Bravery

The new students clattered noisily into the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall had left them with strict instructions for the students to behave and clean themselves up. They attempted to follow the second instruction, blithely ignoring the first one. A loud hum began as all of them began chattering excitedly among themselves, talking to both old and new friends.

Sirius Black started talking the second Professor McGonagall left the Hall. "So, which house do you think you’ll be in?" he excitedly asked the three boys who had shared the boat with him. He had met James Potter at the train station where he had helped the tall, skinny boy with unruly black hair with his trunk. James’ trunk had burst open at the station, spilling books, rolls of parchment and to James’ immense embarrassment, his baby blue sleeping robes. Sirius had helped James cram the escaped items back into his over-full trunk and they had struck up an instant friendship then.

On the train, a small brown-haired boy by the name of Remus Lupin interrupted the game of Exploding Snap Sirius and James had been playing and shyly asked if there was room in the cabin. Sirius had graciously made room for the new boy, sweeping the Exploding Snap cards out on the floor in his enthusiasm and the boys resumed their game with a new player in their midst.

Short plump Peter Pettigrew was the last to join them. He had found no other friends to take the boat with and by a serendipitous coincidence; there was room in Sirius’ boat.

"You know, I hope I become a Gryffindor. My dad was in Gryffindor but I had relatives in Ravenclaw too. One of my great aunts was even a Hufflepuff," Sirius grimaced slightly. He had no intention of landing in Hufflepuff. Great Aunt Eunice was nice and gave great gifts but she was an awful BORE "Yep, I had relatives in all the other houses but none from Slytherin " Sirius recalled, brow furrowing slightly as he attempted to remember. All of the boys hushed their voices at the mention of THAT house, mildly scandalised.

"What about you, Remus? Which house do you think you’ll be in?" Sirius turned to ask Remus, curious to know the other boys’ guesses.

The smaller boy looked thoughtful. "I think I’m a Ravenclaw. I’m not too bad a student," Remus offered with a small smile. "Actually, I’m really grateful I got here in the first place so I really wouldn’t be too choosy about my house."

Sirius looked at Remus in askance. "You mean, you weren’t sure whether you’d go to Hogwarts? I’ve always been certain I’d come here. Well, never mind about that. I hope we all end up in the same house. You know, I’d die if I ended up in a house with people I didn’t like!"

James laughed. "You mean there are people you ALREADY dislike? It’s only the first day! Besides, it’s not as if you can choose who are going to be in your house."

Sirius pointed at a tall boy with a sharp, hooked nose and thick black hair. The boy was standing alone with a dour expression on his face. "Well, I wish I could. I mean, look at him, ugly git isn’t he? Looks the stuffy type. Ick, I wouldn’t want to be in the same house as him. Classic Slytherin material to me " Sirius shuddered dramatically.

Their talk was interrupted as Professor McGonagall returned with a chair and a battered hat. The students looked on at the hat curiously. A hat? How did that have anything to do with the Sorting Ceremony? After a long pause, a rip suddenly opened at the brim of the hat and the young students looked on in a mixture of awe and amusement as the hat broke into song.

Peter listened faithfully to the song the Hat was singing. "Uncle Ivan lied to me! He told me the Hat would sing bawdy songs!" Peter whispered in mild disappointment.

Sirius snorted in disbelief. "Boy, are you gullible, Peter. As if it would! It’s a school, you idiot! This Uncle Ivan of yours sounds unreliable if you ask me!" Sirius paused and grinned suddenly. "But then, a bawdy song would have been so much more interesting! I would love to see Professor McGonagall's face if that happened!"

Remus put a finger to his lips to quiet him, glancing worriedly at Professor McGonagall. " Ssssh! She’ll hear!"

Sirius waved his hand off confidently. "She can’t hear! She’ll be too worried about the Ceremony! Don’t worry, Remus. I’m sure she won’t hear a - oops!" He hastily retracted the statement when Professor McGonagall did notice them and paused in her giving of instructions to silence him with a withering glare. Sirius immediately held his peace and stood still, a cowed expression on his face.

Professor McGonagall resumed her talking, satisfied that there was going to be silence for the moment. "Now, when I call your name, sit down on the chair and put on the Hat. Annison, Bernice!" The Sorting Ceremony had begun.

All conversation ceased as the four boys watched raptly while the new students were Sorted. Sirius jumped excitedly on one foot, impatiently waiting for his turn. With a surname like Black, he was certain he was going to be called soon. "Black, Sirius!" Professor McGonagall’s voice finally rang out. Sirius looked around, he was the first boy to be Sorted.

"Hey, that’s me! Gotta go, wish me luck!" Sirius trotted off to the chair. James and Remus waved him off; it was kind of silly since the chair really was not that far away but you never know, they might end up in different houses. James and Remus hoped to be in the same house as Sirius Black. It would be fun if the three of them could hang out together.

Minerva McGonagall took a good look at the boy who was strutting confidently to the chair. She narrowed her eyes, recognising him for the talkative student earlier. Years of teaching experience had taught her to spot the potential mischief-makers and this was a supreme specimen.

He was a good-looking boy, tall, with shiny black hair and a slim build. There was little doubt in her mind that he was going to be a very handsome young man when he grew up - quite likely a charmer with the girls. Already now he was winking at his fellow year mates as he walked by. He sobered up slightly as he approached the chair but there was no hiding the mischievous twinkle in his eye and the confident aura about him as he picked up the Hat.

Sirius put the Hat on. It covered most of his face and he had to hold it up with one hand to be able to see ahead. His many wizard relatives had given him various descriptions about what would happen when he put the Hat on. Despite the anecdotes, he was still mildly startled when a voice appeared out of nowhere and began whispering into his ear.

"Hmm, sharp mind you have here. Smart, aren’t you? Bet you had good grades."

Sirius nodded his head, black hair bobbing up and down. "Yep. I was good at sports too."

"Huh, confident as well. But still, oh, you’re easy, dreadfully easy. If I had eyes still, I’d roll them. A daring lad and willing to take chances. Hmm, I detect a protective instinct here. You’re a loyal person, not afraid to make sacrifices. You’ll make a good friend."

Sirius immediately responded. "I don’t have any good friends here yet. There are a few with I fancy though. I hope they end up in the same house as me." 

"Quick with the retorts, too I see. Ravenclaw would love to get their hands on you. You’d make a good Ravenclaw with all that brain and intelligence."

"Ravenclawwww?" Sirius whined slightly. "But my dad was in Gryffindor!"

The Hat chuckled. "See what I mean? Most young wizards would let me dig around their heads in peace but not you obviously. You’d give your teachers hell, I wager. A bold one, aren’t you?"

Sirius grinned. That was exactly what teachers in his elementary school had told his parents. He had frustrated them immensely with his pranks but the very same teachers had also been pleased with his natural leadership abilities and intelligence.

"So Gryffindor it is?" Sirius asked, hopping up and down on the edge of his seat. Despite the gravity of the situation, he still managed to divide his attention between the Hat’s conversations and his friends still in the queue. Sirius tipped the Hat up so that he could see them better. He saw James and Remus staring curiously at him and he gave them what he hoped was a reassuring grin and the thumbs-up sign. A glance sideways revealed a very annoyed Professor McGonagall. He hastily shoved the Hat back down on his head and attempted to look repentant.

The Hat snorted in disdain. "You’re not going to leave me in peace until I say yes, are you? No worry there, you pose absolutely NO challenge to me. There’s no questioning where you’ll end up and that’s most definitely GRYFFINDOR!!" The hat shouted out the house for the hall to hear and there was rousing cheers from the Gryffindor table.

Sirius laughed heartily. "Brilliant! Thanks! I can’t wait to get an owl out to Dad!"

"Anytime, boy, anytime..." came the answering chortle from the Hat.

With that, Sirius Black took off the hat and started jogging slightly to join the Gryffindor table where obliging seniors had already begun to make room for him. He waved to his new friends Remus and James and even spared a wave for mousy Peter.

"I hope they end up in the same house as me." Sirius thought happily to himself as he sat down. He patted his growling tummy. He couldn’t wait for dinner to start.