The Dormitory
September 1st, 1971
Their dormitory was at the top of the spiral staircase, resulting in Peter being a bit winded by the time they all got to the top. Peter claimed the bed all the way to the left, which was the closest to the bathroom. They all began to unpack their trunks.
Peter had been hanging up his poster of Lewis Abney, the Tornados keeper when Sirius and James began to bicker about Quidditch.
“I can’t believe you don’t like the Wasps, but you’re a Falcon fan,” James said.
“The Falcons are first in the league!” Sirius exclaimed, “You’re just mad because the Falcons won the last match-”
“They only won because Boot hit Hopkins with that bludger at the last minute, or else he would’ve scored before Moon caught the snitch!”
“The Wasps are losing their skill; you’re blind if you can’t see it. Maybe that’s why you have glasses.”
“The Wasps are not losing skill! They’ve got the best players in the league; Alexander Hopkin’s the best chaser of all time-”
“He’s good but not that good, James-”
“-he’s backed up by two more great chasers, Alice Berrycloth and Lee Bailey-”
“-Bailey’s dropped the quaffles more than the Cannons!”
“-They just recruited a new Reserve Beater, Ludo Bagman, and he’ll end up being one of the best beaters of all time!”
“What are you, the Great Quidditch Seer?”
James flourished his wand, “My wand’s built for a Quidditch Player! Made of mahogany, which a lot of professional players have, and the core’s from Sparky, the Mascot of the Moutohora Macaws!”
Sirius’ rolled his eyes, “I don’t know which I prefer. Someone who’s obsessed with Quidditch or doesn’t know anything about Quidditch at all!” Sirius looked at Remus.
Remus had no Quidditch posters hanging above his bed, and the shelves beside the bed were filled with books. He looked up from a piece of parchment.
“I’ve never been to a match; I never got into it.” Remus shrugged.
“You’re JOKING!” James exclaimed. “You’ve never been to a match before?”
“No, I don’t know any of the rules either; I’d be confused the entire time.”
“Lucky for you, you’re sharing a dorm with me!” James said, crossing the room to Remus’ bed, “You’ll be an expert in no time!” Remus looked taken aback, and James shut the curtains on the bed. Peter could hear James begin to explain Quidditch from behind them.
“Poor bloke,” Sirius muttered. He turned to Peter, “You’re not gonna argue with me because I don’t like the Wasps, right?”
“No, I like the Tornados better,” Peter replied.
“Good,” Sirius said. He crossed the room and sat cross-legged on Peter’s bed. “Please tell me you have interests other than obsessing over the Tornados?”
“Yeah, I read Martin Miggs all the time!” Peter replied eagerly.
“Really?” Sirius said, perking up. “Mind if I borrow them sometime? I’ve always wanted to read them, but they’re forbidden in my family.”
“Sure!” Peter replied.
“Thanks,” Sirius said, “I really appreciate it.”
“Do you read any other comics?” Peter asked.
“Mostly just King Magnus; my parents wouldn’t let me read anything that wasn’t ‘dignified.’” Sirius rolled his eyes. “I read Royal Regulus sometimes, too. My brother’s obsessed with it because his name is Regulus-”
“Hang on,” Peter said, “You’re both named after stars!”
“Yeah, family tradition,” Sirius said skeptically. “How’d you know we have star names?”
“My Mum’s an Astronomer.” Peter explained, “I watched her work sometimes.”
“That’s cool; my family just knows them all because we’re named after them,” Sirius replied.
“What’s with your family anyways?” Peter asked. He saw Sirius’ face darken, and he panicked, “No, I don’t mean that like you think I do, It’s just the rest of the Sacred Twenty-Eight doesn’t seem to take being in Slytherin as yours does. You know?” Sirius’ face relaxed slightly, and so did Peter.
“I couldn’t answer that question if I tried,” Sirius replied. “Hey, what about the rest of your family? Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I’m the only child. I’ve got two older cousins, though, Kathryn and Kenneth, but they left Hogwarts ages ago; they were in Hufflepuff. What’s it like having siblings? Marlene and August are right next door, but I’ve always wanted an actual sibling, you know?”
“Me and my brother are close; he doesn’t snitch on me to my parents even though he threatens to all the time,” Sirius replied, “I like him better than the rest of my family.”
“Hey, you mentioned older cousins; what are their names?” Peter asked.
Sirius hesitated for a moment. “I’ve got three, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa. Bellatrix left Hogwarts, but Andromeda and Narcissa are here. I’d recommend staying away from all of them except for Andromeda.” He shrugged, “Anyway, I’m gonna turn it in for the night. Though I doubt all get any sleep at all due to the other two.” Sirius jerked his head toward Remus’ bed; they could still hear James and Remus’ voices.
Sirius crossed the room back to his bed and shut the curtains. Peter took out a piece of parchment.
Mum and Dad,
I didn’t get into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff like you guys, I was sorted into Gryffindor! I hope you’re not upset. Marlene got sorted here too. We got separated on the train for a bit, but she found me eventually. I also met this boy named Remus Lupin on the train, he got sorted into Gryffindor too. He’s really nice, but he doesn’t know much about Quidditch.
There’s these two other boys in Gryffindor, James Potter and Sirius Black. James is really cool, he’s a bit obsessed with Quidditch though. Sirius’ is cool also, we’re all a bit surprised he wasn’t in Slytherin though.
I had jelly donuts for dessert, they were really good.
I’ll write to you more later, it’s pretty late.
-Peter
Peter shut his own curtains and turned over to go to sleep. He could still hear James and Remus.
“But why do beaters exist? It’d be less dangerous without-”
“That’s the point! Beaters make it even more entertaining and risky!”