Again, thanks to the reviewers and the people who've added the story to their Alert/Favourites list, it means a lot that people like it :)
To "Me", lol you ask a lot of questions! You'll need to wait a little while longer yet to see any more from James :P
First class of the year was the one Sirius had been looking forward to the least: Potions. As seemed to be usual, Slytherin and Gryffindor were taking the class together and the occupants of the classroom were clearly segregated, Gryffindors sat to the right, the Slytherins to the left.
There was however one exception.
Sirius could see out of the corner of his eye the furtive, suspicious glances he was getting from the Gryffindors around him. Turning up the last one to the class had left him with no option but to sit in the last remaining seat - on the right side of the room.
"Perfect," he muttered darkly dropping his textbook down on the desk with a loud thump earning a glare from the fiery haired girl sitting on the chair next to him.
"Yeah I'm not thrilled about it either," she snapped, turning her attentions back to the book she had already started pouring over.
"Class hasn't started yet," he pointed out. "No need to show off to the professor by pretending to be actually interested."
Her green eyes stared straight into his grey ones as she replied hotly, "Although it may not have occurred to you, some people are interested in the world around them."
Raising his eyebrows, he replied, "Touchy! Alright, alright go back to your reading then." Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "Girls!"
Thirty minutes later, his attitude was very different. The girl, Evans he was sure her name was, pointedly ignored his whispered pleas for help as the Potions Master began moving around the class, checking each student's cauldron to see how their potions were coming along. Siruis looked at his with despair, what was meant to be a lime green concoction had turned purple and absolutely stank.
"Evans, come on! How do I fix this?" he muttered.
She shook her head, hiding a smirk. "Maybe you should try "showing off" sometime."
He sneered at her and had to quickly straighten his face as Slughorn eventually stopped by his desk.
"You've added too much powdered newt spleen, Black," he said, his nose wrinkling as the rancid smell reached him. Waving his wand, the cauldron instantly emptied and he ordered, "Start again if you please."
Moving towards the next desk, clearly expecting the same result, Slughorn instead looked surprised as he peered into her cauldron and saw a near perfect potion simmering gently. "Excellent, Evans! Yes, very well done. Five points to Gryffindor."
She beamed and shot a quick glance at Sirius before replying, "Thank you, sir."
"Teacher's pet," he muttered.
"Idiot," she shot back.
Charms at least went a little better, he managed to get to the class on time and ended up sitting next to one of his roommates, Avery, who as expected from the impression Sirius had of him already turned out to be a complete idiot.
"Saw you sitting next to that mud blood in potions," he said with a cackle. "You didn't catch anything did you?"
Sirius didn't answer, concentrating on trying to get the words of the spell exactly right. It didn't deter Avery from continuing.
"If it had been me, it would have demanded Slughorn to make her move. I wouldn't take the chance of any of her dirt rubbing off on me. My father says it's a disgrace they let the mud bloods mix in with us purebloods," he said with contempt. "He says they shouldn't even be allowed to attend Hogwarts, them not being proper wizards and witches after all."
It was a familiar argument to Sirius and he was growing more than a little tired of it. Looking over towards Evans who had of course already mastered the charm perfectly and then staring pointedly to Avery's failed attempts, he shrugged. "Whatever you say…"
The overtones were lost on Avery unfortunately, and he smirked. "My father was pleased to hear I was sharing a room with a Black."
"Was he," Sirius replied, not listening.
"Of course! It's important for the ancient pureblood families to stick together after all, and I didn't want to be sharing with any old ordinary student. Having Mulciber as well was a plus. Our fathers are old school friends you see…"
By the end of the lesson, Sirius was beginning to wish he was back next to Evans.
Lunch couldn't come quickly enough, and as Sirius got to work filling up his plate with everything in sight, a familiar blonde 7th year slid into the empty seat next to him.
"I thought we could have a little chat," Lucius murmured with the usual little smirk plastered on his face.
"What about?" Sirius replied eyeing him suspiciously.
"Your allegiances," came the immediate soft reply. "Your cousins are concerned for you, you don't seem to show the same… vehemence as the rest of your family on certain issues."
The younger boy scoffed and pushed his too-long hair out of his eyes. "My "allegiances" are none of your business, Malfoy."
Lucius chuckled, but there was no joy in it. He really gave Sirius the creeps, he edged away from him slightly. "Oh, on the contrary, Black." He leaned in closer. "If you'll take a friendly suggestion? Keep to your own kind."
Sirius looked into the distance for a moment, as if in deep thought. Turning to Lucius, his face serious he asked, "What about my owl?"
"What about it?" he asked, looking confused.
"Can I still use it? I mean, it's not one of my kind but I kinda rely on it to contact home. Though actually now that I say that, not having one may be a bonus."
Malfoy gave him a look of pure contempt as he rose and stalked out of the hall. Sirius grinned and shouted after him as he left, "What about a rat, Malfoy? Would that be more my kind? I need to know your opinion!"
Sniggering to himself he went back to eating his lunch, before a quiet voice across the table spoke up. "You should listen to what he says."
Looking up to see another of his roommates, Sirius glared at him and snapped, "Have a wash and then come back and see if I want your advice then, Snape." What was it with anyone and butting in with their opinions today?
Ahh he's such a charmer!