Sirius Black and the Golden Lion

Families

Sirius tried not to shake too visibly as Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head. Then suddenly, a small voice spoke in his ear.

"Hmm, another Black, eh? This shouldn't be too hard."

Sirius was so astonished; he almost fell off the stool. When the other students had been sorted, the school had heard nothing from the hat other than the final decision. He peered out from under the brim apprehensively. Could everyone else hear what he was hearing? Judging from the expectant faces, evidently not. The small voice continued.

"But wait. A Black, but only by name it seems. Hmm, this is very hard. You don't think like a Black, but you still have the same ambition and thirst to prove yourself. Maybe Slytherin is still the best place for you..."

"No!"

Sirius realised that he had shouted out loud by the way that all the students suddenly looked shocked. If he had known enough magic to turn himself into an ant, he would have done so. As it was, he had to content himself with trying to become as small and insignificant as he could manage.

"Is that so?" the hat asked. Sirius was sure that he could detect a hint of amusement in its voice, but he didn't have chance to check, for the hat fell silent. After about two minutes, Sirius started to get worried. Had he offended the hat so much that it would refuse to sort him? What if he just sat here for the next thirty minutes, and Professor McGonagall just made him take the hat off and leave? What if the hat refused to sort anyone else? Sirius started guiltily. He hoped that wouldn't be true.

Then, Sirius felt the hat contract slightly. He immediately stopped his what-if's, and waited, holding his breath. Then suddenly

"Gryffindor!"

Sirius gasped, as did a lot of the students. The Gryffindor table looked at each other, then applauded him politely. Sirius looked up mutely at Professor McGonagall, who merely waved him towards the Gryffindors. Sirius stood up and stumbled blindly towards the end table, where he chose a seat a little way apart from any others and put his head in his hands. What had he done? What would his family think? He couldn't deny that he was thankful for not being put in Slytherin, but the rest of the Blacks would be disgusted. He tried to banish these thoughts and just be grateful, but he was unable to get the worries out of his head.

Sirius raised his head a little and looked over the Great Hall. A very pretty red-haired girl was just sitting down on the stool to be sorted. The hat took less than ten seconds before it shouted out

"Gryffindor!"

Somehow, Sirius managed to clap along with the other students at the table. The girl came to the table, and took a seat opposite his, looking at him curiously. Sirius couldn't help but think again how pretty she was, her flame-red hair contrasted strikingly with almond shaped green-eyes, which were currently still fixed on him. He looked away quickly, forcing his gaze back to the Sorting hat. It had just put a tall boy into Slytherin, and as Sirius watched him walk over, he could sense someone looking back at him. Without turning his head, he allowed his eyes to slide down the Slytherin table. Most of the students were still applauding the first year, but one pair of eyes was staring at Sirius with nothing less than blind hatred. Sirius would have laughed at his cousin's expression, had he not known that her expression would be shared by the rest of his family.

"Lupin, Remus"

Sirius looked back at the front of the hall. The pale, longhaired boy who had been in his boat earlier was sitting on the stool and putting the hat on.

"Gryffindor!"

The boy stood up again, turned and grinned shyly at Professor Dumbledore, who Sirius recognised from a chocolate frog card, then headed over to where Sirius was sitting. At least someone looks pleased, Sirius thought.

"Hi, I'm Remus," the boy whispered as he took a seat next to Sirius.

"Sirius," Sirius grunted back.

"I know," Remus smiled, his tired eyes lighting up slightly. "Congratulations."

"What for?" Sirius asked. He couldn't help but be interested in this strange boy, who seemed so eager to be friends with him.

"You made Gryffindor, that's quite an achievement for you, is it not? You were worried about being put in Slytherin."

Sirius started nervously. Was he really that transparent?

"Don't worry," Remus continued. "I'm just good at telling what people are thinking."

"You...you're not a legilimens, are you?" Sirius exclaimed under his breath. Legilemency was a rare skill and one which most wizards, including the Blacks, feared. It was a form of mind-reading which could allow a skilled wizard to access another's thoughts.

"No," Remus continued seriously. "You could call it a sort of instinct with me. I guess I'm just more perceptive of emotion than most people."

Sirius' eyes widened, but he nodded in agreement. Suddenly he felt a sharp jab in his back. He turned around quickly. Behind him, a boy wearing a prefect badge frowned, and gestured towards the sorting. Sirius took that to mean that he wanted them to stop talking, so reluctantly, he turned back to the front.

The sorting had reached the P's, and a small boy with a rat-like face was stumbling up to the front. Sirius looked at the dwindling crowd of first years still waiting to be sorted. James was still looking around, not looking worried in the least. Sirius felt a sudden pang of envy. It must be great to have no worries, he thought enviously.

With a start, he realised that the rat-like boy had been sat on the stool for nearly three minutes. He was the only one so far to take anywhere near as long to be sorted as Sirius himself. Eventually, the brim opened and shouted again:

"Gryffindor!"

The boy looked startled, but got up and walked over to the table. He sat next to the red-haired girl, and seemed to be trying to attract Sirius' attention. However, Professor McGonagall had just raised the parchment again, and Sirius had a feeling he knew who was going to be sorted next. He was right.

"Potter, James."

James walked up to the front, with the slightest hint of a swagger in his walk. Sirius was bemused, James was a first year like him, but he seemed so confident. In fact, Sirius thought that he was probably more concerned about James' sorting than James himself. James sat on the stool, and the professor lowered the hat onto his head. Almost immediately, it shouted:

"Gryffindor!"

Sirius felt a warm glow settle on him, and realised that this was the first time in years he had felt even slightly happy. James strolled casually over to the table, but as he got closer, Sirius could see the excitement, and a hint of relief, in James' deep hazel eyes.

James dropped down by Sirius' side.

"Well, here I am," he grinned. "James Potter- I do believe we've already met?"

Sirius snorted with laughter as James held out his hand to be shaken. He felt instinctively that he had found a friend in this ridiculously self-confident boy. He leant over to speak to James, but before he could open his mouth, Remus nudged him, and indicated towards the prefect who was looking at them disapprovingly again.

Sirius didn't care though; he was still worried about his family, but at least it was looking like he'd have someone still. He barely noticed the rest of the sorting, though he did glance up when the greasy haired boy was placed in Slytherin. Finally, the last student had been sorted, and Professor McGonagall was removing the hat and stool. At the top table, Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome to all students, new and returning. I have a few words for you, but I am sure you want me to save them for after the feast. So now, all I will say to you is, enjoy!"

And with that, the previously empty plates filled themselves with all sorts of food. Sirius didn't need much prompting- it felt like days since his food on the Hogwarts Express.