It was your fifth year at Hogwarts. Your parents had sent you off, expectant of you. Your pureblood was sure to land you in the perfect position they wanted you in, high grades, good Quidditch position, and close Pureblood friends. They're expectations of you were so high even though you were put in Gryffindor rather than the preferred Slytherin, you felt as though you might disappoint them further. But all those thoughts were left behind while shopping for your magical supplies and any other objects you would need with one of your closet friends. You were, of course, shopping with Lily Evans, your best friend of over eight years.
You and Lily had met at daycare, her mother had known yours, as they had gone to school together, but your mother never seemed to care for Lily's. You and her still saw each other, however, and you became fast friends, as you realized you had much in common, boys and otherwise. You hated when a boy called you beautiful and expected you to fall head over heels for you. You and Lily had the same rebellious attitude, which made you both butt heads a lot, but still made you great friends. Lily didn't want a good friend that couldn't stand up for her when the time was right.
Your mother had a sister, Druella Black was her name. You had met all the children of the Black family, as well as their close relatives the Malfoys. You had met Lucius Malfoy, his father, Sirius Black, Regulus Black, Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda Black. Your mother was close to these people, and frequently, they visited and stayed over every once in awhile. Sirius seemed to be over a lot more than everyone else though, and most of these times were secret. He would stay up in your room, giving you the excuse that he didn't care much for his family and he needed to get away. Because of this, you'd become great friends with him, so much so that he was pretty much like your brother. He watched out for you while in Hogwarts, in fact, he even let you help him and James play some pranks, but they were usually mean, so you learned to just stay out of them.
The train ride was rather amusing, as was finding somewhere to sit. Lily dragged you over to a compartment, however, and she introduced you to her other best friend, Severus Snape. You didn't necessarily hate him, he just wasn't the kind of person you would converse with. He had greasy, chin length black hair, and piercing dark brown eyes that almost seemed black at first glance. He and Lily got into a conversation, leaving you to stare at the window lazily. If only you had a book to read.
"You know, Krista, you could contribute to the conversation." Lily stated. You smiled at her.
"No thanks, you and Severus seem to be able to take care of that." With that, you turned back towards the window, and stared out of it. Snape sent you a glare, which went unnoticed by Lily, but was noticed by you. As soon as you entered the compartment, you knew he didn't care much for you. You didn't care much for him either; he was, after all, in Slytherin while you were in Gryffindor. But Lily was also in Gryffindor, why'd he hate you so much?
"I'm going to go find Sirius." There was a certain look of disgust that came upon Snape's face, which made you roll your eyes as you left the compartment. You walked by many people who were lingering in the narrow ways between the compartments. You scowled as you tried to slip past each person, of course it was rather difficult, but you made it. You spotted Sirius in a compartment, with his close friends that you'd met before, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. You thought twice about walking in there, since James would ask about Lily, Peter would attempt to hit on you, and Sirius would hit Peter, all the while Lupin would read a book in the corner and tell his friends to calm down.
You gulped, opening the compartment and getting the attention of all the inhabitants.
"Hey Krissie!" Sirius and James greeted you cheerfully in unison, while Lupin gave you a warm smile, and Peter waved nervously. You took a spot in between James and Sirius, who both laughed with you.
"Is there anything new with you guys?" You asked. Sirius and James shrugged their shoulders, meaning they hadn't thought about it over the summer. "Oh, well, that's interesting. This is more amusing that hangin' with Lily and Severus." Sirius' nose scrunched up, like there was suddenly something foul in the air.
"Is Snivellus giving you any trouble, Krissie, 'cause we can take care of that?" You shook your head, crossing your arms defiantly.
"You know Lily won't be very happy if you do that, and James, if you ever plan on being with Lily, I suggest you don't torture Snape in front of her." You shot the messy haired boy a look. "You know she sticks by her friends, and she finds you as obnoxious as guys possibly get right now." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Don't give us that, we know Lily is in l-o-v-e with James."
"Yes," You mumbled sarcastically, "Aren't we all. Right Peter?" You laughed as the rat looking boy squeaked and let out a dry heave. You snickered as Sirius shared a glance with you, while James looked horrified. Remus was, of course, still buried in a book. There was another silence; you could only hear Peter breathing heavily, and the sound of pages turning. You were ready to sit beside the boy just to see what he was even reading, but you knew Sirius would say something about your liking Remus. He always seemed to have something to say, whether you were innocently chatting with the bookworm or maybe just staring at his beautiful, tired eyes. You decided to take a chance, and you quickly switched spots, pushing between Peter and Remus.
"Whatcha' readin'?" You leaned on his shoulder to get a better look at the very small black text of the book. Sirius and James shared a look, while Remus turned a few shades of pink, unnoticed by you. You couldn't very well make out the text, so you moved from Remus' personal bubble and went back to looking at him, waiting for an answer to his question.
"It's just the book we need for Potions this year. I like to read it over first, so I can-"
"Quit the nerd talk, Remus!" Sirius exclaimed. "C'mon, flirt a little, it wouldn't hurt to be smart and have a girlfriend." He smirked as Remus turned a dark shade of red. You in turn glared at Sirius.
"Shut up. I think I'll go hang out with Severus and Lily again." You stood up, ready to leave when you saw someone else stand up behind you.
"Krista." You turned to give him a questioning look. "I'd like to talk to you." You raised an eyebrow, nodding as you stepped out of the compartment with Remus.
"Is something wrong?" You asked as the two of you made your way to a compartment that had no people in it. It was rare to find these, but when you did, you seized the opportunity. "You seem, nervous."
"It's something that's been going on for the past years...James, Sirius, and Peter already know." You crossed your arms, looking over his worried features.
"I didn't want to tell you, because your thoughts would change, but they all thought I could trust you, and... I do as well." What could be so important that he had to drag you away, alone, from the rest of them? You wondered maybe it had to do with him being so tired, and his frequent disappearances. You looked at him, his eyes looked over you. "I'm a...werewolf." It came as an initial shock; you could feel yourself take a step back in surprise. He looked down, ashamed, and taking your reaction as one of disgust. You quietly thought things over.
"Why would you think it'd change anything?" You ask softly. "You're still you, even being a..." you gulped. "...being a werewolf. I can't believe you didn't trust me more." You'd known him as long as Sirius had, and you had gotten to know him. The fact that he thought him being a werewolf would change your opinion of him; it made you feel, like he didn't trust you. But on the other end, werewolves weren't high up in society, like your parents were, and if they ever found, if you let it slip, he would be ridiculed the rest of his life.
"I'm sorry." He murmured back, just as quietly as you had. "James wanted me to wait until I got to know you more, he didn't trust you as much back then. Sirius fought with him through those days, but they still remained good friends."
"Yeah, but it was your decision, they shouldn't really have any say in it. But, that's not the point." You stopped short, letting out a sigh. "I've always trusted you, and I still do, werewolf or not, you're still Remus Lupin, Gryffindor bookworm who has to keep his friends in line." He gave you a weak, tired smile.
"Thank you, Krista." You just sighed and rubbed the back of your head.
"Don't worry about it, Remus; let's just get back to the compartment unless you'd rather hear Sirius and James rant about what they think happened." He chuckled, taking your hand as he helped you jump over the gap that led from one train car to the next. When you got back to the compartment, you let Lupin slip in before closing it.
"I'm gonna go check on Lily." You waved to the four people in the compartment, and walked back to the previous compartment with Snape and Lily in it. Lily greeted you enthusiastically, while Snape rolled his eyes a bit. You shot the boy a dirty look, as you sat beside the red-headed girl.
"Is something wrong, Krista? You look pale." You smiled at her, waving your hands in protest.
"I'm fine, almost fell, but I'm fine." Snape's lip curled as he stared out of the window, to the looming castle in the distance.
You were finally dressed in your Hogwarts robes, and as you left the train with Lily, you glanced back to meet the four marauders, all of which were staring at you. You turned around. Lily commented on how they seemed to be watching you, you laughed it off, but didn't reply. You sighed, but you still looked forward to the Feast. The rest of the year would be interesting.