A/N: It's completed! It's even saved on a disk! This is good, because my
house killed my computer.
I was just enjoying myself playing Diablo II when all of the sudden the computer turned off. And then it wouldn't turn back on. My brother told me the house zapped the computer. I'm currently typing this on his laptop. The only problem here is that his laptop doesn't have a place for me to insert a disk, making it a little difficult to get to the story.
But all hope wasn't gone, because we have another computer! We call it a "toaster" because it looks and runs like a toaster, rather than a computer. We've been asked where the bagel goes. Anyway, every time it started, it would run a disk check. After the disk check (which took forever, might I add), the Toaster would restart and - run a disk check. Hence the problem.
My brother fixed it eventually. He crashed the Toaster and deleted the disk check. I don't know how that works, but it did work, and I was able to get the story onto the Toaster. Wonderful, isn't it? Except that the Toaster isn't hooked up to the internet.
So, my brother networked the Toaster to his laptop. I sent the files through the network and loaded them onto his laptop, which does have the internet.
Then, our Internet provider disappeared. I tried connecting for two or three days and it finally responded tonight. So now, I'm sitting at my brother's laptop at 12:37 AM, typing this message, and I've just noticed that part of the story is missing from the chapters I've got separated. It's still on the computer though, so it won't be hard to fix.
I've renumbered, renamed, and rewritten chapters so often in the past three days that I don't even like this story anymore. I do, however, hope that you enjoy it, and appreciate the effort that was put into it. So, I'll stop bothering you, and let you read the chapter.
Disclaimer - .Okay. Not yet, but this is important. I don't own it. I really and truly don't. I hate adverbs. Just thought I'd let you know. Now you can read the chapter.
Rising Shadows Chapter Five - Sorting Disasters
A large group of children, showing varying degrees of fright, stood close together in a small chamber off the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Outside the door, 200 other children sat at 4 tables. Each table had a banner: A red and gold lion on the far left, then a blue and brown eagle, a silver and green snake, and a yellow and black badger on the far right. At another table at the head of the hall sat teachers facing the students.
The frightened groups of first-years talked amongst themselves, mostly about what the Sorting Ceremony (which Professor McGonagall had said would begin in a few minutes) would be like. However, one of the improvised groups was talking of something else.
"Sirius, what's wrong with you today?" asked Lucius Malfoy.
"Nothing Lucius. I'm fine."
Rick Avery shook his head. "Lucius is right, you're really out of it today."
Sirius sighed and looked back towards Remus and his friends, as he had so many times already. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Remus had said, and the look he had seen behind those tired eyes.
Lucius followed Sirius' gaze. "Why do you keep looking at him?" he asked, when he found that Sirius was once again looking at Remus Lupin. Sirius shrugged, and turned back to Lucius.
"No reason."
"Yeah right, you've been looking his way ever since we got off the train. What did he say to you before he left?"
"It's not important, Lucius."
Lucius shook his head, but didn't say anything else. Sirius was very glad when Professor McGonagall came back and led them into the Great Hall. The line of first-years stood with their backs to the teacher's table, facing the rest of the school. Sirius felt very much like a boring zoo animal at that point, glancing around at the blank faces that were staring at him.
Professor McGonagall came back into the Hall carrying a stool and a very old, battered hat. She set the hat on the stool, and all was silent for a moment. Then, quite suddenly, the hat began to sing.
"(*laughs* I don't know how many of you have read the poetry I have posted here, but you'll probably notice they're all extremely depressing. And right now, that's about all I can write. So, as to avoid scaring the daylights out of my imaginary students, I'm going to skip on writing a sorting song.)"
The hat finished it song, and bowed to all four tables before becoming still again.
"When I call your name, you will step forward, and put on the Sorting Hat. It will then tell you which house you are best fit for."
Sirius barely had time to wonder how the Hat decided such an important thing when the second name was called. Apparently, it wasn't always good to have a last name that started with 'B'.
"Black, Sirius!"
Sirius felt his stomach flip over. He wasn't ready yet. He didn't feel brave or smart or loyal right now. Worst of all, he didn't feel cunning, and he couldn't remember ever feeling cunning. As he stepped forward he felt cold dread creeping through his skin. His father would not be a happy person. There was one thing Sirius knew for certain, though. He wouldn't be in Hufflepuff. He wasn't feeling loyal or dedicated to any of his friends or his father.
Sirius sat down on the stool and lifted the hat over his head, which slipped down past his eyes. He gripped the side of the stool, and waited.
"Well, well, well, aren't you an interesting child?" said a little voice in his head. "Not very sure of yourself, are you? Ah, I see why. You've had a rough childhood. So, where shall I put you?"
Sirius thought of how his father wanted him in Slytherin, but the hat's voice interrupted him.
"How many times have you been told tonight that your father couldn't make your choices for you? Honestly, you were right before. You SHOULD tell someone about him. It will make things a lot better. But, don't do it until you're ready. Until then, stick with your friends, they'll help you along your way."
'Friends?' Sirius thought back, feeling a bit foolish at talking to a voice in his head, 'You mean Lucius and Severus?'
"No, no, silly boy, I mean your friends in GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius didn't move for a moment, much too shocked to think properly. But then he stood up and took the hat off his head. He moved slowly toward the table on the far left, not daring to look around at Lucius (which was good because the glare he was sending Sirius at that moment was more deadly than a basilisk's). As he walked toward the Gryffindor table, he noticed that everyone sitting there was clapping and cheering as if nothing could delight them more than having him in their house. He sat down, and didn't look up at the first-years being sorted until he heard a familiar name.
"Evans, Lily!"
".....GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius quickly looked back down at the table as Lily moved toward him. She sat down across from him, though, and Sirius looked up timidly at her, expecting a look of anger or resentment. He was shocked to see her smiling brightly at him.
"Looks like we can be friends after all!" she said.
"Yeah, looks like it."
Lily frowned but didn't say anything else, until..
"Lupin, Remus!"
Sirius looked up quickly to see him as Lily said "Oh! I hope he's in Gryffindor!"
Remus looked tired as ever, but he flashed a grin towards Lily and Sirius before slipping the hat over his head. A moment later:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius and Lily clapped and cheered along with everyone else, Sirius surprising himself at how happy he felt now. Remus sat down beside Sirius and smiled at both him and Lily, before turning his attention to the next student, which was,
"Malfoy, Lucius!"
"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting continued (I assume you can guess where everyone else is. But don't forget Frank Longbottom! He's in Gryffindor too.). When the last child was sorted, the golden plates and goblets filled with food.
Sirius ate his share of the feast that had appeared after the Sorting silently, thinking to himself. He should feel worried about what his father would do when he found out his son was a Gryffindor, but for some reason, he didn't. He felt extremely happy and content. Dumbledore stood up at the end of the Great Hall.
"Good evening students!" he said, stretching out his hands. Sirius thought Headmaster Dumbledore seemed happy to have them all there. "I have just a few announcements before we trot off to bed. First, please remember that the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden to students. Second, our caretaker has kindly written out a list of items, which are also forbidden. Last, but most importantly, please be careful when walking the grounds this year. I think you will all find that a rather aggressive tree has been planted. Please be aware and avoid it. That is all. Now, off to bed! Good night everyone!" Somehow, Dumbledore made Sirius feel welcome. He wasn't so bad, after all. Maybe his father had been wrong. He smiled when he realized he wouldn't have to face his father here at school.
"Well, at least we're happier now." James said, grinning from his place across the table, next to Lily. Sirius grinned as well.
"That's good to know.I didn't want to live with someone who was going to be depressed all the time." Remus said, laughing himself as they all stood up and followed a Fifth-Year prefect to their common room.
They followed the prefect in silence, Sirius still smiling to himself. He couldn't remember feeling this happy. Not since his mother had died. It was a good feeling.
Sirius walked to the bed that had his trunk beside it. He opened the curtains of the four-poster to find Roxy gnawing at a large chunk of meat. The small kitten couldn't even get her mouth around it. Sirius smiled at her yellow eyes as he tore the meat into smaller, kitten-size pieces.
He climbed into bed as soon as everyone had gotten situated, and Roxy had finished eating. He laid her on his chest, stroking her fur as the lights were dimmed and a chorus of "Good Nights" was said.
That night, for the first time in years, Sirius Black fell asleep immediately and peacefully, a slight smile still obvious as he slept.
A/N: I don't know how many more chapters I'll get up tonight. Feel free to read them all and review, or review after reading each one. I don't really mind either way, so long as you review, even if it's just to say "This sucks." Thank you very much!
I was just enjoying myself playing Diablo II when all of the sudden the computer turned off. And then it wouldn't turn back on. My brother told me the house zapped the computer. I'm currently typing this on his laptop. The only problem here is that his laptop doesn't have a place for me to insert a disk, making it a little difficult to get to the story.
But all hope wasn't gone, because we have another computer! We call it a "toaster" because it looks and runs like a toaster, rather than a computer. We've been asked where the bagel goes. Anyway, every time it started, it would run a disk check. After the disk check (which took forever, might I add), the Toaster would restart and - run a disk check. Hence the problem.
My brother fixed it eventually. He crashed the Toaster and deleted the disk check. I don't know how that works, but it did work, and I was able to get the story onto the Toaster. Wonderful, isn't it? Except that the Toaster isn't hooked up to the internet.
So, my brother networked the Toaster to his laptop. I sent the files through the network and loaded them onto his laptop, which does have the internet.
Then, our Internet provider disappeared. I tried connecting for two or three days and it finally responded tonight. So now, I'm sitting at my brother's laptop at 12:37 AM, typing this message, and I've just noticed that part of the story is missing from the chapters I've got separated. It's still on the computer though, so it won't be hard to fix.
I've renumbered, renamed, and rewritten chapters so often in the past three days that I don't even like this story anymore. I do, however, hope that you enjoy it, and appreciate the effort that was put into it. So, I'll stop bothering you, and let you read the chapter.
Disclaimer - .Okay. Not yet, but this is important. I don't own it. I really and truly don't. I hate adverbs. Just thought I'd let you know. Now you can read the chapter.
Rising Shadows Chapter Five - Sorting Disasters
A large group of children, showing varying degrees of fright, stood close together in a small chamber off the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Outside the door, 200 other children sat at 4 tables. Each table had a banner: A red and gold lion on the far left, then a blue and brown eagle, a silver and green snake, and a yellow and black badger on the far right. At another table at the head of the hall sat teachers facing the students.
The frightened groups of first-years talked amongst themselves, mostly about what the Sorting Ceremony (which Professor McGonagall had said would begin in a few minutes) would be like. However, one of the improvised groups was talking of something else.
"Sirius, what's wrong with you today?" asked Lucius Malfoy.
"Nothing Lucius. I'm fine."
Rick Avery shook his head. "Lucius is right, you're really out of it today."
Sirius sighed and looked back towards Remus and his friends, as he had so many times already. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Remus had said, and the look he had seen behind those tired eyes.
Lucius followed Sirius' gaze. "Why do you keep looking at him?" he asked, when he found that Sirius was once again looking at Remus Lupin. Sirius shrugged, and turned back to Lucius.
"No reason."
"Yeah right, you've been looking his way ever since we got off the train. What did he say to you before he left?"
"It's not important, Lucius."
Lucius shook his head, but didn't say anything else. Sirius was very glad when Professor McGonagall came back and led them into the Great Hall. The line of first-years stood with their backs to the teacher's table, facing the rest of the school. Sirius felt very much like a boring zoo animal at that point, glancing around at the blank faces that were staring at him.
Professor McGonagall came back into the Hall carrying a stool and a very old, battered hat. She set the hat on the stool, and all was silent for a moment. Then, quite suddenly, the hat began to sing.
"(*laughs* I don't know how many of you have read the poetry I have posted here, but you'll probably notice they're all extremely depressing. And right now, that's about all I can write. So, as to avoid scaring the daylights out of my imaginary students, I'm going to skip on writing a sorting song.)"
The hat finished it song, and bowed to all four tables before becoming still again.
"When I call your name, you will step forward, and put on the Sorting Hat. It will then tell you which house you are best fit for."
Sirius barely had time to wonder how the Hat decided such an important thing when the second name was called. Apparently, it wasn't always good to have a last name that started with 'B'.
"Black, Sirius!"
Sirius felt his stomach flip over. He wasn't ready yet. He didn't feel brave or smart or loyal right now. Worst of all, he didn't feel cunning, and he couldn't remember ever feeling cunning. As he stepped forward he felt cold dread creeping through his skin. His father would not be a happy person. There was one thing Sirius knew for certain, though. He wouldn't be in Hufflepuff. He wasn't feeling loyal or dedicated to any of his friends or his father.
Sirius sat down on the stool and lifted the hat over his head, which slipped down past his eyes. He gripped the side of the stool, and waited.
"Well, well, well, aren't you an interesting child?" said a little voice in his head. "Not very sure of yourself, are you? Ah, I see why. You've had a rough childhood. So, where shall I put you?"
Sirius thought of how his father wanted him in Slytherin, but the hat's voice interrupted him.
"How many times have you been told tonight that your father couldn't make your choices for you? Honestly, you were right before. You SHOULD tell someone about him. It will make things a lot better. But, don't do it until you're ready. Until then, stick with your friends, they'll help you along your way."
'Friends?' Sirius thought back, feeling a bit foolish at talking to a voice in his head, 'You mean Lucius and Severus?'
"No, no, silly boy, I mean your friends in GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius didn't move for a moment, much too shocked to think properly. But then he stood up and took the hat off his head. He moved slowly toward the table on the far left, not daring to look around at Lucius (which was good because the glare he was sending Sirius at that moment was more deadly than a basilisk's). As he walked toward the Gryffindor table, he noticed that everyone sitting there was clapping and cheering as if nothing could delight them more than having him in their house. He sat down, and didn't look up at the first-years being sorted until he heard a familiar name.
"Evans, Lily!"
".....GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius quickly looked back down at the table as Lily moved toward him. She sat down across from him, though, and Sirius looked up timidly at her, expecting a look of anger or resentment. He was shocked to see her smiling brightly at him.
"Looks like we can be friends after all!" she said.
"Yeah, looks like it."
Lily frowned but didn't say anything else, until..
"Lupin, Remus!"
Sirius looked up quickly to see him as Lily said "Oh! I hope he's in Gryffindor!"
Remus looked tired as ever, but he flashed a grin towards Lily and Sirius before slipping the hat over his head. A moment later:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius and Lily clapped and cheered along with everyone else, Sirius surprising himself at how happy he felt now. Remus sat down beside Sirius and smiled at both him and Lily, before turning his attention to the next student, which was,
"Malfoy, Lucius!"
"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting continued (I assume you can guess where everyone else is. But don't forget Frank Longbottom! He's in Gryffindor too.). When the last child was sorted, the golden plates and goblets filled with food.
Sirius ate his share of the feast that had appeared after the Sorting silently, thinking to himself. He should feel worried about what his father would do when he found out his son was a Gryffindor, but for some reason, he didn't. He felt extremely happy and content. Dumbledore stood up at the end of the Great Hall.
"Good evening students!" he said, stretching out his hands. Sirius thought Headmaster Dumbledore seemed happy to have them all there. "I have just a few announcements before we trot off to bed. First, please remember that the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden to students. Second, our caretaker has kindly written out a list of items, which are also forbidden. Last, but most importantly, please be careful when walking the grounds this year. I think you will all find that a rather aggressive tree has been planted. Please be aware and avoid it. That is all. Now, off to bed! Good night everyone!" Somehow, Dumbledore made Sirius feel welcome. He wasn't so bad, after all. Maybe his father had been wrong. He smiled when he realized he wouldn't have to face his father here at school.
"Well, at least we're happier now." James said, grinning from his place across the table, next to Lily. Sirius grinned as well.
"That's good to know.I didn't want to live with someone who was going to be depressed all the time." Remus said, laughing himself as they all stood up and followed a Fifth-Year prefect to their common room.
They followed the prefect in silence, Sirius still smiling to himself. He couldn't remember feeling this happy. Not since his mother had died. It was a good feeling.
Sirius walked to the bed that had his trunk beside it. He opened the curtains of the four-poster to find Roxy gnawing at a large chunk of meat. The small kitten couldn't even get her mouth around it. Sirius smiled at her yellow eyes as he tore the meat into smaller, kitten-size pieces.
He climbed into bed as soon as everyone had gotten situated, and Roxy had finished eating. He laid her on his chest, stroking her fur as the lights were dimmed and a chorus of "Good Nights" was said.
That night, for the first time in years, Sirius Black fell asleep immediately and peacefully, a slight smile still obvious as he slept.
A/N: I don't know how many more chapters I'll get up tonight. Feel free to read them all and review, or review after reading each one. I don't really mind either way, so long as you review, even if it's just to say "This sucks." Thank you very much!