All the Sorts
He'd hoped there was another empty compartment somewhere, but God had never been so kind to him, he thought, why would he change that now.
Everything seemed empty, only two seats he saw available so far, and the train was running so that wasn't likely to change. He'd passed through one of the compartments where that one odd kid he'd met was chatting it up with a couple of kids, talking a lot, so that was discarded. And another one with the daddy's girl that was occupied by her feet, but Remus felt that it wasn't the best idea to ask her to put her feet down if he meant to keep his head low.
So the only alternative now seemed to come in the form of a compartment with a kid in round glasses who sat next to another one with a very beatable face. Remus helped the urge to mess up the latter in favour of following the kid in glass' aura of friendliness, Remus had no clue what he was talking about, but he had a wide smile that ended in the most charming dimples Remus had ever seen, that kid was going to be someone, he thought. But his thoughts seemed to have stopped him staring a second too long, enough for the kid to notice, "It's empty, you can come in if you'd like the seat."
"Oh, right. Cheers." Remus made his way inside, "it's packed everywhere else." In his mind it was the only acceptable commentary, it's what he'd heard Matron use, she told him once, he should limit his interactions in regards to small talk to impersonal things, like the weather or perhaps current sports statistics if the situation called for it, never politics she'd say, and much less your troubles.
"I'm James, Potter," he extended his hand. "And that's Peter, he's been my friend forever."
"I'm Remus Lupin," it was the least he could do, but he'd fear that this James might be the type of person who inspires such confidence you'd tell him your secrets, something he'd have to watch for, thought Remus.
After the expected exchange of asking if he was a first year student and some other surface miscellaneous stuff, James seemed disappointed for a moment after finding out Remus did not have a favourite Quidditch Team--which frankly, he didn't know what Quidditch was, but he wouldn't say. The conversation seemed to be cut short by a last sliding sound of the door. A boy, a boy who seemed perfect in every way that Severus seemed to be wrong, he had a defined face for a kid their age, a luscious mane of black hair until his shoulders, cheekbones to die for, and the most entrancing blue eyes Remus had ever laid his own eyes upon.
"I don't think I've seen anyone of you in a family function, have I?" No one answered, the three boys were actually still processing the odd question, "Perfect then, we'll get along just fine." He waltzed down to the seat next to Remus, smoothly letting his weight fall on the seat like he'd owned the place. "Sirius Black, a pleasure I'm sure." He's a prick.
"James Potter," the kid in glasses said with a bright smile, and just then and just there, something seemed to click in the universe, as they shook hands, they seemed to know they were going to be the best of mates. "Yeah, and that's Remus and Peter."
"Remus," Sirius stared at the shy boy, "lovely name. Haven't heard it before, and I've heard some quite unique ones."
"I don't think I've heard your name either, Sirius?"
"I am being serious." He couldn't contain his own laughter, and neither could James. That was silly, Remus thought, maybe acknowledged with a giggle, but it definitely didn't cause snort laughing and cramping from two different people. And a strainer third laugh that in Remus thoughts was just plain annoying. But he couldn't help himself, those boys had this energy, contagious, infectious maybe. But at that one dumb joke, Remus felt just fine.
The view of the castle was nothing short of, well, magical, Remus thought to himself, a large fortress in the middle of a valley, surrounded by a forest, it can't get much magical than that for Remus. Sirius pointed out the window in the compartment, they were mere minutes away from arriving, "see that?" he pointed at the lake they were about to cross over, "Cissy says there's a giant squid down there that you sometimes get to see from the Slytherin common room." Then he muttered a little "doubt you lot will get sorted there."
"What was that?" the measly Peter asked.
"That I doubt you lot will be in Slytherin," Sirius said, now determined. Remus didn't know what all the fuss was about, but from what he'd overheard through the cabins, everyone seemed pretty stressed by these House business.
"I don't care about that," Remus underlined.
"How can you not care about your House?" James who up until now seemed the personification of school spirit found that unthinkable, "It's where you're going to spend your next eight years Lupin!" Loud seemed to be the boy's go-to emotion.
"I just don't get the fuzz, Slytherin, Griffinpuff, the others, it's all the same." Said as nonchalantly as possible, he was completely unaware of his mistake until he say the Black boy with his hands over his mouth keeping out for just one second more the most spit-taking of laughs.
"GRIFFINPUFF!" He was having a hard time breathing, "Oh Merlin!" Remus turned bright red, which did not go unnoticed, Gryffindor Red according to Sirius. James on the other hand was theatrically hurt, mimicking holding a knife to his heart. "Oh the betrayal! It's always the ones closest to you!" Peter couldn't help but laugh at the Shakespearean performance next to him.
They calmed down after a few minutes of laughing when the train stopped. "You don't know about them, do you Lupin?" James and Peter had headed out already, leaving him behind with the Black boy.
"No. It's dumb." Defensive was Remus' go-to emotion.
"I can't say I disagree." The Black boy was a little more mellow without the rest of them around, "I'll tell you about them on the way up."
As they walked with the mass of first-years through the large halls and sliding stairs, Remus was finally getting the whole House thing, it wasn't exactly Houses as he'd figured, it was more akin to clans or something, either way you did sleep in dorms that were determined by the house, which he felt was the most important part, not the House Cup-like James interrupted to say it was. Sirius wasn't as nervous as the rest to be sorted, him and Remus seemed to be the only ones, "It's been 500 years of Blacks in Slythein, so it's not much of a mystery, it's expected of me, actually." he explained. Remus was starting to get an odd feeling about Sirius' family, not that he had a lot to go on, he didn't even have a family himself to compare, it was the way Sirius said it that hit him with that thought.
One of the teachers, Professor McGonagall, introduced herself before the first years who were held at the entrance of the Great Hall. She explained that there were four tables there and after being called up to the front they were to head to the table the hat called, which again sounded like a con to Remus, but he kept that to himself.
The first one to be called up was a girl with dark brown hair woven in a simple and elegant braid, which seemed short enough to not merit the complexity of it, Remus thought, but hair and girls were far from his expertise. "Charlotte Aanenson" who walked up to the front of the class with both her hands in front of her, she seemed elegant, but you could see she was nervous, after all she was the first one, Remus figured. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on top of her head, it took up half her face at least, but it didn't take long until the hat started making faces and Remus had to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't a fever dream, but the hat, a hat with a face, shouted at the top of his lungs--can't be lungs, he thought-- "Hufflepuff!"
A loud cheer came from the second table, the one where kids were sporting yellow.
Remus got the gist of it and stopped paying attention until the Black boy was called, he was the first of the four people there. He could hear chatter on the green table further to the left of the room when they called his name, "he's obviously coming here, he's a Black," Remus managed to hear, figuring Sirius was some sort of known at least, or his family. The hat was placed upon the black hair of the Black boy, and taking and unfortunately long time, enough for people to start muttering around asking what was going on before the hat exclaimed the most dire of news, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Tthe room fell completely silent.
Sirius' face, which up until now had not shown a shred of stillness for a second since Remus first laid eyes on him was blank. "Off you go Mr. Black, please head over to the Gryffindor table." Professor McGonagall said, surprise was still on her face.
But she pressed forward. The next up was Lilly who was sorted into Gryffindor and then James, who was undoubtedly thrilled to be joining the Gryffindor's as well, he took a seat next to a sulking Sirius.
"Remus Lupin!" he'd been caught halfway through some thought when he was pushed forward by someone in the crowd. Looks shot from left and right as he walked up, he walked faster than he was used to, almost tripping on his robe at one moment. "On the stool please, Mr. Lupin." Professor McGonagall called. And he obliged.
The stool was the most comfortable part of the whole situation, being stared at by the whole school sure wasn't, and being blindfolded by an ancient smelly has was surely not top of the comfort list either. "You're an interesting one," a voice rang in his head, not through his ears though, which caught Remus off-guard, "You might be a good fit for Hufflepuff, they would be of great support, but that's not you now,"
"Get on with it," Remus heard himself, he didn't think his mouth moved though.
"An impatience worthy of a Gryffindor. You have the mind of a Ravenclaw as well, just like your father." A comment that hit him like a bullet.
"You knew my father?!" "I've sorted every Hogwarts student young Lupin, Lyall Lupin is among them, but was much easier to sort. A Ravenclaw without the shed of a doubt, unlike you, who would more than likely bloom much better in..." then it was his ears that heard it "GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat was taken off his head to see a full hall of people applauding, he caught sight of James and Sirius who were whistling and howling at the news, odd since they'd just take one train ride together, thought Remus, they couldn't like him that much, no one did even after knowing him longer. But it was reassuring to see Sirius wasn't as pale as when he heard his sorting.
Peter was next, he was also put into Gryffindor, but Lupin was in too much of a good mood to be annoyed at. But it made sense, he seemed to follow James around everywhere, why would that change now?
The only other time he'd pay attention to the sorting was when the boy he'd crashed into walked up the stage, he was right after that daddy's girl from the train. He'd leaned that she was called Serena Wagner and he was called Alexander Wilde, and they were both sorted into Slytherin.
They were among the last ones to be sorted, which Remus was more than thankful for, because he hadn't eaten anything all day, and as soon as they were done sorting, a feast appeared, literally appeared, in front of them. A feast worthy of the king himself, thought Remus, salivating at the mere sight of the food. Surrounded by the laughter of his housemates, the smell of the feast and the feeling of the magic around, Remus was thinking it might not be too bad after all.