The Ancient and Noble House of Black

"Sirius darling, I'm going to miss you so much, oh my little boy! Off to Hogwarts, just like your big brother!"

The black-haired boy who was at the centre of all this attention creased his brow as he tried repeatedly to remove himself from his Mother's embrace. A small, squat little boy nearby was doing the exact opposite and was being forcibly carried towards the train by a stern-looking wizard in a red and gold alumni cloak. Seeing this charade Lady Black finally released her son and pulled out a hanky; dabbing her eyes delicately.

Next in line was his Father, who was dressed in full regalia for his sending off. He wore a large brimmed hat with a silver serpent winding its way around the rim and a long cloak with the Black family crest embroidered upon the breast. He bent down and placed both hands on Sirius' shoulders.

"Remember, my Son," he said quietly, "Toujours pur, keep your responsibilities in mind."

"Yes Father." Sirius tilted his head upwards slightly, a haughty look on his face. "I know what my name means."

He climbed on board the train feeling only slightly shaky. Fortunately, his robes hid this fact fairly well, his cousin Narcissa then grabbed his trunk for him, charming it to featherweight lightness before hoisting it into an overhead compartment just outside where Sirius had decided to sit. His cousin then made excuses to meet some of her own friends, leaving Sirius feeling rather alone.

The train wasn't making any signs it was about to depart and there were still plenty of students milling around on the platform saying goodbye. They weaved in between lone couples and families with young children. His eyes settled upon his own parents who were deep in conversation with the Malfoy family. Patricia and Tavarius Malfoy were facing away from him but a third figure turned and caught him staring. As quickly as he could Sirius tried to look the other way, but it was too late. When he peeked back over the rim of the window he could see that Lucius had already said his goodbyes and was making his way towards the train.

Sirius tried desperately to make himself sink as low in the seat as possible. Some long ingrained instinct told him to tap the benches. The wide seats that lined each side of the compartment were completely hollow. He closed the lid seconds before the door was flung open.

"Come on Black, I know you're in here..." it was the voice of Lucius Malfoy, cold and drawling. It made the hairs on the back of Sirius' neck rise. "Dear me," it continued, "This is rather unpleasant isn't it? Now where could you have hidden yourself?"

Sirius waited in the dark, dusty cavity inside t bench, barely breathing and listening intently for any sound of movement outside, praying that the train would start up soon and Malfoy would leave. Eventually he heard the door slide open and then close again with a rattle. He hardly dared believe he'd been so lucky. Cautiously he slid his hands under the lid and began to lift it very slowly, peering around the compartment. There was no sign of the older boy but, just in case, he stayed where he was for a few moments more.

Quite suddenly the door was flung open again and Lucius Malfoy entered, accompanied by three other Slytherin fifth-years. He tried to shut the lid again but was too slow. Malfoy grinned wolfishly and, crossing the compartment in two strides, flung open the lid, hauling Sirius out of his hiding place.

"Hello, hello. What do we have here? A rat infestation?"

"Eat Dung!" spat Sirius, kicking and struggling to no avail, for his feet were a good three inches off the ground.

"Sorry?" Malfoy replied feigning deafness, "You want to eat dung? What an excellent idea."

Still sporting that idiotic grin he flicked his wand several times and produced a pile of stinking hippogriff dung that hovered incongruously in mid-air.

"That smells awfully bad, Black old chap. Are you sure you want to eat it?"

The other Slytherins laughed nastily. Sirius spied a prefect badge pinned to the cloak of one. Was this going to be his life for the next three years? Lucius grinned at the look of fear on the smaller boy's face. "Come now Black, surely you're made of sterner stuff than this?" He waved his wand once more and the dung levitated till it was about six inches above Sirius' head.

"Five," Lucius intoned solemnly, "four..." he looked up sharply at a shadow moving in front of the door and swore quietly under his breath.

"I have to go," he said in an entirely different tone, "How about the usual welcome?&qot;

His friends nodded and for one final time Lucius flicked his wand.

Before he could say 'Black Cat', Sirius was upside-down, attached to the roof of the train by rock solid dung.

"Those were my best shoes you filthy Mudblood!" Sirius shrieked, his face turning scarlet as the blood rushed to his head. All he saw was Lucius' back retreating out the door. He tried to struggle free and to his satisfaction managed to break the surface of the revolting stuff. However, the inside was not powdery, as he had imagined, but fresh, sticky, disgusting dung. It began to slide slowly down his legs, encasing them in a stinking warm coating. Lucius had pulled down the blinds when he had been searching for him so he couldn't even subject himself to the indignity of asking for help from his parents.

He heard the piercing whistle of the train departing and with a resigned yet despairing look on his face he began to swing gently back and forth to the rhythm of the train. He finally realised Lucius had cursed him so that he wouldn't fall unless he was completely covered with the stuff. He struggled harder but discovered this only made the goo progress faster.

The door opened a second time. Sirius braced himself as well as he could for another round with Malfoy. Instead he found himself staring into a pair of clear blue eyes. The eyes belonged to a face which was wearing an extremely surprised expression.

"Hullo..." said the boy finally. "I see all the seats are free in here."

"Yup" Sirius answered nonchalantly, laning perilously near a wall as they rounded a bend.

"So...do you always travel like that?" the boy replied. Sirius was about to say something exceedingly spiteful when he realised from his unusual perch that the boy's eyes were sparkling with mischief.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I saw a Slytherin prefect up here somewhere, he'll get you down."

Before Sirius could warn him, the boy had vanished. He reappeared with Lucius Malfoy, who took swift action, and left again.

"I did try to warn you..." Sirius said as the boy swung morosely beside him. "What's your name anyway?"

"Potter, James Potter." The boy said, offering him a hand.

"I'm Sirius Black," said Sirius, with as much dignity as someone upside down and half covered with poo could muster.

"A Black Black?" The boy sounded impressed. Sirius half groaned. Sometimes he didn't like the things that came from being a member of a pureblood family like the Blacks. Regular encounters with Lucius Malfoy were one of them.

"Yes," He said sullenly "Are you a pureblood too then?"

"I am, but my Dad's brother was a Squib who married a Muggle, so I have muggle cousins...oh and my Mother's sister married a Muggle-born so part of the family is half-blood, but it's all the same really, isn't it?"

Sirius could barely contain his astonishment that the boy admitted having Muggle relations. His Mother threw a fit if she even had to talk to a Muggle. Even Muggle-borns made her queasy, she said she could smell them. "I've never really met a Muggle before," he said sheepishly, "My parents don't like it. What are they like?"

"Muggles? They are a funny lot. I'll never forget the time I went to stay with my Uncle Henry...I got to ride in a car!"

They chatted in this way for a while, from initially being afraid that James would recoil from his family's reputation Sirius slowly realised that this boy didn't give a fig who someone's parent's were. It was a strangely refreshing realisation.

After what seemed like an eternity the refreshment lady appeared. Chuckling merrily she lifted the enchantment and lowered them gently to the ground one after the other. After cleaning them down and handing them complimentary snacks out of sympathy, she left them in peace. Sirius could still see stars when he started on his first chocolate bar.

"So what house do you think you'll be in?" James asked, regarding the array of coloured sweet wrappers in front of him with distinct satisfaction.

Sirius knew full well that he would end up in Slytherin. All Blacks went to Slytherin. It was almost a rite of passage, but still, he couldn't say he found the prospect endearing. He'd worried for months before he got his letter that he would turn out to be a Squib, even though he'd done as much accidental magic as any of his friends. Though once he had the letter in his hand his worry hadn't lessened, but changed into a new worry. He had a vague nagging feeling that somehow he wouldn't make a very good Slytherin. Although he wasn't about to confess this to a complete stranger. Blacks kept themselves to themselves.

"I suppose I'll be in Slytherin, like the rest of my family." He said as neutral a tone as he could manage.

"Really? I wish I had an idea of where I was going, I had a Gryffindor for a Mother and a Ravenclaw for a Father, the family are spread over all four houses through the generations...though I don't fancy being stuck in a library half of my life" He added as an afterthought.

"My parents want me in Slytherin," Sirius said slowly, "with my cousins."

Discussion over their various relatives occupied the remainder of the journey. As the tall mountains of Northern Scotland began to roll majestically past, a red-haired Gryffindor prefect popped his head around the door to tell them to get into uniform. As he knotted his still plain black tie around his neck, the sense of foreboding rose steadily in the pit of Sirius' stomach.

"You go much whiter and all the blood will be in your feet." James remarked dryly as he fastened his cloak with a snap.

Finding that his mouth was too dry to answer Sirius headed outside to take his trunk down from where it was stored. It was a precarious job and the ancient fastenings groaned against the load of books, clothes and favourite trinkets that were stuffed inside it. Finally after several sharp tugs Sirius succeeded in pulling it loose. It fell swiftly to the floor, narrowly missing his foot.

The train groaned to a halt alongside a small homely looking platform. Dusk was rapidly falling and someone had yet to light the oil lamps swinging from the iron decorations. In the fading light Sirius had to squint to read the station sign, which told him that he'd arrived in Hogsmeade. He followed the black shape that was James towards a distant lamp at the far end of a platform A voice was calling for the first-years. The voice belonged to a gray-haired, portly gentleman. He regarded them with a kind smile before introducing himself as Ogg the game-keeper.

"Now then boys and girls, if you'll be so kind as to follow me." He had a classic west-country accent. Sirius was very glad it was now dark since he had a very inappropriate grin on his face. The grin and the mood that went with it vanished like a soap bubble as soon as he sat down in the boat. He and James were joined by a smiling girl and a boy who she introduced as her cousin. The lights at the prow of each boat threw eerie shadows across everyone's features, gleaming off James' glasses, making him look like a cat. Hogwarts came abruptly into view as they rounded the crest of the cliffs. Whispers broke out like little fires in the still night air and several ooohs and ahhhs could be heard.

"Now then if you'll all just duck your heads," called Ogg from the leading boat, as they passed underneath a low ivy covered arch. One boy neglected to pay attention and ended up banging his head unceremoniously on the roof of the arch. They all alighted and after traipsing up several staircases they emerged into a cavernous hall, lit by flaming torches on each of its walls. A tall, thin woman dressed in a voluminous purple cloak stood in front of one pair of closed doors, waiting to greet them.

"Thank you Ogg," she said politely, turning to face the assembled students. "My name is Professor Rancier, I am the deputy headmistress. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the school. However, before you are regarded as full members of the student body, you must become a member of one of the four houses." She paused to survey the youthful expectant faces before her. "The four houses are named for the founders of Hogwarts. They each have a proud history and none is better than another. You will be sorted by the founders themselves by placing on your head the sorting hat which they themselves created."

On that dramatic note the doors behind her opened to reveal a magnificent hall. Its occupants fell silent as the first years all processed towards the raised dais at the far end where the staff sat waiting. In front of them was a stool upon which rested an old, patched hat. Sirius fidgeted nervously with the hem of his robes while the hat sang about the merits of Gryffindor and the sharpness of Ravenclaw. At the mention of Slytherin his stomach flipped over. He scanned the tables of students in front of him and caught Andromeda's eye. She gave him a brief smile of encouragement. The hat finished and Sirius clapped along with the rest, feeling as if he might faint any moment. His whole life was going to be decided by a hat, it was the most ridiculous thing ever.

The list of names began. Adwick, Alanson, Barcley. As his name drew closer Sirius began to rue the day he was ever born a Black, and why not a Zabini? They would have ages o wait, after all. Finally he heard his name being announced, he stumbled forward in a daze and placed the hat over his head losing himself in the inky blackness.

"Well, well a Black! So how are you today Son?"

Fine, thought Sirius. Just dandy..how about yourself Mr Hat?

"Oh, well it's nice to be asked for once." The hat replied enthusiastically. "I'm actually rather interested if you must know. You have a very interesting mind. Not too keen on Slytherin, are you?"

No, admitted Sirius. I don't think I'd make a very good one really.

"Mmm..." the hat mused, "And you don't like Lucius Malfoy. Ahh..but you are determined to go through with it?"

"My family are all in Slytherin."

"But you don't want to be?"

Sirius was getting annoyed with the omnipotent air of the hat. "No not really, but I suppose honour is important. I will have to."

"Be brave?" finished the hat.

"Yes I suppose so," Sirius muttered in a resigned tone. He'd been rather hoping the hat would decide to place him anywhere but Slytherin, but it seemed he was destined to be a serpent just like the rest of his family.

"Very well, you believe it is the honourable thing to go into Slytherin even though you don't want to?"

"Yes." Sirius said shortly, wishing the hat would just get it over with.

"And you are going to be brave and put up with the consequences?"

"Hurry up and say it won't you?" Sirius snapped, having visions of Lucius Malfoy's fist coming at him.

"Well if you insist then I'll have to place you in GRYFFINDOR!"

"What?" yelped Sirius, almost falling backwards off the stool in surprise.

"Come now, where else do brave and honourable people go?" Sirius swore he could hear the hat chuckling to itself as he passed it to the next person waiting. He tried to walk confidently towards the table that was whooping and cheering the loudest, but his legs seemed to have turned to jelly. The dratted hat has cheated him, he was supposed to be at the Slytherin table by now. He hadn't relished it but he'd never expected to go anywhere else, least of all Gryffindor.

The red haired prefect he remembered seeing on the train now seized his hand and pumped it up and down with such vigour Sirius almost felt his teeth rattle. As he looked around he saw a sea of smiling faces, completely overwhelmed, he lost his tongue completely and sat down, limp and exhausted, on the long wooden bench.