Author's Note: If the Dark Lord and the Dark Arts wasn't such a threat, I believe that the Marauders could have had very idyllic boyhoods.
"First years," called a prefect. "First years. Line up."
That included me, I told myself as I hastily left the table, away from Sirius Black and James Potter, to join the crowd surrounding the Gryffindor prefects. By this time, I was exhausted, having gone through enough panic attacks to kill any healthy person (and I was a rather unhealthy person). The prefects ushered us out of the grand dining hall and through the many stone walled corridors until we made it to a high ceiling room with marble staircases that were magicked to rotate between floors. Up we ascended until we stood in front of the portrait of a large woman in white robes holding a near empty glass of wine. The Fat Lady, they called her.
I was so surprised when we stopped. It seemed like we would walk forever.
"Password!" The Fat Lady said.
A prefect answered, but I couldn't quite hear it from my place further down the line. As we shuffled inside, all weary from the unexpected long walk, I thought about how nice a bed would be now. The Gryffindor common room was covered in red and gold from the tapestries that hung on either side of the fireplace to the velvet sofa and armchairs surrounding the hearth. Here, we separated by gender. The prefect took us through another corridor, calling out five names for each room we passed.
"Remus Lupin. Is there a Remus Lupin?" I heard.
"That's me," I answered.
"You're with a couple of fifth years," said the prefect, expecting me to follow. We walked through another corridor and up another set of spiraling staircases.
"You're here," the prefect said, opening the door to a round, stone walled room with four poster beds. "Your roommates should be here soon."
"Thanks," I said.
When he left, I rushed to an empty bed and shut the red, velvet curtains, feeling fast asleep as soon as my head hit the pillows.
The next morning, I awoke to sunlight shining through the curtains and the sound of my roommates were shuffling around. I was less physically tired than I thought, but I felt an unbearable grumpiness from the exhaustion.
"You've been sleeping for a while," a familiar voice called to me. "Breakfast is almost over."
I scrambled out of bed and tore open the curtain. A familiar stared back at me, just as surprised.
"Remus," Sirius acknowledged. "Didn't know you'd room with us."
"This is your room?" I spluttered.
Sirius Black gave me an indistinguishable look, cocking his head slightly. I couldn't tell if he was offended at my reaction or confused.
"Hello." In walked his friend with the untidy hair. If I hadn't known better, I would have assumed James Potter had just woken up. "Lupin," he said, surprised. "Didn't know you'd be here."
"Morning. It looks like we're roommates," I said, stating the obvious.
"So we are," said Potter, walking towards the mirror to view his reflection. He smoothed his robes but did nothing to flatten the bird nest on his head.
"You should get ready soon," Black said at last, turning to his trunk. The handsome wizard began rummaging through his trunk, pulling out parchment and quills and stuffing them into his satchet. "Classes start soon."
"What time is it?" I asked, panicked.
"Don't worry," Potter said, pulling out his school supplies from his trunk now. "You have 15 minutes."
"Fifteen?" I nearly shouted. I scrambled out of bed and rushed to my trunk at the end of the bed, opening it quickly. I moved articles of clothing aside until I found my bag. With one swift motion, I wrapped the strap of my bag around my body and hurried to the door.
"Aren't you going change?" Black asked on my way out.
"No time," I mumbled, squeezing past the dark-haired wizards. I ran towards the Great Hall, hoping to grab a quick meal before classes. Outside the Great Hall were a throng of students, heading out the dining hall to classes. I muttered "Excuse me" as I weaved through the crowd towards the long tables.
By then, there were few students sitting down for breakfast but plenty of food still left. There were baskets carrying loaves of bread, and beside them were jars of jam and honey. I swiped two slices of bread, lathered each with jam, and made a sandwich of the two. Then, I turned to leave, nibbling on the sandwich as I pulled out my schedule and briskly walked to my first class.
I spent the day dashing from class to class and occasionally lost in the corridors, unable to find my way through the maze that was the Hogwarts castle. After a day of lessons, I returned to the Gryffindor tower. There I stood, in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, wrecking my brain for the password. All I remembered was the garble of words I had heard from the back.
I sighed, exhausted from a day of classes and leaned against the stone-walls, listening to the portraits talk among themselves.
"Poor fellow," one said. "Locked out on his first day."
But I didn't have to wait long before a student from Gryffindor walked by, muttering the password: "Apparition."
I wasn't made for this castle with its long-winded staircases, I thought. But somehow, I managed to drag myself up the steps towards the dormitory.
James and Sirius were in the room, unpacking when the door opened.
Exhausted from a day of classes, I slumped onto the bed as soon as I returned to the room, then rolled onto my back, sinking into the mattress.
"Long day?" I heard from the bed beside mine. I didn't need to look up to know it was Sirius Black.
"Yes," I mumbled. I had almost forgotten about him - that he was there at St. Mungos and knew my secret. Although he promised not to expose me, I continued to worry. He was, after all, a Black - Gryffindor or not.
For what felt like ages, I laid there, unmoving. Fatigued but not tired enough to fall sleep. I was glad of it too. I didn't want a repeat of this morning - waking up late and spending the entire day in rush.
"Do you play Quidditch, Lupin?" James asked from across the room.
"James, was it?" I asked, looking up. James nodded. "I don't play, but I'm afraid I'll be too busy playing catch up for Quidditch."