While Cassie was still thinking of the inevitable sorting, Sirius exclaimed, "look we're almost there you can see the castle." All the little first years scurried to the window to get a look and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. When the train finally lurched to a stop a voice spoke, "First years please leave all belongings on the train including trunks and pets." Everyone started filling their way out of the train and the group of five followed them.
When they got outside this big burly dude was yelling "fir't ye'r o'er, fir't ye'r o'er four to a boat please." Cassie went up to him and asked, "Hello, what's your name?"
"Rubeus Hagrid, games keeper of 'ogwarts what's yer name?" He asked her in return.
"I'm Cassiopeia Black," she answered with a big smile.
"Oh, a Black you say, best not to get into as much trouble as yer cousins," Hagrid said, with a wink.
"Don't worry I won't," she retorted. She knew that Bella caused trouble. Her mother said she's unladylike and had a hard time marrying her off. Well, not really, just hard to get Bella to actually attend the wedding. Everyone would jump at the opportunity to marry a Black.
"We'll best be off now the boats are leaving soon," he sent her off.
"Thanks, Hagrid, I'll talk to you later," Cassie said while running towards the boats. When she gets there, she sees her brother and new friends have already gotten on a boat and left. She sighs before spotting Lily and Sev with a blonde girl in a boat. "Hey, can I sit here? My brother left without me," she asked them.
"Of course, Cassie," she says, as the girl gets in, "why would he leave you?"
"Oh, I was talking to Hagrid, he probably assumed I got into a boat already," the girl answered, unbothered, knowing her brother wouldn't purposely leave her.
"Oh well don't mind him, we are going to have a great time," Lily promised, beeing too nice for her own good. "You remember Sev, and this is Marlene McKinnon," she said while pointing to both.
"Hello, I'm Cassie," she introduces, holding her hand out towards the blonde girl.
"As she said I'm Marlene, but you can call me Marley, Marls, or whatever," she spoke while shaking her hand. The boats started to move, and everyone looked around in wonder. The talking turn to hushed whispers until the castle came into view.
"Wow"
"Oh, my gods"
"This is incredible"
"Bloody hell"
"Awesome"
Thoughts of amazement could be heard throughout the first years who looked awestruck at the huge castle in front of them. Cassie thought it was one of the best things she had ever seen. It was so bright and beautiful.
~
The group headed inside the castle and up the stairs following Hagrid. While walking up the stairs Cassie spotted her brother and moved over to him, waving goodbye to Lily and the other two.
"Hey," she greeted him and their new friends.
"Oh hey, where were you?" He asked as his sister appeared next to him.
"Oh, I took a boat with Lily, Severus, and another girl," she answered, climbing up the stairs in time with him. Each painting that they passed either said hello or waved to welcome the new students to school.
"Ugh, snivellus," my brother groaned. She rolled her eyes at his childish behavior. She thought it was really rude considering they only met a few hours ago and all he said was that he thought Slytherin would be cool.
Hagrid knocked on the doors to the great hall. An old woman dressed in green robes came out. "I'm professor McGonagall, when you go through these doors you will be sorted into your houses. Your house will be like your family. Any good behavior and triumphs will earn you house points, any rule breaking, and you will lose points. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," She stated before she walked back in through the doors. Everyone started talking in hushed whispers when she left.
"Oh, I can't wait to get sorted! Just wait until we see the look on our families faces when we don't get into Slytherin," Sirius said, grinning from ear to ear.
"I hope to see you guys in Gryffindor," James said to his friends with a hint of anxiety.
"O-oh I don't think so," Peter stuttered, looking at his hands, picking at his fingernails.
"Yes, Peter the hat takes your choice into consideration too." James explained. Then McGonagall came back out and said, "We are ready for you."
The first years all walked inside amazed by the great hall. "It does have a ceiling, it's just bewitched to look like the night sky," someone said. Cassie turned around and said, "I read that in Hogwarts: A history."
"Yeah exactly, finally I found someone who actually reads," Remus says happily. When the little kids finally reach the front of the room, they see an old hat and suddenly it starts talking:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge what you can see,
I'll eat myself if you can find.
a smarter hat than me
You can keep you bowlers Black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I am the Hogwarts sorting hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head.
The sorting hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, brave, and chivalry
Set the Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just as loyal,
Those patients Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those wit of learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I am a Thinking Cap"
As the hat finishes his song everyone starts clapping. Professor McGonagall starts calling names in reverse alphabetical order, "Zabini, Aries."
"SLYTHERIN" the hat yells out the first house and the table in green jumps up, clapping.
"Snape, Severus"
"SLYTHERIN" the Slytherin table cheers. She looks over to her brother who looks disgusted as him and James laugh.
"Potter, James"
"GRYFFINDOR" the Gryffindor table starts Cheering.
"Pettigrew, Peter" After a few seconds the hat yells, "GRYFFINDOR" the Gryffindor table cheers politely again.
"Parkinson, Isobel"
"SLYTHERIN" Cassie claps happily for her. Their parents were somewhat of friends and they hangout a lot, but she hadn't spotted her or her brother on the train ride over.
"Parkinson, Asher"
"SLYTHERIN"
"Ugh, of course the terror twins would get in the snake house," Sirius scoffs, making Cassie hit him. She was closer to them than he was, but she still thought that they got along.
"Is that anyway to talk to our friends?" Cassie asks her brother.
"These are our friends now, Cassie," he tells her, looking towards the boys they sat on the train with.
She huffed and turned away as they called more names.
"Nott, Theodore"
"SLYTHERIN"
"McKinnon, Marlene"
"GRYFFINDOR"
"Lupin, Remus" the hat takes a about a minute before deciding, "GRYFFINDOR" they start yelling.
"Longbottom, Frank" people laugh at his last name. "GRYFFINDOR," he walks over there, not without tripping though.
"Lestrange, Rabastian"
"SLYTHERIN"
A couple more students later including several Hufflepuffs a few Ravenclaws and a Gryffindor named Alice McGonagall calls.
"Evans, Lily" the hat took a minute to think about it before shouting, "GRYFFINDOR" the table cheered (James the loudest of course).
"Bones, Delia"
"Hufflepuff!" The hat yells and the table erupt in cheers and the young red head runs over getting hugs from the older kids.
Then goes "Black, Sirius" this is the moment that decides his future and he knows it. He walked up to the hat slowly, but with confidence.
"GRYFFINDOR" the hat yells and Cassie was close to tears after that. She didn't want him to get hurt. She looked up and noticed that the hall was entirely quiet, and Sirius had barely moved. All of the sudden James starts clapping which gets the whole hall to clap except the Slytherin table.
Soon after the shock had worn off, McGonagall continued, "Black, Cassiopeia." She turned towards her cousin, Narcissa. She didn't give much encouragement, but nodded in her direction. Cassie took a deep breath and looked to Andromeda who only glanced at her before looking back to the Hufflepuff table.
Her feet found their way to the stool as she looked at the witch in front of her. She knew just from the scared look on the little girl's face where she would end up.
Cassie knew she was never meant to be in Gryffindor, no matter what her brother wanted to believe she knew that she was the same as their family. She wasn't brave, she was a coward, manipulative, determined. So when thehe hat was placed on her head, the witch knew exactly what it was going to say, "Ah, another Black I could put you with your brother in Gryffindor you would be perfect for it, a lot of bravery."
"No, there isn't," she told the hat in her head. "Please just put me in Slytherin."
"Slytherin? Your brother was practically begging not to be put there. You would be great in Ravenclaw, brilliant mind."
"Just put me in Slytherin please," she pleaded in her mind. "It's the best place for me you stupid hat."
"Very well then. Just be careful, you will do great there," the hat sighed.
"SLYTHERIN" the Slytherin table cheered. She got up from the chair and ran to the table, taking a seat next to Rabastian, across from Severus and looked over towards her brother. He had a slightly disgusted face and Cassie knew that they would probably have to talk after the feast.
Soon everyone was sorted, and Dumbledore went up and said "We would like to welcome you back to Hogwarts for another great year. Just a reminder that the Forbidden Forest is just that Forbidden. Also, Mr. Filch would just like to remind everyone of the list of prank items banned on Hogwarts grounds. That is all so let the feast begin." Everyone started digging into the most delicious looking food that most of them have ever seen.
~
After the feast the prefects are leading the first years to their common rooms but before Cassie could follow someone grabbed her wrist.
"What the hell Cassie," Sirius whispered furiously, pulling her off to the side.
"What did you want me to do?" She asked. She really didn't have a clue.
"Uhhhh, not be in Slytherin, we both hate our family," he answered.
"Oh my merlin, why don't you get it? We may be twins and I love you and want to keep you safe, but we are not the same! I was never meant to be in Gryffindor, and I can't keep you safe there!"
"I don't need your protection, I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you," her brother protested.
"Yeah, well by tomorrow morning you'll have a howler because of Narcissa or probably Lucius and I will be right there to make sure nothing happens throughout the year. When we go home, I'll be right there next to you so they don't beat you to death because I care and really you and Regulus are the most I could care about at the moment."
They stand in silence looking at each other before he looks down, "I just wanted out, out of their shadow of pain and misery. Out of their pure-blooded ways. I didn't want to lose my sister," he sighed, and Cassie rolled her eyes because of his dramatics.
"You didn't lose me. You never will. We're twins and we'll still talk just after you're disowned, we can't talk in front of everyone. Now go catch up with the rest of the Gryffindors before you get lost." After that he runs back to his group, and she runs back to her.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Asked Severus.
"Oh, just looking around," she answered.
"Okay just don't get into trouble, it's only the first day here," Sev explained. She couldn't help but think of her brother and all the trouble that he would be getting in.
They toured the castle before making it down to the dungeons where they directed them on where the boys were and the girls. The common room was beautiful with a glass ceiling where they could see the Black Lake, leather couches, a snake fountain, and a huge fireplace.
All of the first years looked around before running up the stairs to their dorm rooms. Cassie was looking at all the name tags before she found the one with her name. She was sharing with Isobel Parkinson and 3 other girls. She pushed open the door and saw that her and Izzy were the first ones there.
"Hey, I already chose this bed," Izzy said, waving to her. She took her trunk from the front of the room and placed it next to the bed to the left of Izzy. "Sorry about your brother."
She sighed before smiling at her friend, "I'm sure it'll turn out fine in the end."
The Parkinson girl smiled back before laughing and jumping on her friend's bed, "we're finally at Hogwarts!" She squealed in excitement and Cassie laughed with her.