James Potter was eleven. In fact, he'd just turned eleven roughly an hour ago. He probably should have been asleep. But it wasn't like his parents would know. Actually, the only person who would know was the house elf, Tory. who was currently getting him a birthday cake on his request. James loved house elves.

Trying (and failing) to straighten his eternally messy black hair, James got up and started to pace around his room. Where was Tory with that cake? Perhaps she decided to make it from scratch… or maybe buy it, like Muggles did. But, no, it was the middle of the night and Tory was an elf.

"Master James?" James looked at the door happily to see Tory carrying a large cake with one hand, and straightening her blue pillowcase with the other. "Tory is sorry for the wait, sir, but Tory had to make Master James's birthday cake from scratch and not wake Blinky and Noxy."

"That's fine, Tory, thanks!" James grinned, as the smiling house elf handed him the cake. "Why don't you get some rest… I'll figure out what to do with my plate when I'm done. Hide the evidence, you know?"

"Yes, Master James, sir. Tory completely understands. Master James is a very good master, yes, he is." Tory beamed. She gave a deep bow, before scurrying out of the room. James grinned again, and started to devour his cake.

"JAMES POTTER! WHY IS THERE CAKE IN YOUR ROOM!?" James groaned as he awoke to his mother's very close, very loud screaming. Of course he'd forgotten to clean the floor of crumbs last night…

"Er, Mum, good morning." James greeted happily, faltering slightly under his mother's glare. "You know what day it is, right?"

"Just like your father, thinking just because it's your birthday you can get away with everything." Mrs. Potter muttered. "Honestly, James, were you up eating cake last night?"

"It is my birthday." James grinned cheekily. "There's no reason I can't have cake."

"A few more months, then I'll be rid of you for the entire year." Mrs. Potter laughed. "Alright, I'll let you off. Only because it's your eleventh birthday and I daresay you'll get in more than enough trouble at Hogwarts."

"Aw, Mum, you know me so well." James hopped out of bed, completely dressed. "See, I even took the liberty of getting dressed when I was up last night."

"Good for you." Mrs. Potter drawled, rolling her eyes. Despite this, her lips were curved into a slight smile and her eyes held a mischievous glint. "Now, shall we go downstairs before you father falls asleep again?"

"Of course we shall, Mother dear." James teased. "Can't keep Father waiting, can we?"

"I pity your teachers." Mrs. Potter shook her head. "Speaking of which-"

"Did my Hogwarts letter arrive!?" James grinned broadly. "YES!"

"Yes, most unfortunately, it did." Mrs. Potter smiled. "Now, I suppose you should go downstairs so we can go to Diagon Alley later?"

"YEAH!" James ran out of the room. Mrs. Potter shook her head, grinning slightly.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

CRASH!

"I'M OKAY!"

"Honestly," Mrs. Potter chuckled. "Before he even gets to Hogwarts…"

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Sirius winced upon hearing his mother's angry voice from downstairs. He knew that voice. That was the voice she used when Sirius was about to get punished. Absentmindedly, Sirius rubbed his shoulder where his father had punched him last.

"YES, MOTHER?"

"GET DOWN HERE!"

Sirius sighed, and reluctantly opened the door to his room. His brother, Regulus, smiled and waved at him as he passed him on the stairs. Sirius only scowled.

"Mother." Sirius greeted through clenched teeth. His mother was sitting at the table with his father- a bad sign. "You called?"

"You Hogwarts letter has arrived." His mother said shortly. Sirius wondered briefly why that would make her mad at him. Then again, did his mother ever need a reason to be mad at him?

"And?"

"And we must take you to Diagon Alley." She said it like it was the worst thing possible. "Might as well go ahead and get you Slytherin robes. No son of mine shall be in any house other than Slytherin, of course."

"Don't be too sure." Sirius muttered under his breath. Evidently, his father had heard and Sirius winced as a strong hand connected with his stomach. His father was in front of him now.

"Do not disrespect your mother, boy." Mr. Black hissed. Sirius couldn't help but roll his eyes, earning him another punch to the stomach. "Do not roll your eyes at me, either!"

"Yes, sir." Sirius replied dully. He hated his parents with a passion. Neither of them seemed to have any problem with causing him as much pain as possible. Did Regulus ever get punished like him? No, because Regulus was their perfect little Slytherin boy.

"Well, now that that is settled, to your room, boy." Mrs. Black ordered. "No breakfast. You should learn to be more respectful."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Maybe after Bella becomes a Gryffindor." Sirius muttered under his breath. His father narrowed his eyes, but did not question nor punch Sirius again. Sirius gladly walked back to his room, ignoring his brother's worried expression, and slammed the door shut.

He couldn't wait for Hogwarts.

"Mum, Dad, look!" Remus ran into the kitchen, waving his Hogwarts letter in the air. "I got a Hogwarts letter! Dumbledore's actually letting me- me!- go to Hogwarts!"

"That's great, Remus!" Mrs. Lupin cried happily. Mr. Lupin hopped up, and lifted his son into the air, laughing gleefully.

"Atta' boy, Remus! What'd I tell you?" He father put him down, grinning. "Ol' Dumbledore could care less about you little condition."

"I'm a werewolf." Remus said bitterly. "Just call it what it is."

"It doesn't matter, now, does it?" Mrs. Lupin smiled. "Oh, just think! I'm sure you'll make tons of friends!"

"Of course he will!" Mr. Lupin grinned. "And, of course, with his brilliance, he'll be top of the class!"

"Stop it, Dad, you're embarrassing me." Remus muttered, his face heating up. Mr. Lupin laughed at his son's red face. "Besides, nobody'll be friends with me."

"Yes they will, Remmy!" Mrs. Lupin assured him. "You're such a sweet boy, how could anyone not want to be your friend?"

"You're my mum, you have to say that." Remus retorted. Mrs. Lupin rolled her eyes. "Well, it's true!"

"She doesn't have to say anything." Mr. Lupin pointed out jovially. "She could just ignore you. Besides, none of the students will know about you condition. Just say a relative died or is sick or something every month. Why, I remember when I was a boy-"

"I'm sure Remus doesn't want to hear about your monthly excursions to make people think you were a werewolf." Mrs. Lupin laughed. "I believe he's heard the story."

"I have." Remus confirmed. "Not sure why anyone would want to be a werewolf though. Anyways, I still think no one will like me."

"Everyone will like you!" Mr. Lupin declared. "Just you wait!"

A/N: Hello, and welcome to the Marauders' first year at Hogwarts! There's the prologue, folks! I will try to update regularly, but no promises. Because, really, I don't know if I'll be able to. I have a bad case of procrastination…. Until next time, my friends!