Prelude to Moondance

It was a misty August morning, and a sandy haired young man stepped out of his father's black car. The older man helped his son to pull out a heavy trunk from the backseat of the car and place it carefully on a metal cart.

The young man took hold of the trolley and hugged his father goodbye.

"Have fun, son," said the older man happily. "Use that badge well."

"I will!" said the young man. He turned and made his way towards Platform 9 and 3/4, where a large group of funny looking people were gathered. One woman had a tall top hat covered in fur. She was clutching the hand of a small girl and dabbing her eyes, watching her other daughter barrel through the barrier leading to the Hogwarts Express. Another man had apparently tried to dress like a Muggle, but had failed miserably. He had a pair of long plaid pants on, and a striped shirt; he was also wearing soccer cleats as opposed to normal shoes.

The young man smiled, shook his head, and edged up towards the barrier. He hadn't seen his friends all summer, due to the fact that he had spent most of it in his home, unable to leave because of the utter weakness he had felt for most of the time. He leaned against the barrier and fell straight through to the other side. He eagerly pushed his trolley into the throngs of people built up around the large scarlet train, his gray eyes scanning the crowds for his group of friends. He stopped when he realized that someone was watching him. The man turned quickly and caught the arm of his best friend before the other could mess up his hair.

The black haired boy chuckled. "You've got the reflexes of a cat, Remus."

"Oh, I don't know about a cat, James," sniggered the second black haired boy standing nearby. "A wolf maybe?"

"Not so loud... I may have to give you a detention," said Remus as he scowled jokingly at his friends.

"Ooh, Remus the Head Boy. We're going to have to be oh so very careful from now on!" Sirius laughed maniacally, his whole face glowing with excitement.

"This is going to be amazing, our last year," sighed James. The trio stood there for a brief second, lost in their own thoughts.

"It will be amazing if you three actually make it on the train without causing trouble," said a female voice. The young men turned to look at two girls, one keeping a tight hold on a cage in which a Siamese cat was hissing angrily, and the other holding a book with a lock on it.

"Hi guys," said the redhead, grinning. "We missed you."

"Well... not really. Only a little bit," added the other girl.

James laughed loudly and began his usual ranting. "Lily and Sariyah...like peanut butter and jelly or Liberace and his candlestick or-"

"James and Sirius?" Lily cut him off.

"Yes. Like James and Sirius. And Remus," responded James.

"We have to get on the train," said Remus hurriedly. He pointed to the clock; they had a minute left.

The five scurried to board the scarlet passenger train. Sariyah accidentally banged the cage she was carrying against the side of the wall, and the cat inside let out a yelp of dismay, hissing and spitting with even more anger than before.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry sweetheart. I'll let you out in a little bit, just hold on," she whispered soothingly into the cage. The cat immediately stopped squirming and was silent.

"You've got quite a knack with animals, Sar," said Remus.

"Not really. Just this one. I think maybe he's an Animagus that couldn't transform back, you know? Stuck the way he is," she responded.

James and Sirius looked at each other, eyes twinkling.

"Why do you guys do that, all the time? Those secret looks? I mean, if you two are dating, you can just say so, honestly," Sariyah laughed.

James grinned and ran his hand through his dark hair, messing it up even more. "There's only one girl for me," he muttered fiendishly. He draped his arm around Lily, and her ears turned bright red.

Sariyah rolled her eyes and made her way down the crowded train.

"I think the Head Boy and Girl have their own compartment, Remus," Sariyah said. She looked at Remus, who had been staring at her for some time now.

"Remus?" she said.

"Wha? Oh.... yeah. Carriage," he mumbled.

Sirius looked at Remus with a slightly wary glance. He brushed his suspicion aside for the time being, and slipped into the carriage behind James and Lily. He watched Remus and Sariyah's figures become smaller as they made their way to the front of the train. Lily slid the door shut and the train began its journey to Hogwarts.