Disclaimer: Still don't own Hogwarts…

A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long for this update. I miscalculated and the chapter wasn't ready for posting before my trip to Disney World. This chapter is long, so it should make up for it. Enjoy!

The students of Hogwarts had a mixed reaction when they heard James had simply forgiven Sirius for his wrongdoings. It seemed that those who believed them were the ones spreading rumors about what Sirius had actually done. One of the silliest rumors was that Sirius had been plotting to kill James's pet kneazle in order to hit him where it hurt.. James didn't even have a pet kneazle.

The hardest group of students to convince about the sincerity of their friendship were their fellow Gryffindors; particularly the older students. The same people that treated James coldly pretended Sirius didn't exist. It would have been worse for James if his family wasn't so well liked and popular. Fortunately all the second year Gryffindors were on speaking terms with them and slowly others were following their lead.

The day of the first prank of the second year began with an ominous note.

First Peter spilled juice all over Potter's robes. And then the mail came. Most students looked forward to mail time. It was when parents sent kind words from home and packages of chocolate. Sirius highly doubted the black envelope in the owl's beak in front of him contained either.

Sirius was surprised by the letter. With all the excitement of the start of a new school year and becoming friends with James again, he had pushed aside the fact that his decision to stay in Gryffindor would have gravely disappointed his family. A quick glance at Bellatrix's menacing gesture, confirmed that they had not forgotten.

"What's that?" James asked curiously.

"Nothing," Sirius muttered throwing the letter into his bag. In that instance he understood how Lupin must have felt when they had excessively asked him about his absence.

There was no fooling James. He knew it was something. "Is that a letter from your parents?"

"I didn't know. I didn't open it, did I?" Sirius answered aggressively.

"Open it then." There was definitely a cheeky undertone to Remus's words.

"I would if I was the least bit interested in what my parents had to say."

Thankfully that ended the discussion about the letter and with the prank on Sirius's mind he too quickly forgot about it. Sirius had been working with James over the past few days on the prank and on concealing their plans from their roommates. It had been hardest to hide from Peter since he already knew about it. And Peter now followed them everywhere apparently not at all embarrassed by the reputation he was receiving as being a tag-along. It was much easier to conceal their mischief from Remus who was trying to catch up on the work he had missed. Sirius and James had no sinister reason for keeping it between themselves besides that Frederick had not slighted Peter and Remus.

With careful planning, they orchestrated a way to put the hex on Frederick. It all began fifteen minutes before the House meeting when James called Frederick over to the window where Sirius was hiding behind two large heavy red curtains. James had to keep Frederick in that stop for about five minutes while Sirius fervently cast the charms on the victim.

As Sirius slipped next to James, Remus and Peter he couldn't ever remember being so excited about a House meeting. He could see that James looked just as anxious as he did for this to go as planned.

Frederick began his speech by introducing himself, as if no one in Gryffindor knew who he was. Even the first years had quickly learned to be wary of the over-strict sixth year Prefect. Frederick began to prattle on about the House rules, house points, quiet hours, and respecting each other (especially the Gryffindor Prefects).

"With the way Gryffindor has been losing points so early in the year, we are never going to win the House Cup this year. If everyone would please try to control themselves…"

"As long as we win the Quidditch Cup!" Robert McCoy, the new Quidditch captain yelled. There was a rousing response in agreement from almost everyone. Even Professor McGonagall smiled.

"Yea- well though some might find that important-" Frederick gave a pointed look at McCoy who was smirking, "I think that we can all agree that the House Cup is more important."

There were quite a few snickers. Apparently not many students agreed with him. None of this deterred Frederick, he kept rambling on and on and on. Sirius looked at James with worry. Had he done the spell right? They had practiced it a few times, but Sirius had to say the incantations a lot softer and faster than they had practiced. All their worries quickly vanished when Frederick's Prefect badge began to enlarge with every word that came out of his mouth. When it had reached a certain size it shrunk to regular size and then began to enlarge once more. A few students giggled. Then his hair began to grow with each word as well as change to a bright purple color. This time more students laughed and the few students that had been listening to his words now looked at Frederick to see what would happen next.

Finally his ears began to grow and no one held back on laugher when Frederick's ears were the size of his head.

"What's everyone laughing at?" Frederick demanded his face turning beet red. This only caused more laughter and Amber the other 6th year Prefect was looking at him with fright. She did not join in the laughter unfortunately. Though most of the other Prefects did join in, especially the new 5th year Prefect, Frank Longbottom.

"Your ears…your hair it's…" Amber tried to explain, but she couldn't apparently describe it.

Professor McGonagall tried to keep order, but things quickly spiraled out of control. Frederick began trying to see his reflection in the windows and after a few minutes McGonagall was able to reverse the effects of the spell.

The meeting did continue, but everyone was whispering excitedly to each other about what had happened. As everyone began to scatter back to their rooms, Frederick began going around and questioning random Gryffindors. Three fourth years were giving him a hard time pretending they knew something, but obviously Sirius knew they didn't have a clue.

Frederick was now eyeing him with suspicion. James also seemed to notice this and motioned them to leave before anyone started questioning them. They all knew Peter could not lie on the spot.

They were almost at the steps when they Frederick called out James's name.

James hesitated before turning around giving his cousin a glare. "You know, purple really is a good color on you."

Frederick frowned, "I guess I can't expect you to treat me with respect or any Prefect with respect when I look at your choice in friends. The Blacks seem to think they are above the law."

James shrugged, "You can't boss me around, Frederick."

"I can put you in detention though. And I have some questions for your friend Black."

"Ask away," Sirius said with a smirk. He could handle this pompous idiot.

"I know he did it. I could see the way he was looking at me, like he was expecting something to happen."

"I was bored out of my mind…" Sirius admitted.

"I don't know what you think, but Sirius was with me the entire day," James insisted. That statement was not a lie. They both had been together all day planning the prank.

"I know it was him! I can feel it. It would be better for everyone if you convinced your friend to confess."

Sirius leaned in, "Try proving I had anything to do with it."

Frederick looked so enraged that Sirius stepped slightly back wondering if the boy might just strangle him right there, "You won't be so cocky when you have a month of detention for this."

If Frederick thought he could scare Sirius into admitting his involvement by threatening with detention he would be sorely disappointed. Sirius gave him one last look to show he wasn't at all frightened and then headed up to their dorm with James, Remus and Peter in hot pursuit.

"What were you thinking?" James demanded.

"What?" Sirius asked falling on his back onto his bed.

"You just admitted to Frederick that it was you! He's not going to give up until he can prove it! He's as stubborn as a mule! You should have kept quiet and let me handle it."

"As if you were doing such a good job," Sirius said dismissively, "Oh! Just relax! How would he prove it unless one of us goes to him right now?"

"What if someone else overheard what you said? What then? McGongall is not going to trust our word against a Prefect?"

Cory Connor walked in as Remus said with a wry grin, "Mad at your cousin, James?"

"How'd you know it was them?" Peter asked in bewilderment.

"I found that spell last year, but we never were able to use it."

"We were going to thank you," Sirius said sitting up.

"He deserved it. Trust me," James said looking over at Remus and only noticing that Cory was now in the room, "Hey Connor."

"You guys did that?" Cory looked torn between admiration and disapproval.

"Great now someone else knows," mumbled James

Sirius looked straight at Cory, "This stays between us, understand?"

"If you aren't prepared to take the consequences of your actions, then maybe you shouldn't get into trouble. Who would I tell anyway?"

"Evans!" James and Sirius said together.

"She wouldn't tell…"

"Of course not because you aren't going to tell her…" Sirius reminded him.

"What do you against Lily?" Cory's face was rapidly turning red.

"The fact that she has a conscience," Sirius said grimly.

"Well if you lot didn't break the rules all the time."

"Come on Connor," James interrupted, "Rules are meant to be broken. A real Gryffindor would know that."

"A real Gryffindor?" scoffed Cory looking distinctly at Sirius, "Right. And your buddy there is? A Black could never be a true Gryffindor."

Sirius wasn't able to hide how stunned he felt. Cory had never mentioned his thoughts on pure blood or Sirius's family. Cory had never even raised his voice at any of them. He tented to be a "live and let live" kind of a guy. Sirius considered him even more even tempered than Lupin. He usually went with the flow and never made waves nor voiced controversial opinions. And now that very same person was threatening to rat them out.

It was Remus who spoke next, "Be reasonable, Cory. It was just a joke. And it's between James, Sirius and Frederick. We should all just stay out of it."

When Cory did not respond Sirius decided being reasonable was not going to work, "If you tell anyone…" He made his voice sound as threatening as possible. Peter looked a bit shaken by his tone of voice, but Cory had grown a backbone over the summer, "If you threaten me again, I will go straight to Frederick and McGonagall with the information I have."

With that stated, Cory strode across the room slamming the door to the bathroom. Sirius heard the shower being turned on next.

"Can you believe him?" thundered Sirius.

"You haven't done anything to him, have you Sirius?" Remus asked.

"What? Why? No. I never even talk to him."

"Well he seems ticked off at you."

"Well spotted, Lupin," Sirius remarked.

"I don't think he's going to tell," James said, but he didn't sound very convinced, "And if he does we'll just think of something. It's still their word against ours."

The night was basically ruined for them and they all went to bed early.

It was a general rule in the school that Professor McGonagall was not late for class. Though that day the second years were found waiting outside of a locked Transfiguration classroom. The Slytherins were waiting on one side of the hallway and the Gryffindors on the other. Though the Slytherins stood united, there was a rift between the Gryffindors and Sirius decided that it was all Connors doing.

He must have told the girls about their argument last night because they were all glaring at the four of them. It may have been their fault that Cory was in a bad mood. James did throw a trip hex at Cory twice when he was entering and leaving the Great Hall.

It was quickly evident to everyone why McGonagall was late. They could hear her voice carrying down the hall, "No, Mr. Ward I cannot take students into questioning just for laughing during a House meeting." McGonagall sighed heavily, "No, not even the ones that laughed the loudest."

Sirius smirked at James who grinned back. Cory was watching them with no amusement in his eyes. What was his problem?

James had not been joking about Frederick being determined and McGonagall looked thoroughly annoyed by him.

"Mr. Ward I need to go teach my class now. You many come to my office later with further evidence."

Cory perked his head up with those words and Evans whispered something to him. Sirius had a feeling he had told her everything. Sirius could feel James tensing beside him.

They had planned everything to minimize the chances of getting caught. What good was it being pranksters if you couldn't get away with one simple prank?

"Please take your seats everyone. We are going to get started right away. Mr. Connor, Mr. Black, please come to the front of the room. You two will begin our lesson for today."

Cory stood up first and Sirius watched him warily go up to the front of the room.

"Mr. Black, we don't have all day."

Sirius joined Connor up in the front of the room and McGongall placed a block of wood in front of them.

"Alright. Mr. Connor, if you please try first. Using the same wand movement we learned last class. The wood should turn into a piece of brown cloth if done correctly."

Cory looked a bit sick and Sirius knew he had never been good with magic when being put on the spot. After five tries the block of wood remained.

"Nice try, Mr. Connor. Let's give Mr. Black a chance."

Sirius carefully concentrated on the block of wood before him. In two tries he successfully transfigured the block of wood into a brown cloth. Sirius grinned seeming the annoyed look on Cory's face.

"Well done. Five points to Gryffindor. I hope you all noticed Mr. Black's distinct hand movement. You must be confident in your wand movement at all times. Mr. Lupin and Ms. Evans you two are up next."

McGongall called everyone up in twos and once everyone had tried to complete the spell in front of the class they were allowed to try it at their desk.

By the end of class James was changing the wood back and forth into cloth casually and glaring at Cory for the 10th time that day said, "Ward is really getting on my nerves."

At that moment Cory was laughing at something Lily had said.

After class they had an hour break where they were supposed to spend time in the Great Hall. The boys sat in their usual spot. Remus promptly took out some homework.

"Put that away!" groaned James.

"I'd like to get ahead," Remus said, "Anyway what else is there to do?"

"We aren't entertaining enough for you?" Sirius pretended to look hurt, but Remus rolled his eyes.

So they ended up distracting Remus from his work. It wasn't an easy task and they had to resort to grabbing papers away and causing his quill to turn different colors. All in all it turned out to be an entertaining hour.

The next class of the day was Defense Against the Darks Arts. As bad luck would have it, they had it again with Slytherin. Besides Slughorn, they also had a new teacher for this subject, Professor Adair. She was a tall woman with sleek black hair that had a distinct shine to it.

This teacher was quickly turning out to be everyone's least favorite teacher. Not only was she strict, but she tolerated nothing that was not related to what they were studying. She also felt that the theory of the Defense of Dark Arts was more important than actually practicing. So they only got to use their wands every three class periods. Today was going to be a long day of notes.

They learned that Professor Adair had not attended Hogwarts, but she did have very apparent House favoritism. And per usual or as what Sirius had experienced with his limited time at Hogwarts, the favoritism was not directed at Gryffindor.

Sirius remembered his first day of class when Sirius and James hadn't even been on speaking terms yet and together they had lost 30 points.

It seemed that they couldn't do anything right. For example that particular morning, Sirius was discussing with James when the Quidditch tryouts were taking place before the teacher had walked in. And there was no rule against talking while waiting for your teacher to arrive.

Though the second Professor Adair walked in she promptly said, "I suggest the Gryffindors stop jabbering if they do not want to be assigned seats."

Though they stopped talking she apparently didn't feel this was enough and continued on with the words, "That means you Potter and Black. If I hear another word from either of you out of turn and I'm sending you to the Headmasters."

James looked so livid that he was barely stopping himself from telling her off. Without another word, Adair flicked her wand and the two blackboards filled with words. It was going to take awhile to copy all the notes.

James sighed and whispered, "I'm itching to use my wand."

How it was possible that Adair heard those words when Sirius had strained to hear James who was sitting right beside him, Sirius would never know.

"Mr. Potter! Why is it that you cannot follow simple directions? Are you incapable of keeping your mouth shut? Ten point off Gryffindor and that's being generous."

James grumbled an apology his fists clenching underneath his desk. Sirius went back to copying the long list of words when the door to the classroom opened and he heard a familiar clicking of heels. Sirius thought the noise sounded almost like his –

"Mrs. Black. What can I do for you?"

Sirius whirled around to see his mother standing in the middle of his classroom. Both Professor Adair and his mother acted as if this was a regular occurrence to see a parent at Hogwarts.

"I'm here for my son." His mother's words were harsh and abrupt.

"Are you aware you must see the Headmaster and fill out a slip?"

"Already completed."

Adair nodded and then continued acting as if his mother wasn't there. Mrs. Black walked over to his desk and grabbed his frozen body into a standing position. Sirius bent over to pick his bag, but his mother ordered him to leave it and pick it up later from Adair's office.

Without letting go of his arm she began to drag him out of the room. The Slytherins weren't the only ones enjoying his misery; Cory looked delighted, though Lily Evans had a frown on her face. James was shocked and outraged and before they reached the door, he shouted, "Professor! You are just going to let that mad woman take him? Just like that?"

Apparently they had not seen Adair outraged before because her dark grey eyes that most would describe as beautiful turned as hard cold as ice. There was not a line of sympathy on her face.

"I warned you, Mr. Potter. Twenty-five points off Gryffindor and go to the Headmasters office immediately."

While James was angrily stuffing his bag his mother pushed him out the door and handed him a duffel bag.

"Change out of those offensive clothes immediately!"

Sirius took the bag slowly trying to think of the nearest bathroom in that hallway. Sometimes the locations of the bathrooms changed from week to week. As he was deciding, James burst out of the room.

"So this is young James Pottter?" his mother hissed dragging out his name. She looked him up and down carefully as if assessing the danger this twelve year old child possessed.

James ignored them both, which only enraged his mother more. It was as if she wanted to pick a fight with Potter. Instead she took it out on Sirius, "What are you waiting for? Go change, you lazy boy!"

Sirius obeyed and changed into formal black robe with sliver lining. His mother marched him outside of Hogwarts grounds and took out of her pocket a small box. He was told to place a hand on it and suddenly he felt a tug at his navel as his surroundings began to swirl around him. He had only traveled by Portkey once before.

Their destination was at a deserted street that had many very old and worn down buildings, which was not an environment you would find a Black in very often. His mother began briskly walking to a door that had a roughly drawn green dragon on it. An elderly man, who looked as if he couldn't stand up longer than a minute, ushered them inside. Before closing the door, he took his time glancing from left to right a few times. Once he was sure no one had followed him besides maybe some fleas he bowed "Mrs. Black, it is an honor to serve you once again. Is your husband well?"

"Yes. Thank you. A booth in the back please for my son and me. I do not want to be disturbed. We will ring for service when we are ready."

"As you wish," the man bowed again and led them through two doors and finally to a pentagon shaped room that was empty except for two hooded figures. Sirius waited for his mother to sit before sitting which pleased her.

"Are you going to tell me why you brought me here, mother?" Sirius asked cautiously. For the past ten minutes his mother had been quite content to sit and stare at him in silence.

"Don't act as if I didn't warn you. I didn't have to send you that letter this morning."

It was then Sirius remembered the unopened letter still in his bag.

"I never opened it," Sirius admitted.

"If I send you mail I expect you to read it right away, understand?"

"I understand."

His mother than dug into her bag and took out a picture sliding it towards him. In the picture was a thirteen year old boy who was grinning and waving next to a frightened small child tied up and hanging upside down.

"That is your father," his mother said pausing, "That filthy Muggle child was his first assignment in the most elite pureblood group. Usually boys are not inducted until the age of 17, but both your father's father and grandfather had died and he needed to take the place in order to ensure a Black spot."

Sirius couldn't tear his eyes away from the struggling child. He was beginning to feel nauseous.

"If you think I would-"

"Nonsense, Sirius! There is no way they would take you yet anyway last name or not. You are not honorable enough nor do you have a talent they need, but you will. Your father's induction was a special case and though he was young he dealt with it because he cared about his family, which is something you clearly do not. He made sacrifices for his family because there is nothing more important than bringing honor to them. We've been grooming you since you were a baby to take on the role of head of this noble family, but unfortunately we have hit a snag with you."

Sirius turned the picture over with disgust.

"Don't be a child, Sirius. The Muggle lived and with no lasting memory. The boy was from a poor background most likely has robbed or murdered someone by now."

"I don't want any part of it. Not now and not ever!" Sirius cried out.

"Such passion, though misplaced. It is your duty as heir. We are not asking you. You do not have a choice. You will be part of it. Surely since you've gotten your way with staying in Gryffindor, you could sacrifice something for your family?" His mother stopped a moment to let him think her words over, "You will be attending a meeting with your father during winter break and there they will be assessing your potential."

"Why bother, mother? You know they won't take a blood traitor."

"It will be difficult. And though a Gryffindor has never entered that society before, you are very clever. And that is a trait they pride on. I will be sending you certain reading material that I suggest you keep hidden from your roommates. It may upset them."

Sirius didn't say a word.

"I still cannot fathom how you managed to stay in Gryffindor. We had everything set for you to quietly and painlessly switch Houses. The Slytherins would have welcomed you and since Gryffindor didn't trust you, it wouldn't have been a surprise to them."

"The Sorting Hat still feels I belong in Gryffindor," Sirius lied.

His mother took out a small vial of solution, "Do you know what this is? Truth potion. It is not easy to come by, but fortunately I have my sources. If I feel you are lying to me, I will use it."

"What exactly would you rather hear? I didn't get resorted? I choose to stay in Gryffindor. Would that make you happier?"

"You know what would make me happy. Bellatrix tells me you have been seen in the company of James Potter very regularly. Is that true?"

"Yes. Not everyone is as distrustful as you."

"How did you manage to convince him?" His mother did look genuinely interested.

"I told him the truth."

"Maybe you should ask him if he was written to his parents about his renewed friendship with the Black heir. I would like to hear what they feel about that. Are his parents as forgiving as him?"

When Sirius didn't answer she continued, "Your selfishness has put me in dire situation."

"Why can't you let me do what I want? And groom Regulus to be your perfect heir."

"I can't do that. How will it look to all our friends that we couldn't even handle our own son? It would take a very long time for the Black name to recover from something like that. Though there has been a change in strategy. I am inviting some wives over for tea and I will complain publicly about your rebellion. We can't align ourselves with you any longer. It will hurt the family name a little, but by asking them for their opinion on how to handle you will help by boosting all their egos."

His mother picked up a small silver bell and within seconds a pretty young girl was at their service. She seemed in awe of his mother and bowed more than necessary. As food was served they did not speak to each other. Sirius hated the silence and he hated going against his parents. It wasn't easy and it wouldn't get any easier. Why didn't they just give up on him? Why did he still feel guilty for turning his back on them?

After his mother was done with her plate she said, "We thought of sending you away."

"Away?" Sirius asked startled.

"Yes. We were thinking a stricter school that upholds the values we are trying to instill in you. Though eventually your father insisted we keep you in Hogwarts because that is where our family has been educated since it was opened and it still has the best education. The staff has improved with Slughorn back and now that lovely women, Mrs. Adair."

Sirius almost choked on his glass of water not understanding how anyone could describe Adair as lovely.

"You know what I don't understand most of all, Sirius?" She didn't wait for his answer. "How did you become this way? How did one year at Hogwarts undo all our hard work? You grew up surrounded by anti-Muggle talk and yet you cringe at the sight of a Muggle child you don't even know hung upside down. We've kept your contact with other children to a minimum and those you have been with were all pureblood. Yet you've turned your back on all our beliefs. What happened? What went wrong?"

"It just did…I didn't mean for it."

"Maybe you didn't mean it at first, but now you are deliberately pitting yourself against us. I wish you could understand the pain and sorrow you have put me through. You have me at your wits ends and I almost thought of having your memory erased."

"Erased?" Sirius asked barely getting the word out of his mouth.

"I did research to find something that not only erased your memory, but also part of who you are. It obviously isn't just your experiences, but something else must be wrong with you. A few drops of a very precious liquid could erase who you are."

"To make me the perfect heir?" Sirius asked dryly.

"A potion such as that is very illegal. Though with enough money and pressure you can move mountains."

"Why didn't you? It would have made it easier for everyone."

"We do have some morals, Sirius. I didn't tell you about that to scare you. I told you that so that you realized the length we are willing to go through to help you. Your father and I want to be proud of you. I want to hear that you are on top of the Slytherin class. I want to receive letters from your teachers praising my parenting. I want to see you made into Prefect, and eventually Head Boy. You could do it all. I know you can. Regulus does not have the same potential as you."

"It's never going to happen, mother. If you could settle for those things in Gryffindor…'

"I could not."

Sirius stood up with is plate still half eaten, "Take me back to Hogwarts."

"Sit down. We are not done here. We are going to enjoy our dessert together."

The waitress had returned and seeing him standing up, "Sir, may I be of assistance to you?"

"No…" His mother began, but he cut her off, "Yes. I need to use the bathroom."

With a quick triumphant smile at his mother he followed the waitress to the bathroom. He'd never seen such a lavished bathroom. It was decorated as if it were the most important room in the whole restaurant. On the way there he had questioned the waitress if there were any fireplaces attached to the floo network. Unfortunately he could not run and he would be dependent on his mother to return to Hogwarts.

"Feeling better?" his mother asked as he joined her.

The rest of the meal and dessert consisted of her mother chatting about all their relatives, such as who was not talking to whom and who had just splurged all their money on a new magic carpet. It was all stuff that Sirius didn't care about, but it kept Sirius from having to speak to her. When they were ready to leave Mrs. Black instructed the waitress to put it on the Black tab.

The same old man who had initially led them in opened the door for them. Just as before, he looked to the right and left a few times before closing the door after them. A bellybutton tug away and Sirius saw the familiar Hogwarts grounds. The sight of the Quidditch posts in the background was very comforting.

His mother insisted that she escort him to Adair's office to fetch his bag. The door was closed when they arrived and Sirius could hear a strange smacking sound inside. His mother knocked on the door and they were allowed inside.

In the middle of the office stood James who upon hearing them entering had turned around. His eyes widened in surprise and it looked as if he had been near the verge of tears. Only then did Sirius notice that James had his hands extended and palms up.

"Mr. Potter!" the Professor said coldly, "Let us continue with your punishment."

James turned back and determinedly stared at the ground. She hit him an additional eight more times. James's face had turned red in embarrassment, but he didn't make a sound.

Adair looked satisfied and said, "That will be all, Mr. Potter. I want that apology letter five minutes before class tomorrow."

Without a word James left the office quickly. He wouldn't look any of them in the eye.

"Muggles do have some useful punishment techniques. Since he walked into my office I haven't heard a word out of him. Had a productive visit?"

His mother's eyes were on him now, "I think that Sirius understands things a bit more clearly now. I leave him in your capable hands. If he gives you any trouble you may punish him as you see fit."

"It will be my pleasure. Good day, Mrs. Black."

His mother left without wishing him goodbye. Sirius didn't feel any comfort in seeing her leave.

"Even though you missed the second part of my class, I still expect your homework to be handed in tomorrow."

Sirius nodded.

"Your schoolbag is there," she motioned to a chair in the corner. Sirius couldn't wait to get out of the room, so with a scoop of his bag he was almost out the door.

'Did I say you could leave?"

"No," he forced himself to stay respectful, "Professor."

"I'm concerned about your choice in friends, Potter and Lupin. Your parents have raised you better."

Sirius braced himself for another lecture.

"Continue to be with them and I'm sure we will be having many of these fun meetings. Potter is headed for trouble and Lupin- well Lupin is not worthy to breathe the same air as purebloods like us. You may leave."

Sirius was out the door almost in the same instance that she had finished the sentence. He arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room in record time.

"Bobble bubble gum!" He was allowed inside and though it was still relatively early the Common room was more empty than usual. James was sitting in a one of the chairs near the fire and Sirius joined him.

James still wouldn't look at him and Sirius could relate to the humiliation he had felt in the office. He had dealt with that over the summer in the presence of his cousins and younger brother.

"So…" Sirius began lamely.

"How was your trip with your mother?"

If James didn't want to talk about what happened Sirius wouldn't force him.

"She took me out to eat. Almost like a normal mother…"

James grinned, "Is she still ticked off about you being in Gryffindor?"

"Yes and that will never change. She wasn't too happy that we were friends either."

"Secrets out then?"

"I'm sure she already knew. Bellatrix writes to her every few days or so I suspect."

"Maybe," James agreed.

Sirius without thinking blurted out, "I was thinking you should tell Dumbledore…"

"Tell him what?"

"Is Adair allowed to hit students?"

James sighed, "I'm not going to tell on her. It will just make it all worse. Plus my detention was scheduled for Saturday during Quidditch tryouts. I begged McGonagall to ask her to change it. I don't know how she did it, but she allowed me to serve it tonight."

"What happened to cleaning an old crusted cauldron or writing lines?"

"I'm not going complain. As long as I don't miss Quidditch tryouts, that was all that mattered. And anyway, I'd rather her not know that the punishment bothered me enough to whine to the headmaster about it. Imagine if she found out, I don't think I'd be able to breathe in class without losing points."

"Well I know Adair is not good, since my mother complemented her. How did McGonagall convince her anyway?"

"Who knows? She told me it's about time the Quidditch team got some new blood. She didn't seem to upset about my outburst. She told me that there was a time and a place to make a stand and I had to learn when the right time was."

"Adair hates Lupin too."

"She does? Why?"

"Probably because he's a half-blood, remember?"

"How would she know that? Anyway he's a wizard just like the rest of us."

"Not everyone sees it that way, James. It doesn't mater if you think it's wrong. It doesn't change what other people believe."

"I don't think it's wrong. It is wrong! And I don't think you realize that?"

"That blood doesn't matter?"

"Yes."

"I do to."

"Do you really? I know you haven't been getting along with your parents. But are you just going against their beliefs to hurt them or do you really believe what they've taught you all along is wrong?"

Sirius couldn't answer him. He just couldn't. He hated James for being so sure and unwavering in his beliefs. Sirius began climbing the steps to the dorm when he remembered something his mother had said.

"Have you told your parents yet?" he called out to James.

"Told them what?"

"That we are friends again."

His words hung in the air silently. James lowered his head and that was all the answer Sirius needed. As Sirius lay down on his bed he knew there was truth to James's words and that was why they had hurt. He was angry at his parents and at times he wanted to hurt them as they had hurt him. And yet at other times he felt guilty and wanted them to be proud of him. Truth be told, Sirius didn't know what he believed when it came to blood.

How could James be so certain about something that was causing Sirius's world to crumble all around him? James did apologize the next morning, but his words had done the damage. It would be awhile before Sirius would forget them.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review. If you left an unsigned review for chapter 8, your response is in my profile.