Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.
James was used to feeling excluded. He was not used to being the center of attention.
The Hat's words were still ringing in his ears as Professor Longbottom lifted it from his head. For a moment, the entire Hall was silent. Many of the students looked stricken; others looked as if he had personally betrayed them. His gaze skipped over all of them until it landed on his brother. Teddy's hair was its normal mousy brown color as he gave James a small, sad smile.
From his expression, Teddy had anticipated this occurring, but he hadn't bothered to warn James of the possibility.
James took a minute breath. Then he flashed a purposefully cocky smile and, amidst the silence, strode to the Slytherin table. By the time he'd sat down beside Ivy, whispers had broken out again, but he ignored them.
You are in control. Nobody else.
Andromeda claimed that was how the Blacks climbed their way to the top of the society. Even if it wasn't true, they acted as if everything was going the way they wanted. James would have to live by the same creed if he wanted to survive his time at Hogwarts.
"Powels, Richard!" Professor Longbottom called in an attempt to continue the Sorting.
After a moment, a boy stepped out of the crowd of first-years. The whispers began to subside, although people were still sneaking glances at James. He sat with his shoulders straight, only breaking his façade of indifference when Chris' name was called.
"Great, another Weasley," someone muttered further down the table. "I bet he's –"
"SLYTHERIN!"
As Chris stood, he looked just as surprised as James had felt. He paused, facing the Ravenclaw table as if he were about to head toward it, and then abruptly turned toward the Slytherins, who stared back at him in silence. Almost robotically, he walked to the table and sat down.
"This is utter chaos," said a student, and nervous laughter floated through the room.
Even James felt hysteria building up inside him. A Potter, he thought. A Potter in Slytherin, and it's me.
He was not looking forward to telling his parents about this.
Finally, after Martin Yarrow was sorted into Gryffindor, the Headmistress called for their attention.
"Good evening!" Aunt Hermione – Professor Granger, James reminded himself – called. "I know all of you are hungry, so I'll keep it short: Everything you need to know is in your guidebooks. That includes a map, so I don't want to hear any more excuses about getting lost. If you have a question, please ask an older student or your Head of House.
"With that, I will conclude: Welcome to Hogwarts, and let the feast begin!"
The crowd roared with approval as food appeared on the tables. However, James had no appetite for the gourmet buffet laid out before him. His stomach seemed to be turning in on itself.
While everyone was initially distracted by the food, Sirius rounded the table, grabbing Chris on his way. Older students at the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw tables were exchanging seats – James saw Roxanne join Fred and Dominique, despite her being a Gryffindor – so no one noticed Sirius and Chris sit across from James and Ivy.
"Well, this will be easier than expected," Sirius said.
James stared at him in mute horror.
"Being friends," Sirius added. "Now we won't have to worry about Houses."
Ivy looked over his shoulder at the rest of the room.
"I think we do," she said quietly.
Suddenly Chris yelped, though he quickly masked the sound with a hiss of pain. The pug-faced, dark-haired boy standing behind him slowly lowered his hand, which held a mug of hot chocolate.
"Oh sorry," he sneered. "I saw red and thought you were a Gryffindor."
Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Ivy draw her wand. Sirius was already twisting around and rising to his feet, his face filled with a cold, hard anger. James was frozen, not knowing what to do. He couldn't afford to call attention to himself.
"Julian," a voice said sharply.
The boy's eyes flicked toward the two Prefects heading toward them.
"Stay out of this, Parkinson," he snapped. "We're barely related. You can't control me."
"I think our badges say differently," the girl returned. She waved her wand at Chris. "That'll help with the pain, but you'll need to see Madame Longbottom later on."
Chris nodded and rolled his shoulders, relief suffusing his features. "Thanks," he said.
The male Prefect ripped the mug out of Julian's hand. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" he hissed. "We're trying to turn this House around. We can't do that if people like you perpetuate the idea of us being evil."
"Who cares?" retorted Julian.
"Everyone but you, it seems." The Prefect indicated the people watching them; all of the Slytherins' eyes were narrowed on Julian.
His lip still curled, Julian spun on his heel and marched back to his seat. A girl nearby asked a question in too low a tone for James to hear, but he saw Julian quickly shake his head.
"Civil war within the first hour," said the female Prefect. "We have our work cut out for us, Pierce."
"Don't I know it," her partner replied, his gaze turning to Chris. "I'm Pierce Parkinson, by the way. If he does something like that again, let me know."
"I will," Chris said, nodding jerkily. His face was still pale.
Once the Prefects had left, Sirius slowly sank back into his seat and Ivy released her wand. Silence permeated their group. James looked down at his empty plate, feeling a headache coming on. He'd done nothing. While Sirius and Ivy had been ready to defend Chris, James had only sat there like a coward.
Maybe it's a good thing I'm not in Gryffindor, he thought. A coward in the House of Bravery would only further besmirch the Potter name.
Sirius woke so suddenly that it took a moment for him to realize where he was. He was shivering in his bed within the Slytherin dormitories. He could not say what had caused his heart to pound so fast, nor why he found his gaze drawn to another bed in the room.
"Sirius?" Chris poked his head through his own curtains. He blinked in the warm light generated by a fire at the center of the room. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said when he felt his voice wouldn't shake. "It was just a bad dream. Sorry if I woke you."
"'S fine," Chris mumbled, and then retreated back into his bed, closing the curtains tightly.
Alone again, Sirius took a moment to think. His father had said that if he needed help, then Sirius could reach him through Phineas Nigellus' portrait. The problem was that, as far as Sirius was aware, the only portrait of the former Headmaster was locked away in an office. Unless the Headmistress gave him permission to use the portrait, he had no hope of reaching his father except through letters.
That meant he had to figure out a way to put his instincts into words.
Do you really think you can save him, little Knight?
Sirius shook his head. He was a Black, as bright as the stars in the sky. He had no reason to fear the dark. Yet when he looked at James, he seemed to forget this fact, and something in him recoiled.
Carefully, Sirius climbed out of his own bed and began getting dressed. Then he padded out of the room and down the long hallway to the Common Room. He had just reached the secret doorway when a voice spoke from behind him.
"Stop right there, Black."
Heart in his throat, Sirius spun around, his wand aloft to protect himself. He didn't relax when he saw the two fifth-year Prefects, Pierce Parkinson and Avis Coens standing from two chairs facing the door. When they'd been escorted to the Slytherin dormitory, Julian had shoved James into a wall. The Prefects had been quick to separate them before an actual altercation could occur, but Sirius still refused to trust the pair.
"No one is allowed out tonight," Pierce continued, repeating his earlier speech. "All students are to be in their rooms until the morning. At seven, Avis and I will escort you to the Great Hall for breakfast."
Slowly Sirius lowered his wand.
"I just want to send a letter," he said.
"If it's urgent, then you can use my owl," Avis offered. "Otherwise it can wait until tomorrow, when we show you to the Owlery."
Since he didn't have any such letter on him, Sirius only stood there silently.
Avis sighed. "Look, it's dangerous out there," she said gently. "The other Houses are known to target Slytherins who are alone."
"I can defend myself," Sirius said, raising his chin defiantly.
"You're a first-year," Pierce pointed out.
"I'm a Black," Sirius shot back at him.
"Point," Pierce conceded. "But I'm still not allowing it."
Sirius crossed his arms. "Are the other Houses being monitored?" he demanded, indicating the door with a tilt of his head.
"Yes," Avis answered immediately. "Lupin has all of the fifth-year Prefects stationed at the dormitory exits. Nobody is allowed out tonight. Until we get this handled –" She gestured toward Sirius, but he understood it to mean him, James, and Chris, the three people who had caused such an upstart at the Sorting. "We're taking every precaution we can."
His arms started to loosen because, as much as he hated to admit it, Sirius understood their reasoning. Then, realizing what he was doing, he firmed his stance again.
"Go to bed, Black," said Pierce. "You're being worse than Julian."
Sirius felt his shoulders tense.
"Or we could have hot cocoa," Avis suggested, a devious smile pulling at her lips.
"What?" Sirius and Pierce chorused.
"And not pour it on each other," she added before calling, "Isa!"
Immediately a house-elf appeared in front of them, looking as though it had just been woken from sleep. Its large eyes were drooping and it was swaying in place.
"Yes, Mistress Avis?" croaked the house-elf.
"Isa, can you get us three mugs of hot cocoa, please? Then you can go back to sleep."
The house-elf bobbed its head instead of answering and then disappeared again. A moment later, three mugs were on the table nearby them. Avis picked one up and extended it toward Sirius. After a moment, Sirius accepted it and breathed in the sweet smell of chocolate.
"There's no cure to homesickness," said Avis, "but I've found that chocolate makes any situation better."
"I'm not homesick," Sirius protested.
"Do you miss your family?" She used the same tone one would have used to ask about the weather.
"No – Well, yes – But Ivy's here, so it doesn't matter –"
Over on the couch, Pierce snickered into his mug. If Sirius were a dog, he was sure his hackles would have been raised, but as it was, he only snapped his mouth shut.
There was a small smile playing about Avis' lips as she nudged him toward the other couch. She began asking him about his family, which he answered sparingly at first, but over time he opened up more. He learned about hers and Pierce's families, too; Pierce's stories about Julian reminded Sirius of his cousin Cory's father.
Slowly Sirius felt himself becoming drowsy again, and he was barely aware of Pierce taking the mug from him and then floating him back to his bed. He did swear revenge on the pair of Prefects, though.
When James was a child, his parents took him and his siblings into Diagon Alley to see a parade. As he sat upon his father's shoulders, with Lily in Ginny's arms and Al atop the railing in front of Harry, James watched in fascination as the people marched past.
"Why are there so many signs with your face, Daddy?" he asked.
Harry squeezed James' leg gently, a light warning not to speak too loudly. They were trying to blend into the crowd, which James found to be rather stupid without any disguises. He'd already seen a few people notice them.
"Because I'm the Savior," Harry replied.
At the time, James was too young to hear the bitterness within his father's voice.
"Like when we saved Snuffles?" James asked, referring to the dog they had recently rescued from a pound.
"Something like that," Harry muttered, so low that James barely heard him over the cheering.
Over time, James came to understand that his father's role in the war was more than rescuing animals. Since his parents never explicitly talked about it, James, Al, and Lily would pore over any articles they could find, and pieced together their father's life.
Now, as he stared up at the green canopy above him, James wondered how he was going to be half as brave as his father. Then the curtains were drawn apart by Sirius, and once James' eyes adjusted to the excess light, he could see Chris slowly getting dressed behind Sirius.
"If you don't hurry up, we're going to be late for the first day of school," Sirius informed him.
James leaped out of bed and rushed through his morning routine before joining the crowd of first-years in the Common Room. They followed the Prefects to the Great Hall for breakfast, where James felt every eye turn toward him as he entered. He avoided eye contact with his cousins on his way to the Slytherin table.
Sitting down next to him, Chris smiled wanly. Struck with a thought, James leaned over to him.
"What did the Hat say to you?"
In the midst of helping himself to a portion of eggs, Chris startled and glanced around the table nervously. "Are we allowed to talk about that?"
James shrugged. "I think so. Uncle Neville – I mean, Professor Longbottom didn't say we couldn't."
Chris blew out his breath and set his fork down. With another furtive look, he muttered, "Not much, honestly. Just that I had both determination and bravery, and if I was willing to use them. And I said yes, and now I'm…here."
James could understand the disappointment in that one word. He had never imagined that this would be his own future, either. The Weasley family had done their best to cast off the stereotype they had been labeled with due to the war, but until James and Chris, though the latter was an extended relation, none of them had ever been in Slytherin.
"What are you two whispering about?" asked Sirius from across the table.
"Your luscious hair," James deadpanned on reflex.
Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "It is rather magnificent, isn't it?" he said with a smirk.
"Oh, shut up," said Ivy.
Sirius turned his smirk to her, but his response was cut off by the Head of Slytherin House, Belinda Jordan, who came by their table to pass out their class schedules.
"Make sure you do well in your classes, Lorraine," she said sternly to a dark-skinned girl, who ducked her head and mumbled a response.
Before breakfast ended, the morning post swooped into the hall. James watched with dread as a familiar owl landed in front of him. His hands shook slightly as he removed the letter from its leg. As he opened the parchment, he recognized his father's handwriting. A sour taste filled his mouth. He still hadn't sent a note to his parents about his sorting.
Dear James,
Congratulations on making it into Gryffindor! I know you'll fit right in. These have the potential to be the best years of your life, and I hope you enjoy them. Let us know if you need anything from home.
Love,
Dad (and Mum)
James stared down at the letter, his mind racing to understand why Harry thought James was in Gryffindor. The answer came much sooner than expected when Chris, who was reading the Daily Prophet, let out a, "Huh."
Then, without prompting, he laid the newspaper down so the others could read it, too. James' eyes widened in surprise at seeing his own face on the front page. The picture was a year old, and had been taken at the Quidditch World Cup.
Once he'd gotten over that shock, James looked curiously at the headline, and began to choke on his bite of eggs.
JAMES POTTER, ELDEST SON OF HARRY POTTER, SORTED INTO GRYFFINDOR
Readers will not be surprised to learn that James Sirius Potter, named for the notorious mass murderer Sirius Black, has been sorted into the House of the Brave just like his father before him…
"Somebody didn't fact check," Sirius observed.
Ivy furrowed her brows. "When was this written?"
"Might have been beforehand," James muttered, looking for the author and unsurprised when he found that it was Rita Skeeter. "It even says that Teddy was disappointed, but I haven't even spoken to him yet."
"Because I was letting you adjust," said a voice from behind them with an added, "per advice from Vic."
All four of them jumped and twisted around to see a lanky young man with bright blue hair standing there. Teddy nudged Sirius aside so there was room for him to sit, and then gave Ivy, Sirius, and Chris a beaming smile.
"Hello," he said. "I'm James' brother, Teddy Lupin."
After greeting him, both Ivy and Chris glanced between James and Teddy, obviously noting that they looked nothing alike. James knew that it was at this point that most people concluded that the two were half-brothers, based off their different last names, and he hastily nipped that thought in the bud.
"He's actually my god-brother," said James, "but I've grown up with him and he even has his own room at our house."
"Not anymore," said Teddy mournfully, deliberately turning his hair to a duller shade to Chris' amazement. "You took my old room."
James rolled his eyes. "Al and I couldn't share a room forever. And besides, you only visited for the holidays once you went to school."
Teddy continued to pout. "We'll see how you feel when you go home at Christmas," he muttered. "I bet Lily has already taken over your room."
James went to refute him, but then had to concede it had a strong likelihood of happening.
Sirius pulled the paper out of James' hands and skimmed the rest of the article. "This is ridiculous," he muttered.
Instead of answering, James looked around the rest of the room. In only a day, it felt like an ocean had developed between him and everyone else. He forced down his emotions as he caught people staring at him and whispering over the newspaper.
"How about we go to class early?" suggested Teddy.
James began to stand before the sentence was even completed and both Chris and Sirius were quick to follow him.
"I'm going to stay here," Ivy said, waving them away when James looked at her.
Teddy escorted them out of the hall. James was grateful to have Sirius and Chris on either side him so it was harder to notice the furtive glances being shot in his direction. Turning to face them, Teddy began to walk backward toward the large oak doors leading outside. His first class was Care of Magical Creatures, which was in the same direction as the green houses.
"Don't worry about it, Jay," Teddy said earnestly. "Once this is fixed, I'm sure Mum and Dad will understand. Gran was in Slytherin, remember?"
James narrowed his eyes. "You had a hand in that article, didn't you?"
His back hitting the doors, Teddy gave one of them a hard shove to open it. "Who, me? My dear brother, how could you ever accuse me of…"
From the other side of the door came a squawk that sounded like a chicken and Teddy stopped pushing.
"I'm so sorry!" He reached down to help the girl off the ground. "I didn't think someone would be out here."
She blushed and wiped at her robes. When she looked up, James saw the patch on the front of her robes marked her as a Gryffindor.
"It's okay," she mumbled, ducking her head again when hers and James' eyes met. "I just like to eat outside sometimes. I shouldn't have been leaning against the door."
Teddy smiled gently at her. "Accidents happen to the best of us. Are you a first-year?"
"Yeah, I'm Phoenix Strange," she said quietly, tensing as James startled at her name.
"Great!" Teddy said. "I'm Teddy, and these are my friends, James, Sirius, and Chris. They're in the same year as you."
Her eyes flitted toward their Slytherin badges and she paled.
"I have to get to class," Teddy continued obliviously. "I'll see you lot later, yeah?"
"Yeah," James answered dully, his stomach twisting again.
Teddy gave them a cheerful wave and jogged down the slope toward the Forbidden Forest, where the N.E.W.T. level class took place. Phoenix waited until he was out of hearing range before looking at them again.
"Listen, um…" She edged toward the door. "I know Mrs. Weasley… but I don't… So bye."
Her face now bright red, she ducked inside and quickly closed the door. Once her footsteps faded away, Chris turned to James and Sirius, his brows raised. "That was odd," he noted.
"Welcome to my life," James sighed, his shoulders slumping as he trudged toward the greenhouses. For the first time that he could recall, he was not looking forward to seeing Neville.
