Remus couldn't believe the day they'd just had. 

"What a day!" James exclaimed, voicing Remus' thoughts. "Our first day and already so much has happened! We made friends, Peter and I nearly drowned, and we were all sorted into the same house!" He sighed happily. "Awesome," he said. Remus rolled his eyes. 

"Nearly drowning was "awesome"?"

"Well we didn't, did we?" James pointed out. "And that's pretty awesome."

"You saved my life!" Peter squeaked. 

"Don't mention it," James insisted, uncharacteristically modest. "You're my friend. I'd do it for any one of you."

"And us, you," Sirius declared. 

It was dark in the corridors of the school, their only source of light the flickering torches on the walls. They had missed the entire feast due to their visit to the hospital wing, but the house elves had been kind enough to bring up enough food to stuff an elephant, so they had enjoyed themselves quite a bit. With quite a bit of finessing, the boys managed to get themselves released from the hospital wing for the night under the promise that they would go straight to bed and get good rest. 

"Where are we even going?" Peter asked. "Does anyone even know where the common room is? I think the prefects were supposed to show us," he remembered nervously. 

"Luckily, I know," James said. "My dad told me exactly where it is. He was a Gryffindor too, you know. Right up this staircase." The other three boys followed him. 

"Tri-cky, Tri-cky, Tri-cky," A voice sang above them. "Little boys out of bed-sy!" They looked up. Above them was a foating figure, dressing in the most haphazard and mismatched jumble of clothes Remus had ever seen. His face was a pale blue, his mouth stuck in a permenant malicious smirk, and his head was donned with a sort of lop-sides jester's hat.

"Peeves the Poltergeist," Remus whispered. "I read about him in "Hogwarts, A history". He's been here since the founding of the school, and he can cause a lot of trouble, so we should probably steer clea-"

"Hello!" Sirius called, waving at the Poltergeist, who for once in his life was a little dumbfounded. 

"Hello?" He said. 

"Remus here says you cause a lot of trouble, so as far as I'm concerned, you're pretty chill! Have a nice day!" Then Sirius continued up the staircase. James didn't miss a beat in following, quickly taking over the lead again. Remus and Peter froze for a minute, looking up at the Poltergeist. Peter was trembling, he seemed a little terrified. 

Peeves, for his part, seemed utterly confused. No doubt he had never had that sort of reception from a student before, not to mention a first year. He stared after Sirius and James, who were already engaged in jovial conversation, then shook his head and flew off to make mischeif. 

"Remus, Peter, you coming?" Sirius called back at them, smirking. Remus grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him a bit to get him going. They dashed up the stairs to catch up with their friends. 

James stopped them at a large painting of a robust woman with plump cherry-colored cheeks, a curly mass of brown hair upon her head, which was laced with loud flowers, and was wearing a voluminous pink gown. She held a glass of wine in her hand. 

"Password?" she inquired shrilly. 

"Um..." James looked a little stumped. Remus could tell he hadn't had the forsight to wonder what they would do once they reached the painting. 

"We don't know it," Sirius explained. "See, we were in the hospital wing, and-"

"No password, no entrance!" The lady trilled lazily, taking a generous sip of her drink. "Those are the rules."

"But we don't know the-"

"I'm sorry, but unless you have the pass-"

"That won't be necessary, Gloria. I can vouch for the boys." The boys turned around to see Professor McGonagall."

"Of course, Minerva," the lady said at once, and the painting swung open.

"Boys, a word, if I may?" she said, halting them as they went to climb through the portrait hole. "Just to cover what you missed at the feast, I am your head of house. The houses have a friendly point-based competition every year for the honor of holding the House Cup. Points will be awarded by staff for good behavior and taken away for ill behavior. The forbidden forest on the school grounds is strictly forbidden, as the name implies, as are a list of items which can be found on Mr. Pringle, the caretaker's, office door. Please ask your prefect for your password. Your schedule will be handed out tomorrow morning." The boys nodded. "Get some rest boys, and for goodness sakes, try not to get into any more trouble." With this said, Professor McGongall swept away, down the hall and out of sight.

The boys exchanged looks. James' of mischeif, Sirius' of amusement, Peter's of curiousity, and Remus' own of resignation. He had the distinct feeling that trouble was going to become synonomous with their group over the next several years. After this moment, they climbed through the portrait hole.

When they entered the common room, everyone stopped and looked at them. Peter backed up nervously, shuffling behind Remus. There was an awkward minute, where everyone just stood there, staring at each other. 

"Are we all going to stand here staring at each other, or....?" Sirius asked bluntly. 

"So give us the deets," An older boy insisted, stradling the arm of one of the sofa chairs in front of the roaring fireplace of the common room. "The first years have been telling anyone who will listen that you two-" he pointed to Peter and James. "Took a swim in the Black Lake." James shrugged. 

"I mean, yeah." The other Gryffindors stirred in excitement. 

"Wow, that's cool!" the older boy said. He looked like he could be in his third or fourth year. "Why?" The boys exchanged glances. The story was getting a bit tiring. Remus sighed, realizing, due to the others' expectant stares, that he had been designated to regale the tale this time around. 

"Storm knocked Peter out of the boat. Peter can't swim. James the idiot jumped in to save him. James saved him. They couldn't make it back to the boat. They both nearly drowned. The squid saved them. I had to give Peter CPR. Story Completed. Questions? No? Fantastic." Remus noticed James and Sirius' amusement at his blunt tone and clipped dialogue that dripped with sarcasm. 

"Awesome!" The older boy said, not taking the hint. "But what-"

"I you'll kindly excuse us," Remus said, toning down the sarcasm a smidge. "These two are under strict orders to go straight to bed, so we really should be-"

"Oh yes, of course!" the older boy exclaimed, jumping up rather unnecessarily. He gestured with both arms  to the stairwell to the boy's dormitory. Remus nodded courteously. 

When they reached their dormitory, James busted out laughing. 

"I didn't think you had it in you, Remus!" he said. "The sarcasm was unprecedented!" Remus was a little embarrassed by his uncharacteristic behavior, but secretly, he was actually quite pleased. He had never had the chance to be sarcastic before. 

The boys got a good look around the room. There were four four-poster beds spaced evenly around the circular room. Each bed was draped with red and gold. Through the window they could see the dark grounds and the starry sky. The moon was missing the merest sliver of it's whole self. 

"That must mean we were the only first year Gryffindors sorted," James guessed. "Cool. I call this bed!" He flopped onto the bed farthest from the door on the left side of the room. Sirius shrugged and likewise threw himself onto the bed farthest from the door on the right side. Remus sighed and sat on the bed next to him, the other one on the right side, leaving Peter with the other bed on the left side, next to James. 

"Well, now that that's settled," Sirius announced, sitting up. "I'm going to feed my owl."

"Oh, I should too," James agreed. They both let their owls out of their cages. Sterling circled the room gracefully, grateful for the chance to spread her wings, and well-mannered. She settled on her choice perch, Peter's bedpost, and groomed herself. 

Bixby, on the other hand, was a menace. He flew about the room, flapping his wings in their faces, hooting loudly, and unable to set on a suitable perch. He seemed irritated to have been cooped up so long, and keen on retribution.  James spent several minutes simultaneously obtaining to catch him again and regretting his decision to let him out in the first place. 

Sterling, for her part, looked down on Bixby with what seemed to be disdain. When she had finished preening, she soared across the room to Sirius, who stretched out his arm to greet her. He fed her from his hand and she returned humbly to her cage. Sirius chuckled at James, who looked a little worse for wear after finally catching Bixby. He forcefully shoved the large bird back in his cage and threw the bolt aggressively. 

"We can put them out in the owlery tomorrow," he suggested.

"Good plan," James heartily agreed. 

Remus laid back on his bed, soaking in what had happened that day. He was at Hogwarts. He was a Gryffindor, more than he could have ever hoped for. His wildest dreams were coming true. He had friends. He had a chance to be normal....

No. 

He bitterly cast this thought aside. He would never be normal. Nothing, not all the provisions in the world, could ever change the fact that he was a werewolf. He was a monster. What was he even doing? What was he doing here? This was a horrible mistake. In fact, he would have no trouble believing that if he pinched himself he would wake up that very instant-

"So, spill," James demanded as he settled, criss-cross on his bed, looking out at all of the rest of them. Peter rested on his stomach, his bony chin in his hands, his elbows propped on the mattress. Sirius was leaning back, his hands resting on the bedspread behind him, half sitting up. "I know your personalities for the most part, but I want to know more about you. I don't think you really can get to know someone unless you know where they came from." 

Silence fell over the room. No one seemed sure what to do. Should someone volunteer to go first? The task seemed daunting. Even more terrifying to Remus was what he would say. His entire childhood had been centered around his handicap. How could he skirt around that?

"I can go first, if you like," James offered calmly. No one objected, so he continued. "I was born in Upper Flagley on March 27th, 1960. My parents are Euphemia and Fleamont Potter. My dad was an accomplished potioneer before he retired. He invented Sleekeazy's Hair potion. There, now someone else go. Just the basics for now. Sirius?"

"Well... Um... I was born in.... well, it's kind of hard to explain because... well I'm not really supposed to say exactly where it is. It's around the Brough of Islington. In London. Anyways, I was raised there. I was born on November 3rd. My parents are Orion and Walburga Black. I have a little brother, Regulus." There was an odd silence. Everyone had felt the tension around Sirius at having to relive his childhood. Remus felt like it was his turn. 

"Well, I was born in Appleby on March 10th. My parents are Hope and Lyall Lupin. My dad works for the ministry." His heart beat rapidly. There was no reason for them to question him any further. He had simply said what everyone else had. But still, the paranoia persisted. Peter seemed uncomfortable.

"Well, I... I was born in Mould-on-the-Wold on May 13th. My mom is Enid Pettigrew. My dad left before I was born, and mom never talks about him so I don't know anything about him. I don't even know if he was a wizard or not." The room fell oddly silent. 

"We should get sleep," Remus suggested at last. "Big day tomorrow and all." He was secretly hoping for an excuse to escape further interrogation. With James' "more is more" attitude towards personal knowledge, he was afraid how long he would make it before his secret finally got out.

No. He couldn't let it get out. He wouldn't. That would ruin everything.

"Remus, right as always," Sirius clucked almost disapprovingly. 

"You've known me for at the most like, twelve hours."

"So you know how heavy you lay on the know-it-all vibe." Remus rolled his eyes. 

"How happy are you that you aren't in Slytherin?" James commented. Sirus grinned broadly. 

"I'm over the moon," he replied honestly. "You can't even imagine how relieved I am. My parents will be ticked, though."

"Really?" Peter inquired. "What's their deal? Blood Supremacy? Tradition? Or just plain House Prejudice?" 

"All of the above," Sirius said with a sigh. "Walburga and Orion Black are not the sunniest folks. They like their blood pure, their reputations fearsome, their children quiet, and their toast a bit crispy." He chuckled at his own feeble attempt at a joke. His roommates remained silent. The silence sat like an unwelcome guest in their dorm and stubbornly refused to exit. 

Peter yawned. The tension was shattered like crystal, and the unwanted visitor was swept unceremoniously out the door. The boys could breathe. 

"Sleep sounds good," he muttered. "I thought Madame Pomfrey was a nutter, but I feel a bit drowsy, like the day is catching up with me. James nodded in agreement and stretched uncomfortably. 

"Agreed. My joints are all sore."

"Alright, bed it is," Sirius consented with a grin. "Remus and I certainly don't want you two to miss out on your beauty sleep." James laid his head on his pillow, but his face slid into a lazy smirk. 

"You know you're into this, Sirius," he joked. He didn't move to indicate what "this" was, but everyone got his point. Peter laughed, and Sirius shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. His curls bobbed and spilled over his forehead. 

"I don't think we've known each other long enough to be making those jokes, Potter."

"It's been long enough," James said dismissively. "What? Scared to admit how much you dig this?"

"James....."

"Don't get all flustered now."

"I'm not-"

"I'm not worth all thus fuss, honest."

"But I-"

"If it helps, you're not so bad looking yourself, Black." Sirius' mouth shut and pursed into a firm half-scowl. His eyes narrowed. Far from flustered, Sirius was realized he had met his match. 

"You wish you had these locks, Potter," he retorted, with a dramatic hair flip to show off his curls. Remus rolled his eyes. What a pair these two were. 

"You know I do, Black," James said, opening his eyes for the sole purpose of winking at Sirius. Sirius shook his head, no longer bothered. 

"Good night."

"Good night," James responded, shifting to a more comfortable position. 

"Good night," Peter added, flopping backwards onto his bedding. 

"Good night," Remus finished, extinguishing the light, and slipping under the covers.