He could see it in James's face when they landed. It was in Sirius's, too, but there was something in James's face that was different. He looked exhilarated, like he'd just taken his first breath; like he'd found something about Hogwarts that he liked even more than trouble and teasing Lily Evans. Sirius grinned and shoved him in the shoulder, which was a shame – it faded, and soon he was just himself again.

'Alright, mate. Try not to get too excited. We don't want any accidents.'

James grinned sheepishly. 'Bloody brilliant, though.'

Peter's facial expression was a little more wobbly, and Remus wasn't entirely sure he believed the smile that had been plastered across it. Peter always had a pasty complexion, but he looked particularly unwell at the moment. 'Yeah,' he agreed.

'Remus?' James prompted, keen to see if anybody else had caught the bug quite like he had. 'What do you reckon?'

He shrugged, smiling more for James's benefit than out of sincerity. 'It's alright.'

Sirius snickered, bumping into his shoulder. 'Just alright? Nutter.'

'Seen Snape?'

At Peter's question, they all turned to take a glance at the young Slytherin. If poor Pete had looked a little unsteady, Snape looked practically purple. He was still gripping the broomstick hard, knuckles white and rigid around the light wooden handle. Remus's first instinct was to feel sorry for him, and he wasn't the only one. James's mood looked a little spoiled by seeing someone else react so badly to the experience.

Sirius, on the other hand, couldn't restrain a slight smirk. 'Somebody's never heard of 'don't look down'.'

Lily tutted as she pushed past them, throwing Sirius a despairing look. 'Hush up, you.'

Severus looked up as he heard her, throwing a glance at the four boys that turned into something hotter and less neutral. 'I'm fine,' he said, clearly for Lily's benefit even if he didn't take his eyes off Sirius's face.

'Come on,' James said, grabbing Sirius's elbow and steering him off. Even this early on in their friendship, he could tell when the boiling point was coming. Remus could too. He watched Sirius's lip curl a little as he turned away, irritated that anybody had looked at him like that; that anybody would dare to overreact to something they hadn't even heard him say.

'Prick,' he said quietly, finally turning away as James directed. Peter took his other side, though it was unnecessary – the moment had passed. They made their way back towards the castle as Sirius began to speak again. 'Touchy, looking at me like that.'

'He's friends with Evans,' James pointed out. 'He's bound to be a bit oversensitive.'

'He just had a shock; that's all,' said Remus, lagging behind a little. 'I'm sure he's alright, really.'

Sirius snorted, reaching to pull him forward and wrap his arm around his shoulders to grab him closer. 'You're too good to other people. That's your problem.'

'Am I too good to you?'

He snickered, letting him go and apparently in far better spirits as they reached the doors of the castle. 'Yeah,' he said, 'but you could always be better. Do my homework?'

'No, thank you,' he said breezily, pleased that they were at the point of being this friendly with one another already.

'If you're sure. The offer's always open.'

'You're very kind,' he said patiently, a thin smile working its way onto his face quite unwarranted. Shame that in a week's time, he might be wearing scars far thicker – but it was a bigger shame that Sirius probably wouldn't stick around to try to make him smile anyway if he found out.