TW: Cruel Prank

...

All throughout the next day, the tension in the Lupin household kept growing. Remus still dutifully laid out his father's breakfast and was polite when he was around, but there was no pretense that things were ok. Remus had blown that when he hadn't come downstairs before the full moon like he usually did. Remus was taught that responsibility from an early age. Only he had failed, he had messed things up again.

What made matters worse was that even though this was the day of his departure to Hogwarts, his father hadn't said anything about it to him. He would stare at him when he didn't think Remus was watching but would only speak to tell him to do something. It was aggravating to no end. Despite being at St. Mungo's Remus still felt sore and upset by the time they had traveled by floo to an out-of-order bathroom stall within the train station.

After that, it was a matter of finding the right spot then walking through a brick wall that logically Remus knew would lead to platform 9 and ¾ but which still gave him pause to reach their destination. In fact, it was arriving at platform 9 and ¾ that finally eased the tension between father and son. Most of this was because Remus didn't have time to feel bitter and hurt by his father, as he was faced with an even more daunting crowd than there had been at Diagon Alley.

The enormous platform was nowhere near spacious enough to prevent the flock of people from bumping into each other as families crowded around little children and sent them off with loving farewells that made Remus feel empty. Instead, he tried to direct his focus to the rising puffs of white climbing in a column above people's heads so that he wouldn't pay attention to the many families. Remus realized that the constant plume of smoke rising into the air must be coming from the Hogwarts Express. He tried to catch a glimpse of it, though found he could only catch flashes of red between the jumble of bodies

He jumped as a kid ran past him, struggling to steer a large cart loaded with luggage and a cage that rattled with a particularly irked-looking owl inside. Feeling small and stupid with his own rather shabby trunk, he stayed close to his father. However, unlike almost every other soon-to-be student and parent pair, they weren't holding hands. Which meant it was almost inevitable that they became separated.

"Dad!" Remus shouted, momentarily terrified as his father vanished from his view. He stayed where he was, vaguely remembering his father saying that was the best thing to do. But the shabbily dressed ill-looking eleven-year-old quickly drew attention.

"Honey, are you alright. Where are your parents?"

He looked at the rather old-looking woman who was crouching slightly and smiling at him reassuringly. Her eyes were a soft brown with flecks of spring green and despite her frizzly greying hair, she seemed to have youthful energy about her, like his mum had possessed. He couldn't help but feel relaxed around her, that was until she opened her mouth and ruined it.

"Come with me dear, and we will find your parents."

He wasn't going anywhere with anyone he didn't know ever again. Fear rose up in him and must have reflected itself on his face for she straightened and took a step back, clearly not wanting to upset him. However, it was too late. His mouth moved wordlessly. No. His mouth went dry and he suddenly felt the station closing in on him.

"NO!" he shouted terrified, his eyes wild and unfocused. In his panic, he dropped his bag and bolted.

"Euphemia, what on earth was that?" He heard someone shout but soon he was disappearing into the crowd.

He was terrified now, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd been around so many people. His head was swimming and his vision blurred with tears. He desperately wanted to go home and hide. Forget Hogwarts! What had he been thinking? He couldn't do this.

He wound his way around people, or tried to. He didn't get far before strong arms picked him up, and he screamed and kicked in protest.

"Remus!" His father's angry shout reached his panicked mind. "Calm down. You are causing a scene and embarrassing yourself!"

Remus went limp, the fear replaced by a sharp shame that was as painful as his father's firm grip.

His father set him down relatively quickly and put two hands on Remus' shoulders, eyes narrowed with irritation and something else he couldn't place.

"I knew this was a bad idea. Let's go home, you can't do this."

He was inclined to agree with his father, especially after humiliating himself in front of who knew how many of his soon-to-be-fellow students. However, he couldn't let Dumbledore down like that, not after he had gone out of his way to make sure Remus had a chance. He knew he didn't deserve one, but he had gotten one and he would be a fool if he threw that away, no matter how rough of a start he faced.

So he squared his shoulders and collected all of the bravery he could into his small quivering frame.

"I'm sorry, Dad. But I am going to Hogwarts. I am going!" He sounded so much more confident than he felt and he must have looked it too, because his father seemed stunned. After all, he wasn't asking his father as he normally did. He was telling him, and he meant it too.

Somehow he must have convinced his father, or perhaps he didn't care enough to start another scene. Soon after a quick "Accio Remus' luggage" his father was ushering him to the other side of the station.

No longer blocked by people he was able to see the Hogwarts express in all its shining glory. The sleek engine billowing puffs of silvery smoke looked just like a little toy model that had been given to him back when Hogwarts was a matter of "when" not "if". He tightened his hold on his luggage and stepped onto the tread board turning around, now standing eye to eye with his father.

He somehow felt braver like this, up high where he couldn't be looked down upon. Also, his father seemed kinder when he wasn't staring down at Remus with a stern gaze. Instead, his father looked rather sad. With a horrifying jolt, Remus realized he hadn't taken his father's feelings about this into account at all.

"Will you be ok?" he asked nervously, suddenly very concerned about his father who would be all alone. Would he remember to eat meals without Remus there? What would happen to him on those few but scary occasions that he passed out drunk before entering the house?

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to go stay with your uncle. If anything, I will be worried about you. You...you'll write, right?"

The shudder that had run through Remus at the mention of his uncle melted into a warm feeling as he realized his father really wanted him to write.

"Yes, I promise, Dad. I will." He smiled as Lyall's hand ruffled his hair. He couldn't be sure, but as he entered the train he thought his father's eyes looked rather damp.

Of course, all thoughts of his father quickly disappeared as he walked past little compartments behind glass doors where people giggled and whispered. He was pretty sure a few even pointed at him! Remus felt himself go really hot and hurried to find some sort of empty room he could claim for his own and fall asleep.

Luckily he found one near the back of the train completely free of any gossiping and giggling children. Remus collapsed onto one of the long benches running parallel to each other. Despite not looking like it, the benches were unbelievably comfy. Worn out in more than one way he drifted off despite himself.

...

Sirius had spent the summer for perhaps the first time ever without getting into trouble. He didn't taunt Regulus, even when his pesky brother had broken one of his secret records. Harder was the fact that he had said please and thank you to all the house elves, even the obnoxious two-faced snitch that was Kreacher. He had held his tongue when his fat stupid grandparents droned on and on about pureblood supremacy, and he had even refused to stay the night with his uncle because he was a 'bad influence on the future heir of the household.' Yeah right.

By the time he was standing in front of the Hogwarts express he was dying, physically aching to cause trouble. His very bones were in pain by how good he had been and his heart was heavy without the mayhem he took pride in causing. But no, he had to be a good boy. A perfect suck up like his brother to ensure that the freedom of Hogwarts would be granted to him.

"It's not fair! I want to go this year. I want to go to Hogwarts with Sirius," Regulus whined, practically hanging off his brother's elbow. The boy continued complaining to Sirius as their father pushed Sirius' very full rack of luggage and their mum walked behind them. A picture-perfect woman with an unmistakable air of stuck-up royalty.

Sirius resisted the urge to gag and gave Regulus a smile. He knew that would seal the deal of his smooth attendance at Hogwarts. After all, treating Regulus nicely was at the top of the 'good list' he was sure his parents compiled just to make his summer hell.

"Don't worry Regulus, you'll be attending next year."

"Yes, that's right, Regulus. Now do stand up and walk with dignity." Came his mum's cold command from behind them. Regulus quickly straightened and Sirius unconsciously did the same.

It had been a strange summer as he and his mum had actually not been at odds. It cost Sirius a sore tongue from having to bite it often.

Soon, so soon.

He wanted to run the rest of the way to the gleaming engine, wanted to touch the train, and run his hand across the sleek-looking exterior. But no, that wouldn't be 'proper,' and he'd be damned if his precautions were blown to hell at the last minute because he did something fun.

He would have plenty of fun at Hogwarts, where he'd have more children than his stuffy family and family-friends to associate with. Surely, there would be at least one other student who shared his talent for mischief.

He grinned at the thought of having an accomplice to his crimes, someone who would understand the importance of pulling shenanigans. Then Sirius froze in his approach to the steam engine, hearing a scream of "NO" coming from some poor kid who sounded absolutely horrified from somewhere on the platform. He craned his neck to see and was about to go investigate when his mum whacked his head hard as if she was somehow reading his thoughts.

"Sirius, keep walking. Stop ogling like some urchin child who has never seen the Hogwarts Express before," she snapped coldly, clearly not caring about the scream. Regulus looked a little concerned but both he and Sirius started walking again, their own self-preservation replacing concern for the distressed kid.

Besides, Sirius was simply too excited to dwell on it long. His mum had been correct in that he had seen the Hogwarts Express multiple times due to his older cousins. But in his defense, the whole thing was much better when it was him that was going to be climbing inside the train and not just waving from the outside.

Somehow he managed to get to the train without causing his mum's wrath or shaking Regulus the sponge off his arm like he so desperately wanted to. He turned to face his family, trying to hide his impatience to be rid of them.

His mum pursed her lips in a rare sort of smile and pulled him into a very cold brisk hug that still felt too long.

"Get into Slytherin and make our family proud," she told him in that curt manner of hers that suggested doing anything other than what she wanted was out of the question.

That was all the advice his 'dear ol' mum' had to give him. His father was a little better, clasping his shoulder and telling him to keep his nose clean and to sit with the "right kind" on the train. Only Regulus seemed to realize how momentous this was for Sirius, just Sirius, not the Black heir, just him as an individual. Regulus gave him a proper hug and slipped something into his pocket.

"Don't use this until you get to school. Have fun and write."

He felt what was surely a dung bomb slipped into his pocket and he fondly ruffled his little brother's hair. Sometimes his brother really wasn't half bad. Regulus beamed under the unspoken praise and rushed back to their mum. They looked like a perfect family all dressed up very nicely, all looking proper and polished.

He finally deemed it acceptable to give them a hearty goodbye with a wave and climbed into the train. With the click of the door sliding shut behind him his knees nearly buckled in relief at being away from his awful family. Hardly daring to believe it, he peeked out the round little window watching his family walk away, not bothering to wave him off. That was fine by him! Every foot they took away from the train was more distance between him and them. Soon he couldn't see them at all anymore, not even their retreating rigid silhouettes and he let out a disbelieving laugh.

He had done it, he had actually done it! Realizing they were out of his sight at least until Christmas which felt worlds away, he jumped into the air with a joyous whoop. He was finally free, gloriously free of the constant rules and criticism. Oh, Hogwarts wasn't going to know what hit it. He couldn't wait. And he rushed to find his seat.

He avoided his cousins like the plague they were. Not only were they Blacks inside and out but they were older girls and as such, creatures that needed to be given a wide berth. Females were certainly a mystery to him, and not one of the kinds of mysteries he liked. No, they were a mystery that he didn't care about in the slightest and that even bored him when he was forced to ponder it.

So it was with great relief that he found a compartment family and female free. In fact, there was only one occupant. For one wild second Sirius thought the kid was a ghost forced to haunt the train forever. However, he became disappointed when realizing the kid was living, if only barely, and was not, in fact, a cool ghost doomed for eternity.

"Hey! Hey!" he shouted a few times, his disappointment turning into concern. The kid was gaunt, his clothes hanging like bags off a too-thin frame. He seemed far too gangly and sickly. Dark bags under his eyes matched a bruise peeking out from under caramel-colored hair. He switched spots, now sitting next to the kid, and gently shook him.

He looked almost like Sirius did after a long stint in the basement and he regarded the sickly pale kid with pity. He had to be a first-year, for he couldn't be older than him. He seemed younger and was closer to Regulus's size than his own.

"Kid...hey kid."

Suddenly the kid came to life, flattening himself into the window, large amber eyes widening in horror. Sirius habitually raised his hands. The kid reminded him of a Puffskiens in headlights.

"It's okay. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

Suddenly such innocent fearful eyes narrowed in a guarded coldness.

"I'm fine," came a curt cool response that could have given his mum a run for her money.

"No need to be pissy about it, geez," he muttered, irritated with this ungrateful brat. Who did he think he was, anyway? Addressing a Black like this.

"Do you even know who you are talking to?" he added with his best impression of his haughty father he could muster.

Cold eyes softened some into confusion but the kid still seemed very guarded. Deep down Sirius understood the defensiveness. He often felt that way too after going into the basement. He knew he should have been more kind to the scared kid, but his trip to Hogwarts was supposed to be perfect, and full of him mesmerizing his future friends.

Instead, he was wasting his time with probably some Muggle-born. Not that he thought all muggle-borns were terrible like his family thought, but this one clearly was.

"You know what? Forget it. I'll leave you to mope and sleep all by yourself."

Sirius thought the boy looked close to tears as he stormed out, but Sirius had a mission to find mischief-causing friends. And something told him the jumpy kid he left stunned wasn't going to be one of them.

As he moved on to the next compartment he found a much warmer reception. He was greeted by a grinning hazel-eyed boy who was well-dressed with unruly black hair sticking out in all directions. He hadn't realized he laughed at him until the kid shoved him good-naturedly.

"Yeah I know it looks weird. But I tell ya mate, I can't tame it for the life of me. Name's James Potter."

Sirius found himself instinctively liking James, made better by the fact that Potter had been one of the names his parents had listed when telling him who not to become acquainted with.

His smile widened and he offered James his hand. James clasped his hand and shook it in a similar, raised-with-class fashion he had grown accustomed to. This was much better than sitting with the unfriendly urchin child. He flopped next to James and sighed contentedly.

"Names Sirius Black. Nice to meetcha."

James' eyes had widened considerably, giving him an even more comic appearance.

"You're a Black?" he gasped, ogling Sirius as if he had grown horns.

Sirius was beginning to feel worse about his second decision of compartments.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?"

"I just...well, the Blacks. I mean they are Slytherin right?... That house seems sort of..."

"Stuck up?"

"I was going to say evil. But yeah, that too."

He knew he should take offense but James honestly didn't seem to mean any, with his earnest eyes wide with shock.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," Sirius said. He stretched out, resting his feet on the bench opposite theirs. He was slouched so far out he was almost lying down, stretched in between the benches. James seemed amused but clearly hadn't given up on the whole 'Black' thing.

"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned and stuck his tongue out at James who returned the gesture grinning. There was a playfulness about James that inspired and increased his own. He decided that Potter was alright, despite his initial reaction to his family.

Now that Sirius thought about it, his reaction to his family made Sirius like him more. He had to get over the initial defensiveness of his family first though that didn't take Sirius too long since they certainly didn't deserve it.

He realized he didn't have to feign loyalty here and he shot up in his seat, eyes glittering with excitement as he admitted what he hadn't dared to say out loud prior.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword practically beaming now, his chest swelling with very obvious pride.

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."

Sirius remembered who the Potters were now and it was his turn to gape at James.

"Blimey, you are like the richest boy in the world!"

He figured his statement would make James puff like a peacock again. Instead, the boy shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, but don't go telling everyone. I don't want people flocking to me just because of that. I have to win them over with my Quidditch prowess first. Not that you would. I mean, you are almost as rich as me. Well, your family is anyway, which is the same thing."

Sirius almost opened his mouth to correct that he was not that rich because his parents gave him very little money if he didn't do exactly as they wanted. Of course, he still had a handsome sum and his uncle had given him a ton of money when he heard he was headed to Hogwarts, so had his whole family really.

However, he didn't get a chance to explain. The door slid open and a very nervous-looking girl with fiery hair dragged along a pasty greasy-haired kid whose nose was ridiculously big on his scornful-looking face.

He reminded Sirius of his family, at least the big-nosed kid's facial expressions. Because the pale boy certainly wasn't dressed to the Black standard! Still, his attitude immediately put Sirius off. He hated haughty people as much as he hated defensive ones. He resisted the urge to trip the boy as the kid sat down, glaring at James and Sirius as if they had personally done him harm. Well, that could be arranged.

"My name is Lily and this is my friend Severus."

His eyes flicked to the rosy-cheeked girl whose nerves seemed to be morphing into a bubbly excitement quickly. She was looking around as if she had never been on a train before. Taking in her exceptionally put-together muggle outfit, he figured she must be muggle-born.

"James, and this is Sirius," James responded, seemingly absorbed into Lily's excitement because he started bouncing in his seat.

"We are going to Hogwarts!" James shouted happily. Sirius laughed and mimicked his bouncing letting the contagious atmosphere take him over. Only Severus seemed unaffected and he rolled his eyes at them and stared out the window. He and the other kid should be in the same compartment. They would probably get along swimmingly.

That was the last thought Sirius gave Severus and the other kid for a while though, because he and James passed the time explaining the wizarding world to a very intrigued Lily. Then after the snack trolley came and James and Sirius filled their laps with one of everything, sweats spilling to the ground, the conversation switched to favorite foods and books and other such small talks.

James, despite saying he didn't want people liking him for his money, was very generous with his sweets even sharing one with Severus who took it without a word of thanks. Lily thanked James repeatedly and the conversation fell into content silence as they dug into their sweats.

"How long till we get there?" Lily asked after staring out the window for some time with quiet excitement.

"Oh hours still, it's quite a long train ride. Don't worry, they will let us know when we need to get ready," James explained. Sirius realized pretty quickly that James liked flaunting his knowledge even more than he liked flaunting his money.

"You could have asked me that, Lily," complained Severus, who had remained quiet practically the whole time. In fact, the gloomy boy had only been alternating between looking out the window and reading a book that's title was obscure throughout the train ride.

"I know Sev, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know," Lily apologized with more sincerity than Sirius believed he could ever muster for the pompous pimple who had been grating on his nerves for hours.

"Lily, you don't have to apologize to him. He's been nothing but rude the whole time."

James had stolen the words right out of Sirius' mouth but he shot a glare at Severus to show he shared his new friend's sentiment.

"Excuse me, Potter. Not all of us are born with a gold spoon in our mouths and manners up our arses," came the greasy boy's snide response. This sent Sirius to his feet. He glared down at the grumpy boy who also got to his feet, staring down his nose haughtily at Sirius.

"If you don't shut up I'll shove a spoon up your..." Sirius began, quick to defend his new friend.

"Boys!" Lily shouted.

James had also gotten to his feet but seemed more amused than angry. He laughed at Sirius' unfinished threat and seemed overall unconcerned. Lily however had jumped to her feet and looked livid at all the boys huddled together in the small compartment. Her pretty green eyes were blazing with anger and Severus sat back down quickly.

"They started it, Lily," the grease ball sniveled, shooting a glare at both James and Sirius while crossing his arms tight across his chest.

"Gonna let your girlfriend fight your battles for you, Snivellus," Sirius commented again, finding the nickname appropriate to the boy who seemed to be groveling under Lily's reprimanding look. Lily's face turned the same color as her hair and James laughed again.

"Good one!" Potter said appreciatively, earning a glare from Lily that had previously been directed at Sirius. James gave her a lazy, confident grin.

"Come on Sev, we can go sit somewhere else!" she huffed, her arms crossed around her chest, giving her the appearance of a disapproving middle-aged woman. James and Sirius's laughter directed at both Lily and Snivellus was so loud that it could be heard from the surrounding compartments.

They laughed themselves to silence, and then one of them looked at the other and they both were sent into fits of giggles again. Only when the compartment door slammed open and an irritated prefect demanded they keep it down did the laughter subsided into muffled chuckles and then finally subsided altogether.

They talked about Quidditch, Hogwarts, Quidditch, and more Quidditch but Sirius found himself growing restless, and his need to cause mischief was reaching a breaking point.

He flopped himself against his new best friend with a dramatic sigh.

"Potter, I can't take it anymore."

"And what can't you take anymore?" James shot back with mock seriousness. Sirius fought the urge to laugh, he had this instinct that James was like him, in that he would be thrilled to go along with whatever trouble Sirius caused.

"A young growing boy my age needs a good dose of mischief to keep the soul healthy, James." Sirius continued in a tone a professor might use with his student.

James hid his giggles behind his hand.

"Yes, yes I think you may be right," he responded thoughtfully, playing along perfectly. Sirius beamed.

"Well you see, my apprentice, before my fateful encounter with you I was with an unpleasant fellow."

"As unpleasant as Snivellus?"

"I don't know if it's possible to be as unpleasant as Snivellus." They both laughed a minute at their sheer wit. Then Sirius explained the encounter, only leaving out his momentary possible understanding of the boy and why. He supposed it was because the boy reminded Sirius of some of his worst moments that he felt so irked by him. However, he quickly brushed that thought away focusing on what prank to play.

"Maybe he's just a grumpy lad when he wakes up?" James ventured and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Who cares. I guarantee he's sleeping again. Which means he's a perfect first victim!"

"Haha, you are pure evil Sirius Black, what do you have in mind?" Came the excited response. Sirius was sure glad it didn't take much to sway James into mischief. It really was good luck that Sirius had sat next to him. He explained his plan to James who grinned devilishly at him. Oh yes, he and James were going to turn Hogwarts on its head when they got there.

They hadn't expected someone else to be in the compartment with the kid who was indeed asleep again. They jostled themselves into the compartment and raised their eyebrows at a rather pudgy boy with small beady blue eyes and a broad eager-to-please smile that made Sirius a little wary. He also hated kiss asses as well. He had quite an extensive list of people he hated and he didn't at all care that others might deem that judgemental. After all, he wasn't nearly as bad as the rest of his family, which Sirius took pride in.

"Hello, are you firsties too? I am. I'm Peter by the way," the pudgy boy talked fast in a high-pitched voice and Sirius scoffed at him.

"Firsties? Only the older kids call us that."

"Just say first years, otherwise you might offend people like my easily offended friend here."

Sirius elbowed James for that remark, but grinned. James, who had sounded much kinder than Sirius, had Peter's attention. The boy grinned at him, adoration sparkling in his little eyes.

"Oi, why you sitting in here anyway?" Sirius barked at the boy, irritated that he may get in the way of his -their- awesome plan. Peter looked confused by the question.

"I'm James, and this bundle of sunshine is Sirius. We have a prank to play on that one, so if you want to leave and remain innocent that's cool. Or you could help us."

It was almost amusing to watch the exchange of emotions that passed across Peter's face. He paled, then went pink, and finally settled on a rather dumpy pout to match his dumpy little face.

"Why...why are you going to prank him? He was really nice to me..."

It was a feeble protest and it thoroughly pissed Sirius off. So the kid had been kind to Peter, then was he just judging Sirius without giving him a chance? He gripped his fists tightly. It annoyed him to no end when people lumped him in with his family. Which he was certain was the reason the kid had treated him so abrasively.

Sure, James had started to do that but at least he'd been upfront about it. Plus they had cleared the whole thing up. But this kid, who he had taken as just generally offensive, had been apparently pleasant to someone else. This left no other option than the sleeping kid must have known that Sirius was a Black and had judged him for it.

Some very small part of him recognized he was judging the kid without giving him a chance, too. But he shoved that mature thought into a box and threw it away. Such thoughts were dull and useless. Sirius would much rather act first and think later. He drew his wand, ignoring Peter flinching and curling in on himself slightly, giving him the appearance of a toad.

"Go on and leave then, mate," James addressed Peter as he too drew out his wand, grinning. Peter still looked very concerned. The smaller boy had gone rather purplish by now so James furthered his explanation even though Sirius personally felt they didn't owe Peter one.

"It's just a little bit of harmless fun. We won't do anything bad. Don't worry, I'm a Gryffindor at heart!" James said striking his gallant pose again, brandishing his wand like a sword. Sirius scoffed at him and turned his attention to the sleeping kid.

The sleeping boy now had a book sprawled out in his lap. It was a rather ratty and used textbook that seemed to match the ratty-looking boy it belonged to.

James had turned his attention to the kid too and frowned.

"He looks...unwell. Maybe this is a bad idea..."

"Oh don't chicken out on me, Potter," he snapped, giving his wand a flick and muttering a spell that had been used on him on more than one occasion. "Atramentio!"

"I'm not a chicken," James huffed and copied him, though Sirius was pleased to see the attempt at permanent ink now scrawling in crude shapes across the kid's face wasn't nearly as creative or vulgar coming from James' wand. After a few minutes, they set down and admired their handy work.

"I find the dick drawn on his forehead both lewd and impressive work, Sirius," James said thoughtfully. He was looking at the kid's face as an artist might admire a particularly challenging painting he had mastered.

"How did you do the line curves so neatly? Mine look like a two-year-old scrawled on him with crayons."

Sirius could have rubbed in his clear victory. However, feeling a sense of camaraderie with his new best friend, he shrugged.

"Don't know, but it's blimey brilliant you got different colors. I could only do black," Sirius explained good-naturedly.

James covered his mouth laughing.

"What?" Sirius asked, not getting what was funny.

"Black can only do black."

"Oh shut up, Potter." He grumbled good-naturedly but was soon laughing with him. Their laughter, combined by Peter's rather shrill giggling, was what the boy finally woke up to. He held himself stiffly, his fearful eyes freezing over with a cold defensiveness once again. His indifference was aimed at all three of them.

Now that he was awake, raising his eyebrows in confusion and suspicion, the images on the kid's head were moving too. This sent them all collapsing into loud laughter at the kid's expense. James had his eyes closed clutching his sides with laughter and Peter only had eyes on James. Peter seemed to have latched onto James with a strange adoration Sirius didn't understand.

So as it happened Sirius was the only one who saw the kid's eyes fill with tears before he quickly left the compartment. He watched him go, the laughter dying in his throat. He convinced himself the kid deserved it for his attitude. However, he couldn't help feeling rather somber and guilty at the look of hurt that had been directed at him briefly before the boy left.