Chapter Text
Remus Lupin looked out the window at his waving parents. They looked so happy that he was able to go to Hogwarts, they never expected him to. While excited, Remus was also a bit nervous. He had never had any friends, due to his "condition", and he didn't intend to make any, lest his secret get out.
Suddenly a head popped in. It had messy black hair and hazel eyes framed by rectangular glasses. A lopsided grin stretched across it.
"Hey!" said the boy, still smiling, "Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
"Wha- Oh, yeah, sure."
"Cool. Thanks."
The boy sat across from Remus and made himself comfortable, stretching his legs out along the seat so he was propped against the door.
"What's your name, anyway?" the boy asked
"Remus Lupin, yours?"
"James Potter. Do you like Quidditch?"
"I've never played, but my dad took me to a game once. I'm not really a sports person, but I read a lot about pretty much anything."
"Cool. I want to play, but you're not allowed to play 'till second year. What do you like to read?
"I like stuff on magical creatures, Newt Scamander's books are good. What do you think your favorite class will be?"
"I always thought Transfiguration would be cool, but my dad says Potions is fun. What would REALLY be cool is crossing the two, so you could Transfigure things with a potion."
"Actually, there is something like that, it's called the Polyjuice Potion, it can turn you into a different person for one hour per dose."
"Really? Cool! Wonder if I could use it for any pranks..."
"Absolutely not! Any instructions are going to be in the restricted section, and there's no chance you're going to get in there for a semi-legal potion. Forget it." Remus said. He didn't know why, but he did not want this kid expelled.
"Oh. OK." James replied, looking startled.
Yet another head popped in. This one also had black hair, but it was slightly wavy and hung down just past his ears. He had grey eyes and was a bit taller than James.
"Did I hear something about pranks? I would love to get some in on the Slytherins, that's my family's house, probably where I'm going to go too. Also, can I sit here? I've been pacing the train for about half an hour now, and I cannot find anywhere to sit."
James looked at Remus. "It's your car, you were here first." he said, shrugging
"Sure" said Remus
"Thank you." the boy said. "My name's Sirius Black, what are yours?"
"I'm Remus Lupin, and he's-"
"James Potter" finished James. "Why don't you have someplace to sit? Didn't your parents reserve a seat for you or something?
"They did, I let a few second years have it. My family's traditions are screwed up. Never liked them. They are all a bunch of pretentious prigs, anyway." Sirius answered. "If you want me to leave, I can." He sounded a little bit sad about it.
"No, that's ok, I'm sorry." James apologized "You said you wanted to prank Slytherin, but you were also going to be put there. Whaddaya mean by that?"
"Well, my whole family has been in there, why shouldn't I?" answered Sirius
"Your family doesn't dictate your House..." Remus interjected
"You haven't met my family." said Sirius, smiling ruefully. "Anyway, what House do you reckon you will be in?"
"I don't know." Remus had been wondering about that. He thought Ravenclaw would be a good fit, but maybe the kids would figure out the secret..."I think I'm just gonna wait till I try on the Sorting Hat."
"I'm going to Gryffindor, 'Where Dwell the Brave of Heart'." said James proudly.
A loud snort was heard outside the door.
James sat straight up and said:
"You got a problem with that?"
"Only if you prefer brawn over brain!" sneered the voice, as its owner stepped into view. It was a scrawny boy whose robes hung off his skinny frame. He had greasy black hair (what was it with the black hair?) that hung down to his shoulders.
"What's your name?" James asked, now glaring at the boy.
"Snape."
"Snape?" said James, sounding incredulous.
"Severus Snape."
" Well, Snivellus, I suggest you find a different compartment." James stated coldly
"I didn't ask your permission, and anyway, why would I want to sit here?"
"Because-"
"Hey, Sev, I found a compartment with a couple second years who say we can sit with them if we want." a red-haired girl with green eyes poked her head in. "Oh, who's this?
"No one, just some stuck up prigs." said Snape.
Remus hardly thought that was fair, as so far, he had only talked to James.
"Oh. Okay, then. Let's go."
The two of them left.
Remus broke the silence.
"Well that was weird."
A few minutes later, another head popped into the doorway. This one belonged to a slightly chubby boy with blond hair and watery blue eyes.
"H-hi... Do...Do you mind if I... if I sit here with you guys? It's just that... everywhere else..."
"Is full?" Remus answered, noticing how nervous the boy looked. He figured that if these boys were his friends now, he might as well have one that looked as scared as Remus felt. "Sure, make yourself comfortable. What's your name?"
"Peter Pettigrew, what's yours?" said Peter, visibly relaxing.
"I'm Remus Lupin-"
"I'm James Potter-"
"And I'm Sirius Black."
After a while, the conversation turned back to the Sorting.
“So, James is going for Gryffindor, Sirius thinks he’s going into Slytherin but doesn’t want to, I’m not sure yet, and Peter wants to go...” Remus said.
“I think Hufflepuff would be good.” said Peter thoughtfully, “I hear the dorms are by the kitchens. And why does Sirius think he’s going to be in Slytherin?”
“Because my entire family’s been in there, and if I’m not, it will be the surprise if the century.” said Sirius.
“I don’t think you’re going to be in Slytherin, mate.” said James
“Why not?”
“Because Slytherin’s supposed to be the house of cunning, and anyone who walked up and straight up asked to be in a certain carriage rather than trying to talk us into it probably isn’t going for Slytherin. That’s more ‘Brave and Bold’ than ‘Cunning’ if you ask me.” stated James.
Sirius looked thoughtful for a minute, then said;
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Sirius said, looking a bit more cheerful. “I did not think of that before.”
The rest of the ride went smoothly, with James and Sirius buying snacks off the trolley, much to Remus and Peter’s enjoyment. The two shared a rather ridiculous love of chocolate.
After the four and a half hours of the train ride were over, the boys clambered out of the train and onto the grass just off the boarding platform. Remus had never felt this excited in his life.
“Firs’ years over ‘ere! Firs’ years over ‘ere!” A loud voice sounded across the field. “Firs’ years over ‘ere!”
To Remus’s surprise, a large man with a bushy beard strode across the clearing.
“Righ’... I’m Hagrid, an’ you lot ride over the lake wi’ me on the boats.” he said, gesturing at the group of first years that were huddled together against the cold.
The boys pulled their cloaks tighter and moved with the crowd of nervous first years over towards the boats. Everyone was pushing and shoving, trying desperately to get up front, to be the first to see the legendary castle. As it turned out, the castle wasn’t in sight yet.
Seeing that Remus, James, Sirius and Peter were already together, Hagrid said “Now you four have got it righ’. Four to a boat, that's it.” He ushered them towards the first boat, which the boys clambered into, thrilled that they got to go first.
As they clambered into the boat, Pete slipped and tumbled into the lake. Seeing that Hagrid was helping another group of four, the remaining three boys scrambled to pull Peter back in; however, this endeavour only succeeded in a lot of splashing.
Suddenly, a large tentacle shot out of the depths, propelling Peter up, then setting him gently back into the boat.
The boys sat there in shock.
They had not anticipated that.
“Well, I see yeh’ foun’ the giant squid.” said Hagrid, coming up behind them. “I foun’ ‘im on a Muggle beach when he were only ‘bout as long as my arm.”
“I didn’t know this place had a squid.” mused James.
“Don’t get any ideas,” warned Remus “Or I will hex you.”
Hagrid shoved all the boats out onto the lake, then hopped into the last and slightly bigger one. He procured an oar, seemingly out of nowhere. As Hagrid paddled himself up to the front of the hoard of boats, Remus worried about how on earth they were going to get across, as he couldn’t find any oars.
This problem was soon remedied, as the small vessels started to glide across the water. Remus almost kicked himself, thinking that it should have been obvious that they were magical. He was going to have to get used to this. Since his mother was born a Muggle, she had never really used magic around the house. His father would sometimes show him basic tricks, but not often, because he didn’t want Remus to get used to magic. No one ever thought Remus would be able to attend Hogwarts.
Needless to say, it was a pleasant surprise when Dumbledore turned up. Remus's parents tried to deter him at the door, but the old headmaster managed to get in -Mr. Lupin swore he had no idea how Dumbledore did that- and started playing Gobstones with Remus.
As the boats turned slightly, all the kids gasped. A huge castle sprawled across a cliffside, windows glowing with a flickering light that suggested many candles. As the water gates drew closer, Remus could see shapes silhouetted against the glass panes. He assumed these were the teachers, and he wondered who taught what. He knew A lady called McGonagall taught Transfiguration, but that was about all he knew.
Once inside the castle, the first years headed up a stairwell to the entrance to the Great Hall. A tall woman with her hair in a tight bun. Her lips were tight, her clothes were crisp. Everything about her said ‘strict’.
“Good evening, students.” her voice was as crisp as her clothes, and she had a slight Scottish accent. “I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.”
‘Ah’ Remus thought. ‘that’s a face for a name.’
“In a few minutes you will enter the Great Hall of Hogwarts. These halls have been a respected part of wizarding society for over a thousand years. As new students, I expect that you shall uphold this reputation.”
“You may enter.” she finished formally, and as she waved her wand, the giant doors opened.
A storm of clapping thundered across the hall.