It was the evening after the start-of-term feast, and all the new first years were tromping upstairs with full bellies and tired little heads. Among them were Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew, who were to be roommates. James and Sirius had met each other already, and were still congratulating each other upon becoming Gryffindors together, as if it had been a great feat of courage and skill. Sirius was getting odd looks from the Slytherins and teachers, as it was going around, "Aren't Blacks supposed to be in Slytherin?" Remus was scuffing along nervously, as he hadn't made eye contact with anybody yet. Peter was lost in his own confused little thoughts, and dreams of school life swam around in his head.

"First years, this way!" called the Prefect. James and Sirius looked around with wide eyes as they beheld the castle in each other's company. They had taken a liking to each other when they first laid eyes on the other, and had grown even closer in the hours they had been friends. It helped that they were both pure-blood; that way, Sirius didn't have to think about his mum asking funny questions about blood traitors when he got home. It also helped that they were both fairly rich, with all new books and robes, brand new wands, and long family lines to discuss. They could also talk about Quidditch, which they both liked, and were fairly good at. James played Seeker, and Sirius was a Chaser.

Remus was nervous beyond belief, even more nervous than he had been at his sorting. He was afraid of his new roommates, afraid of his teachers, afraid of his friends-to-be, and afraid of nearly everything else in the castle that moved. He was scared that they would laugh at his third-hand robes that had belonged to his mother's father, his beat-up sneakers that were a generation old, and his stupid haircut that nobody liked. He was a werewolf, on top of that, and hadn't known that he was a real wizard until a week ago! His mother was the magical one in the family, and she had left when he was little, leaving him to be raised by his kind muggle father. Little Remus cringed when someone got within six inches of him, and bent over to try and hide his overlong sweater and patched knees. He was embarrassed almost to death.

"Here's the portrait hole; the password's 'Caput Draconis'," said the Prefect. James and Sirius wiggled through the portrait-hole one after the other, laughing all the way. Remus waited till last in line so people were less likely to poke fun at him if he slipped and fell, and Peter did slip and fall to everyone's amusement. Remus took pity on him, but was not brave enough to help out as Peter rubbed his sore bum and climbed through to the common room beyond.

James and Sirius raced each other up the stairs to the dormitory, their mirth ringing out high up near the ceiling. Remus sneaked away quietly without pausing to look at the bulletin board or the numerous armchairs. Peter drifted around a little longer before heading upstairs, where he heard a warm bed calling him. Remus panicked when he reached the door to his dormitory marked, "First Years". He had just seen Sirius and James walk through there, and now it sounded like they were wrestling. Remus' heart beat faster with anticipation. Why couldn't he have been stuck with two normal roomies, instead of these two with feathers for brains? Surely the two boys would investigate him and see his patched clothes and silly shoes; surely they would find out that he was a mangy half-blood werewolf. He opened the door.

There had indeed been a wrestling match, and Sirius had won. He was the brawnier of the two, and Remus couldn't help but admire his physique, though he was only eleven. Remus quickly scurried to his bed, and proceeded to undress.

"Oy," James called. "What's your name?"

"Um...Lupin," Remus answered. "Remus Lupin. And yours?"

"James Potter," said James as he rose from the floor. He had already stripped down to boxer shorts and made Remus feel rather intimidated.

"Sirius Black," Sirius said as he smiled and waved to Remus. Remus felt better about him; he seemed much more personable while James was yet withdrawn. "So, Lupin, where're you from?"

"Uh..." Remus had suddenly forgotten where he lived. "I dunno."

"What do you mean, 'I dunno'?" James asked.

"Never mind," Sirius insisted. "Can't you see that the poor bloke's tired?" Remus exhaled a held breath. He was off the hook. He continued to get undressed in the sticky silence, starting with his shoes and ratty socks, then with his patched jeans and too-big sweater, and then his hand-me-down robe. He looked himself over. So did Sirius.

"Uh, mate," he said cautiously, "Are you alright?" He asked upon seeing the state of Remus' underpants, which were an uncomfortable off-white color and too small. Sirius also noticed the many scars on Remus' otherwise fair skin.

"Yes," Remus choked. "I'm fine." Sirius kept staring. "I have...a dog," yes, Remus thought, a very ill-trained dog, "a very badly behaved dog and sometimes he-"

Sirius put his hand on Remus' shoulder. "That isn't the reason, is it?" His eyes were suddenly sympathetic. Remus panicked. He knows about me being a werewolf, he thought.

"It's okay if your dad beats you," Sirius finished.

"No!" Remus answered, taken aback. "That's not it at all...my father is very kind to me, and loving, and he would never-"

James and Sirius both exhaled deeply. "Well," James said, "you sure gave us a scare."

"But by the looks of things, you're not the richest family around, are you?" Sirius pressed.

Remus surveyed his belongings again. "No, no we're not." Remus looked at Sirius again. Sirius Black, with his firsthand robes, stylish jeans, fancy haircut, new wand, and confidence oozing out of every pore of his skin. He realized that it wasn't just him being poor, but Sirius being rich that made him feel so bad.

"Are you quite rich, then?" Remus asked.

Sirius scowled. "Yes. Rolling in gold, if you will."

"How can you be ashamed of that?" Remus wondered aloud.

"It's just that the money comes with the family, and I'm not fond of the family much," Sirius sniffed.

Remus gasped, "You don't love your own family?" His eyes were wide with disbelief.

Sirius started, "Well, they might be my blood relatives, but they're no family of mine."

"But...but...you have a mother, don't you? And a father?"

"Yes. Both. And I dislike both."

"But surely you feel love for them?"

"Not a thing. They never really loved me," Sirius spat. "I was always too...different."

Remus looked away. "I was in trouble at home for being too much like everyone else. Nobody noticed when I would skip school because I was so plain and easy to miss..." He fished around in his trunk for a tatty old nightshirt. He found it, and slipped it on over his skinny shoulders. "But you, you're so handsome and flamboyant and charming-"

Sirius chuckled. "And you've only known me for five minutes!" James laughed at that. Sirius took another good look at Remus. "Take that filthy thing off."

Remus asked, "What, my nightshirt?"

Sirius nodded. "Here," he said, heading over to his trunk, "I've got something for you." He took out a handsome pair of silken pajamas, emblazoned with the Black family crest. Remus' eyes grew wide as dinner plates, as he stared in awe at the pajamas.

"Are - are - are those for me?" he stuttered.

Sirius nodded again. "You look like my house-elf!"

James interjected, as he was sitting on his bed. "Say, how many house-elves do you suppose they have running this place?"

"They have house-elves?" Remus said, awestruck.

"Around two hundred or so," Sirius answered.

Remus flopped down on his bed. He wasn't nervous anymore; in fact, he liked his new friends. And he thought that they liked him. "I'd love to be rich," Remus said, placidly.

"I'd like to meet your dad," Sirius hinted. "I shouldn't mind being in your place for a while. No brothers or sisters, no mum, just me and dad."

"Oh, but it's not that easy," Remus said severely. "We haven't enough money to get along, and we don't have enough food sometimes, and other times I only have one pair of pants that fit, and they've got holes in them, and in the summer sometimes I haven't a shirt or shoes, and the house is freezing or too hot..." Not to mention the fact that Fenrir Greyback is stalking me and I'm a werewolf, Remus thought. He tried to direct himself away from thoughts of Greyback, who was constantly trying to get him to join his pack.

Remus continued, "Just look at this place! It's the right temperature, you can eat whatever you please and how much you want, you have these enormous beds to sleep in with real covers! You get to go to class and learn magic and..."

Sirius shook his head. "Yes, but all of that doesn't matter when you haven't got anybody to talk to or care for you."

"I suppose not," Remus said, undoing the bedspread and wriggling under the covers. He felt warm and safe, away from the neighborhood kids who teased him, away from Greyback, away from poverty. He missed his dad, though, and cried one tear for him after the lights went out. He pushed his face into his pillow, and cried another tear for the mother he had never known. He cried two for James and Sirius, one for each; he wanted them to be his friends so much. He cried one for that poor Peter boy so he wouldn't hurt himself. He cried one for Dumbledore, for being so gracious with him and letting a werewolf into his school. He cried one last tear because he was so happy, and fell asleep.