EDIT: I suppose I should add disclaimer and warning and what-not.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warnings: Slash later. Don't like, don't read.
Friend and Enemies
Remus had been inside Hogwarts for less than two minutes, and he'd already made an enemy. He cowered slightly as a boy his age sneered at him, having just finished a rather uncreative insult. The other first years chuckled along with the black haired boy.
"Thanks...," mumbled a small, skinny boy standing besides Remus. He looked up at Remus, eyes shining with tears and gratitude. "You didn't have to do that you know." Remus glanced down at him and shrugged. "I'm Peter, by the way." Peter smiled.
Remus stuck out a hand, awkwardly formal for an eleven-year-old meeting a peer. Peter hesitantly shook it as Remus told him his name.
Just moments before, Peter had accidentally bumped into the black haired boy and was immediately shoved to the ground. "Watch where you're going," He spat, glowering down at Peter. A few students crowding around him laughed harshly. Remus pursed his lips and walked over to Peter, helping him off the floor.
"Lay off. He didn't do it on purpose," Remus chided, voice slightly shaky.
The black haired boy took in Remus's appearance immediately, noting the second-hand robes and patchy wizard's hat. He ignored the other boy's comment, choosing to attack him instead. "Nice robes." Remus immediately noticed the well-groomed appearance of the other boy, his expensive custom made robes and silky shoulder length hair. "Did you buy them in a second-hand shop, or just find them in a rubbish bin?" Remus turned red, angry and embarrassed at the same time. He quietly held his lips together, focusing on controlling himself by breathing deeply.
Remus jumped back to the present as a large oak door swung open in front of them, an older witch standing underneath the arch. "I'm Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of the school, and it's time for you to be sorted. Well, come along then," she stated in a no-nonsense voice, and lead them through the doorway into what Remus knew must be the Great Hall. Peter stayed close to Remus, muttering his amazement all the while. Stars shone down from the enchanted ceiling he had read about many time in Hogwarts A History. Four long tables ran along the room, representing the four houses, and a fifth ran perpendicular, seating the faculty.
The witch lined them up against the wall as a stool was brought out and a hat that made Remus's look brand new set on top. Everyone in the hall grew silent and Remus grinned, knowing what to expect.
A large rip suddenly open up, and a voice belted out from hat.
"I may not look like much more
Than battered cloth and thread
But if you want to know where to go,
Just place me on your head.
I'll shuffle through your thoughts,
Your desires and motives,
I'll look at what you've got
and tell you where you're going.
To Gryffindor, I send the brave,
To Ravenclaw the wise,
To Hufflepuff, the kind of heart,
And Slyterin the sly.
You may think you know
To which house you belong,
And even if you don't agree with me,
I've had yet to be proven wrong.
So if you're not too afraid
To let me peek inside,
Just place my brim atop your head,
I will will be your guide!
The large rip closed back up and the students broke out in applause, Remus included. He saw the black haired boy laughing with his friends, mostly likely joking at the shabby hat, thought Remus glumly. Peter was whispering at his side, "Did you see that! The hat just sang! A singing hat, can you believe?"
Professor McGonagall drew a scroll of parchment out of the air, which she then began to read from.
"Bertram, Aubrey." A tall, lanky girl walked shakily to the hat, looking as if she wished she was much smaller. She sat down on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on her head.
"Hufflepuff!" Exclaimed the hat after about five seconds.
"Black, Andromeda," Read McGonagall. Peter was whispering frantically to Remus.
"What house do you think you'll be in? I reckon I'll end up in Hufflepuff. My mom was..."
"Slytherin!" The hat proclaimed the instant the brim touched Andromeda's head. She strutted away from the stool to sit at the cheering table.
"I dunno," Replied Remus to Peter's question. He knew he wouldn't be in Slytherin. He wasn't sly or sneaky in the slightest. He wasn't particularly smart either and therefore wouldn't be in Ravenclaw either. At the moment, Remus felt far from brave, so no to Gryffindor as well. That only left Hufflepuff, and Remus supposed he would fit in there more than anywhere else. "Hufflepuff, I guess."
"Black, Sirius."
The black haired boy strode to the stool, and grimaced at the hat. Remus laughed inwardly, thinking he probably didn't want the shabby object to touch his head.
A good minute passed as Sirius sat there under the hat. Students at the tables began shifting around. Remus heard a red-headed first year mutter, "He's a Black!My brother says the hat always sends then to Slytherin immediately."
Finally, the hat spoke. "GRYFFINDOR!"
And audible gasp filled the room, followed by a short silence. A few Gryffindors began clapping politely, and the rest of the table quickly joined in along with some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Remus noted not a single Slytherin clapped nor cheered. Rather they whispered quietly among themselves.
McGonagall hadn't even paused in the proceedings, and by the time the majority of the students got over their shock, the hat had finished sorting Diggory, Amos into Hufflepuff. Time passed both too quickly and very slowly for Remus as students were sorted into the four houses. Finally, McGonagall called "Lupin, Remus" to be sorted.
The boy gulped and Peter gave him a reassuring look, and muttered, "See you in Hufflepuff," lightheartedly. Remus stumbled over to the stool, sure he would trip at any moment. Miraculously, he made it, and sat down. The black hat was plopped onto his head, pushing his bangs into his eyes and obscuring his vision. Remus gave a start when the hat began talking in his ear.
"Ah, yes. Interesting. I can't remember the last time I sorted a werewolf." Remus cringed. "Don't, worry, I can keep secrets," Assured the hat. "Hmmm... where to put you. I see you think you belong in Hufflepuff, but you bravely stood up for a peer earlier, did you not?"
"Not Gryffindor," Remus thought, "That's where that Black guy went... He hates me already."
"Not a very good reason if you ask me," Commented the hat. "No, no, there's really no other place for you." Suddenly, Remus heard the voice through his ears rather than inside his head.
"Gryffindor!"
Remus looked over at Peter, a look of terror crossing his face, as cheers erupted from the red and gold decked table. As he walked along searching for an empty seat, he was greeted by hugs, hi-fives, and one chaste kiss on the cheek by a sixth or seventh year girl. He noticed a girl who had been sorted earlier, Lila or something, sitting next to an open space. She, like the other Gryffindors, congratulated him enthusiastically.
"Mind if I sit here?" He asked, after receiving a playful punch in the shoulder from the girl.
"Sure, go ahead." She smiled at Remus as she scooted to make room. "I'm Lily Evans. You're Remus."
"Yes, I am," He stated awkwardly. "Erm... nice to meet you." Lily laughed kindly. Thankfully, before he had to speak again, Peter Pettigrew was sorted into Gryffindor, distracting her. Peter looked up and down for Remus and sat down next to him without asking.
"Can you believe it?" Asked Peter breathlessly. "We're both in Gryffindor! I was so worried when you were. I thought there was no way I would be too! The sorting hat thought I would do well in Hufflepuff, but it knew I wanted to be in Gryffindor, and said I had some courage..."
Peter continued to talk in Remus's ear as more students were sorted. Remus nodded politely at regular intervals until Peter stopped talking, not entirely listening. Finally, Wilcox, Bethany was sorted into Ravenclaw, and the sorting hat and stool were taken away.
A tall skinny man with a long silver beard stood up from the head of the table, and beamed down at all of them. "Hello, students! Welcome to another year. As most of you know, I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of this school. You can call me Professor Dumbledore." Dumbledore's eye twinkled, as if daring to see what happened if you called anything else. "Now that the sorting is finished, let us eat."
Peter marveled a food magically appeared on the table, and wasted no time in telling Remus how amazed he was while helping his plate. Remus greedily loaded his plate as well. There was more food on the table than he had ever seen before in his life. For several minutes, talking mostly ceased around the Great Hall, most of the noise coming from the clicking of forks and knives on plates. Soon, however, Peter began talking to Remus again, which Remus endured. Lily also spoke to him and Peter every now and then, laughing at Remus's lack of social skills. Remus knew, however, this was a friendly laugh, and even though Lily seemed to think him silly and Peter talked far too much, he was content. Because, for the moment, he had two people he could almost call friends.