Before the Beginning

"Mum! MUM! I got in! I GOT IN!!!!" James Potter ran to his parents room shrieking with glee.

"James? What's the matter, dear?" That was mum. Sounding exhausted as always.

"This is only the best day of my life! I got in! It came today, like you said! How did you know?" James said all in a rush. " It doesn't matter anyway I have got to go tell Sirius, BYEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"

"Right, then." Mum dropped her head back on the pillow and went back to sleep.

*****

As James squeezed through the secret passage he and Sirius had made, he thought, 'Sirius might be asleep.... heheheheh,' knowing he was right. He emerged from under the bushes, brushing off his clothes, knowing his hair was a lost cause. His black rectangular spectacles hung off one ear crazily. 'Man, we have GOT to make that thing bigger.' He knocked on the door of the looming mansion, glancing back at the house he had just come from, marveling that they could be so alike, yet so different.

"No! Anyone but you!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!" A familiar voice said with mock horror.

"Sirius! What are you doing up? I thought you would be unconscious for about a million more hours!" James said, startled.

"What, can't a bloke get up early to wait for his Hogwarts letter?" Sirius exclaimed.

"You got one, too? Hooray! Now let me in! I haven't had breakfast yet," James tapped his foot restlessly.

"Aren't we impatient this morning! You'll NEVER make a Hufflepuff," Sirius observed wisely, stroking an invisible beard. He bowed and offered James his arm to lead him into the kitchen.

" Are you assuming I want to be in Hufflepuff? Sure, better Hufflepuff then Slytherin, but really!" James was so shocked, he didn't notice his surroundings.

The normally mahogany wood, and white porcelain kitchen with stone cupboards was now violently purple, with bright lime green wood with little spirals poking up on it. The cupboards were made of spun sugar.

"Sirius! This is awesome!" James asked excitedly, like the a toddler in a candy store. "But, um, how'd you do it?"

" I actually didn't......" Sirius trailed off.

"What? But this has Sirius, Prankster Extrordinaire, written all over it! See, it's there, and there, and there..." James said jokingly.

"Uncouth boy! In the dungeon with you! " Sirius said, playacting, "But, really, we woke up one morning, and here it was in all it's purple glory!

" You read far, far, FAR too much King Arthur novels for your own good. Besides, aren't you hungry?" James asked, knowing the answer.

"Duh! I think that would be obvious!" Sirius replied. "Er...." he said, looking around for the small silver bell that was enchanted to summon the house elves. Sirius opened a small cupboard below the aquamarine sink, but nothing. He continued opening sugar door after sugar door. in the end, his hand's were quite sticky.

"I give up." Sirius exclaimed. "MUUUUUUUM!!! WHERE'S THE BELL?" he screamed all of a sudden.

"WHAT BELL?" Sandora Black's voice was could be heard faintly.

"YOU KNOW! THE FOOD BELL!" Sirius's reply shook the house.

"OH! IT'S IN THE HALLWAY, WHERE YOU LEFT IT!" Sandora yelled.

"Oh!! Oops," Sirius smiled sheepishly, and ran out in to the hall. James followed him tentatively, wondering if it would be as weird as the kitchen. Luckily, or unluckily, either way you looked at it, the hallway was the same. All black marble floors, and white silk chairs with ebony wood. The front door looked as huge as it had always had since he was 2 years old. The Black family crest, a lion fighting a snake, was embossed on the front and back of it. Next to the couch where unwelcome visitors sat (it had a Uncomfortable Charm on it), in the darkest corner, you could make out an ebony table. On it the bell was shining like a beacon, drawing all attention to it. Then again, that could be his stomach speaking.

"Found it!" Sirius cried triumphantly, darting into the corner. He picked it up and rang it. The high, melodious ring was commanding.

"Yes, young sirs? What is it you want? Cider will get it for you, yes she will."

James jumped, not expecting her so soon. The high-pitched voice had not helped matters.

"We would like some breakfast, and-" Sirius tried to say.

"Of course, sir!" Cider said joyously. *crack* A full course breakfast appeared in their arms. James and Sirius staggered, not used to the weight.

"Your juice is on the table, sirs. Is there anything else Cider can do for you? Laundry? Cleaning? Just say the word!" she bounced on the balls of her feet, plainly anxious to do some work.

'Mental, she is!' James thought, amazed. She was a new house elf, whom James had not met before.

"No, Cider, that will be all. My mother might need some help, though, go ask her," Sirius said.

"Of course, sir!" she exclaimed happily. *pop* She was gone. James and Sirius headed back to the kitchen to stuff themselves silly.

"Ahhhhh, that's better! Food, the meaning of life...." James said, a bit loopy on the wonderfulness of a full stomach.

"Mmmmmmm, yeah........whatever," Sirius said, clearly not paying attention to a word he said. James decided to have a little fun with a distracted Sirius.

******

"And sign here, and here, and here. That's right, right on the dotted line," James leaned back, pleased with his work. He had just gotten Sirius to promise to do all his homework for the coming year, and that he thought Severus Snape was a sex god. James smiled as he imagined Sirius's expression when he found out what he had done.

"Hello, boys! What are you up to so early in the morning?" Prometheus Black asked, clearly suspicious.

"Food!" James answered cheerfully. Prometheus smiled and thought 'Boys. Always hungry.' "Sirius, be a good boy, and keep out of your mother's hair. James, it's nice to see you again. See you both this afternoon. We're going to Diagon Alley!" He left with out another word.

"Bye, Father!" Sirius called after him, then turned to James. "Diagon Alley, huh? Reckon we can figure out something to 'amuse' us while we wait?" He grinned.

"I have a new set of dungbombs...." James let his sentence trail off. Sirius looked amazed.

"How'd you get those?" He looked envious, " Father will NEVER let me get any when we are down at Hogsmeade on a business trip!"

"My mum had to meet someone at the Three Broomsticks. I ,um, just happened to get lost, and I just happened to bring my money and bag, and somehow, ended up at Zonko's," James smiled angelically, "I , er, bought them as a fake umbrella," He nodded his head decisively. "Yup, that's what happened. Really!"

Sirius shook his head. "You, my friend, are the worst liar on the planet. My sister excluded," he said sadly.

"Off the topic of my non-existent ability to lie, what should we do with the dungbombs?" James asked, irritated. Sirius grinned evilly.

"Oh, I think we can think of something....." Sirius laughed.

*****

"I cannot BELIEVE we put the dungbombs in your mother's shoes! She is going to kill us! Ah, well, at least we will die happy," James grinned.

"Come on, that plan is pure brilliance!" Sirius protested.

"Well, yes, but that's not the point, and I am not quite sure what is," James finished. "Hey, how are we getting to Diagon Alley?"

"Floo Powder, of course. It's traditional! Even though the dratted stuff will kill me every time... but we must look upon our first school supplies trip as fun, and we must be sooty and dirty to have FUN!!!" said Sirius gleefully.

"Wow. You are right. Never let such a thing happen again! The sky shall rain blood, and You-Know-Who will tap-dance naked (A/N: *shudder*), but never shall Sirius be correct!!" James dramatically ended. Sirius looks at his watch.

"It's 3:00, Father should be home soon. Diagon Alley, here we come!!!!! I wonder if we can buy more dungbombs at Diagon Alley?" he asked.

"What?" James yelped "Are we out already? NOOOO!"

"Calm down, James! We can get more at Hogmeade!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Oops, sorry. Demons in my head took control for a moment," James apologized.

*SLAM*

"Kids, it's time to go!"

"Must be Father! C'mon!" Sirius said, jumping out of his seat.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! TIME TO GO TO THE ALLEY!!!!!" James shouted in the hallway. Sirius ran forward and threw himself at his father.

"Missed you too, Sir (pronounced Seer), now where's your mother?" Prometheus asked.

"Upstairs still," came the answer.

"Sandora!!! HURRY UP!!" yelled Prometheus.

"I'm coming!!! Wait five seconds!!!" yelled back Sandora. The group of men could hear her padding down the stairs in her stocking feet.

"Why aren't you wearing your shoes?" asked Prometheus over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen "You aren't planning on going in your bare feet, were you?"

Sandora Black was, as some people put it, a right looker. Her black hair befitted her as a Black, and bright blue eyes sometimes got confessions from her mischievous son. Her skin was not as wrinkled as a normal thirty-five-year old mothers should be. Her husband was often mistaken as her twin, both with blue eyes and black hair. She was tall, but not overly so. She was just as healthy as someone half her age.

"Of course not, but SOMEBODY put dungbombs in my shoes upstairs. Any confessions?," she asked shrewdly. James and Sirius both automatically donned innocent expressions that put the Virgin Mary to shame.

"Whatever are you implying, Mum?" blinked Sirius. She sighed, then raised her eyebrow. Her son's eyes widened, then immediently looked at the carpet modestly. James snorted.

"All right, all right, enough with the Spanish Inquisition, Sandora," laughed Prometheus, "James, guests first!" James got a handful, and dropped it in the fireplace.

He stepped in and said:

"Diagon Alley!"

*WHOOSH*

He came out at Madame Malkins, and almost got trampled.

"Wow!" said James and Sirius together. Looking around, hundreds of people swarmed around the shops, especially the bookstore.

"Do you like it? This is actually not a lot of people today. We're lucky," Prometheus said, coming up behind them.

"What? That's impossible! If there were any more people here, they wouldn't fit!" Sirius exclaimed, confused. They heard a feminine laugh behind them and turned to look.

"Stop pulling their leg, darling, it's not nice, Ok, boys, meet us here at 7:00, and stay out of Knockturn Alley!" Sandora said laughingly. There was a commotion in front of the bookstore and they ran over to help.

"EEEEEEEEE!!!! That's so weird, Mummy! Make them stop!" A blonde, mean looking girl was screeching, while a redheaded girl looked on rolling her eyes.

"Petunia, it's probably not the best idea to scream that in a street full of wizards," said the redhead.

"I don't care, Lily! They're freaks, just like you!!" Petunia said and stormed off in a huff. 'Lily' looked around and blushed, seeing that everyone was looking at her with sympathetic eyes. A lanky boy with long, oily hair, who James and Sirius recognized as Severus Snape, pushed his way to her.

"So you're a Mudblood, eh? On your way to Hogwarts?" the boy sneered.

"Yes, actually. And what's a Mudblood?" Lily asked blankly. James saw his chance to interfere.

"A Mudblood is a really foul name for Muggle-borns--oh, and Muggles are non-magic people. Most people," James glared at Snape, "are too polite to use it as it means dirty blood. There are exceptions, of course, those who think purebloods are better then others. I'm James Potter. Nice to meet you," He held out his hand to for her to shake. She took it and squeezed lightly then let go. Sirius pushed up behind him.

"And I'm Sirius Black, this weirdo's best friend, " he said grinning. Snape was forgotten. Lily smiled, her emerald eyes sparkling.

"Nice to meet you, too. Are you a first year?" she asked. "Do you want to get school supplies together?

"Sure," he said as they headed up the street. "We both are first years, and waited FOREVER to get our letter. I have been to Hogwarts, and it's so cool! There are bathrooms that are only accessible at 5:30 in the morning, and poltergeists, and trick staircases, and secret passageways and....

*****

Lily became an instant friend. She had a typical redheaded temper, so James and Sirius learned not to cross her. They chattered the entire time they bought supplies, and found that the loud blonde girl who had declared all wizards freaks was her sister Petunia, and had another named Narcissa. The three were what muggles called fraternal triplets.

"Most people refuse to believe that we're triplets, as we look so different and Petunia isn't magical but we are. She was born 10 minutes ahead of me. Narcissa is a witch, too, but we have never gotten along. She looks more like Petunia, with blonde hair, but that is where the similarity ends. Nar was born 20 minutes after me. Sometimes we tell people that we are just sisters, to stop the confusion. I really don't think anyone can be more different then my sister's and I are," Lily explained.

"YOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!! LILY! WE HAVE TO GO!" The boys and Lily heard a shout and saw a brunette waving her arm frantically at the other end of the street.

"My mother, Rose Evans," Lily said, at the boys questioning looks. "'Bye, guys! I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express!" She turned and walked back to her mother, flame colored hair waving goodbye to them. James watched her go. Sirius looked at his watch.

"Hey, come on! We have to go! Um, James? Hello? Anyone in there?" Sirius asked waving his hand in front of James eyes.

"What? Oh! Yeah, come on," James said, turning and heading back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"That Mrs. Evans sure likes flower names, don't you think?" Sirius asked

"You have to admit, Tiger Lily fits her, right?" James said over his shoulder as he started to jog.

*****

"Where's Lily?" James looked around frantically. "She won't know how to get onto the platform! She'll be left behind!"

"Calm down, James! She'll be fine! In fact..." Sirius got cut off as a pair of pale hands covered James spectacles.

"Well, at least you were worrying about me!" Lily said, removing her hands from his face. James spun around and grinned.

"Lily!" he said happily.

"No, her evil twin sister. Bwahahahahahahaha! Sorry guys, I am just a little hyped up on excitement today," she joked.

"Don't worry, with people like Sirius around, you get used to insanity. Or anything else for that matter," James stuck his tongue out at Sirius.

"Do you ever stop insulting me?" Sirius sighed.

"That would be a resounding no, I think," James said, eyes dancing.

"You think! What an amazing thing!" Lily laughed, "Now lets get on the train, before we miss it!," She turned around and waved to her parents. They picked up their trunks, still bickering lightheartedly, the trio instructed Lily on what to do, then walked through (Lily at a dead run). WHOOSH! The boys saw Lily's eyes grow big as saucers at the laughing crowd and scarlet train. She turned around and inspected the barrier.

"That is so COOL!" she exclaimed estatically. Laughing maniacally, Lily led the way to the very last compartment, dragging her trunk the entire way. Dumping it on the floor of the little room, she spun around, then started to dance. James and Sirius stared at her, this craziness not even worthy of self proclaimed lunatic Sirius. Lily noticed their stares, and stopped.

"Sorry, I'm just a little insane today, with all the weirdness," Lily said bashfully. She walked over to her chair, and flopped down, repeating to herself, I will not be weird, I will not be weird, OH SCREW IT! She jumped up again, and started dancing again. James and Sirius just laughed and sat down, their trunks under their seats.

"No! I swear Mummy, there was a elephant here! With his little zebra friends too!" said an unfamiliar voice. The trio looked around. In the opposite compartment, with the door open, was a tired looking boy. He had light brown hair, and looked fierce, even asleep.

"Should we wake him? He seems to be having a nightmare," said Lily quietly.

"Yeah, he can always go to sleep again," answered James. Sirius nodded. They tiptoed over into the hall then into the compartment. Lily put her hand on his flannel shirt, and gently shook it.

"Wake up, you're having a nightmare, wake up!" she said, then shook harder.

"Flying Minotaurs!!!" he said then woke up. "What? Who are you? What are you doing in my compartment? Do you need some space?" The mysterious boy asked. Lily laughed.

"No, our compartment is across the hall. You were having a nightmare, a very strange one, too. Something about flying animals, I think?" She asked, raising her eyebrow. The boy blushed.

"You never know what going around in my head!" He grinned. "I'm Remus Lupin. No cracks about the name," said Remus.

"Don't worry, most wizarding kids have strange names. I've yet to meet a John or Mary. Sirius Black, at your service," Sirius said, sticking out his hand. Remus shook it.

"James Potter," said James with a smile. Lily elbowed him.

"Hey, I thought it was ladies first! I'm Lily Evans," she beamed.

"Ladies? Where? Ok, Ok! You're a lady! I apologize!" James said, cowering under her glare. Sirius laughed.

"Definitely a Hufflepuff," he said under his breath. Remus and Lily looked confused.

"What's a Hufflepuff?" she asked, drawing her brows together.

"Will you do the honors, Mr. Potter?" asked Sirius elaborately.

"Of course, Mr. Black," James replied. "Hufflepuff is one of the four Hogwarts houses. The other three are Gryffindor for brave people, Ravenclaw for intelligent people, and Slytherin for *coughevilcough* cunning people. Hufflepuff is for loyal, hardworking people." Seeing the stares he was getting, except for Sirius, who was laughing, he went on. "There are wizards who went bad Very bad. Like Grindelwald, except he was Russian, and never went to Hogwarts. (A/N: Don't be offended, Russians, I am one too! I just thought it sounded Russian.) There hasn't been a witch or wizard who went bad, that wasn't in Slytherin. It has quite a bad reputation."

"But there has to be Slytherins who were good. Or at least neutral. Right?" Lily asked.

"Peer pressure probably did them in. They don't flaunt their neutrality, so they are assumed to be bad," said Remus. They stared at him. He shrugged. "Simple psychology, which I read all about. I had lots of reading time, growing up," Remus explained. He didn't say more, and his expression dared them to comment. They laughed and joked the entire way to Hogwarts, until a prefect stuck his head in and told them to change up. Lily went into Remus's old compartment, then came back, her hair contrasting sharply with the black robes. James shook his head, and blinked. He coughed, and turned to look out the window. His eyebrows raised to his hairline, and he pointed out the window. They all turned to look, and their eyes widened simultaneously.

"Hogwarts," breathed Lily.