A/N: Here's the next chapter…only a few more to go until the end of the story.
"Enter, Mr. Black."
Sirius braced himself as he opened the door to Adair's office. There was a twinge of annoyance audible in her tone. Was it possible that Adair didn't want these lessons any more than he did? Sirius knew his mother, not to mention the influence of the Black name, could be very persuasive.
Sirius spotted a desk, smaller than the ones used in some classrooms, set with a chair. On top of the desk were a black-feathered quill and a plain notebook. Professor Adair was sitting at her own desk, the scribbling and scratching of her quill sounded harsh in the silent room. Immediately Sirius felt uneasy.
Adair blatantly ignored him as she finished correcting the unfortunate student's essay that was now filled with red ink and cross-outs.
She cleared her throat; the noise was so abrupt that Sirius jumped. "First I will explain the rules to you. One of the most important things you will exercise in my presence is proper courtesy and proper manners. You will treat me with the respect you'd give any elder authority. I know you've been instructed in all these avenues and just because the Headmaster does not believe in teaching these traditions and just because other teachers do not require it, will not excuse you. In here, during your private lessons, you will obey my instructions."
During the speech, Adair's face remained impassive while boring her grey steely eyes into him. Those same eyes made it clear that she would make him suffer and all because of his failings as heir thus causing his mother to come up with ways like this to rein him in.
"You have already committed one infraction. Do you know what that is, Mr. Black?" Her tone now took on that sing-song quality, one she used in class when she enjoyed picking on students. Sirius shrugged successfully hiding his nervousness.
"Ah, now there's another rule. If I ask a question I expect an answer. Usually a 'no Professor' or a 'yes, Professor' will be sufficient."
She sat still watching for his answer and for his compliance. This was after all the first test to see if he was going to listen to her. Sirius allowed a twenty tense seconds to tick by before mumbling, "No, Professor."
Adair practically beamed. "Bowing. You did not bow when you entered. You are also required to bow after I dismiss you."
Adair nodded and waited patiently for him to follow her request. So Sirius bowed, a gracious, perfectly executed bow that would even make his parents proud.
"Very good," she complimented as if he were a five year old child. "So it is true that you have been properly bred; you just choose not to act in accordance."
Adair waved a perfectly manicured hand toward the desk. "Take a seat. The other rules we will touch when you break them."
"Yes, Professor," Sirius replied. The back of the chair was very stiff and the desk was slightly too tall for the chair it had been paired up with making it very uncomfortable.
"Inside your notebook is a list of twenty Latin roots and words. A number of these will be very important in understanding the use of particular jinxes, hexes, and curses. As heir you should be at least familiar with the meaning of the words. It is highly unlikely we will reach the point to cast any of these enchantments and even more unlikely I will be allowed to demonstrate them to you. Copy the list with the definition six times. After that I will quiz you to see if you have retained any of the information."
Sirius opened the notebook, his eyes swiftly scanning the list. "We haven't learned any of these in class, how is this supposed to help my grade?" Sirius protested.
"Tsk, tsk. Not exactly a good start. I didn't think you'd break both rules so quickly into the lesson."
Sirius grimaced. He was still working on learning to control his impulses properly, spitting out words that he should have silenced, and learning to choose only the worthwhile battles. It was something that perhaps he'd never have full control over.
Sirius spotted the ruler Adair had utilized in her corporeal methods. It lay quite harmlessly on her desk, placed precisely where the occupant of the student desk could not miss it; knowing Adair had already proven she was not shy in hitting her students he muttered resentfully. "Sorry, Professor."
"Yes, you will be because after you are finished with your current assignment as punishment you will write out the full list of all the pureblood families ten times. I know the entire list and for every name you omit you will rewrite the entire list once more. I do not think you appreciate the impact these families have had in your history and it will serve as a good reminder. Begin!"
Sirius began to protest again. The punishment was practically a copy of the type his parents used on him during his pre-Hogwarts lessons. Adair silenced him with a glare; clearly she was just a pawn being used by his over-bearing mother and his father would not have any qualms with this. Frustrated Sirius snatched the quill tunneling his anger not at Adair, but at the task at hand.
James was excitedly relaying to Peter the new play McCoy had the chasers try out during practice. Peter was nodding determinedly at James' description of the loop and side throw that was part of the complicated play, even though he doubted Peter could really understand the intricacies of it.
Still Peter was acting interested enough and James never backed away from a chance to talk about the greatest sport of all time.
James' confidence level was at a high and as a result his walk had developed into a slight strut. Not only was Gryffindor now 'the team to beat', but the team was coming together, flying flawlessly, and executing their formations perfectly. Quidditch had now become a daily or at least weekly part of his life and he could not remember how he had managed to deal with not being part of the team his entire first year.
What was there not to love about flying? It was just you and your broom, the sky an endless adventure.
"Oh, look who it is?" a taunting voice cried, "Wee little Potty."
James didn't need to turn to recognize Bellatrix's voice. He didn't believe Bellatirx knew Peter's name. Usually James would take any and every opportunity to exchange un-pleasantries with the Slytherins, but he was in such a good mood he didn't want anyone to ruin it. James faced Bellatrix preparing himself mentally for the battle, and seeing Lestrange and Snape flanking her with sneers, James knew he'd come off in the worse end of this scrape.
Bellatrix drew her wand and a yellow light hit Peter before James had time to react. Two horns sprouted through Peter's blonde hair and Peter cried out feeling them tentatively with his hands. James grabbed his own wand, holding it out in front. Bella laughed at his brave attempt.
"Point that piece of wood somewhere else, boy, you aren't in my league yet. I'll let horn-boy go to the nurse. It's you I want."
Peter cowered looking wildly between his tormentor and his friend. "Go on," James waved impatiently. Peter did not need to be told twice and he high-tailed away.
"At last, Potter. I've wanted to have a chat with you, but you're very attached to Sirius. It isn't easy getting an audience with you alone."
"Well here I am," James responded and he lowered his wand, no longer in a defiant stand.
"I don't like when Slytherin loses anything. And Gryffindor beating Slytherin makes me particularly unhappy."
James listened cautiously for Bellatrix to continue unsure of where her line of thought was leading to.
"And now that you've become quite the little quidditch player, I'm afraid that you're part of the cause of my unhappiness."
"I didn't make the winning goal. I didn't catch the snitch," James stated quickly, "And it certainly isn't my fault the Slytherin keeper can't block a quaffle to save his life."
"Clever. Your problem however is that someone has to pay – and that someone has to be in Gryffindor. I've already expressed my concern to the Slytherin team forcefully and if they know what's good for them, they won't lose another match. Anyway a Gryffindor has to pay, and you fulfill that qualification. You are on the team and I've never really liked you anyway."
"The feeling is mutual," James retorted, "but hexing me won't make Slytherin win next time."
"It will make me feel better," she said watching his reaction to this calm statement. "It isn't just quidditch; you are meddlesome in other areas, such as spending more time than necessary with my cousin, even after repeated orders to distance yourself. You are housemates, we are reasonable, you two can't completely avoid each other, but you haven't done that, have you?"
James shook his head, partly in answer and partly just from disbelief. What difference did it make if Sirius was a friend or just an acquaintance in the same House?
"Look Sirius decided to stay in Gryffindor while we were stilling fighting. If he chooses to be my friend, I'm not going to tell him to shove off because you said so. I don't control Sirius' choices."
"You have more control than you think. The other Gryffindors have followed your lead. If you didn't care a Black was in Gryffindor, they didn't care and thus forming a welcoming atmosphere for Sirius; one that would not push him to re-sort into his rightful House."
James knew he could never get Bellatrix to see his side, especially since Sirius' potential re-sorting had occurred months ago and she was still obsessing over it as if it had happened yesterday. She was looking for excuses, topics to rile him up, maybe even get him to cast the first jinx.
"I don't hold that power in Gryffindor," James said flatly, hoping to keep her talking, while he thought of a way out of the situation.
"Are you that naïve of your surnames' influence?"
When James did not answer, Bellatrix laughed. "You are! You are that naïve. It does not change things. Sirius was born for a purpose and instead of hanging with blood traitors; he should be forging connections with true wizards and witches. Your presence in his life is very damaging and I'm tired of asking nicely…"
Bellatrix let the last words hang in the air for the most menacing effect. Snape and Lestrange had been watching the verbal exchange lazily and James had a feeling Bellatrix had ordered them to stay out of it until necessary. The time had come for their involvement because they were both reaching for their wands and advancing forward.
James knew he only had a few choices. He could not fight back. He could attempt to disarm one of them, so he'd only have to deal with two attackers. His last option was to make a dive for his invisibility cloak, tucked safely in the school bag, which he had dropped on the floor when Bellatrix had first called his name. It would be risky enough moving with enough speed to get the cloak over him before any of them would have a chance to hex him, and more importantly he wasn't fond of the idea of these three Slytherins knowing the existence of the cloak.
The cloak was a much more useful tool when no one knew you had access to one. James took a step back, racking his brain for another option, none came. It looked liked he would be spending the night in the Hospital Wing.
"Stop this at once," Professor Flitwick cried, though the slight squeak to his words failed to make them as forceful as the words would have. "Lower your wands!"
James turned gratefully toward the teacher's intervention, even though usually he felt matters between students should be kept between students. The most surprising thing was Peter, horns still present, was standing near Flitwick, looking pleased with his decision.
James could have hugged Peter for the perfect timing. Peter had gone for help instead of the Hospital Wing!
"Detention Miss Black! Detention Mr. Snape! Detention Mr. Lestrange! This behavior is not tolerable. I'll be speaking to Professor Slughorn about this." The teacher's words rang through the hallway and even Bellatrix looked for a moment cowed. "Go to your common room. There's no reason for you to be roaming the hallways."
James watched with satisfaction as the three Slytherins followed Flitwick's orders, only Snape took a moment to give James a challenging look. Bellatrix turned away contemptuously, no longer concerned with James, now that she was unable to bully him with a teacher near.
"Are you hurt Mr. Potter? Mr. Pettigrew alerted me of your predicament…"
"I'm fine Professor."
"Go on to Madam Pomfrey. She should be able to fix Mr. Pettigrew right up. And back to the common room after that…I must find Professor Slughorn…"
Severus Snape felt unclean. Professor Slughorn had treated him as if he were some common Muggle, making him serve his detention by scrubbing a slew of crusted bottles, jars, and other potion containers.
Honestly this was work for a house-elf and to make it worse he knew more than one cleaning spells that could have gotten the job finished in a mater of seconds.
Snape blamed his predicament on the Blacks – both of them; Bellatrix and Sirius. He was in detention because Bellatrix had gone on one of her jaunts, picking Potter because he was close friends with Sirius Black. And obviously the whole reason for the jaunt was because of Sirius and his 'rebellion'.
As it was Snape earlier in the year had been assigned to keep an eye on Black and his associates. Bellatrix had called it an honor that she had chosen him, but Snape knew she was testing her control over him. Snape felt like an errand boy, but he kept the feelings to himself. If he wanted to rise up in Slytherin he needed to bide his time and put in the required work, especially since he didn't have a family name to ride on. His relation to the Prince's just wasn't enough.
Snape's job of watching Sirius wasn't hard. He had a few classes with him, but having to be on the lookout constantly for Black or Potter to drop a public hint about their activities grew tiring, especially when he would rather put in all his concentration on his school work. And exactly what information Bellatrix thought she'd extract from a report that twice in one class Professor McGonagall had yelled at the Gryffindor duo to pay attention? Anyone with two eyes could deduce they were mates; Bellatrix didn't need him to fill her in on tidbits that daily proved what was common knowledge.
Snape didn't need any particular reason to loathe Potter and Black, and following them around only increased his dislike. He was sick of watching James and Sirius erupt into fits of laughter randomly in the hallway, clutching their bellies. Ridiculous behavior and Black should know better than to act like that in public. Snape didn't need that type of companionship. He was fine with partners – all business and there to lend support should the occasion arise.
He tried to imagine laughing outrageously in the middle of the hallway with Rosier, as Potter and Black had, but the image was so strange he could not even form it. Snape was seeking recognition – for the student body to be in awe of his skills. He knew his knowledge of magic was still far greater than any second year. The only hitch was Bellatrix did not see his extra spell knowledge as useful as Lucius Malfoy had the year before.
Right now he had to bear down and take her nonsense. It was the smartest thing to do for Bellatrix was famous for her temper, her rash decisions, and impulsivity, all dangerous traits. Eventually, if everything went as planned, he'd have the upper hand in Slytherin in the years to come.
Snape was eager to return to his dorm. He wouldn't waste time showering; he only had an hour left in the library before the curfew set in. The library was his favorite sanctuary, especially since it was impossible to get work accomplished in the common room, which was over run with older students.
In the corner of his eye Snape saw a flashing light, which he thought looked like a spell. The only trouble was he was the only in the hallway, which meant the cast spell had appeared out of nowhere, which wasn't possible; spells did not appear out of thin air. Something hit him square in the face and for a moment he thought it was harmless until he felt his nose begin to rapidly enlarge. It grew so large that its weight caused Snape to slouch forward, unable to keep his head up straight.
Laughter echoed in the hallway; laughter that he recognized as Potter's and Black's. Snape spun around, hoping to catch them, but he was still alone. This was not the first time he'd caught Potter and Black involved in something that was impossible unless they had a way to make themselves invisible. Snape didn't view Potter and Black particularly talented or resourceful, so he had a feeling their method of invisibility was simple. He'd scoured the library for information of human invisibility and found the school library suspiciously lacking in that information. Snape was not someone who gave up easily and he was willing to wait for the Gryffindors to slip up.
At the moment the thing that concerned Snape the most was to find a way to the Hospital Wing without too many students, especially Gryffindors, seeing him in this state. Luckily on his way to the Infirmary he'd only run into a group of first year Ravenclaws who had looked at the abnormal size of his nose in horror.
Inside he found Lily Evans consoling a Hufflepuff classmate. The Hufflepuff was crying hysterically covering her face with hands that were twice the normal size. The girl was fretting about the cause of her swollen appendages. "It came out of nowhere! It was a ghost!"
Pomfrey touted and assured the upset girl that ghosts could not perform magic.
She turned toward Snape and cried, "Oh my! Invisible spellcaster as well?"
"No," Snape answered silkily, "I know who cast it."
He noticed Evans perk up her head. He resolutely ignored her. Even though Evans had a 'dab had in Potions' according to Slughorn, she was a mudblood and in Gryffindor and he couldn't take a chance with even giving her the time of day.
So he hadn't been Potter's and Black's only or first victim…very interesting…
At Hogwarts unusual things were practically a daily occurrence. Over the past week a strange phenomenon had spread rapidly through the school. At random, with no discernable pattern, things from noses to shoes to doorknobs would suddenly swell and enlarge. The only clue to the cause was a flash of light. Many students believed an invisible unknowable entity was running rampant around Hogwarts. Only four students knew the truth of the phenomenon and one other student had guessed the cause.
It had all started out very innocently. James over the last several days had seen a group of fourth years in the common room practicing the swelling charm. The spell required two defined movements and for reasons James wasn't sure the spell stayed in his mind.
Later that week when Sirius and James had been roaming the halls under the invisibility cloak, they had crept upon Evans chatting with a Hufflepuff girl named Lauren. James feeling mischievous had decided to try out the swelling spell. James hadn't even been confident the spell would work, and was surprised to hear Lauren shriek like a banshee when her hands enlarged.
After Evans had run down the hall after Laura, James had looked over to Sirius' shocked face and they started laughing uncontrollably. By chance the next student they had come across was Snape. The chance of getting one up upon Snivellus was too good to miss. With Sirius egging him on, James performed the charm again, aiming at Snape's already abnormally large nose.
After that Sirius had pleaded with James to show him the spell and they ran with the idea. At first Sirius just tested it here and there and suddenly every chance they got, as long as they had the cloak or some other way to hide or no one was around, they'd send a spell flying. The majority of the students found the whole situation funny and it was all anyone would talk about.
The prank was low key, only disrupting daily life slightly. The most serious interruption would be something along the lines of an entire Charms class late because the door to get into the corridor where class was held was stuck from an enlarged door knob.
It would have continued, but a group of teenage Ravenclaw girls became hysterical enough to refuse to leave their common room out of fear of being the next victim. After that incident Dumbledore announced to the student body that a full investigation would occur unless whoever was responsible did not cease their activities immediately. The same day investigations were announced rumors that James and Sirius were behind it also began circling. Sirius and James had only spoken to Remus and Peter about the prank.
They didn't spend much time dwelling on the source of the rumor because the student rumor did not convince any of the teachers to question James nor Sirius. Also the association of their names to the swelling phenomenon didn't do anything to affect their status in the student body's eyes, even slightly bumping it up (minus the hysterical Ravenclaw girls). Still there was no reason to push their luck, so they retired the spell for the time being.
Without enlarging random items to keep them occupied, James and Sirius had joined Remus and Peter in the library to finish up their homework. They had chosen a table in the far back where it was still possible to talk in whispers without the librarian swooping down to shush them. Remus and Peter were searching for books in the library stacks, leaving James and Sirius alone at the table.
James was unable to concentrate on his work; instead he kept trying to think of a tactful way to bring up Sirius' secret. James had suspected that Sirius' parents used corporeal punishment; Mrs. Black had heavily insinuated it during James' short visit to the Black home. Thinking your mate was being mistreated was a lot different than hearing him say it out loud. James wanted to address it without making a big deal over it.
"I reckon you really were locked in your basement all summer," James remarked, keeping his voice light and soft.
Sirius let out a hollow laugh. "Why would I lie about that?"
James searched his mind for an answer. He hadn't meant Sirius had lied. He'd used the comment as an avenue toward the topic. "It's just – well I think it should have been obvious to more people, like the teachers, that you'd been mistreated over the summer."
James already knew the answer to that. Discipline, punishment, rearing of children, and methods of home teaching was largely left to the parents with little Ministry interference. This was especially the case in the wealthy, pureblood lines. Essentially what you did behind closed door was your own business.
"No one likes interfering with the Black's affairs," Sirius responded confirming James' thoughts. "Not that I can blame them…"
"Were you locked up for Christmas break?"
James fully expected Sirius to tell him to mind his own business, but he answered. "I was mainly confined to different rooms of the house to do lessons. Then once my mother learned I was sneaking out to visit you, she was understandably upset and she resorted to-"
Sirius didn't need to finish the sentence and there was no need for him to. James knew what he was referring to.
"When did that start? Did your parents always-" James took a swallow, "- did they always hit you?"
Sirius shifted in his chair. The topic was uncomfortable, but James was not going to back down. Sirius would let him know when enough was enough; James didn't have to worry about Sirius being shy about that.
"No…before Hogwarts they had started locking me up when I misbehaved or no dessert, sometimes a whole meal I'd miss. That started over the summer when the usual methods weren't working."
"Weren't working to do what exactly?"
"Squash my rebellion, eliminate the Gryffindor in me…gain their control over me and ensure my obedience."
James nodded in understanding. His parents had talked with him about the radical purebloods – the kind you could never reason with, and the Blacks were clearly the poster family for that group.
"You didn't give in?" The statement came out like a question, but it wasn't really one. James knew Sirius hadn't given in, but the amount of nerve, even bravery it must have taken to stand up to his parents under the onslaught of punishment – it could not have been an easy thing to do.
"I didn't rebel against everything," Sirius explained, his eyes scanning the library to see if their conversation had lured in any eavesdroppers. "I did all the assignments, read the books, and went through the motions. I didn't shout or complain if I was locked up or if I missed a meal. I just wouldn't give in to the things that really mattered. I could not promise them I'd be re-sorted into Slytherin. I still stood up for my friendship with you, Peter and Remus, even after they'd arranged the spy idea." The words rushed out of Sirius' mouth as if once he'd begun talking he couldn't stop, releasing the things he'd never spoken to anyone about.
"Your family will keep at it. Won't they? Just a few days ago Bellatrix…"
Sirius slumped back in his chair and hissed, "What did Bellatrix do?'
"Just some taunting…nothing important. Professor Flitwick came across us and put her in detention. She didn't say or do anything new…she was angry about Slytherin's quidditch loss and then she went on about my bad influence on you."
"Well if you continue being friends with me, you can expect many more of those confrontations."
"I know," James stated, meeting Sirius' eyes. They were friends now and that wasn't going to change. Bellatrix and her gang made James wary and Sirius' mother was downright frightening, but not enough to let them decide for him who he was going to be friends with.
"Bugger," Sirius said distractedly. "I've got my lessons with Adair soon. If I'm late again you probably won't see me until morning."
"What are you learning in those lessons?"
"My, my you sure are full of questions today," Sirius answered. James grinned sheepishly.
"Well I'm curious of those grandparents of yours, so you'll be answering some questions yourself," Sirius promised. "Later mate. Tell Peter and Remus goodbye for me."
Sirius scampered out of the library; the librarian shaking a fist at him for running down the aisles. Sirius had been more forthcoming about his home life than every before. The one major snag was as much as James wanted to help Sirius; they were only children. There was not much he could do to stop Sirius' parents from punishing him. On top of that James knew continuing his friendship with Sirius was one of the things Sirius was being punished for; and even though Sirius would never blame him, there was truth to it.
"Where did Sirius go?" Peter asked placing a large pile of books on the table, which tumbled scattering across the table.
"Adair's lesson."
Peter shivered. "I had a nightmare about Professor Adair last night."
"Be glad it was only that," James said ominously, "Sirius is actually living it."
Peter frowned gathering back his books into a pile. James went to dig out his half written Transfiguration essay, and began working diligently on it.
Sirius picked up his head and discreetly placed his quill down. His hand was cramping from all the work Adair had him complete during the lessons. He moved his hand around, stretching the tense muscles. Adair rarely actually spoke to him other than to give him instructions or verbally quiz him, testing if he was learning and memorizing the material.
"Mr. Black," Adair spat out his name venomously. She took half a dozen steps toward him. Fearing he was going to be rebuked for taking a break, Sirius reached back for the quill, ready to begin writing again. Adair's voice stopped him before he had a hold on the quill.
"You are at an important party, the party of the year, of a very influential pureblood family. You have been speaking to the host and he tells you about his political views, particularly about muggles and mudbloods," Adair said the last word slowly, savoring the effect of his reaction to a teacher using the foul word. "He states a lot of ideas, including that mudbloods and even certain half-bloods should not be educated and certainly not given the same rights. The host turns to you for your opinion on the subject. What would be your proper response?"
It took a few seconds for all the words to sink it. "What does this have to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor?"
"Answer the question Mr. Black," she answered silkily, grey eyes looking icier than Sirius had ever seen them.
Sirius was very tempted to say something rude or even to chuck the bottle of ink in Adair's face and leave the lesson. His patience at the games Adair was playing during the lessons, sneaking in pureblood ideologies when he least expected it, was waning.
Adair hadn't yet used the ruler on him, but he doubted that would stay the same if he chose either of the above choices.
"I'd excuse myself politely. Perhaps say my throat was parched and I needed a drink or point out another guest that I wished to speak with."
"You'd excuse yourself?" Adair repeated mockingly.
"It would be better than starting an argument."
"And why would you argue with the host?"
"Obviously because I don't believe in muggleborns not being taught…"
"They are inferior to us, Mr. Black."
"No," Sirius retorted, "You teach muggleborns…look at Lily Evans…you teach her! She gets high marks in all our classes!"
Adair appeared to consider this revelation. "That can happen sometimes. Clearly Miss Evans has strong magical blood, but she's an abnormality. Most mudbloods, I can name some for you, are not fit to be taught. Not all purebloods are completely gifted or have the same degree of cleverness, but at least we know, they are fully magical, that magic in their blood is strong, untainted, so their ability is there, it just needs to be brought out and harnessed."
Sirius thought of Peter, who was a pureblood, and who was not as bright as Remus, a half-blood, but he was wary of bringing up his friends' names. Adair hadn't mentioned them yet during their lessons and he didn't want to give the teacher any opening to berate his friends.
"Continue with your work," Adair instructed returning back to her desk. Sirius stared down at his notebook, half-filled with lines.
He hadn't memorized the last set satisfactorily for Adair, so she was requiring him to rewrite them again and again. At any moment Adair could begin verbally questioning him. She enjoyed doing it randomly just so she could watch him stammer through the list. Usually Sirius could easily remember things after hearing or reading them a few times, but the Latin he was learning was not only close in pronouncement and spelling, but also in definition making it easy to mix them. In addition the lessons were only once a week and Sirius didn't spend any time outside the lesson going over any of the information.
Sirius began doing his lines once more, but his thoughts quickly wandered. He wished Bellatrix would stop at tormenting him and leave James out of it all. James had made it clear during their conversation that it didn't bother him, and Sirius believed him. James wasn't one to back down on anything. At least James now understood more about what Sirius was against. It hadn't been an easy conversation. Still Sirius didn't like how James was becoming more intertwined with it all. More and more Bellatrix and his parents were bringing up James' name and blaming him almost solely for Sirius' rebellion, but none of that could sadly be helped.
It was as if his parents felt he just followed everything James did and said blindly. True his friendship with James had changed his views in many ways – had he had no friends in Gryffindor, would things be different? Maybe…probably…
His family couldn't grasp that James hadn't done any of it intentionally. He hadn't knowingly caused the Black's harm and it was unjust of his family to attack an underage student. Yet things were rarely fair in the real world and they'd just have to deal with them.
Peter stared at the Spinning Spider Vine uncertainly. Professor Sprout's arms were entirely entwined in the dark green vines. She was demonstrating what would happen if they didn't properly follow the instructions and the steps to take if an accident did occur.
After the demonstration, Professor Sprout had the class divide into groups of three. Peter groaned inwardly. This presented a problem when your group of friends consisted of four and not three.
It was a given James and Sirius would pair up. Peter gazed at James and Sirius uncertainly, praying silently they'd choose him over Remus. It occurred to him that he could pair up with Remus and they could just ask another student to join their group. The thing was Peter hadn't completely come to terms with Remus being a werewolf. He doubted any of his friends realized he still felt that way because he'd grown good at pretending everything was fine. Peter just forced himself not to think about that fact when he was around Remus or when he talked to Remus, which was quite easy since the topic wasn't brought up often. That would most likely change the moment the next full moon came around.
While Peter was mulling all this over, Remus had come to a decision all this own. He told Peter he could be the third in James' and Sirius' group and he'd find another group to join. Peter nodded silently and dragged his chair closer to where James and Sirius were sitting.
There were three separate jobs to be divided up; Peter would spray the special mixture of water, lilac, and crushed sprigs. This mist would calm the plant, so that James could rapidly snap off the orange berries the size of cherry tomatoes, and then Sirius would poke two holes in each immersing them in water.
Peter completed his job satisfactorily and he watched Sprout walk around the groups checking and commenting here and there. Turning back to his group, Peter noticed that James had picked about half the berries already, which meant now they had to wait a few minutes to give the plant a rest to avoid any unnecessary stress on the plant.
"I was thinking," James said wiping his fingers off with a cloth, the familiar glint in his eye, which meant he had an idea; one the hopefully would not place them in detention.
"Adair's lessons are supposed to be helping you in Defense Against the Dark Arts, correct?"
"Yes," Sirius answered distractedly for he was still watching the Spinning spider's fruit bounce up and down in the water he'd immersed them in.
"What if I joined you?" James offered.
Sirius tore his gaze from the fruit, looking at James as if he'd grown another head.
"How could you join me? My mother set up this lesson to control me more…the lessons are a cover-up."
"Exactly," James said with a grin. "Whether you are learning anything really doesn't matter…McGonagall, Dumbledore, all the other teachers think these are legitimate lessons."
"Yes, so?" Sirius said not catching on with James' train of thought. Peter learned forward in his chair waiting for James' revelation.
"So I could write my parents and tell them you've told me you're learning a lot during the lessons and that I'd like extra lessons as well."
"You want lessons with Adair?" Peter asked bewildered. "Did you forget what a mad-women she is?"
"I agree with Peter. You're mental!"
"Adair couldn't deny me these lessons, not when she's pretending they are real lessons. Weren't you saying Adair didn't like these lessons any more than you do?"
"I don't think she likes the extra work, but she still enjoys tormenting me. It's more of a punishment for me than her."
"So, she's punishing you for the extra work, which isn't fair. You'd quit in an instant if you could. Can't you see how great it would be if I received lessons at the same time as you. She might even have to teach us something, especially if my parents ask for reports. That will make the lessons more interesting. And we could mess with her – two against one."
"She does have rules you know and she's not shy about enforcing them."
"Not a problem. I was thinking of messing with her not by acting out, but by being very interested, eager and excited about the lessons."
"Wouldn't our parents be suspicious about asking for tutoring?"
"I can convince them," James said with a wave of his hand.
Sirius looked uncertain. Peter couldn't blame him. He was thinking of telling James to have the nurse go look at him. Willfully subjecting oneself to extra time with a vile teacher like Adair meant James was clearly going insane.
"Look there's nothing we can do to actually stop the lessons, but this way we can gain more control. Just think how unnerved Adair will be with me being in the room, especially if I show interest in the learning and everything she has us do."
"It's your choice and as long as you don't think it will backfire."
"It won't. How could it? The worst that would happen is that things would stay the same as they are and then at least you'd still have me there as company."
Sirius nodded and Peter could tell as surprised as he was, he was pleased with James' idea. James wasn't scared of anything or anybody, which Peter could not understand because Peter was scared of a lot of things and a lot of people; Adair and being alone with Adair was on the top of his list.
He also couldn't ignore the inkling of jealousy growing inside of him. It really was great of James to go through this length to make Sirius' lessons more bearable. It was just that Peter didn't believe James would have done the same if he'd been in Sirius' shoes instead, and it hurt slightly to realize this truth.
Sprout announced to the class that they could continue picking the rest of the fruit of the plant since enough time had passed. Peter pushed the jealousy aside. They were still his friends…and picked up the spray bottle.
A week later Sirius walked into Adair's office, suppressing the giddiness inside threatening to burst out. He gave a quick bow and then turned expectantly toward the office door he'd left open. James strode in as if it were his office. He preformed a graceful bow, low and submissive, yet it had a mocking feeling to it.
"Mr. Potter?" Adair looked astounded. "This is a private lesson. I'll ask you to leave."
"Has Professor McGonagall not spoken to you?" James asked innocently, his eyes wide. "My parents want me to have extra lessons too. Sirius told me all the wonderful things he's learning."
James smiled up at Adair, looking like an eager first year, ready to wave his wand for the first time. Adair stood up, her eyes clouded and the creases in her face thundered. Even if this backfired this lesson would surely be more entertaining than all the others.
A/N: Thanks for READING, please REVIEW and let me know what you think.
Also I was happy to see most readers really liked the secret sharing part of the last chapter, especially since I wasn't sure if that came off as too sentimental. Thanks guys, you're the best!
If you left an unsigned review for chapter 19, I've responded in my profile. Also updates about where I am with the next chapter are usually posted in my profile as well.