September 2, 1976
Dear Diary,
It's my first day in 6th year Newt Level Defense Against the Dark Arts, and fate is not on my side. My partner just so happens to James Potter, Sirius's best friend since 1st year. I am positive that Sirius was not happy with this arrangement.
He probably thinks that I am going to find some way to corrupt his brain and force him to become a death eater. Sirius's accusations seemed to get more ridiculous as time goes on.
Sirius has not talked to me since he was left Grimmauld Place. It's best that he stays far away from Regulus and me. Since he left, Regulus has turned cold towards his brother. I found Regulus, a few days after Sirius's departure, cutting his hair. I assume he no longer wanted to look like his brother, as they both had the same long, black signature hair.
These next two years of Hogwarts will be the hardest yet.
A.B.
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The trio — Astrid, Ember, and Kai — headed towards their Defense Against the Dark Arts while Harry swiftly followed behind. He overheard their conversation about their new DADA teacher, Professor Dankworth.
"I do miss Professor Zouch. I hope she does recover from her sickness pretty quickly." Ember felt pity for the old professor, who fell ill towards the ending of their 5th year.
"Frankly, I am not surprised that we have yet another new teacher. I can hardly remember a time that our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor stayed more than a year," expressed Astrid as they got closer to the classroom. It was known that many students believed that the position was cursed, causing lots of DADA professors to not last more than a year in employment.
Harry watched as the students walked into the classroom and sat next to each other. He then watched an old, worn-out man while long robes stroll into the classroom. Harry assumed this was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
"Good morning students," greeted Professor Dankworth. "As you have enrolled in a Newt Level Defense Against the Dark Arts class, I hope you have taken the liberty to read into the books assigned from this summer and have reviewed last year's curriculum.
Kai slightly scoffed at the Professor. Instead of reviewing like a good student would have done, Kai spent most of the summer trying to see his best friends, specifically Ember Rosier. It is no secret to the school that the half-blood had fallen for the pureblood. Everyone knew, except Ember herself.
Astrid threw a subtle glare towards Kai's direction, as an attempt to shut the boy up so they wouldn't get on the new Professor's bad side.
As the students were listening to Professor Dankworth's explanation of this year's curriculum, Harry spotted two boys towards the back of the classroom trying to sneak in. One of the boys had messy, short, brown hair curled slightly away from his face and seemed impossible to tame. The second boy has slick, black hair that looked perfectly styled to his face. Both of the boy's robes sported a Gryffindor tie, and it was obvious that the pair had just woken up because of how messy their clothes were.
Harry was not the only one who noticed the two boys sneaking in, as two other boys in the classroom turned back to look at them. They seemed to shake their head in disappointment as they watched the pair try to sneak in. One boy was taller than the rest, with light brown hair, and had scars on his face. The other boy was short and dirty blond hair.
Harry soon realizes that these boys were the Marauders: Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail. Otherwise known as James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew.
As James and Sirius snuck in, thinking they weren't caught, Professor Dankworth swiftly turned around and looked straight at the two boys. "Ah, James Potter and Sirius Black. Professor Zouch warned me of your habit of being late."
The two boys slightly blushed before sending a charming smile towards their professor. "Good morning Professor Dankworth," greeted James. "Aren't you looking dashing today," complimented Sirius as he sent a wink to his Professor. Harry could see that even when Sirius was younger, he always had that same wit.
Half of the class giggled while the other half rolled their eyes. Astrid groaned in annoyance, as she couldn't stand her brother's immaturity at times, especially towards Professors.
The professor sighed and shook his head before continuing his lecture. "Today, I will be pairing you all up with a partner who you will work and study with for the rest of the year. You will also be able to practice spells on each other, under my supervision of course."
As Professor Dankworth started to call out names, Astrid hoped that she would be paired up with Ember and Kai. It would be awkward to be paired up with a random person and have to work with them for the rest of the year.
"Marlene McKinnon and Lily Evans, Andrew Nott and Severus Snape, Kai Bell and Sirius Black, Ember Rosier, and Aries Flint..."
Ember looked at her friends with a dreadful face. "Oh Merlin, Flint is as dimwitted as a stick. I'm surprised he can even stay on a broomstick during quidditch." Kai scoffed before looking at the pair, "At least you aren't with Sirius Black, he will probably annoy me to the point where I will have to be thrown into Azkaban for murder."
As two friends got up to collect their belongings to move to sit next to their partners, they looked at Astrid with pleading eyes that said, 'help me.
"Astrid Black and James Potter," Professor Dankworth said as he finished reading out the list of pairs. "You all may now sit with your partners before we move onto our lesson for the day.
Astrid could feel Sirius's eyes burning into her skull as she collected her stuff and went to sit next to James. As she sat down, James looked at her with a cautious look. Harry could sense the tension between the two.
With Sirius's recent departure from Grimmauld Place, James wasn't sure if Astrid was just another family member who ended up driving Sirius away. For the rest of the lesson, the two listened to the lecture and took notes quietly without acknowledging the other's presence.
At the end of the lesson, Astrid began to pack her stuff and prepared to leave. Right before she left the table, James stopped her.
"I was thinking..." he spoke hesitantly as if he wasn't sure if his plan was a good idea. "Do you want to meet up every week to study for the DADA Newt Exam? I've heard it's hard and... well Dankworth wants all the partners to study on their own time."
Astrid looked shocked by James's proposal, and even James looked shocked that he offered it. Harry watched as Astrid contemplating his words before agreeing. "Uh, yeah. That would be good. Are you free on Wednesday? I know somewhere we can study on the 7th floor."
"Uh," James was shocked that Astrid agreed. "yeah, that's alright with me. I'll meet you around 5:30 p.m.?"
"Sounds good,' Astrid spared a small smile before she started to move towards her friends. "I'll see you then, Potter."
As Astrid walked with her friends to their next class, Harry watched Sirius approach James with an annoyed look. "Professor Dankworth really doomed us today, hasn't he?"
"Uh," Harry noticed how hesitant his father was talking about Astrid before changing the subject, "yeah. Come on, we are going to be late for Minnie's class."
The brothers threw their arms around each other as they went to catch up with Remus and Peter, who were already on their way to Transfiguration.
YOU ARE READING
Keep Breathing ♢ James Potter
ספרות חובבים"I want you to understand something, Harry...James loved Lily. He truly did love you and your mother. But what Astrid and James had was more than just love. It was all things above love. It was a sacrifice. It was putting each other first. It was m...
