[But his voice is a bit quieter; it's clear that amongst the other kids, he's losing his prior boldness, returning to his prior shy formality. He treads on someone's toe, nearly whispers an I do beg your pardon; he hurries forward at once, tries to draw in as close as possible to Sirius.
The boats are ahead; the groundskeeper is bellowing at the first years, first years that way - and already the others are filing onto the boats.]
[Sirius shoves through the other students, elbowing past first years and seventh years alike, without a care for offending anyone. A few of them snap at him, but he ignores it. His self-confidence is only bolstered by his excitement--but stop at the end of the platform, where the rest of the first years are gathering, and turns to look back for Miles.]
C'mere!
[James Potter is in the boat just ahead, and he shouts a greeting at Sirius--he waves back, and the two boys in the boat with James look at him--one pale and peaky and small, the other round-faced and earnest--but Sirius is looking back for Miles again.]
[And Miles makes his way through the crowd as best he can, apologizing when he steps on feet. He feels small, in comparison to everyone, and he feels sort of scared, like he did when he first got the letter. It's overwhelming out here, and dark. On the train, it had just been sitting and waiting, and then it had been Sirius distracting him, but now there's such chaos and noise, with everyone chattering and shouting and laughing...
He finally makes it to where Sirius is climbing in. The boat looks full, and so he says, shy and nervous - ]
If there's not room, I can -
[But someone jostles him from behind, bumping him forward; it looks like he's taking a step forward, and so it would be embarrassing to step back again, and so he just sort of climbs in awkwardly. And, a little bit mumbly, he introduces himself to the other boys - ]
[Their boat is rather full now, but Sirius is pleased with that. He shoves over, nearly sitting on James' leg--but James doesn't look as if he particuarly cares either.
I'm James, he says, cheerfully, and offers his hand. This is Peter Pettigrew, and that's Remus Lupin--]
And James is the one I was telling you about.
[Sirius beams at Miles, pleased at this development. Their boat shoves off from the pier, joining the small fleet that the rest of the boats are slowly forming, gliding noiselessly across the dark water.]
Miles and I have just played a really brilliant trick.
[But he does perk up again, more than a little bit, especially when James leans forward with his eyes just about sparkling behind his glasses. And so Miles looks over, his shyness receding slightly as he sticks out his leg as best he can in the cramped boat.]
I don't know if you can see it in the dark, but -
[He lifts up his pant leg to reveal his gruesome boils.]
[All three boys lean forward to examine it--James, eagerly, Peter with a similar eagerness--Remus is a little more cautious, but still interested--and all three make disgusted noises, with varying levels of admiration.
What is that! James looks up at Miles, grinning, the most pleased out of all of them--save, of course, for Sirius.]
A dreadful diseases that's incredibly catching to stuck-up pricks.
Rosier was being a prat to me. Because my parents are...muggles.
[He's long since begun to understand - from Rosier, from the way that Sirius acts - that this is a significant thing, to have muggles as parents. So he watches, trying not to reveal how he's watching, to see James' and Peter's and Remus' faces when he says that.]
So we got revenge on him. He shoved me over and made me injure my leg, and Sirius gave me boils trying to fix it, so we, you know. Pretended it was some monstrous, nameless, fatal disease.
[Peter's eyes round a little at the reveal of Miles' parentage--James blinks, but nods, untroubled--only Remus shows little to no reaction at all, though his face takes on a cast of sympathy for a brief second.
You gave him boils? he says to Sirius, dubiously, and Sirius snorts and folds his arms over his chest, totally cool and casual.]
Yeah, but it worked out all right in the end. Rosier was nearly crying.
[James and Peter laugh at that, and even Remus has to smile, a little.]
He's not going to talk to a muggle-born for ages. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes himself to the hospital wing. It was brilliant, Miles was all over him, saying all sorts of mad things.
[Which makes both James and Peter grin broadly in approval, and James prompts, Like what - ]
Oh, like that it was...necrotizing fasciitis. I don't think he even knew what that was, but the name sounds so scary that he just up and ran away. And of course I gasped and asked him for help, as horribly as I could, and he ran right away, so if he starts trying to make trouble then I'll certainly be telling everyone what a coward he is. Which ought to put one in his eye, I think, even for those who'd be okay with him being a complete prig.
[He grins, shyness completely forgotten by now. And he says to Remus:]
And my leg is fine. The boils are completely painless, and I expect they'll clear up quite nicely with the help of the school nurse.
I don't...want to force him to drop out, that would be terrible...
[But he says that with less conviction than he might normally have, because it's good, having James look at him like he's some sort of prankster-hero, and more than that having Sirius' arm about his shoulders. So a moment after, he shakes his head, and then nods - ]
But it's also known as flesh-eating bacteria. It's nasty stuff. I wonder if we could convince him it lives in the showers -
[But he's cut short by the boat suddenly starting to move. It's not choppy, for all that the lake is; it glides smoothly over the waters, and Miles turns wide, awe-struck eyes up at the castle ahead of them.]
[Attention spans are brief and fickle things, and as soon as the boat starts moving, all eyes go forward--focusing on the castle. James exclaims loudly and Peter is grinning and Remus is smiling as well, faint and awed--
And Sirius stares up at the castle with a tight knot in his chest. This is it. There is something about this that feels right, as if he's just come home, as if he was always meant to be here but has been away for so long. It's almost familiar. Things will be different here, he can feel it already.
[He knows he ought to provide a witty comment that'll impress Sirius - and the others, too, because they seem nice, Peter just seems so kind-hearted and James so funny and vital and Remus so compassionate, but Sirius was his first friend and they've decided to be partners in hunting down Dark wizards in the future and so it's him Miles wants to impress most. He could say something like Well you've not even seen it yourself, or Not too close then it just looks like a brick, or something, but instead all he can do is nod, awe-struck, and confess:]
It's amazing. It's so amazing.
[And everyone's quiet for the boat ride over, really, too focused on thoughts of what's ahead - the castle, the school year, a new life, magic, and that's most astonishing of all - and so there's a sort of hush to the whole proceedings, a mysterious sort of serenity. There's just the sound of the boats lapping smoothly though the water, and the feeling of something unformed and new within them and around them.]
[The awe is better than any silencing spell--but eventually, the boats hit the dock on the other end, with a dull thud, and that as good as breaks it. Suddenly everyone is moving, murmuring to each other--still hushed, as if wary, but excited, too, that excitement is buzzing in the air.
Sirius is first out of their boat, heedless of the water that splashes at the bottom of his robes. He pushes to the head of the bunched queue of other children, expectant that his new friends will follow. He doesn't even look around for them.]
[And they do fall in behind him, all four of them - James leading the pack, coming in to step in right beside Sirius, the other three half a step behind. They're ushered up the steps, into the castle - Miles keeps nearly falling behind, swinging awed, wide eyes on everything which is so strange and inexplicable and exciting, paintings moving and strange and shadowy corners and the air heavy with the smell of old books, pleasant and musty. He doesn't see Rosier again; that's good. He does see a few others who look as astonished as he is, who point and whisper; he resolves to be a little bit cooler than they are, and even though he stares in stunned amazement he does keep his sheer astonishment quiet.
They're led into an astonishing hall, a hall showing above a great sky dotted with stars and luminescent clouds. Miles sees the hat before them, and knows this is what Sirius was talking about. And for a moment, doubt and fear grip him - what if he and Sirius are sorted into different houses - he doesn't care about these others yet, not as much, but he doesn't...want to be by himself.
(But it doesn't matter. Even if they end up separate, they'll still be friends; Sirius all but promised that.)]
[Sirius has eyes only for the Sorting Hat. He knows James is there as well, and Peter and Remus and Miles--and the Great Hall is full of faces that he knows, cousins, people he's seen at holidays and parties and crossed paths with in Diagon Alley, everyone with their respective parents, staring silent and round-eyed at one another. Pureblood society. Sirius dreads it, does not want the Malfoy heir to clap him on the shoulder the way he always does, like they're friends or like they even know one another.
Black is right at the top of the alphabet, so once the speeches are done--he doesn't hear a word of them, he's staring at that hat--it only takes a few moments for his name to be called. Black, Sirius! and James is elbowing him forward, beaming, and Sirius is no coward, but he feels a twist of misgiving deep in his stomach as he steps up that first stair. None of it shows in his face--he's cool and calm and collected, for all intents and purposes--and he climbs on the stool and lets that hat be placed on his head.
For Sirius, it's an intense minute. But only a minute, maybe half a minute, if someone were honestly timing it--and then the hat shouts, GRYFFINDOR, and Sirius' eyes spring open, staring in shock out at the Great Hall, his hands clenched on the seat of the stool.]
[Miles watches Sirius. He sees the utter shock in the other boy's face, and he's pretty certain he knows why. He's naive to all the stuff here, but he's not stupid; he saw the way Rosier (sitting far back at the Slytherin table, hair still mussed) had treated Sirius, and he'd seen the way that the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had stopped watching the proceedings as soon as they'd heard Sirius' name, how the Slytherins alone had been still intent on the Sorting. And he hears, now, the utter silence before the applause starts to trickle in, mixed with sheer confused whispers.
Miles doesn't know exactly why it is that they'd all thought Sirius would go to Slytherin. He doesn't know whether it has something to do with Sirius himself or some family expectation, maybe. He does know, though, that James, beside him, is starting to clap and holler, with a volume that more than matches the noise coming from the rest of the hall, and Miles joins in, and Remus, and Peter, and then the applause from the Gryffindors starts to seem more genuine, with real cheers mixed in with the clapping.
The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs look confused more than anything. The Slytherins, meanwhile, are whispering to one another; a few of them look outright venomous. But the applause is consistent, and James calls out, Go on - ]
[Sirius looks at the Slytherin table first, reading the shock and outrage and confusion--but the Gryffindors are clapping, James is shouting at him, and he has to look at them--can't avoid it--still dazed, he climbs down off of the stool, and James pats him heartily on the back, pounding on him as he passes by to the long table draped in red and gold. Knew you could do it, James shouts, well done, and the noise is dying down a little, but there's still a persistent murmur from the Slytherin table. Or maybe that's only in Sirius' imagination.
He looks at Miles as he passes by, his face a little pale, but he manages a smile for him.]
Gryffindor.
[Miles won't know, why this is so terrible and incredible--and Sirius needs that ignorance, for a moment.]
[And Miles steps forward, then, and reaches out and clasps Sirius' forearm, a gesture of bracing and of support. It's very earnest, that gesture, and later he'll be embarrassed, but for now he says fervently:]
It's where you belong.
[And then he lets him go. And he's happy to see that the Gryffindors, in spite of their earlier quiet, are greeting Sirius with hearty thumps on the back, shaking his hand.
A dozen other students are distributed out to each of the four houses before Edgeworth is called. At the Slytherin table, Rosier is jostling the people around him and pointing; Miles, in spite of his terror, can't help but smile a bit.
He is terrified, though. More than a little bit. He doesn't know the criteria by which he will be selected, and it would be embarrassing - beyond embarrassing - to not be sorted into Gryffindor, after that. To be sorted instead into Hufflepuff - though Miles doesn't know what Sirius was going on about with all that; they seem like a remarkably kind group, and no one applauds louder for the other houses than they do...And the Ravenclaws are all right, too, he thinks, because there are a few of them with books out right now in the middle of the feast, like he always used to do at school lunches - The Slytherins seem monstrous, though, and he has no desire to be near them.
The Sorting Hat, at least, rules out Slytherin as a possibility at once. The strange and ghostly voice mutters in his ear that any of the other three houses would suit. You would find most like you in Ravenclaw, it promises, but also reflects that Hufflepuff is most home to those for whom helping others is the highest priority - and Miles is intent on helping others, it reflects. Gryffindor, meanwhile, has those who are willing to bend the rules, who will face things with courage - and while Miles is brave, rulebreaking isn't something he's ever done, is it...
Miles sits on the chair for six minutes in all. He keeps his eyes closed the entire time, not wanting to look out on the faces of any of the other students, wanting to maintain concentration - yet at minute four, the Hat seems to have ruled out Gryffindor, waffling between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, weighing the merits of each of them. But when it seems poised to decide, Miles sends up a desperate plea - that Sirius is in Gryffindor, that he wants to be with his new friend, and finally, finally, the Hat pauses to confirm with him and declares:]
Gryffindor!
[There's a long sigh that sweeps through the hall; that had been a long wait, and Sortings that long are mesmerizing. The applause from the Gryffindor table is instantaneous and enthusiastic, which makes Miles smile in mingled gladness and relief; he hops down, very glad to be off-stage, and scoots over to the table as quickly as he can to make room for the girl coming after him.]
[Sirius felt all of the backpatting in a daze. Only Miles' grip on his shoulder had really registered, and even that felt a little dim. He sat at the table, staring at its scarred surface, where hundreds of years of other students had sat before him--Gryffindors, all of them.
Gryffindor. He doesn't dare look around to the Slytherin table. There's something in his chest that feels like it's burning, but it isn't unpleasant.
He looks up when he hears Miles' voice being called--still a little dazed, but able to focus on him, at least. If Sirius is in Gryffindor, than surely he will be as well--for all his cleverness and bookishness, he belongs in Gryffindor. He has to be in Gryffindor.
And so when the Hat calls out Gryffindor, Sirius shakes out of his haze of surprise completely, and applauds with the rest of them--louder than the rest of them, even, and shoves over on the bench to make room for Miles, his heart hammering in his chest.]
[Miles feels a little bit dazed himself. There's no weight of history on him, but one cannot listen to a six-minute debate over one's mental characteristics, in a haze of fear that the Hat would announce the fact that he'd cheated once on a math test in third grade and has been ashamed ever since and trying to pay penance, and not feel at the end like one has woken up from a strange and rather frightening dream. But he's awake now, and being clapped on the shoulder and cheerfully congratulated and having a dozen students introducing themselves, the names forgotten as soon as they're said, and he's seating himself at a battered old table amongst boys and girls in red and slowly starting to realize that this is really real.
He sits next to Sirius, grabs at his arm in a gesture of greeting as he sits down. And he confesses in a whisper - perhaps not the best opening statement considering that he was just sorted into a house famed for bravery - ]
[Sirius laughs--maybe a little too loudly, one of the prefects a little down the table looks at him--but he's so relieved, so happy--and that's what this feeling is, surely, even above the fear and the nerves, he's happy--]
I know. But it wasn't that bad, really, in the end, and it's over, and we're--
[He grins. The Hat is still going on, deliberating over a Greengrass--settles for Ravenclaw, but Sirius isn't even watching.]
[It's a strange thing, to sit on a chair and sit still and be judged and feel like you've accomplished something; but he does. He feels rinsed out, tired, elated. Indeed - ]
I feel like a defendant who just got a not-guilty verdict.
[And he lets out a little laugh, self-conscious and proud, and then elbows Sirius.]
I saw Rosier with the Slytherins. He looked ready to pass out when he saw me.
[It's a weird analogy, and it makes Sirius laugh. The reference to Rosier--the in-joke of that--makes him laugh again, and he twists around to look for Rosier just as the Hat Sorts Remus into Gryffindor as well. He breaks into applause for that, his happiness rising with each second.]
Slytherin. Rosier is Slytherin. You're going to kill him with fear in whatever class we have doubles with Slytherin--you have to sit next to him.
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carisma_sensei
You are very bad at this duet
Date: 2013-10-26 12:19 am (UTC)[But his voice is a bit quieter; it's clear that amongst the other kids, he's losing his prior boldness, returning to his prior shy formality. He treads on someone's toe, nearly whispers an I do beg your pardon; he hurries forward at once, tries to draw in as close as possible to Sirius.
The boats are ahead; the groundskeeper is bellowing at the first years, first years that way - and already the others are filing onto the boats.]
thanks i'm here all week
Date: 2013-10-28 06:48 am (UTC)C'mere!
[James Potter is in the boat just ahead, and he shouts a greeting at Sirius--he waves back, and the two boys in the boat with James look at him--one pale and peaky and small, the other round-faced and earnest--but Sirius is looking back for Miles again.]
Over here!
tip your waitresses
Date: 2013-10-28 01:09 pm (UTC)He finally makes it to where Sirius is climbing in. The boat looks full, and so he says, shy and nervous - ]
If there's not room, I can -
[But someone jostles him from behind, bumping him forward; it looks like he's taking a step forward, and so it would be embarrassing to step back again, and so he just sort of climbs in awkwardly. And, a little bit mumbly, he introduces himself to the other boys - ]
I'm...Miles Edgeworth.
try the veal
Date: 2013-10-28 03:47 pm (UTC)I'm James, he says, cheerfully, and offers his hand. This is Peter Pettigrew, and that's Remus Lupin--]
And James is the one I was telling you about.
[Sirius beams at Miles, pleased at this development. Their boat shoves off from the pier, joining the small fleet that the rest of the boats are slowly forming, gliding noiselessly across the dark water.]
Miles and I have just played a really brilliant trick.
don't pirate my HBO special
Date: 2013-10-28 04:22 pm (UTC)[But he does perk up again, more than a little bit, especially when James leans forward with his eyes just about sparkling behind his glasses. And so Miles looks over, his shyness receding slightly as he sticks out his leg as best he can in the cramped boat.]
I don't know if you can see it in the dark, but -
[He lifts up his pant leg to reveal his gruesome boils.]
is the name of your HBO special "try the veal"
Date: 2013-10-28 07:54 pm (UTC)What is that! James looks up at Miles, grinning, the most pleased out of all of them--save, of course, for Sirius.]
A dreadful diseases that's incredibly catching to stuck-up pricks.
Yes, and then the sequel is "try the beef"
Date: 2013-10-28 08:00 pm (UTC)[He's long since begun to understand - from Rosier, from the way that Sirius acts - that this is a significant thing, to have muggles as parents. So he watches, trying not to reveal how he's watching, to see James' and Peter's and Remus' faces when he says that.]
So we got revenge on him. He shoved me over and made me injure my leg, and Sirius gave me boils trying to fix it, so we, you know. Pretended it was some monstrous, nameless, fatal disease.
i'm still hungry.....
Date: 2013-10-28 09:01 pm (UTC)You gave him boils? he says to Sirius, dubiously, and Sirius snorts and folds his arms over his chest, totally cool and casual.]
Yeah, but it worked out all right in the end. Rosier was nearly crying.
[James and Peter laugh at that, and even Remus has to smile, a little.]
He's not going to talk to a muggle-born for ages. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes himself to the hospital wing. It was brilliant, Miles was all over him, saying all sorts of mad things.
Come here my darling let me cook you a feast
Date: 2013-10-29 01:45 pm (UTC)Oh, like that it was...necrotizing fasciitis. I don't think he even knew what that was, but the name sounds so scary that he just up and ran away. And of course I gasped and asked him for help, as horribly as I could, and he ran right away, so if he starts trying to make trouble then I'll certainly be telling everyone what a coward he is. Which ought to put one in his eye, I think, even for those who'd be okay with him being a complete prig.
[He grins, shyness completely forgotten by now. And he says to Remus:]
And my leg is fine. The boils are completely painless, and I expect they'll clear up quite nicely with the help of the school nurse.
well ok if you insist
Date: 2013-10-29 03:23 pm (UTC)They make me itchy just looking at them, he declares, leaning away, and James laughs.
Necrotizing fastiitis. I'm using that one. Can I use that one? We can terrorise him all term with that--
He grins at Miles, and Sirius grins at him as well, throwing an arm around his shoulders.]
'Course you can use it. We'll all use it. He'll probably drop out at Christmastime. He's pathetic.
I have many fine cheeses and my office is made of rich mahogany
Date: 2013-10-29 10:22 pm (UTC)[His face goes a little alarmed at that.]
I don't...want to force him to drop out, that would be terrible...
[But he says that with less conviction than he might normally have, because it's good, having James look at him like he's some sort of prankster-hero, and more than that having Sirius' arm about his shoulders. So a moment after, he shakes his head, and then nods - ]
But it's also known as flesh-eating bacteria. It's nasty stuff. I wonder if we could convince him it lives in the showers -
[But he's cut short by the boat suddenly starting to move. It's not choppy, for all that the lake is; it glides smoothly over the waters, and Miles turns wide, awe-struck eyes up at the castle ahead of them.]
but are there leather-bound books
Date: 2013-10-30 11:54 am (UTC)And Sirius stares up at the castle with a tight knot in his chest. This is it. There is something about this that feels right, as if he's just come home, as if he was always meant to be here but has been away for so long. It's almost familiar. Things will be different here, he can feel it already.
He glances over at Miles, with a little grin.]
It's even better up-close.
Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal
Date: 2013-10-30 02:41 pm (UTC)It's amazing. It's so amazing.
[And everyone's quiet for the boat ride over, really, too focused on thoughts of what's ahead - the castle, the school year, a new life, magic, and that's most astonishing of all - and so there's a sort of hush to the whole proceedings, a mysterious sort of serenity. There's just the sound of the boats lapping smoothly though the water, and the feeling of something unformed and new within them and around them.]
eats a whole wheel of your cheese
Date: 2013-10-30 04:58 pm (UTC)Sirius is first out of their boat, heedless of the water that splashes at the bottom of his robes. He pushes to the head of the bunched queue of other children, expectant that his new friends will follow. He doesn't even look around for them.]
i'm not even mad
Date: 2013-10-30 06:27 pm (UTC)They're led into an astonishing hall, a hall showing above a great sky dotted with stars and luminescent clouds. Miles sees the hat before them, and knows this is what Sirius was talking about. And for a moment, doubt and fear grip him - what if he and Sirius are sorted into different houses - he doesn't care about these others yet, not as much, but he doesn't...want to be by himself.
(But it doesn't matter. Even if they end up separate, they'll still be friends; Sirius all but promised that.)]
je m'appelle claude
Date: 2013-10-30 09:45 pm (UTC)Black is right at the top of the alphabet, so once the speeches are done--he doesn't hear a word of them, he's staring at that hat--it only takes a few moments for his name to be called. Black, Sirius! and James is elbowing him forward, beaming, and Sirius is no coward, but he feels a twist of misgiving deep in his stomach as he steps up that first stair. None of it shows in his face--he's cool and calm and collected, for all intents and purposes--and he climbs on the stool and lets that hat be placed on his head.
For Sirius, it's an intense minute. But only a minute, maybe half a minute, if someone were honestly timing it--and then the hat shouts, GRYFFINDOR, and Sirius' eyes spring open, staring in shock out at the Great Hall, his hands clenched on the seat of the stool.]
that's not an anchorman quote
Date: 2013-10-30 10:27 pm (UTC)Miles doesn't know exactly why it is that they'd all thought Sirius would go to Slytherin. He doesn't know whether it has something to do with Sirius himself or some family expectation, maybe. He does know, though, that James, beside him, is starting to clap and holler, with a volume that more than matches the noise coming from the rest of the hall, and Miles joins in, and Remus, and Peter, and then the applause from the Gryffindors starts to seem more genuine, with real cheers mixed in with the clapping.
The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs look confused more than anything. The Slytherins, meanwhile, are whispering to one another; a few of them look outright venomous. But the applause is consistent, and James calls out, Go on - ]
wait we were quoting anchorman????
Date: 2013-10-31 10:37 am (UTC)He looks at Miles as he passes by, his face a little pale, but he manages a smile for him.]
Gryffindor.
[Miles won't know, why this is so terrible and incredible--and Sirius needs that ignorance, for a moment.]
Good luck.
dammit brick
Date: 2013-10-31 01:06 pm (UTC)It's where you belong.
[And then he lets him go. And he's happy to see that the Gryffindors, in spite of their earlier quiet, are greeting Sirius with hearty thumps on the back, shaking his hand.
A dozen other students are distributed out to each of the four houses before Edgeworth is called. At the Slytherin table, Rosier is jostling the people around him and pointing; Miles, in spite of his terror, can't help but smile a bit.
He is terrified, though. More than a little bit. He doesn't know the criteria by which he will be selected, and it would be embarrassing - beyond embarrassing - to not be sorted into Gryffindor, after that. To be sorted instead into Hufflepuff - though Miles doesn't know what Sirius was going on about with all that; they seem like a remarkably kind group, and no one applauds louder for the other houses than they do...And the Ravenclaws are all right, too, he thinks, because there are a few of them with books out right now in the middle of the feast, like he always used to do at school lunches - The Slytherins seem monstrous, though, and he has no desire to be near them.
The Sorting Hat, at least, rules out Slytherin as a possibility at once. The strange and ghostly voice mutters in his ear that any of the other three houses would suit. You would find most like you in Ravenclaw, it promises, but also reflects that Hufflepuff is most home to those for whom helping others is the highest priority - and Miles is intent on helping others, it reflects. Gryffindor, meanwhile, has those who are willing to bend the rules, who will face things with courage - and while Miles is brave, rulebreaking isn't something he's ever done, is it...
Miles sits on the chair for six minutes in all. He keeps his eyes closed the entire time, not wanting to look out on the faces of any of the other students, wanting to maintain concentration - yet at minute four, the Hat seems to have ruled out Gryffindor, waffling between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, weighing the merits of each of them. But when it seems poised to decide, Miles sends up a desperate plea - that Sirius is in Gryffindor, that he wants to be with his new friend, and finally, finally, the Hat pauses to confirm with him and declares:]
Gryffindor!
[There's a long sigh that sweeps through the hall; that had been a long wait, and Sortings that long are mesmerizing. The applause from the Gryffindor table is instantaneous and enthusiastic, which makes Miles smile in mingled gladness and relief; he hops down, very glad to be off-stage, and scoots over to the table as quickly as he can to make room for the girl coming after him.]
i love bricks
Date: 2013-10-31 05:11 pm (UTC)Gryffindor. He doesn't dare look around to the Slytherin table. There's something in his chest that feels like it's burning, but it isn't unpleasant.
He looks up when he hears Miles' voice being called--still a little dazed, but able to focus on him, at least. If Sirius is in Gryffindor, than surely he will be as well--for all his cleverness and bookishness, he belongs in Gryffindor. He has to be in Gryffindor.
And so when the Hat calls out Gryffindor, Sirius shakes out of his haze of surprise completely, and applauds with the rest of them--louder than the rest of them, even, and shoves over on the bench to make room for Miles, his heart hammering in his chest.]
Here--
do you really love bricks or are you just mentioning that because i mentioned it
Date: 2013-10-31 06:41 pm (UTC)[Miles feels a little bit dazed himself. There's no weight of history on him, but one cannot listen to a six-minute debate over one's mental characteristics, in a haze of fear that the Hat would announce the fact that he'd cheated once on a math test in third grade and has been ashamed ever since and trying to pay penance, and not feel at the end like one has woken up from a strange and rather frightening dream. But he's awake now, and being clapped on the shoulder and cheerfully congratulated and having a dozen students introducing themselves, the names forgotten as soon as they're said, and he's seating himself at a battered old table amongst boys and girls in red and slowly starting to realize that this is really real.
He sits next to Sirius, grabs at his arm in a gesture of greeting as he sits down. And he confesses in a whisper - perhaps not the best opening statement considering that he was just sorted into a house famed for bravery - ]
That was terrifying.
no, i really do, i love bricks
Date: 2013-10-31 09:49 pm (UTC)I know. But it wasn't that bad, really, in the end, and it's over, and we're--
[He grins. The Hat is still going on, deliberating over a Greengrass--settles for Ravenclaw, but Sirius isn't even watching.]
We did it.
oh man i love brick architecture
Date: 2013-11-01 02:34 am (UTC)[It's a strange thing, to sit on a chair and sit still and be judged and feel like you've accomplished something; but he does. He feels rinsed out, tired, elated. Indeed - ]
I feel like a defendant who just got a not-guilty verdict.
[And he lets out a little laugh, self-conscious and proud, and then elbows Sirius.]
I saw Rosier with the Slytherins. He looked ready to pass out when he saw me.
legit exposed brick is like my favorite thing.
Date: 2013-11-01 06:30 am (UTC)Slytherin. Rosier is Slytherin. You're going to kill him with fear in whatever class we have doubles with Slytherin--you have to sit next to him.
Man did I ever tell you about the apartment we ddn't get in New York
Date: 2013-11-01 11:40 am (UTC)[Remus joins them at the table; Miles grins at him.]
do i want to hear this or will it depress me
From:It will depress you
From:SIGH tell me anyways.........
From:Exposed brick EVERYWHERE, huge kitchen...
From:noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
From:YOUR PAIN HARDLY COMPARES TO MINE
From:well yes but IT'S SAD EVEN SECONDHAND
From:I was going to hang cloth beautifully on the brick...
From:don't.... don't torture us.....
From:I was going to cook brunches...........on the other hand it was a fifth-floor walkup
From:i'd have done it anyways. fifth floor builds character.
From:If by "character" you mean "butt muscles."
From:that's always what i mean by "character"
From:Butt = character
From:but then building character shrinks your overall character... but makes it more muscley.....?
From:Makes your character into a lean mean fighting machine!
From:i don't want mean characters only nice ones
From:Then why do you play the ones you do
From:i only play nice guys what are you trying to say
From:Well "nice" isn't exactly right
From:um excuse you they are nice.
From:I guess it's hard to argue Sirius' niceness in this tag
From:yes i'm always right it's true
From:You are not nice however
From:lies and slander
From:UGH I know it is you're the best :c
From:or are YOU the best
From:I think we're co-besties
From:i'll drink to that!
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