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Padfoot

The little boats were very unsteady on the slick black lake. They wobbled side to side as Hagrid magicked them across the water toward the castle. Sirius held a hand over his stomach as they floated along, rocking, and murmured, “I wish I hadn’t eaten all those pumpkin pasties!” He looked mighty green around the gills.

“Well if you go puking make sure you do it over the edge of the boat,” James instructed, a nervous look on his face.

“The water’s actually really calm tonight, you’re lucky. Usually this size boat gets really choppy,” Remus said. Both James and Sirius gave him surprised looks. “My Dad and I used to go fishing with my uncle on my mum’s side and his son,” he explained. “It’s a muggle pastime, fishing. They just go fishing for the fun of it. It’s some sort of bonding ritual, I guess.”

“Blimey,” James said, eyes wide, “They do this for the fun of it?”

“And they have to manually row to make it move on top of that,” Remus said, nodding.

“Nutters,” Sirius groaned. He was about to lean over the side to be sick when he spotted Severus and Lily in the next boat over, staring in rapture up at the castle ahead as they drew nearer and nearer. Severus was glaring at them, his head inclined as though to listen in on their conversation.

“Some do it for food,” Remus was saying, still talking about the fishing trips, “But most are just in fun.”

Sirius smirked evilly. “Hear that part of the talk, Snivelly?” he asked, “You could go fishing next time you’re feeling hungry back home. Keep it in mind, ey?”

Severus’s face, which was already quite pale on it’s own, was actually even paler in the moonlight, but his scowl was no less pronounced - perhaps even more so in the contrast of it. It was Lily, though, that turned around, her eyes squinting in anger at the boys. “Just ignore them, Sev, they’re just a bunch of bullying prats!”

“I didn’t even say anything!” James snapped defensively.

Lily replied, “You didn’t tell him not to say anything either!”

“Sorry, was I supposed to be able to control everyone else at Hogwarts, then?” James demanded.

Lily shrugged, “Maybe pick your friends wiser.”

“Why don’t you pick your friends wiser?” asked Sirius hotly, “I’m sure you could’ve done better than Severus Snape.”

Lily scowled and turned her back to them.

“What was that all about?” Remus asked. The other two first years in the boat, who had spent most of the journey across whispering to each other quietly, looked equally disquieted by the exchange.

James replied, “That girl is batty.”

Sirius nodded, “Anyone wanting to be ‘round Severus Snape would have to be.”

Remus glanced over toward the other boat, where Severus and Lily were talking quietly now, heads bowed together, and wondered why Sirius seemed to hate the boy so much. He couldn’t see anything wrong with him, really, other than the fact that he had rather greasy hair and a sort of malnourished skinniness to him. His long, crooked nose seemed wildly larger than it should have, given the narrowness of the rest of his body. But a big nose didn’t make anybody a bad person before.

Remus wondered what Sirius would think of him if he knew he was a werewolf and he vowed at that moment to never tell his secret to anyone.

The little boats continued on, Hagrid oblivious to the growing animosity between the two boats, and soon they were right at the very foot of the castle. The rocking had slowed now they were closer to a shore, which Sirius was thankful for, he’d decided already he much preferred a broom to a boat, and was looking forward to when they could disembark from the things. They glided into what looked like a low cliff that brought them beneath the castle itself and into a sort of dungeon-like boat dock. One by one, the boats skirted the edge of a large stone landing and Hagrid, who’d gotten ashore first, helped all of the first years out and onto the ground.

“A’right then,” Hagrid said, counting up the little boats to be sure nobody had been lost out on the water, “Yeh ready fer the sortin’, you lot?” he looked around at them, “Mus’ be excited. I remember me own sortin’... seems like ages ago…” Careful no to trod on any of the tiny first years, he made his way to the door opposite the boats and herded them through it into a long corridor, past stationary suits of armor and paintings and what seemed like a million old, wooden doors. They made their way up a long staircase and found themselves in a narrow little room where they all crowded around behind Hagrid. He looked them over, waited for the last of them to arrive into the group, and said, “Now yer’ta wait here,” he instructed, “Professor McGonagall will be comin’ ‘round fer yeh in a mo’. Nice lady, she is. She’ll bring yeh in ter the Hall ter be sorted. Good luck, the lot of yeh!” He grinned under all that hair and turned and walked away.

The first years looked around at one another, a nervous energy filtering through the crowd of them. Sirius looked at James and Remus with wide eyes. Sirius whispered, “I’m so bloody nervous.”

“Me, too,” James admitted.

“And I,” agreed Remus.

Sirius could feel his palms beginning to pool sweat. If he ended up in Slytherin, he didn’t know what he would do. Then again, he wasn’t sure what he’d do if he didn’t, either. His parents would not be happy at all if he was in any of the other houses, but a part of him wanted so desperately to defy them in some way and being sorted to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff seemed the ultimate way to do it. At least if he went to Hufflepuff, he’d be with his cousin Andromeda, who was much more kind than most of the other people in his family…

The door opened again and all the first years looked up to see a witch with long brown hair that hung in a braid over her shoulder. She wore emerald green robes and a tall hat. She had a sort of beauty about her sharp, young features. She smiled at them all in a friendly sort of way. “My name is Minerva McGonagall,” she announced, “And I’m here to bring you all into the Sorting Ceremony.” Her voice carried a thick Scottish twinge to it. “You will follow me out this doorway to the Great Hall, where the other year students have had a seat at their house tables, and one by one you will be sorted. Once you have been sorted, you will go and sit at your respective house table, where you will meet the rest of your house members and we will all enjoy the start of term feast.” Her eyes twinkled conspiratorially, “I have heard,” she added, “That the house elves of Hogwarts have quite outdone themselves with the meal this year, so please, give us no troubles, so that we may all sit down and eat as quickly as possible.”

There was a muttering assent through all the first years, and Professor McGonagall turned and led them through the door and into a wide room, decorated with banners that bore the Hogwarts crest - lion, raven, badger, snake. Standing up at the head of the room was a long table with a bunch of teachers seated at it, looking on joyfully as the lot of first years shuffled by behind McGonagall. In the center stood a large podium and behind it was a middle-aged wizard with a long greying red beard, wearing purple robes flecked with silver stars. He smiled as they walked in, peering at them through half-moon spectacles.

“That’s Dumbledore,” whispered Remus to James and Sirius.

McGonagall led them to the center of the front of the hall, facing the teachers, and stopped them there, then went to the corner and brought over a short, three legged stool and a worn out old brown hat that looked quite pathetic. She put the hat on the stool and stepped back.

There was a long pause of silence, everyone around the hall staring expectantly at the hat. Most of the first years looked quite confused, but Sirius whispered, “That’s a magic hat, that is.” James and Remus looked over at him, “It can read your mind, like, and tell you what house you belong in.” They looked amazed and turned back to stare at the hat.

Suddenly, the brim split open and the hat seemed to come to life. It started to sing, even.

“Welcome, new students of all status, to Hogwarts castle
Where throughout the year you will learn new skills -
Though attending class and studying might seem like quite a hassle
I promise you that your time here will be filled with joy and thrills!

You’ll meet more magic folk your age, and make lots of friends
Everyone here is here because they’ve earned their spot -
Within the walls of Hogwarts blood status prejudice ends -
For here you are all welcome but that old debate is not.

That debate has already torn the Hogwarts school asunder
Which is why I must split you up - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin -
So let’s find out so that you must no longer wonder
Which house of the four will be the one that you will belong in.

Will it be Gryffindor, where dwell the mighty brave?
Gryffindor is courageous, yes, but hardly ever behave!

Maybe you’ll be Slytherin, who seek power and fame
But beware for they do not care who they hurt in the game...

Or perhaps the Ravenclaw house will help you to learn -
In them is a mighty thirst for knowledge that will forever burn.

Then there’s Hufflepuff, the kindest, hardest working of the lot -
They’ll take you in no matter what, accept you even if the other houses do not.

So c’mon up here, one by one, and place me on your heads
We’ll get you sorted into your houses in a snap
And then we can all eat and make our way off to bed
For it’s almost time for me, the Sorting Hat, to get back to my year-long nap!”

Everyone clapped in the entire hall, and the applause echoed off the ceiling and the walls. The first years seemed filled with a new determination and soon they were all shuffling forward as McGonagall opened a scroll and read off the first name - Abbot, Gifford! - and one by one the students shuffled their way up to the stool and put the hat atop their head.

Sirius didn’t have long to wait.

“Black, Sirius!”

A refined cheer came from the Slytherin table, which was dotted with faces that Sirius knew from various family functions, and Andromeda stood up at the Hufflepuff table and shouted, “Go on Sirius!” at the top of her voice, clapping wildly.

His heart seemed to crawl slowly up into his throat and Sirius climbed up onto the stool and Professor McGonagall put the hat down on his head. It set upon him and he waited. Then, he heard a voice. “Oh, well, you’re of the so-called Noble House of Black, I see…” mused the voice. “I hope you were listening to my song tonight, it was aimed at those who think the way that your family does, you know.”

“I don’t think like that, though,” Sirius told the hat quietly. “I don’t want to be like them.”

“No?” asked the hat, an amused tone to it’s voice, “But you’d be great, you know. You’d accrue so much power in Slytherin. You’d be part of something that’s brewing, getting closer everyday. A great part, an integral part. Perhaps even famous one day for it…”

“I could become famous in any house,” Sirius argued, “I could be a great wizard in any house.”

“But what would your family think?” asked the hat.

Sirius felt his stomach twist at the question. “I don’t know,” he said, then, “I’m not sure that I care, either.”

“You would defy generations of Black family tradition?” the hat questioned.

Sirius thought it over for a moment. “For what’s right? Sure.”

The hat chuckled to itself. “I can’t believe this but --- GRYFFINDOR!” it shouted the last part for everyone to hear, not just Sirius.

The hat was lifted off his head, and Sirius felt his heart richotcheting off his rib cage. The people at the Slytherin table looked absolutely stunned, and there were frowning, shaking heads now dotting the table. Even Andromeda’s eyes were wide with surprise, but a bit of a sparkle and a hint of a grin was crawling across her face. The same could not be said for Lucius Malfoy, who had stood up, prepared to welcome the first of the new first years to the Slytherin table. He looked positively barking mad. He sat down quickly, sour in the face, and Sirius knew that his would not be the first disapproving glare that he would receive.

The Gryffindor table, however, had gone ballistic, screaming and waving their hands, beckoning Sirius to them - the first of the new Gryffindors. “C’mon Sirius!” called a red-haired boy with freckles across his nose. He looked to be much older, but he was last along the bench before the open space reserved for new Gryffindors. He grinned and patted the bench beside him and Sirius scrambled from the stool and rushed over, joining him at the table. “I’m Bilius Weasley,” the boy greeted him, “Welcome to Gryffindor.”

Sirius grinned, “Thanks,” he said, and he shook the boy’s warm hand excitedly.