On Monday morning, the sixth of September, Sirius Black was sitting at the breakfast table. He was busy stuffing several sausages into his mouth at once and generally minding his own business, when a menacing-looking eagle owl landed in front of him.
Sirius looked up and gave a muffled groan through his mouthful of food.
James Potter shot a wary but curious glance at the red envelope in the owl’s beak. “A Howler?”
Sirius swallowed valiantly. “Mum,” he said with admirable bravado, though he paled slightly as he pried the letter from the owl’s beak.
The letter began to smoke slightly. James leaned away from it. Many people in the near vicinity covered their ears, gesturing for perplexed friends and neighbours to do the same.
Nonetheless, the entire Great Hall soon heard what Walburga Black had to say to her eldest son.
That same Monday morning, Lily Evans also received a letter from home. She and Mary had come down together a bit late; the other girls had already been and gone. Just as Lily was helping herself to scrambled eggs and toast, the post owls flew in. Lily jumped as a tawny owl landed in front of her. She gently pried a letter from his beak. The owl fluffed his feathers importantly, his Hogwarts crest glinting on his breast, and flew off.
Lily ate her breakfast absently while scanning the letter. When she got to the end she set it down with a sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Mary inquired, setting down her fork.
“Nothing, it’s…it’s nothing,” Lily said quickly and unconvincingly as she half-heartedly picked at her food.
“Come on,” Mary pressed.
Lily sighed. “My parents sent a note from my sister Petunia. She’s a Muggle.”
“What does it say?” Mary asked, spreading marmalade on a slice of toast.
“It just says hello, how are you, I’m fine, that sort of thing.” Lily poked her eggs with her fork glumly.
“So what’s the problem?” Mary replied while taking a bite of toast. A large glob of marmalade dripped onto her eggs, unnoticed.
“The problem is, Petunia wouldn’t…she’s not…” Lily struggled for words. “She hates me now. She didn’t write this. Or maybe my parents made her write it, I don’t know. We used to be best friends, before Sev”I mean, um…” she trailed off miserably.
Mary swallowed and put down her toast. “So she doesn’t like Snape? What did he do to her?” Mary didn’t sound like she blamed Petunia for these sentiments.
“He didn’t do anything!” Lily retorted defensively. “Not really. And anyway, she’s just jealous. She’s jealous because she’s not a witch like me. But it’s not my fault,” she insisted shrilly, turning pleading eyes on Mary. “Is it?”
“Of course it’s not,” said Mary reassuringly. She reached over and patted Lily’s hand, giving her a warm smile. “Don’t worry about it.” Lily took a deep breath and smiled back.
Problem solved for the moment, Mary picked up her fork again and took a huge bite of eggs. She choked and nearly spit them out. “Bleargh,” she exclaimed, swallowing and taking a swig of orange juice. “Marmalade eggs.”
Lily laughed. Suddenly a high-pitched female voice reverberated through the hall, screaming at the top of its lungs: “SIRIUS BLACK! IS THIS HOW YOU REPAY YOUR MOTHER FOR ELEVEN YEARS OF DILIGENT EDUCATION AND FLAWLESS UPBRINGING? YOUR BROTHER REGULUS LEARNS MORE UNDER EACH DAY OF MY INSTRUCTION THAN YOU SEEM TO HAVE ABSORBED INTO YOUR THICK SKULL SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN! I HAVE NOT WITNESSED SUCH A DISGRACEFUL UPROAR IN THE BLACK HOUSEHOLD SINCE””
The voice continued as Lily plugged her fingers in her ears, trying to drown out the noise. She craned her neck down the table and saw Sirius Black looking as if he had expected nothing less, but wanted to sink through the floor all the same.
“Come on,” Mary mouthed, her voice inaudible over the din. “Let’s get out of here.”
Everyone makes friends as children, sometimes so easily that, looking back, they can’t quite pinpoint when or how the friendship started. One day they are strangers, and the next they are like brothers. Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Sirius Black were an exception to this rule. James and Sirius had met on the train and were fast friends from day one. When the other two really came into the picture for good, neither of them could tell you.
Peter Pettigrew, however, could.
The date was September 8, 1971, a Wednesday. The only reason Peter knew that was because Alice Smalls, who sat next to Peter in Transfiguration, was the only first-year at Hogwarts who actually dated her notes, and Peter had happened to see her do it that morning.
Exactly one week after his arrival at Hogwarts, Peter was pleased to say that he was getting the hang of things rather nicely. Only once had he become lost, which was quite good, comparatively speaking, and Professor Flitwick had let it slide. Peter enjoyed his classes. Some of them were a bit too much writing and not enough magic, but at least, thought Peter optimistically, he could not make a fool of himself whilst taking notes.
James and Sirius were always galloping ahead from place to place, leaving Peter and Remus to follow at a steadier pace. Remus was a nice boy, if a bit timid. He was a half-blood like Peter, and so, unlike James and Sirius, he understood when Peter talked about things like cars and television. Remus had been raised in much closer contact to magic than Peter, however, so he was also happy to help Peter understand references to things like Filibuster’s and Cleansweeps.
Peter in turn had been able to help Remus. Remus had been homeschooled before Hogwarts, whereas Peter had gone to a Muggle primary school, at his mother's insistence. At school, Peter had sometimes been picked on and called a wimp by the bigger boys, so he now welcomed Hogwarts as a fresh start. The Sorting Hat’s admonition to him strengthened his resolve further. Lest he and Remus should run into bully problems, therefore, Peter taught Remus a trick he had learnt from his mother.
No opportunity to utilise their defensive tactics immediately arose, until that dreary September morning, when an event occurred which would alter the state of Peter’s existence for the rest of his life.
The last class before lunch that day had been Potions. Upon heading up from the dungeons after Potions, James and Sirius, who were ahead of Remus and Peter as usual, found their path blocked by three fifth-years; two Slytherins and a Ravenclaw. James and Sirius collided with the other boys as they hurtled down the corridor. “’Scuse us,” said James, although nothing in his tone asked excuse.
“Oi!” said the brawny Ravenclaw loudly. “Watch where you’re going, won’t you?”
“Let’s go this way instead,” Remus suggested, pointing down an adjacent corridor as James made a hasty retort and the situation escalated quickly.
Peter shook his head, excited for some action. “Let’s save them with the secret weapon!” he whispered back, gesturing with the comic he held in his hand. It was one of his favourites that he had brought from home. Remus looked as if he would rather pass on this opportunity, but Peter didn’t wait for an answer.
“Charge!” he shouted, hurtling down the hall with his comic thrust in front of him like a lance. Remus ran after him. They stopped just short of the other boys, who had looked up at Peter’s shout. Peter took advantage of their full attention quickly, and launched his weapon, Remus following along belatedly. “Oi, you! Your behaviour is so needlessly aggressive that I can only conclude that you are not a prime example of mental health. I suggest you seek help from a professional.”
Peter concluded by hurling his comic at the head of the Ravenclaw. Its corner struck him squarely on his frowning forehead as he stared at Peter and Remus incredulously. “What the”?”
“See you,” said Peter hurriedly, grabbing Sirius by the wrist and making a break for it. Remus did the same with James, and the four of them pushed past the startled Slytherins and escaped up the stairs to the more populated Entrance Hall. There they stopped, leaning against the wall to catch their breath.
“What in Merlin’s name was that?” asked James, looking at Peter in confusion. “Thanks, by the way, but”“
Sirius interrupted him by starting to laugh. “That was brilliant!” he exclaimed. “You really had him. He had no idea what you were blabbering about. And then you chucked the book at his head!”
“Waste of a good comic,” said Peter ruefully.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” said James, grinning as well. “What were you saying, anyway? I couldn’t quite make it out.”
Peter shrugged. “No idea. I, er…I heard it somewhere.” He decided it would rather undermine his new-found coolness to say his mother had taught it to him.
“You two are all right,” said Sirius decidedly. “I’m starved. Let’s go eat.”
Remus Lupin stared into space. His three roommates sat near him, engaged in animated conversation. Remus was only half listening, as his mind was otherwise occupied with a conversation he had had earlier that day.
“It’ll be dark around nine tonight, and the moon is already up,” Professor McGonagall had said when she pulled him aside after breakfast that morning. “Go to the Hospital Wing at 8:15; Madam Pomfrey and I will show you the passageway.”
Remus glanced at his watch for the tenth time in so many minutes. He sat on the edge of his chair, jiggling his leg nervously. He heard Sirius saying his name; he sounded very far away. Remus nodded and smiled vaguely.
“You okay, mate?” asked James, poking Remus in the arm. Remus blinked. He looked at his watch again.
“No, um, actually I”I’ve got a stomach-ache. Think I’d better go to the Hospital Wing.” Remus jumped up and hurried to the portrait door. He wondered if he only imagined every gaze in the room boring into his back.
Although it was well before curfew, Remus hurried down the stairs and along the corridor to the Hospital Wing, anxiously peering over his shoulder every so often. By the time he reached the Hospital Wing he was nearly trembling with apprehension. Professor McGonagall met him at the door.
“Ah, right on time, Mr. Lupin,” she said briskly. She opened the door and called, “Poppy? We’re ready.”
The brusque but kind Madam Pomfrey bustled out. “Are you all right, Mr. Lupin?” she asked gently. Remus swallowed hard and nodded.
A faint trace of daylight still lit the grounds, although the sun had sunk below the mountains on the western horizon. The two women led Remus past the Black Lake toward a strong young willow tree. The tree creaked menacingly as they approached, and its branches swung slightly, though the air was still. When they were within ten metres of the tree, it began thrashing about, branches lashing out to try and whip the trespassers off their feet. Madam Pomfrey took hold of a long branch conveniently hidden behind a bush. She slid forward cautiously and poked a large knot on the tree trunk. The tree froze, and Professor McGonagall indicated a gap between two of its roots.
“The passage is down there; Madam Pomfrey will take you through. Are you ready?”
Remus shivered in the warm, almost stifling air of the September evening. He took a deep breath to steady himself and stepped forward. He reached the passageway, and Madam Pomfrey slipped in after him as the tree began groaning sluggishly. Madam Pomfrey lit her wand to guide their way through the dark, narrow passageway. Remus was not claustrophobic, but he wondered if he would feel the same way after he hit his growth spurt. At the end of the passageway Remus came upon a small shack that McGonagall had told him had been abandoned for some time.
“I’ll come and fetch you in the morning, then, Mr. Lupin,” the nurse told him kindly. “Take care.” She stepped through the doorway, and Remus was alone.
Remus woke to a soft, warm hand on his shoulder and a woman’s voice calling his name. “Mum?” he murmured sleepily.
A pause. “No, dear,” said a gentle voice, which his foggy brain now realized was not his mother’s. “It’s Madam Pomfrey. You fell asleep. You need to get back to the castle before your roommates wake up.”
Remus shook his head to clear it and stood stiffly. “Oh. Okay.” Blinking in the pale, cloudy light of morning, he realized that he had passed out on the musty old bed in the shack. As if the floodgates had opened, the memories of the night before washed back over him.
He had come to himself in the pitch black darkness of the shack, crying out loud. He didn’t know how long he had sat on the floor as his sobs faded into silent tears streaming through his splayed fingers. The salt stung where it ran into the many clawed scratches he had inflicted upon himself.
His crying had brought on a wave of homesickness, the first since his arrival at Hogwarts. His mother had always cried with him on nights like this. Even as he grew older, and tried not to let his tears fall, she still cried. His father never came home those nights, and the local bartender knew to expect him once a month when the moon was full, although he never knew why. But Remus’ mother stayed, always. There was a little hallway in their house that led to the basement where Remus had made his transformations. The basement was magically secured, and the house was always soundproofed so as not to alert the neighbours. Sometimes his mother shut herself in her bedroom on those nights, but Remus knew that many times she sat at the top of the stairs in front of the locked door, listening. As soon as his tortured howls and whines dwindled into sobs and whimpers, she was there, crying with him. It wasn’t fair of him, when he knew how much both his parents loved him, but sometimes he wondered whom she cried for most: Remus, or herself.
On a Saturday afternoon in the middle of September, Lily Evans looked up from her essay with a sigh. “This is so boring,” she said, though no one was there to hear her. She glanced out of the window at a bright blue sky. Lily fetched her book from a nearby table and settled into a chair by the window. Looking out she could see sunlight sparkling on the lake. She scanned the lawn for Severus, but didn’t see him. She caught sight of some other boys on the shore, however, whom she recognised. James and Sirius had grabbed hold of a large tree branch that had fallen in the previous night’s storm, and Peter, Remus and Frank Longbottom, with a few of his fellow second-years, looked on as the two black-haired boys carefully trailed the end of the branch in the water. Lily almost laughed aloud along with the other boys when a giant tentacle grabbed hold of the branch and yanked, pulling James and Sirius headfirst into the water.
“Are you done, Lily?” Lily looked up as Annie and Mary came down the stairs from their dormitory. It was Mary who had spoken. “You must be fast,” Mary continued. “I’ve made progress, though: I found my Transfiguration book. It was under Annie’s bed.”
Lily sighed again and slid down in the chair until her legs sprawled out in front of her. “No, I’m not half done yet.”
“That’s what tomorrow’s for,” said Annie with a grin. “It’s just too pretty out to work. We’ve been stuck inside all week with the rain.”
Lily hesitated for only a moment before jumping up. “Let’s go, then,” she said firmly. “We’ve got all tomorrow to work.”
Annie led the way out of the portrait hall, down the stairs and out to the lakeshore. There they met Alice and Rania heading towards them. “We were just going to come looking for you,” Alice told them, turning around.
The Gryffindor first-year girls found their male counterparts sprawled under a tree by the lake, not far from where Lily had seen them last. Frank and his friends had disappeared.
“Hi, boys!” called Mary, waving happily.
James and Sirius gave half-hearted greetings from where they lay on the ground. Remus had been leaning against the tree, but he sat up and waved as the girls approached. He poked Peter, who was absorbed in a comic. The cover read The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. “Oh, hi,” Peter said absent-mindedly.
“You’re wet,” Annie commented to James and Sirius, standing over them with her hands on her hips.
“Yeah…” Sirius grinned. “We had a little…”
“…Accident,” James finished.
“Ew!” Annie jumped back. “Don’t you think you’re a bit old for that?”
Sirius glared at her. “With water, stupid!”
“And the giant squid,” added Remus helpfully.
“They were trying to poke it with a stick and it pulled them in,” Lily explained without thinking.
“What do you know about it?” asked James, suddenly embarrassed. Annie was doubled over in laughter, and seeing James’ face, Mary and Alice were trying hard not to join her. Rania simply looked a bit bemused.
“Oh, um, nothing,” said Lily hurriedly. “I just…it just seemed like the sort of stupid thing you would try. And I was right, wasn’t I?” She lifted her chin and looked down her nose at him stubbornly.
James smirked. “You were watching.”
“Wasn’t,” Lily replied unconvincingly.
James grinned knowingly. “Sure you weren’t, princess.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. “My name is Lily.” An awkward silence ensued.
Just then, Lily caught sight of a familiar scrawny figure. “I’ll see you later, okay?” she told her friends.
Mary followed her gaze and nodded. “Sure. See you, Lily.”
“Hi, Sev!”
Severus glanced up from the ground. His whole face lit up when he saw her. “Hi, Lily.” Lily ran along the lakeshore and skidded to a halt beside him.
She grinned at him. “Oh my gosh, Sev, you won’t believe what happened the other day!” She launched into a story about Mary MacDonald, Charms class, a carrot and a small explosion. Severus listened with more animation than he’d shown all day in classes. He laughed so loudly that a passing Slytherin prefect stopped and stared. Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him to a tree, under which she sat. He let her pull him down next to her, feeling more at home than he had all week.
The weather grew steadily colder as September blurred into October and through to November. Inside the castle, student life had settled into a predictable schedule.
With predictability came boredom for many of the energetic young people at Hogwarts, including a certain rowdy bunch of first-years in Gryffindor Tower.
A frigid wind from the north was battering the castle, but the fires flickered warmly inside on that dark, stormy evening. James Potter and his friends were sprawled on a lush rug before the hearth, indignant at having been booted unceremoniously from their fire-side armchairs by the older boys on a dubious claim of “privilege.”
Sirius flopped onto his back and tossed a balled-up piece of parchment into the air. “Are you done?” Remus asked in surprise, glancing up from his work.
“No,” Sirius admitted. “My brain is dead.”
“Your brain never lived,” Peter muttered. Sirius chucked the ball of parchment at him. Peter threw it back and hit Sirius in the head. Sirius threw it into Remus’ lap. Remus rolled his eyes and went back to his work. Sirius grabbed the parchment and threw it at James.
“Ow!” James yelped indignantly.
“‘Ow’?” Sirius laughed derisively. “Wimp.”
James grabbed the parchment and pulled back his hand to pelt it, but paused as a mischievous grin spread across his face. He glanced behind him where three small heads were bent over their work at a table nearby. James took aim, lobbed his weapon and ducked down as the parchment bounced off a ginger head of hair with a quiet piff.
Sirius snickered and snuck a glance at the girls. Lily glanced up and turned around. She saw the ball sitting innocently on the stone floor and shot a suspicious glance at the boys, who tried to look just as innocent and failed miserably. Lily smiled slightly, rolled her eyes, and turned back to her work.
James quickly assembled another makeshift missile and once again hit his target spot on. Lily stiffened but did not turn.
James set his jaw in determination. She was ignoring him. James Potter was not used to being ignored. James shot a sideways glance at Sirius, who grinned and slid a stockpile of scratch parchment in between them.
A few seconds later, a veritable hailstorm of parchment jolted Lily from her thoughts. Her friends glanced up in surprise and hid their smiles. Lily sat very still for the longest moment, and then she stood. Mary and Annie craned their necks to get a better view as Lily slid between two armchairs to stand over the boys.
“Hey there, Evans,” said James casually, leaning his head on his elbow. “Can we help you?”
“If you could please not throw parchment; some of us are trying to work,” Lily said calmly and politely.
Sirius stifled a snicker, and Lily shot him a look. “As you wish, princess,” said James with an innocent smile.
Lily stared at him stonily. “My name is Lily,” she reminded him impatiently.
“Whatever you say, princess.” Peter snorted as Lily all but stomped her foot in frustration and stalked back to her seat. Mary and Annie giggled. Relaxing, Lily smiled and shook her head at them before bending over her work again.
A third-year looked on with amusement as James attempted to levitate an inkwell, but only succeeded in dumping it all over the rug. After letting James endeavour to wheedle a cleaning charm out of Remus for a good five minutes, the older boy took pity on James and cleaned up the mess.
“It’s swish and flick, not flick and swish,” he muttered in James’ ear. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
James grinned and tried again. Carefully he manipulated the inkwell into position, and ever so cautiously tipped it until just one drop splashed onto Lily’s head.
“Is something”” Lily broke off with a shriek as she glanced up and spotted the inkwell hovering over her head. James laughed out loud, and then gasped as he lost control and the inkwell poured its entire contents onto Lily’s face.
The third-year grimaced and decided to take his leave. James glanced around for help and found his three friends looking on in motionless horror as Lily stood, screaming bloody murder and reaching for her wand.
Mary and Annie grabbed her by the arms while Annie shouted, “What was that?”
“It was an accident!” James exclaimed. “I only meant to drip it on her.”
“Come on, Lily, you can get back at him later,” Mary said loudly, pulling Lily toward the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. “You don’t want that to get stuck in your hair, do you?”
That got Lily’s attention. She stopped screaming and allowed Mary to drag her up the stairs to wash up.
“Stupid!” Annie said to James. “Why didn’t you stop him?” she inquired of Remus.
“Why me?” said Remus defensively.
“Because you’re the only one with half a brain!”
“Oh, that’s harsh, Stewart. That one cut me right here,” said Sirius, putting a hand over his heart. Annie glared at him and stormed off. “What is it with hot-tempered females around here?”
“You asked for it,” commented an older girl who had been watching the scene. Sirius exchanged glances with James, who shrugged.
“Well, that’s one way to add some excitement to the evening,” said Remus, finishing his assignment with a flourish. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed before any of them come back down.”
“Good idea,” said Sirius, jumping up. James and Peter soon followed suit, and peace reigned in the Gryffindor Common Room once more…at least for a few hours.
The first snow came in late November. “Oh, good, we’ve got Herbology first,” Lily said after breakfast. “That means we get to go outside.”
The girls paused outside the oak front doors of the castle, gazing out over the spotless lawn. Mary cautiously poked a toe into the snow. “It’s not that deep,” she said.
“Then we’ve got to savour it,” said Lily. “Walk in my footprints.” She set off toward the greenhouses, putting one foot in front of the other in a perfectly straight line.
“Good idea,” said Mary, following suit.
“YAAAAHHHH!” The girls spun around to see a group of young boys, James and Sirius in the lead, sprinting out onto the lawn and nearly bowling over the girls in the process. An impromptu snowball fight soon began as the boys raced back and forth over the grass while slowly making progress toward their destination, the greenhouses.
Lily sighed as the precious snow turned quickly to ice and mud under her classmates’ feet. The girls glanced at one another. Annie shrugged. “If you can’t beat ‘em””
She broke off with a yelp as a snowball hit her in the head. She turned to see Lily pointing a finger at Mary, who raised her eyebrows in a failed attempt to look innocent. Annie grinned wickedly. “Join ‘em!” she finished, scooping up a handful of snow and chasing Mary, who ran, screaming and laughing. Lily giggled and raced after her friends.
The snow brought the beginnings of the Christmas spirit to the students at Hogwarts, and joy increased throughout the castle in anticipation of the holidays to come. Yet for a certain group of students, danger lurked beyond the curtains of Christmas cheer, unforeseen. But that time was not yet come, and their happiness would remain unimpeded for a little while.