Second Year, Second Chances

CHAPTER ONE : On New Professors and Sugar Quills

One thing about the first day of classes, Sirius realized, was that it was always harder to wake up.

This could be an affliction of his own, of course, because he knew that Remus was wide awake and organizing his things on the other side of the room, having apparently gotten over his sleepy spell. But Sirius suspected that rather than him being the anomaly (which he knew couldn’t be true, because when he had partially opened his eyes a few minutes ago, he had seen that James and Peter were still quite obviously asleep), it was probably Remus who was weird in this case. After all, who really needed to reorganize his knapsack at – Sirius quickly checked – seven in the morning? Classes didn’t actually start until eight o’clock anyway, so why didn’t Remus just go down to breakfast instead of bustling around and bothering everyone else?

Not that Remus was really bothering anyone – he was extremely quiet. It was kind of eerie at times, like the time last year that Remus had literally snuck up right behind Snape in the library and planted a few large spiders on his back. The library had been practically empty and Remus had been no more than a foot away from Snape, but the dark-haired git hadn’t heard a thing. It was only after one of the spiders had crawled down his face – Sirius couldn’t have planned it better himself, and he had been busy trying not to burst out laughing from his hiding place behind the bookshelf – that Snape had shrieked, leapt backwards, and glared accusingly at the lone person left in the library: Remus. In a rare burst of smug satisfaction, Remus had deliberately looked up and smirked at Snape, giving him a little wave. Afterwards, both Remus and Sirius had received a week of detention (made worse by Snape’s pathetic whining, of course), but it was still one of Sirius’ treasured memories. It also had ensured that Snape never studied in the library anymore, or at least, not while any of them were there.

In any case, Remus wasn’t bothering anyone in the room by his being awake. Anyone but Sirius, at least.

“Mrghh,” Sirius muttered, forcing himself to roll onto his back and sit up. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he muttered, “Why on Earth are you up, Remus?” Because he’s a perfectionist, rationalized a voice in the back of Sirius’ head, but Sirius ignored it.

“I’m just reading,” Remus replied kindly, sounding much too chipper for someone who had been practically unconscious just yesterday. Sirius looked up as his friend said this, noticing for the first time that Remus had set his bag down and was now seated on his bed and holding an opened Wizards and Broomsticks: A Beginner’s Guide to Quidditch in his hands.

“A Quidditch book?” inquired Sirius, growing more alert the longer he sat up. “Why are you reading that? I though you didn’t like Quidditch....”

“I never said that,” murmured Remus calmly, his eyes downcast as he scanned the book’s pages. Then, looking up and seeing Sirius’ questioning expression, he replied, “Okay, fine. I took it from Peter last night, because I figured that if you and James are going to be playing this year, I might as well learn what it’s all about.”

Sirius shrugged. “I always thought you were nutters to not play it anyway, Remus,” he commented, yawning as he stretched his back. As he threw the covers back and stepped out of bed (wincing slightly as his bare feet struck the somewhat chilly floor), Sirius stated, “We’re not on the team yet.”

“You’ll still try and drag me to all the matches, though, so I might as well not be bored out of my mind when I’m freezing,” Remus responded, turning a page in the slim book. He then caught Sirius’ eye and said, “But don’t you have a fairly good chance at it? I mean, you’re a good player, right? You and James fly pretty well.”

“Well, yeah, but we’re only second years,” Sirius explained, grabbing his robe and brush and heading over to Remus’ bed. “That means that we’re the youngest kids there – no way a first year is going to try out, no unless he wants to get laughed at – and all the kids going are probably really good at flying, too. And there are only three spots open.”

“There are only seven people on the team anyway,” Remus debated, his brow furrowing slightly as he moved his feet to allow Sirius to sit on the end of the bed. “Three spots open out of seven is a pretty good ratio, considering.”

“Yeah, but there’s probably going to be a bunch of older kids there,” continued Sirius, brushing his hair mechanically as he contemplated the situation. “More than three, that’s for sure. I don’t know, I bet I can make it. James and I have been playing Quidditch since we learned to ride a broomstick.”

“Obviously,” Remus deadpanned, the hint of a smile curving the edge of his mouth.

Sirius stared at his brown-haired friend, pausing mid-brush. “What do you mean, ‘obviously’?”

“It was all you two could talk about for the first week or so of school last year,” replied Remus, grinning despite Sirius’ mock glare, “before you realized that first years never make the team.”

“Oh,” was Sirius’ response. Then, raising an eyebrow, he said, “I didn’t know you were listening to us. You never said anything.”

Remus closed the book in his lap and shrugged his shoulders. “You guys were awfully loud. And I, well, didn’t have anything better to do than listen.”
“You could have said something.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Yeah.” Sirius paused. “Why not?”

Remus sighed softly, taking the book in his hands and depositing it on the floor gently. He looked back up at Sirius, who was watching him expectantly, and gave another sigh, finally replying, “I didn’t want to, I guess.”

Sirius frowned, muttering, “You didn’t want to? Why the hell not?” He smirked. “I mean, it’s us, after all.”

“Exactly my point,” Remus stated without missing a beat, but Sirius saw the grin on his face and knew that he was kidding.

“Really, though. Why not?”

Remus stood up, brushing a few wrinkles out of his slightly frayed robes – from a Potions accident last year – before answering tentatively, “I guess I was shy.”

Sirius considered this answer and decided to agree with it, because Remus really had been shy at the beginning of last year. Or, at the very least, very quiet and practically invisible. Sirius himself hadn’t even realized that Remus was one of his roommates until the second day of classes when Sirius had entered the room to see Remus seated on the plush maroon sofa by the door, reading. And even then, all Remus had done was look up at his curious stare and murmur a soft greeting before going back to his book, looking a bit nervous. So, yeah, Sirius could agree with Remus’ reasoning.

“You’ve changed, though,” offered Sirius casually, barely thinking about his words before they were already out of his mouth. Remus turned to look at him – the brown-haired boy was now sticking the book into his knapsack, having decided to keep it with him, apparently – and Sirius elaborated, “Well, you’re more confident and stuff. Like, before you didn’t say much at all, even in class, and that’s changed. Y’know?”

“Yeah, I guess,” answered Remus, a note of steel in his voice implying to Sirius that the conversation was over. He would be a bit edgy about it, Sirius figured, because who wanted to be reminded how shy they were, anyway? “I’m going down to breakfast; do you want me to wait for you?”

Sirius waved his hand dismissively, responding, “Nah, go on. I’m going to try and wake up Peter and James up. They’ll never get up otherwise, y’know. Lazy gits.”

Remus smiled and gave a soft laugh before grabbing his bag and moving towards the door, “Well, see you in ten minutes or so, then, when you decide to come down.”

“I want to just stay here, actually.”

“I don’t think that’s an option. You have to go to class.”

“I don’t have to...”

“Sirius.”

“What?”

“Go to class.”

“Shut up, Professor.” At Remus’ glare, Sirius laughed. “Fine. Whatever. Save me a crumpet.”

“Will do,” assured Remus.

____________________________

When the second year Gryffindors entered the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom (with the Ravenclaws right at their side, as it was the first class of the year), they didn’t know quite what to think. Rather than dreading the class, as most of them did the year before, they were looking forward to it. By now, the rumors about the new mysterious teacher had spread dramatically, and the students were talking in whispers about how the woman was anything from a prodigy child to a vampire. The latter rumor was personally started by Sirius at breakfast that morning, while James, Peter and Remus had tried their best to keep straight faces as Sirius blatantly lied to the impressionable first year. The said first year had stared at Sirius with wide brown eyes before turning and whispering excitedly with his friends, while Remus rolled his eyes and Peter started laughing softly. James, of course, had simply smirked at Sirius and immediately started his own rumor, one about the new teacher being a really old hag, possibly even Professor Dumbledore’s mother. Again the rumor was widely accepted, and Sirius and James had each complimented each other on the good work.

In any case, the second year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were going to be the first students to experience the mysterious new teacher, and they all made sure to get into class on time and with their books. The new professor wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Sirius slumped back in his seat and muttered, “The least she could do was, y’know, be here.”

“Maybe she wants to make a cool entrance,” James suggested, his brown eyes watching the slightly ajar door to the teacher’s office. He was seated next to Sirius, his book out and quill ready – not because he had any interest in studying, but because he didn’t want to appear rebellious and thus give the teachers any reason to suspect him for certain... things that tended to happen. Of course, it didn’t matter whether he appeared responsible or not, Sirius knew, because the teachers all already knew that Sirius and James were “trouble,” as they had put it. So Sirius didn’t bother to do the same; in fact, his space of desktop was one of the few that was empty.

“Maybe,” Sirius agreed, and then leaned forward to poke Remus, who was seated in front of him, in the back. “Neh, Remus, do you have a sugar quill?”

“A what?” Remus whispered back.

“A sugar quill,” Sirius enunciated clearly, looking suggestively at Remus’ bag.

At this, Remus turned and stared at Sirius, an unexpressive look on his face. “What do you want one for?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I figured I’d eat it, like I usually do.”

“Ha, ha,” muttered Remus, rolling his eyes. “Fine, you can have one. But I expect to be paid back for all these quills that I’m giving you one of these days.”

“‘Course you’ll be,” assured Sirius as he watched Remus bend down and snatch a quill from his partially opened bag. The thin boy gave it to Sirius, who immediately began sucking on the sweet treat and grinned his thanks to a seemingly exasperated Remus. Sirius knew he really wasn’t – actually, Remus probably wanted to eat one himself, but it was the first day of class and Remus was one of those people who didn’t do anything that involved breaking the rules on the first day. After that, it was fair game, but something about it being the first day made Remus get edgy. Sirius didn’t understand why, neither did he care much about trying to. In any case, it didn’t matter, because it wasn’t like Remus cared about him breaking the rules.

The bell toned softly, signifying the beginning of class, and the chatter abruptly died down. A few people spoke in hushed whispers, finishing conversations quickly or continuing to debate what the teacher would be like, but most of them were silent, staring at the almost closed door that led to the office.

After a minute had passed and still no teacher appeared, more people began to whisper in wondering tones.

“Who wants to bet that she just doesn’t show?” Sirius muttered softly to James, who grinned at him and made to respond, but was cut off as the door to the office suddenly swung open and a small witch stepped out.

She wasn’t much, really, in terms of impressiveness. She was short, with choppy red hair that fell into her sharp brown eyes. Her robes were light blue, her arms were full of papers, and her expression was clearly annoyed. Sirius caught James’ eye and smiled; this witch was surely going to be fun to annoy, if she was this agitated by a few people talking. Already, Sirius was thinking of a prank he could pull, if the witch ever thought of giving them newt eyes for examination; he’d need Peter’s help, but it would work, he figured.

The teacher didn’t say anything for a few moments as she dropped the stack of papers on her desk and stood up, facing the class with a brilliantly closed-off expression. Only when the last whisper had died out did she move, and that was to stand in front of the nearest desk, where two Ravenclaw boys (Derek and Christopher) were seated nervously. She didn’t look at them, but instead focused on the class as a whole.

“My name is Professor Anthony,” she started snippily, looking impatient. “I am your new Defense Against Dark Arts professor, and I would like to clear a few things up. No, I am not related to any teachers here. I am not a vampire or a harpy or anything of that sort. I am not, in fact, anything short of a human. Sorry to disappoint you all.” The last sentence was said with a certain short of deadpan sarcasm, and Sirius grinned.

“I am, however, twenty-five years old and a graduate from Hogwarts,” Professor Anthony continued, leaning onto the front desk and tapping her long fingernails on it methodically. “I was a Prefect when I was here, which is something that some of you kids probably aspire to be. I’ve been trained as an Auror, but I decided to avoid that lifestyle in light of becoming a teacher here at Hogwarts. This summer, I spent the summer visiting with the leading expert on vampires in Britain, as well as a few other Defense Against the Dark Arts experts.”

She said all this with a calm, authoritative tone and she stared evenly at the class through the entire thing. After she was finished, she paused slightly before pushing away from the desk and walking back to her desk, where she picked up a sheet of paper.

“I’ve just shared some things with you,” she stated, scanning the paper in her hands before looking up. Leaning against the edge of her desk, Anthony continued, “Now what about the rest of you? Hmm–” She glanced down at her sheet, “–Mr. Lupin. What did you do this summer?”

Remus looked startled, having been caught in the middle of doodling on a blank piece of parchment. Standing up nervously, he stated, “I spent some time visiting my cousins in Denmark, as well as spending time with my friends.”

“Really,” Anthony murmured speculatively, “Did you do your homework over the summer, Mr. Lupin?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Then, could you possibly tell me which three Dark creatures are considered the most prominent in our society today?” Anthony asked calmly, playing with the tip of one of her fingernails.

Remus paled slightly, obviously off-put with being placed on the spot – Sirius knew that he really didn’t like drawing attention to himself, even though he couldn’t relate to the feeling –, and clearly replied, “Giants, vampires, and werewolves, Professor.”

“Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor,” Anthony granted, and Remus sat down again, looking somewhat relieved. Glancing at her sheet again, Anthony continued, “Mr. Adams, what did you do this summer?”

A short blond-haired Ravenclaw that Sirius didn’t know very well stood and told about his trip to an international football game, which was a kind of Muggle sport that Sirius didn’t know about. After he was finished, Professor Anthony inquired, “Then, Mr. Adams, could you tell me why these creatures are so prominent today, as compared to yesteryear?”

“Because...,” the blond began, and then paused looking embarrassed. At Anthony’s severe gaze, he continued, “Because of um, You-Know-Who?”

“Precisely, Mr. Adams. Ten points to Ravenclaw,” Anthony concurred, and went on to repeat a similar process with Miss Evans of Gryffindor, Mr. Yoten of Ravenclaw, and Miss Anderson of Ravenclaw before folding up her parchment and sticking it into the pocket of her robes. Looking around the room, Anthony gave the class the first smile they had seen her give, and she stated, “This year, we will be discussing an assortment of creatures, some of which we can – and will – find and examine. Others, we will merely be discussing. Giants, vampires and werewolves are three of the creatures that we will not be physically examining, as well as creatures like hags, sirens, harpies, and other similar creatures.”

As she said this, Professor Anthony made her way up the rows of desks, and stopped at Sirius’ desk, tapping her wand sharply on the edge. “Mr. Black, I presume?”

“Yes, Professor,” answered Sirius, a slight smirk on his face, even though he was a bit curious how she had known his name without the sheet of parchment.

“Why is it that we cannot study those creatures up close?”

“Because they are considered too human-like to be caged up like animals, Professor,” Sirius answered smoothly, grateful that he had decided to do his homework that summer.

“Oh?” Anthony asked, her eyebrow lifting delicately. “What do you mean by that,
Mr. Black?”

“Well,” Sirius began, sitting up slightly in his seat for his answer, “They’re basically humans, right? A vampire, for instance. They’re dangerous to humans because they need to drink blood, but that doesn’t mean that they’re just animals. And werewolves are only dangerous when the full moon is out, which is only one day a month. They’re normal humans otherwise, right?”

Anthony gave another smile, with was slight and hardly there, as she responded, “We’ll be discussing these things this year. However, Mr. Black, I’m afraid that I don’t allow the consumption of sugar quills in my classroom.” Anthony reproved sharply, and Sirius looked down at his half-finished quill with a bit of bemusement.

“Does this go for all treats as well, Professor?” Sirius asked, grinning cheerfully at the new teacher.

“I’m afraid so, Mr. Black. Throw it out,” Anthony instructed him, pointing towards a waste basket at the front of the room. As Sirius got up, Anthony looked over at James. “In any case... Mr. Potter. Why are giants included in this group? They are not afflicted humans.”

“I’ve always assumed that it was because they would attack anyone who tried, Professor,” James responded, smiling charmingly and winning a few giggles from a group of Ravenclaws in the front of the room. When Anthony didn’t react to his comment, James’ smile toned down slightly and he quickly responded, “Actually, it’s most likely because giants are considered to be another sentient species, like elves and veela.” Sirius smirked at his friend as he came back, and James looked mildly indignant.

“Correct, Mr. Potter,” Anthony said, “Five points to each of you,” she commented as she turned and walked back to the front of the room. Then, facing all of them once again, she stated, “Today we’ll be starting on a few notes about different types of dark creatures. Discussion on these creatures will take us through until Christmas break, and afterwards, we will begin on dangerous spells and the like. All right, everyone take out a sheet of parchment and a quill.”

The rest of the class period was spent taking a series of notes about certain classifications of dark creatures. However, when class had finished, none of the students could say that they weren’t looking forward to the next class, Sirius included.

______________________

The common-room was alight with discussions and laughter that evening after dinner, and this theme certainly wasn’t discouraged by the ragtag group of second-years that had managed to secure a spot by the fireplace, where a group of very cushy chairs and sofas were arranged. They were far enough away from the fire so that it wasn’t too hot, but the glow of the fire had a warming, cheerful affect on the students seated nearby: nearly every one of the second-years was smiling.

Sirius Black, for once, wasn’t one of those children.

“Hmph,” Sirius muttered grumpily as he draped himself across the armrest of a particularly soft maroon sofa, looking for all the world like his world had just collapsed around him. He had always been over-dramatic, after all, and especially now, when his world had just collapsed around him.... well! That was unacceptable. So, of course, Sirius looked irritable and forlorn, and only the few people closest to him were able to see past his grumpy facade to laugh at him.

“What’s wrong, Sirius?” Remus asked, turning his golden eyes on his friend as he sat on the floor in front of the sofa, facing the fire. On his lap sat a sheet of parchment, on which various scribbled messages were displayed prominently. It had been written on during their Transfiguration lesson, Sirius knew, when James had posed the question (quietly) of whether or not Professor McGonagall was married. The parchment had been passed around the group several times as each of them added their own comments on what McGonagall’s made-up husband (or boyfriend!, Sirius had scribbled hastily) would be like. It even included a small sketch of a little balding man with large glasses, which Sirius had charmed to move and had written “Mr. James McGonagall” beside. Remus had taken the paper away, thankfully, so it hadn’t been destroyed in the brief fight between James and Sirius that had followed the drawing of the man.

Remus continued, looking somewhat exasperated, “I mean, it’s only the first day, and we haven’t had a class with the Slytherins. Snape couldn’t possibly have bothered you yet.”

“It’s not him,” replied Sirius as he glared slightly at Remus, who stared evenly back. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh?” James asked, seated on Sirius’ other side and had just now noticed that Remus was talking to him. “Then why are you so quiet?”

“Jus’ thinking,” muttered Sirius.

James grinned brightly and caught Remus’ eye. “Oh? Well, I suppose you have to start sometime.”

“Yeah,” Remus added, a smirk growing on his pale face, “I’ve heard that thinking is, you know, good for your health.”

“As long as he doesn’t hurt himself, of course.”

“James, you know that there’s a first time for everything, and I guess this is just the time Sirius chose.”

“But really, the stress his brain must be under now...”

Sirius glowered at the two of them. “Shut up, you gits,” he growled.

James clamped a hand on Sirius’ shoulder and snickered in response, shoving Sirius further into the overstuffed armrest. Winking cheekily at Remus, James joked, “But Sirius, Remus and I are just concerned for you, really. Thinking isn’t a easy task, after all.”

“He’s right,” supported Remus, who had by that time turned around to face the two of them. “After all, look at the many people who don’t do it much at all. Most of whom are in the Slytherin house, of course. Like, for instance, Snape.”

“Exactly!” James proclaimed, nodding to Remus. “Snape doesn’t think much at all. Oh, sure, a few times during Potions, but really, can Potions really even be counted? It’s a pointless class anyway.”

“And Snape isn’t the worst, either,” continued Remus. “I mean, half the time Took and Jenkins follow him and Avery around like zombies, practically. Have they every done anything besides try and look threatening?”

“Well, there was that one time they tried to gang up on you and Peter in the halls after dinner last year,” offered James, who still had a grip on Sirius’ shoulder. Sirius, for his credit, was now looking much less grumpy and much more amused in light of this new conversation.

“That’s exactly my point, actually,” Remus stated calmly. “I mean, the key word there is ‘tried.’ They didn’t actually succeed, even when I valiantly offered myself as a sacrifice if they let Peter go.”

“Valiantly?” a voice snorted, and the three boys looked up to see Peter walk up towards them and plop down next to Remus, which was one of the few spots left open in front of the fire. “You just did it because you were trying to buy time for a teacher to come out.”

“Well, that too,” Remus admitted with a smile, moving over to give Peter more leg room. “Where have you been, anyway?”

“Ugh, McGonagall wanted to see me,” was Peter’s response, looking frustrated at the mere thought of the teacher, and he sighed deeply. “She kept talking about how I needed to focus on my studies more this year and that... She even brought up my Transfiguration essay from over the summer! Said it was too general and needed to be more in-depth on the proper usage of coloring or something.”

“Really?” Sirius asked, brow furrowing. “I read your essay; it wasn’t that bad. I mean, compared to, say, Remus’...”

“Hey!” Remus interjected, casting Sirius an irritable look.

“Just kidding,” Sirius said quickly, grinning at his brown-haired friend. “Actually, I’m being serious. It was a good enough paper. She didn’t need to go mental about it.”

“Exactly what I thought,” Peter muttered, nodding to Sirius. “But no, of course I needed to be talked to... I bet it’s because of that stupid Fizzing Whizzerbees prank we played last year...”

“It did make her pretty mad at us,” Remus contributed thoughtfully.

“But we were all involved in that one,” James protested, frowning and releasing Sirius’ shoulder so he could cross his arms. “I mean, if she was getting on all of our cases, sure, but she hasn’t said anything to me.”

“Or me,” Sirius added, and Remus shook his head. Sirius shrugged. “Maybe she just doesn’t like you, Peter. Tough luck. It’s not like it isn’t common – Professor Durkham hates me and James after that great Potions prank we played last year.”

“It’s still not fair,” Peter muttered. “Professor Durkham hates everyone, not just you two. And McGonagall is supposed to be the unbiased teacher.”

“Oh, well,” murmured James, leaning forward and patting Peter lightly on the shoulder. “I guess it’s just bad luck.”

“Yeah,” was the agitated response from the blond boy, and then Peter sighed softly and looked around at the three of them, “What were you guys talking about, anyway? Just the fight?”

“Nah, we were trying to get Sirius to cheer up,” informed James.”

“Because he looked annoyed,” contributed Remus, nodding.

“And then he said he was thinking.”

“So we decided to discuss how odd that was.”

“And then he told us to shut up. Like we’d actually listen.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “And I meant it, too, you gits.”

“Are you still annoyed?” Peter asked, with amusement and a bit of concern evident in his small blue eyes. He fiddled with the strap on his old bag, twisting it slowly around one of his fingers and back again.

“No,” Sirius answered simply, pushing himself out of the sofa’s cushions, where he was deeply entrapped. After a few moments of silence (excluding the obvious chatter from the people around him), Sirius grinned at his friends and said, serenely, “I still maintain that Professor Anthony is a vampire.”

Remus stared blankly at Sirius as James snickered and Peter rolled his eyes. Raising an eyebrow, Remus stated, “Y’know, she specifically said she wasn’t one.”

“Yeah? So?” Sirius replied, “Doesn’t mean anything. She could have heard it, freaked out, and decided to deliberately deny it in case any suspicions remained.”

“Uh-huh,” Remus murmured, locking eyes with Peter and trying not to laugh.

“Besides,” James mentioned, “Vampires can’t survive in sunlight, right? So how could she teach, even if she was one?”

Sirius debated, “Did you see a window in the Defense Against Dark Arts room? Any way of sunlight coming in at all? I mean, I didn’t...”

“Are you saying she could be one, as long as she never leaves her room?” Peter asked, finally putting down his bag and regarding Sirius with a quizzical expression. “That seems too out there for me.”

Remus nodded his agreement, adding, “And she was at dinner tonight. Remember? She was talking with Professor Kettleburn. She kept tapping her nails on the table... it was really annoying.”

“You heard that?” James asked, looking interested. “I didn’t think we were that close...”

“Um, well...” Remus looked particularly uncomfortable as he fumbled to answer James’ question. Sirius waited for a moment, figured that Remus wasn’t going to say much of anything, and decided to cut him off to prevent Remus from making a silly excuse which Sirius would just have to poke holes in. Remus tended to make excuses a lot, some believable and some utter crap, and when the later type appeared, Sirius felt it was his civic duty to point them out for the frauds that they were. Lying was an art, after all. One must not misuse the sacred power.

“Whatever,” Sirius interjected, waving his hand airily. “The Great Hall doesn’t have windows either, and besides, dinner is after dark anyway. Anyway, tonight it was. And that’s not my point, anyway. Did anyone else see how pale she was?”

“Does anyone care?” James asked, rolling his eyes. “And that doesn’t mean anything. She had red hair, Sirius, they’re naturally pale. As in, they can’t tan.”

“Oh, really?” Sirius asked, looking at his ebony-haired best friend with suspicion in his expression. A grin was threatening appear on his face as he said this, but he continued, straight-faced, with, “Or maybe you’re just in leagues with her. Maybe YOU’RE a vampire, too!”

James started laughing, and after a moment, so did Sirius. “Oh, yeah,” James began through his snickering, “right, I’m a vampire and Peter’s a ghoul and Remus is a werewolf.... please!” Patting Sirius lightly on the shoulder, James chuckled and assured, “Trust me, Sirius, if any of us were Dark creatures, I’m sure you’d know by now.”

Sirius grinned. “Well, you never know... I mean, we were just talking about how some of them are just like normal humans some of the time. For all we know, we could be living with Dark creatures. All around us. Ooooh...” As he said the last bit, Sirius attained a ghastly expression and wiggled his fingers menacingly, causing James to snicker and Peter to back away in mock-fearfulness before laughing himself.

Though, as he looked at Remus, Sirius was slightly surprised to see that Remus wasn’t laughing much at all. Sure, he gave a few weak laughs, but mainly he just looked pale, as if he had just seen something that frightened him. As James and Peter continued on the conversation, joking about how Snape must be a vampire and how Yolanda Serves (of Hufflepuff) was probably a hag, Sirius watched Remus, who wasn’t participating in the conversation and, in fact, wasn’t even looking at the group. Instead, he was focusing intently on the piece of parchment in his hands, but Sirius could tell that he wasn’t reading it. Not only that, but his hands were shaking slightly, and to be honest, he looked kind of upset...

“Hey, Remus,” Sirius whispered, not wanting to distract James and Peter from their conversation, for Remus’ sake. “Remus?”

Remus looked up at him, still looking pale but without the fearful expression anymore. Instead, he looked uncharacteristically blank as he responded, “What?”

“Are you all right?” inquired Sirius with narrowed eyes, concerned for his thin friend. “I mean, you look kind of sick. Did Snape poison you? Should I kill him? Actually, scratch that. Can I? May I?”

As Sirius expected, Remus gave him a smile, though it was frail, and replied, “Please, like I could stop you if he really did poison me?”

“Of course not!” Sirius proclaimed, thumping a fist on his chest for good measure. James and Peter were now completely enthralled in their conversation (which had shifted from Dark creatures to tomorrow’s Potions lesson, somehow), so they didn’t notice Sirius’ claim. Grinning widely at his friend, Sirius said, “If Snape had poisoned you, Remus, I assure you, I wouldn’t rest until I had my revenge!”

“Because of me, or just because you don’t like Snape?” Remus asked, his tone light, but Sirius suspected that Remus was being at least somewhat serious in his question. He really did look sick, Sirius decided, noticing for the first time how the light from the fire made the dark bags under his eyes stand out against his pale face. Perhaps he just looked that way because of coming back to school, though.

“Because of you, of course,” Sirius responded automatically, giving Remus one of his most winning smiles. “The fact that it’s Snape would just be an added bonus.”

“That’s nice to know,” murmured Remus almost wistfully, looking away from Sirius and back down at the parchment in his hands. The little sketch of the man was sitting on the bottom of the page, boredom evident in his face as he poked the words “Mr. James McGonagall” with his makeshift wand.

Sirius stared a his friend for awhile before jumping out of his seat, reaching a hand down to grab Remus’ upper arm, and stating, “Okay, that’s it. We’re going down to the kitchens.”

“What?” Remus asked, bewildered, as he was pulled to his feet.

“The kitchens,” Sirius repeated, nodding his head at Remus for emphasis. “I’ve decided that you’re too thin, and the only way for you to get fatter is to gorge yourself on scrumptious Hogwarts food, as made by the wonderful house-elves. C’mon, then. Let’s go.”

Remus protested lightly, looking at James and Peter for support. “Sirius, really, it’s the first day of school– ”

“Is not, that was yesterday,” Sirius denounced the claim flippantly, and then turned to James and Peter as well. “Do you guys want to come?”

“Well, you’re going to use my cloak anyway,” James accused lightly, “so I might as well.”

“I was waiting for when we would make our first trip down there,” Peter added, grinning brightly as he stood up and swung his old bag over his shoulder. “Remember last year, when they gave us all those eclairs, and James ate so many that he was too sick for class the next day?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” James muttered, looking sick at the thought of the eclairs.

“Right! So, anyway,” Sirius stated, still holding Remus by the arm, “let’s go upstairs and grab the said cloak, so we can go and get some food. In honor of this being our first day back at school, of course.”

“I thought you said it was the second,” muttered Remus as Sirius led him towards the stairs. Sirius turned to glare at him for the accusation – how dare Remus hold his words against him! – before noticing that Remus was grinning lightly, as if apologizing for being reclusive. Sirius smiled.

“Eh, whatever,” Sirius replied, shrugging. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get some food!”