The drowsy summer day was drifting slowly into dusk around the quiet countryside and the large houses, each standing impressively on its own hill. Smoke furled from the chimneys even in the sweltering July heat, and one particular house, with a meticulously cut lawn and its face overgrown with ivy, stood sagging in the last rays of day. The sunlight poured into the large open windows and covered the lavishly furnished interior with a golden glow. For all purposes, it looked like a well to do home, with quiet, properly manned people living there, and nothing outwardly to suggest that this family was different.
The noise inside the house was inviting, glasses clinking and laughter spilling out into the summer air. Many ladies rustled about in fine dresses, jewels dripping from their ears and necks, talking breathlessly over their wine. A boisterous group of older men were grunting at each other and bellowing out their disapprovals jovially at each other's comments. The great bell rang loudly and a pretty woman with dark hair floated to the entrance, still laughing. A most peculiar creature had just disappeared behind the great oak door after struggling to open it, poking out a long nose and bat-like ears from the shadow.
Three people entered the house, a man a woman and a young boy, about eleven. The woman who had come to the door forced a most convincing smile at them, which they did not return in full. The man was tall and stern-looking, with jet black hair that was clipped neatly to his head. He wore a dark cloak with a silver clasp and had an air of contempt about him. The woman was equally tall, and terribly slender, with her black hair tied tightly back to the nape of her neck.
"Mr. and Mrs. Black. How good you could come!" The woman said with as much sincerity as she could manage.
"Of course," Mr. Black replied stiffly, but with a courteous nod of his head. "I hope you don't mind that we brought our son, Sirius." He said dryly, motioning to the boy who was standing, looking fixedly at the door.
"No, not at all," she replied. "Perhaps I could introduce him to my son. I believe they are going to be in the same year at Hogwarts. If you'd like, I'll show him upstairs while you two join the party."
The Blacks replied with identical nods before sweeping away without a glance back. The boy was standing with his hands in his pockets. He had the same dark hair as his parents, with slate gray eyes. He was tall, and was already quite good looking. The woman smiled at him.
"Sirius, I'm Mrs. Potter. Come, I'll introduce you to my son, James. You'll be a first year this year?"
Sirius nodded and followed her up the grand staircase, "yes, I just got my letter."
Mrs. Potter swept elegantly through the long narrow halls, Sirius trailing behind, his face set in a most dejected expression. There was a series of loud bangs coming from the room at the farthest end of the passageway, and Sirius perked up slightly in curiosity. Mrs. Potter knocked loudly on the door when they finally reached it, and they could hear scrambling on the other side before the door snapped open and a boy about Sirius' age poked his head out. He had jet black hair that stuck up in odd places and dark brown eyes that glittered from behind thin rimmed glasses.
"Yes?" he asked innocently, looking at his mother.
"I don't really care to know what you're doing in there, James," said Mrs. Potter shaking her head exasperatedly, "but I want to introduce you to Sirius. He'll be in first year too. Perhaps you two can find something to do that doesn't involve blowing up toilets?"
James looked at Sirius curiously, tilting his head slightly to the side. He studied him for only a second before nodding and smiling.
"Okay, sounds good. Bye Mum," he said, still not opening his door all the way until his mother had swept away back down the hall. He watched her disappear before motioning Sirius in and shutting the door again.
The room was fairly sized, but clutter was everywhere. The walls were covered in posters of famous Quidditch players, all flying around on broomsticks, swooping back and forth between their neighbor's poster and their own. A broom was leaning against the wall, and several frogs croaked in a glass tank on the dresser which was littered with playing cards. There were candy wrappers over everything, and a trunk was lying open with books hanging halfway out and half way in, as well as strewn across the floor. Sirius looked around himself, smiling slightly. Somehow, the mess seemed to liberate him, and he turned to the other boy.
"So, were you blowing up toilets in here?" he asked curiously.
James laughed slightly, shaking his head.
"No, Mum just always thinks that's what I'm doing because…well, it only happened once, but you know parents, always suspicious."
He leaned down beside his bed and reached under it, pulling out an assorted pile of junk and scattering it over the floor. Sirius bent down and picked up a wand that had rolled toward him and looked over the rest of the items. There was a large assortment of different Fillibuster's Fireworks, some of which had been dismantled and their different parts put in separate containers. Sirius could just make out several diagrams scribbled messily on a piece of parchment.
"What is all this?" he asked, intrigued.
"Well, it's been a rather boring summer, you know, waiting for the letter, then after you've got the letter waiting to go to Hogwarts," James said matter-of-factly. "So, I've gotten an idea to make these fireworks go off with a bit more bang."
He grinned proudly while Sirius picked up a massive firework that looked to have the parts of at least five normal sized ones.
"And I've also been trying to add to them, you know, like a message to appear in the smoke," he frowned and scratched his head, messing up his hair further, "but it's a bit complicated, and I can't do any real magic or else someone will get suspicious."
"Brilliant," Sirius breathed, turning the firework in his hand.
He grinned slowly, his eyes glittering. This was the kind of mischief he longed for. James had picked up another firework and was beginning to take it apart.
"So, your parents dragged you along tonight?" James asked as he poured the contents of the firework into one of the containers.
"Yeah, but of course my brother got to stay at my aunt's," Sirius said, sitting down and glaring slightly.
James nodded and grinned, "What did you say your last name was?"
"Eh…Black," Sirius mumbled, looking at the firework pointedly, "Sirius Black."
James looked up. He knew the name; all of the old families knew each other's names, and the stereotypes that went with them of course. Sirius knew this too, naturally, and was eager to change the subject. There was a silence in the room for a few seconds, while each boy contemplated the other.
"So, what house do you think you'll be in?" Sirius asked in what seemed like an off-hand way, looking up from the firework defiantly.
James answered without hesitating, "Gryffindor. All of my family has been in it; my dad expects I'll be in it too."
Sirius nodded and thought for a moment. "Well, I hope they're not just going on family lineage. I think I'd drop the whole thing if they told me I was going to be in Slytherin."
He had a rather sour look on his face as he said this, setting the over-sized firework on the floor.James grinned sympathetically. He was beginning to understand Sirius a little better.
"I bet they won't," he said, though he couldn't say it with any certainty. "Hey, maybe we'll both be in Gryffindor. Then you could help me finish these things up, I bet we could sell them and make a fortune."
Sirius grinned appreciatively and nodded before grabbing one of the fireworks and proceeding to dismantle it. He was feeling slightly better about going to Hogwarts, at least there was some hope of escaping his family's lineage there, if nowhere else.