September 1st 1971

"SIRIUS!"

That had to be the fourth time he'd heard his name being called from downstairs, and it was definitely the tone that meant something not good was going to happen if he didn't show up. He'd been packing and unpacking for days, trying to make sure he had everything and the result had been a mad dash to try and make sure he had everything. It was getting kind of late, though. He really needed to hurry up.

Apparently his parents had a similar idea, because his trunk and the new owl disappeared in front of him. No doubt he'd find them downstairs when he got there. He took one last look at his room, ignored the flutter in his stomach that he wouldn't see it again until December and bolted down the stairs at full speed.

His mother caught sight of him and exclaimed, "It's almost half past ten!"

He really didn't understand the adult obsession with what time it was. It was all he ever heard, what the time was, when was something or other going to happen, they're going to be late, they can't arrive too early. Secretly, he thought if adults spent less time worrying about the time and doing the stuff, they wouldn't always be in such a rush. Besides, It wasn't as if they were the ones that needed to catch the train. It wasn't their first day as a Hogwarts student. It was his and he wasn't going to be rushed.

In a whoosh, they were there: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Despite having had multiple cousins leave for Hogwarts over the last few years, Sirius had never been to the Platform itself. It was crowded, a lot of people in various robes and other strange looking clothes with luggage being taken onto the train. The train was a lot bigger than he'd thought it'd be. Everything was a lot bigger. He knew there'd be other people he'd know once he actually got there, but many of them - Malfoy, Lestrange, Mulciber, Wilkes. Terribly boring lot. Evan was mostly not terrible, which meant he was alright but he was just starting too. He didn't really know anyone there.

Suddenly, he wished he'd been born a couple of months earlier so he'd have been able to go with Andromeda last year. Her younger sister was there, with their mother. He didn't see his uncle though. He supposed when you were down to one kid doing their NEWT's then you didn't need to come every time.

"Do you have everything?" Walburga's voice cut through his thoughts, even as she seemed to be scowling at half the platform.

Sirius nodded distractedly.

"Sirius, look at people when they talk to you. I don't understand why manners is such a difficult concept for you to grasp."

"I have everything," He said, sparing her a quick look. Technically, that was looking at her, right?

"Sirius-" She started, then just sighed heavily. "Stay where Narcissa can see you. Listen to your prefects till you know how to get around. Don't embarrass me or your father."

"I'm not trying to embarass you," Sirius muttered, crossing his arms in a manner that threatened a sulk despite the excitement of the day.

"You appear to have a natural talent for it," His mother said, but it was mild. She didn't sound that annoyed. It was probably okay, or maybe she was thinking the house might be quiet for a few months with only Regulus there. He didn't tend to cause half as much havoc on his own, but he was still young. He had time to learn. "Go say your goodbyes so you're ready to go when your cousin is."

Sirius really didn't want to sit with Narcissa. She was the most boring of the girls; she was so prissy. All of her friends were prissy. The idea of being stuck in a compartment with them the whole way there was terrible, but at least when he got there, he'd be able to get away from her for a while. It was all worth it when he got there at the end of it. Hogwarts had been all he'd thought of for months and now, the time had come.

His father interrupted his thoughts by tapped lightly on the owl's cage. "Are you planning on taking—" He started, before stopping with a pained expression. "You're not going to name the poor creature that, you were being difficult."

Sirius smiled, wide and bright. He was absolutely going to call his new screech owl Sir Hootsalot. He was very loud, very territorial and liked taking dives off his perch. Sounded very much like a knight to him. "He won't answer to anything else now," Sirius said, proudly.

Never one for extraneous speech, Sirius was surprised when his father lingered for a moment to look at the train. It was a strange thought, actually. The idea that there was once a time that his parents were waiting to get on the train. It would have been a long time ago. His parents had children late in comparison to everyone else. His mother had been over thirty even when they'd gotten married. He wondered in a vague sort of way if maybe he would feel like that when he was old too, maybe seeing his own kids off to school for the first time. He made a disgusted face. He really didn't want to think about that.

"Go say goodbye to your brother," He said, suddenly. "You should get on the train."

"Narcissa's still talking," Sirius said, pointing with his head towards her.

"Then you'd be on the train before her."

Sirius gave a slightly startled look. He couldn't possibly be suggesting— but he was! Saying things without actually saying them was his father's specialty. That was as close to permission as he was ever going to get to ditch her and find someone more interesting to sit with. He just had to be quick about it.

"Hey!" Sirius said, coming to a skid in the few paces it took to find his brother. That was another strange idea. He doesn't really remember a time when, despite ample room, he and his brother weren't in each others pockets. He had some hazy memories of him as a baby, but mostly, as far as his memory was concerned, it would be the first time they'd been properly apart and not just visiting relatives. "I'm going now. I'll write in the morning, okay?"

The younger boy's eyes lit up, trained on his brother as he spoke up for the first time since leaving the house. Though Regulus's voice was quiet, there was a near-reverent excitement creeping into his tone - earnest and curious and just slightly envious. "You have to tell me everything. What the best class is, and what the first spell you learn is, and what it's like to sleep in a real dungeon. Don't forget."

"I know spells!" Sirius said, which was sort of true. He'd observed enough spellwork over the years and he even nicked a wand a couple of times to try it out, though the backfires had gotten him into trouble. Still, a spell was a spell. He spared another look at Narcissa, gloating about something and still not looking ready to get on. He had a little time. "I'm going exploring, first chance that I get." Sirius added, as a way to salve his indignant outburst. "You'll see, it'll be like you were there."

"Do you think you'll see the giant squid? Do you think anyone has ever fallen off of the staircases? Cissa said they moved." Biting his lip, Reg sucked in a breath, then out again. Readjusting his posture a little, he added more slowly, but no less earnest, "I wish I could go with you."

"Next year. I'll show you everything, I promise." Sirius replied, deciding he definitely didn't have time to answer all of this. Besides, until then, his brother could read about it both in his letters and in Hogwarts, A History. Seeing Narcissa move from the corner of his eye, he gave a shake and smile. "I have to go!"

He bolted without waiting for a response.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

For a moment, Sirius was sure there'd been some kind of mistake; Black's always went to Slytherin, this was how it was and ever would be. He hadn't truly thought he'd break the tradition. He didn't really think it could be broken that easily. But even if he stayed still for a moment, he realised he'd done it: he was going not just to any house but Gryffindor. He didn't know anyone in Gryffindor, he realised with a start.

But there was no time to think about it. He had to go sit down. He didn't look at the Slytherin table, he didn't want to see anyone react when he didn't know how he felt about it yet. He was still at Hogwarts, that was the important thing. It didn't matter. It didn't matter.

(His parents were going to kill him)

He was joined by James Potter, the boy from the train who'd been sure he'd be a Gryffindor. From the look on his face, he was happy to be proven right. Then two more boys, one thin and quiet and the other stout and a little twitchy. The prefect, someone whose name he didn't recognise (a strange feat in itself), came and showed them up to the tower. It turned out the common room was behind a portrait of a loud, fat lady who you had to give the password to. He felt a sudden thrill of the unknown; no one in his family, no one in his friends or people he knew well enough to ask had experienced this. He was the first of his group. The first person who'd ever seen the red and gold curtains, the common room, any of it.

He quite liked the idea.

The first thing Sirius noticed was that there weren't that many names he did recognise

Both he and his brother had been taught their family tree knee names as soon as they could write, so he knew every name on it a thousand times over. He knew of the Prewetts, in this case two boys in their seventh year. They were Aunt Lucretia's nephews through her husband, he was pretty sure. Podmore also sounded familiar, though he couldn't say exactly why. However, with the exception of James Potter, there was no one around his own age he could definitely say he knew their family. This had never happened before.

There were also muggles in Hogwarts. He'd known about it, heard all of the complaints, the rants, the insults but it was jarring to realise there were several in your house. There were two in his year alone.

(There was meant to be three, but he wouldn't find out what happened to the fifth dorm mate for a while yet.)

He'd sort of forgotten about the whole thing until the four of them were holed up in the dorms that night and James was bemoaning the fact he wasn't allowed to play Quidditch yet. Sirius would have liked to try, sure but James taking it badly and had been ranting for a while. One of the boys, Pettigrew, was still listening but he and the other (Lupin) had taken to looking over their class schedules. Astronomy wouldn't be a problem, he'd been learning that anyway. He didn't know a lot of transfiguration, he hadn't had much use for it. Charms were okay, they were great for pranks. Herbology was for old people. History of Magic was for people who didn't have their parents give their entire lineage history from birth. He hadn't really brewed a potion before, so that could be a problem. He didn't want to be left behind. He was pretty sure his father and Grandfather would never speak to him again if failed something.

"We have flying lessons?" Sirius asked, interrupting James mid-rant.

"Yeah, that's probably why first years can't play Quidditch," James said, clearly not wanting to stray from the subject much.

"Why do we have flying lessons? We're eleven, that's practically grown up."

James shrugged, "Must be for the people who don't know how to ride."

Sirius scoffed. "Who doesn't know how to ride a broom?" Regulus was tiny and he could ride reasonably well.

(He might have been a little better than Sirius but he would never tell him that)

"I've only done it a couple of times," Lupin said, quietly.

"Me too," Pettigrew added.

"Some people can't cause they live in the cities or where you can't fly." James replied, as if it was obvious. But that didn't make sense, Sirius lived in London and he'd flown plenty of times.

"I doubt any of the muggle-borns have had a chance," Lupin added, in what Sirius was beginning to suspect was his normal volume.

The reality of it hit him: he was about to learn things with a whole bunch of people who didn't know anything about magic. How dumbed down was this going to be? How bored was he going to be? He was wondering if maybe everyone had a point about mudbloods needing their own school if they didn't know anything. He didn't want to know the baby stuff. He wanted to learn about real magic.

Lupin must have read something in his expression. "Think of it as a chance to show off if you're that good."

Well, that sounded like a challenge. Never let it be said that Sirius Black backed away from a challenge.

He was the first Black in Gryffindor, after all.