To Be Loyal
Chapter Six
Disclaimer: I'm making a nice castle in J.K. Rowling's sandbox… and it's starting to look like Hogwarts!
A/N: As promised, we are time-skipping ahead to Hogwarts, although there will be references to the time we missed. I know almost everything so far falls under friendship or hurt/comfort, but next chapter, we'll see some action as well.
Two canon quotes this time.
"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag. I don't need you to tell me that. But Mulciber and Avery's idea of humor is just evil." —Lily Evans, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
September 1, 1976
The Marauders poured into the Great Hall along with the rest of the school, minus the first years, chatting and laughing. As much as Sirius had enjoyed staying with the Potters-over time, he had even become more comfortable with James's parents-returning to Hogwarts was like coming home. Here, he had met his best friends-family, now-and truly escaped his parents' grasp for the first time.
They sat down opposite Lily Evans and her friends Alice Macmillan and Marlene McKinnon. Sirius was surprised when Lily didn't protest or move farther down the table.
"Alright, Evans? Were you happy with your OWL results?" James asked nervously.
"Very much so, actually," Lily replied politely, and Sirius's eyebrows shot up in shock. He knew that James had sought her out on the train to apologize for how he had constantly pestered her and insulted Snape to her face throughout fifth year, but he hadn't expected James to have much success. Sirius had had faith in his best mate, but he knew how stubborn Lily could be when it came to James. Well, she has to be a forgiving person to stay friends with Snape all the way through fifth year.
The conversation remained steady, albeit slightly strained, until it halted for the Sorting. Lily chatted mostly with Remus, who she had always gotten along with, but James managed to casually integrate himself into the conversation. Peter and Alice chimed in occasionally, while Marlene flirted with Sirius, who quickly became uncomfortable. Over the past couple of years as his popularity grew, Sirius had gone to Hogsmeade with several different girls, including Marlene, but nothing had ever grown into a real relationship.
After the Sorting, Dumbledore rose to give his start-of-term speech. "Welcome, welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts," he began, holding his arms out wide for a moment to extend his greeting to the entire Hall. "Let us get the rules out of the way first, shall we? I dearly hope that all of you will believe me when I remind you that the Forbidden Forest holds its name for good reason, as does the Whomping Willow. I understand that last year, several students made dares involving the Willow to their classmates, and I strongly encourage you all to learn from Mr. Gudgeon's mishap in May."
Davey Gudgeon, who was sitting near to the front of the Hufflepuff table, nodded somberly and traced the light scar that ran down the side of his face. At the same time, Dumbledore's penetrating blue gaze landed purposefully on Sirius, who immediately broke eye contact and stared miserably down at his feet. Remus reached over and squeezed Sirius's shoulder to reassure him, and he felt a little better.
"We only have our usual staffing change this year-" the Headmaster announced with a broad smile, and several students broke out into loud laughter. "May I introduce Professor Benjy Fenwick, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor!"
A tall, blue-eyed man with a buzz cut waved from the staff table and rose unsteadily to his feet. The Professor's right arm was in a sling, and one of his legs appeared to be in a splint. Sirius vaguely recognized him from the one Potter Christmas party Sirius had managed to attend.
"He's an Order member," James whispered into Sirius's ear. "Friend of my father's. Dumbledore probably took him off duty after he got injured." James's father was one of the Order of the Phoenix's most powerful members in both finances and dueling prowess.
Dumbledore went on to touch on several trivial matters and informed the students when Quidditch tryouts would take place before his expression became stern. "Now, I must issue a severe warning to some of our older students," the aged headmaster admonished, peering over his half-moon spectacles at the Slytherin table. "There has been entirely too much dueling taking place between classes, so the Hogwarts staff will be cracking down hard on this kind of misbehavior. All of you would do well not to judge one another unduly, whether it be over political beliefs, blood status, or simply House affiliations."
The usual twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes faded, and the Headmaster leaned forward slightly over the majestic owl lectern in front of him. "Allow me to be candid with you. There is a war raging outside these castle walls, and the accompanying strife and prejudices have taken root within Hogwarts. I expect that many of you are under pressure from your families and friends to follow the cause they support. My office, and those of the Heads of Houses, are always open to any student seeking help in a difficult situation. Despite this understanding, know that action taken in the name of Voldemort will not be tolerated." There were slight gasps around the hall at the use of the feared name.
Dumbledore's warm smile returned. "For now, appreciate the joys of this school and of being schoolchildren. Do not be consumed by this war and forget to live. Now, let us eat!" He spread his arms again, and the dishes on each House table were filled with a delicious feast.
Low murmurs of trepidation spread out over the hall even as the students dug into the feast. Sirius admired the spirit of Dumbledore's attempt to quell the conflict within Hogwarts, but he knew that the Slytherins would never heed it. Those bastards will never learn, Sirius thought, shooting a glare at the Slytherin House table.
He was shocked to find that about half of the Slytherins were glaring right back at him. What could he have done since the start of the year to aggravate so many of them? Sirius wondered before realizing the significance of which Slytherins were glowering at him. Avery, Lestrange, Selwyn, Rowle, the list went on. Snape's dark scowl didn't fit Sirius's theory, but Snape had hated Sirius even more than James since the Whomping Willow Incident. Sirius frowned when his eyes met the particularly poisonous gaze of Cynthia Nott, who he had dueled several times during the second semester of fifth year.
"Who ruffled the Slytherins' feathers?" Peter asked, and James, Remus, Alice, and Marlene followed his gaze. Lily, who had always disapproved of the Marauders' scuffles with certain Slytherins, rolled her eyes and focused on her food.
Alice whistled softly and glanced at Sirius. "You'd better watch your back, Sirius," she warned. "I heard about what happened from my father. Most of the powerful pureblood families are out for your blood."
"That's what they want," Sirius muttered darkly, "nice, obedient pure blood." They saw him as a traitor, and they wanted to make an example of him.
"They're not all bad," Lily protested, and Sirius snorted disparagingly before he could stop himself.
Lily glared at him, but Alice cut in before she could retort. "I'm not saying all of them are Death Eaters, Lily," she said with a pointed look at Sirius, "but you know that there are more blood supremacists in Slytherin than any other House. The same is true for Death Eaters. Avery, Mulciber, Rosier, and their friends are bad news." Here Lily nodded, but Alice kept going. "They're mad at Sirius because he ran away from home this past summer."
Sirius winced at Alice's blunt disclosure, but he knew that news of his escape would trickle down through the Ministry to certain Hogwarts students, including several Slytherins.
Lily whirled to fix Sirius with a challenging stare. "You ran away from your family because you didn't agree with them about politics?"
Peter immediately sat up straighter on the bench, and Remus narrowed his eyes at Lily. James bit his lip uncertainly, appearing torn.
"Lily-" James started anxiously, and Remus opened his mouth to cut in. Sirius held up his hands to stop both of them.
"Evans, I'm not trying to be patronizing when I tell you this, but you don't fully get the politics of this world," Sirius said firmly, trying to get his point across while revealing as little as possible. "Trust me, I had good reason."
Lily held his gaze for a moment, then exhaled. "I apologize, Black," she said sincerely, albeit reluctantly. "I don't know your situation."
"I think it's rather brave of you to stand up for your beliefs like that," Marlene said coyly, and Sirius gave her a weak smile. At least she broke the tension, he thought as Lily rolled her eyes again.
Sirius went back to trading scowls with the Slytherins, but he felt a twinge of guilt as his gaze passed over the spot where Regulus usually sat. The Blacks, with the help of other Death Eaters, had managed to hold Grimmauld Place against the Aurors throughout the summer. Orion, Walburga, and Regulus hadn't left the property since Sirus ran away. Sirius knew that the Blacks would have realized that the Aurors would never allow Regulus to return to Grimmauld if they sent him to Hogwarts. As Sirius had probably been blasted off the family tree by now, he couldn't imagine the pressure Regulus was under as the Blacks' only remaining son and heir. Sirius stared down at the food on his plate, his appetite severely diminished. Had he made the right choice?
Sirius shook his head to clear it. He'd have to hope that the Aurors would breach Grimmauld and save Regulus from his parents' manipulations. There's nothing I can do for him right now. James's method of rescuing me won't work now that Grimmauld is under siege. He matched Avery's sneer with one of his own, refusing to show fear.
"It's only a matter of time," he mumbled under his breath, but Remus's enhanced werewolf hearing caught his words. Remus broke away from the table conversation to cock his head questioningly at Sirius. "Give them a week or two and they'll recruit the majority of the Slytherins to go after me," Sirius explained, and Remus's expression darkened. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw Lily staring at them, her brow furrowed intently in thought.
September 1, 1976
Alice pulled Lily aside as soon as they entered their dormitory, taking her by the arm to the corner of the room while the other girls began to unpack their trunks. "Lily, I've dropped hints about this before, but I've got to come out and tell you at this point," Alice said firmly.
Recognizing the serious expression on her best friend's face, Lily gestured for Alice to continue. Is this about Black? she wondered, anger welling up inside her. He's arrogant and quick to start a fight, and he's been messing with Marlene's emotions for ages.
"Things are changing, Lil," Alice continued. "The war is heating up, and if I do end up becoming an Auror, I could end up fighting some of those Slytherins on the battlefield."
"I understand better than anyone how bigoted some of them are, Alice," Lily reminded her. "But you heard what Dumbledore said about not judging and dueling. That's Black and Potter in a nutshell-"
"Look, I'll admit that Black and Potter have bullied Slytherins-including your ex-friend Snape," Alice said, obviously trying to placate her. "And they are too quick to pull their wands in response to words. However, they've also been quick to leap to the defense of any Muggleborn who is attacked, including you. And I think they've got good hearts when it comes down to it."
Lily nodded in reluctant acceptance of Alice's assessment.
"Don't forget, Dumbledore also said that this war is stirring up conflict in Hogwarts. We're in our sixth year now, and things might turn ugly, especially with a bunch of Death Eaters' kids out to get Black. According to my father, Orion Black-that's his father-has been charged with using the Cruciatus Curse on Sirius and refuses to come to trial. They've been holed up in the Black family home since Sirius ran away."
Lily's eyes widened. "Do you think that's true? How could any parent-"
"Don't know for sure, but from what I've heard about the Blacks, I wouldn't be surprised," Alice stated firmly. "They're some of Voldemort's worst. I can't imagine they've taken kindly to Sirius's rebellion over all these years. They charged Sirius's mother with something, too. Dad wouldn't tell me what it was, but I'd guess it was child abuse."
"I heard the rumors about the Blacks being Death Eaters, but… " Lily trailed off uncertainly.
Alice's lips twitched up into a brief, strained smile. "I'm glad you're here to remind us to try to make peace, Lil, I really am, but that just might not be possible right now."
Her righteous anger rapidly cooling, Lily nodded and fidgeted with a strand of her long, red hair. "I'm sorry, Alice, really," she said timidly. "I'll apologize to Black again, and take what you've said into consideration. I just get so mad when they-"
"Hey, I know," Alice consoled her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You wouldn't have been telling us all how Black and Potter are prats for all these years for no reason. They need a firecracker like you around sometimes to snap them out of their own prejudices. Now come on," she said, tugging Lily toward Alice's trunk. "I've got to show you the birthday present Frank sent me over the summer. If that boy doesn't ask me to Hogsmeade soon, I'll drag him there myself."
Smiling slightly, Lily allowed herself to be pulled away.
A/N: There was a new OC in this chapter… diehard Harry Potter fans may have figured out who.
Did you like my portrayals of Dumbledore, Lily, and Alice Macmillan (who is to-be Alice Longbottom, Neville's mom, of course)? Please review!
Also, if you're a big HP canon/fanfiction reader or writer and are interested in beta-reading this story, PM me!
Have a nice day!
