"Gryffindor!" the hat announced. It was as if a stone had fallen from Sirius' heart. The talking hat didn't send him to Slytherin. He was a Gryffindor. With light steps he walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down, watching intently to see who went where and to his luck James Potter soon joined him. They had made friends on the train journey and Sirius had hopes that they would end up in the same house. Fortunately, that was what had happened. His life at Hogwarts could only be grand from now on!
As suspected, he quickly made friends with James, but he also got on very well with the other two boys from his dormitory. Peter Pettigrew was a somewhat protective boy, but always laughed at the jokes James and Sirius cracked. Remus Lupin was a striving and quiet fellow, yet he made friends with them in the second week. He hadn't shown up the first week after the hat was divided and James was already using his bed for storage.
Absence caused Remus to get lost in the castle.
He cursed himself for the fact that it had to be a full moon in the first week of school, of all weeks. How was he supposed to catch up now?
"Where was Charms again?" ran through Remus' mind. He didn't know where to run as he ran into Sirius. His bag slid him to the ground. "Ah, sorry," Remus hurried to say and picked up the bag.
Sirius eyed him. "You're Remus Lupin, right?" he asked, a wide grin spreading across his face. "You'll have to tell me how you managed to skip class in the first week of school."
Remus raised his hands defensively. "I wasn't skipping, I was sick," he countered.
"And now I don't know where to go."
Sirius shrugged. "Forget about class. Let's go somewhere fun instead."
"Mr Black," a stern voice sounded from behind them. They turned and caught sight of Professor McGonagall.
"Shouldn't you be in class?"
"Um, that's so ...," Sirius put in.
"He's about to show me the way. I was sick the first week, after all, and lost touch. I'm so lucky to have him helping me."
Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction. "Well then, Mr Black, show Mr Lupin the right way too," she said and then moved on.
Sirius exhaled in relief when she was gone.
"Thank you, you saved me. I already had detention from her on the first day of school and that was only because I pushed Snivellus into the lake. Another detention would be really stupid. You really owe me one."
Since then Sirius and Remus were friends, which led to friendships with James and Peter.
Remus was happy to have found friends at last. After all the moving around because of the nasty neighbourhood kids who threw stones at him as soon as they found out what he was, these three boys were really a godsend.
But he didn't tell them why he disappeared once a month and why he felt sick more often. He was simply afraid of losing these friends too if they found out his secret.
He was able to keep it from them for a whole year, but from month to month they became more and more sceptical and questioned his flimsy excuses. But before they could get any deeper into Remus' secret, the year was over and it was off to the summer holidays.
Sirius was greeted at the station with a slap in the face. His mother slapped him across the face for the evil act of being a Gryffindor. Regulus, who actually wanted to greet his brother joyfully, slapped his hands over his mouth in horror. James was about to intervene. He didn't care that he was only twelve years old. No one treated their best friend like that, but Walburga had grabbed Sirius and Regulus and disappeared home.
Walburga sent Regulus back to his room, from where he had to listen to Sirius' cries of pain again. The boy was shaking all over. Would this also happen to him if he didn't come to Slytherin?
Regulus waited again until it was late enough to visit his brother in his room.
Sirius looked very upset when Regulus sat down on the bed with him and leaned his head against his shoulder. "I'll be coming to Hogwarts after the summer holidays. I'll be back with you then," the younger Black whispered.
Sirius felt himself manage a smile. "Then you're with me," he replied, putting an arm around his shoulder.
After the holidays, Sirius was glad to get away from his parents. Regulus was already excited and sat with Sirius during the train ride, taking the opportunity to meet his friends. At Hogsmead station, they parted ways. Sirius got into one of the carriages while Regulus got into the boat.
Sirius immediately looked for a seat at the Gryffindor table and James sat down.
Remus and Peter took a seat opposite. Soon the first-years came in. Sirius followed his younger brother with his eyes and crossed his fingers.
"Black, Regulus," he was soon called. Regulus sat down on the stool. His hat slipped over his ears.
For Sirius, the seconds just dragged on. It was as if he could hear a clock ticking inside him.Tick tock. "Please come to Gryffindor," he thought. Tick tock. "Gryffindor and then you're with me."
Tick tock. Regulus sat on the stool for quite a long time, almost a minute. Finally the hat announced, "Slytherin!"
It was as if the world stood still. The clock stopped ticking and everything around him was frozen for a second. But then he realised that time was continuing to run. His brother walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down.
Sirius's heart sank into his pants.
"He's at Hogwarts, but not with me."