Chapter 2: Table Manners
He laughed, and took note of the boy in the corner. Then Peter drew his attention
away from the figure in the corner of the train compartment, and he thought no more of him
until James and Peter fell asleep to the movement of the train.
He had time to look now, at the boy still sitting solemnly at the edge of the seat,
farthest away as he could from him. He wondered why, and then he froze. The boy was
looking at him. The gaze caught and held, and almost as if the amber eyes were controling
him, he lifted (shoved) Peter's lolling head from his shoulder and set it down none-too-
carefully and made his way to the boy. Now that he was closer, he could see more clearly
just who he was. His trunk above him read "Lupin, Remus", and he didn't deny that it
sounded a little more formal than "Black, Sirius". He didn't like that name, but it seemed
to describe him very well. He had black hair and smokey, shifting eyes that seemed to un-
nerve everyone except for people he knew well. But this boy was different. He could look
straight at Sirius, and he wouldn't flinch. He wondered why.
"Are you Sirius Black?", the boy asked simply. He could only nod; those eyes were
captivating. Perhaps it was just him, but did he detect a sense of WRONGNESS from them?
And then he stepped back a pace, for it was like a bright light had shone down from
heaven itself. The boy gave a smile, shy and soft, but it warmed Sirius right down to his
toes. It was like he could just feed on that smile, take strength from it, and sustain him-
self for many days with just the memory on his mind and the sunlight on his lips, just like
that boy.
Sirius couldn't explain it. There was something MAGICAL about Remus, just from the
first time they met. Remus captivated him, held his gaze longer than anyone had, and
possessed the ability to quietly attract Sirius' gaze to him, even when Sirius wasn't think-
ing about anything remotely pertaining to Remus. But from the very beginning, Sirius was
hooked.
Sirius observed (however discreetly, though Remus later told him that he could
*feel* Sirius' eyes boring into his back) that Remus did not smile much. After asking if he
was Sirius Black on the train, Remus had said nothing else to him. Was it disappointment
that Sirius felt? He wasn't sure, but he watched Remus out of the corner of his eye for the
remainder of the train ride. Sometimes Remus caught his eye, and he would turn and meet it.
If he was laughing at the moment, he would stop, and his eyes would become thoughtful, as
if only Remus could provoke that expression from him. James and Peter wondered just WHAT
had happened between the sober amber-eyed stranger and their friend, but they didn't
question Sirius when he just said he was "a friend".
, James thought. But Sirius didn't hear his mental question, so it remained unanswered until
they reached Hogwarts.
When they stepped out of the train station and into the boats, Sirius explanation-
lessly took the stranger's hand and led him onto the same boat they were taking. In the dim
light over the waters, they saw their first glimpse of Hogwarts.
The sky was darkening rapidly but they saw the outline - a castle, rising above the
plains and a mountain like its elevation-high neighbors. Waters surrounded it, mountains
walled it, spells were placed on it. It was protected, sanctuaried, reveled that such a
stronghold still stood against the Darkness and all that scurried in the world on light
shadowy feet. It seemed like the scene had popped out of a storybook, and they were only a
small part to play, but however insignificant, they still made the difference...
James saw Sirius was not looking at Hogwarts, the boat, the lake, nor anything in it
. He was staring avidly at the new stranger, and when James looked at him, he knew why
Sirius had hailed him "a friend".
Though Sirius had not told him, James could feel those same discomforting WRONGNESS
that seemed to surround the stranger. "Remus" was his name, as later James found out, but
for now he just looked at Remus' face, and knew why Sirius had trusted him so implicitly on
the first glance, despite those feelings he got when he looked at the stranger.
Remus' face was uplifted, the eyes riveted in the direction of the castle. His eyes
shone delightedly, with hidden triumph for something that James knew naught of until a few
years later. The expression on his face was joyous, wondering, disbelieving that such a
place existed, and that HE, Remus Lupin, was going to live in it. He was going to the best
school for magic in the whole of Britain. He was going to Hogwarts, the singlemost safe
place for anyone while Dumbledore was there.
The boats floated on to the castle.
The Sorting Hat Ceremony passed without incident. Dumbledore announced that Mr.
Filch's list of nuisances (such as Dung Bombs) had now reached up in the fifties (nothing
compared to the numbers during Harry's time; no doubt some of the later inventions were
invented because of the Four Marauders), and that there were places off bounds to students
(at this, James, Peter and Sirius began whispering furiously among each other) and that he
hoped this would be another good year without to much difficulty in lieu of the
circumstances outside of school. The Daily Prophet was now a Bible to those who had parents
in the Ministry of Magic, for they had an obituaries column every week or so.
"Tuck in", Dumbledore's eyes twinkled when they alighted on the Gryffindor table and
the madly whispering trio. But a loud sob caught his ear from the very end of the table,
and he turned to look.
At the very end of the table, Remus had pushed the plate away from him and was now
earnestly crying into his arms. His loud exclaimations brought him to the other
Gryffindors' attentions.
A boy leaned in, lanky with red hair sticking up everywhere. "Now, first year", he
said, "where are your table manners? You aren't supposed to cry on the first day! You
have to wait to be teased to do that." Beside him, a girl slapped the back of his head and
hurried over to the other side of the table where Remus was. "Dolt", she whispered under
her breath at him, and placed a hand on Remus' shoulder.
"Why are you crying?", said the kindly girl; her name was Molly, and she always took
care of the littler Gryffindors each year. They looked at her like she was the older
sister, or even the mother of the Gryffindors. "Is there something wrong with the food that
you don't like?" Sirius was behind Remus as well. Sometime during James and Peter's
coversation he had gotten up and positioned himself firmly behind Remus. Now, he stroked
Remus' shoulder with light fingers and just made sure Remus knew he was there.
The amber-eyed boy threw him a grateful smile and turned to Molly. "It's not the
food; it's just I haven't had this rich of a feast before, ever, in my life. I just wish...
I just wish that..." And he sniffed again and rubbed his eyes.
"You wish what, darling?", said Molly kindly.
"I just wish my mother and father were here to share it. I know they're not very
nice to me sometimes and they yell at me when I haven't done anything wrong, but they
deserve this, and I wish they were here to share it with me." Molly swooped him into an
embrace, and Remus clung to her.
"Good, fair child", said Molly soothingly. "How thoughtful of you. You love your
parents a lot, don't you?"
Remus smiled. "They're the only ones in the world that I trust with my life
completely."
, murmured Sirius in his mind. And he joined Molly in the hug, holding Remus
between them.
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
Author's note:
Well, another chapter done. Hope I didn't get Remus out of character or such. I
think he sounded a bit...strange. Strong and weak at the same time. But that's what he is,
isn't he? He has to be.
Andrea Weiling
He laughed, and took note of the boy in the corner. Then Peter drew his attention
away from the figure in the corner of the train compartment, and he thought no more of him
until James and Peter fell asleep to the movement of the train.
He had time to look now, at the boy still sitting solemnly at the edge of the seat,
farthest away as he could from him. He wondered why, and then he froze. The boy was
looking at him. The gaze caught and held, and almost as if the amber eyes were controling
him, he lifted (shoved) Peter's lolling head from his shoulder and set it down none-too-
carefully and made his way to the boy. Now that he was closer, he could see more clearly
just who he was. His trunk above him read "Lupin, Remus", and he didn't deny that it
sounded a little more formal than "Black, Sirius". He didn't like that name, but it seemed
to describe him very well. He had black hair and smokey, shifting eyes that seemed to un-
nerve everyone except for people he knew well. But this boy was different. He could look
straight at Sirius, and he wouldn't flinch. He wondered why.
"Are you Sirius Black?", the boy asked simply. He could only nod; those eyes were
captivating. Perhaps it was just him, but did he detect a sense of WRONGNESS from them?
And then he stepped back a pace, for it was like a bright light had shone down from
heaven itself. The boy gave a smile, shy and soft, but it warmed Sirius right down to his
toes. It was like he could just feed on that smile, take strength from it, and sustain him-
self for many days with just the memory on his mind and the sunlight on his lips, just like
that boy.
Sirius couldn't explain it. There was something MAGICAL about Remus, just from the
first time they met. Remus captivated him, held his gaze longer than anyone had, and
possessed the ability to quietly attract Sirius' gaze to him, even when Sirius wasn't think-
ing about anything remotely pertaining to Remus. But from the very beginning, Sirius was
hooked.
Sirius observed (however discreetly, though Remus later told him that he could
*feel* Sirius' eyes boring into his back) that Remus did not smile much. After asking if he
was Sirius Black on the train, Remus had said nothing else to him. Was it disappointment
that Sirius felt? He wasn't sure, but he watched Remus out of the corner of his eye for the
remainder of the train ride. Sometimes Remus caught his eye, and he would turn and meet it.
If he was laughing at the moment, he would stop, and his eyes would become thoughtful, as
if only Remus could provoke that expression from him. James and Peter wondered just WHAT
had happened between the sober amber-eyed stranger and their friend, but they didn't
question Sirius when he just said he was "a friend".
, James thought. But Sirius didn't hear his mental question, so it remained unanswered until
they reached Hogwarts.
When they stepped out of the train station and into the boats, Sirius explanation-
lessly took the stranger's hand and led him onto the same boat they were taking. In the dim
light over the waters, they saw their first glimpse of Hogwarts.
The sky was darkening rapidly but they saw the outline - a castle, rising above the
plains and a mountain like its elevation-high neighbors. Waters surrounded it, mountains
walled it, spells were placed on it. It was protected, sanctuaried, reveled that such a
stronghold still stood against the Darkness and all that scurried in the world on light
shadowy feet. It seemed like the scene had popped out of a storybook, and they were only a
small part to play, but however insignificant, they still made the difference...
James saw Sirius was not looking at Hogwarts, the boat, the lake, nor anything in it
. He was staring avidly at the new stranger, and when James looked at him, he knew why
Sirius had hailed him "a friend".
Though Sirius had not told him, James could feel those same discomforting WRONGNESS
that seemed to surround the stranger. "Remus" was his name, as later James found out, but
for now he just looked at Remus' face, and knew why Sirius had trusted him so implicitly on
the first glance, despite those feelings he got when he looked at the stranger.
Remus' face was uplifted, the eyes riveted in the direction of the castle. His eyes
shone delightedly, with hidden triumph for something that James knew naught of until a few
years later. The expression on his face was joyous, wondering, disbelieving that such a
place existed, and that HE, Remus Lupin, was going to live in it. He was going to the best
school for magic in the whole of Britain. He was going to Hogwarts, the singlemost safe
place for anyone while Dumbledore was there.
The boats floated on to the castle.
The Sorting Hat Ceremony passed without incident. Dumbledore announced that Mr.
Filch's list of nuisances (such as Dung Bombs) had now reached up in the fifties (nothing
compared to the numbers during Harry's time; no doubt some of the later inventions were
invented because of the Four Marauders), and that there were places off bounds to students
(at this, James, Peter and Sirius began whispering furiously among each other) and that he
hoped this would be another good year without to much difficulty in lieu of the
circumstances outside of school. The Daily Prophet was now a Bible to those who had parents
in the Ministry of Magic, for they had an obituaries column every week or so.
"Tuck in", Dumbledore's eyes twinkled when they alighted on the Gryffindor table and
the madly whispering trio. But a loud sob caught his ear from the very end of the table,
and he turned to look.
At the very end of the table, Remus had pushed the plate away from him and was now
earnestly crying into his arms. His loud exclaimations brought him to the other
Gryffindors' attentions.
A boy leaned in, lanky with red hair sticking up everywhere. "Now, first year", he
said, "where are your table manners? You aren't supposed to cry on the first day! You
have to wait to be teased to do that." Beside him, a girl slapped the back of his head and
hurried over to the other side of the table where Remus was. "Dolt", she whispered under
her breath at him, and placed a hand on Remus' shoulder.
"Why are you crying?", said the kindly girl; her name was Molly, and she always took
care of the littler Gryffindors each year. They looked at her like she was the older
sister, or even the mother of the Gryffindors. "Is there something wrong with the food that
you don't like?" Sirius was behind Remus as well. Sometime during James and Peter's
coversation he had gotten up and positioned himself firmly behind Remus. Now, he stroked
Remus' shoulder with light fingers and just made sure Remus knew he was there.
The amber-eyed boy threw him a grateful smile and turned to Molly. "It's not the
food; it's just I haven't had this rich of a feast before, ever, in my life. I just wish...
I just wish that..." And he sniffed again and rubbed his eyes.
"You wish what, darling?", said Molly kindly.
"I just wish my mother and father were here to share it. I know they're not very
nice to me sometimes and they yell at me when I haven't done anything wrong, but they
deserve this, and I wish they were here to share it with me." Molly swooped him into an
embrace, and Remus clung to her.
"Good, fair child", said Molly soothingly. "How thoughtful of you. You love your
parents a lot, don't you?"
Remus smiled. "They're the only ones in the world that I trust with my life
completely."
, murmured Sirius in his mind. And he joined Molly in the hug, holding Remus
between them.
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \
Author's note:
Well, another chapter done. Hope I didn't get Remus out of character or such. I
think he sounded a bit...strange. Strong and weak at the same time. But that's what he is,
isn't he? He has to be.
Andrea Weiling