Always a fan of commotion and overall displays of mayhem, Sirius grinned. With a mock-concerned look at the state of Lily's now-drenched dress robes, he raised his voice importantly. "Now, James," he murmured, caring to sound very responsible, "that's no way to treat a lady, is it? Go help Lily clean off her dress robes. It's the least you can do, being so rude to her and all."
James looked up from his bags, which he was gathering neatly to leave the train, with a flinch. "Excuse me, Sirius," he replied, caring to avoid both the name and gaze of Lily, "but I personally think her eavesdropping was a bit more rude than anything I've done. Besides," his head turned back to back to his luggage and was about to lift it, "why don't you do it? You seem to get along better with her."
"I can handle things myself, thank you," Lily said quietly, taking a handkerchief and fervently scrubbing at the cloth.
Sirius gave her a meaningful glare. "Of course you can, Lily," he continued hastily, caring to emphasize her name and James' reluctance to do the same, "but it's not proper for such a dignified lady, especially one with such little knowledge of cleaning spells." A grin enveloped his face as he turned back to James. "Besides, Potter, I'm not the one trying to impress her."
Turning, James' face turned a brilliant scarlet and he lost his patience completely. "I am not trying to impress her!" he insisted with a growl. " And it's hogwash that you aren't, what with your mentions of 'lady' here and 'sweet Lily' there. Why, she's nothing more than an eavesdropper and a filthy Mudblood!" The word got an instant reaction from Sirius, who seemed inches away from attacking James. Lily, however, remained silent, knowing the word was something bad but not exactly what.
James let out a breath, face flushed with frustration and embarrassment. Luckily, the train was mostly empty, or else it was certain that a crowd would have formed to watch the excitement. He blinked. As if in sudden realization of what he had done, he looked down at the ground, careful not to make eye contact with either one of them. He didn't know why he'd said it, or why he was so defensive over how he felt, but it had just come out naturally. Now, he'd probably lose two of his potential friends, not to mention how the word would be spread. He could see the names now - "James, hater of Muggle-born, fit only to be a Slytherin, betrayer of his family's proud Gryffindor heritage." He shuddered.
"I'm - I'm sorry," James muttered finally. But the words, usually never spoken by him, were genuine. Despite their faults, he truly cared for Sirius and Lily, and enjoyed their companionship. "About that spell, Evans…" Sirius gave him a meaningful look. "Er…Lily," he corrected himself awkwardly. "It's really rather simple." With this, he mumbled a few words under his breath, and with a wave of his wand the stain was gone.
"Impressive," Lily admitted with a grin. "But I can never tell my sister about that one. She'd expect me to clean all her eternally dirty laundry." With this, her face moved into an expression of extreme displeasure, gathering laughter from both Sirius and James. "Well, it's true!" she insisted, evidently glad that the boys were in better moods. "Come on," she added, grinning, "it's getting late, and we can't miss the…what is it we do when we get there?"
"The Sorting," James clarified. "Where they put a hat on us that tells us where we spend the rest of our years at Hogwarts."
"A hat?" Lily replied with a giggle. Her eyes widened as she realized he was serious. "I personally don't feel safe leaving my fate up to a hat," she stated bluntly.
"They've been doing it for centuries, Lily," Sirius explained cautiously. "And my family's turned out okay. I don't know about James over there…" James gave him a dark look, but even so, it was friendly. He'd obviously cooled down since his outburst. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry. That old hat is never wrong."
As the conversation progressed, Lily addressing trivial wizarding things and James and Sirius explaining it all to her, the trio found themselves moving closer and closer to the rest of the first years. There, they stood before a large, jovial looking man, inhumanly tall and wide.
"That's Hagrid," whispered James. "A generation or so back, he was expelled from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore - that's our headmaster," he added hastily, "hired him back as a gamekeeper and such. My mother says he's very nice, but…" At this, he gazed up at Hagrid's towering figure.
"Looks can be deceiving," Lily reminded him with a grin.
"I suppose so," James said reluctantly. "After all, when I saw you, I thought you were a mindless twit."
"And?" Lily coaxed.
"And," he continued brightly, "I was right."
"Oh, Potter!" Lily lifted her heaviest bag and raised it threateningly.
"Just kidding, Evans." James' mouth curved into a mocking smile. "Or, should I say," he went on, imitating Sirius' feigned grandeur with a bow, "dear Lily?"
"Lily's fine," she confirmed. The two were so caught up in their own conversation that they didn't notice the first years steadily moving toward the cavernous lake ahead.
"Come on, you two!" beckoned an unfamiliar voice ahead. "If you miss the boats, you might be left for the giant squid!"
"The giant squid?" Lily murmured incredulously.
James shook his head. "Don't ask."
Once they'd caught up to rest of the group, the source of the voice was soon determined. It was a boy, roughly James' age, with extremely tousled black hair with hints of gray and weary-looking eyes. Neither James nor Lily had ever seen such an expression on someone so young, but both were silent. "I'm Remus," the boy volunteered, giving them a curious expression. "The last name's Lupin, but no one but my mother uses that, and only when she's mad." He grimaced. "So it's really just Remus. Et toi?"
"It's James," James replied, not one for long introductions. "And this is Lily."
"I can introduce myself, thank you," Lily interrupted. "I'm Lily Evans. Or just Evans, as James here seems to favour." She cast him an annoying glance. "Pleased to meet you, Remus."
"And so I say the same," he replied graciously. "What's wrong with your friend, there?"
"Oh, James?" she queried casually. "Who said he was my friend?"
"Certainly not me," Remus replied with a smirk. As he did so, his eyes moved to the sky, focusing on the glittering stars, and finally on the brilliant full moon, which would form fully in nigh on an hour. An odd look appeared on his face, but the other two didn't seem to notice.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lily said breathlessly. "I just love full moons, don't you?" She turned back to Remus, and her eyes met his worried expression. "Don't you?" she repeated uneasily.
"Of course," Remus replied with a stutter. "Who doesn't? Anyhow," he continued, seeming eager to change the subject, "it seems it's our turn to get on a boat."
"Odd kid," James whispered as Remus sprinted toward the boats.
"And you aren't?" Lily muttered sarcastically. Perhaps she was just naturally drawn to people who seemed conflicted, but the new boy troubled her a bit. Anyway, it would be best to just let the issue go and load the… "Boats?" Lily asked, startled.
"How else do you plan to cross the lake?" James replied, speaking as if she was idiotic. "Swim?"
"No, I don't suppose so," she reasoned, still unsure. "They don't seem very safe." To this, James had no reply. Shuddering a little, they moved toward one of the boats. In the one they were about to board sat both Remus and Sirius, who were already engaged into a discussion about something or other.
Trying to ignore the fierce cold and the chilling new experience that lay ahead, the quartet of acquaintances made their way toward the shore and castle of Hogwarts.
James looked up from his bags, which he was gathering neatly to leave the train, with a flinch. "Excuse me, Sirius," he replied, caring to avoid both the name and gaze of Lily, "but I personally think her eavesdropping was a bit more rude than anything I've done. Besides," his head turned back to back to his luggage and was about to lift it, "why don't you do it? You seem to get along better with her."
"I can handle things myself, thank you," Lily said quietly, taking a handkerchief and fervently scrubbing at the cloth.
Sirius gave her a meaningful glare. "Of course you can, Lily," he continued hastily, caring to emphasize her name and James' reluctance to do the same, "but it's not proper for such a dignified lady, especially one with such little knowledge of cleaning spells." A grin enveloped his face as he turned back to James. "Besides, Potter, I'm not the one trying to impress her."
Turning, James' face turned a brilliant scarlet and he lost his patience completely. "I am not trying to impress her!" he insisted with a growl. " And it's hogwash that you aren't, what with your mentions of 'lady' here and 'sweet Lily' there. Why, she's nothing more than an eavesdropper and a filthy Mudblood!" The word got an instant reaction from Sirius, who seemed inches away from attacking James. Lily, however, remained silent, knowing the word was something bad but not exactly what.
James let out a breath, face flushed with frustration and embarrassment. Luckily, the train was mostly empty, or else it was certain that a crowd would have formed to watch the excitement. He blinked. As if in sudden realization of what he had done, he looked down at the ground, careful not to make eye contact with either one of them. He didn't know why he'd said it, or why he was so defensive over how he felt, but it had just come out naturally. Now, he'd probably lose two of his potential friends, not to mention how the word would be spread. He could see the names now - "James, hater of Muggle-born, fit only to be a Slytherin, betrayer of his family's proud Gryffindor heritage." He shuddered.
"I'm - I'm sorry," James muttered finally. But the words, usually never spoken by him, were genuine. Despite their faults, he truly cared for Sirius and Lily, and enjoyed their companionship. "About that spell, Evans…" Sirius gave him a meaningful look. "Er…Lily," he corrected himself awkwardly. "It's really rather simple." With this, he mumbled a few words under his breath, and with a wave of his wand the stain was gone.
"Impressive," Lily admitted with a grin. "But I can never tell my sister about that one. She'd expect me to clean all her eternally dirty laundry." With this, her face moved into an expression of extreme displeasure, gathering laughter from both Sirius and James. "Well, it's true!" she insisted, evidently glad that the boys were in better moods. "Come on," she added, grinning, "it's getting late, and we can't miss the…what is it we do when we get there?"
"The Sorting," James clarified. "Where they put a hat on us that tells us where we spend the rest of our years at Hogwarts."
"A hat?" Lily replied with a giggle. Her eyes widened as she realized he was serious. "I personally don't feel safe leaving my fate up to a hat," she stated bluntly.
"They've been doing it for centuries, Lily," Sirius explained cautiously. "And my family's turned out okay. I don't know about James over there…" James gave him a dark look, but even so, it was friendly. He'd obviously cooled down since his outburst. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry. That old hat is never wrong."
As the conversation progressed, Lily addressing trivial wizarding things and James and Sirius explaining it all to her, the trio found themselves moving closer and closer to the rest of the first years. There, they stood before a large, jovial looking man, inhumanly tall and wide.
"That's Hagrid," whispered James. "A generation or so back, he was expelled from Hogwarts, but Dumbledore - that's our headmaster," he added hastily, "hired him back as a gamekeeper and such. My mother says he's very nice, but…" At this, he gazed up at Hagrid's towering figure.
"Looks can be deceiving," Lily reminded him with a grin.
"I suppose so," James said reluctantly. "After all, when I saw you, I thought you were a mindless twit."
"And?" Lily coaxed.
"And," he continued brightly, "I was right."
"Oh, Potter!" Lily lifted her heaviest bag and raised it threateningly.
"Just kidding, Evans." James' mouth curved into a mocking smile. "Or, should I say," he went on, imitating Sirius' feigned grandeur with a bow, "dear Lily?"
"Lily's fine," she confirmed. The two were so caught up in their own conversation that they didn't notice the first years steadily moving toward the cavernous lake ahead.
"Come on, you two!" beckoned an unfamiliar voice ahead. "If you miss the boats, you might be left for the giant squid!"
"The giant squid?" Lily murmured incredulously.
James shook his head. "Don't ask."
Once they'd caught up to rest of the group, the source of the voice was soon determined. It was a boy, roughly James' age, with extremely tousled black hair with hints of gray and weary-looking eyes. Neither James nor Lily had ever seen such an expression on someone so young, but both were silent. "I'm Remus," the boy volunteered, giving them a curious expression. "The last name's Lupin, but no one but my mother uses that, and only when she's mad." He grimaced. "So it's really just Remus. Et toi?"
"It's James," James replied, not one for long introductions. "And this is Lily."
"I can introduce myself, thank you," Lily interrupted. "I'm Lily Evans. Or just Evans, as James here seems to favour." She cast him an annoying glance. "Pleased to meet you, Remus."
"And so I say the same," he replied graciously. "What's wrong with your friend, there?"
"Oh, James?" she queried casually. "Who said he was my friend?"
"Certainly not me," Remus replied with a smirk. As he did so, his eyes moved to the sky, focusing on the glittering stars, and finally on the brilliant full moon, which would form fully in nigh on an hour. An odd look appeared on his face, but the other two didn't seem to notice.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Lily said breathlessly. "I just love full moons, don't you?" She turned back to Remus, and her eyes met his worried expression. "Don't you?" she repeated uneasily.
"Of course," Remus replied with a stutter. "Who doesn't? Anyhow," he continued, seeming eager to change the subject, "it seems it's our turn to get on a boat."
"Odd kid," James whispered as Remus sprinted toward the boats.
"And you aren't?" Lily muttered sarcastically. Perhaps she was just naturally drawn to people who seemed conflicted, but the new boy troubled her a bit. Anyway, it would be best to just let the issue go and load the… "Boats?" Lily asked, startled.
"How else do you plan to cross the lake?" James replied, speaking as if she was idiotic. "Swim?"
"No, I don't suppose so," she reasoned, still unsure. "They don't seem very safe." To this, James had no reply. Shuddering a little, they moved toward one of the boats. In the one they were about to board sat both Remus and Sirius, who were already engaged into a discussion about something or other.
Trying to ignore the fierce cold and the chilling new experience that lay ahead, the quartet of acquaintances made their way toward the shore and castle of Hogwarts.