The Secret of the Founders' Four

Sirius, James, Remus, Peter, Lily and Arabella sat in stunned silence. Jim's jaw was almost on the table.

"The old fraud!" he said in an awe-struck tone. "I'd never have known she was up to a prediction!"

"What's she talking about?" Sirius asked curiously. "What are the Founders' Four? What's she mean, 'the second years hold the key?'"

Jim shrugged. The others shook their heads.

"Look," James whispered, nudging Sirius. Bastion and McGonagall seemed to be holding a hurried conference with Dumbledore. As they watched, Bastion shook his head decisively. Alkalli was listening intently. Bastion shot him a look, then moved closer to Dumbledore and McGonagall. Finally, the headmaster nodded and stood.

"Now, I think we should all get some rest before the official start of term," he said brightly. "Off you go!" His voice was light, but his face looked grave, and Sirius could see a troubled expression in the depths of his blue eyes.

The students all got to their feet and began to move out of the hall. Sirius beckoned to James. They waited until the hall was almost empty, then passed close to the Head Table, hoping to hear a snippet of the conversation. They were careful to keep their eyes ahead of them instead of on the teachers, to make it look as though they weren't eavesdropping.

"But, if de Founders' Four are indeed 'ere," Bastion was saying in an accented voice as they walked past. "Den dey need to be alerted. You know what de prophecy says, Albus, 'ow important it is dat dey know and dat dere is no disunity."

There was a pause. When he finally replied, Dumbledore's voice was solemn and thoughtful.

"Indeed, I do. We must be cautious, Aramis."

Sirius sneaked a glance at the teachers. Bastion had his back turned, and was nodding thoughtfully. He seemed to be glancing at his watch.

"I must be going. I 'ave de second years tomorrow, and I need to prepare my lesson."

With that, Bastion stepped away from the high table. James and Sirius saw him hurry out of the Great Hall ahead of them. Exchanging a glance, they followed his example, then turned and raced up the stairs, rushing to Gryffindor tower. Lily was waiting for them by the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Where were you?" she asked incredulously when they reached her.

"What's the password?" James retorted.

"No dodging the question." Lily was not to be diverted so easily. Sirius and James exchanged another glance, and nodded in unison as though they could read each other's minds. Sirius gave his friend a small grin. "Where were you?" Lily continued. "You'd better not have been off planning a prank on the new teachers!" Her expression was stern.

"Ah, ah, ah, Lily," Sirius said teasingly. "Password first."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Gibblysquawk."

"Thank you," James replied cheerfully, taking her hand.

"What sort of a password is that?" Sirius complained as the Fat Lady swung forward. He made to enter the common room, but Lily blocked his way.

"No," she said firmly. "First, where were you?" She planted her hands firmly on her hips, glaring at them.

"Eavesdropping on the teachers," Sirius replied glibly, watching gleefully as the expression on her face turned from strict to horrified. Her hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh, you'd just better be lying," she said, her voice muffled but with a tone halfway between awe and anger. The boys shook their heads.

"And guess what?" James told her. "There's some sort of prophecy involved. You know, with the Founders' Four"

Lily frowned, but stepped aside and let them into the common room, pacified by news of the mysterious occurrences of the feast. She continued to stand in the portrait hole, prompting the Fat Lady to begin grumbling.

The boys were halfway across the common room when Sirius glanced over his shoulder. Lily seemed to be having an inner battle.

"What sort of prophecy?" she finally asked, her eyes wide.

James and Sirius shrugged, then raced up the stairs to their dormitory, ignoring Lily's shouts after them about safety and how infuriating they could be. They raced into their dorm, and Sirius slammed the door shut behind them.

"Please, Black!" Raven shouted, pulling back the hangings of his four-poster. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Paddy also pulled back his hangings, yawning and scratching his head, his red-gold hair tousled as if he'd had his head on the pillow.

"Wassup?" he asked, in a much friendlier tone than that Raven had adopted. "You're being very noisy, for a change."

"Who wants to know what the Founders' Four are?" Sirius cried gleefully, ignoring Paddy's sarcasm.

"How'd you find that out?" Paddy asked eagerly, springing from his bed. Remus and Peter turned wide eyes on Sirius and James, awaiting an explanation. Even Raven poked his head through the hangings on his bed.

James explained what they'd heard Bastion saying to Dumbledore.

"Wow!" Paddy said, grinning. "And they think that the Founders' Four are here? And that's what she was talkin' about?"

James nodded, flopping down on his bed.

"And Bastion thinks it's important?" Remus asked tentatively. James nodded again, and was about to reply when there came an irritated voice from Raven's bed.

"Oh, shut up and let me sleep!"

"Yes, Raven!" Sirius and James chorused, pulling the hangings to around their beds and preparing to sleep, but not before they had seen Paddy roll his eyes ceiling-wards.

Sirius lay awake for only a few moments, filled with a happy glow. He was back. This was going to be a great year, Founders' Four or no Founders' Four.

* * *

The first morning of the new term dawned with a clear sky and all the promise of a wonderful day. The dawn came too early for some, who still desired more sleep before the start of classes, as Lily overheard Sirius saying to James while they traipsed down the stairs into the Entrance Hall to go to breakfast.

"How dare the sun get up so early?" Lily saw Sirius yawn widely as he leapt over a trick stair.

"It's not early. It's a perfectly reasonable time!" she chimed in from behind the boys, bounding down the stairs with the exuberance of an early riser.

"Mmph," Sirius groaned, entering the Great Hall and studying the ceiling, which was a pure, cloudless blue. "Nice day for Herbology," he said quickly, changing the subject before Lily or James could comment on his slothfulness.

As Sirius, James and Lily took their seats, Jim Lupin shoved a stack of parchment at them.

"Second year timetables," he muttered through a mouthful of toast.

"Thanks," James replied as they grabbed one each and began studying them.

"Potions first," Sirius said. "Fun." He stuck his tongue out at his timetable.

"Don't be a spoilsport Sirius," Lily rebuked him, catching his sarcasm and noticing his attitude.

"Hey," James began as Remus, Peter and Arabella traipsed into the hall and took seats near them. "They've made a mistake. Look," he said, pointing at Sirius' timetable, "they've made it on yours too. See? It says we've got Potions with the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins."

"You're right!" Lily cried, scrutinising her own timetable. "That's not possible, is it?"

"Possible or not, guess what?" Jim told them, grabbing his book bag from under the table and slinging it over his shoulder. "If you lot don't hurry up and eat, you'll be late!" With that, he stood up and walked out into the Entrance Hall.

"He is so infuriating," Sirius muttered.

"He's right, you know," Lily said, glancing at her watch. "Come on! We've got to make a good impression on our new teacher!"

It was only ten minutes later that Lily, James, Remus, Peter, Arabella and Sirius came to a halt outside the dungeon that hosted their Potions lessons, but they were dismayed to find that the class had already entered.

"Come in," Alkalli's voice said silkily as they came to a halt outside the door. They glanced at each other, then obeyed. 'Take a seat. Anywhere."

Lily gazed around the dungeon. To her surprise, she could see that not only were Raven Sanderson, Paddy Connolly, Alicia Yonn and Bronwyn Williams, the other second year Gryffindors, already seated, but also Jorman Bond and his Slytherin cronies, and Anita Sanderson and the Ravenclaws.

Lily slid into the empty seat on Anita's left.

"Why are we with you and the Slytherins?" she whispered.

"I'll tell you later," Anita hissed, turning her eyes to the board, where Alkalli stood. Dressed in plain black robes and with his long hair and pale skin, he reminded Lily of Severus Snape. She could only hope he was less unpleasant, she thought, sneaking a furtive glance to where Snape sat with the Slytherin boys.

As she watched, Jorman Bond, no less self-assured when he was in Potions class than when he was on the platform with his cousin, called out to Alkalli. Lily couldn't hear what he said, but Alkalli laughed and made his way over to where the Slytherins sat. Arabella elbowed Lily in the ribs, and she jumped, turning.

"What was that for?" she asked, offended.

"D'you want to know what's going on or not?" Arabella hissed. She and Lily turned expectant eyes on Anita and Sarah, who sat next to her.

"Well?" they said in unison.

"Why do we have a three house class?" Arabella asked. "We never used to."

"All right!" Anita hissed. "But keep your voice down!" Lily and Arabella stared at her. She sighed. "The reason we've got mixed classes is simply numbers. There's only five Ravenclaws, ten Gryffindors and six Slytherins in this year, but with the Snowdon Academy students, there's eighteen Hufflepuffs!"

"What?" In her surprise, Lily forgot to keep her voice low. She glanced guiltily at Alkalli, but he was deep in discussion with Severus Snape and Xavier Avery, and appeared not to have heard her. "Are you sure?" she hissed.

"Count!" Sarah told her. Anita nodded her agreement.

"Well," Lily said, beginning to tick off a list on her fingers. "Ravenclaws - Sam Bone, Arnold McKinnon, Alex Norson, you two, Rose Prewett . . ."

Anita shook her head.

"She's gone."

"What?" Arabella said sharply, also forgetting to keep her voice low. Bond glared at her from across the dungeon and tapped Alkalli on the shoulder. "Filthy tell-tale," Arabella complained, pointing at him.

"Keep it down, girls!" Alkalli called to them. They sat in silence for a moment, until Arabella reached across Lily and tugged Anita's sleeve.

"Where's Rose?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lily added. "Why's she gone?" She leaned in close to Anita so she could hear better.

"Because all the Slytherins are going to Durmstrang and all the Ravenclaws are doing the smart thing and leaving the country," Anita replied bluntly.

"But why?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"They're afraid of . . ." Anita paused. " Of Lord Voldemort," she said in a a hushed tone.

"Surely he's not that big a threat!" Arabella said, shooting an uneasy glance at the Slytherins sitting across the aisle from them. "I mean, he's done some horrible things, but he's not all that powerful . . ."

"Yet," Sirius interjected dryly from in front of them. The girls fell silent. "Didn't think I could hear you, did you?" he continued. "I can. But that's not the point." He turned on his chair and studied their faces, his pale blue eyes critical. He seemed to be evaluating them. Lily found herself holding her breath. Sirius was the closest thing they had to an informant inside the Ministry. He narrowed his eyes.

The girls seemed to pass his scrutiny, for he smiled at them and pulled his chair up to their desk.

"I'm warning you," he said in a hushed tone, with a wary glance at Bond across the classroom. "Lord Voldemort's bad news. He's not just any Dark Wizard. He's pure evil. The Ministry's working flat out as it is, trying to stop him. Mum and Dad are overworked and over stressed trying to cope. Even if, as Arabella says, he's not that powerful yet, he will be.

"You see, he's not just bad. He's merciless, and even worse, he's got loyal followers." Sirius jerked his thumb at Bond. "Like his parents."

"Stop chatting up the girls!" James nudged Sirius in the ribs, and he turned back to his own desk before Lily could question his certainty that Bond's family were servants of Lord Voldemort.

"You see?" Anita said. "I'm not exaggerating. Most people think it's a good idea to get their children out of the country and as far away from Lord Voldemort as possible.

"The Ravenclaw types are mostly getting out of Britain and going to France, Canada or America. Rose Prewett's on exchange to Australia! And after what happened at Snowdon Academy, who wouldn't get out!"

"What happened?" Lily asked, leaning closer to Anita so she could easily hear what her friend was saying. Arabella followed suit. Anita propped her open textbook on the desk in front of them to hide the fact that they were talking.

"Well, I was talking to Amrion Delaney and Neysa Clancie. They're two of the ex-Snowdon students." Lily nodded encouragingly. "It turns out," Anita continued, in a tone even more hushed than her earlier whisper, "that Lord Voldemort attacked Snowdon and killed some of the teachers. Luckily the Prefects and the Head Boy managed to co-ordinate an escape. The reason we got nine new Hufflepuffs and no-one for any other house is that the Ravenclaw types have left the country and the Slytherin types are going to Durmstrang, just like I said. The loyal ones, the Hufflepuffs are staying here, in Britain, to do their best to help, and the brave ones, well . . ." Her voice trailed off. Lily nodded, wide-eyed.

"What happened?" she asked in an awed tone. Arabella remained silent, but her expression was rapt and fearful.

"Well," Anita began awkwardly. "They stayed to defend the school, didn't they? The brave ones. And . . ." Lily didn't need to ask what had happened to them. She had heard too much of the terrible violence of Lord Voldemort's supporters over the past year to wonder what had occurred.

"How many?" she asked softly.

"Six killed and most of the rest injured. Their families are getting them as far away from England as possible, from what Neysa and Amrion said. I mean, who wouldn't? There's every chance Lord Voldemort might try to track some of them down . . ."

"All right, class. You've had your chat time," Alkalli said softly, returning to the front of the room. The murmur of conversation died away slightly. "I said QUIET!" He raised his voice suddenly on the last word, making the class jump. He smiled jovially at them and reached for the roll. His smile did little to reassure the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, who sat silently. The Slytherins looked thrilled.

"That's better," Alkalli said, then, scrutinising the roll, he called out, "Sarah Anderson!"

"Here, Sir!" Sarah called from beside Anita.

"Xavier Avery!" Avery raised his hand, smiling nastily. Alkalli smiled back and made a mark on the roll with his quill. He narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. "Do I have a Sirius Black?" His tone was icy cold.

Lily shot a glance at the back of Sirius' head. He turned to look at Alkalli.

"Indeed you do, Sir," he said glibly.

"This class can do without your smart-alec comments, Black," Alkalli said nastily. "Just because you're a Ministry official's son doesn't mean you can do as you please in my lessons."

The Slytherins grinned.

"Not so self-assured now, are you, Ministry brat!" Bond crowed across the aisle at Sirius. "Daddy's not going to help you now!"

"At least my father doesn't work for Lord Voldemort," Sirius muttered under his breath. Bond's eyes flashed.

"I'd like to see you prove a word of that!" he hissed.

"Juts because I don't have proof doesn't mean anything!" Sirius snapped. Bond smirked at him.

Alkalli had turned back to his roll. When Alicia Yonn, the last person on the list, had declared herself present, he turned to the board.

Professor Kyle Alkalli he wrote.

"So any of you who may have been asleep at the feast know my name," he said. Several members of the class giggled, including Sarah. "Now, today we're going to be looking at a slightly more complex potion than any you've done - don't even think about it in my class, Black - before."

Sirius, looking disgruntled, slid the Filibuster firework he'd been holding back into his book bag.

Alkalli wrote the ingredients of the potion up on the board.

"Page three hundred and eight of your textbook from last year," he said, and the class began their work.

At the end of the lesson, when Alkalli had examined every student's potion and declared Snape's and Bond's by far the best, Lily and Anita began packing away their cauldrons.

"Honestly, I can't believe him," Sirius was grumbling as he wiped up his eel slime, which he had managed to spill all over the desk. "Just 'cause it turned green he took off five points."

"It was supposed to be red, Sirius," Lily said matter-of-factly. "It would have helped if you didn't spill your eel slime," she continued, nodding at the mess he was attempting to mop up.

"So?" Sirius replied grumpily. "Kyle Rosier's turned yellow and he didn't take any points off Slytherin, did he?"

"No, he didn't," Lily admitted, picking up her bag. "Maybe yellow's not as bad as green?"

"I don't think that's it," Sirius said darkly. "I think it's 'cause I don't have a big brother who's one of Lucius Malfoy's pals."

"Sirius!" Lily and Anita exclaimed in unison.

"Malfoy doesn't have pals," Remus said quietly. "He has cronies."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but James beat him to it.

"Good point, Remus. Come on, let's go. We'll be late for Defence," he said, stepping in as peace keeper.

"Lucky you," Sarah complained, dumping her textbook in her bag as she stood. "We've got Transfiguration with the Slytherins next. You know, 'cause we're so small, we have to do Transfiguration, Charms and Defence with them."

"Poor you," James commiserated. "It's bad enough for us as it is." He turned and made for the door, his friends close behind him.

* * *

"Black," Alkalli said smoothly as they passed his desk. Sirius paused for a moment, arms folded across his chest defiantly. "I would like a word with you tomorrow evening at seven. Refusal is not an option." Alkalli's eyes flashed dangerously as he collected his roll, textbook and phials from his desk, stood, and swept into his office.

"Great," Sirius said as he and his friends ventured out into the corridor. "This is just the best first day back ever."

"I'm sure Defence will be better," Remus said encouragingly, falling into place beside him. Sirius groaned.

They were walking slightly behind Arabella, Lily, James and Peter. Sarah and Anita were behind them, talking earnestly. They did not know the Gryffindor boys very well - they only really knew them because they were friends with Lily and Arabella.

The second years began climbing a staircase that led them away from the dank, dark dungeon where they had Potions and towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The Ravenclaws, bidding the Gryffindors farewell, walked down the right-hand corridor as their companions took the left. Samuel Bone and Arnold McKinnon hurried past, trying to catch up with the girls.

"Bastion's a legendary Auror," Remus said reassuringly. "Defence will have to be good."

"How'd you get so good at Defence, Remus?" Sirius asked as they walked past a suit of armour. "Oh, dammit!" he cried as his bag, caught on the armour's sword, tore and his books, quill and ink tumbled out of it onto the floor.

James, Lily, Peter and Arabella turned and began to walk back to him and help .

"Nah, don't worry. Just tell the professor," Sirius moaned. "I can't believe my luck today."

The suit of armour rattled and Peeves the Poltergeist flew out of it.

"Ooh, poor ickle secondies. Did somebody rip their bagsies?" he cackled gleefully, seeing Sirius bent over his dropped books.

"Yeah, you, you bloody spook! I'm sick of you!" Sirius hollered, shaking his fist at Peeves, who gave an evil laugh and zoomed away. "Oh, thanks Remus," he continued, taking his books, which were drenched with ink, from his friend. They both wiped their hands on their robes, but to no effect - it only smudged the ink. Sirius prodded the torn bag with his wand to fix it, then shoved his belongings back into it. "So, anyway, how did . . ."

"Magic in the hallway, Black?" Sirius and Remus started, then turned and saw Alkalli standing in the corridor. Sirius moaned and rolled his eyes. "I believe that's worth at least ten points from Gryffindor. You should be in class. Now, get out of my way."

Sirius and Remus shrank back into the walls, allowing him to pass. Alkalli swept past them and up the corridor.

"What's with him?" Sirius complained. "I swear, he's got something against me."

"How could he?" Remus replied in a puzzled tone, beginning to walk towards the Defence classroom. "You only just met him. And we were in his way." Sirius sighed, shaking his head.

"Anyway, for about the hundredth time, how'd you get so good at Defence?"

Remus shrugged, dismissing the question, but Sirius thought his face had gone a shade paler than it normally was. That, combined with the tiredness that constantly lingered around his eyes, made him look pathetic. Sirius immediately regretted his question.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I was just curious. I mean, my parents are in Magical Law Enforcement, but your mother's in a Muggle pharmaceutical company, and your father's in the Potions research section of Oxford's wizarding section, isn't he?"

Remus nodded mutely, a frightened expression in his wide eyes. Sirius dropped the subject.

They had reached the Defence classroom, and paused outside, listening. Nervously, Sirius knocked on the door.

"Come in," Bastion's voice called from within. Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance, and Remus pushed open the door.

"Sorry we're late Sir," Sirius began. "My bag broke and . . ."

"It is all right, boys. Please, take a seat," Bastion interrupted, gesturing to the empty seats in front of where James and Peter sat. He was leaning back onto his desk, with a textbook in one hand and a quill in the other. Now that they saw him close up, Sirius and Remus saw that his eyes shone in a friendly manner, and his face was youthful. He seemed around twenty-five; surprisingly young for one who had done so much. "And you would be Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?" Bastion continued, turning and making two marks on the roll, which sat on his desk.

"Yes, Sir," Sirius said. "I'm . . ."

"You would be Sirius," Bastion said without looking up.

"Yeah, I am. How did you . . ."

"Know dat? Mr Black, I am an ex-Auror."

"Of course," Sirius said, sighing. "You know my father." Bastion shot him a vaguely questioning look, frowning slightly.

"Now," he said, turning his attention back tot the whole of the class. "Now dat we 'ave de whole of de class present, where was I? Ah, dat's right." He turned to the board, and as Alkalli, had done, wrote his name.

Professor Aramis Bastion, Order of Merlin, Third Class.

He turned back to the class.

"Questions?"

Paddy and Alicia's hands shot into the air.

"Yes . . ." Bastion glanced at the roll, "Padraig?"

"Paddy," Paddy said, lowering his hand. "What'd you do to get the Order of Merlin?"

Bastion smiled.

"Services to de Ministry in de first year of de rise of Voldemort." An uneasy silence feel over the room. Sirius glanced at Remus, who shuddered. No-one liked hearing the name 'Voldemort', and he had only been on the rise for two and a half years. "Alicia?" Bastion continued, breaking the silence.

"Are you French?" Alicia asked eagerly, fluttering her eyelashes, which made Sirius roll his eyes at the ceiling and most of her classmates giggle.

"Stop eyeing off the teacher!" James hissed at her. She glared at him.

"I have a boyfriend, thank you, Potter!" she retorted, turning haughtily back to the front of the room.

"Poor him," Sirius murmured under his breath, earning himself a sharp look from Alicia.

"No, I'm not French. I'm Quebecois, actually," Bastion said, smiling. "French Canadian," he added, seeing the bewildered expression on Alicia's face. "Anyone else?" No-one raised a hand. Instead, they sat silently, watching Bastion eagerly.

Bastion smiled again.

"Dat is dat, den. Now," he stepped past the empty front row of seats, and stopped only a few metres away from Sirius and Remus. "I 'ave been given de job of Defence Against de Dark Arts professor, as you know. It is my job, therefore, to teach you 'ow to protect yourself against de rising dark. Dis could well become your most important class." His voice was grave, and every pair of eyes in the room was turned to him. He paused for a moment, studying each individual student, then continued.

"Dis class could save your life. If you come face to face wid a Death Eater, you need to know what is best to do." The class sat, listening intently. Sirius and Remus sat in silence, hanging onto the professor's every word.

"Dat is why you do dis subject. It is as much a necessary part of wizarding life as Potions, Charms or Transfiguration. I 'ave seen first'and what you are up against. You need to know how to look after yourself, especially in de current situation.

"Some of you, such as Sirius, already 'ave some life experience or prior knowledge of dis subject." Bastion's eyes rested on Sirius for a moment, then flickered onto Remus, who met his gaze with wide, frightened eyes. Bastion gave a reassuring smile and continued. Remus ignored the quizzical look Sirius gave him. "And of course, you 'ave all 'ad a year under Professor Base. Now, I plan on helping you to become so well acquainted with dis subject dat you will - how do you say - excel, prior knowledge or no prior knowledge.

"Today, I 'ave a practical lesson planned. It will not be dangerous, but it will be challenging. Who 'ere 'as come across Cornish Pixies before?"

With a wry look at James, Sirius raised his hand. He and James were the only people to do so.

"I see," Bastion said. "All right. Who knows 'ow to deal with dem?"

Sirius' hand was the only one in the air. Bastion nodded to him.

"Yes, Sirius?"

"Well," Sirius said, lowering his hand. "It's fairly simple. If it's a small group, all you have to do is ask politely." He gave a small smile, scrutinising Bastion's face for any sign of approval.

"Come off it, Black!" Raven said unbelievingly. "Don't waste our time with nonsense! Pixies don't understand people!"

"No, Raven, let 'im finish," Bastion said quietly, fascinated. Sirius shrugged.

"That's all I know. Larger groups are harder."

Silence filled the room.

"Aw, Sirius, honestly, what're you talking about?" Paddy asked incredulously. "Pixies're dreadful."

"Would you care to demonstrate, Sirius?" Bastion asked. He had a slight frown upon his face, as if considering Sirius' reply carefully. Sirius nodded. "Come wid me, den."

Sirius and Bastion walked back to the front of the room. When they reached his desk, Bastion reached behind the desk and hauled a cage of pixies onto it with surprising strength for his slight stature. He stood back, gesturing politely for Sirius to demonstrate.

Sirius took a deep breath, quietening his nerves. He badly wanted to do well for Bastion, about whom he had heard so much from his parents. He had the chance to show him that he was a wizard in his own right, not just Rosalind and Orion Black's son.

Sirius closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them again, a look of steely determination on his face. He was going to do this right. The pixies were flying around their cage, jabbering madly. Sirius reached out and undid the latch on the cage.

Almost immediately, three of the six pixies shot out of the cage. The other three were close behind them. Alicia and Bronwyn shrieked as the tiny creatures darted towards them and began pulling their hair.

"Ow! Sirius, stop them!" Alicia squealed. Sirius gave a grin, then took a breath, opened his mouth and spoke quietly but clearly.

"Leave them alone," he said gently in Pixietongue. "They're of no good to you. Please, try to show these Saxons how polite you can be."

The pixies jabbered back at him, "You say they are Saxons too?"

Sirius grinned.

"'Course I do. I'm Cornish too! The Cornish for saying you don't speak their" - he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at his classmates - "language is 'I will not speak Saxon! Same as the Pixietongue!" He gave the pixies a winning smile. They looked at each other, then as one, flew back into their cage, where they sat meekly, awaiting further orders.

"Thank you," Sirius told them. He shut the cage, turned and walked back to his seat.

The Gryffindors sat in stunned silence. Bastion was leaning on his desk, frowning thoughtfully. He had been watching Sirius closely. There was no sound until Sirius reached his seat and his chair scraped on the floor. Suddenly, everyone began talking at once.

"Wow, Sirius, that was fantastic!"

"Where'd you learn that?"

"I wouldn't have believed it!"

"All right class, quiet please!" At Bastion's words the chatter died down and the class turned their eyes to the front of the room. "We're almost finished 'ere for today. I would like you to read de chapter on Cornish Pixies and write me an essay on de ways in which to deal wid dem. I will not set you a length - it will be as long as it needs to be. Dismissed."

With much enthusiastic chattering, the Gryffindors stood and hurried towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"Sirius, James, if I may 'ave a word?" Bastion said as they passed him. Sirius and James looked at each other.

"Sure," James said. "Go on without us," he said to Peter, Remus, Lily and Arabella. "We shouldn't be long."

When the rest of the class had left, Bastion gestured to the empty chairs and desks in front of him.

"Please, 'ave a seat." James and Sirius grabbed chairs in the front row and sat facing their teacher. "I would like to say, Sirius, dat you 'andled de pixies very well. I 'ad 'eard rumours about such ways of 'andling dem, but I 'ad never seen it put into action."

"Thanks, sir," Sirius said, grinning. He had managed to please Bastion. A warm glow filled him at the thought. He had proved his worth as a Defence student. "My mother taught it to me. They say in all the books that no-one can understand pixies, but it's not true. They speak a variant of Cornish."

Bastion nodded, smiling at him. Than he frowned, and his expression became grave.

"'Owever," he said, and there was a sterner tone in his voice now than before. "I would like to make it very clear dat I will tolerate no pranks in my class. In some oter classes, pranks would just be a disadvantage. 'Owever, in Defence, a moment's inattention at de wrong moment could cost you or your classmates your lives. I 'ope you understand me and I 'ave made myself clear."

James and Sirius exchanged a glance. Neither of them missed the worried expression on the other's face. They could both tell that Bastion meant what he was saying - his expression said so as clearly as a thousand reprimands. They nodded.

"Good. You both 'ave de potential to do very well. I do not want to see dat wasted. Now, go and eat. I will see you in our next lesson." He smiled at them, and, feeling that they had been dismissed, Sirius and James got up and walked silently to lunch.

They took their seats solemnly between Peter and Jim.

"Why the long face, Junior?" Jim asked, teasing Sirius mildly. The younger boy mock punched him. "Ow!" Jim cried, grabbing his arm and at the same time ensnaring Sirius' "I am mortally wounded!"

"You're as crazy as he is," James told him as he swallowed a mouthful of pumpkin juice.

"Would these be our second year Gryffindors, Jim?" asked a voice from behind James. He jumped, then turned to see the speaker.

It was a boy, probably about fourth or fifth year. He had black hair and brown skin, and was smiling eagerly as he studied James and his friends.

"Yeah," Sirius said, wrenching his arm free of Jim's grasp.

"Jim, it would be greatly appreciated if you would let him go now," the boy said. "I do not want my potential Quidditch players to be injured before they can try out!"

"You're . . ." James said slowly, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Rohan Dua, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. May I assume that you are going to be trying out for the Quidditch team?"

Sirius and James looked at each other, then nodded as one.

"Which positions do you play?" Rohan asked eagerly. "We are going to need two Beaters and a Chaser."

"I'm your man. I play Chaser," James replied.

"Beater. Always a Beater," Sirius added.

"Is anybody else going to try out?" Rohan asked. Remus and Lily shook their heads. Arabella shrugged.

"Maybe," she said vaguely.

"Paddy, you any good at Quidditch?" James called. Paddy shook his head.

"I'm a spectator," he replied, grinning.

"Raven?" James asked.

"I don't play Quidditch," was the blunt answer.

"What do you play?" Sirius asked.

"Cricket!" came a voice from over James' shoulder. The Gryffindors spun around and saw Anita standing between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, her book bag in her hand, as if she'd only just entered, which was likely, as Sirius could see Sam Bone and Arnold McKinnon hurrying to the Ravenclaw table. At the Slytherin table Bond was taking a seat next to Lucius Malfoy.

Anita rolled her eyes. Her voice was rueful.

"Come on Raven, after what I just had to endure with the Slytherins, try out for Quidditch for me. I wouldn't mind watching you play that. You know," she added thoughtfully. "Since you're such a great batsman and all, you'd probably be a good Beater." She turned to take a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Raven had clearly not missed the irony in her voice, judging by the expression on his face.

"Hey!" Sirius shouted after her. She stopped and turned. "I'd better scope out the possible opposition! Do you play Quidditch?"

Anita smiled, shaking her head shyly.

"No. I'm a netball player."

"Play Chaser!" Lily cried. "If I gather correctly from what those two," she gestured at James and Sirius," have been telling me, then you'd be good as a Chaser."

"I'll think about it."

After Anita had left, Sirius returned the topic of conversation to the mystery that had been nagging at the back of his mind since the start of term feast.

"Does anyone know what the Founders' Four are? I mean, I know it's a prophecy, but . . ."

Jim frowned.

"I asked Trelawney," he said gloomily, sighing. "She said it was none of my business and I should pay more attention to my chart of the positions of the planets at the moment of my birth."

The other Gryffindors shook their heads, then when Lily drew their attention to the time, they shovelled their food into their mouths and hurried off to class.

The Transfiguration and Charms lessons that followed lunch left the Gryffindors with large amounts of excess homework to complete. James, Remus, Peter, Sirius and Lily traipsed into the library, bemoaning their workloads. Arabella had decided to work in the common room.

Jim Lupin was already hard at work, his Divination textbook in his hand. Sirius, Remus, James and Peter took seats at the table nearest to him and took out their Defence Against the Dark Arts books. Lily sat alone, studying her Transfiguration homework.

They worked quietly and diligently. Madam Pince watched them with hawk like eyes, but for once, they gave her no cause for concern.

"Done!' Sirius stated, snapping shut his copy of The Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Protection. He blew the ink on his essay dry, then craned his neck to examine Jim's work. Jim waved his hand irritably, dismissing Sirius as he would a fly. Sirius smirked, then returned his attention to his own work, tackling his Charms homework.

Before long, he put down his textbook and sighed.

"But what can it mean?" he asked thoughtfully.

"What?" James said distractedly.

"The Founders' Four!' Sirius replied, implying with his tone that his friend should have known better than to ask. James rolled his eyes.

Jim looked up, frowning thoughtfully.

"Y'know," he said, tapping his quill on the table, "you might get something in one of the Divination textbooks. Try Famous Prophecies of History, since you seem so sure it's a prophecy."

"Thanks!" Sirius exclaimed, his face brightening. He leapt out of his seat and rushed over to the shelves where Divination books were kept. Madam Pince frowned at him, but he paid no attention. He scanned the shelves. "I don't believe it!" he cried, dismayed. 'There's no copies!"

"Someone else must've had the same thought as Jim," Remus said thoughtfully.

Sirius sighed and returned to his seat in a more dignified way than he had left it.

"Drat. That's going to drive me mad now."

Remus gave him a sympathetic smile, then the Gryffindors returned to their work.

When Madam Pince finally shut the library doors for the night, Sirius and his friends returned to their common room with considerably less work to do than they had had to start with.

"I can't believe I wasted a perfectly good evening in the library," Sirius complained. James threw a cushion at him. He barely stifled a huge yawn. "Now I'm too tired to think about anything useful. I've got Cornish Pixies floating in front of my eyes!"

The Gryffindors who were still up gave a good natured laugh.

"You're a mad one, Sirius Black!" Bronwyn Williams declared.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." With that comment, Sirius raced up the stairs to his dormitory, closely followed by another cushion, thrown this time by Bronwyn.

Paddy and Raven were already in bed when he reached the dorm. Raven had the hangings drawn, and Paddy whispered conspiratorially to Sirius that his friend was studying Quidditch theory.

"Theory's no darn good! You need the practice!" Sirius declared.

"Grow up, Black!" Raven yelled.

"Good night, Sirius," Paddy said, winking, as Sirius got into bed.

He lay awake for some time, confused and fragmented thoughts racing through his head. An image of Alkalli's face kept swimming before him, while in the background Trelawney's words at the feast repeated themselves constantly.

Sirius tossed in his bed, restless. Finally he forced himself to think of the day's Defence lesson. As he replayed his capture of the pixies, he found his eyelids drooping. Before he reached the end of the lesson, he had drifted off to sleep.

* * *