'Sirius! Sirius Black!' The shriek echoed around the stone
corridor, making everyone stop and turn. Sirius groaned. He had hoped to
make it to the common room without being spotted. But alas, Bellatrix was
charging down the corridor at him, screeching like a banshee.
'How dare you?' she screamed, her eyes wild, her expression shocked and revolted. She grabbed her cousin and shook him so hard his teeth rattled. The tall red-headed prefect, who had been leading the first years to the Gryffindor tower, yelled 'Oi! Miss Black, it's a bit early in the year for you to get detention, don't you think?'
Bellatrix threw him a contemptuous look, and pushed Sirius away from her violently. He hit the wall, and winced. 'You', she was seething with rage, 'you have betrayed the family! Fraternising with blood traitors and mudbloods!' She spat out the last word.
'Watch your mouth', snarled James.
'That's enough', the prefect said again, 'Miss Black, go to the Slytherin tower. I assure you, I'll be speaking to Professor Grappenhall about you in the morning.'
But their words fell on deaf ears. 'How could you do this?' hissed Bellatrix, her hooded eyes narrowed to slits, 'you have let us all down!'
'At last', Sirius took pleasure in retorting, 'I've done something right.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' Bellatrix spat, advancing on him again, in a menacing manner.
'I don't want to be like you!' Sirius exploded, 'I hate being a Black, I hate all your rubbish about pure-bloods and family traditions! I'm glad the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor, because it means I won't have you sticking your ugly nose into my business every hour of the day. The hat put me in Gryffindor because it saw that I'm nothing like the rest of you, and thank God for that!'
There was a moment where Bellatrix stared at her cousin, too shocked to do anything. Then she slapped him, hard across the face.
'Miss Black!' The prefect fumed, 'one week's detention, starting tomorrow night. And I'm sure Professor Grappenhall will deduct plenty of points from Slytherin when she hears about this. Now get lost!'
Bellatrix glared at the Gryffindors. More had left the Great Hall, and stood in a crowd behind her. She was amongst enemies. 'I disown you, Sirius. You're not worthy of being a Black. Go find yourself a nice little mudblood name, because we are done with you!' And with all the dignity she could muster, considering the fact that she was purple in the face and her black hair was sticking out all sorts of strange angles, she swept past the amazed Gryffindors, and disappeared around the corner.
Sirius swallowed hard. His cheek burned and stung, where Bellatrix had slapped him. He could feel the eyes of every Gryffindor present upon him. 'Come along, first years', the prefect said hurriedly, breaking the silence, 'it's getting late!'
Sirius hung back, embarrassed, and ashamed to be related to a girl such as Bellatrix. He studied his shoes, allowing everybody else to pass him, ignoring their whispers and curious glances. A second pair of shoes came into view. And a third. He looked up, and saw James Potter and Remus Lupin standing in front of him. 'She's awful', Remus said quietly, 'sorry you have to be related to her.'
'If she really had disowned you, you're well rid, mate', James added, grinning. Sirius' spirits lifted, and he returned the grin. Together, they hurried after the other Gryffindors.
The prefect was waiting at the end of a corridor, where a portrait of a fat lady hung on the wall. 'I had to wait for you to come', he explained, 'because none of you know the password. It's odds bodkins.' The lady smiled, and the portrait swung forwards, revealing a large hole in the wall. All four boys crawled through. 'This', said the prefect with a flourish, 'is the Gryffindor Common Room.'
Sirius looked around happily-the place wall full of squashy old armchairs and chintz footstools and pouffes. A fire crackled cheerfully in the hearth, and many of the students were lounging around, playing chess or gobstones. A few looked up interestedly at Sirius, but quickly lost interest.
'Listen', the prefect muttered to Sirius, 'If you ever have any trouble with any of the other charming members of your family, you just let me know. Name's Arthur Weasley. This is my last year here.'
Sirius nodded and smiled gratefully. 'Right, all first years, go up to your dormitories please, it's way past your bedtime!' Arthur marched briskly around the room, rounding up the first years, who groaned.
'You'll be thanking me in the morning-I hear you lot have Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing in the morning', he muttered darkly, ushering the boys through the door to their dormitories, while a female prefect did likewise with the girls.
There were six Gryffindor boys in all. Apart from Sirius himself, James and Remus, there was a short, mousy-haired boy named Peter Pettigrew, a cheeky- looking dark haired boy called Jed Johnson, and a quiet boy, with fair hair and a slightly dreamy expression, who said his name was Tobias Jordan. 'Hope you don't mind sharing a room with all us half-bloods and mudbloods, Black', Jed said jokingly.
Sirius tried to laugh, but couldn't. 'She's my cousin. Sorry about all that stuff she was saying...'
'Forget about it', James interrupted, 'we all find our families embarrassing at times.'
Sirius again felt a rush of gratitude towards James and the others. He had expected them to judge him on the behaviour of his cousin, and shun him for coming from a family well known for its love of Salazar Slytherin, and its hatred of all those who were not pure-blooded.
All in all, the other boys seemed pleasant, and as Sirius climbed into bed, tired but happy, he hoped that this first night was a sign of good things to come.
***
'How dare you?' she screamed, her eyes wild, her expression shocked and revolted. She grabbed her cousin and shook him so hard his teeth rattled. The tall red-headed prefect, who had been leading the first years to the Gryffindor tower, yelled 'Oi! Miss Black, it's a bit early in the year for you to get detention, don't you think?'
Bellatrix threw him a contemptuous look, and pushed Sirius away from her violently. He hit the wall, and winced. 'You', she was seething with rage, 'you have betrayed the family! Fraternising with blood traitors and mudbloods!' She spat out the last word.
'Watch your mouth', snarled James.
'That's enough', the prefect said again, 'Miss Black, go to the Slytherin tower. I assure you, I'll be speaking to Professor Grappenhall about you in the morning.'
But their words fell on deaf ears. 'How could you do this?' hissed Bellatrix, her hooded eyes narrowed to slits, 'you have let us all down!'
'At last', Sirius took pleasure in retorting, 'I've done something right.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' Bellatrix spat, advancing on him again, in a menacing manner.
'I don't want to be like you!' Sirius exploded, 'I hate being a Black, I hate all your rubbish about pure-bloods and family traditions! I'm glad the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor, because it means I won't have you sticking your ugly nose into my business every hour of the day. The hat put me in Gryffindor because it saw that I'm nothing like the rest of you, and thank God for that!'
There was a moment where Bellatrix stared at her cousin, too shocked to do anything. Then she slapped him, hard across the face.
'Miss Black!' The prefect fumed, 'one week's detention, starting tomorrow night. And I'm sure Professor Grappenhall will deduct plenty of points from Slytherin when she hears about this. Now get lost!'
Bellatrix glared at the Gryffindors. More had left the Great Hall, and stood in a crowd behind her. She was amongst enemies. 'I disown you, Sirius. You're not worthy of being a Black. Go find yourself a nice little mudblood name, because we are done with you!' And with all the dignity she could muster, considering the fact that she was purple in the face and her black hair was sticking out all sorts of strange angles, she swept past the amazed Gryffindors, and disappeared around the corner.
Sirius swallowed hard. His cheek burned and stung, where Bellatrix had slapped him. He could feel the eyes of every Gryffindor present upon him. 'Come along, first years', the prefect said hurriedly, breaking the silence, 'it's getting late!'
Sirius hung back, embarrassed, and ashamed to be related to a girl such as Bellatrix. He studied his shoes, allowing everybody else to pass him, ignoring their whispers and curious glances. A second pair of shoes came into view. And a third. He looked up, and saw James Potter and Remus Lupin standing in front of him. 'She's awful', Remus said quietly, 'sorry you have to be related to her.'
'If she really had disowned you, you're well rid, mate', James added, grinning. Sirius' spirits lifted, and he returned the grin. Together, they hurried after the other Gryffindors.
The prefect was waiting at the end of a corridor, where a portrait of a fat lady hung on the wall. 'I had to wait for you to come', he explained, 'because none of you know the password. It's odds bodkins.' The lady smiled, and the portrait swung forwards, revealing a large hole in the wall. All four boys crawled through. 'This', said the prefect with a flourish, 'is the Gryffindor Common Room.'
Sirius looked around happily-the place wall full of squashy old armchairs and chintz footstools and pouffes. A fire crackled cheerfully in the hearth, and many of the students were lounging around, playing chess or gobstones. A few looked up interestedly at Sirius, but quickly lost interest.
'Listen', the prefect muttered to Sirius, 'If you ever have any trouble with any of the other charming members of your family, you just let me know. Name's Arthur Weasley. This is my last year here.'
Sirius nodded and smiled gratefully. 'Right, all first years, go up to your dormitories please, it's way past your bedtime!' Arthur marched briskly around the room, rounding up the first years, who groaned.
'You'll be thanking me in the morning-I hear you lot have Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing in the morning', he muttered darkly, ushering the boys through the door to their dormitories, while a female prefect did likewise with the girls.
There were six Gryffindor boys in all. Apart from Sirius himself, James and Remus, there was a short, mousy-haired boy named Peter Pettigrew, a cheeky- looking dark haired boy called Jed Johnson, and a quiet boy, with fair hair and a slightly dreamy expression, who said his name was Tobias Jordan. 'Hope you don't mind sharing a room with all us half-bloods and mudbloods, Black', Jed said jokingly.
Sirius tried to laugh, but couldn't. 'She's my cousin. Sorry about all that stuff she was saying...'
'Forget about it', James interrupted, 'we all find our families embarrassing at times.'
Sirius again felt a rush of gratitude towards James and the others. He had expected them to judge him on the behaviour of his cousin, and shun him for coming from a family well known for its love of Salazar Slytherin, and its hatred of all those who were not pure-blooded.
All in all, the other boys seemed pleasant, and as Sirius climbed into bed, tired but happy, he hoped that this first night was a sign of good things to come.
***