Disclaimer: I am not JK, etc etc.
A/N: I love Sirius and I love McGonagall, so I decided to write them both into a short story. I don't know if I should leave this as a oneshot, or continue it on. I'll see if people are interested. And please, for the love of all that is good and holy in this world, review! Thanks ;)
'Black, Sirius!' Called Minerva, and a smirking first year, his chin held as high as a chin could go, marched up to the stool imperiously, placing the hat on his head. Minerva had to repress a snort. This spoiled child was a true black. She waited while the hat deliberated, wondering why it was talking so long. She would have expected it to shout 'Slytherin' before it even touched his head. But—
'GRYFFINDOR!' shouted the hat, and the hall went quiet. Minerva could not believe it, a Black, a proud pure-blooded black, in Gryffindor? Where was the world coming to? Then the young Black turned to stare at her, and she felt a sudden pity for the child. He was only a child, and his grey eyes were wide and frightened as he stared up at her.
'Go on.' She muttered, and after a few seconds he got up and dragged himself to the Gryffindor table, where nobody clapped. A few of them looked disgusted, but mostly just looked shocked. Minerva noticed that at the Slytherin table, his cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa looked enraged, livid, and a few other Slytherins also seemed to be furious. Most of them were looking at him like he was something absolutely disgusting.
She heard Dumbledore cough behind her, and remembered what she was meant to do.
'Bunchwood, Dorian!'
'RAVENCLAW!'
And so it went on. But when everyone had been sorted and the food appeared, and the whole staff table began discussing Black's sorting, she observed the young Black, noticing he was barely touching his food, or talking to any of the excited children around him.
He shot a glance over at the Slytherin table, where his cousins, Malfoy and the two Lestranges were muttering darkly, most likely about him, and he turned back to his food, the little colour left on his face drained from it.
During the course of the meal one boy, who Minerva remembered was called Lupin, talked to him a little, but Black answered by merely shaking his head and then ignoring him.
Minerva inspected the laughing and chatting first year Gryffindors as they ate breakfast at their table, from her own staff table. She looked at Sirius Black, who appeared even paler than the day before, and noticed that once again he was barely touching his food. She would talk to him later, ask him if he was ok. For now though, she tucked into her breakfast hungrily.
A few minutes later a deafening shriek made her jump. It did not take long to find where it came from. The whole hall was staring at a spot at the Gryffindor table where Sirius Black had opened a red envelope. The Howler was shrieking and spitting in what she recognised to be the voice of Walburga Black-
'HOW DARE- HOW DARE YOU! I AM DISGUSTED BY YOU! HORRIFIED! IN GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! HOW DARE YOU? AFTER EVERYTHING WE TAUGHT YOU! YOU ARE A DISGRACE, A STUPID BRAT! A DISSAPOINTMENT! I AM APALLED! YOUR FATHER WILL SORT YOU OUT WHEN YOU RETURN! OH, YOU WON'T MOVE FOR A MONTH WHEN HE IS DONE WITH YOU! YOU'RE A DISSAPOINTMENT TO THE MOST NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK! AFTER GENERATIONS OF KEEPING THE SLYTHERIN TRADITION, YOU TURN OUT A GRYFFINDOR! I AM ASHAMED TO CALL YOU SON! FILTH! DISGUSTING, FILTHY BLOODTRAITOR!'
And with that the letter ripped itself up and the hall went silent. Sirius looked at the letter shreds, his face pale and terrified, his eyes shining with tears. People around the hall were staring at him, most with sympathy or concern, some looked quite scared, some disgusted, but the Slytherins were giving him you-deserved-that looks.
His cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa seemed smug and were smirking at him, while Andromeda looked outraged. Slowly talk began to resume around the hall, but most of the Gryffindor table was quiet.
Sirius continued to stare at the shreds, and then he stood up to leave the hall, but Potter and Lupin, to Minerva's amazement, stood up with him, and began to talk to him, then Potter said something that sounded like a joke, and laughed weakly, Lupin joining in. Sirius looked shocked, but instead of storming out, or shouting at the two boys, like Minerva expected, he smiled feebly after a few seconds, and let out a soft laugh.
Then the three boys left the hall together like they had been friends for years. She just stared after them, her jaw having fallen open; Sirius was really not a Black. Then her mind wandered back to the howler, filth. Bloodtraitor. Stupid brat. You won't move for a month when he is done with you. She was horrified. She knew the Blacks were intolerant and strict, and would be with their son after he turned out to be a Gryffindor. But she never thought they could be this cruel, to their eleven-year-old child no less! She decided she would talk to Sirius later during the day.
A/N: So what did ya think? Please review, even if you hated it, criticism welcome! But please, no flames.
Thanks for reading,
Peace and Love,
~Luna
