A/N I'm new at this. oops. I know this chapter is really short, but just hang in there. Follow the story and set it aside for now if it helps. I'll try to update with a longer chapter next time.

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The Sorting Hat knew where to put most students the exact second it heard their surname. It was simple really. Malfoys and Blacks to Slytherin, Potters and McKinnons to Gryffindor, Winstons and Patils to Ravenclaw, Bones and Abbotts to Hufflepuff. On September 1st of 1971, this particular strategy proved ineffective on the incoming first years.

Beneath the Hat sat a girl, Andromeda Black. She begged for Slytherin, although the Hat personally thought she was more Ravenclaw. The brother, Sirius, was more difficult. While family meant very little to the Hat, it surely meant more to the boy. Apparently not. Alas, the poor Hat was distraught for putting a Black into Gryffindor house. It actually didn't care.

The Gryffindors gained Evans, Lily and Lupin, Remus. Slytherin took McKinnon, Marlene. Pettigrew, Peter and Potter, James went to the noble house of the lion. Snape, Severus became a Slytherin. The Hat Sorted many more students, but only the aforementioned would be remembered. How could a Hat possibly know that it would someday Sort their children, their very important children?

Marlene McKinnon piled chicken on to her plate eagerly. Next other sat Meda Black with a fearful expression marring her delicate features.

"What is it Meda? You got your House, the food is great, I'm here. What could possibly be upsetting you?" Marley asked.

"Sirius is a Gryffindor and my mum is going to go mad when she finds out! Oh Marley! Gryffindor!" Meda sobbed before dissolving into quiet sobs. Marley attempted to comfort her, but nothing helped. When the Great Hall began to empty, the dry eyed girl guided her new best mate to their new dormitories kindly.

James Potter poked his new mate in the side with a potato, earning himself an annoyed glare. It wasn't really that bad for Sirius to be separated from his control freak of a sister, at least it wasn't in James's educated opinion. The Gryffindor placed the potato back on the table and turned to the boy on his other side.

"Lupin, right? I'm James." said James.

"Lo. Why did you just poke that boy with a potato?" asked Lupin.

"He was being a git. Don't worry, I promise I'm not a potato murderer or something." James assured him.

"Well technically... Never mind." said Lupin as he focused on his plate again. James sighed slightly and looked at his own plate, which was covered in an assortment of foods that he enjoyed. If of course, food counted as a random selection of fruits. He was embarrassed to admit it, but he loved fruit. He was also a very kind boy, because he carefully kept Sirius's attention on him while they exited the Great Hall, just so he couldn't see his sobbing sister.

Neither James nor Marley really knew each other, but the glance they shared as they escorted their best mates across the hall was enough to form a bond. She didn't care for him, nor he for her, but they cared amazingly for their own separate halves of the Black twins, and would do whatever it took to keep them happy.

In the next five years to come, James would fall in love, Marlene would make the same mistake twice, Sirius would lose his most treasured possession, and Andromeda would learn a lesson that wasn't taught in school. Lily Evans would have her heart broken without knowing it, Severus Snape would play an infinite number of chess games, Remus Lupin would change his mind, and Peter Pettigrew would declare his love for someone who would never love him. If the Sorting Hat had know this, maybe things would've gone a bit differently. Sometimes, a hat was just a hat.