“You ready, Black?”
James Potter was smirking from the other side of the narrow hallway, throwing and catching an American football in his hands (why he owned one, Sirius had no idea). Sirius, James, and Peter had been doing this for the better part of the last hour- taking turns knocking on random dorm rooms and throwing a football at unexpecting girls’ heads, only to catch it at the last second before anyone got hurt. It was just a silly American trend James had seen on Tik Tok, but that didn’t make it any less hilarious to see someone flinch back nearly a foot as a ball hurls full speed at their face. So far, they hadn’t actually hit anyone with the football, but alas, the night was young.
The boys had been rotating roles, which consisted of a filmer, a thrower, and a knocker (Sirius’ favorite role). It was Sirius’ turn to be the knocker now, and after repeating the process nearly 20 times, they’d finally reached the second-to-last door. Sirius returned James’ smirk, nodding in response as he quietly approached the door of his next victim. They didn’t exactly have a reason to be quiet, they just thought it made the whole thing more interesting. Peter giggled from behind his phone as Sirius shushed his friends, looking like a knockoff secret agent from a cheesy kids movie as he moved with his back pressed against the nearest wall and a finger to his lips. Once they’d all quieted down, Peter finally put up three fingers, whispering under his breath as he began the countdown.
“Three…”
Sirius put his hand up, preparing to knock.
“-two…”
James stopped playing with the ball, getting himself ready to throw as soon as the door was open.
“-one!”
Peter flashed a thumbs up, signaling the camera was rolling just as Sirius gave the old, wooden door four loud knocks. He was unable to contain his smile as he adjusted his body, positioning himself in the perfect place to catch the ball (after doing this for so long, they were basically pros). On the other side of the door, Sirius could hear footsteps, followed by the sound of high-pitched giggling and hushed whispers. Sirius knew nearly every girl in this hall, which was only natural considering the fact he and his friends had been at the school for around 6 years. This room belonged to Tiffany Blason (there was another girl as well, but he didn’t remember her name), a fairly pretty girl who shared a few classes with Sirius. She’d confessed to Sirius a year before, but he rejected her- he’d never really been too fond of blondes. After a second of struggle with the lock, the door creaked open, making way for the short girl, her blue eyes scanning him as she fluttered her painted eyelashes. Before she had the chance to ask why she’d been summoned, James was already chucking the ball full speed towards where she stood. With a shriek, the girl flinched back, curling into herself as Sirius snatched the ball out of the air. He turned to her, locking eyes, before finally saying his line.
“You ladies alright?”
Sirius smirked as the girl's friends immediately broke into a round of endless giggles, while Tiffany playfully swatted at his chest. James handed the football off to Peter, sauntering to the door to take his spot next to Sirius. Wrapping his arm around Sirius' shoulders, James smiled cheekily at his audience.
“It's a good thing my mate here was able to save you,” James joked, using his other hand to slap Sirius (far more aggressively than necessary) in the chest. “Great reflexes, this one.”
The girls giggled a bit more before James summoned Peter to join them at the door. At nearly every room so far, the girls had immediately insisted on checking the video before letting them post it once they noticed the camera. By this point, they’d learned well enough to just show the girls the footage before they’d even had the chance to ask. After permission to post the video had been given and the girls had said their flirty goodbyes, the boys continued on, finally reaching their main destination.
“You wanna go again, Black?” James asked, attempting to sound innocent as he nervously spun the ball around.
The final room at the end of Alderton Hall, room 416, belonged to Lily Evans and Mary Macdonald. For as long as Sirius and everyone else at their prestigious school could remember, James has had an almost unhealthy infatuation with Lily. This wouldn’t have been anything more than teasing material had James not insisted on talking about the infuriating redhead 24/7. At this point, he heard so much about the girl Sirius was feeling like he was the one with the crush on her. James was a good-looking guy, plenty fit enough to get almost any girl he wanted- just not Lily Evans. For some inexplicable reason, she absolutely hates James, but somehow, this doesn’t deter him.
Well, it usually doesn’t deter him.
“Oh, come on now, Prongs,” Sirius snatched the ball from James' hand. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Don’t tell me you’re giving up now!” Peter chimed in. “I thought you said you were finally starting to win her over!”
James gave them both a mild glare before sighing, his shoulders dropping in defeat.
“I was just trying to see if the ‘uninterested’ method would work better than the ‘confessing your love at every mealtime’ method.”
“Wow. I’m shocked you were able to finally work that one out!”
James shoved Sirius, but there was a hint of a smile playing at his lips.
“Please Sirius,” James pleaded, “can’t we just skip her room?”
Sirius handed the ball back, shoving it into Peter’s hand.
“We’ll improvise!” Sirius exclaimed, “How about I do the knocking, and you record from a safe distance away to avoid anything she may throw at you?”
“You’re laughing, Black, but the other day she really did throw her entire pencil case at me.”
Sirius snickered for a moment before pulling himself together, attempting to make his face a blank slate.
“Well, what do you say, Prongs?”
With one final sigh, James took the phone from Peter’s hand, smiling back at his friends. “Alright, mate, it's your funeral.”
Sirius and Peter cheered quietly as they walked towards the door, but just before they made it, Sirius had a genius idea. Grabbing Peter by the arm, Sirius pulled him close, whispering quietly to the shorter boy.
“We should do something different this time,” Sirius said playfully. “You know, keep it fresh.”
Peter nodded excitedly. Despite his reputation for being the most reasonable of their little group, Peter was never one to turn down a chance for mischief. “What did you have in mind, Black?”
“Oh, you know, I was just thinking, maybe this time my reflexes won’t be quite so fast.”
Immediately catching on to what Sirius was saying, Peter’s nod became even more frantic, an evil smile playing at his lips. “You’re a bloody genius, Black.”
“Trust me, Wormtail, I’m aware.” Sirius smirked, attempting to not draw James attention. “Do you think you can aim for the space right besides Evan’s head? We wouldn’t want to mess up Prong’s future wife’s face.”
“Just leave it to me, Padfoot.”
Sirius gave Peter one last pat on the back before jogging to stand by James, the shorter boy trailing closely behind.
“I know you lot are plotting something.” James said, shooting an accusatory finger in Sirius’ face, which he swatted away quickly.
“Have faith, Jamesie. We would never make you look bad in front of Mrs. Prongs.”
Finally at the door, each of the boys began to take their positions, Sirius and Peter sharing knowing glances while James looked suspiciously between the two. Eventually, James gave up on trying to figure out their plan, choosing instead to begin the countdown with his fingers.
“Three…”
“-two…”
“-one!”
At the signal, Sirius knocked very loudly on the door, wanting to waste no time in getting Lily out here. Sirius thought for a second of the possibility that Mary may answer the door instead, but chose to ignore it. He didn’t have time to make up ‘what if’ scenarios, for he could already hear the pat of footsteps approaching the door. Putting his hands up, Sirius could hardly handle the anticipation, feeling like a young child on Christmas Eve. He could hear the quiet sound of voices from inside, probably Mary and Lily debating who would answer the door. Well, even if it did end up being Mary, the joke would still be quite funny.
When the handle finally twisted, the door whipped itself open, giving Sirius a look at his final victim. As Sirius stared at his greeter, he could feel his eyes widening, having to crane his neck up to get a full look at the person staring back at him. This was definitely not Lily or Mary. In fact, it was a complete stranger- someone Sirius was sure he’d never seen before. Without giving him a chance to get a good look at the boy, Peter sprung into action, hurling the football straight at the stranger's head. Sirius didn’t have a chance to think; he could only act, his fight or flight immediately activating. Before the ball could hit the boy square in the face (so much for Peter's good aim), Sirius was reaching his arms out, quickly snagging the ball out of the air. It was an impulse, an action Sirius couldn’t have stopped if he tried, and yet he felt strange. Instead of playing it off, or even doing the stupid line he’d been practicing practically all day, Sirius just sat there and stared at the boy like an idiot.
The boy was definitely interesting to look at. He was nothing like the posh, well brought up children Sirius was faced with everyday. Instead, this boy looked rough- scars running along his face in various ragged lines. His clothes were rumpled and old, probably second-hand, but despite that, he looked somehow pulled together. In a way, his looks seemed to perfectly contradict each other. His face hard while his expression was soft, his body massive and yet somehow small. The stranger stared back at Sirius; his brow quirked and his eyes narrowed in question.
He hadn’t even flinched.
“Wormtail!” James dramatically groaned, “What the bloody hell was that?! You nearly hit him!”
“Isn’t that the whole point?” Peter snapped back, not meeting James’ eyes, still focused upon the stranger in the doorway.
“Well, yeah, but we don’t want to get that close!”
“Who the hell are you?” Sirius's voice cut through the hallway, immediately ending his friend's bickering. Sirius tucked the football under his arm, forgetting entirely why they were there in the first place. The boy blinked in surprise, rubbing his neck awkwardly at the question.
“Erm, my name's Remus.” Remus' voice sounded unsure, despite the simple question. “Remus Lupin.”
“Do you go here, Remus Lupin?” Sirius asked, scanning Remus up and down, attempting to look as criticizing as possible. It must’ve been working, because the boy seemed to become more uncomfortable with every passing second.
“Yeah, I started today.”
“And why are you in a girls dorm room on your first day?”
“Sirius!” James interrupted. “Stop interrogating him!”
“What?” Sirius retorted, gesturing dramatically towards Remus. “It’s a simple question! I’m sure you’re just as curious as I am to see why this strange boy is in Evan’s room.”
James' eyes flashed with something unintelligible for a second before stepping forward, placing the phone back in his pocket to allow him to grab Sirius by his shoulders.
“Sorry about him, mate.” James said apologetically, attempting to move Sirius away from the door. Sirius just shook him off, adamant to receive answers.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” Remus said, his hand white knuckling the doorknob, “Lily Evans is my tour guide. I hardly know her; all she said was that she needed to pick something up in her dorm before she showed me around. If you want me to leave, I can.”
As if summoned by mention of her name, Lily shot out from the bathroom, wearing an annoyed expression. She softened as she looked at Remus, a friendly smile appearing on her face. “There's no need for that, Remus. I’m all ready to go now.”
At the sight of his favorite redhead, James' entire demeanor changed, all thoughts of his ‘uninterested method’ forgotten. With a bright smile, James moved towards Lily. “Evans! How are you?”
Lily put a hand up to James face, nearly pushing him out of her way. She didn’t even bother entertaining him with a response, choosing instead to grab a hold of one of Remus’ bony arms and harshly lead him out of her room. With an abrupt flip of her fiery hair, Lily looked back to the three boys with a glare that could whither flowers.
“Do NOT follow us!” Lily threatened, “I will not hesitate to write your miserable arses up if you do.”
Sirius smirked at the threat, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout back at her. “That doesn’t sound very prefect like, Evans!”
With a flip of a crude finger and an intimidated look from Remus, Lily and the boy briskly whipped around the end of the hallway, leaving Sirius, James, and Peter to look after them.
“Seriously though, who the fuck was that?”