The Bonds of Spirit are stronger than the Bonds of Blood

Chapter Five

Sirius made his way to the common room alongside his best friends. His heart felt lighter after having shared his story. As they walked, James rambled on about his summer and all the amazing things he had done over the rather short vacation. Everyone knew he was lying, but it was still fun to hear what his imagination could come up with. His current story seemed to be about a wild hippogriff rampaging through his backyard. And there's the face he makes when he gets to the best part of the story. "Just as it was about to crash into the house – Boom!!!" And cue the gesture for an explosion of incredible proportion. "There was this great big fire ball! Right where the hippogriff was! And when the smoke cleared, there was this old man standing there mumbling on about how foolish everyone is!" This was met with tremendous laughter, of course. All his stories, while unrealistic, did manage to keep the others entertained. Sirius took the moment to observe his friends. James was in the middle, as usual. He tended to be the centre of their adventures, so it made sense for him to be the centre of their group.

On James' left was Remus. Remus had been a bit odd right from the start. He was a bit skittish when the boys had first met back on their first train ride to Hogwarts. Sirius smiled at the memories. He and James had met first. Not too much later, Remus appeared in their compartment. He and James did most of the talking in the beginning, but soon enough Remus joined in and the trio was complete. It was like they had been friends for years! The three of them spent the majority of the train ride just chatting away. Until they were joined by a small mousy boy, that is. That was Peter, who was currently trailing slightly behind the group. He was rather timid when he first joined them, and he still seemed timid quite often, but the boys all became fast friends. Sirius threw his arm around James, laughing at some joke he had not properly listened to, and walked up to the portrait of the fat lady. Remus said the password, as he was the only one in the group who could remember what the password was on the first day each year, and the quartet entered the common room.

Lily had been relaxing in the common room with her best friends since the feast ended. It was quiet for the moment as most students were still in the Great Hall, too full to move properly just yet. So her little trio enjoyed the peace while they could. Alice Winchester was chattering on about what she did over the summer, which was primarily nothing. That was perfectly to her liking, as she did quite a lot during the school year. Lydia Williams was listening intently and adding little tid-bits of her own holiday adventures. Lily smiled and nodded along politely, but her mind wasn't focused on the conversation. Instead, she found herself thinking about Sirius Black. She certainly hadn't been expecting to share her story with anyone, let alone a boy like him! And to think he wasn't all that she had thought! She was just about to answer the girls' question as to her own holiday when the portrait swung open. And in stepped the very person she had been thinking of, alongside his three best friends. Their eyes met as he passed, and the pair traded a nod of greeting. One thing was certain; this would be an interesting year.