Seeing Him for the First Time
James Potter was now entering his 6th year at Hogwarts, and he was as eager as ever. It had been a long, complicated, interesting summer, and he was just ready to get back to some sense of normalcy. With Sirius Black showing up to his house entirely uncalled for over vacation, he got to spend the break with his best friend while simultaneously worrying about how he was feeling.
He ran through the wall of Kings Cross Station with Sirius, making it back to Platform 9¾. He inhaled deeply as the smell of home, of Hogwarts, rang through his entire body. He’d been gone for too long. As much as he loved being home and not having to worry about marks and studying - something about plotting the next prank with his best friends in the late hours of the night was just something he’d never want to give up.
He and Sirius made their way through the platform, and got onto the train, not before taking notice of another certain Black child, Regulus. He looked exhausted. His hair was sticking up in places, and he had eyebags that stood out harshly against his pale skin. Considering that Sirius had left home over the season, He could only imagine the toll it took on Regulus. Now he was at home all by himself.
Sirius and James made their way to their compartment and excitedly waited for their friends to arrive. Peter was first, arriving just a few moments after James had finished putting one of his bags in a section of the small room. “Hey, Wormy!” Sirius waved. The long-haired trouble maker was spread out along one of the long sofa-like seats in the compartment, Peter waved back sheepishly before sitting down and going on about his summer. Then, Remus came in. Sirius’ eyes lit up, which received a teasing eyebrow raise from James. Remus sat in the corner and got out a book.
“Moony, not gonna tell us about your holiday?” James asked, leaning forward in his seat next to Sirius. The sandy-haired boy looked up from his book and chuckled. “I was with you twats for most of it.” Sirius feigned an offended gasp, and Peter just giggled. “How dare you call me that! I’ll have you know I am of the esteemed House of Black.” The compartment of boys burst into laughter. James’ eyes wandered to the door, where a dark figure stormed past. James decided he would be an annoying teenage boy, and stick his nose in business where it didn’t belong. However, he also did sort of have to use the loo.
The brunette interrupted the laughter by standing up and announcing to the room with his hands on his hips. “I have to piss.” He walked out and waved to his black haired friend. “I’ll miss you, my love!” he whined. “Not as much as I’ll miss you!” Sirius called back, clutching his chest. Remus simply face palmed and Peter just did what he always did and watched.
James walked down the hall, seeing some first years struggling to find what to do with themselves, and he saw Lily, Mary, and Marlene in their own compartment, giggling while talking about how each of their summers went. Lily took notice of him and waved. James waved back with a smile and continued his venture towards the edge of the train car.
Considering they were on a train, the room was one person use; and when he got there it was locked. “Well, great,” he mumbled to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets and standing there awkwardly. He looked around the train from where he was standing. The windows showed a sight he’d seen at least five times now, this trip making it six. Tall trees that were thousands of years old and a small river that followed the route that the train took, eventually leading to a beautiful lake.
After standing there for at least ten minutes, James finally decided to knock. “Hello? Is anyone there?” he asked. He heard muffled sniffling and then someone cleared their throat. “Occupied. Go away.” said the faceless voice sternly. James knew that he probably should’ve walked away at that moment and left the person to themself, but he didn’t want to leave. “Are you alright?” he pressed his hand against the door. “Absolutely fine. Now leave.” The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but James couldn’t put his finger on who exactly it was. “Are you sure you-”
“I’m absolutely positive! Now-” he heard grumbling and shuffling as it sounded like the person was picking themself off of the floor. They frustratingly opened the door enough so James could see who it was.
Regulus Black.
James had always thought that all members of the Black family were cruel and heartless, but in that moment, his opinion slowly began to change. Regulus looked like he had been crying. His eyes were puffy and his cupid’s bow glinted with snot. His pale face was red and he could’ve sworn he saw the boy wipe his face. There was a moment of silence when their eyes met, Despite this, the Black still stared daggers into James. “I’m completely fine. Now, piss off, Potter.”
Suddenly James realized he didn’t have to use the loo much anymore.
He turned and walked away, not daring to look back as Regulus shut the door. He could only wonder what had happened to make the boy so upset. Regulus was certainly not the type to do something like that, let alone in a bathroom where anyone could catch him. As far as James was concerned, before today, the entire Black family, minus Sirius, were soulless human beings who had no emotions and were put on the Earth to solely torture his best friend. Seeing Regulus as an actual person rather than some ploy in ruining he and his friends’ lives was something he certainly something he hadn’t expected to happen today.
Once he arrived back to the compartment, Sirius and Peter teased him about what took him so long. “Snogging on the train, Prongs?” The raven-haired teenager nudged his friend. “We haven’t even gotten to the school yet and he’s already gone and used his charm on some poor underclassmen.” Peter chimed in, “Who was it?” he asked, clearly trying to get in on the poking fun of the brunette. James nudged Sirius back and rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t snogging. Someone was just taking forever in the loo.” And with that, the boys went right back to conversation.
* * *
Arriving at the castle was just as normal as any other year. The students trudged up the steps and went to the grand hall for the Welcoming Feast.
The Sorting Hat sat at the front of the hall, looming over the first years who were dying to find out where they’d be spending the next seven years.
The older the boys had gotten, the less they cared. It was really only interesting if you were a first year or had a sibling who was.
After the sorting was complete, Dumbledore made the students aware of some announcements for the upcoming year. Some definitely felt targeted towards the Marauders, but they just shrugged it off because they already knew they’d be causing trouble.
In between discussions with his friends, James caught Regulus eyeing him from across the room. His gray eyes pierced James. He wondered if Regulus thought he would let something slip. Sure, James was a mischief maker, but that didn’t mean he was a horrible person who took no consideration for his actions. Something in his stomach churned at the thought of Regulus thinking he was a bad person. He quickly turned back to the conversation of he and his friends’ schedules for the year.
“Well, I’m taking Divination again.” James told his friends, who already knew. James and Sirius loved to get into trouble in that class. “I’ll be in Ancient Runes. To be completely honest, I really want to bring my marks up in that class. Last year I only had a 99.” Suddenly, all of the boys looked at Remus, annoyed. They all knew how smart he was, and it felt that out of everyone in Hogwarts, Remus was the only one unaware of his intelligence. He’d started at Hogwarts as a loner, but by the end of their first week as roommates, the four of them were locked in for the rest of their school lives.
James was quite the student himself. He was always passing, whether that be with help from his roommates or the days where he actually paid attention in lessons. Just then, Lily, Marlene, and Mary joined the conversation. James couldn’t help but smile. Seeing all of his favorite people together during the feast warmed his heart. He would never admit that to anyone, because it made him sound like a softie. But, James loved his friends, and he loved this school more than anything in the world. However, in the deepest part of James’ heart, there was a feeling that maybe adding one more person to that list wouldn’t be so bad.
After all of the students had finished their meals and drained their goblets, Dumbledore dismissed them all. They were led up the steps to the large painting that he had learned was the entrance to their common room way back when he was a first year. They were given that passcode to get in by the Head Boy, and there was that feeling of warmth that the brunette had been feeling all day again. He couldn’t explain why this time around he loved it all, but it was likely due to the fact that this was his second to last year here at Hogwarts, and he wanted to remember it all.
Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James made their way up to their dormitory, and began to put their things away. It seemed like a battle between Sirius and James over who could put away their things faster. “I’m so going to kick your arse, Potter!” Sirius yelled across the room, shoving a handful of three t-shirts into a drawer, without a second thought to fold them. James called back, “In your dreams! I’ve already finished half of my dresser!” That was the signal for Sirius to pick up the pace, now shoving fistfuls of 5 t-shirts into the dresser. James wondered how McGonagall would react to such foolish behavior, and that only fuelled the fire. Between the battle, Remus was carefully folding his sweaters and putting them into the drawers. Peter had decided to shower the moment they came back from the feast, so the bathroom was entirely off-limits for the time being.
James scampered across the room back to his trunk, quickly shoving his things into the compartment so he would be the crowned winner and receive the esteemed award of bragging rights. He kept telling himself that he’d have to go back in and fix it up to be nicer later, when Sirius wasn’t looking, but he knew that he wouldn’t. He quickly shoved the last of his trousers in the drawer and ran to sit on his bed. He shot his arms up in the air. “I. AM. VICTORIOUS!” he cheered, exhaling loudly to emulate the sound of a crowd cheering. Sirius flopped melodramatically on the floor and reached out to Remus, who only looked at him wide eyed, yet somehow, full of affection. “Moony! I’ve lost the war.. Whatever will I do..” he turned to his side, a sea of black locks spilling on the floor.
Just then, Peter came out of the shower, he looked around and immediately looked at Remus, who was still looking at the black haired teen on the floor. “What happened here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with a slight smirk. “I just beat Sirius in the great ‘Putting-Things-Away-The-Fastest Contest’. He’s being a baby about it.” Sirius shot up. “Am not!”
“Are too.”
“Am not!”
“Are. too.”
Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Remus and Peter share a look of here we go again.
* * *
That night, after everyone had put away their things (Peter finished last) James sat in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Classes would start in the morning, meaning that the new year would truly be upon them. James thought back to what he’d seen on the train that day. Regulus had looked so miserable. Something had happened to him over break. James so badly wanted to know why, but it’s not like he could just go up to Regulus and ask. They weren't close like that at all, which was funny considering James’ relationship with his older brother. He wondered if he’d ever get the chance to ask him.
James decided to stop thinking about it and get to sleep. After all, he was getting up early to begin training for quidditch.