The Sorting
James watched as Regulus was led away with the rest of the first years. He remembered last year when he got to ride in the boats. It was all so magical. He almost wished he could see Regulus’ face as they approached Hogwarts. He wanted to see if his face would light up the same way James’ did when he saw it all the first time. Maybe Regulus’ face would look the same as Sirius’ did. Maybe it would look completely different.
James was staring outside the carriage window as they approached Hogwarts, still thinking about the look Regulus may have on his face.
“It’s good to be back.” Sirius whispered. It wasn’t aimed at anyone, and was mostly rhetorical in nature. No one replied as they watched the castle get bigger behind the trees on the trail.
Sirius practically threw the door open and jumped out as soon as the carriage came to a stop. James laughed as he followed almost immediately. Both of them stood a moment, waiting for Remus and Peter to get out as well. James was so excited. He could feel himself almost bouncing, rolling from his heel to his toes, then going back down.
_____
When they got to the Great Hall, they were told to sit down. James was happy they weren't at the very end of the table, closest to the professors, anymore. They weren’t considered the newbies, even though they were still young.
A conversation had started between the four boys. Sirius had sat next to James, Peter across from James, and Remus was in front of Sirius. Every noise stopped abruptly as the giant doors flew open, rather dramatically James thought.
James watched as Professor Mcgonagall glided through the middle of the room, followed by a ton of stumbling and awestruck first years. James immediately started looking for Regulus. He didn’t know why he took such an interest in him. He was just Sirius’ little brother, but James wanted to know everything about him. Maybe they could be friends.
After a couple seconds of looking, James finally spotted Regulus. He looked terrified. It took a couple kids to be called before Regulus was. James watched him make his way from the back to the chair. Regulus sat down and glanced around the room. James saw Regulus lock eyes with Sirius. It looked like there were a million things passed between them through their eyes.
Mcgonagall put the sorting hat on Regulus’ head. Nothing could be heard throughout the Great Hall. Even the excited first years that had been murmuring to each other had stopped. Everyone wanted to watch Regulus get sorted. James knew they all thought of Sirius as the screw up of the family. Secretly, he hoped Regulus would follow. They could be really good friends.
The hat seemed to be talking, but it was just as inaudible as always. James just wanted to know what it was telling Regulus. “SLYTHERIN!” was yelled into the quiet room. James saw Regulus go rigid as soon as the name left the hat’s mouth. There was a choking sound that came from behind James, but he ignored it, wanting to keep his eyes on Regulus.
Mcgonagall removed the hat, and Regulus had paled. He looked like all his blood had left his body. He could’ve been considered a ghost.
James wanted to catch his eye, give him a small smile. He wanted to make Regulus feel better, but Regulus avoided his side of the room, avoiding Sirius. James could feel the tension radiating from behind him as Sirius, no doubt, sat frozen.
Regulus hadn’t moved. He looked scared. Mcgonagall touched his shoulder lightly, just like she had with James last year during his bad days. Regulus glanced up at her as she gently guided him off the chair and towards the Slytherin table. Regulus stared straight at the table as he sat. There wasn’t much cheering like there is for all the other students.
“How could he be a Slytherin? He was supposed to be in Gryffindor like us.” Sirius said. There was something on the verge of disgust lacing his voice. James couldn’t think of a reason Regulus could ever have disgust thrown his way.
“Not all Slytherins are bad, Sirius.” James said, but he didn’t let his eyes leave Regulus. He looked so sad, so withdrawn.
“Yes, they are. Have you seen the way they treat everyone outside of their house? I mean, have you even looked at Snivellus?”
“I have, but he’s your little brother. You know him. Is he evil?” James turned to look at Sirius now. He didn’t look as mad as he sounded. There was a sense of betrayal laced in his features.
Sirius’ eyes softened at the question. It was like he could suddenly see reason. “No. My Reggie could never be evil like them.”
“Then why are you so worried?” James looked to Remus and Peter in front of him, which had been oddly quiet. They seemed uncomfortable with the conversation. Neither of them were very good with emotional stuff like this, normally leaving it up to James.
The sorting went on, but James wasn’t watching. Instead, he watched as Regulus kept staring at the table like it was the most interesting thing in all of Hogwarts.
“Bartemius Crouch Jr!” was yelled. James paid no more mind to him than any of the other students. He heard a faint, “Slytherin,” said into the room.
The new Slytherin sat down right next to Regulus. James saw him say something, but James has always been bad at reading lips. It was probably just an introduction. Regulus looked up from the table for the first time since he got there. He gave a polite smile and said something back.
Shortly after, the last first year was done being sorted. The food finally appeared in front of them. James realized just how hungry he had been and immediately started to pile his food onto his plate.
“That was the longest wait I’ve ever had to sit through.” Sirius sighed out as he grabbed some roast from the middle of the table. “James, what were you staring at that entire ceremony? You didn’t even look bored.”
James glanced up after stuffing a fork full of food in his mouth. He shook his head, confused, and swallowed his food. “What are you talking about?” James genuinely didn’t know he stared at Regulus that long. It had only felt like a couple minutes.
“You weren’t paying attention at all. I even tried to get you to look at me.”
James could tell him that he was staring at Regulus. He was just worried about Regulus, but for some reason, it felt wrong. He didn’t know why staring at him would feel wrong. He just looked so sad and scared. James really wanted to cheer him up and tell him it would be okay. “I don’t know. I guess I was just thinking. That’s all.” He said with a small shrug as he started eating again, trying his best not to check on Regulus again.
“Right.” Sirius eyed him, but quickly went back to his normal self once he had all of James’ attention.
“When’s the big plan for Lily?” Peter asked as leaned over the table and nodded his head towards her. She was on the other side of Remus.
James looked over to her. She was so pretty. Her hair fell so perfectly and it was the perfect shade. He actually started to stare and forgot about the question.
“James?” Remus spoke up, trying to get his attention.
“I don’t know.” James sighed dramatically as he slumped his shoulders. “I’m going to talk to her.” He was determined to get her to talk to him this year. He turned back in her direction. “Lily!” She turned to look at him, a little confused. “How was your summer?”
She gave a small smile, which made James perk up a bit. “It was lovely, James. How was yours?” She was just as kind as always. James could melt by the way she speaks.
“Amazing! We can talk about it in the common room after dinner. If you want to, of course.” James smiled. He was feeling really hopeful.
“Actually, I think I’m just going to unpack and hangout with the girls.” Lily gave him a shy smile as she turned away a bit. “Maybe tomorrow.” Then, she was back in her conversation with Marlene and Mary. They started to giggle.
James looked over at Sirius. He felt like he was deflating. “Better luck next time.” Sirius patted James’ back, trying to comfort him.
The conversations went on, but James kept quiet. He finished his food and waited for the end of the feast speech. He just wanted to go up to the dorm and sleep. He kept smiling and nodding along with the conversation. They were talking about something Peter did over the summer. It didn’t seem that interesting, but Peter seemed to love telling everyone about it.
Then Dumbledore’s voice boomed through the room, demanding the attention of the students. James glanced up, already a little groggy from the meal he just ate. He saw Regulus from across the room. He seemed to be alright, so James directed his attention back to the boring speech. He hoped it wasn’t as boring as last year’s.
_____
Sirius groaned as he flung himself down on his bed. “That speech was even worse than last year’s. How could it have gotten worse?” Sirius rubbed his eyes.
“Well, at least we have a whole year before we have to hear it again.” James said with a smile. He was trying to make it seem better. None of the others got the memo and groaned at James’ optimisum.
“I’m taking a shower.” Peter said as he dug some clothes out of his trunk and walked towards the bathroom.
“I’m going to go to bed. Night guys.” Remus yawned as he climbed into bed. He had changed while Sirius was complaining.
“Night Rem!” Sirius almost yelled.
“Cheers.” Remus gave Sirius a small smile as he closed the curtain on his bed.
James looked at Sirius, who was still laying on his back on his bed. Sirius picked up head and looked towards James. He walked over to Sirius’ bed and sat on the floor in front of it, leaning his head against the mattress. Sirius slid down the bed next to him. They sat for a little while, until Peter had come out of the shower. They all said their goodnights. Neither spoke until steady breathing was heard from Remus’ and Peter’s beds.
“Do you think Reg will be alright?” Sirius asked quietly. James appreciated the whisper. He didn’t like disturbing people when they were sleeping.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s strong right? Seems strong.” James mumbled. He wasn’t sure what it would be like for Regulus. The Slytherin’s could be nasty, but he didn’t know Regulus well either.
“He is strong, but he’s good. He should be with us.” Sirius had pulled his legs up to his chest. He was staring at the floor in front of them.
“There has to be a reason he’s there. It’ll all be okay.” James put his arms around Sirius, hugging him. “We should go to bed. First day tomorrow.”
James stood up and put his hand out for Sirius to take. Sirius grabbed James’ hand and got up. “G’night.” Sirius crawled into bed and closed his curtain.
“Goodnight.” James walked to his own bed. He closed his curtains and layed down, pulling the covers over himself. He stared at the ceiling before finally falling asleep. He was thinking about the day: meeting Regulus, watching Regulus, Lily basically rejecting him, calming Sirius down. It was starting to blur as he closed his eyes, and sleep overtook him.