The Marauders: Year One

In Sirius Black's mind, there was one reason, and one reason alone, to go to school. To get away from his parents. Sirius couldn't stand them. Even at the young age of eleven they had already begun to pester him about how long his hair was growing, and how ashamed such and such a relative would be of him for...well...anything he did. If anything he was glad that he was going to school so that he could finally do something about his horrible family. Or at least he would be able to after a year or two...or three...damn...

Sirius was tall for his age, standing at a flat five feet tall, with grey eyes peeking through shaggy, but well kept, black hair. He was a bit too skinny, mostly due to the fact that he didn't like to eat regular meals with his family. That was never any fun...especially when the cousins, one of whom, Bellatrix Black, would be joining him at school that year, were over.

Either way, Sirius was glad to be rid of his parents for awhile. The idea of being able to stay away from Grimmauld Place during the holidays was something Sirius had always hoped he would be able to do one day. This thought ran through his head many times over as he stood at the platform on which the Hogwarts Express was waiting for him to board. Unfortunately, Sirius hadn't moved since coming through the barrier, and he was bowled over by the next person coming through.

"Watch where you're going, mate," Sirius said, getting up and dusting himself off.

"Me? You were the one standing in front of the barrier!" snapped the new arrival, quickly fixing his glasses. He wasn't quite as tall as Sirius, and was perhaps a bit more filled out around the mid-section, but only enough to look healthy, unlike Sirius, who just looked skinny, with messy black hair and hazel eyes behind the glasses he'd hastily fixed. Sirius didn't like him one bit.

"Yeah? You want me to knock you around?" Sirius said, raising his hands in a bad impersonation of a boxer. The other boy did the exact same and they began hopping around in circles, again in a bad imitation of boxers. Before the "fight" could proceed any further, another boy, this one taller, with neat brown hair, jumped in between them.

"Are you both mad? Not even on the train yet and you're already fighting. Give it a rest," the boy said. Sirius didn't know who this boy was, and the bespectacled interloper didn't seem to know either. What business was it of his whether or not Sirius and the boy with glasses punched each other out on what could technically be called school grounds.

"Who're you to boss us around?" the boy with glasses asked, a harsh note of defiance in his voice. Sirius was surprised, as he was just about to ask the same question. He liked the boy with glasses just a bit more.

"Remus Lupin," the brown haired boy answered, extending his hand and finding that neither of the others wanted to shake. "First year. Who're you two to think you can just make fisticuffs on the platform?"

"Us?" Sirius asked, thinking on his feet. "You mean you don't know who we are?"

The boy with glasses didn't know what Sirius was doing, but he seemed to take the hint. Remus, however, did not, which was exactly what Sirius wanted. He was going to have a bit of fun with this presumptuous disciplinarian.

"Should I know?" Remus asked, entirely unconvinced. Remus, for his part, was not having any of this. He was quite well versed on who was who in the wizarding world. Remus found that, when you were a pre-teen werewolf and couldn't go anywhere, there was nothing better to do than read and learn. These boys didn't need to know that secret though.

"You mean to tell me you've never heard of James Potter and...," the boy with glasses, James, said, looking desperately at Sirius.

"Sirius Black?" Sirius finished. Remus just crossed his arms and shook his head. Remus wasn't entirely sure where they were going with this but he was beginning to get suspicious. He didn't like it one bit. Remus Lupin was quite book smart, but he was not very street smart, as opposed to Sirius and James, who were exactly the opposite. As such, Remus had no idea what was coming next.

"Well," Sirius said. "You know what we do to people that don't know who we are...er...James..."

"I certainly do," James said, shrugging off the fact that his newfound friend hadn't quite remembered his name. "We hoist them up by their knickers."

"What?" Remus asked, not quite comprehending what was happening as the two other boys advanced towards him, took either side of his slacks in their hands and lifted him up in a horribly uncomfortable manner. Giggling madly the whole time, the two boys dropped Remus on his bum before grabbing their things and jogging off towards the train.

"We make a good team...Sirius, was it?" James asked, extending a hand, which Sirius grasped tightly and shook.

"We certainly do, James. I can see this being the start of a beautiful friendship," Sirius agreed as they jumped aboard the train. Back on the platform, Remus was lying on the ground as person after person walked by. He wasn't happy that he'd fallen into that, and resolved to get those boys back as soon as possible. He doubted that either of them had already been reading over their spell books. While Remus would concede that they could do more physical damage to him, he could certainly do more magical damage, which he thought was more useful and creative anyways. Just as he was thinking about finding an ally, he heard a small voice.
"Do you need some help?" asked the voice.

Remus opened his eyes and saw a pale, pudgy blonde boy standing over him, a hand outstretched to help Remus up. He took advantage of the help and allowed the boy to assist him in returning to his feet. Perhaps this was the ally he needed.

"Thanks, mate," Remus said. "What's your name?"

"My mum calls me Petey," the boy answered with a bright smile. "I just like Peter, thanks."

"Alright then," Remus conceded. "Peter it is."

Peter quickly dipped down and picked up his bags, handing them off to a conductor walking by, who shrank them with his wand and placed them in a larger bag in his hand. Remus did the same with his bags, and the two boys began walking towards the train.

"So, Peter," Remus began, "How would you like to share a compartment?"