"Ow! Knock it off Sirius, before I hex you into next week!" complained James Potter, cringing as he received another punch to the shoulder.
James was tall and fit, his body toned from years of Quidditch. He pushed his thin, round glasses to the bridge of his nose- his shaggy, unruly black hair stuck out in all directions, giving him a energetic and youthfull look; his eyes were a deep brown, and sported the usual mischevious twinkle. And, though there were a countless number of girls who would give anything to be in close proximity to the star of the Quidditch team, those eyes were meant for only one girl- the beautifull Lily Evans. James's attempts at a friendship with her have been to no avail, but he continued to love her, never once losing hope. His position as a priceless seeker on the school's Quidditch team attracted a lot of attention from the female population of Hogwarts, but the one girl that he did want couldn't stand him- Lily strongly opposed to the constant prank-pulling of the Marauders, and she didn't consider any of them, (exept, at times, Remus), to be anything close to her friends. But the worst was when James led the not-so-rare 'attacks' on Severus Snape- a boy who Lily did consider a friend. She always came to his aid, and as the severity of the pranks increased, so did Lily Evans's loathing for James Potter.
"I'd like to see you try!" Sirius Black shot back, grinning.
He was slightly taller than James, but the way in which he held himself was different- although Sirius did not share his family's beliefs about pure blood and other such things, he had still inherited the strong sense of pride so common among the Blacks. His slightly longer, carefully-maintained hair was the same night-black as James's, but it was infinately easier to tame. It fell around his face in elegant strands, slightly covering his eyes- piercing, blue eyes, the color of ice. Eyes able to lure in any female daring to get close enough, eyes able to portray any emotion needed at any given time. His high cheek-bones, full lips, and strong jaw often appeared in girls' dreams- he was considerd the best looking boy in the school, and for good reason. Contrary to popular belief, Sirius was the kind of person who would always pick up a fallen friend- after he had finished laughing, of course. His sense of pride was matched only by his sense of honor.
The two boys continued their sniping, their language getting more and more colorful.
Will they ever grow up? Remus Lupin thought to himself, letting out a slight chuckle. He knew the threats currently being thrown around were empty, and the two best friends would never seriously harm each other, but in some way it still set him on edge.
Remus was easily the tallest of the Marauders, but not by much. Though it didn't show through the school robes, he had a lean, powerfull body- most likely something to do with his... condition. The state of his robes was... poor, to say the best. He looked somewhat older than he really was, and gave off the sense that he had been through too much for such a short life- Sirius even swore that he saw grey hair once. The lycan's hair was a dark brown, and was often messy and wild; though not as extremely so as James's. A few strands of hair almost completely covered his eyes, which could only be seen if looked for. Remus's fellow Marauders often questioned him about the strange, deep green color of his irises, and why the black pupil was always so wide, leaving only a small space for the green- but he had always been able to deflect, switching their attention to something else, and found it remarkable that he had been fooling them for over two years now. Remus had three deep, prominent scars running parallel to each other from just below his right eye, to half-way down his neck. The story he had invented to cover those up involved an angry hippogriff, his idiocy, and some Firewhiskey- but he could tell that his friends were starting to see through that lie. Though not many people bothered to look pas the frightening scars, but behind them was kind, not bad-looking face, which was usually pointed towards a book or parchment. Remus was the voice of reason among the Marauders, the one who would always say when things had gone too far. But at the same time he was usually the brains behind the foursome's infamous pranks- being the only one who knew what a library was. He was, at times, a sort of emergency-overdue-homework machine, being probably the brightest in their year; James and Sirius had always managed to bribe him with his only known weakness- chocolate, the thing he couldn't live without. Remus was considered one of, (if not the only), people who could stop a Marauder, to lessen in some small way the astonishing amount of trouble they got into.
Peter Pettingrew let out a squeak of alarm as the two wrestling boys landed on top of him, losing their balance.
Peter was a small, mousy looking boy- and was significantly shorter than his friends, and a little on the pudgy side, with curly, light brown, almost blonde hair framing his rounded face. His complexion was almost always slightly red, and he was one of those people who could blush at a single glance. Peter was somewhat naive and clueless, and still possed the innocent features of a child- a small, slightly up-turned nose, a splash of freckles on his full cheeks, an always ever-so-slightly opened mouth... He almost never spoke on his own, and mostly just agreed with whatever James, Remus, or Sirius were saying. His large, baby-blue eyes were constantly looking up at those three boys, registering everthing they were doing- to Peter, they were the ultimate role-models. Peter wasn't particularly at anything- the lessons always seemed too hard, and sports wasn't his strong point either... He got by of course, with a little help from Remus, but was still hovering just below the 'average' mark. Not that he minded- as long as the Marauders were pleased, he was pleased.
All four boys laughed, and Remus offered a hand to Sirius- but let out a cry of surprise when, instead of using it to pull himself up, the black-haired boy pulled Remus down to the ground with him! Lupin laughed even harder along with his friends, trying to ignore the shocking pain in his ribs. The full moon had been only a week ago, and he was still recovering from a few broken bones. Thankfully, there weren't too many wounds on his face or neck- thus preventing any awkward questions from the other Marauders.
There aren't many exuses I could come up with for how I managed to break three ribs at my mother's bedside... Remus thought to himself with sadness and frustration. But he soon recovered, and had already gotten back on his feet.
"Really guys, leave it up to you to get a detention before the school year even starts!" he grumbled at James and Sirius- but the grin on his face remained. The two boys muttered something under their breaths, smiling broadly. The four friends were on their way to the Great Hall, where Professor Dumbledore was about to give his usual welcoming speech. They quickly fell silent as the large, heavy gates opened and all of the third-years entered the hall. Sirius and James were still shoving each other occationally, but stopped after Remus sent one of his 'glares' their way- that glare was the only thing capable of silencing the Marauders, and it had earned the lycan both his fellow students' and the teachers' respect. The large group split up into the different houses- James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter sat down at the Griffindor table, and James spotted Lily Evans do so as well. He then turned his gaze towards the Slytherin table- at which sat Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and numerous other students with which he was unconditional enemies.
The large gates opened once more, to reveal a group of frightened and amazed looking first-years. They walked down the middle of hall, looking around with interest. The young boys and girls examined their soon-to-be house-mates, curiosity in their eyes- Sirius and James returned these looks with either a rather frightening grin or a scowl, which sent the first-years shuffling slightly away. Remus, on the other hand, welcomed them with a friendly smile- but he felt a pang of sadness as, upon seeing his scars, the young students bore scared expressions. Peter, as usual, was trying to mimick James and Sirius's actions- but it hardly had the same effect.
The Sorting process began shortly, and just as the last first-year had sat down, Dumbledore raised his hand- the universal sign for 'I'm going to ask you politely to shut it, but only once'. A silence fell over the hall, and all eyes were on the old professor. Suddenly, Remus felt something strange- a knot formed in his stomach. He scanned the tables frantically, looking like a frightened animal; something wasn't right, something was off.
"Welcome, welcome, to another wonderfull year at Hogwarts. Before we begin the great feast, I would like to introduce a teacher new to our school-" Dumbledor said, standing up. It was then Remus saw him- he took in the shaggy black mane, the long, crooked nose, the permanent sneer, the black, piercing, pity-less eyes; "Please welcome Professor Fenir Greyback!"