"Black, Sirius," Minerva McGonagall stated, looking up through her wire-rimmed spectacles at all of the shaking first years. From the back of the crowd emerged this boy, this Sirius. He looked completely unnerved, with a sort of smirk on his face as he walked up to the stool, a fact that puzzled her.
He had black hair that swung into his grey eyes and he pushed it away from his eyes as he sat down. He fixed his gaze on the group, making many of the boys shy back, intimidated and many girls sigh, even as eleven year olds. Professor McGonagall set the ratty old hat down on his head.
For a brief moment, Sirius sat there, shocked at the whispering in his head, contemplating his fate.
You're smart, yes, but you don't care about your studies, do you? Sirius cracked a smile and chuckled.
Hufflepuff is not even an option; you're way too motivated and loyal.
"Is there any chance I would be in Slytherin?" He asked the hat quietly, so only the hat and McGonagall could hear him.
It's in your blood, but never would I say that you are right for Slytherin. You would have to be stupid to do that. You are too brave, not selfish or self-sacrificing. So that leaves us with…
"GRYFFINDOR!" the tattered brown hat yelled, his voice echoing against the high ceilings. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief, took the hat off, stepped off the stool and took his seat at the Gryffindor table, throwing a dirty look at his new enemy, his family's legacy, the Slytherin table.
Smiling, he greeted his new home, greeted his new life.
* * * * * * * * *
"Evans, Lily," McGonagall called out. From behind a group of boys stepped a petite redheaded girl, her sparkling green eyes wide with anxiety. From the look on her face you could tell that she was a muggle-born; she wore a look of complete terror.
She stumbled slightly as she walked, blushing as all eyes were on her. Heads turned as she walked by, faces giving her looks of comfort and insurance. She stopped for a second, looking back at a dark-haired boy with a particularly long nose. The boy nodded and she turned and kept going. Shyly, she stepped up to the stool.
She slowly settled herself down on the three-legged stool. The Deputy Headmistress placed the Sorting hat on the shaking girl, gave her a short smile, and then slowly stepped back.
Lily's eyes grew wide at the voice whispering in her ear.
Muggle-born are we. Yes, very capable, very smart. Eager to prove yourself. Lily nodded her head, for a moment forgetting that she was the only one who could hear this voice.
Fierce temper though. You are definitely not a Hufflepuff. But that temper could come in handy, if paired with your sensibility. Yes, that's it.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called out, startling the masses of already scared eleven year olds.
She took the hat off, politely handing it back to Professor McGonagall and stepped gracefully off the raised platform where the professors sat for meals. She cast one look at the greasy-haired boy that offered her the nod of comfort.
He caught her gaze, narrowing his eyes for a minute before turning his eyes from her. A tear slipped down to her cheek. She stopped short, regained her composure and wiped it away.
She stepped over the bench and across from the boy Sirius, who gave her a smile before turning back to the first years grouped in the center of the Great hall, communicating with one of them with a sort of mischievous look on his face.
* * * * * * * * *
"Lupin, Remus," Minerva called out. Halfway through the list now and, she remembered, this was one child that would need to be watched. This was the child that was one to be worried over and the reason for the newest member of the enchanted Hogwarts trees, the Whomping Willow. This was the werewolf child.
From where Sirius had stood stepped a thin boy. His sandy hair was long on his forehead and he walked with a little limp. As he stepped closer to the stool and smiled nervously at the Professor. She noticed that his face looked like it was stretched thin and his chocolate eyes were threatening to slip closed. Than she remembered that it was only three nights after the full moon.
She smiled back sympathetically as he sat. Placing the scruffy hat on his head, she noticed how well the hat seemed to fit with his exterior. McGonagall stepped back, shook the thought and waited for the shocked expression. It didn't take long for the eyes to widen and the mouth to twitch a little. But it lasted a second before the eyes closed, reaching to the back of his mind.
Wow, you are a brave boy, coming here like you are. But why……
"I want to learn to be more than that."
Very brave. Very smart, too. Ravenclaw could be the house for you. But the bravery is hard to overshadow. Better be…..
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed out.
Remus slid off the stool and picked the hat off of his head before giving it back to the Transfiguration Professor. He walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down. He let out a sigh of relief, as if just realizing that he had made it, had survived the stressful part of being a completely normal wizard. He smiled at brightly at Sirius, already his friend and immediately started up a conversation with Lily, whom he had met on the train. She was certainly nice. And quite able to keep up with academic conversation.
For the first time in years, he wasn't the odd one out.
* * * * * * * * *
"Pettigrew, Peter," called out the Professor. She looked out to the crowd of first-years and tried to see movement, a sign that someone named Peter Pettigrew was in the room.
"Peter Pettigrew," she tried again. From behind a tall boy, stepped a short, stout boy with mousy brown hair and watery, mud brown eyes. He stumbled as he slowly walked up to the front of the room. His fat fingers gripped the stool as the hat was placed on his head. He shook as it started to speak to him.
Wow. What to do with you. Hmm… its not the kind of bravery that is usually the deciding factor, but bravery, nonetheless. You don't have the smarts of a Ravenclaw. And you are definitely not a Hufflepuff. Slytherin. That is the best fit.
"No, I can't be a Slytherin. My friends…"
Fine then, don't go where you are supposed to.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the old hat called out, in a somewhat bored tone, like he was too tired to argue.
The ratty-looking boy slipped off the stool as shuffled his way to the Gryffindor table. He sat down next to Remus and got a sort of disgusted look from Lily before she turned to the side to talk to the fifth-year Prefect that was sitting beside her.
Peter, however, wasn't that comfortable and slipped lower on the bench.
* * * * * * * * *
"Potter, James," echoed through the hall as McGonagall called out the name of an already famous boy. The Minister's son. Stepping from the back of the crowd, James walked forward, not showing a sign of nerves.
As he got closer, he ran his hand through his black hair and started to walk slower, exchanging looks with Sirius and Remus. He stopped short, looking back at the crowd, then his smirk appeared again as he half-sauntered up to the three-legged stool in front of the teacher's table. He shot a cocky smile at the Gryffindor table and then at Professor McGonagall before fixing his gaze on the dwindling crowd of first-years.
Getting more and more bored by the minute, the raven-haired professor placed the Sorting Hat on the black-haired boy's head.
Oh, if I ever saw a Gryffindor, it would be you. Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Potter.
"GRFFINDOR!" the hat called out, its voice shaking and echoing throughout the hall.
James' smile was so wide it looked painful. He stood up and handed the hat back to the Professor, who was still recovering. It had been a while since he saw the hat make that fast of a decision, seen it find such a true member if a house.
His bespectacled hazel eyes shown as he smiled out at the crowd from the raised platform. He watched as a young girl pushed through the crowd and smiled up at him. She stepped up and hugged him.
James pulled from the girl's embrace and walked over to the Gryffindor table. He smirked at the redheaded girl, Lily, and sat next to Sirius Black.
McGonagall smiled over at Professor Slughorn smugly. She had the Minister's son in her house. Behind her, she heard money change hands.
Finally, he was where be belonged. Ready to rule the school, Potter-style.
* * * * * * * * *
A black-haired girl walked away from the retreating body of James Potter. She walked up to Professor McGonagall and smiled politely.
"I'm sorry, but there is no need to announce the next name. I'm Juliet Potter." The girl explained. McGonagall glanced down at her list and spoke the name out loud to the hall. Potter, Juliet.
The hall grew hushed. For some reason, people waited when two people of the same last name were announced.
Or it could be the stunning appearance of this girl. She had the same black hair as James except hers reached the middle of her back. It was pin straight and thick, but not too much so. Her face was soft, with a cute button nose and soft cheekbones. Her eyes, however, were the most striking. They were a bright, sapphire blue that contrasted nicely with her pitch colored hair.
The Professor smiled back. So this was the mysterious Potter girl that the tabloids never can get with the Minister. You have seen James once or twice in the Daily Prophet but nothing other than her birth announcement and her name mentioned here or there, Juliet laid low.
The Transfiguration Professor placed the hat down on Juliet Potter's head. Immediately, the hat started to talk to her. Unlike the others and like her brother, she wasn't surprised.
Nice to meet you, Juliet. You are going to be harder to place then you brother. Your brains, heart and bravery balance. You are nothing like a Slytherin; that was out before you sat down. Too smart and quick to be a Hufflepuff.
She giggled when trying to picture herself in blue and gold, or as a Hufflepuff badger.
Your studies aren't as important to you as you let on, are they? Didn't think so. Well that leaves one true place for you. I'm surprised I didn't see this before.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Satisfied, Juliet slipped off the stool. She plucked the hat off of her head and placed it in her Head of House's hands. Gracefully, she glided to the seat next to Lily Evans. Her smile dazzled the boys seated next to her twin brother and then she started a conversation with the redhead seated next to her.
* * * * * * * * *
"Let's eat!" the voice of their aging Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, rang through the Great Hall.