One could say that Sirius Black was an odd boy, for he was 11 years old and had never attended school before. What's more though, was that he was desperately excited to go. It's not that he wanted to learn, although finally getting to use magic was an exciting prospect. Sirius Black was excited to attend so that he could have fun. His Mother and Father were strict purebloods, demanding proper etiquette at all times, for him to be seen and not heard. Sirius, well, he wasn't very good at that. He enjoyed practical jokes, playing with the muggle children on his street, and questioning everything his parents said. He knew he wanted to be nothing like them, and so he had to question everything, so he knew exactly what to not believe.
Sirius awoke suddenly. Today was the day. The clock across the room told him that it was 8AM. Three hours until he could catch The Hogwarts Express. He swallowed, and reflected on his dream. A man had approached him, warning him of sour events during his time at school. An odd man, with messy hair and a scarred forehead. He couldn't remember much, although the phrases "please don't be a dick, Sirius!" and "you can stop this all by being nicer to people!" weighed heavy on his mind. He snorted. What kind of bizarre dream. He knew he wasn't a seer; it wasn't a documented family trait, and these things didn't just happen, of course.
"Kreacher?", he called into the empty room.
A decrepit looking house elf appeared, who fell into a low bow saying "what would Bratty Young Master want this morning?"
"Shut up, I don't have time for your arguments today. Bring me my clothes for the day, and ensure my trunk is packed for Hogwarts. I expect we'll be leaving soon", he haughtily replied.
The house elf cracked out of existence, and then back again an instant, clothes in hand. As he laid them on the bed he stated, "Mistress is expecting you's in the Breakfast Parlour by 9AM."
Sirius waved the elf off in silence, pulling a face at the thought of his Mother. A glance at the clock told him that it was already 10 past 8. He groaned. Tumbling out of his four poster bed, he proceeded to his bathroom, he quickly washed himself and his hair. Not wanting to call for Kreacher again, he reached for his bottle of QuikDry Hair Tonic, and ran it through his hair. His hair now lay neatly, in waves ending just beneath his ear. He grinned at his reflection. While he would return home during the Yule and Equinox holidays, he had all year to grow out his hair, without his Mother forcing him to wear it short.
Exiting the bathroom, he saw that his 'quick' shower hadn't been so quick after all. 40 minutes had passed, and he had 10 minutes to get dressed and down to the Breakfast Parlour, lest he face his Mother's wrath. This time he was quick, and was slipping his wand into his pocket at 5 minutes to the hour when he heard a knock on his door.
"I'm not late!" he called desperately, as the door opened, to reveal his younger brother, Regulus.
Regulus looked forlorn, but raised his eyebrow as he said, "not yet you aren't. Come on. Let's head down, I only have a few hours left with you before you leave me."
Exiting his room and following his brother down the corridor, he laughed "only for a few months Reg! And I'll write to you everyday if you want me to. Next year you'll be with me at Hogwarts too!" he paused, and then added slyly, "Although maybe not in the same dorm."
Regulus's eyes widened comically, and scolded Sirius in a hushed tone, "Siri! Don't joke about that!"
Sirius laughed some more, "Please Reg, be real. Do you really think I'll be a Slytherin?"
Regulus said nothing. Of course, Sirius was never particularly cunning, or ambitious. The chances of Sirius being a Slytherin were low.
The conversation ended as they entered the Breakfast Parlour.
"You're late!" Sirius heard his mother snap, "Regulus, come sit and eat breakfast." she added, in a much kinder tone.
"I'm not late, I am perfectly on time. And so is Regulus, we arrived at the same time", Sirius responded indignantly.
"Don't talk back to me!" she bit out.
Sirius sighed, pulled a face and sat for his breakfast. His reward was a sharp Stinging Hex to his shoulder. Sirius refused to respond to the pain, sitting stiffly waiting for the food to appear. He almost never dined with his parents, but of course they had to ruin this wonderful day by being present for their only meal in the same house.
At least his final meal would be good, even if his company left something to be desired. As he quickly ate in silence, he began imagining his time at Hogwarts. He would be a brave Gryffindor challenging bullies, and making everyone laugh with his jokes. He'd have a brotherhood of friends, and never study. All his imagined friends were faceless blobs, but he loved them all already. They'd explore the castle and go on adventures on the school grounds -
His Mother's sharp tone interrupted his daydreaming, "We'll be leaving in one hour from the Floo Chamber, be ready and don't be late." and she turned and left.
He grimaced at his brother as he stood as well, "want to help me make sure Kreacher's actually packed everything?"
Regulus rolled his eyes, but stood, "you should be nicer to him you know, he's trying his best."
"His best is irritating," Sirius grinned, his tone not matching the words he spoke.
They climbed up to Sirius's quarters in silence, both knowing the other wanted to discuss Sirius's comment just before breakfast. Once Regulus was settled on the now-made bed and Sirius walked around his rooms, double checking the job was well done.
"Do you really want to be a Gryffindor?" Regulus asked in a small voice.
"Reg, of course I do. Could you imagine me in Slytherin? Or Ravenclaw? Or Hufflepuff? I don't belong to any of them and I wouldn't want to. I want adventure and glory, I want to catch the bad guys and have fun doing it!" he finished triumphantly.
"I know that, I do, Siri. But Mother and Father won't be impressed. Our Aunt and Uncle. Grandfather too! Siri, you're the Heir, they expect you to follow tradition!"
"They'll never be happy with whatever I do, but when I'm Head of the House, none of them will be able to say a word opposing me. You're right, I'm the Heir for now, but when I'm Head all that tradition will be gone!" he spun his arms out in a magnificent gesture, leaving Regulus laughing at his ridiculousness.
"You could join me, you know. If it's just me they'll be horrified that I'm the black sheep, but if you join me they can't say anything!" Sirius said.
Regulus smiled sadly, "I'm not brave like you are. Just promise me you won't abandon me once you're all dressed up in red and gold?"
Sirius dropped to sit beside his brother, and threw an arm around his shoulder, saying "I'll never leave you Reggie, don't worry."
The brotherly moment was interrupted by Kreacher, who popped into existence and declared, "you's is having 10 minutes to leave", before vanishing again.
Standing up, Sirius took a glance around his childhood room. He'd miss not sharing a room, and his brother, but that was all.
"Come on", he said, lifting his feather-light trunk and turning to go. Regulus followed in silence, savouring the last few moments alone with his brother.
Not 10 minutes later, Sirius found himself on Platform 9 and ¾'s platform for the first time in his life. The scarlet train puffed out pearly smoke as children ran greeting old friends, and parents said tearful goodbyes. A young boy caught his eye. He was shabbily dressed, in a patchwork of browns, his hair was ash brown and poker straight. The boy was entirely Sirius's opposite and Sirius was enthralled. His father looked like he was telling the boy off though, so maybe he wasn't that different after all.
"Stop grinning like a buffoon, it's unbecoming", his mother whispered in a tight voice. Sirius straightened out his face.
"Mother, I'll be boarding now. Goodbye." he said, in an equally tight voice.
"For once in your life, behave yourself. Go find your cousins, sit with them on the train. Sit with them at the Slytherin table. We are the Black's, we demand respect from everyone we meet." she said. That was the most his Mother had said to him in weeks. She hadn't said goodbye though. He turned to his brother and held out his hand, knowing he wouldn't be allowed to embrace his brother in public. Reg would get the brunt of the punishment whilst he would be safe on the Hogwarts Express.
"Remember what I said Reg. I'll write. I love you little brother, and I'll see you soon." he smiled slightly, wanting to say more.
Regulus looked up, taking his older brother's hand, "I know. I love you too, Brother."
His Mother tutted loudly, forcing the boys to drop the handshake. Sirius stepped back, nodded once, then turned on his heel and walked to the nearest carriage and climbed aboard. With one foot on the train, he turned to see his Mother and Regulus had already disapparated home.
Quickly he found an empty compartment and made himself comfortable; he had no intention of finding his cousins. He watched the families on the platform. A blonde mother was kissing her equally blonde son's head as he tried to wriggle away. A red headed girl stood beside a pale boy as her mother cried into a handkerchief. The pale boy looked mildly uncomfortable at the proceedings. He scanned the platform, looking for the shabby boy when his eyes found him. The boy from his dreams stood on the platform, laughing at his Mother taking his dungbombs out of his pockets, who shook her head affectionately. How could he be here? Why was he here? Did he get it wrong, and that dream really was prophetic? Would he be a dick and be miserable? Sirius was lost in worrying thoughts as he tried to remember his dream, suddenly relevant to his life.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on his compartment door. The door slid open to reveal the boy from the platform, the man from his dreams.
"Do you mind?" he asked, "everywhere else is full."
Sirius shook his head, too shocked to speak. He couldn't see the scar, his long hair fell over his face, and everywhere else; it looked entirely untameable.
The boy grinned. "Thanks. You a first year too? I'm James, James Potter."
James threw himself into the seat opposite, still grinning.
Sirius shook himself out of his own head. Now wasn't the time to be worrying, this was the start of his brotherhood of boys and adventure!
"I'm Sirius Black. Did your Mother really take all of your dungbombs? How disappointing!" Sirius exclaimed.
James laughed boisterously, "She did. But she gave them to my dad, who put them straight back into my other pocket!" and he pulled a handful out to prove it.
Sirius laughed joyfully, "you seem like my kind of guy!" he paused, and then added, "do you have a… do you have a scar?" he indicated his forehead.
James grin faltered, bemused. Lifting his hair, he revealed a smooth, unblemished forehead, "no I don't. That'd be groovy though, imagine the stories I could tell if I did!"
Perhaps it was just a dream, and a freak chance that it happened to be James, Sirius pondered.