The first day of school was the single most peculiar thing Remus had ever experienced in his life. To start with, he was woken up, not by an alarm clock, but by a stuffed rooster that was sitting on the end of James' bed.
"Shut that thing up!" Sirius demanded of the other three boys in the room as he flopped back onto his bed and buried his head underneath a pillow.
"W-we're trying," Peter replied. He was trying, but only from the other side of the room where he was throwing candy at the rooster.
"I think it's fine just the way it is," James said as he pulled up his pants from the side of his bed. Being the owner of the crowing rooster, he had been the first to wake and was completely undisturbed by the stuffed animal.
"James," Remus reproached as he tried to catch the rooster that was running away from him. He was completely dressed and ready for breakfast, but only because his eyes drifted open at six in the morning and landed on the rooster. He had been so frightened by the beady black eyes staring straight at him, that he was unable to go back to sleep. So, before the rooster could begin crowing, he had already gotten out of bed and brushed his teeth.
"What?" James asked rather indignantly as he straightened his robes and put on his hat. "It's not like he doesn't have to get up now anyway."
"Yes, but the rooster is rather annoying." Remus was now on all fours and slowly crawling towards it from behind. The unsuspecting rooster continued crowing at Sirius who let out a scream of frustration just as Remus reached out to catch it. This caused the stuffed animal to suddenly run away as Remus fell with an oomph onto the wooden floor. He felt like screaming himself, but thought better of it and merely gritted his teeth as he got up the floor.
"Fine," James whined as he walked over to the rooster and picked it up easily. He picked up his wand and tapped it on the head. "Silencio." The rooster shut up immediately and all three boys turned to look at him in awe.
"Where did you learn to do a spell like that?" Sirius demanded.
James shrugged like it was nothing. "Mum taught me three years ago when she gave me Mister Peckings." He waved his wand again, removing the spell, and placed the silent rooster on his pillow. "Now be good, Mister Peckings, or else Remus is going to scold me again and he's not very nice when he's scolding."
After that fiasco, the four of them had headed down to breakfast where they had received their schedules for the year. Remus didn't quite understand what all the classes were nor how they worked, but he figured that as long as he followed all the first-years in Gryffindor, he would be alright. And it worked, for the first two classes. Then he had somehow gotten separated from the rest of them and ended up in Herbology with the Ravenclaws and Slytherins.
"Now, is there anyone whose name I didn't call?" Professor Sprout asked as she pulled on a pair of dragonhide gloves.
Remus raised his hand sheepishly, feeling suddenly very lost and confused.
"Your name?"
"Remus Lupin."
She picked up her list of students and started scanning for his name. When she couldn't find it, she asked, "What house are you in, boy?"
"Gryffindor," he answered softly.
She put down her list and looked at him scrutinizingly for a second before she smiled warmly at him. Her voice became soft and fluffy as she said, "I'm not supposed to have you until tomorrow, Remus." She brought up her hand and waved him over. When he was close enough for her to speak without having the rest of the class hear, she said, "But come find me after dinner. The Headmaster, Madam Pomfrey, and I have something to discuss with you." He nodded and she walked him out of the greenhouse. Then she hailed down a passing student and demanded that he help Remus find his way. "Since you have nothing better to do than rip grass off the ground, Fabian."
"Sorry, Professor Sprout," the blond boy apologized with a boyish grin. The professor shook her head and returned back to her class. The boy, Fabian, turned to Remus with a sharper smile. "Remus, right? You probably don't remember me, but I'm Fabian Prewitt. Did you get lost or something?"
He spoke rather quickly and Remus was only just able to follow along. "Yes," he answered before he pulled out his schedule and looked at it. "I'm supposed to be at potions."
The schedule was snatched out of his hands and examined by Fabian who then stuffed it into his own pocket and slung an arm around Remus' shoulder. "Bah, you don't want to go to potions on your first day of school. Trust me. All Professor Slughorn does is talk on and on and on about how important potions is and about all the important students that he has had before. You would learn much more about potions with me today than you will with him all week."
"So you'll teach me potions?" Remus asked, feeling rather bad about having indirectly agreed to cut class.
Fabian laughed a sparkling rich laugh as he shook his golden hair. "No. I'll take you on a tour around the school instead." He started walking, pulling Remus along with him, and mused, "Where shall we go first?" He raised a hand to his face and tapped his lower lip as he looked over Remus. "You look like the type of boy who would enjoy the library." Without waiting for a response, he decided, "Then that's our first stop!"
---
Sirius seemed to be the only person who noticed that Remus was missing from their class.
"Where do you think he went?" James hissed into his ear as their professor droned on about Langston Horton, the minister of magic in Canada.
So, maybe he wasn't the only one, but aside from him, James, Peter, and Lily, no one else knew. Not even Professor Slughorn, as he hadn't bothered to take attendance.
"Maybe he cut class?" Sirius offered as nonchalantly as he could, which, he thought, was very casual as he had trained half his life working to seem non-caring.
"No one would cut class on the first day of classes, Black," Lily jutted in from his other side. "Remus probably just got confused about where he was going," her voice grew softer and kinder as she spoke about him. "I'm sure he'll come in here at any moment and you'll see that he was only lost." Then she smiled and for that instant she was as sweet as a lamb.
James must have thought the same thing, for he said, "Lily, that's so thoughtful of you. You're just like a little lamb."
"Shove off, Potter," the boy sitting next to Lily growled in his pre-pubescent voice. "She wasn't talking to you."
"And I wasn't talking to you, Snape," James shot back as he leaned forwards threateningly. "So why don't you just shove off?" Then he reached his arms out and gave the boy a shove backwards.
"Why the hell would I do that? Lily likes me," he sneered as he pushed James back.
"Hey," Sirius snarled as he scooted his chair closer to James. "It doesn't matter who Evans likes, you can't just go around shoving people like that."
"In case you're blind," Snape retorted as he leaned in closer to Sirius, "your buddy here shoved me first." Then he placed his fingers on Sirius' shoulders, as if they were dirty, and pushed Sirius.
"Oy!" James hollered, drawing attention to the back of the room where they had all been sitting. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Language, Mr. Potter!" Professor Slughorn shouted, but the three boys ignored him.
"I think I'm doing what it looks like I'm doing," Snape replied as he stood up. Sirius and James stood up suddenly too, knocking over the two cauldrons that had been in front of them.
"If I think you think you're doing what it looks like you're doing, then I don't like what you think you're doing," Sirius hissed back before he brought his arm up and punched Snape's sneering face.
It didn't matter that what Sirius had said made absolutely no sense. This fight was no longer a battle of words, it was a battle of fists, and when three eleven-year-old boys began fighting, one hefty professor was not enough to stop it.
---
"Here," Fabian shoved some roast beef onto his plate during lunch. "You look kind of peakish."
"Thanks," Remus mumbled as he picked up his fork and placed a few bits of the meat into his mouth. He had had a good time with Fabian as the sixth-year showed him around the school. There were so many secrets to the great castle that he was certain he never would have found on his own, such as the fruit painting that led to the kitchens, or the Room of Requirement that would bring him any book he wanted. But now that the fun was over, he wondered where his roommates were and he wanted to know what he missed in class.
"Hey," Fabian placed a strong hand on his back and turned away from his food to look at Remus. "I'm sure Professor Slughorn's just keeping your friends behind with one of his fancy stories." He smiled warmly and Remus felt inclined to smile back. "Don't worry about them."
"Okay," he replied, not having the heart to say that they weren't exactly his friends, even though he wanted them to be.
"In fact, here they come now." He lifted his hand up and pointed at Sirius and James who were coming in looking extremely delighted with themselves while also being covered in bruises. Peter was trailing behind them closely while Lily followed alternating between yelling at Sirius and James and scolding Severus.
Remus jumped up from the table and walked hurriedly toward them as they came toward him.
"What happened to you?" he asked them urgently.
"What happened to you?" Sirius retorted. "Why weren't you in class?"
Remus, refusing to meet Sirius' eyes, replied, "I went to the wrong class. Why do you and James look like you've been roughed up?"
"I don't think that's-" Sirius began before he was cut off by Lily who dashed at Remus, grabbed his arm, and forced him to look at the four boys.
"Can you believe them?" she shrieked. "The first day of class and they already have detention!" Remus cringed and tried to detach himself from her deathly grip, but failed and had to suffer more of her sharp shrills. "I would have expected it James and Sirius, but Severus!" She let go of Remus and he could feel a bruise beginning to form onto of one that had been healing. "Severus Snape! I expected better from you!"
At this moment, he felt a hand grab him where Lily had just let go and pull him away.
"C'mon," Sirius whispered as James and Peter followed. "She's worse than a Howler," he sighed, letting go of Remus.
"What's a Howler?" Remus asked, his voice just as quiet.
"It's a letter that screams," James answered from Remus' other side. "Now were you really lost, or did you ditch class?"
Remus stared at the floor, watching the brown tiles underneath him, as he answered, "I was lost at first, but then Professor Sprout asked for Fabian Prewitt to send me to class, only he didn't."
"So you ditched," James decided as he sat Remus down next to him.
"Unintentionally," Remus replied, looking up at James' hazel eyes at last. Then he turned to Sirius and demanded to know, "How did the three of you get detention?"
"I didn't," Peter piped in. "It was only James, Sirius, and Severus."
Sirius shot Peter a glare before he turned to Remus and shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't matter. We were just fighting. Besides, it's not like one detention is going to ruin our lives or anything."
James rolled his eyes and helped himself to a large portion of roast beef. Remus looked longingly at the meat and remembered that he had left his own plate next to Fabian at the other end of the table. He thought about getting up to go get it, when suddenly the plate before him changed and the food that had been on his plate before was on his plate now. Magic was awesome.
---
Sirius stayed close to Remus for the rest of the day to make sure he didn't wander away anymore. He was sure the tawny-haired boy noticed this but was too polite to say anything of it. Either way, it made him feel more secure to know that Remus wasn't lost, though he couldn't quite place why. The rest of the day wasn't quite as eventful as Potions had been. For one, Snape wasn't in their afternoon class, Charms, and another, Remus was constantly checking on them to make sure that they were being good.
During the free time that they had right before dinner, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James walked around the grounds that they were allowed to. They started at the grand doors of Hogwarts, went to front door of Hagrid's cabin, without walking into it, circled around the lake until they reached the Whomping Willow (James dared Remus to touch it, but Remus said that Dumbledore had specifically told them not to, and then he walked away), claimed a tree next to the lake that they rather liked, before ending up back at the wooden doors of the castle.
By then it was time for a hearty dinner that all four of them ate very enthusiastically. Sirius and James were eager to know what sort of detention they would be getting and were talking avidly about that.
"Maybe he'll make us sort the potions ingredients," James offered after swallowing a mouthful of mashed potatoes - Lily had previously reprimanded him for talking with his mouth full.
"Andromeda once had to gut a goat for him. Maybe he'll make us skin rabbits," Sirius exclaimed eagerly as nearby Remus grimaced.
"I don't know why you two are so excited about getting detention. You're supposed to be feeling punished and bad." He picked at his pot roast before stabbing a carrot slice and eating that instead.
"That's what we have you for," Sirius replied, his smile never leaving his face, "to feel bad for us so we don't have to."
Remus, seemingly frozen, didn't answer for a moment. The three other boys paused to stare at him, and it was this silence that prompted him to answer, in a very tense voice, "I'm glad to be of use."
There was no time to question Remus as dinnertime was over and James and Sirius had to report to Professor Slughorn. Sirius stood up from his seat next to Remus rather slowly and paused behind the bent over body. Hesitantly, he lifted his hand and placed it on Remus' shoulder. Large golden eyes turned to stare at him with curiosity and surprise as Sirius opened his mouth to say he was sorry. But he felt strange apologizing for something he didn't know why he should have been sorry for. Instead he said, "See you back at the dorm," and he waited for Remus' small smile and nod of approval before he left after James.
---
Remus watched Sirius leave with a growing smile before he stood up from the table.
"Where are you going?" Peter asked him as he set down his own fork ready to join.
Remus, who would have loved to spend more time with his dorm mate, who he thought was a very kind and gentle boy, if he didn't have to meet Professor Dumbledore, lied, "To the library."
"Wait, I'll come with you," Peter said eagerly as he also stood.
Quickly, Remus shook his head. "You should continue eating if you want. I'm only going to take a minute in the library. I want to see if they have a book about the four creators of Hogwarts. I'll be back in the common room really soon. I'll meet you there," he promised before he left the Great Hall. He felt rather bad about having ditched Peter behind, but he didn't want the other boy to ask him any questions about him personally.
Remus decided to go to the Greenhouses to find Professor Sprout and Professor Dumbledore since Professor Sprout hadn't said anything about where to meet. He didn't know who Madam Pomfrey was, but he assumed she was the school healer. He had only stepped outside of the castle doors when a strong but gentle hand rested on his shoulder.
"Mr. Lupin," greeted a cheery voice that belonged to the Headmaster, "if you will please come with us, we have something to show you."
Remus looked beyond the headmaster and saw a beaming Professor Sprout and young woman with a prim smile and apprehensive look about her. Remus decided she must be Madam Pomfrey. Professor Dumbledore granted him a twinkling smile before he started guiding Remus away from the castle doors.
"How have you enjoyed your first day here, Remus?" he asked amiably.
"It's been very educational." Remus grinned back. "I like it a lot. All the people here are really nice and the classes are so much fun. And…" He paused as he looked to the ground, feeling embarrassed about what he would have added on.
"And what?" Professor Dumbledore prompted kindly, and Remus felt the urge to continue.
"And I think I could have real friends here," he added very quietly.
"I have no doubt you will," the old man replied softly and knowingly as he stopped in front of a thrashing tree. "Now then, Remus, this here is the Whomping Willow," he said in a loud voice as he summoned a long stick using his wand. "The Whomping Willow has a secret knob that, if you push, will stop the tree. It will then reveal a tunnel that will lead you to an old unlived in house. This house is well charmed and protected from the village of Hogsmeade, so you should be completely safe inside there and everyone outside should be safe from you. On the next full moon, Madam Pomfrey," he gestured at the young woman, "will come with you here before sunset and make sure you get inside the house safely. Then she will leave you there for the night and come back promptly at sunrise to get you. We will see how well this idea works for the first night, and then we will decide if any changes need to be made. If worst come to worst, we will send you home for the week of the full moon." Professor Dumbledore sighed as he stepped toward the tree. "But I fear that will be hard to explain to your fellow peers." Then he prodded the tree and its branches stopped moving eventually. He turned to face Remus with a smile back on his face. "Come and see the house with me."
As Remus nodded and walked to the secret tunnel next to the tree, he decided that no matter what, he would not let the worst come to worst.
---
As it turned out, Professor Slughorn only wanted them to label potions ingredients and to talk to them about their families. It was the most boring thing that Sirius had ever had to experience (and Sirius had a lot of boring things to experience) and James felt the same way. It was during the time that Professor Slughorn left them on their own accord that Sirius and James had a wicked time comparing Quidditch stories and purposefully messing up the labels on the jars. By the time detention had ended, the two of them had become great friends.
Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn had kept them behind until ten o'clock, so by the time Sirius and James returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, Remus and Peter were already upstairs in the dormitory. The two of them decided to skip what little homework they had and to go tell their roommates about their detention, but when they got up there only Peter was awake, and he was in the shower.
"I think Peter's got the right idea. I'm going to go take a shower too," James decided as he rifled through his trunk and found his clothes.
Sirius nodded, taking a moment to glare at Mister Peckings who was dozing lightly on James' pillow. He thought, for a moment, that Mister Peckings was making that soft snoring noise, but, when he stepped closer to investigate, he found that it was Remus, who was sleeping in the bed in between James' and his own, who was quietly snoring. Sirius smiled faintly at the sight of the sleeping boy who was sleeping so close to the edge that any sudden movement would cause him to fall off. Then he walked over and pushed Remus to the center of the bed before plopping down on his own and falling asleep.
---
At ten-thirty at night on September 2, 1971, two boys were fast asleep, after their first day of school together, having sweet dreams of what was next to come.