Hogwarts Prefects were admittedly-
James lightly elbow jabbed my side, promptly causing me to turn towards him, a single raised eyebrow.
"You started talking again," He shrugged, keeping pace with me. We were all, the Gryffindor first years at that, currently following said house Prefect towards our first Potions lesson.
"So?"
"I am not sure you realized you were,"
"I wasn't aware,"
"You're welcome."
I jabbed him back for that one and kept on my way. Though he was right, in a sense.
It was probably a bad idea to bad mouth-
'Jab'
"This is going to get old quickly."
"I think Evans might want to join in," James remarked back, grin still on his face.
I, of course, turned my gaze the slightest at that, almost bemused to see the rest of the Gryffindor first years keeping their distance from us. The Prefect herself just a few steps ahead.
As the silence stretched on, I watched as said female Prefect turned her gaze towards us, a curious glint in her eyes.
"What were you going to say about us exactly?"
James seemed to take my last few hints personally as he promptly clamped a hand over my mouth.
"Nothing sane, that I can assure you,"
She rolled her eyes, snorted, and turned her gaze back ahead, James thankfully taking the queue to move said hand away.
"You know, I am pretty sure lesser men have died for trying to do that."
James simply raised his own eyebrow in response.
"Really? Who?"
"Josh Groban."
He, of course, didn't know who that was. So I gave him a few more recognizable examples.
"Two kings, an emperor and a few warlords."
He doubted that one.
"One civilization."
"Evans was right, you are bonkers."
"I am sure you got that much on day one."
"That was yesterday,
"And yet you're still here."
"My bad."
At the sound of short-lived giggling, both of us turned towards the Prefect just ahead of us. At which point I decided to stop on my tracks and pump one fist into my other open palm.
"Apologies, I seem to have made an error!" I called out.
James, thankfully, followed my lead (The rest simply kept on marching on) as he stopped and turned to stare.
"It was two civilizations!"
I could practically see him, visibly, hold in the urge to facepalm as he turned back ahead.
Still, back to the Prefect thing-
'Jab'
-it seemed, despite what Dumbledore said regarding the house point system, the Prefects themselves in truth were the ones that followed up on any that were lost. You might ask if they followed up on any gained? The answer was a resounding no.
See the main issue with a wizarding school was that there wasn't in fact any true method of punishment for unruly students. Which was where the house points came in. Oh sure, they could send you out to the forbidden forest every now and then, but really who was that going to scare into listening? And while the professors themselves decided who won or lost any, Prefects were the ones that made that known. Or made it their business? One or the other. Or both. In essence, because they couldn't outright punish a student, they decidedly left it up to one's own housemates. They quite literally left it up to peer pressure. The house cup certainly didn't matter once one left the castle.
"Man, you just go on, don't you?"
Honestly, I wasn't sure who said that.
Could've been the Prefect, judging by the pointed stare, or could've been Potter, judging by the proximity and loudness.
...
The moment we reached said classroom, underground I might add, my eyes settled onto the herd of snakelings all gathered outside a closed door. Most of them turned to stare/glare at our approaching group. Of course, while everyone else decided to simply eye up one another, I sped up my pace towards them. James a step behind.
Well, I say them, I reall-
'Jab'
-y mean Severus Snape.
Said student stood on the outskirts of the rest of the Slytherins, an irritated look to his face. One that seemingly faded the moment it landed on us. Reaching them, my gaze not remotely budging from what I presumed to be the Malfoy of the generation, I promptly wound my arm around Snapes shoulders, eliciting a tired sigh from the boy. Though he didn't make any move to protest.
Mostly because James chose to do the same from the other side.
"Black." A black-haired, pointed nose and below-average height (presumed) pureblood decided to call out at the sight of me.
"With two sugars," I remarked without missing a beat and promptly walked and helped push Snape past him-
Only to find myself abruptly stopped by a single hand from said student on my shoulder. James and Severus not missing a beat as they untangled themselves and moved a step back.
Judging by the number of eyes on my Forced-to-be friendly Slytherin, I had a feeling Severus hadn't gotten off to the best start with his own year. Which, considering the attention he'd likely gotten from the older ones made quite a bit of sense.
"Is that suppose to be funny?" The black-haired one remarked, his eyes narr- "And that's Avery to you, you blood tr-" He chose to snarl at me.
"Haven't earned your first name yet?" I interrupted him, practically seeing things starting to get, really, out of hand. I, honestly, felt somewhat bad that that seemed to be all it took to get under his skin. Though I suppose I can't really expect too much out of first years.
Even if I've met younger, far more intelligent, weapons of mass destruction.
Still just before he decided to respond, and because I am such a gentleman, I returned his greeting.
"All the same, I am Sirius Black. My father has fuck-you money-" Oh I probably shouldn't swear in front of kids. Especially given the sudden jab from James. "-and I've got a fuck-you personality-"
"Mr Black!" A third voice suddenly boomed over the rest of us, one followed by a conglomerate of the rest of my house. "I'll not have that kind of language in my class!" Horace Slughorn completely, somehow, sober, remarked affronted as he moved towards us.
"First lesson ain't even started and he's already ruffled-" 'Jab' "-and to think it took the half-full man six years to do it."
"Now, I don't want to remove any points this early into the year but another word like that and I will be forced to!" Slughorn remarked as he reached us, briefly stopping just before me. "Though I find myself curious as to what you meant by the Half-full man, I do hope you've all had your fill in the great-hall-"
Rolling my eyes, I interrupted the man. To his slight irritation.
"Oh not at all, it's about a Hogwarts student. You know, the one that came to you full,"
He raised a bemused eyebrow at the words.
Dumb- 'Jab' -ledore clearly hasn't spoken to him yet.
"And left in pieces."
It took the man two seconds to get my reference and freeze up. And two more after that for him to decide to completely ignore me, going as far as to not even look in my general direction.
It probably didn't help that I offered to give him a number.