So you're back, are you? I imagine you've had quite the busy day, what with classes starting and everything - and what, only one out for detention? That's rather different; most years we have several first years in detention after the first day- you Gryffindors can't seem to keep yourselves out of trouble for long! The rest of you, though- you're wanting to hear more of the story I was telling you last night?
Well of course you want to hear what happened to them! They were terribly interesting people, you know, all of them, and it was one of the greatest pleasures of my existence to watch them learn and grow here. I won't say that I was their friend- how could a painting ever be a real person's friend? But I do believe I had an unparalleled opportunity to watch them and to spend time in their company. I consider myself extremely privileged to have been witness to the birth and growth of the greatest friendship that Hogwarts has seen; there are times I almost expect to see them come around a corner, laughing and smiling like they used to so long ago...although none of them ever became ghosts and returned to haunt this place, their spirits are still a part of Hogwarts, and especially of this house.
So let me see...last night I told you of how the four boys who were to become such friends spent their first night at Hogwarts. The next day was no less busy than your own has certainly been, and at the time, I knew so little of Hogwarts that I determined that I would follow them to their classes to see what life was really like around the castle. I was awake before any of them that first morning, practically quivering with excitement. The calm child woke first, sitting up and looking around quietly. He looked quizzically out the window, and seemed to be able to tell the time by observing the sun, for he rose and began to prepare himself for the day, with a few brief glances at the beds where his new roommates slept on. James woke next, and sat up noisily, yawning loudly and stretching extravagantly.
"Oh, hello." James said, observing that the other boy was awake. "I don't seem able to remember your name from last night - I'm James Potter, of course, but who are you?" The boy looked over at him as he spoke, his face displaying nothing but polite attention.
"I'm Remus Lupin" the boy said, his voice light and pleasant. "Sorry to have fallen asleep last night before introducing myself- I was rather tired, you see." Remus continued to move around, packing his school bag methodically; James scratched his head as he replied.
"That's all right, I suppose. Guess we ought to wake the others up, eh?" James looked at the bed next to his, where Sirius lay snoring loudly, and then to the last bed in the room, where Peter was invisible under a pile of blankets. James bounced out of bed and scurried over to wake the others, which he accomplished loudly and violently. Remus stood to the side and watched, his face displaying nothing more than mild interest as his roommates scuffled and yelled at each other. Finally, battered and bruised, the other three managed to get themselves ready for the day, and the four set out to eat.
I followed them as closely as possible as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, and I watched with great interest as they sat down to eat. James, Peter and Sirius sat close together, and followed Gryffindor traditions of eating loudly and with frequent interruptions. Remus, on the other hand, took a seat some distance from the others, and opened a textbook as he ate. The others took note of this eventually, and made faces at each other, seemingly indicating such thoughts as "what's wrong with him-what is he doing with a textbook?" and "stuck up, isn't he?" and "you're hogging all the bacon, leave some for me, you greedy git!" and from Peter, "help! I'm choking! Help, help! Guys?" After James and Sirius had pounded Peter on the back for a while, and his face had returned to it's normal pinkish shade rather than an ugly bluish-gray, Sirius tossed a roll at Remus' head. With lightening-fast reflexes, Lupin caught it from the air without looking up from his book, and took a bite. Then he turned to Sirius, with a mildly questioning look on his face.
"Don't you want to sit with us? It's loads more fun than reading a boring old schoolbook." James said; it sounded less like a question than a command. Remus gave a smile that somehow did not reach his eyes.
"Thank you for the invitation, but I really think I ought to look at this material before class. It wouldn't do to be unprepared on the first day of class, would it?" He returned to his book, placing the bitten roll on the plate in front of him, which was nearly full of food that had hardly been touched.
"Well, guess Lupin's too good to eat with the likes of us!" Sirius said, his temper roused. "Have to get your studying in to prove that you're smarter than the rest of us, eh?" Lupin did not allow this comment to upset him; he merely looked at Sirius for a moment, his face impassive, before tilting shaking his head to indicate that the other boy was wrong, and returning to his book. Sirius seemed rather subdued by this response, and went back to eating his breakfast, although all three of the boys continued to shoot unfriendly glances at Lupin, sitting alone. I wondered if it bothered him, being alone; it bothered me sometimes. I had a strange feeling that Lupin and I had some things in common, however silly that might have seemed. After all, he was a real boy, a normal wizard who could interact with others as easily as he could breathe, whereas I was merely Doran, nothing more than a painting of a child. I decided at that point that Remus Lupin was one to watch.
The children finished breakfast, finally, and headed to their first class, which happened to be Transfiguration. Back then, the class was taught by Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts- a truly admirable woman, to say the least. She did not allow any nonsense in her classes; strict she was, to be sure, but also a wonderful teacher, one of the best I have seen at Hogwarts this past century. The Gryffindors were placed with the Ravenclaw students for that class, and they all managed to get along with each other fairly well.
Now children, you must understand; back in those days, there was a great deal of inter-house rivalry. In recent years there has been a great improvement in the relations between the houses, and you think nothing of visiting each other's common rooms or spending time together. When the children I am telling you about were attending school a hundred years ago, however, the houses did not get along well. While the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs managed to get along fairly well with everyone, it was the rare day that did not see a fight of some kind between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. They are too alike, you see, both impulsive and hotheaded, in their own ways, but their methods are different. At the time, the subject of the purity of wizarding blood was also a matter of great importance to many, causing more tensions between students. Many Slytherin students were committed to preserving the purity of blood, while the Gryffindors were equally adamant about accepting students of all backgrounds and families. Do you understand now some of the politics of the situation? Good, good.
The Transfiguration lesson progressed well, and I found myself wishing that I had a wand and a textbook, as I wanted to learn what the students were learning. All too soon, the class was over, and I prepared to leave with the students. Professor McGonagall stopped Remus Lupin before he left the room, and asked if she might have a private word, and I was tempted to remain in the classroom to observe this conversation, but then decided against it. I thought that if she was insisting on a "private" conversation, it was not my place to intrude, but I found myself curious as to why she wished to speak to the calm, controlled student. He had certainly presented no problems in her class, unlike some of the other first years. I accompanied the students to their next class, which was Charms, but remained outside the door. As I had suspected, Remus came along a few moments later, his face somewhat flushed from hurrying through the corridors, but still as composed as ever.
"E-excuse me!" I managed to say as the boy rushed by. "I- er, I believe this is your classroom." Remus stopped, glanced at the door, and then turned back to me.
"Why, so it is. Thank you very much - I would have missed it." With another of his small smiles, he inclined his head to me politely before entering the room. I was surprised by his courteous behavior towards me, and more than a little impressed. Feeling generally contented with the world, I joined the class, and watched hungrily as the students learned still more magic.
I followed the Gryffindors to all of their classes that day, and learned more about the school than I could possibly describe. That night, as the first year boys returned to their dormitory, I snuck in again to watch them unobtrusively. Remus was sitting on his bed working on the homework they had been assigned that day, while the other three were playing Exploding Snap and eating sweets that James seemed to have snuck into Hogwarts in his luggage. After a few minutes, Sirius looked up with a wicked expression in his eyes, and grabbing a pillow, flung it at Lupin's head, causing him to blot the ink on his work. He looked thoughtfully at the parchment before shaking his head slightly, removing the pillow from his bed, and picking up a new bit of parchment to redo the ruined homework. Sirius scowled.
"Hey Loopy, are you going to ignore us forever?"
"No." Remus said courteously, still working on his homework. "I'm just trying to get my work done, that's all."
"But it's not due for days!" Peter said, his voice squeaky in his excitement. It was apparently entertaining to him to see his roommates disagree.
"Still, I see no reason to procrastinate" Remus said, glancing at the others with his customary little smile; no matter how many times I saw it, I could not feel that there was any real emotion beneath it. It seemed to infuriate the other boys, for they turned away, muttering amongst themselves. Remus shrugged philosophically and returned to his work. I could see the faces of the others, though, and they bothered me, for they seemed to genuinely dislike Lupin. I did not see why, as he had been nothing but polite and kind to any of them; I decided I had a great deal to learn about humans, small wizard boys in particular.
Yes, boys, I am very glad that none of you dislike each other! You must be good friends, you know, for you will never have greater friends than those you make here at Hogwarts. Friendship is a gift, freely given, but expensive to maintain, and must be taken care of gently or it will dissolve, blown away like dust in the wind. I have seen many friendships come to an end in that way, but I have also seen friendships that have lasted for years, that have held people together through the hardest times and the worst troubles you can imagine. Friendship is a powerful and mysterious thing, and I have four young Gryffindor boys to thank for teaching me about it. Few things, it seems to me, have the power and strength of a true friendship; in the right circumstances, the influence of friendship can even shape the course of history.
Now you must sleep, young lions. Tomorrow is another big day, and it would not do for you to be too tired to stay awake through your lessons- though I am sure everyone would understand, were you to sleep through History of Magic. Professor Binns has been putting students to sleep very consistently for over a hundred years, after all! But for now, sleep, and we will talk and share tales again tomorrow.