Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the creater, not me (except for what you don't recognize).
The Black Death
Chapter 1: Nothing to Say
“Ouch!” I mumble as Madame Promfrey, the nurse, injects an allergy shot into my arm. I get allergy shots once a month (mother’s orders). I’m allergic to so much; I think I’d need more fingers to count them all.
“Oh, hush. You should be used to this by now, Miss Huntington.” Madame Promfrey looks at me disapprovingly and bustles away to another patient.
“Except that I hate pain,” I mumble to myself as I gather my books and head off to my first class of the year—seventh year Advanced Potions (phew, what a title).
I walk to class alone, since my best friend Leila graduated last year. We spent the summer together, but that doesn’t make much of a difference now that I’m back at school. Alone, I repeat.
I sigh as I walk into class. It’s not that I hate Potions, I don’t. It comes easy to me; Leila said I should be in Ravenclaw, like she was. No, it’s not my hatred for the class or my stress about failing. It’s something different all together.
It’s him.
THE him, Sirius Black. The guy every girl wants, every girl insists they need, and the guy all males fear. He has power, he can cause pain and boy do I hate pain. I’m pretty much the only girl in Hogwarts who doesn’t blush when he talks, and because of that, he ignores me. How childish of him, right?
You don’t see why it’s so horrible? Well, you’ll find out sooner or later. Just you wait.
So, I walk into the classroom and sit right up front. This is probably a bad idea, but I don’t care. At least I’m away from Sirius Black and his partner in crime, James Potter, and his beautiful girlfriend, Lily Evans. Believe me; I have no idea why James and Sirius are in this class. As I sit down, Remus Lupin comes and sits next to me.
Oh, yeah, Remus Lupin. I forgot to mention him, how silly of me. He’s friends with Sirius Black and James Potter, who call themselves the “Marauders”. They’re basically serious pranksters (they have another friend, Peter, but he’s not in this class). Remus is the only “Marauder” I like. He’s kind and funny, and I’m proud to say we’re friends.
Once Remus sits down, I ask, “Remus, why the sudden idea to sit with me?” I fake a look of confusion.
He gives me a funny look. “I’ve always sat with you when we have class together.” Then he gets serious. “Why, do you want me to move?”
“No, no, I was just trying to make a joke,” I sigh.
Remus grins. “You should keep working on it, not really stand-up material yet.”
Being friends with Remus keeps me safe from the pranks of the Marauders. Even though, on the outside, they’re a bunch of good looking guys, they can be quite mean when they wish to be.
Professor Slughorn, the rather pudgy Potions Master, enters the dungeon classroom. I quickly take out my parchment and quill, hoping he’ll do a quick recap of last years potions, for I don’t remember everything.
~*~*~
After all my first day classes, I figure I need a serious break. I tug my books with me towards the edge of the Great Lake for some light reading and relaxation. I pick a shady spot on the grass and plop down. I take out some parchment and a quill, figuring I should write a letter to Leila now, before homework starts to pile up.
I have the quill over the parchment, ready to write, and I can’t think of anything to say. I mean, what can I say—‘Hey, Leila, just got back to school, how’s your life going without me? No, that’s kind of mean. I’ll wait for something really good to happen.
I put away my quill and parchment and instead start studying for Charms; so many spells, so little time. I look up at the sound of happy yelling (reminding me once again that I’m alone) and realize the Marauders have come out to soak up the sun as well.
Sirius and James start playing with something that looks a lot like a muggle Frisbee, only it flies by itself. Peter and Remus are sitting nearby, watching. Remus waves to me, I wave back.
A group of girls gather around the boys with the Frisbee-thing. James is off limits because of his girlfriend, but Sirius is fair play. Before us, ladies and gentlemen, is what I would like to introduce to you as The Black Death. It’s a deadly disease that infects the population of females at Hogwarts, causing horrible cases of drooling and intense giggling. He’s like some kind of virus.
Luckily, I know the cure. Don’t look Sirius Black in the eyes, or you’ll never look at another man again. And fortunately, so far I’ve managed to remain untouched by this epidemic. But of course, that’s probably because he ignores me.
You know, Leila never used to really like Sirius either. Suddenly, I know exactly what I’ll put in her letter.
A/N: I know this chapter is short. This first chapter is really just for the reader to see where this story takes place, who she is etc. Next chapter will be longer, I promise. ~SiriusGal
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