Mischief Managed

2: The Feast (EDITED)

                       I supposed I gravitated towards you and James because somehow, despite your utter pigheadedness, you both were...alive. Alive, not just in the literal sense, but in the way you lived- the two of you seemed to have no fear, not of anyone or anything, and I wanted that for myself too.

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

James, Sirius, and I found ourselves immersed in the misshapen line of first years that was crowded between the House tables. 

My stomach was churning itself into tight, stress-ridden knots as I waited for my name to be called. I didn't want to be separated from my new friends, and I cringed at the thought of their faces if I were to be sorted into Slytherin. My eyes skipped to their table, draped in green and silver.

The Slytherins' watched the line of first years with sharp, calculative stares. I couldn't help but feel like they knew something I didn't. 

To my right, the Ravenclaws sat patiently at their table, scanning the first years as they observed our behavior, but in a way that was simply curious, not unsettling. Close to the windows, the yellow-and-black Hufflepuff table overflowed with cheery conversations. A few of the Hufflepuffs occasionally glanced at the first years and offered kind, encouraging smiles. 

James nudged my shoulder, and I followed his gaze down the Gryffindor table. Dressed in their scarlet-and-gold robes, Gryffindors' voices carried across the Hall as they joked with each other or cheered on their siblings standing in line for the Sorting. 

I looked back at James and he grinned.

"Isn't all this wicked?" he said. He twisted his head to look at the ceiling. "I mean, just look..."

I tilted my head back and gasped. Carved lines of stone arched towards the sky, creating a high, vaulted ceiling that was filled sparkling stars and a hazy, thin black veil that created the illusion of a night sky.

My head snapped back towards the front of the hall when a thin woman with her hair twisted into a tight bun began reading out names in a clear voice that boomed across the Hall. Despite the sharpness of her voice, I could barely register her words through my body's own nervous tingle. I felt Sirius shiver as she called out, "Black, Sirius!"

Impulsively, I grabbed his arm. He looked back at me, his eyes wide, and I said, "Don't worry, Sirius."

He grimaced and strode stiffly towards the stool next to her. I glanced over at James. He seemed nearly as apprehensive as Sirius was; he was sinking his teeth into his lip over and over as he watched Sirius walk towards the stool.

Sirius grabbed the Hat and pulled it over his head. Before it had rested on his head for a full second, the Hat shouted, "Gryffindor!"

Sirius's mouth fell open with shock, but his lips quickly spread into a wide, thrilled grin as the entire Gryffindor table leapt to their feet in applause. James was nearly hopping with excitement.

Next to me, a Ravenclaw girl whispered, "A Black? In Gryffindor?"

I thought back to what Sirius had said on the train- that his whole family had been in Slytherin. I smiled. Now he really had broken the tradition.

The Gryffindors' cheers were interrupted when the strict-faced woman called out, "Convelo, Brianna." My palms broke out in a nervous sweat as my name bounced eerily off the towering stone walls.

James nudged me forward. I tried to mask my apprehensiveness by evening out my stride, and I took a deep breath before grasping the Sorting Hat. I sat on the stool, my knees shaking, and placed the hat hesitantly above my head. I almost jumped when I heard its raspy voice.