Author's Note:
Welcome back! It's been a while, but to make up for not updating, we come bearing gifts in the form of a Sirius chapter. This week and the ones prior have just been very stressful and it's been difficult to upload every five days, so don't expect the next chapter until sometime next week. This busy period is going to be over soon though and then we'll get back to the normal updating schedule, don't worry.
Happy reading! :)
The Tortoise and the Slug
Sirius buried his face deeper into the pillow as he rolled onto his stomach, trying to will his body to stay asleep. He didn't want to get up, he wanted to stay in his bed for the rest of the day, or even better, the whole of the upcoming week.
For once, he was free of the constant and by now dreaded, creaking of the old rafters holding up the ceiling of his bedroom back at Grimmauld Place. About twice a week he'd wished they would just give in already, at least then he wouldn't have to stare at that horrid silver wallpaper anymore.
Sirius knew that wouldn't be the view greeting him today, but still, it was far from motivating.
With that, he clenched his eyes shut tightly and over a short span of time his breathing deepened gradually, until not-so-quiet whispering caused Sirius to groan in frustration, finding himself wide awake once more.
He gripped the covers tightly between his fingers. At least he didn't have to share his wretched room with anybody!
Sirius unstuck his cheek from the pillow and with a deep scowl on his face, he peered into the shadowy dorm.
"Are you trying to wake everyone up?!"
The words rushed from his mouth rather loudly, but he didn't really care. There was no way anyone could still be sleeping when someone had already decided to wag their gums without a care in the world. Who in the name of Merlin was even up this early anyway?
Sirius squinted, rubbing at his bleary eyes. He looked around the circular room, all the others appeared to have drawn their curtains yesterday night, but the fourposter to his left had them open just like his. He didn't have time to wonder why, because in that moment he'd already found the reason. James bloody Potter was casually sitting on his bed, legs crisscrossed under him and wand drawn.
His face was turned towards him though, clearly having heard his outburst. James' eyes were wide and Sirius thought he would've looked like a deer in headlights, if it wasn't for the smirk on his face.
"What are you doing?" Sirius asked indignantly.
James flicked his wand then and a shower of bright orange sparks lit up the room. At the display, Peter Pettigrew, who Sirius hadn't even noticed up until now, oohed and squealed in excitement, leaning out so far over the edge of his bed that he tumbled to the floor.
Sirius laughed at the scene; the comfort of sleep suddenly forgotten. His fingers itched for his own wand and he turned for it just in time to see Remus Lupin peek out from behind the curtains of the bed to his right.
He looked much more rested and less pale than yesterday and his mouth was opened, like he was about to say something. But Sirius never heard, because in that moment Davey Gudgeon sprang up from his bed and stalked towards James with a menacing glare.
"POTTER! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!" he roared, stomping his feet with all his might until his head took on the same shade as a Gryffindor banner.
But the sparks didn't extinguish and he continued his tantrum, until Remus spoke up at last through all of their laughter at the expense of Davey.
"Davey, be quiet you'll wake up everyone in the Tower," he said, suddenly standing next to the screaming boy. Remus looked at James then, and Sirius noticed he was trying very hard not to let his resolve slip. "Could you, y'know, put it away?"
James only sighed, but grudgingly did as he was told, flicking his wand once again and the cool display came to an abrupt end.
"Thank you," Remus breathed, but Davey didn't share the sentiment. Instead he tore away from the other boy's grip and grumpily threw himself into his fourposter, before he yanked the curtains shut.
Sirius rolled his eyes at his antics. In his opinion Davey was a stuck-up prat who wouldn't know a joke even if it slapped him around the ears. He shook his head and turned to the other three instead.
"So, anyone want to go to breakfast?"
His answer came in identical nods from Remus and Peter, while James yelled:
"Why're you even asking!"
With that settled, they all changed into their robes, popped their wands into their pockets and left the dormitory, as well as a blustering Davey, behind.
By the time they arrived in the Great Hall, breakfast was already in full swing and they quickly sat down at the Gryffindor Table, loading sausages and eggs onto their empty plates as owls swooped about overhead. It was the first day of classes, but no one seemed to be put out by the approaching weeks of studying and homework. Sirius tried not to think about it either, he was enjoying his meal too much too bear having it spoiled.
"Merlin, did you see his face? I half thought he was going to keel over!" James continued their earlier conversation, which, not very surprisingly, was about Davey's meltdown over some stupid sparks.
"He was as red as a tomato!" Peter budded in, taking a large bite of his sausage.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed, "he's mental I say, screaming his head off …" he grinned, "reminds me of my mother, she's always yelling about something, most of the time I don't even know what about."
He looked up when silence followed his statement. His dorm mates had all gone rigid, even Remus had stopped the distracted jabs at his food, although he hadn't participated in the conversation in the first place. Sirius was about to tell them to forget it, when he registered the presence behind him.
"I'm sorry to hear you have such a low opinion of the one who birthed you, Mr Black," said Professor McGonagall in a disapproving tone.
Sirius swallowed, determinedly staring at his plate as he flicked his tongue over his lips. Now he knew why his friends had been so quiet.
She cleared her throat. "I have your timetables with me and Professor Slughorn has asked me to also give you these." Sirius was already wondering what she meant by 'these', when McGonagall placed a roll of parchment on top of his timetable.
"I wish you a productive first day and Mr Black …" Sirius felt her scrutiny on the crown of his head. "I ask you to stay your sharp tongue about your mother." With that she strode on, no doubt to give every Gryffindor student their timetables, minus the telling off he had received.
Once McGonagall was out of earshot, James was the first to erupt in a wave of laughter followed closely by Peter. Sirius rolled his eyes, but he couldn't smother a smile.
"The teachers love you, mate!" James exclaimed, a clear sarcastic note to his voice. "McGonagall and, uh – what was his name again?"
"Slughorn, I think," Peter squeaked from the space next to him and James nodded.
"Right, Slughorn! What's he teach?"
"Dunno." Sirius shrugged, glancing down at the scroll tied with a violet ribbon, before he gazed to the others. Only he and James had received the dodgy pieces of parchment, Remus and Peter were left with only their timetables, which the former was studying with interest. Sirius was curious, but before he could untie the ribbon, Remus began to speak from beside him.
"Slughorn's the Potions Master and since we have Potions right about now, you two can ask him about those invites."
"Invites?" Sirius asked, brows raised. His curiosity doubled. "What for?"
Remus looked at him and shrugged. "My dad mentioned it once, but he never told me any details."
"Well … it says here that Slughorn wants to meet with us in his office …" James cut in, already holding the opened scroll. His eyes darted farther down the page. It didn't seem like he was reading any particularly bad news, but Sirius still unrolled his own note, even if it was out of sheer curiosity.
His eyes travelled over the handwritten text for a moment. "On the seventeenth at dinner," Sirius continued, still puzzled even when his gaze reached the bottom where a signature read 'Professor H.E.F. Slughorn'.
"But he doesn't say what he wants with us," said James, allowing Peter to have a look at the note.
"I already told you," Remus insisted, "ask him in Potions." He got up from the bench, slung his bag over his shoulder, and began walking towards the great doors just as the bell rang for the first lesson.
After getting their books and other supplies, the four of them headed down to the dungeons in rapt silence, allowing Sirius to mull over the brief contents of his invitation. He didn't yet know Slughorn, but it struck him as extremely odd that only he and James had received these scrolls. Why hadn't Peter and Remus been invited? Unless of course, this 'meeting' was for purebloods only. If that turned out to be true, he had no intention whatsoever of going. He had more than enough pureblood-mania at home to deal with.
The class gathered in front of the Potions classroom and it looked like they had the lesson with Slytherin.
'Guess we got lucky,' Sirius thought with bitter sarcasm, his eyes trained on the greasy locks of a certain Slytherin boy.
James hadn't noticed Snape yet and Sirius honestly didn't want to spend a single minute of his time in the presence of Snivellus, unless it involved a cauldron full of some disgusting potion being dumped over that git's filthy head. He smirked at the notion. That really would be funny.
But his musings were cut short, because only moments later the door opened and a plump man stood in front of them. Vapor from within the room streamed into the corridor, but Sirius found it hard to steer his gaze away from the man's large silver mustache and the buttons of his waistcoat, which seemed like they were about to pop clean off.
"Good morning! Do come in, do come in," said Slughorn, waving them inside the foggy classroom.
The students filed into the room and Sirius wasn't surprised when he felt goosebumps rise on his arms. The temperature down here definitely couldn't compare with the warmth of the Gryffindor common room, although he thought it also had something to do with his surroundings. As he, James, Remus and Peter found their seats at a table, Sirius stared at the animals preserved in glass jars. They lined the walls of the entire classroom and he was uncomfortably reminded of all the weird junk his parents loved to collect and keep at Grimmauld Place.
"Now, as you might know, I'm Professor Slughorn." Sirius turned away from the jars and looked to the front of the classroom, where said professor was speaking.
Slughorn had his gaze on him and James, he smiled, before addressing the whole class once more. "In this class you will be learning how to brew potions of varying degrees of difficulty and effect and since this is our first lesson together, there is no need to fuss any longer!"
The Potions Master swept aside and revealed a bubbling cauldron. "The Wiggenweld Potion will be our project today," Slughorn chirped, "if brewed correctly, it has extensive healing qualities and can even reverse the effects of a sleep potion or the Draught of Living Death.
"Off you go, off you go! Grab your books, the instructions can be found on page 123!"
Sirius grudgingly started the work of heating his cauldron. In all honesty, he could've done it a lot quicker, but he wasn't necessarily looking forward to brewing some lame potion. Why couldn't their first lesson have been Transfiguration or even Charms? At least they would've learned some useful spells.
But despite his lack of motivation, Sirius opened his book and uncorked his glass phial full of Salamander blood. He added ten drops and the potion began bubbling and then changed to a bright red.
It didn't take long until he noticed how easy the brewing process was, there was nothing challenging at all. Some more Salamander blood there, add a few lionfish spines, some Flobberworm mucus and stir between those ingredients.
Soon his potion had turned the right shade of yellow and Sirius poured in a bit of Honey water, when an elbow jabbed him painfully in the side. He groaned out in pain and the remainder of water splashed over the front of his robes.
"Oi!" Sirius protested, glowering at James, who didn't seem to notice.
"Look at Snivellus and Evans! Slughorn's been praising their 'natural talent' for ages now!"
Sirius scowled and wiped at his robes, but he spared a glance at the table behind them. James was right, Slughorn really was bumbling about like someone who'd just found a thousand Galleons. He had a sort of gleam in his eyes and Sirius had the suspicion he was enjoying himself immensely. But Slughorn wasn't the only one, Snape also had an appreciative smile on his sallow face.
"Already soft-soaping him ... that git," Sirius muttered, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
They both turned around when Slughorn left Evans and Snivellus and instead focused on their potions once again. Soon after Sirius had added the boom berry juice and given his cauldron one last stir, the bell rang and the other students began packing away their things.
The other three were finished before him and already made for the door, when Sirius pulled back James by his sleeve.
"We still have to talk with him, remember?" Sirius said, not only to James but to Peter and Remus as well, who had stopped dead in their tracks.
"Oh, right," Peter answered, looking a little disappointed.
Remus only nodded. "We have Defense next, so don't take too long." With that the other two departed and Sirius and James walked towards Slughorn, who was storing away the cauldron he'd shown them at the start of the lesson.
"Sir?"
The Potions Master jumped a little, apparently not having expected anyone to stay behind. He quickly recovered and smiled at them brightly, though they both bit their cheeks to keep from chuckling.
"Oho! Sirius, my dear boy, what can I do for you? Do you have any questions?"
"Actually," James cut in, before he could answer, "we wanted to ask you about the invitations you sent us?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Slughorn nodded animatedly, but he looked past them both as he yelled, "Lily – Severus, m'boy! Don't leave now! It's much easier to speak with all of you together!"
Sirius went rigid and he could've sworn he heard James' teeth gnash, as two pairs of footsteps teetered from their intended path and instead walked over to their little conversation with Professor Slughorn. This was not how they'd wanted this to go! But of course, Snivellus couldn't keep his fat nose out of their business!
"Very good, very good!" Slughorn said, somehow oblivious to the tension between the four students in front of him. "Yes, my meetings, I thought such clever boys as you would naturally become curious!"
"Clever?" Snape sneered quietly, "more like uncommonly dull." It earned him a meaningful look from Evans, but Sirius couldn't stop himself from taking a step forward. Who did he think he was?
"They're just a way to get to know all of you a little better," Slughorn continued, but Sirius only had half a mind for his words. "A little chit-chat over warm food, nothing to be afraid of. In fact, I've had the great pleasure of already having a few members of your family, Sirius! Really, very great witches and wizards! The same goes for you, of course, James. Sleekeazy's – wonderful potion, sadly though, I personally don't have much use for it!" Slughorn laughed, making note of his balding head.
The corner of James' mouth lifted a little, but Sirius' mood had been soured in a matter of seconds.
His family. That's what Slughorn was after? The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?
Sirius suddenly felt very sick, and his anger morphed into revulsion. His mouth opened of its own accord, but he didn't have the chance to speak his mind when Evans took up the opportunity the lull in the conversation offered.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Professor, but we've really got to go or we'll be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts," she explained, right as the bell rang, signaling the end of break. Slughorn looked a bit surprised, but he nodded at her.
"Right you are my dear! But not to worry, we'll have plenty of time to tell stories when I see you all again!"
Sirius almost didn't catch Slughorn's parting words, because he was the first out the door, followed closely by James, who didn't understand why he was 'rushing to get to class.'Yet, ironically, the upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was the very last thing on his mind.
"Are you actually planning on going?" he asked James, once they had both started their climb up the many staircases.
"I s'pose, but I doubt it'll be any fun with Evans and Snivellus around," his friend replied, then raised a brow at him. "What about you?"
Sirius only shrugged; he didn't have an answer yet. On one hand, he didn't want to hear Slughorn's praises or answer any of his questions, but on the other, he couldn't help but see this dinner party as a chance. A golden opportunity to drag the name of his pureblood-loving family through the dirt.
He let those thoughts circle around in his mind and not long after, they arrived on the third floor, breathing heavily. The door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was still open and Sirius realised with disappointment that Professor Nithercott hadn't arrived yet, much less started the lesson.
"Told you, mate, you should've walked slower," James chided and Sirius wholeheartedly agreed with him.
As they entered, he saw that their classmates had already taken their seats. The chatter was loud and Sirius was not surprised to find that no one paid them any attention as they searched for their other two friends. James and him had been the last ones to arrive, but it looked like Remus and Peter had also been forced to split up and sit apart.
Sirius raced towards the only one of his friends who was sitting alone, which was Remus, while he watched in amusement as James was forced to take a seat next to Evans.
"I thought Peter would sit with you," Sirius said as he casually crossed his arms on the table, letting himself relax into his chair.
"He wanted to, but Davey sat down next to him before I had the chance."
"Davey?"
Remus nodded. "He said Peter was the reason why James had started that trick this morning."
Sirius couldn't stop a snort from escaping him. "I told you, that bloke's mental! Why does it even matter who started it, he was the only one who flew off his rocker when we were all just having a bit of fun."
Their conversation took an abrupt halt however, when the classroom door slammed shut behind a rather hunched old man who Sirius remembered from the teacher's table in the Great Hall. It was clear this was their Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, even if he did look like he was going to bite the dust in a matter of weeks.
Professor Nithercott didn't greet the silent class, instead he turned to the blackboard and lifted his gnarled wand.
'Defence Against the Dark Arts' he wrote in a very slanted cursive.
"Ah, yes … The Dark Arts, a very nasty business," Professor Nithercott addressed his students at last and whilst he spoke Sirius couldn't help but notice the distracting bob of his head: Like a turtle eating lettuce.
"In first year of course, we keep to the easy, safer parts which are fit for children like yourselves. I was instructed to teach about imps and zombies, " he waved his hand, "and the occasional jinxes, of course, presuming you can all use your wands properly."
At this, the volume in the room increased once more, but Nithercott continued as if nothing had happened. "The same goes for second year, very mundane curriculum. Cornish Pixies and the like … in my opinion fit for fairytales, not a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson," he cleared his throat, "but no matter, third year finally brings us a great variety of noteworthy Dark creatures.
"I would be surprised if children such as yourselves knew any of these, but I will still put the question into the room," Nithercott explained, apparently thinking he was being gracious.
Sirius rolled his eyes. It was their first lesson with him and Professor Nithercott was already getting on his nerves. He would've gladly shown him that 'a child' was more than capable of ramming his wand up his nostril, and he wouldn't even need some fancy spell.
Remus, however, didn't let Nithercott's taunting get to him, because he was the only one who raised his hand to answer the question. "I think everyone ought to know Boggarts, sir."
There was a murmur of agreement and Sirius chuckled at Professor Nithercott's scowl.
"Right you are, Lupin," he said in a light tone, though his gaze had turned into a glare. "Then, of course, you ought to know more Dark creatures we'll be studying?"
Remus looked a bit uncomfortable under Nithercott's intense eye contact. "Well, there's Kappas too and, uh, Banshees, Vampires and – "
"Werewolves?" Professor Nithercott cut in, already writing it on the blackboard. At this, Remus went very pale and his eyes widened. Sirius had the strong impression that was not what he'd been meaning to say. "Yes, Mr Lupin, you are quite correct and since this is actually a lesson, I advise you all to take notes while I elaborate on this very interesting topic. I hadn't intended to tell you about werewolf bites today, but as it is, this is the perfect opportunity."
And so it went, for the remainder of the lesson. Sirius barely paid attention after the first ten minutes of Nithercott's babbling about the horrific ways Muggles and wizards had been attacked by these 'monstrosities' and although the professor's gaze stayed on Remus the whole time, his friend didn't write down a single word.
By the time Charms rolled around, his face was still colourless, but Remus put so much effort into perfecting Lumos and Nox, he and Evans earned Gryffindor twenty points. Though, it wasn't until lunch, when the four of them headed outside, that Sirius thought he'd actually gotten over the whole Defense Against the Dark Arts ordeal. Maybe it had something to do with the fresh air?
"I think I got it!" Peter squeaked, but Sirius was violently torn from his thoughts only a heartbeat later, when a bolt of light struck the tree trunk he'd just been leaning against.
"Merlin! Watch where you point your bloody wand!"
"Sorry," Peter mumbled.
Remus scratched the back of his head, a sort of awkward laugh escaping his lips. "I don't think we're supposed flick," he said, while rearranging Peter's wand so it wasn't pointing directly at Sirius. "Try making a little loop and then saying Lumos."
Peter nodded, but Sirius turned away from their impromptu Charms lesson. Instead, he looked over to James, who had left the beech tree they were sitting under and had rather chosen to skid stones over the glassy surface of the Lake. The genius idea of pushing him into the surely frigid water had just sprung into Sirius' mind, when someone spoke from behind him.
"I see you've found yourself some little friends, Sirius."
The hairs on the nape of his neck prickled and he jumped to his feet, immediately recognising the blond seventh-year Slytherin who stood with his shoulder leaned against the tree, a malicious sneer painted over his sharp features.
"Lucius," Sirius growled, clenching his hands into fists. "What're doing here? Shouldn't you be off somewhere snogging my cousin?"
The taunt seemed to have the desired effect, because Lucius stepped forward threateningly, his hand buried in his pocket where Sirius was sure he kept his wand. He stood his ground, but to his surprise Lucius didn't draw his wand and the sneer returned to his thin face.
"Look at that." Lucius' gaze flickered to Sirius' right. "Careful there, Potter, don't want to gauge anyone's eye out, do you?"
"I reckon hexing you would be fine too," James countered and Sirius grinned as he glanced over. It was then that he noticed James wasn't alone, Remus was standing just behind him and even Peter had wrestled himself up from his place on the ground, the tip of his successfully illuminated wand still sticking out awkwardly from his robe pocket.
Lucius' pale eyes returned to him and his sneer grew. He didn't seem at all intimidated. "It makes you feel better does it? Hiding behind your friends like the little coward you are!"
Sirius grit his teeth and his heart lurched with rage. In one swift motion he pulled his own wand and pointed it squarely at Lucius' chest, where a prefect's badge gleamed at him. He didn't care, he wanted him to pay for what he'd said, but before he even had time to think of any curse, Sirius noticed the figure hurrying over the lawn towards them. At first, he thought it was a teacher, until he registered the long blonde strands of hair whipping at her face.
"Lucius!" Narcissa hissed. "Get away from there!"
Her hands wound around her boyfriend's arm and quickly pulled him back. There was a wild glint in her eyes whilst she stared at Lucius like she had just stopped him from committing some horrible crime.
"Who's the coward now, huh?" Sirius yelled, when Narcissa turned Lucius away from the brewing fight.
"Lucius, stop it!" she insisted, keeping her grip firm on her struggling boyfriend, even as her gaze fixed Sirius instead. "We don't associate ourselves with blood traitors like him!"
With that, the two Slytherins retreated and Sirius was left with his wand pointing at thin air. All the anger which had been bubbling inside him a few seconds ago was suddenly gone, replaced by something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Blimey, mate! What was that?" James exclaimed, once the couple was out of earshot.
"Kind regards from my family," Sirius muttered with a sardonic edge, but this time he couldn't muster a smile. He simply returned to his spot under the beech tree and looked out over the Lake. Narcissa's words still rung in his ears like an echo … blood traitors like him … twice in a day his family had ruined whatever excitement he'd had about being at Hogwarts and he hated them for it. But the truth was, he hated himself even more, because deep down a small part of him still cared about what they thought.
Sirius promised himself, he would make sure that changed.