moony and wood | r. lupin

meet the marauders

"mind if we sit?"

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

September 1972, Year 2

Hogwarts Express

"Where are the others?"

"Huh?"

"The others? Marlene, Dorcas, Mary? Any clue where they are?"

Evelyn Wood sat on the cushioned bench in the compartment of the Hogwarts Express that she and her good friend, Lily Evans, occupied.

The two had spotted each other on the platform before boarding the train, and had decided it was best for them to stick together.

Lily paused in thought, trying to recall the last moment she saw their fellow Gryffindors.

"Well, I saw Mary back on the platform with her mum. But I'd suppose she's sitting with her sister,"

Evie nodded.

"Speaking of, are you sure you don't wanna sit with your brother or sister? I don't mean to be keeping you from them–"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Of course not, silly. I told you, Jace already graduated last year, and I'm sure Gwyneth's off with her precious Ravenclaw friends," she sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if either of them have forgotten I exist by now."

"Evie, don't–"

"EVANS!"

Both girls jumped at the yell following the abrupt open of the compartment door. They were wide-eyed as they matched the voice to the one and only–

"James Potter," Lily frowned. "What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course!" The cheeky boy's eyes crinkled as he smiled behind his round glasses. "Mind if we sit?"

James didn't wait for an answer as he plopped himself next to Lily, forcing her into the corner of the compartment.

"'We?'"

They watched as Sirius Black's head popped through the door, followed by Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, the latter of which seemed thoroughly uninterested, as his nose was buried in the book he held.

"Merlin– Why on Earth must you insist on–"

"Hush now, Lily, you know you enjoy our company." Sirius smiled.

Evie watched as he sat down on her bench, Peter next to James, and Remus between herself and Sirius, still content reading. She shot Lily a look that clearly suppressed a laugh– Of course James Potter would try to sit with Lily Evans, and of course his three friends would be right on his tail. Although she wasn't close with them, Evie knew the four well enough to say that they were gearing up to be the biggest troublemakers at Hogwarts.

As Lily continued to bicker with James (with Sirius occasionally butting in, Peter listening intently), Evie decided to pull her focus to the quiet boy beside her.

Despite only being mere acquaintances with the four boys, Evie still knew that Remus was by far her favorite. He was a good student, nearly top of the class, yet he had the mischievousness of his three friends– but the thing that intrigued Evie the most were the mysteries that Remus hid– the scars that haunted his face and danced across his nose were his biggest mystery, she thought. What could the bronze-haired boy have done to earn such?

Casting her gaze away from his face, Evie looked to the frayed book in Remus' hands, the cover unfamiliar.

"What're you reading?" Evie asked, tapping the cover.

Remus looked at her before shutting the book, holding his finger in between to keep his page. The book wasn't one she'd ever heard of.

"It's a muggle book." he shrugged meekly.

"Oh... I know a few muggle books too, because my mum's a muggle... but I don't think I know that one,"

"I'm half too," the boy told her. He paused to tune into whatever it was James had gotten Sirius to start bellowing about, only to find that he definitely didn't want any part in their heated discussion about whether or not Sirius liked Marlene and why Lily wanted them to go find her instead of crowd her own car.

"So– Evelyn, right?" Remus already knew that was her name– they shared a house and therefore, all their classes with one another– but he simply asked out of politeness.

Evie smiled a toothy grin, genuine and contagious. "Mm-hmm. But most people call me Evie."

The smile he returned only made her smile more. "And you're Remus?"

The boy nodded in response.

The rest of the ride to Hogsmeade Station consisted of Evie and Remus continuing their own discussion, avoiding the others' until eventually being dragged into it by Sirius.

The year before, Evie certainly never thought she would find friends in the four prankster boys– perhaps she'd jumped to conclusions then, she thought. Sitting on the Hogwarts Express with them had forced her to realize: the boys were amusing– fun to be around. Maybe she'd find herself with them more often than not.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾