Bravery

Remus waved Sirius off with a mild touch of envy. He braced himself for a fairly long wait for it would be quite a while before his name was called. He turned to talk to James but he was already occupied in a conversation with a thin girl with red hair and startling green eyes. Peter had inched forward to move away from James and was watching the Sorting avidly, his small black eyes unblinking.

Remus sighed and looked around, wishing for a distraction that would take his mind off the Sorting. Unlike James and Sirius, who seemed eminently comfortable about their right to be in Hogwarts, Remus would only truly feel secure only after he was Sorted. He still felt that their offer of a place to him was nothing more than a huge, elaborate mistake on their part and that he would soon be discreetly and politely asked to leave.

His head tilted back to observe the starry ceiling of the Hall, drinking in the beautiful sight. He had never imagined the Great Hall of Hogwarts to be so huge and magnificent. Remus' mouth opened into a silent 'wow' as he admired the awe-inspiring view, the black sky contrasting with the twinkling of the stars. It was hard to believe that the grand sight was his to see.

He had dreamed of attending Hogwarts since he was a child but had always been warned by his parents that they most likely would not take him in. Not after the accident. Remus frowned at the unpleasant experiences that surfaced along with that thought and felt an involuntary shudder run through him. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms in an attempt to comfort himself. Desperate for a distraction against the deluge of painful memories and emotions, Remus intensified his inspection of the Great Hall.

At least I'll remember how it looks like in case they realise they made a mistake and tell me to go back home

He dropped his gaze to look at the rest of the Hall - it was filled mainly with tables actually, with little by way of decoration. There were the long tables for the different Houses, the Prefects' table and the High table for the teachers. The sight of the bare tabletops reminded him that dinner was long overdue. His stomach growled right on cue, a physical expression of his hunger. Remus resolutely ignored the rumblings of his protesting stomach and let his eyes proceed onto their inspection of his surroundings, including his fellow new schoolmates.

His wandering gaze fell on the black-haired boy Sirius had maligned earlier. Remus took a half-step closer to him, determined to see for himself whether the boy really was as awful as Sirius had made him out to be.

The boy was tall for his age, definitely taller than Remus, who was only of average height. His longish black hair was tucked neatly behind his ears. Remus grinned to himself; the stranger certainly had an overly sharp nose and a very forbidding expression on his face indeed, which was incongruous on a boy so young.

Unfortunately, in a most unfortunate and clichéd coincidence, the boy chose to turn at the precise moment that Remus was inspecting him. He looked Remus straight in the eye with a mildly challenging glint. Remus squirmed in embarrassment as having been caught staring. In an attempt to recover lost composure, he gave a small, shy smile and wiggled his fingers in a tentative wave. To his amazement, the boy's dour expression lightened slightly and he nodded, acknowledging Remus' greeting. Despite the small gesture, Remus felt immensely cheered.

He's not that bad

James suddenly placed his chin on Remus' shoulder, making Remus jump slightly. Ever since his accident, Remus preferred to maintain a huge amount of personal space.

"Looking at the ugly git, eh, Remus?"

"He's not ugly."

James snorted rudely. "You're right, he's not ugly. Just hideous."

Remus made a scandalised cry. "James, that really isn't fair!"

James lifted his head off Remus' shoulder and pouted charmingly. "But Remus, he IS hideous. I mean, look at the hair! Just look at it! And that NOSE! Good grief, I wouldn't have turned up at Hogwarts if I had a nose like that "

"He was born with it. He can't help it."

"His parents could have cast a Reduction Charm "

"It's dangerous to cast such charms on children. Their bones aren't finished with growing yet and you could harm the overall growth."

James frowned, unrepentant. "His nose could do with NO growth at this stage. Anyway, how'd you know such stuff? You mean it's true? You can't cast Reduction Charms on children?"

Remus nodded firmly.

James sighed exaggeratedly. "What a pity. It was a thought. Anyway, which person are they at now for the Sorting? I stopped paying attention after Lily was Sorted."

"I don't know, honestly. I've lost track myself. And who is Lily?"

James suddenly and suspiciously turned a bright shade of red. "That cute red-haired girl I was talking to."

Remus smirked. There was no way he was going to let this one go so easily. "And which House did she go to?" He was confident James knew the answer, which he did.

"Gryffindor." Came the prompt reply.

"And which House do you want to be in, James?" Remus asked slyly.

"Gryffindor."

Remus pounced. "Ah ha! That's because you fancy her, don't you?"

James slapped a hand to his forehead. "No, no, how could you think that, Remus? It's been a Potter family tradition to be in Gryffindor..." Remus looked at James disbelievingly.

"I'm being honest!" James nodded his head vigorously only to pause and rub his hands together with a devilish look on his face. "Though I daresay, having her in the same House is obviously a bonus. I can't wait to be Sorted."

Remus laughed. "Some cultivation of patience would be necessary then, James. You do realise that you will be the last among the four of us to be called? Your surname's Potter, remember?"

James' eyes grew large and round as he digested the information. "You're right! Oh no! And then, I'll be stuck with HIM!" He gestured to the poor boy Sirius had mentioned earlier.

Remus shook his head. "Not again! There's nothing wrong with the boy and you know that. Well, not that we know of anyway. You're just being biased by his looks. You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

After all, you don't know anything about me, do you?

James dismissed Remus' covert warning with a casual toss of his head. "Nah, he's the evil sort, I can feel it in my bones. Look at him, he's a classic Slytherin, I'm sure of it. And look at you, all big-eyed and long eyelashes There's no way somebody like you would be in Slytherin."

Remus shrugged. "I really wouldn't be too sure about that, James."

James looked at Remus curiously, unsettled by the boy's comment. "And just what do you mean by that?"

Whatever response Remus would have given was curtailed when Professor McGonagall finally called him. "Lupin, Remus!" She craned her neck around to look for the boy. The students had long abandoned any sort of queue system and were milling around in a small crowd.

Remus raised a hand to bring Professor McGonagall's attention to him. "I'm here." Was it his imagination or did Professor McGonagall actually give him an encouraging nod?

"Mr. Lupin, if you would please move to the chair?"

James shoved Remus to the front. "Go on, it's your turn! And save a seat for me if you get into Gryffindor!" He winked at Remus who slowly walked forward. His stomach churned and his palms turned cold and clammy as he walked the small distance to the chair. Never had a ratty Hat taken on such a great importance in his life.

Like the students before him, the floppy Hat overwhelmed Remus' small, delicate face. Unlike Sirius, however, he was content to leave it on, preferring not to see the other students' expressions as he was being Sorted. His only concession to comfort was to tip the Hat slightly upwards so that he could breathe better. There was no point in being suffocated before he was even Sorted.

Just put me in a House, any House. The Hat might just announce to the Hall that they're actually expelling me.

"Nonsense! Why on earth would I do that? It would be a terribly silly thing to do to ask you to leave after making you travel all the way here! Not to mention the hours they spent debating your case," a sharp voiced echoed in Remus' head.

Who are 'they'? Remus asked, thrown mentally off balance by the abrupt start to the conversation.

"The teachers. You are the one aren't you? The werewolf," the Hat asked matter-of-factly, as if meeting werewolves were an ordinary business.

Remus nodded.

"I thought so. You've got a lot of things hidden in that head of yours. You can fool your friends but you can't fool me. You caused quite a sensation, I promise you. I never thought I would see a bunch of grown wizards creating such a ruckus but they did. Almost gave me a headache. Well, not that I have a head anyway. Not all of them wanted you in, mind you. But the Headmaster won, of course. McGonagall was on his side but it would have made no difference. The stubborn old goat would have let you in."

Remus asked the Hat tentatively. "What about you? Do you think I should have come?"

The Hat made a rude disparaging noise. "I'm a Sorting Hat, not a Headmaster."

Remus persisted, trying his best to get rid of that niggling doubt at the back of his mind. They're really not going to ask me to leave?

The Hat harrumphed in mild annoyance. "Argh! Merlin spare me from stubborn boys. No, they will not expel you and can you please keep quiet. You do want to be Sorted, don't you?"

Remus wisely held his peace, his heart thumping in his chest. They're not going to ask me to leave. Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou

"Hmm, let's not waste any more time. Let's see, you'll never make a good Slytherin, you're not slimy enough."

Remus could not resist interrupting the Hat again. You mean, I'm not going to be in Slytherin? I thought, you, know, since I'm a he faltered.

"No, being a werewolf doesn't make you a Slytherin. Don't be silly. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not putting you there because they'll have you for breakfast. You're not the slimy sort and you don't like attracting attention. Slytherins love an audience. And you're not a Hufflepuff either. You move far too fast for them. Hufflepuffs like to keep a sedate pace."

Remus cheered up at that. That's nice to know.

"That leaves Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Under normal circumstances, I would have made you a Ravenclaw. You've got a classic scholar's mind. But then, you're not a normal boy, are you?"

Remus' hand moved involuntarily to his shoulder where his scar was, and smiled wistfully. Not since I was five years old.

"Well, it wasn't your fault so stop beating yourself about it. It's not worth it; trust me. It's going to be a hard life, you know. Not all the teachers are behind you and you're not going to get many friends if they ever find out what you are."

At that time, Remus hoped fervently that Sirius and James would never find out.

"Are you willing to take that risk?"

Remus nodded resolutely. I am.

"Good. Godric would be really proud to have you in his house. You know, had you been there in his time, he would have definitely let you in."

"You mean the famous Godric?" Remus attempted to squeeze in one last question but it was ignored as the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

You really think so? That Godric? Wow! He was truly awed.

"Yes, I think so. Now go along, I've got other students to Sort," the Hat replied gruffly.

Remus smiled, his heart feeling lighter than it had been for ages. Thank you. With that, he got up to walk towards Sirius, who had already reserved a seat for him at the table.