Disclaimer: All characters belong to the talented J.K. Rowling.
The Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop at Kings Cross Station and students immediately started filing out, saying last farewells to their friends and happy greetings to their families. In the midst of the commotion, four sixteen year old boys exited the last car at the end of the train, dragging their trunks behind them.
"OOF!" James Potter, last to de-board, grunted as he yanked his trunk down the stairs of the train and let it fall onto the platform with a huge bang. "Well, mates, I guess this is it!" He said while throwing his arms around the shoulders of the two boys standing closest to him, pretending to be teary-eyed and sobbing. "We all must say farewell for the summer!" He squeezed his two friends hard.
"ARGH! James! You're hurting me, you git!" Sirius Black exclaimed, pulling away from James and shoving him hard. He grinned widely, "And you know I'm staying with you this summer anyway- so cut the dramatics."
"Yeah, James, really," Remus Lupin said while James clenched his shoulder even more intensely and shook him, still pretending to be weeping. A smile crept across his face. "It's not like I'm going to miss you or anything. This summer will be a most pleasant holiday without your antics."
James feigned shock and clasped his hand over his heart. "Ouch, that hurts me deeply!" He staggered around on the platform for a few seconds, faking grief at what Remus said. He finally came to a standstill in front of the fourth boy, straightened, shook his hand formally, and adopted a posh accent. "Good-bye, Wormtail, old chap! I do hope you have a splendid holiday. Please remember to write, and I'll see you in August!"
Petter Pettigew laughed out loud as a small mousy looking witch pushing a trolley approached the boys. James bowed low to her and continued speaking in his posh voice, "Oh, Mrs. Pettigew, how lovely to see you! You are just as beautiful as our last meeting!"
Mrs. Pettigew beamed at James. "Hello, James. Hello, Sirius. Hello, Remus." She nodded to each boy in turn as they voiced a return greeting. "Come along, Peter, your father is waiting outside the station with the portkey, we have three minutes until it is set to activate."
Peter heaved his trunk onto the trolley then turned to his friends and waved. "So long, guys!"
"Bye!" James, Sirius, and Remus called in stereo.
"We'll be in touch! I want everyone to visit my place before the summer is out!" James shouted above the bustle of the train station as Peter and his mother walked off. Peter acknowledged him with one final wave.
"Right, then, we better find my folks," James said, straining his neck to try to see above the crowd. "They'll be around here somewhere."
Just then a tall and extremely thin boy with black, greasy hair passed the trio. James and Sirius narrowed their eyes and sneered evilly.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Sirius?" James asked him. His hand was reaching into what would have been the folds of a wizard's robe had he been wearing one.
"Watch it, Prongs," Remus said, a mention of caution in his voice, "There are Muggles everywhere." He chuckled and his tone changed, "Besides, you've already changed out of your robes and your wand is squared away in your trunk."
"Oh, yeah, forgot." James sighed. "What a lost opportunity."
"I heard that, Potter!" A shrill voice from behind made the boys jump. They turned around and Lily Evans, tall with thick auburn hair flowing over her shoulders, hands on her hips and emerald eyes blazing, was standing right behind them.
James once again jumped into a grandiose persona, this time trying to cover up the fact that she had, once again, caught him in the act of trying to curse Severus Snape. He threw his arms out wide. "Evans! Come to say good-bye for the summer?"
"Get real, Potter." Lily's face scrunched up in distain. "Only friends say good-bye for the summer to friends."
James flashed a smile at Lily. "So you want to be friends, is that what you're saying, Evans? Great, I accept."
Lily's face hardened and she rolled her eyes slightly. "I'm not friends with egotistical bullies, you git. You need to learn that being James Potter doesn't mean you can do whatever you want to whoever happens to be in your path. Now get out of my way, I want to get through."
James, Sirius, and Remus stepped aside as, with a flip of her head, she pushed her trolley past the boys. "Have a good summer, Remus," she called over her shoulder.
"Aww, Lily! Come on, it was only Snape! No one likes him anyway! And I didn't even do anything!" James called after her. She ignored him. He turned back to his friends.
"Women." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Hey, wait a minute!" Something suddenly dawned on him. "Why is she saying good-bye to you, Moony? Are you trying to steal my girl! Because if you are that is cold- you know I've been sweet on her since second year!"
Sirius tried to stifle a laugh, but succeeded only in snorting loudly, scaring a nearby baby in his mother's arms. The witch gave the boys a dirty look and kept on walking. Remus laughed too, only didn't try to hide it.
"You really can be an idiot sometimes, Prongs," Remus said as Sirius grabbed two abandoned trolleys and pulled them over to where they were standing.
"What? Why?" James asked as he helped Sirius lift the trunks onto the trolleys.
"They're prefects together, you dolt, haven't you noticed?" Sirius explained. "They spent most of the year chasing after mischievous first years and making sure you and I didn't accidentally blow apart Gryffindor Tower. Besides, old Moony hasn't gotten over his crush on my cousin Andromeda yet- he couldn't possibly like anyone else."
Remus blushed a dark crimson.
They headed off with the trunk laden trolleys in search of James' family. Realization suddenly spread on James face and his steps became lighter.
"So, Moony, you and Lily are friends?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Does she talk about me?"
"Only when you are up to no good."
"What does she say!"
"Well she summed it up two minutes ago, but I can recant for you: you are a conceited jerk who needs a kick in the pants. Yeah, something like that. Oh, once she said you were kind of cute, but I think she might have been joking. Hey, there's my dad, I better go! Call me soon- you guys know my Floo Network portal's name!"
With an impish smirk over his shoulder Remus trotted off quickly towards his father.
"Moony, waaaaiiiit! Did she really say that! Oh come on- are you serious? You cannot just leave me here not knowing!"
"Would you guys give it a rest? For Merlin's sake, you are making more din than the whole station combined. I swear you guys think you own the world." A handsome black haired boy, slightly younger than James and Sirius slid up besides them, pushing his own trolley.
"Get lost, Regulus. Shouldn't you be cantering off to find your mother like a good little mummy's boy?" Sirius' face turned dark and he looked at the boy with disgust. The two teenagers, although Sirius was a few inches taller, were like mirror images of each other.
Regulus' jaw clenched. "You just wish Mother acknowledged you so you wouldn't have to live with filthy Muggle-lovers." James made to deck Regulus but Sirius held his arm back. "But, oh that's right- you are a Muggle-lover too- tell me, Sirius, how does it feel to be a blood traitor ashamed of your own heritage, rejected by the only worthwhile House at Hogwarts, and hated by your whole family?"
"It feels great, actually. I can focus on my real family at school." Sirius fired back coolly.
Regulus raised his eyebrows as if he pitied Sirius. "Oh riiiight, Sirius, keep telling yourself that you fit into Gryffindor, maybe someday you and the rest of Hogwarts will believe it. But hey, if you never do, you can always come crawling back to the Blacks and beg to be a Slytherin. Why don't you practice your speech now- any words of repentance I can repeat to our parents so we can laugh at you at the dinner table and plan a fitting rejection?"
"Yeah, sure, I have a message- tell them to go to hell, take you with them, and stay there," Sirius growled. Without looking back, he and James walked through the barrier that transported them from Platform 9 ¾ to the rest of Kings Cross.
"You should have let me clock him, Padfoot," James said, fuming.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Prongs, but he's not worth it. He would never have approached us if we hadn't been without our wands. Notice how at Hogwarts he never comes within fifty feet of us." Sirius replied.
"True- I do believe your dear brother is quite lacking in the brains and talent department. He couldn't curse the warts off a toad. No offence, of course."
Sirius laughed. "Absolutely none taken, my friend."
Finally they found Mr. and Mrs. Potter standing near a side entrance of the station. Mrs. Potter hugged each boy in succession while Mr. Potter clapped a hand on their shoulders repeatedly.
"Are you boys hungry?" Mr. Potter boomed in his commanding but not unkind voice. "We have fish and chips waiting for you at home." James and Sirius nodded in response.
Together everyone walked out of the station, Mrs. Potter asking the boys questions about their journey and telling them how happy she was to have them back, and the boys enjoying her motherly attention. With a quick look around them, Mr. Potter pulled a Muggle ballpoint pen out of his back pocket and lead them to an out of the way nook in the building. He held out the pen and Sirius, James, and Mrs. Potter grasped onto a part of it with their index finger and thumb. Each one felt a jerking sensation in their navel and the station swirled away as they were transported to the Potter's home.
A/N: My first time publishing on fanfiction, I'm so excited! This is the first part of a two part story, so chapter two will be up when I finish it. I have a whole bunch of mini stories pertaining to the young Mauraders, Lily, and Snape planned so please review this story so I can gauge how I'm doing! Thanks!