Solemnly Swear

Solemnly Swear

A Marauder Story

Chapter One - 1970

Sirius Black had never seen a head of hair quite as unique as James Potter's. It vaguely reminded him of the time when he'd accidentally run his mother's cat, Sooty, through the tumble-dryer when he was seven. Black on blue-black, refusing to lie flat, as if clumps were attached to the strings of invisible balloons floating above the other boy's head. Sirius wondered if he'd purposely styled it like that, or if James Potter had been in a freak potions explosion earlier that day. Either way, it was intriguing.

Peter Pettigrew was shaking as he poked at the mashed potatoes and gravy on his plate. A mere half-hour ago, he'd emerged from the train compartment containing, amongst others, sinister boys called (according to the roll that an anxious Professor had read) Baddocknicholas, Malfoylucius, and Snapeseverus. Just as he was running that through his head, he wondered if all of the boys that had just been sorted into Slytherin ended in 's'. Blinking, he decided it was of no real consequence, poured more gravy on his potatoes, and poked at them some more.

Remus Lupin wondered if the boys in his dormitory would snore. His Great Uncle Cassiel did. Remus wondered if he, himself, snored. He'd never heard it. He was always asleep. Remus looked up from his roast lamb and wondered if their headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, snored. Remus decided that Professor Dumbledore looked sort of like his Great Uncle Cassiel, and came to the conclusion that Professor Dumbledore must snore as well.

James Potter was really hungry. He was also very glad that he had just been sorted into Gryffindor, because, after watching the ceremony, he'd decided that all of the girls that had just been sorted into this house were very pretty. Not that he, James Potter, liked girls. Of course not. He decided that the red-haired girl three places down from him was a show-off, and focused instead on seeing precisely how many Brussels sprouts he could fit into his mouth.

Sirius Black caught Remus Lupin's eye. Remus Lupin caught Peter Pettigrew's. Together, they looked at James Potter and thought that he was really weird, because he was eating Brussels sprouts. James looked up, mouth full, and grinned. His straight white teeth were smeared slightly with green. It was not, Sirius decided, the most attractive of looks. James nodded and held up six fingers.

He offered Sirius a Brussels sprout on the end of his fork. After a hesitation, Sirius took it. Sirius put in his mouth, then said around it, smirking to cover his grimace, "I can beat that."

*

Sirius only ever managed five. Remus didn't even make one. Peter smothered his Brussels sprout in gravy, and was promptly disqualified. James was crowned the Master of Sprouts. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

An unbearably tall stuffy Prefect led the new Gryffindors upstairs, to the tower. Peter thought that the Prefect had really nice shoes, and looked down at his own scuffed, second-hand ones sadly. James poked at paintings with his brand new wand (Eleven inches, mahogany, pliable, with dragon heartstring), and was more than just a little surprised when a rather prickly-looking portrait turned abruptly into a pineapple. Sirius thought it was wonderful and asked if James could teach him how to do it. Remus stood and patiently fixed the pineapple back into a painting, even if the subject still had leaves sprouting from his head and started yelling at them.

Peter said he looked like just like a Mandrake.

*

The Gryffindor common room was very red. Which wasn't surprising, really - the house colour being red and all.

Remus had never liked red. It reminded him far too much of blood. He wondered if now was too late to run back to that silly, crumpled, singing hat and beg it to re-sort him. Remus blinked, hard. When he opened his eyes again, James Potter had him by the robe sleeve and was dragging him upstairs... and then downstairs to their left.

Sirius decided this Hogwarts architecture was really warped.

He liked it a lot.

The Gryffindor First Year Boy's dorm had red hangings. Peter considered this a blessing. He doubted he could ever get used to sleeping in a dormitory with five other boys, but at least the curtains would provide some shelter. Peter liked to hide from people sometimes. He also liked knitting. He didn't know why.

*

There were five First Year Gryffindor girls. Their names were, in reverse alphabetical order, Raven, Lily, Gypsy, Eva and Drusilla. By the end of the first week, Sirius and James had employed their Wingardium Leviosa many times. Once, to set a plague of water balloons above the girl's dormitory door. Twice, to make Gypsy and Lily's pigtails fly straight up, and make it look like they had strange plaited antennae. The third time, they floated Eva's ink bottle onto a high ledge in the common room. (Three weeks later, still no-one had got it down.) The fourth time, they tried to borrow Drusilla's stack of Quidditch Illustrated magazines without her notice.

Drusilla punched them both in the arms. This proved more effective than any curse the first-years might have learned, as it left both Sirius and James' arms dead for at least three hours afterwards.

All four boys decided that night that there would be serious repercussions for the blonde in question. Their sensible roommates, a short freckled redhead named Bilius Brewer and his best friend, Tobias Brown, overheard, rolled their eyes, and shook their heads sadly.

*

It was the first time they'd used the Invisibility Cloak that James' father had given him. It wasn't the first time they'd been to the library, but it was the first time they'd been to the library without gazing longingly at the engraved doors of the Restricted Section.

This time they stepped right up to them. It was Remus who had the honour of opening the doors. It was Peter who found the tantalisingly simple potion. It was Sirius who, under the pretence of making a cutting remark about Drusilla's short, wheat-coloured hair, tipped the mixture into her pumpkin juice the next morning at breakfast.

Fifteen minutes, and breakfast, passed by before the potion started to work its magic. The Gryffindors were tramping off to Charms when Drusilla reached over to grab one elbow. James nudged Sirius. Remus and Peter were already watching with half-horrified looks on their faces.

Drusilla's face was confused as she gradually slowed down. Her arms became stiff. Her legs quickly followed suit. Dru stood rooted to the spot, and choked out an exclamation. The other Gryffindor girls halted, and stared as their friend's joints rearranged themselves to bend in the opposite direction.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were absolutely delighted.

Madam Pomfrey was not.

It was some consolation, however, that thereafter Drusilla Birch was remarkably double-jointed and would soon go on to beat Sirius Black to a Beater's position on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.