Three weeks into Hogwarts and Sirius could already tell that seven whole years here were going to be unbearable. With each and every class that the boys attended, they seemed to be getting more and more brutal with not only the amount of work that was piling up but also with punishments for slacking. Sirius and James had already earned at least three detentions for playing numerous pranks on the older students, including one where they set stink bombs on Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black when they too busy snogging in the corridor. The look on their faces was so priceless that the detention with Professor Avery and the numerous stinging charms that followed was almost worth it. 

Almost.

Although the detentions could be rather painful, Sirius had something else on his mind entirely. The three boys had been going down to the dungeons each night now to see Remus. For some reason, all of them had grown attached to the strange boy locked in the dungeons and wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. He turned up missing on the second night all three of them went down and Sirius couldn't help but worry. But the night after that, Remus had returned, looking weary, battered and yet pleased to see the other boys. 

"Where were you last night?" Sirius had demanded as soon as they had made it to Remus's cell. 

"Oh," Remus replied, looking down so Sirius couldn't see his eyes. "The guards wanted to ask some questions, that's all." Sirius would have pursued it further but the look in Remus's eyes told him to drop it. That's when Sirius truly took in his beaten up form and realised that the guards did more than ask a few questions. So he let the matter drop, not wanting to dwell on the topic any further.

Every night after that, they would bring him gifts of food and blankets and played games which often left them in fits of laughter. At first, Remus was nervous and shy, trying to get the boys to keep quiet in fear that someone would hear them. But soon enough, they all learnt that the guards would hardly ever come down into the dungeons and, because of the silencing charms that surrounded the entire basement anyway, the guards would never actually hear them. The only time when they did have to be careful was when Headmaster Rosier was around. 

Remus had already told them about how the Headmaster was coming down into the dungeons most nights to take someone away. Sirius could see the slight fear in his eyes as he explained that the missing prisoners never returned, were only replaced with someone different. "There doesn't seem to be a pattern," he whispered. "I could be anyone at any time."

"We'd come find you if you went missing," Sirius declared, glaring at Peter and James as if they'd argue.

"Of course we would," James huffed. "You're our mate, Remus, and that doesn't change just because you're stuck down here." The conversation ended after that as Peter pulled out many sweets from his bag, passing them around and chatting excitedly that he had finally managed to master wingardium leviosa in charms that day. Remus smiled patiently, congratulating Peter on his achievement, but Sirius only felt angry. Remus should have been telling them all that he managed to get a spell! He should be up in the classrooms with them and learning magic just like anyone else! The anger had made him quite sullen that night as he stared up at his bed canopy in his empty and lonely room, feeling miserable. 

It just wasn't fair. None of it was. And yet there was nothing Sirius could do about it. 

Deciding that it would probably be best if he gave up on sleep, Sirius wandered down to the first year common room to maybe do a bit of the homework that he hadn't handed in from two days ago. As he settled himself down on the large armchair, he suddenly heard the portrait door swing open and someone enter.  The sound of soft footsteps on the worn carpet got closer as the person moved quietly through the common room, sighing and muttering about unsociable hours as they went. Sirius ducked down in the chair, hiding and praying that we wouldn't be spotted. For some reason, he got the feeling that the person really didn't want to be seen. Apparently the person didn't seem to notice him and proceeded to make their way up the boy's dormitory staircase. Sirius peered over the top of the armchair as the footsteps faded. 

To his surprise, it was James. Sirius managed to catch the back of his head as the other boy tiredly made his way up the stairs to the sixth floor. From high above, the door softly clicked shut and Sirius was once again alone. 

Strange, he thought. What on Earth was James doing out of bed at this time of night? It wasn't that Sirius was overly concerned, but he wanted to know what kind of mischief Potter might have been up to without the others knowing. Sirius hoped it was good because he could really do with some pranking to cheer him up. Maybe he should ask James in the morning, see if there was anything he could do to help? But then again, James would have certainly got Sirius involved if it was something he needed help for. Feeling more lost than ever, Sirius decided to let the matter slip from his mind for now and he resettled himself in the chair, letting his eyes fall shut and sleep taking him quickly. 

***

Sirius didn't mention the common room incident to James in the weeks that followed. Even if he wanted to, the boys hardly had anytime with all the assignments they had to complete. Professor Flint was especially harsh on them in transfiguration. It seemed to Sirius that all the teachers had favourites, usually Rosier, Snape, and Bulstrode who could do no wrong. James, who was clearly the best at transfiguration in their year, was almost always punished for the slightest things. Of course, James and Sirius would both cause mischief which led to Flint screaming until she was blue in the face. It had become a game of sorts to see who could make Flint's face change colour the most. Their laughing didn't help the situation but it was very much worth it.

But other times it was painful to anger the professor. James would often get a stinging charm sent his way for the slightest imperfection in his transfigured mouse tea cup. Sirius could have sworn there was nothing wrong with the tea cup and yet Flint always found 'something.'

James was certainly not a favourite of Flint, and James could say the same for the professor. 

But, even if Hogwarts was grueling and tiresome and sometimes plain cruel, Sirius was still happy. So much happier than he was at home. Now, he had friends that were like brothers, people who cared for him much more than his family ever did. He had James and Peter and of course Remus. Although Remus couldn't be with them all the time, the four boys had all grown inseparable. Many people commented that they were impossibly close in such a short space of time. There was a secret to it though. The one thing they all shared was a hatred for pureblood mania and that kept their bond close. But it meant things happened that were hard for all of them.

It was a cold October night when it happened. Sirius, Peter and James were all sitting in the Great Hall, eating supper with the other first years. The Third Year table was opposite theirs in the middle of the room. They were a rowdy lot, often shouting and yelling at each other in debates about creatures and blood status and politics. Sirius ignored them but those like Rosier and Bulstrode loved to listen in, trying to jump in whenever they could to gain favour with the older students. This particular night, the third years were bragging to Rosier, Yaxley and Bulstrode about their Dark Arts lesson that day.

"Avery took us down to the dungeons!" a third year named Harry Parkinson bragged to the first years. "Got special permission from the Headmaster and everything."

"He told us about the exam at the end of term," a girl said, Penny Clearwater. "Apparently we all have to pick a prisoner and use interrogation tactics to get them to admit to their crimes. It'll be wicked fun!" Sirius, who was feeling furious at his conversation, curled his hands into fists as he stared down at his plate. He could feel James tensing next to him but neither of them said anything, too sickenly fascinated to stop listening. 

"Avery told us to practice right there and then," Parkinson boasted. "It was a mock exam, of sorts. We had to pick one."

"What did you pick!?" Rosier asked, hardly able to contain his sick sense of excitement. "A mudblood? A creature? I so would have gone from some monster or something."

"Nah, mudbloods scream more," Clearwater said knowledgeably. She looked smug, as if she'd just recited a fact from a really hard text she'd read. "There was this redhead muggle-born that I picked. Bit of a challenge. She hardly screamed."

"That's because you didn't use any of the really hard spells," Parkinson told her. "A stinging charm will hardly do it." Clearwater only shrugged.

"Yeah well I've got a plan for her next time," was all she said.

"What about you, Harry?" Bulstrode asked, her voice going all girly and gross as she fluttered her eyelids at him. "Tell us all about what you chose!"

"Some kid," Parkinson said, waving his hand as if it didn't matter. "Weird, filthy thing. He was right in the end cell. Probably thought he could hide from us, the stupid thing. Had scars all over him. A monster. I reckon. I didn't ask though. If he was down there then he deserved to be tortured." Sirius had been taking a drink of pumpkin juice but dropped with goblet with a clatter when he realised who they were talking about. 

Remus, he thought. Oh god, they had been hurting Remus.

"Oi, Black, keep it down, would ya!" Bulstrode said across the table, her face flushed red with anger. "We're trying to listen here."

"Sorry," Sirius muttered but quickly stood up. James look up at him, reading the look in his eyes perfectly. 

"Let's go get that charms essay done," he said rather loudly, so not to attract any more suspicion from the group across the table. "Come on, Peter." Peter looked up from his food, the confused look on his face obviously showing that he hadn't heard any of the conversation. 

"But I haven't finished-"

"Peter, let's go," James said through gritted teeth. The other boy huffed in annoyance.

"Alright, alright," he muttered, standing up and following Sirius and James from the Great Hall. They practically ran up to Pureblood Tower, sometimes leaping from the moving staircases even before they had locked themselves onto a landing in their haste to get up to the dormitories. Once they had made it into the common room, Sirius charged up the stairs to his room, letting the others come in before locking it behind him.

"It was Remus," he said, hurriedly. "That bastard Parkinson was talking about Remus."

"I know," James said solemnly, taking a seat on Sirius's bed. "I heard, mate."

"If he hurt him in anyway," Sirius growled, pacing and stalking across the room in an attempt to release some of the angry energy that had built up inside of him. "God, how can these people be so sick? Getting a thirteen year old to torture an eleven year old boy?"

"Torture?" Peter squeaked. "You mean to say, you think Parkinson tortured Remus?"

"How did you not hear them talking about it?!" Sirius exploded at Peter. "Were you too busy inhaling your food to realise that those third years were talking about hurting Remus!" Peter shrank away slightly, too intimidated by Sirius's outburst to say anything in return.

"I've got to get down there," Sirius said, starting towards the door. "I've got to see if he's okay."

"Woah, mate," James said, leaping up from the bed and grabbing the back of Sirius's collar to stop him. "Hold up. We've got to wait till nightfall. We'll surely get caught if we go right now."

"Everyone is at dinner still," Sirius argued. "Now is the perfect time!"

"The moment you turn up missing, Rosier and Bulstrode will snitch on you in a moment," James reasoned.

"Remember the Headmaster is Rosier's dad," Peter said quietly. "He can get away with anything. If you give him a reason to get you in trouble, then he will." Sirius stood there for a moment, looking between his two friends before sighing. #

"Okay, fine," he said. "You're right. But as soon as everyone has gone to bed, we're going to check on Remus, okay?" James and Peter nodded.

"Definitely," James agreed. "Just wait until everyone is asleep and then we'll go." There was a moment of silence as all three boys suddenly contemplated the gravity of the situation. Before, yes they had been aware that Remus was locked up in a cell, but now they were hit with the harsh reality of the fourth boy's life here. He faced horrors that Sirius, James and Peter could only imagine. 

"I'm worried about him," Peter admitted suddenly in a small voice. "What if he's...what if he's really hurt? What do we do? It's not like we can take him to the school nurse..." If he was honest with himself, Sirius hadn't thought about it. He didn't know what Parkinson had done to Remus, or if it was even treatable. In the end he decided that it didn't matter. They could deal with it when they got there.

"He needs us," Sirius said. "So we're going to help him."

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