ink - sirius black

cinderblock tables and mudbloods

September 5, 1977
2:01 pm
Potions Dungeon

The first few days back at Hogwarts had been such a blur that hardly anyone could keep up, especially the seventh years, with everything from Anneliese trying to help Leo learn his way around school and James and Lily trying to train prefects in the way of a smooth transition from summer to school.

Anneliese and Sirius had taken to calling the prefect training 'parenting practice.'

Leo hadn't addressed his brief coldness towards Sirius in the slightest, but both of them were just a little bit too friendly towards each other in a way that made Anneliese and Remus slightly worried that they weren't going to get along too well.

But for now, nothing, not even a tiny insult, had been exchanged between the two.

In fact, Sirius was doing Leo the courtesy of showing him to the Potions room, their first class with Slughorn starting today.

Anderson raised his eyebrows in mild surprise when he walked into the dungeon.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, but his eyes were scanning the room for Anneliese, who hadn't arrived yet. "Was it really different at Ilvermorny or something?"

"It was just a bit less cave like," Leo said, nose slightly wrinkled as he coughed at the smoke already in the air. "Nothing against Hogwarts, of course. The whole school is.. lovely."

Black bit the inside of his cheek. He liked Leo, he really did. But a slightly different side of Anderson was coming out at school, something a bit more hostile that he didn't quite enjoy.

"I agree," Sirius said simply, knowing that he had to at least try and keep his temper down for Anneliese's sake; it wasn't his place to approve or disapprove of Leo.

"Ah, Mr. Anderson!" Slughorn said, suddenly coming up from behind the boys with a welcoming grin on his plump face. "It is lovely to have another new student here, just lovely."

"Thank you, sir," Leo replied with a mildly fake smile, hoping that Anneliese would just walk through the door already and spare him from talking to any of these people anymore. "Lovely to be here."

If Slughorn was at all discouraged by his falseness, it didn't show in his expression.

"You are the son of the headmistress at Ilvermorny, are you not?" he asked as the class began to settle back down. "That is a rather large title to boast of, and I know many well known people. And what about your father, what does he do?"

Sirius pressed his lips together in a flat line, wishing that Slughorn could mind his business and not try to find the value in connections of students for once in his life.

"Yes, my mother is," Leo stated shortly, expression cold. "And my father isn't in the picture."

Remus was getting the sudden urge to hit Slughorn over the head with his own ridiculous gold and burgundy hat with a tassel dangling from one side. Or yank that tassel so hard he fell into a toxic potion.

Either worked.

Yet once again, if Slughorn wasn't at all deterred from making their entire year who took Potions know about Leo's parental situation, then he once again didn't seem to care very much.

"And I understand that you and Miss Callaway are rather close friends, are you not?" he prompted, and Leo gave him a bewildered expression. "Yes, Mr. Anderson, most of the gossip at the school comes my way."

"Yes, we are," Leo said in the same tense tone, as if he was being interrogated, which he really was, and Sirius began to set down his things next to James.