Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world. I only own Swara.
Swara barely looked up when she heard James plop down next to her. It had become a sort of tradition between the two since classes started a couple of months ago. "Swara!" he whined petulantly.
Swara immediately tensed. She recognized this tone he only used when he wanted something from her. Usually something she normally would not agree to. "Yes, James?" she asked cautiously.
"Swara! You know that you're one of my best friends right?" he asked with wide eyes.
By now, Swara knew James enough to be wary of what was inevitable going to come next. "What do you want James? Just tell me," she said exasperatedly.
"Well, you know that Potions essay that is due tomorrow? The one about the properties of bezoars?" James asked.
"No, I will not let you copy off of mine James. Ask Remus to help you."
"I can't. Remus went home that day remember? His grandmother was sick," James said frustrated.
Swara sighed. She didn't know why but she felt protective of Remus. Like an older sister. "Poor Remus. It must be terrible to have a family member so sick that he has to go see her every month."
At this James eye's clouded over only to be replaced by a shrewd look a few moments later. A look that Swara entirely missed. "Swara, that's why we need you. Remus needs help with the essay too and Sirius and I can't help him. And you know Peter. Come on Swara. "
Swara couldn't resist. Remus needed her help. "Okay fine. But I'm only helping you guys because Remus missed that lesson."
James grinned and tugged her towards the boys dormitories. Inside, Sirius was lounging on his bed with a bored look on his face while Remus had his quill in his mouth, his forehead scrunched up in confusion. When Sirius saw her, he leapt up. "Swara! I knew you wouldn't leave us to fend for ourselves!" Sirius said dramatically.
At this outburst, Remus looked up and smiled faintly at her. "Thanks so much for this Swara. I can't believe James convinced you-" he was interrupted by Swara.
"I'm not going to let you guys copy my essay. I'm only going to help you write it," Swara clarified. The boys nodded in agreement. Swara began to talk about the bezoar. The impromptu lesson went smoothly except for the few times when Peter asked her to repeat herself and when Sirius mimed shoving a bezoar down James' throat.
When Swara finally left, she was drained. In the short amount of time she knew the boys, they had all grown fairly close but their constant energy exhausted her. She was glad she had Lily who was much calmer and more rational than the boys.
Swara trudged up the steps to the girls' dormitories. She changed into her night clothes and got out Hamlet. Although she detested how women were represented in the play, Swara had an old love for Hamlet. She was right at the part when Hamlet was reunited with Horatio when the door suddenly opened and Lily came in. "Where were you Lily?" Swara asked.
"I was with Severus in the library. Hamlet again Swara?" Lily laughed good-naturedly. "Hey can I borrow something from your trunk to read?"
Swara nodded in assent and went back to the world of Shakespeare. An hour passed and Swara looked over to see Lily engrossed in her admittedly tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice. Their other dorm mates, Dorcas Meadows and Emily Kent, had already gone to bed. Swara put away her book and closed the curtains around her four-poster bed.
Night time, she thought, is the best time to think. Undisturbed and quiet, your mind can really flow. Swara reflected on the last few weeks. After the Sorting, the first-years had gone to bed to prepare for the first day of class. Lily and Swara couldn't sleep though. The excitement was too much. So, they talked about themselves. Lily's favorite color was in fact green. She told Swara about her fears that her sister hated her. Personally, Swara thought Lily was better off without her evil sister but she didn't say anything. They soon discovered they had a common love of knowledge. They had finally nodded off while talking about Muggle literature.
Swara peeked out from the curtains and saw Lily was still reading. She looked so gentle and calm but Swara knew her friend had a fiery spirit. Within the first week, she had yelled at James for bullying Severus. Swara had agreed to talk to James about it but it made no difference. James and Sirius had an inexplicable hatred for all Slytherins. But Swara suspected the hidden reasons behind their dislike. Sirius, naturally, hated Slytherins because they reminded him of his own family. And James…Swara suspected that James may be jealous of Severus' friendship with Lily. But she couldn't tell Lily any of that. Not without breaking James' and Sirius' trust. On that first night, Swara remembered where she had heard the name Black before. Her parents worked in the Ministry. Her mother was an Auror and her father was in the Magical Law Enforcement. They would come home sometimes and talk about the bigoted Blacks, especially Mrs. Walburga Black. From what Swara understood, they were a very rich and ancient pureblood family. Almost like royalty. Questions began plaguing her mind. Sirius grew up with those people? Surely, he wasn't like them though? The next morning, she had confronted Sirius about it. That's when he told her and the boys about his maniacal family and how he hated them. Sirius didn't go into any details about his childhood and no one pressed him. Swara sighed. She valued her friends, she really did. But Lily had her issues with Petunia, Sirius had secrets about his family, Remus was also hiding something. And no one wanted to talk about it.
She hadn't realized how long she spend contemplating her friends until she heard Lily's curtains rustle as she pulled them around to sleep. Her own eyelids began drooping and she finally fell asleep.