Sirius Black hated parties. Well, not all parties. In fact, he thought he'd rather enjoy them if he'd been invited to anyone other than his own family. As it was, Sirius had had to suffer a grand total of five of his parents' parties this summer, and would have refused flat out if he hadn't known that this would be the last one before returning to Hogwarts.

And then I'm never coming back. Sirius thought wryly as he buttoned the collar on his black dress robes. Then I'll be free to do as I please. Maybe I'll even marry a muggle.

The thought of his mother's face if she found out her son had married a muggle made him smile. Her rage at finding that the photos of muggle girls in bikinis had been permanently stuck to his wall had been the highlight of his summer.

It had been then that Sirius had decided that this would be his last summer at Number Twelve Grimmuald Place. He didn't care about money. He had a feeling he'd been disinherited the moment he joined the Gryffindor table his first day at Hogwarts. As for leaving his family behind, he decided there were worse things.

"Sirius!" His mother called from down the hall, her voice already agitated.

"Coming!" He hollered back.

As Sirius descended the staircase he saw his entire family standing in the hall. They looked like a perfect pureblood picture. Even Sirius had to admit that the Blacks were a handsome family. His brother Regulus was young, but held himself with a pride that came from being told since birth that he was exceptional. His father was tall, with a strong jaw and a thick black mustache. Sirius had always thought he looked like a muggle film star. His father never appreciated the comparison.

Lastly, standing with her arms crossed and her lips pursed, was his mother. Walburga Black had been a beauty in her youth, but years of frowning had made her face grow hard and lined. She was a slight woman, with her hair pulled back tightly in a bun and long black dress robes. She had insisted that the entire family match for their parties, which more often than not meant that they were all in black. Sirius thought they looked like a funeral procession.

"It's about time!" She said hotly. "The guests will be apparating at the gate any second."

"Lovely." Sirius mumbled.

"Now you listen here," Walburga said, eyes narrowed. "I don't want any of your nonsense."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sirius smirked.

"I don't want you to bait your cousins. I don't want you parading your Gryffindor banners around like it's a point of pride. And under no circumstances do I want you to talk politics at the dinner table." She replied.

His mother was referring, not so subtly, to the last Black family party which ended in Sirius storming away from the dinner table, insisting that the party guests were all "a bunch of stinking Death Eaters."

"Oh so we're all going to sit around and not talk about how wizards are disappearing left and right? We're not going to talk about how the world is falling apart and people are dying all because of Lord Vold-"

"Don't say his name!" His mother shrieked. "This is exactly what I was talking about! The Riverses are back from France and will be here tonight and if you embarrass us in front of them I swear on Merlin's grave-"

"All you care about is your stupid pureblood world! Who cares about those Rivers prats? They're just another bunch of pureblood idiots! You don't even care that muggles and muggle borns are dying every day! I think you like it!" Sirius shouted.

His mother's eyes narrowed, "It is no concern of mine what happens to muggles and mudbloods."

"Your mother is right," Orion Black chimed in. "You could do with a little more respect for your family and where you came from. We gave you your name and you besmirch it every day with your silliness."

"Compassion isn't silliness," Sirius replied. "And I'm proud to be in Gryffindor."

"I swear to you, boy, if you step one toe out of line you'll never see Hogwarts or your little Gryffindor buddies ever again. If you embarrass your mother tonight I will send you to Durmstrang, which is what we ought to have done with you in the first place." His father spoke calmly, never breaking Sirius' gaze.

His son knew well enough to take him seriously.

"Fine," Sirius mumbled, defeated.

Just then a loud crack marked the arrival of their house elf, Kreacher.

"If you please, miss," He said, bowing low. "The guests are just outside the gate."

"Thank you, Kreacher. See them inside."

Sirius took his place by the door and mumbled greetings to a parade of what would surely be considered the elite of wizard society.

He hated them all.

His cousins were particularly loathsome. Bellatrix and Narcissa slid in behind their parents. The two Black girls were beloved by their family. They sat and smiled and simpered and complimented all the right people. They wore Slytherin colors with pride and never associated with anyone with less than pureblood status. The were, in the eyes of this particular crowd, a picture of perfection.

There had been, of course, a third Black sister, but nobody dared ask after Andromeda. She had run away with a muggle only a year before and was subsequently blasted off the Black family tree forever. Incidentally, she had been the only person Sirius had ever liked at any of these parties and he had felt her loss ever since her departure.

"And how is my dear little cousin today?" Bellatrix smirked as she met him at the stairs.

It only took once glance for Sirius to see the enormous silver ring gleaming from Bellatrix's finger.

"So Rodolphus proposed, then? Sirius asked, making sure it sounded far from a congratulations.

"Yes," Bellatrix smiled. "He should be here any minute now. My parents, of course, are very pleased."

"Of course." Sirius replied.

"You know, little cousin, it wouldn't hurt for you to find a nice pureblood girl yourself. What do you think, Cissy?"

Narcissa looked at Sirius as though she'd hardly noticed he was there. The prettier of the two, Narcissa was two years out of school and had been living the life of the perfect pureblood girl that she had been raised to be. For Narcissa, life was a whirlwind of parties and proposals and she had made herself notorious by turning them all down. She seemed to think it made her mysterious.

"Oh I don' know," Narcissa replied. "I hardly think a nice pureblood girl would want him given how he carries on at school."

Narcissa and Sirius had overlapped by a few years at Hogwarts and she had made sure he knew that she was thoroughly unimpressed by his choice of friends.

"Oh I'm sure if you just keep quiet someone will have him. He is very handsome." Bellatrix said.

"You know, some people think about things other than marriage," Sirius spat, tired of being spoken about as if he wasn't directly in front of them. "Some people aren't just thinking about themselves all the time. Some people are opening their eyes and looking at the world for what it is."

"Oh please Sirius. You're a fifteen year old boy what could you possibly be talking about?" Narcissa laughed.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe Lord Voldemort?" Sirius replied.

The effect on the girls was immediate. Narcissa let out a small gasp and put her hand to her mouth while Bellatrix's eyes narrowed and she thrust her hand into her pocket and pulled out her wand. Before Sirius knew what was happening, his cousin had her wand pointed directly at his heart.

"You nasty little toerag!" She shrieked. Bellatrix was famous for letting her temper get the best of her.

Sirius tried to remain calm. He was sure his cousin wouldn't hex him at a party full of important pureblood families.

Then again, Sirius thought. There are no guarantees with Bellatrix.

"Did I touch a nerve, cousin?" He managed to get out.

"You will speak of The Dark Lord with respect or you won't speak of him at all!" She jabbed the wand hard up into his chin.

"The Dark Lord?" Sirius asked. "My god, Bellatrix! You're one of them aren't you?"

"All I can say, dear cousin, is that I am going to bring The House of Black glory beyond-"

"Bella!" Narcissa hissed. "This conversation is not wise."

"Why?" Bellatrix laughed. "Who cares what this sniveling little blood traitor thinks?"

"Because that sniveling little blood traitor has a mouth. And a big one at that. Let's go, Bella before his nastiness ruins the party for all of us."

Bellatrix sneered at her cousin and left the room.

Sirius watched them walk out into the garden in silence. So that was it. Bellatrix had joined the Death Eaters. He wasn't surprised. Hurting others had always been one of Bella's favorite past times, and her fiancee Rodolphus was no different. Sirius remembered when he was just a boy that Rodolphus and his cronies had cornered him and locked him in a vanishing cabinet. He passed between the cabinet and it's twin for hours until his mother had finally noticed he was gone.

I'd bet the whole lot of them are Death Eaters now. Sirius thought.

"You know, everyone is looking for you at the party." A voice said from behind him.

Sirius turned to see one of the only purebloods at the party to whom he was not related.

"Hello Lucretia." Sirius grumbled.

Lucretia Rivers was, for all intents and purposes, the princess of the purebloods. She could trace her lineage all the way back to Melusine, the water witch who had reached such notoriety during the 1400s that even muggles knew her name, and for this reasons pureblood clamored to get in the good graces of the Rivers family. As the family's only heir, Lucretia was particularly prized.

Sirius had known Lucretia for as long as he could remember, but he hadn't seen much of her since they'd both been accepted to Hogwarts. As predicted, she had been put in Slytherin house, but rather remarkably she didn't seem to care about blood at all. She played the part well, attending all the required parties and even posed for Witch Weekly's annual Pretty and Pureblood edition (effectively ending any relationship she'd had with Bellatrix and Narcissa, who were both outraged at having been overlooked.)

Once school began, however, Lucretia seemed to be living an entirely different life. She had Slytherin friends, of course, but she also made friends outside of her house. And not just purebloods. In fact, Sirius had noticed the previous year that Lucretia had struck up a friendship with a very pretty muggle born girl called Lily Evans with whom his best friend James was particularly taken.

"Look at that," James had said one afternoon after spotting the two girls laying out by the lake, "The two prettiest girls in the whole school lying on the same blanket. What a sight."

Sirius had merely shrugged. He didn't like to think too much about Lucretia. As a rule, he was wary of anyone who's motivations weren't immediately clear to him.

"You know these parties are a lot less boring if you just pop a smile on and try to join them." She said matter-of-factly.

"Well that's easy for you to say. They like you." Sirius replied.

"Well who's fault is that?" Lucretia laughed. "It doesn't really seem like you're trying to get anyone to like you."

"Actually, you're right, I'm not." Sirius said, turning his back to her. He was hoping that his rudeness would make her leave. Her presence always irked him.

After a moment Sirius turned back around to see Lucretia still standing there.

"What do you want?" He asked. "I'm not going to-what was it?-pop a smile on and join the party or whatever it is you came here to try and get me to do."

Lucretia furrowed her brown and stood up straight. "Well, I actually came here to tell you that you're not the only person at this party with that's-what was it?-opening their eyes and looking at the world."

Sirius was at a loss for what to say.

"Oh-ho," Lucretia smirked. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"I-I-Well-Were you listening to my conversation with Bellatrix?" He sputtered.

"I've made it my business to know everyone else's. In these trying times it's really the only way to stay safe." She said loftily.

"So you're spying, then?" Sirius asked.

"I prefer to think of it as listening," She smiled. "And if you listened, you would know a thing or two yourself and you wouldn't be caught looking so stupid in front of the prettiest girl at school."

"I'm not stupid! What are you talking about? And-and you're not the prettiest girl at school!" He shouted back, feeling very juvenile.

Lucretia smiled and tossed her long black curls over her shoulder, proving her point.

"You are, and I am." She winked at him and walked out of the room.

Sirius spent the rest of the party in his room, trying to dislodge Lucretia Rivers' smile from his memory.

The Hogwarts Express could not have come soon enough in Sirius' opinion. For the entirety of the walk through the station Sirius had endured his mother's vitriol regarding the muggles around them.

"You'd think they would find a more dignified way to send our children to school." She sniffed. "If it were up to me we'd keep our children away from muggles as much as possible. Just the stink alone is enough to keep me away. Leave the train for the mudbloods and their nasty muggle parents I say."

"James!" Sirius called, spying a lanky boy with messy black hair hugging his parents before getting onto the train.

"Oi Sirius!" James smiled back. His parents, who Sirius had met during his brief stays with the Potters on previous summers, beamed at him from their son's side.

Sirius had spent more nights than he could remember privately resenting James for the unconditional love of his parents. Sirius had never thought much about his family's coldness until he'd been introduced to the warmth of the Potters. After his first stay with the Potters the shortcomings of his own family had seemed so stark the were unavoidable. He had to get away.

"What are you waiting for?" James called. "Moony's saving us a seat!"

Sirius turned to his mother and father again. Regulus had already changed into his Slytherin robes and was kissing his mother on the cheek. She gave him a rare smile as she wished him a happy term. Then she turned to Sirius.

"Well, off you go." She said.

"Have a good term." His father said stiffly.

Sirius paused, knowing that his plan was to never return to Grimmuald Place. He looked at his mother, studying the hard lines of her face and the dark grey eyes that he knew that they shared. She would never speak to him again. He knew that was certain. His father would surely follow suit.

And what about Regulus? There was no doubt in his mind that Walburga would forbid him to speak with his brother, and the two of them had never been particularly close. What would it be like seeing him at school? Would they pretend they didn't know each other? Would they act as though they didn't share a name?

"Get a move on! The Potter boy is right. You'll miss the train and I'd rather not have to take you to Hogwarts myself." His mother gave his shoulder a tiny push.

"Bye, then." Sirius grumbled, dragging his trunk behind him.

Well at least I know I made the right decision. Sirius thought bitterly.

He met James just as he hopped onto the train.

"Saying a tearful goodbye to your dear old mum, then?" James laughed. Sirius had told him of his plan to run away earlier in the summer.

Sirius smiled, "Nah. The old bat's got no idea what's coming. Though I doubt she'll be anything but pleased…"

James laughed and threw open the door to the nearest compartment where Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were waiting them. Peter was looking plump and perplexed as ever. He sat with an open Potions textbook in his lap. Remus had clearly been trying to help him get a head start on the year. It was common knowledge that Peter had barely scraped by with Potions last year, and with OWLs looming in the distance, he was going to need all the help that he could get.

Remus smiled as his friends entered the car. Sirius felt a familiar pang in his stomach as he looked at his friend's eager smile. There was always something in his expression that said I'm so glad that you all are my friends and it made Sirius profoundly uncomfortable.

"Together at last!" James declared, taking a seat across from Lupin and Pettigrew.

"How were your summers, boys?" Sirius propped his feet up on his trunk.

"Ouiet." Remus replied.

The Lupins, who Sirius had only met briefly once, seemed like nice enough people, but they were still very protective of their young son and his condition and rarely let him enjoy his holidays in the same way that his friends did. They had yet to let him visit James, even for a weekend.

"Great!" Peter said, stuffing his face with sweets his mother had sent with him. "Mum and dad took me on a whole tour of Europe. We went loads of different places. They said it would help me with my education. My History of Magic marks were dismal last year…"

"So it's all hands on deck to get Peter through his OWLs , then?" Sirius laughed.

"Hate to break it to you, mate, but it can't be done. I expect they'll let you stay on as caretaker, though. Old Filch is a nasty little squib if ever I saw one and you can do magic-however poorly." James held out his hand expectantly and Peter filled it with sweets.

"Do you guys really think I'm hopeless?" Peter asked nervously.

"James was only joking," Remus said quickly. "You'll be fine, Peter."

"Moony's right," James said, realizing his lack of tact. "That complete troll Mulciber graduated last year and I was always surprised he could walk and talk at the same time."

"Speaking of Slytherins," Sirius added. "I wonder how our old pal Snivellus is holding up."

James smiled a very particular smile that Sirius had come to associate with a detention in his future.

"Oh, I'm sure old Snivelly will turn up soon."

"Couldn't be soon enough," Sirius said. "I've got a few hexes I'd like to try."

"I ran into Mundungus Fletcher on Diagon Alley and he was telling me about -Levicorpus or something like that-supposed to make somebody hang up in the air. He said it's been popping up a lot among the sixth years."

"Perfect." Sirius smiled.

Remus cleared his throat.

"My mum also mentioned one called the bat bogey hex," Peter supplied through a mouthful of sweets. "You can imagine what that does…"

"Good looking out, Peter!" James punched the air. "Old Snivelly won't know what's coming!"

Remus cleared his throat again, this time slightly louder.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Moony?" James asked.

"Well…I mean not really it's just…" Remus began.

"Get out with it, Moony. There's only a few hours till Hogwarts and I'd like to get a nap in." Sirius yawned loudly.

"Well," Remus sat up straighter and looked up at his two friends. "It's just that I've been made prefect this year and-"

"Prefect?" James exclaimed. "That's brilliant!"

Remus looked taken aback, "Well…thank you…"

"Now we don't have to worry about anybody sticking their nose in our business while we're helping with your…err…furry little problem." James said.

"Well that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," Remus took a deep breath. "I just think we should…you know…lay low a bit."

"Lay low?" James looked flabbergasted.

"You mean like, don't boast about what we're doing?" Peter asked stupidly.

"He means," Sirius growled. "That we should keep our noses clean so ickle Moony won't lose his shiny new badge."

"That's not what I meant," Remus said through gritted teeth. "And how am I not surprised that none of you managed a congratulations?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes, "Why? Because you're Dumbledore's little boy now? You're just as involved in our troublemaking as we are!"

"I don't get up to half of what you lot get into and you know it!" Remus raised his voice.

"Oh so James and I are knicking books on animagi for fun, are we?" Sirius retarded.

"Oi!" James intervened. "Remus, you're right. Congratulations. We'll try to keep our business…err…under wraps."

James shot an imploring look at Sirius and he backed down, "Sorry about that Moony. It's been a long summer."

"'Sal right," Remus replied. "You know I'm grateful for what you all are doing."

James clapped his two friends on the back, "Now shake hands, boys."

If there was anything to be said for James Potter, it was that he hated seeing his friends fight. In fact, it was clear to anyone who met him that James' fierce loyalty was one of his most admirable characteristics.

The boys spent the rest of the train ride sharing stories about their summers and speculating about their classmates as they passed by the carriage.

"Urgh Amelia Bones does not look well." Sirius said after she stopped outside their compartment to buy some sweets.

Though not a remarkable looking girl even on the best of days, Amelia seemed unusually shabby. Her hair hung limply around her shoulders and she looked distinctly as though she had lost more weight than she ought.

"You'll want to lay off her," James said quietly. "She lost her brother and a cousin to some Death Eaters this summer. They've no idea who did it. Terrible thing."

Sirius felt his stomach drop. Of course he wouldn't have heard about something like that. His circle remained blissfully unconcerned about the world around them. They were pureblood. They were safe. They were happy, even, at the thought of been solidified as the top members of wizarding society. Perhaps one of the murderers had sat across from Sirius at dinner.

"I had no idea." Sirius said quietly.

"It's getting worse out there," Remus said darkly. "Have you been reading The Daily Prophet? Someone new disappears nearly every day now."

"My mum and dad try not to talk about it in front of me. They even stopped our subscription to The Prophet because they couldn't stand all the bad news. People they knew dying every day and what not," James said. "But I've been sneaking The Prophet anyway and I overheard my mum telling my dad that she thinks The Ministry will fall sooner rather than later."

Peter looked around nervously, "You don't think-He-that is to say-You Know Who-would ever come to Hogwarts, do you?"

"Don't be daft, Peter!" Sirius laughed. "Hogwarts is about the only place on Earth that's safe, what with Dumbledore and all."

"I'm just glad I'm not muggleborn," Peter said quietly. "That's who they're after, isn't it?"

"It's disgusting." Remus said quietly.

"What I don't understand," James said. "Is how anybody could go to school with muggleborns or see them at work every day and still think they're not real wizards. I mean, muggles I understand because most people don't ever really meet any-not that that makes it alright to kill them or anything." He added quickly

Sirius snorted. Sometimes James could be so good he was naive. He came from a pureblood family that didn't care about blood status and so he couldn't understand any other way to be.

"People want to believe their special," Sirius grumbled. "If you raise someone up by telling them they were born better than everyone else most of 'em will do anything to maintain that."

There was a moment of silence after Sirius' words.

"Hogwarts." Remus grunted.

James stood up. "Well, time to get ready boys. People will be wanting to see us, I imagine."

Remus laughed.

"Laugh all you want, Moony, but I have it on good authority that we are beloved." James said proudly.

"Oh yeah, and who told you that?"

"Marlene Mckinnon in what most would consider to be a very passionate love letter sent to me this summer."

"No way!' Peter exclaimed eagerly. "And she talked about all of us?"

"She said, if I'm remembering correctly, that all the girls in school are dying to go out with any of us." James said. "The love letter was really to the four of us rather than just me. She said people call us The Marauders."

"The Marauders," Sirius repeated. "I like that."

"Even me," Peter asked. "I mean-you think there are girls who would go out with me?"

"Well, she didn't specifically exclude you, Wormy, so I imagine you've got a shot." James winked.

Peter flushed scarlet and seemed to dove deep into thought. All four of the boys dressed silently, each privately consumed by the contents of Marlene Mckinnon's letter and the rising prospects of the year to come.

The Sorting Ceremony went fairly quickly, with James commenting frequently that the new first years seemed a bit peckish.

"We'll have to liven 'em up, eh Sirius?" James joked as he took a large gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Planning to jinx first years now, James?" A cool voice said from behind them. "i can't say I'm surprised."

The boys looked up to see a very pretty girl with dark red hair staring down at them. Lily Evans was very good at looking unimpressed.

"Eavesdropping now are we, Evans?" James replied with a small shake in his voice, his hand shooting up to muss his hair.

Sirius laughed to himself. If there was anyone who had the power to make James Potter lose his cool, it was Lily Evans.

"Well i'm not sure if Remus told you but we've both been made prefect this year," Lily shot Remus a significant look. "And while he may not be interested in stopping you from torturing first years, I on the other hand-"

"I don't intend to let them torture first years." Remus said quietly.

"Well I should hope not!" She said hotly. "I can't do this on my own, you know."

"I know." He answered.

"Well, good," Lily smiled, immediately reminding them all how charming she could be, "because the other prefects are all rather dull and I was looking forward to having you at the meetings."

"Thanks." Remus said sincerely.

"Speaking of which," She added. "You missed the first meeting on the train today."

Lupin put his palm to his face, "Lily you're right I'm so sorry. I've been…er…out of sorts lately."

Lily looked sympathetic. It was common knowledge among the student body that Remus Lupin was sickly and made frequent trips home.

"It's alright," Lily said. "But you owe me one when I feel like skiving."

"Deal." Remus smiled.

"Who are the other prefects, then?" James asked loudly, clearly irritated at being ignored by Lily for so long.

"Ravenclaw's got that Hopkirk boy who's name always escapes me and Elladora Smith-who's rather stuck up if you ask me. Remus and I for Gryffindor, of course, and then they actually have both the Moor twins for Hufflepuff, which I've heard is the first time in Hogwarts History that's ever happened, but they're both so dull."

"What about Slytherin?" James asked.

Lily paused. It seemed obvious to Sirius that she had been purposely avoiding the subject, but James wasn't one for recognizing subtlety.

"Oh, well they're fine actually," Lily said a little too casually. "It's Lucretia Rivers-who's actually quite nice and Sev so, you know, they'll be alright."

Lily looked directly at James; daring him to say something against Severus in front of her. It was well known that the two had grown up together and Lily had been fiercely protective of her friend ever since their arrival at Hogwarts.

James, to his credit, said nothing, though Sirius saw a distinct flash in his eye at the mention of his old rival's name.

Lily straightened out her skirt, "Well, like I said, leave the first years alone and-well-I'll see you 'round I suppose."

"See you." Remus said.

"Yeah, see you 'round, Evans!" James called after her.

The boys remained quiet for a moment until James said dreamily, "You know, I imagine being a prefect wouldn't be so bad."

The three boys burst out laughing and carried their good mood and optimism all the way up to their dormitories.