Author's Note:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the scene by JKR, but I did tweak it a bit.

Reviews and Comments: To scrappy8: I agree, Lily doesn't deserve how mean Petunia is. Thank you! To alix33: Yes, the Potters have a dog. Petunia definitely is a pain in the ass. Thank you! To ellyann13: Yup, Snape is already jealous of James and already is showing some true Slytherin colours. Thank you! To Sara: I definitely believe James was genuinely nice to everyone he met, but once Snape shows his colours, he's like well, this guy's a dick lol. Thank you very much! To Nuno Neves: Thank you very much! I really hope you like this and what comes afterwards! To Slaidback: Thank you! To Shivani: I love James just jumping in excitement! Yes! James made Lily smile and we see that instant connection. Snape is definitely a douche. Thank you! To ascfan: Thanks for thinking the little Marauders are so cute. You're welcome for a new fabric to read. Thank you! To EnigmaticEmperor: I love sweet and excitable James who is definitely always trying to make Lily smile (even from the get-go). I think Petunia was just plain mean. Snape definitely had the possessiveness from a young age. Lily was too kind and I agree, Harry gets it from her. Thank you! To CorbanD17: Thank you very much and your stories are looking good! Keep writing!

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Thanks to Dusk for her amazing editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER EIGHT:

The One Where Sirius Meets James

1st September 1971…

Sirius stood on the platform looking at the Hogwarts Express wistfully. He had been dreaming of coming to school for years now. A chance to leave the nest and get out of the house of his mad parents. A chance to have a bit of an adventure.

"Sirius, are you even listening to me?" Walburga Black demanded, her hands on her hips.

Sirius rolled his eyes before he turned to look at his mother. Her long black hair was pinned up in a tight bun and her grey eyes were glaring at him in annoyance The fact that she was incredibly beautiful somehow made the ugly look on her face harder to witness.

"Yes. Behave. Be a good Slytherin. Stay out of trouble or you'll bring me straight home. Did I miss anything?"

Walburga's eyes narrowed. "Don't get smart with me, boy!"

Sirius took a slow breath in and out. "Yes, Mum."

Walburga stared at him for a moment. "I expect you to do your best, Sirius. To bring fame to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black as a loyal Slytherin, and first born son of Orion Black, you are going to do what's best for this family. Stay out of trouble and away from anyone who is beneath you. Make friends with the right sort of people. Remember, you are a Black. There is no higher honour."

Sirius merely nodded, looking longingly at the steam engine up ahead. "I will, Mum."

Walburga nodded, seemingly satisfied with his response. "Good. I expect a letter by the end of the week telling me all about Slytherin and about some of the friends you've made and the good families that they come from. Toujours Pur, understood."

"Yes, Mum."

"We'll see you at Christmas."

Sirius nodded, grabbing his trunk and hurrying off. He jumped up onto the train, dragging his trunk up without help and moving to find a compartment to sit in. He opened the door to one, seeing a scrawny boy with glasses and messy hair stretched out across the bench. He knocked lightly on the doorjamb to get his attention.

"Got room in here for one more or are you keeping the whole place to yourself?"

The boy grinned at him and gestured for him to come inside. He dragged his trunk with him and between the two of them they shoved his trunk up onto the rack before he sat down next to the boy, stretching his legs out across the same bench so that they were facing each other.

"I can see why you were stretched out; much more comfortable, mate."

The boy leaned forward, extending his hand. "I'm James."

"Sirius," he said, dragging his fingers through his slightly shaggy dark black hair. He wondered if James was someone his mother would deem socially acceptable for him to be talking to, he thought. "So James, you a first year?"

"Definitely. I can't wait to start learning real magic! Seems like every time I want to do something Mum and Dad are always telling me to wait until I'm old enough. Other than Quidditch. I love Quidditch! I could spend the rest of my life on a broomstick!"

Sirius' mouth twitched in amusement. "Flying is pretty great. You going to play on your house team?"

James nodded eagerly. "You bet! I'm a pretty great Chaser. It totally sucks that you have to be a second year to play! What position do you play?"

Sirius shrugged, scratching his chin. He usually only played with Regulus so it was hard to really know what position he liked. "Keeper usually, but I don't want to play on the school team. I'll just watch."

"You don't like to play Quidditch?" James exclaimed, his mouth open in alarm. "That's practically blasphemy!"

Sirius laughed, crossing his arms in front of him. The boy was radiating excitement at the mentioning of anything to do with Quidditch. James immediately began to tell him about his favourite teams (Puddlemere and Holyhead) and all about his new broomstick (the Nimbus 1000) and its many perks. Their Quidditch discussion was interrupted when the compartment door slid open and they both looked up at the redhead who was standing there.

"Hi, Lily!" James exclaimed. "Come on in!"

The girl had long red hair, tucked behind her ears and bright green eyes that were brimming with tears as she hastily tried to wipe them away. "Th-thanks."

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked her, his eyebrow rising in question.

Why would she be crying? Maybe she was scared to leave home, he thought. He was sure that not everyone was as happy to get away from their family as he was.

She nodded. "Fine."

"This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" A short boy with greasy black hair exclaimed, coming into the compartment behind Lily.

Lily nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," the greasy-haired boy said.

James looked up quickly and winced. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius, who was still lounging next to him on the seat.

Sirius smiled half-heartedly at them. Slytherin always had a bad reputation because of the desire of Salazar Slytherin for it to be a pure house; one of purebloods only. His own family motto, he thought; toujours pur, always pure.

"My whole family has been in that house for centuries."

"Blimey!" James exclaimed, eyes wide. "And I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned. He liked the boy immensely and he hoped that he wasn't going to be judged on his family before he got the chance to show him who he really was. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword. "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad!" The greasy-haired boy made a small, disparaging noise making James turn to him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No," he said, sneering at him. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy —"

" — Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interrupted, annoyed at the rudeness of the boy. James was the first potential friend he had ever really had and he wasn't going to let some little snot disrespect him.

James roared with laughter making Sirius grin. At least he was entertaining the potential friend, he thought.

Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike. "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Ooooo…" James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice and James tried to trip Snape as they passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called out as they opened the compartment door. The door slammed behind them and Sirius turned to grin at James. "What an unpleasant git! The redhead seemed nice though, do you know her?"

James shook his head. "Nah, just bumped into her outside of the train. She seemed nice enough. Rotten taste in friends, though. Sirius, has your whole family really been in Slytherin?"

Sirius nodded, his eyes befitting his name as the train began to move. "Yeah, Mum told me that I must continue the family tradition."

"Gryffindor is a much better house, though! It's for the brave and the courageous and it's a lion instead of a snake, which is clearly the superior animal!" James told him, grinning. "We just have to be in the same house!"

Sirius shrugged good naturally. "We've each got our own paths to take and my mum seems to think mine is to follow in the family tradition which starts with becoming a Slytherin."

"My dad told me that the hat takes your opinion into the equation," James told him with a grin. "If you want to be in Slytherin, you can be, but if you'd rather be in Hufflepuff or say in Gryffindor like me then tell the hat. I guess it's supposed to listen to your desires."

Sirius stared at James in surprise. "Really?"

"My dad doesn't lie."

"Wow, I didn't know it gave you an option. As my dear mum always tells me, the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black is born and bred in Slytherin House, but maybe I'll be the one to break that tradition."

"You're a Black? You must know my uncle Charlie and Aunt Dory!"

Sirius nodded. "Charlus Potter yeah, does that mean… didn't your dad invent that hair potion back in the twenties? Isn't he like super old?"

James shrugged, smiling. "Not super old, but yeah, definitely older. Mum thought that they weren't meant to have children because they tried so long and nothing, but then there was me. Mum was fifty-eight when she had me."

"Bloody hell," Sirius said. "So, you're an only child then?"

James nodded, placing his hands behind his head. "Yup. You?"

"Little brother, Regulus. He's nine. Kind of a pain in the arse, mostly."

James laughed. He had always wanted a brother. "I think it'd be great to have a brother. It's kind of lonely when you only have your parents to play with. Hey, do you like music?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "It has its moments. I like the orchestra crescendos and stuff, I guess."

James stared at him for a moment. "Well, classical is great for, you know, balls and stuff, but I mean like rock and roll music?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know what that is."

"The Beatles, man? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am Sirius, but I don't know what the Beatles are outside of an insect?"

James rolled his eyes at the lame joke and jumped up to get into his trunk and find his wireless record player. "Ha, ha! Mate, you're going to love them! Just you wait!"