Chapter One: 1 Black, 2 Black, 3 Blacks, 4, 5 Blacks, 6 Blacks, Please no more!
"Wake me up when it's all over. When I'm wiser and I'm older. All this time I was finding myself and I didn't know I was lost."
-Avicii: Wake Me Up.
"Black, Hermione," Professor McGonagall called as a girl of only eleven years old with voluptuous black curly hair and eyes like quicksilver strode up to take a seat on the three legged stool.
The sorting hat placed on the head of Hermione Black seemed hesitant to make a decision. "Hmmm," it intoned as it searched the brain of the young beauty. "Plenty of brains. But I wouldn't expect any less from a Black. Plenty of cunning too, though not much sense of self preservation. You're quite brave too, my dear.
It'll have to be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat thundered.
The entire Slytherin table stood stock still in silence as Hermione Black rose from her place on the stool to take a seat at the rarely silent Gryffindor table. There was plenty of quiet chatter and polite clapping amongst the other two houses as they absorbed the shock of Hermione's sorting.
"Black, Sirius," was called immediately after her. She watched disinterested as her second cousin took his seat on the stool she had just vacated, and the hat was placed upon his head. 'Surely he will be sorted into Slytherin,' she thought. But to her utter surprise, her cocky cousin was sorted into Gryffindor as well.
Some time later the name "Potter, James" was called out. Now this was an interesting one to her. She was quite careful to maintain a bored facade as she watched, enraptured, as Aunt Dorea's son took nearly ten minutes to be sorted. But at last he was sorted into the same house as she.
"Uh, Hullo," said a voice from beside her. To her left sat the bespectacled face and dark unruly hair of James Potter himself. "My name is James. I noticed you were sitting my yourself, and erm, I thought I should say hi."
"My name is Hermione," She introduced herself as he took his seat next to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter." She inclined her head as a gesture of respect.
"Uh, and same to you too," he mumbled, confused.
"Thank you, We're first cousins you know," She explained quickly as the food appeared on the table. Hermione knew at once that Aunt Dorea though still very much a Black, had failed to teach her only son simple pureblooded etiquette. The boy clearly had no clue.
Her other cousin Sirius moved to sit on her other side. "Hullo there," he said with a slowly appearing smirk. "So, are you one of my psychotic cousins?" he asked.
"You don't know, do you?" She said looking up at him with a completely blank expression, batting her eyelashes slowly for emphasis.
"Psychotic, oh definitely psychotic," He muttered. "And, Oh, speaking of psychotic witches. Look what evil this way comes," He said as he twirled around on his bench to face their three cousins Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Andromeda. Andromeda was closest to the three of them in age, she was a second year, but Narcissa was a fourth year, and Bellatrix in her sixth year.
"It is truly so sad to see such great blood wasted in this filthy house. You both have sorely disappointed the noble house of Black on this day. I suppose it's good though, that I have three new blood traitors to crush. This make my year so much more eventful," Bellatrix laughed, delighted at the prospect.
"Oh, Bella!" Hermione all but wailed. "I am just so very upset! I-I don't know why the sorting hat put me here, in this horrid house. I'm so distraught. Father will be so disappointed. What shame!" Hermione feigned.
"Darling girl," Narcissa cooed. "Don't cry. It will all be fine. Tojours Pur"
"Yes, Tojours Pur," Hermione intoned, nearly inaudibly.
"We'll be in touch, poor cousin," Andromeda told her, looking quite like she pitied Hermione. And with that the three Black sisters swept back to the Slytherin table.
Hermione spun around and her face broke into a wide smile, and barked a short laugh as she addressed the boys, "How about that show?" she asked.
"You. can't. expect. us. to. believe. that. was. all. A. FARCE!" Sirius said quietly at first, but getting louder with each word.
"Well, it was. Whether you choose to believe it or not, Sirius. And truth be told, your Uncle Alphard doesn't give a damn where I end up. Because all he wanted was a son, and look what he got! Bellatrix Junior!" Her scream turned into a shrill cackle, and everyone looked quite startled to see a first year screaming at the top of her lungs. "And you, Sirius Black, can take what you do and don't believe and shove it!" Hermione turned on her heel and strode out of the Great hall in a huff
Some time later, whilst lounging on her luxurious red fourposter bed she heard her dorm mates coming up the stairs. She expected four other room mates as there were five beds total in her dormitory. The first girl to enter was one she knew well; Marlene McKinnon. She had grown up with Marlene, as their mother had been a Parkinson, and in the same social circle are her mother. Hermione hadn't known that Marlene had been sorted into Gryffindor as well. However it shouldn't surprise her, as the McKinnon's were known to be a family that was historically sorted into her house.
Marlene was closely followed by Molly Prewitt, small slip of a girl covered in freckles and sporting a disorganized mop of fiery corkscrew curls. She was another of Hermione's cousins, though her branch of the family had long since been blasted off the family tree before Molly herself was even thought of.
The third girl was one she was unfamiliar with, short blonde hair and eyes of a vivid green. The fourth girl was Alice Fortescue, another pureblooded girl whose family was likely to be very angry that she was sorted into Griffyndor.
"Hello, My name is Hermione Black, and I'd like to say that I'm quite sorry for my behavior in the great hall. I've been under immense pressure, and my five cousins aren't helping me in the slightest" She said, standing to greet her dorm mates.
"I understand Hermione," Marlene said immediately, "But, I can't speak for anyone but myself."
"I understand as well," Alice said quietly. "I saw your three cousins harassing you, and your other two flocking to you like birds to a feather."
"Thank you Alice," Hermione said honestly to the girl. The other two girls said nothing as they made their way to their beds and began to unpack their trunks. "What's your name?" Hermione asked the blonde girl.
"Lily Evans," She responded promptly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione said smiling at the muggleborn girl.
"I'm Molly Prewitt," Molly introduced herself, seemingly more out of politeness than having any desire to introduce herself.
"Please to meet you Molly, I'm Hermione as I said before," She chuckled briefly. "I do believe we're third or fourth cousins."
"Yes we are. I do believe we're third cousins; twice removed, or something like that," Molly acknowledged begrudgingly.
"I'd would like to personally apologize for my behavior today in the great hall," she said to Molly. "It was uncalled for,"
"It's okay Hermione, like Marlene said, no one blames you." Lily said reassuringly.
"Yeah, Hermione," Marlene piped up. "Bellatrix and her sisters are horrid, they're easily the evilest people here."
"I'm well aware of that," Hermione shuttered. "I do spend most my holidays with the three of them."
"That would be absolutely retched!" Alice said looking nearly sick. "Are they so terribly nasty on the holidays?" she asked.
"No as a rule Andy and Cissa aren't too awfully mean on holidays, but Bella is nearly always hounding after her mother acting like a junior psychopath."
"That's good that they're nicer," Alice looked relieved.
"I saw you talking to that cute boy," Lily said, looking for all the world that she hadn't meant to let that slip out of her mouth. "What's his name?"
"Which one?" Hermione asked her.
"The one with glasses," She said looking much like she was daydreaming about James.
"Oh, that's my cousin, his name is James. James Potter."