Quills

Disclaimer- all of the characters that you've never heard of before are mine, otherwise they belong to J.K.R.

I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update, my mom took the computer out of my bedroom and grounded me from the computer for two months. I've been getting small sections typed at random intervals; once again, I'm sorry for the delay.

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--Sirius Black--

"SLYTHERIN!"

Underneath the tatty old hat Sirius bit his lip. 'Mum and Dad'll be proud,' he reminded himself as he handed the Sorting Hat back to the Deputy Headmistress. 'At least I'm not in Gryffindor; they would have had my head for sure if I'd been put in there.'

As the boy made his way over to the Slytherin table to sit with his cousin and fellows, his silver orbs danced anxiously around the faces of the five other first-years with whom he had shared a compartment. Each time eye contact was made, the same reassuring smile was given.

For some reason, Sirius looked to Remus the most for acceptance. His gaze was always trying to capture the amber one of his new friend, apologizing. Out of the twenty-five new students attending Hogwarts, James, Peter, Remus and Sirius were the only ones whose robes were dripping wet; courtesy of the Black heir himself.



FLASHBACK

"Hey, Sirius?" Remus asked abruptly as the two boys made their way down to an empty boat at the edge of the vast lake.

"Yeah," Sirius replied.

"Have you ever been obliviated before?" The black haired boy turned to look at his companion as they sat down; but Remus was busy staring at the smooth surface of the water and fiddling with the front of his school robes. 'Well that's an odd question to ask.'

"Huh, I can't honestly say that I know," Sirius answered. "Would someone remember being obliviated afterthey were obliviated?" He asked himself out loud. The smaller boy opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by James and Peter joining them in the rickety boat. Slowly, the crudely built object eased its way from the shore line and began its journey across the foreboding lake.

"Cool!" James exclaimed, looking down at the boat with approval. He turned his hazel gaze to Remus and Sirius. "Hey guys! What were you two talking about?"

"Whether or not somebody would be able to remember being obliviated," Remus answered before Sirius could do much more than open his mouth.

"Yep," Sirius confirmed tartly as he scowled at the werewolf, "that's it."

"Neat!" quipped Peter, "But, uh, why are you two having a chat about that? It's, well, it's sort of a random topic to talk about." He rushed. James pushed his round glasses farther up the bridge of his nose as his eyebrows knitted together. 'All too true.'

"Yeah! Pete's got a good point going for 'im." The messy haired boy agreed with a firm bob of his head.

Remus looked slightly harassed as he answered. "Oh well, you know…this and that….Nothing particularly important…." James' frown deepened.

"That," he pronounced forcefully, "is not nearly sufficient enough to be called an answer."

"We were talking about it because Remus asked me out right of the blue whether or not I'dever been obliviated before." Sirius announced as though the very thought of it were ridicules. He turned to the tawny haired boy; Remus looked as though he would give anything to not be where he was at the moment. 'Hehe, poor kid, wonder what he's so worked up about.'

"Why'd you do that, Lupin?" demanded James. Remus paled a bit then.

"Err-I don't really have to tell you if I don't want to, right?" He whispered in an odd voice. Peter surveyed the faces of the two black haired boys, filled with anticipation, and faced Remus who was sitting across from him.

"Sorry mate, but from the looks of it, you do." The pudgy boy answered apologetically. Remus moaned and flopped forward in his seat. Keeping his head downcast, he muttered something un-intelligible.

The three remaining boys exchanged confused glances. "What did he say?" asked Sirius.

"No clue whatsoever," answered James, who was still frowning. Remus sighed and lifted his head up.

"I said that it's because I've met Sirius before."

"And why're you so embarrassed to say that you've met me before?!" cried an indignant Sirius.

"Oh, nononono! You're misunderstanding me; it's nothing personal, Sirius." Remus hastily tried to correct the situation. "It's just that the thing that we were discussing is sort of, eh how do I put this, a tender subject with many people."

"Well then," said James, as though Remus should elaborate, he decided to play dumb instead.

"Well then what?"

"Aren't you going to tell us what we, and by that I mean us two, were talking about?"

"Didn't I just get finished telling you that it's a soft subject to most people!?"

"Well… yes, but do you really think that that's gonna stop us?" For a minute Remus remained mute to Sirius and James' latest words. 'As if. Hell would have to freeze over first.'

"Do I seriously have to?" he whined at last.

Sirius stood up suddenly and the little boat rocked perilously along with the shift of the weight. He took an immensely startled Remus by the shoulders and shook him roughly. "Yes, you do have to! It can't be so bad that you can't even speak about it!" He was grinning like a maniac.

"Yeah well your mini me screamed his lungs out when he stumbled upon us in that stupid corner of stupid Flourish and Blotts." Remus muttered bitterly.

"Who? Reg?"

"Reg?"

"Reg. My little brother, Regulus," Said Sirius with a proud grin. "Anyhow, was anyone with him?"

"Yeah, a girl who seemed to be about his age, or younger."

"What did she look like?" demanded Sirius.

"Uh, I don't really know," Remus smiled sheepishly. "It turns out she's a metamorphmagus." Sirius sighed in relief.

"Oh that's okay then." He said. "Just Nymphadora."

"Nymphadora?" James hadn't bothered to keep his distaste for the name out of his voice. "Blimey, who in their right mind would name a kid that?"

"No one. Her mum was half delusional from blood-loss when she named her. But you know wizarding law prevents people from changing their names just for the heck of it." He shrugged sadly. "Her mum's dead now, and her uncle and my oldest cousin, Andromeda, they've been out of Hogwarts for two years now, they're her Godparents so they look after her. Dora's pretty much family for all of us."

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I didn't know…"

"Peter! What're you apologizing for!?"

"Well, I'm just sorry that your cousin-in-law died!"

"Cousin-in-law…" said Sirius with a blank expression on his face. "Oh, no!" he started to laugh. "Dora's mum isn't my cousin-in-law; we're not even remotely related. Mum and Dad think that Ted's family is an old American Pure-blood one, but Ted and his sister are, were, Muggle-born. It's sort of sad really, that they haven't noticed by now.

"Anyway, Reg and Dora are best friends. Joined at the hip - literally once - you hardly see one without the other."

"I'm still sorry 'bout her mum…" Sirius turned to look at Peter in exasperation; his hands were still firmly locked onto Remus's shoulders.

"Get a grip, will you! You didn't even know the women! Mark my words you'll be a Hufflepuff for sure."

"I don't deny it, my entire family has been," mumbled the blonde proudly. "And I'll be damned if I'm not in the house of my ancestors." Sirius shrugged.

"Eh, I'll be in Slytherin no doubt. The stuff my parents've taught me'll probably build along that path." James snickered into his hand and Sirius turned on him. "You got a problem with that, Potter?" he demanded.

"Y-you want to be 'n Slytherin!? The nursery to the Serpents?" Sirius stood up abruptly.

"I never said I wanted to be!" He pouted, making his way across the small boat to sit next to Peter again. Suddenly he turned around and opened his mouth to say something to Remus, who was now massaging his shoulders. Taking a step forward, the black haired boy slipped in some of the water that had splashed into the boat from when he had first crossed.

"Eee!" He squealed as he tripped over the side and into the murky depths below, a few bubbles surfaced as his soaked head reappeared a moment later. "There's – some – thing– down – there!" He panted. Fear was evident in his voice and eyes. "It – gra – grabbed – my – leg!" The frightened boy made to grip the edge of the rowboat, but instead grabbed hold of Remus's robes.

The tawny-haired boy took his friend's arm and tried to tug him back into the small vessel with help from Peter and James; but the Thing in the lake wouldn't have any of that. It gave one last great yank and the tiny boat toppled over in the water, a loud splash marked the point in which the kids fell in.

Seconds later four dripping wet heads emerged from the deep. They exchanged equally frantic looks before screaming out simultaneously:

"HAGRID!"

END FLASHBACK

"I hate giant squids…" mumbled Sirius as he approached the spot where Narcissa sat.

"Oh Merlin, Sirius!" She exclaimed as he sat down. The blonde scooted farther down the bench, trying to put distance between herself and her cousin; her nose scrunched up in distaste when he let his head fall onto the weathered table, soaked hair splayed about. "You absolutely reek!"

"Great observation, Cissy dear," said Sirius dryly.

"What the hell happened!?"

"I slipped in some water on the boat and fell overboard. The Giant Squid wanted to play so he pulled me under. Remus, Jim an Pete tried to help so they got pulled in too." He lifted his head and looked at Narcissa expectantly. She looked at him as though he were crazy.

"Giant Squid, are you mad?" She asked, brow furrowed.

"Possibly." he shrugged. "But that's what Hagrid said it was, and I tend to trust people who help keep me from drowning."

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--Lily Evens--

"SLYTHERIN!"

'WHAT!? But I'm Muggle-born, Sev told me that Slytherin hated Muggle-borns! How could you put me in there?' Lily demanded. 'Do you want me to die?' The hat chuckled atop her head as she glared up at it.

"Dear child, why would I want you to die? You've done nothing to deserve that fate."

'I know! That's why I asked you if you wanted me dead, which you must if you're sending me to live with those snakes.' She said as though it were the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"But your new friend Sirius is there, is he a snake?" The hat asked stubbornly, not wanting an eleven-year-old girl to beat it. "He defended you in a sense on the train, didn't he?"

'Okay, fine. Maybe not all of them are bad…' she paused to think for a moment. 'But he may have just been trying to save his own damned skin!'

"Evens, you know that that's not the case."The hat said sternly, and it quieted. Grudgingly, Lily hopped off of the stool and handed the Sorting Hat back to Professor Winsawe, who raised a thin eyebrow at her before calling out in a high-pitched reedy voice:

"Fortescue, Florean!"

Lily turned her back as a tall tan boy with bluish-black hair shuffled up to the stool. She snorted and gave James a strained smile as she passed him; he gave her the same shaky grin that he had bestowed upon Sirius. Remus and Peter were kinder as both smiled and clapped enthusiastically along with the Slytherins. Severus was frowning, eyes closed, mouthing words and beating a fist against his forehead. Deep in thought, trying to decipher something that he couldn't see. The fuming redhead decided to ignore him all together, when Severus was thinking as he was at the moment, there was no hope of reaching him.

When Lily finally reached Sirius, his head was back against the table and a pale blonde girl was scowling at him with a scrunched up nose. It suddenly hit Lily why. The area around Sirius stank horribly, like rotting fish and eggs; the young redheaded girl blanched and hissed at Sirius in an undertone:

"Black, you'd better take a shower once we get to the Dungeon's, else the entire place'll smell like decomposing fish and eggs for a month." The addressed groggily lifted his wet head and blinked at her with surprised eyes.

"Lily! When'd you get ere?" He whispered as his eyebrows knitted together. "Why're you sittin' at the Slytherin table?" Lily rolled her eyes; she wasn't in the mood for this – still annoyed at the Sorting Hat for putting her with the snakes, to be honest.

"Because that stupid hat put me here," she growled irritably.

"Why would it put you here, Salazar Slytherin hated Muggle-borns?"

"I know. That's what I said!" She let her head fall onto the table. "I hate school."

"Aww, c'mon! Buck up, you're making me feel bad now." Sirius pouted. "But seriously, why didthe Sorting Hat put you into Slytherin? I mean, it must have something against you or something like that…"

"Gee thanks, you're being a Siriusly good friend by telling me that a highly powerful magical object has a grudge against me for some crazy, random reason!" Sirius opted to glare at the redhead before speaking again.

"Firstly, don't ever use that pun ever again because if you do I might just strangle you," Lily glared back. "Secondly, Maybe I'll look into it for you, if, you're nice." Lily grunted in response and leaned back, forgetting that she was sitting on a bench that didn't have a back. She fell over, landing ungracefully on her butt. Sirius didn't seem to notice as he rambled on. "- cause to be honest, it's kind of confusing me too. But I mean, you can't be the only one who – OW!" Lily had smacked him in the back of the head.

"Sirius Black you are the biggest toe-rag to ever stalk this planet." She explained her action through gritted teeth as she sat down again.

"Toe-rag? What the hell is a toe-rag?" He asked quietly with a confused expression on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

'Imbecile…'

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--Minerva McGonagall--

Minerva McGonagall watched as the drenched tawny-haired boy, pale with fright, clenched his fists together so tight that his knuckles turned white. He bit his lip so hard that his sharp canine teeth drew crimson blood.

'Oh Remus, don't do that. You know that your mother hates it when you do.'

She saw the hard, sneering expression on the face of Professor Venda Winsawe as she came to the boy's name and was forced to read it. She watched as he saw it too.

'And that bitch calls herself a Head of Hufflepuff; I thought that they were supposed to accept people for who they are! Remus, don't pay that old pre-justice crone any attention.'

The young witch glanced sideways at her fellow teachers to see what their reactions to the werewolf's Sorting was. On the other side of Albus was his brother Aberforth, both of them were leant over and speaking in hushed tones with the other; Aberforth caught the now- shaking boy's eye and smiled at him warmly before the boy gulped and sat down on the wooden stool. As always, Albus was resting his chin on fingers laced together, his bright blue eyes twinkling like there was no tomorrow.

'How can he be so lax about everything all the time!?'

Next to Aberforth was an old witch, she didn't seem all too happy about the new students so far…especially the sopping wet Sirius Black, and she kept glaring at a messy-haired boy as well as Remus and another, this one though, was blonde and pudgy and short. All four had one thing in common besides gender and age and such; they were all soaked to the bone.

'Summerset never was too happy when it rained, always got in the way of the telescopes and lesson plans…didn't it?'

Sitting beside the Astronomy professor was a middle-aged wizard with a poofy walrus mustache, his robes seemed slightly too well fit for his large gut. Horace Slughorn was beginning to get a glazed look in his dark eyes as they stared down at the drool accumulating on his plate.

Hagrid was blinking back tears; he looked extremely nervous and exited at the same time. They silently streamed down his face now and he didn't bother to take out his handkerchief to wipe them away, just used the back of his hand. Minerva smiled as she watched her old friend.

'Bless him.'

She was about to turn to her right when she felt a light tap on that arm. Turning around she found herself nose to nose with Marcus Binns, the fifty-eight-year-old History of Magic professor.

"Uh, er, well hello sir!" Minerva gave a nervous chuckle as Binns drew away with a skeptic look on his lined face. "Lovely day, um, night, isn't it?"

"Yes," he drew the answer out slowly, his expression never changing. "Yes it is, Minerva." He held out a hand. "It's been a while since you left school, hasn't it?"

"Oh not really, only four years. But then again, a lot can happen in just four years." The man nodded in understanding. "But that's not what you wanted to talk about is it?" Now he smiled with a reminiscent shimmer in his dark blue eyes.

"Ever the attentive one, Minerva," he spoke quietly and she nodded in mute agreement. Suddenly Binns' expression became stern. "But I was wondering if Albus was kind enough to inform you that you will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts to a werewolf, a dark creature in itself?"

"Goodness, no!" She exclaimed dramatically, letting her hands fly up to her mouth for added affect. "I was just under the impression that I would be teaching my nieces and nephews aboutdark creatures, and what to do if they ever shall meet one!" Binns lifted his eyebrow to show that he was not amused.

"Minerva now is not the time for silly games. That boy is no boy; he is a filthy beast, a monster and an animal, a hazard to us all." She placed her hands on her lap and looked down, slightly ashamed for messing around when she knew that the elderly wizard was being serious, before getting a disgusted look on her face. Minerva glared up at her once-professor as she spoke. 

"Remus is no monster, filthy beast, animal, or dark creature; so therefore, one may assume that he is no hazard in the least!" Her nostrils were flaring in her fury, that of a Gryffindor and an enraged aunt.

"Minerva that is the point: 'One may assume'! Remus Lupin may come across as just an innocent little school boy, but he can tear you to shreds and he will."

"Only once a bloody month, and when that time comes anyway, he's not himself. Remus can't help it that he was bitten when he was five, in fact, it was actually my father's fault and my entire family has had to pay a dear price for what happened that night!" Her voice was beginning to crack. "You know nothing of what it's like to lose three immensely close loved ones in only five minutes, one of who's loss is not physical, but mental!"

Binns sighed, and massaged his temples. "I will not disagree with you on that fact, Minerva; but bear in mind that I wish no bodily harm upon your nephew or your family in general. Now let's just focus again on the Sorting." The grey haired man turned away to examine the waiting students.

Minerva looked back at the stool which was now occupied by a girl with dark hair and light skin. The professor bean to panic until she spotted her youngest nephew amongst the seated students, she never noticed Aberforth looking at her with deep concern in his ice blue eyes, Albus was eyeing Binns with disdain.

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--Remus Lupin--

"Are you sure that that's the right choice?" Remus whispered to the pointed wizard's hat sitting on top of his head.

"Of course it is, Lupin. Would I tell you that it was if it wasn't?" The tawny haired boy snorted lightly and cast a quick glance in the direction of the Slytherin table. Lily was saying something to Sirius, who didn't seem to be paying attention for he was staring up at Remus with a look of concentration on his face.

"He's trying to figure out which house I ought to be in," Remus told the Sorting Hat.

"Oh yes, very good Lupin," said the Hat sarcastically. "Maybe you're right and I'm not putting you in the correct house after all. Would Ravenclaw suit you better do you think?"

"Ahh, no! They'll figure it out in ten minutes, you can't put me there!" squeaked Remus, taking the Hat's sarcasm literally, it glanced down at him in exasperation.

"Boy, nobody can figure out that a person is a werewolf just by being in their presence for ten minutes unless somebody already told them or the has just transformed into the wolf or back again." It sighed. "It seems that I was right about putting you in a house full of block heads after all."

"Hey, you watch it Mister, hat-thingie…whatever it is you are! Almost my entire family's there!"

"See Lupin, you're already sticking up for your house. I can feel the pride in your heart for being put into that place where your aunt is Head," said the Hat smugly.

"Actually I was sticking up for my family. But fine, whatever, it's supposed to be your choice after all," said a defeated Remus. The Hat stopped humming its victory song and looked as though an epiphany had hit it.

"For once you're right, Lupin! It is my choice!" It looked as though it would jump for joy if it had legs. "So therefore I hereby dub thee a –

"GRYFFINDOR!"cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table and Fabian and Gideon Prewett started to do a little victory wiggle on their bench.

"But I'm not brave!"

"Ta ta for now little Lupin boy…Good luck."

Remus yanked the talking hat off of his head and cast a quick glance over his shoulder at the High Table where all of the teachers sat; his Aunt Minerva was in a heated whisper-argument with a grey and white haired man. The boy turned away and handed the Hat back to the witch who still had a sneer on her face, he kept his amber eyes downcast as he trudged over to the Gryffindor table to sit next to his cousins and brother. 'I should get used to that.'

"Hey, Rem," said Molly casually as she snatched some Muggle photographs from the hands of Arthur Weasley, who was sitting across from her. She slipped them into a pocket of her robes, smiling. "Glad that you could make it ol' bean," she said to him as she laughed at the annoyed expression on her boyfriend's face.

"Wotcher, Remmy!" Gideon and Fabian snickered in unison, they were grinning like drunkards - as usual. The twin brothers were sitting on either side of Arthur, each with an arm over his shoulders, their pointed hats askew, showing their closely cropped strawberry-blonde hair. Remus looked questioningly at his older brother Romulus. 'Please don't tell me that they're drunk already…'

"Don't worry, Remus. They're not actually drunk," Romulus assured his younger sibling with a smirk. "They're just acting again." The two brothers turned to glare at their cousin, who just went back to examining something that he held. Molly scooted over to her left so that Remus could sit down. He sat and leaned over so that he could get a better look at the badge in his brother's hands; it read HB in large, curling letters. Remus frowned and looked around at his family.

"I thought that Oliver Farlis was the Head Boy along with Perenelle Potter?"

"He is," said Arthur with a look of great dislike on his features.

"But our dear-"started Gideon from Arthur's left.

"Lovely-"Fabian chimed in from his friend's right.

"Wonderful-"

"Magnificent-"

"Amazing-"

"Genius-"

"What they're saying," interrupted Romulus, with a faint trace of pride in his voice as he looked up from the badge, "is that I snitched his badge –" He smiled happily at the memory.

"While Perenelle screeched at him for not helping younger students and being lazy," finished Molly. Arthur and Romulus nodded in agreement.

"Okay," said Remus slowly, "I get that bit…but why did you take it in the first place?"

"Because," said a voice from behind Remus, "we're going to prank him with it." Perenelle Potter slid onto the bench next to Molly with a gleeful expression on her pale face. "So now all that remains is the fact that we need to actually come up with a prank idea, any suggestions?" The entire group was immediately attentive and eager.

Suddenly, Fabian turned to Remus with a confused expression on his face. "Hey, Rem, why're you so wet?"

'Why this lot?"

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--Peter Pettigrew--

Peter watched as Jacob Oswald, a yellow-haired, yellow-eyed boy scampered to the Hufflepuff table with the Sorting Hat still on. 'Oh God, please don't let that happen to me.'

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

The Great Hall was silent as the pudgy boy slinked over to the stool and sat down, the next thing he saw was the inside of the Sorting Hat.

"Pettigrew. Pettigrew, Pettigrew, Pettigrew." Peter jumped as he heard the small voice beside his ear, as if someone were whispering to him. "Now where have I heard that name 

before? Oh yes! It was ages ago, if I remember correctly…Your great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was the headmaster here for twenty years!"

"Y-yes sir," stammered Peter, "h-his name was Isiaac Pettigrew, sir."

"Right, right. Well enough dilly-dallying, I must find out which house you belong in." Peter gulped.

"Will it be painful?" he asked.

"Only if you wish it to be," said the Hat as it began to sift through the boy's memories, the most recent ones first. Peter noticed that the Hat just skimmed through them, trying to decipher his feelings about people and certain events. "Ahh, I believe that I've found it." It said after a minute.

"Surprise me." The Hat laughed at Peter's statement.

"If you wish, Pettigrew; well, now it's time for you to join your brethren in- "

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Peter smiled, "Thank you."

"Good luck, keep your new friends close." Peter was still smiling as he took off the old hat and handed it to the old witch who smiled and said to him before calling out the next name:

"Welcome to Hufflepuff House, Mr. Pettigrew."

Peter didn't notice the clapping that accompanied his walk to the Hufflepuff table, or his sixth year brother, Mark, pulling him onto the bench next to him and introducing him to all of the surrounding Hufflepuffs. The only things that he was thinking of were the last words that the Sorting Hat had spoken to him.

'Why does it think that they're so important?' the boy asked himself over and over again as the words echoed in his memory. 'Why?'

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--James Potter--

'But I want to be in Gryffindor, like Remus and my dad and Perenelle, not some snotty place named after a bird!' whined James to the hat sitting atop his head. The Sorting Hat snorted.

"And what exactly do you think a griffin is, Potter?"

'Don't change the subject!'

"I'm sorry, all decisions are final. You're going there whether you like it or not, boy."

"Then why do you even have this stupid Sorting anyway?" The Hat shook back and forth sorrowfully with a painful expression.

"You truly are an idiot, Potter."

'Then why're you putting me into that house!?' James reverted back to communicating with thoughts.

"Because at the same time you are brilliant…" James scoffed. "So let me say: have fun in-

"RAVENCLAW!"

"I hate you," stated James calmly.

"You're such a sweet boy."James took off the Hat and handed it to the professor scornfully before making his way over to the Ravenclaw table and sitting down next to the boy who had been Sorted after Lily, the only other boy to be sorted into Ravenclaw so far. Fortescue turned to James as he sat down and proffered a hand.

"Hello, I'm Florean Fortescue," he smiled warmly at James as he and the other boy shook hands. "I'm glad that you're in Ravenclaw too, I was beginning to think that I'd be the only boy here!" He laughed.

'Hold on…Fortescue? That's the ice cream parlor at Diagon Alley!'

"Your family doesn't happen to own the ice cream parlor that's at Diagon Alley, does it?" Asked the shorter boy eagerly; for a brief second a flicker of a shadow crossed over Fortescue's face. Sorrow. Then he grinned mischievously and said in a low whisper.

"It does, been in the family since before I was born. Did you know that every time a member of the family has a boy, they have to make at least one of his names Florean? I'm an only child and due to a problem during my birth, my parents can't have any more; so they made my first name Florean instead of Robert like they were planning to." 

"Wow, doesn't it get confusing at family reunions with all of those Florean's running about?" Asked an astounded James, Fortescue shook his head laughing.

"No, there actually aren't a lot of us, the people in my family usually have no more than one or two kids."

"Oh, neat…" Florean raised his eyebrows questioningly at James. "So! How much longer do you think the ceremony is going to last?" asked the boy uncomfortably in an effort to change the subject. The other boy took the hint and began to voice his opinion; the first didn't pay attention to the speculation and instead let his mind wander to the events that had happened since he had gotten his Hogwarts acceptance letter.

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--Severus Snape--

"RAVENCLAW"

Severus groaned. "You put me with that arrogant Potter brat!" He accused the Sorting Hat sourly. "I'll get you back for this, I swear…"

The Hat sighed, wistful. "I remember when great minds were hardly corrupted," it said.

The lank-haired boy growled. "My mind is not corrupted!"

"They always say that you know."

Severus pulled the messy off of his head and stuffed it into the hands of a very put-out Professor Winsawe. "'snot my bloody fault," he muttered before sitting down in the seat across from James.

"What was that?" asked the bespectacled boy. Severus waved the thought of crushing Potter to pulp someday out of his mind. 'Nothing of your concern,' he thought, but answered instead:

"Nothing, must have been your imagination, Potter." James furrowed his brow, he was sure that he had seen Severus' lips move and that he had heard something. Severus glanced past James and the other boy who James was now whispering something to. Lily and the sopping wet Black heir were in a heated discussion with a pale blonde girl about something.

'That must be Narcissa Black. I'll need to soften the other Black up so that he can introduce me; if I'm to get anywhere later in life, I'll need to start making the proper connections as soon as possible.'

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A/N: alright, that's it for chapter three. I'm sorry that it took me so long to update and I hope you like it, twenty-four pages on Microsoft Word and over five thousand words.

Uh, for you people who like Severus Snape, I'm sorry that his section was so short but I couldn't really find a way to work his character through his thoughts, and I'm sorry if you don't like the personality that I've decided to give him – but I'm sticking to it. Don't get me wrong, Snape is one of my favorite characters, but I love seeing him portrayed as the baddie.

I probably won't be able to update for a little while. Um, for those of you who haven't read it on my bio, I'm removing my other story from ff so I can work on this one. I was going to say something else but I forgot what it was, shoot. Oh yeah! The Dumbledore's (Albus and Aberforth) are younger in this story, much younger. And, I've edited the second chapter; it should have xs as line breaks now and some other things should have changed now too, but only trivial things.

Ciao, Nicole.

D