In which the Marauders meet upon the fateful train in a worryingly clichéd way, and Remus and Sirius not fall in love at first sight.
xxx
Man differs more from man, than man from beast. – John Wilmot
It wasn't love at first sight. The first time he met him, when the former was a trembling, terrified scrap of a thing, barely there behind a huge amount of untidy thin straw coloured hair he didn't push out of his face, they did not fall madly in love. The latter was wiry with a sharp chin and mean spirit, snarling vehemently at all the others who peered into the carriage, elegant aristocratic nose with silly freckles turned up at the world in a sneer, and a spiteful brow, crinkled in distaste and self importance.
Sirius was thinking at the time that he missed Regulus, although it was not so much Regulus that he missed but Reg, not the new Call-Me-Regulus, posh voice simpering brat Regulus who ate chocolate all day and became fat, while Sirius sat in his room, his childish pride refusing to allow him to go downstairs and eat at the correct time with the rest of the family. If he couldn't be a proper part of the family, he wouldn't be a second rate one, not for anything, he thought, winding a knot in his stomach. Not that he was even that hungry. Not for their pretentious food.
A strong picture rose up uninvited of himself, hunched over and gnawing at his thumb, tracing some intricate pattern in the dust. He was hunched over because he was hiding from his own bad thoughts and feelings swirling around. He stopped drawing and tears dripped emotionlessly into the dust and ruined the picture. He moved onto his index finger and bit on it hard enough to hurt a bit but not enough to make a bruise. No tears came to Sirius's eyes at the sudden memory, and he swallowed nothing and blinked back nothing and put his hand to his face for no reason at all and swoosh.
Sirius jumped, raging at the person opening the door, catching him unawares, trying to delve into his mind, seeing him vulnerable. He was pathetic and weak and unlovable. He blinked hard again and his pulse was already racing, felt like it had been for years, at the shock. The door opened and it was the former.
"Is this seat taken?" enquired Lupin in a shaky whisper. "Please" he remembered, to be polite. No one notices someone quiet and polite with neatly darned gloves without fingers. Loud, annoying, aggressive, confrontational scrap of pulsing anger Sirius Black looked up and his lip crinkled. He looked the other small boy up and down once, and Remus visibly shrunk under his cold gaze.
"No" said Sirius shortly, spitting ice.
"Er. Can I sit there?" Remus steeled himself, and tried not to shake. Sirius stared at him furiously.
"No" he repeated, fixing his eyes on the other boy. Remus froze for a second in panic. Maybe his mother was wrong and the other boy had worked it out, straight away and was about to tackle him.
"I mean y'can sit there. But you can't sit there" said the little dark figure with a little white face. It spoke harshly and so low it was almost guttural, like a curse or a death whisper it felt like to Remus, young and naive as he was.
With its words, a lip curled as he let his gaze hang off Remus's patched coat, his hair so different to Sirius's own sleek silky black threads, his tattered collar. Remus still said nothing but had flushed deeply, turning around, when WHAM- another child was rammed into him, knocking them both back into the carriage with the nasty little boy.
It was another boy, nervous as Remus was but chubby. Sirius Black stared incredulously at the pair, but there was a teacher just outside the open door so he trembled in anger and said nothing. "Er, Peter Pettigrew" said the boy, and offered Remus a pudgy hand. Remus shook it, feeling vaguely like he was being set up in a horrible, horrible trap.
No one spoke. Peter followed Remus as he edged around to sit at the farthest corner away from Sirius and crammed in next to him. Sirius spread out his belongings over his whole side and glared at the two scared little faces opposite him. Sirius Black was in no way scared. Remus wanted to throw up.
There was quite a quiet and delicate atmosphere.
"BALLS!"
Sirius actually became pink with helpless rage as a little boy even skinnier and shorter than Remus was thrown into the carriage. He stumbled wildly over Sirius's bag and fell on his very skinny rear.
"Oh, hallo, chaps." He bounced back up, unharmed, and Remus winced. "Sorry about all that. Misunderstanding with- erm, well, it doesn't matter now. How's everyone?"
Peter offered the newcomer a tentative hello, and Remus dared to glance at Sirius Black, who looked very much as if he might be the one to throw up, and incredibly, actually withdrew into the corner and drew his knees up for protection, allowing Skinny a place to sit. He stared out at them with dark eyes and if you hadn't known, as Remus did, that he was an evil soulless creature, you might have naively assumed that his slight trembling was in fear.
"James Potter" said James Potter proudly, itching at his long, messy hair, and wrinkling his nose to hitch his glasses up. The train growled, and started. Trapped.
"Peter Pettigrew" mumbled Peter again, proffering the hand as he had to Remus, and James shook it enthusiastically. He ignored the nasty posh one and looked to the skinny plain one who looked very much like he was trying to disappear into the back of the seat.
James Potter and Peter Pettigrew stared at him. Sirius Black stared at his own knees. Remus Lupin swallowed and gave his name.
James and Peter looked at Remus, and then Sirius, and then back at Remus.
"Er, Sirius Black" said Remus, feeling more uncomfortable than he had ever felt in his life. Sirius Black shot him a look of hatred, and went back to his knees. Remus flushed, wishing he wasn't. No love at first sight yet then.
:) Review?
A new chaptered story about the Marauders' fabulous and magical seventh year up very soon. Including stars, pining, Peter getting ignored, James getting Lily (oh, and messing it up again), Snape being horrible, Sirius being valiant, Remus being tormented (but in the good way), shameless innuendo, and a smudge (or two) of gloriously SBRL smut.
Finally just wanted to say thank you, so much, to my reviewers. The gratitude I have for you cannot be expressed in mere words. Love you :')