Remus' POV

I follow Sirius closely as Professor McGonagall leads us into a small room. I can hear the sounds of the rest of the school through the door. I notice the other students inching closer to each other unconsciously, where as Sirius lounges indifferently against the wall. I stand beside him and take in the portraits on the wall. I see James and Peter looking over at us and I offer them a smile. Peter returns it instantly, but James' scowl just increases.

"I guess when we get sorted I won't ever speak to you again," I murmur to Sirius.

He looks at me,

"No. Probably not."

I bite my lip,

"Well, it's nice to have met you."

He stares at me,

"Sure. Whatever you say."

The Professor beckons us into the great hall, and the current students fall silent as they watch us troop in. I fight to stop myself grabbing Sirius' hand or anything equally embarrassing. I watch as his gaze falls on the Slytherin table and I can sense his tension. A seventh year blonde boy locks eyes with him and nods imperiously. Sirius meets the gaze, but doesn't nod.

I vaguely become aware that the hat the Professor put on the stool is singing, but I don't pay it any mind. I am too busy scanning the faces of the students before me. I don't meet anybody's eyes, though, and eventually find myself studying the floor.

Then the Professor is calling people out to be sorted. I watch with interest as the first person is Sorted into Ravenclaw and their table erupts into cheers as they step down.

"Black, Sirius," the Professor calls.

Sirius wanders forward and sits smartly on the stool. She drops the hat onto his head and steps back a little. I watch him intensely and notice his shoulders stiffen briefly, then relax as the hat shouts its judgement,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

There is a deadly hush as Sirius removes the hat and joins the Gryffindor table. I glance at the blonde at the Slytherin table; he looks absolutely livid. Sirius sits quietly at the end of the table and several people shake off the shock to clap him feebly.

I'm too busy watching Sirius sitting by himself, staring at the tabletop, to listen to the next people to go throw the Sorting. I'm called back to my senses as I am called forward myself. I sit down nervously, still watching the floor, and I feel the hat rest down onto my head.

Hmm…I hear it in my mind. Let's see. You're nervous, but loyal and forgiving…And a fighter, if the cause is right… A werewolf? Interesting…You're just wanting a Pack then. Now, where to place you? Better be…"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I swear I almost faint with shock. The Professor smiles warmly as she lifts up the hat and I scramble down to the sound of cheer. I smile nervously at my new housemates and sit next to Sirius.

He smirks,

"Hello again."

I grin widely,

"Hi."

"I thought you were going to be Hufflepuff?" he raises his eyebrows.

"I thought you were going to be Slytherin?" I counter instantly.

He smirks again,

"Touché."

Before long we are joined by James and Peter and some other girls, but I don't listen to their names. I notice that Peter seems quiet happy to except Sirius now, but that James looks deeply suspicious; as if Sirius has somehow managed to fool the Sorting Hat and infiltrate Gryffindor.

Professor Dumbledore makes a speech to the school. I vaguely acknowledge what he says about the Whomping Willow, but I'm more interested in looking between Sirius and James. Dumbledore claps his hands and food appears on all the tables.

Sirius meets James' eyes and just raises an eyebrow,

"You have a problem, Potter?"

James bristles,

"Yes, that would be you, Black."

Sirius shrugs,

"You think I care what you think?"

"I think you do," I tell him before I can stop myself.

They both stare at me,

"I… sorry…" I drop my eyes.

"No, what were you saying?" James asks. I look up and meet his scowl. I glance at Sirius, who is glaring at the table.

"I… we're going to share a room for the next seven years," I plead. "We can't fall out before we've even started. Sirius knows that too."

Sirius just snorts,

"Just keep your nose out of it, Lupin; you don't know me."

James sneers,

"My point. Thank you."

He turns back to Peter and ignores Sirius and me for the rest of dinner.

"Are you angry with me?" I ask Sirius quietly.

He glares at me,

"Who, me? Just be quiet; you're good at that."

I blink back tears and nibble at some of the food in front of me. I notice Sirius eats more than me, but still not much, whereas James and Peter seem intent on clearing the entire table.

After dinner we are lead to our dorms by a Prefect. We find our things in our room when we enter. Sirius walks straight to his owl, a Great Horned Owl and opens the cage. The creature seems to nod shortly and glides out and around the room. It lands on Sirius' bed and stretches its wings. Sirius opens a window, and the owl glides out and into the night.

"Nice owl," I offer. He just sneers at me and starts checking through his things.

"You don't have an owl?" Peter asks me, from beside James.

"No," I shake my head, "we… can't afford it."

Peter nods sympathetically,

"You can always borrow mine if you need to," he offers. "I don't write much. Anyway, any stuff I write will probably be as a reply, and then I can use whichever owl the original letter came with."

"That's very kind, thank you," I smile.

James seems to be fighting some inner battle, then shakes his head,

"Black?"

Sirius looks over at him, still scowling,

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened before," he scratches the back of his head, "how's about we call a truce until we find a real reason to hate each other?"

Sirius looks surprised,

"Thank you, Potter."

James offers a lopsided smile, then gets into the bed one along from Sirius'. Peter looks between James' bed and Sirius a few more times, then shakes his head and gets into the bed to the left of James'.

I move to my own bed, between James' and Sirius', and get some night things from my trunk. Sirius catches my elbow suddenly, he glares at me and I flinch.

"It seems," he sneers, "that there are two people I can be friends with in this dorm."

I feel a tear slip down my face.

"You, on the other hand, are a pathetic cry-baby with no sense for when to just keep your nose out of other people's business."

I sniff and back away from him,

"I'm sorry."

He just sneers again, climbs into bed and closes the hangings.

I close the hangings around my own bed and get changed quietly. I don't know why I expect Sirius to like me. I am a monster, after all. There is no reason why he should, or anyone else for that mater. I sigh slightly and drop off to sleep.

Author Notes:

Right! That is as much as I have written so far. I dunno if I'm going to leave it there, or continue... Let me know in the normal way!

Thanks again