Predator-Prey Relationships

Predator-Prey Relationships

"Now 'neath his dam the fawn may see

The lean pack wolf as cowed as he

And the tall buck, unflinching, note

The fangs that tore his father's throat.

The Pools are shrunk-the streams are dry

And we be playmates, thou and I"-The Jungle Law

The Hogwarts Express

The sun beat through the windowpane onto the plush seats, warming them with its gentle breath. The pane itself had long since absorbed enough sunlight to make a comfortable pillow, as it was demonstrating. Four children who had reached the age where they might be (and often were) called young men occupied the open cabin. The one employing the window as a headrest dozed serenely, long black hair flowing gracefully down around his head, eyes shut lightly, so that a pleasant orange filled his vision.

Sirius Black moved one leg, slowly and without stirring his calm façade, around the seat so that it rested in the aisle...where his friend lay, curled up in the sunbeam. The bespectacled boy sitting opposite him snickered, but barely audibly. It was a well-practiced and discrete laugh of approval. The cabin's fourth resident looked away from the window and saw what was going on, his dull, perpetually cloudy eyes lighting up. Sirius hesitated only another second, and lashed out, kicking the sleeping boy on the floor, and causing him to spring to his feet. Trying, and failing, to contain a grin, the boy let his wand fall to his hand and brought it up, pointing at Sirius' face. Laughing (in a rather canine way), Sirius took off, circling the small cabin. Remus Lupin pocketed his wand and sat down on the warm chair Sirius had vacated with a self-satisfied smile.

"You gotta stop sleeping on the floor, Moony," James Potter, the bespectacled boy, said, as though repulsed by the idea. "You're not a dog today."

"The floor happens to be comfortable, and roomy," Remus replied with an air of mock indignation, stretching out on the seat. Sirius looked at him, shook his head and then shoved the dull-eyed boy off his seat, which he promptly flopped down upon. This fourth boy, Peter Pettigrew, looked a little hurt, which, judging by the attitude of the rest of the group was a disgusting over-reaction. He opened his mouth to object, thought better of it, and sat down in a seat across the aisle.

"Now that we're all awake," James began, with a harsh look at Remus, who lifted his hands sarcastically. "We can get around to the important business of planning our academic year...we've got a lot of opportunities open to us, now Moony's prefect".

"You guys aren't really planning on doing that whole full-moon thing, are you? I mean, I know we've all just gotten the transformation down pat, but isn't the whole thing pretty immature? It's our O.W.L. year! Plus you could get in-" Peter was cut off.

"Shut up, Wormtail," Sirius scowled "You aren't really planning on doing that pathetic-obnoxious thing, are you? I mean, I know you've just realized you actually can become a rat, but isn't the whole thing pretty immature? Honestly. If you don't want to come, that can be arranged."

"No one's forcing you, Peter, but I really suggest that you do," James said, Sirius and Remus picking up on his deceptively sweet tone, which Peter seemed to have overlooked "if you were to drop out...you'd be-what's the word I'm looking for, Moony?"

Peter's submissive look shifted to Remus, his eyes betraying just how much he wanted that word to be 'missed'.

"A liability," Remus said, with a grin that began to show his teeth.

"Right, thanks. Exactly what he said...a liability...and then we'd have to book you some extra transformation sessions with McGonagal, wouldn't we...rat-boy." He finished emphatically. Two years before, they had been both inspired and impressed by a teacher. It was probably the only time they could remember feeling that way, and it had been induced by Professor McGonagal's transformation into a cat. Just this summer they had mastered their own animagi transformations. Peter, either taking every word of the threat literally or simply horrified at the thought of aggression from James or Sirius, was so mortified that he instantly sat upright in his seat, not making another sound.

"I wonder," said Sirius, in a predatory growl, "if we might find out the Slytherin's password this year...get Snivellus where he least expects it, y'know." He looked to James for approval, and saw that the other boy's attentions were elsewhere. A group of girls in their year had just stopped in the corridor outside their cabin. Among them stood a red-haired fellow Gryffindor, Lily Evans. James rose from his seat, eyes targeting Lily. He moved slowly towards the door, running his fingers through his hair rather sharply. "You look fine, Prongs," Peter piped in. This comment earned him such a nasty look from Sirius that he slid to the other end of the seat. James, now straightening his back, eyes unmoving, hadn't heard him.

"You know, Prongs," Moony said in teasing tones "There's a fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'."

"Shut up," James responded, grinning a little, though. Satisfied, apparently, with his appearance, he strode forward into the hall. Sirius put his hands behind his head and sat back, legs crossed, waiting for the entertainment to commence. Moony, rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, rummaged through his luggage and tossed Sirius a bag of chips before getting to his feet and silently sliding into the hallway after James.

James looked as though he was building up for a very long speech of self-advertisement, so the opening of another door was a welcome diversion. The girls, who had previously been so involved in their own conversation that it had taken James several attempts to get their attention, whirled around as though the sound of an opening door was expected to herald the release of a long-anticipated theatrical production. It was a fourth year they all knew rather well, for his excitable nature had landed him in hot water (sometimes literally) often. Though Dedalus Diggle had merely opened the door of his cabin to check if the snack-cart looked likely to come by, James strode in front of the girls in such a puffed-up display of protectiveness that Moony couldn't hide a smirk. "What's going on, Diggle?"

Remus' smirk matured into a grin at the pointless tension in James' tone. Unless he accidentally set fire to another Fanged-Frisbee, Dedalus was probably the least dangerous person they knew, and about as much a cause for alarm as warm oatmeal, when compared to some fourth years. It occurred, briefly, to him that there was actually some reason to worry that James might inadvertently kill Dedalus, if he started 'making an example' of him, but this, Remus reflected, was unlikely. James could be cruel, yes, but he was intrinsically a good person...in fact, a greater friend Remus had yet to meet.

"Hi Dedalus," Remus said brightly, startling the girls who stood in front of him, who hadn't heard or seen him. James didn't flinch. Remus' lycanthropy-given talent of suddenly appearing behind people had led to some suspicion that he was, in fact, a very solid looking ghost, but James was long since used to it.

"Mm...hi...have any of you seen the food-trah-oh," was the only response he got, as at that moment, the food-trolley was pushed into the corridor.

"Let's get our lunch, shall we?" Remus said, mainly to save Lily and her friends the trouble of having to get rid of James themselves, and James the trouble of having to dig himself out of the hole with them he habitually made deeper. James consented with a last, forlorn glance at Lily, and soon they were back in their cabin, door firmly closed this time, munching happily away and laughing about their plans for the year.