DISCLAIMER: none of this is mine except stuff you don't recognize. JKR owns the Harry Potter world.
I'm redoing the chapters I've done so far then I'm going to keep updating regularly hopefully. That's the plan anyway. I now have my own computer and internet so will be easier to update. Most profuse apologies to everyone who had been reading this up till I wasn't updating. I'm going to keep writing this one then move on to others one at a time. Thanks for listening to my chatter.
Now on with the story!
Chapter One: Journey to Hogwarts
"Do you have everything?" Remus' mother asked. "Get into the car then."
Remus dragged his new school trunk down the path to the car. Throwing his trunk into the boot, he climbed in sitting in the far corner of the back seat so as to keep as far away from his older brother as possible. Romulus never let up on a chance to pick at him for what he was.
The car ride to Kings Cross seemed to stretch forever but finally they were there. Remus' mum kissed him and Romulus goodbye.
"You'll have to show him how to get onto the platform Romulus," she said. "I don't have time to stay and show Remus today. I have an appointment. Have a great year you two!" Waving, she hurried back to the car.
Romulus looked disgustedly at Remus and said, "I'm not helping you. You can find your own way and if you miss the train then too bad!" He stalked off. Remus tried to follow but lost him in the crowd. Well, he thought to himself. It can't be too hard to find. After all there aren't too many places to hide a train in a train station.
10 minutes later Remus was still lost. His note said Platform Nine and Three Quarters but the only platforms he could see were numbers Nine and Ten. When he asked a passing guard the man had just stared at him then walked away muttering about lunatics. He wished his mother had remembered to tell him where to find the platform before taking off. He wished she would notice that Romulus didn't even like him. Romulus didn't do anything without there being something in it for him. Which was probably why he was a Slytherin.
Sighing, Remus stopped his trolley and sat on the edge of his trunk. Now what could he do?
"Oi!" A voice made him look up. A black haired boy with vivid blue eyes was standing in front of him.
"You Hogwarts too? Muggleborn? Well that was a dumb question, course you are, otherwise you'd know how to get on to the platform. The guard wouldn't know, he's a muggle. That's non-magic folk. My parents are witch and wizard. Not that I care. I'd much rather live with James. That's James Potter. We've been best mates since I accidentally crashed my broomstick through his bedroom window. Can't say his parents were too pleased. They're much nicer than mine though. Mine're all Slytherins. I'm hoping for Gryffindor, then maybe they'd disown me and I could live with James. Anyway, come on! I'll show you the platform, then you can meet James! I'm Sirius Black by the way, who're you?"
Remus stared back at the boy, rather bemused. Sirius seemed to be able to hold a whole conversation by himself. He barely waited for Remus to answer, "I'm Remus Lupin," before dragging him off towards a brick wall.
"All you have to do is walk straight through the wall between platforms Nine and Ten. It's easy. Shut your eyes if you're scared coz then you won't see. You can go first!" Sirius gave him a push and stood back.
Remus glanced at the wall and took a deep breath. It looked solid to him. Shutting his eyes he took the barrier at a run. He was going to crash, he knew it.
"See? Easy!" Opening his eyes Remus saw Sirius had come through behind him. Then he got his first look at the Hogwarts Express. The majestic engine puffed steam and Remus saw a whole line of carriages already filling with students.
"Whoa!" he breathed.
That was all he had time for before Sirius dragged him off to meet James, pulling their trunks behind them. They went almost to the end of the train before Sirius stuck his head into a compartment. A voice came from the inside.
"Sirius! I bet I can get the first detention! Five Galleons!"
Sirius leaped through the door and stuck out his hand. "Done!"
Remus stopped in the doorway. "You have bets on detentions?"
A boy with glasses and messy black hair glanced up questioningly at Sirius.
Sirius stepped towards Remus and said with a bow, "Remus, this is James Potter. James, this is Remus Lupin. I saw him asked a guard about the platform and decided to show him how to get through. He looked a bit lost and all. Apparently he's a muggleborn-"
"Yeah Sirius, we don't need a speech," James interrupted. He said to Remus, "Honestly! You let him get started and he'll talk forever!"
Remus grinned at him while Sirius glared.
"Oi! Get back here!"
The three boys looked up just as a short blonde boy burst through the doorway, followed by 2 students with mean looks on their faces.
Sirius stood up.
"The Mudblood's over there," a red-haired boy sneered to a lean blonde haired boy beside him. The blonde pulled a wand from his pocket.
"Excuse me!" Sirius got angry. "Who the hell who you? What right do you have to come barging in here-"
The blonde looked at him. "So you're the Black that went wrong are you?" he said. "Don't bother touching me, I have enough filth on my clothing from that Mudblood smacking into me."
Sirius and James both got angry at this, but Remus got there first. His new friend was being insulted. He stood up really fast and pulled back his fist.
"Take that back!"
The blonde just sneered at him.
Remus smashed his fist into the smug face, knocking him into the corridor. The red-head took one look at Remus' face and took off.
Breathing heavily, Remus shut the door and sat back down. The short blonde kid who'd been the cause of everything stood up from where he was crouching.
"Thanks! I was in such trouble. They're way bigger than me," the kid started.
"Don't worry about it," Remus muttered looking embarrassed. He hated showing his strength but he couldn't seem to control his temper that time. He just hoped the others didn't guess his secret.
"I'm Peter Pettigrew, who're you guys?" the boy asked.
Sirius stood up and took a bow. "Sirius Black at your service."
"James Potter," James bowed also.
"I'm Remus Lupin," Remus said.
"Welcome to our humble abode," Sirius and James said together.
"Sit down," Remus invited.
"Yeah," Sirius said. "Help us plan some pranks. Can't make a start without a huge bang, you know."
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
A middle aged witch was standing outside the door with a trolley full of goodies.
"Yay! Food!" Sirius and James leaped to their feet and ran out the door, coming back with their arms completely stacked. They threw the pile of Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans onto the seats.
"Those aren't real frogs, are they?" Peter asked, staring at the Chocolate Frogs.
Sirius paused in the act of ripping open a Frog. "You know, I have absolutely no idea. Besides, it's the card you want."
James groaned. "Dumbledore again!" He threw his card onto the seat and reached for the Bertie Botts Beans. "Nah, it's these you have to watch out for. Every flavour means every flavour. There's the usual chocolate and strawberry, but then there's spinach, charcoal and grass."
Sirius sniggered. "I gave James a vomit flavoured one once."
James grimaced. "I never ate another Bean for months."
"So what House do you think you'll be in?" Remus asked James.
"Gryffindor," James replied with a firm tone. "All my family are Gryffindors."
"I hope I join you in Gryffindor, then I can finally get away from my family. For the school year anyway. Do you think they sort you by families? I certainly hope not. I definitely don't want to be Slytherin."
"What are Houses?" Peter piped up. "And what's a sorting?"
"Houses are like dorms in a muggle boarding school," Remus told the other boy. "There are four at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I not sure which one I like best. Gryffindor sounds the best I suppose but Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. Oh, and the Sorting is just a ceremony thing that puts you into the House you'll be staying in throughout your 7 years at Hogwarts."
"I thought you were muggleborn," Sirius broke in. "How do you know all that stuff?"
"I'm half and half. Mum's a witch," Remus grinned. "I never said I was muggleborn. You did then never gave me a chance to correct you. Besides, most of the stuff I just said is in Hogwarts: A History."
Sirius grumbled as James laughed.
"Getting back to planning pranks, whatever we do, I think we should sign it," James said. "I mean, they should know that we are proud of our pranks, even if it doesn't say our names."
"Like what?" Peter asked.
"The Pranksters?" Sirius suggested.
"Too boring," James shook his head. "We need something that makes a statement."
They thought for a while.
"How about the Marauders?" Remus suggested.
"The Marauders?" Sirius rolled the word around on his tongue. "James?"
After thinking for a moment James nodded. "I like it."
"Me too," Sirius agreed. "Peter?"
"What does it mean?" the one addressed asked.
"Raiding, Prowling, Pillaging, Looting," Remus said, reciting from memory.
"What did you do? Swallow a thesaurus?" Sirius looked at Remus.
"I got hungry doing my homework," Remus replied, then grinned at Sirius' dumbstruck expression.
"Ooookay," Sirius started. "Well look's like we're the Marauders. All in favour say 'Aye'."
"Aye!" four voices chorused together.
"How about this for signature," Remus said, pulling his wand. He waved in an 'M' shape and said, "Karia Danardo." A wisp of smoke streamed from his wand arranging itself into an eye winking mischievously before flicking to a huge 'M' reminding Peter of a McDonalds sign. With a flick of his wand Remus cancelled the spell, adding, "It repeats every 20 seconds till it gets turned off."
"Cool," James said. "Where'd you learn that?"
"It's a variation of a spell in one of my mum's books," Remus replied. "So back to business…"
"What can we do for a starting prank?" Sirius asked.
"I have a can of Jerry's Supa Stikk Glue, if that helps," James put in.
"Maybe we could glue all the seats in the Great Hall before breakfast so that everyone who sits down will get stuck there," Remus suggested. "It doesn't involve any magic so all of us could contribute."
"Okay," Sirius said. "We'll have to get up at least two hours early so we can found our way to the Hall, set up the prank and get back to the dorms."
They all agreed to get up at five the next morning.
A voice sounded through the train.
"We will be arriving in ten minutes. Please leave you luggage on the train, it will be taken care of separately."
James, Sirius and Peter got up and rummaged through their trunks pulling out their robes. Remus looked at them, grabbed his robes and left the compartment to find a bathroom. If they saw the scars, it could lead to awkward questions. Remus shuddered. If they found out his secret...
The four boys stepped off the train onto a platform which was bustling with activity. Most of the students were heading towards horseless carriages.
"Firs' years this way!"
Remus and the others looked to the left and saw a giant of a man carrying a lantern. They changed direction and walked towards him. The man seemed to be counting them.
"All 'ere? Come on now!"
They followed the man down a path towards a lake. Everyone gasped as they turned a corner and had their first view of Hogwarts. It looked amazing! Remus thought to himself.
"Four ter a boat! No more'n that!" The giant man took up a whole boat to himself.
Remus, James, Sirius and Peter climbed into a boat. It didn't need any help to move, it seemed to propel itself.
"Wow!" Remus breathed, still looking at the castle. Lights were lit up all over it shining into the night. It looked magnificent in the dark.
"Duck yer 'eads now!"
The boats went into a cavern in the cliffs and pulled up on the far side next to a tunnel. Climbing out they followed the man up the tunnel to a huge oak door.
"Everyone 'ere?" The man raised his hand and knocked three times.