Always the Best of Friends

Sirius breathed in deeply as they fought the rest of the crowd towards the train. He loved the smell of the Hogwarts Express. It smelled of wonderful things such as fun and excitement, nervousness and anticipation. Mostly, it smelled like magic and pumpkin juice and maybe a little bit of sweat. As he dragged his trunk to the train, he nonchalantly swung it out to the side, nearly hitting the fourth year that was trying to weave in front of the boys. "Arse," he muttered in annoyance when the boy jumped back and stared at Sirius in dismay.

James laughed and flung his arm around Sirius's shoulder. "Oi! Get in line or we'll sic our owl on you!" he shouted to the boy, more to draw attention to himself than to really threaten the other student. "And I'm not joking one bit, either. He's a vicious beast, look what he did to me!" With that James tapped his ear, which appeared to be slightly swollen and crusted with dried blood. The fourth year grimaced and backed away, falling into place somewhere behind them.

"Merlin," Sirius grimaced when he noticed the damage to his friend's ear. "I'm sorry, mate, he's been in a mood lately."

James shrugged and allowed his arm to fall from Sirius's shoulders. Instead he shoved Sirius roughly in the back, making him trip up the stairs of one of the train's cars. "You need to train that monster," he advised good-naturedly.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Remus interrupted from behind in a moment of daring. It was rare for Remus to tease the other three simply because he seemed to lack the wit to do so effectively. "James, have you been beat up by a small owl?"

Scowling, but in a good mood all the same, James turned and glared at Remus. "No, Moony, if you must know, the beast is absolutely bloody rabid." And he had a point, too. Most owls didn't attack people, at least not witches and wizards.

Remus and Peter laughed and teased James and James ignored them, allowing them to carry on behind his back as he boarded the train. Sirius led them down the train's narrow corridor, glancing in windows for an empty compartment. When at long last he spotted one, two second year girls saw it at the same time and hurried forward.

"Don't even think about it," Sirius threatened, aiming his trunk at them and preparing to use it if necessary. The girls took one look at him, blushed, and turned and made a hasty retreat. Mildly surprised that the threat had actually worked with such ease, Sirius glanced at James as if looking for congratulations.

"Nice," was all James said. He slid the compartment door open and looked around before dragging his trunk in. He hauled his luggage into the overhead storage area and then took Peter's as well because Peter wasn't tall enough to reach on his own. Sirius and Remus followed and stored theirs as well. James let Calla out of her cage and Sirius bent to do the same with Spud.

James inadvertently shrank away from the charcoal bird as it fluttered up to join Calla on a small ledge near the ceiling.

Sirius rolled his eyes and glanced out the window. "Evans," he alerted James when he saw Lily hugging her parents goodbye.

James practically knocked Peter off of his feet in his flying leap towards the window. He stared out with his nose pressed to the glass, spectacles askew. "I'm going to marry that girl," he sighed, sounding almost disappointed as if he was still trying to convince himself of the fact. After all, everyone knew that Lily Evans hated James Potter's guts. James's black mess of hair sank slightly, appearing almost tame, but still as fantastic as ever.

Sirius peered out at Lily as well. She was accompanied by what Sirius assumed was her sister. It was the same girl he had seen on the platform with Lily every year and she always wore the same expression on her face - one of hatred and disgust. If they weren't standing together, nobody would ever know she was related to cheerful, witty Lily Evans. Lily's parents waved proudly as she boarded the train and after a moment, Sirius could no longer see her.

Peter had been kneeling on the bench beside Remus and watching Lily out the window as well. "You'll marry her alright, but you have to get her to like you first," he joked, nudging James.

James made a face at Peter mostly because Peter had voiced what he already knew, but he took the bait and responded with his usual sarcasm anyway. "Who doesn't like me?" he asked in an incredulous tone, and he had a point because nearly everyone did in fact like him. He struggled to find his reflection in the window, but once he did, he confidently ruffled his own hair. He checked the effect while Sirius, Remus, and Peter rolled their eyes and sighed loudly. Then James jumped out of his seat, slid open the door to the compartment and leaned out, lips puckered, just in time for Lily Evans to pass by. She stopped and raised her eyebrows, amused.

"In your dreams, Potter," she told him and continued walking without a backwards glance. James's eyes followed her to a compartment towards the front of the train, lips still puckered hopefully.

Disappointment flashed across his face when he saw which compartment she disappeared into. "Prefect?" he groaned. "She's a Prefect?" He knew his prank playing days were over if he ever wanted to have a chance with Lily.

"Oh, bugger, I forgot!" Remus blurted. He pulled his trunk down and rummaged in it wildly before emerging with his school robes. He pulled them over his head as the other three boys sat in silence, watching as if some demon had possessed him. As he adjusted the robes and dashed out of the compartment, James saw a glint of gold on Remus's chest.

"Him too?" he groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Sirius shrugged, surprised that Dumbledore had chosen Remus as Prefect, especially knowing his condition. But then he realized that the choice for a Gryffindor boy was either Remus or the rest of them and it was obvious that Remus was best suited for the job. He wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore was even hoping Remus would be able to exercise some control over them. "Honestly, mate, are you surprised?" Sirius laughed. "It was him or us, and, well... really, who would you choose?"

James sat down and sighed, staring darkly out the window as the train began to move. "Traitor," he muttered, casting dirty looks toward the seat the Remus had occupied moments before. Then he suddenly perked up. "Hey, I almost forgot," he said, standing and pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small, flat package wrapped in an old issue of The Daily Prophet. James tore open the paper and let it float to the ground as he triumphantly held up two small, grubby looking mirrors. "Check this out," he said, tossing one to Sirius.

"Wow. A mirror." Sirius turned the mirror over in his hands, but saw nothing spectacular about it. Rather, it seemed like nothing more than a plain old mirror. He passed it to Peter, who examined it with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Not just any mirror, Sirius," James corrected, finger in the air in a philosophical gesture. "These were my dad's. I found then in our attic and he said I could keep them if I didn't use them to cause trouble. Before the Floo Network came about, people used these mirrors to communicate with each other. Back in the old days. See?" James held his mirror up to his face and said, "Sirius Black."

His name echoed from the mirror in Peter's hands. "Give me that," Sirius snapped, snatching the mirror back again. He looked into it, but rather than his own reflection staring back, James's face was smiling at him. "Bloody hell," Sirius grinned.

"Chatting through the Floo Network is much more useful and practical, so they quit using the mirrors," James said knowledgably. He resembled Albert Einstein, Sirius thought; hair wild but clever as anything. "Floo lets you talk to more than one person at a time, you know? And the added traveling benefits make these mirrors pretty much history. Not to mention how fragile they are. There aren't many left, most have been accidentally broken. But I thought these would be perfect for detentions. Er... assuming we get detentions this year."

"Not making any promises, are you?" Peter asked, grinning.

James shrugged and was about to respond when Sirius interrupted. "Do I just talk into it to say something back?" he asked, looking self-conscious. He hoped nobody would walk past their compartment and see him talking to what looked like his own reflection in a mirror.

"That's right. Here, you keep that one, mate."

Sirius glanced into the mirror again, but James's face had disappeared and it was now his own staring back at him. He slid the mirror into his pocket and looked up at James. "Hang on," he said, watching James with suspicion etched upon his face. "Your dad actually trusted that you wouldn't use these for trouble?"

James pursed his lips and his eyebrows shot upwards as if he was holding in a big secret. "He may or may not have," he replied mysteriously before quickly changing the subject. "So, want to play?"

"Definitely," Peter grinned wickedly at his mates and wiped his palms on his shirt.

James stood and slid open the compartment door and the three wandered down the corridor. They stopped first at a compartment filled with the Gryffindor fifth year girls. "Ladies," James greeted, sliding their door open and leaning against it casually.

"Potter," Maci Burrows greeted him skeptically. "And Black," she added when Sirius appeared behind James. "Peter! How are you? Lily's not here, by the way," she told James. She didn't bother to hide her suspicious studying of the three. They were always up to no good, after all.

James scowled. "Calm down, Burrows, we just wanted to say hi. It's been months and all that."

At that moment, Severus Snape slunk down the corridor behind them. Sirius casually, without even looking away from the girls, slipped his leg behind him just as Snape was walking past. Snape let out gasp of surprise as he tripped and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The Gryffindor girls looked around for the sound of the noise, having not seen what happened through the mess of James's, Peter's and Sirius's legs in the doorway. They clapped their hands over their mouths and attempted to hold back their giggles when they saw the mound of black robes on the floor behind the boys.

"Well," Sirius addressed James smoothly as if nothing had happened. "Let's move on, James, we are obviously not welcome here. Peter?" James obediently closed the compartment door and they continued down the corridor, not sparing a backwards glance for Snape still sprawled on the floor.

The next compartment they stopped at contained two members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team for which James played Chaser. Frank Longbottom, a burly seventh year, was sprawled across the bench on one side of the compartment. Best friends Alice Campbell, also a seventh year, and Callie Coogan, a sixth year, sat together on the other bench sharing pictures from the summer holidays. Both Frank and Callie were on the team and Alice was Frank's girlfriend of two years now.

"Hey boys," Callie greeted them brightly when James opened the door. Callie Coogan had always been friends with James. She was athletic and outgoing, not into make up and fashion like a lot of females were.

"Hey Frank, last year, huh?" James asked, grinning. "Coogan, Campbell," he nodded to the girls.

"It is, yes," Frank smiled. "Finally."

"Ready for your N.E.W.T.s?" Sirius asked, even though he knew Frank was dreading them.

"Oh Merlin, don't remind me," Frank grumbled, twirling his wand absently.

After visiting for a few minutes, the three boys returned to the corridor once more. They all exchanged glances as if trying to figure out what to do next. They were considering bombarding the Prefects' compartment to bother Remus, but James didn't want to make things worse with Lily.

"You know," Sirius suggested after a moment, "we could pay a visit to my dear cousin."

"Good thinking, mate, I'm sure she missed me something horrid over the holidays," James piped.

They found Bellatrix in a compartment at the very end of the train. She was dutifully snogging her boyfriend, Rodolphus Lestrange when James slid the door open. "There you are!" he announced, grinning at Bellatrix. "I've been looking all over for you!" He glanced at Rodolphus. "Take a hike, Rudolph, that's my girl you're snogging."

Peter burst into fits of laughter as Bellatrix stood up and pulled her wand out. "You better get your dirtball friend under control, traitor," she growled to Sirius, "before I do." Behind her, Rodolphus had stood and taken his wand out as well.

Peter made a hasty retreat down the hall as Sirius gripped James's upper arm and dragged him away. He slammed the door in Bellatrix's face and grinned at James. "What the bloody hell was that? It was brilliant. You're aware that she's going to kill you now?"

James laughed and the two shoved each other down the corridor. "No worries, mate, we have Spud, remember?" It was a completely stupid thing to say and they both knew it, but boredom and silliness from the long train ride was setting in. They both laughed anyway and slid open the door to their own compartment. Their laughter stopped suddenly when they came face to face with Remus, who glared at them with his hands on his hips.

"Barely even out of London and you're already starting on Snape, huh?" he demanded, eyebrows furrowed threateningly.

"Relax, Moony, Snivellus isn't any worse for the wear," James stepped around Remus, completely unfazed by his friend's offensive stance, and collapsed on the bench, sprawling out luxuriously.

Remus turned and stared at James, shaking his head. "You might try being nicer to him. I mean, I sat next to Lily and you know she hates how you torture him."

"Yeah?" James interrupted jealously. He looked down and pressed his chin to his chest in defiance, heaving a sigh. Remus had obviously only injected the 'I sat next to Lily' to get to him because there was no other reason to say it. Remus was like that, though, casually working little hints in to enhance his points.

"Yeah and you know what?" Remus continued, ignoring James's begrudging attitude. "She says she'd rather snog the giant squid than you." Remus bit his lip as a pained look crossed James's face and then plowed on, as if suddenly realizing he had said too much. "Well, don't take it personally and all, you know? I think she really does like you deep down, James, really, really deep down, I swear she does. She's got to, I mean, what's not to like, right?"

"Alright, stop your blubbering," James said, forcing a smile. Remus grinned back and his shoulders slumped as he visibly relaxed.

"Are we there yet?" Sirius asked under his breath quietly, partly to change the subject and partly just to see if anybody would hear him. And, admittedly, partly to be annoying because he was bored.

"Shut up, Sirius."

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing exploding snap and loading up on sweets when the trolley came by. Remus would occasionally leave to patrol the corridors for a bit. Whenever Lily walked past, James would straighten hopefully and run his hands through his hair, but she refused to even look inside of their compartment.

It was dark by the time they got to Hogsmeade station. "I've got to go supervise people getting into carriages and all that," Remus informed them, pulling on his cloak. "Somebody get my junk, okay?"

Sirius dragged both their trunks out of the train and was disgusted to see that it was pouring outside. Thunder boomed loudly and lightning cracked dangerously nearby. The boys were soaked within minutes and none of them said a word as they hurried to an empty carriage. Once they were inside, Peter pulled the door closed and the carriage began to move towards the school on its own, falling into line with the other carriages.

Sirius propped his feet on the pile of trunks in front of him and James took his glasses off and dried them on his shirt. When he put his glasses back on, he glanced at Peter and Sirius, but didn't say a word as he was content to simply sit silently in their company and listen to the rain drum on the roof. They reached the castle and hastily dragged the trunks into the Entrance Hall. Sirius took a moment to stare around appreciatively, having just survived another summer holiday from hell in the House of Black, before James prodded him forward. Soaking wet, they moved into the Great Hall and sat down for the welcoming feast.

"Poor Moony," Peter commented, watching the soggy wet students drag themselves into the hall. "He's still out there making sure everyone gets in."

"Right," Sirius agreed. "And he's still a bit ill as well."

James wiped away a trail of water that ran down the side of his face and glanced up at the staff table. His wet hair drooped miserably and the light was reflected on his damp face. "He'll be okay," he told his friends reassuringly.

As if to prove him right, Remus walked into the Great Hall at that moment. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his robes hung limply off of his thin frame. Lily followed him to the Gryffindor table. She looked slightly better than Remus and a lot less wet. Sirius knew that she had probably thought to bring an umbrella. She sat down with the fifth year girls as Remus slid in beside Peter.

"Merlin, it's nasty out there," he grumbled. "It's raining so hard, the first year boats were flooding." With that, he lifted his cloth napkin and used it to wipe the water off of his face.

The Great Hall suddenly quieted and the boys looked around to see why. They spotted their headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, standing at the front of the Hall waiting for everyone's attention. When the room was completely silent, the old man spoke.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, First Years. To everyone else, welcome back! Please remember that visits to the Forbidden Forest are not allowed. The use of magic in the corridors is also against the rules. I'd like to introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dudzik."

As Dumbledore continued to talk, Sirius peered down the staff table and noticed the new professor. He looked very young and slightly out of place. Sirius raised an eyebrow, knowing the man wouldn't last. No teacher had ever held the position longer than a year.

"And now to move to more pressing matters," Dumbledore continued. "You are all aware that a Dark wizard called Voldemort is on the rise. I urge you to exercise caution in all that you do, particularly your visits to Hogsmeade, Third Years and above."

Voldemort, the dark wizard who had begun terrorizing the world just a few months before Sirius began his first year at Hogwarts, was becoming a severe threat and getting more and more powerful as time went past. Sirius glanced at the Slytherin table and noticed Bellatrix staring at Dumbledore intently. Sirius knew that his entire family, Bellatrix included, admired Voldemort for the actions that he had taken against Muggle-borns and half-bloods. He met Regulus' gaze and looked away. Dumbledore, meanwhile, made note of the schedules and meeting dates for the school's clubs and Quidditch teams and then with another grand sweep of his arms, the feast appeared on the tables before them. With a loud gasp of pleasure, the entire school began to help themselves.

"You know, my mum won't even let me walk to the corner store because of that bloke Voldemort," Peter slurped through a spoonful of soup.

"A good thing, too," James told him. "It's dangerous times. My dad's been having to deal with a lot of the murders and things going on. It's a lot worse than the Daily Prophet is letting on." James's father was a well established Auror for the Ministry of Magic.

Sirius didn't say anything, instead keeping his eyes on his plate. Though he did not agree with or support Voldemort, he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty as his entire family practically worshipped the ground Voldemort walked on.

James seemed to notice Sirius's sudden silence and, glancing at quickly at his friend, changed the subject. "So, Pete, how's your mum doing anyway?" Peter's mother had been ill for quite a long while. Peter launched into an explanation and Sirius spent the rest of the meal in silence.

It wasn't long before Remus took his last drink of pumpkin juice from his crystal goblet and then stood up. "I've got to go help Lily get the first years to the common room," he said. "The password's chocolate frog if you want to head off the crowd on the stairs." With that, he hurried away to join Lily and the first years queuing near the doors.

James watched him go with a look of mild jealousy, but the expression quickly vanished as Sirius slung his arm around James's shoulders. James grinned at him, momentarily distracted.

"Merlin," Sirius groaned. "I ate too much. Carry me."

Laughing, James shoved him away. "To hell with that. You'll be okay. Come on, let's beat the first years, they've already got a head start."

The rest of the evening was spent lounging around the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. The first years had all retired to their dormitories right away, likely feeling too out of place to socialize with the older students yet. James attempted to sit beside Lily by squeezing between her and her friend, Amber Cadwell. A look of repulsion crossed Lily's delicate features before she got up and moved to the other end of the room. Sirius flopped down where she had been sitting.

Eventually, the common room cleared as it got late. Peter retired to bed early, as he lived far from London and had to get up very early that morning to make it to the station on time. Remus stayed long enough to make sure that the majority of the students went off to bed without causing trouble and then he too headed up the dormitory stairs.

It wasn't long before Sirius, James and Lily were the only three left in the common room. Lily eyed them suspiciously and they stared politely back, waiting for her to say something. She seemed to resist for a long while simply because she knew they were waiting, but eventually she couldn't take it anymore and she glanced at her watch.

"Why aren't you going to bed, Potter?" she finally snapped.

"Why aren't you going to bed, Evans?" James grinned devilishly. "Do you want me to come tuck you in?"

Lily's face went slack and for a moment Sirius thought she might be ill at the thought.

"Why are we still here, anyway?" he wondered aloud, yawning and standing up.

James reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling him back down. "Stay. We need to talk." Sirius grimaced and James laughed. "Relax, it's just a talk, Sirius." Sirius slumped back onto the couch and glared at Lily.

She sighed. "You aren't going to do anything wrong or illegal, are you? If you do, I'll take points from Gryffindor."

James feigned innocence. "Come on," he argued. She shrugged and left, climbing the stairs to the girls' dormitories. James turned and studied Sirius, who smiled back politely just as he had done with Lily, waiting for whatever he had to say.

At long last, James heaved a sigh and said in a low voice, "You really smell, Sirius."

"Er... I hate you."

James threw his head back and let out a chuckle. "Like cigarettes, I mean. You smell like cigarettes."

"Really?" Sirius cast around for an excuse but he knew James would be able to tell he was lying, James always could. He opened his mouth to confess, but thought better and closed it again, waiting for James's response.

"Are you smoking, Sirius?"

"Er..."

"Why?" James asked, and Sirius thought he saw a flash of sadness in his hazel eyes.

Sirius twiddled his thumbs and stared stubbornly into the fire, feeling horribly guilty. "Dunno." He shifted uncomfortably. "I guess I just needed....something. Don't worry, I only did it at home, I don't need it when I'm here. I didn't even pack them with me, I left them at home. James, is this really what you wanted to talk about?"

Well," James sighed, folding his hands behind his head and leaning comfortably back against the couch. "No, it's not. But I want you to know that you can always come stay with me for a bit when things get really bad at your house. And I don't care what your parents say, either. If they want to stop you, they have to get through me first, I'm not afraid of them. Anyway, I know I'm unbearable, Sirius, but I've got to be better than cigarettes of all things. Cigarettes kill people."

"Yeah, you're right," Sirius lamented easily, glad that James didn't put up a big fuss. He then swiftly changed the subject. "What else did you want to tell me?"

James glanced around the common room to make sure that nobody else was around to overhear. Then he leaned in close to Sirius and revealed, "I did it!"

"Er...really?"

"Yes!" James was obviously excited and Sirius could tell this was news he had been wanting to share all day.

"Sorry, but what did you do?" he asked, feeling stupid.

James groaned in frustration, leaned over and rapped his knuckles against Sirius's temple, knocking. "Sirius, where are you? It. I did it. I became an Animagus. I got it over the holidays."

Sirius's mouth dropped open and he jumped forward, gripping James by the shoulders and giving him a slight shake. "You what? Y-you did? Why didn't you tell me? How'd you do it? And what are you?"

James laughed and gripped Sirius's arms, trying to stop him from shaking. "I'll show you how. I wanted to tell you all day, Sirius, I wanted to so bad, but I couldn't get you alone and you know I can't reveal that in post, being unregistered and all. We'll tell Peter tomorrow. And I'm a stag, a damn big one, too."

Sirius sat back against the couch and stared at the ceiling, rubbing his hands over his face. "Wow," he finally said. James nodded, still grinning. "That's...this..." Sirius sputtered. And then a wave of doubt began to wash over him. "This is really dumb, James, really, really dumb. And dangerous. You're a deer? Remus will shred you!"

James sighed. "Mate, calm down. It's okay and...well, yeah it's a little stupid and dangerous, but that's the fun of it, isn't it? And I'm not a deer, deers are wimpy. It will be fine, trust me."

"Yeah?" Sirius chewed his lip skeptically as he glanced askance at James. "Well, we'd just better hope I become a bear or something."

James laughed and flung his arm around Sirius's neck, pulling him close and grinding the knuckles of his other hand into the top of Sirius's head.

"Ow, ow, James, damn it, you arse!" Sirius whimpered, his voice muffled as he tried to free himself.

James stood up with Sirius still in the headlock. "Ah, Sirius, it's so good to see you again. Let's go to bed," he declared, and he walked towards the staircase dragging a still struggling Sirius with him.