Harry Potter and The Boy Who Had No Choice

Sirius 'Drama Queen' Black

Chapter Nine

When Harry finally returned to Gryffindor tower that night, he was relieved to find that Hermione and Ron were not busy in the common room. Either the two of them had already gone off to bed, or they had found alternate locations for their 'activities.'

Harry trudged up to the dormitories, flinging his bag on the bed and landing with a soft thump on his pillow. Suddenly, he remembered that he meant to write Andromeda back that morning, and still hadn't done so. Glancing around the room, he determined that the other boys were all asleep. He quietly gathered a quill, his wand, some parchment, and Sirius' diary and tip-toed out of the room. He went back down to the common room, knowing that he'd need light to write by and lumos would probably disturb his roommates' slumber.

Settling into the couch, he pulled out his quill and began to write.

Dear Andromeda (and Teddy),

It's great to hear from you. I hope Teddy's hair is back to blue, I wouldn't want Teddy to be 'green.' It's an interesting theory; I bet if Hermione knew about it, she'd probably be eager to test it out. She would likely be able to figure out what pink and purple mean.

As for winter holiday, there's no place I'd rather spend it. I can't wait to be there for Teddy's first Christmas and I'll be sure to get him a fantastic present. I'll ask Hermione and Ron about the Holidays as well, of course, but I do think they'll probably want to spend that time with their families.

Thank you for sending me Sirius' diary. So far, there's no deep wisdom inside, but I did discover that he was using the book as a kind of Pensieve to store his memories. So, really, I'm not just reading about Sirius' experiences at Hogwarts: I'm actually living through them myself!

I'll try to write as much as I can, but it's quite a busy year. Between preparing for the N.E.W.Ts, practicing for Quidditch, and serving detention, I'm barely finding the time to eat and sleep.

Right, you're probably wondering about the detention thing. See, I used this potions book in my sixth year that had some notes and tips on how to brew potions better: it turns out that it was actually Snape's old potions textbook. But, I didn't report the book or turn it in to any Professors and Slughorn found out and gave me detention for the rest of term. It's not bad; all I have to do is dust potions vials, but for some reason Malfoy is in detention as well, which is quite awful.

I'll try to write soon. Miss you both.

Love,

Harry

He finished up the letter and placed his quill down. Harry stood up and began to make his way to the entrance to Gryffindor tower when he realized it was after curfew and the owlery was closed. Folding the letter, he stuck it inside his pocket and plopped himself back down on the couch. He reached for Sirius' diary, sure that no one else was in the room, and flipped to the page he left on last time.

Remus admitted that he used to have a crush on Evans in fourth year on the ride to Hogwarts. This, of course, upset James and he sulked for a bit before Peter distracted him with Quidditch, which is basically the only thing that could ever possibly distract James from Evans.

I don't like that Remus used to fancy her. I mean, she's an insufferable prick and it's bad enough that James is in love with her, she doesn't deserve Moony's attention as well.

Anyway, the feast and sorting was a bore, as usual. But we ran into Snivellus on our way into the Great Hall...

The room began to spin and blur until Harry found himself standing in a hallway outside the Great Hall. Sounds of chatter and excitement filled the air around him, but the hallway was dark and seemingly empty, until Harry spun around and came face to face with a young Severus Snape. Even at age sixteen, his sharp, hooked nose and greasy black hair resulted in a sharp intake of breath from Harry. Just because he now knew that Snape was always on Dumbledore's side doesn't mean that Harry didn't find him intimidating.