The Daughter of Sirius Black

Chapter 3

Hogwarts had been bigger than she could've ever imagined.

After bidding goodbye to Molly and Arthur, Leona had shared a compartment on the train with the twins, naturally, Percy having gone off to find his friends. Friends the trio refused to believe he had until they saw them.

After then finding a large man with a scraggly beard calling over the first years, Leona, Fred and George sat in a magical self-moving wooden boat, George holding the lantern as they approached the castle from the lake.

Sitting atop the cliff overlooking the lake, with every window lit, the Hogwarts castle looked gargantuan.

They'd then proceeded towards the large double doors that led to the Great Hall, led by an older witch with dark green robes and a pointy black witch hat on.

And when the doors opened, it had been a sight.

The hall seemed to go on forever.

Candles floated high in the air, as four long tables stretched the length of the hall, another table horizontally placed at the end where all the professors sat, the Headmaster, Dumbledore, on a gold throne in the centre.

A wooden stool had then been placed on the dais in front of the professor's table, an old looking hat on top, as the woman in green opened a long roll of parchment and began to read names.

One by one the first years from the group were sorted into their houses, most to Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, a few to Gryffindor and fewer to Slytherin.

The twins had gone one after the other, the Sorting Hat not happy about more Weasley's at Hogwarts, especially two in the same year, something that made both boys grin as they were both placed in Gryffindor.

Leona hadn't really thought about which house fitted her best.

She really didn't want to be separated from the twins as she didn't know anyone here and everyone would know of her father.

But she wanted to be put in the house that fit her personality best.

Was she smart?

Was she brave?

Was she dedicated?

Or was she ambitious?

She saw parts of herself in all four houses, but she could only be placed in one.

So, she would leave it up to the Sorting Hat.

"Rosalee Black."

Her name echoed across the hall that was silent before bursting into a symphony of hushed whispers as Leona, self-consciously made her way to the stool.

"SILENCE!" boomed the voice of Dumbledore, as the students were startled into submission and the woman in green placed the hat on her head.

"A Black, eh? Haven't had one of you in a while, let's see. Resourceful, smart, but mischievous. A sense of adventure, so like the Black before you. Curiosity. You seek answers to your past and have the ambition to acquire them. There's talent in you, power as well. A difficult choice, indeed."

The entire time the hat spoke, Leona's hand stayed clenched to the sides of the stool as her heart raced and then she met the twin's eyes as they sat at the Gryffindor table, giving her looks of reassurance as they saw her nerves.

And she held her breath as she awaited the hat's decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Leona had a small smile on her face as the hat was taken off her head.

Her father's house.

Her best friends' house.

But the smile faded as she saw no one clapping and cheering for her as had been done for every other first-year.

Why would there be with who her father is?

But soon changed as Fred and George stood on the empty table and cheered at the top of their lungs for her, Fred setting off some of the firework firecrackers they'd developed, Whiz-bangs was the name they were currently workshopping.

And as she made her way over, a beaming smile on her face, others started clapping.

Percy first, and then joined by the rest of the house as Leona made her way to the twins, the teacher's smiling at the trio, save for a man dressed in black, as they watched Leona hug them before sitting down and the next name was called.

Gryffindor.

Gryffindor felt good. It felt right. It felt closer to her father. It already felt like a second home.