It was a dark night. The moon and stars were hidden behind dark clouds. The newly arrived inhabitants of the castle were fast asleep, except for a couple of troubled souls who couldn't bring themselves to rest. A boy was looking out into the night, high up in a tower. He was exhausted, but couldn't bring himself to sleep. With a sigh he turned away from the window and looked around the dorm, taking in the sleeping figures of the other boys. One of them was snoring lightly, but it wasn't the snoring that kept him from sleeping.
Thoughts were racing through his head, doubts and fears. The fear that the others would think him strange. The fear that he wouldn't be any good in class. But, most importantly, fear of himself. Fear of what he might do. Fear of the moon that was hiding behind the clouds. Fear that someone would discover his secret. Fear that someone would start asking questions about his scars he did not have an answer to. Fear, Fear, Fear.
A small part of him dared to hope, that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't matter to the other boys. But the bigger part of him knew he had no way of knowing that yet.
None of the boys had closed the curtains on their four-poster beds, so Remus could observe them freely. Peter, the jumpy, chubby boy, was still snoring, buried in a pile of blankets. His trunk was tucked away neatly underneath his bed. On his nightstand were several kinds of sweets. James, the dark-skinned boy with wildly curling black hair, had fallen asleep with his glasses on. He was hugging a worn stuffed bear to his chest. His blankets were a mess around his legs. There was a picture of his parents on his nightstand. The last boy, Sirius, was lying in the bed closest to the door. He was restless, tossing and turning and mumbling in his sleep. By some kind of miracle, his sheets hadn't fallen off the bed yet. His longish black hair was a mess. Remus didn't know what to make of Sirius, he was brash and loud, but there was something sad in his eyes that made him look a lot older than his eleven years.
Suddenly Sirius woke up and those stormy grey eyes were staring straight at Remus. Sirius looked at him curiously, got up, and joined him on the windowsill.
"Can't sleep?" he asked, still staring at him with that inquisitive look. Remus shook his head, avoiding the other boy's gaze. "You don't have to stay here with me," he said quietly. The black haired boy grinned.
"I want to,"
Remus looked up and stared at Sirius with disbelieving eyes. "Are you serious?" he asked hopefully. Sirius's grin turned wicked. "I'm always Sirius," Both boys burst out laughing, effectively waking James. The curly-haired boy looked at them grumpily, put his glasses on the nightstand, turned around, and promptly fell back asleep.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then Remus turned around and whispered softly: "I think I'll be able to sleep now," Sirius nodded, and surprised the other boy by hugging him tightly before returning to his bed. Remus climbed into his own four-poster, that small part of him had grown in power and he dared hope that maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out alright.