The Clockwork Locket || SIRIUS BLACK

The New Professor

It was no secret that the entirety of the Hogwarts' student body despised History of Magic the most. Even the most studious, strong-willed Ravenclaw would agree that they could hardly keep their eyes open during a lesson, even if they took a dose of Everett's Everlasting-Energy Potion to sustain them.

Though the subject itself was not horribly dull, it was the ever-monotonous tone and melancholic demeanor of Professor Binns that made the class so dreadful. (Then again, perhaps if one were a ghost teaching the same subject matter for a few centuries, they, too, would completely give up on making the lessons interesting.)

This was Cassie's opinion on the matter, at least, and this is what she chose to think about instead of listening to Professor Binns drone on about the importance of O.W.L.s. (The same speech had been made in every one of Cassie's lessons the day before, which only made Binns's spiel doubly boring.)

With this class being her first of the day, combined with Binns's flat voice and her stomach contentedly filled with five bacon sandwiches (a number Marlene had found appalling at breakfast), Cassie felt as if she could fall asleep right then and there – if it weren't for James Potter and Sirius Black.

They had chosen to sit in the row on her left, across the aisle, flanked perpetually by Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. She tried not to think too much on their proximity to her, warily convincing herself that it was coincidence only; after all, she had arrived not too soon before them, but had been late enough to relegate herself a seat in the very back with a snoring Hufflepuff boy beside her (an unfortunate consequence of her infatuation with bacon sandwiches that morning). So that meant the other back row had been reserved for the most obnoxious of her classmates, naturally. At least Lupin was the closest one to her – he actually seemed to be the sensible one of the lot.

It was quite hard for her to fall asleep, however, as Potter and Black seemed incapable of shutting up. Sniggers and whispers kept penetrating her slip into unconsciousness, and her annoyance was growing with each sleepless minute. What could they possibly have to say to each other so constantly? They were worse than gossiping girls, honestly.

Unfortunately, her troubles didn't seem to be present amongst anyone else in the class. Most of the students were already sleeping with their head on the desk or slumped in their seats, while the rest stared into space with slack jaws and glazed eyes. The only ones who seemed remotely awake were Potter and Black, of course, and Lily, sitting in front with a dozing Marlene while she listened raptly to Binns's ongoing monologue of monotony. Even Lupin – one of the top students in their class, much to Cassie's incredulity – was oddly subdued.

"...O.W.L.s are the most important exams in defining the rest of your school years and the careers you wish to pursue afterward..." Binns went on, and Cassie closed her eyes in silent prayer.

For the love of Merlin, please let it end.

"Psst. Hey. Hey!"

This isn't what I meant. Please just let me die, is what I was asking.

"Adderfall!"

"It's Alderfair, idiot."

Anytime now...

"Alderfair!"

Cassie opened her eyes, scowling when a rolled-up piece of parchment bounced across her desk in an attempt to get her attention and hit her snoring Hufflepuff mate in the face, but he slept on. She whipped her head around.