Did Seamus Finnigan just say he had seen Sirius at the High Table? Harry's head swiveled around to look, and sure enough, there he was, talking animatedly to Hagrid.
"Do you think Dumbledore would mind if I go up and see him?" Harry asked nobody in particular.
"I don't think he would," said Percy. "He is your primary caretaker, isn't he?"
"Yeah," said Harry, standing up. "I'm going to go say hello."
Harry got up and ran to the High Table, trying to ignore the whispers that followed him as he walked by. Finally, he reached Sirius. At first he was a little taken aback by Sirius's appearance; it was the first time Harry had ever seen Sirius wearing wizard's robes, for one thing. They were made of the finest silk, red with gold lining. His hair was loose, but he had definitely had a shower and a shave.
"So I petted the dragon on the head, and I said to her, 'See ya, Bessie!'" Sirius was saying, and Hagrid let out a gale of booming laughter.
"Sirius!" Harry cried. "What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?" said Sirius innocently. "Teaching, of course!"
"You didn't tell me!" Harry sputtered, a mixture of indignation, happiness, shock and disbelief all overwhelming him at once.
"It was a surprise," Sirius replied serenely. "And blimey, was it ever hard for me to keep quiet. But yeah, I'm the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher."
"Well, what's the story?" Harry demanded.
"Dumbledore and I got into a huge argument over whether or not I should be allowed to keep you," Sirius said, lowering his voice so that the headmaster, who was talking to Professor McGonagall, couldn't hear him. "Tempers flared, so eventually Remus had to step in."
"What happened then?"
"Remus has a way of making people feel ashamed of themselves," Sirius explained. "So he chewed Dumbledore out, and Dumbledore apologized and said maybe he could help make it up to me—to us—by offering me a position at the school. Professor Kettleburn jut retired last year, you see, so Dumbledore needed a teacher, and Care of Magical Creatures was always my favorite class, so I was happy to take the job."
"That's great, Sirius!" Harry beamed. Leaving Sirius had been hard, and now he didn't have to. It would be wonderful to have Sirius for a teacher, too.
"I'm afraid you won't see me until Friday, though," said Sirius, giving Harry an apologetic smile. "I teach the Gryffindor first years on Friday afternoons."
"I'm glad you're here at all, to be honest," Harry said blissfully, giving Sirius a hug. Sirius patted him on the back.
"I'm so proud you made it into Gryffindor, by the way," he said. "I'm sure you'll help us win the House Cup."
"Who's 'us'?" Harry grinned. "Haven't you graduated?"
"Oh, you know how Houseism is," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Loyalty to one's House runs deep. But I knew you'd make it into Gryffindor."
"Yeah, I know…" Harry suddenly felt a little twinge of guilt. What would Sirius say if Harry told him the Sorting Hat had tried to put him in Slytherin? Would he not want him anymore? Sirius said he would love Harry no matter what, but Sirius hated Slytherin so much…
"You had better get back to your friends," said Sirius, smiling and gesturing towards the Gryffindor table. "I reckon Dumbledore is going to do the start-of-term announcements soon."
"Right," said Harry, running back to the Gryffindor table again.
"What happened?" asked Hermione.
"Sirius is our new Care of Magical Creatures teacher!" Harry announced. "Unfortunately, he teaches Gryffindor first years on Fridays, so we'll have to wait until then to see him. But don't worry. He's a great person. I'm sure his classes will be really fun."
Harry looked up at the High Table again. Sirius had resumed his lively conversation with Hagrid. Dumbledore was talking to Professor McGonagall. Professor Quirrell, who was wearing a giant turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.
Suddenly, the teacher looked into Harry's eyes and glared at him…and that was when Harry felt a sharp, hot pain in his scar.
"Ouch!" Harry slapped his hand on his forehead.
"What is it?" said Percy.
"N-Nothing."
The pain in Harry's scar had gone as quickly as it had come. But the look the teacher had given Harry was very disturbing. Harry had a hunch that this teacher didn't like him at all.
"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.
"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to—everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."
Harry watched Snape for some time, but Snape didn't look his way again. Before he knew it, the desserts had disappeared, and Dumbledore stood up. The hall fell silent.
"Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch."
Dumbledore paused, supposedly for emphasis, and then added, "I must tell you that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Harry was one of the few people who laughed.
"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.
"Must be." Percy frowned at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere—the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."
"On a happier note," Dumbledore was saying, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Quirinus Quirrell, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Quirrell stood up and bowed, although Harry noticed he was twitchy again. The applause was rather noncommittal.
"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued, "well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by a name most of you probably know…Sirius Black."
Almost everyone had heard Sirius's story by now, so nobody looked afraid. The applause for Sirius was much more enthusiastic, especially at the Gryffindor table, for he was one of their own. Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys stood up.
"As many of you will be aware, Professor Black was convicted of murder ten years ago," Dumbledore continued. "If you have not heard the story already, he has recently been tried by the Wizengamot and has been found innocent of all charges. He was framed for those murders. The culprit has not been caught, but his name is Peter Pettigrew. Professor Black has requested that you all memorize his name and learn what he looks like so that we can work together to put this dangerous man in Azkaban. It is unlikely you will run into him at Hogwarts; however, if you do see him or think you see him, do not approach him. Report your sighting to the nearest Prefect or teacher immediately."
Harry saw Percy suddenly looking excited. Percy would probably love it if someone reported Peter to him. Less exciting was the look on Professor Snape's face. Snape was glaring at Sirius. And it wasn't just your average ordinary everyday hate. It was abhorrence to the utmost.
"And before we go to bed," cried Dumbledore, "let us sing the school song!"
Dumbledore flicked his wand, and a gold ribbon flew out of it. The ribbon shaped itself into words.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"
"Come on, let's use the theme song to Love and Lust," Harry whispered to Hermione, referencing the worst soap opera they had ever watched together. Hermione nodded eagerly and they joined the school in singing:
Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.
Since everybody was singing a different tune, they all finished at different times. Hermione and Harry finished together. So did the Weasley twins, who finished last, as they had chosen a very slow funeral march. When they had finished, Dumbledore was one of the ones who clapped the loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
Percy the Prefect led the Gryffindor first years through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry waved to Sirius as they left, and Sirius waved back. Harry wished that the Gryffindor common room wasn't so high up in the school. The food coma was setting in, so he wasn't exactly pleased to climb staircase after staircase just to get to his dorm. Why didn't Hogwarts have elevators?
They ran into Peeves the Poltergeist, whom Harry had heard about from Sirius. Peeves tried to assault them with walking sticks. Percy threatened to go to the Bloody Baron (the Slytherin ghost and the only one of whom Peeves was truly frightened), so Peeves disappeared and dropped the walking sticks on Neville's head. Harry was getting the impression that Neville was one of those "why-does-everything-happen-to-me" people.
Finally, at the end of a long corridor, they reached a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" said the Fat Lady.
"Caput Draconis," said Percy. The portrait swung forward to admit him, and everyone climbed into the Gryffindor common room, which was cozy and round, full of squashy armchairs.
Hermione waved goodnight to Harry as she walked with the rest of the girls to the girls' dorms. Harry and Ron, meanwhile, went to the boys' dorms. Harry had to climb another staircase (they were definitely in one of the towers) and finally they reached the dorms. Harry and Ron had been assigned a dorm together; their other three roommates were Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. It was of course one of the newer dorms, having five four-posters, each hung with deep, red, velvet curtains. Each trunk had been placed carefully at the foot of the owner's bed. Too tired to talk, everyone changed into their pajamas and collapsed into bed. Harry was wearing the emerald-green pajamas Sirius had bought for him.
"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."
That night, Harry had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, and it was talking to him, telling him he had to transfer to Slytherin because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin. It got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off, but it just got tighter. Malfoy laughed at him, then turned into Snape, who laughed…the laugh became high and cold…then there was that familiar flash of green light and Harry awoke, shaky and sweaty.
The next morning, he didn't remember the dream at all.
PLEASE NOTE: In case you're wondering about Sirius's new job, Care of Magical Creatures was the only class I could realistically see Sirius teaching besides Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Quirrell already has that job, so Care of Magical Creatures it is. Also, yes, I am aware that in the books the class isn't available to first years. However, since this story is about Sirius and Harry, I thought my readers would like it better if Harry could be a student in Sirius's class, so in this story, Care of Magical Creatures is a core class that the first years are required to take, just like Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, etc. I scheduled it for Friday afternoons because in the actual book Harry had Friday afternoons free, so adding one extra class this way won't interfere with the rest of his schedule. And yes, they still have it with the Slytherins! I hope this clears up any confusion about the classes and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in the reviews or via private-messaging! And again, please remember NOT to post spoilers for this story in the reviews!