Warnings for discrimination, bullying and alternate characterization.
A cool breeze ran through the tunnels of King's Cross Station to gently move Sirius' hair as he gazed across the bustling platform and did his best to shut out the shrill whine of his mother's nagging.
"Keep away from those mudbloods… rubbing elbows with future greats… don't associate with any of those…"
Sirius nodded absently as she droned on. Across the platform, a boy with unruly black hair crept, wand out, toward a girl fumbling with her luggage. Their eyes met for a brief moment and the other boy shot Sirius a grin. His lips moved to whisper a spell and a moment later, a chorus of shrieks rippled through the throng as the girl's pigtails turned to a pair of hissing snakes.
Sirius's snicker was cut short by a smack on the back of his head. His mother pointed a long, chipped nail at him. "You are the carrier of our family's legacy. As hard as I know it will be for you, don't drag our honourable family name through the mud."
Every word from her was dripping with venom. Sirius knew better than to protest; he'd braved enough of her rages to know it wasn't worth it. Besides, she'd be gone soon enough.
The children on the platform trickled into the Hogwarts Express. Without a moment's hesitation, Sirius snatched up his suitcase. "Well, I'll miss you all so much, but it looks like the train's about to-" He barely made it three steps before his mother's sharp talons clamped around his wrist.
"You're a Black, Sirius. We're resourceful. Ambitious. Pure-blooded. Don't let the Sorting Hat put you anywhere but in Slytherin."
Sirius broke out of her grip and didn't bother attempting a proper goodbye as he stormed through the doors of the closest carriage. He dragged his suitcase behind him, scanning the sea of unfamiliar faces. He knew Bellatrix was somewhere on the train and prayed she wouldn't see him.
He passed by another compartment when the flash of mischievous eyes behind a pair of round glasses brought him to a halt. The boy from the platform sat with his feet on the chair in front of him, talking animatedly to a scarred brunet who paid more attention to his book than to the boy next to him. A third boy sat wedged in the corner, his stubby nervous fingers unravelling the wool of his scarf.
Sirius slipped in and flopped onto a seat. For the first time in his life, he felt free from his family, even if it would only be for a short while.
The troublemaker from the platform carried on his one-sided conversation. "I hear there's all kinds of secret passages throughout the castle. Just think about what you can do once you've got them all memorised…"
Another two entered the compartment: a teary-eyed redhead girl and a boy with hair greasy enough to fill a deep-fryer. The two talked softly between each other, but the troublemaker ceased his talking just long enough to catch a sentence from the greasy boy.
"You'd best be in Slytherin." He said with a smile that made Sirius wonder if he'd ever met a Slytherin in his life.
"And who might you be?" The boy with glasses asked of the two who had stopped at their compartment's door. He didn't like the look of the greasy-haired boy, but the girl was interesting. He wondered who she was and if he had a chance with her in the future.
"I'm Lily Evans and this is my friend, Severus Snape." The red-haired girl introduced herself and her best friend.
The boy with glasses looked down at the new arrivals over his nose. "I'm James Potter, cousin to this boy here: Sirius Black. And I think you're both gits. You show up at our compartment, crying, with that grease rag. Don't know why you're crying and don't particularly care, either."
Sirius snickered while he listened to his cousin belittle the other two, but his expression changed towards the end. In his mind, no one should further hurt a girl's feelings if they were already crying. So, he grabbed James' arm and gave him as best a scowl as he could.
"What?!" The Potter heir rounded on the Black boy, lips twisted in anger. Who was he to deny him a bit of fun? As Sirius wordlessly motioned with his head to the girl, who the greasy-haired boy was holding to comfort, James realized he may have gone too far. Oh.
She was crying again; the tears streaming down her face. There was a subtle movement to Sirius' left and James looked over to see the quiet boy with exhausted eyes moving from his seat to reassure the girl, too.
"Name?" James inquired softly, too soft for most to hear him.
The boy looked at him out of the corner of his eye, about to collapse from fatigue in James' mind. However, he still answered him. "Lupin. Remus Lupin. And not someone who either wants to be your friend nor you should trifle with." Remus warned, bangs covering his weary eyes.
James opened his mouth to give a response, but closed it again after a second. Instead, he simply nodded and stepped back a few steps to let Remus get closer to Lily. However, he was curious about the origin of the boy's name. Remus? Wasn't there an old wolf legend?
James watched Remus give Lily his vest in order to keep her warm, as he, Lily and Severus walked away to find their own apartment. The Potter boy shook his head and snorted in disdain.
"Humph."
"What now, James?" Sirius asked, warily glancing up at his cousin who looked irritated.
James' lips thinned after he settled back into his seat from when Remus left. He was silent for a few moments as he thought about Remus, before giving up in frustration and a slight groan of annoyance left his mouth.
"Oh… Just Remus' defensive behaviour, protecting Lily like he was."