Remus could hardly believe it, but Eliot was eleven years old. He received his Hogwarts letter the summer after he turned eleven, and excitedly asked Remus dozens of questions. They went on the traditional school shopping trip to Diagon Alley. It was a significant strain on Remus's finances, even after Dumbledore sent them money from the financial assistance fund, but he managed to afford everything Eliot needed. Despite all of their struggles, somehow, they had made it this far. As they stood on Platform 9 3/4, both tried desperately not to cry. Remus and Eliot might as well have been attached at the hip for the past nine years, and had only gotten closer since Lyall's passing.
Eliot, who looked more like Sirius than ever, could not have been less excited to go to Hogwarts. He had been looking forward to it at first, but the closer he got to eleven o'clock on September first, the more he dreaded it. Leaving Remus was already bad enough, but the idea of people finding out too much about him was even worse. Remus warned Eliot that everything would be more difficult if anyone were to find out about his relation to Sirius, or the fact that Remus was a werewolf. Eliot was worried about slipping up or someone asking about his surname. The House of Black was a famous pureblood wizarding family and famously held certain beliefs about their blood purity. He hoped no one would realize he was related to them, or worse, think he shared their ideas. And he certainly hoped no one would realize Sirius was his father. No matter how much he believed his father was innocent, no one else did.
"Are you gonna be okay without me?" Eliot asked. Maybe if he talked for long enough, he would miss the train and have to stay home for another year.
"I'll make do." Remus forced a smile. "You're going to have a great time, I promise. I'll write as much as you want and I'll be right here waiting for you at Christmas. You'd better get going, you wouldn't want to miss the train!"
They hugged one last time, and Eliot stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. He turned to get one last look at Remus, then started to walk down the aisles past full compartments of cheerful older students. As he forced back tears, he repeated to himself silently everything he and Remus talked about in the weeks before. Don't tell them your middle name, don't tell them who your dad is, your father was a Muggle-born, don't tell them what I am.
The first empty compartment Eliot saw contained two nearly identical redheaded boys, talking to one another and laughing. He stopped for a moment at the doorway, wondering whether he was allowed to sit wherever he wanted. He should have asked Remus more questions.
"Want to sit with us, mate?" One of them asked, patting the seat beside him. "Plenty of room."
Eliot nodded and sat down next to him.
"Fred Weasley," The boy said, holding out his hand. Eliot shook it weakly. "And that's my twin, George."
Eliot nodded again.
"You got a name?" George asked.
"Eliot," He squeaked. He wondered for a moment if he should leave out his surname, or maybe introduce himself as a Lupin, but he figured the truth would come out eventually. "Eliot Black. But, er, everyone calls me Eli."
"Lovely to meet you, Eli." Fred grinned, not seeming to notice or care about Eliot's surname. "First year, eh? Excited?"
"Um. Not really," Eliot admitted. "I'm not looking forward to the Sorting, to be honest."
"Well, we're in Gryffindor, and I highly recommend you join us," George said. "Not that you have much of a choice, mind you, but we'd love to have you."
"Our whole family's in Gryffindor, too. Probably for the best, our hair would clash with Ravenclaw robes," Fred remarked. "What house do you reckon you'll be in?"
"Er, I don't know," Eliot muttered. "My dad was Gryffindor, and so was the man who raised me. My mum didn't go to Hogwarts." He didn't want to elaborate on his ancestors. He didn't want to be in Slytherin.
"Perhaps you'll be with us, then." A deep voice said from the compartment doorway. Eliot turned to see another, much older redheaded man, his handsome face dotted with freckles and a smile like Fred's. A badge on the front of his robes read Prefect. "Are you two bullying this first-year?"
"Absolutely not! We were trying to befriend him," George said.
"Uh-huh. Likely story." The man shook his head and waved at Eliot. "Charlie Weasley."
"I'm Eliot Black, but I go by Eli," He replied. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, as well." Charlie nodded. "I'm meant to check on all the Gryffindors, so I'll be back later. Nice to meet you, Eli." He smiled sweetly before leaving.
The next few hours were a little overwhelming. Fred and George had a myriad of friends who came to say hello and kindly introduced themselves to Eliot. When the sweets trolley came around, the three of them looked at each other awkwardly before Eliot said, "No thank you." He recognized the look on Fred and George's faces as the one Remus so often had in shops when there was something they wanted but couldn't afford. The conversation quickly picked back up again, though Eliot now felt a sort of solidarity with the Weasleys. He wanted to stick with them, he decided.
After getting off the train, everything was a blur. Fred, George, and Charlie weren't first-years, so Eliot was separated from them. The first-years took boats to the castle, and while most of them were chatting, Eliot was too busy worrying about the Sorting. He wanted to be in Gryffindor, but all of the feelings he had felt that day didn't seem very brave to him. His mind raced with a hundred possibilities, each more nerve-wracking than the last. Before he knew it, the Hat had sung its song and the Sorting had begun. The girl who went before Eliot, Katie Bell, was quickly sorted into Gryffindor. He hoped he would have a similar experience. He didn't have time to consider what it might mean to be sorted elsewhere before the woman holding the hat called, "ELIOT BLACK!"
He walked up and sat on the stool, looking out at the sea of students staring back at him. He scanned the Gryffindor table and quickly spotted the Weasley twins, who were grinning eagerly. The Hat was placed on his head; it was so big on him that it covered his eyes. He preferred it that way.
"Ah, let's see here... Oh, a Black. This should be easy. You come from a long line of successful Slytherins, you know," The Hat said, and Eliot hoped no one heard. "Not a fan of that, eh? Well, perhaps you're right. They're a proud bunch, and you seem to lack that. Not much sense of self-preservation, either. No, no, Slytherin's not right, that's a shame. Well, I do feel a strong sense of justice, yes. Loyal to a fault. But then, you've got quite a mind in there, and I see you value learning... But not quite as much as hard work, no."
He wondered what was taking so long, and why it hadn't said anything that sounded like Gryffindor.
"Give me a minute! There's a lot going on in here," The Hat hissed. "Hm... That loyalty, that's the biggest thing I see. Very protective of your loved ones, you'd do anything for those you love. Plus, you desperately crave fairness. You've got a hot temper, which is a bit odd, but not unheard of... it all goes back to that loyalty, really. You're honest, too, brutal at times. You'd have to work on your patience a bit, but you enjoy a challenge. You need some polishing, but I think it's really the best fit. Yes, you'd do best in—"
Suddenly, the Hat shouted, "—HUFFLEPUFF!"
Everyone began to clap. The hat was plucked from Eliot's head and he was ushered off the stool. Someone whistled — he was pretty sure it came from the Gryffindor table, oddly enough. He sat down at the Hufflepuff table next to a remarkably cute, dark-haired boy, and waved at him awkwardly as he sat down.
"Cedric Diggory," The boy said, winking at him. "Welcome to Hufflepuff."
"Thanks!" Eliot replied. "Eli Black."
"Black, is that—"
"Scottish, yeah," Eliot interrupted.
"I was going to say pureblood," Cedric said.
Great. He'd been sorted for all of five seconds and someone had already figured it out. He forced a laugh. "Nope. No way. Two Muggle-born parents, actually."
"Ah, alright then." Cedric turned back to the Sorting, and Eliot supposed he should pay attention, too.
However, Eliot was unable to focus on the festivities as the reality set in. He wasn't in Gryffindor. He would have to tell Remus that he'd been sorted into Hufflepuff. Would the Weasleys still want to talk to him? It was better than Slytherin and easier than Ravenclaw, but the hat didn't even think about Gryffindor. Eliot worried that something must be terribly wrong with him for the Hat to think about putting him in Slytherin before Gryffindor. He reminded himself that there were bad Gryffindors, too, and that Hufflepuffs were known to be quite nice, but nothing could comfort him until he spoke to Remus.
A piece of parchment dotted with what Remus could only assume were tears arrived in the mail the day after Eliot left for Hogwarts. In shaky handwriting with smudged ink, it read:
Remus,
I don't know what happened, but I was sorted into Hufflepuff. The Hat didn't even think about putting me in Gryffindor at all. It almost put me in Slytherin, too. I'm sorry. Most of the friends I made so far are in Gryffindor. The Hufflepuffs seem nice, but I don't know what happened.
Eli
Remus was ecstatic. Perhaps Eliot was truly unlike his father. The Sorting Hat certainly thought so, and though there were exceptions to House traits — Sirius did betray his friends, after all, which wasn't very Gryffindor of him — Remus was mostly confident in the Hat's abilities. Few, if any, dark wizards had come from Hufflepuff. He immediately wrote back:
My dear Eli,
You shouldn't be so upset! Hufflepuff is a lovely House! I'm very proud of you. Many amazing wizards and witches have come from Hufflepuff. I'm a bit surprised, but not at all disappointed. Everything will be fine. And about those Gryffindor friends of yours — You're allowed to be friends with people in other Houses, and in fact, I'd even encourage it. You're going to be an amazing wizard. I'm incredibly proud of you.
All my love, Remus
Once Eliot read Remus's letter, he felt a lot better about being a Hufflepuff. Actually, he quite liked his House. The people were some of the friendliest he'd ever met, even the older students who could have easily ignored him, like Cedric. There were many older students who said hello, the most memorable of which was a purple-haired seventh year girl who would always wave at him when they passed by each other in the halls, even though they'd never spoken. The dormitories were comfortable and there was always fun to be had. At night, students would frequently play Gobstones or Exploding Snap and everyone was welcome to join. The older students even brought Butterbeer for everyone after the first day of classes. Best of all, the yellow robes would probably throw people off. Everyone would expect a real Black to be in Slytherin.
As much as he loved his House, he wanted to follow Remus's advice and make the acquaintance of people of all Houses. He frequently tagged along with Fred and George, and Charlie checked in every now and then to see how he was doing. Double Charms with the Ravenclaws was fun, and Eliot befriended a few of them, though he thought they needed to lighten up at times. He didn't have much interaction with the Slytherins outside of class, but he thought most of them were nice enough.
Learning magic was the greatest joy Eliot had ever known. He found it fascinating to learn the ins and outs of every spell, even if he wasn't very good at anything yet. His favorite subject might have been Potions if not for the professor. He felt like Professor Snape was out to get him, but all of the older students assured him that it was a universal experience. Still, he couldn't help but notice the way Snape sneered every time he did something correctly in his class. Most professors wanted to see their students succeed. Eliot wondered if Snape might have realized who his father was, and quietly resented having the son of a murderer in his class. If that were the case, Eliot decided, he agreed with Snape. He wouldn't like to teach a murderer's son how to do magic, either.
Unbeknownst to him, there was no need for Snape to figure out his ancestry. All of his professors knew about his father. Dumbledore thought it would be easier on everyone to know in advance — after all, Eliot's face gave him away quite quickly, especially to those who had known Sirius.
Nearly two weeks after Eliot left for school, Remus's theory was disproven. Eliot got into a fight, something that Remus never would have expected and Sirius absolutely would have done. Eliot overheard a Slytherin boy saying, "All werewolves should be euthanized, and why don't we round up the Mudbloods while we're at it?" Eliot shouted at the boy, telling him that he was a horrible, disrespectful bastard and those were human beings he was talking about. The other boy laughed and said "Barely. And what do you care, are you one?" He punched Eliot in the face before he could reply, breaking his nose, and Eliot wasted no time in breaking the other boy's nose to match.
The letter Remus received from Professor Sprout had a chilling final line that repeated over and over again in his mind: I see he has his father's temper.