Sirius Begins Hogwarts

Making Friends

Sirius's parents had taken him to Diagon Alley to get supplies for his first year at Hogwarts. "Behave yourself boy, or you'll regret it," his father told him before they took the Floo Network to Diagon Alley. However, even his parents couldn't completely ruin Sirius's excitement at going away to Hogwarts. Imagine, all those months away from his family and that foul little toerag Kreacher. His cousin Andromeda had told him about how lovely Hogwarts was, especially in comparison to life at the House of Black. Andromeda had been made a prefect the year before. A Gryffindor prefect. Sirius wondered what house he'd be Sorted into; he supposed anything but Slytherin would be alright, but he really wanted to be in Gryffindor. His parents would be furious with him, but when weren't they? And he'd be hundreds of miles away from them, surrounded by children his own age. Would he make any friends? Sirius wanted friends more than anything else in the world, people who liked him and understood him and would stand by him no matter what.

Sirius's father was talking with some other wizards while his mother was out of sight. Bored, Sirius wandered a bit down Diagon Alley until he saw a shop called the Magical Menagerie. Sirius had always loved animals, and had tried to "adopt" a dog once. Of course his parents found out; the dog was killed and Sirius received a terrible thrashing. Now, as Sirius entered the shop, there were all kinds of dogs, as well as cats, toads, owls, parrots and more. Sirius was looking at a particularly fine owl when a boy next to him said, "I'm getting that one."

"Oh--" Sirius, said, somewhat startled, "hello."

"Sorry to give you a start like that," the boy grinned, "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Oh, no, it's nothing," Sirius said, "what's your name?"

"I'm James," the boy said. He was skinny with messy black hair and friendly hazel eyes.

"I'm Sirius."

"Good to meet you," said James.

"So, you're getting that owl?" Sirius asked.

"Well, my parents said I could have my own owl when I started Hogwarts," James said, "so I've been looking around in here, trying to pick one out. It was difficult, but I finally chose this one."

"I'm starting Hogwarts too," Sirius said, excited to meet another first-year.

"That's great!" James said, "Maybe we'll be in the same house. Most of my family was in Gryffindor, which would be my first choice, but really anything's OK as long as it's not Slytherin."

Sirius felt himself go a bit pale. What would this potential new friend think if he found out about Sirius's family? He might hate Sirius and want nothing to do with him. On the other hand, the boy seemed really nice, and after all Andromeda was in Gryffindor, so maybe James would understand that Sirius wasn't like his family. "My family's almost all Slytherin," Sirius said, "so Slytherin is the last place I want to be too."

"Really?" James looked somewhat agape, and Sirius feared for the worst. "That must be pretty rough. But I'm sure you won't get sorted into Slytherin; in order for that to happen you have to think that Slytherin is the only house worth being in, which of course you don't."

Sirius felt immensely relieved. "Actually, my cousin Andromeda's in Gryffindor; she's starting her sixth year. She's even a prefect, and a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

James's eyes widened. "I love Quidditch--I couldn't bring my broom to Hogwarts because of that stupid rule, but I'm hoping to be on the reserve team this year. How about you, do you want to play?"

"I don't know," Sirius said, "I like flying, and watching Quidditch, but playing Quidditch isn't really my thing."

"That's OK," James said, "I--"

"James!" a woman's voice interrupted them. Sirius saw a man and woman coming rushing over to James. "We've been looking all over for you; you were supposed to stay with us."

Sirius wondered if James was going to get into trouble. He'd hate to see that happen to his new friend, even though they'd just met. "Sorry," James looked sheepish. "I thought it was OK with you if I came here and looked around alone."

"Yes, well, we need to communicate better in the future," said the man who Sirius assumed must be James's father. "We can't have you getting lost."

"I'll try to make sure we're clearer about things next time," James said.

"Yes, please do," James's mother said. Sirius noticed that her irritation was quickly giving way to relief. He was amazed at how--how nice James's parents were. Speaking of which, where were his parents?

"So who's your new friend, James?" James's father asked.

"Oh, this is Sirius," James said brightly. As Sirius was saying hello to James's parents a voice barked,

"There you are, boy!" Sirius turned in horror to see his father, face darkened with anger.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," James's father began, "your son was just--"

"Potter," spat Tiberius Black, "are you recruiting blood traitors now? I must say you've got a good eye for potential apostates--"

"I was doing nothing of the sort, Tiberius," Mr. Potter said calmly. "James was just shopping for an owl and your son ran into him. They started chatting, my wife and I came along--"

"Enough!" Tiberius said. He grasped Sirius's upper arm, giving him a shake, "I told you not to wander off boy, now come along. I'll deal with you when we get home." Sirius was mortified. He was expecting a beating when they got home, but what was far worse was having James and his parents see--see all of this. James would probably never want to talk to him again. Was his family going to ruin even Hogwarts for him? As his father dragged him out of the store Sirius managed one last glance at James, who looked positively horrified.

* * *

When he boarded the Hogwarts Express, Sirius saw James sitting with a short, plump boy. Just as Sirius was turning to walk away James called out brightly, "Sirius! Come over and sit with us." Sirius could hardly believe his ears. James was acting as if that whole awful incident at Diagon Alley had never happened. Sirius couldn't forget it so easily; the welts on his buttocks still hurt when he sat down. "This is Peter Pettigrew," James introduced the other boy.

"Hello, I'm Sirius Black, good to meet you."

The three of them had chatted for a few minutes when James noticed a boy their age sitting all by himself. "Hello," James went up to him, "what's your name?"

The boy looked up, blinking his soft gray eyes in surprise. "Remus Lupin," he said in a somewhat uncertain tone. "How about you?"

"I'm James Potter. Are you a first-year too?"

"Yes," Remus said.

"Great!" James exclaimed. "Why don't you come sit with us, I'll introduce you to my two new friends."

"Why--why, thank you," Remus said.

After he and Peter had been introduced to Remus, Sirius asked, "I wonder what the professors at Hogwarts are like?"

"I know that the headmaster's new," Remus said. "Well, actually he's really old, and he's been teaching at Hogwarts for ages, but this is only his second year as headmaster."

"Oh, yeah, Dumbledore," James said, "my parents had him for Transfiguration. They both say he's the greatest wizard they've ever met. Do you know he's actually on a Chocolate Frog trading card?"

"No way," Peter sounded profoundly impressed.

"Yes, way," James said. "It says he defeated the Dark Wizard Grindelwald back in 1945. Isn't that brilliant? He's supposed to be really nice too, which is good, especially because he's in charge of the whole school." Nice authority figures. Sirius was really looking forward to that.

* * *

The Sorting Hat had finished its song, and the moment of truth was upon the class of 1978. Sirius was second in line due to alphabetical order. I might as well get it over with soon, he thought. "Black, Sirius!"

Trembling with anticipation, Sirius went up and put the Sorting Hat on his head. "Another Black, I see," Sirius heard the hat say inside his head. "You've ample magical ability, but I don't quite see you in Ravenclaw--a certain disregard for rules, maybe Slytherin--"

"NO!" Sirius's mind shouted at the hat.

"No need to raise your voice," the hat said peevishly, "I may be an old hat but I can hear just fine thank you very much. I won't force you into Slytherin against your will, this is a school, not a slave market." Sirius's heart slowed its pounding. "Well, you don't like the rules much, but that can be a positive quality, you're a real risk-taker and creative thinker, and loyal to the end--in that case, GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius nearly expired with delighted relief. He went to the Gryffindor table and sat near his cousin Andromeda, who patted his hand warmly and congratulated him on being the first new Gryffindor of the year. Sirius now watched the rest of the class being sorted. Auburn-haired "Evans, Lily," became the first girl Gryffindor and sat at the table looking very nervous but not nearly as nervous as she had before being Sorted. To Sirius's delight "Lupin, Remus" became a Gryffindor as well; then "Pettigrew, Peter"; and right after Peter, "Potter, James." The four new friends were now all sitting together, thrilled to all be in Gryffindor with each other. A tall, very old wizard with an immensely long white beard now took the podium. He didn't need to call for silence; his presence alone just told Sirius that this was a person deserving of the greatest respect; freely given respect, not the type born of fear. This could only be Professor Dumbledore.

"Welcome," Professor Dumbledore began in a stately yet warm voice, "welcome all of you, first-years and returning students alike. After dinner you will receive your schedules from your House Prefects, who will help new students find their classrooms and in general settle down in Hogwarts. However, now is the time to enjoy ourselves as we celebrate the beginning of the new school year. I wish all of you the best of luck; if there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now. Now dig in!" Immense quantities and varieties of food materialized on the serving platters.

As he was putting some steak on his plate, Sirius asked, "Don't be alarmed if there's a what in your what?"

"Oh, don't mind that," Andromeda laughed, her turquoise eyes sparkling. "Professor Dumbledore likes to end his welcome speech with some nonsense words to lighten the mood."

"So," said a lanky boy sitting next to Andromeda, "another Black in Gryffindor. Welcome. I'm Ted Tonks by the way; I'm a sixth-year like Andromeda."

"Hello," Sirius said, "yeah, with any luck the whole family will drop dead from the shame." Ted laughed but Andromeda didn't.

"So what are the professors here like?" James asked Andromeda. "Is there anyone we should watch out for?"

"Well, our Head of House, Professor McGonagall, she's quite strict but she's very fair. She's an excellent teacher too, she teaches Transfiguration."

"She doesn't play any favorites," said an older boy at the end of the table. "I'm Frank Longbottom, I'm a seventh-year," he introduced himself. "She'll take points away from Gryffindor same as any other house."

"Unlike a certain Head of House I could name," Ted said.

"Yeah," said a square-jawed boy with thick straw-colored hair, "the Potions master, Carbidow--if he favored Slytherin any more I'd think he'd swallowed a love potion. I'm Sturgis Podmore; I'm in my third year here."

"So he's Head of Slytherin?" James asked.

"Yeah," Ted said, "he loves to take points away from the other Houses, especially Gryffindor. So watch out for him."

"But other than him," said a round-faced girl sitting opposite from Frank, "the professors are all pretty decent. I'm Alice Golding; I'm a seventh-year."

"Well, there is Filch," Ted said, causing several students to snicker.

"What does he teach?" Sirius asked.

"He's not a professor," Sturgis answered, "he's the caretaker, and he hates all students."

"And the thing is," Ted added, "he might be thick as a brick, but he's got a sixth sense for trouble. Hell, he lives for getting students in trouble,"

"Everyone thought that when old Pringle finally retired the new caretaker would be better," Frank said, "but no such luck."

"He's been especially bitter since Dumbledore became headmaster," Alice said, "and stopped letting him use corporal punishment."

"Well, be careful with Carbidow and Filch," Andromeda said to Sirius and his friends, "but otherwise you should be fine, as long as you don't go looking for trouble."

"Oh no, we wouldn't dream of it," James said with the straightest face he could muster. Sirius smiled and felt a shared understanding with James--and with Remus and Peter as well--that looking for trouble was exactly what they would be doing.