They say that one's childhood determines one's adulthood. If one was loved and cherished, they will somehow end up with people that treat them in a right way. If one was spoiled and pampered, they will expect nothing less from their future partners.
If one has never been enough, they will never be enough.
That was the case of Sophia Belleville.
She sighed deeply and sat down next to the window of Hogwarts Express, looking at the emotional exchange between parents and their children. It was her first year at the witchcraft school and she couldn't help but be nervous at the thought of what is to come.
What if she's sent to one of the disgraceful houses? What if she makes no friends whatsoever? What if she fails her classes? What if they find out that she's a squib and send her back home? She was overwhelmed with all these doubts and stood up feeling nauseous. She ran out of the compartment looking for a distraction of her anxious thoughts.
"Belleville" she was greeted by a familiar voice that brought back memories of dance and etiquette lessons.
"Black" she greeted back politely and went to make a comment about the bags under his eyes but knew better. They shared a meaningful look.
"I hope we both end up in Slytherin" Sophia continued still looking in his grey eyes.
"So do I"
With that, he turned his back and walked away. Sophia rolled her eyes and kept on walking. How hard would it be for him to stay with her? It's not like he knew anyone else that he deemed worthy of his attention. She shrugged it off and blamed it on the Blacks for being so haughty and cold.
Her brother was sharing a compartment with his slytherin friends that she strongly disliked. So she thought better than to join them. Her cousins were busy with prefect duties, not that they'd stay with her anyway. They were in their fifth years and frankly, didn't give a darn about her.
The young witch decided to spend her ride in an empty cubicle in the ladies' room, where no one can bother her. Hoping that she will arrive soon.
Sirius laughed loudly and nearly fell of his seat as James made an impression of Snivellus the creep that just left their compartment.
That must have been the first time that Sirius felt this much joy and ease. But all good things come to an end and he knew that Potter will make friend from Gryffindor while he'll be with the snobbish Slytherins. Still, he clapped his new mate on the back and smirked mischievously at him.
"Want to prank some little girls?"
"Sirius" he said seriously. "I'd be fool if I ever say no"
They ran out of the compartment and started looking for their victim. James suggested to go to the ladies' room where they'd be sure to find a prey. They looked around to see if anyone was watching but there was none. So Sirius opened the door and walked in very slowly, trying to keep the grin of his face.
He loves pranks, he still remembers when he'd charm his mother's gowns to sport the Gryffindor colors, or when he'd turn his father's dark art books into culinary reviews. But this time it was different, because he finally had a partner in crime.
The two pranksters shared a look as they heard someone whispering in the last cubicle. As they got nearer, they could make out what she was saying.
"Please… Don't leave me… Please... No… I'll try harder next time… I swear"
James smirked evilly, and Sirius felt his heart stop beating. He knew this voice better than any other and he could imagine what she was dreaming about. But before he had the chance to stop his friend, the latter locked the door with a charm and charmed his chocolate frog into a rat that he threw inside the cubicle.
"Holy hippogriff" Sirius muttered still unable to react and he heard a girly squeal filled with fright.
"Run Sirius, run!"
So, he ran towards the nearest compartment. They threw the door open still breathless from their jog and were met by two boys their age. One was Remus Lupin, the other Peter Pettigrew.
Sophia woke up from her usual nightmare to another. She hated rats. No. She despised rats. And this one, was on her bloody face. She tried opening the door, but it was locked with magic. She breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. But she couldn't, because she's an idiot. Scratch that. She's no better than a muggle because she left her wand in her luggage and thus was hopeless.
Therefore, she did the first thing that came to mind and started squealing.
"Run Sirius, run!"
She screamed even louder, this time furious with Black and his jerkish tendencies. She screamed over and over again hoping for someone to come and save her. Soon enough, she felt despair rush over her and she started sobbing. She couldn't believe how someone that knew how well she was frightened of closed spaces and rats could do this to her. More so, she reminded herself to never trust anyone ever again. If the only boy that understood what she was going through had the ability to be such an asshole, then no one deserved her trust.
Her lips were trembling, her hands shaking, her breath unsteady and her heart beats faster than ever. She gasped and realized that the bloody rat was on her designer shoes to which she sobbed louder.
Suddenly, the door of the ladies' room was opened, and she heard someone walking in her direction. She banged on the door, hoping that whoever it was has the decency to come to her aid.
"Hold up" the person said reassuringly. "What's the charm that's used to unlock the doors?"
"Alohomora"
As soon as the door was flung open, the disgusting rat ran away and so did Sophia who was too embarrassed to look at her savior.
They reached their destination, and Sirius started praying for every deity he knew of in both wizarding in muggle world, to be sorted into Gryffindor. It was obvious really. He was the black sheep of the noble and most ancient house of Black.
"Now that I've seen the castle, I can die a happy man" James exclaimed in awe.
It truly was magnificent, what with the titanic castle and the magical aura that surrounded it. Their fellow students were pointing at the towers and admiring the architecture when Sirius saw Belleville in a boat with some pureblood kids he recognized from his mother's boring parties. As if sensing that he was staring at her, Belleville looked around and started glaring daggers at him.
Sirius gulped. If there was one thing you ought to know about Belleville is that she feeds on revenge and spite. There's no greater pleasure to her than proving people wrong or proving that she is superior to them. Trying to distract himself from her murdering looks, he started a random conversation with Remus.
"So, that scar on your face? Did you get it because of a prank?"
"What? NO!" he yelled sitting up straight like an arrow.
"You're not fooling anyone with that good boy attire…" James teased with his signature cocky grin.
Before Remus could make up some lie about his scar, the all heard a loud splash.
Peter was drowning in the lake and Sirius had the nerve to laugh. The clock in Remus' brain was ticking as he looked for a charm to summon his friend. However, a tentacle rose above the surface holding out their chubby friend and putting him on the boat.
"Was that the Giant squid?" a girl exclaimed excitedly.
"Nope. Just me." Peter mumbled ashamedly.
"I can't believe that Black is associating himself with such scum" Malfoy drawled repulsed.
"Is he not aware of how noble his blood is?" Parkinson agreed in horror.
"Oh! He sure is aware, he just doesn't give a darn about blood purity" Sophia interrupted rolling her eyes.
This was followed by an awkward silence, as they didn't know whether she was against him or them.
"Are you saying that Black is doing the right thing?" she asked suspiciously
"Whatever Black does cannot be right"
"You must be Sophia Belleville. I'm Rabstan lestrange" he greeted kissing the back of her hand.
"Je suis enchantée" she slurred with a flirtatious smile. "How do you know me?"
"Why, from Madam Black's parties! Well, I couldn't forget such a beautiful face." He toyed brushing his light brown curls that fell on his face.
"Well, I'm sure you never will"
"We've arrived" Malfoy interrupted in his emotionless voice.
Sophia rolled her eyes and winked at Rabastan who smirked at her and helped her get off the boat. Parkinson walked past them in a huff, clearly exasperated.
This was going to be an interesting year, to say the least.
The strict professor pursed her lips and waited for the young witches and wizards to be quiet, to no avail.
"Silence!" she commanded, and everyone stopped talking at once.
"When you hear your name, come and sit on this chair, the hat will do the sorting"
"Is this some terrible joke?" Malfoy drawled raising his eyebrows. "No duels? No trivia tests? Just a dirty piece of cloth?"
Sophia glowered at her brother who smiled back innocently. She should have known better than to trust him, how foolish of her! She wasted her summer learning Hogwarts: a history by heart instead of enjoying her holidays in France.
"Abbot, Hannah"
A delicate looking girl walked up and sat down, closing her eyes anxiously.
"HUFFLEPUFF"
"Black, Sirius"
Sirius sauntered over to the teacher, his traits casual as usual. He wished he was as calm as he pretended to be. Inside, he was freaking out.
"Mm" the hat whispered in his mind. "A brave soul, indeed. Always ready to do the right Thing. Brave but not proud. Mischievous but not sly. A Black but not a Slytherin"
"GRYFFINDOR"
Sophia scowled and closed her eyes. She knew it. That boy was not only a disgrace for the Black family, but all purebloods.
"There goes a legitimate husband" Parkinson sighed dramatically.
"Don't you worry, my dear Pamela." Sophia played along putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You still have Rabastan"
"You wound me, Sophia dearest!" he exclaimed resting his hand on his chest. "My heart beats for you only"
"Quit your dramatics" Malfoy interrupted rolling his icy blue eyes.
"Belleville, Sophia"
With a flick of her hair, Sophia confidently strolled over to professor McGonagall. Making sure to not show how truly nervous she was.
"My, a Belleville! Royal heritage, French ancestry, Veela blood. What else could one ask for?"
"A loving mother and a caring father?" Sophia wondered bitterly.
"Love doesn't always come as expected, dear. Your name Sophia means the shrewd, you know that? Well, you truly live up to your name, don't you? Better be…"
"SLYTHERIN"
Sophia smiled and threw the hat into the old lady's arms. She sat next to her brother, and soon after that, she was joined by Rabastan, Malfoy then Parkinson.
As expected, Potter and Co's were sorted into Gryffindor.
"Smith, Henry"
Sophia glanced around curiously and saw a blond boy sitting on the chair where she was just a few minutes ago. She felt at ease just watching him, his face was glowing with serenity and as soon as the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF" he broke off into a grin and joined the rest of the badgers.
Sophia couldn't help but sigh. If only she were as happy and carefree as he was.
"Already crushing?" Parkinson whispered into her ear with a teasing smile.
"As if! I'd never like a blood traitor"
If only she knew what were to come.
So, hello everyone. This is the first book I've ever written, English isn't my mother language, so please be patient with me. Did you like the first chapter? If so, please leave a review. If not, can you tell me why? I'd like to hear from you guys! Sophia may seem like a Mary sue or a bitch, but in the next chapters, we'll learn a lot more about her. Pamela is not as annoying as she seems to be. Also, the main pairing is Sirius Black Sophia. But, there will be other relationships as well.
Here's something to look forward to:
"Miss Belleville, would you mind focusing on the lesson and not Mr. Black's hair?"
"I apologize, but if he tamed his hair, it wouldn't be this bothersome."