James peered into the compartment. All the others seemed to be full of older students who certainly wouldn't want a first-year trying to sit with them. This one, however, looked promising. The only occupants were a girl with red hair, determinedly looking out of the window, and a bored-looking dark-haired boy.
James opened the compartment door and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"
The boy gave him a friendly smile and said, "Go ahead."
The girl ignored him, but James decided that she'd say something if she wanted him to leave, and sat down across from the boy.
"I'm Sirius," the boy offered.
"James. D'you like Quidditch?"
Such was the beginning of a friendship that would become famous throughout Hogwarts.
James followed the group of people down to the boats. He wasn't sure where Sirius had gone, but he supposed he'd find him later. He saw Snivellus and the red-haired girl talking out of the corner of his eye, and snorted. He hoped they weren't in his house.
The next thing that caught his attention was a yelp. "Give that back! It's- ow!"
He frowned. What was that? He turned, wriggling his way out of the group of people.
Off on the side of the path, a small, plump boy was leaping for a piece of paper that a tall boy was dangling above his head, just out of reach.
James crept over, careful to be quiet, until he was standing behind the tall boy. It was almost too easy. He snatched the piece of paper out of the boy's hand when he held it behind him.
The tall boy whirled. "What-"
James had yanked out his wand and was currently pointing it straight at the tall boy's forehead. So what if he didn't know any spells? Nobody had to know that. "You leave him alone."
The tall boy looked warily at the wand and began to say something. He was interrupted, though, by the big man's yell for them to hurry up or he'd leave them behind. The tall boy turned away and headed down to the boats. James handed the paper back to the boy. "Here."
"Thank you!" the boy said, looking relieved. He shot an alarmed look at the boats. "Will he really leave us behind?"
"I doubt it," James said, "But I'd rather not risk it. Let's go. I'm James, by the way."
"I'm Peter."
Remus could feel his heart pounding. He listened in a haze to the Sorting Hat's song. The only phrase that penetrated his fog-clogged brain was "bravery and courage."
Definitely not me, he thought giddily. A thousand panicked thoughts were shrieking for attention in his head. He couldn't hear anything else.
What if the hat decides that I shouldn't be sorted because I'm a werewolf?
Someone was walking over to the stool, putting on the hat. A girl with straggly brown hair. Remus's hearing momentarily returned, enough for him to hear the shout, "Ravenclaw!" One of the tables started cheering, and his panicked thoughts returned in full.
What if nobody likes me?
What if someone finds out that I'm a werewolf and tells everyone? I'll have no friends, and I'll be kicked out, and...
Remus remembered, with a shudder, the children he'd used to play with. When he'd told them he was a werewolf, they'd all stopped playing with him. "I don't want to play with Remus! He'll eat me!"
Please don't let that happen here.
He forcibly dragged his thoughts away from the what-ifs that were threatening to overwhelm him, and tried to focus on the Sorting.
"Black, Sirius!"
A brief pause, and then the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Whispers broke out, and Remus suspected the cheers at the Gryffindor table were quieter than they had been for the last person to be sorted.
Black. Wasn't Dad just talking about that family? He said they were a really dark family... Remus remembered. Sirius Black sat down at the table, and the people sitting nearest to him scooted away, just a little bit.
"I don't want to play with Remus!" The children stepped back when he came near, stared at him with frightened eyes. "He'll eat me!"
Remus was furious. Anger pounded in his veins, anger at all stupid, prejudiced people. If I'm in Gryffindor, I'm going to go sit next to him and say hi. I don't care who his parents are.
When Remus would reflect back on these moments later, it would occur to him that his righteous anger and desire to do what was right might be what prompted the hat to say "Gryffindor!" instead of "Ravenclaw," like he'd been expected.
Remus walked over to the cheering table and sat down next to Sirius Black. "Hi," he said.
And was promptly overwhelmed by another panic attack.
What if he doesn't want me to sit with him? What if I just behaved like a total idiot? What if-
Sirius grinned at him with a look that Remus thought might be relief. "Hey. You're Remus, right?"
"Yeah. And you're Sirius?" Remus asked, even though he already knew the answer, smiling back.
"Yup. I'm glad that's over, aren't you?"
Remus laughed, more out of relief than anything else. "Definitely. You'd think they could at least sort us in private, right?"
"I know. All those people watching! Hey, where do you think she's going to get sorted?" Sirius asked, jerking his head at the girl sitting under the Sorting Hat.
Remus looked at her critically. "Ravenclaw?" he guessed, only to be followed a moment later by the shout, "Hufflepuff!"
Sirius snickered. "Good thing you're not the Sorting Hat."
"As if you'd be any better."
"Is that a challenge?" Sirius's grin was pure mischief and made Remus wonder what exactly he was getting into.
As Remus listened to Sirius's whispered commentary and mostly-incorrect guesses, he discovered that he wasn't nearly as nervous as he was earlier.
Maybe Hogwarts won't be so bad, after all.
"Hmm... interesting. Very interesting," the Sorting Hat said in Peter's ear. He listened silently.
"You are quite a tricky one, aren't you? Hmm. Ravenclaw is certainly not for you."
I'm not smart enough for them, Peter thought, a shade bitterly.
"While intelligence is part of it, you don't have the work ethic, either, and you'd be quite miserable there. I am supposed to put people in the house where they would fit and thrive, you know, and Ravenclaw is not where you belong."
The Sorting Hat was silent for another moment. Peter supposed it was reading his mind, and shifted uncomfortably. Did it have to take so long about it?
"Hufflepuff, perhaps. But perhaps not... hmm. You don't quite have the right traits for it, I don't think."
Peter blinked. Doesn't Hufflepuff take everyone?
"Yes, of course. I think you may belong somewhere else, though... perhaps in Slytherin?"
I don't want to be in Slytherin! Peter thought desperately.
"No, I don't think so. You aren't ambitious or cunning enough... although you do have a great deal of weaknesses, and those who go to Slytherin very often do as well. But no, Slytherin wouldn't do at all."
Peter relaxed. Does this mean...
"Gryffindor? That's where you want to be, isn't it? You want to be with your new friend, I see, and you think that he'll be in Gryffindor. Hmm... you have the potential for bravery, under the right circumstances, and the potential for loyalty as well. Environment does affect people quite a bit... Yes, it had better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Peter took off the hat and hurried over to Gryffindor table, his knees weak with relief. Gryffindor! He slid into the first available seat, one across the table from two other first years.
"Hi," said one of them. He had a thin, white scar on his cheek. He smiled at Peter, a little hesitantly. The other boy grinned at Peter as well. Peter smiled back.
Yes, he was very glad he'd been placed in Gryffindor.
"Potter, James!"
"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat shouted, almost as soon as James put it on his head.
James grinned with delight, and ran over to the cheering Gryffindor table. Yes! He thought triumphantly.
Peter waved at him, and James sat next to him, only to discover that he was sitting across the table from Sirius. "Hey," James said cheerfully. "Looks like you did break the tradition, huh?"
Sirius grinned. "Yup. We sat together on the train," he added for the benefit of Peter and the boy sitting next to him- Remus, James remembered.
They probably would have continued talking, if the prefect sitting next to Peter hadn't shushed them. Sirius rolled his eyes, but they stopped talking and turned their attention back to the Sorting.
Remus said, "Cool," as they walked into their dorm.
Sirius agreed wholeheartedly. "Very cool."
"You bet!" James laughed. "I have a good feeling about this, guys. This is going to be a great seven years!"
"Everyone will know our names," Sirius agreed.
"We should do something that nobody's ever done before," Peter suggested.
"Like covering all the floors with ice? Making everyone skate around to get to their classes?" Remus's voice was skeptical.
Sirius knew, as he looked at James's wicked grin, that he had the same grin on his own face. "Perfect! Remus, you're a genius."
"I was joking!"
"It's too late now," Peter said as he dug through his trunk. "You've already given them the idea."
"Exactly," James said cheerfully. "That'll be our goal. To cover all the floors of Hogwarts with ice by the end of seventh year. Maybe with a few other pranks along the way..." Sirius and James high-fived.
Remus muttered, "I'm going to bed before they get any more ideas."
James yawned. "Good idea."
Several minutes and a bit more excited chattering later, all four boys were in bed.
Sirius's last thought, before slipping into sleep, was, Yeah, James was right. This is going to be great.
And it was.