"Bloody hell."
James looked up from his breakfast to see Sirius, who had just arrived in the Great Hall, staring at the breakfast trays.
"Thif if sho guh!" Peter groaned, stuffing more food into his mouth. "Sirius, we hafed you a plah."
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You guys what me a what?"
"Saved you a plate," Peter repeated as he gulped down his food.
"Gee thanks." Sirius said morosely, and plonked himself onto the bench, wincing as the bench hit between his legs.
"What's wrong?" James whispered to Sirius.
Sirius gave him a pained expression and shoved a letter into James' hand.
"Gotta use the toilet." James announced, and ran out of the Great Hall.
"Me too." Sirius blurted, and rushed off behind James.
"D'you think there's something they aren't telling us?" Peter asked Remus.
Remus was rubbing his temples, and he looked pale.
"Remus?" Peter said tentatively. "Remus, are you okay? Remus?" He gently shook Remus' arm.
This last action snapped Remus out of it.
"Huh? Oh. Well, I'm sure Sirius and James will open up to us when they want to." Remus replied wearily.
"Remus, are you okay?" a voice asked. Bilius and Arthur Weasley had plunked themselves in front of the two boys.
"Yeah, fine, why? What have you heard?" Remus flew into a sudden panic.
"Shush, Remus! We haven't heard anything - you just look sick, is all." Bilius chuckled, though he sounded very tired himself.
"What's up with you?" Peter quickly snuck into the conversation, wanting to be included.
Bilius looked over. "Just been helping Arthur through a rough spot."
"You okay, Arthur?" Remus asked.
Arthur shook his head. "I'm fine. It's - it's Molly." His voice cracked slightly. "Stupid Slytherins - they charmed her Potions book to grow fangs and bite her, and it gave her a nasty bite when she picked it up to pack for classes this morning, I heard. Her friend told me. I rushed to Pomfrey, and she said Molly's been taken to St. Mungo's."
"St. Mungo's? The bite's that serious then?" Remus asked.
"It depends which ward, I guess. No one's gotten back to me. Her friends all seem to know something but they won't tell me." Arthur replied, rubbing his eyes.
"Why don't you write to her?" Peter said. "Then she'll know you miss her and maybe she'll write back and tell you how she is."
"Good idea, Pete." Arthur said, suddenly sounding a lot brighter at Peter's suggestion.
Peter glowed with pride.
***
Sirius,
Don't come home for the summer.
-Walburga Black
The Noble House of Black
James crumpled up the parchment in his hands. "Incendio!" he said fiercely, using a spell his father had taught him once, and gotten scolded by Dora Potter for. The parchment was instantly thrown into flames. "Aquamenti." he muttered, putting out the fire. He threw the ashes into a bin nearby.
"No don't!" Sirius pleaded. "Why'd you burn it?"
"Sirius, I can't believe you would still want that stupid insensitive note!" James said incredulously.
"It was a letter she wrote me!" Sirius protested.
"Sirius, you can't tell me you wanted to keep that." James said. "That letter - it was the stupidest thing I've ever seen."
Sirius' eyes watered. "I know, but I just want to keep that piece of her with me - y'know, before I can't go home for the summer."
"Why did she tell you not to go home in the first place?" James stormed.
"She must've found out I got Sorted into Gryffindor." Sirius moaned. "Everyone in my family's been a Slytherin, I told you. They wouldn't want me to be in any other house except Slytherin."
James sighed and wrapped his arms around Sirius. "Look, Sirius, if you really can't go home, come live with me."
Sirius gulped. "You really mean it? I wouldn't be a - a burden?"
"You wouldn't, trust me." James said sternly. "You're my mate."
Gratitude filled Sirius to the brim of his heart. "Thank you!" he choked, throwing himself at James and giving him a huge hug. "Thank you!"
James patted Sirius awkwardly on the back. "It's okay, Sirius. I'm sure my family will love to have you."
"Thanks, mate." Sirius choked out again. Then he gulped a few breaths. "Can we - can we stay here a minute? I don't really want to go back there and have Remus and Peter and everyone see that I cried."
"Of course we can." James said soothingly, rubbing his hands over Sirius' back. "Of course we can."
And Sirius shook with gratitude once again.
***
"...wise to keep the boy? Crucio!"
Walburga Black crumpled into a sobbing, quivering heap at the Dark Lord's feet. From beside Voldemort, Bellatrix cackled.
"Haven't I told you," Voldemort hissed, "time and time again, keep Sirius Black. The boy has magical skill, whatever his other faults. I can see it in him, he has prodigous magical skill."
"From what you tell me, he already knew he had some kind of control over his magic." Voldemort said softly. "Even before he went to Hogwarts."
"That is true, my Lord." Walburga sobbed.
"But... Gryffindor, my Lord, think!" Orion Black protested. "He is in the enemy's house, he won't bow down to the Slytherin ways! Sirius will not obey!"
"Silence! You dare interrupt me? Crucio!" Voldemort shouted, and Orion Black joined his wife on the floor.
He flung a chair across the room with his wand, hearing the satisfying crunch of the chair hitting and denting the wall. Tom Riddle stood and then walked into the next room of Malfoy Manor, the one specially reserved for him.
Sirius Black may have been in Gryffindor - but the boy seemed to be extremely magical...like Riddle as a boy himself, Sirius Black had found out that he had some measure of control over his magic and used it.
No matter what, he had to have the boy.
Voldemort walked across the room in three large strides. He had to get in contact with his spy at Hogwarts.
He had to have Sirius Black in his control.
***
"Finally, a Quidditch lesson!" James practically squealed with excitement. The four boys were making their way onto the Quidditch pitch. They were having the lesson with Slytherins, but nothing could become a killjoy for James when it came to Quidditch.
"I love Quidditch." Sirius murmured. "Regulus and I used to play it back ho- ah, back at Grimmauld Place."
Sirius and James had told Remus and Peter about Sirius not being able to go back home, but using a different reason (their home got burned down, James had said), and Remus and Peter were trying their best to aid Sirius in feeling better.
"Everything's going to be alright, Sirius." Remus assured him. "Your home will be rebuilt in no time, then you can reunite with your family."
"And meanwhile, he can crash at my place. Hey look, broomsticks!" James hurriedly said, and swept Sirius off to 'get a closer look'.
Remus and Peter chuckled and followed, thinking James' urge to get onto the pitch was simply because of his passion for Quidditch.
"Good afternoon, Gryffindors." Madam Hooch smiled pleasantly. She was the Quidditch teacher. "My name is Madam Hooch - I referee all Quidditch matches for Hogwarts, and I am going to teach you Quidditch as well."
"Well, only boys in the first year this year?" she said with mild surprise.
"There's a girl, her name is Lily Evans, she's in Gryffindor, too. But just one girl." Sirius said.
Madam Hooch's eyes darkened. "Are you the son of Orion Black?" she scowled.
Sirius sighed and seemed to shrink. "Yes, I am." he muttered, and then got up and ran off the pitch.
Madam Hooch's eyes softened. "Oh dear."
James got up and scowled so fiercely that Madam Hooch took a step back. "You're one shit of a teacher!" James shouted, and raced off after Sirius.
Lily had just gotten onto the pitch. When James raced beside her, she grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?" she shouted. "I've just seen Sirius skipping classes, now you, too?"
James tried to ignore the suspicious tingle that raced through his nerves when Lily touched his arm. He shook her off roughly.
"Shut up, Evans, Sirius was crying, okay?" James snapped, and dashed away.
Lily shook her head and walked onto the pitch. Remus and Peter were looking scared and shocked, and Lily felt bad for them.
She sat down next to Remus and brushed his arm. "It's okay, Remus, James and Sirius are just toerags." she said, thinking this would make Remus feel better. Instead, he glared at her. Unexpectedly.
"How - how can you say that about Sirius and James?" Peter whimpered.
"Especially when James already told you Sirius was upset and probably crying - you're so insensitive." Remus snapped, and despite his fatigue, he got up and ran after Sirius and James.
"I'm sorry!" Lily called after him, instantly feeling bad, but Peter looked up at her and said, sounding almost angry, "You should apologise to someone else." And he, too, ran off.
"What is this, a race? Why is everyone running off?" Madam Hooch said lamely.
Tears dripped down Lily's face. "I didn't mean it." she said softly, but there was no one there to hear her.
Just then, someone walked up to Lily and started laughing.
"Look at that, the Mudblood's crying too!"
***
"Severus!" Abenezer McKelly yelled. "You done? We need to get to Quidditch, gotta get in good form to beat Gryffindor next year!"
"I'm done." Severus replied, stepping out of the boy's toilet.
"Took you a long time in there, slowpoke." Mulciber snapped.
Evan Rosier laughed. "Washing your hair, Severus?" he teased.
Severus scowled at him. "Let's just go."
"Hey, so you never told us earlier," Antonin Dolohov suddenly spoke up. "What was that girl's blood type?"
Severus bit his lip. "Have a guess, then." he finally said.
Rosier's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean, have a guess? Why aren't you telling us?"
Then his eyes widened. Severus inwardly panicked.
"Ah," Rosier smirked. "She's a Mudblood, isn't she? And you're not telling us because you fancy her!"
Avery, Dolohov, Mulciber and Abenezer McKelly started cruelly chuckling. "Fancying a Mudblood!" Avery snickered.
Severus winced at the term. He had heard his father, Tobias Snape, use the vulgar name on many Muggle-borns. He felt anxious for Lily - the boys would tease her no end.
But he quickly hid his anxiety. "It's not that I fancy her." he said coolly. "Just don't want to waste my time on a Mudblood, is all." He hated the feel of the word on his tongue.
Abenezer McKelly laughed loudly. "Good for you then Severus. Thought you'd gone soft for a while!"
Snape gave a forced laugh. "No, Abenezer, definitely not."
And they trooped off to Quidditch.
Just then, the flying figure of Sirius Black banged into Abenezer, causing him to fall backwards.
"Watch it, Black!" Mulciber roared. He took in Sirius' red eyes and laughed, as Sirius flushed, showed Mulciber a very rude sign with his finger and ran off.
"Look at that, the blood traitor's crying! Maybe he should go and kill himself!" Mulciber roared with laughter.
This treatment towards Sirius Black was one Severus gladly indulged in. "Blood traitor, yes he is," Severus sneered. "Little thing, he's crying!"
At that moment, James dashed past them, after Sirius.
"Oi, Potter! Your mate's crying!" Avery snickered.
James glared at them, and then pulled out his wand. "Don't think I won't dare to. Priori Incantatem!"
This spell was popular in the Potter family - Charlus always took back wands for checking.
A light shadow of the fire produced from the incendio spell appeared, dancing about at the tip of James' wand.
The Slytherins visibly paled, although they weren't going to admit they were scared.
"Not - not going to waste any time on you, Potter." Rosier stammered. "Let's go!"
And they ran off.
James scowled at them. They had made him lose precious time, made him lose Sirius. James turned and ran in the only direction Sirius could have gone, and was off.
***
On the Quidditch pitch, Mulciber laughed loudly. "Lookit, Severus!" he chortled. "That Mudblood's in tears, too!"
Severus flushed slightly. "Is - is she, now?" he asked, trying to sneer and sound condescending.
Avery snorted. "Look at her, she's snivelling!"
Severus grimaced at this term, remembering what his stupid cousin Sirius Black had called him.
"See ya, Snivellus!"
"Look at that, the Mudblood's crying too!" Severus heard Rosier shout. Breaking out from his daydream, Severus hurried to the pitch.
As he forced a bark of laughter, he thought he must be a pretty good actor.
Because when he laughed, Lily Evans' eyes filled with more tears.