AN: (Disclaimer) The only characters that are mine are the ones of whom you haven't heard. The rest belong to JK, of course.

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Another Lupin Sorted

Sylvie Lupin was frightened. Yes, she was more mature than most of her potential Hogwarts classmates (some of this came from dealing with her older brother's condition, but mostly she was just naturally precocious), but the prospect of finally going to the school was admittedly daunting to the small, fair-haired 11-year-old.

"Sylvie? Sylvie, dear?" She heard her mother's voice from a distance. She shook her head quickly and looked up at her parents' kind faces.

"Are you ready to get on the train?"

Sylvie gulped and nodded, her doe-like eyes wide. She clutched her fluffy gray cat, Pepper, to her chest. The cat's warmth was somewhat soothing, but Sylvie still felt very nervous.

As if reading her mind, her brother patted her on the shoulder. "It'll be okay, Sylvie. If I can make it, you can." He smiled at her, comforting her. She smiled back and turned to kiss and hug her parents good-bye.

After she had turned to go, Mrs. Lupin said to Remus quickly, "Watch out for her, won't you? I know I needn't ask, but…" Her eyes filled with tears. Remus knew how hard it was for her to part with him the year before, and he could only imagine what it was like to say good-bye to the youngest, her baby.

"I will, Mum. Don't worry." She smiled weakly and kissed him on the forehead.

Sylvie had gotten to the door of the train when she realized that her brother was not with her. She knew she was being silly, but she turned back and looked at him expectantly and he jogged to where she stood.

"Ready? I can't wait for you to meet James and Peter and Sirius." Her brother looked so happy to be going back to the school, a place where he had finally found friends who accepted him for who, what, he was. She had noticed the change in him as soon as he arrived home for the summer; he was no longer sullen all the time, but quite joyful, telling stories of these new friends. Sylvie concluded that if Hogwarts could produce a happier Remus, then it could be nothing short of a wonderful place. Her fears dissolved as she stepped onto the train, her brother following closely behind her.

Sirius Black was thrilled. He could once again leave the House of Black on Grimmauld Place and go back to Hogwarts. He was the first of his friends onto the train, the most eager to get away from his parents. He couldn't have cared less about his younger brother; he was sure Regulus would make it fine on his own at Hogwarts, just as he did at home. Sirius only had bitter thoughts toward his brother, stemming from the fact that, ever since Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin, like the rest of his pure-blood-centric family, his parents had openly favored Regulus.

Sirius waited eagerly for his friends to arrive. James was the first; they greeted each other happily as James entered the compartment. Next was Peter, nervous-looking and pudgy as ever.

"Where's Remus?" James asked to no one in particular.

"I dunno, I didn't see him on the platform," Sirius responded nonchalantly.

"Do you reckon he's coming back?" asked Peter uncertainly. Sirius and James both gave him looks of incredulity and rolled their eyes, silencing him.

The next moment, the compartment door slid open once more. All the boys grinned as their friend walked through the door, followed by a small, pretty girl with caramel-colored eyes.

"'Lo everyone. This is my sister, Sylvie."

He gestured to Sylvie, who peeked out from behind her brother to see the three boys in the compartment. Remus took the seat next to the window across from James and Peter. Sylvie sat down (Pepper leapt gently from her lap to the floor and instantly began prowling about the compartment, sniffing around the strange boys' legs) next to Remus and found herself also next to a boy with long-ish dark hair and dark eyes. He was a bit haughty, she gathered, but he smiled a friendly smile at her nonetheless, and she smiled back, feeling less nervous.

"This is James Potter," he gestured to the laid-back-seeming black-haired boy across from him, "Peter Pettigrew," a pudgy, twitchy sort of boy who Sylvie, despite her kind nature, disliked instantly, "and Sirius Black," the dark-haired boy sitting next to her.

"Hi," she said brightly to all of them and smiled her pretty smile. "That's Pepper," she said, gesturing to the cat, who now, having decided that everyone was suitable, had curled up on the seat between she and Sirius and watched everyone with his great amber eyes.

Sirius decided that Remus' sister was instantly likable. She was much like her brother, perhaps a tad more confident. He thought that she was as pretty as a girl could be, with her doe-like eyes and her sandy hair.

"So which house would you like to be Sorted into, Sylvie?" James asked.

"Gryffindor, of course! That's what you're all in, right?"

They all nodded.

"Although, I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw."

Sirius snorted. "Ravenclaw's all right, but that lot's a bit boring, they've all got their noses in books all the time. Gryffindor is obviously better, it's got all of us in it."

Sylvie raised her eyebrows at him. "Our mother was in Ravenclaw."

"Oh, sorry..."

But Sylvie just laughed, thinking him definitely very haughty, but generally harmless. He was very good-looking, she thought. "Gryffindors have a lot of house pride, I know. Dad still takes the mickey out of mum sometimes for it. I don't think it's a bad thing."

Sirius smiled again, pleased by her sweet nature. His liking for her increased; he felt very fond of her indeed.

The conversation carried on pleasantly for a while. Sylvie thoroughly enjoyed Sirius and James, and even decided that Peter was tolerable, although she still felt something was off about him.

A while into the trip, however, there were visitors to the compartment. The door slid open to reveal three boys who looked to be the same age as Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter.

"Well, it looks like the four idiots are back again," said one of the boys viciously. Sylvie glanced around and saw equal looks of loathing on all the boys' faces. The boy who had spoken was pale and pinched-looking with a mean face.

"Oh, shove off, Avery," spat James as quick as lightning.

"Yeah, go get lost," Sirius piped up.

The mean-looking boy who had spoken before swept the compartment with his eyes. To her horror, they lingered on Sylvie for a moment before he said, "And it looks as though you've made a new little friend." He looked pointedly at Sirius, who was sitting next to her. "Who's this, Black, your girlfriend?"

Remus stood up to face him, followed quickly by James and Sirius, and, reluctantly, Peter (who more or less cowered behind his three friends as though he was waiting for the confrontation to be over).

"This is my sister—" Remus started angrily.

"And if you don't keep away from her, you'll have to answer to all of us!" Sirius finished.

Sylvie was slightly surprised, but also touched, by the boys' reaction.

"We'll ask you kindly to leave now," said James calmly, "and after the count of three, we won't be so kind."

At some point, Pepper had jumped down from the seat and was now hissing at the intruders, obviously unnerved that his peaceful rest had been disturbed.

Avery narrowed his eyes and glared at all of them, then left with his cohorts, to Sylvie's great relief. She beamed at all of them in thanks, extra-brightly at Sirius. The rest of the ride had gone without further disturbance.

Once they had arrived at Hogsmeade station, the castle loomed over them.

"Firs' years this way, firs' years over here!" bellowed a voice. Sylvie recognized Hagrid immediately, Remus had told her all about him. She was no longer afraid, but excitement overwhelmed her like never before. On the train ride, the boys had told her about the boat ride across the lake and about the Sorting, evermore increasing her excitement.

She looked up at Remus, about to say good-bye, but before she could he spoke first. "You'd better give Pepper to me, I don't think he'll much enjoy a boat ride,"

"Oh, right," she giggled and handed her brother the cat. "Well, I'll see you all in a bit then!" she said to the boys.

They wished her good luck and headed off towards the carriages as Sylvie trounced off happily to where the other first years were gathering around the massive Hagrid.

She and four other girls had gotten onto one of the boats and it had begun to move across the great, dark lake. She looked around in wonder before introducing herself to the other girls in the boat with her. "I'm Sylvie Lupin," she said in her bright way. "Hi, Sylvie, I'm Vanessa Garrett," said a girl with long, brown hair and dark brown eyes. "This is Samantha Moore, Holly Bridges, and Kate Preston. We met on the train." The other girls smiled at her in a friendly way. Sylvie was beginning to like Hogwarts more and more.

The girls talked about which houses they'd like to be in (to Sylvie's delight, they all said Gryffindor or Ravenclaw) and about their families. All of a sudden, Sylvie heard a distinct twittering. She immediately became nervous. To confirm her fears, she heard Hagrid's voice booming from ahead of them, "Don't mind the bats, they're harmless!" Bats, to her, were not harmless at all, but one of the things that frightened her most. She heard one swoop right by her head and squealed.

"Ugh, I hate bats!" said Sylvie, looking around wildly to make sure there were no more. "I wonder where the giant squid is," she said, gazing into the dark water.

"Giant squid?" asked Kate, perplexed.

"Yeah, my brother told me about it, he's a second year. It lives here in the lake!"

Sylvie was extremely thankful that Remus had taken care of Pepper, as she was sure her beloved cat would never have forgave her for the boat experience.

When the first years had reached the shore, Hagrid shouted, "Everyone all right'? Anyone fall in?"

The timid looking first years all shook their heads.

"Good, good! Inside now, ev'ryone!"

As the first years crowded into the Great Hall, they were met by a very stern looking woman, who Sylvie realized must have been Professor McGonagall.

"Please line up, all of you, for you are about to be Sorted into your Hogwarts house. The students in your house will live with you, eat with you, and take classes with you, so you much be Sorted according to your personality," she said upon seeing the group of first years.

The first years entered the Hall in a single file line. As the first person was called to the stool to put on the hat, Sylvie raked her eyes over the Gryffindor table, trying to find Remus and his friends.

Remus had been talking joyfully with his friends and fellow Gryffindors when he heard the doors open and saw McGonagall leading the line of first years into the Hall. He recognized Sylvie immediately, as she was so much smaller than all the other first years. He could tell she was raring to go.

"Oh, God, I hope she doesn't fall," he mused as James and Sirius, who were seated next to him, laughed.

Remus caught Sylvie's eye and she waved, positively beaming.

The line of children moved steadily onward, and very soon, McGonagall called out, "Lupin, Sylvie!" At this, Sylvie rushed forward excitedly, stumbling a bit in her haste, and put on the ancient hat.

"Another Lupin!" it exclaimed. "Well, well, just like your brother, you'd be well suited for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. You've sure got brains, but you've also got loads of bravery. Well, then, it'll be…GRYFFINDOR!"

Sylvie squealed in excitement as she went to join her brother and his friends, as well as Vanessa and Holly, who had also been Sorted into Gryffindor, at the cheering table. Remus moved over to make room for her on the bench, and again, she sat between him and Sirius.

"Congratulations!" Remus said happily.

Samantha and Kate ended up in Ravenclaw, to Sylvie's slight disappointment, but nothing could quell her happiness now that she was finally at Hogwarts and Sorted into the house of her choice. As she, Vanessa, and Holly settled into their beds that night, she felt warm and content as she drifted off to sleep, Pepper curled warmly next to her chest.

The next week went by surprisingly smoothly for Sylvie and her friends. They made it to all of their classes without much trouble. Near the end of the week, however, Sylvie's bag broke open while she and Vanessa and Holly were near the Transfiguration classroom.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. She told the others to go on without her, that it would be no trouble for her to clean it up. She didn't want them to be late because of her. She had to persuade them very strongly before they would leave her.

As she was bent over, picking up her things, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Avery and Mulciber, Avery's equally unpleasant friend.

"Well, look who we have here!" exclaimed Avery. "It's Lupin's titchy little sister!"

"You don't have your boys around to protect you now, do you, little girl?" growled Mulciber.

Sylvie was terrified, frozen in her place with her wand out, even though she wouldn't know the first thing to do in the present situation.

"I think we should teach those idiots a lesson, using little Miss Lupin here, what do you think, Mulciber?" Avery sneered.

"I think that's the best idea you've had in a while, Avery," Mulciber replied as they closed in on Sylvie. She whimpered helplessly.

She screwed up her face as she heard the incantation, and then she felt immense pain in her nose. She touched the area and felt blood on her hand.

In the next moment, she heard a loud voice call out from behind Mulciber and Avery. She looked up and saw, to her great relief, that Sirius Black was coming towards them.

"Hexing a little girl, are you? Could you two gits sink any lower?"

"Oh, here to save your little girlfriend, are you, Black?" Avery jeered.

Sirius had his want out in a split second and yelled the incantation faster than either Avery or Mulciber could make a move. Suddenly, after a flash of light, they both fell onto the floor, their legs wobbling unnaturally.

If the hex hadn't been as painful as it was, and if her nose weren't still steadily bleeding, Sylvie would have found it very amusing.

Sirius looked at her, still raging and breathing very hard. Suddenly, a door opened behind her and Professor McGonagall, accompanied by the Transfiguration class, stormed into the hall. Sylvie turned to face her, horrified. McGonagall surveyed the scene, then asked, "What on earth has happened here?"

"Professor, they—they hexed be, it's dot Sirius' fault! He hexed them after he saw what they did to be!" Sylvie cried, still clutching her nose.

"Let me see your face, Miss Lupin," McGonagall said calmly. Sylvie slowly lowered her hand and heard McGonagall and the class gasp collectively. Sirius, too, walked around to see the damage. Once he did, he began to seethe even more.

Sylvie's nose was swollen to the size of a tennis ball and bleeding profusely down her face.

"Mulciber and Avery did this to you?" McGonagall asked.

Sylvie nodded. Sirius discreetly stepped back and hard onto one of Avery's hands. Avery howled in pain.

"Mr. Black! That's quite enough! Five points from Gryffindor for unnecessary hexing in the corridor. You should have gotten me expressly."

"But they would have maimed her by then!" Sirius shouted indignantly.

"Watch your tongue, Mr. Black, or it will be ten," McGonagall said coolly. Sirius was quiet, but an ugly look remained on his face. "As for you two," she barked at Avery and Mulciber, who were still lying on the ground, their legs wobbling. "Fifty points from Slytherin and detention for attacking a student unprovoked in the corridor. Finite incantatem!" She turned to Sirius and Sylvie. "Black, please escort Miss Lupin to the hospital wing, then kindly return to you class. Sirius nodded curtly, then gently took hold of Sylvie's arm and led her down the corridor.

Once out of earshot of McGonagall, Sirius began to rant. "I can't believe those scumbags. It's one thing to jinx me or James or Remus or even Peter, but you…" He made a frustrated noise.

"What was that jinx you used on theb? That bade their legs go all wobbly?" she asked.

Sirius grinned. "The Jellylegs Jinx. Works like a charm, doesn't it?"

"Yeah! It was great!" She tried to grin back, but it hurt her nose too much. "Ow!" she groaned.

"Don't move your face too much," he said, examining her face. "Cor, I've never seen anything like that before!"

Sylvie flushed. "Do I look that badly?" she said timidly.

"What? Oh, no, no, of course not!" he said, his heart leaping, angry with himself for his insensitivity. "In fact, I don't think anyone else could still look pretty with a swollen, bloody nose!"

Sylvie flushed again, but for a different reason. "You think I'b pretty?" she asked without thinking, wishing she hadn't as soon as the words left her mouth.

Sirius glanced at her. "Yeah, I do, even for a little squirt," he said, grinning again.

She laughed, forgetting how much this increased the pain in her nose. "Ow! Stop baking be laugh!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," he said. Suddenly, the audacity of the whole situation dawned on him, and he became more angry than before. "I can't wait to pay those gits back for what they did to you. Wait until Remus, James, and Peter hear about this. Mulciber and Avery won't know what hit them."

"Sirius, don't do eddything that'll get you id trouble!" Sylvie said exasperatedly.

Sirius looked at her worried face again. "Don't you worry, Sylvie, they won't be able to prove a thing." He looked up. They had arrived at the hospital wing. "Here we are," he said, opening the door and letting her walk in ahead of him.

Madam Pomfrey gasped in shock upon seeing Sylvie's face. "What's happened?" she exclaimed.

"She was hexed in the corridor, Madam," Sirius explained, his anger bubbling up again. "By Slytherins."

"Oh, well, you need to get into bed immediately, Miss—"

"Lupid," Sylvie answered.

"Ah, Remus is your brother. Very nice boy," she said, smiling kindly. "Thank you for escorting her, Mr. Black. You may go back to your class now."

"But, I thought I'd stay with her, make sure she's all right—" Sirius began.

"I assure you, she'll be perfectly fine. The damage is minimal."

Sirius looked apologetically at Sylvie. "It's ok," she said quietly. "Thanks for…everything."

Sirius nodded and turned to leave.

Upon arriving back at his class, (which was History of Magic so his absence was not questioned by the droning Professor Binns) he sat next to Remus and James, who looked at him questioningly.

"You will not believe what just happened," he hissed angrily. They listened intently as he explained the prior events, Remus' face slackening in horror.

"Well, we've got to pay them back," Remus said when Sirius had finished. Sirius and James looked at him in surprise at Remus, who was usually so reposed. "What? It's my sister we're talking about!" he replied. Sirius and James smirked knowingly as they put their heads together and planned what they would do to the unfortunate Slytherin boys.

Two days later, Mulciber and Avery walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, yawning complacently. They noticed immediately that people were pointing and laughing at them. They looked at each other and howled in horror. Both boys were completely bald and had a word on their foreheads spelled out in huge, red pimples. Mulciber's said "Scummy" and Avery's said "Git."

Sylvie, whose nose, thanks to Madam Pomfrey, had returned completely to normal, spotted them immediately, as their heads were very shiny. She, Vanessa, and Holly, as well as the rest of the Gryffindor table (who had all been told of Mulciber's and Avery's hexing of Sylvie in the common room two nights ago) laughed heartily at the two of them.

Sylvie turned, beaming, to Sirius, James, Remus and Peter and said, "Well done, boys, well done."

Sirius felt a warm feeling rise into his chest as Sylvie turned back to her laughing friends.