I was trying to figure out the best way to boil monkey brains! Wow, you're good. You made me blush with your comment about saying how the last chapter was something JKR could write. It's just nonsense, of course, but it still was sweet. As for the dance, it was wicked. Get this, it was a teen dance, but they played a lot of old good time music (Hang On Snoopy, It's Raining Men, Build Me Up Buttercup. I even 'tried to' sing to Madonna's Like a Virgin. They put a picture of it on their website and I...erm...look like I'm really enjoying it.)

hottiesplomiegurl: Thank you for the corrections! I'm so terrible at catching them, so I'm glad when others tell me about them. :D And I'm glad you like the Sorting Hat song! It just came to me!

I write way too many author notes. Whoops. But before I go, I'll write one more thing: I am desperately looking for a beta, if you couldn't tell by all my mistakes. :P

One Step At a Time

James woke up the next morning, extremely sore and uncomfortable. He blinked several times, though his sight was poor as ever. He reached over to his left, stretching his arm as far as it would go, but feeling nothing but air. Now on top of his soreness, he was also very confused. Where was his night stand that held his glasses? Also...why was he cold? James Potter always woke up feeling hot.

Squinting his eyes together, James realised there were other people in his room. His room, which was called such for a reason. Then a flood of memories streamed back into his mind and he collapsed onto his bed from being so inundated. Riding the train...getting Sorted...hitting Black...He was at Hogwarts! The remembrance of hitting Black also increased the pain in his nose. James knew without looking that it was swollen. What a lovely way to start classes...

Classes! James had forgotten all about them. What time was it? What if he was late for his first class? Oh, bugger, he needed his parents here to wake him on time. Stumbling out of bed, James tripped over his thick blanket that he had kicked out of his bed during the night, "Ouch." He said pathetically.

James' first thought was to just throw on any clothes he could find without looking for his glasses, but when he realised he was putting pants on his arms, he knew it wouldn't work. Soon after he began his search, James found his glasses on the right side of his bed. James was about to change his boxers, when he realised he was no longer in a room by himself. They kept making this thing harder and harder to cope with. James grabbed the first pair of boxers he could find, along with his white button-up shirt, pants, vest (complete with Gryffindor colours, which truly perked up James. He really was a Gryffindor!), tie, and robe. About to run into the bathroom to change, he saw a fellow Gryffindor taking his time getting dressed. It was the one who had fixed his nose!

"How much time do we have?" James asked him as quickly as possible, trying not to drop any of his clothes, and desperately hoping to remember the boy's name.

"About forty-five minutes, I reckon." The sandy-haired boy said, mumbling, "Breakfast starts at six-thirty, but most of the school isn't in there until seven, and classes start at seven-thirty. Or so my Mum said when she was in school."

Good, he had plenty of time left. Now if only he could figure out a way to find out the kid's name without asking him. It was ruddy embarrassing having to ask someone's name when you were already introduced to them before.

Still trying to think of a plan, James was stopped when the boy spoke up again, "What was your name again?"

James grinned. This was better than he had hoped for. Now he could answer the boy's question, then ask it again. Oh brilliant! "James Potter. What's yours?"

"Remus Lupin, also known as the boy who has yet to find a trick to remember a person's name. Other than looking at their name tag, of course. Can I trust you to wake up Frank, Sirius, and Peter if they're not up soon?" James nodded, "Good, I want to get a good seat at the Great Hall. I guess I'll see you later then." Picking up his books, Remus strode out of their dorm. Realizing he still had to get dressed, James ran to the bathroom. He figured he still could get a shower, they had a while yet.

Halfway through his shower, James remembered what Remus had said to him. He had repeated every other boy's name. How could he remember those and not James? How hard was that name? Shaking his head, James thought that Remus was an odd person indeed.

After his quick shower, James stood in front of the foggy mirror (Maybe his water had been just a smidge too hot, judging from all the fog in the room and the fact his skin was a very pink colour.), trying to get it more clear. Satisfied that he could now see his reflection, James went about his daily routine. First he got up as close to the mirror as he could, and fingered his chin, trying to find the even slightest hint of a hair. Nothing yet. "Maybe tomorrow, boys," James said to himself. Then he grabbed a towel and started drying his hair. Once it was dry enough, he ran his hands through it to try to make it lay flat. James had given up using brushes after he had broken one trying to get his hair to look half-way normal. Once happy with his hair, James started getting dressed. It was a depressing fact that he would have to waste what seemed like an hour getting dressed every day. At home, all he had to do was just throw on a t-shirt, and he was ready to venture throughout the world.

Once finished his 'manly primping', James opened the door to the bathroom and looked around. Frank was up, getting his things together. James gave him a thumbs up, which Frank readily returned. Unfortunately, Black and the other boy (Whose name either had to be Sirius or Peter, since Remus mentioned both those names) were still asleep. He decided he could do this one easy way (There were two easy ways until Frank ran into the bathroom the moment he left). All he had to do was stand in the middle of both beds, then say their names until they woke up. This way, he fulfilled his promise to Remus and he learned which name belonged to which guy.

"Peter," James decided to go for the easier name first, "Peter, get up." Nothing happened. He raised his voice a little higher, "Peter, get up!" Still nothing. Fine, he would use the other name, "Sirius, get up!" He looked in both directions, but neither boy moved. "Sirius!" If they wanted to play that game, James could play alright.

James walked over to the one boy (the boy who had NOT hit in him the face yesterday), and shook him, "Get up." He moved slightly. James pushed him again, "Time for classes! Wakey-wakey!" Finally, the blond boy muttered something about asking if his mother was making waffles for breakfast. This was just too far. He was going to be late for breakfast! So James did the only thing he could think of, he pushed the boy out of bed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!" James had to stifle a laugh as his fellow Gryffindor began to scream, waving his arms around. Looking all around, he finally found James, "Whatcha do that for?"

James shrugged, "Didn't want you oversleeping for classes and I couldn't get you up any other way. Sorry."

"Oh," He said, flushing slightly, "Well, that's okay then. I'm not late, am I?"

"Nah," said James, "You probably still got about half an hour yet."

The boy nodded, "Good. Thanks." And he set about for his day ahead.

James slowly walked over to Black. Didn't that name just say it all? Didn't the others see how truly awful he was? Luckily for James, the boy's screaming had woken him up, and he was getting ready, careful not to look at anyone.

Glad everyone was finally awake, James decided to get his books ready for class. Unfortunately, he had no idea what classes he had that day. Which meant that he had to drag all of his books with him. Hopefully his first class would be a free period in which he could come back and drop off all his books.

Stuffing all his books in his backpack (It was a tight squeeze), James sighed with how much his back was going to kill him after the day. James made sure he also had his parchment, quills, and ink, before zipping it up. The backpack wasn't anything fancy, it was the same thing he used last year. Because James and Frank had to live with muggles, their mothers made them go to school so no one asked any questions. Still, James was rather attached to his backpack, he even got his mother to sew his initials in it.

After admiring his backpack for one last time, James pulled on his socks and trainers. He was quite glad there was no mirror in the boys' dormitory. He was sure he looked like an absolute freak Lucky him. It was a good thing Frank came out at that moment, with his full uniform on. The boys looked at one another, then began to laugh. They looked hideous! Although, James was pretty sure he heard the blond boy laughing,yet James was sure he had no idea why they were all laughing.

Once Frank got ready, the pair left the dormitory. There, Riz was sitting on an armchair, leafing through her books. When she heard them approaching, she looked up, "About time you all got here! I thought you just left without me! Well, I got directions to the Great Hall, but I forget them already. So let's be off so we can get there on time!"

The boys, however, just stared at her, amazed, yet frightened at her chipper morning mood. James was still having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

Finally they set out for the Great Hall, "Okay," Riz started, looking to her left and right, "I think we're supposed to go down six flight of stairs, then turn left. But I suppose if we just keep going down until we can find the floor where we were last night, then just walk around, we'll be okay!"

This plan did not seem right to James though, and he was quite thankful when a funny looking ghost said he would show them the right way. They agreed whole-heartedly and followed him, until he led him off to first floor in front of a girl's bathroom, that seemed to be flooded with something that James prayed was water. When someone began to wail from inside, both hightailed it, and ran until they found a staircase. They ran down it, and luckily it ended in front of the Great Hall. They looked at one another, grinned, and then went to find free seats at the Gryffindor table.

They had just begun to eat the food on their plates when the prefect that led them to their common room the day before stared them down, "What took you so long?"

"We got lost!" James answered, honestly, hoping they wouldn't get in trouble. He wanted to get in trouble, of course, but not because of something like this, "Some ghost said he'd show us the way, but he dropped us off on the first floor."

The prefect hit himself in the head with a lot more pressure than he seemed to have wanted to, judging by the wince he gave, "By any chance, was this ghost colourful?"

"Very!" Frank said, "A lot different from the other ghosts around here."

The three friends were caught off guard when the prefect swore, "I knew I forgot to mention something to you guys! That was Peeves, he loves to play tricks on everyone, especially the first years. Well, from now till the rest of the week, I'm going to take you and the rest of the first years down here every morning."

James looked shocked, if not a little disgusted. He was treating them like five year olds, "No! We gotta learn to get around here eventually, anyways. Besides, I figured out the way now."

The prefect looked at him and sighed, "Fine, but if you want me to take you down, I'll be in the common room at seven each morning. I should go tell the rest of the first years."

Riz stared as he left, "That was weird. Anyway, what are our classes for today?"

"Oh!" piped up a small voice. They all turned to see Remus, who was sitting next to Frank, "Sorry, I grabbed your schedules." He said, nodding at the boys, "Er, I didn't get yours though," He said to Riz, "I'm sure some other girl did though." He passed Frank and James their card, then went back to eating what had once been a blueberry muffin until he scarfed half it down.

"Yeah, I should go find that." Riz said, "I'll be right back." Then she excused herself and went looking for the girls.

Frank seemed to be looking at his schedule, "Transfiguration, Charms, and History of Magic today. Transfiguration doesn't seem to be too bad. Professor McGonagall teaches Transfiguration, and since she's our Head of house, I'm sure she'll favour us."

However, it turned out Frank couldn't be more wrong. It became apparent the moment she began speaking that she couldn't care whether you were a wizard or even a Muggle, just as long as you listened to her and did the work, which made James' analogy pretty stupid, as Muggles couldn't even begin to hope to do the work. It seemed that James couldn't either. After she killed them all by taking pages upon pages of notes, she gave them a match to turn into a needle. James got the furthest by at least making his silver. Apparently, this disappointed her, judging by the huge essay she demanded by their next class.

After they left Transfiguration, their class (Luckily, all Gryffindor first years had the same classes together) shifted towards the Charms corridor. One girl had been smart enough to actually ask where it was, so they had a mild idea where they were going.

Charms wasn't too bad. The professor, a tiny little wizard named Professor Flitwick, just did roll call and asked them to read the first chapter in their book Everyone did, of course, for almost five minutes. Then they began to chat about whatever subject came to mind. James was glad Professor Flitwick didn't say anything, because he really needed to talk to Riz.

"What happened to you?" James asked her.

"What do you mean what happened to me?" Riz asked, if only slightly too innocent.

James gave her a look, "Breakfast. You never came back after you got your schedule."

Riz smiled shyly, "Oh, sorry, Lily Evans and Emmeline Vance, you know, two girls in our year, asked me to sit with them. You don't mind, do you?"

"Mind? No, of course not. Yeah, go sit with them, that's okay." James said, feeling slightly hurt. Riz was his and Frank's friend! It's not like this Lily and Emmeline helped her with her robes problem, did she? But if she wanted to be with the girls, what could he do?

"Great!" Riz said brightly, "So d'you mind if I sit with them at lunch, too? Lily's muggleborn, too, so she knows what I'm going through, and I feel like I actually know what's going on when I talk to her."

James rolled his eyes under his eyelids so she wouldn't see (a skill he picked up so he could let out annoyance from his mother, without getting caught). He and Frank grew up with Muggles! They knew all about them! Yet somehow he felt his mouth say, "Sure. Maybe I'll see you later."

"Oh, of course! I'll sit with you at dinner. I'm so glad you understand!"

Then the bell rang to go to lunch. James was glad because he found he didn't know what to say to Riz. Did he understand? He tried to. How would he feel if he didn't have Frank and he had no idea what was going on? Pretty dang lost. So it was a good thing that she was talking to the girls! As long as it helped her. Good, now he felt much better about himself as he and Frank travelled with the Gryffindor first years to the Great Hall.

Lunch was very quick for the boys. Frank, too, had brought all his books, and they wanted to drop off all but their History of Magic one before class began. Unfortunately, there was only an hour of lunch. They rushed the meal, eating in only fifteen minutes, but that still meant they had to find their way to the Gryffindor Common Room and the History of Magic classroom in forty-five minutes.

It took them forty-six minutes.

Normally, they wouldn't care about being late by one minute, but they found that everyone around them was gawking at the front of the room. They looked and saw a ghost. He apparently had taken no notice of them, as he was already well into discussing what could only be assumed to be the history of magic. They found two seats in the middle and quickly took out their materials.

Unfortunately, James felt that if they already missed the first two minutes of it (One minute that it took them to actually get in the class, and then they spent thirty seconds gawking at the ghost, then another thirty seconds finding a seat. They also took eleven seconds to get out their materials, so it was even more than two minutes gone of the lecture. James knew this only because he had actually timed everything.), there was no point in listening to the rest. So he dipped his quill in his ink and began to write something on the parchment:

'Frank doyou feel funnyabout this class to? Maybe it's just me but I don't trust ghosts anymore.'

'Yeah, I'm uncomfortable with this thing as well. But stop writing me notes, I'm trying to listen.'

'Why?'

'Seriously, why?'

'Fine, don't answer me.'

'Prat.'

James decided to give up on having his best friend write him a note back and decided to take a nap. He could just get the notes off someone else later.

Author's Note: I lied, there are notes down here. But only one thing, don't yetll at me about the grammar in the notes. Maybe it's just around here, but my guy friends (Who are much older than James and Frank) still cannot get the idea of commas and other grammar ideas in their notes. It always bugged me, so I put it here to show the world. :D Remember, five reviews!