Chapter 5
When we arrived at the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table I noticed Sirius about halfway down making conversation with Mandy from the train. She was obviously flirting as hard as she could and he seemed to be flirting back. "TEDDY!" I heard Andromeda shriek from next to me. I looked around and saw that many people hadn't even acknowledged the scream. This must happen often. I saw a tall, older looking boy with a gigantic grin on his face making his way towards us. He pulled Andromeda in close and kissed her passionately. After a few quite awkward seconds Andromeda pulled away and said "Teddy. This is Kate." Teddy stuck his hand out and I shook it.
"Hello. I'm Ted Tonks." He said. "Shall we sit?" He seemed to be talking to the whole group, but also exclusively to Andromeda at the same time. Everyone nodded and we sat down. Andromeda was on my left and Lily was on my right. James was opposite me, but I could see him trying to catch Lily's eye. She was making a point to ignore him. I found it quite entertaining. Remus turned and said "So Kate, what's your favourite colour?" I laughed and started piling my plate with breakfast. I pulled my face into a look of mock concentration and said "Well, I would have to go with pink." Remus laughed. "Why?" He asked matching my serious tone.
"Because it's James' least favourite colour, of course." I replied with a look at my brother, who was still completely oblivious to everyone and everything except Lily. I heard laughter behind me as I looked up and saw Sirius standing behind me. "Charming as always Miss Kate." He pushed Andromeda slightly as he fought to sit beside me. She was forced to turn away from Ted and face Sirius. "Can you move Dromeda?" He said still pushing and forcing his way down.
"Sorry Si, not all of us cater exclusively to you." She turned back to Ted as Sirius pretended to be offended. He recovered quickly though and was soon back within her line of sight. "What if I offered you 5 galleons?" He said flashing the gold. She looked at the money and then back at Ted before crumbling. "Fine. Teddy let's find somewhere else to sit." And in the blink of an eye they were off to the other end of the table. Sirius slid down right beside me, even though there was a space big enough to fit two people. I looked over at James to see how he was absorbing this, but he was still unaware of everything except the red-headed prefect now talking to Sirius. "What the hell is going on between you two?" She asked, curiosity brightening her eyes. Sirius let out a short bark-like laugh and answered
"The sweet early days of the blossoming of love my young maiden." I hit him over the head and said to Lily "Sirius and James have a bet. 50 galleons on whether or not Sirius can charm me." Lily looked amused. "Who are you pulling for to win?" She asked.
"James." I answered confidently sticking my tongue out in Sirius' direction. I then thought of something and turned to face Remus "Who are you pulling for Remus?" I asked, wondering why it took me so long. He thought for a moment before saying, "Well, based on my experiences I would have to say Sirius. I've seen him win the hearts of many girls and he can do it blindfolded with one arm behind his back." He then turned to James, who was for once listening to the conversation since Lily was involved. "Sorry Prongs, but I think Padfoot's got you this time." James' face was stony
"Not if I have anything to do with it." He replied. I decided to step in and calm my brother down before he got too angry. "James, I haven't fallen for Sirius yet so you can calm your pretty little head. I don't want to have to go all ninja on your ass." I said, setting off the whole group. Sirius said to me, still laughing "I would love to see you go all ninja on James' ass."
"I bet you would." Said a voice I recognised. I turned and saw Regulus Black in all of his glory, staring down his older brother. "What do you want Regulus?" Sirius said, obviously making an effort to keep his voice level. The youngest Black laughed in his older brother's face. "Why I just wanted to extend a formal welcome to Miss Katherine Potter and express the wish that she thoroughly enjoys her years at this amiable institute: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He ended with a flourish. I looked down the table and saw identical faces of disgust and loathing fixed on every single person within earshot. I turned to Sirius and saw that he looked as though his dearest wish in that one moment was for Regulus' face to be pummelled to within an inch of its life. I looked at the smug expression on Regulus' face. It was obvious he was delighted with the malicious atmosphere he had created. He then turned on his heel and strutted back to his table. He turned and walked towards his table. Everyone was quiet until the timetables were passed out. I looked swiftly down at my schedule for the day. Divination, Double Potions, Herbology, Double Defence against the Dark Arts. I looked down at Sirius' timetable. It was exactly the same as mine. He still looked as though he had been force-fed Stinksap. I linked my arm through his and dragged him with me out of the Great Hall. "Come on Mr. Grumpy." I said "You need to show me where Divination is." He looked lots happier now that he was away from his brother. He turned to me with his usual smirk returning to his face. "Well… we could go that way." He said pointing to a hallway where a few students were walking slowly away from us. I started to walk that way too, however Sirius tugged me back. "Or…" he said, his smirk wider than ever, "we could go down one of my secret passageways." I smiled and took his outstretched hand.