"Well, mates," said Sirius with a grim trying to cover the anxious look on his face "I guess this is it. Let's go." They made their way out of the compartment on to the darkening platform. A large man with a long black beard was signalling over to all of the students. "Firs' Years over 'ere!" He bellowed above the head of the students. The three boys worked their way through the massive crowd that jostled the three smaller boys. When they finally got to the man they realized that he wasn't, normal. "Bloody hell!" exclaimed James. "He's huge." The three boys stared up at him in amazement. He smiled down at them plesantly. "Hagrids the name." he said to them. "I'm the gamekeeper here." "I'm Sirius Black," said Sirius haugtily. "This is my best mate James Potter, and this is our new friend Remus Lupin."
He called me his friend, Remus though to himself. He considers me his friend. Remus smiled a geniune smile as the giant looked down on the sandy haired boy. "Remus Lupin, I think I've heard that name before." said Hagrid to the young boy. "Ah yes, now I remember you the one with the special arrangements, well it's good to meet you. I'll see you all later at the Sorting." with that Hagrid strode away to the edge of what looked like stairs and addressed the crowd of waiting first years. The three boys didn't listen to a word that he said.
"What special arrangements?" James asked. Remus's smile faded as quickly as it came and his eyes shadowed quickly. "Umm, well, umm, my mum, she's been sick lately, and well, I'll be going home some times to see her." he stammered as he thought up a lie to tell his new found friends. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." James apologized. He looked truely sorry. Sirius didn't look as convinced. He looked at Remus curiously, but shrugged his shoulders and decided not to say anything. He didn't think he would want to go home if his mum was sick, then again, his mum was the mother of satan. That he was sure of.
The boys weren't aware of it but as they had their conversation they walked slowly down the stairs that Hagrid had been originally addressing them from. They didn't realize that they had been walking down to the edge of the lake until.
"Hey watch out!" yelled a girl that Sirius had just bumped into. The yell shook the boys back into reality and they gasped. "Every one get into a boat. No more then four in a boat. No tippin', no leanin' over, every one in." bellowed Hagrid again. The boys scrambled in and were joined shortly after by a dark haired boy with black eyes and a long hooked nose.
"Great," growled Sirius "Hello, Snivelly, how are you?" he said with mock cordiality.
Severus Snape, or Snivelly, rolled his eyes. "I'm not any more thrilled to be here with you then you are that I'm here. I would rather be in Dumstrung, but my mum wouldn't allow it." He sat down opposite of Sirius and James and next to Remus. "Who are you and what are you looking at?" he spat at Remus. "I'm Remus, why do you want to know?"
"I would watch who you are talking to like that Remus, I'm Severus Snape." He continued talking at Remus while James and Sirius plotted. They had both heard from James's father of the giant squid that lived in the lake, and they were both very excited to see it.
In the blink of an eye Snape was being held over the side of the boat by his wrists by James and Sirius. Remus was sitting in his seat, not knowing whether to laugh or to call for help, when a tenacle reached up and out and sucked Snape's shoulder and dropped him back in the boat. James and Sirius were in tears from laughter and Remus was trying very hard not to join them. Before Snape could hex either Sirius or James the boys caught the first glimpse of the castle. None of them knew what to do. They all stared in awe of the miraculous site that was Hogwarts. There were inumarable towers and turrets jutting to amazing heights. The stars twinkled and the light was caught in the thousands of windows that made the whole castle look like a star that crashed into the earth. James, Sirius and Remus looked at it with untold respect, thinking that it would be impossible to ever remeber all of the hallways and tower and how to get around. Little did they know that they would write the map of the school and the grounds.
Severus Snape looked at the school too. He thought that it was going to be his haven from his father. The safety that he would never have, and that he might find a family that would take care of him. Little did he know that he would find the family. Whether or not that family would take care of him was to be seen, but as a haven this castle was not. Little did he realize that the degradation that he had to suffer at home would follow him, the tormenting and torture would chase him through the rest of his school life.
The boys in this boat were bound together whether they liked it or not. They would have to deal with eachother for the next seven years of their lives.
