Chapter 3

The X

James and I were the last to sit at out table. I removed my sopping wet robe, sat down next to Remus, across from James and began to dry my hair and clothing off with my wand.

"Where were you two?" Alex asked us.

"We just came late, that's all," I said, wringing out my hair.

"Did you tell them about who was in the carriage, Moony?" James asked.

"No, I figured you'd want to," Remus said.

"What happened?" Rowena asked, leaning closer.

"Well, it just so happens that the carriage we had gotten into had a previous…occupant," he started, his lips already curling into a sneer.

"Snape!" Sirius guessed. James nodded.

"No way!" Maria half gasped.

"You mean you sat with Snape the whole way here?" Alex asked, as though it was worthy of torture, which of course, it was.

"Yeah. It was horrible," I said. None of us spoke up about what actually happened though. The fight, and afterwards, I mean.

"Wow…do I pity you," Sirius said.

"Is he still greasy?" Maria asked.

"What do you think? Personally, I think he's allergic to soap," I replied, "And I wish the food was ready! We still have to go through the sorting!"

"The sorting's not all that bad," Remus said.

"Moony, what could be worse than sitting through a song sung by an off-key sock, and then watching a bunch of midgets wear it?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

"Ooh, I've got one! Dating Snape!" Rowena exclaimed. We all laughed at this.

"Yes, definitely," Alex said, "Hey…look, it's Peter! OI, PETER!"

Sure enough the eighth of our group had finally arrived. Apparently, James and I weren't the last ones in, because Peter came in only moments before a large group of Slytherins.

"What were you doing with that lot?" James asked almost accusingly.

"O-oh. They…cornered me on the train and-and-and forced me to sit with them," He said, glancing over at the Slytherins. I could see Bellatrix Lestrange, but no one else I recognized.

"Wormtail, Wormtail, Wormtail…what have I told you about sticking up for yourself? Just kick them in the crotch, and run! Works every time!" Sirius explained.

"I couldn't," Peter replied.

"Why not? As long as there man, it'll hurt. Clinically proven fact, clinically proven by the Clinic of Sirius," Sirius said.

"Because it was Bellatrix," Peter explained somberly as the terribly frightened first years filed in.

"Ah…well then…just burn her hair. Girls aren't supposed to like when something happens to their hair," he suggested, "Now c'mon Dumbledore, we're starving over here!"

As if on cue, McGonagall stood up and left the Great Hall, returning with the Sorting Hat and the three legged stool. After the sorting hat sang, the Professor unfurled her list of students and called out the name of the first years.

"Appleby, Anthony," she called, her glasses precariously perched at the tip of her nose.

A boy with dark brown hair walk up, legs visibly shaking, and sat on the stool. Only seconds after the hat was placed on his brunette head did it cry out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

And it when on like this for some time. And some more time. And more time after that. It seemed to take for ever for the last name (Zerlox, Kordan, Slytherin) to be sorted and Dumbledore still had to make his speech.

"First Years! I trust you will enjoy Hogwarts as much as we enjoy having you here. And to everyone older, welcome back!" he started, his blue eyes twinkling.

"I trust you realize what dark times now accompany our lives, and I ask you one thing…do be careful! And now, since we are all quite famished, let the feast begin!" He clapped his hands twice and the tables in front of us overflowed with food.

"Ha! Finally!" James cried, grabbing a slab of roast beef and a turkey leg at the same time. Sirius chose the mashed potatoes and I politely reached for a buttered roll.

"Honestly you two!" Remus scolded.

"Thorry, Moony," Sirius replied, his mouth full of potato. James was too busy reaching and eating, reaching and eating.

"Of course," Remus replied.

"Who's that sitting next to the Slug?" I asked, leaning over towards Moony. He took a sip of his pumpkin juice and looked over. A man sat there, in his mid-30's, his dark black hair obscuring his eyes. Suddenly, he looked up at us. His icy blue-grey stare nearly caused me to freeze. He turned away only when Professor Slughorn asked him something.

"He's probably a new teacher," Remus said, going back to eating. He didn't look like a professor. He looked more like Satan…

Other than that, and a few jokes being cracked, nothing really remarkable happened that at dinner. Once desert had been served and everyone (including the bloated James and Sirius) had finished, Dumbledore stood up once more.

"Before we all retire to our warm, toasty beds and slipper socks, I would like to introduce to you your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Xavier," he announced. I heard a lot of whispers such as "But where's the Q?" and "The Q couldn't have retired!"

"The Q" was everyone's nickname for Professor Qualintine. He had been our Professor for the past four years, and he was everyone's favorite teacher. He just had a way of making his subject interesting. Not to mention is was one of the HOTTEST teachers in the world. Needless to say, James and Sirius didn't like him much, or didn't let it show. Truthfully, you had to be Slytherin to dislike Mr. Q.

"Professor Qualintine will not be joining us this year because he has retired at an early age to live a life he never had. But Professor Xavier would you like to say anything?" Dumbledore explained. The dark haired professor stood up.

"You will all be on time tomorrow. If you are not, you will have a detention, if not more. If you are not prepared, that is worth a week of detentions," he said. His words were very crisp and clear, almost like ice, and nearly as chilling.

"Now then…now then…I trust you are all well fed, so I will send you off to bed. But will the Head boy and Head girl please see me!" he said. I shot a glance to James who was intently studying a spot on the table cloth.

"Head boy, will you please see me!" Dumbledore boomed over the mass of moving heads and bodies, all ready to get to their Dormitories.

"James Potter! Please come here!"

James looked up and reluctantly walked to Dumbledore and Lily, standing beside him. Her mouth was hanging open as though she had forgotten to close it while eating. Whispers flew around the Great hall faster than I could believe possible. Nearly everybody had turned to look, stare, or gawk at the new Head Boy.

"You may leave, as I remember saying before," Dumbledore said. It took a second before it registered in our minds that we were talking to him, but once it did, the place erupted in chatter.

"James Potter is head boy?" someone asked.

"Oh, that just makes him DREAMIER!" a Ravenclaw sixth year said, surrounded by a gang of giddy girls. I rolled my eyes.

"Flames, did you know he was head boy?" Sirius asked, catching up to me.

"Um…"

"Flames!"

"Yeah, I did. He told me on the train, when he found out Lily was head girl," I replied.

"Why didn't he tell anyone else?" Sirius asked as we started climbing the stairs.

"He said he thought Moony should get it. But Dumbledore has to have a reason, right?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Dumbledore had BETTER have a reason! I'm going to have to prank alone! I don't want to prank alone, Al! Do you know how hard it is to prank an entire Slytherin Dormitory ALONE?" he asked, clutching his heart.

"You'll manage. Plus, James will still have time for these things! Just because he's head boy doesn't mean he's not Gryffindor, right?" I asked.

"But…but James is the BRAINS! Besides Moony, of course! Well, Moony is actually the brainy brains. James is the planning intellectual! He's the one who comes UP with the pranks!" He said, pausing suddenly. "I'm giving him way too much credit, aren't I?"

I laughed as we reached the Fat Lady.

"Password?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Stink sap," I said. She swung open for us, allowing us inside the Common Room.

"I'm going to wait for James. Wanna stay?" he asked.

"Meh, sure. The only thing I can do in the Dorm is sleep, right?" I said, sitting down next to him. We had only been sitting for a little discussing Quidditch and such before the Fat Lady swung open again. I turned around to watch a very defeated James walk into the room. His cloak was slung over his shoulder and his left cheek was burning red.

"You look like crap, mate. Actually, you look better than usual, which is crap, so I suppose I should be saying, 'You look great, mate!', shouldn't I?" Sirius said as James sat down in an armchair.

"What happened?" I asked, "Surely Head Boy can't be that bad!"

"But it is! It is, and it's much worse than that! I have to share a room with her! The head's room is on the 6th floor," he said miserably, "and she still hate me. I asked her out again, but she…well, she slapped me."

That explained the red cheek.

"But that'll be just like living with her! Isn't that what you've always wanted? And if you're supposed to be sleeping with her, how come you're here?" Sirius asked. James glared at him.

"Yeah, it'll be just like living with your mum!" James retorted. Sirius was silent for a moment.

"Ok, I understand. Except you don't want her to die!" he replied brightly. I slapped my palm on my forehead due to seeing how stupid Sirius could be.

"I'm going to bed," James declared, getting up and trudging up the stairs as though he was walking to his execution. Sirius followed, most likely trying to think of a scheme to cheer him up. I shrugged and went to my own dorm, flopped on my bed, and fell asleep almost instantly. It had been a very eventful day!

"Al! Al, get up! C'mon, we're almost late for Defense against the Dark Arts! Remember what Professor Xavier said?"

I awoke to an already dressed Rowena, shaking me awake.

"Huh? What? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked, throwing the robes I had slept in on the floor and rushing to my trunk, "How much time do I have?"

"Like…five minutes," Maria said, pulling a sock on.

"Late? Guys, c'mon! I have plenty of time!" I said, a bit relieved. I did not slow my pace though. Though I knew I could get ready in five minutes, I was not sure I would be able to run to the classroom within a minute. My best hope was that he'd start class a little late.

"Maria, is James or Sirius in the Common room?" I asked frantically. If I knew them (which I did), they'd most likely be stalling.

"Yeah, why?" Maria said. She had just finished brushing her hair.

"Good! Tell them to get to the classroom and stall for me!" I replied, grabbing the brush and ripping it through my hair.

"Ok!" she said, bouncing off.

"Oh, and help them if you can!" I called after her. I'm not sure if she heard it though, because the door had closed.

"Well, good luck. I'm leaving so I won't have to sprint to class," Rowena said, gathering up her books and stuffing them in her bag. I stuck out my tongue at her back and putting my hair up into a lopsided ponytail.

After a few more moments of making sure I looked ok, I quickly stuffed my feet into my sneakers and ran downstairs to an empty common room. Instantly, my thoughts settled. I wouldn't get a detention on the first day if James and Sirius had been the distracting duo. They could probably stall the class for the whole day!

I grabbed my bag, placed my books into it, made sure I had a quill and ink, and put my wand in my pocket, and I was off. According to Rowena, I had about a half a minute.

So I ran. Dodging around a couple of lost looking first years, I sprinted down seven staircases, leaving me quite out of breath.

Suddenly, someone cackled behind me, and before I could do anything, I found myself soaking wet. Peeves and thrown a water balloon at me.

"PEEVES!" I hollered! "I'll make sure the Baron'll hear about this!"

I stood up and rung out my hair, jogging forward, but looking down. I knew exactly where the classroom was, so I didn't need to worry about making sure I was in the right one. Only three more doors to go—

With a thud, I knocked into someone and fell over.

"I'm so sorry! I was in a hurry, because—,"

"Because you were late, Miss Vita. Yes, that much I know. I will see you as well as Mr. Black, and Mr. Potter in my office tonight at ten o'clock." It was Professor Xavier, standing over me, staring at me with his blue-gray gaze. I shivered.

"And ten points from Gryffindor for your appearance. Get inside the classroom so I don't have to hold the class up any longer."

I nodded, gathered my things, and walked into the room, making sure not to look the Professor in the face, though I could feel his intent look on my back.

Quickly, I took a seat behind James and Sirius, next to Rowena.

"You got detention, too?" Sirius asked. I nodded. He swore under his breath.

"This guy's gonna be hard to get to, but the Marauders can do it!" James said, glaring at the new teacher as he walked in the classroom, surveying us as though we were monsters. Several people drew back, but James kept his stare. I looked away, not even wanting to be in this man's presence. I saw him turn and look at James, but neither of them broke eye-contact.

"Children…welcome to hell," he said, staring at us all, even though he was still looking at James. A few people giggled nervously, instantly stopped and turned bright red when he broke eye contact with James and snapped his head over towards them.

"You think it's funny? This little war we're in? You think it's just a game? It's not. This is your last year at Hogwarts. After this, no one will be able to protect you. You will fend for yourself. As I have seen it, you're previous Professor has left you hanging and did not teach you the adequate amount of knowledge you'll need to know to barely survive!"

"That's not true! Professor Qualintine taught us plenty!" Sirius objected. Professor Xavier's eyes flashed over to Sirius.

"Mr. Black, am I correct?" he asked, pacing closer.

"Yes sir," Sirius replied, sitting up straighter, the defiant spark in his eye jumping to a full fire.

"You're mother tells me you've run away from home. She has told me to punish you severely, and I shall," he said, smiling cruelly.

"How do you know my mother?" Sirius asked, appalled and leaning back, as though attempting to get away from the professor.

"I have…connections. Pity you didn't turn out like your brother or your cousins though," he sniffed, turning away from Sirius, who silently seethed until he was partially red in the face.

"But as I was saying…you will learn talents that most will expect you to learn only if you become one of the Ministry's most elite Aurors. And still, most of you will fail. I hardly believe any of you, except a select few perhaps, will even be able to fathom in your weak minds how to accomplish any of these spells, so I believe I will have a hard time teaching you, and you will have many detentions in the process."

"Then why are you teaching us such 'advanced magic' if you're certain we'll all fail?" James asked suddenly. I kicked at his chair, hoping to shut him up. With this guy, I figured it was best to remain silent.

"Mr. Potter…I think it would do you good to shut your mouth and listen to what I'm saying. You'll need it," Xavier said through clenched teeth.

"Is that some kind of threat?" James asked, standing up. Some sort of unknown fuel was added to his fire, and the results would be disastrous.

"Sit down and calm yourself! 15 points from Gryffindor!" Professor Xavier fairly screamed. James remained standing. I could see his hand itching to reach for his wand, but his last reserves of self-restraint had kicked in.

"Mr. Potter, your father is an Auror, am I right?"

"Yes," James replied.

"Then you know exactly what skills one would need for detaining dark wizards. So, either you will sit down and listen, or you will spend every class cleaning out toilets in some Godforsaken bathroom," Xavier said, only inches away. James hesitated, and then reluctantly sat down, staring furiously at his desk. Professor Xavier's lips twitched, as though to pull into a smile, but he turned away.

"Now then…the three unforgivables…what are they?" He asked like a normal teacher.

The rest of the lesson passed by fairly quickly, but not before Xavier had managed to dock nearly fifty points from Gryffindor alone. It was the beginning of the day, and we were all already in foul moods. I couldn't wait for detention…I wondered what he'd dream up for us…