The line of first years stared at the ceiling in awe as they trooped into the Great Hall behind the stern looking woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. Aries trailed reluctantly behind them, determinedly ignoring the curious stares and whispers that followed his progress through the hall. As they reached the stage at the front where a ragged looking hat that could only be the sorting hat sat on a stool he stood to the side of the nervous huddle they formed. He ignored the hat as it began singing and his eyes swept the hall, searching for the trio that he had heard so much about. There at the Gryffindor table sat a boy who could only be Harry Potter, he looked almost identical to the pictures of James Potter he had seen, as well as the pictures that had been splashed across the front page of the Prophet for the last two years. Next to him were a bushy haired girl and a lanky, red-headed boy who could only be a Weasley. The sorting had commenced but the trio had their heads together, whispering and ignoring everything outside their own little bubble.
The last of the first years scampered off to their table and Dumbledore stood "In just a moment you can all set to work demolishing what I am sure will be another delicious feast but first there is one more student to be sorted. He has been home schooled until now but will be joining the sixth-year." He sat and McGonagall cleared her throat once before announcing "Black, Aries". Harry's head had lifted at the mention of a new sixth-year and he stared in shock at the boy who strode confidently across to the stool and lifted the sorting hat onto his head. He was the spitting image of the Sirius that Harry had seen in the penseive; effortlessly handsome with fine cheekbones and silken black hair, though his was shorter and curled slightly. The hat appeared to be considering something but it took only a minute before it shouted out, loud enough for the whole hall to hear, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Aries walked calmly to the Gryffindor table amid a round of applause that was almost equalled in noise by the excited conversations his name provoked. He slid onto the bench at the Gryffindor table, opposite Harry and next to a kindly looking boy with a heart-shaped face who introduced himself as Neville Longbottom. The rest of the sixth years nearby, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, introduced themselves but Harry just stared in mute shock. Finally "Why did Sirius never tell me he had a son?!" Stormy grey eyes met emerald ones, filled with shock and betrayal. "He didn't tell anyone. It wasn't safe. Even Moony only found out last September" His expression begged Harry to accept that for now, promising wordlessly that he'd explain more later.
At Harry's reluctant nod he turned away and began answering the curious questions of his classmates. Was he really the son of Sirius Black? Yes. Was his father really innocent (he had been cleared posthumously by the Ministry but many people were still shocked)? Yes. Had he always known that? Yes. Did he like Quidditch? Yes. What was his favourite team? The Caerphilly Catapults. Had he seen any games? No but he listened on the radio. Did he play Quidditch? Yes. What position? Beater. Was he any good? Well, he hadn't really played in any proper games but he thought he was okay. Favourite subject? Defence. The questions lasted through the Feast and the whole walk up to the common room. Aries bore them patiently but didn't elaborate very much, still slightly uncomfortable in the unaccustomed presence of so many people.
...
As soon as Aries clambered through the portrait hole a great black dog bounded up to him and nearly bowled him over. "Paddy!" he scolded affectionately as he stroked the ecstatic dog. Harry, Ron and Hermione all stared at the dog in shock, he was, after all, very similar to Sirius' animagus form. "I got him when he was a puppy. I figured if Indianna Jones can name himself after his dog then I can name my dog after my dad, he does look just like Padfoot". He looked up, taking in the common room properly for the first time. "It looks just like I thought it would! Well, I've seen pictures from when Mum and the Marauders were here but I didn't expect it to look almost exactly the same." His face lit up with a shy smile and he allowed the other boys to drag him and Paddy up to their dorm to unpack.
A sixth bed had been added to the sixth-year boy's dorm and though it was a little more crowded than it had been previously it was soon filled with a cheerful chaos as the teenagers unpacked haphazardly, laughing and joking, catching up after a summer's separation. Aries sat on his bed with a wistful smile, watching the friends banter and tease each other, sticking up posters and arguing over football and Quidditch. He reached into his trunk and pulled out three framed pictures which he put on his bedside table. One photograph was of his parents at their wedding, young and beautiful, with their witnesses, Lily and James Potter, beside them. The next showed them at the house in Wales, cradling a month-old Aries, their smiles had a faint edge this time, as if they realised how much more danger they were in. The final one had been taken in January, it contained Aries and his parents, curled up together on a sofa in Grimmauld Place, pointing out something in a book, and Remus, mock wrestling with Paddy on the rug in front of them, every now and then the inhabitants of the pictures would laugh or look up and smile.
Harry looked over from where he stood beside his bed, between Aries' and Ron's. He walked over and asked, hesitantly, "Would you mind?" Aries shook his head and Harry picked them up, one by one and examined them carefully, recognising them for the treasures they were. He sighed softly, replaced them and looked at him, the grief raw and unchecked in his eyes. Aries lowered his eyes and studied his hands intently, determined not to let any of his other roommates recognise his distress. Harry rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly for a second before turning back to his own bed.
Rummaging in his trunk again Aries pulled out a Caerphilly Catapults banner and pinned it to the wall beside his bed, next he stuck up a poster of The Clash and finally a hand drawn sketch showing a wolf, a dog and a stag running through a forest. Dean nodded approvingly at the band poster and complimented him on the drawing, the sketch of wall beside his own bed was covered in his drawings, dominated by a proudly roaring lion.
Aries pulled the curtains of his four-poster closed, mumbling a goodnight to the other boys and slipped beneath the covers, Paddy curled up at his feet. It took him longer than normal to get to sleep, unused as he was to sharing a room with others. Their soft chatter lasted another five minutes or so but soon trailed off into deep, relaxed breathing and snoring but he lay awake long after, mulling over the events of the day.