Thanks to all my reviewers, Snowgurl54, mithaurdil4, Blume, Inchidiba, honeyduck, TheAlphieParadox, lala, prof. spider, A.V. Gallinger and Jade Augrey.

Oh and just as way of an explanation in my story - Christopher was known as Christopher Vance growing up until he was accepted to Hogwarts, but because Emmeline and Sirius were married his name was officially recorded as Christopher Black. There was nothing she could do to change the fact that people did know his real name - people who knew that she had been married to Sirius knew his real name, and people who worked at the ministry and had seen it on official documents - so they would talk about Christopher quite hurtfully. His name was written as Christopher Black down at Hogwarts from the moment he was born. Dumbledore was going to take him anyway even if he didn't trust him, but would insist on using his real name.

Chapter Four: More Downs than Ups

Christopher was the first Gryffindor of the year to seat himself at the table, but couldn't help noticing that several of the older students at his table were clapping only half heartily, or glaring down at him instead. At first he dismissed this as a result of them being tired and hungry, but then, when the second student was sorted into Gryffindor, loud claps and cheers broke out – much more evident than before. Christopher was worried.

Luckily the younger students who where sharing his end of the table didn't seem to notice, so eventually Christopher relaxed a bit and stopped wondering exactly what the older students knew about his family.

His friend from the train, Colin Creevey was soon sorted, and Christopher was pleased to welcome him into Gryffindor. Colin took a seat beside him and immediately started fiddling with his camera.

"I'm going to take a picture of Ginny being sorted," he said breathlessly. "I bet she'd like a photo to send home."

Christopher looked dubiously around him at the other students. No-one else seemed to be sporting cameras, not even muggle ones.

"Are you sure they won't mind?" he hissed at Colin, indicating with his head the row of teachers sitting along the top table.

"Don't worry, I know how to turn the flash off, it's bright enough in here anyway", reassured Colin, detaching the light from the camera.

No one seemed to notice Colin however, and 10 minutes later Ginny sat down at the table grinning from ear to ear like a Chelsea cat.

"Congratulations," chorused both Christopher and Colin, before several other Gryffindors introduced themselves to her, and her twin brothers clapped her on the back.

Christopher watched as Ginny was happily received by the other Gryffindors before she began to ask around worriedly where her brother Ron and his friend Harry Potter were. That was another thing – when Ginny had been telling Colin all about the wizarding world on the train ride, she had gone on a bit longer than necessary about the 'great' Harry Potter. The two of them seemed to have formed a fan club for him – Colin was almost as excited about the prospect of meeting a famous wizard as she clearly was. Christopher, however, didn't really feel the same building enthusiasm for the prospect of meeting Harry Potter. Maybe part of it was because he secretly felt that Ginny might harbour a bit of a crush for Harry, and her stories were just slightly exaggerated.

Christopher found he was almost grateful to be completely ignored for the rest of the evening, as everyone was happily discussing rumours that where starting to float around the hall as to the whereabouts of Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Apparently someone had overheard Professor McGonagall talking about a flying car they had been sighted in. Ginny believed this flying car to actually exist – so many other students where hanging on to her every word as she described it. Christopher could see now that she would end up being rather popular if proven correct.

During the course of the next week, Christopher realized to his dismay that Hagrid and Professor McGonagall weren't the only ones who disliked him. The potions master Professor Snape, for one, was the worst of all his teachers, taking an instant dislike for him from the moment he walked into the classroom, and immediately deducting 30 points for apparently being too scruffy. It did not seem to make an ounce of difference that Christopher knew more about potions than many of his classmates. Professor Snape went out of his way to make him seem rather stupid and foolish. He also blamed the mistakes of anyone sitting near him on Christopher, and deducted an obscenely high amount of points. No-one wanted to sit by him – least they make a mistake and share some of their classmates wrath for doing so later. Christopher felt very upset about potions – he had reassured himself before he arrived at Hogwarts, that even if he turned out not to be any good at other magic, he would excel at potions. Now that was all ruined.

Professor Lockhart, who taught Defense against the Dark Arts had pulled him aside at the start of his first class and had sworn in front of him to 'rescue' him from the 'dark side' as he put it. It wasn't 'aside' enough though to stop half the class hearing as they filed out the classroom door to their next lesson.

"After all, we're all equals here and we can't have you turning into the next You-Know-Who can we?" he had said, laughing somewhat nervously.

"What's more," he continued. "When I've finished encouraging you to join the forces of good, I'll write a book – my next brilliant best selling book in which you have a starring role - but only second to me, of course. It will be all about how I – your startlingly handsome Professor, persuaded you to turn away from the pull of the Dark Magics," explained Professor Lockhart.

"But I'm not in league with any dark wizards," Christopher had protested at the time. Professor Lockhart refused to listen to him though, instead insisting that he was, as Professor McGonagall had confided in all the teachers – a danger to the school and its pupils, and should be watched closely.

The odd behavior shown towards him by his teachers, coupled with the downright nastiness of some of the older students towards him in the halls between classes, did not serve to help Christopher with his friendships with Colin and Ginny. Both Colin and Ginny had initially embraced his friendship – but then they gradually became more and more distant. Christopher knew that Ginny had initially completely rejected the idea that he may be a dark wizard in disguise – because when she had written home on her first night of school, a owl arrived for her the next day. It was from her mother, and told her that she would be best not to become close friends with 'that Black boy'. She had been rather outraged by this, and immediately told both Colin and him that she had no intention of letting someone else decide whom she would be friends with. Colin had nodded in agreement, and gone back to reading his wizard photography magazine, and Christopher had felt terribly relieved.

But Ginny didn't keep her word – even if it wasn't intentional on her part. Christopher figured that she had been scared by the constant rumors running rife that were spread by the older students, and the general mistrust of the teachers, and even people like the gamekeeper Hagrid – whom was friendly to all but Christopher.

It had been like a slap in the face when Christopher had approached Ginny one day, to ask if he could do his homework at the same table as her, and she had slammed the small black book she was writing in shut – and taken off at a run down the library isle. He knew his friendship with her was over, and Colins would soon follow.

He would be all alone.