Gryffindor Tower

Peter trailed behind the two taller boys in their newly instated trio, bobbing on his heels in an attempt to join their conversation. He caught snippets of James' passionate speech, straining to hear over the excited chatter of his fellow first years.

"...and then there's Owen: you know, chaser for the Holyhead Harpies," James said, informing Sirius of Gryffindor's many noteworthy alumni. "And of course, Dumbledore: a man who needs no explanation."

"Johnson's never scored a point, and Dumbledore's nothing but an old crackpot," Sirius insisted, as James gasped dramatically. "You'll have to do better than that to convince me that Gryffindor's worthy of my presence."

James pulled his hand to his mouth in theatrical indignation. "You don't truly believe that, do you Black?" he asked, his voice high with disbelief. "Albus Dumbledore is a talented, passionate, wonderful wizard, and a downright amazing headmaster."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Potter."

They had reached the end of a low lit corridor and the first years were beginning to slow. Before them hung a large portrait of a plump old lady in a pink silk dress. She eyed them closely as the hoard approached.

"Password?" she requested. The Gryffindor prefect stepped forward, muttering something that none of the three boys could hear, and the portrait swung open.

"Ok, ok," James said, regaining his poise, "if Gryffindor tower doesn't impress you, then I'll gladly charm your robes green and pass you off as that ugly 'Snape' kid so you can be in your precious Slytherin house."

Sirius gave a bark of laughter, "No deal. There's no way in the hell I'm going anywhere near that greasy little git."

James' imploring expression changed instantly into one of pride. His chest swelled and he tightened his grip on Sirius' shoulder. "See!" he almost shouted, "I knew you weren't all bad!" He glanced excitedly at the students around him, gesturing towards Sirius. "Did you hear that everyone? Sirius Black thinks Snape's a git!"

A pack of girls in front of them turned around and giggled loudly to one another; Peter almost broke into applause; and a stern looking red head to James' right merely rolled her eyes and turned to the girl next to her.

James gave a loud sigh. "See, mate. We're going to get along perfectly." He beamed and gave Sirius a one armed hug.

"Alright, Potter. Settle down," Sirius said, patting him reluctantly on the head. "And stop calling me 'mate'."

/

Remus trailed behind the excited group as they piled through the portrait hole and into Gryffindor common room. He glanced about with an intrigued smile on his face, recognising many facets of the castle from his extensive reading.

He was the last one to step through the portrait hole, taking full advantage of his peers' disregard. He stepped softly over the threshold and gathered with his peers by the fire place. The common room was warmly lit by the fire, casting a yellow pulsing glow across the cosy furniture. Ornate red tapestries and artworks hung from the round walls, the occupants of which huddled close to watch the new students.

"This is Gryffindor common room," the prefect announced, throwing his hand about the room. Remus heard a messy haired boy at the front of the crowd give a chuckle, mumbling something that made the prefect blush. "Just for those of you who didn't know," he said defensively to the boy. He shook his head as though to clear his thoughts, and straitened his neck to address the wider audience. "Now, the girls' dormitories are up those stairs and to the left; boys': the same on your right. And before you go, know that breakfast begins at seven and ends at eight, and that your first Charms lesson shall begin tomorrow at nine. Goodnight."

Chatter broke out once more as the prefect stepped down from beside the fire, giving the boy with the scruffy black hair an unfriendly stare. Lupin watched as that boy then grabbed the wrist of the taller lad beside him, pulling him eagerly towards the stairs.

"Fantastic, isn't it?" Lily whispered, leaning close. Remus looked away from the taller boy and followed her gaze around the room. He nodded mutely. "I can't believe I'm actually here," she said with a smile, "I mean, two months ago I didn't even know here existed. Isn't that amazing? I'm a witch, and tomorrow we will begin to use magic," her smile broadened and she clutched excitedly at Lupin's arm. "It's like a fairy tale!"

Lupin flinched as her fingers dug into a tender wound on his arm, but he braved a chuckle and nodded once more.

"I know exactly how you feel," he said softly, "like a dream come true."

/

"Shotgun that bed!" cried James, scrambling with Sirius to get the four-poster farthest from the door.

"Not a chance, Potter!" called Sirius, grabbing the smaller boy by the wrist and heaving him back. "If anyone's having that bed, it's going to be me!"

James scoffed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "And you're just that special then, aren't you Master Black."

"As a matter of fact," Sirius huffed, launching himself onto the red covers, "I am that special." He gave a wolfish smile and glared back at James, making himself comfortable on the bed.

Peter watched from the doorway as James stuck his tongue out indignantly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Fine," he said, crossing his arms and marching to another bed. "I really wanted this one anyway. That was just a ploy to distract you from the splendour of this bed." He sprawled out over the covers and sighed with exaggerated comfort. Sirius rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Oh, Potter," he sighed, "you're a git."

James smiled. "Sure am, mate."

Peter waddled over to the bed by the door, sitting on its edge to watch as Sirius chucked a pillow at James' head.

"Hey guys," Peter said, repeating himself a little louder when they did not respond. "Guys!"

"What's up, Pete?" James asked, hurling the pillow back at Sirius.

"Who's bed's that then?" he wondered, pointing to the empty four-poster by the window.

Sirius caught the pillow and grinned back as James stuck his tongue out once more.

"Dunno," James mumbled, his words distorted by his pointed tongue.

"Must be that Lupin kid's," Sirius suggested, looking to the bed next to his.

"Who?" James and Peter asked at once.

Sirius gazed back at them. "You know, the skinny boy with the amber eyes."

James shook his head; Peter squinted to concentrate his memory.

"Nope, still no idea who you're talking about," Peter said.

Sirius sighed, "He had the neat brown hair and the book beneath his robe. Come on, he was the only other boy sorted into Gryffindor!" The two stared blankly at him. "Big amber eyes, scar on his-"

Just as Sirius' voice began to escalate to an agitated shout, the dormitory door swung open. The boy in question walked lightly into the room, his eyes fixed on his book. Without looking up or acknowledging his roommates' presence, he walked straight into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

For a moment, the three boys were quiet, watching the closed door.

"Was that him?" Peter asked after a time.

James chuckled. Sirius rolled his eyes, "Of course that was him, you numpty!"

"Oh," Peter said, his face turning red. "Just wanted to be sure."

"Do you think he heard me?" Sirius asked, looking frantically to James.

The other boy was still laughing, his black hair falling over his eyes. He took a moment to breathe, composing himself by running his hand through his hair. "Nah, mate. I think he was too absorbed in his book. Bit odd though, isn't he?"

Peter nodded adamantly, "Yeah, very odd."

Sirius merely shrugged, looking a little relieved.

"Anyway," James said, leaning forward on his bed, "let's have a little getting-to-know you session, shall we?" He rubbed his hands together expectantly and looked to his two new friends. They made no show of opinion, but James was not deterred. "Excellent," he beamed, "I'll start then."

He then launched eagerly into a recount of his life since birth, taking every opportunity to paint himself in and impressive, if not heroic, light. He told an enthralled Peter of how he had single-handedly saved his cousin from a blood-thirsty garden gnome, and how, at the age of seven, he had mastered the art of flying.

"You're so full of it, Potter," Sirius muttered indifferently, toying with his bed sheets.

Sometime around the avid retelling of James receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter, Remus Lupin reappeared from within the bathroom. His hair was wet and he was wrapped tightly in a towel, but his eyes were still trained upon the thick volume as he read. Padding across the floor with bare feet, he walked straight past Sirius without so much as looking up. The three boys watched silently as he lifted his pyjamas from his trunk and hopped into bed, pulling the curtains shut behind him.

They stared at the closed red drapes, their brows pulled confusedly.

"What the hell?" James mouthed to Sirius, receiving a bewildered shrug in reply.

"He's so weird," Peter almost shouted in a whisper. James and Sirius turned in unison to 'shush' him, shaking their heads at his lack of tact. "What?" he asked earnestly.

"Oh, nothing, Peter," James said laughingly, "your turn."

Peter shyly gave a quick narration of his uneventful childhood, telling of the years spent at muggle school, and how his parents had believed his acceptance letter to be a cruel joke.

"Got a lot of pranks pulled on you then, did you Pete?" James asked, forced sympathy in his voice. Peter nodded meekly. "Great, you'd have plenty of good ideas then!" James declared, shifting excitedly on his bed. "And what about you, sir Black the fourth?" he said with a dramatic twirling of his hand.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. "None of your business, Potter."

"Oh, come now, Black," James uttered, his voice like honey. "Don't be like that. Pete and I told you our life stories," he said with a flutter of his eye lids.

"Neither of which I cared for, nor listened to," Sirius shot back. He crossed his arms, holding James' glare.

"Fine," James huffed. "Let me guess your story then."

Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "Alright then, this should be fun."

"Ahem," James cleared his throat, rubbing his index fingers against his temples as if preparing to use telepathy. "You were born into an ancient pure-blood family and were raised a snooty little pure-blood. Your parents gave you everything you ever wanted, and you were taught that was the way it should be. You were educated on how horrid we Gryffindors are, with our bravery, courage and downright good-looks," James spared a breath to wink in Sirius' direction. "And that's why, when you were sorted into this obviously superior house, you were so upset: you realised you just weren't good-looking enough for us." He dropped his fingers from his face and beamed at Sirius, "How's I do?"

Sirius hurled his pillow at James in reply. "You're a git."

James beamed. "I'll take that as a: perfect, you got everything right."

"Ha," Sirius laughed. "Hardly. Though I will give you one thing: I was taught to loath Gryffindors; but not because of your bravery."

"Because of our downright good-looks," James insisted.

"Shut your face, Potter. I'm being serious here."

"Alright, alright. You were taught to hate us because of our good-looks, and..." he trailed off expectantly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Just... everything about you, I supposed. Everything you are goes against all I've ever been taught. I mean, you're muggle-born for Merlin's sake," he said at Peter, rubbing his palms against his eyes. He exhaled deeply. "I just don't know what to think. I've been taught to treat you like scum, and that you deserve it. I was told that your kind was dirty and... that you didn't deserve to be..." he trailed off.

James rose from his bed, walking over to Sirius. He sat down next to him, wrapping his arm around the bigger boy's shoulder. This time, Sirius did not protest.

"It's ok, mate. We can un-teach all that rubbish."

"And you," Sirius said, lifting his head from his palms. "You're a blood traitor. My parents discussed your family once. They said your parents fraternised with muggles and half-bloods, and that you were just as bad as them." Sirius gave a hopeless sigh and returned his head to his hands.

James tightened his grip around Sirius' shoulder.

"So you kind of... hate us both then, huh?" Peter asked hesitantly from across the room.

Sirius shook his head against his palms. "That's just it," he muttered, "I've been taught to despise muggle-borns, and blood traitors, and probably whatever that kid is," he gestured towards Remus' drawn curtains. "I'm supposed to hate you all... but I don't."