The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black
By: PhantomTzipora
Summary: Sirius Orion Black is a miserable child with a pureblood family who expects him to choose the same dark path that they have walked on before him. Unhappily he heads off to Hogwarts where his life changes drastically. Whether or not it's for the better is up to you to decide.
Chapter 2: A Disgraceful Sorting
Sirius boarded the train for Hogwarts. Had his mother not been there trying to act motherly, he would have run off. He was dreading being sorted into Slytherin, and he really didn't want to be friends with Slytherin scum like Narcissa. He dragged his trunk onto the train and sat in an empty compartment in the back.
"Mind if I sit here?" A voice said.
"Whatever" muttered Sirius dully.
"What's your name?"
"Sirius Black" Sirius said looking up.
He was looking at the same boy who had smiled at him in Madam Malikns.
"Hey! You're the boy who grimaced at me at Diagon Ally. I never understood why-"
"I wasn't grimacing, I was smiling, are your glasses broken or something!"
Whoops, wrong time to pick a fight.
"You were grimacing, I saw you! Now I know why you would do that, you're one of those dark Wizards who look down on anybody who isn't a pureblood and blood traitors. Just because my grandmother was a squib doesn't make me any less of a wizard than you!"
"I didn't mean it; it's been so long since I had a reason to smile I forgot how"
"A likely story Black" the boy said spatting out his name like it was garbage. "I don't think I want to sit here anymore."
"Wait, I don't even know your name"
"Of course you do, it's James Potter, don't fake things now just because we're in the same school and you want to be on my good side Black."
James walked out of the compartment leaving Sirius alone. Sirius kicked the seat in front of him. Why was his life so terrible, did everyone enjoy seeing him suffer? There was a big commotion going on in the hallway. The compartment door burst open again.
"Mind if I sit here?" a girl asked
"Whatever," Sirius replied for the second time that morning.
"What's wrong?" She asked
"James Potter thinks I hate him because when I smile it looks like a grimace."
"Who would want to be friends with him anyway, we're not even at Hogwarts yet and already he thinks he's the best. He's a big headed freak, and he thinks that if he just smiles every girl will go out with him. I proved him wrong. He's in a bit of pain, but he'll get over it, by the way, my name's Lily, and you are?"
"Sirius Black, Unfortunately, seeing as I'm not a girl and I'm not you, the fact that he's big headed doesn't bother me. I wanted a friend. I am probably going to get sorted into Slytherin with my awful cousins and I won't be allowed to be friends with muggle borns or anything."
"Why?"
"You're a muggle born, aren't you?"
"If you mean my parents aren't wizards, yes, why?"
"You are the kind of person Slytherins like my family look down upon, I know it's wrong, and I don't want to be like them. That's why I don't want to go to Hogwarts. Being a Slytherin is in my blood, I'm going to be miserable"
"That sounds dreadful, well I really must be going, things seem to have calmed down." Lily said sympathetically, and she walked out of the compartment, her long red hair flouncing behind her.
Sirius spent the remainder of the train ride reading one of the many novels he found in Flourish and Blots.
"Firs' years over here!" An unnaturally tall man with a big bushy black beard called.
Sirius followed the crowd of Children down a path to a lake, and into for person boats. Unluckily, he was stuck in a boat with James. He brooded quietly the entire way across the lake.
Once everyone was out of the boats, the giant led them up to the double doors, the entrance to Hogwarts.
Sirius's heart filled with dread. He wanted to turn around and run the other way, get back on the train, and hide in the mountains, but there was no turning back now. A professor greeted them at the doorway.
She led them into an empty classroom.
"In a few moments you will enter the Great Hall to be sorted. When I call your name you will sit down on the stool and put on this hat. The houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts your house is like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, and any disregard for the rules will lose your house points. Please follow me."
The crowd of first years nervously walked into the great hall. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on a stool. The brim of the hat opened up and began to sing:
Many, many years ago
Hogwarts School was founded
By four great sorcerers
Who wanted their plan sounded
They each prized different skills
In the students they chose to teach
The most talented, most worthy
No Smith, no Jones, no Creech
Gryffindor thought greatly of
The bravest ones of all
Ones with great courage
Were the one's he'd call
In Ravenclaw, the wisest ones
The ones with common sense
Students who would go far
With heads that were not dense
Shrewd Slytherin chose only
The ones with great ambition
Purest blood and heritage
Where essential on his mission
Sweet Hufflepuff chose anyone
As long as they had talent
But kind Helga mostly chose
Great patience over those gallant
But what to do when they were gone
Not one of them knew
They pondered many ideas
But Gryffindor hatched a clue
He created me, the Sorting Hat
To divide you all
He told the other founders
And none of them did brawl
They found it a great idea
Since they were so selective
And here I am to this day
I'm still quite effective
So try me on don't be shy
I'm never ever wrong
I'll sort you into the houses
That you heard on my song
But remember just one thing
At Hogwarts you are united
You should all be such great friends
Because that's why you were invited
Everyone in the great hall broke into a huge applause.
"Abraham, Lisa" Professor McGonagall called
A tall girl with wavy blond hair walked up to the stool.
"Hufflepuff" the hat called. One of the tables broke into applause.
"Abrams, Lea"
"Ravenclaw"
"Black, Sirius"
Sirius was glued to the floor, he couldn't move, but even though his mind was telling him not to go, his body acted on it's own accord.
"Ah, another Black" the hat said "Although you are not like the others I've had the pleasure of sorting, your heart is not in the same place, you are not suited for Slytherin,"
"Really?" Sirius thought.
"Yes, you have courage, I see that, and you are strong, both physically and mentally, you are much better suited for" The rip in the hat opened up "Gryffindor!" it called.
A wave of relief washed over Sirius, he wasn't a Slytherin. He looked behind him. James was staring with disbelief.
Confidently he walked toward the Gryffindor table. He sat down at the end of the table, and looked around.
He caught Narcissa's eye, she was glaring with all her might, the panic returned, he had forgotten about his mother, naturally Narcissa would tell her, and then, he didn't want to think about what she would do.
Lily walked slowly toward the table and sat down across from him.
"I thought you said you were Slytherin material" She said
"I thought I was, but that doesn't matter, my mom's going to kill me when she finds out" Sirius moaned banging his head on the table.
"So don't tell her,"
"Don't tell me what?" A yellow haired girl asked
"Don't flatter yourself we weren't talking about you, umm…" Sirius said sharply.
"Melina" She said sitting down next to Lily.
"Anyway, she'll find out, my cousin will be sure to tell her"
"Good luck" Lily said.
"Lupin, Remus"
"Gryffindor"
They were joined by a pale sickly looking boy.
"Mind if I sit here" he said gesturing at the seat next to Sirius"
"Go right ahead" Sirius said.
"Opal, Jewel" Professor McGonagal called
"Ravenclaw"
"Pettigrew, Peter"
"Gryffindor"
A short chubby blond boy sat down next to Remus
"Potter, James"
"Gryffindor"
James shuffled over to the table and sat down reluctantly on Sirius's other side, trying not to meet Sirius's eye.
"Snare, Leslie"
"Slytherin"
"At least her parents won't be killing her" Sirius thought glumly.
"Stone, Gemma"
"Gryffindor"
A tan girl with long black braids walked over to the table, she looked a lot like Sirius. They definitely could pass as siblings.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts, there is a time for speeches, but not while students are hungry, and food is waiting to be served, dig in" Dumbledor said.
Instantly food appeared on the golden plates. Everyone started pileing food on their plates.
You'd think one would get hungry just looking at this food, thought Sirius. He piled a little on his plate, and pushed it around the plate.
"Cheer up Sirius, just remember, by getting into Gryffindor it will prove to anyone who ever doubted you that you're not one of them, even if your mom tries to kill you, the friends you make in Gryffindor are true, and they will back you up" Gemma said quietly.
"That was creepy, you sounded like one of those wise men" Sirius said with a mock shudder.
"What, I read the book, Hogwarts, a History," Gemma said defensively.
"That still doesn't make it any less creepy," Remus said smiling shakily.
Sirius snuck another glance at Narcissa. Bella (Bellatrix Lestrange) who glared right back at him. Sirius smiled slyly angering her more.
Once the food was cleared Dumbledor stood up.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. There are a few rules to lay down, but first I am sorry to say that Professor Binns has passed away, but his ghost will be teaching you. Nextly, though I'm almost certain that that's not a word-"
Everybody chuckled at the joke.
"The forbidden forest is forbidden to everybody unless accompanied by a teacher, and Filch has asked that there be no dung-bombs in the halls, he has developed a severe allergy to them"
Sirius could have sworn Dumbledor winked at him. He got up to follow the crowd of First years to the dormitories, but suddenly he felt a tug on his robes.
He looked up and found he was staring into the eyes of his cousins Narcissa, and Bellatrix (Bella) Black Lestrange and Rodolphus Lestrange, Bella's housband. The wedding had been this past summer, Black women were required to marry at 16
"Thank goodness Rabastan is Regulus's age" Sirius thought. "Otherwise I'd have four angry cousins about to chop off my head.
"What do you think you're doing getting into Gryffindor, blood traitor scum?" Narcissa asked him.
"I think that's plainly obvious, so if that's your only question, I'll be going now" Sirius said trying to slip away.
"Not so fast, we're not done with you yet" Bella said nastily.
"We're going to make sure that you regret ever being sorted into blood traitor Gryffindor" Narcissa said.
"We're going to make sure you regret being born" Rodolphus said spatting at Sirius's feet.
"Good luck finding your dormitory" Narcissa said laughing.
"It's this way" Someone said grabbing Sirius by the sleeve once his cousins had gone away.
"James, what are you doing, I thought you hated me, for smiling at you" Sirius said grabbing his sleeve out of James's grasp.
"Do you want to get back to the common room or not?" James said impatiently.
"I'd rather get back some other way, even if it gets me detention, than to go with you.
"You better listen good Black, because this is the first and last time you're ever going to hear me say this."
"Misuse of grammar, it's you better listen well" Sirius said scowling.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrr, why do I even bother"
"Because we're in the same house, and you don't want to lose house points because of the pranks I have planned to play on you" Sirius said.
"Look, is it a crime to be sorry and admit that I'm wrong" James asked.
"It is for the all mighty James Potter" Sirius said.
"Will you stop giving me a hard time? I'm trying to do something nice, and you're rubbing it in my face"
"Just savoring the moment, it will most likely never come again," Sirius said faking a sigh.
"Why is it too hard to just forgive and forget?"
"It's not, it's just more fun to do it this way, I've never actually had any friends, and this is fun,"
"It actually is," James said smiling.
"Good then I can forgive you," Sirius said.
"Come on,: James said sighing.
The two friends headed up to Gryffindor tower.
"I can't believe I finally have a friend!" Sirius thought happily to himself as he climbed into bed. "I should have found one sooner, it feels great!" He fell asleep instantly, his dilemma at home momentarily forgotten.