(A/N - So this is my first try at a James/Lily fic and coincidently also my first shot at a chapter fic. I know this is a bit short, its just a little intro. Enjoy!)

Disclaimer: Sadly the brilliant characters created by J.K. Rowling are not mine as I am not her. I merely dabble in her world.

Chapter One – Return to Hogwarts

September 5th1977

James Michael Potter

James Potter had enjoyed a relatively peaceful summer after the explosion that had been the end of his Sixth Year at Hogwarts. Of course, nothing was ever completely peaceful when Sirius Black shared your house. The young man took his glasses off and gently pinched his nose, the memory of his final day last year was still seared painfully in his mind. This summer along with his good friends Remus and Rhiannon (who were

also both of Age) he had spent a good portion of free time erasing the evidence of their friendship with one Peter Pettigrew.

Meaning that they spent most of their summer re-charming the Marauders' Map to disregard Wormtail and include as 'Esteemed Consultants' Rhiannon and recently Lily and Kya. James allowed himself to smile at this last thought. Lily had finally agreed to give him a chance, just after Easter break and they hadn't looked back since. As a result her best friend Kya had also become a close friend of the Marauders. Rhiannon, of course, had already been spending time with them due to Sirius being her boyfriend of now one year.

Pausing momentarily in his walking, James took in his surroundings and realised that his feet had conveniently carried him to Platform 9 ¾. He grinned as he saw Lily climbing aboard the Hogwarts Express and all thoughts of Peter and the summer vanished.

"Hello my Flower!" James called out across the platform.

Lily Esme Evans

It was hard still sometimes for Lily Evans to comprehend that James Potter wasn't really all that bad. Not only had their first date gone well their relationship had come leaps and bounds since Easter and showed no signs of going back, even her friends got along with the Marauders well. Rhi was a given, but Kya had taken to Remus like a duck to water. She allowed herself a smile at the thought of the quiet, shy Gryffindor coming out of her shell with the Pranksters help. What she couldn't believe is how Peter, no, Lily mentally corrected herself, Pettigrew, had treated the boys.

Shaking her head to erase the thoughts Lily focused on the summer and how the three boys had introduced the girls to their most sacred secrets and had helped them achieve the Animagus transformation. She had been very humbled by being made privy to the truth behind the nicknames and the noble cause behind the illegal activities they had now become a part of. All of them had sworn on their magic to keep the truth safe. Her form took that of a Bengal Tiger, prompting James to begin calling her Tiger-Lily (something that she was no impartial to at all). Her formal codename was Flame, named as such for the way her stripes looked like fire. Her two best friends had also achieved the transformation; Rhi becoming an ebony Fox that Sirius named Blink for its ability to be there one minute and gone the next and Kya, to everyone's surprise, changed into a bird of prey, a snow white Kite they decided to call Spiral for the way Kya clumsily landed on her first flight.

"Hello my Flower!" Lily paused just as she was boarding the train at the sound of her boyfriend's voice."How is my beautiful girl?"

"James Michael Potter you call me Flower one more time and you'll be looking for a new girl" she snapped playfully

"Ah of course Tiger-Lily" he winked back at her, he swished his wand levitating their trunks before lowering his voice, "lead on my Flower."

"Bloody prat." Lily muttered

"What was that dear?" James called forward

"You heard me!" came the amused reply

Sirius Orion Black

Sirius Black usually spent his holidays at the Potter's where he was far more welcome than in his family ancestral home 'Grimmauld Place'. However, his Mother had forcibly and loudly demanded he spend the week prior to returning to Hogwarts at home due to his Father's failing health and a wish to (again) get him to 'see the light' and ditch his traitor friends and half-breed filth that he spent his time with. Not that it had done her any good. Sirius was quite fond of those traitors and half-breeds. But there was one person who was the real traitor. Peter Pettigrew. That filthy, disgusting, insert lots of horrible adjectives here, rat.

After everything he, Remus and James had done for that pathetic excuse for a wizard. They caught him with Snivillus. Not being bullied and not jinxing him. No. They were talking calmly. Then James had spotted a black shadow on his arm. Peter was always careless, talking too loudly in common areas and the like. Well that shadow was enough for James to burst into action; he couldn't abide the Dark Arts. Sure enough featuring on Pettigrew's arm was Voldemort's mark. All hell had broken loose; quite literally, James had flung every curse he could think of towards the seemingly mismatched duo. It didn't take Sirius long to join the barrage and it took all of Lily and Remus' effort to draw them to a stop. They'd all vowed then and there that they would put a stop to Voldemort and Pettigrew would rue the day he betrayed the Light. It was all a bit dramatic in retrospect.

Letting out a growl of frustration at how stupid the entire thing was he passed through the barrier on to his platform. Immediately he spotted James at the far end following a flash of red hair. An ecstatic expression filled his face as he cupped his hands and bellowed.

"OY PRONGSIE!"

Rhiannon Millicent Emrys

Rhiannon Emrys, who invariably preferred 'Rhi', had been leaning against the wall near the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ for nearly half an hour waiting for her boyfriend to come through. Why boys always left it until the last minute to arrive she would never understand. Finally she saw Sirius walk through the barrier and watched in amusement as dropped his trunk, cupped his hands and bellowed across the platform, "OY PRONGSIE!" Trust Sirius to spot Potter first. Rolling her eyes she pushed herself off the wall and meandered up to him.

"Oy Black, way to say hi to your friends before your girl." She smirked up at him

Turning to her with a stunned look on his face, Sirius rushed forward to plant a kiss on her lips. As he did so, Rhi thought idly that now he was paying her attention. But after being his girlfriend for a year or so she had learned all about Sirius Black's quirks and the like. Whilst Lily had been incredibly upset with her at the time Rhi had stood by her decision and was very happy with Sirius. Coming from a pureblood family herself, her parents knew very well the Black's reputation and were not initially comfortable with her choice of partner, but after meeting him (and after Rhiannon screamed at them for being prejudiced hypocrites) they have him a shot and actually got along well with the buggar.

"My darling Rhiannon, naturally I was only teasing you!" he said as he pulled away from the kiss.

Swiftly she raised a knee so it was resting against his crotch, "Call me Rhiannon again and you'll be singing soprano boyo."

With a wink she flounced off in the direction of Lily and James, who had paused at Sirius' outburst earlier; and naturally Sirius followed her with a guiltily amused expression on his face.

Remus John Lupin

Remus Lupin had already boarded the Hogwarts Express and was waiting in their usual compartment for his fellow Marauders and the girls too now, he supposed. His nose was buried in the newest edition of 'Hogwarts: A History' and he was amusing himself by mentally correcting some errors that the author had made about the topography of the Castle and the grounds.

As far as summers went this one hadn't been too bad. Although he still had to undergo the werewolf change, his last one before school started back had been his least painful ever. The additional animals that the wolf recognised as pack-mates had made the transition smoother and he hadn't once tried to attack himself. His parents (more specifically his Father) had happily paid for an apartment for him once he'd turned seventeen and was considered an adult in the magical world. His Mother promised to visit, but he knew that whilst his Dad may have been able to handle a magical wife and child, a werewolf was the limit. He wasn't a cruel man; he was just in over his head.

He tilted his head to the side and smirked. There was a ruckus down the corridor and it was unmistakeably Lily and James bantering again; an obnoxiously loud Sirius who would no doubt be confronted by an amused Rhi interrupted their banter. His friends would soon be here.

Kya Jane Evernight

Bickering with her parents was not exactly how she had wanted to start the new school year, again. They were way overprotective! It took forever to get them to let her go to her friends over the summer, despite the fact that the Potter's had one of the best warded estates in the wizarding world.

"Kya Jane are you paying attention to what I am saying?" came the sound of her Mother's grating voice

"Yes Mother." She drawled back, it was becoming a standard answer. She saw someone she vaguely recognised from Hufflepuff boarding and took her chance, "Well Mum, Dad, there's one of my friends now I'm gonna go catch up with them kay? Don't worry I'll write when I'm settled in. Alright bye!"

And with that Kya ran off before her parents had the chance to react. Now all she had to do was drag her trunk all the way down to the opposite end of the train to where the Marauder's compartment was and where her two best friends and a certain sandy haired boy would be. About half way down the train she heard a shout come from outside and guessed that that was probably one of the people she was seeking. No one but her friends and the boys could possibly be that loud AND disruptive at once. Smiling she continued her journey.

(A/N - et voila! stay tuned for the train journey. Feel free to let me know what you think)