Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: For those of you who have already read this, I had to change the beginning. I got rid of the first chapter and changed the beginning of this chapter. It just wasn't working for me the way it was and I felt that it really needed to be fixed. Sorry, and I hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 1: The New Girl in Town

-Brianna POV-

Oh Hogwarts, dear Hogwarts! How I've missed you!

It's true, I really have! I mean, I haven't missed homework or classes. I'll probably be ready to head back home after a week. But still, I've actually missed the place. Plus, it's so great to finally see my friends again. You know, the ones I haven't seen all summer. Lily and I never met up with any of them. I guess there was a lot of excitement, what with going to St. Mungo's and all.

The train ride wasn't all that eventful.

Except for the fact that we shared a compartment with James and his friends. I don't think that's ever happened in all my years at Hogwarts! One reason being that Lily hates my brother. I gave up hope after the fiasco at the end of last year, after OWLs, that this would ever change. However, Lily stayed at my house this summer and James somehow managed to deflate his oversized ego (which is not as oversized as Sirius'). About halfway through the summer they started to get along. Now they're actually becoming friends. It's really strange. It feels as though I've entered another dimension. It is nice, though, to have my best friend and my brother finally get along.

Oh! Also, Stella's coming to Hogwarts this year!

Stella is our cousin. She just moved here from France. She grew up in England. My uncle (her dad) is brothers with my dad. A while back, almost right before we started at Hogwarts, Uncle Bert (his name's Hubert, but he hates it, so we call him Bert) got a job as English Ambassador to France's Ministry of Magic. They all moved to France, where Stella's mom is from. So she ended up going to Beauxbatons. We found out that they were moving back to England just a few weeks ago. Mum told us at breakfast one day.

James and I were really excited. James made a high-pitched shriek that sounded like a girl. We were all enthusiastic about it, and then Sirius goes, "Yes! This is going to be SO great!" We just looked at him like he was a freak. Because he was…is.

"You don't even know who Stella is," James accused him.

"I know. I just wanted to be included in the excitement," Sirius answered.

See, we used to be so close with Stella. The three of us did everything together. This was before school, so we didn't really have any other friends outside our family. We haven't seen them since they moved to France. Well, we've seen Uncle Bert who occasionally would come to England for diplomatic business stuff. But we haven't seen Stella since then.

Here's the problem: Stella has really changed. She's a completely different person. When we were younger the three of us would get up to so much trouble. We had so much fun. Now she's all proper and boring. She speaks all properly and acts all polite. She looked scandalized when James suggested an end of the summer prank. Her family came over for dinner last night. That was the first time we saw them.

Everyone loves her. I mean, she's nice and all, but I don't really see why everyone thinks she's so great. James and I are the only ones who aren't so thrilled. We were really disappointed. Sirius was also disappointed. After we'd gone on about her so much, he was actually excited. After spending an hour in her presence he pulled us aside and asked if we were insane. That's rich! Sirius asking me if I'm insane. Sirius asking anyone if they're insane is really, well…insane.

Oh, well. She is family, after all. I do love all my family. Even the boring ones.

Speaking of which, I should go save my friends from being bored to death by her.

I shouldn't say something so mean about my own cousin. Lily would not approve.

-No POV-

"Look, James, you can't deny that the Cannons are the best in the league this year," Sirius reasoned with his friend, trying to distract him long enough to move his king out of danger. James always beat him in Wizards Chess and he was determined to win this game.

"Really?" James frowned. "We all know that the – "

"Hiya!" A small black figure jumped up in front of the two boys, causing James to curse and Sirius to knock over the board.

"James! That language is not appropriate in front of the younger students," Abbey Hewitt, a sixth year, admonished as she walked up to them.

James snorted. "Since when do you care about cursing?"

"Since you decided to do it in front of my little sister," Abbey answered, gesturing to the figure next to her, who didn't seem to be able to stand in one place.

"Well, aren't you just a bundle of joy," Sirius grinned at the girl. She grinned back.

"James, I'd like you to meet by sister, Macy," Abbey said. Abbey smiled widely.

Sirius stared at the two of them, "James, I think I'm seeing double."

"Macy's a right good quidditch player and she's trying out for the team," Abbey told James proudly. Macy hopped from one foot to the other, still grinning.

"I think I've been transported back in time," Sirius frowned, shaking his head as he stared at Macy.

"Look, kid," James said to the girl, "I'm sorry, but first years aren't allowed to play quidditch. Maybe next year."

"She's a second year, James," Abbey's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, well you have to be in Gryffindor to try out for our team. You know that, Abbey," James replied.

"Really! She is in Gryffindor!" Abbey rolled her eyes. "Honestly, James."

"I don't see how," Sirius said, "She seems pretty difficult not to notice."

James eyed the tiny figured with uncertainty. "Really? Well, okay then. But there's only one spot, and you're a tad on the small, so don't get your hopes up."

"You were much smaller than her when you made the quidditch team," Abbey argued.

"Was not," James shot back. Abbey rolled her eyes and said nothing.

"Okay, little one, on your way," Sirius uncomfortably gave her a small nudge on her back. Macy gave James a thumbs up and a "See you Saturday," then hurried off to her small, giggling group of friends.

"So, James, congrats on the captaincy," Abbey grinned, giving him a friendly punch in the arm.

"Ow, Abs, that hurt," James rubbed his arm. "Look, I'm sorry you didn't get it, I know that you're really dedicated to the team and – "

Abbey laughed. "James, I'm so glad I didn't get it. I love quidditch but I could never boss people around or manage a team. There's a reason you got the position."

"Anyway, I have homework to do. See you James, Sirius," she trilled, giving Sirius the same friend punch in the arm she'd given James. Sirius frowned. "That hurt, Hewitt!"

"Wimp," Brianna said, walking by.

"That girl has quite the punch," James said. "She must put all that energy she has into it."

"Hey, Bria, did you know that Hewitt has a little sister?" Sirius asked, wide-eyed.

Brianna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Abbey is my friend, after all. Besides, Macy's been here a whole year. She's kind of hard not to notice."

Remus, who was sitting nearby, chuckled. "Aw, hiya Moony!" Sirius imitated Abbey by punching Remus in the arm.

"SIRIUS!"

THE MARAUDER'S GUIDE TO BEING A MARAUDER

Rules of Marauder Friendship

1. Never, ever betray one of your fellow Marauders.

2. Never tell any of the Marauder secrets to anyone, (ie: Remus' furry little problem and circumstances around it…Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, a certain cloak and map). The only exceptions to this rule are if those affected give their consent to tell a certain person.

3. Never steal another Marauder's girlfriend or love interest (ie: LILY EVANS!!!!!!)

4. Never get a fellow Marauder in trouble or tell other's of a prank they may or may not have done.

5. Speaking of which, never prank a fellow Marauder, (exceptions to this rule may occur often).

6. Never befriend a Slytherin, unless by some miracle they are deemed worthy by all Marauders (a miracle that could only possibly happen in another dimension). Especially no association with the following: Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, Narcissa Black, Regulus Black, basically any relative of Sirius' who is in Slytherin. We really hate those.

7. Back to the pranking, NEVER prank Lily Evans, unless you are James Potter or you have his permission (which will be very rare, probably non-existent).

8. Never date James' sister, Brianna Potter. James will not tolerate it. (Being the protective, not-older git he is. Just kidding, he's not a git.)

9. Never call James Potter or any other Marauder a git or any other offensive name, (except for when they deserve it, ie: when Sirius is being a major prat…take that!!!)

10. Forgive and Forget (Unless it is really unforgivable).

The breaking of any of these rules will result in the immediate removal of your status of a Marauder. Exceptions are as follows:

Breaking rules 5, 9, or 10 will have no consequences (though breaking 5 may result in a temporary suspension from the Marauder group, if it is deemed serious enough).

Breaking rules 4 and 7 will only result in a temporary suspension from the Marauder group, as well as a short period of shunning.

Rules may be added or detracted from this list with the agreement of ALL of the Marauders.

-Stella POV-

Being a new student is shit. That's right, Stella Potter just said shit. It's true, though. I had friends. I had a school where I fit in. That had not come easy. When I first began at Beauxbatons I was an outsider. I had spent my days causing trouble with my cousins and best friends, James and Brianna Potter. I worked very hard to learn to fit in with a group of people who were whole worlds apart from me. Now the irony is I no longer fit in a world in which I would have once belonged without any effort at all.

I walk into Charms class. The only empty seat is next to James' friend, Sirius Black. I hesitate. Of all of James and Brianna's friends, Sirius does not seem to like me all that much. However, I don't have any other choices so I head for the seat. As I sit down I look over at Sirius. He is wearing a grin and looking at a spot across the room. I follow his line of sight to see a student, I think his name is Snape, swatting at something above his head.

"Hello, Sirius," I say with a smile. If I want to fit in, I might as well start trying.

Sirius just sort of grunts and nods his head a little, not taking his eyes away from Snape. I sigh and begin taking out my books. What's one student, really?

"Psst, Stella," comes a voice from behind me. I turned to see Alice smiling at me. "You don't happen to have an extra quill I could borrow, do you?"

"Oh, sure," I say. I rifle through my bag and find a quill. I always knew there was a good reason to be over prepared. I turn around and hand her the quill.

"Thanks. Remus here didn't think to bring more than one quill with him to classes," Alice grins. Remus smiles as well.

"I don't know what I was thinking, not bringing extra supplies just in case Alice might have forgotten hers," Remus jokes. I laugh at them. Sirius' head whips around.

"What was that Moony? What's the joke?" he asks with enthusiasm. Alice rolls her eyes.

"Nothing, Sirius," Remus says. Sirius' shoulders sag and he turns back towards Snape. I'm pretty sure I see a slight flick of his wand in that direction.

"I think you'll find that Sirius finds the need to be involved in everything," Remus tells me quietly. Except anything that involves me, of course. It shouldn't bother me, the approval of one person, but it kind of does.

Alice laughs at what Remus said. Sirius' head whips around again. His eyes narrow. "There's obviously something funny going on. Why won't you just tell me?" Sirius whines.

Remus shakes his head. "Oh, Stella was just making a joke about something that happened in Arithmancy yesterday. You really had to be there to understand."

Sirius turns to me. "Hmmm. Stella didn't strike me as the joke-telling type." Then he turns to get James' attention, who is sitting in front of him.

"Don't let him bother you," Alice leans forward to whisper, reading the expression on my face. "That's just how Sirius is."

Professor Flitwick walks in at this moment, ending the conversation.

-Brianna POV-

I'm sitting in the library. I know, why would I ever dream of coming to the library? Lily dragged me here. Then she decided to ditch me. Unfortunately I can't just leave because she's just in the Restricted Section and she could be back any minute. I look unhappily down at my work. This isn't due until next week.

I look up as someone takes a seat beside me. Thank Merlin for a distraction. It's Stella. I'm really hoping she's not here to do work.

"So, what's up with Sirius?" Stella asks me after a few minutes.

"You mean other than the fact that he's a major prat?" I ask, grinning. Stella laughs. I made her laugh, one point for Brianna!

"It's just that…he hasn't really been very friendly," she says. "I tried to talk to him but he didn't seem interested at all."

"Stella, don't worry about him. Honestly. Like I said, he can be a right git when he wants to," I tell her. I am so going to beat on Sirius for being mean to my cousin. I know I've said she's boring, but she is my cousin. Plus, she's sweet.

"I thought you were friends with him," Stella frowns.

I laugh. "Even if I am friends with him it doesn't change the way he acts sometimes. I have to fight the urge to punch him every other day." I can see the corners of Stella's lips tugging upward. This is great. Stella and I are bonding.

"Who do you fight the urge to punch every other day?" I hear a familiar voice ask. I look up as Remus takes a seat across from us and puts his books on the table.

"I'll give you one guess," I raise my eyebrows.

"Probably Sirius," Remus grins. Remus has the most infectious smile. You can't help but smile whenever Remus does. "What's he been doing this time?"

"It's what he hasn't been doing," I say. "He hasn't been nice to Stella at all."

"Why? What did he say to you?" Remus frowns.

"He hasn't been mean to me or anything," Stella is blushing now. "He just…he just doesn't really seem to like me, that's all. It's not a big deal."

"Don't worry, Stella, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," I assure her. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be very reassuring to her.

"Please don't say anything about it," Stella pleads. "I don't want him to think I…just don't say anything. It's really not important."

I sigh. "Okay, fine."

"Thanks," Stella smiles. "I have to go. I promised James I'd help him with our assignment for Transfiguration. For some reason he refused to come to the library to do it."

Remus and I just laugh. After she leaves, I turn to Remus. "I'm talking to Sirius and you have to come with me. He'll listen to you."

Remus frowns. "You just promised her you wouldn't say anything."

"Well, I lied. Look," I add, seeing his disapproval, "I won't tell him that she said anything to me. We'll just tell him that it's something we've noticed. She's my cousin, I have to help her fit in and get settled and all."

Remus' shoulders sag in defeat at my pleading expression. I have mastered the art of convincing people to do things with my facial expressions. I think it's a Potter gift. Except James obviously has not mastered it as well as I have, as he can still not convince Lily to go out with him.

"Fine, I'll talk to him with you," Remus says, "But I want it on the record that I still don't think we should."

"Okay, I've made a note in my mind, 'Remus does not think we should talk to Sirius after Stella asked us not to. He is doing this against his better judgment. As good as his judgment usually is, it's wrong in this instance and I therefore have no worries about going against it.' Happy?"

Remus rolls his eyes. "Sometimes you are just as weird as James, you know that?" Ignoring my outrage, he pulls out some parchments. "So, what are you working on?"

"Oh, I'm not doing any – " All of a sudden Lily has appeared out of nowhere. "I'm not doing anything except for this wonderful essay that Slughorn gave us. I love finishing work that isn't due for a whole week," I say enthusiastically. Remus looks at me as though I've finally gone crazy.

"Well, you haven't gotten very much finished," Lily looks pointedly at my blank parchment. Remus notices Lily and I can tell he now understands why I would say such out of character things.

"Lily, I was just reading about the topic. I want to have a full understanding on the subject before I begin to write," I pull one of Remus' books closer to me as I say this.

"You were reading about Potions from 'A History of Magic?'" Lily asks skeptically.

Think fast, Brianna! "Yeah, I thought I'd get an historical perspective. Anyway, Remus and I have to get going. We have some important business to deal with." I shove all my things into my bag and look at Remus.

"Now? I was hoping to get some work done first. Can't we do that la – " I interrupt him by grabbing his arm.

"Come on, Remus. We have to go now," I pull him away from the table, where his books are still laying. I know that Lily will get them for him. Once we leave the library I let go. "Look, I'm sorry, but sometimes you have to help out a friend in need. I couldn't stand another minute in that place." Remus snorts, but doesn't say anything.

"Remus, you know, snorting is very unattractive."

-Sirius POV-

So, I'm just sitting in the common room, innocently minding my own business when I'm approached by an angry looking Brianna and a resigned looking Remus. That's right, I know words like 'resigned'. Let me just tell you one thing: an angry Brianna is never a good thing. Especially when that anger is aimed towards me.

"Sirius, we need to talk," she says, taking a seat at the table I'm at.

"Look, Bria, I don't really have time right now. I'm trying to get some work done here," I say. I try to sound impatient and hope this succeeds in getting her to leave.

"Really?" she raises an eyebrow skeptically. She grabs my school-book, opens it, and out falls the quidditch magazine I was looking at. Shit. "This is the homework you were working on?"

"Um, no, I don't know how – " I begin, but am rudely interrupted.

"Honestly, Sirius, I don't have time for this," Brianna says.

"I actually really don't have time for this," Remus adds. Neither of us acknowledge him.

Brianna looks at me. Straight in the eyes. It's kind of intimidating. "Sirius, you need to be nice to Stella."

Excuse me? When was I not nice to Stella? I've barely even had enough conversation with her to not be nice. "I haven't been mean to Stella! What are you on about?"

"You haven't been mean, maybe, but you haven't been very nice either," Brianna accuses. I swear, this girl is crazy. I've been saying it for years and no one ever listened.

"Bri, sweets, I have been perfectly nice to her. Besides, I've barely spoken two words to her. What harm could I have done in that little time?"

Oh, she's starting to look scary. "Sirius, do not call me 'sweets', okay?" I grin. Now I know exactly what I'm going to call her from now on. Doesn't she realize that when she tells me not to do something she gives me the perfect ammunition to use against her? "And, that's exactly the problem. You don't say anything to her. You barely acknowledge her existence."

"What, I'm supposed to be friends with her now?" I ask. Really! I haven't done anything wrong. Besides, who is Brianna to tell me who I have to be friends with?

"No, you don't have to be friends with her, you just have to be friendly," Brianna answers.

This is insane. What did I do to deserve this? "I don't get it."

"Look, Sirius," Remus speaks up, "she is James and Brianna's cousin, and she's new. It can't be very easy being the new girl around a bunch of people who've known each other for five years."

"Sirius, it's pretty simple," Brianna adds. "When Stella says 'Hello, Sirius' you say 'Hello Stella, how are you?' and she'll say 'I'm good, and you?' and you'll say 'I'm doing well, thanks' and that's all that you have to do."

"But, Brianna – " Again I'm interrupted. Did anyone ever tell her it's rude to interrupt?

Brianna grabs the front of my shirt. She looks really angry. "Sirius, you listen to me," Okay, this is really scary. I'm mean, this is nightmare scary. "You will be nice to my cousin. You are going to be friendly, you are going to talk to her, you will act in a way so that there is no doubt in her mind that you don't dislike her." I never knew that Brianna could be this scary. She's inches from my face and her expression is something I don't think I can ever erase from my mind. I think she's going to kill me. "I don't care if you're nice to Lily, Marlene, Alice, or any of my other friends. I don't care who you're nice to. But you WILL be nice to Stella. And, if you're not, I will beat you."

I gulp. I have no words. It's all I can do not to start trembling in my seat. I'm officially freaked out. I never knew that she could be that – a grin forms on my face. She's going to beat me? Really? That speech was beyond freaky, but she ruined it with the end. Now that I think of the ridiculousness of it I can't take her seriously anymore.

"Brianna, honestly, you couldn't hurt me if you tried," I tell her.

"Yes, I could," She answers. Her expression, if possible, is even scarier. It doesn't bother me, however, because she completely ruined the effect with that statement.

"Let's be real. You could try, but I doubt you could even leave me with a bruise," I say. This is great!

"Trust me, I could leave you with more than a bruise. I could break your nose right now if I wanted to," she says.

Ha! "Really?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"Really," she answers.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Are you sure? Because I could do it right now."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Try right now to break my nose. Do it," I challenge. This is beyond priceless.

Brianna looks me in the eyes. "You honestly want me, right now, to try and break your nose?"

"I honestly want you to. Because I know that you can't."

Her eyes narrow a little. "You're positive. You are absolutely sure that you want me to see if I can break your nose. Right now. You want me to actually try to break your nose?"

"I already said I did, just get on with it." I wish James were here. This is the greatest. This girl actually thinks she can break my nose. I doubt I'll be able to feel more than a little sting. I'm willing to deal with a little sting. I can't pass up such a hilarious opportunity as this.

"Okay. I just want to make sure, so that you can't blame me after I break your nose," Brianna says. I laugh.

"Come on, you two," Remus says, "You're not actually going to do this?"

"Remus, he said he wants me to try and break his nose."

"Yeah. Besides, don't worry, it's not like she could even hurt a first year," I reason with him.

Brianna turns to Remus. "I want it on the record that Sirius Black asked me to try to break his nose."

"What's the record?" I ask. Honestly, what is she going on about?

"Write it down, Remus," she says. Remus just stands there, looking irritated with the two of us. "I'm serious, write it down right now so that I have proof."

"No, actually I'm – " I begin, but her hold on the front of my shirt tightens, so I stop. I personally think it's a great joke. Remus sighs, rolls his eyes, and grabs a parchment and quill. Bria dictates to him. When he's finished writing, he turns back to us. "Are you happy?"

"Yep," Brianna grins. Then she pulls back her hand. Her fist is coming towards my face. Haha, I can't believe she thinks –

CRACK!

SHIT!

A/N: I know that the Marauders Guide might seem a little random and out of place right now, but it is important to the story later on.

Also, I would really love some reviews!!!