Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs

Chapter 2

Welcome to Hogwarts

The five children enjoyed most of the ride. They laughed and had fun talking about what they expected at Hogwarts.

"Maybe a centaur will teach us Care of Magical Creatures," Sirius said in a misty voice.

Kendal, who had taken a liking to Sirius and was now comfortable around him, said, "Don't be thick, Sirius. I think all our teachers will be hu-"

But she was cut off when the door to the compartment was pushed open. In the doorway stood a boy with black hair, and a long nose. If you haven't already guessed, this boy was an eleven-year-old Severus Snape.

"Hello," said the boy in a very blank, toneless voice, "Are you Sirius Black?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius raised his eyebrows but nodded.

"My father works with your father, and I was told-" Severus began, but Sirius cut him off.

"I have no father. You must have mistaken me for someone else. Please leave," Sirius snapped, a tone of anger rising in his usually very charming voice.

Severus said no more for the moment, but remained standing where he was. He stared at Sirius for a minute. Sirius returned the stare. Then suddenly Severus said, "Yes you are."

Sirius eyed him and said coolly, "Last I checked, I was not having an identity crisis, and I'm pretty sure who I am, thanks." This made the other boys and Kendal laugh.

The boy in the door way gave them all a look of pure hatred and left, sliding the door back into place as hard as he could, making Remus's owl hoot loudly.

~*~*~*~

When they arrived at Hogwarts, the sky was very dark. There was mass confusion getting off the train, but a voice shouted over the noise, "Firs' years over here!"

The first years pushed through the crowd to get to the giant form silhouetted against the moon. "Four to a boat!" he shouted. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all sat down quickly in a boat together. Kendal sat down with a girl with red hair, and a pair of identical twins.

The boats set sail, and when they rounded a bend, there was a murmur of oohs and aahs. They castle had come into view, and it was a beautiful sight; the tall castle with it's many towers, illuminated by the light of the moon.

When they got into the entrance hall a young woman, frowning slightly, was waiting for them. "I am Professor McGonagall. Just inside these doors, the school is waiting for you to be sorted. There are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Your house will be like your family while you are here." She took a breath and continued. "To be sorted, you will try on the Sorting Hat, and he will tell you where you belong."

The nervous first years entered the hall in a huge pack, looking around tentatively. James observed a tatty old hat sitting on a stool with three legs. Abruptly out of nowhere, the hat broke into song.

Hello new students of Hogwarts this year,

Fear not, the sorting hat is here.

Grab me with you grubby fingers and shove me on your head,

Soon your brains will be full,

Though now they are made of lead.

So sit down here and I will tell you more,

Because all belong in one of these houses four;

Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor!

And that's not all I have to say,

Because there's someone special here today,

This person may just change the course of our time,

If they do not waver out of line.

And so let's hope this small child can win,

But on a happier note, let the sorting begin!

The Great Hall broke into applause. The first years followed suite, as the young witch took out a long roll of parchment. She placed her round glasses up to her eyes and began to read the list. "Ackerman, Leigha."

A girl with straight long blonde hair walked up to the stool, and picked up the hat. She put it on her head and the hall waited with baited breath. After a moment the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the far right erupted with cheers. The girl took the hat off her head and ran to the table as McGonagall read off, "Alarak, Connor."

A shaking boy walked up to the stool and put the hat on. Without hesitation the hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The boy jumped up, looking very happy.

Next was Bink, Adam, who went to Ravenclaw, followed by; "Black, Sirius!"

Sirius strutted up to the stool. He was not really that nervous, well not compared to the other students. The hat fell down over his eyes and he heard a whisper in his ear.

"Well, well, well. You're a Black, are you?" The hat was more talking to itself then to Sirius. "Well your father was a Slytherin. Well, you don't seem to be your father's son. You're not at all like him," Then it bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius smiled as he removed the hat. Next a tall girl went to Slytherin, then two Ravenclaws in a row. Then McGonagall yelled out, "Evans, Lily!"

The red head walked slowly to the hat and placed it over her head. It fell down past her vivid green eyes. "Muggle-born!" it whispered in her ear, chuckling. "GRYFFINDOR!"

After someone was sorted into Slytherin, it was Remus's turn. He also was made a Gryffindor.

Followed by him was Malfoy, Lucius, who was made immediately a Slytherin.

Two Hufflepuffs, and two Ravenclaws later, Peter Pettigrew took the stage. On his way up to the stool, he tripped and fell flat on his face. The hall rang with laughter. When Peter got up, his face was glowing like the settings sun. He scrambled up and shoved the hat onto his chubby head. After a long hesitation the hat yelled, "HUF-" but changed it's mind half way through and said instead, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Next up was James Potter. He climbed up to the chair and placed the hat on. After a minute, the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" James jumped up and joined the other boys.

Kendal was also placed in Gryffindor. After a few more people (that included Severus Snape, who was made a Slytherin) went, ending with the Zeta twins, one who went to Gryffindor and the other to Slytherin, the gold plates in front of them were suddenly full.

~*~*~*~

The Gryffindors had slept well that night. They all felt well fed, but were all very tired. In the morning, they were ready for a fresh new day.

They received their schedules, and saw they had double Defense the Dark Arts with Slytherins.

"Joy," said Sirius sarcastically, "That's just what I need at 8:30 in the morning; Snape quizzing me more on my family tree," he shoveled some porridge into his mouth.

Remus looked up at him. "Why do you think Snape cared so much about your father?"

"I don't know!" Sirius replied, spraying the table with bits of toast. "I suppose 'cause he's a brainless git!" he said stabbing his pancakes with a fork with a little more force then necessary.

After breakfast, the four boys trouped off to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They walked in and took seats, chatting happily. Snape sat two rows behind them, but didn't speak a word to anyone.

Suddenly, the door slammed and everyone's attention turned to the person who had entered. She was tall, blonde, and pretty, but her face was not friendly. Everyone knew immediately this lady was not someone to be tampered with.

She walked over to her desk, where she stood surveying her new students. "Welcome class, I'm Alexandra Casey. To you that will be Professor Casey. I suppose I will be stuck with you for the next seven year, that is, unless I die of sudden heart failure."

Sirius gave a hardy, fake laugh, but it was obvious by the look on Professor Casey's face that this was not made to be a joke. She walked up to him and stood next to his desk.

"What's your name boy?" she said, bending her head so her eyes were even with his.

For some reason, Sirius grimaced and said, "Sirius Black."

"Black?" She said standing up straight, her expression changing to surprise. "Is your father Adam?"

Sirius eyed her without answering, then after a minute of silence said in an icy voice, "I have no father."

They stared each other down for a while, and then as though Sirius had said something unheard, she nodded and turned back to address the class.

"In this class, you will learn to prepare yourself for life outside school. A lot lays out there, a lot that your little minds cannot comprehend at this young age. However, I shall teach you as much as you can take in, but in this class I can only help you. The rest is up to you."

Silence followed these words, and then Professor Casey said, "Please take out your wands, and I will attempt to show you to block unfriendly curses."

An hour later the class emerged from the room with quite a bit of homework.

"Why's everyone so interested in your dad, Sirius," asked Peter, while they walked to Transfiguration.

Sirius ignored his question, and instead said, "Man, her breath smelt bad."

Someone behind Sirius snickered. He spun around to see Kendal Potter, James's twin sister, listening to the conversation. "Hello their, Potter." Said Sirius.

"Hello," Kendal replied smiling. "Her breath smells?" she asked still smirking.

She was with Leigha Ackerman, whom was very taken with James, and Lily Evans. Leigha flushed when James turned around and saw her.

"Yeah, it was really gross," Sirius replied simply. They had reached the classroom, and filed in. Professor McGonagall immediately went into a speech about how important the subject was, then they were supposed to practice motions with their wand.

Peter accidentally set the desk on fire, and Alison Zeta disappeared a leg of her table. So it was probably do to Professor McGonagall's frustration that they got so much homework.

After Transfiguration they had lunch, and then History of Magic. A ghost named Professor Binns taught the subject. The class was very dull, and James and Sirius occupied themselves by passing notes about Quidditch the whole class. Binns also assigned homework.

As they left the classroom, Sirius caught up to Kendal and said, "So tell me, what was Binns talking about?"

Kendal gave a hardy laugh. "You're asking the wrong girl, Black. Go find Lily. She was paying attention."

But Sirius continued to talk to Kendal all the way down to the Great Hall for dinner, where he deserted her to sit with the other three boys.

"Fancy a nice conversation with Kendal, did you?" smirked Remus as Sirius sat down.

Sirius blushed slightly and said, "No, I just had to ask her something." And suddenly became very interested in his steak.

Remus, who understood people very well, gave a cough that sounded oddly like 'liar' and Peter laughed.

James looked up at Remus and Peter, and then looked at Sirius. "You like my sister?!" He asked furiously.

"No!" Sirius shouted, now spraying the table with bits of meat.

"We want the news, not the weather, Black." Said Kendal, who had just joined the boys across the table from Sirius. "What are you yelling about, anyway?"

The four boys looked at each other, and Remus said quietly, "Nothing."

Kendal eyed each boy in turn suspiciously, but let it pass.

~*~*~*~

The four boys stayed up very late in the Common Room trying to do their homework. The room was empty, and it was well passed midnight when James slammed A Guide To Transfiguration closed. He stretched out, yawned, and said, "I'm gonna hit the sack. Anyone wanna join me?"

The boys all agreed they had enough, and they left the empty common room. Sirius had just pulled out his pajamas when he remembered he had left his wand in the common room.

He bounded down the stairs to find his wand right where he had left it. He picked it up, tossed it in the air, but it was intercepted before he could catch it.

He looked up to see who was now holding his wand. It was Kendal, and she was smirking. "What are you doing up past your bedtime, Black?"

A smile tugged onto Sirius's charming face, and he took his wand that Kendal was now handing him. "Shouldn't you be getting you beauty sleep, Miss Potter? I dare say you do need it."

Kendal smiled playfully. "Oh do I?"

"Hmm," Sirius said, looking at her and summing her up, "well, I suppose not."

"Suck-up."

Sirius smiled. "Yeah, I no." and with that they both set off up the stairs, giving each other a quiet 'good night' before descending into there own dormitories.

~*~*~*~

They woke up bleary eyed the next morning to find they had Potions first.

"With the Slytherins again," Remus told them, sneering as he looked over his schedule.

"Yippee," said Sirius sarcastically.

So after breakfast, they trudged down the stone steps and into the dungeon. Their teacher, Professor Anchovie, was nearing the end of his line. He was very old, and his sanity was long gone. When they entered the room, he was singing, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" very loudly, under the impression that he was alone in the room.

When he finally realized the room behind him was full, he spun around and said, "Hello my bright little sun rays! I love children, they are the seeds of the new generation!" The class exchanged glances. "Anyway, welcome to Potions class! I am God, but you may call me Professor Anchovie!"

Many people laughed, before noticing he was serious. He clapped his hands together and said, "Right then! Where were we? Aha...." He waved his wand and words in Chinese appeared on the board. He looked at the board for a minute and muttered, "No, no, that's not right." With another wave of his wand, the words were now in English.

It was a recipe for a Silencing Draught. "Please make this, my pretty Petunias! When you are finished, it should be the color of flobberworm intestines! Bring a flask up to me when you're done!"

"What color are flobberworm intestines?" Sirius asked James, in mock concern.

James burst out laughing. Professor Anchovie walked over to James and said, "Now, now young man. There's no need to cry. The potion is not that difficult."

Remus, James and Sirius had to fight to hold in their laughter.

Half an hour later they emerged from the classroom, with fresh homework.

~*~*~*~

The next few weeks of school past in a blur of confusion, homework, and detentions for the Gryffindor first years.

Professor Anchovie continued to give odd instructions, and sing to himself. Sirius and James got their first detention in Charms when they placed a Whoopee Cushion Charm on little Professor Flitwick's chair. He said it was a nice bit of magic, but they got detention anyway.

The homework began pilling up, and Peter turned to anyone to help. He was found in the common room one day in the middle of October begging Sirius for help in his History of Magic essay.

"Please Sirius! All I need is so you to tell me the name of the King Goblin in 1879!" He begged him.

Sirius smirked. "I don't know, Peter, what's in it for me?" He asked smoothly flipping his wand up into the air and catching it like he did so often.

Peter cast around the room for an idea, and suddenly came up with, "I'll polish your shoes, for a week."

"Only a week?"

"Well..." Peter replied unsteadily.

"Don't be thick Peter, you don't have to do that. The King Goblin in 1879 was Ogg." Kendal had come up behind them. She then turned to Sirius. "Scum bag. You can't give your friend a simple answer? Low, Black, low." With that she turned on her heal and walked off.

"I was gonna give it to him!" Sirius called after her.

Remus looked up from the book he was reading. "You make a good impression with the girls, don't you Sirius?"

Sirius eyed him nastily, "Yes," he shot sharply, "I do."

"It was sarcasm, Black. We all know you have a thing for Kendal," Remus said shortly.

"I don't have a thing for Kendal!" he shouted, but blushingly. A lot of people in the Common Room turned around to look at him.

Remus rolled his eyes, but James snapped, "That better be true."

"It is." Sirius replied, almost desperately.

~*~*~*~

The next month and a half past almost as quickly as the last month and a half had. Before they knew it, it was time for Christmas holidays, and everyone was packing their trunks, except for one person.

"You're not going home for Christmas, Sirius?" Remus asked the day before the Holidays began, as he shoved his robes into his trunk.

"I don't consider Twelve Grimmauld Place a home," Sirius said sharply.

From the tone of his voice, you could tell he wanted the conversation to be closed, but Peter pressed on. "Why not?"

Sirius sighed exasperatedly, and James said, "Why don't you come home with me and Kendal for the holidays?" James had more or less adapted to the fact that his best friend liked his sister, and now took to teasing him about it.

Sirius looked up at James, "You mean it?" he asked excitedly.

"Yea!" James replied, almost laughing. "My parents will be thrilled to have you, but it's Kendal that might be disappointed. I dunna Black, she doesn't like you. I guess she's just not feeling the love."

Sirius chucked a pillow at his head, but smiled. "Okay then," and he leapt off his bed and began packing, just like the other boys.

He wasn't going to be alone this Christmas. He was going to have fun. He was going to be with people he liked, that liked him back (well, sort of). So by the time the four boys, Kendal, Lily, and Leigha had all boarded the train for Christmas holidays, Sirius was very excited.

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever!" said Sirius, as the train pulled into Kings Cross Station.

He had never been more wrong.

Disaster was about to strike at the Potter's house, and Sirius would be caught in the middle.