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James had been looking forward to this day for most of his life. Ever since his parents had told him the first stories of the grand school of Hogwarts, he'd been dying to go. Oh, the disappointment in his eyes had been equally grand every year he hadn't received his letter of acceptance – and thus, the day the brown-spotted owl had landed in his mother's kitchen had brought him nearly as much joy as his first broom.

The train had long left station 9¾, the food wagon had passed, its treasure eaten, and he could barely calm his excitement as he was chatting with the other passengers.

"My wand is made from mahogany," he said as he proudly presented the fine craftsmanship of Ollivander. "11", unicorn hair!"

The boy slouching in the seat in front of him, tall for his age and with eyes, grey as an autumn's day, scuffed with a crooked smile. "So?" He drew his wand from his pocket and held it proudly towards the others. "Laurel. With a phoenix feather core. It's 12" long, drawn to big personalities!"

James leaned forward to look at the intricate patterns on the wand. He shrugged. "Mine is better."

"As if," the other boy laughed. "How 'bout you?" He looked at the two other passengers – a curious girl looking all around her and a black-haired, grumpy-looking boy. "What're your wands like?"

"Mine is made from… uh…" The girl took a moment to remember. "Willow, I believe."

"You don't even know what your wand is made of?" James chuckled.

The girl's cheeks blushed. "Well excuse me," she pouted. "There's a lot to remember!"

"Oooo." The boy with the phoenix-wand smiled teasingly. "Muggle-born, huh?"

"Leave her alone," the boy sitting beside him said.

The boy slouched back and rolled his eyes. "I didn't say anything."

"You're making her uncomfortable," the black-haired boy complained.

"No, Sev, it's okay…" The girl looked at the others. "I'm Lily. Lily Evans. How are you?"

"James Potter," James said and reached out his hand. Evans hesitated before slowly shaking it. When she let go, he ruffled up his hair and leaned back, hands behind his head.

"Sirius Black," the boy in front of James said.

Suddenly, the black-haired boy straightened his back. "Black? You're from the black family?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Yeah…"

"I-I'm Severus. Severus Snape – I've heard so much about your family!" The admiration was glowing from Snape. "You're so lucky," he continued. "You're guaranteed a spot in Slytherin!" He sighed, leaning back in his seats, as he turned his eyes to Evans. "I hope I get into Slytherin."

Evans chuckled. "Yeah, you've mentioned it a few times before."

But James frowned. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave." He looked at Sirius, who uninterested, or perhaps uncomfortable, had begun unwrapping a piece of candy from his bag. "Wouldn't you?"

Sirius made a grimace. "My whole family have been in Slytherin."

"Blimey," said James as he leaned back. "And I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned as he threw a piece of candy to James. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

It was an easy answer – one James had been raised with. "Gryffindor," he said without hesitation. "Where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad!"

A peculiar sound shot towards him from Snape. Disapproving, almost condescending.

"Got a problem with that?"

"Severus…" Evans tried to shut her friend up, but the cure for stubbornness had yet to be invented.

"No," said Snape, his voice clearly disagreeing. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy."

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter and dropped his newly received candy.

Snape's head came closer and closer to the colour of Evans' hair, and the girl stood up. Looking rather flustered, she glared from James to Sirius. "Come on, Severus. Let's find another compartment."

"Ooooo…" Both of the still seated boys poorly parodied Evan's voice as she made her way past them. James tried to trip Severus as he passed, and he nearly succeeded, receiving a foul look in return.

"Killjoys," Sirius scuffed when the two had left. He turned his attention to James. "What kind of maniac would want to go to Slytherin?"

"Maybe his family supports you-know-who?"

"Creep…"

James looked out the door of the compartment. "Were they both first years?"

"She was probably a teacher's pet." The young Black stretched. "You got any games, James?"

"I think I got wizard's chess travel edition somewhere." He began digging through his backpack, but before he found the game, the door opened, and two boys, seemingly first years as James and Sirius, peeked in.

"Can we sit here?" one of them, a rather tall boy, asked. He was skinny despite his height. His hair was on the border from brown to blond, and despite his fair skin, faint scars were visible where his clothes didn't cover.

"Sure!" Sirius looked at the two curiously as they found their seat.

"I'm Remus," the tall one said, reaching out a hand towards Sirius.

"Sirius. This is James."

Remus shook both Sirius' and James' hand. "Are you brothers?" he asked before taking a seat.

James and Sirius looked at each other, just now realising how similar they appeared in their uniforms and they burst out laughing.

"We just met," James explained. He looked at Remus' friend, a short, half-fat kid with a mousy snout. There was no way those two were brothers. "Who's your friend?" His answer was primarily driven by the politeness Euphemia Potter wouldn't tolerate him to leave out, as he didn't really care for the answer.

"This is Peter." Remus smiled at his friend. "We just met too."

"Nice to meet you." Peter's voice was barely hearable, and his squeaky voice didn't help it.

"Did you find the game?" Sirius asked, much more interested in the contents of James' backpack than their new travel companions.

James kept digging, but frown and shrugged. "I must've forgotten it at home…"

"I think I got Ludo." Remus looked at the two with a careful smile. "That is, ehm… If you'd like to play?"

Soon after, the four of them were staring at the colourful board on the seat between Remus and Sirius. Remus took the dice and handed it to Sirius, who curiously looked at it before throwing it. Six eyes looked up at him, but he kept staring at the board.

"Why won't they move?" James asked.

Remus looked at them, his green eyes filled with confusion, which soon turned to laughter. "You have to move them yourself," he chuckled. "Have none of you ever played Ludo before?"

The three looked at each other before shaking heads.

"Not this kind…" said James. "Is it a muggle version?"

Remus nodded. "My mum's a muggle, she doesn't like it when the game moves itself." Remus patiently explained them the rules of the game, encouraging Peter and James to come closer to be able to better see the board, and it didn't take long before they were on their third game.

The door opened, spooking Peter, who shrunk lower than he already was. A student, at least 6th year, looked at them with a crooked smile and a patronising gaze. "We're nearly at Hogwarts," he said, his cold voice imitating warmth. "You better get dressed." He noticed Sirius, and the crooked smile evened up. "Hello, Black."

Wrinkles had appeared around Sirius' nose. He scowled. "Hi Malfoy."

"What's Narcissa been up to this summer?"

"How should I know?" Sirius snared.

"She's your cousin."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "So? She's your girlfriend."

Malfoy's mouth turned into a line as he growled: "She's not my girlfriend!"

"You're in 7th year and you don't have a girlfriend?" Sirius mocked.

"Isn't that a bit pathetic?" added James.

"Especially for a prefect." Sirius glared at the shiny badge. "Flaunt that at her and she's all yours."

Malfoy straightened his back. "You better learn to shut your mouth. Or someone might do it for you!"

"What're you going to do?" James laughed. "Strangle him with your ponytail?"

It was clear by the looks of Malfoy, that he had added the two to a mental list. He lifted his chin, turned around on his heels and slammed the door behind him.

"Drama queen," James mumbled.

"And your future cousin-in-law."

Peter and Remus laughed at the expressions of Sirius, as James made kiss-noises towards him. And before they knew it, they arrived at their station.

A wide group of first-year students walked like sheep towards the boats, guided by a man with a big, bushy beard. Peter kept close to Remus, who were walking quite near Sirius and James.

"A'right champs!" The man, tall as the train itself, clapped his hands, making the nearby students flinch and jump away. A grin shined through his brown, hairy face. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid – I'm the gatekeeper at Hogwarts. It's tradition for first-year students to arrive by boat – that's how ye get the best view anyways." He laughed, stepping aside to reveal a group of boats pulling themselves up on the shore. "Jump on in! Oh, eh, no, don't jump – sit, and sit still…" The kids began boarding as Hagrid kept talking, more and more to himself. "Well, that is, don't rock the boats – if they tip, the squid might getcha, she's a growin' lady, ya know!"

"Shouldn't he know more about what he's doing?" Peter wondered. Remus shrugged and helped the shorter boy into a boat, boarding himself right after.

James and Sirius found themselves neat spots in the front of a different vessel, only to discover shortly after that they'd picked the boat of the gatekeeper himself. Along with three other students, they tensed up as Hagrid sat down with them. "Well, this'll be mighty fun!" said Hagrid. "Ye get yer own personal tour guide! Lucky ye!" The boys in front glanced at each other. The boats re-entered the lake, and Hagrid began telling stories about the beasts and creatures below them. "The grindylows are mating right now, ye see." He glanced down the dark waters. "They won't come up unless ye disturb them, so don't'cha worry! We just got a squid last year, I caught it myself on my trip to the North Sea, a beauty, I tell ye, she's a tiny little blob right now, but just wait, she'll become a big girl in no time! There's also…"

James didn't listen further. He leaned towards Sirius and whispered: "Is he trying to comfort us?"

"I think he really likes them…" He snorted and pointed towards one of the other boats behind them. "At least we don't have to comfort that guy."

James looked the direction Sirius pointed, only to see Peter throw up over the side of the boat; the water wasn't even that bad. Remus tried to comfort him with gentle pats on the back, probably assuring him they'd be at the castle soon. "Poor Peter Pitygrew."

Sirius couldn't contain his laughter.

Hagrid looked at them with a huge smile. "If ye liked that story, I have one of the time we had a scaly visitor from Scotland! It wasn't a dragon, but…"

The others on the boat looked at James and Sirius with narrow eyes. The boys snickered, laughing silently between the two of them.