Remus sat in an empty carriage on the train.
On the platform his parents were still waving and he waved back, smiling at them through the window. He could see the concern in his mother's eyes as she tried to hold back the tears at her son leaving for school. Remus had panicked slightly at the crowd of people on the platform, the noise and smells overwhelming him.
Remus' father, John had assured him that he would get used to both.
The train slowly began to pull away, and soon Remus had his attention on the scenery. After a little while, he heard the compartment door open and shut, and turned around, finding himself face to face with a boy with dark hair.
He jumped, his eyes fixed on the boy whose face was three inches away from his and he quickly sat back, causing the boy to grin.
"You shouldn't sit by yourself," the boy said, sliding into the seat next to Remus. "Don't you know anyone?"
Remus shook his head, slightly wary of this strange boy.
"Well, you know me now. I'm Sirius. You better be in the same house as me too."
"Why?" Remus asked.
"Because we're friends," Sirius said as though it were obvious. "I made friends with some other boy too. Gotta cover all the different houses just in case."
"What do you mean?" Remus asked, not certain what the hell was going on. He envisioned his first friend to be someone quiet who liked reading, just like him... if he managed to make friends, that was.
"Well, if I'm lucky enough to escape from Slytherin, I gotta make sure I have friends in the other houses."
He grabbed Remus' chin, turning it each way, and Remus was too shocked to stop him.
"You don't look like a Hufflepuff." He decided, letting go of Remus' face. He grabbed Remus' bag and started rifling through, pulling out the books.
"Have you read all of these?"
"Yeah, I've read all of my textbooks too -" Remus said, trying to get his bag from Sirius' grip.
"Ravenclaw," Sirius announced. "You're definitely going to be a Ravenclaw. Hmm, I do look good in blue." He looked thoughtful as he placed the books on the seat between them.
"Uhh, I'm sure you do," Remus replied, pushing everything back into his bag before Sirius got his hands on his belongings again. This boy was clearly insane. "What house do you think you'll be in?" Remus asked.
"My whole family have been Slytherins," Sirius replied, his smile finally dropping.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Remus asked.
"Slytherins are evil," the boy said, dramatically. "I would even take Hufflepuff over them."
"Would you?"
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, I look awful in yellow. My mum would disown me if I was a Hufflepuff."
"Wouldn't she be happy for you no matter where you went?" Remus asked, thinking about his own mum saying that just before he got on the train.
"No, she's insane," Sirius replied, as though insanity explained everything.
"I don't think Hufflepuff would be too bad. Just being at Hogwarts is such a privilege, I don't mind where I get sorted," Remus said, sensing that Sirius' mother was a sore topic and quickly trying to change the conversation.
"Even if you were put into Slytherin?" Sirius looked appalled at the very notion. "No, you look too nice to be a Slytherin."
"You don't seem evil, I'm sure you won't be a Slytherin either," Remus assured the dark-haired boy.
"Brilliant, now as my best friend, it's your job to wake me when the trolley comes around with snacks."
Before Remus even knew what was happening, Sirius' head was in his lap, and the boys legs stretched across the seat. He contemplated pushing the boy from his lap but after only a few minutes, Remus could hear that Sirius' breathing had changed. Sirius was asleep.
Well, it wasn't how he planned to make his first friend. He also didn't plan for his new friend to be insane, but he couldn't help but like this boy. There was something about him that made Remus smile.
Sirius would be much more fun than a quiet friend who liked to read. Remus hoped that they would be in the same house.
There's a First Time for Everything Challenge - Remus Lupin. First Friend.
Review Please :)
