Hello! Well, I'm back with another Harry Potter story, this time set during the time of the Marauder's! This is likely to be a very dark story. I hope, despite this, people enjoy it!

Title: Marked

Author: the-writer1988

Rating: T, with the potential to go up to M

Summary: They wanted to mark him. He refused. They tried anyway. They tried to kill him instead. He escaped. But they won't let him go so easily. Sirius Black's sixth year at Hogwart's does not go well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JKR does.

Prologue

25th December 1975

He was worried.

James stared at the owl he had sent to his friend; the owl that had returned without delivering the letter; the owl that had always managed to get to the best friend before. But today… He should be happy, it was Christmas Day. His parents had brought him a brand new broomstick.

But Sirius wasn't here.

Sirius always had been here over Christmas.

Very rarely did Sirius ever go home to his parents. He usually ended up coming over to the Potter's within a few days, but this holiday he hadn't. Neither Remus nor Peter had heard from Sirius either.

James' front teeth gnawed at his lips, indecision in his eyes. Part of him was tempted to get on his broomstick and fly to London, but the problem was he didn't exactly know where the Black family home was. It was unplottable.

Even his parents were concerned. They had tried contacting James' great aunt Dorea, who herself had been a member of the Black family. She was also Sirius' great aunt through his mother. James' aunt had married his father's uncle, Charlus Potter. She was still on good terms with her family due to the pureblood marriage she had made. But even she had not heard anything about Sirius.

And that made James worry for his friend's safety increase.

He knew Sirius' home life was appalling. He still remembered the Howler Sirius had received the day after he had been sorted in Gryffindor, rather than Slytherin.

The letter burned open on the table: the cruel voice of Walburga Black echoed around the Great Hall. Students looked up terrified at the sound, whilst others looked around with a grin on their face to see exactly who had gotten in trouble this early in the term.

Sirius flinched as his mother's harsh voice echoed throughout the hall, castrating him for daring to be different, daring to not conform to the Black family's rules.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! HOW DARE YOU BE SORTED IN GRYFFINDOR! YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UPON THIS HOUSE! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE NAME OF BLACK! HOW DARE YOU BREAK TRADITION! THANK SLYTHERIN HIMSELF THAT REGULUS CAN CARRY ON OUR NOBLE TRADITIONS. YOU ARE AN UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT! A STAIN OF MY FLESH THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE ALIVE! DON'T COME HOME AT CHRISTMAS – YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BLOOD TRAITOR!"

James had been so angry at that letter. He had only met his friend's mother once and that had been a frightening experience. He sighed. Even Christmas lunch hadn't been enjoyable with one empty space next to him – Sirius' place.

"Damn it, Padfoot, where are you?"

James walked over to the owl, stroking its head and put the undelivered letter down on the desk. As he fed the owl a treat, he chanced a glance out the window of his bedroom.

There was a figure, lying in the snow, just outside the gates of the house. He didn't even need to look any more. His stomach tucked in uneasiness. The mess of dark hair and the robes the person wore were enough to convince James that he had to get outside now. "SIRIUS!"

James bounded out his room, leaping down the stairs, landing in a practiced crouch at the bottom. "MUM! DAD!" He reached the door, pulling open the locks and was just about to haul it open when his father, Fleamont Potter came running into the hall, his wand in his hand, with James' mother close behind him.

"James! What are you doing?" he demanded, his messy grey hair falling in his eyes.

His mother, Euphemia, appeared behind her husband, her hazel eyes, so much like James' own, was searching her son's panicked face with concern.

James didn't take a breath in as he spoke. "Thereissomeoneoutsideithinkitissiriushelooksreallyhurt!" He reached for the door handle and pulled the door open, letting in cold air and was about to run outside when a hand landed on his right shoulder and pulled him back. "Dad! Get off!"

"James." His mother pulled him around. "James. What do you mean?"

"Sirius is outside! He's in the snow!" he shouted angrily.

Mr Potter looked at his son carefully before nodding and gripped the door handle himself. "You are to stay here. You mother and I will go outside and check, okay?"

James nodded. He respected his parents too much to disobey them. But it was hardly likely anyone would attack them in Godric's Hollow. He watched from the open front door as his parents ran down the path, threw open the gate and crouched down beside the figure laying face-down in the snow.

A quick levitation charm had the figure floating in the air before the Potter's bought them into the house. James leapt out the way, his eyes passing over the figure of his friend. He had been right. He had not mistaken the figure in the snow from his window.

But what he hadn't expected to see was his friend covered in blood. His clothes were ripped and torn and there were ominous markings around his neck – as if someone had tried to strangle him – as well as a long, large bleeding gash down his left arm.

James felt sick. He knew how this had happened.

Sirius' parents - his own family - had tried to kill their son.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Notes:

1: First of all, it has been confirmed on Pottermore that James' parents were NOT Dorea Black and Charlus Potter. So, I have decided to use the names of his confirmed parents: Fleamont and Euphemia Potter instead. They will mostly be referred to as Mr and Mrs Potter in this story.

2: It's also been confirmed that Sirius was born on 3rd November 1959. This means he turned 16 in 1975, in the first part of his fifth year at Hogwart's as he would have started Hogwart's in 1971, when he was nearly 12. Sirius says in 'Order of the Phoenix' that he ran away from home when he was about 16. I took that to mean he had just turned 16, so this Prologue is set during Christmas Break of fifth year.

3: From the next chapter onward we will fast forward to summer of 1976, just before Sirius is due to start his sixth year at Hogwarts. The events of this prologue will be referred to from time to time.

4: And, finally, this story will have Death Eaters in it. Most notably Bellatrix Lestrange. Sirius' parents really do not want the stain he's left behind as a blood traitor living, especially since he is the heir. That's all what I will say for now about the plot of this story.

I am already working on the next chapter and I hope to post it sometime next week.

Until then,

the-writer1988