Disclaimer: All J.K.Rowling's. Nuff said.

Chapter 3: It is our choices that make us what we truly are...

On the thirty-first of August, after his new trunk was packed to bursting point with wand, robe and books; and everything was completely ready, Sirius was summoned to his father's study for an unexpected interview.

He approached the forbidden room with just the tiniest amount of trepidation. Regulus's overactive but not very often used imagination had driven into gear when Martha had come into the playroom to tell Sirius to brush his hair.

"What if he wants to do something terrible to you?" he had asked. "What if he wants to disembowel you or something?" This had served to make Sirius slightly nervous and he was consequently a touch jumpy. This state of mind was not helped by the portrait of his great grandfather, Thomas Black, shouting out, "good luck, boy!" in dark tones.

He twisted the doorknob (so large, it was an effort to get his hands around it) and leaned against the door in order to open it. His father was sitting at the desk surrounded by pieces of parchment bearing important looking crests and illegible, curly writing.

"Ah, Sirius," he said, smoothly as his son hovered by the door. He waved a hand at an armchair opposite the desk. "Sit down."

Sirius sat down. The armchair was very deep and he sank back into it, his feet practically perpendicular. He could barely see Stephen over the top of them.

"You will be starting at Hogwarts tomorrow," he said, "and we – I – expect you to uphold the family's honour at all times. You will be sorted into Slytherin and will make friends with all the right people. You are not to talk to mudbloods or halfbloods. Do you understand me?"

Sirius nodded frantically.

"Good. We are hoping that Andromeda is the only rotten apple in the barrel. You may go."

Sirius scrambled out of the chair and departed in the direction of the door as quickly as possible.

"Oh. And Sirius?" his father added, picking up an eagle feather quill and preparing to start working again. "Have a good year."

"Thank you," said Sirius.

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The next morning Sirius woke up at the insane hour of five o'clock and therefore had to endure five-and-a-half hours of feverish excitement before he was due to leave.

Regulus was accompanying them to the station – something that was causing him to bounce around like a rabbit on drugs and totally forget that the reason they were going to Kings Cross was so that Sirius could go away to school, thus abandoning Regulus.

At half-past-ten, Artemis activated the portkey to take them to Kings Cross – well not exactly to the station but to an alley outside it. Martha had bewitched Sirius's trunk so that it was feather-light and he could lift it up easily.

The station was crowded with people, who, Sirius knew, were mostly muggles though you could spot someone pushing a trolley with an owl atop it now and then.

Andromeda had informed Narcissa and Sirius about how to get on to platform nine and three-quarters the day before, so Sirius wasn't at all surprised when Artemis beckoned them through a solid brick wall. There was a wall just like it in their tree house – designed to look as if there was no door.

The platform was teeming with teenagers and their parents, saying last goodbyes, issuing final instructions ("Don't forget to clean your teeth, Melissa O'Brien – I know how you are."), hunting for lost pets and generally being slightly emotional.

A whirl of muggle clothes (they had all – even Sirius's mother - had to wear muggle clothes to walk through the station) and blonde plaits announced Narcissa, flushed pink with excitement.

"It's almost time," she squealed in anticipation. Antonia and Andromeda appeared behind her, Andromeda wishing them a hasty goodbye, informing them she had a prefect's meeting to attend and disappeared with the golden haired girl she had met up with at Diagon Alley.

Antonia and Artemis loaded the Narcissa and Sirius into a compartment, "bye," said Regulus, slightly tearful now.

"We'll write Reg," promised Narcissa, "bye, Mama, Aunt Artemis."

"Yeah, bye," said Sirius. Artemis and Antonia disapparated, with two small pops leaving Narcissa and Sirius to their own devices. A whistle blew somewhere near the front of the train. There was a sudden scramble as everyone got on and the army of well-wishers on the platform began waving sodden handkerchiefs in farewell. Sirius suddenly felt a strange sort of ache inside himself, but he brushed whatever it was away impatiently.

The train chugged gently out of the station, steaming out into London. Dirty buildings rolled past on both sides, becoming gradually cleaner the farther they went. A girl called Jocelyn Mulciber (a cousin of Narcissa's, but not Sirius) entered their compartment and spirited Narcissa away. Sirius declined an invitation to join them – he knew that they would spend much of the time giggling over nothing in particular.

Narcissa had only been gone for a few minutes, and more trees were gradually starting to appear outside when the compartment door slid open once again, to reveal a blonde haired boy, and the boy Sirius had met in Flourish and Blotts – James.

"Can we sit here?" asked the blonde boy.

"It's Sirius, isn't it?" said James, recognition dawning on his face.

Sirius nodded, "yeah, course you can sit down."

"Thanks. This is Peter Pettigrew; I know him 'cause his Dad works with my Dad."

"D'you want a chocolate frog?" asked Peter, waving a bag as he sat down by the window opposite Sirius, "my little sister gave me her entire collection to keep me going. She's been reading school stories – thinks the food's going to be horrible." He pulled a face, "never mind that both Mum and Dad have assured her that it's delicious."

The train chugged merrily on, London faded into the surrounding countryside, and Sirius, Peter and James finished the chocolate frogs and played a few rounds with James's Exploding Snap cards. A plump witch pushing a tea trolley piled high with sweets came past their compartment at about noon – Sirius bought a large stack of cauldron cakes and James bought some Fizzing Whizzbees.

A constant stream of people passed by their compartment all afternoon. Some had made it their mission to greet everyone on the train. Some had searched for them with a definite purpose in mind. Andromeda and the girl whose name Sirius now remembered was Jet checked up on them and Narcissa and Jocelyn also stuck their heads round the door.

Shortly after Andromeda and Jet had left, a scuffle in the corridor and raised voices caused the three boys to stick their heads out of the compartment door. Lucius Malfoy was a short way along the corridor, his wand trained on a boy, slightly smaller than him who was staring defiantly back, his wand also raised and his jaw set determinedly.

They had already attracted the attention of quite a crowd. A girl behind the boy who was not Lucius squealed, her hand over her mouth, "Jack, please. He's not worth it."

Jack ignored her.

"What's going on here?" Andromeda's voice rang out over the heads of the excited mass of people. "Jack, Lucius. What on earth are you doing?"

"He called Jack a mudblood," said the girl hotly – she now appeared to be sticking up for Jack.

Andromeda had finally broken her way through the crowd. She was already wearing her Hogwarts robes and she was accompanied by Jet and a boy who Sirius did not recognise but deduced from the badge pinned to his robes that he was the infamous Ted Tonks.

"That's as may be." Andromeda said, sharply. "Luckily I can't take points off yet, but remember you two – Lucius, you must not call people mudbloods, use 'muggleborn' please, and Jack, try not to get provoked so easily. Names are one thing. Violence is another. Now go back to your compartments – all of you."

The crowd departed mumbling to themselves. Lucius and Jack disappeared in different directions after glaring at each other. Andromeda, Ted and Jet along with some other people went into one of the compartments further down. The corridor was empty again.

Sirius, Peter and James re-entered their compartment. James raised an eyebrow in a comical fashion. "That was my sister," Peter said.

"Which one?" asked Sirius, frowning.

"Meredith. She's a fifth year, Ravenclaw."

The rest of the journey passed quickly enough. The scenery changed rapidly, morphing and mutating the further north they went. They rolled over hills, through moors and beside rivers. The light started to fade outside as they started to slow down, seven hours after they had started.

A voice echoed through the train. "We will be reaching Hogsmeade Station in ten minutes. Please leave your trunks and pets on the train – they will be taken up to the school separately. Please get changed into your school robes if you have not already done so. Thank you."

The three boys scrambled in their trunks for their robes and pulled them on quickly. "How d'you think they'll sort us?" he asked nervously.

"My sister said we had to fight a Boggart," said Peter, "but I think she was joking," he added uncertainly.

Sirius sincerely hoped that they would not have to fight a Boggart – he did not know how to, though Andromeda had told him years and years ago that it was something to do with laughter.

The train ground to a halt and Sirius, James and Peter joined the crowd in the corridor waiting to disembark. It was almost dark outside as the trio stood hesitantly on the platform. Andromeda appeared behind them suddenly, "you three should go over there," she said, pointing, "Hagrid is taking all the first years to the castle by boat."

They departed in the direction she had indicated and were shortly rewarded by booming voice shouting, "firs' years over here. C'mon now. Firs' years."

They ventured a bit further and were met by the sight of the largest man Sirius had ever seen.

"Do you think he's a giant?" James whispered, his eyes wide. They went to stand with a group of nervous looking students who were obviously new as well.

"I don't think so," muttered Peter, "he's a bit too small."

Sirius decided that he was quite big enough

Hagrid beckoned them all down a long, steep and slippery path. They emerged some time later on the edge of a wide expanse of water, where a little fleet of boats was moored, waiting for them.

"No more 'n four to a boat," called Hagrid, getting into the front one. He was so big that he filled up the entire boat by himself.

Sirius, Peter and James scrambled to get into a boat together; a brown haired boy who introduced himself as Edward Bones joined them.

"Everyone ready?" yelled Hagrid. "Right, forward." The fleet of little boats set off, sailing rapidly across the water. "Yer'll get yer firs' sight of Hogwarts here. Round the bend."

The boats turned the corner and a faint gasp of wonder rose from the students. Perched high above them, light shining from its windows and its many turrets soaring into the clouds was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Wow," said James, gazing upward.

"Yeah," agreed Sirius, lost for words.

"Heads down," shouted Hagrid. They all bent down as the boats passed under a thick curtain of ivy and clinked gently together as they stopped beside a wide flight of worn, stone steps.

At the top of the steps there was a large oak door. Hagrid raised his fist, banged on it and then waited. It swung open almost immediately to reveal a tall man with long auburn hair and an auburn beard, interspersed with silver hair. He was wearing vibrant purple robes covered in moons and stars.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he beamed, smiling round. Hagrid had disappeared somewhere. "Come in, come in."

They were crowded into a small antechamber; Sirius estimated that there was about thirty of them present, all looking extremely scared, though he supposed he did not look much better.

Professor Dumbledore was holding up a hand to quieten them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he repeated, "I hope you will profit greatly from your years here – and also enjoy them immensely of course! In a few minute you will be sorted into your houses. Whilst you are at Hogwarts your house will be like your family. Any rule breaking could have the possibility of losing house points whilst any achievements in lessons and so on could gain you house points. Now, I will be back to take you through to the Sorting Ceremony in a minute." He left.

"I think," said James dramatically, "that they're just making us wait on purpose."

Sirius and Peter ignored him.

It was barely seconds before Dumbledore returned and ordered them to get into a long line. James and Peter were behind Sirius, whilst Narcissa was in front of him.

"It'll be alphabetical," muttered James. "What's your surname, Sirius?"

However, Sirius did not have time to answer because Professor Dumbledore was now ushering them out of the door and across the Entrance Hal towards the Great Hall where the rest of the school were assembled, waiting for them.

It was the ceiling of the Great Hall that caught Sirius's attention the most. It was bewitched to look like the sky outside and at the present moment, it was dotted with stars and the occasional wisp of cloud scudding across.

His insides clenched involuntarily – a butterfly was performing a one- man stunt show in his stomach. Behind him, the sugar from the sweets they had eaten on the train was obviously starting to take effect on James who was hopping from foot to foot in excitement. Peter was gibbering silently to himself.

The first years hurried after Professor Dumbledore, occasionally tripping over the hems of their over-large, plenty-of-room-to-grow-into robes and gazing around in mute awe.

At the far end of the hall sat the teachers, stately and commanding in their robes of black, green and other sombre colours. Professor Dumbledore was easily the most brightly dressed – he stood out like the Sun beside the moon, it seemed.

Sirius and his companions were led up the hall, following the deputy headmaster like he was the Pied Piper. They were passing between two long tables at which sat students the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colours.

Directly ahead of them, in front of the teachers and sitting (standing, perhaps) on a low three-legged stool was a very old and battered hat.

Yes. A hat.

As the crowd of eleven-year-olds assembled in front of the hat, facing the rest of the school, the chatter died down and everyone looked at the hat. A rip near the brim opened.

Ah. It was a talking hat. That explained a lot.

The hat took a breath and broke into song:

When I was young and newly sewn,

No patches on my brim,

I was made with double stitch,

To serve the rich of kin.

Luxurious and rich I was,

The finest of my kind,

But now I am the last one left,

My threading now unwinds.

I was chosen by the founders four,

A quest they had for me,

To split and divide you,

For life it may well be.

Some will go to Gryffindor,

The brave and true at heart,

Others will be Ravenclaw,

Witty, wise and smart.

Or maybe to fair Hufflepuff,

The just and loyal house,

And finally to Slytherin,

Where ambition fuels life's joust.

So try me on, don't be afraid,

Of what you may begin,

The houses four have always been,

Linked together, from within.

Sirius's jaw dropped. He could no help it. It was not everyday you came across a singing hat.

He glanced over at the table on the far left with its students wearing green and silver ties. He caught Andromeda's eye. She grinned and gave him the thumbs up.

Professor Dumbledore had pulled a scroll of parchment out from somewhere about his person. He unrolled it and started the sorting with, "Ashbrook, James."

A boy with light brown hair approached the stool and gingerly put the hat on his head. It sat there for a long time. Sirius was just wondering whether everyone was going to take as long and whether he would be able to stay upright for all that time when the hat suddenly and loudly declared James Ashbrook a Gryffindor.

He grinned in relief, took the hat off and set off towards the Gryffindor table on the far right who were using a new member of their house as an excuse to make a great deal of noise. Sirius decided that Gryffindor looked quite fun.

"Avery, Anthony."

The hat had barely touched Avery, Anthony's head before it screamed, "Slytherin!" Sirius vaguely recognised him from a few of his parents' parties. Alice Bishop who joined James Ashbrook at the Gryffindor table quickly followed him.

Narcissa was called up next and summarily despatched to Slytherin House where she fell into conversation with Andromeda and another girl who Sirius knew to be Ariadne Rookwood – a second year.

"Black, Sirius," called Professor Dumbledore. Sirius started – he had not quite accepted that it would be so soon but he walked over to the stool, sat down and pulled the hat on. It fell down over his eyes.

As he stared into pitch black, a small voice spoke in his ear. Sirius Black, am I right?

"Oh...erm...yes," thought Sirius, "so which house should I be in?"

"Impatient. Hmm... Rebellious too. Your mind is just like your cousin's."

"Which one? Not Bellatrix?"

"No. Not Bellatrix. I was thinking more Andromeda – and she certainly has been rebellious lately, from what Professor Dippet has told me."

"Oh. All right. So, which house?"

"Mr Black. What say you and I make a splash?"

"I don't want to get wet."

"How does Gryffindor sound to you?"

"Mother and Father would be angry."

"Yes. So what do you think?"

"Yes. It'll be fun."

"Very well, Sirius Black. Enjoy yourself in...GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius slipped off the stool and strolled off towards the clapping and cheering Gryffindor table.

He chanced a quick glance towards the Slytherin table and saw the occupants staring at him in slightly stunned disbelief. A Black in Gryffindor – inconceivable! Only Andromeda was clapping. She caught Sirius's eye and winked. Sirius grinned.

He sat down opposite Alice Bishop and James Ashbrook who quickly reintroduced himself as "Jim".

Lily Evans joined them shortly – the read headed girl he had seen leaving Ollivander's and she was followed by a pig-tailed girl called Amy Hutchinson. Katherine Longbottom was next to sit down and she was heartily congratulated by a boy so similar to her, he was probably her brother.

They passed the N's, and the O's. Finally, they were at the P's. Sirius remembered that Peter's surname was Pettigrew – he still din not know what James's was.

Parry, Leila went to Ravenclaw and Peter came over to Gryffindor, grinning with relief. "James should be soon," he whispered, "Potter."

As if on queue, Dumbledore called, "Potter, James," and James bounced up to the school. The hat sat on his head for an entire minute before it despatched him to Gryffindor to join Peter and Sirius.

Sirius was trying to work out where he had heard James's surname before. He felt that it was something to do with politics – also, the Potters were often invited to his parents' parties, but they often refused.

"You didn't say your surname was Black," James muttered as he sat down between Sirius and Peter.

"It never came up."

"Why aren't you in Slytherin?"

"The hat asked me if I wanted to be rebellious. I said yes."

"Oh," whispered James, frowning. He changed the subject, "the hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw. As if I'd go there. Quite flattering though," he added as an afterthought.

The sorting dragged on. By the end, Gryffindor had received only one more student though – a very short girl by the name of Catriona Williamson.

When the last student (Andrew Zabini) had sat down and Dumbledore had rolled up his scroll of parchment and removed the stool, aging Professor Dippet, the headmaster, rose to his feet. "Welcome back," he said, his voice carrying despite his great age (Sirius had heard someone say once that he was at least two hundred). He looked very frail. "As some of you probably know, next year I will be leaving my post as headmaster of this school and Professor Dumbledore will be taking over the headship. I very much hope for a peaceful year."

He smiled, his eyes darting to some older students at the Hufflepuff table, "yeah, right, Professor," one of them called. Some people laughed, as did Professors Dippet and Dumbledore.

"As I was saying, a few reminders are in order. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is exactly as its name suggests: forbidden. Please do not enter it without a teacher. Also, Mr Filch has asked me to inform you that Zonko's Biting Teacups have been added to the list of items prohibited in this school. Now, let us settle down to our feast. Thank you." He sat, and all the plates magically filled with a large and delicious-looking assortment of food.

There were chicken legs and sausages; cabbage and green beans; little roast potatoes and mint humbugs which Sirius knew were for you to clear your mouth for dessert.

There was silence in the hall for a while as everyone dug in, but gradually conversation rose as the first years got to know the people they would be spending the next seven years with.

Catriona Williamson made up for her short stature by being very loud. She had quickly informed them all that she was probably the youngest in the year, "my birthday's on 31st August..."

"We'll call you Kitten," said James. Everyone stared at him. "What? She's short – kittens are small. She's noisy - kittens aren't noisy. It fits perfectly.

"Kitten suits you down to the ground," Katherine Longbottom informed her, "I'm Katie by the way."

Lily Evans was trying to get Peter and Alice to tell her what it was like to grow up in the wizarding world as opposed to the muggle world and Jim was talking to Amy. James attempted to tell Sirius just why he was so surprised to hear that Sirius's surname was Black.

"It's just that I've heard my Dad talk about your family – he never makes you sound very pleasant. And, he says a lot about dark magic."

"We don't talk about the dark magic part," said Sirius, grinning. James stared, "no, really. If there is any dark magic in my family, I don't know about it."

Many hours later, when Sirius had eaten so much that he thought he would probably drown if he got in any large volume of water, the plates cleared and Professor Dippet rose to his feet to wish them good night.

They all stood up, uncertain where to go until a boy and a girl wearing prefect badges came and chivvied them off up many flights of stairs. Sirius was so tired, he could barely keep his eyes open.

They eventually came to a halt in front of a large portrait of a woman in a pink dress. "Password?" she asked.

"Double-ended newts," said the male prefect and, turning to the first years, "you'll do well to remember that. Now," he added, leading them through the portrait hole (Kitten/Catriona needed a leg-up), "girls up that staircase, and boys up that one. Sleep well."

Sirius stumbled up the stairs with the other four boys. They found their dormitory with its plaque on it labelled 'First Year', and entered.

They climbed into their beds as quickly as possible. Sirius's last thought before his head hit the pillow was along the lines of, yes, I wouldn't fit in Slytherin. He did not know how he knew. He just did.

A/N: All credit for the Sorting Hat poem goes to Bexyfluff and Diamond (insert numbers I can't remember). Thank you so much – I don't do poetry :- ) I gave Catriona her nickname before Big Brother – please, please don't relate it to that.

Thanks to Akalei – my one reviewer. Your review meant so much to me.

I set a record here, first time I have ever got this far with a story AND a record amount of minimum time between posting (did that make sense?).