The once-quiet room was suddenly alive with life as two rambunctious preteens burst though the oaken door, crashing over open trunks and the five four-poser bed that made up the first year boys' dormitory. Startled by his housemates' rowdy appearance, Remus Lupin looked up quickly, dragging the sleeve of his robe across his face before the noisy duo could begin leaping over him. An awkward vaulting sensation alerted him, as he had suspected, to his comrades' arrival as he pitched forward on his mattress, tossing both hands out to save himself from a feathery face plant.
James Potter and Sirius Black bounded on to their fellow first year's bed with all the weight of two boys doing cannonballs, bouncing around and cheering joyfully for a few moments before settling back to stare at their puffy-eyed comrade.
"Hey Nobby-No-Mates!" Sirius taunted, "haven't see you in class, lately."
"Been skiving' off, have you?" James questioned, childish voice already overbearingly haughty.
Remus shook his head violently, sniffing deeply before answering. "No, I'm not! I'm just… I haven't been feeling well," he muttered dejectedly, eyes downcast and lost in nothingness.
Sirius watched him confusedly, eyebrow raised. "You sure are sick a lot. Are you, y'know, okay?"
James cut in before Remus had a chance to assure him otherwise. "You are looking a bit peaky, mate. Y'know - more than usual."
Lifting his head quickly, Remus's eyes refocused on James's face, lips moving soundlessly. What was it he had said? The word - the word at the end of his first statement. It wasn't bloke, not boy-o, not even Remus. James had tagged the word 'mate' to the end of his speech - a Briticism synonymous with the word 'friend.'
His voice wavered before he could even begin to form an answer, making him appear all the more sickly. "I- I- I, uh… I'll be fine." His white face brightened considerably, something close to a pale pink flush creeping into his pallid cheeks.
Snickering at Remus, Sirius reached out and playfully tousled the other Gryffindor's hair, lips drawn back in a half smile. "Well, then," Remus's smile widened.
"Say," James began casually. "D'you wanna come with us to nick some grub from the kitchens?" He slid off the four-poster, Sirius scrambling off behind him.
"I-I'd love to!" Remus answered, diving off after them, grey eyes wide and twinkling with astonishment. "Wait - you know where the kitchens are?" He wasn't at all surprised that the conniving duo planned on robbing the kitchens - the true shock cam with the knowledge that after three weeks at Hogwarts, they already knew where it was. Eyeing them both with a look similar to worship, he fumbled around with his shoes - attempting to pull them on as the others answered.
"Oh, Remus," James sighed, draping his arm over the smaller boy's shoulders as he stood up. "We know where everything is." With that parting statement, he steered his newest friend out of the dormitory, Sirius snickering as he bounded along in front.