Lions Inside¹ | James Potter

seven

"I don't understand what you're talking about. All I see is a perfect specimen grinning back at me," he smiled proudly. Remus huffed a laugh. "Well, you know how looks can be deceiving," he said sarcastically at his overly confident friend. Sirius turned to smirk at Remus.

"You saying I do look perfect Moony?" Sirius said in a deep voice. Remus rolled his eyes, but Sirius noticed the red tint his ears took. Happy he had made his friend uncomfortable, Sirius turned back to Andrea and James.

"Maybe it's nothing serious. Maybe they're just, you know, covering up a crime," he offered, trying to reassure them. "What are you on about now?" Andrea laughed. Sirius turned serious.

"Maybe your parents moved because the authorities were after them. Robbed a bank, committed treason, covered up a murder. You know, normal parent stuff." Andrea rolled her eyes.

"We should get a muzzle for you," she grumbled. "I second that," Remus muttered, but Sirius heard him. He turned so quickly that Peter jumped slightly in his seat, feeling rather uncomfortable to be sitting between the two right at that moment.

"They're gonna get an earful at Christmas, though. That's for sure," James said loudly, steering the conversation back to their parents. He looked up then as if he had reminded himself of something.

"You guys are coming for Christmas, right?" Peter nodded enthusiastically, Remus looked pained at the question and Sirius scowled at his sandwich.

"Oh, come on, Black. Course you're coming," James said, brushing off the concern evident on Sirius' face.

"Wish I could mate. But they'll never let me," he grumbled, no longer eating, just staring at his half-eaten breakfast. Andrea looked at the boys, puzzled. "Who won't let you do what?" she asked Sirius. "My devil parents won't let me come to the Potter's because Euphemia Potter showed affection towards me when we met them in Diagon Alley last summer," Sirius explained. Andrea's eyebrows shot up.

"So, you weren't kidding about the Black's, huh?" Sirius shook his head, so his curls bounced around his face. "Pure-blood supremacy all the way baby!" he mocked, sticking his nose in the air, and doing a weird salute thing with his hands. 

Just when he said it Mary and Lily walked past behind him. They both stopped walking and raised their eyebrows at him. "Uhm... that sounded bad. That's not what I meant. I was mocking those beliefs. You know I don't support that. Just telling Andrea about the tragic and 'sacred' 28," he stuttered. Mary's impassive expression turned suspicious.

"Fine, Black. We'll let you off with a warning this time," she said before continuing out of the Great Hall, Lily right behind her. "No, where are you going, Evans?! It finally got warmer in here!" James called after her. Andrea smirked as she saw Lily shake her head furiously, picking up her pace and pulling Mary away with her.

"That was - disastrous," she said bluntly to her friend, earning her a 'dead leg'. Sirius turned back to his friends as Mary and Lily disappeared out into the Entrance Hall. "So yes, I'm a big disappointment to my family and all the other purebloods out there," he grinned proudly. Andrea turned to James.

"I thought the Potters were 'pure of blood' as well," she asked. James nodded. "We are. We're not part of the 'sacred twenty-eight', though, thank Godric. But the twenty-eight is a joke. Weasley's are supposedly part of that twenty-eight, but they're considered a bunch of blood-traitors, so they don't get invited to the blood meetings," James explained.

"Which is ridiculous because Frankie and Corinna's mum was a Black before she married a Weasley." "Us too," Peter chimed in. "Some ancestor married a half-blood and that wasn't acceptable, so we were shunned by the rest of the blood-supremacists," he explained, grinning widely. None of the pure-blood boys seemed too heartbroken over not being part of the so-called elitists.