The faint sunlight shining through the curtains woke James early the next morning. He sat up, eager to start a new day. Beside him, Sirius was stirring. He half opened his eyes, groaned, and shoved his face into his pillow. Both Peter and Remus were still as could be. Frank was already sitting up, reading a book. Hearing James, he looked up.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” James said. “What time is it?”
“About seven.”
“Potions is at nine, isn’t it?”
Frank frowned. “Yeah, it is. You might want to wake them up pretty soon.”
James got out of bed and crept over to his trunk. As he got dressed, he saw Sirius turn his head. Smiling faintly, he rolled over onto his back.
“Well,” he whispered. “I guess I should get up now.”
“Probably.”
In a series of motions that looked remarkably like a drunken man, he got himself out of bed. Grinning, he walked over to Peter’s bed.
“Watch this.” He leaned close to his ear and motioned for James to be silent. Waiting a few breaths, he finally sucked in his breath and let out a shout straight into Peter’s ear. The noise was enough to get Peter to scream and fall off the bed. Sirius and James began to laugh hysterically.
Frank looked as though he was trying not to laugh. James turned to Remus’ bed, and realized he was still fast asleep.
“Hey, Remus is still sleeping. Try him, Sirius.”
Hardly able to contain his laughter, Sirius knelt down next to Remus’ sleeping form. Sucking in his breath, he let out an obnoxious, “HEY!” Remus’ eyes fluttered open, but he didn’t jump at all.
“Yes?”
Seeing the shocked look on Sirius’ face, Remus sat up.
“What is it? What happened?”
James burst out laughing again. Remus looked at everyone, still confused.
“It’s all right, Lupin,” Sirius stood up. “Just trying to wake you up is all. Making sure you weren’t dead. Your face is so bloody pale it’s hard to tell the difference.”
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Remus had been the quickest to get ready, and he had gone down to the Common Room to wait for the others. He had hoped it would be early enough where he would get some quiet, but several first year girls were also there, giggling and talking as girls were prone to do. He went to the armchair closest to the fireplace. It was the farthest place away from them. He had a headache, and he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Even if he had felt well, he had had little interaction with females, and they intimidated him more than he would have liked to admit.
The girls must not have taken his hints, for three of them sat down on the couch next to him. One was slender and had deep red hair and green eyes. Another was somewhat plain looking, but had a fair smile. The last girl was the shortest and was a little plump, though it suited her well. Remus smiled at them, but didn’t say anything.
The red haired girl spoke first.
“Hi”
Remus managed a soft reply and then looked down. The plain girl laughed, and he felt himself blushing.
“What’s your name?” The girl with the red hair was not going to let him get away with his silence. “I’m Lily Evans.”
“Remus Lupin.” He still wasn’t looking at any of them. He hated himself for being so nervous, but he couldn’t help it.
She smiled softly. “You’re shy, aren’t you?”
“I…I guess.”
“Well, this is Mary,” she gestured to the plain girl, “and this is Alice.” The short girl waved at him.
“Hello.” This time he hazarded a gaze upward, and found his head staying there. None of them seemed to be annoyed by him. They would have left by now if they hated me, he thought.
“So, do you want to go to breakfast with us?”
“I’m waiting for people.”
No sooner had he said it then Sirius and James came sprinting down the stairs, carrying Peter’s trousers between them. They slammed into the couch, and fell over it onto the horrified laps of the three girls. Peter came down a few seconds later, panting, wearing only his shirt and underwear.
“They….give me my pants….Remus…do something…..Sirius….stole…my…”
Alice and Mary began to laugh once they realized what was going on. Sirius and James sat up and dusted themselves off.
“We are very sorry, ladies,” Sirius gave a mock bow. “We did not mean to infringe upon your sitting space.”
“Oh, you are just so funny, aren’t you?”
It was then that Remus realized that Lily wasn’t laughing. She was glaring at the two boys.
“Give him back his pants.”
James looked at Sirius and they both snickered.
“Listen…Evans, was that your name? It was what normal people like to call a joke.”
Sirius laughed. “Yeah, but James, you can’t expect everyone to know what it means. My mother, for instance, has no idea what it is. Maybe she needs a lesson. So, first we will start off with the spelling. J, that’s first, very important, don’t forget it. The O, that’s the vowel, makes it a word. Now we’ve got to JO, and-“
“Oh, shut up!” Lily stood up and got into Sirius’ face. “You are an obnoxious pig, Black. You and Potter think you’re all that, and you aren’t! You are just a couple of bullies with nothing better to do than sit and make fun of other people!”
She stormed out of the room, leaving a brief silence that was broken by Sirius.
“Well, that was rude.”
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James heard Sirius, but he didn’t laugh. He watched the two other girls walk out of the room after Lily, looking somewhat reluctant to do so, but he didn’t care. Peter, who had finally retrieved his pants, was complaining loudly to all who would listen, but he blocked it out.
Sirius waved his hand in front of James’ face. “Hello?”
James started and pushed his glasses up. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. So, should we go down to breakfast now?”
“I-sure.”
Of course they had to go down to breakfast. That was where she was. She was beautiful. She was clever. She was everything he ever wanted. She hated him.
Great, he thought. My first real crush is a girl that can’t stand the sight of me. He had no intention of changing however. He was, after all, only eleven. A girl, however attractive she may be, was no reason to give up having a laugh for.
When she saw him, she rolled her eyes and turned away. They sat on the other end of the table, but James couldn’t help but look at her every once in a while. She ignored his glances, but he knew she felt them.
“Hey,” Sirius nudged him. “You done? We had better get going. Potions starts in forty-five minutes, and I have no idea where the dungeons are.”
Lily was already standing up and leaving, some of the girls following her. She glared at him as she passed, and James, not knowing why, shouted after her.
“Hey! Evans!”
She turned around, doubtful.
“You know, you’d be much cuter if you didn’t spend so much time with your face screwed up like that.”
Her face reddened and she turned on her heel so quick James was worried the floor might set on fire. Laughing, he turned around. Sirius was staring at him.
“Now… did you just say that it is possible for her to be cute?”
“I didn’t-“
Sirius’ face lit up. “You fancy her, don’t you? You like Lily Evans. I can’t believe it.”
“I do not-“
“Yes you do. But never mind, let’s get to Potions. Evans will be there, you know.”
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Peter, who was still embarrassed in regard to the stolen pants incident that morning, trailed just behind the other four boys. He was glad they let him stand around them, but he wasn’t sure if he was an official part of the group. He wanted them to like him more than anything, and he would do anything for them. If that meant letting James and Sirius kidnap his pants on a regular basis, he didn’t mind.
Upon reaching the Potions classroom, they found that the desks were in rows of three. Sirius motioned for James and Remus to sit with him. Peter went with Frank, who sat at an empty table. By the time class started, a Slytherin girl had sat in the previously empty seat. She was attractive, but she said nothing to either of the boys, pulling out her book and quill.
At the start of class, a short, rather fat, man with an enormous moustache that made him resemble a walrus entered the room. He looked like a friendly sort of person, and his wide smile reassured Peter, who was more than a bit nervous about the class.
“Hello, all. I see most of you have already found seats that I am sure suit you well. However, Professor Dumbledore has asked the staff to please encourage cooperation between the houses, so I am going to have to split some of you up. I already have a seating chart, so if you would all stand up…”
The students all stood up, some less willingly than others. The teacher beamed.
“Well, I see some familiar faces already, but we will get to that later. I must introduce myself first. I am Professor Slughorn, and I have been working here for many years. You may have heard of me. I could never stand fame myself, of course, but I have a talent of seeing potential in others. So, work hard, and if you catch my eye, when the time comes, I will be more than happy to recommend you to a higher authority. I have an excellent relationship with many influential wizards and witches in the community. Of course, I am also Head of Slytherin, a title I hold near and dear to my heart. I am the Potions Master as well, which would be why I am standing here talking to you. Now, let me get you all seated and we will begin our lesson.”
He picked up a roll of parchment, cleared his throat, and began to read off names. He ignored many of them, hardly even looking up from his parchment to give them a seat. When he reached Sirius, however, he glanced up.
“Ah, Sirius Black. I wondered about you. I was sure I was going to get you in my house, but I suppose that isn’t going to happen now. Decided to rebel, eh?”
Sirius didn’t answer. It was clear he didn’t like Professor Slughorn. He was put in the front of the room; something that Slughorn made clear by his expression was an honor. Slughorn stopped several times to comment on names that were familiar to him. Many of them were Slytherins, though Frank’s family was apparently influential in the Ministry. He too was put in the front.
“Remus Lupin.” Slughorn paused. He looked up and his eyes flickered across the room until they landed on Remus.
“Ah. Yes. Mr. Lupin. You can, er, sit in the back with Miss Evans.”
He watched Remus take his seat and shook his head as if trying to clear it before continuing. When he called Peter, he was placed in the back, at the table next to Remus’. Sitting next to him were two large and terrifying looking Slytherin boys. Peter tried not to make eye contact with either of them, instead focusing on the rest of the names being called. When Slughorn was finally finished, he clapped his hands together, causing the tables to fill with supplies.
“I would like you to open your books to page five. There you will find the Boil-Cure Potion. By the end of class, I hope that each individual will have a full cauldron of useable potion. However, this being your first class, I will be grading lightly, and effort is all I am really looking for today. Of course, if you are a good potion brewer, I encourage you not to hold back.”
Opening his book, Peter felt his insides turn over and his chest clench. He had no idea what half of the ingredients were, let alone how to put them together to form a potion. The two boys next to him had started to work already, but Peter knew it wouldn’t do any good to ask them. He turned and looked at Remus, who was also frowning. He looked up at Peter, his eyes wide.
“How do I do this?”
Peter shook his head. “I don’t know. I-I’ve never tried to make a potion before.”
Remus looked back at the book, his eyes scanning the page as if hoping for some sort of revelation that would make him capable of brewing the potion. He looked back up and his look was enough to tell Peter that the second glance had not helped. Peter was partially relieved. At least Remus, who seemed smart, didn’t know how to start either. On the other hand, he now had nobody to help him, and he would have much rather have gotten it right with Remus than to have them both get it wrong.
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Sirius and James were already starting, working together to complete their potions. Sirius had done some potion making at home, though none of it had been exactly allowed. James had no experience, but he was keeping up well.
“So, do we put the quills in after we stir, or before? Does it matter?”
James looked up from his potion, which, like Sirius’ was a bubbling, blue liquid. “I think it does…hold on…it says five stirs to the left….after the porcupine quills.”
“Alright then,” Sirius said, pulling his cauldron off the fire. “Here, let me see some of those.”
James was a step behind, and was still struggling to crush the dried nettles. Sirius took a handful of them, and began to help.
James looked up. “Thanks.”
Sirius smiled. “It’s fine. I have to wait a minute before adding the quills anyways. You have to let it cool, or it will backfire.”
Sirius had never had a friend like James before. He had gotten along with other children, of course, and had never been lacking in playmates. He had never had a friend, though, that he could help, or that would be willing to help him. It had always been about playing Exploding Snap and then going home. He had never really cared about another person before. James problems would mean something to him, though, he realized. It was a new, but certainly not unpleasant, feeling.
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After Remus had sat for fifteen long minutes staring at his cauldron, Lily finally had nudged him.
“You need some help?”
“Yes,” he said, not even attempting to disguise his desperation. “I have no idea what to do…”
“There are directions on the page.” The voice had come from Lily’s other side. A boy almost as pale as Remus had spoken, his thin face surrounded by thick, greasy, black hair. His black eyes were boring into Remus’ very soul, it seemed, and it was clear he saw nothing good there.
“I know that,” Remus said. “I’m just not sure how exactly to do half the things.”
Lily turned to the boy. “Sev, stop it. I didn’t know what to do either, until you helped me, and you didn’t make fun of me.”
The boy turned back to his potion wordlessly. Lily leaned over towards Remus.
“See, what you have to do is turn the heat on like this…”
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“Why does she like him?”
Sirius looked at James. “Who likes who?”
“Evans. Why does she like Remus so much?”
James had been observing the interactions between Remus and Lily for several minutes, and had grown exceedingly jealous.
Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s nice, I guess.”
“I could be nice, if I wanted to be.”
Sirius laughed. “I guess it’s because you don’t want to be.”
James ran his fingers through his messy hair. “Well, if she wants to hate me, fine. I’m not changing for her. She’ll just have to get over it.”
Sirius shook his head. “You know what, James? I think we should just get back to the assignment. You’re starting to annoy me. I honestly don’t care about her.”
James looked at his friend before replying. “Oh, yeah. She’s stupid. I’ll get over it. It’s just that she’s so-“
“All right, James, I get it.”
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“Are you completely incapable of doing anything on your own?”
The boy who was sitting with Lily was once again criticizing Remus’ less than impressive potion making abilities. Lily had introduced him as Severus Snape, and he had turned out to be the least pleasant person that Remus had ever been around. He was a natural at potions, and expected everyone else to be the same way. Already done with his potion, he had begun to spend the rest of the class period harassing an already overwhelmed Remus. Lily had gone over to show Slughorn her potion, and had been at his desk for a while, chatting with the Professor. She had no way of knowing that Severus had been terrorizing Remus the entire time.
“So, are you as incompetent in every class, or is it just Potions?”
“Could you leave me alone please? I just want to finish this.”
“Oh, that’s never going to happen the way you’re doing it, I promise you. Just give up now; you’ve already ruined it beyond repair.” He looked delighted about this, and prodded Remus’ cauldron with his wand for emphasis.
“You could have helped me.” Remus was beginning to get angry, and was relieved when Professor Slughorn returned to the table with Lily.
“Well, what do you have here, Mr. Snape? Ah, excellent! Almost a perfect replica. Nearly as good as Miss Evans. Now, erm, Mr. Lupin. Can I see-?”
Remus didn’t look up, embarrassed not only by his potion, but by the obvious discomfort his being werewolf was causing Slughorn. He had almost forgot about his condition, but Slughorn’s stiff gestures and nervous tone of voice when addressing him reminded him that he was not normal, no matter how much he might pretend to be.
“Well, you certainly tried…not nearly good enough, though, I’m afraid.”
Severus smirked from behind Slughorn’s back at Remus. He longed to punch him in his gigantic nose, but Remus held back. He couldn’t let himself be bothered by someone who would sink so low.
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When Peter had joined the rest of the boys after class, he had been pleased to find out that although his potion had failed miserably, Remus’ had been worse. He knew it was wrong to feel that way, but he couldn’t help it. Remus had already established himself as being competent in Charms yesterday; he wouldn’t suffer much from being the worst potioneer.
“So, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts next.” Sirius turned a corner ahead of the others. “I think it’s this way.”
They reached the classroom early, and took their seats next to each other in the third row. Frank had already decided to sit down with several of the females in the class, who he had begun to be quite friendly towards.
Seated at the front of the classroom behind a desk was a tall, thin man. He looked to be in his late thirties, and his posture revealed him to be a strict man, but not entirely without humor. When the class had all seated themselves, he stood up, his long fingers intertwining in front of him.
“Good morning, I am Professor Calhan. This year, you will be learning the principles and basic concepts of Defense Against the Dark Arts. This class will not be overly difficult, though I do expect you to put forth effort. Once we get through all I need to teach you, I will be taking requests, so think about what sort of things interest you, and when spring starts, we may be able to learn about it. This class should be fun for you, and I try to make things as interesting as possible.”
He smiled broadly at the class, and picked up a clipboard off his desk. “Let me just call roll.”
Peter liked Professor Calhan already. He seemed like a friendly teacher who might be willing to help him more than others would be. He turned to Remus.
“I like him.”
Remus nodded. “So do I.”
“Lupin?”
Remus looked up. “Here.”
“Lupin, I want you to sit right here.” Professor Calhan, without looking up from his paper, pointed to the desk that was in the first row in the very center.
“I-“
Professor Calhan looked up, and Peter was shocked to see that his eyes were cold. “Lupin, I want you up here, are you going to argue with me?”
“N-No, sir.”
Remus’ face had turned red, and as he picked up his bag and sat down in the seat Calhan had motioned to, Peter felt sorry for him. He didn’t know why the teacher hated Remus so much. He looked over at James and Sirius, who were both exchanging furious looks. Sirius spoke up.
“Why does he have to sit up there?”
Professor Calhan looked up and stared at Sirius. “I want him to, Mr. Black.”
“Can I go up there, then?”
“No.”
Sirius turned to James and Peter. “What do you think he has against Remus?”
“I don’t know.” James shrugged. “Maybe his parents have a bad reputation, or something.”
Sirius shook his head. “No, it can’t be something that stupid. I mean, there isn’t any good reason to be like that, but it has to be something better than that.”
“It can’t be anything Remus did to him personally, though. Slughorn didn’t seem to like him either, remember?”
Peter wasn’t sure if he should say anything, if his comment would only be stating the obvious, but he forced himself to speak.
“Maybe Remus isn’t telling us something.”
Hearts of Red and Gold by moonyschick
Chapter Endnotes: I hope you enjoyed it. Whether you liked it or not, please leave a review. I love to know what people think of the story, and I can't know unless you tell me.