Hey everyone! I'm back and ready to write some more chapters! I'm in kind of a Harry Potter high right now. I saw the fourth movie on November 18th at 12:01 in the morning. I was dead on my feet. But it was great! The movie was the best one out of them all. Except the Quidditch World Cup… which I'm still angry about. Where was it! Where!

Chapter 4: Ghosts of the Past

The next day, James, Sirius, Remus and Lily all had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the new professor. Peter on the other hand was off to Herbology because he didn't get the marks to make it into the 7th year DADA class.

They waved to him as he walked out of the large oak doors and then turned the opposite way up the marble staircase.

"So this new teacher, have you heard anything about her?" asked Sirius. "I wonder if I can sleep in that class…" he said, talking to no one.

"From what I hear, she's scary," Lily said.

"Scary! Ha! Who told you that?" Sirius scoffed.

"Bertha Jorkins," said Lily.

Sirius snorted with apprehension.

"Quiet. Bertha's nice," Lily said, scolding Sirius.

"Fact of the matter is Bertha can get lost in her own broom cupboard," Sirius said, adjusting his bag. "And if there was a way to choke on rice, she'd find it."

James and Remus laughed while Lily rolled her eyes.

As they sat down in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Sirius and James were playing thumb wars while Lily and Remus talked quietly. The room began to fill up around them as students sat down and awaited the beginning of class.

Suddenly, the bell rang signaling the beginning of class.

Almost as if timed with each other, another door flew open at the front of the room. A woman marched into the room and quickly pushed the door to the hallway shut. No sooner had the door slammed shut, could hear a smack of body on wood. Apparently, someone was running so fast, they couldn't stop as she shut the door in his or her face.

Lily began to stand up, an expression of concern on her face, "Professor? What was that noise?"

Professor Perd slowly opened the door to find Tim Robbins, a lanky brown haired 7th year, on his butt covering his nose. His books and bag was sprawled all over the floor next to him.

Professor Perd glared down her long pointy nose to look at Tim as if he was some sort of disgusting insect. He looked up at her, blood running in between his fingers and onto his robes. "Get to class on time and accidents won't happen," she said, with a greasy whisper.

"She did that on purpose," Lily whispered as she sat back down.

Sirius and James gave each other apprehensive looks. Remus hid his own behind his book; he knew that Bertha was no longer exaggerating.

"Get inside," the professor hissed, "or ten points from Gryffindor."

Tim quickly grabbed his books with his left hand, keeping his other over profusely bleeding nose.

"Now before I was rudely interrupted, my name is Professor Perd. I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. No nonsense. No disrespect. No tolerance. Once you step foot in the classroom… I own you," she said, pacing up and down between the rows of desks.

"And who do we have here?" Perd said, her voice ringing with mock amusment from the back of the classroom. "Ah! Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, I presume? Oh and Mr. Lupin as well! What a joy this is indeed. I've heard so much about you from your previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

James, Sirius, and Remus's stomach flipped.

She swooped in next to the group's desk and smiled with iniquity at them. "Be aware, I have no patience for practical jokes or pranks. I trust you are intelligent enough to take heed to that."

"Ms. Lily Evans. It's such a shame that a good student like yourself has integrated with this group of hoodlums. It's just a pity." Suddenly, Perd's expression turned to that of malice, "Oh! From what I remember hearing, you and Mr. Potter are dating? Then that explains it. When one lies down with the dogs, they rise with the fleas."

Lily scowled and turned away. Perd seemed to enjoy Lily's reaction and continued on.

"Mr. Black," she said, now turning to him, "Your cousin is… Bellatrix? Am I correct?..."

Sirius glared up at her, his jaw set.

"Yes. And your brother? Regulus? He looks just like you."

Sirius turned red with silent anger then looked straight ahead to the board at the front of the room.

"Mmhmm… just as I thought," Perd said, her lip curling.

Perd tured her attention to Remus, who was trying not to look at her. "Mr. Lupin,… well, now… that's interesting," she said, with a raised eyebrow. And without another glance at Remus, she rounded on James.

"And finally Mr. Potter. My you are infamous… or rather famous with your classmates. We will have quite an interesting year,… I can see." Perd raised her eyebrows again and then walked away.

She began laying down the law about what was expected in her classroom but James wasn't listening. "Hey," he whispered, nudging Sirius. "You alright?"

Sirius shook his head slowly and whispered back, "I can't believe she sunk so low as to say my brother looks like me."

"Come on, it can't be that bad of a compliment," said Lily, leaning in.

"Oh yes it is," Sirius said, finally taking his gaze away from the board. "You don't understand."

He stared at his feet and didn't respond to anything else.

Lily sat back in her seat and looked at James, she seemed to say 'I've never seen him act like this before'.

James nodded, agreeing.

Just before the class ended, Perd assigned a 4 page essay on werewolves and how to identify them.

"You don't think—" said James to Remus.

"Yeah, I do think she knows," Remus said, cutting in.

"Knows what?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," James and Remus said at the same time.

Lily looked as if she was left out of the loop and remained silent. She noticed that Sirius wasn't joining in on the conversation and looked over her shoulder to find that he was trailing behind quietly.

She slowed up so she could walk next to him and he looked away, seemingly interested in the suit of armor ahead.

Lily didn't say anything to him. She just wanted to stay by him to let him know that she was always there for him. He seemed to loosen up a little, realizing that Lily wasn't going to interrogate him for his thoughts.

Ack! I gotta go to my soccer game! Thoughts on this chapter: Not really that exciting, but I'm just building up to the action packed sequences! Yay!