We Were Infinite

Chapter 3: We've all got our demons - Year One

Remus Lupin had never before felt like a normal child. But as the first few weeks of school flew by, he found himself nearly forgetting the voice in the back of his head that mockingly whispered You're a monster.

And what was more, he had friends.

James Potter, although slightly obnoxious and arrogant at times, was already proving to be an exceptionally talented and smart wizard, if not just a tad lazy. Growing up in a very wealthy and respected pureblood family, it was only natural that James easily excelled in nearly every class. He was also very funny, Remus found, once you got past his ego. James seemed to feel the need to make everyone around him laugh, and he often succeeded. In fact, the only person who didn't tend to find him funny was Lily Evans, but James only seemed to take this as a personal challenge. If Lily was around, you could guarantee that James was going to find a way to make himself the center of attention. He also had a habit of messing with his hair. A habit that they all found slightly ironic since his family's wealth came largely due to the invention of a potion meant for taming unruly hair. Remus wondered if it was some sort of rebellion on James' part, in some strange way.

The only person that seemed to match James' large personality was Sirius Black. Actually, the two of them seemed to thrive off each other and although they had only just met, Remus would have believed them to be brothers. Sirius, however, did not need to try to capture anyone's attention. Easily the most popular among the female students in their year (and even some older girls), Sirius Black seemed to naturally shine as bright as the star he was named for. Even the teachers couldn't help but fall for his charming smile. The only flaw that Remus could find in Sirius was his temper. Especially when dealing with matters of blood and family, Sirius' anger seemed to get the best of him. In just the first three weeks of school, James, Peter and Remus had pulled Sirius away from what could have ended up being a nasty fist fight with a second year Slytherin.

It was just after breakfast one Saturday morning and Sirius had received a letter from his younger brother, who was excited to hear about Hogwarts regardless of what house he had been sorted into. As they walked back to Gryffindor tower, Sirius spoke fondly of Regulus, telling the other three boys how relieved he was that his parents had yet to corrupt his sibling's innocent mind. A group of Slytherins happened to have overheard.

"Just wait til next year Black," The older boy sneered. "Once Regulus sees what an embarrassment you really are, you can bet he won't want anything to do with you either."

Sirius' fists clenched at his side and Remus was surprised that his neck didn't snap when he turned to face the Slytherins. "Bugger off, Lestrange."

"You're pathetic. Got the world handed to you on a silver platter, and you're throwing it away to hang around blood traitors and mudbloods. You're a disgrace. Regulus deserves a better-"

With an angry cry, Sirius was on top of Lestrange, and James, Peter and Remus were instantly trying to drag him off without being hit by his flying fists.

"You should have let me fight him." Sirius argued once they were back in the common room. "I could've taken him."

"He's twice your size." Remus reasoned with him.

"Size doesn't matter, the oaf didn't see Sirius coming at him." Peter grinned. Peter already idolized both Sirius and James, Remus noticed. And Sirius and James knew it, and loved it. If no one else was there to feed their egos, Peter was. Remus' only concern was that the two raven haired boys underestimated the smaller, chubbier boy. Peter was also very funny, but not in the loud way that commanded everyone's attention like the dynamic duo that was James Potter and Sirius Black. Peter's humor was more subtle and consisted of sarcastic side comments muttered under his breath that sometimes only Remus heard.