Puppy Love
Disclaimer: Though I would forever love to, I sadly do not own JK Rowling's Harry Potter Books, or series. Though, I must admit I love her characters and plot and everything. . anyway, all the characters that have already been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are © to JK Rowling. Sierra Black, Casey Thomas and any other random chick is © to me, Kay. And about Mr. Black, Don is the actual Mr. Black that is spoken about in the books.
This story also features Hound of Hell's Logan Black, Nadia Smith, Aislyn Apple and Alani Carter. My friend Danielle owns the characters Rose (Not Roselyn, Sirius's mom) Jonestone.
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Chapter Four - Sorting Hat
The walk into Hogwarts after they had docked the boats seemed so fast. Most of the eyes were still wide with awe at the magnificence of the castle. The boys had immediately huddled together in their little group, with Peter following them because… he felt like it or something. It wasn't long until they met up with Sierra, who, in fact, had actually gotten on the boat and found Casey, the girl she was looking for on the train. In addition to that, another girl was met. Lily Evans, a pretty red head with amazing green eyes. So all in all, the seven first years huddled together in a large ball as they followed Hagrid. They entered through the first doors and up a fleet of stairs, ending towards another large set of doors with a strict looking, young woman standing in front.
Hagrid quickly handed the children over to the professor, before saying his good-byes and waddling back down the stairs towards his own hut. With all eyes now on the almost frightening lady, Minerva MacGonagall stood tall and proud as she looked over this years batch of young witches and wizards.
"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The professor announced, her gaze skimming over the eleven year olds. "Soon, the sorting ceremony will take place, where you will be placed into your proper house and shown your house table, where you will eat. There are four houses in total; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Please remember, every house has handed out their own fair share of amazing witches and wizards. Your house and house members are like your family. You will have classes with your house, sleep in the house dormitories, and you may even want to spend your free time in your house common rooms."
Sirius looked confused by something. Without raising his hand, the black haired boy interrupted the monotone speech. "What if we have friends in other houses? They're family too, right? Are we aloud to go into the Forbidden Forest? What about Hogsmeade? Which house were you in? Slytherin I bet. Your dressed in green!"
McGonagall's dark eyes landed on Sirius, and a large weight fell on her shoulders. Great... another Black. "In fact, no. I'm the head of Gryffindor house. If you please, Mr. Black, let me finish."
Sirius blinked simply, before turning to James. "I don't know if I want to be in Gryffindor anymore. Honestly, who wants a former Slytherin to be the head of Gryffindor?"
"I was never in Slytherin, Mr. Black. Now please, be quiet." McGonagall seemed to be grinding her teeth as she spoke with Sirius, her temper slowly ticking away into nothing. "As I was saying… During your stay at Hogwarts, your triumphs and achievements gain points for your house, while any disregard for the rules will loose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup."
"And quidditch?" The lanky boy from before said, his greasy black hair falling in his face, hiding his dark eyes. "Can we try out for quidditch?"
"No, Mr. Snape. You must be in your second year to join your House Quidditch team, with very few exceptions."
McGonagall's gaze swept over the bunch of students, noting the similarities between Mr. Black and another young girl. Twins, I expect. Double trouble means absolute hell for me. Minerva could already feel the migraine coming on, and a hand rose to rub her temples. As the group quieted down, the green clad lady turned around and opened the doors to the Great Hall.
Sirius, James and Remus followed right behind the young professor as she lead the way down a narrow strip in between two different tables, right up to the very front where an old hat waited patiently on a stool. Once again, the students crowded around at the front and watched as the woman unrolled a very long piece of parchment and stood just behind the stool.
"I will call your name, and you will approach the hat and slip it on your head. Then, you will be sorted into your houses."
"That's it?" Sirius asked, very loudly. "Just slip a hat on my head? I would've thought we would've had to battle a troll or something."
The whole hall burst into little giggles or full out laughs. Sirius looked around, flushing softly.
"Yes, Mr. Black. You just slip the hat on your head." Shaking her head with a small grin on her face, Minerva read the first name.
"Aberman, Jak."
A tall, neat looking boy scurried up to the stool and slipped the hat on his head. After a moments silence, a rip in the hat opened like a mouth and muttered inaudibly. Soon, it shouted loud into the hall.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Aiken, Julia."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Arkwell, Harrison."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Baker, Kayn."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Black, Sierra."
Her stomach had been tying itself in knots, double knots, triple knots, and any other knots there were. With a look at her twin, Sierra bit her bottom lip softly before Casey pushed her forwards gently. The Black girl walked slowly up to the stool, looking at McGonagall nervously before taking a seat and slipping the large hat over her eyes.
'Ah...' The voice was coarse but reassuring as it whispered in her ear. 'Smart girl, you are, smart girl... I see a hidden bravery, and a pure honesty within you. Very good... very good... You have a twin, no? Sirius... Sirius Black. Trickster, eh? Yes... I see... An older brother... Logan. Logan was a good boy, Gryffindor he went to. Your parents... Roselyn and Darek.' The sound of someone knowing her real father's name made her heart skip a beat. 'Yes, I know your father. Smart lad, like yourself, very kind... Gryffindor, he was. Your mother, Slytherin. The odds are against that, as is your heart. Gryffindor, you go, young Sierra.'
"GRYFFINDOR!" It announced.
Sierra took the hat off her head and sat it gently on the stool, giving it a soft kiss before running along towards the Gryffindor table and sitting down beside Harrison Arkwell. He was a handsome boy, with short blonde hair and light brown eyes. He smiled at her, before his attention and Sierra's returned to the sorting hat. Sirius sat on the stool, the hat sitting limply on his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" It announced once again, this time Sierra joined the cheering section at the Gryffindor table.
Sirius, unlike Sierra, just wiped the hat off and skipped all the way down to the table. Sadly, he missed the stool so the Sorting Hat lay crumpled on the floor. McGonagall scowled at the first year and once again placed the old hat on the stool, apologizing for Sirius as she dusted it off. Sirius, on the other hand, was sitting contently beside his twin at the Gryffindor table.
"I'm Sirius." He said, extending a hand in front of Sierra to Harrison. "Sirius Black."
"I know." Harrison said, smiling broadly. "You know my name."
"Harrison Arkwell." Sierra added, smiling first at Harrison and then at Sirius.
Logan and Aislyn had moved down from where they were sitting, to across from the twins and Harrison. The eldest Black couldn't help but grin in pride and Aislyn smiled along with him.
"Great!" Logan laughed, looking at both twins. "Now, I can watch you two like a hawk and make sure you don't get in trouble."
The happy look on Sirius's face fell immediately.
"I'm kidding. I'm just happy you're in Gryffindor." Aislyn nodded in agreement, before resting her head on Logan's shoulder. The third year wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's waist again, smiling happily at Sirius before once again looking at the crowd of other students. "What happened to your friends? James and R... Raymond... R..."
"Remus." Sierra interrupted. "Remus Lupin."
"Yeah! Him! Where are those two?"
Sirius spun around in his seat and looked at the crowd, searching for the two faces of his friends.
"There. Beside the small, mousy looking boy. That's Peter, by the way. Peter Pettigrew."
Logan nodded, turning his attention to Sierra. "And your friend? Casey? Is she here or did you leave her back by the boats with Hagrid?"
Sierra shook her head, grinning as she pointed to the blond. "There! There's Casey and.. the girl sitting on the stool is my new friend, Lily Evans."
All eyes turned to the small red head sitting calmly on the stool, the Sorting Hat too big for her so it fell down her face and hid her eyes from view. Sierra held her breath. She had only just met Lily, but she was such a kind yet outspoken person. It would be a shame if she weren't put into Gryffindor.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat announced.
Lily jumped off the stool and sat the Sorting Hat back down on the stool, looking over to Sierra and jumping up in excitement. The red head ran over to her newest friend and squished in between Sirius and his twin. Lily squealed and hugged Sierra, before looking at Sirius with furrowed brows.
"You're.."
"Sirius Black."
Lily smiled and nodded slowly, before turning to Logan. "And you're.."
"Logan Black." He stated simply, looking at Aislyn soon after. "And Aislyn Apple."
Aislyn nodded curlty to the red head, and Lily nodded in reply. Now, all Sierra had to do was hope Casey got into Gryffindor and she would be all set for friends. Sirius.. the same for James and Remus. Peter, he could live without but it would be cool if Peter came along. He could make him twitch again.
Slowly, the line moved on. Finishing all surnames that began with E, F, and G. The sorting was certainly longer than people thought. But nevertheless, almost all the students still looked on without the slight bit of boredom in their faces. It was either to watch siblings get sorting, relatives or simply a friend's relative. It's a thing... older brothers or sisters go crazy about what house their younger sibling gets sorted into.
"Irish, John."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
A while later.
"Jameson, Thomas!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Jonestone, Rose."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Lupin, Remus!"
After Rose had taken a seat at the table, right near Logan and Aislyn, all Gryffindor first years once again turned their attention over to the brown haired boy that soon took a seat on the stool. A few students from the Slytherin table shook their head and laughed under their breath, noting his patched up clothing. Logan cursed Lucius Malfoy under his breath, eyeing the fourth year Slytherin boy. Sierra and Sirius, though, weren't paying attention to any of that. Their line of focus was on Remus.
Right off the bat, a soft gasp escaped the rim or, 'mouth', of the Sorting Hat, causing Remus to flinch and jump softly. Remus seemed to look so small.. smaller than he did before. It was if he just shrank down in size. Finally, the Sorting Hat murmured a few more incoherent things before shouting.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus sat still for a moment, took off the hat and set it down on the stool. At that moment, he looked different. It was almost as if he was just a hollow shell. Slowly, Remus crept over to the Gryffindor house and sat down. McGonagall took that as a cue, and continued.
Sierra, Lily, Sirius and Harrison crowded around Remus as he sat down, patting him on the back in congrats for coming to Gryffindor and hoping to bring him back to his regular state. Though, the young boy just sat and nodded, looking down at the empty plate in front of him. It took a few minutes to take his stare off the plate, and into someones eyes. Sierra hugged him softly, looking at him gently.
"You ok?"
Remus nodded, smiling softly. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just fine."
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"First years? Follow me, please! I'm the prefect of Gryffindor follow me! First years? I'm prefect! Please follow!" A very short, sturdy girl cried as she waved her arms high in the air. Really, she didn't need her arms to flail all over the place. Her ginger red hair caught everyone's attention almost immediately. "Hello! Follow me! My name is Molly Andrews!
The Black twins, James, Remus, Peter, Lily and Casey followed the short girl as she smiled and chatted with any random person politely. Sirius and James seemed to be off in their own world, talking about whatever came to mind with Peter following close behind. Remus, Lily, Casey and Sierra, on the other hand, walked silently after Molly, yawning. Thankfully, all had been sorted into Gryffindor house. Casey had said that she had almost been sorted into Ravenclaw, but fortunately, she was put into Gryffindor at the end. It was late, all stomachs were full and what they needed was a good nights rest.
"Alright." Molly said after they climbed a few fleets of stairs, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. "This is the fat lady. She guards Gryffindor tower. To get in, you must say the password. If you don't, she won't allow you inside. The current password is 'mimbulus mimbletonia'. Don't forget it."
Molly turned around and said the password loudly and clearly, nodding curtly at the fat lady as the woman in the portrait let them pass. She led the first years through a large whole in the wall and into Gryffindor common room, where they were greeted by the bright colors of red and gold everywhere. A fireplace burned brightly on one of the walls, and tables with chairs were seated neatly about for those who did homework or studied. It was definitely homier than the, "Noble House of Black" was.
"The boys dormitories are to the left. Girl's dorms to the right. Go ahead! If you ever need my help, I'll either be here or... somewhere else." With that, Molly turned around and shuffled up the stairs on the right side up to the girls' dorms.
Sierra stretched and yawned softly, causing Lily to follow and then Remus. James and Sirius had already planted themselves on a couch in front of the fire, with Peter off to the side on a comfy looking recliner. Casey looked as if she was sleeping while she stood. Sierra clapped Casey and Lily on the back, before looking to Remus with a soft smile.
"Remus, I don't know what happened when you were sorted but... I'm just happy you're in Gryffindor with me." Sierra grinned tiredly, before walking past the shaggy boy and up the stairs. Lily and Casey followed suit, both too tired to stay up later than they already had.
Remus watched for a moment as Sierra climbed up the stairs, then slowly walked over to the couch and sat in between Black and Potter. He looked from one to the other, noticing the devious look to their faces, and smiled softly.
"What're you up to?" Remus inquired, raising an eyebrow curiously.
James only smiled.
"Well," Sirius began, looking from Remus to James, and back again, a mischievous smirk from ear to ear plastered on his face. "Now that we're free from our parents..."
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Authors Note: Mua ha. Done. I'm tired, it's almost one in the morning and I watched Dodge ball and collateral. I'm going to sleep, and then edit this thing in the morning. Don't mind my random note to myself. It's there because I felt like I wanted to know. XD anyway... chow!
Random Note to Self: When Ron is in his first year, Charlie Weasley is 18.