November, 1971

It was the beginning of November and it had started to snow at Hogwarts. I only talked with the four boys once since my conversation with Remus, but it wasn't anything important. Remus simply forced the other boys to apologize and properly offer their help. Peter's apology was very nice while James and Sirius' apologies couldn't be considered apologies. Nevertheless, I accepted them and I couldn't wait to get started.

But other things were happening as well. When I hung out with Severus and Lily, Severus would introduce me to some Slytherins, saying that they would help me get my revenge on the boys. I thanked them, but mostly because it seemed as though the Slytherins were taking a shine to me. And soon whenever I spent time with Severus, or any other time, anu Slytherin who would pass by would give me a friendly nod of acknowledgement.

Lily, of course, noticed and she didn't mind. Neither did Lydia, but Marlene wasn't too thrilled—she didn't like Severus to begin with—but I had hope I would convince her otherwise.

Things were looking up for me and I was so ready to become a Slytherin. I was thinking of this when one day, while I was walking to my third class of the day, I spotted the four boys walking down the corridor towards me. They were all laughing about something and I frowned. When I walked past them and went further down, I gasped.

Standing in the middle of the corridor was Lily, Marlene, and Lydia, all of them looking above them. Levitating in the ground was Severus, the back of his pants raised higher, making it seem as though he was being lifted by his pants.

I gasped in outrage and I dropped my books as I rushed back to where I saw the boys. When I caught sight of them, I marched towards them, saying,

"Black! Potter! Stop this instance!"

The four boys stopped walking and looked back at me with amused expressions—or at least Sirius and James did. Peter looked afraid and Remus simply looked concerned.

Before they could say or do anything, I marched up to Sirius and gave him a full punch to the face. He stumbled backwards and I winced as my fist flared with pain. I wasn't prepared when Sirius took out his wand and shouted a spell, causing me to fly backwards.

My head hit the stone and my last memory before blacking out was hearing McGonnagal's voice...

"Stop! Stop this at...!"

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I woke up in the infirmary and Lydia was there. I was thrilled to hear that Sirius got detention, but I was not please when I learned I was getting detention with him. Why, you ask? Because I punched him, thereby provoking him. But not only did I get detention, but I also had Gryffindors giving me dirty looks and Slytherins giving me pats on the back.

But anyway, that's how I found myself seated at McGonnagal's empty classroom with Sirius Black seated beside me. The doors were locked and they would not open until the hour was finished. Until then, we had to remain in each other's company as punishment. And trust me, nothing could be worse.

"You're a bully," I told him.

"You're annoying," Sirius shot back.

"Severus didn't deserve that!" I told him adamantly.

"So you're friends with him now?" Sirius asked.

I shot him a look and silence resumed. It was during this silence that I thought about my desire to reach the resticted section and I couldn't do that without the four boys. The Slytherins might be on my side, but I haven't heard of any Slytherin who could break the rules without any Professors knowing. No matter how much I hated it, I needed those boys. So, despite them being huge bullies, I knew I had to get on their good side. So after a long moment, I muttered,

"I'm sorry, all right?"

Sirius looked at me in surprise but the expression was soon replaced with a smug smile. "Apology accepted. But I'm guessing you're only saying sorry because you still heed our help. Correct?"

I glared at him. "Are you going to help or not?"

"There's a tax," Sirius told me.

I raised an eyebrow.

"You can't defend Severus if we do any pranks on him. If you do, deal's off."

"You're a jerk," I told him, but as I thought about being in Slytherin, I shook his hand anyway, sealing the deal.

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January, 1972

And so from there, my free time was not only spent with Lily, Marlene, Lydia, Severus , and other Slytherins, but I also spent some time with the four boys. I would ask them if they had thought of a plan and when they said no, I continued to wait. I didn't defend Severus when they pulled pranks on him, but thankfully Lily, Marlene, and Lydia didn't notice. Neither of the Slytherins noticed either. At least not yet.

When Christmas break came along, I went home to my family. I got an earfull from Father, who knew everything thanks to Veronique. He told me that I should be proud to be in Gryffindor and that I shouldn't embarress my siblings. He then proceeded to praise my brother for learning yet another language fluently.

When Christmas break was over, I was relieved. I went back to acing my classes—except for DADA, which I suck at. But the highlight of being at Hogwarts was towards the end of January. I was sitting in the library when the four boys approached me, made themselves comfortable, and waiting for me to ask why they had smug looks on their faces.

"What?" I asked, placing a bookmark in my book and closing it. I looked around to make sure there weren't any Slytherins around. I swore to myself that once I was a Slytherin, I would cut all ties with these boys.

"Tonight you'll be able to go into the restricted section," James told me. "Thanks to us."

I couldn't help but smile. "That's excellent!"

"But there's a tax," Sirius told me. "Remus and I go with you while James and Peter do their thing."

My smile faded. "But why?"

"I always wanted to know what books are there," Remus replied with wide eyes. "And Sirius just wants to tag along for curiosity's sake. What do you say?"

I didn't want to accept the tax but I was desperate. Therefore, when Sirius held out his hand, I shook it, sealing the deal once again.