Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the story below and am not making any money from this fic.

Remus was worried. When he had sat on the edge of his bed earlier, trunk neatly packed and thought about all the palm-sweating, heart-racing, stomach-lurching things he would have to go through today, this hadn't been on his list. But everything else had been fine; he hadn't got rejected by the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, the embarrassment of his mother bursting into tears and wailing at the top of her voice that 'her little Remmy was all grown up now,' had long worn off and the Sorting Hat hadn't decided that they needed a new house, with its trait being stupidity, just for him. Plus, not tripping over his own feet on the long journey to the stool had to be a major success.

But the even the most awkward, horrifying scenario he had managed to imagine this morning hadn't included this. He looked around him, his eyes darting from one face to the other. Pale skin. Olive skin. Emerald eyes. Hazel eyes. Blond waves. Black curls. Tall. Short. Fat. Thin. Enveloped in a sea of people he felt dizzy, disorientated. How he hated this, surrounded by people, all trying desperately to make a good first impression. And he had to make one as well. It was the only thing that mattered. How could he have not considered it this morning? To be shunned and avoided again... At this school it would be different, he decided firmly. He would make friends, be popular and no one would know about his…condition.

Briefly he allowed his mind to wander. Him stretched out with a book by the lake, not reading like usual but talking, laughing, just as he'd watched other people do. From a distance, of course. No one had wanted to be near to him, not after that night.

He tried to imagine the friend he would joke with, but this jolted him back to reality. The friend (he didn't dare hope for friends) he would make would be someone sitting in front of him now. And he had to make a good impression. He just had to.

He looked around, trying to decide whom to approach. He would just say hi, he decided. That was short, easy to remember. And much cooler than hello. On his left a girl was twittering on about anything and everything she had read in the numerous books they had to have brought. Normally Remus loved to discuss books, but this girl appeared to talk without pausing for breath (or food) and her high-pitched, almost squawky voice, punctuated with violent hand gestures had him quickly looking across the table. Opposite from him sat an extremely handsome boy. His dark hair was long, and fell casually into his eyes whenever he looked down at his plate. He looked much older than eleven, rebellious in a Robin Hood or Dick Turpin way. Charismatic, charming and captivating, Remus decided. Definitely main character material. Probably in an old Muggle legend, the sort of book Remus loved. Boys would aspire to be him; girls would worship him. But he would shun them all, glancing at them with the same haughty look that he was wearing now.

The handsome boy opposite was now leaning back, shaking his hair out of his eyes. Watching out the corner of his eye, Remus saw him glance, almost imperceptibly at the Slytherin table. What he saw there seemed worry him and he quickly flicked his back towards the middle of the table, an unreadable emotion across his face. This interested Remus and trying not to be obvious, he glanced towards the furthest table himself. There he saw a collection of older students, heads bent together, listening to a girl with the same handsome features as the boy opposite. He saw her glance up towards where he was sitting; before he could look away she caught his eye, sneering. He looked quickly back down and caught the boy opposite watching him.

"I see you've met my cousin." His voice dripped with distain.

"Oh…you mean that girl? With the dark hair? Beautiful? Not that I like her or anything, I'm not really into girls. Unless that's not cool…do you like girls? You would know what's cool, you've got that…"

"The name's Sirius." His voice cut across Remus' babble.

"Remus". He shook the offered hand. "Sorry about the babble, I was just nervous and when I'm nervous I…"

"I get the idea." Sirius looked up and smiled. "Sorry about Bellatrix."

Remus frowned slightly, not understanding.

"Cousin." Sirius jerked his head over his shoulder towards the Slytherin table. "Horrible. Actually believes all the pure-blood rubbish our family forces down our throats. Stupid. They'll kill me for making Gryffindor, of course."

Remus nodded, a bit overwhelmed.

"What about your family?"

Remus thought for a minute. "They'll be glad, I think. My Dad's a Muggle so he doesn't really understand the different houses. My Mum was Ravenclaw, but as long as I didn't end up in Slytherin she'll be happy. She's told me all about how devious and sneaky they are...Sorry." He added quickly. "Your family are Slytherins aren't they? I didn't mean to…I mean I'm sure some of them are nice…"

Sirius laughed again. "You wouldn't say that if you met them."

Remus wasn't sure how to respond to that. An awkward silence stretched before them. Looking quickly at Sirius he saw that he was watching him, smiling slightly.

"Sorry about that. I shouldn't burden my life story onto a stranger. I'm just so happy to finally be free of them. Anyway." His smile became bigger. "You're not a stranger now. No one gets to hear about my woe-is-me life without immediate instatement as a friend." He held out his hand for Remus to shake.

Remus shook it, happiness that bubbling inside him. Friend. He finally had a friend.

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