The Ties That Bind
Chapter Thirteen: Summer
May 2, 1972
Nearing the end of the term, Gryffindor had a final match against Slytherin. Much to the disappointment of the Gryffindors, the Slytherins won the Quidditch Cup. It was a close match, the Slytherins winning 200 to 180. Alex, the appointed Captain for the next year, was bound and determined to change the Gryffindors' losing streak and had already begun planning strategies and plays.
Erica continued to be decent to Lily and Jaina and they wondered what exactly had changed the girl's mind. Lily wasn't going to push it, figuring Erica would tell them in due time. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter continued to hang out and managed to pull some pranks, despite the professors cracking down on them. Finals were coming up within the next month and the lessons were getting harder. Lily had survived the tutoring sessions with James mostly by just giving him work to do and checking up occasionally. That way she didn't have to put up with him continually.
The night of the full moon everything had gone smoothly and though Remus wasn't in too good of shape the following few days, the other boys always brought him his homework and helped keep him up to date. It was on such occasions that Remus felt truly wanted and felt he had friends he could count on. Lily, of course, was great as always, bringing him hot soup and just talking to him.
One afternoon, Sirius found Andromeda in the library and headed over to talk to her. He had tried several times over the past weeks and she still wasn't talking to him. Just as he came near enough to speak, Bellatrix showed up. "Andromeda, I have that book for you. I think you should look over it." Bellatrix gave Sirius a cold look from the corner of her eye and looked back at Andromeda. Sirius sighed and walked way. What am I supposed to do?
Meanwhile, Lily sat in the shade of one of the large trees, trying to finish her Herbology essay, but it was being difficult. She sighed, ready to tear her hair out. She had to get an Outstanding on the essay or she wouldn't be able to be top.
"Need some help?"
Lily looked up to see Amelia Bones standing there, smiling. "That would be great, thank you," Lily said.
Amelia took a seat next to Lily. "What're you working on?"
"Herbology." Lily made a face. "Not one of my favorite subjects."
"Not mine either, but I learned to get through it. Let's see what you have." Amelia took the parchment, looking over it. "Oh, I remember this." She laughed. "I had trouble too. Here, I'll show you what I did." She took Lily's book and flipped it to the last chapter. "This has everything you need."
Lily grinned. "Thank you so much. Never would have thought to look there."
"I didn't either." Amelia stood. "Need anything else?"
"Nope, I'm good. Thanks."
"Anytime. Oh, and if you could, tell Leon that he still owes me ten galleons from our bet."
"Sure."
"Bye!" Amelia waved and walked off. Lily smiled and leaned against the tree, working on her essay. She saw Edgar walking with his girlfriend, Felicity, who happened to be Head Girl as well. He waved at Lily and she smiled, waving back.
"Watch out!" Suddenly a ball came flying past Lily, narrowing missing her. She jumped up and looked to see James chasing the ball.
"How could I guess?" she said, crossing her arms.
"I said watch out."
"You shouldn't have let it go this far."
"Well you shouldn't have been in the way," he retorted.
"You think the world revolves around you, Potter. Newsflash: it doesn't."
"And you think everyone loves you and that you have it easy."
"Easy? Hello! I study constantly, unlike some people I know," she said, pointedly at him.
"That's because I don't need to," he said arrogantly.
"We'll just see who's top this term," she said coolly. "I doubt an arrogant, lazy jerk like yourself would ever beat me." She grabbed her books, walking off.
James just rolled his eyes and ran back over to where Sirius, Remus, and Peter were waiting.
May 28, 1972
The week of finals was chaos. Seventh-years were cramming for NEWTS, fifth-years were scared to death of OWLS, and the rest of the students were hurriedly trying to survive it. The only two people who were completely calm, or at least seemed to be, were James and Sirius.
They would sit in the common room, playing games of Wizard's Chess while everyone around them studied. The truth was that they had already studied the previous night and every other night. Around midnight they would sneak to the Magician's Study to study and sometimes Remus and Peter joined them. As the days went on, they got less and less sleep until even James was fighting to keep his eyes open.
When finals week ended, everyone was anxious to see their results. And when the results came, some were shocked and some were not.
Lily smirked at James. "Now who looks like an idiot," she said, walking away.
"How does she get off with that?" James asked angrily, waving towards Lily.
Sirius shrugged. "She's top of our class, so what."
"So? I should be top of our class, not her." James glared at the results.
"She works hard," Remus said. "Why shouldn't she be top?"
"B-Because." James crossed his arms in front of his chest in a huff. "I'm the best."
"You'll top her next year," Peter said. "Cheer up."
"This is not the end." James stormed off.
Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. "Rivalry. And I thought Slytherins had it bad," Sirius said.
"What'd I miss?" Leon asked, coming up to them.
"Oh, just James huffing because Lily beat him again," Remus said with a smile.
Leon laughed lightly. "How come that doesn't surprise me."
"Just watch. In an hour, he'll be fine and want to plan the next prank," Sirius said. "Which is fine by me."
"Let's just make sure he doesn't hurt himself," Peter said.
"Good idea." Leon said and the four headed off to find James.
They missed Severus come storming out of the crowd. "How dare she," he growled. "A Mudblood, beating me."
Andromeda saw this and had to grin. Good job, Lily. Keep it up. She slipped back into the crowd. Christina looked at Severus. "You were still top in Potions," she said.
"That doesn't bloody matter," Severus said, glaring at her. "I'm still not the top."
"Not everyone can be the top," Romulus said.
"Bugger off," Severus snapped.
Romulus just rolled his eyes. "Chill out. Honestly." He walked away.
"Just teach the Mudblood a lesson," Evan offered.
Severus stopped huffing and thought about it. Then he smirked. "In due time." He walked away, thinking.
"I don't like it when he gets that look on his face," Tom said.
"Me either," Christina agreed.
"As long as it doesn't involve us or radishes, I'm good," Evan said.
"Radishes?" Christina looked at him, arching an eyebrow. Evan nodded. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.
Evan shrugged. "Don't know."
Christina rolled her eyes. "Let's go. We should probably see what Severus is up to." The group of Slytherins headed out.
June 1, 1972
In her dorm, Lily was packing her books into her trunk. "Jaina, do you think I'm stuck up?"
Jaina was sitting on her bed, reading a magazine, having already packed everything. "Sometimes, why?"
"Thanks for the support," Lily said, slightly sarcastic.
"Anytime," Jaina said with a grin. "Honestly? Sometimes you're a bit over-bearing. I mean, think about it. I'm the best friend of the school's brightest girl. Sort of gives me a reputation to hold up. A bit rough, sometimes."
Lily laughed. "Only you, Jaina."
"Why are you so worried all of a sudden?"
Lily shrugged. "Nothing really."
"Don't let James get to you."
"He doesn't."
"If you say so," Jaina said with a knowing smile, looking back down at her magazine.
"And what's that supposed to mean Jaina Ann Lemay?"
Jaina looked at her innocently. "Don't read into it."
"Why does that not reassure me?"
Jaina shrugged. "Innocent, I swear."
Lily laughed. "That'll be the day." She sighed. "I just can't believe the school year is over." Lily took a seat at the edge of her bed. "It feels like yesterday I was just getting here."
"Really?" Jaina asked, raising her eyebrows. "It feels like forever for me."
Lily laughed. "Wouldn't doubt it. I can't wait for next year, though. I hear we learn all sorts of exciting things."
Jaina just shook her head. "Lily, Lily, Lily, only you would look forward to school."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Proves my point."
"What point was that?"
Jaina thought about it. "I'll tell you when I remember." They laughed.
Lily yawned. "We'd better head to bed. We have to get up early for the train tomorrow."
"Wouldn't miss it," Jaina said, putting the magazine away and hopping into bed. "Night, Lils."
"Night, Jaina."
June 3 1972
"Anything for you, dears?" The boys looked up to see the lady pulling up a trolley to their door, brimming with sweets. They nodded and bought a bit of everything.
"You know, I think the thing I'm going to miss most over the holiday is the food," Sirius said, eating a handful of every flavor beans.
"You would," Leon said with a laugh. He opened a package of Licorice Wands, pulling one out and chewing on it. He offered the package to James. "Want one?"
"Sure," James said, smiling. He pulled out a licorice wand and bit into it. "Good."
"Good for the soul, bad for the teeth," Sirius said, swallowing his mouthful of beans. He put another into his mouth, chewing, and quickly swallowed, a disgusted look on his face. "Except for that one."
"What'd you get?" Remus asked.
"Sardine."
James wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Disgusting."
"Tell me about it. I'm the one that ate it." Sirius quickly un-wrapped a Cauldron Cake and bit into it. "Much better."
"I got a boogie flavored one once," Peter said, making a face. "I haven't eaten a bean since."
"That's never turned me off," Sirius said, popping a handful of beans into his mouth.
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Leon said, laughing.
"Hey!" Sirius protested and threw a bean at him. Peter grinned and threw a piece of cauldron cake at Leon.
"Mutiny!" Leon cried, laughing as he was attacked by candy from all directions.
"We're wasting good food!" Sirius said, gathering all the candy in his lap as if protecting it.
"You're the one that started it," Remus pointed out.
"So?"
Remus just shook his head, chuckling. "Never mind, Sirius."
Sirius began munching happily on his candy, which James tried to steal. "Mine," Sirius said, hugging the bags of candy to his chest.
"You can't eat it all," James said.
"Watch me." With that, Sirius stuffed a large handful of candy into his mouth and sat there with his cheeks puffed out like a blowfish.
They all laughed (minus Sirius).
When they departed the train, they all went their separate ways. With promises to owl and keep in touch, the students headed off for summer vacation.
Sirius returned to a cold, uncaring manor and spent quite a few afternoons beating around Bludgers with a bat.
As soon as James came home, he was whisked off to Italy with his parents for a family vacation.
Peter, unluckily, came home to a house full of bratty cousins and spent the better part of his summer babysitting.
Lily mowed lawns and helped garden, which gave her an excuse to stay out of the way of Petunia.
Thanking Merlin that Romulus went off to stay with the Lestranges, Remus managed to get some quiet time with his mother, just helping her around the house and reading.
Jaina and Jacen left for Romania soon after arriving home to see the dragons.
Birthdays came and went with cards and gifts. But it wasn't until the last few weeks before school began that things took a turn for the interesting.
August 10, 1972
Having just turned twelve the day before, Lily sat on the backyard swing, reading To Kill a Mockingbird. A light breeze swept through her long hair, making wisps fly in front of her face. She brushed them aside, turning a page and continuing to read.
"Lily! Sweetheart! Someone's here to see you! She's in the front room!" Rosemary Evans called from the kitchen.
"Coming, Mum!" Lily called back, hopping up and setting her book down. She ran inside and to the front room. She skidded to a halt, too shocked to speak at first. Finally finding her voice, she swallowed and said, "Erica?"
Erica Baddock stood, clutching a bag to her chest. It looked as though she had been crying. "I – I didn't know where else I could go. I'm sorry, I'll just leave –"
"No, it's alright." Lily gently pushed Erica back into a chair. Lily knelt down on the floor next to her. "What happened?""I'm just so scared," she whispered, a few tears coming to her eyes. She closed her eyes, keeping her head bowed. "My...my parents fought...something stupid...m-my dad...he's one of the bad people...Voldemort." She began sobbing. "My d-dad killed her," she whispered.
Lily just stared, not knowing what to say. "I – I'm sure it's not like that. Your father's a good person."
"I-I thought he was too," she whispered, the tears still falling. "He was fine at dinner and then suddenly he stood and – went after my m-mother. Yelling – h-he killed her and he tried to hurt me but – but then he stopped and looked at me l-like he didn't know w-what he had done." She sobbed harder and Lily stood up and hugged Erica tight in an effort to comfort the sobbing girl. "I-I don't know what to do."
"I'm sure my mum won't mind you staying here for awhile, even until school," Lily assured her. "Maybe you can owl your aunt or something."
Erica nodded. "I-I can do that." She sniffed, looking up at Lily and wiping at her tears. "Why are you being so nice to me? After the way I treated you?"
Lily smiled. "All's forgiven. Don't worry about it. I'm not mad."
"Even though I called you a Mud- that?"
Lily nodded. "Yes."
"You're a good person."
Lily chuckled. "I try." She looked serious again. "Mind if I ask why you came here?"
Erica sniffed. "I didn't know where else to go and I – I accidentally came across your address in a book. It was lying on the floor in my dad's study...I hid there ..."
A book? That doesn't sound good...Lily looked concerned. "Were there other addresses in that book?"
Erica nodded. "I don't remember them though."
Lily nodded. "That's alright. You're more than welcome here. Now how about supper? I think my mum's almost done." What am I supposed to do? I think Dumbledore or someone should know about this. This book...it just doesn't sound good. Why would it have my address in it?
Erica smiled, her eyes a bit puffy but looking better. "Thank you." She stood and Lily led her to the kitchen.
"Mum, would it be alright if Erica stayed a few days with us?"
"Of course, dear," Rosemary said, smiling. "Any friend of my Lily's is welcome here."
"Thank you, Mrs. Evans," Erica said.
"Lily, dearest, why don't you show Erica to the spare bedroom?"
Lily nodded. "Okay."
"And get washed up for supper. It's nearly ready."
Lily led Erica up to the second floor and to the second bedroom. "Here we are," she said, opening the door. "You can stay here. If you need to, you can use Elana to owl your aunt."
Erica nodded. "Thanks. I'll be down in a tick. You go on."
"Okay." Lily smiled, closing the door and heading back downstairs. That is not right...something isn't right, Lily thought as she walked. Erica's father suddenly turning like that. It doesn't add up.
During supper, Rosemary asked Erica plenty of questions and Lily finally stepped in, saying, "Mum, Erica will be here all week. You can ask her more tomorrow."
Rosemary nodded. "Of course, dear."
"Mum, when will dad be back?" Lily asked as she helped clear the table. Erica followed suit, silent as she worked.
"He should be back tomorrow afternoon. His business is getting more and more time consuming," Rosemary sighed as she placed the dishes in the sink. She smiled, but Lily could tell it was getting tiring. Especially since it left Rosemary having to deal with Petunia and her fits.
"Do you need any more help?" Lily asked.
"No, dear, you can go. I'll finish up here."
"Okay. Come on," Lily said to Erica and led her back to her room. "You can use this to write your letter." Lily opened her desk drawer and pulled out some paper and a pen.
Erica looked at it, confused. "What is this?"
"Oh," Lily realized. Erica wouldn't have seen this. She's a pureblood. "It's a pen. The Muggle version of quills and ink. Erica looked as though she really didn't want to touch it, as if it would contaminate her or something. Lily bit back a chuckle. Absurd, really. She fetched some parchment and her quill kit from her trunk. "Here, why don't you use these."
"Thanks," Erica took the items, seeming much more at ease and took a seat, writing. Lily busied herself by tidying up her room.
"I think we're going to Diagon Alley next week to get our books for next year. You're welcome to come."
"If I'm still here."
"True."
Lily was silent, letting Erica finish up her letter. "Alright, I'm done." Erica stood and handed Lily the rolled up parchment.
"Elana," Lily called softly. Elana hopped out her cage and stuck out her foot.
"My aunt's name is Carmen Walsh. The name and address is on the scroll."
Lily nodded and took the letter, tying it to Elana's leg. "Thank you, Elana." Elana hooted and nipped Lily's fingers affectionately. "Elana will take it fast," Lily promised, looking at Erica.
"I hope so," Erica said, watching as Elana flew out the window, soaring into the night.
August 11, 1972
That morning, Elana and another owl flew in and landed on the rail at the end of Lily's bed. The owl held out its talon, to which the Daily Prophet was tied onto. "Thank you," Lily said, giving the owl a treat and watching it soar off. Elana hopped into her cage, nipping at food and sipping some water.
Lily unrolled the latest issue of the wizarding newspaper and the front headline caught her attention.
RANDOM KILLINGS, WHO'S NEXT?
Over the course of the past few weeks, several unexplained murders have occurred. No one seems to know the cause of these, but Aurors seem to think they are related. Or that's what we hope, as the officials refuse to disclose any information that they have found.
Earlier this week, a man attacked his wife and moments later babbled incoherently. Reports were only able to pick a few words from his speech such as "I didn't do it. He forced me." Baffled by these occurrences, officials are still trying to figure out exactly what is happening.
"This is not good...not good at all," Lily said softly, reading the rest of the article.
"What happened?" Erica asked, walking into Lily's room and taking a seat next to her.
"Seems what happened to your family is happening to others too." Lily handed Erica the newspaper.
"My father wasn't a bad person," Erica said quietly, looking at the newspaper. "They wanted me to be in Slytherin, like they had, but my mother was an Auror. She did intelligence and all that, though she could never tell us quite what she did. My father was a friend of the Malfoys, but I never heard anything bad."
Lily chewed on her lip thoughtfully. She wasn't the cleverest witch of her year for nothing. "There are some nasty dark magic curses that might be able to make people do things. So it might be that your dad was controlled by one of them; forced to do that."
Erica gave her a disbelieving look. "Why would Voldemort do that?"
Lily shrugged. "Power. Gaining followers. Any number of reasons."
A few tears gathered in Erica's eyes. "I don't want my dad to follow him. No matter what you think of me and my Slytherin family, we're not evil. My parents didn't support the dark arts. My grandparents didn't even support Grindelwald."
"I don't think you're evil," Lily assured her, hugging an arm around Erica's shoulders. "I never thought that. I thought you were stubborn and could be a prat at times, but never evil."
Erica sniffed and smiled a little. "Thanks. I think."
Lily smiled. "What are friends for?"
"We're friends?"
Lily nodded. "If you want to be."
"I've never really had friends before," Erica said quietly, looking at her lap.
"Well now you do. And Jaina will warm up to you, just give her time."
"I was wrong about you, Lily. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. So, up for some catch?"
"Some what?" Erica looked at her, extremely confused.
"Catch. With a ball and glove." Erica gave her a blank look. "Come on," Lily laughed. "I'll show you." She pulled Erica up and outside. She stepped back into the kitchen and grabbed her baseball glove and a softball. Her father had given them to her for a birthday present when she was younger after he had come back from visiting the States. "Now, all you do is catch the ball. Like this." Lily pulled on the glove and tossed the ball up, catching it with her gloved hand. "You try." Lily tossed Erica the glove.
Erica looked at it oddly for a few moments before fitting it onto her hand. Lily tossed the ball lightly and Erica tried for it, but missed. "This is a lot harder than it looks," Erica muttered, going after the ball. She threw it back to Lily.
"But it's fun." Lily grinned.
"Only if you catch it."
"You'll get better."
"Doubtful. Can I use magic?"
Lily laughed. "Then it wouldn't be fun. Here, try again." Lily threw the ball lightly and Erica made a diving catch.
Erica stared at the ball in her glove and laughed. "I did it."
Lily grinned. "See? Not so bad."
"Not really." Erica smiled and threw the ball back.
Lily tossed her a high one and Erica shrieked, jumping out of the way. "It won't hurt you," Lily laughed.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have a flying object coming in your direction."
Lily smiled. "Want me to catch for a bit?"
"No, I'll keep at it." Erica threw the ball back to Lily and they continued to play.
August 20, 1972
James, Sirius, Leon, Remus, and Peter met up at Fortescue's, sitting at an outside table. Their bags of supplies sat next to their feet as they enjoyed their ice cream, waiting for Samantha and Charlene to return from their shopping. James' and Peter's mothers had taken the boys to Diagon Alley to save extra trips and Samantha had needed to pick up some items on order from Madam Malkin.
"What do you reckon is going on?" Leon asked. "We all saw the Daily Prophet. Did your dad tell you anything, James?"
James shook his head. "You know my dad. He won't tell us anything."
"My parents are happy," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Figures. If it has to do with dark magic, they're all for it. Though they won't openly admit to being supporters of whoever's behind this, they're not against it either."
"Who do you think is behind it?" Remus asked, finishing off his ice cream cone.
"Voldemort," Peter said and they all looked at him. "Who else could it be?"
"We don't know that for sure," Leon pointed out.
"But we don't know if not either," Peter said.
"True," Leon said.
"If it is him, then this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better," James said. "Grindelwald started out like this too."
"He was a loony," Sirius said, trying to eat his ice cream before it melted all over his hands.
"And you're saying Voldemort isn't?" Remus asked.
"Voldemort's every bit a supremacist as Grindelwald was," James said.
"A what?" Peter asked.
"Supremacist," Remus explained. "It means he believes that only pure-bloods have the right to live and Muggle-borns need to be exterminated. Like Hitler with the Jews."
"Who?" Peter asked, confused.
"I read it in a book," Remus said. "He was the leader of Germany who basically didn't like the Jewish people. So he had them driven from their homes and placed in camps where most of them ended up dying."
"Oh...So why would he attack the wizarding world then?" Peter asked.
"Because," James said, rolling his eyes. "He wants to show his power and with his followers, kill Muggles, Muggle-borns and anyone else that deals with Muggles."
"We don't have proof that it's him, though," Leon said.
"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered as his ice cream made a 'plop' on the table. He sighed, sitting back and giving up on eating ice cream.
They glanced at him before looking back at each other. "All we can do is wait," Remus said.
"I don't like just sitting around waiting for something bad to happen," Leon said.
"Me neither but we'll stop it, one way or another," James said.
"We have about as much chance as a tomato has to defeat him," Remus said.
"That's not encouraging," Sirius said.
"Exactly."
They still hadn't heard from Erica's aunt and so Erica accompanied Lily to Diagon Alley. "You can't be serious. Lily, what's gotten into you?" Jaina whispered, pulling Lily aside. Lily and Erica had just run into Jaina in Flourish and Blotts, and Jaina was not at all happy with the idea of Erica walking around with them.
"She's not that bad, Jaina. She's actually very nice once you get to know her."
"Need I remind you that I was never for befriending Erica in the first place?"
"I know," Lily said, pulling her arm from Jaina's grip. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a chance."
"You're all about giving chances, Lily, and that's going to get you killed one day. Some people don't deserve chances."
"And some people need to get over stereotypes," Lily said pointedly, giving Jaina a 'look'.
Jaina huffed. "Just don't say I didn't warn you when she backstabs you."
"I won't," Lily said, a bit coolly, and walked off to rejoin Erica.
Jaina shook her head. "Stubborn prat. She's too nice for her own good," she muttered before heading off to find her brother.
September 1, 1972
Erica's aunt had finally replied a few days after their Diagon Alley visit. Erica was sent to stay with her aunt until further arrangements could be made and Lily found that she missed Erica the last week before school began. Lily still had not contacted anyone about the book that Erica had mentioned as she didn't have solid evidence and she honestly didn't know what it was. But she planned on at least talking to Professor McGonagall about it.
Once aboard the train, Lily took note of several changes. Amelia had been selected as Head Girl and Alex McKinnon took on the role as Head Boy. Alex was also the Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain, so he was going to have quite a full load his final year at Hogwarts. Frank and Lucille were both made Prefects in Gryffindor and rumor had it that Frank wasn't going to be playing Quidditch that year because of his Prefect duties. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Leon had seemed to bond together as best friends as they were never out of each other's sights.
Jaina had finally (grumbling all the way, mind you) given Erica a chance and at least now they weren't at each other's throats constantly. Lily was grateful, as she hated to see her friends fight. Lily had spotted Gideon, Fabian's younger brother, running around looking for his cat. She had paused, overhearing an interesting conversation.
"My life just took a turn for the worst," Sirius grumbled.
"What happened?" James asked.
"Regulus is a first year this year."
"He's your younger brother, right?" Leon asked.
"Right. And he's a spoiled prat. My mother dotes on him constantly and he can do no wrong in my father's eyes."
"What's he like?" Peter asked.
"He's not that bad. It's just...well, I tried to avoid him for the most part during the summer and I think my father turned him against me."
"You can always try to keep him on your side," Remus offered.
"I wish it were that easy," Sirius said.
Hopefully Andromeda will keep an eye out for him, Lily had thought as she walked away.
When everyone arrived at Hogsmeade, the second-years made their way to the horseless carriages with the other older students. Most all of the second-years had stared and whispered, wondering what drove the carriages and as they went through the gates of Hogwarts, the moonlight made the stone gargoyles almost come alive.
Sirius was practically jumping up and down in his seat as the Sorting Hat finished its song, wanting to get to the food. Professor McGonagall held out her long scroll and began calling the names.
"Archveff, Micheal."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Bailey, Ellen."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Black, Regulus."
"Slytherin," Sirius muttered and Leon elbowed him. They watched as a young boy who was the spitting image of Sirius, walk up and take a seat on the stool.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Told you."
"Ellrose, Hector."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Hudson, William."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Jones, Hestia."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Lavey, Payton."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Marce, Christopher."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Podmore, Sturgis."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Prewitt, Gideon!"
"Come on, bro," Fabian whispered.
"He'll make Gryffindor for sure," Frank assured him.
"He looks just like you," Alice teased. "So cute."
"Hey, what about me?" Frank asked.
"You too." Alice kissed him lightly and Fabian just rolled his eyes.
"Get a room you two." They laughed.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Yes!" Fabian grinned, welcoming his brother with loud cheering and clapping.
"Rigsbley, Victoria,"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Stebbins, Marshall."
"RAVENCLAW!"
As the final first-year ran to his place at the Ravenclaw table, Professor Dumbledore stood. "Without further ado, our feast!"
Piles of food appeared and Sirius dug in, stuffing his face like he had been starved for years. Once dinner had commenced, Dumbledore stood up once again. He waited until he had full attention.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," he began. "I'd like to remind everyone that the forest is strictly off-limits and Mr. Filch would like me to ask you to stay clear of the third-floor corridor. I'd like to introduce a new addition to our staff, Professor Haspon." A middle-aged man just nodded his head curtly. He looked as though he had never smiled in his life. "He will be teaching Potions for the first term, as Professor Sharaff is off currently with her family."
"She's an Auror, you know," James whispered to Sirius.
"What?" Sirius whispered back, his eyes wide.
James nodded. "I saw her talking with my dad. I doubt she's going to see family."
"You think it has to do with Voldemort?"
"How much you wanna bet?" James just gave him a knowing look and turned his attention back to Dumbledore.
"– and in closing, I'd like to announce that Quidditch tryouts will be held in two weeks out on the pitch. Good luck to all. Your schedules will be handed out in the morning." He sat down and the Prefects stood, gathering their students and leading them from the hall.