Before They Were Angels

Before They Were Angels

Chapter 2

"Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."
- Muhammad Ali

"Dad," yelled baby James, "you promised me you were going to tell me the rest of the story. You promised."

"Okay, okay," chuckled Harry. James ran and jumped into Harry's lap.

"Well, well, is it story time again?" asked Mrs. Potter.

"Yes!" cried James. "What happens next, Dad? What happens next?"

"Well," began Harry, "It's just about time for the Hogwarts Express to leave, and they meet another friend..."

~*~*~

"Peter! Peter Pettigrew!"

Peter stood on the train station, apart from the rest of the crowd, and looked around. Oh, it was just James Potter. Peter had known James since they were children at the playground and James had shown him how to swing upside down on the monkey bars.

James came running up, his face flushed. "Man, I'm glad to see you!" he cried. "I haven't seen one single person I know so far." He stopped. "Hello, Miss Pettigrew," he said, looking and Peter's mother.

"Hello, James," said Miss Pettigrew absently as she turned to Peter. "Now, Peter," she said, "I want you to make sure you stay with James all throughout your year at Hogwarts. I don't want to hear about you hanging around with the wrong sort, I wouldn't be surprised to hear in a letter that you'd made friends with a vampire or something. And stay clear of the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, he's a rough fellow. And no pumpkin pastries, young man, you know how it makes you break out."

"Okay, Mum," said Peter miserably. His mom was always like that, making sure he didn't get into trouble or anything. He was an only child; his father had left them when he was three years old.

"Don't worry, Miss Pettigrew, I'll make sure he doesn't make friends with any vampires," said James cheerfully.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that."

James looked over. "Hey, there's Sirius!" he cried, grabbing hold of Peter's shirt. "C'mon, you've got to meet Sirius!"

Peter barely had time to ask "What's a Sirius?" before he was dragged off.

"James!" boomed Sirius, a dark haired boy with big lungs. He was standing with his mother, who looked around nervously.

Sirius turned towards Peter and gave him a wide grin. "Hullo there, I'm Sirius Black, and this is my owl, Bob!" he said, holding out a very ruffled and indignant-looking owl in a wire cage. "The pet shop person said that it's actually a girl, but I don't care, I liked this owl and I've wanted to have a pet named Bob ever since I was four years old." Bob looked at Peter and hooted in such a way that it sounded like, "help me." By this time, half the Muggles in the train station had turned towards them, not just because it was strange to see a boy with an owl but because Sirius was so loud. "Oh, well, I'm Peter Pettigrew," said Peter a bit self-consciously.

"I bought an owl, too," said James. "My dad's holding him." He nodded over to where his father stood holding a gold-colored owl with his sister Shelby. "His name is Hiranmayi. My mom thought it up. In some Indian language, it means Golden Appearance or something. But Sirius and me are calling him Ham for short."

"Do you have anything?" asked Sirius to Peter, whose face lit up.

"Oh, yes," he said, reaching into his pocket. "I have Algernon. He's a rat, I've had him for years, and he's magical." Algernon, who was a very large rat, looked up at them with round eyes. Then he stood on his hind legs, made a motion as if clearing his throat, then went into a complicated tap dance number. They all clapped as Algernon took a bow. Peter beamed as he stuck Algernon back into his coat pocket.

"Okay, kids, it's time to board the train," yelled Eva Potter. They lined up to go through the barrier, making sure that a group of Muggles had passed in front of the barrier.

Peter felt Algernon rustle in his coat pocket as he lagged behind the others. He knew that, whatever happened this year, Algernon would be with him. He loved his rat. The only fond memories he'd had of his father was the day he had given him his rat. He thought back to his father, a huge, dark haired man who scared the living daylights out of any that saw him. But he had given Peter Algernon.

"Now, son," his father had said, briefcase in hand, "I'm going away for a little while, but I'll be back."

"But why?" asked three-year-old Peter, confused.

"I don't know," he had answered, looking sad. "But I have something for you." He held out something small and pink in his hand. "It's a baby rat. It's name is Algernon, and you'd better take care of it, because it's a special kind of rat. It's special because-"

"Hey Peter!" yelled Sirius. "Hurry up, you're coming with me through the barrier!"

~*~*~

Lily sat impatiently in the car as her parents took her to the Mables house to go to the train station. She had slept late, and now she was nervous that the train would leave without her. Petunia was sulking as she stared out the window, she had begged and pleaded for her parents to let her stay home, but they said no.

The Mables were waiting by the front door. They had agreed to riding in the Evans' car to London, and all the way there, Molly chattered nonstop. Lily only half listened; she was too nervous to really talk to her.

The train station was packed with people boarding on and off trains. Lily glanced at her ticket. "Molly," she said timidly, "This ticket says platform 9 and 3/4, and that's not right, is it?"

"Sure it is. All you do is walk through the platform barrier."

"Walk through the barrier?"

"You'll see."

They fought through the gaggle of Muggles, making their way to the platforms 9 and 10. Lily and her parents cried as they hugged one another, while Petunia stood apart from them. "Petunia, say goodbye to your sister," said Mrs. Evans. Petunia made a face and turned away.

After they fought for a while, Petunia finally gave Lily a sharp goodbye. "Now, as soon as some Muggles pass in front, just go through to the other side," said Mrs. Mable. "It's best to go through running if you're scared." Lily flipped her hair, and made an exaggerated stance. "I'm not scared of anything." Then she laughed as the others did.

"Well, if that wasn't completely a joke, maybe you'll make Gryffindor." Lily smiled and nodded, but she felt like her heart was in her throat. She wished she really was fearless. But perhaps she'd be brave enough... Well, only one way to find out. Lily held her breath and ran through the barrier.

~*~*~

James, Peter, and Sirius were looking for a compartment. "Excuse us," shouted James at a Ravenclaw as Sirius stepped on his toe. Peter was having a hard time; Algernon kept wanting to climb upon his shoulder to see better.

"This is the last compartment," puffed James, as he pushed open the door. "Hope it's empty." Unfortunately for them, it wasn't.

Remus Lupin glared at them from where he sat. Sirius glared back. All of a sudden, there owls began making a racket, cawing and hooting as they tried to bring them into the compartment.

"Oh, sorry," stammered James, "but there's no other compartment. Do you mind if we sit here?" Remus's face turned a bit pink as he angrily shoved his shabby things to the side.

"Oh, hush, Bob," snapped Sirius, as he through the cage cover over her. James did the same with Ham.

"Come on, James," muttered Sirius in his ear, "lets get a different compartment. This guy looks like he hangs out with vampires in his spare time." But Peter had other plans.

"Hi," said Peter, sitting down next to Remus. "I'm Peter Pettigrew, and this is James and Sirius." Algernon whisked out of Peter's pocket and stared quizzically at Remus. Then he shook his whiskers at him and whisked back into Peter's pocket

"We've met," muttered Remus coldly. He turned and stared out the window, and stayed that way for about an hour while the others chatted merrily.

During a lull in the conversation, James took out a picture from his bag and stared lovingly at it. Peter and Sirius leaned over to look. It was a black and white Muggle photo, showing a pretty woman with white rimmed sunglasses blowing a kiss to the camera with gloved hands.

"Who's that?" asked Peter. Algernon came out of his pocket and whisked upon the photo to get a better look at it.

"Get him off, he's going to get footprints on the glass," said James irritably. Peter grabbed him and put him in his lap.

"Who is it?" asked Sirius impatiently.

"It's Marilyn," said James dreamily.

"Marilyn who?"

"Marilyn who?" cried James indignantly. "Marilyn who? Marilyn Monroe. She's only the greatest actress who ever graced the world with her presence."

"Oh, I've heard of her," said Peter. "She's that American actress who overdosed."

James looked thunderstruck. "She was murdered, I tell you!" he shouted, then angrily shoved the picture back into his bag.

"I think he's off his rocket," whispered Sirius in Peter's ear. Peter nodded. Then James proceeded to tell them of all the reasons she could have been murdered until they were saved by the kind lady with the snack cart.

"Oh, food!" cried Sirius. He, James, and Peter nearly bought out the entire cart and sat down to share. James jerked his thumb at Remus. "Think we should ask if he'd like some of this?" he asked with his mouth full of chocolate frog.

"Let's don't," whispered Peter. "I think Sirius was right, he's kind of creepy."

"What'd I tell you?" said Sirius, a little too loudly. "I can almost hear Russian violins playing when I look at him, kinda like this Muggle movie my mom likes to make me watch." Remus stiffened a little, but didn't say anything.

"Hush, Sirius," hissed Peter. Suddenly, the door slammed open and Lily Evans ran in, crying.

"Lily, what's wrong?" cried James. Remus stood up and went over to her. Lily wiped her tears away and straightened up. She seemed embarrassed at having been caught crying.

"Some guys were just teasing me," she said, shrugging. "They just upset me a little, that's all."

"What did they say?"

"They were just saying that I'd never be able to do magic, because I'm Muggle- born. And they called me a Mudblood, whatever that means."

Sirius shot up in his seat. "They called you a what? How dare they! Don't worry, I'll go after them. I'll make them pay. I'll curse them so hard they won't be able to eat for a week. I'll-"

"Sirius, I think you need to shut up!" yelled James.

"I'll agree with that," said Peter. Algernon had come out of his pocket again when he heard the commotion. It stared suspiciously at Remus, who still hadn't said a word.

All of a sudden, they heard voices coming from behind the compartment door.

"I think the Mudblood ran in here-"

The door slid open and in walked three guys, all older than the first years. "Well, well, well. Seems the little Mudblood found some friends to hide behind. How convenient."

"I am not hiding," snapped Lily, standing up. Her eyes were still red, but she had stopped crying.

"Who are you, anyway?" asked James.

"Lucius Malfoy. And this is Avery and Lestrange." Avery was a small, skinny boy with reddish-brown hair and fairly dark skin. He seemed rather nervous; his eyes darted from side to side, yet he seemed to be trying to look just as sinister as Malfoy and failing entirely. Lestrange was different. He had limp black hair and a pale face, and though he didn't seem especially sinister or even angry, his dull sunken eyes which stared straight forward gave each of them the creeps.

Sirius pointed his wand at Malfoy. "Get out," he yelled, "or I'll make you pay. I'll curse you so hard you won't be able to eat for a week. I'll-"

"Do shut him up," said Malfoy.

"Yeah," squeaked Avery. "Shut him up. Shut him up good."

"Why don't you all just leave me alone? I haven't done anything to you." Lily placed her hands on her hips and stared up defiantly at Malfoy.

"You," hissed Malfoy, "are a poor little Mudblood who seems to have lost her way. Why don't you go back where you came from?"

"Yeah, Lucius," said Avery, dancing from one foot to the other. "she should go back where she came from."

Meanwhile, Peter had been sitting in the corner, trying not to get noticed. He had known Lucius for a long time, and they didn't exactly get along. Lucius's father knew everything about anyone who ever worked at the Ministry, and he often told his son the things he knew about each employee, so that Lucius knew all about Peter's father. All of his life Lucius had laughed at him and pushed him around. How he wanted to show Lucius what he was made of!

Lucius turned to Peter. "Why, it's little Peter Pettigrew," he said in an almost bright tone. "Still have that rat of yours? Pity it's your only friend." Peter stood up, his face burning. He was going to stand up to him once and for all. Algernon rustled in his pocket, and he took that as encouragement. However, when he spoke to Lucius, it didn't come out exactly the way he wanted it to.

"I-I think t-that you need to leave m-me and my friends alone," he stammered, trying to look formidable as he balled his hands into fists.

"Oh, he wants us to leave them alone does he?" he laughed. Then he narrowed his eyes. Lucius was one of those people who knew just how to hit a person where it hurts. "So, Peter. You want us to leave. Well, who's going to make me? Obviously not you. What about your mom? Is she going to make us leave? Or what about your dad?" Peter paled a little.

"Oh, that's right," Lucius said, giving Peter a smirk as he turned to Avery and Lestrange, "He doesn't have a father. He left, and no wonder, I would too if I had him for a son." Peter gasped and stepped back. James, Sirius, and Lily all reached for there wands, but Remus got there first.

Instead of getting out his wand, he stood as close to Lucius as he could and stared him in the eye. Although Remus was short, he gave the appearance of being taller, and Lucius stepped back a little, startled. He hadn't really been paying attention to the weird kid who sat next to the window, and now he was looking at him eye to eye. Both Peter and Lily noticed that Remus was slowly raising up on his toes so that no one would notice that he was much smaller than him.

"You think it's funny to talk about someone's family that way?" asked Remus in a calm voice. His face was set sternly, but he didn't appear particularly angry. Lily, however, who was good at noticing details saw how his lip was twitching ever so slightly and knew that he was furious.

Remus took another step toward Lucius, making him back up another step until he was almost half way out the door. "You think it's funny to call other people names when they can't help what they are?"

"Just who the hell are you, anyway?" cried Lucius. He was trying to sound threatening, but he looked nervous as he studied Remus uncertainly.

"Remus Lupin."

Suddenly, Lucius's expression changed. He gave him a slow smirk. "I should have known," he hissed. "My father knew your parents. My father knows everyone." The other boys glanced at each other.

"Terribly sorry about your parents. But, it was there own fault. They were too meddling for their own good. They would still be alive today if they hadn't tried to play hero. I guess you could say they got what they deserved."

Remus paused for a moment and stared up at him. His face was still expressionless. Then, in a sudden motion, he punched him in the nose so hard that he smacked his head against the compartment door frame.

Lucius jumped back up and touched his nose, coming back with blood. He cursed, then smashed into Remus with Avery and Lestange behind him.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!" shouted Sirius in a war cry as he jumped on top of the pile and grabbed Avery by the head. James, Peter, and Lily came in behind him.

~*~*~

It was Frank Longbottom's first year as a Prefect, and he was very nervous. His friends had been laughing at him because he kept jumping up from his seat on the train and pacing around. He was one of those types of people who worried constantly, but didn't like others to know that he did. He was getting up to go get something from the snack cart when he heard a commotion. It sounded like a fight, but who on earth would get into a fight on a train?

He ran to the end compartment where the noise was coming from and slid open the door. There he met an unusual sight: Lucius Malfoy, a bad-tempered second year, was his head smashed on the floor by a sullen faced first year whom Frank had never seen before, Duncan Avery (who always went by Avery,) was being sat upon by a dark haired boy yelling, "I told you! I told you I'd make you pay!" and a small boy with glasses and a blonde kid were both tackling Asher Lestrange. A red headed girl was hitting whatever Slytherin she could get to, and a large rat was biting Lestrange's hand.

Frank broke them up, and since they were only thirty minutes from Hogwarts, sent an owl ahead informing Professor McGonagall of the boys. It was only the right thing to do, after all, although three of the first years acted like this was a great injustice, and Lucius Malfoy gave him a round of, "When my father who works in the Ministry hears about this," and so on. The sullen faced first year didn't seem to be affiliated with the others in any way, as he sat apart from them while Frank told them off.

Frank sighed. He certainly hoped those first year boys learned to behave themselves, because they wouldn't make it very far in Hogwarts if they didn't. But then again, it was probably just a one time thing. Slytherins could get on the bad side of everyone, he knew that from experience. He'd bet a million Galleons he wouldn't hear another word about any of them causing trouble ever again.

~*~*~

"...and then Frank sent a letter ahead to school to tell Professor McGonagall about the boys." Harry glanced at the clock. "And that's where we'll leave the story tonight."

"No!" cried baby James, "I want to hear the rest of it!"

Harry kissed his son on top of his head. "Tomorrow night you'll hear some more," he said, then carried him off to his room.