The Slytherins glared at Sirius, but to James' amazement they turned away and ignored Peter.
Suddenly, James remembered an incident that had happened before ... He forced himself to shut off thoughts about the stone and concentrated. He had only been 9 then.
His father had come home from an Auror raid. He didn't remember all the details, but he definitely remembered now the last thing his father had said, "Those Blacks with their pure-blood mania hold a lot of power. You can bet the whole lot of them will end up following You-know-who."
Black ... of course! Suddenly it all made sense. But still, Sirius seemed very different from what he heard about the Blacks. Perhaps he would be the first to break the horrible tradition his family had.
James stared at Sirius, who was still shooting daggers at the Slytherin. He noticed how Sirius was clenching his fists until his knuckles were white. It looked as though this was just the first of many conflicts between Sirius and the Slytherins.
0 Sympathies
Confrontation Part 1
Seconds later, the three friends entered the Transfiguration classroom and sat down. James noticed Peter Pettigrew hesitating as he looked around for a space to sit. Trembling slightly, he walked through the classroom. Suddenly, he tripped and fell on the classroom floor, his books knocked askew out of his hands.
A group of Slytherin students sat in a corner, sniggering and smirking. James felt a wave of fury and hatred wash over him. Next to him, Sirius seemed to be sharing the same sentiments, only magnified a hundred times.
"Leave him alone. Or else." Sirius stood up so violently that his chair was thrown backwards with a bang.
"Or else what?" The Slytherins sniggered. "Who are you to tell us what to do?"
"The. Name. Is. Black." Sirius uttered through gritted teeth. There was a collective gasp from everybody in the classroom. "Now leave him alone!"
0 Sympathies
The first joint prank Part 2James and Sirius sat down beside Peter Pettigrew, the boy just before James during the sorting the previous night. James saw Peter's eyes widen slightly as he looked at James, for some strange reason. The mail owls had already left but his mother's owl was still in the Great Hall, beside another owl. Upon spotting the two boys, the owls dropped their letters and exited.
Sirius ignored his letter and immediately began wolfing down enough food to feed 3 people. James opened his letter and took a slice of bread. "You know, Sirius, just because it's free food doesn't mean you have to gobble it," James commented, beginning to read his letter. It basically reminded him to behave, not to "torture" Gavoidat but to treat him properly, feed him and exercise him. James rolled his eyes and crumpled the letter up.
"Can I help it if I'm hungry?" Sirius replied between mouthfuls of toast and porridge.
When Sirius had finally finished feasting, James and Sirius headed upstairs. Remus was still snoozing away. James and Sirius started getting their books for the lessons before lunch, namely, Transfiguration, Charms and Potions. By the time Sirius had finally located his Transfiguration book, it as 8.50.
James looked at his watch. "Transfiguration starts in 10 minutes time."
Sirius looked thoughtful. "Remus seems to be the bookish type who doesn't like to get into trouble, so..." He walked over and whispered into Remus' ear ,"Remus, you're going to be late for class." Hurriedly, he and James ran to the other side of the room and pretended to be looking for stuff.
Remus sat up slowly, his eyes straining against the bright morning light. He stretched and yawned, blinking several times. When he finally succeeded in opening his eyes properly, he saw James and Sirius getting ready to head out of the door.
"What time is it?" Remus looked slightly dazed.
"Let's see..." James pretended to be calculating the time. "Well, breakfast ended at 8.30, and it took Sirius 2o minutes to look for his Transfiguration book..." Sirius made a face at James. "...it must be 8.5o now. Transfiguration starts at 9."
"WHAT??!!" Remus suddenly seemed a lot more awake as he dashed here and there, hurriedly grabbing books and trying to get dress all at once.
Fortunately, the trio made it to the Transfiguration classroom with 3 minutes to spare. As soon as Remus had caught his breath, he asked angrily," Why the hell didn't you try to wake me up?"
James was momentarily at a loss for words. As he and Sirius exchanged looks, Remus noticed their faces and blushed. "You tried, didn't you?" he muttered softly.
"Man, you are one hell of a sound sleeper," Sirius commented. "You actually threw your alarm clock at James and hit me with a pillow."
Remus blushed even more. "Sorry. I don't wake up very well in the mornings. Yesterday I slept at 1 am. Normally, if I'm at home, I sleep at 3 am and wake up at about noon."
James arched an eyebrow. "Wow. That explained why you nearly got Sirius sent to the hospital wing when he tried to wake you up."
Remus blushed and looked embarrassed.
1 Sympathies
The first joint prank Part 1James looked over at Remus' bedside table. An old, rusty and worn alarm clock sat on it, ticking away. Just then, the hands of the clock showed 8 am. The shrill ring of the alarm clock made James and Sirius wince and cover their ears in unison, but Remus was not at all perturbed. Half a minute later, his hand finally appeared and groped around the bedside table for the alarm clock, tapping it lightly. With that, the alarm was silenced and Remus' hand disappeared back underneath the blanket.
Sirius frowned. "That definitely didn't work. Let's try Plan 2." Taking a deep breath, he yanked the covers off Remus. Remus muttered something incoherent into his pillow and curled up into a tight ball.
"REMUS! WAKE UP!" Sirius hollered into Remus' ear. Remus rolled over on his side. Sirius tried again, only to have Remus clock him with a pillow and mutter something which remotely resembled,"Go away."
James grinned evilly at Sirius. "Nice try," he commented sarcastically. Sirius rolled his eyes and rubbed his sore head.
James removed his wand from his pocket began jabbing at Remus viciously. This would probably have worked if Remus had not thrown his alarm clock at James. James ducked but his wand was knocked out of his hand. Swiftly, he retrieved his wand. Meanwhile, Remus had pulled the covers even tighter.
Sirius grinned. "Nice try to you too. It's 8.15 now, breakfast is going to end in 15 minutes. Let's go eat first and come back to check on him later. I'm starving."
James rolled his eyes at Sirius. "Okay, but we're coming back as soon as breakfast ends."
1 Sympathies
The next morningThe next morning, James was up before anyone else. On the left of his bed, Sirius tossed and turned wildly in his sleep, caught in the throes of a devilish nightmare. On the right of his bed, Remus was sleeping tranquilly. Or rather, James assumed it was Remus, since his belongings were next to the bed. Remus himself, however, was buried deep down beneath the thick, goose down blanket. In fact, James could not even be sure if the thing under the blankets was a human, or if it was just a whole lot of bolsters and pillows or even a werewolf.
Just then, Sirius woke up with a start. James noted how he flung off the covers, as though he had just had a violent shock. He was certainly a dishevelled mess. On top of that, he was panting slightly as though he was out of breath. "Up so early?" Sirius ran a hand through his messy hair, rubbing his eyes. "How long have you been awake?"
James grinned. "Not very long, only since the crack of dawn." He reached down to grab his wand from under his bed, then looked up .
Sirius had, by some miracle, managed to transform his appearance to his stunning looks from the previous night within a split second. James had to admit that he really knew how to neaten himself up. "Wow." James was impressed.
Sirius made a show of taking a huge bow. "It's important to look good in the morning. Speaking of which, what time is it, anyway?"
James checked his watch. "8 am. We'd better hurry down for breakfast."
"Shouldn't we wake Remus first?" Sirius gave James a quizzical look.
"Oh. Right." James walked over to the lump in Remus' bed and poked it. The lump shifted slightly but made no further response. James poked it harder. The lump rolled over but still did not get up. James took a deep breath and viciously attacked the lump with his finger. Two minutes later, James' finger was sore, while the lump had sunk deeper into the blankets.
James sighed. "Remus!"
"Mmph." came the muffled response.
James pondered for a moment. "Let's see, I have a few options. One, wait for his alarm clock to ring and see if he wakes up. Two, yank the covers off and yell in his ear. Three, attack him with my wand. Four, let him be late for breakfast and class. Five, all of the above."
Sirius flashed an evil grin. "I vote five."
3 Sympathies
The Great FeastJust then, Dumbledore clapped his hands together. Instantly, the plates on the tables were piled with mountains of food. Without further ado, Sirius began feasting at an alarming rate. James grinned at him. "I suppose you're always hungry at home?"
Sirius shrugged through a mouthful of sausages and chips. "Well, not really, only about 24 hours each day."
Just then, Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor Ghost, floated over to the table. James grinned at him. "My father says that he often saw you trying to tug your head off when floating about in the corridors." Nick took a good look at him and reddened slightly. "Your father had a very big nose in his younger days," he replied, affronted.
Soon, everyone was stuffed, including Sirius. They made their way up the stairs to the corridor. led by the prefect. Halfway through, they were stopped on the stairs by Peeves, the poltergeist. "Ooh, firsties! How fun!" Peeves cackled. Just as the prefect raised his wand to hex Peeves, James flicked a dungbomb at Peeves. Peeves cursed loudly and zoomed away, taking the scent of Dungbomb stench with him.
Everybody stared at James and then started clapping loudly. Even the prefect admitted, "I'm amazed. Not many people can scare Peeves off." James caught Sirius' eye. Sirius whispered, "I'm not bad at pranks either. Betcha I can prank McGonagall one of these days." James raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try."
Soon, they were past the Fat Lady and in the dormitory. James unpacked his belongings, then realised he had forgotten to send Gavoidat to the Owlery. Upon being unpacked, the very miffed owl took off at once without a backwards glance. Sirius looked at him, bemused. "My owl, Gavoidat," James explained.
"He doesn't seem to like you very much does he?" Sirius asked sardonically. James gave him a look. "He's just being moody."
"Alright, lights out! Stop talking!" the prefect hollered.
0 Sympathies
The SortingPretty soon, Professor McGonagall reappeared. She faced all the first-years and addressed them sternly. "Now, we are about to enter the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. You will line up in an ORDERLY MANNER and wait for your turn. When I call your name, you will go up the platform and put the Sorting Hat on." Then, she spotted James and Sirius fooling around at the back. Her mouth instantly curved downwards into a disapproving frown.
"You two back there, please pay attention!" She barked. James grinned slightly. "Yes ma'am!" he saluted, bowing solemnly. Professor McGonagall gave him a withering look and turned away, flinging open the doors of the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was a breath-taking sight. All around them, ghosts zoomed here and there, going to the respective house tables. Above them, the enchanted ceiling looked like a dazzling night sky speckled with stars above. There were millions of brightly-lit candles suspended in mid-air, illuminating the 4 House Tables. Glittering gold goblets and plates adorned the table, waiting to be filled with food.
James nudged Sirius. "It's going to be fun trying to prank the Headmaster," he whispered, gesturing towards Albus Dumbledore. Sirius raised both eyebrows. "Are you good at playing pranks?" he questioned. James grinned. "I practice a lot at home."
The Sorting went along relatively quickly. Soon, it was Sirius' turn. The hat seemed to be in a dilemma. Finally, it exclaimed," Gryffindor!" James saw Sirius break out into a huge grin and knew that his desperate wish had been fulfilled. He gace Sirius a wink and a thumb's up.
Pretty soon, it was the girl's turn. "Evans, Lily!" called Professor McGonagall. Lily walked up the platform gracefully and placed the Hat on her head. A split second later, the Hat announced its decision: "Gryffindor!" Snivellus groaned as Lily hurried towards the cheering Gryffindors, but then she glanced back at Snivellus with a sad little smile on her face. James was on fire inside. He had no idea why Lily would like such an awful wizard. "She's mine! I deserve her more than Snivellus ever will!" he fumed to himself. Meanwhile, Sirius moved over to make space for Lily. She took one look at him and recognised him from the train, then made a face, turned away and ignored him.
After a while, Professor McGonagall called Remus up to the platform. Just like Lily, he was immediately sorted into Gryffindor. The boy just before James caught his attention. The boy was relatively short with thin, brownish hair and small watery eyes which somehow made him resemble a rat. Professor McGonagall looked at her list. "Pettigrew, Peter!"
Peter let out a nervous squeak and scurried onto the rickety stool. The Hat fell over his eyes. It took even longer than it had taken with Sirius for the Hat to decide. Finally, just as everyone was getting impatient, the Hat cried, "Gryffindor!" James decided that there was more to this wizard than met the eye. He was still deep in thought when Professor McGonagall called his name.
James grinned and sauntered towards the Hat, not in the least bothered about what was going to happen. He already knew where the Hat would put him. Sure enough, he had barely put it on when the Hat exclaimed, "Aha! I know you! Your father was a prominent student here! You'll do well in Gryffindor!"
James rushed over to sit with Sirius. Sirius thumped him on the back. "Nice work, mate!" he gave James a hi-five. James grinned. "You too. Congratulations on not getting into Slytherin." Sirius' face darkened ever so slightly. "If I get a Howler in a few days' time, you'll know why."
5 Sympathies
Remus John LupinAll too soon, the ride to Hogwarts was over. James found himself standing with Sirius, the girl, Snivellus and a whole lot of other 1st years. Just then, he nudged Sirius and pointed out of the window. There was a carriage parked just outside the Great Hall.
A sickly-looking boy dressed in shabby robes stepped out, accompanied by a tall lady who wore her face in a constant frown. The lady, who James presumed to be the boy's mum, stepped forward and whispered something to the strict female teacher who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, followed by the boy. James noted he had some strange scars on his face.
Before James had time to reply, the lady and her boy emerged, talking to Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school, famous alchemist partner of Nicholas Flammel and known for the defeat of the Dark Wizard, Grindewald. James sucked in his breath and watched quietly. After a while, the boy turned and walked up the steps of the Great Hall to join the other first years.
The boy shuffled over. "Is it alright if I stand here?" he asked. James looked him up and down. The boy had a haggard, scarred face. His brown hair was showing some signs of greying. However, he seemed to be good-natured and fun-loving, and James decided he would make a pretty good friend too.
"I don't see why not," James replied.
Sirius couldn't stand it any longer. "What's up with your face and your robes?"
The boy looked at his feet and shifted uncomfortably. "I had a huge accident when I was young. My parents had to spend a lot of money on treatment and we aren't really rich."
"Who are you?" James asked.
"Remus John Lupin." The boy answered. "What about you?"
"I'm James Potter..."
"...the name's Sirius Black. Wanna be friends?" Sirius interjected.
Remus brightened up. "Really? Thanks! Not many people talk to me, so I'm mostly on my own."
2 Sympathies
The GirlBefore James could reply, a girl walked in. She had long, dark red hair and almond-shaped green eyes. Her beauty would have been complete if she had not been sobbing. James felt an irresistable sense of affection for her. Ignoring James and Sirius, the girl pressed her face against the window pane. James reluctantly tore his eyes from her.
Soon, a boy with sallow skin and a large, hooked nose entered. He had shoulder-length, greasy black hair which framed his face in curtains. His cold, black eyes resembled dark tunnels containing countless secrets. James wrinkled up his nose in disgust. The boy looked as though he hadn't washed his hair for several years. James decided that if there was a competition for the wizard with the worst looks, the boy would win hands down.
The boy spoke to the girl softly. She seemed to cheer up. James could not hear what the boy was saying, but he managed to catch the last sentence:" You'd better be in Slytherin."
"Slytherin?" James choked back a snort.
"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James looked at Sirius.
Sirius' expression was grim. "My whole family has been in Slytherin."
James was taken aback. "Blimey! And I thought you seemed all right!"
Sirius grinned. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"
James lifted an invisible sword. "
Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Just like my dad."
Snape coughed oddly. James turned on him at once.
"Got a problem with that?"
"No, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy---"
"Where're you hoping to go, seeing you're neither?" retorted Sirius.
James roared with laughter. The girl's face was red, and she looked from James to Sirius in dislike.
"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment."
"Ooooooo..."
James and Sirius mimicked her lofty voice. James stuck out his foot and tried to trip Severus as he passed.
"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called, as the compartment door slammed shut.
James let out a howl of laughter. "Good one!" he sniggered.
Sirius winked. "All in a day's work."
2 Sympathies
Sirius BlackJames soon found that the Hogwarts Express was majestic beyond his wildest dreams. The scarlet steam engine was spacious with lots of space for him to run around. He nicked as many Chocolate Frogs, Liquorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties as he could carry and dashed back to his carriage moments before the trolley lady returned.
Soon, he was lounging in a comfortable seat, feasting on his stolen goods. Just then, the door of his carriage slid open. A lean boy with long dark hair and grey eyes ambled in. "Yo, mind if I sit here? All the people in the other carriages are just too lame to socialize with." The boy raised his eyebrows at James' large stash of treats.
James studied the boy. He was good-looking but haughty and most likely egotistic. His eyes showed a spark of mischief and also a restlessness and defiance against doing what he was told.
Without waiting for James to reply, the boy sat himself down opposite James. "Where'd you get all this food?" he burst out.
James grinned. "Some people really shouldn't leave their trolleys of food unattended."
The boy opened his eyes wide. "You mean you nicked it? Cool!"
James looked very pleased with himself. "So, what's your name? I'm James Potter."
"I'm Sirius Black. Say, mind if I have some? It looks delicious."
James allowed himself a grin. "Go ahead."
Without further ado, Sirius began feasting on the mountain of food. "I bet your family spends a bomb feeding you," James remarked dryly.
Sirius stopped in mid-chew. He turned to James and gave a deep frown. "My family hardly knows I exist. They hate me and think I'm a disgrace to the family name. I've been longing to go to Hogwarts for my whole life just so that I can escape from them for the greater part of the year."
4 Sympathies
A spot of mischief "There you are, James! You left your schoolbooks on your father's Cleansweep 7!" James jumped as his mother's voice boomed from nowhere. Hurriedly, he feigned innocence and began whistling at the top of his lungs, pretending that his mother was not standing next to him.
"James!"
The whistling grew louder.
"JAMES!"
James still showed no sign of acknowledging his mother's presence.
"JAMES ADRIAN POTTER!!! STOP IGNORING ME THIS INSTANT BEFORE I ..."
"Okay, okay, sorry!" James finally whirled around. He had been punished by his mother before and it was certainly unpleasant. Nuts, she found them in the end. James cursed and decided he would have to find a better hiding place for his books.
Smiling in a sickeningly sweet way, James walked forward and took the books from his mother. He bowed in an exaggerated manner. "Oh, thank you
so much, dear mother. I would
never have been able to go to school without them. I owe you my life for this
heroic deed that has saved me from a gruesome fate. How can I
ever thank you for..."
Exasperated, James' mother stalked off without another word.
James gave a whoop of joy. He was free to board the train without his mother watching him. Grabbing his belongings, he raced towards the start of a new life far away, without anybody there having the opportunity to unearth his past.
2 Sympathies
At Platform 9 3/4 for the first timeJames Potter bolted through the pillar, into the gateway of Platform 9 & 3/4. His owl, Gavoidat, hooted loudly in alarm and fell off its perch. Although it had only been with its new owner for about a month, it was already sure that its owner was of the wrong sort. He was playful, noisy, rough and had no respect for the finer qualities of owls. James Potter's mornings were normally spent provoking Gavoidat and flicking soap pellets at it.
Gavoidat picked itself up, shook dust and dirt off his feathers and turned his beak up at his owner, returning to its perch. James suddenly felt his stomach contracting involuntarily. He desperately tried to will the feeling to go away, but it was no use. Hurriedly, James left his cart aside and ran his finger over the golden D on the smooth, green stone in his pocket.
As his wand hand closed round the stone, spots swam in his vision and he twisted around in silent agony. Then, blissful darkness swallowed him up.
When he came to, there was a putrid smell of burnt flesh and a dead full-grown newt in front of him. Exhaling slowly, he walked back to his cart, placing the stone back in his pocket.
3 Sympathies
