Remus knew from a very young age that he was different.
He always attributed these differences to the wolf within him. It was also the fault of the wolf that Remus didn't have a very good example of what a 'normal' boy was. The Lupin family found themselves moving around far too often for him to make any close friendships with anyone his age.
He never felt lonely, exactly. He didn't really know what he was missing out on, kept at home so often - and especially during the full moon. He didn't think much about other people his age. He knew that being a werewolf was decidedly not normal. Apart from that, however, he wasn't sure just what anyone else his age did that was different from him, though he knew somewhere deep down that there were more differences than he'd like to admit. That was one of the reasons he'd been both excited and overwhelmingly nervous when he received his Hogwarts letter.
An old owl had flown into the Lupins' kitchen window during breakfast on a rather normal day. Remus had seen the sky behind the large bird, currently a light-grey-almost-white early morning colour. He'd known what the owl was there to deliver. His father had told him tales of his days at Hogwarts since Remus first showed signs of magic years before. He'd been anticipating this day ever since - though there had been a sinking suspicion in the pit of his stomach that warned him that his differences wouldn't end as he walked into the school, that if they found out about his condition, he knew he wouldn't be allowed to stay.
His parents had sent back the Hogwarts owl with a letter for the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, explaining their circumstances and asking - Remus knew they asked with little conviction - if he might still have a place at the school. All he could do was wait and hope.
What felt like weeks passed when finally, they received Dumbledore's response.
The next thing Remus knew, he was off to Hogwarts - actually going to learn magic in a school with other children his age. They'd arranged for him to be out of the castle during the full moons, and it felt like a weight being lifted from his chest.
He waved goodbye to his parents after he'd boarded the train. It was a rich shade of grey, one that Remus took to be vibrant and comforting. His whole world was coloured somewhere between dark, heavy blacks and light, pure whites. Most things he saw took the shade of some in-between form of grey. He knew his parents saw the world differently than he did, and he assumed everyone else saw the vibrant colours he could only imagine. He blindly attributed the lack of colour to his being a werewolf, accepting that it was yet another thing that made him different, made him stand out.
He was tired of standing out. He wanted to find a way to fit in at Hogwarts, without getting too close - he couldn't let anyone know what he was, he couldn't.
.
He sat on the train alone, watching the scenery pass by in greys and blacks as they travelled farther north. Remus couldn't help but wonder what would happen when he made it to Hogwarts, wondering how things would change for him at the magical castle.
.
The first year students were led to the front of the Great Hall in Professor McGonagall's wake. She'd told them about the Sorting Ceremony to happen in a few moments, but Remus certainly didn't recall her mentioning the sheer magic the Hall held.
As the huge, light grey oak doors opened, he caught the eye of a boy next to him. He hadn't seen him before, not even recalling a glance on the platform back in London. He had dark hair that fell gracefully to his shoulders, grey eyes that widened and became a brighter, warmer grey as their eyes met. This wasn't a shade of grey Remus was accustomed to seeing, either, but it wasn't just the eyes that changed in that split second.
Everything did.
The floating candles hovering above the heads of the students became a soft, but bright, colour that Remus couldn't help but smile at. His eyes moved over every inch of the Hall, taking in the new, awe-inspiring colours that flooded his line of sight. He saw old, warm colours and vibrant, exciting ones and soft, comforting colours - everywhere he looked, he saw more.
Perhaps it was the magic of the place, or maybe it was Remus feeling, for the first time since he'd been bitten, a sense of community with people his own age, people like him. He hardly had time to wonder if it was the boy himself that brought about this surge of colours. The thought had barely crossed his mind by the time the new students started walking up to the top of the Hall. Even the other students looked so different from any other people he'd seen. The colours he'd only heard about from his parents and from novels he'd read seemed to bring a new sense of life to everything he saw.
Remus, taking his place in line before the other students sitting around the Great Hall, briefly realized that he hadn't seen anything in this way before, not even before he was bitten, which ruled out it being a werewolf side effect.
Maybe it was the boy.
He waited for his name to be called once the Hat had finished its song. Remus watched everyone who went up as their name was called, desperate to know who this mysterious colour-bringer was. He recalled the novels he'd read on the topic claiming that the colours came when one found their true love.
The thought scared Remus, a bit. He never thought of himself as the 'true love' type, knowing no one would ever want to be with him when they found out who he was. He didn't think he could have any sort of relationship while keeping that part of his life secret, but it seemed as though fate was telling him something different.
The name "Black, Sirius" was called, and up went the boy Remus had quickly become interested in.
He wondered if Sirius had the same experience as Remus had when their eyes first met, though he had a feeling, given the way the other boy kept looking over at Remus throughout the feast, he didn't need to read Sirius's mind to find out.
A/N: For the Hunger Games Competition (Training Round, using the prompt 'write an AU'). Colourblind!AUs are really fascinating, so I really wanted to explore this! Huge thanks to Queen (you're still always Kitty to me, though) and Elphie for betaing/feedback.