A Pearl For Arrogance

Chapter 4 - Remus Lupin

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A/N:

CW: Also introducing some swearing in here now and it will continue throughout the rest of the story. Some mention of physical fighting and bullying (I'm not sure if you need a warning for that, but just in case). There's nothing detailed about it, just inference.

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First year - September

There was a loud ringing sound blaring from something across the room. As his eyes adjusted to the bright light streaming in and his legs untangled from the mess of sheets he had snuggled into, he realised the culprit to the ringing was James Potter's alarm - as it had been the past three days. It was quickly turned off by a fully dressed prince, looking rather awake considering the time - that Remus now knew was 5 o'clock, having been subjected to James' early morning ritual - and then he was out the door. James normally woke up with his alarm, got dressed into his activewear, went out - for what Remus assumed was a run - then returned for a shower and got ready for school, before waking the rest of the dorm for breakfast.

He knew all of this because he could never fall back asleep, once his ears heard that blasted alarm he was awake and silently cursing Potter's 'early bird' blood. Casting a glance to the bed next to him he could make out a lump hidden under the blanket, with a small tuft of blonde hair barely peeking out. Across from Peter, a body moving in the bed captured his attention. Sirius. His pale hand went to his hair and stilled against his bare neck before Remus heard an annoyed sigh in remembrance fall from Sirius' lips. He had been doing that a lot and Remus couldn't figure out why . Maybe he got a haircut. But then why would he be annoyed about it?

Soon enough Sirius was asleep once again, deduced in the way his breathing had shallowed and his nose made funny noises. Remus allowed himself to huff out a quiet laugh before finding his book from the bedside table to his right. He was jealous of the way Peter could sleep through anything - like a rock - and the way Sirius could fall back asleep after being woken up. It wasn't fair. But it did allow him some time to read his novel ' Nowhere Boy' by Katherine Marsh.

His mum had given it to him for his birthday but he hadn't gotten around to reading it until this week. He found himself relating to the character Max in some ways, feeling disconnected from the world at Bloom College, always getting himself into trouble and now the unshakeable homesickness. The thought of being so far away at Hogwarts could never prepare him for the longing to fill the absence of his parents. This book was very different to the ones he had previously read. It had themes of racism and terrorism that gave Remus pause in most parts of the book. Oftentimes he would get lost thinking about the people Ahmed represented and what their lives must be like. It made him reflect upon the things he took for granted and the people in his life that cared for him.

He took a few moments to collect his thoughts, deciding to set a new goal, to improve his happiness at Hogwarts. Today he would try to talk with the people surrounding him. Since so far the only person he could be himself around currently lived in a dorm somewhere downstairs. Maybe he could find friends in the group like El had. He was proud of her for making friends so quickly and a little envious about how easy she made it look. The endless thoughts were soon interrupted by James returning to the dorm with a careless bang as the door shut behind the sweat covered boy. He gave Remus a large smile and tossed up his hand in greeting, before making his way into the bathroom, picking up the uniform already laid out on the bed. Remus took this as his cue to get his own uniform ready for today.

Inside of the wardrobe Remus picked out one of his shirts, a pair of trousers, socks and his red jumper. He didn't bother with a tie - if only to save himself the embarrassment of not knowing how to tie it. He changed quickly and made his way back to his bed, taking his phone off charge to send his mother a simple "good morning" text. Then opening Spotify, Remus went into a new collaborative playlist James had called "Lads in 203" and clicked the first song, 'Come On Eileen' by Dexys Midnight Runners, which seemed to be the only song that - after a lot of experimenting - could wake Peter up in the mornings.