A joyous din filled the corridors of the Hogwarts Express. Excited greetings and laughter rang out while owls hooted irritably in their jostled cages. As more students boarded, the volume grew even louder. The train was due to depart shortly, and the carriages were filling fast. One carriage, however, remained empty except for a solitary young man slumped in the corner. His head rested limply against the window, his light brown hair obscuring his closed eyes. The sorrow etched into his ashen face belied his fifteen years. The full moon would rise that night, and Remus Lupin appeared all but dead.
A sharp rapping next to his head startled Remus out of his sleep. Outside on the platform, Sirius Black was knocking on the window, a wide grin stretched across his handsome face. Behind him, James Potter was lugging a trunk and waving energetically with his free hand. Remus smiled weakly and whispered, “Hi.” His two friends headed onto the train and Remus settled back into his seat. A warm glow of happiness filled his weary body. I’m going home, he thought. The hell of the past two months seemed far away now. No more would he have to endure his fearful neighbors, the utter isolation, or the heavy chains that bound him every month. No more would he suffer the endless onslaught of experimental cures, each of which his mother sobbingly referred to as “his last chance.” Remus felt like he was waking from a long nightmare.
James and Sirius burst inside. “Hey, Remus!” they cried and bounded onto the seats next to him.
“About time you guys showed up,” Remus grinned. A spark of life returned to his pallid face.
“You look like hell,” said James cheerfully. “It’s soon then, is it?”
“Tonight,” sighed Remus bitterly. “How’s that for timing? Going to miss the Sorting, the feast and everything.”
“Don’t you worry, mate, we’ll provide for you,” promised Sirius, reclining in his seat. “We’ll sneak into the kitchen and bring half of it back.”
“Something tells me you would have done that anyway,” said Remus, smiling.
The train’s engine slowly came to life and the corridors emptied as students quickly found carriages. Two pretty Ravenclaw girls walked past their door and glanced inside. They both started tittering madly.
“Hi, Sirius!” sang out one of the girls, while the other blushed feverishly and elbowed her friend. Sirius grinned cockily at them and winked. They dissolved into a wild giggling fit and skipped down the hall. Sirius laughed; James snorted. The train lurched below them and slowly began rolling forward.
“Hey, where’s Peter?” Remus asked, concerned.
As if on cue, Peter Pettigrew appeared in the doorway, smirking. He clasped his hands over his heart, sank to his knees and sang in a high pitched voice, “Hi, Sirius!” Then he fell into a swoon at Sirius’s feet and flung his hand dramatically to his forehead. “Oh, he’s such a dream,” Peter sighed. James kicked him.
“Good lord, don’t encourage him!” said James, exasperated. “That’s the last thing he needs!”
Sirius casually crossed his arms behind his head and put his feet up on the seat in front of him. “Your jealousy truly saddens me,” he sighed.
Peter laughed and stood up, pushing Sirius’s feet away to claim the seat. The train picked up speed and the green countryside flew past their window.
“Whew, I almost didn’t make it!” exclaimed Peter breathlessly, rubbing his rib where James had kicked him. “My brother turned my books invisible and it took me all morning to find them. Stupid git… Hey Remus, what’s up? You look bloody awful.”
“Right back at ya,” Remus replied. “So was your brother still angry about Sirius sabotaging his broomstick?”
“Oh yeah,” said Peter happily. “He’s not going to forget that for a long time.”
Sirius snickered. “My greatest feat,” he said proudly. “You should have seen the look on his face when it wrote Keep your fat arse off me! in the sky. And it stayed up there for hours!”
James and Peter laughed at the memory, and Remus felt a pang of envy. “I wish I’d been allowed to visit this summer,” he sighed. “I hate missing out on everything when I’m stuck in that damned place.”
“We wanted you there, too,” said James apologetically. “We’ve got to get you out of there next summer! You could stay with me; my mother would understand.”
“Right,” said Peter sarcastically. “You’d just say, ‘Hey Mum, can my friend stay with us? He’s a perfect gentleman, but we’ll have to lock up the breakables every full m”’ Ow! What?”
Peter was cut off by James kicking him again. Sirius nodded impatiently at the open door and Peter gasped, “Oops!” He hopped up to close it.
“Anyway, Remus,” continued James, “even as a werewolf, you’re only half as destructive as Sirius, and he was over all the time. Even when he almost blew our house up practicing hexes, my mum still couldn’t get enough of him.” In a high voice, he mimicked, “Oh James, why can’t you be more like your friend Sirius? Such a charming, well-mannered young gentleman!” Peter laughed scornfully.
“What can I say? I’ve got a way with the ladies,” shrugged Sirius.
Remus smiled quietly, but he was concerned about what James had said. He knew that there had been trouble in the Black household before, and it didn’t sound like the situation had improved. “So Sirius,” he asked carefully, “I guess you didn’t spend much time at home this summer, then?”
Sirius’s expression darkened instantly. “No, life at home became just a bit too unbearable,” he said bitterly. Remus glanced questioningly at James.
“Well, there was a bit of a row,” explained James delicately.
“Ha!” Sirius barked. “Yeah, you could call it that. They had the goddamn nerve to lecture me about honor! Honor! Apparently I’m a disgrace to the family because I associate with half-bloods! That’s rich, isn’t it? Of all the disgusting, depraved bastards I’m related to, I’m the disgrace! Oh, and let’s not forget ‘an embarrassment to true wizarding families everywhere, and undeserving of the meager powers I pathetically wield.’” There was a momentary silence, broken only by Sirius exhaling vehemently.
“Ok, a big row,” said James, trying to lighten the mood. Sirius stood up forcefully and began pacing.
“You're damn right it was,” he said with a malicious smile. “Especially when I gave them a taste of my meager powers on my way out. Regulus has a lovely scar to remember me by now.”
Remus’s mouth dropped open. “You attacked your own family?” he said disbelievingly.
“Weren’t you listening? They’re not my family!” Sirius shouted. “They don’t want me! I’m not good enough, not pure enough, not “honorable” enough! It’s bullshit! And I swear if I spend one more minute in that house, I’ll go as psychotic as the rest of them!”
Sirius’s eyes blazed furiously. He glared around he carriage as if daring someone to argue with him. Remus watched Sirius uneasily; sometimes his friend’s temper frightened him.
“I’m sorry I brought it up, Sirius,” he said quietly.
“And you know you’re always welcome at my place, mate,” James offered.
“Yeah,” said Peter timidly. “His mum already loves you, doesn’t she?”
Sirius looked as if he wanted to yell some more, but was disappointed that no one was giving him the opportunity. He turned towards the door and fumed at the witch with the food trolley down the hall. James stood up and approached Sirius.
“Forget them,” he said gently. “You’ve got almost a whole year without them now. And by the end, you’ll be able to transform into some wild animal and maul them all.” A slight smile lit up Sirius’s clouded face.
“Come on,” James said more cheerfully. “Let’s get some snacks from the trolley. Look at poor Remus; he’ll be dead before we reach Hogwarts if we don’t get him some chocolate.”
“All right,” Sirius agreed. He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. At that moment, Severus Snape slouched past, his head hung low so as to avoid eye contact with anyone. He looked up briefly when Sirius opened the door, and then dropped his head again quickly with a sour look. Sirius narrowed his eyes and grinned evilly as he watched Severus pass. “But first, I’m going to play with the pure-bloods, like a good Black,” he said through gritted teeth and pulled out his wand.
Remus looked up, alarmed. Sirius had always hated Severus, but usually just avoided him. There was something frightening in his eyes this time, though. Ignoring the protests of his exhausted body, Remus stood up and followed Sirius into the hallway, steadying himself on the wall.
“Sirius,” he said warningly, but Sirius waved for him to be quiet.
“Don’t worry, Remus. You’ll get your chocolate in a minute.”
James stepped into the hall beside Sirius, looking eager for action. Peter stayed behind Remus out of harm’s way, but he too grinned expectantly. As Severus passed the food trolley, Sirius pointed his wand and quietly hissed, “Wingardium leviosa!” A jug flew into the air and hit Severus on the side of the head, drenching him in pumpkin juice. Severus cried out in surprise and pain. His lank hair clung to the side of his face, dripping sticky juice onto the floor.
“You really should watch where you’re going, Snivellus,” Sirius announced loudly, slipping his wand behind him. “Try keeping that nasty hair out of your eyes next time.”
James laughed, along with most of the people in the hall. The trolley witch turned around sharply and saw Severus covered in juice. “Really!” she exclaimed with irritation. “Please watch the cart!” Severus whirled around and glared at Sirius with a mixture of rage and confusion. Remus couldn’t blame him; he was disturbed by the unprovoked attack, too. Severus pulled out his wand, and the students around the cart all took a step back.
“How dare you, you cowardly little””
“Expelliarmus!” James shouted and Severus’s wand flew out of his hand. “Don’t blame Sirius for your clumsiness, Snivellus. Now go wash out your hair; it’ll be good for it.”
Severus was white with fury, but he wavered uncertainly. He seemed hesitant to take on both James and Sirius at the same time. The trolley witch saved him from making the decision by jumping into the middle. She flung out her arms and faced Sirius angrily.
“You, into your carriage! And you, that way!” she shrieked at Severus, pointing down the hall. “One more outburst and you’ll be walking the rest of the way to Hogwarts!”
Severus shot one last deadly glare at Sirius and stormed down the hall, retrieving his fallen wand. James snickered under his breath watching him leave.
“I’m very sorry for the disruption, ma’am,” said Sirius politely. “But before I go back, might I buy some chocolate frogs for my poor, sick friend?” He held out a handful of coins with an angelic look on his face and gestured toward Remus. Remus looked down at the ground; uncomfortably aware of everyone’s eyes on him. The witch glared at Sirius, but took the coins and thrust the frogs into his hands.
“Now go,” she said firmly.
“Thank you very kindly.” Sirius bowed and swaggered back down the hall with James.
The crowd parted to let them through, everyone giggling and talking excitedly. They both clearly enjoyed the attention; Sirius was grinning cheerfully without a trace of his previous anger. Remus ignored them when they came back to the carriage congratulating each other. Instead, he looked down the hall where Severus had disappeared and wondered darkly if Sirius realized the irony of fighting hatred with hatred. Or if he felt the least bit sadistic deriving pleasure from abuse. Remus shook his head. He was overreacting; Sirius had just suffered through a summer even worse than his own. He may have gotten a little out of hand, but he wasn’t a cruel person. If it happens again, then I’ll confront him, Remus thought. Next time…
Remus’s head began to throb. His fatigue, forgotten during the fight, was now returning with a vengeance. He stepped back inside the carriage where his friends were chatting happily. Sirius deposited the whole pile of chocolate frogs into Remus’s hands as he entered.
“There you are!” he said proudly. “Hey, did you see the look on Snape’s face? Wasn’t that brilliant?”
Remus sank into his seat and rested his forehead against the window. The cool glass soothed the pain that was flaring in his head. He watched the trees fly by outside and merge into one green blur. “Brilliant,” he said quietly.