A fifteen year old Remus Lupin dragged his trunk down the aisle of the Hogwarts Express, stopping when he spotted the compartment containing his two best friends, deep in conversation. He gave a tentative rap on the glass, and the two boys looked up.
"Cumih!" he heard Sirius say. He frowned, and cupped his hand around his ear, then lurched as the train started, and grabbed the door for support. Sirius rolled his eyes, and then got up and wrenched the door open.
"Come in, I said. God, you'd think we were going to wave you away, or something." He grabbed Remus' trunk, and heaved it into the overhead rack.
"Just though I ought to check before entering the 'Potter-Black' compartment." Remus retorted. "Two celebrities such as yourselves shouldn't have to share with commoners like me." He pretended that he wasn't worried at all, although his stomach was doing somersaults. He knew that he was being stupid, that nothing had changed between him and his best friends over the summer. And yet…
"Oi!" James shouted, over Sirius' laughter. "You may laugh now, but someday the whole wizarding world will know the name of Potter, and you'll be honoured to have my friendship. The only way you'll ever get your name in the Daily Prophet is if you kill someone, Padfoot." Remus watched Sirius laughing, smiling a little as Sirius wiped a tear from his eye. He'd missed this, the easy back-and-forth between friends. Although he was positive he'd got more homework done than both of them put together, he wished that he could have spent at least part of the summer in Godric's Hollow with his friends.
"It'd do me mum proud if I killed someone." Sirius said, still smiling. "Finally live up to the Black family name, and all that. Wouldn't mind doing Snivellus in, then you'd be free to get Evans, eh James?" James blushed a little. "S'what we were talking about before you got here, Moony."
Ah, girls. The one topic that Remus did not want to come up, because if they discussed James' infatuation with Lily Evans, then the discussion of Sirius' latest obsession would follow, and then the fact that Remus himself had never actually had a crush on any girl at Hogwarts would be thrown into sharp relief. He devoutly hoped that he could steer the discussion away before it reached that point.
"No, you can't kill him. 'Cause then she will marry Prongs, they'll have a son, and she'll want to name him after her brutally slaughtered childhood friend. And Severus Potter sounds absurd." Remus responded. He was glad that, despite the inner conflict he felt at Sirius' presence, he could still be counted on for a snappy comeback.
"Better not then, Padfoot." James said as Sirius dissolved into laughter yet again. "It didn't go that well last time you tried, anyways. Maybe murder isn't the best tactic, but Lily Evans will be mine this year, and you can bet on it. I mean, what's that greasy haired git got that I haven't?"
Remus launched automatically into the expected tirade, categorically dismissing Severus Snape, while exaggerating James' virtues, and reassuring him that of course he was Lily's logical choice. This seemed to mollify James, although Remus' heart wasn't really in it. He kept stealing glances at Sirius (who was still struggling to regain his composure), as if he could make up for a whole summer without laying eyes on the other boy. This was how he'd spent his summer. Not reinflating James' ego, but looking at Sirius. Remus only had one photo of the marauders, but he had spent countless hours poring over it, imagining what Sirius might say if he were there. Thinking about Sirius, dreaming about Sirius, writing and burning countless letters, because you can't just send five letters a day to another bloke, even if he is your best mate. Remus finally had to just throw himself in his schoolwork, just to distract himself. The other marauders would never know the real reason he'd written fie extra inches on every essay.
"Where's Wormy got to?" Sirius said, composure (mostly) regained.
"Dunno." James said, indifferently. "Probably off being his furry self, looking up girls' skirts before they all change into their robes. Sirius let out a massive snort, but Remus frowned.
"No, I saw him getting into a compartment with Avery and Mulciber earlier." Remus said.
"Avery and Mulciber? Those gits? What does he want with them?" James said.
"S'probably trading tips to pick up the ladies." Sirius sniggered. "Oh, and speaking of ladies, I have to tell you about this Muggle sales clerk we met. She was…"
And Sirius started off on a rambling story about his summer holidays, helped occasionally be James. Remus was just glad of the excuse to stare at Sirius, giving a nod every now and again to show that he was still listening. Remus loved just sitting there, listening to his voice heavy with excitement. And as Sirius began a new story, about Doxies and toffees and Muggle police-men, Remus wondered if he would ever tell Sirius what he daydreamed about. But just as he was about to open his mouth, and interrupt Sirius' story, a rap came on the window of the compartment. He (reluctantly) looked away from Sirius, and to his surprise saw a very uncomfortable looking Lily Evans standing outside their compartment. In a flash, James was up and opening the door.
"Would you care to join me, Miss Evans?" He said, in what he clearly thought was a polite tone. She gave him a scathing glance.
"I would, but I think your ego just about takes up any spare room this compartment has to offer." She said, and then she addressed Remus. "I came to get you, actually. Prefects meeting in the first car." Sirius looked at Remus in astonishment.
"Prefect? Why didn't you say anything? Good on you, mate." Sirius said, and clapped him on the back. Remus forced himself to ignore the touch.
"Must've slipped my mind. I'll be back before we get there." Remus said. He looked to James for some sort of response, but he was still openly gawking at Lily. Glad that he had a little more self control than his friends, he slipped past James, and shut the door behind him. He turned around and saluted Sirius through the glass, who responded with a mock bow. James was still looking at Lily, who looked very uncomfortable. He gestured to her that they should head down the train, and she followed.
"Sorry about James." he said to her, once they were far enough away from his compartment so as not to be overheard. She rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, Remus, I don't see why you hang around those two. You're so much better than them. They probably wouldn't even be passing if it weren't for you writing their essays for them." Lily said.
"Oh, they have their good points." Remus said. "You just don't like them because you're friends with Snape. "
"Do you have a problem with that?" she said defensively. "They're horrible to him. What has he ever done to them?"
"I'm not defending their actions, Lily. I'm just saying. If you got to know them, James and Sirius are actually good people. You should give them a chance. Especially James."
"That is never going to happen. James Potter is an arrogant toerag, and I don't ever want to associate with him in any way!"
Remus smiled. "So, should I not talk to you then?"
Lily blanched. "Oh, that's not what I meant. I just- they aren't nice people, Remus."
"We're going to have to agree to disagree on that, Lily. I think- Oh! Is this where we were headed?" He pointed at a door that they had just walked past. They quickly doubled back, and Lupin opened the door for Lily with a flourish. She smiled, and then hurried over to sit next to Severus. He smiled at her, and they were quickly deep in conversation. Lupin went to the only other empty seat, which was beside the rather unpleasant Ravenclaw Head Boy, Daniel Edgecombe. They exchanged curt nods, and proceeded to ignore each other.
The Gryffindor Head Boy, Frank Longbottom, looked around, and, realizing that everyone was there, stood up.
"Hello, everyone!" he said. "I'd like to welcome you back to Hogwarts for this new year. A special welcome to all our new prefects. I have some things I'd like to cover about the changes in rules this year, so…" Remus knew he should be listening, but Frank just made it so hard to pay attention. He wasn't alone in being distracted. The only one really listening, besides Frank's girlfriend Alice, was Lily. Remus craned his nick to see what she was doing, and then chuckled as he saw she was actually taking notes. He let his gaze wander a little more, and focused on the boy sitting at Lily's side.
Severus Snape. His sworn enemy, though he had no real personal quarrel with the boy. In fact, Remus felt a bit of kinship with Severus. They were both smart, both slightly socially awkward, and both (presumably) worried that their much cooler friends would realize that they could do better. Remus watched as Severus, though he was pretending to be paying attention to Frank's dull speech, was actually sneaking glances at Lily every chance he could get.
He wasn't as blatant as James was. Remus had to watch him for quite a while to be sure that he wasn't imagining it. But there was no imagining the look in Severus' eyes. It was quite like the look that Remus himself got, when he allowed himself to think about Sirius. Remus suddenly understood why Severus hated James so, and he realized that he couldn't bring himself to hate him any longer. How could he? He knew the inner torture brought on by falling for your best friend, and could he really say that he held the moral high ground?
"So, that's all I think we need for now. We will of course discuss things more thoroughly at the meeting on Thursday night. Any questions?" Blessedly, no one raised their hand, and so all the prefects began gathering their things, and heading out the door. Remus hung back, and waited until Severus and Lily were the only ones left in the room. Just as they were leaving, he called out,
"Lily, can I have a word?" She spun around, apparently unaware that there was anyone else in the room. She looked at Severus, who looked reluctant to leave her in a room alone with one of the marauders, but he nodded.
"I'll wait outside." He said, and closed the compartment door behind him. Lily walked over to Remus.
"What did you want?" Now that she was right in front of him, looking at him expectantly, he had lost most of his confidence that this was a good idea. He took a deep breath.
"I'd like a favour."
"A favour?"
"Yeah. Look, you know how James has been mooning over you-"
"Remus Lupin, if you are going to suggest that I go on a date with James Potter, then You are dead wrong!" Lily interrupted.
"No, no." he quickly reassured her. "It's just, if I have to hear about Lily's perfect eyes one more time, I think I'll throw up." She looked revolted. "I don't want you to date him, but maybe if you went with someone else, he might realize that he doesn't have a chance?"
Lily nodded. "That sounds like it might work. But who on earth could I go on a date with? Are you asking?"
Now it was Remus' turn to look revolted. "Me? Not on your life." Then, as if realizing how that must sound to her, "No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, he'd kill me if I did. I'm his best mate."
Lily nodded. "Makes sense. Who did you have in mind?"
Remus paused, and whetted his lips. "I was thinking, maybe… Snape?" He steeled himself for her reaction.
"Severus? You want me to go on a date with my best friend?" He nodded. "I… well… yeah, I guess that might work. But what do you think Severus would say about it?" Remus smiled.
"I think that he would be quite willing to go along with the plan. Tell you what. Why don't you invinte him to the Three Broomsticks on our first Hogsmeade weekend? I'll make sure James is there, and you and Severus can be very cozy. That should be enough to put him off you. I hope." Lily smiled.
"I hope too. I'll make sure to talk to Severus about it, and I'll get back to you. But I really need to go. Mary wants me to give her my opinion on her new dress robes." Lily smiled, and headed over to the door. Remus opened it for her, only to see Severus waiting outside with a curious expression on his face.
"You go on ahead, Lily." Severus said. "I need to discuss our transfiguration homework with Remus." Lily smiled, and headed off down the train. Severus grabbed Remus' arm, and dragged him back into the Prefect compartment.
"What're you playing at, Lupin?" he hissed. "I heard every word of that conversation. What's the game?" Remus almost laughed at how he was willing to tell Severus, his worst enemy his secrets before he told his best friends.
"There's no game, Snape. I saw the way you look at her. I know that expression only too well, because I've worn it more often that I care to admit. And you deserve her more that James does, even if he is my best friend."
Severus was shocked into silence.
"Look, I have to go. James and Sirius will be waiting." Remus said, after waiting for Severus to say anything. He turned to leave, and he was halfway out the door when Severus called out to him.
"Lupin…" Remus turned around. Severus looked like he wanted to say something, but he just looked at Remus. Remus nodded, and then headed out the door.
Well, this was an auspicious start to the school year. He hoped James and Sirius didn't find out about his possible alliance with Severus. He dearly hoped that neither James nor Sirius would find out about his feelings for Padfoot. He wondered if they would find out what Wormy was up to with those Slytherins. But, he thought, as he opened the door to his compartment, where James and Sirius were enchanting Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans to fly and bombard each other…
That's just life at Hogwarts.