A/N A quick word of advice: if you intend to spend a day out in the sun snowboarding, don't forget the sunscreen, especially if you're wearing goggles. If you do forget, I can promise that the resulting sunburn will be strange and painful.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters you recognize from JK Rowling's Harry Potter books. Kevin, however, is mine.

Remus followed his friends to a group of carriages. For a moment, he wondered why there were no horses ready to pull the carriages, then scoffed at himself. It's Hogwarts! He thought. No doubt there's plenty of spells to make the carriages move by themselves. He was surprised by the comment Kevin made a moment later.

"What are those things?"

James smiled. "Those are what we call carriages." Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Not those, the things in front of the carriages," he replied. Remus turned to look at the carriages again, then gave Kevin a questioning look.

"Those weird things that look like horse skeletons with wings," Sirius said, pointing in the direction of the carriages. Remus and James turned to look at him, then at each other.

"There's nothing there," they said together, shaking their heads. Kevin and Sirius now turned to look at each other.

"Yes there is," Sirius answered with just as much certainty. "Look, the big black things in front of the carriages. Right there."

"Get along, boys, don't stand gawking," ordered a stern-looking, unfamiliar wizard. The four of them walked to one of the carriages and climbed in. Remus looked out at the front of the carriage again, then looked at his friends uncertainly. The subject was obviously present in their minds as well.

"I swear there's something there," Kevin said, shaking his head.

"I'll prove there's nothing there as soon as we get to the castle," James replied decisively. It was a short ride, and they soon were in front of Hogwarts castle. Everybody got out of the carriages, and James walked to the front.

"See?" He began walking past the front. "There's nothing-" Remus watched as James fell down hard on his rear and scrambled away, as if he had run into a brick wall.

"You just ran into it," Sirius pointed out. "There's something there."

Remus walked carefully to where James had been, his hands stretched out in front of him. He touched hard scales and recoiled, startled at the feeling.

"Leave the thestrals alone." It was the same wizard that had spoken to them a few minutes earlier. "Go on, now, go inside with the other students."

"What are thestrals?" James asked as they walked away.

"Aren't they supposed to be bad luck?" Kevin added. "And why couldn't you guys see them? They were right there!"

Remus, however, understood now. With his condition, he had seen and heard a lot about magical creatures. "They're only visible to people that have seen death. That's why people think that they're bad luck."

Sirius and Kevin glanced at each other, then looked away again. Remus guessed that they were recalling whatever circumstance had showed them death. He felt bad for making them remember what were obviously not good memories, but it wasn't as if it was his fault the thestrals were there.

They entered the castle right behind everyone else, and the first years came in after only a few minutes delay. Remus rested his head on his hands during the Sorting Hat's song, not really paying any attention. Suddenly, he was incredibly tired. He had only been getting about three hours of sleep a night for three or four days. During the Sorting, he made an effort to stay alert enough to clap when a new Gryffindor was assigned. It wasn't until the feast had started that he realized that Kevin had simply followed them to Gryffindor table instead of being sorted with the first years.

"Didn't you have to be Sorted?" Remus asked, scooping mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"They did it before the train left," Kevin explained. "They didn't want to make a big deal about a second year coming in with the first years."

Before long, the feast was over, and Dumbledore got up to speak. Now, with a full stomach, Remus couldn't stay awake. He was asleep after Dumbledore's first few words.

"Get up." Sirius shook Remus, and Remus jerked his head up.

"Wasn't 'sleep," he mumbled, putting his head back down.

"Come on, you can sleep when we get to Gryffindor." Sirius pulled Remus out of his chair, and Remus followed them down the corridors, still half-asleep. James said something to the portrait, and it opened into Gryffindor Tower. It was a welcome sight to Remus, but even better was a bed waiting in the boys' dormitory. He laid down and was asleep in seconds.

At breakfast the next day, Professor McGonagall handed out schedules to the Gryffindors. She gave Sirius a piercing look as she passed him, and Remus suppressed a smile. McGonagall and Sirius hadn't gotten along very well last year, and she seemed to remember that.

"Awesome!" James exclaimed, looking at his schedule. Remus turned. "We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first."

Remus shrugged. "So?"

"Remus fell asleep last night, remember?" Sirius grinned. "He didn't see the new guy."

"We have a new teacher?" Remus asked, interested. "Who?"

"A certain Professor Andre Anon," James revealed. Remus dropped his fork.

"The animal guy? I thought they decided he was a psychopath!"

"Nope," Sirius replied. "He managed to get himself cleared of all charges. Quite a chunk disappeared from his vault, though. I'm willing to bet that a few people up top have gotten a few dollars richer."

"What about all the species he was breeding?" Remus wondered. Anon's case of illegal breeding had been the top story a couple of years ago.

"There were only a few of each species, so they held them in captivity until they died," Kevin answered from a few seats down. He looked like he was still trying to wake up. "I think a few of them are still alive, but they were mostly short-lived."

"That should be an interesting class," Sirius commented, scooping the last of his eggs into his mouth.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" James asked, pushing his chair back. "Let's go meet our new teacher."

A/N I honestly meant to put this up last week, since I was on Spring Break, but break was almost as hectic as school is. Now I'm back to trying to fit in writing between school, soccer, homework, and whatever else life decides to throw at me. Well, I'll put this up and hopefully get the next one written before too long. Only one more month of soccer, and then I'll have a little more time to write.

TheDudeLordOfFantasy: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! Next chptr will have a bit more excitement, so don't give up hope of discovering a plot.

Emma: I'm glad you like this, and I'm always happy to have a new reviewer! I do try to check out some of my reviewer's fics, but like I said, I don't have a lot of time on my hands and I haven't read for a while. But if I get a chance, I'll be sure to look you up! Also see previous note about next chapter. Thanks for your review!