The muggleborn John Smith was standing between platforms Nine and Ten at King's Cross Station. Green eyes scanned his ticket in confusion as he wished his best friend, Becky, could be beside him. His lips curled into a smile as he thought of her. Her bob of bright red hair always made her easy to spot in a crowd and her friendly blue eyes could coax a smile out of just about anyone, no matter how grumpy and antisocial. In fact, she would probably run straight into the wall to find Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Maybe he should try that, just… without the running. He walks at a casual pace, pushing his trunk in front of him. A completely different atmosphere hit his senses as he stepped through the wall and, looking up, he saw the most beautiful red steam engine. He could hardly wait to tell Becky; she always was fond of trains, and The Hogwarts Express certainly takes the cake.

Unfortunately, it looks like he got here a little later than he would have preferred, so didn't have much time to admire the train. He had no trouble boarding the train, but finding a seat was a problem. Most of the compartments were full, but eventually he found one with only three people in it.

One was a redhead with bright, emerald eyes that shone like gemstones. Her conversation partner wore black robes to match his hair and eyes. The third person sat on the other side of the compartment from them, looking out the window. His dusty brown hair was pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck, and strands of grey hair were visible. The redhead smiled as John walked in.

"Hello, I'm Lily Evans!" She elbowed her friend lightly, prompting him to introduce himself.

"... Severus Snape." He sounded a little irritated that this new boy had stolen Lily's attention as soon as he entered.

"I'm John Smith. Nice to meet you, Evans, Snape." He responded politely, ignoring the slight glare from the black haired companion.

"Oh, you can call me Lily. I'm sure we'll be great friends, and Sev surely won't mind if you call him Sev." Severus's face did not seem in agreement with that statement, so John decided he wouldn't call him by the nickname.

"Alright then." John said as he sat down by the unnamed brunet. "What's your name?" He received no response.

"We think he's sleeping," Lily informed him. "He was like that when we came in."

"That's a shame. I was hoping to meet him."

Lily nodded in agreement as Severus gave a noncommittal shrug. A comfortable silence filled the compartment and John noticed Severus's constant glances in Lily's direction. Minutes passed and Lily returned to her previous conversation with Severus, something about houses. It sounded complicated, and John wasn't paying much attention to them. His gaze was focussed on the nameless boy. He wondered what he was like?

"What about you, John?"

"What about me?"

"She's asking you what house you want to be in. There's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." Prompted Severus.

"I… don't really know anything about houses to be honest." John admitted, scratching the back of his head. He was sure that "Hogwarts: A History" book had it in there somewhere, but god, that book is just so boring. Severus gave him an odd look for not knowing and Lily launched into an explanation.

"Well… I suppose I don't really care where I end up. Hufflepuff sounds kind of nice."

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor, house of the brave!"

"Slytherin." Severus said almost lazily, after Lily finished posing like a hero.

"I think I belong in Ravenclaw." The sleeping boy had awakened. He wasn't looking at any of them in particular, but he had turned around and they could all see his pale, scarred face. His golden eyes stood out, freckled with small flecks of chocolate brown. John was the first to speak after the silence that followed.

"Ravenclaw sounds nice. I hope you don't mind me asking for your name?"

"Remus Lupin." He glanced at them. "You?"

The three of them introduced themselves and the newly named Remus nodded slightly before returning his gaze to the window. A book lay closed in his lap, seemingly forgotten. The sun was setting outside, the warm hues of pink and gold landing almost perfectly on the brunet. Despite his tattered robes and tired expression, John would dare to say Remus looked beautiful. In this lighting at least. If he was an artist, he would likely attempt to paint this moment.

"Stop staring at me." John blushed and looked down. He hadn't realized he'd been that obvious.

"Sorry." He paused as he searched for something to say. Lily and Severus had begun speaking of potions and Remus was still looking out the window. "What book is that?"

Remus showed him the book cover (something about lycanthropy) and didn't talk for the rest of the train ride. Soon it got dark and an older classmate came to tell them to change into their robes. Remus and Severus had already changed, and Lily stood up at that point.

"I'm going to go find the bathroom."

"Oh, I'll go with you." John stated, also standing up.

"Why not just change in here? You are a boy, aren't you?" Severus questioned.

"... I'm shy." John said nothing else to support the obvious lie as he and Lily left the compartment. Severus decided he definitely wouldn't be a very good Slytherin.

"You must be really shy if you can't change in front of them."

"Oh, I'm not really shy. I just didn't wanted to change in front of them."

"Oh?" Lily was curious, obviously.

"Hmm," John searched for a way to answer her. "You'll see at the sorting cereony." He decided not to elaborate and they went their separate ways to the bathrooms.

As they walked back to the compartment, they talked about the sorting ceremony.

"How do you think we get sorted? Sev said we have to fight a dragon." A laugh escaped John's lips.

"I think he was probably joking, but what do I know? I'm just a muggleborn." John suddenly wondered if Severus was even capable of joking.

"Oh, so am I," She giggled. "That's why I believed him. I've been worried the whole train ride, but now I feel a bit silly. Do you think it'd be fun to fight a dragon?"

"For some people, maybe."

They got back to the compartment to find Severus and Remus reading Potions and DADA books, respectively. The remainder of the train ride had them reading as Lily and John shared humorous stories from their lives. When the train arrived at the station, they disembarked and heard a loud, friendly voice calling out for "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The voice belonged to a mountain of a man. John wondered if he was a giant? The crowd of other first years separated them from Remus, but only John seemed to care. The three left in the group got in a small boat, teeth chattering. September air is nowhere near as warm as the interior of the Hogwarts Express.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Called out the large man, taking an entire boat to himself. John supposed he counted as four people.

Nobody else got in their boat, and John vaguely wondered where Remus ended up being. The thought left his mind immediately as the boats began moving on their own. Him and Lily seemed entranced by this, and the hint of a smile appeared on Severus's face at Lily's excitement. He seemed unsurprised by the boats moving. Hr probably isn't a muggleborn, John thought.

But the boats moving was nothing compared to their first glimpse of the great castle.

A/N- So this is a helluva lot longer than the first chapter haha. Next is gonna be sorting and possibly a flashback within a flashback. I don't know how long this is going to be hu

ALSO, THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Does anyone have suggestions for the title?

I am AWFUL at titles .