Harry was nervous but Ron was by his side, and his uncles's supportive grins and waving hands matched the Weasley's and all the other parents filling the train station. The train ride was uneventful, spent in terrified silence. Harry's mind was whirring with all the things he was trying to remember. Be calm as Remus, cool as Sirius, friendly as Ron, hardworking as Lilly Evans, and fun as James Potter. He'd practiced sitting like Sirius, had a bag packed full of pilfered chocolates from Remus's secret stash, he also had money for snacks for the train ride for both Ron and himself, he had all his school books and supplies, and had a few ideas for pranks he wanted to talk to the twins about. When they got to school, off the train and over the dark murky water and into the main entrance to the school, Harry was approached by a boy. Perhaps he'd noticed Harry's cool way of walking; he'd studied Sirius for weeks to learn his walk. But instead, the thin faced boy with icy blond hair. "I hear the famous Harry Potter is among us." The boy said in a voice as icy as his hair. Harry thought about if he had covered his scar with his ever crazy hair but decided he didn't care either way with this kid. "You should be friends with people who are more on your level. I can help you telling the right sort." The kid continued, turning his nose up at Ron who was fuming next to Harry. "Draco Malfoy." The kid said offering his hand for shaking. Harry mustered up his best I-hate-you-face, practically mirroring the look on Ron's face.
"I think I can tell the right sort for myself thanks." Harry glowered. Malfoy looked disgusted and gave a haughty snort before being brushed aside by Professor McGonagall who walked them into the great hall for sorting. Harry held his breathing pick up and his heart raced as each name was ticked off the list till, at long last, they got to him. Sirius's words repeated themselves, as if on an endless loop in his head, "If you don't get into Gryffindor we might have to disown you." He tried to tell himself, as Remus had assured him, that they'd love him no matter what house he was put in but Sirius just seemed to get louder and louder, drowning out Harry and Remus's voice in his head. He thought of his parents, and his uncles, all four were in Gryffindor. All of the Weasley's were in Gryffindor, including Ron whose name was called before Harry's. As he slowly walked up to the stool where the hat was waiting for him, he felt his legs turn to jelly and his entire body start shaking but when he looked down at his hands they were still, even, calm. He put on his brave face, steeled himself and sat down on the stool, a cool smile curling his lips.
An argument seemed to ensue between the voice of the hat whispering into his hear and the thoughts hammering around his head until at last, "Better be… Gryffindor!" The hat shouted. The red and gold table cheered and welcomed their new member as he took his place next to Ron and the rest of the Weasley's and waited until all the students were sorted and all the speeches were given until ravenously digging into the magically appearing food and when he was done, he made a point of leaning back precariously on the bench like he knew Sirius had when he sat at that very table. He was so excited to finally be there, finally be able to see all the secret passage ways Sirius had told him, despite Remus's orders not to use them. He was also excited how many pranks he could get away with pulling on the weasel faced boy who'd pompously introduced himself before being quite rude to his best friend. He couldn't wait to confer with the twins on pranks they might pull together. He'd already pumped them for details on basic things he could and couldn't get away with but he was excited to test his limits. This was going to be a good year.