Carvings and Countdowns

8 SB

Sirius lugged his suitcase behind him, regretting having packed so much. He knew it'd all be worth it however, his record player and motorcycle magazines were essential to his downtime.

He trailed behind his parents, who always picked up the pace the closer they got to the platform. How indecent of them to be seen with a Gryffindor boy, right? Sirius scoffed. Maybe he did do some things out of spite, like wear a maroon sweater and make sure his suitcase was covered in Gryffindor patches, but either way he still thought them to be more petty.

By the time he reached the platform, they were paces ahead of him, which only irritated him more. They hugged Regulus, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and seemed solemn in their goodbyes. Sirius knew no such reaction would be rewarded to him, so he decided to create one from the crowd instead.

"MUM, DAD!", Sirius caught up to them , "No need for the hugs and goodbyes, it'll pain me too much", he exaggerated a pain in his heart with a slap on the chest, "But just know I'll be safe and cozy in my Gryffindor dorm."

He said the name of his house extra loud and smirked a devious smirk as he saw his Mum blush crimson. What did he have to lose? He was halfway through the brick wall before they could bring him any punishment.

He walked up the train steps and made his way to the front compartments of the train. There he found James, sitting with his legs sprawled out on the bench.

"Saved the seats", James smiled and gestured to his luggage on Sirius's half, "Here", he got up, "Put yours on mine so no one takes it, I want to run back and talk to Evans before the trolley dings."

Sirius's face dropped and he rolled his eyes. "Still hung up on Evans? Come on, mate, give it a rest."

"She'll like me", James nodded, "Eventually", he sighed.

"Fine", Sirius laughed and plopped his luggage in the seat, "I'll be in the back."

"Thanks man, I'll see ya!", James ran down the aisle excitedly.

Sirius approached the back and saw more and more unfamiliar faces as he did. First years. He recalled his first train-ride to Hogwarts. Things seemed so much simpler then.

When he had made it to the compartment they usually sat in, he noticed a boy sitting in the side closest to him. He couldn't see his face yet, as he was turned from him, but his unkempt hair was wildly similar to the boy he had ran into at the bus stop.

Sirius figured there'd be someone sitting in that seat at least one of the years, but he was shocked that it could be the boy he'd run into ten days prior.

He slid in the seat opposite and glanced at him. A book was covering most of his face, but he spotted a scar on his forehead that he'd seen before.

It was him.

"Your face looks a lot better", Sirius broke the silence with those words and a grin.

The boy closed his book and looked at him blankly, his big brown eyes staring at him with little expression. He expected some sort of reaction. Surprise, shock, maybe even a smile. He got nothing.

"How observant of you", the boy answered dryly. Was he always this unamused? It intrigued Sirius. He wanted to see his smile, anything other than the blankness and built up walls he always seemed to keep.

He decided to continue with small talk. He assumed he was new, as he surely would've recognized him before, and a few minutes into the conversation, he discovered that he was. He quickly realized that the boy was quite standoffish, so he diverted the attention away from him and began telling him about the trolley. As the conversation went on, Sirius remembered that he forgot to introduce himself.

"I'm Sirius by the way", he said after explaining that the trolley had sweets.

"Yeah, no, I believe you", the boy raised his brows unnaturally as if he forced the reaction, "Candy on wheels, pretty exciting."

The indifferent tone he possessed still didn't drive Sirius away from finding the misuse of his name amusing.

"No", Sirius couldn't help but laugh, "I'm Sirius. Sirius Black. You know, first and last name introduction type of thing?"

"Oh. Oh cool, I'm Remus Lupin", he nodded with a half smile. Sirius noticed his cheeks blush a tad, which made Sirius grin even more. He reached for a handshake.

To make sure Remus didn't feel too embarrassed over the name thing, Sirius started rambling about James. He was sure he'd be coming down at any moment, and it would be nice to warn Remus. He seemed like he didn't enjoy too much company, if any at all.

When James showed up, the trolley came shortly after. It was nice to see James offer the new kid some sweets, Sirius was mad that he hadn't thought of it himself. When the chocolate frog jumped from the table and Remus caught it with one hand, Sirius praised his reflexes and athleticism in his head.

It was nice to hear James laugh a hearty laugh like that, and even nicer to see what he had been wanting all along:

The boy's smile. A genuine, unforced smile.

His goal was to see it more.