At Face Value - Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 1

Janus held tightly to his hand as she boarded the train, only letting go when she absolutely had to. Chester was finding her increasingly annoying as she gripped his hand with all her might. Their mother had insisted one of the three brothers watch her and keep her company. He didn't plan on spending the whole train ride with his little sister on his side. He shook her off when he found his friends in a compartment of the train then looked for another brother to leave her with.

He peered into the window, one of the people inside it waved him in. He waved back quickly before stepping out the way of the glass window. He didn't want them to see his baby sister clinging to him with a sad look in her eyes. That sort of thing was especially detrimental to a teenage boy's reputation.

Chester was an especially sentimental person, and even in her young age his sister knew that. That was why she clung to him the way she did, because she knew he didn't have the heart to let go. Bach would have shaken her off and stepped into the compartment without another word.

"You take her," Chester said desperately when his brother passed. Plutus, their brother, shook his head and raised his hands up in surrender. He tried to squeeze past in the small hallway, but Janus knew better. She jumped off Chester and leaped at her other brother, taking his pant leg with one hand and holding her trunk with the other.

Chester was going to leave her, but Janus wasn't about to be left alone. Chester breathed a sigh of relief and quickly opened the compartment door, entered it, and closed it again. He gave Plutus a cheery smile and a wave from behind the glass.

Plutus scoffed and dragged Janus along, quickly accepting his job as her caretaker. He walked faster than Chester, even though he was shorter. His eyes went from left to right frantically, scanning through each compartment window to find one that was empty then eventually throwing her into one.

She bounced pleasantly onto the plush seat. He sat across from her with a huff and crossed his arms. He stared out the window to the unmoving platform. Their parents were already gone. They had been saying goodbye to their children at platform 9 3/4 for seven years, and it was just another task in their busy lives. After all, they had three more children still at home waiting.

While Plutus sat unmoving on his seat, Janus was fidgeting and shuffling to get herself settled and comfortable. Her trunk sat on the floor as she was too short to reach the grates above. He didn't notice it was there, strewn at his feet. In a house of thirteen people, messes happened and Plutus got used to them easily.

Janus knew to stay quiet. If she made too much of a ruckus, her brother would leave. The last thing she wanted was to be alone. She didn't dare speak until the train started moving. He had loosened and slouched back into the leather seat.

"What house do you think I'll get into?" She said quietly.

He flinched at the sound of her voice, ready to snap at her to be quiet. He stopped himself and took a deep breath. She waited patiently and didn't press. She didn't want to set off his short temper.

"Slytherin," He said with a sly smile.

"You're just saying that because Bach says I'll get into Ravenclaw."

"Exactly," He leaned forward and set his hands on his knees. "What I would give to prove Bach wrong."

"But Bach is always right. He was right when Chester got sorted, and you too."

Plutus tensed up again. "Bach is just a know-it-all. He's not all that." He went back to looking out the window and Janus knew she'd done wrong.

She couldn't figure out what she'd done wrong though. She truly believed Bach would always be right, and she hoped he was right about her sorting too. She wanted to be in Ravenclaw like her big brother, like her mother. She wouldn't know what to do with herself otherwise. None of the other houses suited her, at least that's how she saw it.