Blood Traitor
Chapter 4
The Unoriginal Glory of A. Dumbly-dore
Sirius, Peter, James and Remus separated from Cas soon after getting off of the train. The quartet started after the timid blonde girl for a moment. "Hufflepuff," Sirius said.
"Definitely," James replied, Peter murmured in agreement. Remus, however, gave an exasperated sigh and an eye roll at his friends' quick judgement of the girl.
They quickly chose a carriage, each pulled by a force invisible to the boys' eyes. The splendor of Scotland washed over Sirius, who was thankful to be away from the city, but at the same time longing for a home that he wasn't sure was 12 Grimmauld place. His mother certainly didn't make it feel like home, nor did his brother, who ignored him most of the time. However much of an improvement his relationship with his father was compared to with his mother, he still had major issues with Orion Black. It was too bad that he shared his wife's ideology, the cunning wizard was like a tamer version of his son and the two could have gotten along. Instead they attended pureblood only functions, berated Sirius when he praised muggle inventions or interacted with those who were of 'lesser status.' Of course their fury when he was sorted into Gryffindor was palpable, although only to him, it wouldn't due to have everyone else know their family issues. What was even worse was that it was bottled up for four months before he saw them for the holiday break. His ears still ached occasionally from the force of his mother's screams. Then once Regulus was sorted into Slytherin his position as the golden child was confirmed. He fit perfectly into the pureblood mold left for him, perfect manners, grades, and outlook towards muggles.
Hogwarts approached in the distance like a beacon of hope, saving Sirius from his melancholy thoughts. The bright sunlight of the remnants of summer shone through the windows of the school, outlining it in a golden halo, its spires reaching towards the heavens. Sirius felt the stress wash from his shoulders, away from the continued tensions at home.
The returning students were ushered towards the castle, and he saw many a familiar face, some pleasant, others he had hoped would die in a pit. Evidently that hadn't happened. James's eyes were immediately directed to the slim red head a few metres away from the quartet. He sped up for a few steps to catch up with her, "So, Lilly, did you miss me?"
"Of course, I missed being able to tell your ugly mug exactly where to stick it."
"Oh, don't be that way!" James cried giving chase, as she flipped her hair and curled her lip in disdain.
Remus and Sirius shared a look, they both knew that James's pursuit of Lilly was probably going to end painfully. As in, she'd probably kick him in the 'nads. Lilly Evans would do it, she had before, to those who had bothered Severus. She was a Gryffindor to the end, always courageous, and indignant in the face of what she believed to be injustice. Sirius himself had a few hexes thrown at him, but thankfully nothing that could damage the family jewels.
The crowd pressed them onwards, eventually spilling into the Great Hall. It was awash with shouts of friends greeting each other after a long summer holiday, Sirius was stopped by what seemed like thousands of people before finally snagging a spot next to Peter at the elongated table. James had already found a seat across the table, wallowing in his temporary defeat in the winning of Lilly's heart. Sirius rolled his eyes, "Cheer up, mate. She'll come around eventually, and until then there are plenty of other birds lining up. " He looked over at Mary MacDonald who was making eyes at him from a ways down the table. Sirius winked at the blonde, making her face go a delightful shade of pink.
James snorted, "I'm afraid we all aren't aspiring man-whores like you, mate." He loved his best friend, but there was something to be said about his fidelity and commitment to women. The amateur Don Juan had recently taken to exercising his powers of seduction at every opportunity, driving the female population of Hogwarts (and some male) insane.
The boys chatted on, waiting for the firsties to be lead in. Their arrival was marked by McGonagall's entrance into the great hall. The sight of the young professor leading all of the potential pranksters warmed the cockles of Sirius's heart, until he realized that now he'd have to deal with dunderheaded eleven year olds. He grimaced before he caught sight of Cas. It was obvious that the girl was nervous, she looked so tense she was liable to snap and her already pale skin looked pasty.
McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool and stood back as it opened its mouth to sing. Sirius didn't hesitate to talk over its blather about the houses, James following him in the disrespectful behaviour. They only stopped once McGonagall started to read off the list of names, starting with, "Clarisse Anglia!"
James looked the girl over, "Hufflepuff for sure."
Sirius nodded his agreement, but Remus thought otherwise. "No, what about a Ravenclaw? Look at how she's taking everything in, even though she's nervous."
"Hufflepuff!" The sorting hat shouted. James shot Remus a triumphant look.
"Jessabelle Prewett!" McGonagall called out.
The boys looked her over contemplatively. "Slytherin," said Sirius. "Prewett is a pureblood last name, and look at how she's walking. She's got the pride." Sure enough, Jessabelle was sorted into Slytherin. The hat continued on, and the boys placed their bets on each student. When Cas was called, Peter asked, "What do you think? Hufflepuff? Or Slytherin." Completely ignoring her preference of Gryffindor.
"Hufflepuff, that girl wouldn't last a minute in the snake den." Sirius replied confidently.
Remus shot them a despairing look, and sighed. "I must admit, it does seem likely that she'd be a Hufflepuff.
Sirius snorted, "See you can't judge us! The girl even said that she wouldn't mind Hufflepuff."
Remus acquiesced reluctantly, "It's just that she did display a great hopefulness for Gryffindor. I'd hate for a kid to have their dreams crushed."
"I think we're about to witness her dreams getting crushed, Remus." Sirius replied with ill-disguised exasperation, nodding to the Sorting Hat sitting on Cassiopeia's head.
There was a moment of silence as the quartet waited for the Sorting Hat to decide. "Gryffindor!"
Sirius was barely able to contain his incredulity before Cas ran to join them. James shot him a, 'Be nice,' look before saying to Cas, "Very nice Cas, we were hoping you'd join our house!"
Sirius shot James a look back and patted her shoulder just to prove a point. Peter meanwhile, just sort of sat back and looked at her with the same trepidation that he looked upon all other females with. Neither of the uncomfortable boys were mean enough to kick out the nervous first year.
Dumbledore stood at the head table, wearing one of his ridiculously robes and boasting a grandfatherly smile. "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." He paused for a moment, "I would also like to say welcome back to all of our returning students, and to remind everybody that the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden. Now, tuck in!"
Sirius groaned, he'd heard the same thing over and over for the past three years, although the headmaster prided himself on being unpredictable, his welcoming speeches were unfortunately foreseeable.
As the courses were delivered the kinder of the quartet took delight in witnessing Cas's delighted expressions at the meal placed before her, both remembering what it was like to be a firstie. Peter just lamented the loss of such a big slice of apple pie.
As great as it was to be back at Hogwarts, Sirius had already received six glares, each from a different teacher. He knew it was just a matter of time before they cracked down with the homework. There was no need for concern, though, Sirius was confident in abilities to coerce some Ravenclaw girl into doing it for him. After all, why put in the effort when you can just have someone else do it for you, and get a better mark?
The plates were cleared and the house prefects gathered up the first years, signalling the end of the feast. "Do you think she's going to fit in?" Remus asked with a furrowed brow.
"Who?" Said Sirius, absentmindedly.
"Cas," the shorter boy heaved a sigh.
Sirius scratched the back of his neck idly looking at the moving portraits on the way up to Gryffindor tower, catching Emeric Switch gossiping away with Anne Boleyn. "She is awfully shy, isn't she?" He gave a pause after he saw Remus's look of worry increase, "But, the Sorting Hat put her in Gryffindor for a reason."
The bookish Gryffindor nodded and quickened his pace to catch up with Peter and James, leaving Sirius with his thoughts on the new witch that everyone had taken an interest in.
B/N So sorry for the extremely late update! It's been super busy lately, my cousin's getting married, and he lives four hours away from me, so each time my family goes up to help it's an extremely long trip. We also got our midterms not too long ago, so the pressure was on for stuff to be returned. It's nice to know that I'm boasting an 89.25 average (but I was hoping for a 90). I hope you guys enjoy the upcoming Victoria Day long weekend! I'll try to write more, but I'm afraid I can't promise anything. –the Beta.
I don't own Harry Potter, the wonderful J. K. Rowling does.
