Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
The Marauders Year 1
Chapter 2: Friends
Lena hugged her son tightly. "Be good, Remus. Be nice to the other kids. Don't cause any trouble or get into any fights. Listen to your teachers. Try and make some friends. And write to me."
"I know Mom." Remus replied as he hugged his mom back. His mom let him go and he ran through the barrier with his father.
"Have a good term, son. We'll see you at Christmas." Auva told his son.
"Thanks Dad." Remus replied as he climbed onto the train. He sat down in an empty carriage and stared out the window.
Remus watched another boy with messy black hair and hazel eyes, wearing round glasses that looked around his age. His mother hugged him tightly and wiped her eyes free of the tears that were filling in them. The boy smiled before his father dragged him away from his mother to speak to him out of his mother's ears reach. The father winked at his son and gave him a package before ruffling his son's hair.
Remus turned to see another boy with long black hair and grey eyes arguing with his mother. He yelled at her before grabbing his trunk and climbing onto the train.
A mousy boy with brown hair and watery blue eyes caught Remus's attention next. He was jumping up and down excitedly.
A whistle sounded and the mousy boy stopped jumping up and down. He ran onto the train along with the others who hadn't gotten on yet.
Remus sighed and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes and was starting to fall asleep when he the door to his compartment was opened.
"Do you mind if I seat here?" A boy's voice asked.
Remus opened his eyes to see the boy with the glasses. "It's a free world."
"Thanks." The boy replied. He sat down across from Remus and smiled. "By the way, I'm Jam….."
The compartment door opened again and this time the boy with long black hair came in. "Can I seat here?" Without waiting for a reply, he sat down next to Remus. "Thanks."
Remus rolled his eyes and looked back out the window to watch the scenery going by.
"As I was saying, I'm James Potter. Who are you guys?" James asked.
"Sirius Black." The new boy said and he turned to Remus. Before anyone could say anything, the door opened again and two people came inside. One was a boy with greasy black hair. The other was a girl with long red hair and bright green eyes.
"You better be in Slytherin." The greasy haired boy said.
"Slytherin?" James question in disbelief. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He looked at Remus and Sirius when he said this.
Sirius slouched in his seat and frowned. "My whole family has been in Slytherin."
"Blimey and I thought you were alright." James replied.
Sirius grinned at James. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you got the choice?"
James lifted an invisible sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."
The greasy haired boy made a small, disparaging noise. James turned to glare at him. "Got a problem with that?"
"No." The boy replied. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"
"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius asked mockingly.
James roared with laughter, while the girl glared at the two of them. Remus rolled his eyes and continued to ignore the four in the compartment.
The girl grabbed the boy's arm. "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."
"Ooooo…." James and Sirius mocked.
"See ya, Snivellus!" James called after the two.
Sirius leaned back in his seat. "I don't like him."
James nodded his head and turned back to Remus. "So, what's your name?"
Remus shrugged his shoulders and continued to stare out the window.
"You don't know your name?" James asked, smiling.
Again, Remus shrugged his shoulders.
Sirius and James looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Do you like quidditch?"
"Yeah." Sirius replied. "I'm a beater."
"Cool. I'm a chaser. Though I also try to play as a seeker sometimes." James replied. He looked at Remus again. "What about you?"
Remus shrugged his shoulders and continued to look at the window.
Sirius turned to face him. "Do you have a voice?"
Remus shrugged his shoulders again, making Sirius scream in frustration and James to laugh. "He has a voice. He spoke once earlier before you came in."
"D-do you m-mind if I seat h-here?" A boy asked.
"Go ahead." James replied. "I'm James Potter. This is Sirius Black."
The boy sat next to James. "P-peter P-pettigrew."
"Nice to meet you." James replied.
Peter looked over at Remus. "Who are you?"
Remus shrugged. He didn't want to talk to these boys. He was afraid of becoming friends with them. As soon as they learn he is a werewolf they will shun him, so he found it easier to ignore them now then become friends and get hurt by them shunning him. He wanted friends, but didn't want to face the pain of being shunned if they ever found out the truth.
"Did we do something to offend you?" James asked.
Remus shook his head.
"Then why aren't you talking to us?" Sirius questioned.
Remus shrugged his shoulders, making Sirius scream in frustration again.
Remus turned to look at Sirius and raised a brow. "What's wrong?"
Sirius stopped screaming and looked at Remus. "Look, he speaks!"
James rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He looked at Remus. "So, your name, do you like quidditch, and what house do you want to be in?"
Remus blinked and looked at James confused. "Huh?"
"Answer the questions." Sirius growled.
Remus leaned back in his seat. "Don't feel like it."
"Fine." Sirius replied and turned to Peter. "What about you?"
"I like Quidditch, but I can't play. I'm not good at sports." Peter replied and looked down at his feet shyly. "And as for houses, any house is fine except maybe Slytherin."
"I agree with that. Slytherin house is full of slimy gits, like Snivellus." James replied.
The compartment door opened again and a witch with a trolley smiled at the boys. "Anything off the trolley?"
All the boys, but Remus, jumped up and brought all the sweets they wanted. Peter turned to look at Remus. "Are you going to get anything?"
"No." Remus replied.
The three boys shrugged and sat down with their sweets.
For the rest of the trip, the three boys ate their sweets and talked about some more. They played exploding snap and tried to get Remus to join them in their conversations and game. They succeeded in getting nothing out of Remus. He continued to ignore them for the whole train ride.
"We're here!" James and Sirius sang happily.
"Let's go." Sirius said. "I really hope I get sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin."
James smiled. "Don't worry, mate. From what I can tell you are nothing like a Slytherin."
Remus followed the three boys out of the compartment quietly.
"I wonder where we go." Peter said.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A male voice.
James grinned. "Guess that answers that question." The four boys looked towards the direction of the voice and saw a big man with lots of black hair and two beady black eyes.
"C'mon, follow me. Anymore firs' years? Follow me!" The man said.
"Who are you?" Sirius asked.
"Rubeus Hagrid, Gamekeeper here at Hogwarts." The man replied. All the first years followed Hagrid along a steep, narrow path. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round this bend here!"
All of the first years were awed when they saw Hogwarts.
Hagrid lead the awed first years to the lake where there were a bunch of boats waiting for them. "No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called to them.
James, Sirius, and Peter ran to one of the boats and climbed into it. Sirius looked back at Remus, who was walking away from them, and climbed out of the boat. "Sirius, what are you doing?" James called after him.
Sirius ignored him and ran to catch up with Remus. He grabbed Remus's arm and dragged him to their boat. "What are you doing?" Remus asked confused.
"Four to a boat." Sirius replied. "You can seat with us." Without giving Remus a choice, the two got in the boat.
"Will you tell us your name now?" James asked when he saw the two climb into the boat.
Remus, who was looking over the side of the boat at the water, looked up. "If I do, will you leave me alone?"
James and Sirius looked at each other, then at Remus. "No." They said simultaneously.
"Why?"
"Everyone in?" Hagrid yelled. "Right then- Forward!"
The boats began to move along the river by magic.
"We want to be friends." James replied.
"Why?"
Sirius blinked. "We don't need a reason to be your friend."
Remus hmm and looked back at the water.
"So?" James said.
Remus blinked and looked at James. "So what?"
James threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "Your name? The thing we have been working on finding out all day."
"Why? We probably won't even be in the same house. So there is no point in you knowing it." Remus replied. He looked back at the water and stuck his hand in it. The cool water felt nice in the warm, fall air.
"What if we're all in the same house?" Sirius asked.
"Will you tell us your name and be our friend then?" James continued.
Remus sighed. "You won't leave me alone unless I agree?" James and Sirius nodded their heads vigorously. "Fine. Deal."
James and Sirius jumped to their feet and screamed happily. "We won!"
"What did I just do?" Remus groaned. James and Sirius started jumping happily, causing the boat to shake. "Will you two stop? You're going to make the boat…"
Remus never finished his sentence because the boat tipped over and the four boys fell into the water. "Wonderful." Remus growled.
James and Sirius laughed and Peter chuckled. "That was fun." Sirius said, grinning.
"You guys are idiots." Remus replied.
"You better be careful. We'll be sharing a dorm for the next seven years." James replied, grinning to.
"That's only if we get in the same house." Remus said.
"I bet we'll be in the same house. And don't forget our deal." James said.
Remus groaned and climbed back into the boat. "I think I'd rather be in Slytherin then be in your house and forced to be your friend."
James and Sirius gasped and pulled Remus back in the lake. "You don't mean that. You're not a slimy git."
"How would you know? You don't know anything about me." Remus replied.
"You're talking to us now and you don't even realize it. You've been trying to ignore us and now you're talking. And I can tell that you're not slimy git. So I know you won't be a Slytherin." James replied.
Remus sighed and climbed back into the boat, then held his hand out to help James get into the boat. James and Remus pulled Sirius into the boat, and then they pulled Peter into the boat.
"Alright yer four?" Hagrid called at them.
"Yeah!" James called back and all the boats started moving again.
When they reached the other side of the lake, Hagrid led the first years to castle door and knocked on it three times.
A tall, stern looking witch with long black hair tied in a bun opened the door.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid told her.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take it from here." McGonagall replied.
The first years followed McGonagall into the entrance and until a small chamber to the side of the entrance hall. The professor turned to face preteens.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." Professor McGonagall started to explain.
James and Sirius turned to Remus and grinned at him. Remus groaned. "It's not likely we'll be in the same house."
"Aw. Don't be like that." Sirius said.
"We're not that bad." James added.
Professor McGonagall glared at the three of them. "You three, quiet." She looked at them closely and sighed. "Why are you four all wet?"
"These two idiots decided to make our boat tip over." Remus replied, gesturing to James and Sirius, who smiled innocently.
McGonagall sighed and pinched her nose.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Professor McGonagall looked at the four dripping wet boys as she left and frowned.
Sirius and James were bouncing on their feet excitedly. "I can't wait. I wonder how they sort us."
"So, person-whose-name-we-don't-know-yet, you ready to be brothers for the next seven years?" James asked.
Remus glared at James out of the corner of his eye. "I really hope I'm not in your house."
"Aw." Sirius flung his arms around Remus's neck. "Don't be so hurtful."
"You two are annoying." Remus growled and pushed Sirius off of him.
James and Sirius grinned mischievously. "This is going to be a fun year, especially if we're in the same house."
Remus's eye started twitching, so it was a good thing that McGonagall chose that time to come back.
"Form a line and follow me." She said.
McGonagall led the first years into the Great Hall.
There were five long tables in the Great Hall. Four of them were filled with students and the one out of the head of the hall was filled with the teachers. The tables had golden goblets and plates. Looking at the ceiling, James saw thousands of candles floating in the air. Hundreds of faces turned to face them as the first years were led down between two tables.
In front of the teacher table, McGonagall put a stool down and put a hat on the stool.
James watch confused as the hat started to sing. When the hat finished its song, the whole Great Hall exploded into applause.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." McGonagall said, holding a long roll of parchment. "Adams, John!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Black, Sirius!"
Sirius walked confidently up to the stool and sat down. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and Sirius world went black.
A Black, eh? I know your family. All Slytherins.
Don't you dare put me in Slytherin. Sirius thought.
Relax. I can tell that you aren't Slytherin material. Now let's have another look. Loyal, but not loyal enough for Hufflepuff. You don't care about learning, so Ravenclaw is out. Yes, you have a brave heart. I know where you are to go now. GRYFFINDOR!
Sirius jumped off the stool happily and gave the hat to McGonagall before sitting down at the applauding table.
"Lupin, Remus!" McGonagall called after some more names were called.
Sirius looked up to see the boy that he and James made a deal with.
Remus sat on the stool and let his world go black when the hat covered his eyes.
A werewolf, eh? Never had to sort someone like you before.
Remus groaned.
Don't worry. No one will know about that. Now where should I put you? Not very trusting, so Hufflepuff is out. Definitely not a Slytherin. Very smart and you enjoy learning. Could be a Ravenclaw.
Go with Ravenclaw then! Remus thought quickly.
What's this? A deal with some boys about being friends. The hat chuckled. You are definitely brave to come here when you are a werewolf. You could be a Gryffindor.
Don't you dare put me in Gryffindor. Remus growled.
The hat chuckled. Inside, you really want to be a Gryffindor. You really want to be their friends.
No, I don't.
Yes, you do.
James looked at Sirius at the Gryffindor table and raised a brow. Sirius shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Remus.
Peter turned to look James. "Think he'll make it to Gryffindor?"
"He better. We can't annoy the hell out of him if he doesn't make it. He's going to be our brother." James grinned.
Peter chuckled and shook his head. "I almost feel sorry for Remus? That's what his name is, right?"
"That's what McGonagall said." James replied.
Yes, I think this is the best house for you.
No. Don't. I don't want to be their friend.
Yes, you do. You're just frightened to make friends. Trust me. You'll thank me for this later.
Remus groaned.
GRYFFINDOR!
As the Gryffindor table erupted into applause, Sirius, James, and Peter roared their approval.
"Damn it!" Remus shouted as he ripped the hat off his head and glared at the three boys he met on the train. He didn't even notice everyone staring at him in confusion.
Seeing as Peter, James, and Sirius were the only ones to understand his frustration, they howled with laughter.
"It's your own fault, Remus." James said, grinning like no tomorrow as Remus moved to the Gryffindor table, only to pause next to James to smack him in the arm before sitting down next to Sirius, who was also smacked by Remus.
"Don't start." Remus growled.
Sirius pouted."Don't be mean, Rem." He smiled and hugged Remus. "Now we can be brothers."
Remus pushed Sirius off of himself. "Not likely. The deal only stays in affect if all four of us landed in the same house."
"Oh," Sirius said, before turning to James and Peter. "Make sure you two end up in Gryffindor."
Peter and James laughed. "Course we will. We can't annoy Remus to death if we aren't." The latter said.
Remus start to slam his head repeatedly on the table. Maybe, just maybe he could cause himself a concussion. Some of the older students chuckled at the four. They weren't sure of what was going on, but the banter was amusing.
"Pettigrew, Peter!" Was called after a while.
Hmm. Where should I put you? Not Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Could be Hufflepuff. Hmm. No, not loyal enough for Hufflepuff. Maybe Gryffindor. Yes, you seem brave enough. GRYFFINDOR!
Peter hopped off the stool and went to sit across from Sirius.
"YES!" James screamed. "One more to go, Remus!"
"You do realize you are talking about yourself?" Remus asked bored. "It would have been better to say, 'Just me to go, Remus.'"
"What does it matter how I say it? You know what I was talking about." James argued.
"Potter, James!" McGonagall said to cut the two off...Such troublemakers, she could already tell.
James went up to the stool and sat down. The hat barely touched his head when it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"
James smiled and jumped off the stool. "HA! Take that Remus Lupin!" He sat next to Peter and smiled at Remus.
Remus groaned and started to continuously slam his head on the table. "Come on, Remy. We aren't that bad. We get to be brothers now." James said.
Remus lifted his head and glared at James. "Don't call me that. It's Remus. And not that bad? You insulted Severus on the train and then threw us into a lake. I can tell already you two are going to be troublemakers."
"Hmm." James said. "Do you guys like pranks?"
Sirius smirked and Peter smiled.
"Oh no." Remus groaned. "You guys are prankster, aren't you?"
"Come on, Remus. It'll be fun." Sirius said.
"Will you four be quiet?" A girl with red hair that Remus recognized as Lily Evans asked.
James smiled charmingly at her. "Hi, I'm James Potter. And you would be?"
Remus rolled his eyes.
Lily frowned and turned away from him.
James frowned and turned to Sirius confused. Sirius laughed and shook his head.
"Snape, Severus!"
"Hey, it's Snivellus!" Sirius said.
James looked up at Snape and glared. "I hate him."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"What he ever do to you?" Remus said.
"Well, he's here for one." Sirius replied.
Remus sighed and faced the front of the Great Hall.
When the sorting was finished, Dumbledore stood up and smiled. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down as the hall exploded into applause.
"He's mad." Sirius said grinning. "I'm sure he won't expel us for a few pranks."
Remus groaned let his head slam on the table. "Whatever. Just leave me out of them."
"Now what kind of friends would we be if all we let you do is study and do homework." Sirius said.
"Oh no." Remus muttered.
Sirius and James smirked. "Oh yes. You're ours, Remus. You're in this group now and this group pulls pranks. You're not getting out of it." James said.
"What if I don't want to be part of your group?" Remus replied.
"You made a deal to be our friend if we were in the same house, so you're stuck with us now." James said.
"I made that deal because I thought I would be in a different house." Remus pouted.
James and Sirius grinned, while Peter smiled.
At the end of the feast, Dumbledore stood up and smiled. "Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, some of you might have noticed the new addition to the ground. A Whomping Willow. This is a very dangerous tree. Stay away from it. And now off to bed, all of you!"
The Gryffindor first years stood up and followed their two fifth year prefects. "Here we are." The prefect said when they reached a painting of a fat lady. "The password is wolfsbane."
Remus tensed at hearing the password, but relaxed a second later.
The painting opened allowing the kids to enter. After being directed to their dorms, the four boys entered the dorm and claimed their beds. In the room, there were four beds with red drapes surrounding all the beds. There was an aisle between the four beds that led to a door at the end of the room that led to a bathroom for the four boys that had two showers and sinks in it. Remus claimed the bed next to the window and James took the one next to Remus's. Peter took the bed across from James and Sirius took the one across from Remus.
Remus lay down on his bed with his hands resting under his head and was staring at the ceiling, while James and Sirius were sitting up on their beds talking. Peter sat on his bed watching the two boys talk and throwing comments in a few times, but most of the time just stayed quiet. To Remus he seemed like a shy, nervous boy who followed others and never made a name for himself.
"I wish first years could try out for Quidditch." James was saying.
Sirius smiled. "Me too. We'll just have to tryout next year."
"If there are any positions open." James muttered. He turned to look at Remus. "You never did answer earlier. Do you like Quidditch?"
"Not really. I don't see the point of it." Remus replied thoughtfully. "It's just people flying around on brooms throwing balls around. Seems pointless really."
James and Sirius gasped horrified. "Pointless?"
"You insult us." Sirius said dramatically.
"I'm entitled to my opinion." Remus replied, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes at their reactions.
James shook his head and sighed. "Hate Quidditch? That just isn't right. We're going to have to fix that, Sirius."
"I didn't say hate. Just don't like it that much." Remus said.
None of the boys heard him though as they were in their own conversation.
Sirius nodded his head seriously. "Yes, we will. We can't have a roommate hating Quidditch."
Remus sighed. "I didn't say hate."
The two Quidditch fanatics still ignored Remus. Sirius stood up and started pacing back and forth between the two beds. James stayed sitting on his bed, but had a very serious expression on his face.
"Guys, I didn't say hate." Remus repeated.
James turned back to Remus. "So you do like the game?"
"I didn't say like. And I didn't say hate. I just dislike the game." Remus said.
"Dislike is just as bad as hate. We will have to fix this. We are not going to spend the next seven years in a dorm with a hater of Quidditch." Sirius said.
Remus looked at Sirius weirdly, but just shook his head. He grabbed his pajamas out of his trunk and pulled the curtains shut around his bed. Pulling his robe and shirt off, Remus looked at his chest and arms. His entire body was covered in scars from all those transformation. Without anyone to attack, Remus scratched and bit himself, leaving himself covered in scars. Remus ran a hand over one of his newest scars. It was still pink from when he scratched himself horribly a couple weeks ago. Remus changed behind his curtains because he didn't want his roommates to see all the scars that littered his body. They would ask questions. Questions that the young boy wouldn't be able to answer and he couldn't lie to them, since he was a horrible liar.
When he was finished changing, Remus threw his clothes in his trunks and saw that the other boys were finishing changing into their pajamas too. "Night guys." Remus said and crawled back into his bed.
"Night Remy." Sirius said. "Night James. Night Peter."
"Don't call me that." Remus growled, making Sirius laugh.
"Night Sirius, Peter, Rem." James said.
Remus stuck his head out of his curtains. "Do you want to die painfully?"
"Sorry." James replied, but was smiling none the less.
"Night all." Peter said.
The three boys climbed into their beds and pulled their own curtains shut. Remus glared at their curtains, but shrugged and laid back down. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and curled up into a ball under his blankets.