Chapter 1
The flames' flickered in the darkened room, shadows bouncing off the myriad of bookshelves and portraits placed on the walls. A lone figure stood, irritation clearly shown on his face while speaking, in front of an ornately carved desk, body facing towards one of the moving paintings.
Gesturing a bit wildly, the figure said, “The new Minister informed me that they'd be appointing a teacher to the vacant Defence post that I hadn’t managed to fill yet,” the figure frowned. “I also heard that the new Lord of the Wizengamot caused quite the stir at the last meeting as well,” the frown deepened, uneasiness clear in his voice, “it was unfortunate that I couldn’t be there but now Minchum believes that I’m unable to do the job I was entrusted with and therefore the school will now be under surveillance and even change! How dare the Board of Governors think me inadequate!”
In response the portraits shared a look, one of a man sighed and drawled, “How, pray tell, does the proceedings of the Wizengamot and your supposed inadequacy have to do with the Defence professor again?”
The figure started to pace the length of the floor, knocking over trinkets sitting on the desk when he moved suddenly in frustration. “This Lord, Lord Gaunt ,” his face twisted, “and a few of his allies decided to share some concerns they had about the education and well-being of the students with the Minister,” he huffed. “Not only did this give the Ministry the chance to have an excuse to talk with the Board but now it allows them a hold in Hogwarts! Their demands have the possibility to completely derail the carefully laid plans I have put in place!”
A few more steps forward before spinning around and moving, the figure continues to rant, increasing the displeasure on the faces of the portraits. The same portrait interjects, “I don’t necessarily see the problem in this Albus, if anything it might be good for the future of the school. Lord knows you’ve already taken out key parts of the curriculum since you’ve taken up the mantle of headmaster,” the man, a past headmaster, said disapprovingly.
Albus waves off the comments. They’ve hashed and rehashed this discussion thousands of times and there was not one person that will be able to change his mind about it anytime soon. He turns towards the portrait, motioning towards an empty space on a shelf devoid of dust and scoffs, “They’ve taken the hat and from what I have been told they plan to do some sort of school wide re-sort at the welcoming feast. I don’t understand what they stand to accomplish with this but I do not like the fact that I will not have full control and influence in my own school anymore.”
Ignoring anymore pointless discussions, he paces once more before turning towards his desk and waving his hand over the assortment of knocked over objects, floating them to their original places. Albus rounded the desk and sat in his slightly elevated chair with an angry sigh. He hadn’t been able to find a Defence professor in time, he will admit that, the curse on the post being an annoying factor that makes every potential candidate decline taking it, but he thought he still had time to at least find someone. Whether they were qualified or not is an entirely different affair.
He calms suddenly. If he had known that the Minister would be so competent and distrustful of him, perhaps he is one of Tom's people? He would’ve tried to influence the vote more. He hummed. Working with Eugenia had never been this difficult. Then again that’s what sent her out of office, being so malleable. Anyhow, this just means he’ll have to plan around any unexpected occurrences that could happen with the re-sorting and potential accidents, he was confident that his pawns will sort right so there was no big cause for worry there. With that he extended his hand to a waiting stack of parchment, confident that everything would work out. It always has afterall.
A shout and a burst of loud laughter jolted Sirius out of his almost sleeping state. Groaning in annoyance, the trance he had been in was extremely relaxing, he rolled over onto his front to shove his head into the blanket covering the grass, trying to absorb the remaining warmth left from the sun in the fabric. A sudden chuckle nearby made him lift his head and look towards the sound, glaring when he realised one of his friends was laughing at him. Sitting against a tree, that friend had a book, history?, propped up and open in his lap and was smirking at him in clear amusement.
“Have a nice sleep?” Remus said teasingly, he fiddled with the book, potions maybe?, bookmarking the current page he’d been on, closing it while leaning forward slightly, smirking. Sirius only groaned more dramatically in response, turning back on his front to shove his face in his arms, muttering too low to hear but probably something along the lines of wanting to go back to sleep. Remus snorted, shaking his head in fond exasperation at his friend's behaviour before turning in the direction of where the two remaining members of their quartet had been while taking a glance at the state of the sky.
His friend hummed, “We should probably go in soon. I have a feeling, and it’s a very big possibility now that they disappeared somewhere, that if we leave James on his own for long then he’ll find some way to get himself or Peter killed by accident.”
Not a moment later a crash sounded from behind them in the forest surrounding Potter Manor. Remus stood up and rolled his eyes. As he was grabbing his book, the title definitely had Magical Creatures in it, he said, “Come on, you can sleep all you want soon,” accompanied with narrowed mock suspicious eyes, “I hope this little nap won’t affect your sleep later, we have to wake up decently early tomorrow and-.” he stopped and shook his head, frowning, voice tinged with a bit of concern, “To be honest I still don’t understand how you're even functioning when you have such odd sleep patterns, it’s not healthy.”
Sirius scoffs, rolling over, “I can sleep anywhere, anytime so I don’t really see the problem in this,” with a huff he heaved himself up off the still warm blanket. “And anyways Moony you know why I like staying up late into the night,” he brushed the dirt that managed to accumulate off his clothes and stretched to get the stiffness that managed to settle when remaining in one position for an extended period of time.
All he got for his troubles was another famous, at least famous in their group of friends, eye roll, a mutter of, “it’s because you're my friend Padfoot I’m allowed to worry when you don’t take care of yourself” and an impatient gesture to follow him to where the crash came from. He shrugged, he wanted to complain but this really isn’t the first time they’ve had this conversation, instead he bent down to gather the blanket from the ground silently, whirling it around his shoulders as he shivered. It was getting colder now that the sun was mostly down.
He was pretty sure nothing bad had happened to the guys. He knew that James or Peter, especially Peter, would have come running in some fashion or another already if not. Following Remus, he thought about the upcoming year and the slight uneasiness that has been creeping up on him the last few days. It was odd. They went to get their supplies in Diagon Alley, but nothing had happened, it was just another routine outing so that couldn’t be it.
He trailed Remus deeper into the forest, spacing out and thinking. The days since then have been filled with nothing particularly special except for that one letter from his brother telling him that their father was planning to dedicate more time to his “family” alongside the duties he inherited. Apparently grandfather has decided to retire and give the mantle of Head of House to his Heir. He frowned, a new Heir will have to be named soon and there were only really two options for the position, Regulus and himself.
He snickers, not noticing the confused look from his friend ahead of him, as he shakes his head at his own thoughts, there was no way that he’d be considered, what with him being a disappointment and all. Dear old mother would go to great lengths to have her favourite child be named Heir and her disgraced son disowned. The only problem is he doesn’t know his fathers stance in all this, he’d guess it’d be the same as his wife though, even if he isn’t completely sure.
The sounds of someone struggling and another hysterically laughing pulled him from his, arguably, increasingly depressing thoughts. The sight he and Remus saw upon entering the small clearing immediately made him burst out laughing and his friend to sigh in exasperation, putting on his most unimpressed face, even though he was sure that he had seen one side of his lips threatening to lift up into a smile.
In an enlarging circle of jelly-like, very colourful mind you, goo were the remaining two Marauders tied up absolutely drenched in the substance he was now able to identify as one of their new creations they hadn’t been able to test yet. Well, he mused to himself, it's been tested now and the results aren’t exactly what they had been going for even if it was funny. He was pretty sure that they could add this to their growing repertoire of prank balls if they could figure out what went wrong though.
He watched, snickering, as Remus moved forward to try and help unravel the mess created only to get into contact with the unknown sticky substance, trying but making everything more difficult to unravel the longer he fiddles with it. A few minutes later, Remus demanded he come help since all he’d been doing was laughing on the sidelines and making faces at James, the growing frustration in his oldest friend though made him feel bad alongside the increasingly cold temperatures as the night grew colder, everyone was finally free and they could start making their way back to the Manor.
Joking around with his friends, all thoughts and worries on school and his family were shoved to the back of his mind to instead focus on the here and now. There’s no point in worrying about a future that hasn’t happened yet.
Stepping out of the floo onto the platform the next morning made Sirius feel some spark of relief. The sounds of students and their families walking by along with the smell of the smoke from the train brought a small smile to his face despite the bad feeling that has been plaguing him for the last few weeks.
The floo lit up again and James stepped out next with a silly grin on his face, a little hop in his step followed by Remus, Peter and the rest of the Potter family.
Remus turned towards Euphemia and Fleamont Potter, inclining his head with a sheepish smile, “Thank you for hosting us for the last 2 weeks of the summer holidays Lord and Lady Potter, it was a nice time.”
A fond sigh of exasperation released from Euphemia. She smiled and extended an arm to Remus, bringing him into a soft hug. “Darling, you know you can call us by our names, you're practically a son to us, all of you are,” she told them gently, making sure the rest of them also gathered in the impromptu hug. Fleamont chuckled, putting his hands up in air in the sign of innocence, smiling amusedly while nodding in agreement when his wife looked at him disapprovingly.
James looked like he almost burst with his feelings, happiness radiating off him in waves. He had always loved when his parents claimed the rest of them as their children in all but blood. To him they were his brothers so it would only make sense that his parents would hold the same amount of fondness he does.
Outwardly Sirius looked quite happy. On the inside he felt a bit mournful. The Potters were a very loving family and they often showed it very openly. He knew that not everyone in the Black family were like his parents, his mother specifically, and were actually pretty decent people but it doesn’t mean he can’t wish for them to be like the Potters more often.
Not like any of the light families would agree with that statement mind you, the Blacks being ‘decent’ people. The Blacks have always been a part of the dark faction where many therefore have immediately written them off as some sort of evil. Sirius had always hated that fact about the light faction. How can you write off people when you don't even know them? Just because his family was never loving or accepting of him , doesn't mean they aren't loving of each other. They just don't like showing it in public, an old family tradition that most light families disregard as dated, and something he tends to follow mostly by habit from childhood.
He laughed a bit in his head. Not like many have noticed it though, after all James and Peter are very touchy and seem to have no sense of personal space. He likes his personal space, so does Remus, although that probably has to do with his siblings. But this is another thing that separates him from his family so in the end he forces himself not to mind as much as he should.
Sure he wished they'd accept him, that he'd get to experience that fondness, that love, that only the other children in his family get. He wished that he could hate his family over this but he couldn't. If anything he understands, he didn't adhere to the usual way of life that they were so used to, he was different, an anomaly, or so they think, and therefore they didn't know how to treat him. So they simply ignored him, set him to the side and hoped that with time he'd conform to their ways.
Unfortunately for them, when he was sorted into Gryffindor and he started getting close to some light supporters, that illusion broke. He forced them to recognize his existence. He may understand their actions but it doesn't mean he isn't bitter about it. Because of that, he'll go to great lengths for that bitterness to be known to them, even if that includes getting sorted into a predominantly light oriented house, getting chummy with people who don't align with his ideals and pranking the lot of them to hell during school.
To be honest the latter one is mostly for his and the Marauders entertainment. Some of them are very stuck up and the reactions they have are just too funny to pass up.
Shaking his head, he focused instead on looking around the platform. With a glance to the corner near the apparition zone he spotted two familiar families walking to one of the train compartments.
Perking up he pointed and spoke, “Hey Moony, Wormtail, I think I found your families.” Remus snapped his head in the direction of his finger, making a move in the direction of the familiar group before stopping hesitantly. Peter had no such hesitation and said a hasty goodbye and a see you later towards him and James before taking off to see them.
Remus snorted, shaking his head while the others just laughed fondly. With that Remus started forward, turning his upper body around to wave with a smile before making his way to talk and chat with his parents and older brother.
James turned towards Sirius, throwing his arm around him smirking before saying, “Well, shall we grace the oh so lovely train with our presence and find an empty compartment before it gets crowded?”
Sirius laughed, “Alright, at least Moony won't be able to complain that we were late somehow. He'd be so proud.” The two smirked to each other.
Sirius turned to Euphemia and Fleamont, giving them a teasing grin. “Remus already said it but he'd probably hit me over the head if I didn't say thank you for letting me stay most of the summer personally,” he said jokingly, giving a tiny laugh afterwards.
Fleamont shook his head in amusement. “You're welcome anytime, you don't even have to ask. If your family gives you any trouble we would gladly host you permanently, you know that,” he said kindly, a hint of a question tinged with concern hidden behind.
Sirius just shook his head in denial but responded with a thankful smile. “Everything's good, just a bit tense is all, thank you.”
With the final farewells said, he and James started the trek to the train, swerving around a few panicked first years and gossiping fifth years.
As they neared one of the doors to the train he spotted a few very familiar faces and paled. He tried to duck out of view before getting spotted but unfortunately a call of his name sounded and his shoulders dipped before he straightened back up. With a dejected sigh, and a noise of concern from James which he waved off, he spun around to be greeted with his lovely parents and younger brother alongside a few parents and remaining children of certain dark families who smoothly ignored what was to take place.
In his mind he grimaced, he'd hoped to avoid having to interact with any of these people until the holidays, especially with James tagging alongside him. Not much he could do about that though, he doubted James would leave him to fend for himself against what he thinks are disgustingly cruel people. That thought just makes him groan internally, James spends too much time around Dumbledore for his liking.
Focusing on the here, his body tensed uncomfortably, he gave a short nod of the head in greeting and smiled politely. “Father, Mother, Regulus, nice to see you before we had to leave,” his voice nearly betrayed his nerves of being in their presence with so many witnesses around.
The reactions to himself are confusing to say the least. His mothers face twists in distaste, to be expected, and his brother frowns, at what he isn't sure, but his father gives a barely there smile only really noticeable if you pay close attention. Immediately he is put on guard, why was his supposed father smiling? Is that even considered a smile? He's a bit grateful for James’ silent support right about now. This is just painfully confusing.
“Hello Sirius. Hello Heir Potter.” His father gave the expected greeting, smiling politely towards James who gave a short bow in response, disdain clear, before turning his attention to his son, the smile growing a tad warmer. He continues, “I had hoped that you would've been home when I returned from my trip to inform you of certain changes, understandably you were with some friends so I won't say much more on the topic until you and Regulus return for Yule in the winter, but I'm glad to have caught you before you depart for Hogwarts this year.”
The smile Sirius had on turned more strained as his father talked. What certain changes? Why did he have to be there? This was probably a front for the public image because he honestly had no clue why he would be included in family affairs at this stage. No matter. He’s been dealing with this since he was a child, he won't break now.
“I did plan on coming to find you but I didn't see you all when I originally got to the platform so I thought it would be impossible to find you with so many people around.” The lie fell from his mouth easily enough, making James twitch. He always hated the concept of lying. It's the reason why he isn't too fond of politics and would rather become an auror than Head of his house. Unfortunately for him he has no other siblings.
A flicker of emotion passed through the eyes of the man standing in front of him, a slight tick down of his lips, before disappearing just a second later behind the carefully crafted mask of a politician and Lord. Tension rose a bit higher, no one really knowing what else to say.
A sudden sound emanated from the train, the horn sounding off to signalise the final 10 minutes before departure. Sirius internally sighed in relief. Saved quite literally by the whistle.
He smiled in fake pleasantness and said, “Well I must be on my way then, Mother,” he nodded to Walburga, “Father, I will see you over the winter then.” He gave a little bow of the head, as per proper, before turning his head towards Regulus. “I'll see you on the train then little brother?” Regulus gave a confused but otherwise inexpressive nod of affirmation.
Sirius quickly fled the scene after with James fast on his heels before Orion could get a word in edgewise to his son. One last look back was all he needed to see the furrow in his fathers brow before the hurrying people getting ready to board blocked his view.
They boarded the train. “That was an incredibly awkward experience Padfoot, remind me to drag Remus and Peter along next time,” James said, taking on a slightly joking tone to ease the tension.
It worked brilliantly as Sirius barked out a laugh. He responded, amused, “There is no way you would catch those two around my family, if anything I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did without jumping in to accuse them of something,” James pouted in offence. “Hey! If there's one thing my dad taught me it was to mind my own business when it doesn't concern me.” Very good advice to have to be honest, unfortunately the problem was…, “Prongs, you always get butt into other people's business.”
The train trundled along the tracks, the Scottish highlands flashing past outside the window. The four of them managed to find a compartment just for themselves, locking it to avoid having to talk to anyone, especially any siblings. Romulus Lupin and Penelope Pettigrew were fierce teasers when paired together and, after the platform fiasco, Sirius would rather avoid having to talk to Regulus altogether.
He and James were playing a game of exploding snap while Peter shifted his focus from watching the game to writing on a piece of parchment in his lap. Remus on the other hand was reading a book from the pile stacked up neatly at his feet. Silence reigned for a few moments before Peter shifted and spoke, “Did you guys see the ministry official in one of the compartments near the front of the train? Do you think he’s the new Defence professor?”
James perked up in interest, attention shifting from the game to their friend. “I heard that there's something major happening, did your parents mention anything James?” Peter questioned distractedly, tilting his head and jotting down a note near the bottom of the parchment. James’ face scrunched up in thought and he said,“I don’t remember them ever talking about school or the ministry, although they don’t really talk much about politics around me except for in private lessons,” James shrugged apologetically, attention shifting back to the game. He flipped the two cards closest to him, cursing when the cards exploded and he wasn’t fast enough to flip them back over.
Sirius laughed as he took his turn and flipped two cards, pairing them he gave a sound of triumph when they merged into one. Giving a cheeky smirk to his opponent, James pouted in mock anger, he added the card to the growing pile of successful pairs next to him on the bench.
Tipping his head in thought, he pitched into the conversation, “I heard them talk about it once.” Sirius said nonchalantly. Immediately he caught the attention of everyone in the compartment, his friends pausing their activities to listen. Well… everyone except for Remus, he just tilted his head in his direction in a small form of interest while focusing on his book. “Prongs, do you remember that one time we were messing around with food and potion ingredients?” He queried. James gave a nod, brows furrowed in confusion. “I said I would get the potions ingredients myself right? Well, while walking passed one of the parlours to get to the potions lab I overheard them talking about a few Lords that had complained to the Minister at one of the last Wizengamot meetings, they were mostly talking about the possible effects this may have since the very next gathering had them vote on if they'd give the Ministry more power in the Board of Governors,” Sirius shrugged. “I left after that, didn't want to get into trouble for hearing things I'm not supposed to or something.”
There was silence as the others registered this tidbit of information. Remus shifted, closed his book quietly and asked, “So basically the Ministry and even the Wizengamot Lords no longer believe that Albus Dumbledore could do his job to their standards and therefore have sent a representative to, what, keep watch over the school and see if he messes up?” That seemed to have rendered James and Peter a bit speechless. James essentially exploded in protest, “There's no way! We’re talking about Albus Dumbledore. Wise headmaster of Hogwarts, the leader of the light faction and the destroyer of the dark lord Grindelwald! How can they be suspicious of someone like that! Bloody politicians, they can't even see what’s right in front of them,” James ranted, Peter nodding along, face still coloured in surprise.
Sirius, and Remus given his reaction, cringed at the pure loyalty showcased in the words. This sort of adoration of a figure in power always made him remarkably uncomfortable. If there was one thing he learned from overly posh social gatherings between the dark sect was that politicians and/or power figures were never what they seemed to be. The so-called ‘leader of the light' was no exception.
He had told Remus, the reasonable one of their group, of his thoughts and opinions back in their first year, him also being a safe option as he and his family were neutral in terms of politics, and his friend had agreed that most of it was rather suspicious. Since then they've always tried to stay clear of the headmaster at school, if not, then to never be in his presence alone. Both James and Peter were firm light supporters, even if the Potters and Pettigrews themselves were part of the neutral faction, much to their dissatisfaction.
“Alright! Alright! We get it, Albus Dumbledore is Merlin reincarnate and can do no wrong. Can we get back to the Ministry topic please?” Sirius interjected sarcastically. James gave a small glare in annoyance before resuming the game they paused in favour of the conversation.
Remus hummed curiously, interrupting before James could figure out his thoughts and start an argument. “I wonder if it’s just that though, do you think they’ll do anything else? I mean the ministry official that’s on the train can’t be the new Defence professor that they assigned to the job. Why take the train when you live at the castle?”
Sirius frowned, the bad feeling he’d been ignoring rearing its head. “I don’t know but I have a feeling that something is going to happen, something big,” he mumbled, flipping the cards but remaining distracted as they exploded.
The remaining time spent on the journey was spent in uneasy silence, the calm from before all but gone. If there was one thing that they all agreed on, it was that Sirius’ instincts and feelings were always right.
Waiting by the gates for Peter and Remus to return from the train, Sirius watched as James' face twisted into disgust as a group of Slytherin second years passed by on their way to the carriages. It only got worse when the Slytherin fourth years, their year mates, came to stand on the opposite side of the gates to wait for some of the older years, talking amongst themselves. That house always travelled in groups around the school, the students mixing the younger years and the older years. A remarkable show of unity to be fair, no other house does such.
“Just look at them, standing around all smug, I can't wait to test our new products on them.” James said with a smirk. Sirius was too tired to play along, the uneasy feeling that kept persisting dragging his mood down significantly, he just hummed in a form of agreement hoping for Remus and Peter to get here already so they could just leave. He didn't want to get dragged into picking a fight for no reason. Honestly he didn't understand why everyone hated Slytherins so much, it's just another house full of teenagers? Sure most of them come from dark families but that doesn't really mean anything, lovely Andromeda is a 7th year Slytherin and she's amazing in his personal opinion, being the only one that would try and talk to him at family functions. But Dumbledore hates them, that's obvious, so the rest of Gryffindor house hates them too. He refuses to be ostracised by the people he has to live with 75% of the year, so he isn't going to defend the people who don't really like him, being sorted into Gryffindor does that, just to prove a point.
Thankfully coming towards them are the remaining Marauders looking puzzled at James’ hostile face. He threw his arm around James’ shoulder and gave them a look, bobbing his head in the direction of the Slytherins, a look of understanding dawning on their features. Steering his friend towards the carriages in an effort to distract, he said jokingly, “Let's go, I'm starving! Hopefully the welcoming feast speech isn't long.”
With the group of Slytherins slowly growing to include some 5th to 7th years, they quickly made their getaway to the next available carriage. Much to the reluctance of James of course, who was hoping to pick a fight to alleviate some of the stress that the trip had accumulated.
The encounter was quickly forgotten on the ride up to the castle. Instead the group joked and planned when they would start their pranks. At one point James had even almost pushed Peter off the carriage in a fit of laughter, Remus panicked and tried to grab him but ended up slipping and falling himself back onto Sirius, knocking them both off instead. The whole situation ended up making them unable to stop laughing, sending each other into fits and creating a chain that lasted most of the journey up.
The carriage stopped outside the courtyard next to the entrance. Sirius jumped down and watched smiling as Remus teased James. Peter followed and the quartet made their way through the courtyard and into the entrance hall where the returning students entered the great hall right across. They walked past clumps of students greeting each other, waving to some they knew, to their usual places at the Gryffindor table. Peter tilted his head, “What are the first years doing here?” He asked with a puzzled look on his face, pointing to an assembly of 11-year olds near the teachers table. Sirius gave a quick glance up from fixing his robe, “They're probably trying something different,” he murmured nonchalantly. The others hummed in agreement, James changing the subject to a prank that he wanted to do to ‘initiate’ the new Defence professor.
A few minutes pass in idle conversation, everyone finding their places at their tables, before Dumbledore stands up from his place at the head table, clapping his hands to gather everyone's attention for his annual welcoming feast speech. “The best evening to you! Welcome to our new students, and welcome back to our old. Before we go through our normal announcements you must all be wondering about the delay in our sorting ceremony. Before anything, I'd like to introduce you to your new professor, Professor Jigger. He'll be teaching the course of Defence Against the Dark Arts to you all this year and onwards,” Professor Jigger, a tall blond man wearing expensive looking robes, stands from his place at the head table as the students and teachers applaud politely, Dumbledore giving it a few seconds before continuing. “Yes! Thank you Professor Jigger for your knowledge and expertise! On to the main announcement, the Ministry has sent a representative to initiate a possible new change to some of you. She’ll also be remaining on school grounds for the current year. Do not fret! She’s just here to observe the natural order at the behest of the Board of Governors. Madam Magpie, if you please,” Dumbledore motioned a stout and strict looking woman over to the front, sitting back down as she took her place at the podium next to the sorting chair adorned with the hat.
Dread built up in Sirius’ stomach, hands sweating in nervousness. A possible new change? To only some students specifically? He rubbed his hands on his robes to remove the sweat that had gathered. Glancing around him, he saw the others looking pensive. It seems like he is not the only one that caught onto the ominous meaning in the headmaster's words. Returning his attention to the women, he forced himself to calm down.
The woman gave an empty smile, “Hello students of Hogwarts, my name is Aster Magpie and I’ll be the liaison for the Board of Governors and the Ministry this coming year. My main reason for being here is to explain, and observe, the changes the new decree the Board and Ministry has approved of doing,” she said matter of factly. “What they’ve decided, and what they very much thought was in order, was to do a school wide re-sort.”
Students and teachers alike immediately jumped up in protest. Many others sat dumbfounded, like Sirius himself, the noise reaching a crescendo that was arguably hard on the ears. A shouted “Silence!” from the head table had everyone pausing, most sitting back down, in response. Madam Magpie let silence reign for a few seconds, “Thank you Headmaster,” she inclined her head in gratitude to the man behind her before returning her attention to the student populace, a cold mask of indifference settling.
“We have learned that over the years students have been deceiving and convincing the hat into putting them into any house of their choosing on the pretence of ‘suggesting.’ That will no longer be the case. Not only have we spelled the hat to remain true and unemotional in its decision, we have also decided that we aren't sure if the current students are meant to be where they are,” her voice held no sympathy as she continued. “The houses are meant to be a place to find like minded people who share the same traits as yourself. A place where you’ll flourish and show your true nature, find true friends. Being anywhere else is a lie to yourself and a lie to others that should be remedied immediately. You do not have to worry, those of you that have stayed true will find comfort in the knowledge while those who will be re-sorted will ultimately thank us at the end of the year,” she explained, giving a look around. “Now, any questions? Protests? Fantastic, I’ll give you a few moments to yourselves before starting. Enjoy it, some of you won't be sitting there for much longer,” she looked down, ignoring the sudden uproar of noise as everyone tried to process what had just been said.
Sirius had paled drastically during the short speech, frozen as Peter broke down fearfully, Remus shaking in shock and even James looked rather put-off and shaken for all his bravado. James shook his head, pulling himself together with all the arrogance of a true Gryffindor, it'll be a wonder if he gets sorted anywhere else, he said confidently, “There is no real need to worry, we were all sorted Gryffindor and therefore are all going to stay in Gryffindor. That woman is barmy anyways, this is all just formality right?”
Sirius shared a look with Remus, his friend looking less shaken and more resigned as they both understood that James didn't completely understand what was about to happen. He watched as James tried to calm down a Peter who looked like he was two seconds away from keeling over.
In the end, he can't blame James for his optimism, but he knew deep down that not one of his best friends really knew him . His stomach dropped as a feeling of foreboding settled within. He can only hope that he developed enough traits over the last three years to remain here, he'd rather not think about the most probable alternative.