" Black, Sirius." Minerva McGonagall's voice rang through the Great Hall.

A small boy walked up to the sorting table in an almost arrogant manner which screamed of pureblood upbringing. A teenage girl in silver and green robes caught his eye as he elegantly made his way to be sorted. The boy did not smile, but a shake of his head indicated that he had noticed.

The Gryffindor head of house had mixed feelings as she watched the eldest son of Orion and Walburga Black being sorted. The boy's blood and early mannerisms would probably see him getting sorted into the same house as his cousins. He carried himself with elegance and poise, but yet there was something rebellious in his grey eyes.

" My, my, if it isn't the Black heir. So much like your family, and yet you aren't like them at all. "

" Get out of my head."

" My dear boy, your occlumency shields are rudimentary at best. Besides, I need to see what is inside your head to sort you "

" Put me into Slytherin and be done with it. " Sirius' hands were folded across his chest.

" Are you sure ? You would make a good candidate for Slytherin of course. Ambition- yes, there is a burning desire to be better than any of your cousins. A fair amount of cunning and a rebellious streak. But are you sure that you want to be there ? "

Sirius' thoughts went back to the train journey as he heard the hat's last words. James Potter had been a decent bloke to hang out with. His mother would not have really approved of Potter's company, but the boy was part Black, with his mother being Walburga's aunt.

His thoughts wandered even further back to the eleven years he had spent at No.12, Grimmauld Place. He did like Bella in his early years, but her sudden obsession with the dark arts were distancing him from her. His tiny mind was yet to understand the finer nuances of the Dark Arts, but he knew with the little that he had practiced that they were addictive and made the person slowly forget everything around him. Andromeda was his favourite, but a bit too docile in his opinion. She had never openly defied authority. Cissy was a cross between Bella and Dromeda, and being the closest to his age, he had spent most of his childhood with her. His mother had been livid when he had fraternized with Muggles around his home, and he wasn't happy with her dislike for everything Muggle. He didn't adore Muggles given that he had been taught to hate them for the better part of his life, but he certainly did not hold the same opinion of them that his parents did.

Slytherin was the easy way out. He could remain close to Cissy, and would earn his mother's approval. He was a Black, and there could be no better place for him.

" I'd interrupt you there, Mr. Black. You are not hardworking, and you do have intelligence, but not the all consuming desire for knowledge. Neither Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would suit you. You do have traces of the famed Black arrogance, and would not shy away from a challenge. You could thrive in Gryffindor too. Your choice Mr. Black- Gryffindor or Slytherin "

" So, it all comes down to this. " thought Sirius. Gryffindor had not been a choice when he had boarded the train, but as a Black, he had been trained to read people, and could say that James Potter would be sorted into the house of the Lions. This instant, split second decision, would determine the course of his life. He was about to say Slytherin, when he was reminded of Bellatrix's words to his mother.

" He is a Black, and will go into Slytherin, Aunt Walburga "

But Blacks were capable of springing surprises too. He looked around at the staff members- there was a old man with twinkling eyes, a man whose moustache resembled that of a creature that muggles called a walrus, the lady who had announced his name, as well as several others. Some of them were looking at him oddly, but it did seem that a vast majority expected him to be sorted into the serpent house.

The greasy boy he had seen with the red haired Muggle looked Slytherin material. Avery, Rosier, Wilkes and Mulciber would most likely be his companions there. He hadn't liked them too much in his childhood, and doubted that his feelings had changed much.

Sirius Black loved giving shocks. Maybe he could restore Bella back to the old girl that she was, if he was sorted elsewhere.

It was his choice- there had been two people sorted before him, and one had gone into Ravenclaw, while the other had been proclaimed a Hufflepuff. He could be the first Gryffindor or the first Slytherin of the lot.

This was it.

Minerva McGonagall watched as the boy with wavy hair took a deep breath and muttered something to the hat. His sorting had taken longer than either of his parents', and she reminded herself that Orion and Walburga Black were not on top of her '' friends '' list. Still, he was with Charlus Potter's son when the children had walked into the Hall. But was that a one time friendship, or the start of something bigger ? Charlus' son was a pureblood after all. Her thoughts were interrupted when the Hat screamed at the top of its voice.

" Gryffindor "

The boy hid his emotions well as he walked to the Gryffindor table, but Minerva was too stunned to think. Several people in the Slytherin table had similar reactions, completely forgetting that their faces weren't supposed to be read so easily. Slughorn was looking disappointed. Maybe she would come to like the Black heir. She looked down the paper in her hand, and read the next name.

" Corrigan, Charles ".

As for Sirius, he was still wondering whether he made the right decision. Cissy was looking crestfallen- as if she feared that his sorting would split the family. Putting away the fact that his mother would reprimand him at Christmas, he took a chair at the Gryffindor table, and waited for James Potter's sorting to begin.