The dreary night was over.
Sirius woke up, and ruffled his freshly messed-up hair. He yawned, and stretched. Sirius draped his feet over the edge of the bed, and slid his feet into his thick, warm, slippers. He stood, and stretched again, then scratched his chest.
Sirius took off his pyjama's, and donned a perfectly normal grey T-shirt, and a pair of worn jeans, and a green zipper-up sweater which he left open.
He left his room, and made his way to the kitchen. Mr. Black was sitting at the table already, sipping his coffee, and reading the Daily Prophet, while Mrs. Black was turning bacon on the stove.
"Ah, Sirius." His mother said politely, turning and smiling at him in that wretched, evil way. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"A couple sunny side up, some bacon, and a slice of brown bread, please."
His mother cracked two more eggs, and threw some more bacon into the pan.
"So, Sirius." His father began, putting down the paper and directing his gaze to his son. "You will continue our great of being, powerful, strong Slytherins, I presume?"
"Well, Gryffindor seemed a fair choice . . . "
His mother dropped the pan she was holding, and his father glared at him
"Don't you dare say that! Those damn Gryffindor's don't know a kappa from a monkey. Slytherins, on the other hand, are wonderful, intelligent people."
"It was only a joke . . . " Sirius meekly whispered.
"We do not tolerate jokes with no humor in this house, Sirius Black. Now apologize for your absurdity."
"I'm sorry, father."
His father shot his gaze toward Mrs. Black.
"Sorry, mum." He finished in a whisper.
Now, Mr. Black was a tall, lanky man, with flat black hair, and steel gray eyes. His mother was more like Sirius, not too tall, or too long, or too abnormal. Just a pretty, mid-sized woman, with dark brown curls, and gentle blue eyes.
Mrs. Black scooped eggs, some bacon, and a piece of buttered toast onto Sirius' plate.
"By the way, you do want Slytherin, right?" Mr. Black asked.
"No, father." He said proudly.
"Why the hell not?" his father demanded, more than asked.
"Because I've not made up my mind what I want."
"Oh, you want Slytherin, my boy." His father jeered, a wide grin coming over his face. "I remember the pride of being the seventy-third Black in Slytherin. I remember it all . . . "
He closed his eyes, pure satisfaction coming over him.
Sirius finished his meal quickly, his father babbling on about Slytherin, and the great years of "Caleb the Callous Chaser," when Sirius left to go upstairs to get his stuff.
His brother was trying to jam both legs into a small pair of wrinkled jeans at once. Sirius peered in, and left giggling as his brother wriggled on the ground, complaining the carpet was irritating his rash on his back. Sirius left giggling.
He dragged his bag down the stairs, and into the car trunk, and sat in the back seat. His father came out a moment later, followed by his mother, and Regulus, who was scratching his back wildly. Mr. Black started the car and they were off.
The ride to King's Cross wasn't a long one, but to Sirius it felt like a lifetime. He watched as t the scenery changed every so often, but soon enough they had arrived.
Sirius exited the car quickly, and helped his father take his bag out of the trunk.
The walk to Platform 9 3/4 seemed even longer. Once they were though, Sirius relaxed a little. The great big train in front of him was enough to make someone excited. He sighed, and his parents looked at him.
"Remember," his father began. "You want Slytherin."
'Make us proud, son." his mother said. "Like your father said, Slytherin will make you succeed."
Sirius climbed onto the train, his mother with two pearly tears running down her cheeks, his father standing proud and tall.
Sirius looked for apartments, most were full of older kids, laughing loudly. A few down, though, a nervous looking boy with messy black hair and hazel eyes sat alone, indulged in a copy of the new copy of Magical Mischief. Sirius knocked on the door.
"Do you mind?" he asked.
"Not at all." the boy said.
Sirius stepped in, and threw his bag on the shelves.
"James Potter." the boy said.
"Sirius Black." Sirius responded.
"Like the star?" James asked.
"Star?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, the dog star, in the constellation Canis Major." James said.
"Really?" Sirius asked. "I never knew."
"You shouldn't consider taking Divination then." James said.
"Oh, that's deep." Sirius said, that sarcasm coming over his voice.
"Got a cousin who's inta all that load of garbage, it's posh if you ask me." James said, throwing his magazine onto the seat beside him. The door opened, and a pale, thin boy stuck his face in.
"Any room?" he asked.
"Yeah." Sirius responded, shifting over.
"Remus Lupin." the boy said, throwing his bag onto the shelves, and he seated himself beside James.
"James Potter." he said, putting his hand out for a handshake.
"Sirius Black, marauder extraordinary, I'll curse 'em , you'll hearse 'em."
Remus laughed.
The train started to move.
The door opened once more, this time revealing a short, pudgy boy, carrying a plump rat.
"Excuse me, is it full in here?" he asked meekly.
"Yeah, come on in." James said."James Potter, ready to escort you to the hospital of your choice."
"Remus Lupin." the pale boy put in.
"Sirius Black." he added.
"I'm Peter Pettigrew."
"Well, Peter you are the one hundredth person to enter this train, so you've won -"
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" Asked a plump woman standing outside the door with a trolley full of sweets.
James bought twelve Chocolate Frogs, and three Pumpkin Pastries, Remus said he wasn't hungry, Peter bought seven bags of Bertie Bott's Bean, and Sirius purchased fourteen Chocolate Frogs.
"Ptolemy again." James said."I've got seven of him already."
"Trade you for Merlin." Sirius said.
"Sure, don't have him..." James said. "Do you have Cliodna?"
"Yeah, right here." Sirius responded, digging out a large plastic box stuffed with little cards, each sorted into letter of their name. "C, Circe, Cliodna right here. What do I get?"
"Morgana?"
"Na, I got enough of her."
"Hengist of Woodcroft?"
"Don't have him."
Peter and Remus sat and watched them, late into the day, until they reached the school.
"'lright, I'll be takin' you firs' years over the lake, now." cried an enormous man, as soon as they left the train. "My name's Ruebeus 'agrid, groun'keeper 'ere at 'ogwarts."
The first years climbed into a fleet of unsteady boats, and they were off.
Peter, Sirius, Remus and James shared a boat, each giggling to each other in their nervousness.
When they reached the castle, the huge doors were thrown open, and the first years entered, greeted by a young woman with black hair pulled into a bun, standing in a hall bigger than Grimmauld Place. Sirius listened attentively as she spoke.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. You will enter these doors," her hand beckoned towards a set of doors. "You will be sorted into houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw."
She stuck her head into the set of doors.
"Come." she said.
The first years entered the hall, and Sirius' jaw dropped to the ground. Four enormous tables, a ceiling that reflected the night sky... the stories his father had told him did not do Hogwarts justice. It was beautiful.
A hat sat on a small stool up at the front of the hall. As the first years stopped in front of it, it began to sing:
"Another year begins here,
At this ancient school.
Yet if those who enter now,
Do not do justice to my maker,
A life may be taken anew,
And their blood be laid against the walls,
In memory of that mistake.
Blood shall be taken here,
And the new additions will be taught to alter it,
But mistakes take us all.
For darkness lingers in front of me,
In the form of a child.
If you do not bond together,
The school shall crumble out from beneath you."
Remus shivered during the song. He was paler than normal.
"What's wrong?" James asked.
"Nothing." he snapped quickly.
"Aarons, Jacob!" the woman with the black hair called out. A little boy with blonde hair climbed up. The hat opened it's mouth. "RAVENCLAW!"the one table clapped.
"Adams, Mikayla!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Sirius Black!"
Sirius gulped and stepped up to the hat. He put it on his head, and though, Not Slytherin.
Really? Came a voice in his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Sirius sighed, and passed the hat to Allan Cooper. He went and sat at the second table from the left, the one that everyone was clapping at. The list went on, Remus was a Gryffindor too, and so was Peter and James.
This was going to be an interesting year.
