Hypocrites Always Fall in Love
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this (except most of the plot, and the characters you don't recognize). It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 7 – The Boy in the Desolate Compartment
A little boy of the age of eleven sat in the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express. He sat deep in thought of the seven years that lay ahead of him. Working up the courage to even come to the platform had been hard enough. But working up the courage to stay at Hogwarts for the next 7 years was a different story in its entirety. He would have to make friends, and that wasn't one of his strong points.
His brown eyes knit into a frown when he thought about his secret. No one was aloud to know, Dumbledore had told him. No matter how wonderful his "friends" appeared to be. The secret would scare the other children's parents unnecessarily, and as long as they took the essential precautions to keep the information from getting out, he could come to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"You're very lucky," his parents had told him, "If it weren't for Dumbledore, you couldn't go to Hogwarts."
Only he didn't feel so lucky. He felt nauseous, and the pit in his stomach was knotting itself more each second. The boy's chocolate brown eyes flicked in the direction of the window and he stared out it, with a pained expression on his soft features. There had to be at least a hundred kids on that platform, saying good-bye to their families, waiting to board the train, laughing with other children… He just felt so isolated from them. The desolate compartment appeared gray and dreary through his eyes.
But maybe it would be different here. Maybe people will just accept me for who I am, he thought, brushing a bit of his brown hair out of his face. Thinking positive wouldn't hurt him, right?
It would just let him down.
"Hey, is anyone sitting here?" a voice inquired to despondent boy.
He looked up from the window quickly, and noticed a boy standing in the door of the compartment with unruly black hair. His hazel eyes were fixated on other's brown ones.
"Uh...no. No one's sitting here," he answered back.
"So then I can...?" He gestured at the seat next to him, making sure it was alright to sit down.
"Oh, yeah. Sure, go ahead," the brown eyed boy said, and smiled half-heartedly.
"Thanks. All the other ones were full. Well, pretty much," the raven haired boy said, taking a seat as quietly as he could, feeling that if he didn't, he would shatter the stillness in the air.
Then they both looked at each other, smiling awkwardly. As they sat in uncomfortable silence, both thought about how glad they were just to have another person in the compartment.
Seconds went by, turning into minutes, and the black-haired boy could no longer stand the quiet. He was not patient by nature, just like he was very rarely this subdued. He just had to talk to the other boy.
"Well, hi," he started out.
"Hello," was the small reply from across the compartment.
"I'm James Potter," the boy said encouragingly. "Who are you?"
"I'm Remus," he stuttered, "Remus Lupin."
Niether was sure what to say after that.
Remus desperately wanted to think of something to say. Anything to keep him interested in him, or maybe even willing to be his friend. Remus smiled at the thought of having a friend; someone to talk to. He'd not had one in so long, he'd forgotten what it felt like to have someone be around all the time, not just meet you and then run off because they thought you were different. Only problem was his mind was blank for any idea of what to say.
"So you're a first year?" James asked, making the clear assumption, just from looking at him. Remus, to him, looked unnaturally nervous, and this made James believe that he probably thought the sorting was something scary. Like a troll-fight or something of that sort.
Actually, now that James thought about it, troll-fighting would be a fun way to start the year off. Him and Sirius, giving the troll the old one-two, in the head.
James dismissed the thought with evasive hope that he could forget Sirius as quickly as he had forgotten James.
"Yeah," Remus replied, warming up a bit, attempting to look a little less uneasy, "How about you?"
"I'm in first year too. Hoping for Gryffindor," James said smiling with pride.
"Gryffindor sounds nice, but I think I'd rather be in Ravenclaw," Remus said in casual response, as James' mouth dropped open.
"Ravenclaw?"
By the way he said this, Remus felt as though he'd chosen the wrong thing to say.
"Uh..yes...it sounds—"
"What about exploring Hogwarts, and having fun with your friends?" James interrupted him, incredulously, shifting in his seat so that he was closer to Remus.
Remus looked out the window for comfort, because looking at James was making him feel a bit awkward. The greenery passed by his eyes like forest blurs, and the English countryside looked pleasantly content with the train passing through its wisps of tall golden grass. It made him feel oddly at peace, and mellow. Until he looked back at James.
Then he spoke up simply.
"I'm not so sure I'll have any friends."
James stared at Remus, his hazel eyes filled with deep sympathy. He smiled quietly at him, absorbed in his own thoughts.
"I'll be your friend."
Remus just looked at him, completely astonished. Did he really mean what he said? Was he finally going to have a true friend? Would he truly stand by him, or would James leave the minute he met someone who was more fun to be around?
"Seriously, James?" he dared to ask.
"Seriously, Remus."
And for the first time since his accident, Remus cracked a rare, true smile.