'Sirius'ly Black

Victoria Ingots family was always put in Gryffindor, always. Her brother, her cousins, aunts and uncles, and her parents; all Gryffindors. Not that that was a bad thing, most young witches and wizards would give their wand arm to be put in Gryffindor.

Victoria wanted to break the habit, so to speak. She longed to be in Slytherin just to be different. She was tired of her relatives going on and on about what an honor it was to be in the Great Gryffindor House.

They all encouraged, no expected, the children who were going to start their first year at Hogwarts to be in the house of the brave and courageous.

It was Victoria's first year and although she hadn't confided her secret wish with any of her family, she felt she might somehow regret it later on. But all in all it was the Sorting Hat that would choose, not her.

She settled into her seat in the cramped compartment holding all the Ingot family children. Perkins and Lucy, the eldest Ingot cousins,  were telling Regulas and Victoria how wonderful Gryffindor was. Victoria was only half listening as she stared out the window.

"...Slytherin House is the lowest of the low. I pity anyone who gets put into it!" Perkins said boldly jolting Victoria back from her daydream. That comment had made her angry, so angry in fact that her fists clenched so tight they turned white.

She could bare her fury silently no longer and shouted: "Slytherin House is the best bloody house there is! You're just jealous you aren't going to be in it!" Perkins looked as though someone had punched him in the nose. So did everyone else in the compartment.

Then they all started laughing.

"You must be kidding Victoria," Lucy chuckled.

"Yes, why would you say that if you weren't kidding?" Regulas piped up.

"Because," Victoria bellowed. "Because I want to be put in Slytherin House!"

The compartment got deathly silent as if a dementor had sucked everyone's  souls out. Victoria took this as her chance. She picked up her satchel which held her school robes, which unfortunately had the Gryffindor crest stitched unto them, and left. She made sure to slam the compartment door as hard as she possibly could.

Where would she sit now? She didn't know anyone else who she could sit by. I guess I'll just sit in a compartment and hope the people in it are nice, she thought as she struggled past a few giggling Hufflepuff girls whispering in the hallway. The kindly old witch who pushed the snack cart was just a ways ahead.

Victoria decided to buy a few treats with the money her parents had given her to spend and share it with the people in her future compartment. They might be more friendly then.

"Excuse me," she tapped the witch's shoulder. "Can I have some chocolate frogs and three jugs of pumpkin juice?" Chocolate frogs were her absolute favorite.

"Surely for a sweet little witch like yourself," Victoria handed her some Galleons and shoved the munchies into her satchel.

Splendid, now she just had to find a nice, not crowded, compartment. Victoria stuck her ear close to each compartment door, listening.

"...And Professor Flitwick was all like.." Okay not that one.

"Quidditch will be difficult this year..." She wasn't really into sports.

Inside the next one she heard a bunch more giggling girls whispering about guys. Definetly not that compartment.

She walked along listening to compartment after compartment. When she was about ready to give up hope she heard, "All my family's been in Slytherin." Ah, this person might be enjoyable to hang out with

"And I thought you were alright," came a teasing reply. Victoria nervously opened the compartment door revealing two boys about her age, one had shoulder length wavy brown hair and dark eyes. The other had jet black hair and blue eyes.

They both turned when they heard Victoria.

"Hi," she squeaked. "May I sit here? I brought chocolate frogs and pumpkin juice."

"Sure," the one with black hair replied and motioned towards the seat next to himself. The one with brown hair nodded in agreement.

"I'm James Potter, by the way," he held out his hand and Victoria politely shook it. "And that's Sirius Black. Now where are those chocolate frogs. It's been ages since I've ate one." He greedily rubbed his hands together.

She handed James a chocolate frog and a jug of pumpkin juice and did the same for Sirius. Victoria was bugged by the fact that Sirius haden't said a word to her since she had stepped foot into the compartment.

"So, tell us about yourself," James said through a mouthful of chocolate frog.

"Um, there isn't much to tell actually," she replied honestly. "I come from a family of Gryffindors, who expect everyone in my family to be-"

"Woah, woah, woah," James put his hands up to Victoria's lips. "I meant your name, not your autobiography!" They all laughed, even Sirius.

"I'm Victoria Ingot," She managed to say after she stopped laughing.

"Nice name," Sirius piped in. Victoria was sure this was his desperate attempt to make a comment. She pushed a strand of honey blonde hair out of her eyes determining whether to ask the two boys what house they wanted to be put in or not.

James beat her to it: "And what house do you want to be in?" Should she say Gryffindor to win over her new friends or say Slytherin and be shunned out of the compartment. You see, she had already made the hypothesis that James wanted to be in Gryffindor. She wasn't sure about Sirius yet though.

"I don't know," she shrugged and smiled her best you'll-never-find-out smile. "How about you?"

"Gryffindor," James puffed out his chest to try and look heroic.

"And you?" I turned toward Sirius, suprising him.

"My whole family has been put into Slytherin, I'd like to be in Gryffindor for a change," he bowed his head in shame. Wow, am I making the right decision here? Victoria wondered, but was cut short by the sound of people running down the hallway, out of the train.

"Well, I hope you're in Gryffindor. We can all hang out together then," James smiled at her and walked out of the compartment.

Sirius got up and said, "I do, too." before strutting out behind James.

Well, the Sorting Hat will decide, Victoiria thought glumly and headed off the train.