Professor Minerva McGonagall

Remus was following the other first years and the two prefects when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and looked around startled. Professor McGonagall now stood next to him and looked down at him with her stern expression.

"My apologies, Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall said. "But if you would please follow me. I have some things I need to discuss with you."

Remus swallowed fearfully, but nodded. Did McGonagall know he was a werewolf? Was she going to insist he be thrown out. She led him up to the first floor and into what he assumed was the hospital wing. The walls were lined with beds that were separated by coverings. A young witch seemed to be putting things up on shelves when they walked in. She turned at the sound of their footsteps.

"A patient already?" The witch said. "My, the term has hardly started."

"Actually, Poppy, this is Mr. Remus Lupin," McGonagall responded gently pushing Remus forward. "Mr. Lupin, this is Madam Pomfrey, she will be assisting you during the full moons."

"Oh yes, come my boy," Madam Pomfrey said as she rushed him to a bed. "Have a seat let me get a good look at you."

"Erm," Remus said awkwardly. "I'm alright. It's not for a couple more days."

"I'm well aware," she replied not unkindly. "But tell me when was the last time you saw a proper healer?"

Remus stayed silent. He hadn't really gone to a healer or a muggle doctor since he was first attacked. His Mother or his Father had preferred to treat him at home.

"Precisely," she said sternly at his silence.

"The entire staff is aware of situation, Mr. Lupin," McGonagall said while madam Pomfrey worked. Remus looked up startled. "Not to worry. They won't tell anyone. If you need to miss for a couple of days, they will provide you with the necessary accommodations to allow you to complete your work and anything that you have missed. During the full moon you will come here to meet with Madam Pomfrey. She will take you to the Whomping Willow and through a secret passageway to get to a shack in hogsmeade that is isolated and completely safe for you. If you would like, we could take you there tonight or tomorrow to show you? Or you could wait until Sunday."

She looked him as if she expected him to respond.

"Erm...think I'll wait." Remus said quietly.

"He's got a few bones that haven't healed properly. I'll have to fix that after the next full moon when they rebreak," Madam Pomfrey said as she finished her examination. "There are also some small scars. Here. Put this on them everyday. It'll clear them up. Unfortunately it won't work on the deeper and larger ones but it will help lighten them up."

She handed him a small bottle of white colored cream and indicated which scars he needed to cover. Remus took it gratefully. Maybe he could cover some scars before anyone noticed them.

"If you need anything, Mr. Lupin," Madam Pomfrey smiled kindly at him as she dismissed him. "Don't hesitate to come to me."

He followed McGonagall out of the hospital wing and up to the Gryffindor Common room.

"Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall said as they walked. "As you may know I am the Deputy Headmistress. But you should also know that I am your head of House. Should you ever need anything at all, feel free to come to me. Whether in relation to your situation or otherwise, my door is always open to you. My office is just over here on the first floor."

She pointed out the door to her office as they walked passed. Remus had been under the impression that she was quite strict. However, when he looked up at her, she gave him a small reassuring smile. That was the second one she had given him today, yet he had a feeling it was a rare thing for her to do. As they had been walking, she made sure to walk directly beside him and very closely. She had every excuse to not be so close. She could've walked ahead of him to lead him or even walked a few more steps away from him. But no she didn't seem to want to avoid him. Instead she seemed to genuinely want him to come to her. A novel concept really.

They final reached the seventh floor and stopped beside a portrait of a fat lady.

"This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common room. The boys dormitories are on the left side. Climb the stairs to the top and your dormitory is on the right. You'll be sharing it with Potter, Black, and Pettigrew."

"What if they find out?" Remus asked quietly. "They won't want to share a room with— well with someone like me."

McGonagall regraded him carefully before responding.

"You'll come to me and let me know immediately," McGonagall said sternly. "And for it's worth. I happen to know the Potter family very well. I doubt young Mr. Potter will have a problem with it if he were to find out. In fact, he might just think it'll be the coolest thing ever."

"It's not," Remus muttered. "I'm dangerous."

"No." McGonagall said sharply. "You are a boy. A student just like everyone else. I can guarantee that you will not put anyone in danger for anything beyond your control. As your head of house, it is my job to worry about any security concerns and student safety, which includes your own. It is your job, Remus, to be a student. To be a child like everyone else. The only thing you have to worry about during the full moon is going to Madam Pomfrey for her to take care of you. Understand?"

Remus nodded. Although he didn't entirely believe her. As soon as something happened while he was transformed or when another student found out, he was sure she would change her mind.

"The password is Carpe Diem." As soon as she said those words the password the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open. "Have good night Mr. Lupin. And remember my office is always open to you. No matter the time."

The three boys, who were just settling themselves into bed, looked up when Remus walked in.

"There you are!" James Potter said. "Where did you run off to?"

"Oh erm…." Remus said intelligently. He hadn't thought about them asking where he was right away. It's not like they knew each other at all. He didn't think they would care after the first day. Were they already suspicious of him? "I...er… got separated by one of the moving staircases. Professor McGongall found me wandering the halls and brought me here."

"Kind of irresponsible of the prefects to not notice they're missing a student." Sirius Black commented.

"Right." Remus laughed awkwardly. He hadn't meant to through the prefects under the bus as the muggles say. But he didn't know what else to say.

"Well last come, last serve," James Potter said somewhat apologetically. "That bed is all yours."

Remus looked to where James was pointing next to him to a bed by the door on his right. It was next to Sirius Black's bed as well. Remus didn't mind. Perhaps it was better that he was close to the door. A good escape route ready for him if he needed it. He grabbed some pajamas from his trunk and began getting ready for bed. Even though he had slept for the entire train ride he couldn't help but feel exhausted.

The dorm was dark and quiet. It was far past midnight and one of the four boys lay awake in his bed. The nearly full moon shined through the window. No matter how hard he tried Sirius Black could not sleep. He tried drawing the curtains of his bed to block out the light but when he did it reminded him of the dark rooms of his home at Grimmauld place. He could hear his mother screeching at him. So he had thrown open the curtains breaking out in sweat and breathing heavily.

"Remember, Toujours Pur. You are the heir to this noble house. Everyone will be watching you. You are a representative of this family and you must represent us well. Your cousins have set an example to you but they aren't the ones who will one day head this house.

You make sure you're with the right crowd. No associating with mudbloods and blood traitors, understood?" His mother's voice filled his mind. He could hear every word of the speech his mother said. "That Dumbledore has let Hogwarts go to the dumps. Allowing filth like mudbloods into the school. What's next? Muggles? Halfbreeds? You shouldbe sure to show them their place."

"Sirius Black!" Another memory of when he was much younger came into his mind. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?"

Sirius had gotten bored in his home. He had looked outside and saw other children kicking a strange black and white ball back and forth. He thought that looked like fun. So he snuck out and began to play with the muggle children. He didn't really know they were muggles; he was only 6 at the time.

His mother stormed out of number 12 Grimmauld Place and grabbed Sirius by the ear. The muggle children shrieked in fear at Mrs. Blacks terrifying face. They scattered away to their own homes. It was a good thing too as Mrs. Black had drawn out her wand.

Mrs. black threw her son into the entrance hall quite literally and Sirius landed with a painful thud.

"HOW DARE YOU SNEAK OUT TO PLAY WITH FILTH!" She shrieked at him. "You are never to step foot out of this house again! Do you hear me? Now I must wash the filth off you! Scourgify!"

Little Sirius began choking painfully on pink bubbles.

"Augumiti!" His mother cried again. And Sirius was now being soaked with water and bubbles. He felt like he was drowning.

They were now at a high end ministry party, Sirius was forced to attend as an Heir to his family. There weren't many children. He saw a girl his age, 10 years old, with brown hair standing gracefully near her parents. She had her head up looking posh and proper. Everything that he was supposed to look like. They were very important according to his mother, Wizarding Royalty. His mother wanted to introduce him to them. But if they were as important as his mother insisted and as posh as they looked, Sirius wanted nothing to do with them.

Looking back, he realized that the girl must have been Jane Potter. The Le Fays were what his mother insisted on calling them. Actually at important public functions, they went by the royal family surname instead of Potter. Which was how many people never connected the Potters and the Le Fays. Now that he had met Jane, he knew she didn't seem as bad as he had previously thought. If he had stayed by his mother's side and allowed himself to be introduced, it might have saved him from trouble. But instead he snuck away to where he saw some cool older teenage boys. They allowed Sirius to join them at their table. One of the boys was apparently a Muggle-Born that had been invited there by his friend, Lionel Mckinnon.

His mother had been furious when he found him.

"I turn my back for one second and you go frolicking with Mudbloods and Blood Traitors," she hissed in his ear as he pulled him away digging her sharp nails into his arm. That wasn't the worst of it. When he had gotten home she whipped out her wand. "It's time you get it through that thick skull of yours, stay away from filth, CRUCIO!"

Sirius withered in pain. That was the first time his mother used the Cruciatus curse on him.

Sirius shot up into a sitting position on his bed. He looked around frantically and realized that he wasn't in Grimmauld but at Hogwarts. He also hadn't realized he had finally fallen asleep and succumbed to the awaiting nightmares until he had woken up.

"You better be in Slytherin or Else!" His mother's voice continued to echo in his head. "That is the only house for a Black."

Sirius stood and wrapped himself in his robe. He needed to get out of Gryffindor and into Slytherin. It had been a mistake to let the Sorting Hat sort him into Gryffindor.

He pushed the common room dorm open and started wandering the halls. He didn't know where exactly he was going but he knew from his family that the Slytherin common room was in the Dungeons. He figured he'd start there.

He wandered the dark halls on his own. He hid in the shadows along the walls in hopes no one would see him. The prefects had told them some of the rules as they showed them to the common rooms and one of them, Sirius distinctly remembered, was "no students out of bed".

Meow.

Sirius Black spun around surprised by the sound of a cat. Although he knew he shouldn't be. Many students had cats that they probably let loose. The cat was mostly black which made it difficult to see in the darkness of the corridors. It was cocking it's head to look at something behind Sirius. Suddenly he felt a large hand clamp down on his shoulder. Sirius Black jumped and tried to slap away the hand. But the grip was surprisingly strong. He looked up to see the face of an incredibly old man, which made the strength of the grip even more surprising.

"I've got you now," the old man sneered.

The old man dragged him away and pulled him into his grimy office. Sirius was shocked to find it so cluttered. He had seen a sign saying it was the caretakers office. Shouldn't a caretaker's office be neat and tidy? He couldn't help the disgust that showed on his face. Then he remembered what his older cousins had said about how there were rumors that the caretaker was a squib. And he cringed at the thought of his mother finding out that he had carelessly been caught by someone without magic.

"Such a shame they don't let me whip you anymore," the old man scowled. "But perhaps tonight no one would need to know."

Sirius gulp. It's not like he was a stranger to corporal punishment. But he had thought he had managed to escape that at Hogwarts. Apparently he was wrong.

"You will do no such thing, Mr. Pringle." An assertive voice called from the door. Sirius whipped around and saw Professor McGonagall standing at the door. He hadn't even heard it open again. "I'll take it from here."

"But Ma'am," Mr. Pringle said. "I found him out of bed."

"Be that as it may, he is from my house and is my student. Therefore, he should have been brought directly to me," Professor McGonagall said. There was no room for argument in her voice. "Come along, Mr. Black."

Sirius did not need to be told twice. He quickly followed McGonagall out of the moldy office. But he wasn't quite relieved yet. Professor McGonagall had an extreme reputation for being strict. He followed her slowly and quietly to the first floor where her office was.

They entered the office and Sirius was relieved to find it neater than the last office although he wasn't at all surprised by that. He was surprised that there was already a fire burning in the fireplace that lit up the office. He was also surprised to find it looking about as cozy as the Gryffindor Common room. He moved to stand across from her desk but Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. He looked around and found her standing near the armchairs by the fireplace and was directing him to sit there. Quietly without looking her in the eyes he sat in the arm chair that faced her at her at an angle.

"Care to explain why you are out of bed, Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall said. "I am certain the Prefects explained the rules of this school."

"I was actually looking for Professor Dumbledore." He said looking away into the fire. But then he remembered why he was here. He was supposed to be a Black and his mother would be more upset with him if he found out about the way he was acting. So he straightened up, put on the haughty and diplomatic look his mother had trained him to wear when dealing with those she believed were beneath her.

Professor McGonagall watched. Only slightly surprised by the sudden posture change. She knew the reputations of the Blacks very well after all.

"Oh? And why would you need to see him at such a late hour on the very first night?" She asked though, knowing the Black family, she had her suspicions.

"There has been a mistake in my sorting." He said as aristocratically as he could and in a tone he knew his mother would approve of. "I must be switched out at once."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows. So her suspicions had been correct. Now she needed to know the reason. And there was a reason she hoped would not be one he would list.

"The sorting hat never makes a mistake," Professor McGonagall said. "If it sorted you in Gryffindor then you are a Gryffindor."

"No!" Sirius exclaimed loudly. "I can't be, I have to be in Slytherin. It was a mistake. The hat wanted me to choose and I didn't mean to choose Gryffindor."

McGonagall gave him a stern and somewhat curious look.

"The hat allowed you to choose?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes? Sort of?" Sirius said but not as confidently. "Is that not supposed to happen? See it obviously made a mistake."

"No it's not unheard of. I believe it tends to happen to those who have qualities fit for multiple houses." McGonagall said. "Why can't you be a Gryffindor? Has there been a problem between your fellow students? Specifically with those you share a room with?"

"I-what?" Sirius Black said. "Not that I know of. I only just met them."

Minerva held back a sigh of relief. She knew she needed to ask that question as soon as possible. If Mr. Lupin's secret had already been found out, that would be a huge problem indeed.

"Then what, pray tell, is the problem?" She asked, staring him directly in the eye.

"I-I just can't." Sirius said.

"'I just can't.' Is not a valid reason Mr. Black." McGonagall said. "You said the hat allowed you to choose? If this is the house you chose, I can't possibly see why you would want to transfer out."

"It was a mistake," Sirius said again. "I can't be. I have to be in Slytherin. If I'm not, my mother…"

He trailed off knowing he couldn't finish the sentence. He broke his eye contact with the stern Professor and looked directly into the fireplace.

There it was, Minerva McGonagall thought. Just as she had suspected. Every single Black in history had been a Slytherin. This no doubt would cause quite the ruckus among the ancient noble family.

She regarded him carefully as he continued to avoid looking at her, quite the drastic change from the superior attitude from before. She held back yet another sigh. He was only 11 year old and was thrown heavy expectations on him at such a young age that he shouldn't have had.

"Mr. Black," Professor McGonagall said in a slightly softer tone. "Despite what some might think, the Hat does not sort a family. It sorts an individual. The hat would not have put you in this house, choice or not, if it knew you did not belong here. Tell me. Do you want to be in Slytherin?"

"I have to be." He said as if it was obvious.

"That wasn't the question." She pressed. "Do not think of your family. Do you, Sirius Black, want to be a Slytherin?

Sirius froze. Never had he been asked what he wanted. (Aside from the hat and it wasn't even directly like the way Professor McGonagall had just done.) He had a duty to fulfill. He was the Heir. His path was designed for him. He had strict schedules to be followed, social circles he was required to be a part of, activities he was meant to do. His mother was already searching for someone to force him to marry. His house was picked out for him. You better be a Slytherin, His mothers voice rang in his head again.

But again he remembered the children he wasn't allowed to play with. He remembered the uncomfortable dinners he was forced to endure where his parents, aunts, and uncles praised the recent muggle killings.

"Anyone who wants to be a Slytherin, isn't nice," his own voice came back to him.

And yet again, he thought of James and Jane Potter. They felt like real friends. A first for him. The feast at the Gryffindor table was the most relaxed Sirius had ever been. He thought of the coziness of the Common room even though he hadn't spent much there. He knew almost all the boys in his year that were in Slytherin. Having already been forced to spend time with them prior to Hogwarts.

He knew what he wanted. But could he ever have it?

"I don't," he mumbled so quietly that McGonagall couldn't hear him.

"Pardon?" Professor McGonagall said.

"I don't want to be in Slytherin," he said looking up with a more determined look on his face. Then he faltered. "I don't want to be like my family. But what about my parents?"

"They can't do anything about it." Professor McGonagall said.

"But-" Sirius started.

"If they have a problem they are welcome to come and talk with Professor Dumbledore or myself." McGonagall interrupted him. "However, there is no way they would be able to force you to switch houses."

Sirius sighed but stayed silent. His mother no doubt will be making an appearance at the school. And he was not looking forward to what that might look like.

"If you recall what I said when you first entered Hogwarts before the sorting," Professor McGonagall spoke again. "Your house will become a new family."

He looked up at her and was surprised to find that her face had completely softened.

"So for what it's worth, welcome to Gryffindor, Sirius." McGonagall said. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not but the corner of her mouth seemed to quirk up slightly.

Sirius grinned widely at her.

"However," she started again looking at him with her token stern look. "You still should not be out of bed. So five points will be taken from Gryffindor."

Sirius's smile faltered. He lost points on the first night as a first year. That had to be some kind of record.

"But for your courage to move forward," she started. "Gryffindor will be awarded 5 points."

Sirius gaped at her. Then grinned widely again. If he was correct about McGonagall's reputation, no one would believe him if he told them what had just happened.

An: I hope I did McGonagall justice because she is a true queen.