Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews, and I apologize that it took me so long to get this chapter up. My excuse is limited internet access and time to work on the story, but I will try to get chapters up much more frequently in the future. Thanks you guys!
Chapter 10: Dorcas Meadowes v. Sirius Black
Alice's first week at Hogwarts was a pretty good one. She was very grateful that she and Jeff had learned their way around the castle by that point, at least enough to find the Great Hall and all of their classes. They had agreed not to tell anyone about the maze. This was Alice's idea; she wanted to be able to have a place she and Jeff could be together without having constant crowds of people around them.
This secret proved to be a challenging one to keep, however. When Alice and Jeff wandered into the Great Hall to catch the tail end of dinner the evening of the first day, the first thing that Jeff's roommates did was ask him where he had been all afternoon.
Jeff flushed and glanced at Alice. "We got really lost," he said, sounding a bit embarassed. "And by the time we knew where we were going, it was too late to go to Transfiguration."
It wasn't even a lie. Alice had to admit, Jeff certainly had shrewd cover-up skills. However, she felt it important to add, "We asked those idiotic third-year boys for directions, but of course they pointed us in the wrong direction."
Sturgis and another of Jeff's roommates named Luke laughed. "You mean you really asked them for directions?" said Sturgis incredulously.
"Well, you've got to admit, giving the wrong directions to a couple of first years is tame compared to some of the things I've heard they get up to," said Luke.
"Do you mean to tell me that those boys were causing trouble to first years again?" cried an irate voice. Alice looked to see the sixth year prefect, Dorcas Meadowes, looking at them in dismay. "That's the second time today!"
Alice looked at Jeff, and shot him a What did I tell you? look, but he just shrugged and raised his eyebrows.
"Sirius Black!" called Dorcas, a calculating expression on her face as she surveyed the tall, slender, patrician boy, who was sitting a few seats away with the rest of the Marauders. Sirius glanced up at her.
"Why Dorcas!" he cried good-naturedly. "If it isn't my favorite prefect! How are you doing today?"
"Get over here right now, you callow little monkey!" growled the sixth year. She was not playing games. Reluctantly, Sirius made a show of getting up and making his way slowly over to where Dorcas was sitting.
"I hope you make this snappy," he said with a bored expression on his face. "I don't want my food to get cold."
"I'll take as long as I please," she barked imperatively. She then looked at him critically with a frown on her face as she said, "You severely disappoint me, Mr. Black. I expect so much more out of our third year Gryffindors than you have shown, and I am apalled at the utter lack of chivalry you have displayed. You, as a returning Gryffindor have a responsiblity to make our newcomers feel welcome and to graciously integrate them into our community. Instead, you have used them as a way to play your childish little games and have caused them to miss an introductory lesson. Thus, you have lost them an opportunity they could use to embrace their magical abilities and thereby grow in them, which is a precept upon which this very institution was founded. Pay attention!" she snapped as Sirius stood there, pretending to be bored and stifling a yawn behind his hand. By this point, the Gryffindor table and even some students at the Ravenclaw table had fallen silent to watch the spectacle.
"I suppose that it wasn't enough for me to discover that you had locked a first year girl into Myrtle's bathroom this morning! Why must you continue to make life difficult for the defenseless, Mr. Black?"
"I wonder how they know what's in Myrtle's bathroom," muttered a nearby fourth-year girl, setting off a few muted chuckles.
In that moment, in which all attention was directed to Sirius, he smiled and shrugged passively. "Actually, Meadowes, I'm making life easier for the first years by giving them all a laugh." He cleared his throat. "I mean, I'm providing them with an opportunity to rise above everything meager and insipid in life into to a land of joy, lightheartedness, and youth."
By this point, many students were trying desperately to hold back their laughter. Larry Matthews was one of the worst; he was turning beet red and looked like he was having some sort of a seizure.
But Dorcas was all business. "I didn't hear anyone laughing. What I would like you to do, Mr. Black, is to apologize to these poor young minds you have hindered, and to give your word that in the future you will be a good example and advisor to them, as a third-year Gryffindor should be."
Sirius just rolled his eyes, and retained his smirk. "I'm sorry that you didn't appreciate the humor in what we did. We will try better next time to concoct something much more amusing."
"That's quite all right," said Jeff with a grin. Alice kicked him under the table, and Matthew actually did laugh this time.
Dorcas did not look at all pleased with Sirius's apology, but seemed to feel that this was the best she was going to do. "Remember, I am watching you, Mr. Black," she said, giving him a final death glare, and then turned back to her food.
Half of the Great Hall burst into applause.
McGonagall, as it turned out, was not nearly as unhappy with Jeff and Alice for missing her class as either of them had anticipated. It seemed that she had heard Dorcas's speech in the Great Hall and had discovered for herself the reason that they had missed her class. She only gave them a warning to not skip her class in the future and left it at that.
Alice spent the rest of that week getting acquainted with Jeff's roommates, her classes, and the castle. She found Flavius, Sturgis, Luke, Travis, and Kingsley much more agreeable than the girls in her dormitory. Flavius was a bit ditzy. He made the most off-the-wall comments sometimes, but everyone liked him. Sturgis was easy-going and light-tempered, and he always liked a laugh. His best frend, Luke, was the son of a well-known hit wizard. Luke was very friendly, but a bit irascible. Alice learned quickly by observing the boys that she would have to watch what she said around him. Travis and Kingsley were opposites. Travis was short, quiet and liked to blend into the crowd, although he did have his opinion about whatever was happening. Kingsley, however, was a tall black boy who loved to stand out. He had leadership qualities with a natural charisma, and therefore drew people to him.
The boys embraced Alice with open arms. It made her feel in some ways that she was not obligated to be friends with the girls in her dorm, so she didn't really make much of an effort to talk to them. This did not make her build much of a relationship with these girls, but Alice didn't particularly care. She felt different from them, incompatable in ways that then she did not understand. She did not like their drama and girlishness and tried to avoid it as much as possible, and at that time being friends with mostly boys seemed the best way to stay away from these tasteless issues.
Alice was, at last, finding an enviornment in which she could be comfortable. She might not be popular, attractive, or the teacher's pet. But she was accepted, and to Alice, that was all that really mattered.