A/N: I'd just like to make something clear because this might be a bit difficult to understand: As this story follows the Hogwarts lives of two different generations of Marauders, there will be two different Moonys, Wormtails, Padfoots, and Prongses. Obviously, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter are the first generation; so, Teddy, Theodore, Jacory, and Christian are the second. Right? Right. So at the start of a new segment, the POV will be indicated by NICKNAME (NAME), ex: Prongs (James Potter) as opposed to Prongs (Teddy Lupin). If the story is being told from a first-generation Marauder, the text will be italicized. Got it? I hope it isn't too confusing… Anyway, let's go!------
Padfoot (Sirius Black)
He stood at the center of the platform, amazed. He'd gone through most of his eleven years and eight months bored, but now he felt strangely excited. Never had he imagined that he would feel like this – so dazzled by the journey, the home that awaited him.
Regulus was jealous of him, which pleased him even more. His parents had stayed at the station, telling him he would find his own way, even though Regulus had begged them to be able to just catch a glimpse of the Hogwarts express. Sirius relished every opportunity to make Regulus jealous of him, because Sirius was so often envious of Regulus that he felt the need to balance things out.
He was jealous of the attention Regulus got at home – mostly due to the fact that Regulus blindly followed his parents wherever they went, and Sirius tended to wander. He liked being on his own. He liked being independent. It wasn't something he could help, but his parents antagonized him for it.
At least now he could leave all that behind.
He walked toward the train, pulling his trunk along behind him and breathing in the damp platform air.
"Hello."
He turned around – a boy with ruffled, brown hair and a crooked smile approached him. "James Potter, first year."
"Sirius Black. I'm a first-year as well."
James nodded, eyes appraising the wrought-iron owl cage that had been hastily fastened to Sirius' trunk. Inside the cage, Lyra the barn owl squawked angrily. Sirius felt sorry for her – he knew she didn't like being shut up in her cage, but he couldn't let her out until the journey's end.
"Well, d'you want to go try to find a compartment before there's no space left?" James offered. Sirius wondered if this was normal, for strangers to hand out lifelines. He certainly wasn't used to help or offers of friendship – which was what this seemed to be. But he was grateful.
"Yeah, let's go."
Moony (Remus Lupin)
Remus Lupin looked eagerly up as two people bustled into the train compartment. They were short enough to be first years – maybe they would be friends. One boy was ebony-skinned with sharp, aristocratic features and dark brown hair. When he sat down across from Remus, he sat regally, like a prince, but there was an undisguised grin on his face that said otherwise. The other had slightly darker skin and jet-black hair, along with round glasses and a michevious smile.
The Prince nodded at Remus. "Sirius Black. First-year. You?"
"Remus Lupin, also first-year," he introduced himself.
"And I'm James; James Potter. Obviously, I'm a first-year, too," The second newcomer said.
Remus had heard of both the Blacks and the Potters… they were old, Pureblood familes. He hoped they wouldn't judge him because of his lineage – he was a Halfblood. James and Sirius began a wild conversation about all of the insane stunts they wanted to pull during their first year at Hogwarts, and Remus reimmersed himself in his copy of A Standard Book of Spells, Grade One.
When he looked up again, the comparment had somehow become completely full of what seemed to be all first-years, mostly boys. They crowded into the compartment – some even sitting on the floor. The only girl in the compartment sat in the far end, near the window. She had long, dark red hair, and was talking to a greasy black-haired boy with eyes half-filled with tears. James seemed to be watching her intently; Remus wondered if they knew each other – although even if they did, it seemed like she was avoiding his gaze almost studiously…
Prongs (Teddy Lupin)
He opened the compartment door – a pair of shimmering, orblike eyes stared back up at him. The girl had ivory skin and long, white-blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders.
Teddy wondered if his imagination was acting up on him, again. He stood in the doorway, trunk having long since fallen out of his grasp, staring at the girl in a trancelike stupor.
The girl's eyes narrowed after a few moments' stillness. "Do you mind?"
Teddy blinked. "Oh. I, er…" He picked up his trunk by the handles. "Sorry. I'll just… leave, then."
The girl nodded coldly.
Moony (Jacory Lynch)
The compartment door was thrown open, and a drunk-looking boy stumbled inside. He nodded to Jacory in greeting and threw his trunk into the overhead compartment… and then collapsed on the bench, grinning. "I'm in love," he announced.
Jacory raised his eyebrows.
The boy was a few inches taller than Jacory, with tanned skin and bright green hair that seemed to be darkening by the second. Jacory, who had almost albino-white skin and equally light hair, felt ghostly in comparison.
"Are you?" He asked dubiously, and the newcomer nodded.
"Yeah… I'm Teddy Lupin, by the way. Half Metamorphmagus, if you were wondering about the hair." The boy announced.
"Jacory Lynch. First year."
"Same here… Which House do you think you'll be in?" Teddy asked eagerly. "I'd like to be in Gryffindor… My dad was a Gryffindor."
"Oh, er…" Jacory looked around uncomfortably, flattening out his button-down white shirt. "Actually, I don't really know much about the different Houses…, or Hogwarts at all, really. I'm a Muggleborn."
"Are you?" Teddy leaned forward, seeming interested. "Well, basically, there are four Houses at Hogwarts – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. The Slytherins are… Well, most people say they're the conniving ones to be polite, but what they mean is that they're obnoxious and arrogant. Ravenclaws are the most intelligent, and Gryffindors are the noblest."
"And Hufflepuff?" Jacory asked, captivated.
Teddy shrugged. "Basically, Hufflepuff's where you go if you aren't good enough for the other Houses."
"Excuse me?"
Teddy and Jacory looked up at the speaker in bewilderment – neither had heard the compartment door open. Another boy stood in the doorway, arms crossed. "Both my parents were in Slytherin."
"Oh." Teddy seemed mildy abashed. "Sorry."
The intruder didn't respond, but slinked into the compartment, stowed his shiny, embossed trunk into the overhead compartment, and sat down next to Jacory. He seemed to radiate cold through his ebony hair, ice-blue eyes, and polished black shoes.
"Name's Theodore Nott. Theodore Nott the Second, actually." He said loftily. "First-year, like yourselves."
Padfoot (Theodore Nott II)
He couldn't believe it – he was actually having fun. Theodore had been skeptical of the two boys in the comparment at first, but even though the almost-albino Jacory was a Muggleborn and Teddy Lupin's late father had been a werewolf (although he assured them that the lycanthropic genes had not been passed down), they were the best company he had ever had in… well… his life.
The compartment had slowly become stuffed with first-year boys and sweets – both having been bought in mostly by Teddy. Teddy, had captivated his newfound audience with stories his godfather – no less than the famous Harry Potter – had told him about his own days at Hogwarts. They had talked about Quidditch, classes, Sorting, and every other thing they could think of.
Most of the boys had already changed into their Hogwarts robes, but Theodore had yet to do so. He stood up, struggling, against the quaking of the train, to keep his balance, and unlatched his trunk. Theodore grabbed the first set of designer robes he saw, and set off for the train bathroom.
When he finally found it, the door was locked. Theodore knocked on it.
"It's occupied," a voice resounded from inside.
Theodore frowned. He wasn't exactly used to waiting for things… He was the eldest of three brothers – all of whom were hilariously envious of him for already being able to go to Hogwarts, and all of whom were glad to let him cut to the front of whichever line they happened to be standing in.
When the door finally opened, close to ten minutes later, Theodore had become downright frustrated with the occupant of the bathroom. But when she stepped out, all of that frustration faded away, replaced by awe.
The girl's face was framed by short, straight, auburn hair. She had porcelain skin, glass-green eyes, cheeks tinged lightly red, and rosy lips.
It only took a few moments for the shock of her appearance to fade away, and after it did, the irritation returned.
"How could you possibly have taken that long to change?" He asked spitefully.
The girl just looked at him for a moment, condescendingly, laughed, and with steps as light as a fairie's, started back off toward her compartment.
Wormtail (Christian Chapman)
He sat down at the Gryffindor table, pleased with himself for having been Sorted into the House of the brave. His mother had been in Ravenclaw, and his father was a Muggle, but he knew they would both be proud of him.
Christian had been the third student to be Sorted – and the first to be Sorted into Gryffindor. So, the only first-year at the table, he had to sit and wait for someone his own age to join him, as the upperclassmen weren't likely to want to talk to an "ickle firstie" like himself.
He as watched various students were sorted, growing hungrier and tireder by the second… A few first-year girls joined the Gryffindor table.
Finally the Sorting Hat directed a first-year boy, Teddy Lupin, to Gryffindor. Teddy, who had crimson hair that seemed to be steadily turing purple, introduced himself to Christian, and they were soon joined by Jacory Lynch, a tall boy with a ghostlike complexion. Christian had wood-brown hair and similarly colored eyes.
"This is Christian," Teddy told Jacory. "Christian, this is Jacory."
Jacory nodded and leaned across the table to shake hands with Christian.
"Nott, Theodore," McGonagall called, and Teddy craned his neck to get a good view of the Sorting, nudging Jacory with an elbow.
"That bloke from the train," he reminded the other boy.
As soon as the Hat touched Theodore Nott's head, it shouted, "Gryffindor!" for the entire Great Hall to hear. Christian wondered if he had imagined the new Gryffindor cringe for a moment before smiling relaxedly and making his way over to the table. The Gryffindo students applauded the new addition, but the rest of the Hall was filled with the slippery sounds of whispers. Christian wondered what was the matter. Jacory and Teddy whooped loudly, applauding Theodore harder than any of the other students.
Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew)
The four boys sat around the common room fire. James seemed excited – even more excited than Peter himself. Remus, complacent and serene as always, had delved into one of his class textbooks (/iA History of Magici). Sirius was gazing glumly into the fire – he had confessed moments earlier to having been worried about what his parents would think about his being in Gryffindor instead of the expected Slytherin.
James' eyes seemed to be following one of the girls at the opposite end of the common room – a redhead with sparkling green eyes who seemed cheerful enough, if a bit uncomfortable in her surroundings. Probably a Muggleborn – students with magical blood tended to sink into life at Hogwarts with more ease than those who were altogether new to the concept of magic.
Remus looked up from his book, at Sirius, who had just sighed very loudly and pronouncedly.
Sirius seemed to realize that he was being distracting, and shrugged, not taking his eyes off the burning embers. "Sorry."
"No, you're not." Remus closed the book. "Look, why does it matter what your parents think? They can't change who you are. Maybe it's even a good thing that you've got this to sepratate yourself from them."
"You can talk. You're not the one who could get pulled out of Hogwarts."
James took his eyes off of the girl for the first time, turning back around to gawk at Sirius. "They wouldn't do that, would they?"
Sirius shrugged gloomily.
"I don't think they can do that," Peter said. "I mean… obviously they can try, but there's no way for them to take you out by force. The teachers wouldn't allow it; especially Dumbledore."
James grinned. "The Lord has spoken."
Prongs (James Potter)
He was having a hard time getting to sleep.
Mostly because of the visions of What's-Her-Name Evans that twirled kaleidoscopically in his mind.
James wondered if she had noticed him the way he had her… But it didn't seem likely, because if she had paused to look at him for over three seconds, their gazes would have met. He stared up at the ceiling.
Besides his restless need to talk to the girl whose first name he had somehow forgotten, it had been the best day of his life. So far, anyway. He had met so many people… Sirius, Remus, and Peter being at the top of the pyramid. The only other Gryffindor first-year was Frank Longbottom, who James had decided was too terrified of his own shadow to really fit into /ihisi new group.
James Potter liked to start things. And he liked the things he started to be the biggest, best, and most intimidating. James Potter had a mission:
To be on top of the school.
A/N: Hope you liked (loved?) it! Please review; I'll update once I get three or four… I just want to be sure someone's reading this before I start really going crazy with it. The next chapter will also take place in the two generations of Marauders' first-years, but after that we're skipping to fifth, sixth, and seventh! The epilogue will take place after the death of James and Lily.
Xoxoxo(etc),
Siregulus_Black