Wow, this is going to have to be the fastest update I've ever done!
Okay, this is officially my last week of summer. I go back to school on the 29th, so updates will be less frequent... way less frequent. I'll get around to updating once a week or so, maybe once every two weeks.
Some of you may be wondering why I decided to put Benji as one of Sirius' friends. Well, Sirius needs to hang out with somebody 'til he becomes friends with James, doesn't he? Then Benji will drop off of the list a bit, making friends with the Gryffindor girls and such.
So, I hope you like this chapter! Remember to review!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Marauders or any other familiar characters in this story, and I am not getting money off of this story. Boo hoo.
Hate Is Such a Strong Word
Chapter Four:
Yeah Right
By PotterScar
"How far away is this Gryffindor tower?" Sirius grunted as they walked yet another corridor. He was tired, he just wanted to sleep...
"It's in the seventh corridor, I think. We're in the fifth," Benji replied, frowning as they walked past a portrait of a bunch of Crups playing poker.
"Is it too much for you, Black? Maybe you should go to Slytherin - their common rooms are in the dungeons," Sirius heard Potter sneer behind him, and Sirius scowled.
"Shut up, Potter," Sirius snapped back, turning around to face him.
Benji frowned. "You guys are going to have to get used to each other - we're the only five Gryffindor first year boys, we'll have to share a dormitory," he said, pausing so Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew were a bit closer.
Potter narrowed his eyes. "I have to share a room with Black?" he spat out, looking highly annoyed. Sirius scowl deepend.
"You think I'm any happier about having to share a dormitory with you?" he replied, just as they reached a portrait. They knew it was a portrait hole- Frank had been talking to the new first years the whole way up. The Fat Lady, she was called. Lupin frowned at the both of them.
"Shut up, so we can hear the password," he said to them, quieting them so they could here Frank say, "Cumulus."
The portrait swung open, and the students climbed into the common room. Sirius could hear Pettigrew gasp behind him, and he knew exactly why.
The common room was spectacular. It was in the shape of a huge circle, with a blazing fire in the grate on the right side. The fireplace was surrounded by comfortable chairs and couches, with small tables scattered about. The other side of the room had longer tables and armchairs, and windows lined the left side. Sirius could see the Quidditch Pitch faintly in the darkness.
"Alright, boys dormitories are up the spiral stairs on the left. Girls, the same on your right," Frank announced, before going up the left staircase.
Students dispersed. Some sat by the fire to warm their hands before they went to bed, and others went up to their dormtories. Benji and Sirius decided to go turn in, as Lupin, Potter, and Pettigrew explored the common room.
"I can't believe we're sharing a dorm with that git," Sirius grumbled as they opened the door marked "First Year".
"Give him a chance," Benji replied, looking around the room that they would be sleeping in for seven years.
It was a hexagon, with the door being the bottom side, and one bed on each wall. Where the two sides met on the far left side was a bathroom, cut out of the wall. Sirius poked his head into the bathroom, and grinned. It was very large, with two shower stalls, three sinks, and a large medicine cabinet.
Sirius found his bed on the top left side, next to one of the bathrooms. Benji was on the lower left side, Potter on the top side, Lupin next to Potter on the upper right side, and Pettigrew on the side between the door and Lupin. Pajamas and Gryffindor crests were sitting on their beds, along with little notes of instruction of how to put them on your school robes. They were already charmed with a Permanent Sticking charm, and all you had to do was tap them once with your wand and stick them on the left chest side of your robes.
Sirius did this with each of his robes, before folding them back up and setting them back in his trunk. The pajamas were striped red and gold - Gryffindor colors. Sirius grinned, glad his mother didn't make him take his Slytherin colored pajamas.
He put all but one pair of pajamas away, and was locking his trunk just as Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew walked in.
Even Potter and he didn't exchange any bitter words - everyone was exhausted from the long day, and wanted to be rested for the first day of classes. Sirius pulled on the pajamas, tossing his other clothing on top of his trunk (he decided that he'd put it away tommorow) and crawled into bed. It was a very soft bed, with a red and gold duvet, mahogany frame and bedposts, and a crimson velvet hangings with gold tassles. Closing the canopy around his bed, he heard Benji murmur, "G'night, all," and Sirius replied sleepily, as did the others, before Pettigrew and Benji, who were closest to the light switches, turned out the lights and they all drifted to sleep.
The next morning passed as a big rush. Everyone was jumping in the shower for a quick scrub and running out again. Sirius got to go third and by the time he was finished, it was nearly time for breakfast.
Sirius stuffed his books hurriedly in his bag, cursing the teachers for not giving them their schedules the night before - his bag was twice as heavy as it needed to be! He was about to head out the door when Benji shouted, "Sirius! You forgot your tie!" He chucked him the red-and-gold striped tie (this house was really proud of its colors, apparently) and Sirius knotted it hurriedly, only one arm in his robes. He forced the other arm through just as Benji vaulted over his trunk and stood beside him. The two of them went to breakfast, accompanied by Lupin - Potter and Pettigrew were still doing showers.
The walk down to breakfast was silent, as each person in the group were trapped in their own thoughts. Benji was grumbling mentally about the weight of his bag and wondering what teachers he'd have. Lupin was thinking about the fast approaching full moon, but nobody else knew this, and Sirius was thinking about his cousin's words. Expect mail?
The three entered the Great Hall, and plopped into seats, Benji and Sirius down towards the far end near the staff table, and Lupin a few seats towards the Entrance Hall. Ten minutes later, Potter and Pettigrew entered as well, sitting near Lupin.
"So what classes do first years have?" Benji finally asked Sirius, who narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Charms, Transfiguration, Potions - " Sirius was cut short by squawking overhead. All the first years in the Hall looked up, awestruck. Owls were flooding in by the hundreds through a window near the ceiling. Sirius looked for the family eagle owl, and saw Blazer heading towards him. The owl didn't even spare him a glance; it just dropped a scarlet envelope in front of him and flapped away as fast as possible. Sirius looked at the envelope, all of the color draining from his face.
"A Howler," he whispered hoarsely, as Benji looked at him with a mixture of shock and pity.
"Black's got a Howler!" came a loud snicker from the Slytherin table, drawing the attention of half of the Hall to Sirius. The other half was notified of what was happening after the letter blew up and began to scream in Sirius' mother's voice, magnified to an extreme level.
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! YOU DARE DISGRACE THE NAME OF BLACK BY GETTING SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED OF YOU IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! MARK MY WORDS, YOU BETTER GET A RESORTING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND DON'T EXPECT TO BE WELCOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS IF YOU DON'T!"
The letter let out one last angry huff and shriveled up. Sirius blinked rapidly, and the Hall was completely silent. After several minutes, people began to whisper behind their hands, and Potter, Bellatrix, and Narcissa had enourmous smirks on their faces.
Finally, the Hall went back to its normal conversations while Sirius picked at the rest of his breakfast. Benji frowned and was about to say something when McGonagall swept by, handing out schedules to the Gryffindors. When she had gotten out of earshot, Benji leaned forward and asked, "So are you going to get a Resorting?"
Sirius sighed. "I dunno. I mean, I really don't want to be in Slytherin, and if I get a Resorting, what's stopping the hat from putting me in Gryffindor again? Anyway, the holidays at my house have never been much fun... so no, I'm not going to get a Resorting."
A sudden cold feeling swept over Sirius. His parents wouldn't be happy at all... and he still had to go home to them over the summer holidays.
Benji looked at him piteously. "C'mon, let's go to class," he said, noticing the students and teachers dispersing. Sirius nodded glumly, thrusting his hands in his pockets and following his friend to Transfiguration, their first subject.
"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! YOU DARE DISGRACE THE NAME OF BLACK BY GETTING SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED OF YOU IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! MARK MY WORDS, YOU BETTER GET A RESORTING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND DON'T EXPECT TO BE WELCOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS IF YOU DON'T!"
James was startled by the loud voice, but soon sneered. Sirius Black's mum was chewing him out for getting into Gryffindor - well, that would get him to change houses. No more having to share a room with him! James could jump up and down with glee, but that would look a little odd.
He listened in as he heard Benji ask, "So are you going to get a Resorting?" Of course Black would! Why would he want to disobey his parents? Hell, why would he want to be in Gryffindor anyway?
"I dunno. I mean, I really don't want to be in Slytherin, and if I get a Resorting, what's stopping the hat from putting me in Gryffindor again? Anyway, the holidays at my house have never been much fun... so no, I'm not going to get a Resorting," he heard Black reply, and he nearly shrieked in frustration.
Why wasn't Black getting a Resorting! Surely he didn't want to stay in Gryffindor? James scowled, and he heard Remus say, as though from a great distance, "We should get to class." James pulled himself back to earth, and with a sigh, followed his new friend to Transfiguration, preceeded by Black and Benji.
Why did Benji want to hang out with that Black git, anyway? Everyone knew the Blacks were trouble, with their pure-blood mania crap, but Benji, who was a half-blood, was being his best friend! What was that all about?
"Earth to James," Remus said, grabbing the back of his robes as he nearly passed the Transfiguration class's door. "We're here, if you want to get out of your thoughts," he said dryly, raising an eyebrow at James, who smiled.
"Right..." he said, and the three of them stepped into the class.
"Everybody find a seat!" ordered Professor McGonagall, and the students scrambled to sit at desks. Black and Benji chose seats in the second to last row, with James, Remus, and Peter behind them and a group of Gryffindor girls in front. James noted that they were having a lesson with the Slytherins, and Black was determindly not looking at his cousin.
"As you very well know, I am Professor McGonagall," she said, peering at them all over her square-shaped glasses. James was instantly reminded of a hawk looking for its prey, and shivered slightly.
"Time for roll... Avery, Michael!"
"Here."
"Black, Narcissa."
"Present."
"Black, Sirius."
Black looked slightly startled - apparently he'd been lost in his thoughts. "Oh, here," he muttered, and several students snickered.
"Pay attention, Black," she snapped at him, and Black flushed slightly. James smirked.
"Evans, Lillian."
"Present."
"Fenwick, Benjamin."
"Here."
"Lupin, Remus."
"Present," Remus said quietly, his voice barely audible.
"Malcolm, Theodore."
"Here."
"Nott, Malcolm."
"Here."
"Pettigrew, Peter."
"Here," squeaked Peter, looking beyond nervous.
"Potter, James."
"Here," James said boredly, playing with his quill.
"Quentin, Miles."
"Here."
"Richardson, Emily."
"Present.
"Richardson, Margaret."
"Present."
"Snape, Severus."
"Present." James scowled. There was something he didn't like about that boy.
"Susanna, Erica."
"Present."
"Tagton, Maria."
"Present."
"Trenton, Veronica."
"Present."
"Umbridge, Dolores."
"Present."
"Vixen, Mary."
"Here."
"Zayton, Grace."
"Here."
(AN: Sorry guys, I know that was tedious, but I need a list of each and every Slytherin and Gryffindor first year. You'll see why in future chapters. Now, at the bottom I've made a list of each girl and boy and their house. Notice that in each house, there is five girls and five boys. There's probably more, but JKR never gave any idication that it went past five, so I'm just going by her rules.)
"Alright, then, apparently everybody is present," McGonagall said, setting down the roll of parchment.
"Today, we're going to be studying how to turn a match into a needle," she said, and James rolled his eyes. Basic stuff, he should be able to do it no problem.
Boy, was he wrong. By the end of the lesson, only Lily Evans. Snape, and Remus had turned their matches into needles. Black's looked like it had been spray-painted silver, and James' turned into a wooden needle with a red tip. Nott had made his explode, injuring himself, Malcolm, and Avery.
"Go to the Hospital Wing," she snapped at the three students as they nursed the burns on their faces. James couldn't help but snicker, and he noticed that Black was exchanging a smirk with Benji.
Maybe he could get to like Black...
Yeah, right.
And that's the end of chapter four. Sorry it's so short, but this seemed like the best place to stop it. I hoped you liked it!
Here's a list of each and every first year Gryffie and Slythie:
GRYFFINDOR BOYS
James Potter
Sirius Black
Peter Pettigrew
Remus Lupin
Benji Fenwick
GRYFFINDOR GIRLS
Lily Evans
Erica Susanna
Maria Tagton
Veronica Trenton
Grace Zayton
SLYTHERIN BOYS
Severus Snape
Malcolm Nott
Theodore Malcolm
Miles Quentin
Michael Avery
SLYTHERIN GIRLS
Dolores Umbridge
Narcissa Black
Emily Richardson
Margaret Richardson
Mary Vixen
There's the list - the characters will each play speaking roles later on, trust me!
Anyway, I'll see you when I decide to type chapter 5!
Love ya lots,
PotterScar