Author's Note: I don't own James, Sirius, Remus or Peter, that honour belongs to J.K Rowling, I do however own the plot so hands off..
Reviews are welcome, good or bad. Honesty is the best policy, but cruelty for cruelties sake is offensive.
Chap 1 – Lupin, Potter, Black and Pettigrew
Remus sat staring out of the window. His parents had had to drop him off early and neither could afford to miss a day off work. There'd been the expected, 'we're so proud of you', 'becareful' and 'take care and write as much as you want' tears from them, which in a way, had meant he was half glad they had left before the rush.
Staring out of the window he watched the other students with their families. Some were older and some younger but all were excited to be going or returning to Hogwarts. Watching them, their faces shining with expectation; like they were all going on a fantastic adventure. He felt the beginnings of envy in his stomach like worms, wriggling.
He wished he was excited as they, he wished he could be as carefree as them. But he was terrified.
The quiet whoosh of the door opening interrupted his thoughts, then came a soft male voice. It had a care free drawl to it. "Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
He looked up in time to see a boy drop into the seat opposite him. He had stylishness about the way he moved that meant even this untidy action seemed controlled and elegant. He was taller then Remus, by about three inches and his body was slim and lithe. His hair was black and hung around his face untidily, as if he had a habit of running his hand through it, yet it still seemed to be immaculate. His eyes were grey and stormy and his face already showing the handsome features which would probably develop into obscene good looks.
"Sirius." He said conversationally, looking at Remus expectantly.
"Remus." Remus replied. Sirius nodded and gazed out the window. "Excited?" He asked, because he didn't know what else to say.
"I've been waiting for this my whole life." Sirius said softly.
Before Remus had a chance to ask why, the door swished open again and another boy appeared. He had the widest grin Remus had ever seen.
"Hi ya. Mind if I sit here?" He asked before throwing himself into the seat next to Remus. He had none of Sirius' elegance. He was around the same height as Remus, but more gangly as if his limbs were too big for him.
His whole body seemed to hum. From his messy black hair, not stylish, just messy, to his hazel eyes which bounced around the compartment surrounded by round spectacles.
Then, giving himself what seemed like a full body shake, he seemed to settle. "Sorry, too excited for words." He grinned. "All I've heard from my mum and dad since I can remember is Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts and now I'm finally going…" He trailed off beaming. Sirius was watching the new arrival with an amused look on his face. "Sorry, manners, James. I'm James Potter." He grinned. Remus hadn't thought his mouth could get wider, but it had.
"Remus Lupin." Remus replied; smiling for the first time, realising James was infectious.
"Sirius Black." Sirius said with the same amused expression. He was watching James in a fascinated sort of way.
"Good to meet you." James grinned. "What house do you want to be in?" He asked sitting back as the train began to move away. The goodbye cries of parents could be heard but none of the three looked out the window.
"I don't mind." Remus said truthfully. His greatest fear was that whatever the sorting was he would fail. So as long as he was put somewhere he didn't really care where.
"I do." Sirius said looking at Remus in a sceptical way. "I'd rather not be in Hufflepuff." He sighed. "But all my family have been in Slytherin so I suppose I'll be in the same."
"Slytherin?" James asked, a frown appearing on his face. "Isn't that were most of the dark wizards come from?" Sirius looked out the window and nodded.
"My parents were both Griffindor." James said, then looked at Sirius again. "Black did you say?"
Sirius nodded, still gazing out the window. "Either of you follow quiditch?" Remus asked, trying to change the subject and expel the uncomfortable air in the carriage.
"Of course." James beamed. "I'm a chaser. Wish I could be a seeker, but ain't got the patience."
Remus nodded and smiled. "Yeah, know what you mean. What about you Sirius?" He asked.
Sirius finally looked at them. "I usually play beater." He said, then turned back to the window.
James rolled his eyes at Remus. He couldn't wait to be ride of the strange Black boy. He felt sure he would be in Griffindor and as Sirius had said, all the Black family were Slytherin.
He still remembered the talk his father had given him the day before. Explaining that not all wizards were good, that some were too concerned with blood purity and that most of these were old families like the Lestrange's, Malfoy's and Black's. He had told James all about the word mudblood and that it was an unforgivable term used for muggle born witches or wizards.
James father had made him promise he would never use the term or even begin to believe that the purity of someone's blood mattered. "Do not judge someone for where they come from but who they are."
James glanced at Sirius who looked proud and haughty staring out the window. Then he looked at Remus who had pulled out a book, one of the subject books, and was reading it intently.
Remus had an ill look about him; his sandy brown hair was thin and straggly. He was pale and looked very thin. There were the tracing of cuts on his face and hands which although were healing, none the less looked deep and sore.
"Studying already?" He asked incredulously, eyeing the book as if it was a dangerous beast. "Bet you'll be in Ravenclaw."
James saw Remus flush slightly. "No, I'm not clever enough. I'm not brave enough for Griffindor and I don't have the whole pure blood to be in Slytherin."
At the mention of pure blood Sirius looked up from the window. "You don't have to be pure blood to be Slytherin." He said softly.
"Slytherin expert are we?" James found himself saying rather nastily. Sirius looked at him, and James found himself fidgeting under the gaze. Then the other boy shrugged and returned to staring out the window.
"Think you'll be a Hufflepuff then?" James asked Remus who had looked distinctly uncomfortable through the whole exchange.
"Probably." Remus nodded. James hoped they would be in Griffindor
together. He rather liked the skinny scruffy boy, he was shy; the opposite to James but as they talked about the lessons they hoped to enjoy. Defence against the dark arts being the most interesting they both agreed; he liked the unassuming quality of Remus.
Sirius listened morosely as the two other boys talked excitedly about lessons, quiditch and the potential houses. He wanted to join in, to chat about the pros and cons of being a seeker: more glory, or a chaser: more to do. About whether Defence Against the Dark Arts would be better than Transfiguration, how hard Potions would be and whether it was true that a ghost really taught History of Magic.
He knew he was feeling sorry for himself. But he also knew, that no matter how well he got on with the two other boys in the carriage, the minute he became a Slytherin they would avoid him; looking at him in a disgusted fearful way and he couldn't stand that.
He already recognised the way the boy named James had looked at him when he recognised his surname. It had hurt. He had begun to like the James, the way he was infectious. He had found himself imagining fun and laughs with him but, well, that wouldn't happen with James in Griffindor and him in Slytherin.
It wasn't that he hated his family. His mother scared him, but she wasn't intentionally cruel. He knew his younger brother was the favourite and that angered him slightly. He wouldn't really have minded if it wasn't for the fact that Regulus was a spoilt stupid untalented git.
Lately though his father's lectures on blood purity and his mother's mania on muggle borns (his phrase) were beginning to grate. He had reached the age where he was deciding things for himself, formulating his own opinions and he was becoming more uneasy when they didn't fit with his parents.
He watched as the train flew through the landscape like a bright red snake. The witch with the food trolley stopped but he wasn't hungry, instead he watched out of the corner of his eye as James and Remus stuffed their faces full of sweets, caldron cakes and pasties all washed down with pumpkin juice.
As the sky darkened their conversation turned back to houses and Remus stopped trying to involve him in the conversation.
Eventually to his relief the train began to slow down, he got up and changed into his school robes. He had just sat back down when they ground to a halt and Remus and James jumped up. He followed at a distance as they hurried on to the platform, trying to look unimpressed, but he couldn't help looking widely around. Taking in all the details of the station, then the giant of a man with wild hair and beetle black eyes yelling. "Firs yers this way!"
He let himself be swept along in the crowd and found himself in a boat with two boys who looked more like gorillas sat behind him and another who was small, plump and looked terrified beside him. The boy squeaked in terror as the boats set off, with no apparent means of propulsion. Sirius briefly wondered if the boy were a muggle born.
"Fancy a dip?" One of the gorillas' cackled, grabbing hold of the small boy beside Sirius. "What's a mudblood like you doing here?"
The boy gave another terrified squeak as he was hauled up and dangled over
the side. Sirius looked around as the boy begged to be let down and the two gorillas laughed but no one else seemed to have noticed. Then making a decision he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the hands that were holding the boy and muttered at stinging hex.
The hands recoiled and the plump boy nearly fell in the lake but Sirius grabbed his arm and wrenched him back in. Turning round he looked at the boy who was rubbing his hand where a large orange boil was forming.
"Try that again and I'll turn you into a cockroach and feed you to the rats that
live in the dungeon." Sirius said conversationally almost pleasantly. The boy glared at him, rubbing his hand and muttering. Sirius heard the words.
"Stupid….filthy….mudblood..."
"Mudblood?" He laughed. "I'm a Black you stupid git." Turning around he felt good for the first time since he introduced himself to James Potter.
"Sirius Black." He said to the boy next to him, who if it was possible, looked even more terrified.
"Peter Pettigrew." He whispered.
"Nice to meet you Pettigrew." Sirius said cheerfully, feeling a lot better about himself.
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so long... but I felt I had to establish the characters of the three and introduce Peter. Next chapter will be shorter, I hope...
Hope you enjoyed, let me know either way.