A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews and alerts and everything! I really appreciate it! :)

- Chapter One -

Black Eyes

2nd September, 1976.

Sometimes I think Professor Dumbledore must be awfully lonely in his office every night, with just his thoughts for company. I mean, I don't think he has any family to talk to, though Professor McGonagall seems to be one of his closest friends. Both of my grandfathers had died before Noah and I were born, though I'd like to think that if I could choose a grandfather, it'd be Professor Dumbledore. I just can't imagine being so lonely. My Mum, Dad and Gran don't exactly hang around with me all the time at home because they are usually so busy, but that never bothered me because I always had Noah. We were sort of stuck with each other. But Dumbledore doesn't have a twin brother to rely on, as far as I know. Heck, I don't even know if he has any siblings at all. He's pretty old. My Gran said she had five brothers and two sisters, but now they're all dead, and she's the last one, which is quite sad when you think about it. James is an only child, as is Peter and Remus, but Sirius has a brother.

Which makes me think that it's even sadder to know that, despite having a brother, he still has no one to rely on at home. I think Sirius is much sadder inside than he lets on, too. He acts so confident and brave in front of everyone, and he didn't even flinch when Mulciber the Slytherin purposely bumped into him as hard as he could on our way to the Great Hall. It was only when Sirius saw his younger brother that I saw a kind of look in his eyes. Regulus walked with his Slytherin friends, who snickered when Mulciber hit Sirius. Severus was amongst the group that Regulus walked with. It looked like Regulus was the Leader, and he sent Sirius a smug smirk, holding his head high and striding with great purpose. Sirius's mouth was set in an angry snarl and he was clenching his fists. I imagined what it would be like if Noah and I had been split into different Houses, and what it would be like if we hated each other.

I knew why Sirius hated Severus, even if he didn't know himself. I think he hated Severus because he was everything Sirius's family wanted him to be. A proud Slytherin, with a talent for the Dark Arts. Sirius was neither of those things. He was a Gryffindor, who despised the Dark Arts and hated the Slytherins because they reminded him of what he was not. He was the black sheep of his family, and whenever he saw Severus or his little brother, he was reminded of this. Maybe that's why he bullies him. Plus James doesn't like Severus either, which is another reason to dislike him. As soon as James turned to tell us where we would be sitting, however, Sirius's angry snarl vanished and he focused his attentions on his friends instead. That is when he is truly happy. He puts on a giant grin and it looks like nothing can get him down. And it's the opposite effect on Regulus. Regulus sees Sirius looking so happy with his friends and looks extremely jealous. Even if Regulus is surrounded by a large crowd of supposed friends, I think he's really lonely. Like how I imagine Professor Dumbledore must feel in his office.

James did save me a seat though. In between himself and Remus, with Sirius and Peter sitting across from us. Throughout Dumbledore's entire speech, they made faces and imitated him perfectly. Noah grinned at me, giving me a thumbs up. Apparently my brother feels the need to point out his delight whenever I make any sort of human contact, especially one that can be considered as friendship. Sirius nudged me under the table with his foot, grinning at me when he got my attention. "So, Ellie, you must be feeling pretty lucky!"

"Why would she be feeling lucky?" Remus asked, his brows furrowing. It was only when he lifted his arm to scratch his head that I noticed a row of scratches on his collarbone. They were fresh and red and very raw. Remus has very shabby robes all the time, and he gets ill quite frequently. I guess those robes don't keep the cold out like mine do.

"Because Moony, she is sitting with the Marauders!" Sirius grinned triumphantly. "Few in the history of Hogwarts have been allowed such a privilege!"

"Mm. I wonder how I'm not positively bursting with excitement," I replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling at him.

James scowled. "I wish Lily would sit with us. She acts as if I've asked her to sit with a bunch of trolls or something."

Peter snorted. "That is exactly what it sounds like you're offering."

Remus spluttered with laughter. "He's right, sitting with trolls is the equivalent of sitting with you and Sirius, especially when you're both eating."

"What are you on about Moony, I've already told you we're perfect gentlemen! Nearly half the girls of Hogwarts would give their wands away just to sit with me," Sirius smirked.

"Why do you call him that?" I asked.

"Call him what?" James replied distractedly, craning his head to try and find Lily in the line of Gryffindors beside us.

"Call him Moony," I said.

"Oh, well, if you must know," Sirius began. Remus shot him a Look that seemed to be a warning, but Sirius completely ignored him. "When we were in our second year, we were hanging out in our room and Remus here just stood up and mooned us. Just stood up, turned around and pulled his pants down. Mooned us without any warning whatsoever. I still have nightmares about it."

"What-…" Remus exclaimed, but James hit him in his tummy. Remus glared at him, rubbing his stomach and sighing. "Yes, I did. But it was…an accident."

"You mooned them by accident? It seems a bit cruel to give him the nickname Moony then, doesn't it?" I frowned.

Sirius shrugged. "It's just to remind him to keep his pants on. Our Remus loves to go nude you see, always trying to take his clothes off around us-…"

Remus punched him on the arm. "Shut up, Padfoot."

"Padfoot? Why does Sirius have that nickname?" I asked.

"Merlin, Ellie, you ask a lot of questions," James laughed.

I shut my mouth then. You see, Diary, Noah tells me to stop asking so many questions because they make people uncomfortable. His words, not mine. The Marauders didn't seem too uncomfortable with my questions though. They only made jokes. I'm not sure if Remus really did moon the other Marauders like Sirius says he did, but then why else would they give him such a nickname? I just hope Remus doesn't try to flash his bum at me the next time I see him.

Remus was completely correct about Sirius and James being total trolls when it comes to food, by the way. As soon as the Sorting had ended, and the gorgeously mouth-watering food had appeared, they grabbed almost everything within an arm's reach. I watched – slightly horrified and weirdly fascinated, I must admit – as they swallowed their food whole, barely waiting to chew it first. "You eat like wolves," I said, wincing as Sirius viciously ripped into a chicken leg.

James slurped back his pumpkin juice, sloshing most of it on his robes. He scowled at the stain forming, before he glanced at me. "We just like to finish quickly. We have some things to do, you see."

"Oh really?" Remus smirked, raising a curious eyebrow at James.

"Yup," he grinned back, pulling a small bag from his pocket and placing it carefully on the table. Whatever was in it was wrapped in a pretty dark blue velvet bag with a golden string tying it together. Stupidly, I picked it up before I questioned what it was. "No Eleanor wait-…"

Too late for that. The bag exploded, causing the entire Great Hall to be filled with shrieks and yells as a loud bang rang through the air. I fell backwards onto my bottom, my eyes burning. A great cloud of smoke was billowing from the bag, which James was desperately trying to re-tie. Remus fell beside me, waving a hand in my face. I'm not sure if he was trying to get my attention or trying to wave the smoke away. He put a hand on my shoulder, and I felt as if we were in Potions all over again and my cauldron had just exploded in front of everyone.

"Oh Merlin, her eyes!" Sirius groaned, and he crawled beneath the table to reach us. "Eleanor, are you alright? Can you see us?"

Confused, I asked why I wouldn't be able to.

"Well, you see, your eyes are all blood-shot and you'll probably be bruised tomorrow. Prongs you tosser, why did you take that out now of all times? That was meant for the Slytherins later!" Sirius muttered, helping me stand up. I guess I was the victim of a prank gone wrong. Sometimes I wonder if there is a poltergeist that follows me around and creates these horribly embarrassing situations for me. I bet if there was, it would be Peeves. I bet he watched this entire thing with a bright smile on his face. Or maybe it was my stupidity. Mental note – never pick up an unidentified bag that just came from James Potter's pocket. May result in having two black eyes.

Which is exactly what I have now. Not even one day back at Hogwarts, Diary, and already I'm bruised. Noah was quite angry when he first heard, wondering if James did it on purpose, but he saw the funny side eventually. Noah always does once his anger evaporates. Professor McGonagall didn't find it amusing in the slightest. James was dragged off by his ear, whining about how it wasn't his fault and how he had no clue how the bag even got there. Even Professor Dumbledore came to our table, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder like Remus did and asking if I were alright. Which is why I think he'd make such a fantastic grandfather. I bet he wouldn't dance in his nightie on our front lawn or make our postman cry like our Gran did.

Severus told me I was stupid for hanging around the Marauders, and that my two new shiny black eyes proved it. "Honestly, Eleanor" – Severus never calls me Ellie unless he feels like he needs to be particularly kind to me as he prefers my full name – "Can't you see that those bumbling fools can only cause harm? Look at your eyes, they're all bruised as if you have been punched by that exploding bag. They could have blinded you." My Gran has a blind friend whose name is Lillian, and whenever she comes over she always has her guide-dog with her. I love that dog. If the Marauders had blinded me, I'd have to ask Lillian if I could borrow her dog. Severus fails to look at the bright side.

Lily was just as stern as Severus. "Eleanor, I think it would be best if you avoided Potter and Black from now on. I mean, you sat with them for the first time and it resulted in you being seriously injured."

But I didn't avoid them. I sat with them in Potions. Lily had tutted and frowned about it, but I had just made four new friends that I didn't plan to lose any time soon. I admire James for his dedication to Lily. He speaks so highly of her. If Lily were to say that the sky was purple, I don't think James would disagree. I'd like to have someone love me as much as James loves Lily, because he seems to think the world revolves around her. He listens to everything she says as if it is the most important thing he has ever heard, even if she is insulting him. He even offered to carry her books for her, but she scoffed at him and left him standing alone outside the classroom.

During Potions, while my potion was turning a sickly green when it was supposed to be a bright, bubbling pink, I asked, "Are you okay, James?"

He seemed surprised I had even asked. "Sure I am Ellie, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you looked sad when Lily walked away earlier."

He winked and grinned. "Ah, it just takes time Eleanor my dear! Once Lily comes to her senses, she will realize we are meant to be together! It's as easy as that."

Remus snickered from his spot at the table in front of us with Sirius beside him. "In another life, perhaps."

Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh. "Make that another five lives."

James rolled his eyes. "Lily is simply forgetting what a wonderful, kind and insightful guy I am."

Peter snorted, stirring his lilac-coloured potion which looked far better than mine. "That must mean we're all forgetting that too Prongs."

"Shut it, Wormtail."

"Why do you call him Wormtail?"

James sighed, grabbing a horned slug and flinging it in my cauldron. "Stir it some more, Eleanor, it should turn pink now."

"Oh, thank you James!" I smiled. Perhaps Lily really was forgetting what a nice guy James could be.

"No problem. You need all the help you can get," he grinned. "Wormy here is the same."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!"

"I should find myself a nickname," I murmured thoughtfully, once again thanking James as my potion turned a vivid pink. For once, Professor Slughorn didn't shake his head sadly at me over my useless concoctions. He knew I was hopeless with his class. "Though I'm not sure I want to be known as Wormtail."

Peter smiled kindly . "I'm sure we'll think of something for you."

I know both Lily and Severus think they are bad influences, but I really like them. I haven't laughed this much in a very long time. James stirred his potion, which was now bubbling perfectly. "You already have a nickname. It's Ellie."

"But that isn't as good as yours. Ellie sounds…boring."

"I think Ellie is a nice name," Sirius grinned.

I hid my small blush quite well, I think. In fact, Sirius asked if I would like to sit next to him in Divination tomorrow, seeing as Peter has dropped it. I told him I'd love to. Apparently Peter only ever got horrible, dreadful predictions and was quite fed up of it. Sirius and I both do Muggle Studies, too, which means a double class of Divination with him and then double Muggle Studies. And now Lucy is wondering why I'm smiling so much as I write this down, meaning I'm going to have to stop here before she discovers exactly why I'm so happy. I'll write again tomorrow night!

Love,

Eleanor.