Chapter 1: Welcome to the Black Parade

It was a hot summer day, too hot for anyone to actually enjoy. That being said, there was at least one person enjoying the day, and that was Sirius Black, age five.

Young Sirius was enjoying his day for one reason: he wasn't where he was supposed to be. In fact, many would say Sirius was lost; and he was. It was a delightful predicament in his mind.

He'd been in Diagon Alley with his family, shopping for his cousin Bella's first year at Hogwarts. Afterwards, his mother, father, aunt and uncle had decided to browse between Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, a business which Sirius found absolutely boring. Thankfully, his older cousins did too.

It had been Andy's idea to venture into Muggle London. She knew it was forbidden, but all they had to do was tell their parents they were going to go look at the pet shop, and none would be the wiser.

Just for a little bit. Sirius had overheard the seven-year-old begging her sisters Bella and Cissy (ages eleven and nine, respectively) to come with her. Reluctantly, both sisters agreed, and Sirius had jumped on the opportunity to get away from his squalling two year old brother, Regulus.

After they had tapped the bricks on the wall and slipped out of The Leaky Cauldron, a wizarding pub, the four children were out in Muggle London. And while his cousins had been ogling a dress shop, Sirius slipped off to a nearby park. So, he wasn't lost, not really. He could still see the dress shop from here; so technically, he knew where his cousins were.

With that thought in his mind, Sirius kept playing in the sand, piling sand on top of sand, attempting to build the biggest castle ever.

"Can I play too?" asked a quiet voice. Sirius looked up, his black mop of hair falling into his gray eyes. The boy before him was Sirius' age, and obviously Muggle. While Sirius wore olive green robes, this boy was wearing a light blue t-shirt and blue jeans. Despite his odd fashion sense, Sirius could see no harm in having someone help him build his castle.

"Yes, we're building a castle." This statement seemed agreeable to the boy, and he sat down and began to pile sand.

"Why are you wearing a dress?" he asked suddenly. Sirius looked down at his robes, confused, and then rolled his eyes.

"They're robes, obviously," he said haughtily. The boy nodded and continued his work.

"I like green; it's my favorite color," the Muggle child said. "My name is Darren."

"Sirius." The two boys clumsily shook hands like they'd seen their parents do on many occasions. After that, both children continued their work in silence.

"There!" Sirius finally exclaimed, scooting back to get a better look at their masterpiece.

"It's definitely the biggest castle ever," Darren nodded enthusiastically.

As both boys continued admiring their work, a shrill yell sounded through the air.

"SIRIUS BLACK, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Sirius turned to see his eldest cousin, Bella, stomping towards him.

"YOU COULD HAVE DIED! YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING STUPID AND MADE IT SO I COULDN'T GO TO HOG-" Bella stopped talking, dumbstruck, as Andy and Cissy ran up.

"You're hanging around muggles?" Bella hissed, her lidded eyes narrowing. "You idiot!"

Darren looked at Sirius confused, but Sirius just looked pleadingly at his cousin.

"Bella, this is my friend." He said it with an innocence only a five year old could possess.

"We are not friends with muggles!" Bella nearly shouted, slapping Sirius across the face. With tears in his eyes and a large red mark on his cheek, Sirius hung his head.

Bella, being Bella, pushed Darren with all the ferocity an eleven year old could muster. The boy landed on top of the castle both boys had worked so hard on.

"Learn your place," she hissed, storming off. Andy and Cissy grabbed Sirius' hands and followed.

"We don't hang around muggles, Si." Cissy whispered.

All Sirius could think about was how nice Darren had been. He couldn't understand why Bella had been so mean.