Sirius looked around anxiously as he stepped off the train into the drizzling rain. He had lost James in the crowd and wanted to find him so they could share a boat with Peter and Remus; he had heard all about the traditions of Hogwarts from his older cousins. "This way, Black," growled a deep voice behind him. He jumped, and turned to see the gigantic form of Hagrid the gamekeeper towering above him. He smiled nervously up at him, wondering how the giant of a man had known his name.
"Sirius! Sirius, over here," came the muffled sound of Remus' voice, shouting from somewhere within the mob of excitable first-years. He began to wade his way through the masses of people, over to where his friends stood waiting for him.
"Hi! Lets go, see if we can get a boat together," suggested Sirius, pulling his robes tighter around himself as the fine, misty rain gradually soaked him to the bone. They pressed forward, guided by Hagrid towards where the boats floated, motionless on the still lake. They clambered in, hauling Peter back as he leant over to see his reflection in the black water, tipping the boat precariously in the process. Sirius gazed up at the inky night sky as he searched unsuccessfully for the constellation after which he was named.
"You'll never find it Sirius," laughed James. "You don't even know what it looks like!" Sirius looked back at him reproachfully.
"I found Bellatrix!" he said defiantly. James cocked his head at the tall, pale boy, unsure what to make of his comment.
There was the usual 'ooh'ing and 'ah'ing as the students got their first glimpse of Hogwarts Castle, looking as magical as ever in the glittering half-light. Sirius stared in awe; no mere description could possibly prepare him for such a sight.
"There's something moving down there," frowned Remus as he peered over the edge of the small, wooden boat into the murky depths of the Great Lake.
"Probably the Giant Squid," said James vaguely, craning his neck to get a better view of the school. Remus stayed away from the edge after that. They sailed around the cliff on which Hogwarts stood, majestic and eerily quiet, through a sheet of ivy and came to a stop on a pebbly shore, leading to a flight of stone steps. Everyone abandoned their boats, racing ashore to the stairs.
"Hold it!" roared Hagrid, climbing out of his boat, his lantern swinging in his hand. "I know yer excited, bu' jus' slow down!" he laughed, shepherding them up towards the castle. The atmosphere changed noticeably as Hagrid raised a humungous fist to knock sharply on the tall, imposing wooden doors; the crowd became quiet, shy.
Several jumped as an old-looking, grey haired woman opened the doors, standing illuminated in the doorway. She made an intimidating picture. Beckoning for them to follow, she turned and swept into the Entrance Hall. Some of the bolder ones stepped forwards and followed her, while the others trailed fearfully behind. They walked away from the excited chitchat of the Great Hall, instead turning into a small chamber. It was cramped inside, the students cramming into the corners and pushed against the walls. All was quiet as the woman cleared her throat.
"I am Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.
The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope you each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I will return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly," she finished, walking quickly away through the open door. Silence was kept for a few seconds, them the murmurings began, quietly at first, but becoming louder and more widespread.
"Hello, Black," said a sneering voice from behind Sirius. He whirled around to see pale blonde hair and milky white skin; a Malfoy. "Sirius, isn't it?" he asked politely. The mystery boy was cut off by McGonagall's return.
"Quieten down, Mr Malfoy," she said impatiently. The boy stepped back, melting into the crowd.
The next few minutes were a blur. Sirius was a bag of nerves, shaking and shivering as his friends stared uncomprehendingly at him. They didn't understand: he had the family tradition to uphold, or there'd be hell to pay, be it Bellatrix, his mother, or any combination of the two that got to him first. He gulped as Abbot, Lucy was sorted into Hufflepuff and Avery, Lexis, was sorted into Slytherin. He knew what was coming next.
"Black, Sirius." He took a deep breath, stood from where he sat worrying and walked shyly to the little stool at the front of the Great Hall. McGonagall stared coldly down at him as she placed the hat upon his dark head, obviously with strong expectations for any Black. The hat contemplated.
"Another Black, hmm? I remember the last one, too… and the one before. Strange one, she was. Well, what do we have here? Ambition, definitely, yes… talent's there too, naturally, naturally… but what's this? You want to… break free, escape the mould?" No! thought Sirius frantically. I just want to be normal, he pleaded. "No, no… it's there alright, young man. You're brave, also… not quite the stereotypical Slytherin, are we now?" An unnatural quiet had fallen over the hall and Bellatrix was looking at him with fury in her eyes over on the Slytherin table; he was disgracing the family name, just taking his time being sorted. Hurry up and put me in Slytherin, he urged the hat."No, I think not. Dear, dear, poor old Slughorn will be disappointed. I'm afraid, m'boy, it's going to have to be GRYFFINDOR!" A look of pure horror – terror? – settled itself in Sirius eyes as he looked over to the Slytherin table to see his cousins staring back at him with horror to match his own. McGonagall removed the hat, but he stayed where he sat.
"Mr Black? Mr Black!" she called, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. At last, the look in his eyes faded, and a slow, triumphant smile spread across his face as he hopped off the stool. Silence reigned as he walked purposefully toward the Gryffindor table, never once breaking eye contact with Bellatrix. Inexplicable fury, shock and anger raged behind her seemingly calm, storm cloud grey eyes. He moved proudly up the aisle to a free seat, nobody once breaking the eerily tense silence. He bent down to sit on the bench, turned defiantly, and waved jauntily at the three beautiful, astonished girls, sitting dumbstruck at the other end of the hall. And the room erupted into applause, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, clapping and shouting out their appreciation joyously as the whole of Slytherin table sat stony-faced and sour. Slughorn did look rather downcast. Sirius winked cheekily over at Bellatrix while Hogwarts whooped and whistled in celebration. The look in her eyes confirmed his fears: she'd get him later. He sat blinded to the rest of the Sorting, simply wallowing in his newfound happiness.
When the feast ended, a dark haired Gryffindor prefect ushered the first years out of the hall towards the common room. The Slytherins had left already, and Sirius was prepared for even an ambush at he door. He would put nothing past his cousins. Standing on his tiptoes, Narcissa's blonde head was nowhere in sight. He could, however, see two almost identical heads of dark, curling hair bobbing in the crowd. He looked desperately for the shorter of the two, the one with a shining green prefect's badge upon her chest. Andromeda. She would not care about his shameful entrance to Hogwarts, that much Sirius knew. And he could have sworn, as he neared her, that he saw the ghost of a smile flicker across her lips as she looked at him. Then she continued pointing her Slytherins down into the dungeons, apparently unaware of his very presence. The taller, darker head was stalking in his direction, fast. Deciding not to waste another second, he turned away from the fuming Bellatrix and ducked behind Andromeda. She took no notice of him whatsoever, but shifted slightly so as to block her younger cousin from her sister's wrath. Sirius smiled sweetly at Bellatrix from behind Andromeda's back. She stopped short, apparently disgusted by his owardice. Shaking her head disdainfully, she pointed first to herself, then menacingly at Sirius. Her meaning was clear as she walked away, but he didn't care anymore; let her do what she liked, he would wait. Because he was different from the Blacks, neither coward nor traitor. And as Narcissa stared coldly from a distance, Bellatrix glowered down in her dormitory and Andromeda turned to grin happily at him while he walked peacefully back to his own dormitory accompanied by James, Remus and Peter, he just didn't give a damn.
By the way, the ages are NOT totally screwed, contrary to popular belief; when Sirius was in first year, Narcissa would have been a second- or third-year, Bella a fifth- or sixth-year and Andromeda either a third-, fourth- or fifth-year, depending on the ages of each of her sisters at that time. The Marauders, Snape and Lily have birth-dates of either '59 or '60 and Snape was at school with Bellatrix for at least a year, although two years is implied according to many, hence the unguessable ages of the Black Sisters. I'm assuming Sirius met the Marauders-to-be on the Hogwarts Express, so no arguments there please... I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading and pleeeeeease review!