Is it New Year’s already? It must be. Each day drags on so slowly that it’s hard to know for sure. I didn’t think it was possible to hate any place more than Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. How wrong I was. This journal is the only way to keep me sane around here. The Dementors probably think that all my happy memories are gone, but I’ve fought them as hard as I can. I think about my Hogwarts years all the time. Those were the best days of my life. As long as I think about those days, I’ll never go completely mental.

The first friend I made at school was Remus Lupin . After the Hat sorted me into Gryffindor (take that, Mum and Dad!), I sat down and waited for the other first years to join us. Professor Dumbledore, before he was Headmaster, was in charge of running the Sorting. After sorting through most of the students, he called up “Lupin, Remus.” The boy had light brown hair, and he looked pretty worn out by something. Of course, I didn’t find out what that was for another year. The Sorting Hat shouted, “Gryffindor!” and he walked over to our table. I had an empty seat next to me, so I offered it to him. “Thank you,” he said with a wolfish grin (ha ha, no pun intended there).

I raised my hand to shake his. “Black’s the name. Sirius Black. I’ve heard they put each year together in the dorms. It’s good to meet one of my roommates!”

He shook my hand warily. “Oh. You’re a Black? As in…”

“Yes, those Blacks,” I interrupted, “I’m nothing like the rest of my family, though. They don’t know it, but they’re going hate me for it in a few years,” I added happily. Remus laughed. “Glad you appreciate my sense of humor. Looks like we’ll be good friends, Lupin.”

“You know, you can call me Remus, since I’m sure we’ll be spending loads of time together.”

“Oops. I hadn’t meant to call you that, Remus,” I corrected myself quickly. “My family just refers to everyone by their last names. Force of habit.”

When Remus told us that he was a werewolf (Ok, James and I pressured him into telling), I could’ve cared less. I was nearly as much of an outsider as him because I went against the Black traditions, starting with when I wasn’t sorted into Slytherin.

Good old Remus. He must hate me. Someday, this disaster will be straightened out, and we can be best mates again.