Hey you, you're finally awake-

Alphard was very excited for Hogwarts, after all, he had grown up on stories about the various adventures his family had in Hogwarts. First there was Great-grandmother Elana and her part in the goblin uprising. She had been known as Hogwarts' hero for a very long time. Then there was his Grandfather Eleazar who helped fight against Grindelwald and was a great Magizoologist. Alphard loved reading through his grandfather's journals which detailed the countless journeys the man had and the countless creatures he met and discovered with his partner Newt Scamander. Then there was Dad, who was apparently a prankster, according to Remy and Uncle Regulus. Remy claimed that his dad had betrayed them and turned traitor, while Uncle Regulus always took Great-grandfather's side, telling Alphard that there was no way his father could have turned traitor.

He stood with his great-grandfather on the platform, excitedly bouncing on his feet as he looked at the red train in front of him.

"You've got your books?" The old man asked him

"Yes, Grandfather." Alphard nodded

"Your robes?"

"Yes, Grandfather." He nodded again.

He heard his grandfather sigh before placing a hand on the top of his head. "I want you to be careful, Alphard. Be careful on who you make your friends and most importantly..." Alphard looked at his grandfather as he smiled before continuing, "...have fun, Alphard. Hogwarts is a great place. Learn lots, be the best you can be."

"I will, Grandfather." He said as he turned around and hugged his great-grandfather.

"Stay safe, my child." He said as the train whistle blew, signaling time for departure.

Alphard quickly climbed the train after bidding his great-grandfather a goodbye and found himself an empty compartment. He settled down on the seat next to the window, gazing out for a while as the scenery changed from the train station to the country side. He sat there, marveling the scenery for a long time before he got bored and pulled out a book from his bag. It was a hand written book on charms that could be used for pranks, given to him from his godfather Remy. It had four different handwritings in it, one which he could recognize as Remy's own handwriting and the second which Alphard knew was his father's. He deduced that the other two had to be James Potter's and Peter Pettigrew's. Alphard absolutely loved the book. It had spells that would be great to use in the future with tips on how and when to use them as well the places where pranks could be carried out.

He had been alone for the better part of the first hour, cooped up in his compartment, reading though his book. He wondered what sort of friends he would have. The moment he thought about friends, two red-heads ran into his compartment. They quickly shut the door behind them and started whispering to each other, not noticing Alphard sitting in the corner. They were both identical to each other, with their red hair, identical grins and matching clothes. One wore a red jacket with a yellow shirt inside while the other wore a red shirt with a red jacket. They were both thin, lanky and tall, reminding Alphard of his mother. From the pictures he had seen of his mother, she had a bit of red hair, thin body, was tall. Were these twins related to the Prewetts in any way? He would have to ask and find out. They could be his cousins.

"Did you set off yours?" The boy with the yellow jacket asked the other one

The red jacketed one nodded. "Yeah, you?

The first one nodded before taking a peek outside. "Half a minute more. Only hope no one spotted us." He said as his brother turned around and spotted Alphard.

"Well, there is one here." The first boy turned quickly and stared at Alphard, who was looking at the twins with curiosity. There was a whole moment of silence before the boy spoke. "Unexpected circumstances, George."

"I can see that, Fred."

Not a second later, explosions were heard on the train followed by the sounds of people screaming. The twins cheered silently while Alphard got up and opened the door, checking if anyone was coming and quickly closed it again, facing the twins. "What have you two done?" He asked, looking from one twin to the other.

"Set off a few timed fireworks at Percy's carriage." The one named Fred said and his brother nodded.

"Saved up money for a long time. Bought it at Diagon Alley. Neat fireless ones and the actual fire ones." George explained.

Alphard grinned at that.

"Had been planning that bit since we got our letters. Our older brother, Charlie, he told us that nothing could beat the pranks he did-"

"So we set to prove him wrong." Fred finished what George had started.

Alphard had loved the plan. He complimented the twins with a head nod. "Well, that was brillia-"

Immediately, there was an angry shout from the other end of the carriage. "FRED! GEORGE!"

The trio winced and Alphard thought of a plan quickly. "Quick, under the chairs!" He said as he pushed the twins. "I can cast the disillusionment charm on you two. As long as you don't move much, whoever it is that is after your necks, will not be able to see you!"

When the twins had taken their place, Alphard quickly cast the charm, rushed to grab his book and sat down in his seat, pretending to go through his book. Seconds later, a very angry looking red-head opened the door loudly. Alphard could see the family resemblance between him and the twins very clearly. The only difference between them was their height and age.

"Excuse me." The boy stood awkwardly when he noticed Alphard there. "Have you, by any chance, seen two boys here? They're twins."

Alphard silently shook his head, keeping his facial expression under control

"Did they run by you or something?" The older boy asked again

"I was quiet busy reading." Alphard said with an apologetic tone in his voice. "I'm afraid I didn't see anyone run by as I was engrossed in the book." He explained.

"Well, my apologies." The older boy said. "If you do see the twins, tell them that they're in for trouble, alright?" He said before closing the door and leaving.

Alphard very silently moved and opened the door a bit to check that the coast was really clear before beckoning the twins out and undoing the spell on them.

"That was a neat spell!" George praised.

"Yeah, we don't learn disillusionment till our fifth year." Fred nodded as he sat down on the seat opposite to where Alphard had been sitting thus far. George joined his brother as Alphard reclaimed his seat.

"Well... I was reading through my grandfather's journals. Ever since I got my wand, I've been trying out all the spells he listed there. The disillusionment charm was one of them."

"You have to teach it to us then." George said. "I'm George Weasley, by the way." He said, offering Alphard a handshake. Alphard accepted it with a smile just as Fred introduced himself as well and shook his hands.

"Fred Weasley."

"I'm Alphard Bla-Gaunt." He said as he sat back in his seat, leaning back and getting comfortable. He had almost slipped and said 'Alphard Black' before he remembered his great-grandfather's warnings. The people hated his father and though Alphard wasn't ashamed of who his father was, the people would look down on him just for being a murderer's son. It was why Ominis had insisted on Alphard using the Gaunt name instead of the Black name. Alphard had obliged to keep his great-grandfather happy.

"Oh, little heir of Slytherin, aren't ya?" Fred asked as he too leaned back on his seat, relaxing.

"Will you be going into Slytherin house, then?" George asked as he eyed the book Alphard had been reading.

"Probably." Alphard replied with a little nod. "Though, houses don't really mean much, do they? The friends we keep around us are more important than our houses. At least, that was what my great-grandfather always tells me."

"Wise words." The twins say together.

"We ourself wish to be in Gryffindor." Fred said.

"Entire family's been there-"

"Speaking of family-" Alphard interruped them, wanting to ask the question about their probable relation. "Are you related to the Prewetts in any way?"

The twins looked surprised at that, but admitted that their mother, Molly, was a Prewett before her marriage. Alphard excitedly told them that his own mother had been cousins with their mother, which meant that these three were really family.

"I didn't expect to find any family! Though, should have, seeing how more than half the purebloods will be related to me."

"Wait a minute..." Fred frowned. "Noctua's son? You're Sirius Black's son, aren't you?" He said.

"Oh- um..." Well, there was no use hiding it, was there? Alphard decided to tell them the truth. "Yeah. I'm Sirius Black's son."

"Neat." George said. "Anyway, as I was saying earlier, The entire family was in Gryffindor-"

Alphard was a bit surprised at the lack of a more negative reaction from the boys, but took it as a blessing as the delved into topics about the school and it's various houses. Then George brought up the book that Alphard had been reading. He eagerly showed it to his new friends, telling them how his godfather had written the entire book with his friends and how useful it would be if they wanted to cause chaos around the school. The two of them were a similar kin to Alphard with their love for pranks and he was glad for it. He didn't know how he would have survived the next seven years if all his friends had been boring, rule-abiding students.

The rest of their train ride had gone uninterrupted, the boys happily talking about themselves, the pranks they wanted to carry out and more. They only went silent when the train whistle alerted them there there were bare few minutes for their destination, at which point the boys rushed to change into their school robes. The moment they got down the train, a cold breeze hit them. Alphard looked around and spotted a giant man calling for the first years. He had a great beard and was dressed in warm, woolly clothes. He held a big lantern in his hands, which illuminated his kind face with scary shadows.

"That's the game keeper." Fred leaned in to say to Alphard.

"He always takes the First years to the castle through the lake."

"Oh." Alphard nodded as they followed the man to the boats. He instructed them to sit four in one, so the trio immediately got onto one together. Another boy popped up, asking to join and the trio let him. He introduced himself as Lee Jordan, a half-blood. The boys quickly started chatting with each other, introducing themselves and laying down the foundations to their friendships. Lee was a easy person to talk to, he had a very bubbly personality and was easy to read. You could tell when he disliked something and when he liked it, no matter how hard he tried to keep it to himself. Jordan was fascinated by Quidditch, just like the other three, which became the best way for them to bond over. He didn't like pranks much though, but he wasn't over breaking the rules a bit.

"After all, you don't really have fun till you do something on your own." He said and the other laughed as they agreed.

"Look!" George pointed behind Alphard. "That's the castle!"

Alphard turned around to get a look at the castle. It looked magnificent in the night, illuminated only by the lights lit inside the castle. It stood upon a rock formation, looking down at them. The dark parts of the castle blended in with the night sky, the shining stars only adding to the beauty of the castle.

"It's beautiful." Lee said and Alphard couldn't agree more.

Once Hogwarts was out of view, Lee started taught the boys the muggle game of rock-paper-scissors, which they played discretely as they ignored McGonagall who was addressing all the first years. When they finally were brought into the great hall, the boys marveled at everything. If the outside had been beautiful, the inside was gave Alphard the feeling of walking into heaven. The ceiling of the Great Hall had been enchanted to look like the sky outside while the thousand floating candles lit the hall. The tables were long and the sea of students was cleanly divided into four houses. Alphard looked around and spotted a few familiar faces from the few pureblood parties that his great-grandfather had attended. He was also busy listening to Fred and George who were pointing out potential prank spots.

As they gathered in front of the podium, McGonagall set down a stool and a hat, holding a scroll in her arms as the hat sang a silly song.

Gather 'round, young witches and Wizards
It's time to sort you, have no fear.
I'm the sorting hat, from times of great,
The house you end up in, is not just up to your fate.

Maybe red is your colour, like your blood,
Gryffindor's bravery is probably your power.
Might and strength may not be your things,
but giving up is not on your list.

Or yellow like the punctual sun, you adore,
Hufflepuff's loyalty you shall adorn.
Your charm lies in your work and the friends you keep,
And the whole castle could end up as family.

Perhaps blue of the sky is what you like,
Ravenclaw's sharp wit is not to be despised.
The knowledge you gain shall help you for ages,
Or maybe you'll become like the great sages.

If not the three, its the emerald green you seek.
Slytherin's ambition, be warned, is not for the meek.
With cunning and tricks, you may take what you wish
And rise to the top with the power you receive

With that, it ended the song and everyone applauded politely. Alphard found the entire song thing to be funny. Why couldn't the hat just get to the point? Did it have to sing every time? As Alphard grew more anxious, the more scattered his thoughts became. What would he do if he and his friends were put in different houses? Oh wait, could it be possible for the twins to be in different houses? That was something to think about-

His mind went quiet when McGonagall started calling out names of students. There were very few students in their year, barely twenty all put together. so the sorting went along quickly. Alphard was the first among his friends to get sorted. When McGonagall called upon him, he nervously went up and sat down, closing his eyes even before the hat was placed on his head. The moment his name had been called, whispers had started arising around the hall. Of course, everyone wanted to talk about the Gaunt heir. However, when the hat was placed on his head, the whispers and all went away, replaced by one ancient voice of the hat.

"Slytherin's heir." The hat started. "You have quiet the family behind you, I see..."

"You can see who my family is?" Alphard asked the hat surprised.

"Why yes! I look into your heart and mind to see where you belong. Family plays an important part of that. Hmm... now where do you belong?... You have a strong history with Slytherin and yet, your father was a true Gryffindor... hmm..." The hat mused. "You're brave, yes... a thirst for adventure lies in you... But so does a thirst for knowledge and you don't mind working hard to achieve your goals... Slytherin's blood runs strong in you... stringer than your own mother, if I may say so... Hmm... What would you wish for?" The hat asked him

Alphard was surprised. "I get to make a decision?" He was confused. He thought that he would have no say in what house he was sorted into.

The hat chuckled. "Of course! Everyone does!"

"Then..." Alphard didn't know where his friends would end up. The twins would probably go to Gryffindor and maybe Lee would go to Hufflepuff or join the twins... but Slytherin was the house of his mother... His grandfather and great-grandfather as well... Alphard didn't think Gryffindor would suit him. "I'd like to go to Slytherin." He told the hat

"Very well then-" The hat then shouted loud- "SLYTHERIN!"

There was a polite round of applause as Alphard got down from the stool and joined his fellow housemates, among which was Diana Carrow, another new Slytherin student. She smiled warmly at Alphard as he awkwardly took a seat next to a girl who was wearing a prefect badge. He got congratulated by the people in his house. Alphard awkwardly took a seat next to a girl who was wearing a Prefect badge. She introduced herself as Gemma Farley and silently let Alphard watch the rest of the sorting. Lee was the next to get sorted and he went into Gryffindor. Adrian Pucey was the next Slytherin after him. The boy sat down next to Alphard and immediately put his head down and promptly fell asleep. The Weasley twins went next, both going into Gryffindor as they had expected. When the duo reached their table, they looked over and smiled at Alphard who grinned back at them. Finally the list ended with Cassius Warrington, who got sorted into Slytherin as well. He sat opposite to both Alphard and Adrian, next to Diana, smiling politely at Alphard. It was just the four of them this year. Gemma told Alphard that lesser people got sorted into Slytherin than the other houses, mostly because Slytherin only accepted pure-bloods or half-bloods and children were afraid of its dark reputation.

However, none of that mattered when the food appeared before the children. The four new snakes gathered around, sharing their stories. Pucey was a Half-blood on his father's side. His mother had been a McNair before marriage. Warrington was a pureblood while Lestrange refused to give her family history. She didn't have to though, the Carrows were a well known pure-blood family. The boys didn't pry though, some information was sensitive to people, just like how Alphard kept his father's name a secret. Though people knew Alphard belonged to the Gaunt family line, not many people knew he was Sirius' son and his great-grandfather had worked hard to keep it that way

Once the food was done devoured, and Dumbledore gave his speech, the new Slytherins were taken to their dormitory. The Slytherin Dormitory was in the dungeon, a blank wall which only revealed itself when a Slytherin stood in front of it. They had to go further down to reach the common room. While Alphard had seen many beautiful sights, the sight of the Black lake from his common room would have to take the first spot. The water cast beautiful green lights in the room, even in the night. Gemma Farley then took Diana to show Diana her room. Diana would be getting her own room as she was the only first year girl while the boys would have to share. They didn't mind though, the room was quiet spacious and there was enough distance between their beds to give them a sense of privacy.

"A few rules, before you go off to bed tonight." The seventh year Prefect started. "Well, actually, four rules. These are rules only in the Slytherin house, it's not part of the code of conduct for Hogwarts. First, Slytherins stick together, no matter what. No matter what quarrel you have with the person inside the common room, outside, you should show the others that our house is united."

"Second-" the other seventh year prefect took over. "We know people hate our house and they will try to do something. We won't stop you from trying to take revenge, just don't get caught. We've had the house cup for four years in a row, we don't want to break that streak."

The first boy took over again. "Third, any in-fighting can be settled through duels. Our head of the house, Professor Snape teaches us duelling during the weekends. It's entirely optional, of course, but after the session, students get a chance to settle their feuds via duels, without any supervision."

"And lastly." The girl continued. "We have a mentor-mentee thing here. By the end of the week, we'll assign you four a mentor who'll guide you through their remaining time here in Hogwarts. Remember, you'll be expected to do the same in the future as well." She smiled warmly at them.

"Since that's all done, welcome to Slytherin, you guys. Have a good night's rest tonight and tomorrow morning, one of us will take you to you classes. Good night"