How they all met
The hall was buzzing with excitement, students chattering and laughing as golden plates filled with food. He was just debating whether to start eating, as the feast had allready begun, or to sit stiffly and pretend he wasn’t completely alone when someone flopped down beside him.
“Blimey, that was brilliant,” the boy said, shoving his glasses up his nose. His dark hair was already a mess, sticking up at odd angles, like he’d just rolled out of bed. “James Potter, by the way. You?” Sirius turned to him, surprised. He expected judgment, suspicion, maybe even disdain. Instead, James looked at him with nothing but friendly curiosity.
“Sirius Black,” he said automatically. James froze for half a second, so quick that most people wouldn’t have caught it. But Sirius did. He was used to that reaction. Then, just as fast, James grinned. “Sirius Black? The Sirius Black who just gave the Sorting Hat an existential crisis?” Sirius smirked despite himself. “I like to make things difficult.”
James let out a laugh, nudging him. “Well, good for you for not ending up with the snakes.” He shot a glance at the Slytherin table, wrinkling his nose. “My mum says I should be polite about them, but honestly, they all look miserable. That lot over there?” He nodded towards a group of Slytherins who were already whispering to each other. “I’d rather hex myself than sit with them for seven years.”
Sirius followed his gaze. He looked over to Evan who was sitting with... was that Barty Crouch. That wasn't what he expected considering the Rosiers and the crouches didn’t get along very well, but Sirius was the last person to judge someone by thier last name, considering he was a Black.
To be fair, most of them did look miserable, especially Bellatrix, who was scowling at him with a look that could kill. He felt a strange sort of satisfaction knowing they were probably fuming over his Sorting. “Yeah,” he agreed, “they’re not exactly the most fun ither.”
James turned back to him, grinning. “Well, lucky for you, you’ve got us now. And we are definitely fun.”
Sirius raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure?”
James smirked. “I have a feeling.”
Across the table, a boy with pale skin and light brown hair looked up from his plate. He’d been quiet the whole time, but now his sharp eyes flicked between them, observing. He looked cautious, guarded even.
James noticed too. “Oh, right. This is Remus Lupin.” He nodded toward the boy, then gestured to the round-faced boy sitting beside him. “And that’s Peter Pettigrew.”
Peter gave a small, eager nod. “Hi,” he said quickly.
Remus, on the other hand, only gave Sirius a slight nod. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his posture, tense, almost defensive. Sirius didn’t miss it.
“Nice to meet you,” Sirius said, watching Remus carefully.
Remus hesitated. “Yeah,” he said. His tone wasn’t rude, exactly, but it wasn’t warm either.
James either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it.
Peter on the other hand, seemed interested. “Are all your family in Slytherin?”
Sirius stabbed a potato with his fork. “Every last one of them.”
That seemed to confirm something for Remus, who suddenly looked even more guarded. Sirius didn’t know why, but he had the distinct feeling that Remus really didn’t trust him.Not that it mattered. He wasn’t here to prove himself to anyone.
He had a grand total of four friends so far. He wasn't sure what he thought about Peter, but he was friends with James, and he trusted James. So he had a grand total of four friends now. Evan, Pandora, James and Peter. Almost five, if he could get the Lupin boy to talk to him