Balanced

James sat down, aware that every single Slytherin student looked ready to kill him. He hummed 'Happy Birthday' quietly and waited for the Quidditch match to start.

'What in the name of Merlin are you wearing?' hissed Severus.

'Don't you like it?' said James, in a hurt voice. 'I thought it suited me!' He burst out laughing as Severus backed away, a slightly worried look on his face.

'Are you unaware that the Slytherin colour is green?' snapped Severus. James smiled brightly. He knew that he stuck out, being the only Slytherin wearing bright red and carrying a banner saying: 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' but Sirius was wearing green and had a Slytherin banner. It had been Remus' idea; he'd been in a bad temper when they were having a friendly debate over house stereotypes and had dared them both to wear the opposite colour to the match. Unfortunately, Remus had left to see his mother the previous evening and wouldn't be back until later on that day.

'I'm going to curse you when no teachers are looking,' Snape told him. James pondered on whether to try the perky approach, or the spoiled brat one; he chose the latter.

'Do you think I can't protect myself of something?' he sneered in true Slytherin style.

'You might make a really good Slytherin if you weren't such a Gryffindor.'

'Takes one to know one.'

'My family happens to be an incredibly old one, all pure-blooded too,' then Severus gave James' robes one last dirty look before turning back towards the pitch. Most of the players had made their way on by that time. James cheered loudly as the last Gryffindor appeared.

'My family is also old and pure,' he told Severus. 'And all Slytherin.' The players took to the sky, with Madam Hooch acting as referee.

'Katherine Mountain of Gryffindor takes the ball straight away and passes it to Ken White who speeds down the pitch towards the Slytherin goals!' The commentator was a fourth year called Malcolm Lander, a loud-mouthed Hufflepuff who hadn't yet been a victim of theirs.

'And Gryffindor score!' James leapt to his feet and cheered. Needless to say, he was the only one doing so in the Slytherin section, just like Sirius was the only Gryffindor to be booing.

It was rather funny actually, doing the exact opposite of the others, although, strangely enough, no one else seemed to see the humour of the situation. Slytherin then got the Quaffle and scored twice in quick succession, giving James the chance to boo loudly.

'And apparently two of our students have decided to switch sides for the day,' yelled Lander. 'Professor McGonagall has informed me that it is two first years, James Potter and Sirius Black. Such a pity that other house members cannot show their support for others like these two can.'

The Gryffindors and Slytherins met this remark with silence, but the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws watching cheered. James stood up, turned, and bowed to the silent Slytherins, who were growing more annoyed by the minute.

The score was fifty-twenty to Gryffindor before the Slytherin Seeker suddenly flew up twenty feet and grabbed the Snitch effortlessly. James couldn't help cheering at this, although he was supposed to be booing. Even Severus had jumped to his feet and was cheering, although not as crazily as Marian, the other girls, Julian, Michael and James.

*

'I suppose you think that was funny then,' It was Severus. James was standing with Sirius, Remus and Peter just outside the Quidditch pitch, still wearing his Gryffindor robes.

'Yup,' said James and carried on talking to the others.

The reactions of others in the few weeks left until Christmas were rather funny. James was even more of an outsider with the Slytherins, except to Florence Knightshade, one of Marian's friends, who thought it was very brave of him. However, those in the other houses thought it had been funny, even the Gryffindors, who had been more forgiving to Sirius than the Slytherins had to James. James was on his way to the library to meet the others when a girl he'd never spoken to before stopped him in the corridor.

'Are you James Potter?' she asked.

'Yes, I believe I am. I was last time I checked anyway. Who're you?'

'Father Christmas,' she said, as though expecting James to know her name.

'Ooh!' said James in an excited voice. 'Can I have a broom, and... and a box of chocolate frogs and some Dungbombs, and-'

'Shut up. I'm in your year, I'm called Lydia Graystone and I'm in Ravenclaw.' She was short and fairly thin with curly brown hair, crooked teeth, blue eyes and glasses. 'So you're the idiot who wore Gryffindor robes to the Quidditch match.' She scrutinized him closely. 'I thought you'd be taller.' James looked down at her, he was at least three inches taller and she was wearing high heels.

'You obviously need your eyes tested,' he sneered. 'Then you might realize how short you are.' She scowled and walked off, her nose in the air. James smirked. Typical girl, so easy to offend.

When he reached the library, the others were already there, Sirius was muttering under his breath, inventing curses and torture methods. Remus and Peter were sitting well away from him and kept glancing up nervously to see if he'd calmed down.

'Having a good day are you, mate?' asked James amicably, chucked his stuff on the table right next to Sirius and sat down beside him. From the looks on their faces, Remus and Peter clearly thought he was nuts to go near Sirius when he was in a mood like this.

Sirius looked up at James and gave him a scowl that would not only curdle milk, but curdle the milk bottle as well. That type of look was actually quite difficult to achieve, as curdling glass was no easy task.

'Well done, Sirius, that truly evil look is worthy of an award in ugliness. What on earth is the problem now?'

'I got a letter from Mum,' said Sirius.

'Ah, who wouldn't have guessed that; it was so obvious that you received a letter from home, especially from the glare you gave me, one that would match Severus for ugliness.' That only intensified the glare.

'She says she wants me to come home and have a family Christmas, which means no friends, just me, her and Dad. And the rest of the family.'

'Truly despicable,' agreed James. 'She should be locked up for such a heinous crime.' Sirius hit him. 'Well, I'm staying at Hogwarts, better here than going to live with Aunt Susan and having no magic for a few weeks.'

'I'm staying,' said Peter.

'And me,' added Remus.

'Remus, I don't mean to sound like some sort of stupid Gryffindor here, but why not make use of this wonderful opportunity to visit your mother?' asked James. 'You seem to do that a lot during term time. It's not like I don't want you here, but surely it would be better for your education if...'

'Oh, shut up,' said Remus. 'I'll probably go towards the end of the holidays, but I'd like to spend Christmas at Hogwarts.'

'Lucky buggers,' muttered Sirius and added another long string of words that James was unsure where he'd picked up and that he knew Sirius wouldn't dare utter in front of a teacher or his parents.

'Just say you'll go and be a good boy, as long as we can visit you this summer, and you get to stay next Christmas,' said James.

'She'll never agree to that.'

'Emphasize the "good boy" bit,' suggested Remus. 'If you promise something like that, she won't disagree.'

'And remember to keep your promise,' added Peter. 'I'm sure even Slytherins keep promises.'

'If the other person has the power in the deal, then yes,' said James, with a grin. 'And parents definitely have the power.'

*

James woke up early on the last day of term and went down to the Entrance Hall to say goodbye to Sirius. He was surprised at how many were actually going, there would only be eleven people left in Slytherin house; Severus and Michael were two of them, and it looked like there wouldn't be many more staying from the other houses. He spotted Sirius standing with some of the other Gryffindors from their year and headed over.

'Hi, mate, came down to say goodbye.'

'Hello, oh Slytherin. This is Bradley, Charlie and Sam. This is the face of evil: James Potter of Slytherin. I don't think you've met before.'

'Hello,' said James pleasantly and they nodded in greeting. Peter appeared five minute later, closely followed by Remus; they were also introduced to the Gryffindors. They all looked as tired as James felt, although he wasn't going to show it.

'Did you know-' began Peter. 'We've now had approximately one twenty-oneth of our time at Hogwarts.'

'Random,' said Sirius and James had to agree.

'Both uninteresting and pointless, Peter; how do you do it?' he asked.

'I try,' said Peter, smiling slightly. Bradley, Charlie and Sam had carried on their conversation and were obviously not keen to talk to James, Remus and Peter, especially James, who could tell because of the glances they kept giving him. Typical Gryffindors: prejudiced against the Slytherins.

'Would anyone who is not going back on the train please leave the Entrance Hall now?' ordered McGonagall, who, with the assistance of Brauhum, was taking down names of the students who were there and trying to organise everything.

'Have a good Christmas, mate,' said James. 'Don't forget to send me a present!'

'Bye, see you soon,' muttered Sirius; James couldn't blame him for being upset over being left with those Gryffindors. As they walked away, James strained to hear what they were saying.

'... don't know why you bother with other houses, Sirius,' said one of them. 'Especially Slytherins, stuck up buggers ...' James heard no more, they had walked too far away.

'I think we need to put those three idiots on the list of people we're going to Dungbomb,' he told the others.

'We have a list?' asked Remus incredulously.

'We did,' said Peter. 'But it got too long to keep up, I think it's lying in the bottom of my trunk. We put down the names of every single person who annoyed us in chronological order. Snape's mentioned more times than everyone else put together.'

The castle was a lot quieter without the other students around, although James suspected the fact that Sirius wasn't there was one of the main reasons for this. The four of them went exploring a lot, into the dungeons and disused classrooms where they hadn't been before. There were more passages and short cuts than James had previously thought: one led right from the Entrance Hall to just outside the Charms classroom; another, which opened in a random corridor opposite a gargoyle, ended up inside the staff room, a place where none of them had been before. James wasn't very impressed with the staff room, it was very ordinary and he would have expected more luxury. There was so little chance to explore during term time, as well as the fact that there always seemed to be students around, or teachers.

'Do you want to see the Ravenclaw common room?' asked Remus one day.

'Why not?' said Peter, shrugging. James wasn't so sure, he would like to, but that would mean they would then want to see the Slytherin one, something he wasn't completely sure he wanted to share, even though he had said he would. He doubted the other Slytherins would like it either.

What was he saying!? Who gave a damn what the others thought? Remus and Peter were his friends, and it wasn't like they had any really secret stuff in the common room anyway.

'OK, sounds good,' he said at last. He and Peter followed Remus. The Ravenclaw common room was down, like the Slytherin one, only not as far. The corridor it was in was lighter and less creepy. And easier to find. A statue marked the entrance. Ravenclaws must feel really secure in this sort of place; any first year could find it, and as for the password: "Wisdom", well, anyone could guess it.

The common room was fairly nice, although very different to the Slytherin one. It was done completely in blue and bronze, the Ravenclaw colours, although the fire looked ordinary. There were only two other students in there and they didn't look up from their conversation. Despite the fact that there were only five of them in there, the atmosphere seemed much more relaxed than that of the Slytherin common room; James was unsure how this effect was achieved - although he suspected some sort of drug had been put in the fire.

Remus gestured for them to follow him quietly and they headed into the boys' dormitory. There was someone else in there. He looked up and did an obvious double take.

'Er, hello Jon,' said Remus nervously. 'This is Jonathon Oak, you two.'

'Remus,' said Jonathon Oak. 'Why have you brought a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff in here?'

'I thought they'd like to look around?' Remus said innocently.

'Ah, Ravenclaws,' said James sadly. 'The hat says you are intelligent, yet you still seem to be as prejudiced as the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. We Slytherins would never, ever think like that. We only treat you how you treat us.'

'You don't think he seriously believes what he's saying?' said Peter in a loud whisper.

'All too possible,' replied Remus, sighing. James sent green sparks at both of them. He knew he had to learn some curses soon. 'Jon, we'll be out of here soon and we won't bother you,' Remus promised.

'Not this time anyway,' added Peter. 'This is purely a fact-finding mission.'

'Not forgetting a make-the-stupid-Gryffindor-jealous-who-went-home-for-the-holidays mission,' finished James.

They didn't stay long. The dormitories were very differently laid out to those in the Slytherin common room, although Peter said it was almost exactly the same as the Hufflepuff ones. James guessed this was Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw not putting in extra security measures to stop students from other houses finding their way around easily.

*

The Hufflepuff common room was, in James' opinion, too bloody cheerful. It was so cheerful it was painful. Everything was done in a bright canary yellow; the Hufflepuffs seemed to have conveniently forgotten the fact that the other house colour was black, as James couldn't see anything that dull. It hurt his eyes to look for too long. Blinking rapidly, he peered around the room, disgusted with it all.

There had been six other students in there; two of them had ignored Peter and his guests completely; of the other four, only one had been openly displeased, and that was with only James - she had disappeared up to her dormitory very quickly. The other three had greeted James and Remus with surprise and only a little distrust.

The dormitories were also pathetically cheerful. The girl who had moaned about Slytherins came out and scowled at James as he wandered around, as though making sure he didn't try to do anything. James smiled broadly; it was nice to see a scowling and unpleasant face amid all the cheeriness.

'Hello,' he said. She ignored him. 'Who are you?'

'Why would you care, Slytherin?'

'Why wouldn't I care? It's so nice to get to know people.' Apparently, being ridiculously cheerful did nothing but put her on her guard; James would have thought she'd have been used to it by now. 'How old are you? Is it nice in Hufflepuff?'

'Oh, go away, you stupid little first year,' she snapped. James had noticed it didn't take long for him to bring people to breaking point.

'You know,' he said. 'You would have been a great Slytherin.'

'Just the Slytherin you aren't,' she told him. 'If you must know my name is Lauren Fyfe, I'm in third year and Hufflepuff is Hufflepuff.' She was slightly taller than him with fair hair, blue eyes and a large nose.

'Come on Jamesy,' said Peter, as he and Remus emerged from his dormitory. 'I want to see the Slytherin one now.'

'I'll bid thee fare-well then, Lauren,' said James, giving a mock bow and then running after the others.

He led them down through the maze of tunnels under Hogwarts. He actually made several wrong turnings and went around in circles a few times until they were well and truly lost. It got darker as he descended more.

'James, are you sure you know where you're going?' asked Remus.

'Of course I do,' said James, with his best Slytherin sneer. 'I just didn't feel like taking the short-cuts, that's all.' Remus and Peter exchanged doubtful glances, and looked even more so when James brought them up in front of a blank wall in the middle of the corridor.

He muttered the password so they couldn't hear it. If Remus or Peter noticed this then neither of them said anything. The wall slid open and the three headed in. James had got used to the common room, which has been creepy at first, but now it didn't seem like that. It was also heaven in comparison to the garish yellow of the Hufflepuff one. Fortunately, there were few students and James motioned for the other two to keep quiet. Remus and Peter peered around, surprised at how morbid it looked and a little frightened.

'James Potter!' James' heart sank. There was no hope of doing this quietly now.

~*~

A/N

Thanks again to those who are beta-ing, reviewing, and even those lazy people who read but don't review. I wonder if anyone actually reads all of this stuff. Not a lot to say for this one really.