Disclaimer: As much as I wish otherwise, I did not write, nor have anything to do with Harry Potter. All rights go to J. K. Rowling.

Platform 9 ¾ was practically empty when James Potter crossed the barrier. Though the train left at 11:00, no one seemed to care about getting on early, at 8:00 like James. His parents were off, looking at some kind of muggle musicians – a street band, he thinks it was – and he was left all alone, guarding a single trunk, an owl, and a little, annoying brother; one that wouldn't leave him alone.

"James, James! You think I'm going to Hogwarts in two years? Huh?" the little boy squeaked, no shame showing on his face as he knocked the large trunk over. James sighed as he bent to pick it up.

"Sam, you're only seven. You'll have to wait four years. And of course you'll go to Hogwarts. Everyone goes there – unless you're a squib or a muggle, which you're not. You're such an idiot sometimes. "

James looked at his brother with annoyance, and the short boy fell silent; his hazel eyes pointed directly at the brick ground. The small hands with abnormally long fingers were twisting at his sides, unsure of what to do. The tiny, dragon-leather boot clad feet were shuffling uncomfortably. James took a long look at Sam and sighed again. He stepped away, towards the train, and peered inside the windows. With his nose pressed up against the glass and his breath fogging it, he couldn't see much. But even the fogged up sight was a wonder to him. Blue corduroy seats, scarlet and yellow curtains, black and green dividers, and white candy carts. Ironically, all the house colors – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin - were represented through one window. He wondered if Dumbledore assigned this on purpose.

He stepped away from the train and wiped up his damp cheek with the sleeve of his Hogwarts robes. He wiped off the fog from his glasses too, and walked back over towards where Sam was sitting on the ground, crying. Oh, what he would do to that kid if he got him in trouble…

"Sam, what is it this time?" he asked in his softest tone possible. But at the huge platform like the one they were at, it seemed too loud and obnoxious.

"I'm not an idiot," the small boy muttered. He didn't look up at his older brother as he said so, and didn't acknowledge anything. The salty tears were randomly captured by a seven-year-old's pink tongue, making the situation very humorous. James choked back a barking laugh and bent down towards where Sam was sitting, brushing his silky black bangs back with his hand – an old habit.

"Listen, I didn't mean that. I mean come on, mate. You're my brother. A fine bloke, if I may say," James said reassuringly. "You'll make a great wizard."

Sam looked up, his eyes sparkling with the compliment. "You think so?"

"I know so!"

"Bugger, James! I never thought you'd be nice!"

"Me neither. Race you to the barrier and back to the train?"

"No fair! You'd win!"

And so the two boys ran back and forth, screaming and flailing their limbs, as boys often do.

They didn't think anyone would be joining them for a while.

"Where is it, Mary-Jane? Who on earth would place a platform in a brick wall?"

"I already told you, Donald! It's magical!"

At the word 'magical', the security guard at Kings' Cross Station looked at the weird family worriedly. Both of the parents were rather fat and odd, wearing nothing but nightgowns each. Really, the woman and man were wearing a floral gown and a shower cap! The security guard shook his head and looked at their child.

Obviously, it was their child, as it was on the rounder side and had a mousy appearance. His two front teeth stuck out of the chapped brown lips, and the stringy dishwater-blonde hair sat like a mop on his head. The brown eyes were like slits, and the way the boy was positioned was in such a way that looked as though he was ready to escape that very instant! He looked very odd, wearing robes and carrying a frog in a cage. Or maybe it was a toad…luckily for the odd family, though; the security guard was called down to the main section, and as he walked away, he did so as to not spare the odd family another glance.

"Donald! We're making a scene! I thought you said these muggle clothes were normal. And anyways, your squib-ness is showing. Let me handle this," the wife said in an angry, nasal tone.

"Mary-Sue…"

"Mum! Dad!" the odd boy said – in a nasal tone like his mother's. "Can I just get on now? And Dad, listen to Mum. She's smarter – you're a squib."

The last thing he heard before he ran inside the barrier was – "You heard the boy, Donald! You're just a squib!'

Remus Lupin walked alongside his nervous father equally – if not more – as anxious. His battered, hand-me-down robes barely grazed the ground as he walked, and he self-consciously straightened out his faded tie every couple of seconds.

"Calm down, Remus. Everything will be fine," said his father looking around them as he pushed the cart towards the wall. "You first. I need to make sure no one's looking before I go in."

Remus took a long look at the cart with the shabby wool coat and then at his father. He ran a shaking hand through the dirty brown hair, and jogged forward clumsily. He closed his eyes in fear, terrified more and more as the wall drew nearer and nearer…

His fears went away though, as he felt a small breeze and opened his eyes. A grand train was before him, along with two identical boys – although one looked much older than the other – and a mousy, lone boy. He blushed as he noticed the three boys ogle his old robes, and his heart pounded as he saw their silky new black ones. Remus turned his back on the boys, and looked at the wall expectantly as his father came through.

"Listen, Remus, its 9:30. We have two and a half hours. I'm going to go look around a little. I'll be back here at 10:45, ok?"

Remus shook his head in sync with his pounding heart.

"Dad, no! Stay here with me!"

"I'll be back soon. Here, we'll load your trunk now so you don't have to worry about it."

As soon as the trunk was loaded, Remus's father walked out of the platform, his patched robe swishing behind him. Remus stared after him, feeling the three pairs of eyes on his back. He turned back around and gave them a shy smile.

They just stared back.

"You'd better be in Slytherin. We'll disinherit you if you aren't," said a small, scrawny boy.

"Regulus, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't speak on our behalf!"

"Come on, Mum! You know it's the truth. Slytherin is the most effin' important thing in this family, you said so yourself," said the taller boy.

The mother walked right ahead of the small boy, and over to where the taller one was standing and staring at a barrier.

"Sirius, dear, it'll be alright. You won't be alone. The Dark Lord is watching over you – over all our family. And Bellatrix and Narcissa will be with you. I'm not so sure about Andromeda however…she is in Hufflepuff. Stinking, worthless hag!"

The boy, Sirius, gave his mother an annoyed glance. Secretly, he didn't want to be in Slytherin. He'd much rather be in Hufflepuff. But if either his parents knew…Merlin! He'd much rather they didn't know.

"'Course, Mum. Slytherin."

"I wish I could be in Slytherin," Regulus said in a dreamy sort of way. "I'm smart, courageous, good-looking, everything a true Slytherin has!"

"You forgot modest," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh bugger off! Like you're any better!"

Sirius refrained from hitting his brother, and snapped at his fingers. That very second, a loud CRACK! was heard, and all the muggles within a seeing distance were blindfolded. A house elf appeared carrying a long cart with a trunk, an owl, and a sandwich. Not taking his eyes off the sandwich, Sirius took the cart, saluted the house elf, and ran right through into the brick wall, then into the platform. At his heels were Regulus, his mother, and the dirty house elf.

"Master, eat the sandwich before the meat gets cold. It's bacon and mustard, your favorite. Has Kreacher done well?" said the house elf, in an ancient, beseeching voice. Gratefully taking a bite out of the sandwich, Sirius nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Give yourself a round of applause," Sirius replied, although it sounded more like he garbled something about dying. Regulus had to translate before the elf killed himself.

Sirius swallowed the rest of the sandwich (much to all the boy's and, now, the gorgeous Lulu Chang's amusement) and belched loudly. Regulus and his mother stepped far away from him, while the rest of the platform (except for Lulu Chang, who had an expression that was in between wanting to barf and wanting to smile) broke into laughter.

"Wow! I wish I could burp that well!" yelled tall charming boy, with sly hazel eyes and silky black hair.

"M-my father says b-burping out loud is b-bad for you!" squeaked the fat, mousy boy.

"Well, by the looks of it, it seems your father isn't very well educated; if you really are that fat," said Remus, using his chance and speaking his mind.

James stood up from where he was sitting with Sam and walked over to where Sirius was waiting with his mother and brother. He nodded at them, and looked directly at Sirius. Sticking out his hand he said, "I'm James Potter. That's my brother, Sam. I'm a first year."

Grateful for the introduction, Sirius shook James's hand and replied, "Nice, mate. I'm Sirius Black," he said as superiorly as he possibly could, and looked away when his mother rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'boys, so stupid, this one's like a dog'.

Remus looked over at the two boys enviously. He hadn't made that rude remark for nothing, and now that he had said that, he felt rather sick to his stomach. Peeking over at the fat boy, he sighed and sat down on the ground, leaning his back on the brick wall. Thoughts passed in his mind, and he looked up at the big clock.

He groaned.

9:45.

Now that Megan and Pierce Potter were back to Platform 9 ¾, everything seemed complete for James. He was socializing with all the new kids, except for the two boys he had met first (he didn't know why he didn't talk to them, he just didn't), and his parents gave him several hugs and kisses each. It seemed to him like he was the center of the universe.

Sirius watched in envy as the Potters stood as a family, and not as two measly children with a mum. His mother and brother were scanning the coming crowds for Bellatrix and Narcissa, just like he was for Andromeda. After a while – five minutes, so, a while in Sirius Time – he got tired of looking and went to look for James. As he ran through people, he noticed many of the girls – both older and first years – staring at him. Well, his father was quite handsome. And his mother was a pretty woman. Both had these dark and mysterious looks, ones that Sirius had inherited. He gave them all crooked grins, making them turn to their friends and start giggling and whispering. All of them, except for one particular girl.

She had flowing, long red hair. The kind he knew only supermodels or Disney-princesses (hey, Andromeda loved muggle things like movies, and those were the kinds of things she showed him) had. When she turned to look over at him she had almond shaped green eyes, like freshly cut grass. She was tall and thin, and looked just like any normal muggle. Some sub-conscious part in his mind whispered Mudblood, but he brushed the thought aside.

She was looking at him. Just like everyone else, he thought happily. But when he gave her the crooked grin he'd been giving the now-swooning girls, she turned away in disgust.

Women.

He stood there, for what seemed hours, just thinking of what he did that was wrong or gross, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It took him a couple moments to process what happened, and he twirled around – in a manly way, of course – to find himself looking into the big brown eyes of his cousin, Andromeda.

"Andy!" he yelped.

"Siri!" she shouted back – not even thinking that the foot that separated them mattered – and scooped him up in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her lean shoulders, thankful that he was taller than his three-years-older cousin.

Andromeda was beautiful, like the rest of the Black family. She had shiny black curls and fair, fair skin. Her lips were very light and thin, but she had bright pink lipstick that often drew the attention away from her pretty eyes and perfect curls, and – well, for boys – to her lips. She had these big brown eyes, like a cow's. Her voice was low and soothing, like a poet's. In fact, with those sympathetic eyes and soothing voice she could've made a very good nurse, or even a healer. Maybe a professor at Hogwarts – her good grades supplied her that option. Sirius had so much confidence in her; if you asked him, she could've been anything she wanted to be.

They broke apart and Andromeda pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead. He didn't even care that James and all the girls were looking, he grinned widely – not even bothering to wipe up the lipstick. He knew there was a mark where her lips touched his skin, but he couldn't care less.

Andromeda was the major exception in the pureblood, black family. When all the rest of her relatives went to Slytherin, she was almost immediately sorted into Hufflepuff. Some say the sorting hat screeched it when he heard her name, some say she had her wand out and bewitched the hat. But Sirius knew the truth; he felt the same way. She didn't want to be like everyone else, she didn't want to have any connection to the Dark Lord. He doubted the Dark Lord would have wanted someone with pretty brown eyes to work for him. In fact, he doubted the Dark Lord wanted anything pretty.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed, snapping him out of his reverie. "Are you excited? Well, even if you aren't, I'm excited enough for the both of us! A first year… Merlin! I remember when I was a first year, bugger, Siri. Those were tough times. But you're so smart, you'll excel at everything and I'll have to get you before some kind of arse-hole does. You'd be barmy to not excel, actually, I'd be barmy to not think you'd excel. Merlin's beard, I said barmy and excel so many times in that sentence. Something's off!" He was impressed she could say all this in one breath.

"Oh, Andy! I've missed you so much!"

"Well, I figured I'd better not come to Grimmauld Place after Aunt Walburga threw that vase at me," Andromeda said – not the least bit angry at her odd aunt.

"I can't believe she did that," Sirius huffed. He, obviously, was very angry his mother for throwing a vase at his best friend.

"I can't believe she thought I would really end up in Slytherin. I'm a true Hufflepuff, through and through!"

"I always knew you wouldn't be a Slytherin. You're too good-hearted."

"Oh, Sirius, you think so?"

"Of –"

Just then Sirius looked around and noticed everyone's attention away from him, all except one certain pair of hazel eyes, ones that were drawing nearer and nearer.

"Hello, Black. Chatting up your girlfriend?" said James, ever nearing the two.

Andromeda shot Sirius a questioning look. He shrugged and turned to James, who was openly smirking.

"What do you want, Potter?" Sirius snapped, annoyed that this boy – although he did consider him his first friend at Hogwarts – thought he could just march over and make silly assumptions!

"Sirius," Andromeda said in a warning tone.

"This is my cousin, James," he said, biting back the remark he was about to shoot at him. "Andromeda Black."

James flushed a brilliant red and gave them both an apologetic smile. "I, uh, sorry…"

"Don't sweat it, mate."

Sirius held up his hand and James slapped his own against it, pleased.

"Andy!" a voice shouted from behind. Of course, it was Kyle Diggory, the most handsome boy at Hogwarts. Both James and Sirius hated him at that moment.

A boy with light brown hair, sky blue eyes, and a charming smile was walking towards them with a mini-me at his side. He hugged Andromeda from behind and nuzzled his nose to her temple. Embarrassed – but delighted, just the same – Andromeda struggled in his arms, until just one was hooked around her waist and the other was around his mini-me.

"Sirius – uh, James, too I guess – did I tell you I'm dating Kyle? He asked me to be his girlfriend earlier this summer," Andromeda said, tucking her head into Kyle's shoulder. It didn't seem to matter to her that he was a sixth year, and would probably break up with her for an older girl.

"No, Andy. You didn't," Sirius replied briskly. James was too busy staring down the mini-me, who turned out to not be so 'mini' at all. He may be a miniature of Kyle, but he definitely was life size. He was a good deal of centimeters taller than James and Sirius – both of whom were about the same height.

"Well hey, mate. This bloke here's my little brother, Amos. He's a first year," said Kyle, not even looking at Amos.

Andromeda and Kyle walked away, over to some other fourth years, all of which looked ready to kill her for stealing their crush. James looked pointedly at Sirius.

"Good at heart? More like a true traitor!"

The whistle of the train was clear and loud over the dense crowd of parting parents and kids. All around Remus and his father, people were embracing and kissing, some even tearing up. They stood apart from the crowd, and said farewell in a modest, quiet, Lupin way.

"Remus, I am so proud of you," said his father, holding his son at an arm's length. "I'm sure Hogwarts has never had such a smart, sensible werewolf."

"Dad, I don't think Hogwarts has ever had a werewolf," replied Remus, as quietly as he could.

With a last hug, and a short kiss, Remus bid farewell to his father, and was onboard the Hogwarts Express.

He looked in all the compartments, but they were all full of scary older children, emphasis on the scary. A thin, shabby boy occupied the only almost-empty compartment, the same one he had seen arriving with his father at the platform (the same one to call him fat, but he wasn't going to acknowledge that memory). He decided sitting with this boy was better than sitting with a bunch of older kids, and slid the compartment door open.

"C-can I sit with you?" he squeaked, nervously.

"Yeah, 'course," said the shabby boy, patting the seat across from him. "I'm Remus Lupin."

"Pettigrew. Uh – Peter, I mean." Remus laughed.

"Do you like mince pies? My father packed me one," he said, picking up a neatly wrapped meat pie. Peter looked at the pie hungrily.

"You guessed it."

They both laughed, their mouths stuffed with pie.

"Blimey, Sirius. If we don't find any seats soon we won't find any at all!"

"Calm it, mate! We'll find some seats."

They were standing in the middle of the corridor, both holding leather coin pouches. Each door they slid open was immediately slammed shut by the people behind it, or a scream was emitted and they slammed it shut, erasing the image of half naked teenage girls from their minds. Well, they wouldn't think that people were changing into their robes just yet!

Sirius stared at the open air for a moment, and looked back at James. He was staring inside a compartment screen.

"This one's empty. Blimey, do you think something's wrong with it?" James asked. He looked suspiciously at the corduroy seats.

"Naw, must be fine," said Sirius as he sunk into the blue seats. "Mmm…smells fine, too," he added after burying his head in the candy-scented couches.

James sat down and stared outside the foggy window. He wiped up the moisture with his hand and looked out at the countryside. Evergreen trees were growing in odd clumps and dead plants littered the area around them. In the distance a single log cabin was surrounded by some clueless muggles. James shook his head at them.

After a few moments of silence, a girl stormed into their compartment. She sat across from where Sirius was slumped – falling into her seat next to James – and burst into silent sobs. She shook with the effort of her small body wracked with the many sobs and ignored the odd look James was giving her.

Sirius recognized the girl from the platform. It was the pretty redhead whom he'd smiled at. Now she was crying, though, her features were smeared with the tears. He looked away from her.

"- and then she just threw it out the window!" Sirius gasped. He was telling James a story about one of the many hilarious moments at the Black Residence, and James was roaring in laughter. Both were crying tears of laughter, and already, Sirius had to run to the restroom; he was laughing so hard. The redhead didn't even spare them a glance.

Right when Sirius finished the story, a boy slid the compartment door open. The others paid no attention to him, and Sirius and James started another rowdy conversation.

The boy was pale and had greasy, long black hair. He had small black eyes, like cold buttons, and was tall and skinnier than skinny. He had on ill-fitting Hogwarts robes reading, "Eileen Prince." He was wearing his mother's old robes.

James looked at the boy and snickered as he sat down next to Sirius and Sirius moved away. He turned his back on the redhead and slimy boy and started another conversation with Sirius, both of them thoroughly ignoring the scrawny boy and the redhead.

"I don't want to talk to you," the redhead said, her voice slightly muffled by the glass of the window. It was also husky, as though she'd been crying.

"Why not?" pleaded the slimy boy.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore," she answered, her voice trembling.

"So what?"

She gave him a dirty look, hair flipping to her side.

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a –" the boy caught himself quickly, as she was wiping her eyes.

"But we're going!" he exclaimed, the exhilaration barely hidden in his voice. "That's it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

She just nodded and half smiled, pleasing the boy.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said the greasy boy, clearly encouraged that she was a little happier.

"Slytherin?"

James's head snapped to the weird boy as soon as the word Slytherin was uttered.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked, testing Sirius, who was lounging across from him. Sirius looked as though he was biting back a mean remark.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.

"Blimey," James said a little sarcastically, "and I thought you seemed alright!"

Sirius grinned casually.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you headed, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword as a reply.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Just like my dad."

The greasy boy made a choking noise and rolled his eyes at James. James just narrowed his eyes at him.

"Got a problem with that?" he questioned.

"No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –"

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

James roared in laughter. The redhead stood up haughtily, cheeks flushed, and looked between James and Sirius in great dislike.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment," she said loftily.

"Oooooo…" James and Sirius mocked in a high voice, and James tried to trip Severus as he passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called after them, just as the compartment door slammed.

Peter had never seen such a fine girl!

She opened the compartment door gently, barely making a sound, and asked in a sweet voice, "May we sit here?"

He and Remus exchanged a shocked look and said, without hesitation, "'Course."

She ushered someone in the corridor in – a greasy-looking boy, but he was barely competition – and sat down next to Remus, much more comfortable than the other boy who just sat down next to Peter unsurely.

"Hi," she said, straightening out her frizzy red curls. "I'm Lily Evans, and this here's my friend Severus Snape."

Severus raised a palm in greeting. Lily smiled at all of them.

"Has the candy cart come yet?" she asked, cleverly striking up a conversation.

"Uh, no. N-not yet, I d-don't think," Peter stuttered. In the short time they were together, Peter hadn't stuttered at all with Remus, other than when they first introduced themselves. Remus noticed it was a nervous habit.

"Oh, that's good. I have to get some WHAM Bars. I haven't had those in years," Lily added to Severus, "Petunia was allergic."

"Blimey, Lils, Petunia is allergic to everything," Severus retorted, rolling his eyes.

The two other boys were expecting Lily to narrow her eyes and snap something back at him but instead she just sighed and said, "Don't tell anyone, you guys," she pointed to Remus and Peter who immediately felt pleased with their inclusion. "Petunia's on a diet. We had to empty the house of sweets so she wouldn't be tempted. Mum said she was getting rather plump and would rather have her skinny as can be than fat. It's as if she wants Petunia perfect as can be when I'm away from home," she added wistfully. "Ah, well. At least Petunia won't be a total pig when I go back for the holidays."

"You're lucky you even have a sister. I'm an only," said Remus.

"Yes, yes, me too! I wish I had a sister, plump and all!" Peter exclaimed. Lily and Remus laughed.

"It's nice to be finally going off to Hogwarts, don't you think? I was waiting for this day since I was born," Remus declared.

"Yes, me too!" Peter exclaimed again.

The two boys burst into conversation, speaking so fast they soon left Lily and Severus in the dust. They didn't seem to mind, though, starting a conversation of their own.

A couple hours later, the Hogwarts Castle was coming into view.

Hey guys! You liked? You didn't like? Review and tell me!

Also, I would like to mention that I am on the lookout for a beta for this story. PM me if you're up for it.

Later, then!