The welcoming feast was spectacular and much to Sirius's relief no surprises were sprung on him until after he was sorted. When it was his turn to put on the sorting hat he was worked up to a fever pitch. As soon as the hat touched his head he knew he was in a bit of trouble.
'Interesting. You have been sorted before Sirius Orion Black. What are you playing at?'
The hat's words rattled around in his head for a bit and Sirius thought back. 'Nothing bad. Just sort me into Gryffindor, please. Oh, and when Peter Pettigrew gets sorted it would be best to put him into any house but Gryffindor, for his own good of course.'
The hat mused, 'I shall see what I can do.' Then seeing no further demands declared him a Gryffindor, the first Black to be sorted into the House of Lions in recent memory.
Sirius glanced at the headmaster and saw him looking back at him with a surprised yet happy expression. Sirius smiled back and then turned his attention to the sorting and watched as Lily was sorted into Gryffindor, followed by Remus, James, and finally, shockingly, Severus Snape, while Pettigrew went to Slytherin.
Sirius was in shock and it took him a moment to congratulate the newest member into his house. How did this happen? Why did this happen?
Severus took his seat next to Sirius and Sirius looked over at him and asked, "Thought you wanted to be in Slytherin?"
Severus shrugged, "Well all my friends are in Gryffindor so, I figure that I can be a great potion master no matter what house I'm in."
Sirius smiled and worked hard not to panic. This was unforeseen and the whole timeline had suddenly and unexpectedly gone off the rails.
His gaze moved to James who was watching Lily excitedly welcome Severus to the House of Lions with a look of barely concealed jealousy on his face, and he groaned inwardly. This was going to be a very, very long year. He wanted to bang his head on the table repeatedly but the food had arrived.
His gaze moved to Pettigrew across the room and he watched the boy pile his plate with food talking animatedly to another Slytherin boy at his elbow, none other than McNair. Pettigrew might still be a problem...but he would never be in a position to betray them.
Other faces along the Slytherin table clamored for at least a modicum of attention. Lucious Malfoy, the seventh-year head boy sat across from Narcissa, also a seventh-year, both planning their wedding no doubt. And then there was Bella. He sighed, as he watched her tease her sister. He wished Andy was still in school but she was getting ready to elope with Ted Tonks around this timeframe. His gaze moved back to his own domain and focused on Severus though his thoughts were in turmoil and still lingering over the sorting.
Oh, how Death must be laughing, he thought. Mocking him. He hoped that ignoring Pettigrew, not helping the boy with his luggage, and not stopping a bully from pushing him would make his Pettigrew problem go away. He should have asked the hat to sort the boy into Hufflepuff. At least he wouldn't make such easy prey in the house of the badger, but seeing how easily Pettigrew turned on his friends, he assumed the hat wouldn't condone it.
Which of course made him wonder why the hat thought Pettigrew should have been sorted into Gryffindor in the first place. Maybe the old hat just put you where you most wanted to be. Maybe he'd have to ask it someday.
He wondered how long Pettigrew could resist going over to the dark side. He gave him a week. Maybe he had taken the easy way out with Peter. Maybe he could still...salvage something there. He sighed and felt a headache coming on.
It didn't help when his younger self was screaming like a banshee inside his head! I'm in Gryffindor! YES YES YES!
Finally, the feast drew to a close and the prefects, Frank Longbottom and Alice McClaggen rose and admonished the first years to follow them to their Common rooms. Gryffindor Tower was still guarded by the Fat Lady and she smiled at the first years and admonished them not to write the password down to safeguard the world with their lives then welcomed them to the home of the Lions as the portrait hole opened and they climbed inside.
It was just as he remembered it. The same furniture, the same portraits, the red and gold motif. A fire flickered merrily in the massive fireplace and older students gathered in groups talking excitedly about their summers, the coming year, and the new defense against the dark arts teacher.
Sirius vaguely remembered his first-year defense teacher. He couldn't remember anything of use she taught the class. She would be gone by the end of the year. Something about suffering the company of fools and as all children were fools, she would prefer a promising career as a curse breaker for Gringotts.
He wondered if there was anything he could do to improve the student's chances of learning anything worthwhile this year in the subject. He had already worked out with Arcturus ways he could improve their education and better prepare his classmates for the coming war, he had spent time studying the upcoming years' timeline, had a workable plan, but was unsure on how to implement it. He needed to turn his classmates into a force to be reckoned with. And not just the marauders, but the entire student body.
Sirius wished he could shed his eleven-year-old persona and teach the class. Unfortunately, he was doomed to die of boredom rather than do anything worth while.
They received a short lecture from Professor McGonnagal about the rules, which Sirius just like last time, tuned out, while Remus committed them to heart so that he could recite them word for word at the most inconvenient times, like when they were just about to break the said rule.
Finally, the first years were led to their dorm, where they would sleep till the day they graduated while school was in session.
Sirius went immediately to his bed, and when James started to take the wrong one. Sirius barked at him that he was messing up the spiritual energy by picking the wrong bed and pointed to the one next to him. Severus took the back corner, while Remus took the bed across from Sirius. It felt weird but also right somehow.
The four of them busied themselves with unpacking and personalizing their spaces. Sirius hung up his clothes in the armoire and said into the awkward silence. "Ok. Who farted?" Which was followed inevitably by laughter.