Chapter Text
James couldn’t believe his luck. His first year at Hogwarts hadn’t even begun, and he was lost. He had gotten on the train, said goodbye to his parents and everything, but now he didn’t know where to go. The train was bustling with people everywhere and James was utterly lost. He found himself in the back of the train, opening the last compartment. His last hope. Inside was a young boy, a first-year by the looks of it. He had long, black hair and grey-blue eyes. He looked sad, so James decided this would be his best option. Better than the one compartment with a snide boy with long blonde hair. He had steered away from that situation immediately.
“Good afternoon! First time on the train?” James asked the boy, sitting across from him.
“That obvious?” The boy smiled sheepishly at him. “I’ve been looking forward to this day ever since I got my letter, but now that it’s here, I’m honestly scared. I have wizard friends, but none of the older ones like me enough to talk to me. I had no idea what to expect.”
“That’s terrible. I had some friends explain to me about first year, but nothing could’ve prepared me for this. The train is crazy!” James replied, a smile prominent on his face.
“You’re right. I’m Sirius by the way. Sirius Black.” The boy, Sirius, avoided eye contact as he said his name. Almost embarrassed looking. James, of course, knew why. The Black’s were famous in the wizarding world. A pureblood, dark magic family. Being a pureblood too, he recognized the name immediately. But he wasn’t scared by the mention of it. Sure, Sirius’ family weren’t the best people, but that didn’t mean Sirius would inherently be bad. James' parents had taught him well.
“Nice to meet you, Sirius. I’m James Potter.” James extended his hand to the boy, shaking hands with him. Sirius tentatively took his hand, not sure how to read the situation. Normally, people shied away from him the minute they heard his name. He expected it now. But this boy, James, he didn’t even flinch. He didn’t seem to even care.
“You heard me, right? I’m a Black.” Sirius continued, perplexed by the boy.
“Of course I heard you. I’m not deaf.” James joked, but after not getting a reaction from the boy, he continued. “I don’t care that you’re a Black. A name doesn’t mean anything. You could be completely different from your family. You’re just 11, I’m sure you’re not casting death spells left and right just yet, am I right?”
“I guess so” A laugh escaped Sirius. This boy seemed different. ”But how do you know I’m not evil?”
“You don’t exactly look it. But, I don’t know. I don’t like judging people based on a name. I’d prefer to get to know you before I do that.”
“You’re… nice.”
Before James could reply, another boy opened the compartment door. He was abnormally tall and nervous looking. When he opened the door and saw the other boys, he stood frozen, not sure what to do.
"Hi. I'm James Potter. What's your name?" James took the liberty of speaking. He was always pretty good at making friends, so he didn't even bat an eye. Sirius looked slightly uncomfortable, but there was something about the new boy that made him feel like he wanted to know him.
"Remus. Remus Lupin. I was just looking for an empty compartment, but it seems there aren't any." He avoided eye contact with either boy, taking an extreme interest in his shoes.
"Well, you can sit in here with us. We don't mind, do we Sirius?" James said, looking to Sirius for an agreement. Sirius nodded, moving over to make room for the boy. James had taken up the entire row of seats because he had propped up his feet. Remus came in and closed the door behind him, putting up his trunk and sitting a little down from Sirius.
"Are you both first years?" Remus asked tentatively. He seemed uncertain about the whole situation.
"Yep." Sirius said, popping the 'p'. "My name is Sirius. Black. Sirius Black."
"Nice to meet you." Remus smiled at the boy, not noticing the waver in his voice.
"How is it that I've met the only two people who don't run for the hills the moment I've said my name?" Sirius laughed, only half-joking. James snorted at this, shaking his head. Remus didn't seem to understand but smiled nonetheless.
"Not to burst your bubble, but I've never heard the name 'Black'," Remus told him, shrugging his shoulders. Sirius started laughing again, apparently finding the statement hilarious. He laughed for a solid two minutes, James joining in at some point. It even got to the point that Remus started laughing. He couldn't help it, Sirius' laughter was contagious.
"You've never heard the name?" Sirius asked between laughter. He had begun to calm down but hadn't stopped laughing just yet.
"Nope," Remus confirmed, nodding.
"I assume you're not a pureblood then." James shrugged, making a good point that Sirius hadn't considered. He'd only ever been around purebloods, his family wouldn't allow it any different.
"No. I'm a halfblood," Remus told them simply, not ever having cared about his blood status. But for some reason, he was now conscious of the possibility of people thinking he's not good enough because of it. He felt odd and exposed.
"It's not that we care, it's just that the Black's are a pretty famous pureblood family, so it would make sense that you're not a pureblood if you don't know them. I've never been one to care about blood status, despite my family. I honestly don't think I've met a wizard or witch that wasn't a pureblood." Sirius explained, helping Remus understand.
"That's crazy," Remus said, shaking his head in disbelief. "But my parents don't have many friends, so I honestly haven't met that many wizards and witches at all. My childhood was a bit weird."
"Sounds like it. But now you have us, so don't sweat it." James told him, laughing a little. Remus laughed as well, nodding.
"That's true." He smiled. "Do you know how long we have before we get to the castle?"
"Probably another hour or so. It takes a little while, but I don't know how long exactly. I just know it's hidden pretty deep in the country." James said.
"Wow, that's cool. I've been really excited about this, but I have no idea what to expect. My dad never told me much about Hogwarts, so I'm a bit in the dark." Remus explained, leaning back in his seat.
"It's beautiful," James exclaimed, smiling. "There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. They each have their own place, a tower or whatever the founder chose, with a common room and dormitory. There's a huge library and the Great Hall is spectacular. The ceiling has been bewitched to show the weather outside all the time. There are floating candles and four tables for each respective house. The teachers sit up in front of the tables and Dumbledore, the headmaster, sits in the middle. All the teachers seem pretty great, too. There's a head for each house. Minerva McGonagall is the head for Gryffindor, Pomona Sprout is the head for Hufflepuff, Filius Flitwick is the head for Ravenclaw, and Horace Slughorn is the head for Slytherin."
Remus listened intently to the boy, leaden with curiosity. One could say he was almost starry-eyed. "That's amazing. I can't until we get there. I wonder what houses we'll be in?"
"I figure I'll be in Gryffindor, that's where most of my family members were sorted into. Sirius, what about you?"
"Slytherin, obviously. If I don't get Slytherin, mom and dad will kill me. I'd be the only Black not to be in Slytherin, could you imagine?" He laughed despite the sad look in his eyes.
"You never know, Sirius," Remus said. "You're not your family. You're your own person and you can make your own destiny."
"I'm not too sure I can, Remus. The Black's are insane, but they're blood. I'm destined to be the heir. Despite not really looking forward to it, I don't have much of a choice." Sirius explained, looking defeated.
"You do. You always have a choice. Don't ever forget that."
-
"It looks like we're almost here, we should probably put our robes on," James exclaimed, standing up and gesturing to the window. Outside, the trees were gone and the lights of the castle were glowing in the distance.
The boys got ready and by the time they were done, the train was slowing down. They grabbed their trunks and joined the other students in the walkway outside the compartments. It was like a madhouse. The walkway was packed with students and trunks and it was crazy. Finally, the train stopped and it was time to get off. Not a minute after everyone was off, the first years were taken with the gatekeeper, Hagrid, to the boats. James, Sirius, and Remus got a boat together with two other students, Lily Evans and Severus Snape.
"Is it time already for the famous Black heir to come to school?" Severus asked Sirius with a snide tone of voice. He seemed to know Sirius somehow, and he didn't seem to like him.
"Severus, stop. Be nice." The girl, Lily, pleaded of the boy, tugging on his sleeve. She seemed close to him.
"Lily, you don't know the notorious Black family. They're awful. Dark magic, incest rooted purebloods. You don't understand."
"Don't talk about him like that! You don't know Sirius, so you don't have the right to talk about him like you do." James stuck up for his friend, already not liking the new boy.
"And I'm so sure you know him well?" Severus replied, an idiotic grin on his face.
"I know him better than you do! He's good! He's kind and funny and not at all like his family." James continued, beginning to get a little hotheaded. He wasn't one to hate someone without a basis, but this boy struck a chord and James couldn't help but strongly dislike him already.
"Whatever. Lily, don't find yourself caught up with these idiots. They're not good for you." Severus turned to the girl, ignoring the other boys completely. James turned to Sirius and saw that he was grinning at him.
"Sirius?" James was concerned, he expected Sirius to be sad or at least angry, but he was grinning.
"You stuck up for me. No one's ever done that for me," He said, quietly. He hugged James, only for a second. James was so shocked he didn't even have a chance to hug him back. "Thank you."
"It wasn't a big deal," James told him, shaking off the shock. "He was being a prat, it was the best I could. You don't deserve that. You've done nothing to prove him right. You're a good kid, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Guys, I hate I break up the heartfelt conversation, but look." Remus gestured in front of them. The castle had become very prominent without their noticing.
"Wow." Both James and Sirius said at the same time, mouths wide open. It was beautiful, like a painting. None of the boys could believe it was real.
"I- wow." Remus agreed. "I knew it was beautiful, but this is insane."
"Yeah." The other two nodded.
Not soon after, the boats stopped and everyone got off. Hagrid lead them into the castle, stopping after they had climbed some stairs. A door stood in front of them, intriguing everyone.
"Good evening, first years!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Welcome to Hogwarts. We are in front of the Great Hall, where you will be sorted. Unfortunately, I have to leave you. But don't fret, Professor McGonagall will be here shortly. Good luck!" With that, Hagrid left. The first years exploded into chatter. You could feel the excitement.
"How do we get sorted?" Remus asked, looking worried.
"Don't worry, you put on a hat that tells you what house you belong in. It's a little frightening, being up in front of the whole school body, but it's fast. And then you eat! I've heard the food magically appears." Sirius told Remus, smiling to give him hope. Honestly, he was nervous too, but he didn't want to worry the boy.
"That's awesome!"
"Good evening, first years." A voice boomed over the students, creating immediate silence. The voice belonged to a rather strict-looking professor. McGonagall, the boys assumed. "It is time for your sorting. I will lead you into the Great Hall and you will be called up in random order. When you are called, you will go up and sit on the stool to be sorted. When your house is decided, you will go sit at the table of your new house. Your robes will automatically change to coordinate with the appropriate house. I wish you good luck. Let us go!"
The doors opened on their own and the students were lead into the Great Hall. Gasps could be heard as everyone saw the grand decorations. Remus' mouth hung open, he was astounded. Of course, he had guessed it would be extravagant with James' description, but he couldn't quite believe how amazing it truly was.
McGonagall stopped them in front of the hall. On a small platform stood a stool. On top of that stool was a bettered brown hat. Everyone was curious about the hat, but their questions were shortly answered. The hat started singing. It had a sort of mouth flap and it was a spectacular scene to witness. The students were entranced listening to the song. It told the story of the founders and described the houses. It finished within a few minutes and the hall erupted with claps and shouts.
"We will begin the sorting. Severus Snape." McGonagall started the ceremony and it went by quickly. So far, none of the three boys had been called. A bunch of people that none of them recognized were called before one of them.
"James Potter," McGonagall called, causing James to jump up in excitement. He walked up and sat down, knee bouncing. McGonagall sat the hat on his head it took about 2 seconds before it shouted its answer.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The entire Gryffindor table erupted into shouts and whoops and claps. James smiled at his friends as he made his way to the table. He hoped they would soon join him, but he tried not to get his hopes up.
A few more people were sorted before the next person of their friend group was called up. "Remus Lupin."
Remus gingerly walked up and sat down. He didn't have a clue as to where he belonged, but he did want to be with James. He really liked James. That was the only thought racing through his head as the hat was placed on his head. The hat took it's time deciding. Probably about 20 seconds before it shouted out its answer.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Remus couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as he heard the table shout and clap for him. They didn't even know him or his secrets, but they welcomed him with a warm embrace nonetheless. He smiled at Sirius as he passed him, hoping the boy would soon join them. Sirius looked scared. Conflicted.
"Sirius Black." The Slytherin table clapped for the young boy. Sirius hated that. He wished for a different last name. A different family. A different life. He hated it all and he desperately wanted to be different. Both out of spite for his horrendous parents and out of the deep feeling that he wasn't like them. He wasn't dark and evil. He was Sirius. He was good.
"Ooh. Another Black. I assumed Slytherin for you, but you're different. This is interesting. Yes." The hat spoke inside his mind when it was placed on Sirius' head. It made him jump, but when he realized no one else could hear it, he calmed down.
"You seem to want Gryffindor, how interesting. I've never met a Black who wasn't wired strictly for Slytherin. I think we have a rebel. Your parents will find that interesting." Sirius bit his lip. The hat was right, he would be practically disowned. That should scare him, but it made him want Gryffindor even more.
"I don't want to be like them." Sirius thought.
"Then I think we have our answer." The hat replied.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Great Hall went silent. You could hear the collective intake of breath. Not even the Gryffindor table clapped. Sirius stood up and made his way over. About halfway over, the Gryffindor table started clapping. The shock had worn off. It was a deafening sound, but Sirius didn't care. He was ecstatic. James and Remus were right, he could choose his own destiny. And he couldn't wait.