Two girls from Hufflepuff were peering over a horoscope whispering excitedly. The divination room was circular shaped on account of it being the top most classes. Top compensate for this, tables were arranged in a semi-circle around a desk which had many curious artefacts strewn across it. Sirius, James, Peter and Remus opted for a table roughly in the middle. Professor Sanctus had not appeared.

"Well this is going swimmingly." Sirius said, bored. James was scribbling something on a scrap piece of paper.

"Isn't it just?" He replied before scoring it out and tucking it into the pages of his books.

Professor Sanctus entered. He was a thin willowy man with a look of an incredible age surrounding him. His face clean shaven and white hair swept back from his face. He looked over the classroom silently before walking towards the two Hufflepuff girls and taking the horoscope away from them. Without saying a word he tore it into several pieces before casting it into the fire.

"We are here to learn true divination," He said. "Not some silly little weekly magazine's concept of divination. For many, this subject will be difficult. It will be gruelling. I will push you to the depths of your subconscious and unearth things about your future that one would not wish to hear." He paused looking around the room. "Muggles do have the means to study divination, it is not limited just to witches and wizards. Yet they do not see what they ought to see. I shall give you an example." He cleared his throat and picked up a crystal ball. "Muggles require extensive observation of this to see into the future. They require complete focus, often bathing in what they would call "cleansing baths" to rid themselves of any influence. We need not to do it. To empty our minds, all one needs to do, is draw their memory from their head. Like so." He tapped his forehead with his wand and a strip of silver appeared, shimmering in the half light. He tapped a small vial and it disappeared.

He looked up at the class who were mesmerised. "This is advanced magic, I dare that no one try to perform it. Now, you have your books, turn to page... 57... There will be a large section on the subject of Tea Leaf reading. An ancient art dating from China. There are cups over there, do it in pairs. Instructions are clear. If one needs help interpreting just ask." Sanctus sat down and picked up a book. He began to read.

Sirius and James looked at each other as the other students all lined up to get a cup. "Bloody hell. That wasn't even much of a class lecture." Sirius said.

"I know!" James said.

Remus had gotten them cups and was setting them down in front of his friends. Tea was made and shared between several tables. They chatted quietly amongst themselves as they drank it, then they upturned their cups on the saucers to drain the dregs. During this time Professor Sanctus had gotten up and was now moving between them silently.

"Check your partners cup," He said calmly.

Sirius sighed and pulled James' cup forward and turned it over. "What do you see?" James asked.

"Tea leaves," Sirius grunted.

"I mean aside from that." James said.

"Tea leaves," Sirius repeated. "A bloody nightmare to clean up too."

"Funny," James said looking at Sirius' cup. "Alright," He sighed and began to turn the cup around trying to decipher what it was. Sanctus was looking over at them slightly uninterested at the squealing Hufflepuff girls who were reading each other's fortunes excitedly.

"Well," Sirius said. "I see a lightning bolt. What the hell does that mean?"

James shrugged. He was flicking through the book, a frown forming on his handsome face. "Does that look like a dog to you?" He asked Remus.

Remus frowned, looking up from Peter's cup. "Er... Sort of..." He put Peter's cup down and took the one from James. He turned it slightly. "Is it an arch?"

"Nah," James said. "Can't be that."

"Well, a dog wouldn't be exactly good news," Sirius said, looking up from his book. "Cause it's the-"

"Grim," Sanctus said, walking towards them. "The omen of death,"

"Cheerful," Sirius said.

"I wouldn't take it too seriously," Sanctus said hearing the gasps from a few who clearly knew what it was. "Divination is woolly. It is a difficult thing to interpret. In some ways it can be a symbolisation of a new beginning. Death is not always the unwelcome guest everyone suspects."

"Yes, well," Sirius said. "Maybe not to a 156 year old, but to a thirteen year old it can class as quite unwelcome."

Sanctus nodded approvingly. "Again, do not fret. It is a woolly subject, and this may be a prediction that will not come to pass for a while yet." He turned. "Ah, Lupin is it? What does Pettigrew's cup say?"

"So what does the lightning bolt mean?" Sirius asked. "I mean, what do you think it means? Does it have any relevance to you?"

James was shaking his head. "Try the book."

"I tried the book the book doesn't have the answers!" Sirius said. "God you're just like Moony,"

"I'd like to think I'm cooler than Moony," James said.

"Thanks James," Remus said as Sanctus bent over Peter's shoulder to peer into Remus' cup.

"No problem." James said. "I strive to make people feel better about themselves."

"Okay," Sirius said twisting the cup around "I see... Oh my lord,"

"What?" James started.

"I see..." Sirius said. "I see... Lily Evans..."

James head snapped up. "Really?"

"Yes... You two... You're together in the future!" Sirius said. "Only... No... That can't be right... She's... No... It's not possible..."

"What?" James said.

Sirius flicked a few pages of his book. "It's... You have a son... And his name... It's... Severus Snape!"

James made a pout. "Funny Sirius,"

"Oh and you're getting divorced." Sirius continued. "Moony, you're gay mate. Peter... Oh Peter, you get the best deal out of all of us, you get to kick some bottom."

James burst out laughing. Sirius looked confused. "What?"

James was laughing so much that he caught the attention of several other classmates who were smiling along with him.

"What?" Sirius repeated.

"You – said – bottom!" James said trying to breathe.

"Yes," Sirius said. "So?"

"That's such a funny word!" James said.

"So is cock, fanny and bullcrap," Sirius said. "What the hell are you on?"

"Bottom..." James breathed.

"Moony swap seats with me," Sirius said pleadingly. "Get me away from this idiot."

"No," Remus said not looking up from his notes.

"Why not?"

"He's your friend." Remus said.

"But I'm your friend!" Sirius cried. "Save your friends!"

"No," Remus said, flicking a page and making new note.

"Peter, swap with me," Sirius said.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "It's five minutes until the end of the lesson!"

"All the more reason to swap," Sirius said getting up. "Come sit with the big... Girl..."

James stuck out his tongue.

"Going somewhere, Mr Black?" Sanctus asked mildly from the far corner of the room as he helped Xeno try and decipher what his meant – Xeno was arguing that it was a Crumple-Horned Snorkack visible within his tea leaves.

"Er..." Sirius sat back down. "No sir, just stretching my legs."

Sanctus rolled his eyes.

...

"ASK HER OUT!" Sirius hissed angrily.

Remus looked at him shocked. "No!"

"Why not?" Sirius asked. "She's clearly interested and it's not often that happens."

"Thank you, Sirius," Remus said.

"Well you've got to do it!" Sirius said. "If you want to go humping at her leg, I think it's common decency to ask first."

"Sirius!"

"What!"

"Please refrain from such terminology!" Remus cried. "I'm not a dog!"

"No," James agreed. "But in less than 3 hours you will be." He checked his watch. "Alright, make that 2 hours 45 minutes,"

Remus turned to them. "Thank you for that," He said. "Really, make me feel better."

"No problem." James grinned.

"Why don't you go ask Lily out?" Remus asked sitting at the table.

"He already has," Peter said. "Three times this week."

"Really?" Remus let out a sigh. "There goes that plan."

"Yep!" James said. "Sirius? Any lovely lady caught your eye this year thus far?"

Sirius looked up from his pile of potatoes and chicken wings, a lump of garlic bread hanging in his mouth. "No," He said, not bothering to close his mouth when chewing.

"The infamous Sirius Black hasn't started chasing girls?" James asked. "What's happened?"

"Well you see Potter," Sirius said. "I didn't make an aging potion when I was 9 years old and become a raving sex mad perv at the age of 11 like you."

James couldn't think of a retort. "Yeah... Well... You're..."

"I'm...? What am I?" Sirius asked.

James pouted. "A bloody dog," He said stabbing his pork chop.

"Cheers," Sirius said. "But right now, I think Moony is the closest thing to a dog."

"Thank again Sirius," Remus said. "You're really making this night a whole lot easier."

"Sure am." Sirius winked. "Oh... Are you saying that sarcastically?"

"No! What gave you that impression?"

"Just... Everything..." Sirius said.

Lily entered the Great Hall talking earnestly to Mary and Alice. Frank Longbottom trailing behind them looking bored. He sat next to James and began to help himself to food. Sirius swallowed some of his potatoes before speaking.

"How was Arithmancy?" He asked.

"Terrible," Frank replied haughtily. "I swear, that class is going to kill me, it's basically torture!"

"It can't be that bad," James said mildly.

"Of course it isn't," Mary said. "He's just being melodramatic." She smiled over at the boys. She was not unattractive but her moody temper and blazing hot headedness led to the four boys finding an evening with her unappealing. She had swept her dark hair from her light silver eyes and was staring intently at Sirius' plate. "May I ask," She said. "Where does it all go?"

"Nowhere," Sirius grunted, not looking up. "It passes straight through me, that's why I gotta keep eating."

"Charming," Mary said. "Yes, I think you're just being melodramatic Frank."

"I'm not," Frank said. "Here, Remus, try and make sense of that!" He pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Remus. James looked affronted.

"You're not asking us?" He said.

"No." Frank said simply as Remus read silently whilst chewing at a piece of his shepherd's pie.

"And why not?" James asked.

"Because you will be distracted by Lily in less than ten minutes, and Sirius is eating." Frank said. "You never interrupt Sirius when he's eating."

"Damn straight," Sirius said not looking up from his plate.

Remus was frowning at the extensive number chart, Frank watched intently. "I can see the basic idea," He said finally putting the parchment down, but beyond that I am lost."

"Yeah, well it's my homework for next week," Frank said stuffing it back into his bag. "How was divination?"

"James is going to have a lightning scar as a kid," Sirius grunted. "Or Snape, I haven't decided."

"Yes," James said. "And Sirius is going to go to jail for bloody murder."

"If I do, I would like to go for killing Snape," Sirius said. "Or at least hurting him severely."

"You can't do that," Peter said.

"Watch me," Sirius replied. "What did yours say again?"

"Something about 'falling to the feet of thy masters'," Peter shrugged, pouring some pumpkin juice. "Can you believe how difficult it is to decipher what the author of that book meant?"

"Divination books have always been like that though," Remus pointed out, shifting uncomfortably. His friends stopped and stared at him, he gave them a small smile. "Like Professor Sanctus said, it is a very woolly subject. Difficult to discipline in."

"Muggles get cheated every time they go to a professional," Frank said knowingly. "They pay up all their money to know the future and it's really just some quack pretending to know what they are on about. Mother likes to watch muggle news," He explained to their bewildered faces. "She says that they are a lot more interesting than what people give them credit for."

"I doubt that very much," James said. "Thus no muggle studies should ever appear on my curriculum."

"They're not all that bad," Remus said mildly. "They manage without magic to get through the day, that's worth something."

"No one is denying that," Frank said. "I just would assume that it's so boring being a muggle! I can't imagine not being immersed in all this stuff."

Sirius was motioning for something across the table. Peter stared confused, then handed him Remus' book which was under his arm. Sirius swallowed "I MEANT GIVE ME THE FECKING PUMPKIN JUICE!"

Peter turned red and handed the pitcher over. They all burst out laughing before Remus took one last bite of his food and stood up.

"I best be off," He said. "I'm not feeling too good." He explained to Frank before handing his bag over to James.

"If you don't come back," James said. "Do you want us to come visit you at the hospital wing?"

Remus shook his head. "No, it's quite alright. I'll see you later." He left.

Sirius at last looked up from his food. "Do you think the pudding will be good?" He asked

"Do you live on your stomach?" Mary asked.

"Don't most people?" Sirius asked. "I find that not eating poses something called starvation and malnutrition."

"You don't need to be a wise-ass, Black," She said.

"I rather think I do when I'm dealing with an idiot," Sirius said back to her. Mary was about to start up, but Alice grabbed her elbow before she could and shot her friend a look of warning.

The enchanted ceiling above them darkened quietly without much warning. Sirius and James looked up to see a lightning bolt crack through the sky. Together they looked out the window to see if it was reflecting a real change outside. It wasn't. The sky outside remained calm and peaceful.

After their meal they gathered all their things and headed towards the library where they could study in peace. They quietly gathered at a table and pulled out their books on animagi transformations and quills, resting happily together. Madam Pince moved across the stacks of books, looking over her half specs. Once happy that they were not doing anything besides studying she moved on.

"It's like she doesn't trust us!" James said.

"Can you blame her?" Sirius asked, not looking up but flicking a page. "You did set off several stink bombs in here last year."

"I served my time." James argued.

"You made Peter do both detentions!"

"Because I was busy doing other detentions!" James continued.

"And what were they for again?" Sirius asked.

"... Setting off stink bombs," James said. "Yeah, okay I get you, but isn't it better to live in the present and stop worrying about the past or the future?"

"If that is the case," Peter said. "Then why on earth did you take Divination?"

"You know, I liked you better when you barely talked," James said. "It's was like... White noise. I miss it."

Someone passed them walking quickly followed by a few others. James looked up to see Snape, Malfoy, Narcissa and Regulus Black and MacNair pass them. James got up.

"What are they doing here?" He hissed. Sirius looked up and saw his brother's cloak billowing slightly as he tried to escape the library with the others.

"James sit down," He ordered.

"No," James said. "I want to know what they're up to."

"James," Sirius warned. James had grabbed his wand from his cloak pocket which he had strewn aside with his and Remus' bag. He took off down the rows of books following them. Sirius turned to Peter. "Stay here," He ordered before getting up and following his friend. James had now left the library and was following them down the corridor. Sirius ran after him.

"What on face of the ugly side of Severus' arse are you trying to achieve here Potter?" He asked.

"I just want to know what they're doing," James said.

"We'll find out in the prophet tomorrow after they've broken fifty school rules!" Sirius said. "Trust me, I don't want to be reading your name in the headline." James shushed him. "Did you just shush me?"

"Sirius be quiet!" James said hurrying down the corridor and hiding behind a pillar. He glanced around the corridor. "They were just..." he looked at the dead end of the corridor. There was nowhere they could have gone. No paintings hung from the wall so it was very unlikely that there was a hidden door. James looked around confused. Sirius sighed.

"Come on," He said. "We'll get them next time."

They turned and bumped into someone. James leapt back pointing his wand, whilst Sirius stood there. Peter let out a little squeak.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked. "I thought I told you to stay put!"

"You did!"

"Then who's looking after our stuff?" James asked.

"Xeno."

"Oh Peter!" Sirius said.

"What?" Peter asked as James and Sirius took off in a jog back to the library. Peter followed, running as fast as he could. Once inside they darted to their table and found Xeno leaning forward reading Sirius' book upside down. He looked up and smiled at them.

"Hello," He said pleasantly. "James, I do believe you have a nargle stuck to your ear. Let me get that for you," He swiped at the air around James' earlobe. "Why, you all look puffed out. Did you come across a Crumple-Horned Snorkack? Because they're not dangerous, they are more frightened of you than you of it."

"What are you doing here Xeno?" Sirius asked taking his book back.

"I was merely talking to Madam Pince about the latest book by Emmanuel Spinoza," Xeno replied.

"Who?" James asked.

"Oh, I knew you wouldn't have heard of her-"

"Funny," Sirius said. "Judging by the name I would have thought it was a 'he',"

"Ah that's what many want us to believe, it's a conspiracy you see."

"To confuse people by giving boy names to girls?" Peter asked.

"Don't be silly," Xeno said.

"You know what," James said. "This would be really interesting at some other point. Listen, what you've been reading-"

"Is completely wrong," Xeno said. "I assume you haven't read Aldrevandius Blackstone's new book?"

"Isn't he the one who dabbles with weird experiments?" Sirius frowned.

Xeno was nodding. "If you want to learn about true animal transfiguration, I suggest that's what you look up. I assume that's what you are looking for?"

"Xeno," James said. "We would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone what we were doing."

Xeno looked at James. "I respect your wishes," He said. "But ask you to heed warning. No good can come of this." He smiled. "Besides, as if anyone would listen to me and the stuff I come out with!"

"Oh so you do realise you're saying it," Sirius said. "That's good, next step, stop spurting the nonsense out,"

"It may be nonsense to you, Sirius," Xeno said. "And to others it may pose as a threat. But their my beliefs."

"Right..." Sirius said. "Sorry Xeno,"

Xeno wasn't paying attention anymore, he was staring intently at Peter making him feel uncomfortable.

"Goodnight," He said getting up and leaving them. They watched as Xeno walked away from them hands in his pockets and singing loudly at the top of his voice.

"You know, he's growing on me," Sirius said.

"Ditto," James said.

Teehee, love Xeno so much. All I can do at this point is ask for a review – I can't believe how many it's got already, I mean it's not THAT good...