Separari
Romulus had already scuffed his new pair of school shoes their parents had bought them. In all honesty, his parents were the last thing on his mind. Remus trailed close behind him as they made their way through the train isle, cramped carriages of excited faces filled both of their peripheral vision.
They were finally able to find an empty carriage, to their relief. Being around so many other kids already had Remus on edge, and perhaps excitement, so it was nice to have a quiet space for the pair of them. As they tucked their belongings away, the peace didn’t last. The carriage door slid open with a grainy click, instantly gripping the twins attention.
A boy had entered; he held a darker complexion, a mop of messy hair and the thickest glasses the pair had ever seen. He wore a wonky, gappy grin and darted his gaze between the two.
“Is it alright if I ride along with you both?”
He asked, almost eager. He was English, like Remus and Romulus’ father.
Remus glanced at Romulus, who held his attention on the boy before giving a small nod.
“Fantastic!”
The boy made a quick effort of shoving his stuff on the shelves of the carriage, plopping down on the seat as the twins sat across from him.
“I’m James, just so you know!”
He said while rummaging in his pockets, as if searching for something.
“I’m Romulus, this is Remus,”
Romulus replied, unable to match the boys happy-go-lucky energy as he gestured to himself and his brother.
“Woah! You’ve got a funny accent!”
James blurted as he pulled a few little coins from the pocket he had been rummaging in.
“No I haven’t-“
Romulus couldn’t hide the twang of annoyance in his voice.
James had began to reply when another face appeared behind the glass, this one far more frantic. A stout, pudgy boy with blond hair staggered inside, looking as though he were about to burst into tears. Before he could open his mouth, James was patting the spot beside him. He quickly sat down, clinging his luggage to his chest.
“Are you alright?”
James asked, looking the boy up and down behind his boggly glasses.
The chubby boy seemed like a deer in headlights, stuttering as he spoke.
“I-I’ve never been away from my parents before-“
“We haven’t either,” Remus piped up, earning a surprised look from Romulus.
The boy gave a small nod, his nerves not giving up.
“I’m Peter.” He squeaked, hugging his case closer. The boys introduced themselves, James picking up on the boys Irish accent.
“Am I the only one who speaks normal on this train?”
He teased, biting back a goofy grin.
Romulus was used to this kind of teasing from his school friends; of course, they didn’t look so..easy to pick on themselves. Despite the boys banter, there were a slight charm about him that prevented Romulus from snapping his glasses in half.
The train whistled and gave a slight jolt, signalling that it was going to set out soon. All of the children peeked out the windows, fogging the glass as they waved farewell to their family’s on the platform. James stood on the worn out chair, pressing his lips against the small gap at the top of the window to Holler his goodbyes.
Unexpectedly, the cabin door clicked once more. The boys glanced their attention to the entryway where another unfamiliar face stood. This boy was far more put together than any of them; his shoes were polished and his garments nothing short of immaculate. He peered at the boys behind his jet black fringe,
“Can I ride with you all?”
Their booth was fairly packed, but James seemed to have a, ‘the more the merrier’ mindset. They all rearranged themselves, Remus half on his brothers lap to accommodate the tight fit as the boy sat beside them. They took turns introducing themselves for what felt like the hundredth time, it was practically routine at this point.
“My names’ Sirius.” The boy said in return.
James let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.
“Finally, another English person!” He chuckled, still playing with the coins in his hand.
The train gave a final jolt before the wheels turned, bellowing black smoke as it began to creep along its tracks. James banged on the glass once more, turning to Sirius.
“Do you want to wave goodbye to your-“
“No.” He responded abruptly.
“Thank you.”
James plopped back down on the seat as soon as the train pulled from the station, running a hand through his wild hair.
There was a silence than hung in the cabin, Remus and Romulus exchanging a look before a creek could be heard outside of the cabin. It spiked James’ attention, who scooted to the edge of his seat. A chubby woman with a doily dress slid the door open, pushing a cart with what seemed to be a never ending supply of sweets.
“Anything from the trolly?” She asked, her voice older than her looks.
James was clearly prepared; he listed off an array of candy, all with names just as absurd as the last. Fizzing whizzbees, peppermint toads, jelly slugs. He handed the lady his change, piling the sugary selection on his lap. Peter and Sirius bought a few items (though not nearly as many) and the twins stuck to the most normal sounding sweets. Remus was in charge of holding the money, and swapped it for a few colourful balls and chocolate.
It wasn’t long before the boys were all trading their treats, marvelling at the effects some of them had. Peter sucked on a fizzing whizzbee, his face scrunched and sour as he hovered a few inches off the seat.
Remus seemed to come out of his shell a bit, more than Romulus had seen with his own friends back home. He seemed to fit right in along side the other boys, which brought out a louder, more energetic Remus.
‘-‘
“So, you two are twins?” Sirius had asked once the excitement settled.
“It’s a little bit obvious,” Remus replied, licking the remaining chocolate off one of his sweet wrappers. Romulus had dozed off, a common habit he had on any journey; a nine hour one stood no chance.
“We have the same face after all,” he added, chucking the wrapper on the pile of others.
“Well, sort of.” Peter said, tilting his head slightly as he looked between the two.
“You’ve got a lot of..scars.”
Remus swallowed thickly, feeling the three boys eyes ogle his face, hands, any exposed skin.
“Right. Yeah.” He cleared his throat, unsure if it were from nerves or to just fill the silence.
“I was in an accident when we were young.”
“What kind of accident?” James asked, his frown prominent and sympathetic.
“A..” Remus needed a moment to think. He and Romulus had practiced excuses but without his brother awake in this moment, he felt a bit lost.
“Well, it was a car accident.”
“A car accident?” Sirius furrowed his brows, leaning forward to look over at Remus past romulus’ sleeping form.
“Yes. When i was..four. A big Lorry hit our car.” He felt unused to lying, but was satisfied with his horrible attempt, as it seemed to satisfy the others.
“That’s rubbish! Did it mess your brain up or anything?” Peter asked, insensitively as any eleven year old would.
“No.” Remus’ response had a hint of offence behind it. Did he sound as messed up as he looked? Was his brain messed up?
“If he were messed up, they wouldn’t have trusted him with a wand,” Sirius teased, taking his own out. The others followed suit, wanting to show theirs off. They handed one another’s around, running their fingers over the intricate handle designs, complementing the craftsmanship.
“I’ll probably end up losing mine by next week,” Peter sighed, slipping it back into his pocket.
“Couldn’t be me,” James waved his around as if casting a difficult spell,
“I’m never letting it out of my sight!”
Remus felt a tap on his knee; Sirius was prodding him with his wand.
“Do you and your brother have the same wands since you’re identical?” He was wearing a smile, like he already knew the answer.
“We’re not the same person so, no.”
‘-‘
The ride began to grow a bit boring, there were only so many games you could come up in such a long trip. They sat in a rather comfortable silence again before James broke it (which he seemed to have a habit of doing).
“Do you lot all come from wizard families?”
“My mums a witch, I’m not so sure about my dad. I don’t see him very often.” Peter explained, playing with a loose thread on his suit case which he had kept on his lap the whole way.
“Yes.” Sirius’ response was short and to the point, clearly not wanting to elaborate much more on the topic.
James looked over at Remus, who was still contemplating Sirius’ direct response. He eventually caught James’ gaze.
“Oh, uh- our dad has magic and our mum is just like, normal I guess.” He sputtered.
James let out an ‘ahh’ though seemingly more excited to answer his own question rather than listening to their responses.
“My parents both possess magic, their names are Fleamont and Euphemia, but I just call them mum and dad, of course.”
He rambled on about his family, which was clearly full of love. Remus couldn’t help but smile as James enthusiastically told them all about how his father founded a famous potion that tamed wild hair, though from the looks of James, he had never tried it.
From the corner of his eye, Remus could see that Sirius had seemed to shy away a bit, looking out the glass sliding door and down the hall as if to occupy his mind elsewhere. James too caught note that his stories had seemed to create an odd atmosphere.
“Sorry, I have a problem with talking.”
James said, riddled with embarrassment as he took his glasses off to fidget with them.
Sirius seemed to focus back in, turning his head back towards him.
“I don’t think you have a problem with talking,” his smile grew once more, as if the last few minutes had never happened at all,
“shutting up is where you seem to struggle.”
“Oi!” James grinned in return, shifting to playfully kick the boys foot with his own. Remus felt the bubbling anxiousness quiet down once more inside his chest, relieved that whatever tension there was in the air had dwindled like smoke and vanished.
‘-‘
As hours passed, they grew closer and closer to their destination. the clouds rolled in and darkened, and across a shimmering lake stood a proud, stony castle.
“Is that where we’re going..?” Peter asked as they all stared in wonder, the train screeching to a halt in its station.
The boys didn’t seem to hear his question as they gathered their things, the halls quickly filling with equally as excited children.
Remus gave a flick to romulus’ temple, which awoke him in a daze of confusion. He mumbled something under his breath as he yanked his case off of the overhead spacing, his limbs heavy and uncoordinated. His case whacked Remus in the back of the head as he turned, in which Romulus gave a small, ‘oops’.
They filed out and off the train and were led from the station like little chicks following a hen.
They didn’t have to carry their things far before being greeted by little wooden boats dotting the shore of the lake.
“Oh, absolutely not.” Remus had heard Sirius say, more to himself than anyone else. On wobbly legs, they clumsily toppled into the little ships and set voyage across the water, the castle only growing larger and larger the closer they got.
Romulus could feel himself nodding off once more, the day exhausting and rather uncomfortable. Had the rocking of the boat not made him a tad nauseous, he probably would have kipped the whole ride over.
Once finally arriving at the other side of the lake, every other person seemed equally relieved to be back on dry, solid land; James even made a mock of bowing down and pretending to kiss it.
They were all led up to the castle, the heavy doors swinging open seemingly on their own as they approached. Was this really where they were going to be staying? Romulus shot Remus a smirk as he sauntered through the candle lit halls, adorned with various trophies, murals and crests. The castle felt more like something from a story book rather than the school they were attending.
As they approached another large set of doors, a stout, almost transparent man came flying through one of the walls, to all the children’s dismay. He blew a nasty raspberry, and the teacher who was guiding them through the halls had scolded the apparition before flicking their wand, sending him bouncing down the passageway.
Remus had the same wide eyed expression as his brother. Had they really seen a ghost?
“Poltergeist, I assume,” james said, as if capable of reading their thoughts. Romulus suddenly felt a flash of embarrassment, rolling his eyes as if he hadn’t just had shock written all over his face.
“Yeah, our dad works with that sort of stuff,” he replied, as if it were obvious.
Behind the doors was a ginormous dining room, lined with long tables. Each one held a crest at the end, a different colour and symbol for each. There were many other children already seated, presumably current students at the school who were returning for another year.
The amount of people wasn’t the thing that captivated all of the first years, though. Overhead, the ceiling seemed to be riddled with stars and hanging clouds, drifting lazily as if the castle had no ceiling at all. They all had their heads craned upwards as they were led to a table, plopping down as they took in their surroundings.
“Marvellous, isn’t it!” James chimed over the many voices in the room, more of a statement rather than a question. The four other boys nodded in agreement, though still fixated in exploring the surrounding room.
“This must be the great hall,” James continued, seemingly not as intrigued by the starry display,
“My father had mentioned it before-“
Just then, a man cleared his throat and the room fell silent; the man who had stood in Remus and romulus’ kitchen, wearing clothes just as absurd as the ones before.
“Good evening,” he spoke, his voice projecting across the hall, confident and secure.
“My name is professor dumbledore, I am the headmaster of this school,”
Everyone seemed to listen intently, an array of teachers seated on tables beside the long bearded man.
“We as the staff wish all another exciting year here at hogwarts, and a warm welcome to those joining us as first years.”
His speech went on explaining the ways around the castle and various other things that Romulus probably should have listened to. a few other teachers added their bit to the presentation and before long, all of the first years were ordered to stand single file. A wide brimmed, pointy hat sat on a stool. Though, it was not ordinary hat. It bared an uncanny face, no eyes or tongue, though a clear grimace on its front.
One by one, each student went up and had the bizarre article of clothing place on their heads, before it bellowed out a name. Dumbledore had explained the four houses to the new students in his speech, none that had any real significance to Romulus as he stood behind his brother and right in front of James.
Ahead of them all was Peter, who toddled up to the stool and sat anxiously as the hat was placed upon his head. The hat mumbled and grumbled, seemingly indecisive on what to do with him. James tapped Romulus on the shoulder, whispering ‘hatstall..’
Next was Remus, who’s took far quicker than peters did. Peters had gone on for nearly gone on for 11 minutes, who was practically red as a tomato by the time he stood up. Like Peter, Remus has been sorted into gryffindor. Romulus couldn’t help but feel relieved at how well his brother handled it, though he weren’t up there for more than perhaps a few minutes.
It was his turn now, as he tried to ignore hundreds of eyes focused on him as he sat on the wooden stool. The hat hummed as it were placed on his head and a spike of worry shot through his chest. If he had to sit here as long as Peter did, he’d probably have to drop out the same night from embarrassment. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. The hat let out a mighty cry, ringing through the halls victoriously as it once again cried out,
“GRYFFINDOR!”
The relief he felt was enough the make him almost forget about the watchful eyes as if joined his brother, who seemed equally ecstatic that they were still together. They watched as James too was sorted into Gryffindor, almost instantly. In fact, Remus whispered that he hadn’t even seen the hat touch the boys head before it decided.
After him, was Sirius. If peters worry was visible, Sirius’ was evident. Once again, the hat hummed and hahhed, the boys eyes shut as if silently praying to the hat. The answer it gave was clearly not the one Sirius wished for, as his expression could be no other than despondency. He had too been sorted into Gryffindor.
The boy stood, his eyes fixated on the table of students baring the colour green, a few with high heads and dissatisfaction written on their faces.
Sirius plopped down on the bench besides the others, seemingly at a loss of words. He quickly changed to an obviously fake smile as James congratulated him and welcomed him to, ‘the best house to be sorted into.’
It was obvious that Sirius had felt differently, but wouldn’t dare state such a thing and dampen the newfound comradery that they had formed.
There were three more boys out of all the first years who had been sorted into gryffindor, an apparent rare occurrence by the look on one of the professors face.
The ceremony was eventually over and they were all treated to a magnificent feast with more food than any of them had seen before. Plates were adorned with flaky pastries, buttery mashed potato, whole roast chickens, and more. The children devoured the display, though the amount of food seemingly defeating them.
Romulus caught note that Remus hadn’t eaten much, seemingly playing with the small potion before him.
“What’s the matter?” He nudged Remus, a mouthful of gravyed meat muffling his words. Remus hadn’t bothered to look up as he buried his peas in his mash, raking his form lazily over it like it were a little farm.
“Nothing..” he said quietly, though it was clear that his answer was far from the truth.
“I’ll tell you about it later on..”
Sirius too was not eating, except nothing bared his plate at all. He mentioned feeling too sick to eat, a sudden change from how he were on the train not too long ago. James was busy yapping on to Peter, so Romulus just kept to himself until the dinner was finally over.
‘-‘
Now split into four groups, each table was lead back to what was referred to as common rooms. They had to trek a flight of shifting stairs and nosy talking paintings before reaching one of a fat lady. Had they not all been so tired from the travelling, they would probably be mesmerized by the magic of the castle, but it would have to wait until after they got a good nights sleep.
The portrait of a fat woman let them through after a distasteful solo, grating access with a password in which they were all told. Single file, they all stepped through and into the gryffindor common room.
You could feel the heat radiating onto your face, a fireplace roaring on one of the far walls. The decor was warm, red and gold being the primary theme for pretty much everything besides a few book cases and tables. It was a nice change from the cool stone of the rest of the castle, instantly making them all feel far more tired than they had a moment prior.
The woman who had led them, professor magonagall, turned to face the new group of gryffindors.
“Right. There are quite a few more of you than expected this year, so we will have to split you accordingly.”
She tapped her chin with her bony finger, squinting her crinkled, grey eyes at the group.
“There’s four girls and eight boys..” she reiterated to herself as she continued to inspect them all before coming to a conclusion.
“The dormitories house five beds each. To keep things fair, I’ll be splitting you into groups of four,” she concluded, referencing to the Gryffindor boys.
As she named the groups, both Remus and Romulus were shocked to hear that they would not be bunking together.
“Uh, miss, I don’t-“ Romulus began, but was silenced by the lady raising her hand. He pursed his lips at her in annoyance.
“You’ll still get to see your brother, but I think it be best to give you both time to yourselves-“
“You don’t understand,” Romulus interrupted, unable to hide his frustration,
“I HAVE to be with him.”
She looked between the boys and then back at the other first years.
“Give it a few nights and if you decide to want to swap with another student to bunk together, I’m sure we can make an arrangement.” She then cleared her throat, running her hands over her jade dress as if collecting herself.
“You are all free to spend the rest of the evening doing whatever it is you wish, though I suggest unpacking and getting some rest. You all have a busy day tomorrow,” the students had already began to disband from the circle, looking around the room.
“Oh, and Mr. Lupin,”
Both Remus and Romulus looked at her before she added, “Remus.”
“Please find me first thing in the morning. You can find my office on the first floor of the defence against the dark arts tower, and there will be professors to help guide you there if need be.”
They both watched as she climbed out of the frame of the portrait and it swung shut behind her. Romulus looked back at Remus and then over at the three boys they had rode on the train with.
“Swap with me.” He demanded, rather frantically to any one of them who would obey.
“I’m not leaving my brother.”
“You’ll only be in the room beside him-“
“It doesn’t matter,” Romulus spoke over James, who had tried to justify the decision,
“One of you trade spots with me.”
Remus placed a hand on his brothers shoulder as if trying to comfort him. He quickly shrugged it off; he wasn’t going to let a small rule get between the pair of them. Besides, their father had made it very clear that they needed to stay together, and Romulus knew Remus was far too meek to stand up for himself. Sure, the boys seemed friendly enough, but they didn’t know Remus; Not like him. The only thing he feared more than remus making a fool of himself or getting picked on, was becoming exposed for what he was.
Romulus took a step closer to the smallest boy, Peter. He knew he could get his way through him.
“Swap with me. If you don’t ill-“ Romulus could hear remus faintly telling him to lay off the poor boy from behind, which only made him more disheartened. He turned, taking his brother by his thin arm and pulling him away from the group, near a far more secluded nook in the common room.
“You know you can’t just split up from me! Dad said-“
“You can’t just go around harassing other people, Romulus!”
“Oh, so now I’m the bad guy-“
Their bickering was heard despite their seclusion, though they tried their best to stay quiet. James pat peter on the back with an expression one can only compare to sympathy as the twins continued to argue in the corner.
“Romulus, I know you think you know what’s best-“
“I DO know what’s best, Remus!” At this, Romulus caught attention at how loud he had been. His next words came out far quieter,
“What is it, you don’t want to bunk with me or something?”
Remus was fidgeting with his fingers, picking at the skin around his nails as he struggled to meet his brothers gaze.
“I sort of thought coming here would make me feel normal. The only chance I’ve had to meet people was always through you, or mum. I want more than anything to be around you Romulus, really I do..”
“But you’d rather sleep in a room of people you don’t know?”
“I do know them, Romulus! I just spent nine hours with them while you drooled all over my arm!”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment,
“if you treat me the same way dad does, I may as well have never left.”
Romulus said nothing. Not because he wanted to make some sort of point, but because he couldn’t think of anything to say. Remus’ words probably only hurt so much because they were true. Remus lived in a bubble though, and didn’t understand the reality of the situation they were in. He wished he could rattle sense into him, to get him to see his perspective of it, but he knew that he couldn’t.
“Fine then.” He finally whispered, not meaning to sound so taken aback.
“Good luck getting that lot to put up with you reading your stupid books aloud almost every night.”