Only The Good Die Young

Morning Mail

Come morning, James could already see how nervous Sirius was. Whether it be because of classes or possible howlers, he was shaking as he pulled on his school uniforms. James, having already gotten dressed and packed his bag, walked over to him.

"Are you alright, Sirius? You're shaking," James asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said, his voice exempt of emotion. James knew Sirius was lying, but he didn't press it. Instead he rubbed Sirius's shoulder and walked back to his bed to grab his bag.

Once all four of the Gryffindor first year boys were dressed and had their hair combed, they made their way down to the Great Hall. It was quite difficult trying to remember the same passageways Bill had led them the previous night.

"I don't remember seeing this tapestry," Peter said in a worried voice.

"We did! I remember it!" James protested.

"No, the one we passed had merpeople on it, this one doesn't," Remus said from behind James.

"Maybe we should ask someone," Peter suggested.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "But who? There isn't anyone here, Pete."

All four of them looked around the empty corridor. No teacher nor student was in sight.

"Were going to miss breakfast!" Peter wined. His stomach growled, almost as if it were angry at the statement.

James looked over at Sirius. He looked almost glad that they were lost. "I'm not that hungry anyway," Sirius shrugged.

"Oh, come on! How can you not be hungry!" Peter exclaimed. "I'm starving!" Sirius just shrugged again.

"Lets just keep going. There has to be someone around here," Remus said.

"Okay." They nodded.

So they made their way along the tapestry and turned many corners. There seemed to be no one in the castle, and every step James took, he got hungrier and hungrier.

Finally, after rounding what was probably ten corners, they came across a student wearing yellow robes: a Hufflepuff.

"Excuse me," James said as the girl started walking away from them. She turned around and smiled kindly.

"Are you first years?" she asked.

"Yeah," James said. "And we can't find our way to the Great Hall."

"I'll show you," she said and started walking again. The four boys followed her. "If you ever can't find it again, just walk down as many stairs as you can until you find it. That's what I usually do." She chuckled. "Just don't stray into the dungeons," she said, more serious now.

The Hufflepuff led them down many sets of stairs and through many brightly lit corridors, the only sound was their feet on the stone floor.

"How do you even learn your way around here?" Sirius asked as they went down yet another set of stairs.

"You'll figure it out, I promise. Next week, you'll be able to get down here with your eyes closed!" she joked. "Here we are," she said as they stepped into the Entrance Hall. "Right through them doors."

They all walked through the doors and James sighed as he took in the sight of all the food. He was starved for eggs and bacon.

"I'm the Hufflepuff prefect, so if you ever need help, just ask me. Though I'm sure your head boy Bill will be just as happy to do so." She smiled and went off to the farthest table on the right.

James watched her go, then he led Sirius, Remus, and Peter to the table full of students wearing their Gryffindor robes.

The Great Hall was filled with chatter and the clinging of forks and knives. At the end of the Hall, James could see Dumbledore enjoying a plateful of eggs while he spoke with another professor.