AN: So before I wrote this chapter, I made a list of ALL the first year students this year. To make it convenient for myself, there are ten students in each House—five girls and five boys. I know it's not very realistic, but sometimes classes are like that. I also wrote out Sirius' schedule. And daaaamn, they are busy, those eleven-year-olds. xD Anyway, if you want the list of students, go ahead and PM me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in it.
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The next morning at breakfast, which was nearly as wonderful as dinner had been, Professor Mcgonagall was passing out schedules to all of the students. For some reason she was giving Sirius a funny look, as if she had been expecting him to do something or say something. Sirius tried not to dwell on this fact, and he and James compared their schedules. They were exactly the same, and the same as Peter Pettigrew's, Remus Lupin's, and Dillon Hall's, who were his roommates and the only other first year boys in his House. The girls other than Lily were named Mary MacDonald, Penelope Valencia, Melissa Whitehead, and Hannah Harrell. They all had the exact schedule Sirius had.
Suddenly, hundreds of owls dove into the Great Hall, pouring feathers onto everyone's plates. Sirius wrinkled his nose, but his heart fell when he realized that his mother would be sending him a Howler. Dreading it on his first full day of school, Sirius could barely eat another bite.
"Expecting any owl post?" James asked lightly, eating some scrambled eggs.
Sirius shook his head, but was searching the room frantically. If there was a Howler, his life was over...
"Blimey!" James exclaimed, hand shooting up to point something out. "Look at the size of that!"
Sirius looked, wondering if maybe there was a big cake, but... no, it was a giant package roughly the size of a bed, but had a very distinct shape...
"It's a broomstick!" Peter said, mouth popping open. "Look, look- there! A broomstick!"
Several of the students became very quiet as an owl, which looked exhausted, fluttered to a stop at the Ravenclaw table. A girl with orange hair and freckles opened it up to reveal a brand-new broomstick.
"A Comet 360!" someone shouted, standing up in awe. "Look at that! She's gotten a Comet 360!"
Several of the students groaned with jealousy, including Sirius and James. A few people tried to snatch it away jokingly, but the girl who now owned it laughed and took it back.
"She's the Quidditch captain of Ravenclaw," said a third-year to the boys. "She's got to have one of the best teams Hogwarts has ever seen!"
"Really?" James asked excitedly.
"Yeah!" the boy nodded, staring at the new broom longingly. "You'd think Ravenclaws wouldn't be good at sports, but they're incredible!"
"That's weird," said Sirius, "my cousins always told me that the Ravenclaws study too much to have any time for practicing."
The older boy laughed. "Nope," he said. "They find time for everything, those Ravens." He turned to face Sirius and James. "So, I'm Frank, Frank Longbottom. Which ones are you, again?"
"James Potter," answered James, holding out a hand. "Pleased to meet you. This here is Sirius Black, he's a bit shy."
Sirius frowned; he'd never thought of himself as coming across as shy.
"I'm not shy," he said, a little defensively.
James rolled his eyes. "I was joking, mate. I thought you had a good sense of humor?"
Of course; joking. Sirius had never been around jokes much, so it was mostly him and Regulus coming up with stupid things, and even then, not much they said was funny. Apparently to be comical even a little bit, you had to be mean- like making fun of that Snape boy. Was that why Bellatrix thought she was funny?
"I've got it, I've got it," Sirius said, forcing a small chuckle. "That was a stupid joke, though."
"We can't all be perfect," James said dramatically. "So, Frank Longbottom, are you on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"
"Nah," Frank replied, shrugging. "I'm not good at it, but if you're interested next year, talk to Gigeon Prewett. He's our new Quidditch captain, which is a position that follows you for two years."
"I've always been a good Chaser," James bragged. "My dad told me that I'd definitely make the team."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Well-"
Just before he was about to say something, a letter dropped onto his plate, oil stains from his breakfast seeping into it. Sirius looked at in in horror only to be relieved when he saw that it wasn't red, that it wasn't a Howler. Still, his heartbeat accelerated incredibly and he could hardly move to pick it up.
"Go on, then," James said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Open it, will you?"
Nodding weakly, Sirius ripped the envelope and took out a yellowed parchment that had his brother's untidy scrawl on it; after all, the kid was only nine.
"It's from my brother," Sirius said shakily. "M-my brother..."
"You have a brother!" James said excitedly. "Blimey, I've never had any siblings- that's wicked!"
James had no idea how bad this was. Sirius was so scared to see what Regulus had to say to him. Would be be disappointed? Sad? Mad? Furious? Confused? He unfolded it, making sure no one else could read but him.
Dear Sirius,
Mum told me that you were put in Gryffindor, I don't know why she said that is it true? She was really mad. Why would you let yourself be put in Gryffindor no one else in our family was put in Gryffindor did you tell them they were rong? Because I think you were supozed to be in SLYTHERIN. Because SLYTHERINS are awsome right! So plaese rite me back I hope you got it sorted out I'll see you at Christmas but mum told me not to rite to you but I'll do it anyway because you're in Slytherin now so see you at Christmas.
Love, Regulus
"What's it say?" James asked desperately, trying to get a peek. "What's it say, Sirius? What's it-" But he stopped now, noticing that the other boy was shaking.
Before James could ask what was wrong, Sirius stood up and ran from the Great Hall, the letter clutched tightly in his fist. He could hardly believe it. Regulus thought he'd been transferred to Slytherin. That he had Slytherin friends and was sitting at the Slytherin table, with a Slytherin schedule and a Slytherin mindset.
No no no!
Something was screaming at him, something in the back of his head, telling him to run to Dumbledore and ask to switch, to switch back to the House he was supposed to be in. Having been torn from Regulus was too much to bear. Tears were once again streaming down his face, which was more embarrassing than anything.
He ran up and down stairs, trying to get away from everyone, trying to find someone, anyone, who could help him. As he ran he bumped into someone else, and pushed them aside angrily because Sirius was all that mattered right now.
When he reached the top of the next flight of stairs, he looked down to see another crying boy who was picking up the books that had been knocked out of his arms. Sirius turned a little pale after realizing he was the reason the books were on the floor. He almost went down the steps again to help, but wouldn't manage. Through blurry eyes, all Sirius could see about the boy was that he had light brown hair and a small figure. When the tears slipped out of his eyes he immediately recognized the boy as Remus Lupin, who was one of his roommates.
Sirius was afraid that if he called to the other first year, his voice would crack. Thinking about Regulus' letter made him realize that whatever Remus Lupin's homesick troubles were, they were nothing of Sirius' concern.
As he ran up another staircase, he wondered if perhaps the boy's family was abusive. One had to wonder where all of those scars came from.
Bam!
Sirius tripped over a step that apparently liked to disappear; he would soon discover all thirty of the trick steps in the one hundred forty-two staircases at Hogwarts.
He fell and swore under his breath; he had hit his arm on a sharp step. As the tears began to dry up, he came to his senses and sat, panting, on the stairs, with no idea what to do or to say. He started to wonder what time it was and if he would be late to any classes.
His first class on Thursday (which was today) was History of Magic, which, he'd been been told by Andromeda and Narcissa, was the most boring class one could ask for. Sirius wiped the wetness from his eyes one more time before carefully studying the schedule which had been in his pocket the whole time.
Monday
1- Charms, classroom 2E (Filius Flitwick)
2- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
3- Free
4- History of Magic, classroom 4F (Cuthbert Binns)
5- Tranfiguration, classroom 1B (Minerva McGonagall)
6- Defense Against the Dark Arts, classroom 3C (Vanessa Delacroix)
7- Defense Against the Dark Arts, classroom 3C (Vanessa Delacroix)
8- Free
Tuesday
1- History of Magic, classroom 4F (Cuthbert Binns)
2- Defense Against the Dark Arts, classroom 3C (Vanessa Delacroix)
3- Defense Against the Dark Arts, classroom 3C (Vanessa Delacroix)
4- Charms, classroom 2E (Filius Flitwick)
5- Charms, classroom 2E (Filius Flitwick)
6- Free
7- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
8- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
Wednesday
1- Defense Against the Dark Arts, classroom 3C (Vanessa Delacroix)
2- History of Magic, classroom 4F (Cuthbert Binns)
3- Herbology, greenhouse 1 (Pomona Sprout)
4- Charms, classroom 2E (Filius Flitwick)
5- Charms, classroom 2E (Filius Flitwick)
6- Tranfiguration, classroom 1B (Minerva McGonagall)
7- Free
8- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
After classes: At 12am, students will report to the Astronomy Tower to learn the names of planets and stars. Students will be given a Dreamless Sleep potion as well as a Vitamix Potion for the morning. These are to ensure that they are on time for class the next day.
Thursday
1- History of Magic, classroom 4F (Cuthbert Binns)
2- Herbology, greenhouse 1 (Pomona Sprout)
3- Herbology, greenhouse 1 (Pomona Sprout)
4- Tranfiguration, classroom 1B (Minerva McGonagall)
5- Tranfiguration, classroom 1B (Minerva McGonagall)
6- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
7- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
8- Free
Friday
1- History of Magic, classroom 4F (Cuthbert Binns)
2- Defense Against the Dark Arts, classroom 3C (Vanessa Delacroix)
3- Herbology, greenhouse 1 (Pomona Sprout)
4- Charms, classroom 2E (Filius Flitwick)
5- Tranfiguration, classroom 1B (Minerva McGonagall)
6- Tranfiguration, classroom 1B (Minerva McGonagall)
7- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
8- Potions, Dungeons (Horace Slughorn)
The schedule was very full, and his first class started in ten minutes. It was on the fourth floor, and he was on the sixth. How many floors were there, again? He took a deep breath, then started to walk down the stairs, wondering where in the castle the class room could be.
Remembering the trick step, it was the one he hopped over, nursing his bruised arm. Hoping not to find any more of those buggers, he took to skipping every other step to avoid them.
Classroom 4F... classroom 4F...
He kept looking around on the fourth floor, but it was so big. His heartbeat began to get faster and the castle seemed to get bigger. Nervously, Sirius turned the corner and let out a sigh of relief, for there were about a dozen students hurrying into a room, and he saw James, and hurried towards the crowd.
"Where did you go, mate?" James asked before class started. The teacher was nowhere in sight.
"Sorry," Sirius answered. "I just felt a little under the wea- look!"
He pointed a finger toward the chalkboard, eyes growing wide as a ghost floated right through it behind the desk. Several of the students began to whisper amongst each other, and as Sirius looked around the classroom, he noticed that this class was shared with the Hufflepuffs, whose black and yellow ties were instantly recognizable.
The teacher, who turned out to be the ghost, told everyone to listen up and got right into explaining the rules of the class.
His voice was enough to make Sirius sleepy.
oOoOoOoOo
Over the course of the day, Sirius became more and more tired, hoping with all his might that he would be able to go right back to his dorm after dinner and take a long nap.
In each of his classes, he was paired with someone different- at least, so far. History of Magic wasn't a class in which there was any interaction. Professor Binns had told them that there would be very little talking and a lot of note taking. Herbology was taken with the Ravenclaws, which was wonderfully convenient because Sirius had no idea what the textbook had been talking about. Cynthia Eyre, his partner, apparently knew all about it because her dad was a wizard biologist, which meant he worked with Muggles about plants.
In Transfiguration, which was taken with the Ravenclaws again, Sirius had made sure to snag the seat next to James, which was good, because Minerva McGonagall had made it clear that these were their permanent seats until Christmas.
She then turned her desk into a pig and back, impressing the students beyond words. Sirius' mouth popped open and he just knew that he would be doing that by the end of the year.
At the end of class, the only one who had been able to change a match into a needle was James, who looked rather smug. Sirius had to admit it was difficult to say the least. He promised himself he would practice this as much as he could, and before the teacher could see, he slipped a match into his folder as they left.
Potions, which was taught by a very round and balding man by the name of Horace Slughorn, was fun as well. Sirius knew he wouldn't be very good at it- plus they were paired with the Slytherins- but since he was able to sit with a Gryffindor, everything was okay. He noticed Lily Evans and Severus Snape sitting together.
"You're Remus, right?" Sirius asked carefully, fully aware that this kid flinched at almost everything.
"Y-yeah," Remus answered, looking around uncomfortably. The dungeons were cold and damp, even with their robes on.
Sirius wondered what could possibly be wrong with him. The cuts on his face were starting to be disturbing.
Halfway through class as Horace Slughorn was writing on the chalkboard, Remus absently scratched his nose. Sirius looked over and his eyes widened. "Y-you're bleeding," he whispered, prodding Remus' arm with his finger.
He saw the boy's face go pale as he wiped his sleeve over the blood, and that was that. Sirius tried not to think about it anymore.
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Dear Regulus,
I don't know how to say this, exactly. But I am in Gryffindor. They didn't switch me to Slytherin or make any mistake. I'm not meant to be in Slytherin. You'll understand when you're older. I'll see you at Christmas.
Love, Sirius
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AN: 'Tis very sad indeed. Oh, and about Remus—he doesn't think he'll make any friends. So I won't have him part of the group until after the next chapter. More on Peter next.
Fun fact: The way I set Andromeda's age, she's going to get pregnant in the last few months of her seventh year… fun fun… xD
Something else: This IS going to be as canon as I can possibly make it, so however much I want Sevily, it's going to be Jamily. Dx
One last thing: Please review!