No, I am not JK Rowling, so no, I don't own Harry Potter, his friends, or his teachers.

Chapter Nine

Harry and James made it to King's Cross with only moments to spare. The two said a quick goodbye to James' parents and ran for it, just barely making it onto the train before it started to move. They dragged their trunks down the corridor, looking into each compartment they passed for the rest of their friends.

They got a bit of a surprise, however, when they looked into one of the compartments. Inside was Narcissa and Bellatrix Black, Lucius Malfoy, Rabastian Lestrange, Severus Snape, and…

"What is Sirius doing in there with those lunatics?" James whispered to Harry.

Harry looked closer. The boy looked almost identical to their friend except the eyes. His silver-grey eyes were cold.

"That's not him. Look at his eyes. It must be his brother – didn't he say his brother would be coming this year?"

"Oh yeah. That's Regulus, all right. I've seen his picture before. He looks just as dark as the rest of the family. Let's go."

The two Potters continued down the hallway. They found their friends at the end of the train, and entered. The three were playing exploding snap and, by the looks of it, Peter was losing badly. But it wasn't the soot covering Peter Pettigrew's head and torso that caught Harry's eye – it was the large bruise over Sirius' left eye.

"Oi, Siri, what the hell happened to your face?" James said, frowning at his friend.

Sirius' face which, seconds before, had been shining with amusement as the cards exploded again into Peter's face, fell. He looked out the window, a sad look on his face.

"It's nothing a quick spell won't fix once we're at school."

Remus shot James a look which said plainly 'Let him be.' James ignored the look.

"That doesn't say who decided your face was in need of some color. What happened?"

"Look, Jamie, forget it."

"Sirius. Tell me."

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing, Siri. Someone hit you. Whoever it was, you can tell –"

"FORGET IT!" Sirius shouted. "Just forget it! It doesn't matter, and even if it did, there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Sirius, calm down."

Remus' quiet voice was the last straw for Sirius. A single tear fell from the Black heir's eye, and he glared back out the window, as though it was the cause for all of his problems.

"I'm not good enough to be a Black. That's all I heard for the past three months." He sniffed. "I'm a disgrace, a blood traitor, and…" he broke off.

"And?" Remus prompted gently.

"And if I do one more thing which upsets them, I'll be disowned."

James sat down beside his best friend. "They wouldn't disown you, mate. Not for being a Gryffindor."

Sirius laughed humorlessly. "Wouldn't they? You obviously don't know my mother and the rest of them. They disown people who don't follow what the rest are doing. And one of those things has always been being a Slytherin. I'm the first Black in eight generations to not be a Slytherin, and the first Gryffindor for fifteen."

"How the hell do you know what house fifteen generations worth of Blacks went into?"

"She had me copy the entire family tree one hundred times, plus the birth and death years, accomplishments, and House of each person every time. It was my punishment for being a disgrace to the Black name."

"Merlin's pants, Sirius. That's insane!"

"And I only did it ninety-seven times. So she asked Bellatrix to practice a few spells on me. Bella was all too pleased to do it, too. Thus the black eye."

The group processed this information in silence.

Upon arriving at Hogwarts, the five friends took their seats in the Great Hall to wait for the sorting to begin. Sirius was glaring fixedly at his empty plate, but no one commented this time. They knew he was dreading his brother's sorting; undoubtedly, he would be a Slytherin, just like the rest of the Blacks.

Finally, the first years were brought inside by Professor McGonagall. They were lined up at the front, near the Sorting Hat. Quite a few of them jumped as the Hat began to sing.

"From long ago, until today,

The same things I have said,

I've spoken of my findings and

Of things inside your head.

You've nothing hidden in your mind

That I can't find or see,

So once I sit atop your skull,

I'll say where you should be.

For the most daring of all souls,

In Gryffindor you'll be,

For what's a lion without nerve,

Courage, and gallantry.

For those for whom knowledge is strength,

You'll wear the eagle's sign;

For Ravenclaws, intelligence

Wins each and every time.

For traits of fairness and justice,

The badger calls to you;

For loyal Hufflepuffs always

To their friends will be true.

For the astute and the cunning,

The snake beckons you close;

For Slytherins will make it through,

Despite who may oppose.

So try me on, now don't be shy,

I know where you should be;

I've wrongly placed not one to date,

So you can trust in me."

The hall broke out in applause as the hat completed its song. And the sorting began.

"Allen, Zachary," McGonagall called out, and the first of the group was made a Ravenclaw.

"Black, Regulus." Sirius' head shot up as his little brother stepped forward. The hat barely touched his head when, "Slytherin!" Regulus looked toward his brother and smirked, walking over to his cousins and sitting between Narcissa and Bellatrix Black. Sirius laid his head down on the table.

The next few names passed in a blur for a while, until Harry heard, "McMillan, Alice." When Harry saw the dark-haired girl that stumbled forward, he blinked. If the girl had been a boy, she could have easily been Neville Longbottom. She was definitely his mother.

Finally, the last student, "Yaxley, Therman," was made a Slytherin, and the sorting was ended. The feast appeared in front of them, much to the shock of the first years.

Everyone dug into the meal. Everyone, except Sirius, who refused to even lift his head from the table.

"Siri, eat. There's nothing you could've done to make him a Gryffindor."

"He's my brother," Sirius said softly. "He's my little brother, and I can't protect him anymore. Now he's one of them."

James piled food onto his friend's plate and nudged him. "Eat."

Sirius picked up his fork, but didn't touch the food.

That night, Sirius didn't sleep for a single second.

I'm so sorry for the ridiculously long delay in writing this. The hiatus is still in effect, but I'll do my best to update when I can. Hope you can all forgive me. :)

It was brought to my attention that Molly Prewett (Weasley) should have graduated by now, so I removed her. But I definitely wanted Harry to recognize someone, and as Alice being a year under them could fit with canon, I have added her. Thank you to whoever the guest was who pointed that out.

I'm still looking for prank ideas. Hint Hint. Big thanks to craizypet, Mr Rumplestiltskin Gold, and Princess Aziza, I'll use your pranks very soon. Keep an eye out, never know when I'll throw them in :)