Disclaimer: All the characters in this work of fiction purely belongs to J.K. Rowling. No infringement of copyright or stuff like that is intended. No money is being made out of this venture, only reviews for my ego, if there is any at all.
"RAVENCLAW!' the Sorting Hat proudly announced to the whole Hall, before whispering quietly, so only Remus could hear, "Yes, indeed, that is the best house for you. You'll do well in that house, I can guarantee you that."
The Hall was abuzz with conversation, with many looking enviously at the Ravenclaw table. Some lower-year Ravenclaws were even dancing in glee.
Remus started walking nervously to the house table, and was about to sit at the far end of the table, when a tall, brunette of a Ravenclaw hollered across the table, "Hey, Remus, come sit with me and my friends!"
Before Remus could even answer, he was dragged along by the bold Ravenclaw to sit near the centre.
"Hi," the Ravenclaw smiled. She was a pretty Asian with long black hair and tiny black eyes set in a fair, heart-shaped face. "I'm Celia Chang. There are two of my friends, next to me. Molly Braxton is the one snogging her boyfriend right there." She pointed to a red-head whose lips were currently latched onto another red-head's lips.
"Parvani Patil is there." She pointed to an Indian-looking girl with her head currently buried in a book. She looked up just long enough to wave, before locking her eyes onto the book again.
"And my boyfriend, Mundungus Fletcher, is sitting at the Hufflepuff table. There," She pointed, "Right next to the blond, hunky looking one. That's Amos Diggory, but my boyfriend's the one with brown hair and a goofy look on his face. Oh, you see, he's waving at us now."
"Hi," Remus nervously said. "I'm Remus Lupin...but, you probably know that already." Remus flushed yet again, and hurriedly sat down next to her.
"Doesn't matter." Celia shrugged his embarrassment off. "When I first came to Hogwarts I was also nervous, but it goes away pretty easily once you get to know other people. And you know me now right?" She shot a sideways glance at him out of the corner of her eyes.
Remus hurriedly nodded, and she continued.
"Well, anyway, you're pretty good-looking, if I say so myself, you shouldn't have any trouble getting to know more people, not that people here are shallow or anything. I'll just help you get to know more of my friends later then. So, tell me more about yourself!"
Remus started telling her about his life in Beauxbatons, and his family, and soon, the two were happily sharing stories on how annoying younger brothers could be, among other things.
Across the Hall, Sirius' attention was constantly shifting to the newest addition, until James finally got his head out of his Lily-induced haze.
"Hey, Siri, I noticed you got your eyes set on the newbie. Wanna go over to introduce yourself and maybe get a new addition to your fan club?" James jokingly asked. "Or maybe you might want it somewhere else...on your arm, perhaps?"
Sirius elbowed James playfully in the ribs. "Shut it, Jamie, you're just jealous that I have the ability to enjoy both worlds, and therefore have more people in my fan club! You, on the other hand, are so obsessed with Lily-kins right there, that you wouldn't even have noticed the people throwing themselves at you. Not that it matters, anyway. It just means I'll get more!"
But still, Sirius considered James' preposition, and finally conceded defeat.
"Alrighty, James my man, let's go over and introduce the famous Marauders of Hogwarts." Sirius hauled James away from his chicken nuggets, and dragged him across the Hall to the Ravenclaw table.
Remus' POV
I looked up from the very animated conversation around me just in time to notice two wizards, whom I recollected seeing pass outside my carriage in the train, make their way to our table.
Celia looked up too, upon sensing my inattention, and apparently recognized the two.
"James! Sirius! Come sit here and I'll introduce you to Remus!" She waved excitedly, and I could feel the breeze that her hands generated, as I caught a whiff of her perfume, faint as it was.
The dark-haired boy who had first caught my attention glanced at me with his intense blue eyes, before taking a seat opposite me.
"Hi," He grinned openly, "I'm Sirius Black, and this is my fellow Marauder. You can call him Jamie. He has a secret fetish for that nickname, trust me." His grin widened even more, and I could catch a mischievous spark in his eye.
I laughed, and was about to reply, but then James snorted.
"The way he speaks you would think he's the leader of our pack. Ha, sorry Siri, but that honour belongs to me! And what do you mean by introducing me to strangers by that awful name you have dubbed me with?" he mock-scowled.
"I'm James Potter, by the way," he extended a hand to me, which I shook. "Forgive Siri for his bad manners, for he knows not what he does." He extolled in a self-righteous voice, before collapsing in laughter after Sirius smacked his head.
"My beautiful lady, Celia." Sirius bowed even while seated. "Might you care to introduce me to this lovely companion of yours, who until now has not uttered a word?"
Recalling with a blush that I had really not spoken a word in their presence, I immediately tried to make up.
"I would have spoken, had not the one of you rendered me speechless with his unusual taste. The one called Jamie..." I responded, going along with the playful banter I sensed with the two.
Sirius once again flashed his charming smile at me, and whispered so only I could hear. "I'm beginning to like you already."
That wouldn't have bowled me over had any other person said it, but this time I could feel tingles through my spine, which I tried in vain to ignore. Half-way through the rest of our discussion, I could feel a knee pressing against mine. I shifted a bit to give the others a bit more room, but the knee followed mine wherever I tried to go. Looking up, I caught yet another flash of his grin, until he turned to talk to Celia.
That night, Remus couldn't sleep a wink, and unknowst to him, a fellow dark haired wizard, in the tower of Gryffindor, also tossed and turned for the entire night, haunted by images of eyes of a stormy gray.
So... I think I surprised a majority of you with my choice, which I'm terribly sorry for. But, hey, don't stop reading because of this! Actually, when I started out with this story, u had the whole "Remus in Ravenclaw" thing in my head. The whole entire plot was based on it, but I was having doubts on my ability to carry it through, and was looking for alternative ideas. Well... I'll still write on with this, and see where this leads me.
Oh, and Celia is just a character I made up. Cho's mum, I suppose, though the surname part is a bit tricky. I didn't really know anyone apart from her from Ravenclaw, since I was wrongly under the assumption Cedric Diggory was in Ravenclaw, until recently. Just imagine she's going to be a single mum and the daughter gets her surname...Celia is not a Chinese name, though, because after many hours of searching the web and my Chinese dictionary, I have come to the conclusion that Cho is the only name that goes with Chang, and besides, the word Cho isn't even a real Chinese word! So if any of you reviewers have a better idea for her name, just put it in a review or something.
And once again, the lots of you have surprised me with so many reviews, in just one day too! I basically posted this at night, and woke to discover 42 reviews in total. Thanks! But I'm afraid I can't post regularly...sharing 3 computers among 4 siblings is mighty hard work, especially since my younger brother is now completely addicted to neopets. And, you don't exactly write stuff with your sister or brother breathing down your neck, so...don't expect quick updates!
Replies to reviews:
DawnAurilain: Yup, I do know that he is supposed to be in Gryffindor, but...this is an AU for a reason!
Versipellis: A durian...oh yes, you probably live in the West, and therefore have no knowledge about it. Hmm.. it is a fruit, green and spiky looking, stinks though. Some people say it smells of rotting flesh, or a gas leak. The taste...well, you have to grow up with it to like it. I'm not the expert here, so just Yahoo! it. You can get the image too. So, next time you stop somewhere in SE Asia, just try it if it happens to be in season. Don't sue me if you are scarred for life though.
You probably know by now I live in Asia. Singapore, if you want to be exact. It doesn't matter if you've never heard of it. When my mum called overseas to book a service apartment, the man there had no idea what she meant when she said she lived in Singapore. He thought it was a state of America. When he finally found out, he kept going, "OMG, I'm talking to someone from ASIA!" he wanted to know the time it was here and all, which was weird.
You were right, though I wish you weren't. It doesn't rain in the afternoons anymore(who cares about mornings? Its holidays, which means I'm SLEEPING when the sun comes up), but now Coach is going crazy because inter-school tournaments are coming up in February. It's Physical for the last half hour...and tell me, who wants to do 50 pushups, 50 kangaroo jumps, and 50 crunches, and run 3km after two hours of grueling tennis? Not me.
Ani: Thanks! Yes, I know my chapters are waaay shorter than even what I'm used to reading, but I'm trying, though descriptions and details really aren't my strong points.
Cindered-hope: Yeah, that's what I thought. But you can't marry him! He's all mine! Though my mummy always told me to share...
Angelfire Shikala: Yup, me too...though my school is a girls only...sigh.
Mako-Kique: Oh, now I'm the one dancing with glee with your oh-so-flattering review. Yes, I know it's too short, but I'll try to lengthen it...and I'll definitely read your story when it comes out.
Jerrika: I do hate to disappoint those who asked for Gryffindor, but sorry, he's now officially in Ravenclaw. Thanks, and there was their first conversation!
Doneril: Yes, he's a werewolf, and a very attractive one too.
Lolita: yes...it is better than nothing...but I hope this chapter is longer for all you guys out there, but doing my word count, I don't really think it is.
And many thanks to: quick-fix, Queen of the Paperclips, Just Playin, Celi, Romulus901, Rinfirthiel, moonylover2000, Miyu, Lunaris, Cacti-Chan, too.