The Marauders Meet
"Are you sure you have everything, darling?" Lily gave her parents a nervous nod. She noticed that the platform was huge – looking around, she couldn't spot a single familiar face. That made it only seem bigger.
"Alright… well, don't forget to write every week!" Her mom forced a warm smile, gently pushing Lily's fiery red hair behind her ears.
"We'll all miss you so much," said her dad. "Tuney too." Her sister Petunia had refused to get out of the car. Petunia hated everything about magic: curses, hexes, jinxes, charms, potions, all of it. It was all so...abnormal! Unnatural, even. A blessing, Petunia thought, that she hadn't gotten a letter from Hogwarts like her poor, cursed sister Lily.
"I'll miss you too. Even Tuney." And for the first time on the platform, a genuine smile flickered across Lilly's face. She gave her parents one last hug, steeled herself, and headed towards the train.
Sirius Black sat down in the first open compartment he could find, his father's voice still ringing in his ears. I'm a Slytherin, I'm a Slytherin, I'm a Slytherin, he thought to himself. Everyone in Sirius' family had gone to Hogwarts, and they had all been in the Slytherin House, going as far back as they had records of. His father would be very disappointed if he ended up anywhere else, especially Gryffindor. He stared pensively out the window.
About a minute had gone by when his compartment door was thrown open. A tall, messy-haired, and clearly panicked boy of about his age rushed inside and sat down next to him. All in one breath, he said, "HiI'mJamesI'mafirstyearareyouafirstyeartellmelaterI'vebeenherethewholetimeokay?!"
Sirius didn't even get a chance to respond.
"WHO DID THIS?!" A blonde, much older boy stormed into the car. Sirius was surprised to see that he had already changed into his robes, but even more surprised that his robes were a bright, hot pink. He was not happy.
Fuming, he caught James' eye. Sirius shrank back into his seat.
"You! Think this is funny, do you?" Sirius was terrified, but any trace of James' panic was gone. Instead, he looked up at the boy, innocent as he could, and said, "No, sir, nothing's funny at all about someone being so upset, sir, nothing at all. 'Specially not concerning a man as magnificent as yourself."
"I AM A PREFECT!" he roared. "How dare you! I'll have you expelled before this train ever reaches Hogwarts!" James didn't crack.
"Are you talking about the, erm, exuberant, state of your robes? Because, and far be it from me to contradict a PREFECT -" he flashed a winning smile - "but I think, I think, that you may have just left a red sock in the wash…." Sirius couldn't help but like James. Seeing that the Prefect was about to make good on his threat, he swallowed his fear.
"Excuse me, but my friend here, if you're accusing him of anything, he's been here with me the whole time, sir. He can't have done anything to your robes, why would he?"
The Prefect looked him over, contemptuous as ever. He knew he couldn't really expel either of them without proof.
"The two of you better pray that you don't end up in my house. I've got my eye on you both… nobody gets the best of Lucius Malfoy." And he stormed off, in a brilliant pink blaze.
"You were brilliant!" James turned to Sirius, his whole body relaxed. "Couldn't have done a better job myself!" Sirius smiled softly.
"You're welcome," Sirius said. "But I have to ask… I mean, we haven't even left the platform yet… why did you do that?"
"He was going on about the 'Mudblood plague,' what it's doing to Hogwarts… he called this one girl a Mudblood the second she got on the train, and she looked nervous to begin with. Said it was humiliating to study alongside them. I wanted him to feel a little bit of real humiliation, that's all." Then and there Sirius knew that they were going to become friends.
"By the way, you didn't happen to see if that girl came through here, did you? Bright red hair, kind of cute…."
Lily settled on a compartment at the opposite end of the train, where she spotted her one and only friend in the wizarding world. Severus was a small, thin boy, with dark hair and narrow eyes. Lily had met him two years before - he had been the only one who understood how she felt once she got her letter from Hogwarts. He seemed to her to be in a foul mood, but he smiled when he saw her.
"Lily! Did you hear about the mess in the other car? Some first-year idiot decided to play a prank on a PREFECT, already broken a dozen school rules…." She was just happy to see him.
As they talked, the train left the platform.