Disclaimer;;
I do not own Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or any other character that might show up in the resulting story. They all belong to the lovely J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note;;
:D Oh my! I definitely was not expecting the bit of feedback I've gotten for this story already. Thanks for your support and reviews. It really makes me smile. Here's the next chapter!
"Padfoot! Moony!"
Sirius and Remus turned to see James Potter push past several first years, glasses and hair askew. They grinned, waving at their friend. A slightly smaller boy followed James, struggling with his trunk. James must have already gotten his stuff on the train. The smaller boy was Peter Pettigrew, a kind of tagalong friend that the Marauders had put up with for several years now. He was…useful in his own sorts of ways. Sirius wasn't too fond of the boy, simply nodding at him who grinned in return. James clapped Remus on the shoulder who grinned in return and embraced Sirius.
"Sorry I couldn't come up on the last week. Mum insisted on having me help her clean the attic. Pixies had settled in some of our stuff and she wanted me to stand guard," he waved a hand. Sirius smirked.
"No problem Prongs. Moony and I kept company," he said.
"You watched me play chess by myself all summer," Remus said, leading the way onto the train. Their parents stood chatting together, barely getting a wave in return as the four Marauders helped Wormtail get his trunk into their compartment before returning for Remus' and Sirius' own stuff. The four settled easily into their particular spots. James next to Sirius, Remus across from Sirius and Peter next to Remus by the window. He liked watching the scenery.
Remus curled up in his seat and almost immediately fell asleep, the train still sitting in the station. Sirius frowned. The werewolf had been looking a little pale around the edges lately, shrugging it off to the new moon coming up despite it not being due for another week and a half. James nudged Sirius with his shoulder, nodding at Remus in question. Sirius shrugged in return. He didn't know what the matter was anymore than Prongs did.
"Seven years," James said, settling into his seat more properly, waving to his mum and dad as the train began to pull out of the station.
"I'm just glad I made it all the way through without getting expelled," Sirius said, grinning. James laughed.
"Same here, same here. If Dumbledore didn't like Moony so much I don't think he would have put up with us," James said, glancing at the sleeping boy. If he didn't know any better, James would've thought the teen dead.
"We'll have to do something this year. End it with a bang y'know," Sirius mused, shaking his hair out of his face and studied Remus.
"Of course. And continue our mocking of Snivellus," James' eyes narrowed as he glanced out of the compartment window. The glass revealed the hallway and Severus Snape was slinking by, Potions book in hand.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," Sirius growled, glaring at Snape who returned the nasty looks with an equally nasty one and kept walking. He was already dressed in his Slytherin robes, long black hair shrouding his face.
"Perhaps one of those stupid Potions books will snap shut on his nose and make him look vaguely normal," James muttered, earning a laugh from Wormtail who received a shushing from Sirius. Sirius looked at Remus but he had hardly stirred. He had managed to curl up entirely on the seat. It reminded Sirius of how dogs slept, of how he slept when in his dog form, waiting for Moony to rest up enough after changing.
"Full moon next week," he said, glancing at James who nodded.
"Yeah. I'll have to dig out the cloak again. I think it's at the bottom of my trunk," he said, "That'll be a nice welcome home for Moony. I bet he missed the Shack all summer." Sirius nodded. The Lupins didn't have anything like the Shrieking Shack nearby and Remus was forced to go into the woods during his change, relying on Sirius or James to keep him in check when in full wolf form. The Lupins had moved a month after Remus had been bitten and lived practically in the middle of nowhere, helping to minimize the risk of Remus accidently eating a Muggle or wizard.
"I hope he'll sleep tonight. He's so out of it," James waved a hand in front of his friend's face.
"I'm not going to sleep if you guys don't shut up," Remus growled, opening an eye to peer at James who jumped back, startled. Sirius laughed and James punched him. Peter laughed but shut up quickly at both of Sirius' and James' glares. The train ride was mostly uneventful for the rest of the time. Peter kept to his window the entire time, staring at the rolling hills and fine blue sky that kept clear. Remus slept, Sirius watched and played wizard's chess with James' new set. Sirius hoped that it really was just the full moon that was making Remus off and hoped a proper sleep in the castle would make him feel better.