"GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius Black pulled the Sorting Hat off his head with a huge grin. As he hopped off the stool, he took a look at the Slytherin table, where his cousin Narcissa, a fifth year, was looking quite pallid, unsure of how to react. She seemed bordering on alarmed at this turn of events, or perhaps disbelief. She settled for looking mildly startled down at her potatoes.
However, her older sister of two years, Andromeda, was clapping and shouting enthusiastically, the only Slytherin to do so. "WAY TO GO, LITTLE CUZ!" She called fondly to Sirius, barely audible over the claps of the Gryffindor table. (Gryffindors tended to be very loud, after all, and Andromeda just wasn't.)
My favourite cousin, both Sirius and Andromeda thought warmly. Whenever there were Black family occasions, the two tended to stray from the rest of the family, and go out in the garden alone, despite their large age difference.
Andromeda supposed she'd catch up with him in the corridor and really congratulate him.
••••••
After they left the Great Hall, Andromeda sought out Sirius in the corridor like she had told herself she would. Sirius pushed his long black hair out of his eyes and grinned at his older cousin. He didn't have to look up much; he had inherited the family genes of being very tall.
"You need to cut your hair," Andromeda said teasingly. It was their little joke, for Andromeda herself had light auburn hair past her hips.
"Look who's talking," Sirius retorted playfully.
Andromeda laughed, but then took on a serious aura. She glanced around her, watching for her younger sister, who would surely not approve of her speaking to Sirius- he would be disowned now that he was a Gryffindor.
"Listen, congratulations on Gryffindor," Andromeda said quietly, eyes still darting around.
Sirius continued to smile. "It wasn't much," he said honestly. "I could've chosen Slytherin if I wanted to..."
"See, that's the point," Andromeda insisted. "That's what makes it so great, that you decided not to choose Slytherin, that you went against the entire Black family tree!"
"Well, we do have that one Hufflepuff ancestor no one talks about," Sirius grinned. "Want to block him out, I guess..."
Andromeda rolled her eyes but gave off a small laugh. "Blast him off, more like! It's disgraceful!"
They both burst into laughter. Sirius sensed her hinting at having been disowned the previous summer, and knew that he soon would be, too.
"Outlaws together, my dear cousin," he patted her on the shoulder with a "well, I guess that's what it comes down to" look.
Andromeda snorted. "Outlaws..."
"Well, you're as good as when you've been blasted off that tapestry," Sirius said darkly.
The pair were jostled by numerous students walking upstairs. Or, rather, trampling. Not a single one said "excuse me".
"Because 'excuse me' is so overrated..." Andromeda muttered sarcastically. Her cousin heard her and laughed.
"We'd better head to our common rooms soon," she continued, "so to finish up: you were the first person brave enough to make that choice and go against all the family morals. And thick enough," she added as an afterthought.
"Hey!" Sirius protested, but he knew she was joking.
The crowd around them was beginning to thin; most of the students had already retreated to their common rooms.
Andromeda swept her hair out of her brown eyes. "Well, you go up to your tower now," she said with a kind of giddy grin.
"And you to your lair," Sirius teased with an innocent face, putting an emphasis on the word "lair".
Andromeda turned on her heel away from her cousin, though she was still smiling. She waved back at him and called, "Later, little lion!"
A small smile played on Sirius' lips. "You too, cobra!"
And he, too, turned away and walked to his new common room, his new home.
A/N: Eh, not my best, but it's practise.
This fic was inspired by "Promises" by Vylette Skye, which is an Andromeda-centric fic which also involves Sirius. If you liked this, I suggest you take a look at it- though it isn't as light-hearted, and is much longer than my fic, it is a brilliant read.
-Prim