Haruichi thinks back to the first time he met Furuya.
It wasn't the best day for him. He was practically shaking when his mom and dad waved goodbye to him at Kings Cross Station. He had spent most of elementary school friendless and was terrified of spending the next six years of his life the same way. He was also worried about the Sorting Hat. How was he supposed to follow in his brother's footsteps if he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor? Friendless and far away from his brother, Haruichi's thoughts were turning bleaker by the second. Speaking of his brother, Ryousuke wasn't much helped to his mood. As soon as they stopped in front the Hogwarts train Ryousuke turned around grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Listen, Haruichi. Just because we go to the same school now doesn't mean I'm gonna let you follow me around like some little duckling. You're going to have to find your own group, make your own friends, and get out from under my shadow. And that starts right now."
"Can't you at least ride with me to Hogwarts?" Haruichi pleaded.
"No. I've got my own friends to ride with." With that, Ryousuke turned around and ran up the train steps.
Haruichi sighed. He knew that his brother was only really mean to him when he was trying to him a lesson him but...Sometimes it really hurt him. Haruichi felt his eyes well up, but he clenched his fist and willed the tears not to fall. Aniki is right, Haruichi thought. I don't wanna be the loser crybaby again. This year I'm gonna make friends! With his resolve in mind he walked up the train steps.
First things first, he needed to find a train compartment to sit in. Each compartment was full, though. Finally, near the end of the train there was an empty compartment. Or, almost empty compartment. There was what appeared to be a lump in the corner.
"Excuse me?" The lump twitched, proving that it was alive. "Um, it is okay if I sit here?"
Haruichi thought he heard a grunt. "Thank you very much!" Lump or no lump, he was happy that he didn't have to spend the train ride alone.
The train hadn't started yet, so Haruichi rested his head on the window. His eyes started to drift close when he swore he heard a distinct, "Hey."
His eyes flew open. Instead of a lump, in front of him was now a boy. Sleepily the boy murmured, "Who're you?"
"I'm Kominato Haruichi! Sorry for intruding but I needed a place to sit and this was the only the compartment that had space…"
The boy just looked at him indifferently. "I don't mind. Do whatever you want."
Haruichi saw a chance and took it. "W-What's your name?"
He was rewarded with a blank stare. "Furuya Satoru."
This person is hard to talk to, huh? "Furuya-senpai, then? Are you a third-year? You might know my brother-"
"I'm a first-year."
Haruichi stared at him, shocked. Is he serious? I thought he was at least a third-year. Even sitting down Furuya looked really tall. And he didn't even look nervous at all.
"I'm a first-year too. What house do you want to-" he stopped talking when something started wriggling around under Furuya's shirt.
They stared at each other.
Honestly, Haruichi considered finding another place to sit just escape from the sheer awkwardness. Then a black cat peered out from the top of Furuya's shirt.
"Oh, is that your cat? What's its name?"
Furuya blinked. "This is Kuro. My cat."
"She's really cute. Can I pet her?"
"How do you know it's a she?"
"I don't know she just seems like a she, you know? Well, can I pet her?"
"She's not good around strangers-" As Furuya said this, Kuro wriggled out of his shirt and jumped on to Haruichi's lap.
Haruichi laughs. "She seems friendly to me." He petted Kuro softly, smiling at her soft purrs. Furuya just stared at him, dumbfounded.
"I wanted a cat, but my dad is allergic. My brother and I share an owl though." Haruichi said.
Furuya was still staring at him with a shocked expression. "My parents got her for me for my birthday." he said after a few moments.
"That's cool," he replied, but his attention was mainly on the cat. "So Furuya, do you know what house you wanna be in?"
Furuya's gaze moved to the window. "I don't know. It doesn't really matter, as long as I can play Quidditch."
That drew Haruichi's attention. "Are you really into Quidditch too? What position do play? What's your favorite team? Do you have your own broom?"
This launched Haruichi and Furuya into a long conversation about Quidditch. They were so deep in their discussion that Haruichi barely noticed that the train had started moving. He didn't feel so nervous about school anymore. If he could make a friend here on the train, who knows how many he could make when he got to school?
Haruichi was in the middle of telling Furuya about a tricky move his brother showed when the sliding door was violently opened. The door slammed shut and a boy with messy brown hair slid down against it, breathing heavily.
"I can't believe I made it," the boy said between breaths.
They were silent while the boy caught his breath. When he had finally calmed down he looked at the both of them sheepishly.
"Sorry for crashing in on your room. There's no else to sit so…"
"It's okay!" Haruichi quickly reassured him. "I'm Kominato Haruichi and this is Furuya Satoru. We're both first-years. It's nice to meet you!"
"I'm a first-year too!" At least with this person that was easy to tell. "I'm Sawamura Eijun. Nice to meet you!"
"Why did you come in such a rush?" he asked.
Sawamura looked away. "Well, um, I kinda woke up late which was sort of a problem since I planned to wake up early to finish packing up my stuff. So this morning was pretty hectic. My dad practically speeded to get me here on time and then I couldn't figure out how to get to the Hogwarts train but then I figured it out and luckily I jumped on just as the train started moving. So that's what happened." Sawamura finished, collapsing into the seat next to Haruichi.
It didn't take long for the trio to feel relaxed around each other and they spent the rest of the train ride talking about various things. They found out that Sawamura didn't know anything about Quidditch.
"Oh, yeah I'm a half-blood. My stupid dad is a wizard and didn't even me! In fact, I don't think they were ever gonna tell me, till they found out I was a wizard too. So I don't know a lot about the wizarding world."
Haruichi and Furuya took it upon themselves to teach Sawamura all about Quidditch. They had barely scratched the surface by the time they got to school.
Luckily, the three of them were all sorted into Gryffindor. The next morning at breakfast as he looked for a seat, he heard someone call his name.
"Harucchi, over here!" he turned to see Sawamura motioning to the seat next to him.
Harucchi? he thought. He walked over and slid into the seat next to Sawamura. "Thanks for saving me a seat, Sawamura-kun."
"You don't have to be so formal with me. We're friends, aren't we?"
Haruichi felt like he was on top of the world. He smiled at Sawamura and said, "Yeah, we're friends!"
Sawamura smiled back. "Then call me Eijun!"
"Okay, Eijun-kun." Haruichi replied.
Sawamura groaned. "Close enough, I guess."
Haruichi spotted Furuya walking around. "Furuya-kun, over here!" he called to him.
He waved Furuya over and Furuya sat across from them. "Good morning Kominato and…"
"Sawamura! We sat on the train together, remember?" Sawamura said angrily.
"Right, Sawamura."
Sawamura sighed. "You can call me Eijun, since we're friends and all. Can I call you Satoru?"
Furuya stared at him for a few minutes. "No, you can call me Furuya."
Haruichi didn't know what is was, maybe the dry tone in Furuya's voice or Sawamura's angry fist slam on the table, but he felt this enormous feeling of relief rise up in him. He laughed loudly, feeling happier than he had been in years.
Hogwarts had already started to feel like home.
"Haruichi?"
Haruichi snaps back into the present, studying in the common room with Furuya. "Sorry, did you say something?"
Furuya looks at him worriedly. "Are you okay? You seem distracted."
"I'm fine, I'm fine don't worry about me." Haruichi assures him. He's really grateful to have met Furuya and Sawamura. They've grown closer and closer over the years and he doesn't what he'd do without them.
Haruichi is surprised to feel a warm palm on his forehead. "Are you sick?" Furuya asks.
He feels his face flame up. "I-I'm fine, Furuya-kun." He gently pushes Furuya's hand away.
He meets Furuya's big, worried eyes and can't find the will to look away. It makes it hard to breathe.
Furuya has changed from when they were first-years. He's less cold, more empathetic. He used to be very quiet, but now in the moments they spend alone he tells Haruichi more about himself. Even when he doesn't talk, Haruichi learns more about him. And yet, he's started to want to know more.
Furuya looks for a few more seconds, then turns back to his homework. "Okay, if you're sure."
Haruichi turns back to his work too. "Thanks for worrying about me."
"I'd worry about you without you asking me to."
If Haruichi thought it was impossible for his face to get any redder, he was wrong. He remembers the day he met Furuya so clearly, like it was yesterday.
If only he could remember the day he fell for Furuya. That would be nice.
A/N: A simple grace chapter before we head straight into conflict! Thank you for all you comments they really made me happy! And oh I have a tumblr, .com, if that matters at all.