Chapter 3:

I do not know for how long I had managed to stay asleep but far too soon for my taste, my sleep was interrupted once again. This time it was the sound of our compartment door opening.

"Well, look who it is." The speaker's nasally voice held an obvious sneer. "Potty and the Weasel." This comment was followed by what sounded to me like a choking hyena.

Oh, dear. That just smelled like trouble.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes a slit and took in the new arrivals. Three boys, seemingly of the same age as Harry and his friends. One of them blond and lithe with a pointed sneering face, the other two a bit more compact. All three of them had arrogant grins on their faces. They seemed familiar, somehow. Even though it was highly unlikely that I had ever seen them before.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some money this summer, Weasley." The blond boy smirked arrogantly at the red-haired boy. "Did your mother die in shock?"

I could feel my whole posture going rigid. I knew what it was like to have no money and therefore, the boy's comment hit very close to home. A quick look on the boy named Ron's face told me all I needed to know. His eyes were flashing dangerously and his lips were pressed together so tightly that they were slowly but surely turning white.

Quick as lightening, he got to his feet; so quickly that he knocked the cat to the floor.

Oh dear, I would have to intervene and quickly or this was sure to escalate quickly.

Still feigning sleep, I uttered a distinctive snorting sound, which seemed to startle the children enough to attract their attention away from the blond boy's comment.

"Who's that?" The arrogant lilt in the blond boy's voice had not entirely disappeared yet but he had taken an involuntary step back and a hint of uneasiness had entered his expression.

"New teacher." Obviously Harry had decided to get involved as well. He had gotten to his feet, standing close to Ron. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Malfoy! Of course. This had to be Lucius' son. Good Lord, that would actually explain a lot. With a father like Lucius, how else was this boy supposed to turn out other than an arrogant git?

With renewed interest, I scrutinized the boy. Now that I knew who his father was, I saw the resemblance even more clearly. The same shade of whitish blonde hair, the same pointed chin. The same attitude.

He wasn't stupid, though. Knowing that a teacher was in the vicinity, he seemed to have decided to back off. With narrowed eyes, he gestured to his two friends and with one last disdainful look at Harry and his friends, they disappeared out the door once again.

Harry and Ron sat down again. I could tell from the look on Ron's face that he was still dwelling on the insult to his family. What could I say? I certainly couldn't blame him for that.

"I'm not going to take any rubbish from Malfoy this year." He clenched his fists, staring angrily at the floor. " I mean it. If he makes one more crack my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and – " He made a violent gesture in the air, making my lips twitch slightly.

"Ron!" The girl shook her head at him, scandalized and pointed in my direction. "Be careful."

Clever girl. Even if I would never punish her friend for something like this. As a matter of fact, threating to wring Malfoy's neck was pretty harmless compared to how James and Sirius would have reacted.

The door to our dormitory flew open and banged against the wall with a resounding crack. Startled, I glanced up from my homework, to see Peter storming into the room, his head held low. Without a word of greeting, he flopped down onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

"What's the matter, Petey?" James and Sirius, who were just in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap, were watching our friend as well.

When he didn't answer, I laid my book aside, got up and went to sit down beside him.

"Peter? What happened?"

"Lucius and his friends happened." Peter's voice was barely audible as it was muffled against the pillow. His shoulders were shaking a bit.

"What did they do this time?" Sirius had joined me, with James right behind him.

"The usual. Called me a fat ugly little good for nothing, whose sole accomplishment will ever be tagging along with the three of you. Said I was a sorry excuse for a wizard, no better than a Muggle. You get the gist."

Sighing, I patted his shoulder. "Don't let them get to you, Petey. They're just a bunch of idiots who know nothing."

"Remus is right." James knelt down, smiling at Peter, who had raised his head from his pillow a bit to look at James. "You are ten times the man Malfoy is. He is the one who is a sorry excuse for a wizard. Besides, yes, you may not be the best in our year but remember what Evangeline told us a few weeks ago? About Malfoy's little attempt at human transfiguration?"

Sirius snorted, starting to grin. "Honestly, if I had been McGonagall, I would have let him walk the castle as a swan for a couple of days. Might have deflated his ego a bit." He hesitated, his face creased in thought. Then his lips started to twitch and his eyes flashed to meet ours, a mischievous look in them.

"I stand corrected. If I had been McGonagall, I would have transfigured him into a skunk and left him like this forever. Would have been a big improvement, don't you think?"

Peter smiled a bit, scrambling into a sitting position. James patted his shoulder, grinning at him. "Don't let him get you down, Petey. He will pay. You don't mess with a Marauder. You just don't." He turned his head and exchanged a meaningful look with Sirius, who started to grin deviously. The two of them seemed to have a silent conversation before they gave each other a nod.

Then James turned back to Peter and me, who had been watching them quietly. "We'll be right back."

"Please don't do anything that could get the two of you expelled."

Sirius winked at me. "Oh, c'mon, Remy. You know better than to believe us amateurs enough to be caught."

I rolled my eyes, smiling a bit. "Anything I can do then?"