Why does it rain on Knockturn Alley?

Chapter 2- S.O.S.

Sirius Black was nervous. Today he was starting at Hogwarts and he didn't know anybody yet. Well, there was James, but he hadn't seen his best friend yet, so it didn't matter. Staring across the station he saw people waving goodbye to their parents, hugging their children, generally making fools of themselves. His dad, being a Muggle, couldn't go through the platform, and his mum had died a few years ago in some confrontation with a dark wizard in Russia. So here he was alone on the Platform. Well, since he couldn't find James he might as well board the train. Ouch!!!

"Hey, watch where you're going!" He had just run into a boy about his own age with long, greasy black hair towing a heavy trunk behind him. A rather worn looking woman, whom he guessed must be the boy's mother, an aloof older boy wearing a badge that said 'Head Boy' and a rather shy young girl, accompanied him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, getting up and looking at the other boy. He was about to continue walking to the train when he looked at the boy's trunk. S.O.S. Why would anyone want that on his trunk? A Muggle distress cry. Dot-Dot-Dot Dash-Dash-Dash Dot-Dot-Dot. What was it, save our souls? Would this boy know what it meant? "Hey, what does that stand for, S.O.S?"

"Why should I tell you? What business is it of yours?" The other boy scowled. Sirius immediately decided this was not a nice kid to be around. Not at all. Save Our Souls-him? The boy started to walk away, and Sirius decided he would have a little fun. He started tapping his foot. Three quick taps, three long ones, and then another three quick ones. He started following the boy and snapping this now. Three quick snaps, three long ones, another three quick ones. The boy was obviously getting upset about it. This was great, tormenting the rude boy. He had to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"Will you stop that?!" Oooh, was this anger he saw? Well he might as well answer him.

Still snapping the annoying repetitions of three he smiled, "No."

"Stop it now! " Whoa, was that kid threatening him? ! The great Sirius Black! Nobody stood up to him. He felt his confidence swell up from the rock bottom level it was before. He wasn't going to let the kid get away with it.

"Make me," Sirius replied.

To Sirius's surprise the kid reached into his robes, grabbed his wand and yelled "Furnunculous!" and he started sprouting fungus all over his face. This pale boy obviously wasn't to be messed with. The aloof looking boy ran over to Sirius, glaring at the younger boy and muttered a counter curse. The worn looking woman was yelling at the boy at the top of her lungs. Well, now I know where he got his short fuse, Sirius thought.

"SEVERUS OCTAVIOUS SNAPE. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!! YOU'RE NOT EVEN AT SCHOOL YET AND YOU'RE ALREADY CAUSING TROUBLE! APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!"

"But Mum he was annoying me with his snapping, and tapping and..." The older boy with the head boy badge was looking very embarrassed to be anywhere near here, as they were attracting stares. The girl was cowering, on the verge of tears, and the rude boy's skin had turned an interesting shade of green as his mother was screaming at him louder than anything Sirius had ever heard. He saw James staring at him with a tired-looking boy, and he wished that he could somehow go and join them instead of being caught in this spectacle.

"NO EXCUSES," the rude boy's mother bellowed.

"Sorry," the boy said as his mother dragged him onto the train by his ear. The boy with the head boy badge grabbed both his trunk and his brother's, beckoning the hysterical little girl to follow. James rushed up to meet Sirius, followed by the tired boy.

"Sirius, what happened?" James asked with a look of concern on his face.

"I don't know. I was just walking, minding my own business, and this kid jumps out and curses me," Sirius replied, knowing the 'minding his own business' part wasn't exactly true, but the kid had just cursed him. Where did he learn curses like that?

"Don't worry, we have seven years to get him back. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin. Remus Lupin, Sirius Black." James introduced Sirius to the boy who he had been talking with earlier, but all Sirius could think was 'Severus Octavius Snape, S.O.S., Save Our Souls, ha! More like watch your back.'

***

Great. I had gotten into trouble. That was what my mother was always worrying about. Me. Getting into trouble. Being like my father. Ever since they had stormed out it was her, ranting about never falling for the dark arts and staying away from anyone who practiced them because it would ruin your life. What was that about? The dark arts were the only thing I had to protect myself. Ever since I was born all the attention my father had given me was meant to reinforce that the dark arts were my life. My father. Tom and my father. That was what she was worried about. That I would be my father. Well, I don't see what is wrong with that. My father was respected; nobody would dare cross Octavius Snape. Despite the unpopularity of his wife and children, most of the wizards on the alley looked up to him. My father was also rich. Just two weeks ago we had been living in my father's castle mansion with all the best food, house elves waiting on me hand and foot, my own room and my hidden cove in the basement where I would experiment with whatever magical potions ingredients I could get my hands on. Granted, everything wasn't perfect, but it had gotten a hell of a lot worse.

The room we had rented in the Three Broomsticks was crowded with the four of us, even though Cassius spent most of his time as far away from the family as possible. Anastasia was feeling better than she normally was, occasionally giggling, but at night she would wake up crying and mother would hug her. Mother took to pacing in the room and wondering aloud what she was going to do with herself now. She spent some time searching for a job on Diagon Alley, but was pretty much unsuccessful. She was even talking about moving back to the neighborhood where she grew up, with the Muggles. This woman was obviously mad. Living with Muggles! Me! These people never ceased to amaze me.

I had taken to wandering around Diagon Alley and looking into the shops. Most of the adults had politely ignored me and went along on their own business. I am just a child after all, and they seemed to sense, unconsciously, that I was dangerous. That suited me fine, being dangerous. What I disliked was the attention I did get. Like when that woman in the potions store had followed me with hawk-eyes. like I was about to take something (which I remind myself I was). Or when this rowdy boy had elbowed me while I was staring in the window of Quality Quidditch supplies. I had gotten into a fistfight over that and my mother had chewed me out when she saw my bloody nose. Ha! She should have seen the black eye the other kid had! But that kid in the train station had been the worst. What was his problem? The repetitive taps and snaps, they obviously meant something, but what was more important was that he insisted on annoying me. I probably shouldn't have cursed him but he deserved it. And then Mum insisted on making a scene. In front of everyone. I can understand why Cassius wants to stay as far away from us now. From now on I'll be the kid who cursed somebody on the first day and whose mother chewed him out. That kid will have to pay.

I look at the window and see him talking with two other boys. One of them, a short kid with messy hair, I recognize as the boy from the Quidditch shop, and the other looks like he is about to fall over dead. Of course they'd be friends, two complete twits. Well, from the looks of it they won't make Slytherin; probably stupid Hufflepuffs, so I won't have to bother with them.

Knock

Three kids walk into the room, two boys and a girl. Probably first years like me. "Hi," says the girl timidly. "We saw how you cursed that kid out there. It was awesome. I've never seen anything like it. Just… awesome how… I mean, I wish I could do that. My dad always said I was a little useless because I was a girl, but if I could hex like that, wow. Could you possibly, um, teach us how you did that?" This is weird. These kids are actually being nice to me, because I cursed someone.

"Sure, though I might get into trouble for it. My idiot brother is head boy, so he'll probably be especially on the lookout for me. I'm Severus Snape by the way. What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Rebecca Wilkes. And they are Martin Avery and Evan Rosier. I'm hoping for Slytherin, my whole family's been in there." Slytherin, these kids are okay.

***

"Avery, Martin" -Slytherin

I hate alphabetical order. Always last. Actually, not quite last, that's for Rebecca. So this is how the sorting goes.

"Baldwin, David" -Hufflepuff

A stupid hat. The professor calls out your name and then the hat chooses your house. It's probably absolutely random.

"Black, Sirius" -Gryffindor

That idiot is in Gryffindor?? No wonder everyone on the alley scorned that house. Idiots, jerks and over-inflated egos.

"Bones, Eric" -Ravenclaw

This might take a while.

***

"Lupin, Remus"- Gryffindor

Weak boy is in Gryffindor too, no surprise there. From the Slytherin table I sense Lucius Malfoy glaring at me. It's like he's saying, go ahead mudblood, get into Slytherin, and then we'll see what happens.

"McKinnon, Anne" -Hufflepuff

It's not like I'm even a REAL mudblood. My father is pure wizard, longer family line than even the Malfoy's. My dad says it's longer than anyone he knows except Tom's.

"Meade, Horatio"- Ravenclaw

And my Grandfather on my Mum's side was not even pure Muggle. He was a Squib. Hear that Malfoy? SQUIB. My grandmother was Muggle, but what choice did I have.

"Meridian, Shannon" -Ravenclaw

Hopefully bloodlines aren't as important here as on the alley.

***

"Pettigrew, Peter"- Gryffindor

That one was surprising. The chubby kid had Hufflepuff written all over him, so how can he be Gryffindor with the idiots? Gives me hope that all the people who think I'm Ravenclaw are wrong, though. I mean if the hat puts a Hufflepuff in Gryffindor, it might put a Ravenclaw in Slytherin.

"Potter, James"-Gryffindor

Ah, last of the idiots. Yup, the alley folk are definitely right about that house.

***

"Rosier, Evan"-Slytherin

Just where he wanted to be. Hopefully I make it too. My mum is worrying that I'll be in Slytherin. Was begging like anything for me to be a Ravenclaw. Or Hufflepuff. Or even Gryffindor. But no, there is no other option. I have to be in Slytherin.

***

"Small, Jennifer"-Gryffindor

Me next. Why do I feel my stomach flipping upside down? My brother is staring at me. Probably thinking of how to explain to his friends that he has a brother in Slytherin. Like I care.

"Snape, Severus"

"Hmm... If I read you right, you've definitely got a lot of ambition and bitterness too, which makes you just perfect for Slytherin but an innate cleverness and...my goodness we are smart...I think it'll have to be... R-"

Great, now I'm going to be Ravenclaw. And there are those Gryffindor idiots staring at me. Sirius Black has started with his tapping again. If this hall wasn't full of people I'd...

"Oh dear me I think I almost got that one wrong, why it's been years... SLYTHERIN"

Thank Goodness.

***

"Wilkes, Rebecca"-Slytherin

She walks over and sits next to me. She whispers in my ear "I hate alphabetical order" But at least she's not last.

"Zabini, Clara"- Slytherin



Disclaimer: They're JKR's, except the ones who aren't

Thank you very much to Blackletter and Moey for betaing this work. helping me with my grammer and generally smoothing over the bumps in this fic.