Story of the Marauders: Year 1

Chapter One: Letters

It had to be four in the morning. The sun hadn't even come up yet. However, the oldest son in the Black family residence was awake and looking out of the kitchen window and out to the sky. The kitchen was dark, the only light coming from the streetlights outside on the street. Sirius was eating his usual toast with marmalade, trying not to wake up his family. He didn't really have a great relationship with the rest of the Blacks. You see, he lived in a "blood purist" family that believed that only the witches and wizards with pureblood, or having no relation to muggles or nonmagical folk, were superior to those who were halfblood or muggle born.

Sirius disagreed with this and thought that the entire notion was ludicrous. Though, only being eleven years old, he didn't have much to do about it, so he just sat quietly and tried to ignore his family. Though, sometimes, he would retaliate against his parent's beliefs and have to deal with the onslaught of verbal abuse that followed.

He was currently lost in his train of thought, toast abandoned, when a slight tapping came from the window. Awaking from his daydream, he saw a large tawny owl perched on the windowsill with an envelope in its beak. Sirius opened the window and retrieved the letter. This was followed by a nip at his fingers by the owl. "Alright, alright! I'll get you some water, you blasted bird." He whispered. He came back with a cup full of water which the large bird drank from heavily before hooting importantly and flying off into the now lightening sky.

Sirius looked at the letter in his hand. He had expected this letter ever since he was a boy, but it was still exciting for him to actually receive one. The envelope was a thick parchment and had his name written on the front in emerald green ink. The other side revealed a dark red wax seal emblazoned with the crest of none other than the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Excitedly, he broke open the seal to reveal the letter inside. He skimmed through and saw that it was congratulating him on making it into the school and when term started and all sorts of other rubbish. The next page was a list of all of the supplies that he needed. He looked down the list with wonder. He was going to get his own wand! He had always wanted his own wand because whenever he would use his parents', they would yell at him and take it away. The rest of the list was books and spell ingredients, which he had no interest in.

By the time he finished reading the list, he heard footsteps come down the stairs. Looking out the window, he saw the sun was already up. He'd been down there longer than he anticipated. His mother walked in without any indication that she had noticed him. "Er, mum? I got my Hogwarts letter." Sirius hesitantly told his mother. At this, she turned around.

"About time too. Give it here." She held out her hand and Sirius gave it to her. "I'm not going to Diagon Alley with you to get your supplies. So I'll give you some money and you can go by yourself. I'll be busy."

"Busy with what?" Sirius asked. He had never been there by himself before.

"None of your business." His mother snapped at him. "You wouldn't even understand it anyway. Now I'll leave the money on the table and you go today. If I come home with your brother and find that you haven't been shopping, you'll be grounded until term starts." And with that she left him in the kitchen.

'This is going to be a long year.' He thought to himself.

James was flying on a broom. He was captain of his own Quidditch team. Flying at amazing speeds, he threw the quaffle for one of the hoops and the opposing keeper missed by a long shot. He had done it, he had won the game! He was just about to receive the Quidditch World Cup trophy when he heard the announcer shout "James Potter! If you do not get up right now so we can go to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies, you will be in big trouble!"

James awoke to the sight of his mother standing in her apron, spatula in hand, looking rather irritated. What school supplies? He didn't attend school. At the confused look on his face, his mother placed a parchment envelope on his bed. It was addressed to him, but it seemed as if she had already opened it. Giving his mom the evil eye, he took out the letter inside. It was his Hogwarts letter! This woke him up properly. "Getting up! Getting up!" he said as he flailed out of bed going to his dresser to put on some clothes.

"I expect you to be ready soon then. And breakfast is ready for you downstairs in the kitchen. I'm so proud of you." His mom said with a smile, pecking him on top of his head before leaving his room.

He emerged from his room and made it to the kitchen to find a plate of bacon and eggs waiting for him. He apparently slept through his dad leaving for work. He assumed that's the reason his mother opened his letter, to show his dad before he left. He took out his list again and read aloud. "All students are required a wand. Yes! I've been waiting to have my own wand! A cat, rat, owl, or toad. Can I have an owl mum? A bunch of books, who cares about those? A cauldron, a set of scales, potion ingredients and a bunch of other stuff."

"That is why we are going to Diagon Alley today. And we will never make it if you don't get moving and get ready!" his mom was waving her wand at the dishes in the sink which started to magically clean themselves. James started shoveling food into his mouth so he could finish getting ready. The thought of him actually going to Hogwarts actually sunk in and he felt like he was flying on his broom again, just like in his dream.

Remus was walking through the woods again. This time, he had really torn himself up. This wasn't like other full moons. Walking through the woods, he really appreciated the sight before him. The morning mist was lit up by the rising sun and evaporating. The trees were tall and left a spattering of light on the pine needle covered floor. He saw his house in the distance and made his way over to it.

Inside, his father was waiting for him. He silently patched Remus up and handed him an envelope and left him. He didn't have the best relationship with his father. He could tell he still loved him but never forgave him. When he was only four, he wandered outside to the woods behind their house. There, the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback attacked him. His mother rushed to help him but was too late. Remus had been bitten. And whilst trying to save Remus from further harm, she had been killed.

Remus knew that this incident wasn't his fault, and so did his father, but he couldn't help but feel the weight of guilt and grief.

Shaken from the memory, he forgot about the letter in his hand. Looking down at it now, he saw that it was addressed to him in emerald green ink. On the other side was a dark red wax seal with the crest of Hogwarts. Wait, Hogwarts? Was he allowed to go after all? He was a wizard, but he thought that because he was a werewolf as well, he couldn't attend. He read the letter carefully

"Dear Mr. Lupin,

We would be very delighted if you would join us at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are well aware of your condition and have set up special arrangements to accommodate you during the full moon. The teachers have been informed of the predicament you are in and understand that you will be missing from class once a month. Do send your reply as to whether you will attend no later than June 31st.

Best Regards,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Head Mistress."

He celebrated by jumping up and down. He was going to Hogwarts. He, a werewolf, was going to Hogwarts! The only thing that stopped him from his fun was the fact that the wound in his side opened up again.

Peter woke up to the sound of talking coming from the kitchen and the smell of cooking. It seemed as though his parents didn't bother to wake him up for breakfast yet again. The plump boy rolled out of bed and stifling a yawn, made his way down the hall to the kitchen. His parents ignored his presence until the mail flap sounded from the entry way.

"Can you go get that, Peter?" his father asked from behind his newspaper.

Peter made his way down the hall to the entrance and found a stack of letters. He obediently brought them back and handed them to his mother. She looked through them until, with a surprised expression, handed Peter a thick parchment envelope addressed to him in emerald green handwriting.

He broke open the wax seal and found a letter saying that he would be attending a school of magic called Hogwarts. This must have been a joke. Some strange things did happen to him when he was overly emotional, but that didn't mean that he was a wizard.

"What is it, son?" his father asked, now paying attention to the boy. Peter handed him the letter for him to read. After a while, his father broke out into laughter. "You, a wizard!" he roared. His mother looked between the two confused. "You aren't even good at math, how could you be a wizard?"

Just then there was a knock at the door. Peter was sent to go answer it and was lost for words when he opened the door. In front of him was a tall man with strange clothing. He wore a kilt, a wool sweater even though it was June, and black, shiny dress shoes. "Mr. Pettigrew, I believe. I am Mr. Worthington from the Ministry of Magic. I am here to make sure that you have received your letter to Hogwarts and to make sure you understand it, seeing as you are a muggle born and have no knowledge of our existence."

The man walked into the Pettigrew home without being invited in and walked to the kitchen. This surprised Mr. and Mrs. Pettigrew and they both let out a little shriek at the strange man who just entered their home. "Who are you?" asked Mr. Pettigrew in an alarmed tone.

"I am Mr. Worthington from the Ministry of Magic. I see you have received the letter from Hogwarts and would like to educate you on our kind before you give your answer as to whether your son will attend the school or not. I am a wizard, and so is your son. Hogwarts is a school that will teach your son magic as well as to how to control his ability."

"This has to be some sort of a joke!" Mr. Pettigrew said, exasperated.

"I assure you, this is no joke," the man said. "If you would allow me to demonstrate…" at this, the man waved the stick he was holding and turned the kitchen table into a sheep and back again. Mrs. Pettigrew screamed and almost burst into tears. Mr. Pettigrew threw his paper into the air with surprise. Peter however was trying, and failing, to hold back his enjoyment. He was a wizard, this was real, and he was going to go to a magic school.

After a few moments of shocked silence, Mr. Pettigrew asked the stranger "Can my son really do that?"

"With a bit of training, yes he can. He is a wizard after all." The man replied. The parents of this seemingly unextraodinary boy looked at him in bewilderment.

"I guess he has to go then." His father said and Peter pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.