Disclaimer: In no way do I own any of these characters except of the original ones you don't recognise. All other characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I do not mean to cause any problems with her or Bloomsbury Books, etc. This story is simply for people to read and (hopefully) enjoy.

Chapter I: The Letter

A quiet knock pulled Remus out of his dreamless sleep and he opened his eyes as his mother walked into his room with a cup of tea in her hands.

"Morning, sweetie." She said softly. "It's about time you got up. Here, I brought you a drink."

Remus cracked a smile and took the cup. "Just a drink? No king sized bar of chocolate?"

"No," Melyssa returned her son's smile half-heartedly. "Just a drink. You got the chocolate yesterday."

"Eh... Worth a shot." The boy took a big sip of the tea and sighed in relief. Mum always knew just what herbs to add to make him feel better. The full moon was two nights ago, and Remus' body still ached from the strain the transformation put on him, but the tea removed a great deal of the pain.

"Thanks, Mum." He smiled again, trying to show his mother that he was better than he felt.

His parents felt terrible about the night seven years ago when he was bitten. It wasn't their fault; he was the one who had left his toy outside. So he always tried to make them feel better about it, pretending it didn't matter to him, cracking jokes about it when it was suitable. He was used to this life. He didn't like it, but he was used to it. And he had made it his duty to keep his parents believing he didn't care for it.

"You're welcome, Remmie." His mother stood up slowly from his bed, careful not to jolt it too much. "Come down for breakfast soon, I'm making waffles."

Remus licked his lips but before he could ask his question, Melyssa cut him off.

"Yes," She said, a real smile gracing her face. "Chocolate chip waffles."

The boy bounced out of bed, wincing slightly before resolving to move more slowly, even if that meant his mother's chocolate chip waffles would be further away.

"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate chip waffles," He chanted as he followed his mother down the stairs.

Melyssa shook her head. "Honestly, Remmie. I mention chocolate and you start bouncing like you've got a dozen billywigs stinging you!"

Remus grinned and squeezed past Melyssa to run to his seat in the kitchen. Once he sat down he look up at his mother with a frown.

"My plate is empty."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "That because I haven't made anything yet. Just the mixture."

Remus covered his face with shock. "Well hurry up, woman. I'm hungry!" He joked.

Melyssa turned around from the counter to scold her son but found she couldn't when she saw him grinning impishly up at her.

"John, control that son of yours." She sighed.

John looked up from the Daily Prophet to stare at his wife. "Well I would," He began. "Except I'm on his side. Bring me my waffles!" His voice had the same joking tone as Remus'.

"Boys…" Melyssa said, shaking her head in defeat to no one in particular. "Remmie, go get the mail while I start your waffles."

Remus nodded and slid out of his seat. He walked through to the hall and made his way toward the front door, where he picked up the letters on the floor and started rifling his way through them.

"EEEEEEEE!" He squealed and ran back to the kitchen, not even noticing the pain it caused him. He skidded to a halt on the wooden floor, frantically waving the letters in his hand.

"I - I - I," He stammered, excitement stopping him from even speaking. After a couple more tries, he simply shoved the letters into his parent's hand.

"Melyssa, is that what I think it is?" John queried.

"Ye-yes..." Replied Melyssa, her stammering caused more by shock then excitement. "But how? His … Condition. Do they not know?"

"Open it and let us see." The man of the house said. "Before our son bursts out of his skin."

Melyssa nodded, opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside.

" 'Dear Mr Lupin,' " She began. " 'We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term starts on 1 September. We await your owl by no later then 31 July. Due to your condition, we wish to see you and your parents before the term starts to discuss what shall happen each month. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall. Deputy Headmistress.' "

"I got in? I actually get to go to Hogwarts?" Remus couldn't believe it, and neither could his parents.

The Lupins were silent while this sunk in. Then the family started crying with joy.

'I got in,' Remus thought, over and over. 'I got in. I get to go to Hogwarts. I get to learn magic. I get to have friends.'

James Potter zoomed down the stairs of Asylum, an envelope scrunched in his hand, a grin stretching across his face.

"Mum! Dad!" He yelled, his voice echoing around the entrance hall of his home. "Where are you?"

He waited for a response but when none came he groaned. Why did this house have to be so large? It was great most of the time, but as he had found when he was younger, the many rooms it held left too many places for people to be, and therefore finding his parents sometimes near impossible.

"Where could they be?" He murmured to himself. "Where could they be..?"

He cursed inwardly. It as a Friday afternoon! His parents were always in the library on a Friday afternoon. Daniel Potter would either be doing a crossword or reading about whatever historic event was interesting him that week, and Diane Potter would be reading the most recent Courtney Reid novel.

He grinned and rushed down the hall towards the library, the envelope still enclosed tightly in his hand. When he reached the door, he stopped running and waited for his heart and breathing to settle back to a regular pattern before opening the door and waling into the large room. Grabbing a book at random off the table, he sat down in one of the comfy chairs by the fireplace and opened it. Trains of Britain the inside cover said. James put a look of interest on his face, flipped further into the book and began reading.

"You really do fail at nonchalance, dear." His mother said with a smile on her face.

The black haired boy pouted. He though he'd been doing quite well. Never mind though, he didn't need to wait any longer to tell the great news.

"I got the letter!" He beamed. "Hogwarts wants me."

"Of course they want you," said Daniel. "You're a Potter. It's about time another one started at Hogwarts. They probably need another mischief maker."

"Daniel! Don't encourage the boy." Dianne turned to her son. "He's right though. You will need to live up to the Potter name."

James laughed when a look of annoyance crossed his father's face.

"So you can encourage him but I can't? How is that fair?"

"It isn't," The raven haired woman replied, winking to her son as she did. "That's the point."

Daniel sighed. "Oh well. I can still do my part to help."

James was suddenly filled with hope.

"I guess it's time," His father continued. "For you to get the cloak that's been passed down through the generations."

The eleven year old's eyes flashed with excitement. 'Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!' He chanted in his head.

Daniel stood up and walked over to the door. "Yes," he said, reaching for the handle. "The invisibility cloak is now yours."

"Sirius!" A quick, sharp voice floated up the staircase of the Black house. "Come downstairs now!"

The boy in question didn't even look up from the book he was reading. His parents probably just wanted him so they could tell him once again what a disappointment he is to the family and how he should start making himself better, more "proper" and "regal." He snorted. More like more stuck-up and pretentious.

"Sirius Black!" A deeper voice than the last one sounded. "Do not ignore your mother and get downstairs this instant!"

Sirius sighed and placed a bookmark between the pages he was looking at before standing up and walking to the door.

"Coming!" His voice was laced with false sweetness.

Closing his door carefully behind him (he didn't want to give his parents a reason to get rid of it), he made his way to the stairs and walked down slowly, lifting one foot at a time and placing it gently on the next step. He knew taking his time would make whatever was coming worse, but it didn't matter to him. It was going to be bad anyway.

When he reached the ground floor he almost tripped over the Blacks' latest house elf, Kreacher, who started mumbling to himself straight after Sirius' bare foot came in contact with the elf's wrinkly grey skin.

"Disrespective Master," He said. His voice was hoarse and sounded like a bullfrog. "Making Mistress wait. What did she do to deserve him? Ignoring what Mistress says, kicking Kreacher –"

"Shut up," Sirius growled.

Kreacher had been serving the Blacks for five years, and over that time he had become very attached to Walburga Black, and therefore thought how Sirius acted towards her was absolutely disrespectful.

"Yes, Mother? Father?" Sirius said in a toned down version of the sweet voice he had used earlier. "You called?"

Orion Black pointed at an envelope sitting on the table.

"You almost don't deserve that, you ungrateful little –"

Sirius blocked out his father's words, something he had learned to do years previously. He didn't want his parent's voices to ruin this moment. The tall boy picked up the envelope with his name and address written in green ink and opened it. He pulled out the letter and read it. Then he read it again. And again.

"I got in…" He couldn't believe his escape from this horrible home had finally come.

"Of course you got in, you stupid boy!" Walburga Black snapped. "You're a Black. Hogwarts would be honoured to have another Black grace them."

Sirius' happiness at receiving this letter was deflated slightly when he remembered what his parents proudly said whenever they could.

"Oh yes," They would say to people when it came up in conversation. "Our whole family has been in Slytherin."

'No...' Sirius thought. 'Please, not Slytherin.'

"I've set the table," A small, chubby boy said to his mother.

"Thanks, Peter," Leanne Pettigrew smiled at her son and went back to stirring the soup. "Where is that father of yours? He should be home by now…"

"Probably got held up again..." Her son said, trying and failing to open the cupboard without it creaking.

"Peter," Leanne warned. "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again. Don't eat this close to dinner. You'll spoil it."

Peter sighed and walked out of the kitchen, right into his father who was putting his coat and hat on the rack.

"Oops, sorry Dad." He mumbled.

"S'okay, son," Michael ruffled Peter's thin, mousy blonde hair. "After four years of this, I should be getting used to it." He walked through to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his wife. "Hello, honey. Sorry I'm late; I lost a page I was writing for the paper. What's for dinner?"

"Hello, darling," Snuggling into her husband, Leanne put the mixing spoon down. "Chicken and corn soup. I'm about to dish it up. You hungry?"

"Indeed, I am. Table all set?"

"I just finished it, Dad." Peter said.

"Alrighty then, let's eat."

Peter grinned and rushed through to his seat at the table and his father followed suit, with Leanne walking slowly behind him, a pot of soup floating in front of her.

"What?" She asked upon seeing Michael's amused frown. "It's hot…"

Michael sighed but said nothing. He pulled out a chair for his wife and pushed it in once she had sat down. Grabbing the serving spoon, he began putting soup into bowls while Peter ripped some ciabatta bread off for everyone.

Twenty minutes later, the family had finished all they could eat and were talking about their day when Leanne suddenly jumped up.

"Oh my!" She said, pushing her seat in. "I forgot… Came in the mail... I would have given you it earlier, Peter, but I wanted your father to be home…"

"Given me what?" Peter asked, confused, but he received no answer, as his mother walked out of the dining room before he had finished his question. He looked to his father in the hope of getting an answer but Michael was just as confused.

The fair-haired witch soon came back into the dining room with an envelope in her hand.

"Here," She said, handing it to her son. "It came in the mail today."

Wide-eyed, Peter took the envelope from his mother and opened it. He took out the parchment inside, read it and began bouncing up and down in his seat, chanting "I'm a wizard" excitedly, over and over.

"Looks like he finally takes something after me," Leanne smirked at her muggle husband.

"Yes it does…" Michael said, grinning back. "Yes it does…"

A/N:

Firstly, yay. First chapter completed. I completely blanked on what to write for Peter though, hopefully its fine. However I did put effort into it. I even searched types of bread for the Pettigrew's to eat. For instance, did you know fougasse is a decorative bread from Provence? .o.

Secondly, as you may have noticed, I'm writing more for Remus than the others, so this story is probably going to be focused mostly on him/from his point of view, even though I am trying for it to be about all the Marauders, not just him. I plan on working in bits for Lily and Severus (yes, Severus, not Snape. If I'm going to be writing for him, it'll be from his point of view, just like the rest of the characters and I hardly think he would refer to himself with his last name) but I don't know when those will appear.

Fourthly, thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated and constructive criticism is welcomed.

I'll try upload again soon, but school will be start back next week, ugh, and homework will sadly take priority. Not that that's ever made me do it first, but maybe if I say it enough I'll eventually start doing it.

Or maybe not.