The Sorting

A/N First of all this is not my story, this story belongs to Lakritze but I have taken the liberty of translating the story into English as I have found none available.

Original German Version: s/6989729/2/Sirius-Black-und-das-Geheimnis-der-Peitschenden-Weide

I now have Lakritze's permission to continue the translation of this story so I am glad to say I will be updating this most Sundays!

DISCLAIMER: I own neither this story nor the world/characters.

They gathered punctually at quarter to eleven in the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place. Sirius was wearing his brand new school uniform, beside him stood a heavy suitcase and a cage in which sat a large owl with sparkling yellow eyes. In his pocket Sirius felt the wand he had gotten for his eleventh birthday.

"Ready?" asked Orion Black as he put his hand on Sirius 'shoulder, while his wife gripped Regulus. There was black around him, the air was squeezed from his lungs -.. Then suddenly they all stood together on Platform 9 ¾. The sun was shining and deposited next to them was the Hogwarts Express.

Sirius could feel a pleasant excitement rise in him. At last it was time. Finally, he would go to Hogwarts, he would learn magic properly, he would get to know other children and at last he would be able to do and say what he wanted. He'd had enough of the strict rules and the stiff formality of Grimmauld Place.

As for school, he would not have to worry, learning would not be difficult for him; he was a Black, he would be the best. He would come in the common room and go as he pleased, because he was a Black. The other students would vie for his attention, because he was a Black. He would explore the whole castle and he would find all the secret passages and explore every secret, because he was a Black and Black always reached what he set himself.

"Sirius." His father's voice brought him out of the idea. "You know what I expect of you."

Sirius nodded.

"Yes, Father."

"Good." Orion Black smiled. "I'm counting on you."

"Behave yourself and do good on our behalf!" Walburga Black added sharply. They probably still thought of Aunt Druellas smoldering cloak.

"Ah, there are the Malfoys ..."

She forgot Sirius and welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy as they escorted Lucius to the train.

"So, now you finally come to Hogwarts", he said to Sirius. He nodded.

"Slytherin'll like it. With us you will appreciate the value of the pure blood. However, one would expect a certain attitude ... ... "

He raised an eyebrow suggestively. Sirius preferring to pretend he did not know what Malfoy had said.

Then Druella and Cygnus arrived with Andromeda and Narcissa and the 16-year-old gave the blonde girl all his attention.

Regulus tugged on Sirius' sleeve.

"Hm?"

"You'll write me, Sirius?" He asked, looking at his brother with wide eyes. Sirius was not much older than Regulus, but in some situations he had a feeling they were much further apart than half years.

"Without you, it will be quite boring at home."

Sirius smiled.

"Of course I'll write to you, Reg."

Then he could say no more, because Walburga Black had grabbed him by the arm and pushed him forward.

"Sirius, Lucius and Narcissa are to take care of you on the train and keep an eye on you at Hogwarts."

Lucius looked anything but enthusiastic, but he brought his face quickly under control.

"It will be my honor to introduce the heirs of the Blacks to Hogwarts," he said gallantly.

Sirius was not thrilled. He had been looking forward to get to know other children and see new things. The prospect of sitting for hours with other offspring of pure-bloodedfamilies in a compartment and to listen to their endless debates about politics and the purity of blood, was anything but breathtaking.

A loud whistle shrilled across the platform.

"You must go," asked Orion Black firmly. "Do us honor, my son."

"Lucius and Narcissa are watching you," Walburga said again. It sounded like a threat. Presumably, it should also be a warning.

Regulus waved. Sirius let Lucius and Narcissa go first and waved back. Then he climbed in and tried to find another compartment.

Sirius was lucky. Although he got on at literally the last moment, he found an empty compartment, he immediately hogged it for himself. A slight feeling of triumph filled him: He had tricked Narcissa and Lucius. He would go to Hogwarts alone, or at least without the spoon-feeding of the older Slytherins.

But his solitude did not last long. The compartment door was opened and a girl came in. First Sirius noticed that she was not wearing a cape. Then he noticed her red hair and striking green eyes. Mudblood.

" Is here still free?" She asked. Her voice was thin.

Sirius' first impulse was to deny the girl and send her out. Immediately it all sunk in, what he had learned at home about Mudbloods. They are different from us, their blood is impure, they have no right to the magic, they endanger the wizarding community, they are inferior, they are stupid, they are bad, they are weak ...

But at the door was this girl and it did not fit into the image that Sirius of Mudbloods. His curiosity prevailed.

"Sit down," he said, just as she was about to leave again. And again he felt this sense of triumph. When Lucius and Narcissa found out ... or his mother ...

The girl sat by the window and looked out. She seemed to no longer see Sirius. His sense of triumph turned into disappointment. She was just as boring as Narcissa.

The train rolled through the countryside and Sirius wondered if it would not have been better to get in touch with the other Slytherins. He could have at least chatted with someone, who would have noticed him and maybe he would learn more about Hogwarts.

Again slid open the compartment door, and a boy came in. He, too, was not wearing a wizards cloak, but for some reason he was vaguely familiar.

"Is here still free?" He asked the girl. Without waiting for an answer, he sat down on the seat in front of Sirius.

"You in first year?" He asked.

"Yes," agreed Sirius, eyeing the boy carefully to him. He had short black hair that stuck out in all directions, and wore glasses. But how he knew him, Sirius still didn't remember.

He was about to ask a question, when the compartment door opened again and a boy with long, greasy shiny, black hair and hooked nose entered. He was wearing his school robes already like Sirius. "Thank God not a mudblood", shot through Sirius' head.

The hooked nose boy noticed neither the other boy nor Sirius –which was quite unusual for him- and sat down to the red-haired girl at the window. The two seemed to know each other, because they immediately began to talk.

The boy with the tousled hair gave the one with a hooked nose a dismissive glance.

"Whos that? Do you know him? "

Sirius shook his head.

"Never seen him before"

"How fortunate that I won't be in a house with him," the boy with the glasses said. Sirius was going to ask him just what house he would be in, but sat up at a sentence between the hooked nose and the red-haired girl,

"You'd better be in Slytherin," the boy with the greasy hair said.

"Slytherin?" Repeated the first year in front of Sirius "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave wouldn't you?" He turned to Sirius.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin" Sirius replied gloomily. "Blimey and I thought you were alright!" The messy haired boy exclaimed shocked.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition." Sirius replied "Where would you go if you had a choice?"

The boy raised an imaginary sword.

" Gryffindor because there govern bravery and courage! Like my dad. "

The hooked nose boy made a soft, derogatory sound .

"You got a problem with that?", The wannabe Gryffindor snapped.

"No," was the hook nose back, but yet he sneered. "If you prefer strength to cunning that is..."

"Well where are you going seeing as you have neither?" Sirius blurted out. He didn't like the greasy haired git for some reason. The boy with the tousled hair roared with laughter. The red-haired girl emerged from her thinking by thewindow and looked contemptuously at him and Sirius, her face red with anger.

"Come on, Severus, we are looking for another compartment," she said. She remembered seeing Sirius with Narcissa and Lucius.

"Oooooh ..."

Sirius and the other boy scoffed at by their haughty Severus walked past the boy, with the tousled hair he tripped him on purpose.

"See ya, Snivellus!" He called after the two retreating, as the compartment door slammed.

"What an idiot," said Sirius. The other laughed.

"Who are you anyway?"

Sirius felt anger climb in him. He had no reason to be ashamed of his name!

"Sirius Black," he replied coolly, "And you?"

"James Potter," admitted the other equally cool back. And suddenly knew Sirius why he had seemed so familiar. James' father worked at the Ministry, he was their head Auror. His picture had been in the Daily Prophet a lot lately, and Orion Black had mentioned him often.

"Blood traitor", slipped out. The Potters were an old wizarding family, old as the Blacks, but they were not as pure-blooded and also placed no value on it. They had their lineage, their pure blood and they betrayed wizarding society.

James' hazel eyes went dark with anger.

"Dark Wizard!" He blurted between gritted teeth. "Get out of this compartment!"

But Sirius could not be easily moved. He was the first in this compartment have been and besides, he was a Black. A Black took no orders.

"I was here first," he growled. "You get lost!"

James stood up. For a moment Sirius thought he was going to pounce on him, but James did nothing.

"I will!" He snapped. "I want nothing to do with a Black" He pronounced the name as a curse word. "Have fun in stinking Slytherin!"

And he slammed the compartment door behind him. Sirius was left alone.

They stood in the small, empty chamber next to the Great Hall, waiting for the sorting to begin. Professor McGonagall spoke about the individual houses, but Sirius was not listening. He knew what house he would be in. Lucius and Narcissa had said they would reserve him a place - they had finally found him yet the Hogwarts Express - but Sirius had neither the desire to face Narcissa's bored, condescending nature nor listen to Lucius' posturing. He had no desire, to later share a dorm with the hooked nose child, or with Mulciber, the clumsy, slow idiot. Maybe he could ally with Rosier, he mused. Although they had never been friends, but at least Rosier was not as big a fool as Mulciber and he played Quidditch.

"The sorting begins," announced Professor McGonagall. "Line up and follow me."

The first-graders did as they were told, and marched in single file through the double doors into the Great Hall. At the Slytherin table Sirius immediately spotted Narcissa and Lucius, and the free space between them. But from the Ravenclaw table Andromeda winked at him and suddenly Sirius felt lighter. He had completely forgotten about his other cousin.

Professor McGonagall placed a chair in front of the first years, then put the Sorting Hat on it. The crack on the brim opened into a mouth and the Sorting Hat began to sing. Again Sirius did not listen. He knew the characteristics of the houses by heart: The clever went to Ravenclaw, loyal and stupid to Hufflepuff, the blood traitors in Gryffindor and the pureblood Slytherin. He wanted to get it over with.

Finally the Sorting Hat finished his song and the students and teachers applauded. Then Professor McGonagall stepped forward. In her hands she held a long roll of parchment. With a loud voice she proclaimed: "When I call you, you will sit on the chair and put on the hat so your house can be determined."

Sirius tried to look as relaxed as possible. He would be one of the first. But before he was on Avery was called and referred to Slytherin. Sirius had forgotten him in his reflections, but it didn't matter as he had never liked Avery.

"Black, Sirius."

Sirius took a deep breath and stepped forward. He was aware that all the pairs of eyes in the Great Hall were directed at him, especially the Slytherins.

He grabbed the hat, sat down on the chair and stuffed the pointy hat over his head.

"Ah, another Black," said a squeaky voice. "Hm, hm, difficult ... courage, courage ... and you also have a certain urge to break the rules ... "

Sirius refused to respond.

"You want to be in Slytherin like your relatives huh? In Slytherin you'd be great, that's for sure, you have talent ... But you also bear doubt in you, yes, yes ... perhaps you prefer ... Gryffindor! "

The name of the Blood traitor house echoed through the Great Hall. Sirius stared into the dark interior of the hat, and waited for the hat continued to speak, but nothing came. So it wasn't a joke.

Sirius put down the Sorting Hat and automatically moved towards the Gryffindor table. It was completely silent in the Great Hall. All eyes were on Sirius and all heads turned to him Gryffindor table was not applause as per usual. Then suddenly the murmuring and hissing started: "A Black in Gryffindor ... the Black heritage ... the hat must have made a mistake ... he belongs in Slytherin ..."

Professor McGonagall unaffected raised the parchment and read the next name: ". Evans, Lily"

The red-haired girl ran forward. Sirius sat down on an empty seat. Nobody saw him and nobody greeted him. All eyes turned away from him and went straight back to his direction when they believed he was not looking.

The remaining few that Sirius knew were fine. Mulciber and Rosier were Slytherins, as he had thought, Potter came to the Gryffindor as he had wished. Severus Snape was a Slytherin.

Andromeda seemed the only person in the Great Hall that was not of the opinion a Black must inevitably come to Slytherin. At banquets she smiled at him and hinted that they would be talking in the next few days.

Sirius was somewhat lighter at heart. In fact, he was not the first Black, who had not landed in Slytherin. Andromeda was also a Black, and she was in Ravenclaw. But not in Gryffindor. Not in the house of Blood traitors.

After the food was on Dumbledore and cleared his throat.

"Before you go to your beds, I will say a few words: The first years should be aware that it is strictly forbidden to enter the forest on our lands. On behalf of Mr. Filch, the caretaker, I should like to remind you that the magic is forbidden in the corridors during the breaks. The Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week and are Madam Hooch's responsibility. Please turn up to them, if you're interested. In addition, there is a change in the staff: Professor Garth is going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. And finally I want to urgently advise you against going to the pasture at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "He paused, so that they had time to absorb the message, then cried in a cheerful voice:" And now we shall sing the school song before you go to your well-earned rest! Each sing to his or her favorite tune! Let's go! "

Sirius did not sing. He leaned back in his chair and was just happy that this day was finally over. Then he realized that he would have to share a dorm with Potter, and his spirits sank again. He really did have bad luck.