The Marauders: Glory Days

First Year- The Sorting of Sirius Black

September 1st 1971
Hogwarts

Sirius
    "Guys!" James said excitedly. "Look!"
    We all knew what he wanted us to look at, we were at Hogwarts. All three of us pressed ourself against to window to see it. It was absolutely beautiful. The castle had towers taller than I could have ever imagined, it was ginormous. For the next seven years, I would be living in a castle. I would be away from my parents for the school year, I was finally here.
    The castle was beautiful, but I knew the dungeons weren't. I wasn't looking forward to sleeping there, or sitting with Narcissa and Andromeda. They were nice enough, but I wouldn't really have the chance to make friends. Still, I was away for now and that's all that mattered.
    I wished I could have been in the same house as James. I wanted to be his friend more than anything. I knew he would get Gryffindor though, there was no other house for him. I would get Slytherin, it was the only house I was allowed.
Peter seemed to want Gryffindor, but he didn't really seem like the type. He was scared, shy, and he wasn't very prideful.
I wasn't sure where Remus was going to be sorted. Based on the way he was dressed I would have said Hufflepuff, but he was very smart too. He could really be in any house. I hoped we would be in the same one.
We had to wait a while to actually get off of the train. We all grabbed out bags to get ready, we couldn't wait. Remus and I sat next to each other with our trunks on our laps.
"Any of you have any pets?" James asked.
"No," I said. "Too much work."
"Do you have one?" Remus asked.
"My father thinks I'm too irresponsible," he said. "I guess he has a point."
"My mom doesn't want me to be too concerned with pets," Peter said. "She says I should focus on school work."
"What about you Remus?" James asked.
"Can't afford one," he answers. "Don't want one either."

    We got off of the train and a large man with a big beard and long curly hair led us to the boats. James, Remus, Peter, and I all shared a boat.
    "There's a willow tree," James said. "That wasn't on the map."
    "You studied the map?" Remus asked.
    "Yeah," he replied. "My dad had one from when he was in school."
    "It's been a lot of time since then," I said. "It's pretty anyway."
    "Yeah," James said.
    We all got out of the boat and admired the beautiful castle. We were led up the hill and into the front doors. Eventually we stopped in front of two large wooden doors.
    One of the professors stood in front of us. She wore a pointy hat and a long dark green cloak.
    "My name is professor McGonagall, through these doors is the great hall where you will be sorted into your houses," she explained. "There is Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you're here, you're house will be like your family."
    She led us into the great hall, the ceiling looked like the night sky. Which unfortunately reminded me of my family. We are all named after stars. I wasn't excited to being reminded of them everyday.
    Professor McGonagall pulled out a brown pointy hat and began calling names. I didn't pay attention to most of them.
    "James Potter," she called.
    James excitedly ran up the stairs and sat on the wooden stool. The professor placed the sorting hat on his head.
    "Gryffindor!" The hat shouted, it barely hesitated at all. James was destined to be in Gryffindor.
    James smiled as if he had just won the lottery. The Gryffindor table clapped and cheered as he sat down.
    "Lily Evans," Professor McGonagall called.
    The red headed girl that I had met on the train. She calmly walked up to the stool and sat down as Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on her head.
    "Gryffindor!" It shouted. It hesitated a bit more with her than it did with James. Again, the Gryffindor table cheered.
    Lily looked at the long haired boy with a guilty expression as she took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Severus looked like he was about to cry.
    "You'll see her," I assured. "You'll still have classes together."
    "Put a sock in it, Black," he growled.
"I was being nice," I said. "But I won't do that anymore, Snivelis Schnoz."
    "Severus Snape," he corrected.
    "Not anymore," I spat.
    "Peter Pettigrew," Professor McGonagall read off of her name list.
    Peter nervously walked up to the sorting hat. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was already anxious and he didn't seem to like attention very much.
    The hat hesitated a lot more than usual.
    "Gryffindor!" The hat finally yelled.
   Peter smiled widely as he rushed to sit down next to James. The cheering of the Gryffindor table continued.
    "Severus Snape," Professor McGonagall called.
    Snape walked up to the stool, it barely touched his head before it made its decision.
    "Slytherin!" It yelled.
    Snape smirked and walked over to the cheering Slytherin table. I caught a glance at Narcissa and Andromeda as I sat down.
    "Remus Lupin," The Professor called.
    Remus walked up to the stool and sat down as Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head.
    "Gryffindor!" It yelled.
    The cheering began, Remus nodded at the Gryffindor table and went to sit down. He smiling awkwardly as he sat down.
    "Sirius Black," Professor McGonagall called.
    I walked up to the stool and sat down. She placed the sorting hat on my head and it began to speak to me.
    "Another Black," it said in a deep voice. "But you're not a true Black, are you?"
    "A true..." my voice trailed off.
    "Rebellion, Justice, Pride, Bravery," it listed. "There has never been another Black like you."
    "What?" I whispered.
    "Gryffindor!" The hat shouted.
    The great hall went silent. There was no cheering, not even from the Gryffindor table. I didn't care about that.
    I cared about what my family would do to me when I got home. I'd be killed. It wasn't my fault, I didn't know it would put me in Gryffindor.
I could barely breathe. The entire great hall was staring at me like I was some sort of anomaly. I could feel Professor McGonagall's hand on my shoulder.
I looked over to my cousins. Andromeda's eyes were wide and full of concern. I probably looked petrified.
Narcissa looked offended. She didn't look angry at me, but she didn't look happy either.
I wish I could have seen my mothers face when she found out. It would have been priceless. I wouldn't enjoy it for very long though, she'd probably use an unforgivable curse me the next moment.
    As scared as I was, it was also the proudest moment of my life. I didn't just feel different, I was different. I wasn't like them and I never would be.
All of my anxiety went away when I
    The cheering started as I got up from the stool and walked towards the Gryffindor.
   "Mate! You did it!" James cheered. "You're the first Black to get Gryffindor!"
    "I-I am," I stuttered.
    "We're all together," James said. "How cool is that?"
    "Very cool," I said.
    "Gentlemen, this is going to be the best seven years of our lives," James said. "The glory days start now."

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Remus
    It was late and Sirius was still awake. James and Peter had gone to bed hours ago, but I could hear Sirius breathing heavy. He wasn't crying, at least I didn't think he was.
    "Sirius?" I asked.
    "Yeah?" He replied.
    "Are you okay?" I asked.
    "Fine," he said.
    I didn't know what else to say. I doubted he would tell me if he wasn't okay. I didn't want to go to sleep while he wasn't okay, but I also didn't know how to comfort people.
    "Are you sure?" I asked. "I mean, you looked pretty scared when you got into Gryffindor."
    "Yeah, I was scared, Remus," he said.
    I got up from my bed and walked over to his. I sat next to him.
    "Why?" I asked.
    "If you had my family you'd understand," he said.
    "You keep mentioning your family," I said. "They aren't here, you aren't in trouble here."
   "Doesn't matter, I will be," he said. "I was supposed to get Slytherin. I'm happy to be with you, and James and Peter, but my family is going to kill me."
    "Do you have to go home?" I asked. "Can't you stay here?"
    "It'll be worse in summer if I don't go," Sirius explained. "Christmas is important, if I'm not there for the pictures then people will suspect a scandal."
    "A scandal?" I asked. "What kind of scandal?"
    "Image is everything to my mother, our family's reputation has to remain the way it is," he explained. "I've already ruined it."
    "Just by getting sorted into Gryffindor?" I asked.
    "Yeah," he nodded. "But that's not just it."
    "It's not," I said.
   "I want to ruin my family's reputation," he said, a lot more confident than he was moments ago. "I want everyone to know how awful they are, and I want them to know that I'm different."
    "You're already different, you're a Gryffindor," I said.
    "Remus," Sirius said. "I'm not upset, I'm scared, but I'm also the happiest I've ever been."
    "You are?" I asked.
    "It's freedom, Remus," he said. "I'm already a failure in their eyes, so what does it matter? I can do anything."
    "I supposed that's a good way to look at it," he nodded.
    "My family is still going to kill me, but I have a chance of getting away now," he said.
    "You're going to run away?" I asked.
    "No," he said. "I'd be killed, they'd hunt me down and murder me. I'm going to move out when I'm an adult. I'll screw up just enough for them to give the inheritance to Regulus, but not enough to get me disowned."
    "Screw up just enough," I repeated.
    "It's a fine line," he said. "Regulus can have the house and all of the money, I get the freedom."
    "Is that what Regulus wants?" I asked.
    "He's just a kid, but he's already a lot more loyal to our parents than I am," Sirius explained.
    "He'll get the house and you'll get the freedom," I said. "Sounds like a good deal."
    "I'll enjoy the glory days while they last," he said. "For now, the goal is to survive until second year."
    He said that like he was making a joke, but I had a feeling that there was more to it. In fact, I knew there was more too it. Sirius didn't think very highly of his family, but it was clearly for a good reason.
    "We should go to bed," I said.
    "You're probably right," he nodded.
     "Goodnight Sirius," I said.
     "Goodnight Remus," he replied.