Ever since that day, they were inseparable.

There was another boy in their year, Peter, and though he never quite fit, nobody ever minded letting him tag along. Not after a long scolding from a very indignant Alexandra about bullying, that is.

It was a warm spring night in their first year, and Alexa was hungry.

"Remusssss," she hissed, prodding him in the chest. That boy slept like a rock. She rolled her eyes and moved to the next bed. James was no more useful than her first try.

"Lex?" Sirius mumbled, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing up here?"

Before she could answer, he muttered a little louder, "And for the love of god, what time is it?"

"It's nearly one in the morning," she replied brightly. "I haven't slept, and I'm hungry."

Sirius flopped back onto bed, exasperated. How Alexa could eat and eat and stay the size of a stick insect he would never understand.

He groaned, rolling out from under the blanet. "So? What do you want me to do about it?" Alexa grinned evilly and Sirius regretted asking.

"I found something," she told him, her eyes gleaming with the pride of knowing a secret. "Something cool."

Ten minutes later Sirius found himself standing in a corridor, at one in the morning, wishing he'd put socks on. These floor were not warm at night. "Okay? Where is this 'passage' you claim to have discovered?" he asked, still skeptical.

"I feel like a maurader," Alexan whispered excitedly, ignoring both his question and tone. "Like I'm exploring and I'm gonna loot treasure. And stuff. You loot treasure, right? Or do you pillage treasure? What's pillaging?"

Sirius rolled his eyes but couldn't help but to grin. "Yeah, Lexi. Sneaking out of bed at night makes us marauders."

"We could totally be marauders!" Alexa cried defensively, and Sirius shushed her. She continued, more quietly, "With all those pranks you like to pull, and sneaking all those fireworks out at night. We're practically marauders already..."

Sirius was sure she had more to say on the subject, but at that moment she interrupted herself. "Here it is!" She cried. "Now tickle the pear."

Sirius was sure he'd heard her wrong. "Excuse me?"

Alexa laughed and pointed to the painting hanging in front of them. "You heard me," she insisted. "Tickle the pear."

For no one else would Sirius Black do something that seemed so ridiculous, but for this girl, one of his best friends and so innocently hopeful, he had to try. So he did. He tickled the pair.

"Wow," Sirius said appreciatively, his eyes widening in shock as the painting opened up to reveal a perfect entrance into the Hogwart's kitchens. He looked at Alexa and laughed. "Maybe we are marauders after all."