Chapter 9: A Young Boy and a Broken Home
August 31, 1971. The atmosphere at the dinner table of 12 Grimmauld Place was heavy.
Tomorrow, Sirius would leave for Hogwarts. Walburga had been preparing for a week.
"Remember," she said for the tenth time, "you represent the Black family. Once on the train, sit in the Slytherin compartment. Don't associate with those—"
Sirius's voice was quiet. "I won't be going to Slytherin."
Walburga's knife and fork froze in midair. "What did you say?"
"I won't be going to Slytherin." Sirius repeated, eyes fixed on the rack of lamb on his plate. "I'll be in Gryffindor."
Dead silence fell over the table.
Even the ancestral portraits on the wall stopped their murmuring. Phineas Nigellus's eyes bulged from within his frame, his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water.
Orion slowly set down his wine glass. "The Sorting Hat takes a student's wishes into account, but it also considers bloodline and character. The Blacks have been in Slytherin for five hundred years."