FIC: A Muggle-Born Wizard, Chapter Three
Jun. 18th, 2006 07:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mysidDisclaimer: Davy belongs to CLS; all other characters belong to J.K. Rowling
Author's Note: When I wrote this, I imagined that Remus’s friends realized that he is a werewolf early in their second year. So, in this story, they don’t know yet—but soon will.
A Muggle-Born Wizard
Chapter Three- The Gryffindors
Freya hooted impatiently. She, for one, was anxious to pass through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ and be on her way to Hogwarts. Davy’s mother, on the other hand, eyed the barrier nervously as she twisted the strap of her black handbag.
“I don’t know. You say we can get through, but—oh, I do trust you, Maggie,” Davy’s mother assured Mrs. Black, “but, it just looks so—so—“
“Solid?” Mrs. Black said with a laugh. “Why don’t we just say our good-byes to the boys here. It can be tricky to pass through if you don’t really believe you can do it.”
Davy felt the butterflies in his stomach again. He had felt them so often this summer that he almost thought of them as pets. Sirius had told him how easy it was to pass through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, so the barrier had not made him nervous—at first. However, Sirius had never said that the barrier could be “tricky” if you had doubts. How could he walk into a solid wall and not have doubts about his ability to pass through? This worry nagged at him as he kissed his mother good-bye and turned to watch Sirius disappear through the barrier. Davy hesitated for a moment, and then for another.
“Davy, when you’re nervous, it helps to run at the barrier,” Mrs. Black offered in a kind voice. He nodded but didn’t move. The idea of running into a solid wall was even less appealing than walking into one.
Suddenly, he thought of the broomstick. He had been certain that it would not come up to his hand, yet he had commanded it “Up” anyway, and “Up” it had come. Maybe it wouldn’t matter if he had doubts; maybe he just had to act as if he didn’t. Davy pushed the trolley carrying his trunk to within a few feet of the barrier, shut his eyes, and walked forward.
“I told you it was easy,” said Sirius’s voice. Davy opened his eyes to see Sirius waiting for him a short distance ahead. “C’mon. Let’s go find my friends. We all agreed to meet near the back of the train.”
As they pushed their trolleys down the length of the platform, Davy gazed around in amazement. The train itself was bright red and had the shine of fresh polish; it reminded Davy of a train in a child’s picture book. Knots of people stood here and there: students saying good-bye to their parents, students searching for their friends, adults greeting their old friends, and cats and owls everywhere.
After his experience in Diagon Alley, Davy was relieved to see that almost everyone was wearing muggle clothing. Sirius had assured him that it would be this way. They were expected to try to “blend in” as they walked through King’s Cross Station. Of course, some people were better at “blending in” than others. A man wearing a well-tailored pinstripe suit together with a magenta top hat and pointed magenta boots caught his eye, as did a man wearing plaid flannel pyjamas and a pair of cowboy boots.
The crowd was thick and difficult to navigate through.
“Would you mind waiting here with our stuff?” Sirius suddenly asked. “I’ll dash around and find my friends.”
“All right, “ Davy said with a nod, and Sirius disappeared into the crowd. Freya hooted and swiveled her head around to stare at him. “Don’t worry, Freya. We’ll get on the train soon.”
Davy observed the crowd again. He wondered which students were his fellow first years. He decided that a girl near him with her blonde hair in a long plait must be. Her eyes were wide as she looked around, and her knuckles were white as she tightly clutched the handle of her cat’s basket. He hoped that he didn’t look as nervous as she did.
Then he saw them. The black-haired boy from Diagon Alley and two of his friends were walking straight toward him. The other two were talking to each other and hadn’t noticed him, but the black-haired boy, Severus Snape, was looking directly at him. Davy had no doubt that he had been recognized.
To Davy’s immense surprise, and relief, Snape didn’t say a word as he passed by. But the moment of relief was short lived. Sirius and a boy wearing glasses, running through the crowd, came to a sudden halt in front of the three Slytherins.
“Potter and Black. So glad to see that the romance is alive and well,” Snape sneered. “We were worried when we saw Black in Diagon Alley without you, Potter.”
The other two laughed cruelly, and then the blonde one spoke.
“Where’s your little mudblood pet, Black? Did he get smart and stay home where he belongs?”
“No,” Snape said coolly, “he’s standing behind you, Evan.”
When the Slytherins turned to look at him, Davy saw that they were both holding their wands. A wave of ice water flooded through him. He tore his eyes away from the wands to look at Sirius. Sirius and his friend were holding theirs as well.
“Not here,” Snape hissed at his friends. Then he spoke to Sirius and the other boy. “See you on the train.”
The incident wasn’t discussed while the three set off to load the luggage onto the train. Sirius introduced the other boy as James, and Davy smiled remembering what Sirius had said about James’s flying skills. He wondered if James’s hair was always so messy, or if he had been flying that morning.
When they drew near their chosen compartment, Davy saw two boys and four adults watching their approach with smiles. While James carried Freya’s cage on board, and two of the adults levitated the trunks on board, Sirius made quick introductions all around.
“Everyone, this is Davy Hollerith, the first year student from my village that I told you about. Davy, this is Remus and his mother, Mrs. Lupin. This is Peter and his mother, Mrs. Pettigrew. Those are James’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, just coming back off the train.
“Where’s your family, Sirius?” Mrs. Potter asked.
“Dad got called into the office on some emergency, and Mum and Andie stayed back on Platform 9 with Davy’s mother. We all came to London together in Mrs. Hollerith’s car.”
Davy noted that none of them seemed surprised or bothered by the fact that his mother hadn’t wanted to some onto Platform 9 ¾, or that she drove a car. He also noted that James was the only one of them with both parents present. This made him feel better. He had been disappointed that his father had said that he would be too busy with work and wouldn’t be able to see him off on the train, but obviously his dad wasn’t the only one who was busy—although his dad was certainly the only one of this group fixing cars today.
He listened as the parents gave their parting advice to their sons.
“Please study harder this year, Peter. Your father and I are certain you can get better grades if you just apply yourself.”
“…and a few less detentions, please, James. Honestly, I think Professor McGonagall must have an owl reserved just to send letters to your father and me.”
“Good luck with Quidditch tryouts, Son.”
Davy looked over at Remus and his mother, but they had moved away from the others and were speaking softly.
Before he knew it, he and the other four boys were all in their compartment, and the Hogwarts Express was under way.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters, Davy?” Remus asked.
“An older sister, Lizzie. She got married last year, so now it’s just Mum and Dad and I at home.”
“My two brothers are a lot older than me, too,” Peter said. “They already finished Hogwarts.”
“Remus and I are only children,” added James.
“You said that just your mother brought you here today?” Peter asked. Davy nodded, wondering where he was leading. “Let me guess. Your father said something like, ‘Why should I take a morning off from work when I can say good-bye just as well at home.’ “
Davy felt his cheeks burn, and he looked at Peter’s shoes while he nodded.
“That’s what my father used to say when my mother asked him to go with us to see my brothers off on the train. Now she doesn’t even ask anymore.”
“Muggle fathers, wizard fathers, not so different,” mused Remus.
“Well,” said Sirius, dispelling the slight tension with a laugh, “let’s give Mr. Potter an award for actually making it to the train today.”
“We can send him a Hogwarts toilet seat,” chuckled James. “Mum will pretend to be furious, and he’ll think it’s hysterical.” Sirius and Peter laughed with James while Remus and Davy grinned.
“Is your dad at work too?” Davy asked Remus—and immediately regretted the question as the laughter died abruptly.
“No idea,” Remus said with a shrug. “I haven’t seen him since I was six.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” mumbled Davy. He felt his cheeks burning again.
“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t bother me,” Remus said calmly. He looked around at his now silent friends. “Honestly, guys. Mum and I are fine without him. It’s hardly the biggest problem in my life.” He had said the last sentence with a slight frown, but now he smiled at his friends again. “Getting through Potions without poisoning myself is much more important.”
“Speaking of poison,” Sirius said as a wicked grin spread over his face, “I know of a few venomous snakes who need to be dealt with.”
“We had a little run in with our favourite Slytherins on the platform,” James explained to Remus and Peter.
“And in Diagon Alley,” Sirius added. “Snape and his crowd were giving Davy a hard time for being muggle-born.”
“And they were giving you a hard time for having a romance with me,” James sighed as he fluttered his eyelashes at Sirius.
James and Peter fell into a fit of giggles, but Sirius just stared at James and said solemnly, “I’m sorry, James. You’re my best friend, but romance is out of the question.” He then threw an arm around the shoulders of Remus, who was sitting beside him. “My heart already belongs to Remus.”
“Oh, please,” said Remus, shoving Sirius away, “that’s all I need, a reputation as Sirius Black’s boyfriend.” Remus shook his head with a wry smile as the other four boys laughed.
When Sirius finally stopped laughing, he stood up and pulled out his wand. “OK. Who wants to go reptile hunting?” James was immediately on his feet.
“I’ll come if you want, guys,” Peter said hesitantly, “but you know I won’t be much help in a duel.”
“You can draw their fire away from us,” James said grinning. Sirius snorted with a suppressed laugh.
“Peter, we need you here to stay with Davy,” Remus said; he glared at James.
“You’re coming then, Remus?” James asked.
“If you two are determined to go, of course I’ll go. Neither of you can block a curse yet. But—”
“Uh-oh, the voice of reason,” Sirius muttered.
“If you go after Snape today, he’ll know that he struck a nerve with you by harassing Davy. And trust me, it is not a good idea to let Snape know what your vulnerabilities are.”
“I don’t care, Remus,” Sirius said as he moved toward the door.
“Yes, but what about Davy?” Remus asked calmly. “If Snape figures out that harassing Davy is an easy way to annoy you, he could make Davy’s life hell. Why do you think he picks on Peter and me? He knows that it drives you and James nuts.” Peter began nodding in agreement.
This partially explained Snape’s earlier behaviour to Davy. “He ignored me on the platform until you arrived, Sirius,” Davy said.
“See what I mean?” Remus asked.
Sirius scowled the same way he had in Diagon Alley. He obviously wanted to fight, but was realizing that he couldn’t, again. James was frowning too.
“We can’t let the Slytherins get away with calling someone a ‘mudblood’,” James murmured, but he sat back down. “So, what do we do, O Great Level-headed One?”
“Wait a day or two,” Remus explained. “Then the very next time Snape makes some snarky comment about anything else, and he will, it’s open season on snakes. Besides, it will give us time to plan a truly nasty prank.”
Sirius returned to his seat and put his arm around Remus’s shoulders again. “You’re so devious. No wonder I love you, Remus.” The laughter lasted several minutes this time.
As the afternoon wore on, Davy observed his travelling companions. He knew he’d be very fortunate if he made friends at Hogwarts who suited him as well as Sirius’s friends suited Sirius, but that didn’t mean that he wanted friends exactly like these. Davy didn’t want to spend the next seven years in the middle of a feud, whereas his companions seemed to enjoy the excitement. Davy just wanted to get along with people and focus on his studies.
During a lull in the conversation, Davy asked, “What are the other two houses like? I think I’ve gotten a clear picture of Gryffindor and Slytherin.”
“The Ravenclaws are usually smart and studious,” Sirius said, “hard to get their noses out of their books—like you, Darling.” He smiled at Remus as James snorted.
Remus ignored the “Darling” and calmly stated, “Well, both of my parents were in Ravenclaw. Besides, I have to work hard so I won’t fall behind when I’m absent.”
Davy wondered if Remus was absent often, but James spoke before he could consider asking.
“The Hufflepuffs are nice. They try to get along with everyone.”
“They get crushed in Quidditch, though,” Sirius added.
“Quidditch isn’t that important,” Remus muttered. Sirius and James both gasped in mock horror.
“That’s it, Remus! I’m breaking up with you!” Sirius exclaimed.
“Thank you,” Remus sighed.
Davy wanted to steer the conversation back to the houses. “How do they decide which house to put you in?” he asked.
“We aren’t allowed to tell you,” Sirius said, “but it’s nothing to worry about.”
“My mum called it ‘a delightful surprise’ and had me very worried,” Remus said with a smile.
“One of my older brothers kept hinting that it was painful,” Peter said, and then added quickly, “but it isn’t.”
“I’ll tell you this much,” James said, “you’ll end up in the house that really reflects who you are inside, and then you’ll be surrounded by others who are similar to you. You’re bound to make lots of friends.”
Davy nodded. James had answered the questions he hadn’t asked, but had wanted the answers to.
“As long as you don’t end up in Slytherin,” Peter said.
“Oh, yeah, like that would happen,” Sirius said sarcastically.
“You can always veto a house,” Remus offered.
“No you can’t—you can?” James sounded genuinely surprised.
Remus started to blush and murmured, “Well, only if it’s slow to decide with you, I guess, otherwise there isn’t time.” Remus looked out the window as if avoiding the eyes of the others.
Sirius began to laugh. “You did, didn’t you? You vetoed a house. Which one? And if you say Slytherin—"
Remus said nothing.
“Oh God, it was, wasn’t it?” Sirius looked shocked for a moment and then resumed laughing.
“What other secrets are you hiding, Remus?” James asked with a grin.
“Just toss me another chocolate frog and shut up,” Remus grumbled.
* * * * * *
“Greenleaf, Jane.”
Davy looked nervously out at the four long tables in the Great Hall. Any moment now he would hear his name and learn which table would be his.
“RAVENCLAW!”
The second table from the left exploded into cheers. Every time this happened, it gave Davy a bit more courage. No matter what the Sorting Hat said, he knew that he would be welcomed—quite noisily.
“Harcourt, Sylvia.”
The dark-haired girl beside him stepped forward slowly. Fear radiated from her.
“Good luck,” Davy whispered.
She sat on the stool carefully, as if afraid that she would break it. As she put the hat on her head, just before it slipped over her eyes, Davy saw her glance in the direction of the Slytherin table. He wondered if she was afraid of the Slytherins too.
“SLYTHERIN!”
Relief and joy lit her face as she pulled off the Sorting Hat and hurried to join her new house. Apparently not afraid of Slytherin, afraid of not getting into Slytherin.
“Hollerith, David.”
Davy took a deep breath and walked forward. He glanced at the table on the far left, to where he had already spotted Sirius and his friends. He saw that they were all smiling at him. Somehow, this made him more nervous. Sirius had been a good friend to him all summer, and Davy didn’t want to disappoint him. He carefully put the old and fragile hat onto his head and waited.
“A loyal friend and a hard worker,” said a voice in his ear. “It’s clear that you belong in HUFFLEPUFF!”
The table on the far right exploded into cheers this time. Davy looked happily at them as he pulled off the hat. He realized that cheers were coming from the left as well. Sirius and his friends were cheering for him. He knew then that he hadn’t disappointed Sirius. He flashed a smile of gratitude at them and then hurried off to join his new house.
Davy Hollerith of Hufflepuff, he thought, it has a nice ring to it.
Author's Note: I tried to walk a fine line with Snape—he never makes a “mudblood” comment, but he doesn’t object when his friends do. I wanted him to be the type of person who would join the DE’s and then turn against them.
Would twelve-year-old boys really make so many slash-y jokes? About others, yes. About themselves, no. But Remus insisted on saying that he didn’t want a reputation as Sirius’s boyfriend, and then Sirius just ran with it. Besides, Severus started it!
Are Davy’s troubles with bigots over? You can make an educated guess—or go read Black Shadow.
—written June 2002; edited June 2006
Author's Note: When I wrote this, I imagined that Remus’s friends realized that he is a werewolf early in their second year. So, in this story, they don’t know yet—but soon will.
Chapter Three- The Gryffindors
Freya hooted impatiently. She, for one, was anxious to pass through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ and be on her way to Hogwarts. Davy’s mother, on the other hand, eyed the barrier nervously as she twisted the strap of her black handbag.
“I don’t know. You say we can get through, but—oh, I do trust you, Maggie,” Davy’s mother assured Mrs. Black, “but, it just looks so—so—“
“Solid?” Mrs. Black said with a laugh. “Why don’t we just say our good-byes to the boys here. It can be tricky to pass through if you don’t really believe you can do it.”
Davy felt the butterflies in his stomach again. He had felt them so often this summer that he almost thought of them as pets. Sirius had told him how easy it was to pass through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, so the barrier had not made him nervous—at first. However, Sirius had never said that the barrier could be “tricky” if you had doubts. How could he walk into a solid wall and not have doubts about his ability to pass through? This worry nagged at him as he kissed his mother good-bye and turned to watch Sirius disappear through the barrier. Davy hesitated for a moment, and then for another.
“Davy, when you’re nervous, it helps to run at the barrier,” Mrs. Black offered in a kind voice. He nodded but didn’t move. The idea of running into a solid wall was even less appealing than walking into one.
Suddenly, he thought of the broomstick. He had been certain that it would not come up to his hand, yet he had commanded it “Up” anyway, and “Up” it had come. Maybe it wouldn’t matter if he had doubts; maybe he just had to act as if he didn’t. Davy pushed the trolley carrying his trunk to within a few feet of the barrier, shut his eyes, and walked forward.
“I told you it was easy,” said Sirius’s voice. Davy opened his eyes to see Sirius waiting for him a short distance ahead. “C’mon. Let’s go find my friends. We all agreed to meet near the back of the train.”
As they pushed their trolleys down the length of the platform, Davy gazed around in amazement. The train itself was bright red and had the shine of fresh polish; it reminded Davy of a train in a child’s picture book. Knots of people stood here and there: students saying good-bye to their parents, students searching for their friends, adults greeting their old friends, and cats and owls everywhere.
After his experience in Diagon Alley, Davy was relieved to see that almost everyone was wearing muggle clothing. Sirius had assured him that it would be this way. They were expected to try to “blend in” as they walked through King’s Cross Station. Of course, some people were better at “blending in” than others. A man wearing a well-tailored pinstripe suit together with a magenta top hat and pointed magenta boots caught his eye, as did a man wearing plaid flannel pyjamas and a pair of cowboy boots.
The crowd was thick and difficult to navigate through.
“Would you mind waiting here with our stuff?” Sirius suddenly asked. “I’ll dash around and find my friends.”
“All right, “ Davy said with a nod, and Sirius disappeared into the crowd. Freya hooted and swiveled her head around to stare at him. “Don’t worry, Freya. We’ll get on the train soon.”
Davy observed the crowd again. He wondered which students were his fellow first years. He decided that a girl near him with her blonde hair in a long plait must be. Her eyes were wide as she looked around, and her knuckles were white as she tightly clutched the handle of her cat’s basket. He hoped that he didn’t look as nervous as she did.
Then he saw them. The black-haired boy from Diagon Alley and two of his friends were walking straight toward him. The other two were talking to each other and hadn’t noticed him, but the black-haired boy, Severus Snape, was looking directly at him. Davy had no doubt that he had been recognized.
To Davy’s immense surprise, and relief, Snape didn’t say a word as he passed by. But the moment of relief was short lived. Sirius and a boy wearing glasses, running through the crowd, came to a sudden halt in front of the three Slytherins.
“Potter and Black. So glad to see that the romance is alive and well,” Snape sneered. “We were worried when we saw Black in Diagon Alley without you, Potter.”
The other two laughed cruelly, and then the blonde one spoke.
“Where’s your little mudblood pet, Black? Did he get smart and stay home where he belongs?”
“No,” Snape said coolly, “he’s standing behind you, Evan.”
When the Slytherins turned to look at him, Davy saw that they were both holding their wands. A wave of ice water flooded through him. He tore his eyes away from the wands to look at Sirius. Sirius and his friend were holding theirs as well.
“Not here,” Snape hissed at his friends. Then he spoke to Sirius and the other boy. “See you on the train.”
The incident wasn’t discussed while the three set off to load the luggage onto the train. Sirius introduced the other boy as James, and Davy smiled remembering what Sirius had said about James’s flying skills. He wondered if James’s hair was always so messy, or if he had been flying that morning.
When they drew near their chosen compartment, Davy saw two boys and four adults watching their approach with smiles. While James carried Freya’s cage on board, and two of the adults levitated the trunks on board, Sirius made quick introductions all around.
“Everyone, this is Davy Hollerith, the first year student from my village that I told you about. Davy, this is Remus and his mother, Mrs. Lupin. This is Peter and his mother, Mrs. Pettigrew. Those are James’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, just coming back off the train.
“Where’s your family, Sirius?” Mrs. Potter asked.
“Dad got called into the office on some emergency, and Mum and Andie stayed back on Platform 9 with Davy’s mother. We all came to London together in Mrs. Hollerith’s car.”
Davy noted that none of them seemed surprised or bothered by the fact that his mother hadn’t wanted to some onto Platform 9 ¾, or that she drove a car. He also noted that James was the only one of them with both parents present. This made him feel better. He had been disappointed that his father had said that he would be too busy with work and wouldn’t be able to see him off on the train, but obviously his dad wasn’t the only one who was busy—although his dad was certainly the only one of this group fixing cars today.
He listened as the parents gave their parting advice to their sons.
“Please study harder this year, Peter. Your father and I are certain you can get better grades if you just apply yourself.”
“…and a few less detentions, please, James. Honestly, I think Professor McGonagall must have an owl reserved just to send letters to your father and me.”
“Good luck with Quidditch tryouts, Son.”
Davy looked over at Remus and his mother, but they had moved away from the others and were speaking softly.
Before he knew it, he and the other four boys were all in their compartment, and the Hogwarts Express was under way.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters, Davy?” Remus asked.
“An older sister, Lizzie. She got married last year, so now it’s just Mum and Dad and I at home.”
“My two brothers are a lot older than me, too,” Peter said. “They already finished Hogwarts.”
“Remus and I are only children,” added James.
“You said that just your mother brought you here today?” Peter asked. Davy nodded, wondering where he was leading. “Let me guess. Your father said something like, ‘Why should I take a morning off from work when I can say good-bye just as well at home.’ “
Davy felt his cheeks burn, and he looked at Peter’s shoes while he nodded.
“That’s what my father used to say when my mother asked him to go with us to see my brothers off on the train. Now she doesn’t even ask anymore.”
“Muggle fathers, wizard fathers, not so different,” mused Remus.
“Well,” said Sirius, dispelling the slight tension with a laugh, “let’s give Mr. Potter an award for actually making it to the train today.”
“We can send him a Hogwarts toilet seat,” chuckled James. “Mum will pretend to be furious, and he’ll think it’s hysterical.” Sirius and Peter laughed with James while Remus and Davy grinned.
“Is your dad at work too?” Davy asked Remus—and immediately regretted the question as the laughter died abruptly.
“No idea,” Remus said with a shrug. “I haven’t seen him since I was six.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” mumbled Davy. He felt his cheeks burning again.
“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t bother me,” Remus said calmly. He looked around at his now silent friends. “Honestly, guys. Mum and I are fine without him. It’s hardly the biggest problem in my life.” He had said the last sentence with a slight frown, but now he smiled at his friends again. “Getting through Potions without poisoning myself is much more important.”
“Speaking of poison,” Sirius said as a wicked grin spread over his face, “I know of a few venomous snakes who need to be dealt with.”
“We had a little run in with our favourite Slytherins on the platform,” James explained to Remus and Peter.
“And in Diagon Alley,” Sirius added. “Snape and his crowd were giving Davy a hard time for being muggle-born.”
“And they were giving you a hard time for having a romance with me,” James sighed as he fluttered his eyelashes at Sirius.
James and Peter fell into a fit of giggles, but Sirius just stared at James and said solemnly, “I’m sorry, James. You’re my best friend, but romance is out of the question.” He then threw an arm around the shoulders of Remus, who was sitting beside him. “My heart already belongs to Remus.”
“Oh, please,” said Remus, shoving Sirius away, “that’s all I need, a reputation as Sirius Black’s boyfriend.” Remus shook his head with a wry smile as the other four boys laughed.
When Sirius finally stopped laughing, he stood up and pulled out his wand. “OK. Who wants to go reptile hunting?” James was immediately on his feet.
“I’ll come if you want, guys,” Peter said hesitantly, “but you know I won’t be much help in a duel.”
“You can draw their fire away from us,” James said grinning. Sirius snorted with a suppressed laugh.
“Peter, we need you here to stay with Davy,” Remus said; he glared at James.
“You’re coming then, Remus?” James asked.
“If you two are determined to go, of course I’ll go. Neither of you can block a curse yet. But—”
“Uh-oh, the voice of reason,” Sirius muttered.
“If you go after Snape today, he’ll know that he struck a nerve with you by harassing Davy. And trust me, it is not a good idea to let Snape know what your vulnerabilities are.”
“I don’t care, Remus,” Sirius said as he moved toward the door.
“Yes, but what about Davy?” Remus asked calmly. “If Snape figures out that harassing Davy is an easy way to annoy you, he could make Davy’s life hell. Why do you think he picks on Peter and me? He knows that it drives you and James nuts.” Peter began nodding in agreement.
This partially explained Snape’s earlier behaviour to Davy. “He ignored me on the platform until you arrived, Sirius,” Davy said.
“See what I mean?” Remus asked.
Sirius scowled the same way he had in Diagon Alley. He obviously wanted to fight, but was realizing that he couldn’t, again. James was frowning too.
“We can’t let the Slytherins get away with calling someone a ‘mudblood’,” James murmured, but he sat back down. “So, what do we do, O Great Level-headed One?”
“Wait a day or two,” Remus explained. “Then the very next time Snape makes some snarky comment about anything else, and he will, it’s open season on snakes. Besides, it will give us time to plan a truly nasty prank.”
Sirius returned to his seat and put his arm around Remus’s shoulders again. “You’re so devious. No wonder I love you, Remus.” The laughter lasted several minutes this time.
As the afternoon wore on, Davy observed his travelling companions. He knew he’d be very fortunate if he made friends at Hogwarts who suited him as well as Sirius’s friends suited Sirius, but that didn’t mean that he wanted friends exactly like these. Davy didn’t want to spend the next seven years in the middle of a feud, whereas his companions seemed to enjoy the excitement. Davy just wanted to get along with people and focus on his studies.
During a lull in the conversation, Davy asked, “What are the other two houses like? I think I’ve gotten a clear picture of Gryffindor and Slytherin.”
“The Ravenclaws are usually smart and studious,” Sirius said, “hard to get their noses out of their books—like you, Darling.” He smiled at Remus as James snorted.
Remus ignored the “Darling” and calmly stated, “Well, both of my parents were in Ravenclaw. Besides, I have to work hard so I won’t fall behind when I’m absent.”
Davy wondered if Remus was absent often, but James spoke before he could consider asking.
“The Hufflepuffs are nice. They try to get along with everyone.”
“They get crushed in Quidditch, though,” Sirius added.
“Quidditch isn’t that important,” Remus muttered. Sirius and James both gasped in mock horror.
“That’s it, Remus! I’m breaking up with you!” Sirius exclaimed.
“Thank you,” Remus sighed.
Davy wanted to steer the conversation back to the houses. “How do they decide which house to put you in?” he asked.
“We aren’t allowed to tell you,” Sirius said, “but it’s nothing to worry about.”
“My mum called it ‘a delightful surprise’ and had me very worried,” Remus said with a smile.
“One of my older brothers kept hinting that it was painful,” Peter said, and then added quickly, “but it isn’t.”
“I’ll tell you this much,” James said, “you’ll end up in the house that really reflects who you are inside, and then you’ll be surrounded by others who are similar to you. You’re bound to make lots of friends.”
Davy nodded. James had answered the questions he hadn’t asked, but had wanted the answers to.
“As long as you don’t end up in Slytherin,” Peter said.
“Oh, yeah, like that would happen,” Sirius said sarcastically.
“You can always veto a house,” Remus offered.
“No you can’t—you can?” James sounded genuinely surprised.
Remus started to blush and murmured, “Well, only if it’s slow to decide with you, I guess, otherwise there isn’t time.” Remus looked out the window as if avoiding the eyes of the others.
Sirius began to laugh. “You did, didn’t you? You vetoed a house. Which one? And if you say Slytherin—"
Remus said nothing.
“Oh God, it was, wasn’t it?” Sirius looked shocked for a moment and then resumed laughing.
“What other secrets are you hiding, Remus?” James asked with a grin.
“Just toss me another chocolate frog and shut up,” Remus grumbled.
“Greenleaf, Jane.”
Davy looked nervously out at the four long tables in the Great Hall. Any moment now he would hear his name and learn which table would be his.
“RAVENCLAW!”
The second table from the left exploded into cheers. Every time this happened, it gave Davy a bit more courage. No matter what the Sorting Hat said, he knew that he would be welcomed—quite noisily.
“Harcourt, Sylvia.”
The dark-haired girl beside him stepped forward slowly. Fear radiated from her.
“Good luck,” Davy whispered.
She sat on the stool carefully, as if afraid that she would break it. As she put the hat on her head, just before it slipped over her eyes, Davy saw her glance in the direction of the Slytherin table. He wondered if she was afraid of the Slytherins too.
“SLYTHERIN!”
Relief and joy lit her face as she pulled off the Sorting Hat and hurried to join her new house. Apparently not afraid of Slytherin, afraid of not getting into Slytherin.
“Hollerith, David.”
Davy took a deep breath and walked forward. He glanced at the table on the far left, to where he had already spotted Sirius and his friends. He saw that they were all smiling at him. Somehow, this made him more nervous. Sirius had been a good friend to him all summer, and Davy didn’t want to disappoint him. He carefully put the old and fragile hat onto his head and waited.
“A loyal friend and a hard worker,” said a voice in his ear. “It’s clear that you belong in HUFFLEPUFF!”
The table on the far right exploded into cheers this time. Davy looked happily at them as he pulled off the hat. He realized that cheers were coming from the left as well. Sirius and his friends were cheering for him. He knew then that he hadn’t disappointed Sirius. He flashed a smile of gratitude at them and then hurried off to join his new house.
Davy Hollerith of Hufflepuff, he thought, it has a nice ring to it.
Author's Note: I tried to walk a fine line with Snape—he never makes a “mudblood” comment, but he doesn’t object when his friends do. I wanted him to be the type of person who would join the DE’s and then turn against them.
Would twelve-year-old boys really make so many slash-y jokes? About others, yes. About themselves, no. But Remus insisted on saying that he didn’t want a reputation as Sirius’s boyfriend, and then Sirius just ran with it. Besides, Severus started it!
Are Davy’s troubles with bigots over? You can make an educated guess—or go read Black Shadow.
—written June 2002; edited June 2006