Hey gang! Sorry about the delay, but it totally slipped my mind. I have reminders set on my phone of when to post but it went off and then I said, 'Oh, I'll do it later' and then...yeah XD But thankfully I realized my mistake this morning and here we are with another chapter!
Thanks to those who have reviewed any chapters so far. I love hearing feedback from you guys so it makes me super happy when you share :D
A short update on my progress through future chapters, I'm actually backtracking right now because I came up with scenes that I wanted to add into fourth year, plus I'm reading over and tweaking some things as I come up with new ideas. So technically I'm on chapter 37, but I'm really working on chapter 33 again. It shouldn't be long before I get back to the 'present' as it were. Hopefully. I did pick up a seasonal job to make some extra cash so idk how much writing time I'm going to get until after Christmas .
(This is why I love the fact that I have so many chapters ready for posting and that I am doing it every other week XD)
Okay, I'm done talking now. Enjoy the chapter darlings and I will most definitely post on time next time. Love ya!
~SXS
FOR WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER, PLEASE SEE FIRST CHAPTER AN. THANKS!
Remus was more nervous for the coming full moon than he had ever been for any other in his lifetime. Dumbledore had said that he would make provisions, but so far, he hadn't heard anything about them.
What if he had forgotten? What if Remus was left to wait for the arrival of his transformation in his dorm? And when it happened, what if he hurt or killed his roommates? Or worse...bit them.
Of course, his anxiety was even harder to deal with given his current physical state. He was always rather rough in the days before the full moon. He would lose his appetite and was quite exhausted. His senses also seemed to heighten- more so than they were on a regular basis- so that the softest, far away sound would easily reach his ears. This made loud, close sounds unbearable, leading to frequent and persisting headaches.
But perhaps the worst part about this one in particular was that he had to suffer in silence. At home, his parents were always there for him, with soothing words, comforting hugs, and distractions. His separation from them made him feel empty inside, adding to all the physical and emotional stress of this time of the month.
There were moments he simply wanted to curl up in a ball somewhere far away and cry, not leaving until the full moon was good and done. The only thing that kept him going was knowing that if he skipped any classes prior to the moon, he would never be able to catch up after the fact. It was bad enough that he was going to have to miss the day after.
And it was for this reason that, even though he was dead tired and cranky, he found himself at the Astronomy Tower at the ungodly hour of 12:00 AM Wednesday night for his first Astronomy class. Professor Sinistra, a slightly tall witch with dark skin and a mystical look in her eyes, let them in and sent them to find spots for their telescopes.
Remus and Sirius stood next to one another and after a moment the loner Ravenclaw girl stood on Remus's other side. She offered a small smile to him when he looked at her and then put her eye to the lens.
Sirius nudged him and gave a wink but he rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned to his own instrument. He just wanted to get the class over with and was in no mood for his friend's ribbing. Another problem he had during the pre-full moon days was that he was rather irritable and liable to snap at the smallest things.
"Some of you may be wondering why you are studying Astronomy as a part of your magical education. It is believed that the cosmos have a lot to do with our magical ability. Astrological signs, for example, play a part in the strength of your powers, and you may find your magic more potent during your birth month. This is due to how the planets and stars align at that time, as an echo of the time when you came into this world.
"Of course, knowing astronomy and being able to map the stars can also help you if you are lost. Muggles used the sky as a guide hundreds of years ago before they had their modern navigation technology. Astronomy is also one of the few subjects that both we in the wizarding world and those in the Muggle world study in parallel.
"Tonight I would simply like you to make a roughly sketched map of what you see. Eventually we will be more precise about angles and identifying constellations. See if you can find out what any of the stars or constellations are, with or without the help of your books."
Sirius peered through his telescope and focused in on the stars. "It's too bad I'm not out there yet," he sighed.
"What are you talking about?"
"Canis Major, better known as Sirius. It's only usually out in the wintertime. The Blacks have a thing about naming their kids after stars and celestial stuff," Sirius explained. "That's about the only thing I like about my family." The pureblood then peeked again. "Looks like the full moon should only be a few days off."
"That's just peachy," Remus growled.
Sirius looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "What up your arse?"
"Nothing!" he snapped. "I'm just tired and I don't want to be in this bloody tower in the middle of the night when we have classes first thing tomorrow morning and I won't be able to get any sleep!"
"Well. Excuse me for asking." Sirius turned back to his telescope and even moved it a little away from him. Remus felt bad somewhere in the back of his mind, but he really didn't care enough at the moment to apologize. He continued to make his map for the rest of the hour and rushed out the door alone when class was over, back to Gryffindor Tower for some rest.
.:~I~S~S~:.
The next morning Remus awoke to find that Sirius had already gone to breakfast without him. He sighed, knowing that he had been acting like a git the night before. You're going to ruin your friendship already if you don't control yourself. The werewolf took a deep breath and got dressed. On his way down the moving staircase, he tried to think of a good reason to give for his actions.
When Remus reached the Great Hall, the smell of bacon actually made his stomach growl ravenously. Another side-effect of his pre-moon sickness was an insatiable desire for anything meaty or meat-like. On a regular basis he didn't eat half as much of the stuff, but it did help to build some strength. He stepped in and made his way towards Sirius at the Gryffindor table. The dark-haired boy turned to face him when he heard his approach and Remus attempted a smile.
Sirius tried to keep a straight face, but he wound up returning the grin and moved over so that Remus could sit. "I'm really sorry about last night," the tawny-haired boy said.
Sirius gave him a good-natured shrug. "You were just overtired. And now I know not to wake you up in the middle of the night." They exchanged a laugh before beginning to load up their plates. Remus took nearly all the bacon he could reach and a few hotcakes, while Sirius piled on the sausage and eggs which he devoured in few minutes.
As he was scouting the various bowls and cauldrons for more breakfast, Sirius came upon a cauldron of what looked like mushy oats. "Hey, Rem, what's that stuff?"
Remus pushed himself up to see inside. "It's porridge. Surely you know what porridge is?"
Sirius shook his head. "What's it made of? Is it any good?"
"It's not my favorite thing in the world, but it's not awful. It's mostly milk and oats but you can put other things into it like sugar," Remus explained. "You've really never had porridge before?"
"Nope. My family never eats anything simple like that. Breakfast at home is always some fancy gourmet thing that takes hours to make and tastes gross."
"Try it then. Here." Remus took the ladle and scooped some into his dish and it sunk into a puddle. He then found a bowl of sugar and sprinkled some on top.
Sirius took a spoonful of porridge and brought it up to sniff. It had a subtle odor of warm milk. He then shrugged and put the spoon into his mouth. He rolled the cereal around with his tongue for a moment, absorbing the taste. Then his eyes lit up and he smiled with his mouth open. With the porridge still in it, Remus thought he looked like he was mid-vomit. He put his hands up in front of his face to try to block his view. "Sirius, please close your mouth or swallow."
But his friend was too engrossed in his new discovery. "This stuff is great!" he said with his mouth still full. "I've never had anything so wonderful before." The pureblood eagerly shoveled more into his mouth. The porridge was hot and creamy and the sugar crunched in his teeth. It was soft and mushy and made him feel like he had been wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.
"It's just hot cereal." Remus couldn't help but laugh.
"But that's just it," Sirius said, scooping more from the cauldron. "It's so simple, but so good! I just can't explain it." Remus smiled watching him stuff himself with porridge and for a moment, forgot about all his impending transformation.
That is, until Professor McGonagall came over to them. "Professor Dumbledore would like to speak with you, Mr. Lupin."
"Um, ok." Remus got up and went to follow his Head of House. Sirius scrunched his eyebrows together and frowned at him, but the tawny-head simply shrugged in return, even though he knew full well what was going on.
Dumbledore was standing at the front of the Hall, and when Remus and McGonagall reached him, he said, "Thank you, Minerva. Mr. Lupin, if you would follow me please." He led Remus around behind the staff table and into a small room off the Great Hall. Madam Pomfrey was already inside which confirmed his suspicions as to why he was brought there.
Once inside with the door securely shut, Dumbledore waved his arm toward Madam Pomfrey. "Mr. Lupin, this is Madam Pomfrey, our Healer."
"We've already met," she said with a smile and nod.
Dumbledore looked at Remus, then his eyes opened wider as he seemed to remember something. "Ah yes, Mr. Potter caused your practice broom to malfunction. I had to oversee his and Mr. Black's detention." He shook his head. "Now, I'm sure you have been wondering about the provisions set up for you regarding this Sunday's full moon. I apologize if my delay in telling you has made you worry, but I thought you might want to focus your attention elsewhere." Remus almost rolled his eyes because of how very much his mind was not elsewhere.
Dumbledore continued on, pacing slowly. "Sunday night, you will go to the hospital wing before the moon rises. Madam Pomfrey will then escort you to your hiding place, a small shack in Hogsmeade. You may recall my mentioning the Whomping Willow during the opening feast. It was planted specifically to hide a secret tunnel which leads directly into the shack."
Remus must have looked alarmed at the idea of having to get past the tree that had already been rumored to have nearly taken off some students' heads because Madam Pomfrey spoke up. "There's a knot in the trunk that freezes the tree for a short time," she explained. "You just have to poke it with a long stick and then slip into the tunnel."
"Yes, thank you, Poppy." Dumbledore nodded to her then turned back to Remus. "Then Monday morning, Madam Pomfrey will come to retrieve you and tend to your injuries."
As Remus listened, he felt his nerves start to subside. It seemed like the perfect plan. He only hoped that the shack was sturdy enough to deal with a rampaging werewolf. "What will I tell my friends, sir?" he asked.
"That will be up to you. Whatever you think they'll believe will suffice."
"Don't worry. Everything will work out just fine," Madam Pomfrey promised, placing a hand on his shoulder. Remus did believe her. In fact, he thought that with her healing prowess that he might actually wind up in better shape after the fact. But in spite of these reassurances, he still felt lonely.
Dumbledore clasped his hands together. "Unless you have any further questions, you are free to go." Remus shook his head and so the Headmaster opened the door for him to return to the Great Hall. He left the small room and went back to his spot next to Sirius.
"What was that all about?" he asked once he'd sat down.
"Ah...He just wanted to ask me more about the incident with James," Remus lied.
"Oh. That bloody tosser. He should have gotten more than detention for that," Sirius grumbled turning his attention back to his porridge.
Remus peered into the cauldron with the porridge once more and noticed that it was significantly lower than before. "How many servings of that have you had?"
"About four. Why?"
Remus just laughed until his stomach hurt.
.:~I~S~S~:.
By Sunday night, Remus had come up with as decent of a story as he was going to get. It was for this reason that about an hour after dinner, he was packing an overnight bag to go along with his alibi. Thankfully James and Peter were out somewhere and so he didn't have to worry about their suspicious eyes on him, but Sirius was sitting on his bed reading one of his texts and looking for an excuse not to. Which was why, when he spotted Remus, he closed the book eagerly.
"Where are you going?" he asked. The werewolf only paused momentarily, trying hard to hold back the violent shivering caused by the full moon's proximity.
Turning to his friend, he forced himself to tell his story. "M-my mother...she's b-been sick. I'm g-going to visit her f-for a day or two."
"Oh." Sirius looked concerned. "I hope she feels better."
"Th-thank you." Remus tried to smile but couldn't force his teeth to stay still long enough so he just gave a jerky nod. He only hoped he hadn't jinxed his mother by using that excuse.
When he felt like he'd packed enough to look believable, he left their room and went down the stairs to the common room. It was a struggle to control his shaking enough to make his way past the other Gryffindors, but thankfully he didn't have to try anymore once he was out of the portrait hole. He vibrated his way down to the hospital wing. When he finally got there Madam Pomfrey was waiting outside the door.
"Oh, you poor child." She put an around him and he felt his knees buckling. "Come in, dear, let's let you lay down for a moment." She helped him inside. There were a few other students lying asleep in the other beds. "Early term jitters," the Healer explained when she saw him looking. "Happens every year. Suddenly they have stomach bugs and won't sleep in their dorms." Each of the occupied beds had a small bucket next to them but Remus detected no scent of vomit.
Madam Pomfrey brought him to one of the empty beds and he laid back, letting the shivering take him over. His teeth were hitting against each other so hard that he thought they might break.
"Take some of this. It'll calm you down so that your muscles aren't tense before you transform. We'll leave in a few minutes." The Healer handed him a small vial of a pink potion. He carefully brought it to his lips trying not to spill as drank it in one shot. It burned his throat as it went down but his shivering was already lessening.
Remus closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply while Madam Pomfrey was bustling about making sure the other children were still asleep and alright to be left for a while. He started to feel his mind slipping away as the wolf grew closer with every passing minute. Combined with the relaxing potion that he had been given, he could barely keep a hold on reality. Sounds were becoming garbled and when Madam Pomfrey said, "Alright, dear. It's time." he couldn't seem to understand what the words meant.
He felt himself being lifted off the bed and walked out of the hospital wing, though he was not in control of his movements. A blast of cold air hit them and the wolf inhaled the scent of grass and forest, and Remus receded into the shadows for the night.
.:~I~S~S~:.
The next time Remus opened his eyes, he was in the hospital wing bed again. He tried to sit up but when the curtains surrounding him multiplied he closed his eyes and fell back against the pillow.
"Madam Pomfrey?" he croaked.
He heard the curtains open. "Oh, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey's voice floated to his ears. She moved into the secluded space. "I hope you don't mind my hiding you behind these, but I thought it would be best if no one could see you and ask where your injuries came from. How are you feeling, dear?"
Remus felt like all his nerve endings were being pricked at once, yet he couldn't say that this was the worst pain he had been in after one of his transformations. As he'd predicted, he was actually in the best shape he'd ever been in given the circumstances. "Alright," he whispered through a scratchy throat. "What day is it?"
"It's Monday, dear. Three o'clock." Remus opened his eyes again and looked up into Madam Pomfrey's rosy face.
"Three o'clock?"
"I know, dear. It's been a rough few hours trying to get you up."
Remus shook his head weakly, though that caused it to throb. "No, that's…the earliest I've ever woken up before."
"Oh. Then I suppose I should be proud of myself. This is my first time tending to…these kinds of wounds." Remus smiled as widely as he could manage with his sore facial muscles. "Well, now that you're awake, you can drink this." She pulled out a crystal vial from her apron which he recognized to be pain potion. He opened the top and sucked it down.
"Is my homework here?" he asked.
Madam Pomfrey looked at him as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "No, it certainly is not. You need to rest, Mr. Lupin, and that includes your mind. Your professors know the situation and will be more than content to wait one extra day." Much as the idea of falling behind stressed him, Remus couldn't imagine himself trying to read a textbook, or even lifting one for that matter. He settled back into the bed, resigned.
With a satisfied nod, Madam Pomfrey left his little area, closing him behind the curtains once more. Having nothing else to do, Remus decided to look himself over and assess the damage. His arms were wrapped in white bandage cloth and so was his naked torso. He touched his cheek and found a few smaller bandages and a few uncovered cuts that were crusted with scabs already. He had to admit there were a few advantages to lycanthropy, quick healing being one of them. But they could never outweigh the cons.
Remus spent the day between waking and dosing, eating a little bit of soup that Madam Pomfrey brought to him from the Great Hall. By the end of the night he was feeling better, though he was still a little sore in the muscles.
"You're more than welcome to spend the night again, dear," Madam Pomfrey offered.
"I think I'll be alright," Remus said. "Either way I'm just going to be sleeping." He pushed himself up and searing pain shot through his arms, but he didn't let it show on his face. Gingerly he swung his legs around to the edge of the bed. Standing up took more effort, but once on his feet, he felt steady.
The Healer smiled sadly. "You're a brave soul, Mr. Lupin." Remus blushed and nodded his thanks before grabbing his robes and getting dressed carefully. As he was leaving the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey called after him. "If you need anything later, feel free to come back."
Remus returned to Gryffindor Tower slowly and quietly. It was already past curfew, the halls empty. He gave the Fat Lady the password and entered the common room, which was also nearly barren save for a few older students. He limped past them to the stairs, trying very hard to look like nothing was hurting him.
James, Peter, and Sirius were already inside their room. The former two were playing Exploding Snap on James's bed and Sirius was asleep. When they heard him come in, they looked up from their game.
"Look what the cat dragged in," James said, but then looked him over more carefully. "Actually, it looks like something did drag you around a bit. Where have you been?"
"Just visiting my mother. She's not well," Remus replied.
"Like mother like son, I'd say. Never seen someone in such a pathetic state." Sirius stirred a little, but didn't wake. Remus went over to his trunk to pull out his pajamas trying to ignore the taunts from the other boy. "You know, I still can't figure out why you would want to hang out with someone Dark on purpose. You must be completely loopy." Suddenly, the pureblood's face lit up with an idea. "Actually that name suits you: Loopy Lupin. What do you think of that, Pete?"
Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Good one, James!"
Annoying as James's instigating was, Remus refused to engage him. That only led to more problems, as he'd experienced every time Sirius and their roommate made eye contact (which was why he was grateful that the former was currently sleeping). Remus went to the bathroom to change and James and Peter were back at their game when he returned.
Despite the fact that he had slept for most of the day already, Remus was still exhausted. He had barely laid down when sleep again took him.
.:~I~S~S~:.
The next few weeks were filled with what seemed like a lifetime of education. The first years were learning more than they ever thought they could have, between new spells, potions, and secrets of the castle. They discovered that there was a Restricted Section in the library where the strangest, and sometimes most dangerous, of books could be found. They heard whisperings of passageways that led out to the village of Hogsmeade, though Remus was sure he was the only one who knew for sure they existed.
During one particularly boring History of Magic class, Sirius decided that there was no way he was going to be able to pay attention. The point of going to Hogwarts wasn't to learn about what's already happened. The point was to look to the future and use what you learned to make new history. Or something philosophical like that. Really he just wanted to do more spells and he'd already learned all this before with his governess.
Instead of wasting his time just staring at the clock until the period ended, the dark-haired boy decided that he would do something useful. He took out fresh parchment and began a letter to his brother at home.
Dear Regulus,
First of all, you better start decorating in red and gold for when I come home, because I got into Gryffindor! Though you probably already knew that. I'm sure you heard our dear old mother making a Howler for me. What a pleasant surprise that was (Imagine that my voice is dripping with sarcasm here). By the way, who told her about that so quickly?
Anyway, I am in the most boring class ever which is why I decided to write to you. I hope that things are okay at home and that you don't miss me too much. I know it must be hard to be separated from such an awesome big brother like myself, but don't worry. Only eight months to go and I'll be home!
Everything is great here. You would love it, Reg. It's like Heaven on Earth. I can't wait until next year when you can see it for yourself.
Actually, there is one thing that isn't so great. It goes by the name of James Potter. Yes, he's one of those Potters. I hate to think that we're related to them at all because of him. As soon as he knew I was a Black he accused me of being Dark. The nerve. Can you believe that I have to share a room with him for the rest of my seven years here? Ugh.
But not all the people are like him. In fact, my other roommate Remus is really nice. We actually met on the train before we got Sorted. He's a little odd, but I like him. I think we're going to be good friends.
I had better sign off since class is almost over now. Write back as soon as you can! And I...you know...love you, I guess.
Sirius
Sirius felt that this was a sufficient letter and folded it up to mail out later. There were only a few minutes left in the period, and Binns had just announced that their first test, which would include everything they'd studied on since the beginning of the term, would be coming up in a few days. Panicking, Sirius leaned over to peek at Remus's notes, but instead found that he'd taken a cue from him and was writing a letter as well. He skimmed it before the other boy noticed he was looking.
Mum and Dad,
I absolutely love Hogwarts! It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The food is delicious, the people are all generally friendly, and I haven't even been worrying too much about my...problem. The first one wasn't so bad. But I really miss you. I wish you were here.
I got sorted into Gryffindor, which was really a surprise. But I'm glad because I'm in the same House as my new friend. His name is Sirius Black and we met on the train. He kind of helped me not to miss it, actually.
That reminds me, I'm sorry we didn't get to say a proper goodbye, but I couldn't find you once I got to the station and the train was leaving. I also bumped into a scary woman who sidetracked me for a few minutes. So I guess I'll say it now: goodbye. I'll write as often as possible and let you know how I'm doing.
I'm just about to head to my next class so I'm going to end it here. I love you Mum and Dad! Hope to hear from you soon!
Remus
"Hey, quit it!" Remus said when he saw Sirius reading the letter. He snatched it up and held it to his chest facing away from him. Just then, Binns faded away, signifying the end of class, and they packed up to move on to the next one.
"Aw, come on, Rem. I'll let you read my letter to my brother." Sirius pulled his letter back out and gave it to Remus to read. When he reached the end, there was a slight blush touching his cheeks.
"You think I'm odd?"
"Ah...no, I meant that like...I don't know." Sirius scratched at the back of his neck.
Remus bowed his head slightly. "It's okay. I am a little strange."
"No, I didn't mean it like that!" He stopped and Remus did the same, turning to face him. "I meant that you're different. But a good different. Your parents are magical but you don't know a lot about magic and you didn't care that I'm from a Dark family. That's odd for here, but it's a good odd."
The werewolf looked into his friend's blue-gray eyes and found sincerity. "Did you mean that one part? That you think we'll be close friends?" he asked, uncertain.
"Yeah. We're already pretty good friends, right?"
They stood in silence and Remus could feel his cheeks heat slightly. It really was lucky that he almost missed the train that day. He smiled warmly and Sirius returned it, then they set off again down the hall. "I guess you can read my letter," he said, handing it over, and Sirius skimmed it quickly.
"Why'd you mention all that?" he asked as he handed the piece of parchment back. "You didn't see them that long ago."
The tawny-headed boy went from smiling and rosy to pale and wide-eyed as he realized that this contradicted his lie. "Oh. Um...I was so worried about Mum that I...forgot to tell them things. They told me to write to them since they felt bad that they hadn't really talked much the whole time."
"Ah." Sirius nodded clinically, for which Remus was grateful. While smart, he was easy to convince. "And what's that problem that you mentioned?" But he was perhaps just a bit too curious.
"N-nothing. Nothing at all." He started walking faster.
"Come on, Rem, you can tell me!" Sirius caught up with him, eyes pleading. Remus didn't want to make it seem like he was being dishonest or hiding things when the other had just said they would be good friends. He tried to think of something fast. But what?
"Um..." He decided it was best to go with something he was sure Sirius had already noticed, which he could twist in his favor. "My...skin problem."
This made Sirius avert his eyes. "Uh, what do you mean?" he asked trying to pretend that it wasn't completely obvious. He had noticed Remus's skin condition from the first time they met, and how it had gotten worse after he went home that first weekend. He hadn't said anything because he didn't want to make him uncomfortable, and now he felt guilty that he'd pushed him into talking about it.
"Sirius, you know what I'm talking about," Remus said, gaining more confidence with this excuse. "The streaks all over my skin. It's a rare condition and they get worse when I'm stressed out. It's really freaky, and I was afraid that when people saw me...They wouldn't talk to me." This wasn't entirely a lie.
"Remus..." Sirius started, unsure what to say. Then he remembered what his brother had said to him the morning before he left. "No one cares what you look like. I, of all people, am not one to judge because I know how it feels. Anyone who wouldn't talk to you because of that isn't worth talking to anyway."
Remus couldn't help but smile again. His mind briefly flashed back to what James Potter had said about Sirius on the train- 'He'll probably wind up stabbing you in the back.' -and he found himself annoyed by this. He was being unfair in his assumptions, and so was everyone else that had made opinions about Sirius without getting to know him. So far the other boy had been nothing but nice and he doubted anything would prove the contrary.
"Thanks, Sirius."
"It was your pleasure." Remus raised an eyebrow at him and Sirius just grinned. "Now let's go and get Herbology over with." They both chuckled as they made their way side by side to the greenhouses.
.:~I~S~S~:.
That afternoon at the start of their lunch break, Sirius and Remus went to the Owlery together to mail their letters. They had to exit the castle and head toward Hagrid's cabin before veering off towards a large set of stone steps.
The Owlery itself was full of feathers, owl droppings, and of course owls of every shape and size. They lined the wall from the floor to the ceiling which stretched at least fifty meters up, perching on the edges of arched niches in the stone.
Sirius selected a large barn owl while Remus took a snowy. They tied their letters to the legs of the birds and let them out through the windows. "I just hope that Reg finds it before dear old Mum," Sirius said.
"I have to say I'm surprised you're actually writing to him," Remus commented. "Considering how you talk about your family."
Sirius shook his head. "Regulus isn't like the rest of them. Well, he's not exactly like me either. He's more afraid of our parents than I am so he won't really go against them, but he's not blindly prejudiced like they are. I'm hoping that once he gets here and has some time away from them that he breaks out of his shell and can stand up to them more. I'd hate for him to turn out like them..." He stared out the window and watched the two owls becoming smaller and smaller.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He has you as a brother." Remus put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Sirius sighed, and then grinned. "You're right. How could you turn out wrong with a brother like me?" Remus rolled his eyes.
Just as they were leaving, someone else passed on their way in. To the boys' surprise, it was the loner Ravenclaw girl. She smiled at them, then walked on towards a small tawny owl. It climbed onto her arm and she scratched its head.
Remus stopped midway out the door and watched her attaching a rolled piece of parchment to the owl's leg. "Thank you." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and they caused both her and Sirius to turn and look at him.
"I'm sorry?" she said, looking at him with her head tilted.
"T-The feather," he explained. "On the first day of term. Thanks for sending it back to me."
"Oh. No trouble. Funny that you should remember something silly like that." Her eyes narrowed just slightly, not in suspicion, but interest.
"Well…it was nice of you." Remus tried to smile, but had to force it more than he'd thought. The girl's violet gaze was unnerving, like she was trying to see through him.
"It was cool that you could do that spell so well too!" Sirius added, unfazed by her stare.
The Ravenclaw started to walk towards them. "My uncle is a Charms Master. He showed me how to do stuff, even though I didn't have a wand or anything yet."
"Cool. I never got to practice before coming to school." Sirius moved to stand by Remus's side. "Name's Sirius Black. This is my mate, Remus Lupin." He jerked a thumb at himself then Remus, who gave a small wave.
"Anjanette Harker." She walked over to them and shook their hands. "This is my family's owl, Selwin." Selwin hooted and flapped his tiny wings.
Sirius flicked his friend's hand subtly where they were hanging next to each other. Remus looked at him already knowing what he was thinking and gave him a warning glare. Sirius raised his eyebrows and smirked, however, showing that he was going to do what he wanted anyway.
"So, Anjanette, do you want to come and eat lunch with us?" Sirius asked.
"Can't. Have to spend it cleaning up the Potions lab. Sort of…blew it up yesterday," she said with a little shrug.
"Haha, that was you? You got us out of class this morning." Sirius elbowed Remus in the ribs. "I think I'm gonna like her." The Ravenclaw raised a blonde brow and looked at the tawny-haired boy who just shook his head. "You'll have to eat with us tomorrow then."
Anjanette's eyes flitted from one boy to the other. "Really." They nodded back at her and the corner of her mouth twitched up. "Alright."
"Great! We'll see you tomorrow then." Sirius slung an arm around Remus's shoulders and turned him around to head back out of the Owlery. Remus looked back and saw Anjanette taking the letter off of Selwin's leg and ripping it up.
The two walked down the stone steps and Sirius poked Remus in the shoulder repeatedly. "How good am I, Rem? I just got you lunch with the girl you fancy. Am I not amazing?"
"I don't fancy her, Sirius," Remus said. "I don't even know her."
"You know her name, her House, and that she's as bad at Potions as she is good at Charms. That's a pretty good start." Remus looked at him with a frown. "Come on, you have to fancy her. Why else would you remember something silly like her rescuing your feather three weeks ago?"
"Because it was a surprising thing for a first year to be able to do and it was nice. I don't fancy her."
But the words fell on deaf ears, Sirius smiling knowingly. "Sure you don't, Remus. Sure you don't."
.:~I~S~S~:.
"Get away from her Snivellus!" The words made many students turn their heads from their plates to see James Potter standing behind Lily Evans and Severus Snape at the far end of the Gryffindor bench. Remus pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, knowing this was going to get ugly.
"Sod off Potter, it's none of your business," Lily said, trying her best to ignore him.
"He doesn't belong here, Evans! He's a slimy Slytherin and should be sitting with his own kind." James yanked on the hood of Severus's robes to pull him to standing. The dark-haired boy turned to him and pushed his large nose onto James's.
"Don't. Test. Me," he whispered through his teeth.
"Oh, what are you going to do?" James taunted. "Spill some potion on me? That's all you're really good at. You can't even make friends in your own House!"
Sirius, despite his feelings about Snape, was seething at this point and decided to step up. And Remus, despite how he felt about his friend's nearly routine fights, didn't stop him. "Hey, Potter!" The messy-headed boy whipped around to face him.
"Aw, Blacky. Come to defend your old mate? After all, he must miss you in the dungeons at night." Sirius pushed James back from Severus and almost knocked him into students at the next table.
"You seem to be the only one who has a problem with Snape being here. No one else has said anything, especially not Evans. If anyone is unwanted at this table, it's you!"
James and Sirius glared into each others' eyes, daring the other to make a move. But before either drew his wand, the former suddenly jumped and yelped, clutching his backside. He turned to try and look behind him and found that there was a smoking hole in his robes.
"Wha? How? Who?" He looked down in the direction the hex had come from angrily. But instead he found the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws in the vicinity snickering. Professor McGonagall rushed over a moment later.
"I don't know what's going on here, but I want it to end. Go back to your seats this instant, and not another peep from any of you. Come, Potter, let me fix your robes."
As Professor McGonagall led him away, James turned around and muttered, "This isn't over, Black."
Sirius smirked after his rival, then looked down the table to meet Remus's amber eyes. The dark-haired boy raised his equally dark eyebrows. Remus just shook his head and gestured to the Ravenclaw table where he saw Anjanette. When she saw he was looking at her, she winked subtly. Yes, I'm definitely going to like this girl.
"That was really nice of you," Lily said, and Sirius looked back at her.
Severus turned away however, and mumbled, "You didn't need to butt in where you don't belong."
"Sev-"
"I could have dealt with it myself. I didn't need help from a blood traitor like you!" Lily recoiled a little and Severus realized what he had said. "Never mind. I'm going to bed." He stalked out of the Great Hall and Lily ran out after him.
"Severus, wait!"
Sirius watched them go, his good mood from winning out over James deflating, then he returned to sit down with Remus again. "I'm surprised that you did that," the other boy said. "I thought that you didn't like Snape."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Rem. Well, not really, considering the fact that he just called me a blood traitor. That's the last time I do a favor for anyone like him."
"He was probably just embarrassed in front of Lily. It's obvious he fancies her."
"You think so?" Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment, but then shook his head. "Even if he does, he didn't have to act like a greasy git. I hate to admit it but I kind of like that name that Potter gave him; Snivellus." Remus thought it was kind of mean but didn't say anything.
Sirius tried to go back to eating and get his mind off of the incident, but he couldn't shake the words Severus had said. Blood traitor. Really he should be flattered given what the name meant. But it seemed to have struck the wrong chord with him for some reason.
He knew he was different, that he didn't believe in being Dark like his family. And he wasn't the only person in the Black family who had ever felt that way. But even his cousin Andromeda and Uncle Alphard had been in Slytherin. In that respect, he was completely alone. While he was proud of it, there was a part of him that still wished in a warped way that he could just fit in.
