Sirius Black and the Map of Mischief

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following week was surprisingly busy for the four friends. With each of them taking at least nine subjects, and Lupin insisting on maintaining ten – an endeavor Sirius had given up on after an exhausting third year – they already felt suffocated under the copious amounts of reading they weren't doing.

Things had gotten tense Monday morning when the schedules were passed out, when James groaned about Ancient Runes following double Potions with Slytherin. "That's one way to ruin Fridays. But at least we've got Magical Creatures with Hufflepuff on Tuesday," he added, glancing over at Sirius' timetable.

Sirius attempted to hide the incriminating piece of paper, but James was too quick. "What? Sirius, mate, there's a mistake on yours." James grabbed the parchment from Sirius' hands. "They haven't got you down for Magical Creatures. And you've- yeah, you haven't got a conflict."

Sirius took a long gulp from his orange juice, at which point his best friend realized that no mistake had been made. "We had a deal, mate," James said, scowling. "I take that dreadful Ancient Runes class if you take Magical Creatures."

Sirius picked at a scone. "I'm sorry, James. I just...that was a lot of work last year. Ten courses?"

"Remus is doing it!"

"Remus is taking Muggle Studies, for God's sake!"

"And Ancient Runes and Arithmancy!"

"Yes, and Muggle studies is half the work of Creatures – no offense, Remus," Sirius added, turning toward his friend. Lupin nodded silently and remained focused on his breakfast sausages. Sirius turned back to James. "And don't puff your chest out at me."

"The hell are you talking about?" But James did pull back from Sirius. "Look, I'm just disappointed is all. That class was a load of laughs last year."

Sirius stabbed his eggs. "Yeah, well, I reckon I haven't got time for 'a load of laughs' if I'm going to be a Curse Breaker, do I? Not everyone can play for the Chudley Cannons, James."

James shoved his plate into the center of the table, overturning a bowl of oranges that proceeded to roll down the table and bounce onto the floor of the great hall. The comedic effect was lost on the boys. "I'm taking bloody Runes, aren't I?" James spat, nearly knocking over his goblet as he stood up. He braced himself against the table and growled in Sirius' ear. "But maybe I'll just have a chat with McGonagall and see if I can switch over into something easier. Perhaps there's a class on broom cleaning for me to try out."

James pushed himself off the table and looked at his friends across the table. "Remus, Peter, I'll see you in Herbology."

Herbology had gone mercifully smoothly, as James and Sirius realized during their half hour apart that they'd both been "prattishly stupid" as Sirius put it. The rest of the week, therefore, was its usual blend of humiliating review ("D'you remember learning this? I swear, Slughorn's off his rocker.") and torturous droning ("Can you banish a ghost? Peter, figure out how to expel Professor Binns."). The only true wild card was Thursday afternoon, Gryffindor's double Defense Against the Dark Arts class ("With Slytherin, of course," said Peter), when they met their new professor.

Arabella Dolohov was an amusing change of pace for Hogwarts students, both in contrast with previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors and with the current faculty as a whole. Though it was too early in the year for anyone to have set foot in her office, it was rumored that it housed the largest Muggle record collection that Hogwarts had ever seen, and more than one student had already heard the sounds of electric guitars and heavy drum beats coming from behind that imposing wooden door.