Author's Notes: Merci beaucoup to Lady Foeseeker, my one and only reviewer. I was initially disappointed by the absolute lack of reviews for Chapter One, but lo! You came along and made my day a tenfold brighter. Your message was extremely encouraging, and thanks for pointing out that blip! This chapter is dedicated to you, and it's one of my personal favorites!

The Ebony Files

Chapter Two: The Perplexing and the Unexpected

Part One: The Perplexing

September 2nd, 1977

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

I awoke the following morning feeling jittery despite the warm sunshine leaking through a window onto my comforter. Rubbing my eyes, I looked about sleepily and saw that nobody else had awoken yet. I grinned upon noting Frank, who was still slumbering in his daytime clothes. He had a smudge of red lipstick on his cheek, undoubtedly left there by Alice.

I yawned widely and glanced at the digital clock on my nightstand. 8:02 flashed back at me - breakfast would start in about thirty minutes -

My eyes rested on Hogwarts, A History, and I immediately realised why I'd been feeling apprehensive.

"Stop being stupid," I said out loud. "She probably just..." But no words came to me and I trailed off uncertainly. Even after an entire night of pondering, I still couldn't come up with a single reason as to why Lily Evans wanted to meet me in private...

Not wanting to feel thoroughly confused again, I decided to try to focus on things that needed to be taken care of at the moment. Rubbing my eyes again, I crossed the room, careful not to trip over Sirius' hastily thrown aside robes, entered the bathroom and took a brief shower. Stepping out of the cubicle with a fluffy towel around my waist, I caught my reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. With my thin frame and slight 5 foot 9 height, I wasn't very physically imposing, but upon a closer look, my muscles were firm and well-developed due to my wolfish nature. Oddly enough, for a werewolf, I wasn't that hairy - a light down graced my arms, legs and chest, and I only had a bit of stubble on my chin. After throwing on some clothes, I crossed over to one of the five sinks in the bathroom, where I ran a comb through my damp brown hair, brushed my teeth, and washed my face. After drying off, I glanced one more time into the mirror. Amber eyes peered back, ever-present dark circles beneath them giving my face a slightly haunted look.

I stepped out of the steamy bathroom just as Frank and Peter entered, both of them looking as if another eight hours of sleep would suit them much better than the prospect of breakfast and class. After exchanging brief "Morning"s with them, I stepped back into the dormitory to find James bending over a still-sleeping Sirius. The aforementioned was holding a can of whipped cream directly over Sirius' face, and upon seeing me, jumped about a foot in midair. I grinned to let him know I was okay with the prank (Sirius' good-looks were something we all liked to make fun of) and watched, amused, as James neatly covered his best friend's nose with the fluffy white sugar. He fished a cherry from his back pocket and held it out to me, mouthing "You do the honors". Stuffing a fist in my mouth to suppress my laughter, I daintily placed the bright red berry on the tip of Sirius' whip-cream mountain of a nose. James looked like he was going to explode from laughter and as he caught my eye, I knew exactly what both of us were thinking - get the camera.

After snapping a few dozen pictures, enlarging them by tenfold and plastering them all over the Gryffindor common, James and I collapsed in our favorite squashy armchairs by the fire.

"Good work, Moony," he breathed, exhausted, staring up at the enormous photos of Sirius snoring gently.

"Yeah, you too," I panted back. "Brilliant idea. I bet Sirius never saw it com-"

"AAARRRGHHHH!" came the voice of our beloved Padfoot from upstairs.

I caught James' eye and we both grinned.

By the time the entire Gryffindor tower had caught a glimpse of Sirius' new "makeover", he'd already been dubbed the nickname "Cherry Pie". Disturbingly enough, I heard one fifth year whisper to her friend that she wouldn't have minded cleaning him up before the two of them collapsed into giggles.

To our horror, Sirius didn't take it badly at all. He washed it off, of course, casually called James and me some words I probably shouldn't repeat here, and took all the photos off. But no glowering, no hexes, not even a raised eyebrow. Instead, Sirius "Cherry Pie" Black walked around the rest of the day with a big, knowing smirk on his face.

This made James and me very nervous. Even Frank said to us sympathetically as he climbed out of the portrait hole, "I feel really bad for you two - if there's one thing Sirius Black can get, it's revenge." And we watched him walk away, horrified.

"Do you think we should throw these away?" James whispered to me, covertly taking out a few extra photos we'd "forgotten" to tell Sirius about.

"No!" I hissed back. "Listen, whatever Sirius does, it can't be worse than what we did to him. In fact, I bet he's just bluffing. He...he'd probably laugh if he see how pathetic we're being. Just keep your cool and we'll be fine...I think."

James still looked dubious as we headed toward the Great Hall.

Breakfast was quick - we'd missed most of it anyway. Lily was sitting further down the table with her friends. Our eyes met once, and she gave me a brief smile, but the second ended rather abruptly when Peter poked me rudely in the back.

"Oy, schedules!" he said apprehensively as the cards were handed to us.

I was delighted to find that we had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaw first. It was my forte, and Professor Banks was one of my favorite teachers at Hogwarts.

"Hello, everybody," Banks greeted the class when we'd all entered and sat down 15 minutes later. An ex-Auror, Bartholomew Banks was everything a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher should've been - strict, keen and fair.

"I hope you've all had a good summer," he said briskly. "But now that you all have finally reached your seventh year here at Hogwarts, I must bring up an issue most of you've undoubtedly heard about - and dreaded. There's no need to look so frightened, Mr. Pettigrew. If you hadn't achieved an O.W.L. in Defense Against the Dark Arts two years ago, then you wouldn't be sitting in that seat today, so that tells me that all of you are perfectly capable of passing your N.E.W.T. in this class with at least an 'Acceptable'."

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," he waved his wand, and minuscule print appeared on the chalkboard behind him. "This is a general overview of what you can expect to be tested on. Obviously we have yet to cover the Unforgivable Curses (a small shudder rang throughout the room), the Patronus charm, and many others listed at the bottom, but you should be familiar with the majority of these topics already. As your professor, my main objective this year will be to prepare you for your final examination. Now, please copy these subjects down."

The room was filled with the rustling of parchment and the scratches of quills. I felt a wave of nausea as I started writing - there were so many subjects to review...

Looking around, I saw that most everybody else had anxious or worried expressions. Sirius, however, looked as composed as usual, a haughty expression resting his face as he lazily scrawled the topics down on his parchment.

After we'd all finished, a few people took out their wands, looking hopeful. However, Banks was intent on the subject of N.E.W.T.s again, and for the first time ever, Defense Against the Dark Arts was not any more interesting than History of Magic as Banks launched into a long, winding lecture about how we should prepare for the dreaded tests ("Personally, I would recommend at least two hours of studying each night, starting sometime around November.").

By the time class was over, even Sirius looked a little concerned.

Next was Arithmancy. Sirius, Peter and James, all of whom were pureblood and didn't know anything outside the wizarding world, took Muggle Studies. I said goodbye to them and headed down to the first floor. Entering the classroom, I took a seat next to an old friend, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was Keeper and Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"Good to see you, Remus," Kingsley greeted me in a deep voice. "How was your summer?"

"Not bad - yours?"

"Could've been worse," he replied. Then, with a wide grin spreading over his face - "Listen, Damien Bones told me about that stunt you and James pulled on Sirius. Bloody good idea, mate!"

"Er, thanks," I replied nervously. Before Kingsley could say anything more, though, Professor Vector had strode purposefully into the room, and after enduring a lecture similar to (but thankfully, shorter than) that of Banks' on N.E.W.T.s, we were instructed to turn to Chapter 1 and begin working.

After an uneventful lunch (except for the first year Gryffindor who came up to our table, her face crimson, who blurted, "Siriuswillyougooutwithme", and without even waiting for a reply, turned on her heel and fled), I spent the 45-minute break with James, Sirius and Peter outside, where we sat under the usual beech tree by the lake. In contrast to yesterday's storm, the weather was perfect - clear skies, warm sunshine, and a slight breeze. Most students were outdoors, some zooming around on broomsticks, others tickling the giant squid. To everybody's disgust, Narcissa's blonde cronies had taken up the muggle hobby of cheerleading, complete with green and silver uniforms, and loud choruses of "We're Slytherins, we're cunning, our wardrobes are so stunning!" rang across the fields as Narcissa herself stood by with the usual sneer on her otherwise beautiful face, apparently too above everybody else to join in on the energetic chants and cheer routines.

"Now I know why mothers eat their young," I commented dryly, glancing up from my book.

"How long d'you reckon it'll take McGonagall to storm out and give the lot detentions for a week?" James asked as a loud "Like yeah, we think, that green is the new pink!" made him wince.

Sirius, who had remained unusually quiet as he looked over at the Slytherins, now stood up. Without a word, he began to saunter towards the girls.

"Hey, Padfoot!" Peter shouted, scrambling to get up.

"What're you playing at?" James asked irritably, joining Peter as they made after Sirius.

Seeing as I had no other options, I sighed, put my book down and followed suit.

By the time I'd caught up with them, Sirius was already standing in front of the cheerleaders, who upon seeing that possibly the most popular male in the school was approaching them, had fallen clumsily out of their pyramid and were now brushing the grass and dirt off their skirts. An expanding ring of onlookers crowded to witness the scene - where Sirius Black was involved, there was bound to be excitement...

"Good day, ladies," Sirius smiled pleasantly, his smooth voice breaking the silence. "I have a bit of - ah, an issue to speak with you about. Now, there probably isn't a single person here -" he gestured to all those surrounding him "who hasn't caught wind of your new routine. And I must say, for a bunch of Slytherins, you lot sure are the most energetic and lively cheerleaders I've ever seen. Even more so than veela."

The girls looked absolutely delighted at this last comment.

"We're glad you like it," one giggled.

"But that's where unfortunately, you're mistaken," Sirius continued, looking down at them calmly. "I don't like it. Nobody does. Your rhymes sound like they were written by a two year old, your voices are dreadful on the ears, and you really do need to tailor your costumes, they look terrible. So ladies, if you don't mind, please do us all a favor and stop rubbing your stupidity off on the rest of the civilised population, because some of us have futures and do not wish to die at an early age from the ungainly sight and sounds of your - ah - well, you may think it's cheerleading, but the rest of us regard it as a successful attempt at making yourselves seem more idiotic than you already are. Good day." He turned smoothly on his heel and began to walk away, the girls gaping wide-mouthed behind him, too shocked and insulted to think of an adequate comeback.

"Hold it, my dear cousin," came a cool, female voice. Narcissa Black had stepped out, and her long, thin wand was poised in midair, aimed directly between Sirius' shoulder blades. A few onlookers gasped. Narcissa wasn't somebody that not many people wanted to upset, much less duel with.

"Yes, Narcissa?" Sirius stopped but did not turn around, an obviously disrespectful gesture.

"Nobody insults my friends," she hissed, blue eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh, really?" Sirius asked in interest. His voice was still light as ever. "I believe I just did. Rather thoroughly, too," he faced his cousin with a smirk on his face.

"No matter how many people you have kissing your hems," Narcissa continued to glower at him, "You don't own the world, peacock boy. I think it's time you learn to show a little res-"

She was cut off abruptly by Sirius' sneering laugh.

"Why, I never thought this day would come! Of all people, the lapdog of Lucius Malfoy is giving me life lessons about respect!" he exclaimed in mock wonder. Then, nearing her, he said in almost a whisper - "But unlike you, Cissa dear, the dear old ways tactics of Lucius don't work for me. My respect is not paid for in diamonds."

This last comment struck Narcissa deep. "Stupify!" she shouted furiously.

A dozen wands had whipped out to defend Sirius, but he himself was more than prepared. With a quick Shield Charm, he sent Narcissa's streak of red light back at her. She just barely dodged it, but in the process dropped her wand, giving Sirius the chance to raise his wand to attack -

"STOP!" I heard a familiar voice call out, before realising it was mine.

By this time, Narcissa had retrieved her wand, but she did not raise it again. Instead, like everybody else, she was staring at me, shocked. I knew exactly what they were all thinking - Remus Lupin never, ever raises his voice. The looks on their faces would've been funny in any other situation. I had the sudden impulse to say, "Oh it's nothing, haha, I just wanted to see your reactions, carry on then," but Sirius was looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What, Remus?" he said calmly. For a moment, my throat constricted, but upon looking into his eyes, I saw no trace of anger, no sarcasm, no rebuke. He was slightly annoyed at being interrupted, but he wasn't mad.

"You can't attack a girl," I found my voice after a few seconds. Looking around, I saw that some people were whispering to their neighbors, frowning, but many others looked thoughtful, and some were now nodding in obvious agreement.

Sirius stared at me, his hand shaking slightly.

"You're right," he said after an eternity, and tucked his wand neatly back into his robes. The stunned crowd parted as he turned abruptly and headed toward the castle, James and Peter hurrying in his wake.

I blinked, miffed that I'd managed to dissuade Sirius from attacking the cousin he'd resented his entire life. Then, seeing as how everybody's eyes were still on me, I turned and quickly left the scene, feeling incredulous stares boring holes into my back.

The second I stepped into the castle, I nearly had a heart attack. Sirius was standing there, obviously waiting for me, while James and Peter hung in the background, looking anxious.

"Moony," Sirius mumbled uncharacteristically, and I was surprised to hear that his arrogant tone was completely gone. "I wanted to thank you in private. I-I lost my head out there, and if you hadn't stopped me from hurting her, I dunno how far I'd have gone."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "S'okay," I said.

"Don't look so happy," Sirius said warningly, the familiar mischievous grin creeping back up his face as we joined James and Peter. "We're not square yet. I haven't forgotten about this morning."

The warning bell sounded in hall, cutting off the moment. I found myself smiling widely as the four of us headed up to Transfiguration together. Everything was okay.

For the moment.

To Be Continued

A/N: Before you kill me, know that it wasn't my intention to divide Chapter Two, but seeing as how I'd already reached 5 pages of writing in size 9.2 Verdana before even showing Remus and Lily's meeting in the library, I realised I had to split it. Apologies, the cliffhanger continues, but I did uphold my promise of more action, which should've kept you entertained...hopefully.