The sorting
His trunk was open on his bed, belongings perfectly arranged within it. His robes were neatly folded, along with all his new books. Still, Sirius felt he was underprepared. He had never really spent any extended time with people his own age outside of stuffy events held by his parents’ friends, so how was he supposed to know what he might need? The thought made his stomach churn with both excitement and apprehension, but the apprehension had grown ever since Andy had pulled him aside during dinner last week. She had seemed sure that by going off to school, he would understand her perspective. Her perspective, of course, being what his mother would refer to as “Blood-Traitor talk”.
He groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. Usually, when he was conflicted about something he would talk to Regulus, but Sirius didn’t feel quite confident he could trust him with this. Despite being only a year and a half younger than Sirius, he still had an ,honestly, childish compulsion to impress their parents. While he always meant well, Regulus was sure to tell their mother about anything Sirius would say about Andy. Even if he didn’t know if he particularly agreed with her, he was not going to subject his favorite cousin to the wrath of his parents.
He glanced at the clock, startled when he realized how late he was running.
“Merlin, Mother’s going to have me again.” He grabbed his trunk, quickly snapping it closed and dragging it out his door.
Predictably, his mother was already waiting at the bottom of the staircase, glaring. Regulus stood slightly behind her, staring down at his feet.
“Come on, Sirius. I do not have all day.” She stuck her arm out for him to grab onto.
Sirius elected to momentarily ignore her, in favor of getting Regulus’ attention.
“It’ll be alright, Reg.” Sirius smiled at his brother as he looked up to meet his eyes. “I’ll write to you often, I promise.”
Regulus offered a tentative smile at this. “Alright. Good luck, then.”
Sirius nodded back, turning to his impatient mother. As soon as he grabbed onto her arm, a familiar, all enveloping blackness engulfed them. When his vision cleared again, they were on a train platform, busy with hundreds of students and parents who were exchanging tearful goodbyes.
He glanced at his own mother expectantly. Her gray eyes met his matching ones, betraying no emotion as per usual. She had already let go of his arm, gloved hands politely clasped in front of her.
“Represent our family well, Sirius. Remember, Toujours Pur.”
He nodded sharply, understanding the implied meaning. Get sorted into Slytherin, like a real Black. With that, she spun, disappearing as quickly as they had arrived. For a second, he stared blankly at the spot she had been in. He was at least expecting a goodbye- they wouldn’t see each other until Christmas!
Well, there was nothing to do now except get on the train, he supposed.
As he weaved through the crowds, dragging his trunk behind him, Sirius thought about who to sit with on the train. While he was sure Andy wouldn’t object to him sitting with her, he was also sure all her seventh year friends would probably not want a first year hanging around them. The same probably went for Cissy- besides, she really only hung out with people Sirius knew from Sacred 28 balls and galas. In other words, people he was not keen on spending more time with than he had to.
He boarded the train, glancing in the compartments as he went along. Relatively all of them were full already, or contained much older students. Finally, he came across a compartment with what looked to be two first years inside. A boy with messy hair and thick glasses, sitting opposite to a girl with fiery red hair who was staring out the window.
He pushed open the compartment door, smiling at the boy. The girl looked very upset, and Sirius did not know how to approach that.
“Mind if I sit here?”
The boy smiled widely back at him. “‘Course you can.”
As Sirius put his trunk up, the boy kept talking.
“James, James Potter, by the way.”
The name Potter rang a bell- one of the “Blood-Traitor” families his dad had warned him about. Honestly though, he couldn’t really be bothered to go find a new compartment.
“Sirius Black.” He sat down, extending his arm out. James glanced at him funnily, but shook his hand anyways.
“Black? As in, the House of Black?”
“That’s the one.”
“My parents told me to stay away from your lot.” James frowned. “Y’know, Malfoys, Blacks, Lestranges.”
Sirius smirked at this. “Well, my dad told me to stay away from Potters. Guess we’ve got to be mates now.”
James stared at him blankly for a second, before bursting out laughing. His laughter was loud and contagious, and soon Sirius was laughing at the irony of it all too.
However, before either of them could say another word, a fourth person came bursting into the carriage. He had greasy black hair that hung around his face, which only served to enunciate his large nose. What stood out most about him, though, was the state of his robes. They were cheap and tattered, clearly hand-me-downs.
He didn’t spare Sirius or James one glance, making his way straight to the girl across the compartment. They spoke in whispers, and now Sirius could clearly see that she had in fact been crying.
“We’re off to Hogwarts!” The boy smiled, clearly trying to cheer her up.
The girl smiled at this, wiping her eyes.
“You’d better be in Slytherin.”
“Slytherin?” James scoffed, turning to Sirius. “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”
Perhaps this was the reason his father had warned him about the Potters, despite their being purebloods. They clearly didn’t have the same values as the Blacks. Still, Andy’s words hung in the back of his mind, urging him to give Potter a chance.
“My whole family have been in Slytherin.”
“Blimey,” said James, “and I thought you seemed alright!”
Sirius couldn’t help grinning at this, it was clear James’ words had no bite. Besides, it was refreshing to talk to someone who just proclaimed what they thought.
“Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?”
James wielded an invisible sword, puffing his chest out proudly. “‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.”
The greasy haired boy made a small, disparaging noise at this. James turned his attention to him.
“Got a problem with that?”
“No,” He sneered. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy-”
Sirius felt the need to defend the first friend he had made so far. “Where, exactly, are you planning to go, seeing as you're neither?”
James burst out laughing at that, and Sirius smirked in satisfaction.
The girl, however, did not find his remark as amusing. She stood up, face red, grabbing her friend’s hand.
“Come on Severus, let’s find another compartment.” And with that, they stalked out of the compartment.
“See ya, Snivellus!” James called as the door slammed behind them.
Sirius scoffed. “Don’t know what their problem is.”
James agreed loudly, launching into a rant about the merits of Gryffindor when compared against Slytherin. Sirius nodded along, trying his best to agree with everything James said, even the things he knew his mother would disapprove of. Soon, they were interrupted, again by the doors of the compartment sliding open.
A short, chubby boy stood in the doorway, blond hair tousled in his blue eyes.
“Would you mind if I sat here?”
He soon introduced himself to be Peter Pettigrew, and the conversation turned back to the sorting. He was shy at first, but as he warmed up to them the three of them were laughing and talking the whole way to Hogwarts. As they pulled into the station, Sirius paused mid-sentence, staring out the window while Peter and James continued debating Quidditch beside him.
“-well McLaren might be young, but his potential is insane. Right, Sirius?” Peter turned to him for backup.
“Merlin.” Sirius muttered, looking up at the castle in the distance. He had heard of how big Hogwarts was, seen photographs, but nothing compared to seeing it in real life for the first time. The stone turrets towered over the lake below it, the moonlight glimmering off the water. Peter and James followed his gaze, rendered equally speechless.
“Wow, that is one big school.” James said incredulously.
They gathered up their stuff, following the crowd of students piling off the train. On the platform, first years were herded off in a different direction than everyone else. Sirius sighed internally as they clambered into boats, he had been hoping to find Andy and talk to her before the sorting. He knew the decision was ultimately out of his hands, but he also knew that it was possible to persuade the hat. The problem was, he was so torn between Slytherin and Gryffindor- his family and his newfound friends- that he didn’t know what to ask for.
They stepped into the entrance hall and a stern faced woman greeted them, her hair tightly wound on the back of her head. She introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall, professor of transfiguration and head of Gryffindor House. James nudged Sirius at this, which only served to increase the churning in his stomach. There were mere minutes left, and he still didn’t know what he was going to do. As quick as it had begun, McGonagall’s speech was over, and the large doors in front of them were swinging open.
Four long tables, already packed with students, filled the room. The tables were headed off at the end of the hall by a platform, where the professor’s table was, along with an old hat resting on a stool. Sirius squinted at it. He thought the hat would be a bit more grand, he couldn’t believe that ragged old thing was going to essentially determine the rest of his life. As they were ushered to the center of the dining hall, he scanned the Slytherin table for Andy. He found her on the far end of the table, several seats down from where Cissy was sitting. Their eyes met, and she gave him a reassuring smile.
“It’ll be okay.” She mouthed, quelling his anxiety ever so slightly. He smiled grimly back, wiping his sweaty palms on his robes. He turned his attention to the shrill song the hat was belting; it was as if the horrid thing was trying to prolong his misery.
When the hat finally quieted, McGonagall began calling names.
“Abbott, Mortimer.”
A young, wide eyed boy slowly walked up to the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on his head. The hat deliberated, sitting thoughtfully upon Abbott’s head for a minute. Finally it seemed to reach a conclusion, yelling out.
“RAVENCLAW!”
The table to the right of them burst into applause, welcoming their new house member. As the hall grew quiet again, Mcgonnagall called out the next name on her list.
“Black, Sirius.”
James and Peter smiled encouragingly at him, nudging him to go up. Sirius felt his stomach practically turn in his stomach, but he forced himself to walk up to the stool in a manner befitting of a Black- eyes forward, back straight, and chin up.
As the hat dropped onto his head, he caught sight of a few people whispering.
“Why do they even bother? They’re all Slytherin anyways.”
“Did she say Black?”
All of a sudden, a small voice was talking in his ear. “Another Black, eh? The obvious choice would be to put you in Slytherin.”
He shouldn’t have been surprised. It didn’t matter what he felt, he was still the heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, he thought bitterly.
“And you would fare well in Slytherin,” the hat spoke again. “Cunning and smart. But there is a sense of loyalty, of bravery bordering on stubbornness within you. It’s got to be- GRYFFINDOR!”
If people were whispering before, it was nothing compared to now. Every table was muttering, even the professors behind him. As McGonagall lifted the hat off his head, his eyes went straight to the Slytherin table. Cissy was staring at him, her usually calm composure gone. Her eyes were as wide as her mouth, staring at him in shock. Every one of the people surrounding her either sported similar looks of shock, or ones of disdain. The only person smiling at the whole table was Andy, but even she seemed worried.
The hushed whispers were suddenly interrupted by a loud voice. James was clapping loudly, screaming in equal measure.
“WOOH!” He called, smiling at Sirius. His loud cheers stood out like a sore thumb amongst the silent students around him, but he didn’t care.
This snapped both Sirius and the rest of the student body out of their shock, and soon enough, about every non-Slytherin in the hall was clapping for him raucously. He stood up slowly, unsure of what to do. McGonagall smiled at him and patted his shoulder, pushing him towards the Gryffindor table. He smiled widely at James and Peter as he went, who were both still clapping.
Despite his intense relief as he slid into a seat at the end of the table, a new anxiety took hold of him. His mother and father were going to lose their absolute minds.
He forced himself to turn his attention back to the sorting, there wasn’t anything he could do now. The red-headed girl from the train was called not long after him.
“Evans, Lily.”
The hat didn’t take long to sort her into Gryffindor as well, but she made a point of turning away from him as she sat down, causing him to roll his eyes in response.
A few names later, when Sirius was beginning to zone out, another Gryffindor sat across from him. The boy had sandy hair that fell into his eyes, which were a very striking amber color. He smiled at Sirius, a scar by his lip stretching as he did so.
“Remus.” He whispered, introducing himself.
Sirius was about to extend his hand in greeting, but after James and Peter had both given him weird looks for it, maybe this time he shouldn’t try, he thought.
He settled on whispering back, “Sirius.”
Remus leaned forward, conspiratorially. “So, Sirius, why’d everyone lose their absolute shit at you being a Gryffindor?”
He was blunt, even more so than James. Besides, it was refreshing to talk to someone who didn’t know his family before they knew him. Sirius grinned back.
“Family thing. I think I’m the only non-Slytherin in hundreds of years. So basically, I’m the biggest family disappointment in…” He trailed off, lost in thought.
“Ever?” Remus finished for him, tilting his head in a question.
“Ever.” Sirius shrugged in confirmation.
“Well, good job then.”
His voice was oddly soothing- maybe it was his accent. Sirius had never met any Welsh people before, maybe they were all melodic like that. They continued to make whispered conversation as three more girls joined them, Marlene Mckinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Mary Macdonald. Finally, McGonagall reached the Ps.
Peter was, thankfully, sorted into Gryffindor after a minute of silence from the hat. He slid into the seat next to Remus, smiling widely. Peter and Sirius both nervously turned their attention back to the hat once James was called.
The hat had barely grazed his head before yelling out its decision.
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Sirius stood up, clapping and yelling loudly. He couldn’t believe his luck, they’d managed to get sorted into the same house!
James bounded over eagerly, sitting down next to Sirius.
“Knew we could do it, Black!” He laughed. “Pete, you too!”
“I’m so relieved.” Peter sighed, grinning.
Sirius tried to smile back, but it was strained. He couldn’t help glancing at the Slytherin table, where Cissy was still staring straight at him. James didn’t notice his conflict, eyes now focused on where the girls were sitting.
“Oi, Evans!”
She turned, her mouth curled in a slight grimace. “What do you want?”
“I see you made it to Gryffindor after all. Trust me, you're much better off.” He winked at her, voice turning to a whisper as the hall grew silent again.
She just rolled her eyes in response, turning her attention back to whatever Mary Macdonald was telling her.
Remus looked at Sirius in confusion at the whole interaction. He just shook his head in response, mouthing “Too long”, back at him.
Once the sorting was over, they could finally talk. Everyone piled their plates high with the food that appeared in front of them, hungrily digging in. Remus hit it off just as well with James and Peter, and the four of them were soon chatting enthusiastically, the girls even joining in. The only one who was keeping to herself was Evans, presumably sad about Snivellus being a Slytherin. Personally, Sirius agreed with James, she was much better off. Sirius himself had never felt this carefree in his life, talking as loud as he wanted about whatever he wanted. Remus was a half-blood, just like Peter, but Sirius found he didn’t mind. They were both hilarious and nice, too. If his parents were wrong about all Blacks being Slytherins, who said they couldn’t be wrong about this too?
Stuffed full of food, they began making their way toward the dormitories. James fell into stride beside him, throwing an arm around his shoulder lazily.
“I really am glad you got Gryffindor, Sirius.”
“Happy you’re happy.” Sirius tried to smile back.
Peter frowned. “You don’t sound happy.”
“Well, that’s because he’s the,” Remus cleared his throat, making exaggerated quotation marks in the air. “‘Biggest family disappointment in ever’.”
“I do not sound like that!” Sirius shoved Lupin’s shoulder, scoffing.
“You kinda do, mate.” Peter chuckled.
Sirius rolled his eyes, smiling now. “Oh piss off, Pete.”
Maybe things would be alright in Gryffindor after all.