We Were Forever

Sirius woke up earlier than he ever had before. Never much of a morning person, he chalked it up to excitement and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. He stood and stretched, walking across the dorm to the window and gazing out at the incredible view, he felt a surge of pure child-like glee. He had done it. He was free from his family, at least while at school, and there was nothing his parents or anyone else could do about it.

Being up so early did have its perks, he thought as he made his way to the bathroom. At least he wouldn't have to wait for a shower. However, as he entered the bathroom, he could hear the water running and it was already filled with steam. Sirius frowned. All of the other beds still had their curtains drawn and he assumed that everyone else was still sleeping.

"Er… Hello." He called out.

The water shut off almost instantly and there was a quiet mutter of "Shit."

"Sorry. I figured everyone was still asleep." Sirius apologized.

"Th-that's okay… Er, I'm nearly done anyway. Just… Hold on." The timid voice of Remus Lupin answered back. Sirius got the idea that Remus didn't want him to see him just out of the shower. He guessed Remus must be an only child and maybe wasn't used to other people seeing him without clothes, so he turned to face away from the stalls.

"It's alright… I'm not looking or anything…"

"Thanks." This time Remus' voice was closer. "You can turn around now."

Sirius turned. Remus was fully dressed and using a towel to dry his hair. Sirius noticed once more how thin and pale he was. "You're up early."

"So are you." Remus shrugged.

"Touche," Sirius smirked. "I guess I was just excited. I'm not normally a morning person."

Remus began setting up his toothbrush. "Me neither." He said simply.

Sirius stood awkwardly and watched as his roommate brushed his teeth. When Remus finished, he gave Sirius a small smile. "See you at breakfast, then?"

Sirius smiled back. "Yeah see ya."

Remus left and Sirius went about his morning ritual. By the time he was out of the shower, James, Peter, and their fifth roommate, Frank Longbottom, were already up, talking excitedly about which classes they thought would be best. But Lupin was nowhere to be found.

"Strange kid," James said when Sirius inquired where their roommate may be. "He just grabbed his bag and left. Didn't say a word to anyone.

One by one they showered and dressed and together they made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The smell of pancakes and bacon and pastries filled the air and Sirius' mouth watered. James and Peter were seeing who could eat the most pancakes the fastest and Remus, who was there by the time they finally made their way down, was nibbling on some toast with his nose deep in a book when suddenly the sound of fluttering wings filled the air. All around them packages and letters were dropped in front of students. James' parents had written a long letter of praise to their son, Peter's mother had sent a card along with a few articles of clothing he had forgotten, and even Remus' parents sent him a rather delicious-smelling plate of freshly baked brownies. Sirius nearly choked on his bacon when a thick red envelope dropped unceremoniously into his eggs. "Bloody hell…" he swore under his breath.

James heard him and looked over his shoulder. "Bad luck, mate." He said around mouthfuls of pancakes. He swallowed hard. "Better open it."

"What's wrong?" Asked Lily Evans. "What is it?"

"That's a Howler," said Marlene McKinnon. "Wow, Black. What did you do?"

"I was born, basically…" Sirius muttered, biting his lip. To wait would only make things worse. He couldn't believe he had actually thought for a moment that this would go smoothly. With a heavy sigh, he accepted his fate and ripped the envelope open.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" The hall went silent, as the deathly tone of Walburga Black echoed throughout the room. "NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I BEEN SO ASHAMED! GENERATIONS OF BLACKS HAVE BEEN SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN AND MY SON, THE HEIR, IS PLACED IN GRYFFINDOR! LIVING WITH MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS! MARK MY WORDS SIRIUS, YOU WILL NOT BE SPENDING ANOTHER NIGHT AS A GRYFFINDOR! YOUR FATHER WILL BE HAVING A WORD WITH DUMBLEDORE! YOU WILL BE A SLYTHERIN LIKE THE REST OF YOUR FAMILY OR WE WILL DRAG YOU BY YOUR EARS TO DURMSTRANG!"

With a puff of smoke, the howler fizzled out into a pile of ash and Sirius felt hundreds of pairs of eyes on him. He wanted to run, he wanted to hide. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "Hey Peter, could you pass the pumpkin juice?"

Slowly students went back to their chatter and Sirius was grateful when the Head Boy and Girl came around to pass out their schedules.

"Potions with the Slytherins, first class." James groaned. "What a way to start the school year."

Sirius shrugged. "The way I see it, it's just a way to mess with them. Add a few extra spider legs when they aren't looking and make the whole bloody cauldron overflow." He grinned.

"Brilliant, Sirius!" James laughed.

"Actually," said Remus, clearly lost in a daze of thought and laughing quietly to himself. "Hmmm…"

James and Sirius stared at him. "What?"

Remus looked back down at his plate. "Never mind."

James turned to Sirius, twisting his index finger around his ear, insinuating that Lupin was crazy. Sirius couldn't really argue, and even if he wanted to suddenly there was a lanky, looming, shadow over him. Slowly he turned around to face his cousin, Narcissa, whose eyes were piercing into him with a cold smile.

Beside her was Bellatrix, arms folded and wearing the most satisfied, smug grin Sirius had ever had the misfortune to see. "That was quite a show, Sirius." The blond sister drawled. "I admit, I expected you to embarrass the family name, but I never thought it would happen so quickly." She gave a sinister sort of laugh that her younger sister mimicked, making Sirius feel like he may throw up.

"Shove off, Narcissa." He stood up fists clenched at his sides and held his head high. He was aware that everyone was watching, but, if anything, that only fueled his fire. "I don't care if I embarrassed the family, I don't care if I get bloody disowned, even! The Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor, and that's where I'm going to stay. I'd love to see Mother try to change that. Besides, you should be happy! Now you don't have to be my bloody nanny anymore!"

Narcissa shook her head. "Oh Sirius, one day you'll see just how very damaging your rebellious behavior is. You want to keep pretending you aren't who you are? Go ahead. But you'll end up all alone."

And then James was on his feet. "He isn't alone."

Narcissa scoffed. "Real nice. So he'll leave his family behind for a blood traitor like you, Potter?" Her eyes flashed with mirth. "Don't get too comfortable, Sirius. You forget just how powerful our family really is. If they don't want you in Gryffindor, you can bet you won't be there, or even at Hogwarts, for very long…" She turned on her heel. "Come, Bella." And the two sisters strode off.

"Don't let them get to you, Sirius," said James, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're better than them."

"But what if I'm not?" Sirius muttered miserably, sinking back into his seat. "What if she's right? I'm just pretending not to be who I really am…"

"Then the hat wouldn't have put you here," Remus said, finally looking up from his book. And then the bell rang for class.

—-------

"Welcome to your first potions class!" Beamed Professor Slughorn. "Now you've all been paired up… It's great to see some faces I recognize! I've taught many of your older siblings and family members before. Ahh! Miss Mckinnon, How is your sister, my dear? One of my best students!"

Marlene smiled brightly back. "She's studying to be a healer!"

"How wonderful! She always had a knack for healing draughts!" He gazed around the room. "Bellatrix, I know you of course, and Sirius! I must say I was slightly disappointed not to have you in Slytherin!"

Sirius, who was sitting towards the back of the room and sharing a cauldron with a sullen-looking girl named Dizzella Drum, scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it's a real loss," he muttered.

After about ten minutes more of introduction, they were instructed to open their texts and attempt to brew a forgetfulness potion. James, who was paired with a Slytherin boy with the forehead of a troll, leaned over his cauldron to whisper, "Still wanna make a mess of these potions."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah."

They both caught Peter's eye, who was paired with Cillian Avery and was looking rather terrified. He probably wouldn't be much help. Sirius quickly read through the instructions for his potion. "An extra pinch of Lethe River Water should be enough to make them boil over." He muttered to James, who quietly voiced his agreement.

In front of Sirius, and unfortunately paired with Bellatrix, Remus Lupin shook his head and scribbled something on a piece of paper, which he passed silently back to Sirius.

An extra half of a mistletoe berry. ONLY HALF. Trust me.

Sirius frowned and passed the note to James who just shrugged. They brewed the potions as instructed. As Drizzella added the berries and turned back to her notes, Sirius casually flicked an extra half into the cauldron.

"Step back!" Remus hissed from the row ahead. And Sirius and James did. There was a quiet rumble at first.

Drizzella frowned and looked into the cauldron. "Professor? I think there's something wrong– OH!"

All at once, Sirius, James, and to their surprise, Remus' cauldrons erupted, shooting bright purple potions into the air.

"TAKE COVER!" Slughorn shouted and most of the students ducked beneath their desks.

When the fountains of Forgetfulness Potion seemed to finally subside, Professor Slughorn told them it was safe to emerge from their hideouts. "I think we'd better wrap this class up for the day… To all students who were not in direct contact with the potion, you are dismissed. Miss Drum, Mr. McMahon, Miss Black, you'd better stay here so I can fix you the antidote…"

"Who?" Bellatrix inquired, staring at Slughorn with confusion making her already wild eyes look even crazier.

"You, Miss Black," Slughorn sighed. "You've been in contact with a Forgetfulness Potion."

The unaffected students filed slowly out of the classroom, careful not to catch any falling drops of potion. Remus had the sense to put his textbook over his head like a hat and strutted carelessly out into the hall with James, Sirius, and Peter following suit.

—-------

Once they were a safe distance from the classroom or any Slytherins, the three boys surrounded Remus.

"That was bloody brilliant, Lupin!" James grinned. "We just wanted to cause a minor inconvenience, but that… truly inspiring!"

"How'd you know adding the extra berry would do that?" Peter asked, his eyes aglow with amazement and curiosity.

Remus blushed lightly and wiped off his potions book with his sleeve. "My dad likes to tinker around with different potions and spells sometimes… and I read a lot, I suppose." This was true. His dad often messed around with potions and spells, trying to cure the incurable disease that plagued Remus. Nothing ever worked, of course. He put his book back into his bag and began to walk off, only to have the other three follow closely behind.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked.

Remus turned and stared blankly at Sirius. "I dunno. I might go out and read by the lake, I suppose…"

"Well, would you like some company, mate?" James grinned. "I'd love to know what other tricks you've got in your impressive little mind." He playfully ruffled Remus' hair. Remus looked unsure, however. He had never had any friends his age. They had moved so many times when he was young so that no one would be suspicious of his strange behavior, and although his parents loved him very much, he had experienced very little human contact in his short life.

Sirius caught onto his anxiety though.

"It's totally fine if you'd rather be alone," he assured him. "But we're going to play some exploding snap in the dorm if you'd like to join us."

Remus chewed his bottom lip nervously as he watched his housemates walk down the corridor, chatting excitedly and making fun of Bellatrix Black's confused expression…

He heard Dumbledore's voice in his head; Remus, try to make some friends. They will be your greatest strength.

"H-hey! Wait!" The three boys turned around and Remus ran to catch up with them. As they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower, Remus timidly asked, "So, how do you play exploding snap anyway?"