Chapter 3: Children are the Future
Sirius was sitting on a stool in the Great Hall, the sorting hat covering his eyes. Whatever happens, I do NOT want to be in Slytherin, he thought desperately, I’ll do anything. Do hats need money? Because I will personally pay you to keep me out of Slytherin. Anything. Do you need me to do a task or something? Do you want me to count to one thousand standing on my head? Do you want me run round the grounds naked? I will, name it, just please, PLEASE, put me anywhere but Slytherin. I’ll do any “
Can I get a thought in edgeways? Sirius heard a voice say. He realised with a jolt that it was the hat. Entertaining as your pleas are, you don’t belong in Slytherin anyway. No, the place for you is ...
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Sirius jumped up happily, skipping and cart-wheeling over to the applauding table.
“We’ve got a live one, here!” Nearly Headless Nick informed his neighbour, laughing along with the rest of the House.
Sirius sat, his grin spreading from ear to ear. He couldn’t remember being happier. Revenge was his! It would just about kill his parents, knowing that their eldest son had broken the chain of many family members in Slytherin “ he also noticed with relish that his cousin Andy was waving at him from the other end, grinning. He grinned back, and then waved enthusiastically to James, whom he had sat next to on the train. Soon enough, the two boys were sitting together once again, tucking into the amazing feast. Opposite them, were two first year girls. One had wavy red hair, and bright green eyes. The other was an attractive brunette, who had dark, almost black eyes.
“Hi, I’m James Potter,” Sirius said, nudging his friend under the table.
“And I’m Sirius Black.” James grinned at the girls.
“Hello,” the brunette said, smiling, “Lola Armstrong, and this is Lily Evans.” She pointed to her red headed friend.
“What’s the point in pretending you’re each other?” asked Lily bluntly, “Since I know it’s the other way around. Professor McGonagall said you were Sirius Black, and I remember because you started cart wheeling.”
Sirius blinked. James laughed.
“Excuse Lily,” Lola rolled her eyes, “she’s all nervous and jittery.”
“Hey!” Lily protested, “Just because I don’t think people should go around lying about something as unimportant as their name ... And who wouldn’t be nervous? I mean, look around you!”
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word, would smell as sweet,” James quoted, grinning at Lily, who began to smile, but caught herself and turned it into a frown.
“That’s not the point,” she snapped, glaring at Sirius too.
“What is the point?” James asked, an eyebrow raised.
“What point? Who has a point?” demanded Lily, furiously. Sirius and James looked at each other, confused.
“Um, Lily, calm down,” Lola told her. Lily shrugged, and glared at the boys. Lola rolled her eyes, “Whatever. You be that way. So you two, tell me about, well, you.”
James swelled with pride at the opportunity. “My Dad works at the Ministry, he’s an Auror, and my mum’s a Healer. I’m an only child and we live in quite a big house ... it’s called the Potter Mansion, but I wouldn’t actually say it was a real mansion ... uh ... well, that’s about it, I guess.” He laughed.
“What about you, Sirius?” Lola asked.
Sirius looked at her, and raised his eyebrows “My family? You really don’t want to know.”
Eventually, the feast was over and everyone headed to the common rooms, and ultimately their beds. In the Gryffindor boys’, first year dorm, however, no one was even thinking about sleeping just yet.
“We are the two kings of this here dormitory,” James was saying, “and you shall cater to our every need.” He and Sirius were standing on his bed, trying to look regal. There were only two other boys there. One was small, and slightly plump, and he was watching the two in awe, as if they really were royalty. The other was taller, and skinny. He looked tired, and was lying on his bed, reading. Sirius found this annoying. In one swift movement, he jumped from James’s bed to the boy’s, took the book from his hands and put his face centimetres away from his. The smaller boy gasped in amazement and James stopped talking.
“Do you doubt the two kings of this dormitory?” Sirius asked the boy, over pronouncing each syllable in an attempt to make him sound more upper-class.
“N-No,” the boy stammered in reply.
“Then where, I ask, is your undivided attention?”
“I “ I’m sorry?” the boy looked terrified.
“What is your name?” Sirius asked him.
“Remus Lupin, Your Highness,” the boy stated, fearfully. Sirius blinked. His mouth twitched. Soon, the dorm was filled with raucous laughter.
“I like you!” Sirius declared, slapping Remus on the back. “And you, rodent boy? Who are you?”
“Peter Pettigrew, sir,” the boy squeaked, hoping that Sirius would like him too.
“Well, you’ll do I suppose! Now, rule number one of this kingdom: There is a password. Rule two: No snoring. Rule three: No singing, unless given permission. Any questions?” Sirius looked around, “You, skinny kid. Remus. What is your question?”
“Well, I was wondering what the password is?”
Sirius thought, hard. Then James cried out, obviously trying to direct attention back to himself, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!”
“Perfect! That is the password. Good work, fellow king!”
It was long into the night before anyone got anything resembling slumber.
The four new friends settled easily into life at Hogwarts. Already, Sirius and James had received more detentions than most other students, and they were a little too proud of this achievement. They also enjoyed chatting to Lola and Lily, although the latter always seemed a little reluctant “ but she put up with them. Sirius and James found the lessons easy enough, and were soon ahead of most. Remus was not far behind, although he had to study harder than the other two. Peter, however, was near hopeless, but was able to get by with help from his three friends “ although mainly Remus, who had an aptitude for teaching, and a lot more patience. The two girls were good too, with enough work.
There were, of course, people Sirius knew in years above him. Bellatrix was in her second year, although they avoided each other as much as possible. Narcissa wasn’t there yet, but Andromeda was in her sixth year, also in Gryffindor. He enjoyed talking to her some evenings, happy for a familiar face, in all the chaos.
At Christmas, only Sirius and Lola were left behind out of the group of six, though for different reasons. Sirius refused to return to Grimmauld Place so soon, and Lola’s parents, who were Muggles, were going on holiday to Switzerland, but she despised skiing, so opted to stay at school. Sirius also got the impression that her family were a little scared at the idea of their precious daughter being exposed to magic, and other unknown things. She said it had taken them a very long time to even agree to send her to Hogwarts in the first place.
The pair got to know each other better, since neither knew anyone else staying behind. They played in the snow, talked, and played wizards chess. Both were hopeless at the game, but they didn’t really care. It was the happiest Christmastime Sirius had ever had. Not that it was hard “ he could be locked in a cupboard all through the Christmas season, and it would be more fun.
When the morning itself arrived, they woke early, and Lola ran into the boy’s dorm, in her dressing gown.
Sirius yelled in fright, “Ever heard of knocking?” he asked. Seeing a girl in their dorm was unnerving. There was something not quite natural about it.
But Lola just laughed, and said, “What have you got?”
“I don’t know, I only just woke up. And who wants to open their presents alone on Christmas morning?” Sirius asked, before declaring, “Now, I’m gonna go first!”
“Yeesh,” Lola muttered, “Pushy much?” but Sirius wasn’t listening. He had already dived into his pile, greedily. Overall, he was pleased with his gifts. James had given him some dungbombs, the first Sirius had ever owned, Remus sent him a book “ on curses, but still a book “ and Peter had given him singing socks. Lola presented him with a box of sweets, his parents sent a generous galleon, his Uncle Alphard an expensive looking watch, and Andromeda had given him a pair of gloves that were always warm, in the coldest of weathers “ perfect for playing in the snow. He also got a card from Lily, but no present. Still, it was more than he had expected.
Lola too, was happy with her gifts. She had loved the bracelet Sirius had given her, even though it was quite cheap, “I don’t care!” she had squealed, hugging him, “Thanks Sirius!” She let go, and he smiled. Normally he would have hated being hugged by a girl, but today “ and only today “ he didn’t mind a bit.
They spent the rest of the day having snowball fights (Sirius eventually had to give up on his new gloves when they kept melting the snow, but he wore them when he wasn’t in fierce battle), and had Christmas dinner in the evening. They stayed up by the fire that night, playing chess, talking and eating the sweets they had accumulated together, over the course of the day. It was past midnight when they finally retired to their beds, their young minds full of happy thoughts about snow and sweets and roaring fires.
After that, Sirius and Lola were firm friends, and James, Remus and Peter accepted her too. Lily, however, didn’t bond quite so strongly, but sat with them at dinner and in the evenings anyway. Sirius suspected that he and the other three boys were growing on her a little, and often caught her trying not to laugh.
The dungbombs Sirius had got for Christmas stayed under his bed, not forgotten, but not playing on anyone’s mind. Until, one day during the Easter holidays, all six were bored. It didn’t happen very often, but it was a feeling which they all dreaded.
“We should do something. Something really funny,” Sirius mused, lounging on an armchair, “don’t you think?”
James looked up from the lazy chess game he was beating Peter at, and thought about the proposition for a second, “Absolutely,” he decided, “do you still have those dungbombs under your bed?”
Lily looked up quickly. She frowned, “What dungbombs?”
Sirius raised an eyebrow, and smirked, feeling particularly cocky that day. “The ones under my bed. Of course.”
Everyone but Lily laughed. “I presume you aren’t going to use them, I mean, not even you four are that childish,” she said, with an air of haughtiness.
“Excuse me,” interjected James, “I just went deaf. What?”
“Oh, come on, dungbombs? First of all, it will make the place stink awfully, for no reason, and you could get in serious trouble! What if you were caught?” She tossed the book she had been reading aside, and glared at James and Sirius. Lola looked worried about the tension between her friends.
“If we were caught, we would do detention and get over it. And our motive is simple; we’re bored,” Sirius explained, “What’s wrong with that?”
“What’s the point? Can’t you do homework or practise some spells or something?” she asked, angrily, her cheeks flaring up. Sometimes people just have bad days, in this was certainly one of them.
James raised an eyebrow, “Are you kidding? What would those of us who have lives do?”
“You know what, I am fed up of all four of you!” she yelled, her voice bordering on hysterical, “You’re so childish and I don’t know what Lola sees in any of you!” she stormed up to the girls’ dorms, and the five remaining sat in silent shock. Lola soon got up and followed her, muttering something no one else could understand.
James was in shock. “She ... did you hear ... why ... what did we ... she’s just ...”
“Crazy psycho,” Sirius muttered, “Oh well, come on lads, let me go get those dungbombs, and we’ll show her who’s childish.”
“Um, Sirius, she may have a point,” Remus told him. At the look on his friends face, he said quickly, “but she’s still crazy. No doubt about that!”
Sirius agreed, and left to get the stash of dungbombs. When he returned, James was able to finish a sentence once more, and they left through the portrait hole.
Once the deed was done, they ran as fast as they could, determined not to be caught, with Lily’s words fresh in their minds. When they were three floors away, they quite literally bumped into her, and she dropped the books she had been carrying. Remus picked them up for her, and she politely thanked him.
“If you’re going to the Library, I’d avoid the Charms corridor,” James warned her, with a grin on his face.
“You didn’t?” she asked sounding exasperated. They nodded, “Did you not listen to a word I said?” she chastised. She seemed to have calmed a little, luckily.
“Sure we listened,” Sirius laughed. She sighed, and left down the corridor, taking the longer route to the Library.
When the four boys returned to the Common Room, Lola was waiting for them by the fire, and she looked upset.
“What’s wrong?” Peter enquired, as they sat down.
“I can’t be with you guys as much any more,” she sadly told them. “I value Lily’s friendship too much. I know you don’t always get on, but she’s really good fun, once you get to know her like I have. I mean, I’ll still be friends with you all. I’ll just, you know, not be around as much.”
“I’m sorry,” Sirius said, truthfully. He knew he would miss her, already. But she just shook her head, and left.
That night, Sirius lay awake, not being able to sleep for the first time in a long while. Lola’s announcement had saddened him. Already, he missed her, even though he knew it was for the best. No part of him wanted to ruin her friendship with Lily, and he didn’t resent either of them. But as he lay, staring at his canopy, he missed her far more than he would have expected.
AN: Thanks for reading, please review! Hope this makes up for the long wait.