Author’s Notes: This chapter is Sirius’s POV.

 

Chapter 1 – Sorted

 

“Firs’ Years, this way!” the booming voice echoed over the heads of the students pouring out of the train.

 

Sirius and the two boys he’d met picked their way towards the speaker – an enormous man who was clearly part giant – and then followed the shaggy fellow down a steep path. Then the path opened up, and there was a collective gasp. Even Sirius was stunned.

 

“Tha’ there’s Hogwarts,” the big man clarified. (As if there could be any confusion, Sirius thought tartly.) “No more’n four to a boat.”

 

Sirius wasn’t quite sure what that meant until he tore his eyes away from the castle to see a dozen boats in the lake at his feet.

 

His brain went, Oh. Duh. And he clambered into one of the dinghies after Remus and James.

 

“May I join you?” a feminine voice behind him asked.

 

“Sure,” Sirius turned, automatically offering his hand to help.

 

She’s pretty, he thought. He could tell she was a redhead, but, in the dark, he couldn’t tell what color her eyes were.

 

He helped her to one of the bench seats, noticing the thunderstruck look on James’s face as he did so. The boy’s jaw must have dropped a foot.

 

“Black. Sirius Black,” Sirius told her, tipping his hat slightly.

 

The girl laughed. “You are so double-oh-seven,” she told him.

 

What?

 

“Well, Mr. Bond, it’s nice to meet you.”

 

“Black,” Sirius corrected, confused.

 

“I know your name’s Black,” she hastened to assure him. “I was just – oh, never mind.”

 

Sirius looked at her for a moment, then shrugged it off. Probably a girl thing.

 

“Lily Evans,” the redhead stuck out her hand to shake.

 

Instead of shaking it, Sirius pressed a light kiss to her fingertips, eliciting a giggle. “Enchanté, Miss Evans.”

 

There was a choking sound behind them, and Sirius turned to see James with bugged out eyes and Remus looking amused.

 

“That’s Remus Lupin,” Sirius explained, “and the git behind you is James Potter.”

 

Lily Evans smiled at Remus, who returned it easily, then frowned at James, who was still gawking. However, the boats hit land, and before she could say anything, everyone was scrambling out of the boats and crunching over the rocky shore.

 

A few moments later they were mounting the wide stone steps of the castle.

 

Sirius turned to locate Remus and James as the half-giant knocked on the huge doors.

 

James was few feet away, still staring avidly at the red-haired Evans girl from the boat. Remus stood next to James, looking terrified.

 

Sirius felt a tug from the area around his heart, and sidled over to the tawny-haired boy as light spilled out of the opening doors.

 

“Hey, Rem, you all right?” Sirius asked in a low voice, ignoring the stern-looking woman who was standing in the doorway.

 

The smaller boy gave him a weak smile as they moved inside with the others.

 

Sirius wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted the other boy to lose that frightened look, but he had no idea how to go about doing it. He’d never had anyone he cared about before, and he’d only just met the other boy.

 

“…You’ll want to smarten yourselves up,” the tall, stern, witch was saying, and Sirius felt her eyes resting on his bloody lip before moving to James’s black eye and mussed hair. Then she was gone.

 

Nervous chatter broke out at once, and, looking around, Sirius realized his new friend wasn’t the only one who was worried.

 

“How do you think they do it?” James asked in a low voice.

 

“Do what?” Sirius was puzzled.

 

“‘Do what’?” James quirked his eyebrow, and winced at the movement. “Weren’t you paying attention?”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh.” James looked slightly taken aback by that single honest syllable, and took a moment to recover. “The Sorting,” he said at last.

 

“Is that what everyone’s so worked up about?” Sirius asked, surprised.

 

Both Remus and James nodded.

 

Sirius couldn’t help himself, he burst out laughing.

 

Heads turned all over the room to look at him. A few mouths opened, but before anyone could say anything, the witch from earlier (“Professor McGonagall, James hissed helpfully) returned.

 

“Follow me,” she said, and led them across the entrance hall and through another large set of doors into what was quite obviously the Great Hall.

 

The rest of the school was already assembled and chattering happily, but as the new students appeared, silence fell from the bewitched ceiling past the floating candles to the marble floors.

 

“You don’t need to worry,” Sirius managed to whisper to Remus and James before complete stillness reigned. He knew all about the Sorting, his parents had told him everything, though he suspected now that they hadn’t been supposed to. They had told him all about Hogwarts, had even insisted he read Hogwarts: A History before attending. Whatever else his parents were, they were thorough.

 

And now Professor McGonagall was setting the Sorting Hat on a stool, and everyone was watching it expectantly, waiting for it to sing. It didn’t disappoint.

 

“Once upon a time

Before you e’re were born

This school began, oh

How the time has flown.

I was just a young hat

Given the task to comb

Through witches young, and wizards too,

For a House to call home.

 

Into Ravenclaw…

 

Sirius somehow lost the rest of the song, steeling himself for what he knew was to come. This was his only chance. Somehow, he had to convince the Hat to allow him this opportunity.

 

The hall burst into applause as the Hat finished and bowed to each of the long tables, Sirius joining in a moment later.

 

Not bad, Sirius thought of what he had heard of the song, and snuck a glance at Remus and James, considering. James was bound for Gryffindor, no doubt about that. Sirius knew enough of the Houses to be sure. Remus was a puzzle, though Sirius felt strangely certain that the slighter boy would end up a lion as well – he knew neither boy would enter Slytherin. He masked a grimace, and hoped his plan worked. If it didn’t, he would leave the school, he’d go live in the forest on the grounds. He’d heard enough about it to know no one would find him there – more likely than not because he’d be dead, eaten by a werewolf, or something. But even werewolves had to be better than home and those horrors he’d been brought up to call family. At least werewolves were only monsters one night a month.

 

“Black, Sirius.”

 

Sirius looked up, startled, and realized he’d missed the first few Sortings.

 

Here goes nothing, he thought, making his way towards the Hat.

 

He heard a few whispers of, “Black? Why bother? He’s Slytherin for sure,” before the Hat fell down over his ears and eyes.

 

“Another one, eh?” said the Hat’s voice in his ear. “But you’re not like the others. A Black sheep, eh?”

 

Just give me a chance, Sirius pleaded.

 

“A chance?”

 

Please. Let me prove myself.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Please.

 

“You really want it? Werewolves aren’t all bad, you know. Guess you’re the white sheep, then, eh? Well, you do seem pretty determined, so I guess it better be GRYFFINDOR!”

 

Sirius heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks,” he whispered as the Hat was removed, and the cheering crowd could be heard.

 

He went and sat down at the Gryffindor table, grinning at the congratulations and welcomes, and ignoring the few strange looks.

 

A few minutes later, Lily Evans came and sat a few seats away from him at the Gryffindor table, followed, shortly, by “Girma, Wintana.” The two seemed to hit it off, and were instantly chatting.

 

“Leroy, Jenna,” was called, and as she was Sorted into Ravenclaw, Sirius looked to see Remus looking especially pale.

 

Then, “Lestrange, Rabastan,” was summoned to the stool, and Sirius’s head snapped towards the front. He’d completely forgotten Rab was here this year.

 

“SLYTHERIN!” the Hat shouted predictably.

 

Then it was Remus’s turn. The boy looked downright green. He sat on the stool for what seemed an age, while Sirius fought the urge to bite his nails.

 

“GRYFFINDOR!” the Hat declared at last, and Sirius gave a second sigh of relief as Remus trotted over to the table. Sirius slid over a bit to make more room on the bench, and gave the newest Gryffindor an impulsive one-armed hug around the shoulders.

 

Remus shivered slightly.

 

“Cold?” Sirius whispered in his ear.

 

The amber-eyed boy shivered again, but shook his head.

 

Sirius tightened his hold briefly, then abruptly removed his arm, feeling a little awkward, and wondering at the strange protectiveness he felt for the smaller boy. He’d felt funny since he’d first seen the other boy on the train platform; the unassuming boy had just stood out for some reason, almost as if there had been a spotlight on him, so Sirius had searched him out on the train. He’d expected to find out who the tawny-haired boy was, and be done with it. He hadn’t expected to like the other boy. Sirius Black liked no one, well, nearly. In any case, he wasn’t at Hogwarts to make friends, he was there to become a better wizard than any other Black, so when he graduated, they wouldn’t be able to keep him at Grimmauld Place any more. But there was something about Remus that Sirius couldn’t put his finger on, it was like nothing he’d ever experience before, and, all of a sudden, having friends didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

 

And then, of course, James Potter had turned up, and Sirius had known he’d met his match. Granted, he’d felt threatened at first, and had instantly sized the other dark-haired boy up as a rival, but it had quickly become clear that they’d be better allies than enemies. They settled easily into an almost rough camaraderie, happily taking the piss out of each other at every opportunity, while understanding that it was all in fun, and wasn’t really meant cruelly. Remus still didn’t seem quite so comfortable with it.

 

Marist, Marks, Nivers, Norris, O’Connelly, O’Conner, Pettigrew, then Potter.

 

“Fancy seeing you blokes again,” James smirked, sitting across from Sirius and Remus.

 

“You won’t be rid of us that easily, mate,” Sirius returned, giving the boy a smirk of his own.

 

He heard someone snort, as though trying – and failing – to keep from laughing. He turned to Remus, but the boy shook his head, and shot a swift glance at the redheaded Evans two seats down from him, who was focused very intently on the Sorting.

 

Sirius looked up in time to see “Snape, Severus,” a greasy, unwashed looking kid, Sorted into Slytherin.

 

Then Thompson, Turner, Winter, and finally Zawaski, and the Sorting was over.

 

At the middle of the long staff table at the front of the Hall, a man Sirius recognized instantly as Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet.

 

The chatter slowly died away.

 

“Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. You are all hungry, I see, so I won’t keep you from your suppers any longer.”

 

And he didn’t. He sat down, and the tables filled instantly with food.

 

Sirius ate hungrily, feeling strangely comfortable in the bright, noisy hall, wedged between Remus and an older girl who’d given him a funny look and only introduced herself as “Kelly.” (Sirius wasn’t sure if that was her given or family name.)

 

“Hey, little coz,” a long-haired brunette fifth year came up behind Sirius as he finished his dinner, and gave him an enthusiastic hug.

 

Sirius twisted around in her arms to return the embrace. “Romy!”

 

“I’m so proud of you, Gryffindor,” she released him, beaming.

 

“Thanks, Romy,” Sirius grinned back. “Ouch!” He turned and glared across the table at James, who had kicked him in the shin: hard.

 

“Oops, sorry.” James didn’t look the least bit repentant.

 

“James Potter, right?” Romy smirked at the surprise on the hazel-eyed boy’s face. “You were just Sorted,” she pointed out. “Besides, I know your father, you look just like him.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I’m Andromeda Black,” she stuck out her hand.

 

“Black?” Remus had joined the conversation.

 

“Siri here’s my baby cousin,” Romy explained. “And fiancé,” she added, almost as an afterthought.

 

“Fiancé?”

 

Sirius thought Remus’s brilliant amber eyes had gone an unnatural shade of yellow, but nobody else seemed to notice.

 

“Tentative fiancé, Rem,” Sirius felt the need to explain. “It’s a family-arranged thing. Nothing to do with us, really.”

 

“I see.” Remus’s eyes were once again definitely amber, and Sirius wondered if, maybe, he hadn’t imagined it. “I’m Remus Lupin, by the way,” Remus stuck out a hand, “Siri’s friend.”

 

Sirius blinked. Remus was being awfully forward, well, more so than he’d been all day, and had he just called Sirius ‘Siri’? No one but Romy ever called him that, not even Uncle Alphard.

 

“Nice to meet you,” Romy shook the proffered hand, but her jovial tone had a slight edge it hadn’t possessed earlier.

 

Sirius glanced at James, and was comforted to see that he looked as bewildered as Sirius felt.

 

Remus released the fifth year girl’s hand, but held her gaze.

 

Romy nodded, once, as though some silent communication had passed between the two, then turned back to James and Sirius with a grin. “I’ll be seeing you boys around,” she winked. And with a swish of her robes, she’d moved off between the tables.

 

Remus watched her go, eyes wary, then turned his focus to the desserts appearing on the table.

 

Sirius felt uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure what to say, either, which didn’t usually happen to him, and that made him even more uncomfortable.

 

What was that about?

 

“Er, Remus?” Sirius tried.

 

“Yes?” Remus didn’t bother to look up from his ice cream.

 

No point beating about the bush. “What was that about?”

 

Remus did look up then. “What was what about?”

 

“With Romy,” Sirius tried to explain. “It was like, I dunno… like you didn’t like her, or something.” Smooth talking, Sirius.

 

“Don’t be daft. I only just met her.” But Remus’s eyes were fixed once more on his plate.

 

“I’m not ‘being daft,’” Sirius insisted. “Maybe you just met her, but something was off. If you were a dog, your hackles would have been up!”

 

“I’m not a dog!” Remus snarled, eyes back on Sirius, expression half angry, half… frightened?

 

What?

 

“I said ‘if,’” Sirius suddenly felt more ill at ease than ever. Remus looked really upset. “Look, I’m sorry, Rem.”

 

The boy seemed to deflate suddenly, and an awkward silence fell.

 

James looked between them anxiously for a minute. “Um,” he said finally, “could one of you pass the whipped cream?”

 

The tension drained all in an instant, and both boys reached for the requested bowl. Their fingers brushed, and Sirius felt something like a shock from a malfunctioning wand – only, for some weird reason, it didn’t feel bad. He pulled back abruptly, feeling his face heat up even as Remus’s turned red.

 

“Sorry,” they both muttered at the same time, then grinned that they’d spoken together, then laughed.

 

Sirius gave an inner sigh of relief.

 

Remus handed James the cream, and dinner went on, easy conversation returning.

 

But that night, curled up in one of the four-poster beds of Gryffindor Tower, Sirius couldn’t seem to clear his head. He stretched out, and peaked through his curtains at the waxing moon drifting slowly past the window.

 

What had made Remus so jumpy earlier, first at Romy, then at what Sirius had said? Sirius could chalk up the reaction to his words simply enough, maybe Remus just didn’t like dogs. But Remus’s behavior with Romy was a different story. He’d been so easy-going on the train, and it couldn’t be that he was uncomfortable with girls, because he’d been fine with the redhead James had been drooling over, and what had happened with Romy hadn’t seemed like nerves. It had been almost as though Remus was jealous. But that was stupid, it just didn’t make sense. And yet… Remus had definitely seemed, well, possessive. But if that was it, why? Did he not have many friends at home? Did he feel threatened? Should Sirius say something to assure Remus that there was nothing to worry about? He felt the need to set things right, though he wasn’t really sure what was wrong.

 

And that led to the more important problem that was running around in Sirius’s head. Why did he, Sirius Black – who made it practically a point of pride to never give a damn about anyone – care so damn much about a boy he barely knew?

 

TBC