This is my first fanfic so I hope you enjoy it! I hope to actually finish all 7 of their school years but that could take a while. So have fun reading!

Peculiar Boys and Staring Contests

James Potter bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. It was here! The day he had been waiting for since…well, since before he could remember. He was going to Hogwarts!

He looked around Platform 9 ¾ with eager eyes. It was easy to tell the muggles from the rest by their looks and gasps of astonishment. Not that he wasn't amazed of course. He just liked to think that his jaw wasn't falling off his head.

Grinning he noticed a red haired girl gaping at everything in wonder. Tearing his gaze away from her (she was quite pretty) he turned to look at the other people on the platform.

Several people briefly caught his attention, a ragged boy with sandy brown hair and a chubby little boy to name a few, but he kept looking around. That is, until he noticed a lone boy with shoulder length, black hair standing by his trunks.

James stared curiously at what he decided was a very peculiar boy. He was standing haughtily but James could see emotions roiling behind his guarded gray eyes. What those emotions were was harder to figure out. He thought he caught a glimpse of loneliness and maybe longing, but he wasn't sure.

Suddenly, the boy looked over at James and saw him staring. To his surprise, the boy stared right back at him. It wasn't a staring contest. No, it was more of a you stare at me, I stare at you, let's stare at each other contest.

In fact, he was staring so intently, he nearly fell over his trunk when his mom tapped him on the shoulder.

"James," said his mother, Arlene, "did you hear a word I said?" James shook his head sheepishly and grinned. His mom frowned but James could see her eyes sparkling. "What was so captivating that you could completely ignore me?"

James shrugged and glanced back at the boy. His mom followed his gaze and saw the boy too. She grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"James," she said forcefully, "that is a Black. You know how much trouble they cause your father at work. I don't want you to associate with someone like him." James rolled his eyes in annoyance. It was a well known fact that the Potters and the Blacks were, to put it nicely, not on good terms.

"Mum," he groaned, "I am eleven years old. I know how to think and make decisions. Do you not trust me to make good friends?" His mom frowned.

"Of course I trust you," she said, "It's just that you have a knack for attracting trouble. And the Blacks are definitely trouble."

"Honey," intervened James's dad, "Let him be. It's his first day of Hogwarts and he should be allowed to have some fun." He winked at James from behind Arlene's back. "Even if it means causing havoc on his first train ride."

"Thank you, Dad," breathed James as his mom yelled, "John!" John just smiled.

"But your mom is right," his dad said. "The Blacks are one of the families that don't believe muggle-borns should be allowed. They're into the dark arts, so be careful."

Sighing heavily, James looked back to see the boy still staring at him. If his parents thought he would befriend a dark arts maniac, they were dead wrong. He couldn't stand people like that. But there seemed to be something different about this boy. He didn't seem as…well, as dark.

He turned around to grab his trunk when his mom suddenly wrapped him a bone crushing hug.

"Mum," he whined, "you're embarassing me." His mom just sniffled and James noticed the tears running down her face. "Mum, I won't be gone for long," he said hugging her back. "And don't worry, I'll send you my knickers so you can wash them after I've worn them for a week or two." His mom stepped back and glared at him.

"James Potter," she said scathingly, "you will do no such thing. You will change you knickers every single night or you'll be hearing from me." His dad stepped forward and embraced him.

"Good luck," his dad whispered in his ear. "Make us proud." He stepped back to stand with his mom. "We'll send you tons of letters," his dad said more loudly.

"And you'd better write back," added his mom sternly.

"Oh don't worry," James smirked, "I'll write back. And I'll add a little something special too."

"Don't you dare send us part of one the knights," his mom said.

"Wait," James looked at his parents in amazement, "are you telling me there are fully armed knights at Hogwarts?" His eyes turned dreamy. "Oh the fun that awaits me." His mom looked horrified.

"I'm looking forward to your letters," his dad said as the train blew its whistle. "You'd better hurry. The train is leaving." Giving his parents a final wave, James jumped onto the Hogwarts Express just in time.

James soon realized the problem of getting on the train at the last second. Almost all the compartments were full. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, and it seemed first years weren't in high demand as compartment mates. Finally, at the back of the train, he found an almost empty compartment.

"Excuse me," James said as he pushed open the door, "can I sit here? The rest of the compartments are already full." The boy staring out the window nodded without looking at him.

James put away his trunk and sat down. The boy was still staring out the window. With a jolt, he realized that this was none other than the peculiar boy who had been staring at him earlier, the one that his mom said not to talk to. It was oddly silent in the compartment as neither boy said a word.

"Hi, I'm James Potter," he said, deciding to ignore his mom's warning. He was old enough to make his own decisions and friends. The boy turned around to look at him with dull eyes.

"Sirius Black," he said in a monotone. James smiled. At least the boy was talking now.

"Nice to meet you," James said. "Do you like Quidditch? What's your favorite team? I'm going to be the star of my house team one day, you just watch. It sucks that first years aren't allowed to play. I hope I'm in Gryffindor. After all, my entire family has been there. What house do you think you'll be in?" James's endless babbling was cut short by Sirius's harsh voice.

"Why the hell are you talking to me?" Sirius asked suspiciously, "You're not going to curse me and run to another compartment?"

"Why would I do that?" James asked.

"You're a Potter and I'm a Black," Sirius said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Our families hate each other. And I saw your mum telling you not to talk to me."

"Then shouldn't you have cursed me and kept me out of your compartment?" James retorted. Sirius looked taken aback.

"I'm just," Sirius paused and turned back to the window, "different. But you're a Potter through and through. My parents would kill me if they knew I was talking to you. You should've hated me right away, just by hearing my name." Something flashed in Sirius's eyes again.

"Now that's not fair," James pouted. "Are you saying I'm supposed to be prejudiced?" Sirius looked at him and offered a shy grin.

"So you don't hate me?" Sirius asked. James shook his head. And so they began to talk.

James soon found they had a lot in common for two people who were supposed to hate each other. As Sirius slowly opened up, James found himself wondering how his mom could've thought this boy was into the dark arts. They were actually laughing at the time James had put pins charmed to bite into the cushions in his living room, when the door opened and two boys were shoved in.

"What happened?" James asked as the boys got up from the floor. They dusted themselves off and stood silently by the door. James recognized them as the shabby looking boy and the chubby boy he had seen at the station.

"We won't eat you," added James, noticing how still Sirius had become. The chubby boy fiddled nervously with his shirt while the ragged boy stood still and stared at the ground.

"I think some Slytherins decided to bully the first years," said the ragged boy in a quiet voice. "Sorry for bothering you. We'll leave now." He turned around to leave and the chubby boy followed him.

"Wait!" exclaimed James. "Why don't you stay in here with us? We don't mind, right?" He looked over at Sirius and was surprised to see the other boy's eyes had become guarded again.

"Really?" asked the chubby boy happily, "You'll let us stay here with you?" He smiled and sat down. "Thanks, I thought we would have to get bullied again." James frowned.

"If some stinkin' Slytherins decide to bully me, I'm going to hex them!" exclaimed James hotly. He ignored the fact that he didn't know any hexes yet.

"I wish I could join you," Sirius said, speaking for the first time since the two boys had come in. James was about to ask why he couldn't when the chubby boy interrupted him.

"Wow," he said in an awed voice, "you're so brave. I'll bet you'll both be in Gryffindor." James grinned importantly and agreed but Sirius just snorted.

"By the way," James said, "I'm James Potter. And this is Sirius Black." The compartment became silent again. The shabby boy, who had finally taken a seat in the corner, glanced up for the first time to look at them is surprise. The chubby boy was staring at Sirius in fear and was slowly edging away from him.

"Remus Lupin," said the shabby boy in his quiet voice.

"I-I'm Peter P-P-Pettigrew," stuttered the other boy in a squeaky voice. He seemed terrified of Sirius for some reason.

Sirius suddenly stood up and Peter gave an alarmed squeak while trembling in his seat. Without saying a word, he glared at them all and swept out of the compartment. James gaped at the slammed door for a few seconds.

"What did we do?" James asked nobody in particular, getting mad. There was no reason for Sirius to just leave. Did he think he was too good for them?

James remembered what his parents had once said about the Blacks. Apparently, they thought anyone who wasn't a pureblood was beneath them. They also looked down on anyone poorer than them and on families who didn't think badly of muggles. Maybe Sirius thought Remus in his shabby robes and Peter weren't good enough. And James's family was known to approve of muggle born witches and wizards.

Angrily, James decided to forget he had ever thought Sirius was different from those other slime-eating Slytherin gits. He would probably end up in Slytherin anyways, like the rest of his stupid family. James spent the rest of the trip talking to Remus and Peter.

Unfortunately, when the train finally stopped, he had to admit it had been more fun talking to Sirius. Remus barely said a word throughout the trip, and Peter agreed with everything he said. If he said it was cool to wear pink knickers on your head, Remus would stay silent and Peter would agree. Against his will, he began imagining what Sirius would say if he heard that.

As James clambered off the train, he saw a Slytherin girl talking to Sirius and a greasy haired boy with a hooked nose. James purposely ignored Sirius's dejected stance and instead focused on his anger towards him. Sirius had left them to join some Slytherins. What a stupid git. He didn't deserve James's sympathy; he deserved to become a rotting corpse in the dungeons with the rest of his family. Just like that greasy haired boy.

"Firs' years, this way!" a huge voice boomed. James was snapped out of his thoughts and he ogled at the giant man standing in front of him. Slowly he followed the giant to a row of boats. "On'y four to a boat," he boomed again.

James climbed into a boat and was followed by Remus and Peter. To his dismay, Sirius climbed in too. James glared at him but Sirius was off in his own world. The giant tapped his boat and all of them took off across the lake.

James strained his eyes trying to get his first glance of Hogwarts though the dark night. When the boats turned and he finally saw it, he was speechless.

"It's beautiful," whispered Sirius, saying exactly what James felt. The three boys nodded their agreement. Hogwarts was a giant, sparkling castle. It seemed full of mystery and excitement. Much too soon, the boats reached the other shore and everyone got out. At the door, they were met by a stern looking witch with her hair in a tight bun.

"Evenin' Professor McGonagall" said the giant. "Here's the firs' years."

"Thank you Hagrid," said Professor McGonagall, "I'll take them from here." She turned to the students. "Follow me." The first years had to jog to keep up with McGonagall's brisk stride.

She led them to the Great Hall, and if it was possible, James was even more amazed. The ceiling looked exactly like the night sky. The teachers sat at a high table in the front and there were four house tables. James didn't want to admit it, but he was rather intimidated

"When I call your name," started Professor McGonagall, "I want you to come up here and put on the Sorting Hat. It will decide the house you are to be put into. This house will be your family for the next seven years, so this is not a moment to be taken lightly." She pulled out a list and began to call out names.

James swallowed nervously. He was pretty sure he would get into Gryffindor, but what if he didn't? What if he was put in Slytherin? James shuddered at the thought. That would be much worse than the time his cousin had forced him to eat a concoction of ketchup and mayonnaise, and that had to be one of the worst moments of his life.

"Black, Sirius." James looked up as Sirius put on the Sorting Hat. He sat there for quite some time, which seemed to surprise the Slytherin table. Sirius's hands were shaking slightly, and he seemed to be fighting with the hat. Finally the hat yelled, "Gryffindor!"

The entire hall was silent. Sirius took off the hat and walked dazedly to the Gryffindor table. James studied him and was enraged to see that he didn't seem too happy to be there. It was an honor to be sorted into Gryffindor! How could Sirius be upset? It just went to show how stupid he was.

But the hat's decision with Sirius frightened him. If the hat was malfunctioning so badly as to put a Black in Gryffindor, who knew what house James would end up in. James was more nervous than ever.

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were sorted into Gryffindor along with the red haired girl, whose name was Lily Evans. Several kids were sorted into other houses before James was called.

"Potter, James." James walked anxiously up to the hat. He placed it on his head and sat down. He didn't have to wait long. "Gryffindor!" yelled the hat after barely a second.

Grinning broadly, James walked over to the Gryffindor table amidst tumultuous applause. He sat down next to Remus and Peter, and several people clapped him on the back in congratulations.

He looked over at Sirius, who was sitting alone at the end of the table, and noticed those hidden emotions peeping through his eyes again. Pushing Sirius's eyes out of his mind, James watched as everyone else was sorted and Dumbledore stood up.

Dumbledore gave a welcoming speech and the dishes then filled with food. James dug in and was soon full. The wonderful food drove thoughts of Sirius to the back of his mind, and he was filled with contentment. James's wearily made some mental notes about interesting sights to remember for later as the prefects led everyone to the dorm rooms. With a start, James realized that he had forgotten that he would be sleeping in the same room as Sirius.

James flopped onto his bed. There was nothing he could do about Sirius at the moment. Before he knew it, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

So what did you think? Did you hate it? Like it? Please review so I can make the next chapter better! I'll try to update soon. Thank you!