"Shit" Sirius muttered to himself as the morning delivery of owls entered the Great Hall, packages and letters falling into the laps of students. He recognised that owl, a great horned, with piercing yellow eyes. It was his mother's owl, and he had been hopeful that he could at least avoid her wrath for the first week. He glanced over at the Slytherin table, where his cousin was looking at him in smug satisfaction before her eyes drifted up towards the owl.

James, blissfully unaware of his friend's troubles, glanced up to spot the owl of his own parents which appeared to be carrying a large package. It barely had time to land in his lap before he began tearing into it, a look of disappointment flushing over him when he saw that it contained his schoolbooks. James continued to rummage, locating a handwritten letter from his mother kindly explaining that he had somehow managed to leave every schoolbook he owned at home.

Sirius opened his own letter with trepidation, glancing around to ensure that nobody could read the words over his shoulder. As he carefully tore open the envelope, he found himself taking in a deep breath in preparation for his reading.

Sirius Orion,

I received your cousin's letter and news of your acceptance into Gryffindor House with great disappointment and displeasure. It is the greatest humiliation that I, as a pure-blooded woman, have ever had to endure. All my hopes of you following in my footsteps to become a proud and disciplined Slytherin, as our family has for generations, have been shattered.

You have brought great shame upon our family. How could you have betrayed our values and traditions to be sorted into a house that is nothing but a breeding ground for half-bloods and mudbloods? I will not stand for this disgraceful act, and I refuse to be associated with it.

I cannot bear to have a traitor in my family who has no regard for our noble heritage. Your decision to join Gryffindor makes me question my own parenting skills.

You may think that Gryffindor House's values of bravery and chivalry are something to be proud of, but they are nothing but empty words that pale in comparison to the strength and cunning of the Slytherin House. I hope that one day you will come to realize the error of your ways and restore our family's honour.

Until then, and with regret,

Walburga Black

"Well, that wasn't half as bad as I thought it might be" Sirius spoke to himself, quickly folding the letter and shoving it into his back pocket as he released the breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

"Your mum over it yet mate?" his friend glanced over, seeing the creased frown that had dominated the boy's features since opening the letter.

"Something like that" Sirius quickly flashed a smile, "anyway, sod her" he added, grabbing an apple from the centre of the table "today's the first flying lesson" he continued, with an ear-splitting grin.


With windswept faces, the two boys made their way back up towards the tower. "I never had you down for such a natural on a broom" Sirius enthused, much to James' delight as they discussed their flying lesson.

"Reckon Hooch will let us fly this weekend?" James asked as the two approached the castle, slightly breathless from their commitment to the lesson.

"Can't see why not" his friend answered, "she seemed impressed with your manoeuvres, probably eyeing you up for the team already".

The two continued to head towards the Gryffindor common room in comfortable silence, occasionally breaking their silence to discuss their favourite quidditch moments of the last season.

"Better be careful Sirius" a familiar voice interrupted them, causing Sirius to roll his eyes skyward "mummy and daddy are disappointed enough in you, they won't like you neglecting your studies for flying" she added with spite, glancing at both boys.

"Sod off" James asserted, much to Sirius' impressed surprise, who glanced at his friend in almost admiration.

"Yeah, sod off" he added with a laugh, both boys turning to continue their assent to their tower and leaving a gobsmacked Narcissa alone in the corridor.

"We need to get her good" James smirked at his friend, a mischievous glint in his eyes which could only be the start of a plot that wouldn't bode well for the 5th year Slytherin.


In the Great Hall that evening Sirius was left slightly on edge by the demeanour of his new confidante, who had been fairly quiet in the afternoon. Now, however, the boy appeared to be stifling his own amusement as he briefly looked towards the Slytherin table behind them.

"What have you done?" Sirius whispered bemusedly, but with a slight hint of concern in his voice.

"Don't worry mate" he smiled, "with what I've got planned, there's no way it'll make it back to you".

"You know you're not exempt from the wrath of the Black family, right?" Sirius asked in concern, certain that his friend had no idea what he was getting himself into in trying to prank members of this particular family.

"That's all part of the fun" he grinned back, "now look, or you'll miss the best bit".

Two pairs of eyes watched the blonde witch closely as she lifted her goblet, pausing in conversation to take a small sip.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Sirius frowned, looking over to the boy on his right after a moment to see that he too was frowning.

"There must be something wrong with the potency" he responded, continuing to watch as the subject of their prank returned her goblet to the table. "Sorry mate, I thought it was going to be a good one" he added with an apologetic shrug as both boys happily returned to their meals.

It was but a moment later that a loud shriek from the other side of the hall had them quickly turning around once again, this time in unison with the hundreds of other students seeking out the source of the scream. As their eyes fell on the Slytherin table, Sirius couldn't help but release a loud snort, pumpkin juice spitting out of his mouth as he did. In a spectacularly embarrassing display, the witches skin began turning bright Gryffindor red, her hair transforming into a golden rather than platinum blonde. Fellow Slytherins angrily glanced around the hall, their eyes eventually falling on the two Gryffindor first years whose laughs resounded most loudly around the hall.

"That should shut her up for a while" James laughed, shooting the witch a smile of his own that said, and what will you do about it?

"Cheers mate" Sirius laughed back "that's made my day".


It was the following day that the first years had their first potions lesson, Gryffindor and Slytherin together. After yesterday's fiasco, many of the Slytherins shot disapproving looks at James and Sirius for having got one over on their house. One boy with long dark hair stood quietly at a front row desk, glancing up with a small smile as the ginger-haired girl who had scolded them yesterday joined him.

"What's she doing cosying up with him?" James muttered, gesturing towards only pair who had coupled up in spite of their opposing houses.

"Well, she's a muggleborn right?" Sirius said as if it was obvious "she's barely held a wand, let alone been informed of the house rivalry" he added.

"You're probably right mate" his friend smiled, making a conscious note to explain it to the girl once they had a moment alone.

"If you could come and collect your ingredients from the store cupboard, we will begin" Professor Slughorn announced to the class, a small smile for the pair who had decided to ignore the house rivalry and sit together anyway.

It was in the store cupboard that James and Sirius met the pair.

"Which one is dittany, Severus?" the ginger-haired girl asked the boy as her eyes scanned the shelves for the ingredient.

The boy smiled back at her, carefully reaching to a shelf just above her head as he grabbed a bottle "they take on a duller green once dried" the boy explained as he handed her the bottle.

"Course he knows potions" James scoffed quietly as Sirius smirked back, though clearly, he had not spoken his words quietly enough as the ginger-haired girl turned quickly to face them.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she challenged hotly, hands on hips.

"You'd be better off choosing a Gryffindor for your partner Evans" he answered with a teasing smile, refusing to answer her question.

"I think I'll have much more success with Severus than I would with either of you" she responded with her own teasing tone, looking over at her friend to assure herself that he remained unaffected by the boys.

"Touché" Sirius smiled at the girl, "come on mate, let's get started" he spoke to his friend, turning to leave the supply cupboard.

"Wait" the ginger-haired girl called back quietly, stopping the two boys in their tracks. "I wanted to say thank you" she began as the pair turned around to face her. "For the other day" she clarified when she was met with a slightly confused stare. "I didn't know what that word meant" she added softly, "but I checked and, thank you". She then quickly grabbed her partner before walking past the two bewildered boys and back into the classroom.

"What was that about?" Sirius asked his friend as they began walking back to their desk, dittany and salt water in hand.

"Must've been talking about the mudblood thing" James said casually, not noticing his friend wincing at the word.

"I hate that word" Sirius muttered with a frown, lost in thought for a moment. To him, unlike James, it was a word heard far too often. He had known from quite an early age that it was not a word used to describe muggleborns in a positive light. It had been his Uncle Alphard who had explained, after a particularly troubling meeting at Grimmauld Place, quite what the word meant in the context he'd heard it.

"Alphard, a pleasure to host you here once again" Orion Black spoke, his deep and authoritative voice resounded off the walls of the study.

"As always, Orion, the pleasure is mine" the man returned, before glancing around the room "and where might my young nephews be?" he asked.

"Regulus is finishing his history lesson. He will join us for dinner" Orion answered, and it was not lost on Alphard that his other nephew had been carefully excluded.

"And young Sirius?" he asked, much to the displeasure of the man before him. Alphard had a soft spot for this particular nephew, finding his mischievous ways to be both charming and endearing.

Orion was saved from answering as an angry looking Walburga Black entered the kitchen.

"Walburga, a pleasure to see you again" Alphard greeted her, somewhat warily given her mood.

"And you, Alphard" she responded, though she sounded less than pleasured to see him.

"What has the boy done dear?" Orion asked quietly, moving to stand beside his wife.

"He was removed from his history lesson" Walburga scowled, confirming her husband's suspicion that the loud slam of a door upstairs had in fact been Sirius being kicked out of his lesson.

Alphard raised an eyebrow in surprise as, having taught his two nephews their lessons himself on previous occasions, he'd always found Sirius to be a more than capable student. "Whatever for?" he asked in surprise.

"Your son" Walburga spoke directly to her husband, "decided to lecture Professor Rowle on his choice of language".

"Forgive me for imposing" Alphard spoke softly to the pair, "but would you mind if I spoke to Sirius about this myself?" he asked politely. The thing with Alphard was that, as much as he supported the segregation of muggles and wizards, he did not support the suppression of muggle rights. Of course, he'd never express such a thing to Walburga and Orion Black, nor most of the individuals who shared his family tree, and that meant the Black's assumed he held the same views that they did.

"I'm sure it would be most appreciated" Orion confirmed, with a glance at his wife who seemed to lack the same appreciation.

"Sirius?" Alphard called as he knocked on the child's bedroom door.

"What?" came the petulant response and Alphard smirked, clearly the boy thought his father had come to deal with him instead.

"May I come in?" he asked politely, refusing to enter until the child gave him leave to do so.

Sirius' ears perked up at that. Neither his mother or his father would have asked permission to enter and waited outside. No, it must be his "Uncle Alphard!" Sirius smiled as he opened the door, quickly brushing away the remnants of tears that clung to his cheeks.

"Good evening, Sirius" he smiled in return, walking in to perch on the child's bed "what trouble have you found today?" he asked sternly, though the smile on his face betrayed him.

Sirius huffed at this, jumping up to sit next to his uncle on the four-poster bed. "Old Rowle kicked me out" he muttered, "and now mother's angry".

"Your mother is often angry Sirius, I wouldn't worry too much about that" he returned with mirth, "but what exactly did you do to rile Rowle so?".

At this, a look of shame cut across the child's face, as though he was still trying to decipher whether he had made the right choice. He also wasn't sure that his Uncle Alphard would be any more supportive of his point of view than his mother had been. "I told him he couldn't use the word mudblood" Sirius spoke softly, and with a hint of regret.

Alphard let out a bark of laughter at this, "I can't imagine he took that well, hmm?" he asked once he'd composed himself.

"He liked it less when I told him that one day I'd be the head of the most ancient and noble house of black, and that he'd do well to remember that" Sirius returned, smiling as his Uncle again let out a bark of laughter.

"Why the long face and tears then?" Alphard asked, "if you stand by your statement, there's no use crying about it".

"Mother said I was a mudblood lover" Sirius spoke softly once more, fiddling with the hem of his bedding as he thought over the words she had fired at him.

"Well, I suppose you're not a mudblood hater, are you?" his uncle posed a good question there.

"No" Sirius asserted firmly, "I don't hate them" he added with somewhat less certainty, "but it seems everyone else does".

Alphard sighed at this for, from Sirius' perspective, it likely did feel as though everyone hated mudbloods. "Some people" his uncle began, emphasising the 'some', "think that having pure blood makes a witch or wizard superior to another". Sirius nodded along at this, having overheard many conversations throughout his childhood about the superiority of pure magical blood. Alphard looked troubled as he thought about whether he should impart such information onto the nine-year-old. "There are fears at the moment" he started, waving his wand quickly to place a silencing ward around them both and subsequently piquing his nephews interest. "Do you recall last summer, when I taught you and Regulus about the Global Wizarding War?" he asked.

Sirius nodded enthusiastically, remembering the lesson well "with Grindelward and the Statute of Secrecy?" he asked.

"The very same" Alphard responded, proud that the boy was able to recall the lesson, "and I explained to you then that there are Wizards in this World who believe themselves to have a divine right to subjugate the muggle population" he continued.

Sirius was following along in apt interest as his uncle continued.

"Well, there are others like Grindelward" he continued, watching as Sirius' face scrunched up in thought, "and history can have a strange way of repeating itself". Alphard was quiet for a moment as he chose his words and sighed deeply "there will come a time when you will be expected to make a choice, Sirius, and I hope that when that time comes you remember what you told Professor Rowle today and how that word makes you feel".

Sirius was left somewhat bewildered, and he looked towards his uncle who appeared to be completely lost in thought.

"Anyway, I've taken much too much of your time" the older man spoke as he stood from the bed, "and I'm sure your mother and father are wondering where I've got to" he added, ruffling the child's hair before leaving the bedroom.

"Sirius" James repeated, snapping his partner out of his thoughts, "could you pass the dittany, it needs adding in".

Sirius silently handed the bottle over to the boy, his thoughts completely elsewhere. He offered a strained smile as his eyes met those of the ginger-haired girl, and he felt a sense of discomfort at how any member of his family was likely to treat her in the event they ever met.

"Potter, Black, yours is the only potion that I am waiting for now" their professor called from the front of the class, and Sirius glanced over to his partner who was bottling up the potion.

"Sorry mate" Sirius muttered, "I was no use at all in that".

"Don't sweat it" James brushed it off, "but you're doing our transfiguration work" he laughed, walking away to give their bottled potion to Professor Slughorn.


"So, what had you so thrown off today?" James asked as the pair began setting up a game of wizards chess in the common room that evening.

Sirius thought about whether he should tell his friend about that conversation with his uncle, his features twisting in thought. "Did you ever learn about the Global Wizard War?" Sirius asked, "I'll take white" he added, making his first move.

"Yeah, a bit, I guess" James responded, "Dad really likes history, why?" he asked, moving his own pawn forwards.

"My uncle Alphard seemed to think it might happen again, I don't know" he shrugged offhandedly, not wanting to come across as some weird war nerd.

James thought about it for a moment, continuing with the game, "Why'd he think that?".

Sirius shrugged again in response, "says it felt like it did the last time, the kinds of things people are saying I guess" he added quietly.

"Doubt its anything for us to worry about" James laughed, "you're more likely to get trounced by me at this game" he teased with a laugh.

"Wanna bet?" Sirius challenged in response and, just like that, he felt the stress of the days thoughts leave him.