The Change

I walked in silence all the way to Dumbledore's office. It wasn't that I was afraid or uncomfortable, although I was, but I had a lot to think about. Why Remus and James stuck up for me was just the start. I had never really had friends like that before. I had been raised and taught to put your self above others. Jumping in front of an angry women's wand to protect someone you barely knew was insane. I just couldn't understand why they would do it. But amidst my confusion, I was grateful. I was sure if they hadn't helped me I would be in the hospital wing. I wondered if I could find it in myself to do that one day for them. To put myself in danger to help them as they had helped me, and would do again. I hoped so. My parents had also taught me to repay my debts.

Before I knew it, I was in Dumbledore's office. He was sitting in a chair looking at me thoughtfully. I suddenly felt awkward under his gaze. What did Dumbledore have to say to me anyway? He didn't do anything and we stood in silence for a few minutes until he waved his hand at a chair in front of his desk. "Sit, Mr. Black. I think you might be here for a while."

I moved forward and fell into the chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. Dumbledore smiled at me again and said, "I am sure you are tired, Sirius, but we have a lot to talk about. You have had a very interesting day so far."

"That's one word for it," I replied sarcastically.

Still smiling, Dumbledore continued, "As I predicted, your mother reacted, well, let's just say less then kindly about you being sorted into Gryffindor. I do have to say, though, that I was surprised how rashly she acted."

"I'm not. I expected it and I understand. It is my fault I was sorted into Gryffindor," I said. "So, is there a way to get me into Slytherin?"

"No Sirius, I'm afraid not. That is not what we are here to talk about, though. The sorting hat put you in Gryffindor because that is where you belong. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

I stared at Dumbledore. My mother had always said Dumbledore was a mudblood-loving fool and she was right. "Of course it's something to be ashamed of! I have been sorted into the worst house in Hogwarts. The house of mudbloods and blood traitors."

Dumbledore looked at me without a hint of anger on his face. Actually, to my disgust, I saw pity. "Do you really believe that, Sirius? I hope you do not because you are a Gryffindor whether you or your mother like it or not. That is where you belong or else the sorting hat wouldn't have put you there. There is nothing bad about Gryffindor. In fact, everyone agrees it is the most noble of houses."

"Well yeah if you think being noble is being willing to die for someone. I think that is just stupid. I'd rather be in Slytherin where they take care of themselves."

Again Dumbledore looked at me with pity. "You have a younger brother, do you not, Sirius? Regulus, I believe, is his name. Wouldn't you die to save him? I believe you would."

I thought about this for a minute and was disturbed to decide I would. "That's different," I said defensively, "That's family."

"Is it really different? Do you think Regulus would die to save you?"

I didn't know what to say to that. I doubted he would and I looked at the floor in shame. "You see, Sirius," I heard Dumbledore say kindly, "You do belong in Gryffindor. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I hope you learn to understand that quickly, because your family will not. You have to be proud of the house you have been sorted into, or else they will never stop attacking you for what you can not help."

"Well, maybe there isn't anything wrong with being noble, but what about all the mudbloods and blood traitors? Gryffindor is overrun with them."

"Mr. Black, I would refrain from using the world mudblood at Hogwarts. Though it may be acceptable at your home, here it is not and you will quickly find yourself in detention, with a lot of students very angry with you, if you do." He looked at me sternly for a moment before continuing, "Now, I seem to notice you have grown rather close to the three other boys in your house. As you know, Mr. Potter is pureblood but his family is considered to be "blood traitors" as you put it. Mr. Lupin is a half-blood and Mr. Pettigrew is as well. Do you feel any different about them because of these things?"

I shook my head and said, "No. James, Remus and Peter are great friends, but they're different."

"How are they different?" Dumbledore pressed. "What do you expect muggle-borns to be like?"

He had me stumped. I had never actually thought about it. I just went with what my parents had taught me about them. "I don't know. I guess they're probably worse at magic then purebloods and they're just worse. I don't know," I said, starting to get truly confused. This was way too much for one day.

"I see. Well, you tell me if Mr. Lupin is worse at magic then you when you find out. I assure you I have been a professor for many years and it doesn't matter if you're a muggle-born or from the Most Noble House of Black. How powerful you are has nothing to do with blood."

"I guess so, Professor. Can I go now?"

Dumbledore stood up and walked towards me. He looked into my eyes and I didn't look away. "Mr. Black, I understand this is a lot for you to handle in one day. I think you can handle it though. I only want to have a few more words with you and then you can leave."

"All right," I said.

"How do you feel about your mother's actions this morning?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't know. It wasn't good but I think she'll calm down eventually. Don't you think so?"

"I don't know, Sirius. What I do know is that you are going to have a difficult few months. I am sure good things will come out of it, too, though you may only see the bad for a while. You may even find some of the Gryffindor traits your parents have hidden from you so well." He stopped for a second, allowing all of it to sink in, and then said, "You will also need to show your Gryffindor strength against the Slytherins, who, I have heard, have wasted no time in attacking you. I am confident, though, that you will find your own way to deal with them."

"Yes, sir. Are you done now?"

"Yes, you may leave. Make sure you speak to your cousin, though." I was almost out the door when he spoke again. "Mr. Black," he called and I looked back into his office, where he was smiling wisely, "I feel that you will have an exciting time at Hogwarts. Remember that friends can be your family if you allow them to." I nodded at him and ran out of the office and down the stairs, the whole time trying to figure out what that actually meant.

In the entrance hall I stopped for a minute, trying to think where Andromeda may have gone. "Sirius," I heard someone say from behind me. I turned to look at my cousin, who was grinning at me. "Come on, Sirius, let's have a talk, shall we?" I followed her up the steps to an empty classroom.

"What's up, Andy?" I asked, trying to sound lighthearted.

"Listen, Sirius, I'm not one to beat around the bush so I'm just going to get it all out now. When you go home it isn't going to be the same as when you left. Your mum and dad... they're not going to be kind to you. To put it simply, they are going to hate you. You're a blood traitor to them now."

"I know this already, Andy. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you don't know. You think you do but you can't even imagine how bad it will really be. Not forever, Sirius, but at least for awhile. You're trash to them now, dirt, a disgrace. They want revenge for what you did and they'll get it."

I was panicking now. "Well, what do I do?"

She smiled sadly at me, "Just let it be. Let them say whatever they want and do whatever they want. You can't stop it and by arguing you will only make it worse. Just keep in mind that it won't last forever. They give up eventually. Realize they can't change you."

"All right, Andy. But how long until that happens?"

"With my parents, it was a year and half or so. Just ride it out. It's all that you can do. Don't answer back, let them think that you agree with them. Let them think that you hate being in Gryffindor and hate yourself. Don't get them angrier. I don't want to know what my parents would have done if I had answered them back."

"Ok, I'll try," I said nervously.

"Yes, and Sirius, there is nothing wrong with being a muggleborn, or being nice to muggleborns. You need to know that. Your parents will never accept you for who you are anymore, but your friends will. You have to accept them for who they are. Get rid of all that pureblood crap they put in your head. It's wrong and you need to believe that to survive. Your friends need to become your family and they will, if you allow yourself to see them as your equal. Gryffindors are known for their strong friendships and loyalty. Take advantage of the house you are in to form a new family, a new place where you can feel safe. The Noble House of Black is no longer your real home."

I was crushed. I knew Andromeda wouldn't lie to me. My parents hated me. My whole family hated me. "I don't know what to do, Andy. I feel so alone."

She put a supportive arm around my shoulder and I leaned my head on her arm. "It will be okay, Siri. I know it looks bad now, but you'll be fine. I saw those boys stick up for you this morning. They are already acting like your brothers. You can trust them. You'll grow to love them one day as much as you love your mum and dad now. In the end, Siri, you'll be happy you were sorted into Gryffindor. I mean, you never see any of those stuckup Slytherins playing pranks, do you? You love pranks, right, Siri? The greatest pranksters come out of Gryffindor house. They still tell stories of when James Potter's father was in Hogwarts. You'll have a blast if you just let yourself. Trust me, Sirius, this is all for the best."

I nodded, feeling completely exhausted. "I think I need to go to bed."

"I'll walk you up to Gryffindor Tower." We walked in silence back to the common room and I said the password, waving good-bye to Andromeda. This day was way too much for me to handle. I walked through the common room and right up to my dorm. I was surprised to see James, Remus and Peter were up there, too. They all looked up at me when I walked in and I smiled at them weakly. "Hi guys."

"Hello, Sirius," they echoed.

"What are you guys doing up here? I thought you'd be in the common room."

Remus and Peter looked at James, who had adopted an evil smile, one that I grow to love. "We can't work on this in the common room. It's our first prank. We want to get the Slytherins back for what they did to you during potions. We also want to show Hogwarts how much trouble they're in for. You want to help?"

All thoughts of going to bed were suddenly out of my head. This would be great! I'd get revenge and prank someone at the same time. My favorite things put together with what I so desperately needed to do. "I'm in," I said, walking to James's bed and sitting down on it.

"Great," James said, smiling.

"Professor McGongall and Flitwick just did orientation today so you didn't miss much. They didn't say anything about you not being there, except they told us to give you your homework," Remus said.

"Remus, don't ruin good prank planning time with school," James said light heartedly. He looked at Sirius smiling, "Remus is a little uneasy about pranking the Slytherins."

"I just don't want to get in trouble, that's all."

"Remus, my friend. What's the fun in life if you don't get in trouble sometimes?" James said happily.

"Exactly, Remus," I put in.

He glared us for a minute before saying, "Alright."

"Anyway," James said, "We're trying to find out a way to get the Slytherins but can't think of anything. I'm stuck."

We were silent for a moment and then I had an idea, "It'd be cool if we could make all their robes pink."

"Too difficult," James put in.

"Well, only if we do ALL the Slytherins. How about we just get the first-year Slytherins?" Remus said.

"How could we do that?" James asked him.

"Summon their trunks," Remus said simply.

"That's advanced magic."

"I can do it."

"How?"

"I know the summoning charm. The only problem would be getting the trunks out of their dorms without them noticing."

James smiled wickedly this time, "Not a problem. Their dorms are in the dungeons, right? We just have to find out which windows are part of their dorms."

"No, how will we open it then?"

James smiled again, "I can pick locks mugglestyle. It'll be easy. Then you can summon their trunks and Sirius can turn their clothes pink."

"I know where the dungeons are. My cousin is in Slytherin and he showed me after dinner," Peter said, speaking up for the first time.

"Fantastic! We're all ready to go. We'll do it tomorrow night then," James said excitedly.

"No," I said suddenly and they all stared at me, "It won't work."

"What are you talking about it, won't work? It's perfect," James said.

"No," I said again, "It's not big enough. Instead of turning their clothes pink, I think I'll have to levitate them. The castle needs some new decoration."

James smiled, "Guys, I think this is the start of a great friendship."

The next night we snuck out of the castle under James's invisibility cloak. When the Slytherins woke up in the morning they were very upset to find they had no clothes and only got angrier when someone told them their underwear was floating outside the castle. When they stormed in the Great Hall after they got their robes back, we broke into hysterical laughter. Sadly, we gave ourselves away with this and Professor McGongall took us to her office. We received our first detentions that day, starting a long honorable tradition as Hogwarts's official pranksters. The Mauraders had come to Hogwarts.