Disclaimer: The Harry Potter franchise is not and will never be mine. The line in here about "a touch of destiny" comes from the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. And, of course, the lyrics at the beginning of each year that may or may not actually tie in with the events of that year are not mine either.
A/N: Well, I worked very hard on this fic and I hope you all enjoyed it. In fact, you better, because I devoted the better part of three days of my winter vacation to writing it. Also, I know I said that the serious/sirius joke is the work of Satan, but I had to use it in here for the purpose of developing plot. And I like to think it's excusable because Sirius himself doesn't actually say it.
With that, onward.
Genesis: Prelude to a Legend
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"I feel like you wouldn't like me if you met me" - You Wouldn't Like My by Tegan & Sara
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Train Ride
"Hey, can I sit here?"
No response.
"I said, can I – "
"I heard you the first time."
The boy in the compartment lowered the newspaper that had been obscuring his face. And what a striking face it was. Prominent cheekbones, thin nose, strong jaw, piercing gray eyes. Not quite handsome, not yet. He was, after all, only eleven. It was quite clear, though, that in a few years time this boy would possess devastating good looks.
James just looked at him from his spot standing near the compartment door. He had never been treated so rudely in all his life. He was James Potter, after all. Everyone was supposed to love him. Obviously this boy had not yet gotten the memo.
"Well, can I sit with you then?"
Silence. Haughty eyes stared into his own warm hazel ones, as if assessing his worth.
"If I say no, are you going to go away?"
"I'd have to say the chances of that are very slim."
Two beats later, "Sit." A command, not an invitation.
James dragged his heavy trunk into the compartment and struggled to lift it up onto the luggage rack. It was impossibly high. If he had expected an offer of help, he showed no surprise when one did not come.
Finally victorious in his task, James spun and sat down in the seat across from this mystery boy, only to find he had once again raised his newspaper. He sat in silence for a few minutes, anxiously twisting his hands and tapping his feet and turning his head this way and that to study the compartment. He found the paisley pattern on the seat cushions particularly appalling.
James lifted his eyes to study newspaper boy, as he had privately begun to call him until such a time as a more proper name could be affixed to his person. He probably could have sat somewhere else, somewhere with other happy first years eager to make friends. Somewhere where he was wanted. But he had chosen this compartment, and this boy who was strong enough not to need any friends. He had had a feeling upon looking in the window at this boy hiding behind his newspaper. Oh yes, this boy had a touch of destiny about him. James knew this was the seat he belonged in.
The silence was too overwhelming, finally.
"So…" James began. "I'm James Potter." And he stuck his hand out, pushing down the top of the paper and placing his fingers right in front of his companion's face, almost sticking his middle finger up the other boy's left nostril. Let it not be said that James failed to make a first impression.
Newspaper boy looked absolutely affronted. "I was reading that."
James glanced down at the crumpled newspaper before him. "You find the salary increases of members of the Wizengamot interesting?"
"More interesting than you."
James looked mildly disappointed, but did not withdraw his hand.
"Sirius Black," the boy relented, though he eyed James's hand with some trepidation – and was that disgust? – before gripping it briefly.
James Potter and Sirius Black. That had a nice ring to it, James mused. He looked back to Sirius, but he had retreated behind his paper once again. Sirius Black was probably the rudest, most conceited, most arrogant boy James had ever met. Still, he could tell they were going to be best friends.
"And the people that I meet, I hate you all" - I Hate Everyone by Get Set Go
First Year
If James had thought it was going to be easy to become best friends with Sirius Black, he was sorely mistaken. It was becoming quite apparent that the boy hated him.
First Day of Classes: Transfiguration
"Hey Sirius, can I sit here?"
"Only if you want your robes to catch on fire."
"You don't really know how to set things on fire yet, do you?"
A raised eyebrow, and a slightly evil smirk. James had backed away and sat down with Remus, a nice friendly boy who had also been sorted into Gryffindor. Better safe than sorry.
Potions
James sat, once again, with Remus; Sirius was directly behind him. Halfway through the lesson, James's potion had exploded, covering him with a thick green slime that made his eyebrow hair grow at an alarming rate.
Slughorn had cried out, "Mr. Pottter, look what you've done! Ginger roots were clearly not among the ingredients of the potion, and this is why!"
"But sir, I didn't add any of them!"
"To the hospital wing with you, my boy. Mr. Lupin, you help him along."
As James walked out of the room, he lifted his newly grown hair and witnessed a smug looking Sirius Black wink at him and place a jar of ginger roots back into his bag.
In the Dormitory, a few weeks later
"Hey Sirius!"
"What, Potter?"
"You know, your name sounds just like the word 'serious'! Isn't that funny? Serious Sirius."
Sirius had punched him in the face.
June
All in all, it had been a slightly unpleasant year. James had become quite close with Remus and Peter, his other dorm mates, but Sirius continued to elude him. Remus and Peter were nice. They were perfectly fine. But the person he really wanted was the intelligent, sarcastic, playful, and challenging fourth Gryffindor first year. Because he would be competition, James could tell, but he would also be the best partner in crime. He could sense he was growing on the boy though. He hadn't missed the way Sirius had smiled and suppressed a laugh when he had turned that greasy Slytherin Snape's hair pink and yellow last week. Next year, James thought as he packed his trunk on the morning of this return home for the summer. Next year, we'll be friends.
"Gold Lion's gonna tell me where the light is" - Gold Lion by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Second Year
James sauntered onto the Hogwarts Express, tanned and excited from a summer full of Quidditch and exploring the old paths in the forest behind his house. He was looking for Sirius, who would of course be sitting alone – and yes, there he was. With a newspaper.
James opened the compartment door and did not even bother to ask if he could sit. He just stowed his trunk (with a bit more ease than last year, he noted) and sat. Sirius did not even bother to lower his newspaper either. He knew who it would be.
"Hey Sirius! Have a good summer?"
A resigned sigh.
Sirius folded his paper and set it down next to him. He looked pale, and the dark circles under his eyes swallowed up his face. A thin scab ran from his earlobe to his cheek, and James wondered where it was from.
"Sure," he said.
"Well, I had a great summer! My Dad put up new Quidditch goal posts in the backyard. I practiced all summer, so that I can made Chaser on the House Quidditch team this year. When I graduate, I'm going to play for the Wimbourne Wasps, they're the best team ever!"
Sirius' eyes had taken on a slightly glazed look, but at this he perked up.
"Are you crazy? Appleby Arrows trump the Wasps any day!"
James smiled. It had begun.
October
"Hey Sirius, what do you say we turn Snape's head into a muffin tomorrow morning at breakfast? With any luck, Crabbe will try to eat him."
"Besides the fact that I've no idea how to turn a head into a baked good, I'm not sure you want to be brought up on murder charges if someone eats him. But here, listen to this…"
December
"Are you going home for Christmas, Sirius?"
They were in the dormitory, alone. Remus, bless his soul, was tutoring Peter in the library. He was the only one of the four with enough patience.
Sirius looked away.
"No."
"Why not?"
A quiet reply, "My parents don't want me there."
"You don't get along with them, do you?"
Sirius simply stared out the window.
"I'll write my parents. You can come home with me, if you want."
Sirius turned to look at James.
A smile.
Christmas Vacation
"Mum, Dad, this is Sirius Black. He's…my best friend."
Sirius started. James had never called him that before. It felt good. It felt right.
"Pleased to meet you, young man." Mr. Potter extended his right hand; he had a firm grip.
Mrs. Potter smiled. "We've heard a lot about you. It seems you're just as mischievous as our James."
"No ma'am. I'm much worse." Sirius grinned.
"Oh, I like him," James's father laughed.
April
"Please, Remus?"
"No James. Go away."
"But Remy, don't you love us?"
"Hardly, Sirius. And don't call me 'Remy'. You two need to learn to do your own work."
"But you do it so much better. Please?"
"Oh no, Sirius, not the puppy dog face. I hate that face. Stop."
Sirius made his eyes water a bit.
"Gah! Fine. Here, take the stupid Charms essay. But this is the last time ever. You have to stop pranking people and start concentrating on your studies!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Thanks Remus. You're our favorite person ever." James flashed a charming grin.
"He knows we'll never stop pranking people. I don't know why he says that." James told Sirius as they walked away.
"Besides," Sirius whispered, "Slytherins don't count as people anyway. They're more like slimy, unpleasant insects."
"I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too" - I'll be there for You by The Rembrandts
Third Year
This time, Sirius looked for James on the train. He found him, sitting in the very last compartment, laughing with Peter. He slid the door open.
"…and then, just when my Mum had gotten the sink to stop emitting bubbles, a kitchen chair sprouted fangs and started chasing her. You should have seen her face! She made Dad sleep on the couch that night, but – Sirius!"
James sprang up, and clapped his friend on the back. He grabbed a handle of his trunk, and they hoisted it up onto the luggage rack together.
"Hey mate." Sirius smiled at James. "Hey Pete."
Sirius sat down next to James, and five minutes later Remus showed up. There was more laughing and joking and some small explosions, but Sirius remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the ride. He let the cadences of his friends' voices wash over him. He felt more at home than he had all summer.
Later that night
"You know, Sirius, you were awfully quiet on the train, and during the feast." James couldn't keep the worry out of his voice.
"I know. I just…didn't have a good summer."
He was leaving something out, James knew.
"I can't fix it if you don't tell me, Sirius."
"I know. Soon. I'm not ready yet."
A brotherly hand on his shoulder. "I'll be here when you are."
November
"Remus, come out please!" Peter pleaded.
"No. Never again!" Remus's voice was muffled behind the bathroom door.
"Come on, Remus. We don't care if you turn in to a snarling monster once a month who would eat us as soon as look at us and who – ow!"
"Sirius, shut up." James said, exasperated. "You're not helping."
"You didn't have to pinch me."
James tried, this time. "Remus, you can't honestly think we would abandon you for something you have no control over, do you? Peter has really bad breath in the morning, and we don't abandon him!"
"Hey!" Peter squeaked.
"You're equating Peter's bad breath to Remus's lycantrophy?" Sirius inquired.
"We're your friends," James continued. "And that means we stick with you no matter what. No matter what other people say or think. No matter if you're a werewolf or a vampire or a unicorn."
"A unicorn?" Sirius questioned in the background.
"It was an improvisational speech. It was better than yours, anyway." James whispered back.
The doorknob twisted and Remus appeared, pale and thin and shaking. His eyes were red.
"You guys really don't care?" he timidly asked.
"Not at all." Sirius assured him.
They all embraced Remus then, and it didn't matter that they were thirteen year old boys who were too grown up for group hugs or tears. There were no dry eyes in the dormitory that night.
March
"You know," James said one morning at breakfast, "I'm thinking of asking Lily Evans on a date to the next Hogsmeade weekend."
"But she hates you." Peter supplied.
"Yes, well, she only thinks that she hates me. She actually really likes me. In fact, I'd wager she's madly in love with me."
The three other boys exchanged looks. They appeared to be at a loss for words. Sirius looked down the table and surveyed Lily, her red hair making her stand out wherever she was. He seemed to find her wanting.
"Whatever you say, James, "he said, already bored with the conversation.
James looked at him. Sirius had certainly grown into his handsome face, though he failed to notice all the female eyes on him throughout the room. Despite three years of pranking and having friends, being a Gryffindor and being a rebel, Sirius still held his head a bit too high, still acted a bit too condescending towards people who were not his friends. Which was, really, anyone who was not James or Remus or Peter. He would forever be an aristocrat at heart.
After Dinner, Same Day
James trudged into the common room and sank down on the couch next to Sirius, moving the other boy's legs, which were elegantly draped over the cushion, to make room.
Sirius raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"She said no, didn't she?" he asked.
"Yeah."
Sirius bit back an I told you so.
"Perhaps next time," he said instead.
James brightened. "Definitely. She was just intimidated by me this time, is all."
Sirius hid his grin. "Okay, James," he nodded, a bit patronizingly.
April
"Sirius?"
"Mmh?" Sirius glanced up from the very amusing if not exactly accurate portrait he had been drawing of Professor Flitwick.
"I've been thinking."
"I hope you didn't hurt yourself."
"You're funny. No, seriously. I've been thinking, and I read about this in a book, and I've decided that we should become Animagi."
"What!" Sirius exclaimed a bit too loudly. Several of his peers turned to give him suspicious looks.
Sirius lowered his voice. "James, two things. First, are you insane? And second, do you really think we should be discussing this right now, in the middle of Charms?"
"No to the first, yes to the second. No one can hear us, really, if you would just bloody keep your voice down. Look, I want to help him. He always looks terrible after his transformations. I think that if we were there for him, maybe he could stay himself, you know, keep his mind when his body changes."
James sounded so eager, so willing to risk everything for a friend. Sirius fleetingly wondered if James would do the same for him, but knew the answer was yes without having to ask. He eyed his friend.
"You do realize this is completely illegal?"
"We won't get caught." James sounded so sure.
Sirius sighed. He knew there was only one answer, really.
"Okay, fine."
June
James looked over at his best mate, who was waiting for him in the stands to come out of the locker room after Quidditch practice. James had been ecstatic to make Chaser at tryouts back in September, and had even managed to convince Sirius to try for Beater. Of course, the boy had made it. If James did something, he did it too. They had their last game soon, against Ravenclaw. James was excited, but Sirius, well, Sirius looked like Christmas had been cancelled.
James walked up and waved his hand to get Sirius's attention. As they walked back to the castle, James thought he knew what was bothering his friend.
"So maybe, do you want to spend summer holidays at my house this year?" James asked.
Sirius looked up, and if James hadn't known him as well as he did, he would have missed the spark of hope in his otherwise cool gray eyes.
"I don't want to be a burden."
"Are you kidding? Mum would kick me out and adopt you if she could. I think Dad's looking into ways to make you the legal heir to the Potter fortune. Sirius, my parents love you."
Silence; a deep inhaled breath. And then, a grin, and a laugh.
"Well, you can't blame them. I am, after all, a little more than amazing. Okay, I'll come."
James laughed too. "Great. This will be the best summer ever."
August
"James, Sirius, where are you going with my silver teapot?"
The two boys paused mid-step.
"Uh, nowhere Mum." James said.
"Yeah, we were just taking it to polish it some more, Claire." Sirius grinned disarmingly.
"Oh, well, thank you Sirius. How very thoughtful."
Later that Night
"AHH!" A scream, from the kitchen.
Claire Potter stormed into the living room where James and Sirius were enjoying a game of Exploding Snap. A silver teapot dangled from her nose, where the spout appeared to have split itself in half and clamped down.
"You two had better be able to explain this," she spat out.
"Uh, well, you see…" James began, then faded away.
"We're sorry Claire." Sirius stood up. "Very sorry. It won't happen again."
Sirius elbowed James.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry," the Potter boy mumbled.
"I suppose you're forgiven then, Sirius." Mrs. Potter sighed. "James, I expected better of you," she scolded, and marched out of the room.
James turned to Sirius.
"Blatant favoritism, that was," he said.
"She's right, you know. James, you shouldn't act so childishly." Sirius failed miserably at keeping the laughter out of his voice.
James threw a card at Sirius's head. "Oh shut up, you."
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Well, that's all for now. I have years four through six written, but it wants editing, so it should be up in a few days time. Let me all know what you think in a review? Pleeeeaaaase?