The Meeting

Four people stood staring at the two platforms marked "Nine" and "Ten" at Kings Cross Station. They were all tall and skinny. The man and one of his daughters had blonde hair, while his wife and the other daughter had red hair. The blonde girl stood separately from her family, who were huddled around the red head, carrying a trunk and a tabby kitten.

"It says Nine and Three Quarters," the red head said, reading her piece of paper. "I don't think they would lie."

"But Lily, honey, there is no platform nine and three quarters," her mother said. The other daughter began laughing hysterically.

"Excuse me, do you need any help getting onto the platform?" asked a tall woman with black hair. Lily's father nodded. "Well, it's easy. I attended Hogwarts myself, as did my husband. You have to go right between the wall that separates platform nine and platform ten," the woman said. "You know what? Tommy, show these nice people how to get on to the platform!"

A short boy, slightly older than Lily, walked up pushing a cart. He walked towards the wall and disappeared. "There," said the woman again. "How about you guys go?" The group looked around and soon all four were standing before the Hogwarts Express, the blonde being dragged.

The woman and her daughter made it through the barrier after the other family. "I'm Grace Wright, and this is my daughter Kristin. She's starting her first year at Hogwarts, I take it your daughters are, too?"

"Just this daughter. I'm Michael Evans and this is my wife Anne, and our daughters Petunia and Lily. Lily is the one going to Hogwarts," Mr. Evans said.

Lily and Kristin stood off to the side. "I prefer to be called Kiki," Kristin said suddenly. Lily turned to the girl next to her. "Are your eyes natural?"

"Yep. Golden goodness."

"And your hair?"

"No, my cousin did this for me. She thought it would be cool if I showed up at Hogwarts with pink stripes in my hair. She taught me the charm, and I'm going to have my hair in the house colors for a week and every Quidditch game. Have I lost you yet?"

"No, not at all, Kiki," Lily replied. "I may be new to the wizarding world, but I did read up on it. Especially a book about Hogwarts."

Kiki smiled as she got dragged away by her mother. "I'll see you on the train!" she called. Lily smiled and followed her mother to say good-bye to her family.

Sirius Black stood with his mother watching the two girls talk. His mother stood rigid at his side, talking to his aunt. He gave a glance at his blonde haired cousin, Narcissa, beside him. "Think of all the fun we're going to have in Slytherin, Sirius," she said. Sirius could only nod. He knew his entire family had been in Slytherin, except for his cousin Andromeda, Narcissa's much older sister. He himself really didn't want to be in Slytherin. He may have been eleven, but he knew he didn't stand for what his family stood for.

"Look over there, it's the Potters. They are a disgrace to the name of Wizard," he heard his mother say. He looked over to see a boy his age with unruly black hair and glasses standing next to his mother, who also had black hair. They were talking to a blonde haired woman and brown haired man. The boy was trying to bring out the shy brown haired boy. "You would think they know that that woman is a muggle!" Sirius sighed.

James Potter was having no luck with this Remus Lupin. He absolutely refused to talk to anybody. He didn't know that Remus had a secret, a terrible secret that could alter their friendship if known. He didn't know that Remus was and would be looked down upon for the rest of his life because of this terrible secret. All he knew was that the boy wouldn't talk to him.

Down a little from both Remus and James stood a short boy with blonde hair. He was nervous standing by his mother, who was talking to another woman. Her daughter stood off to the side, whom Peter Pettigrew thought was called Harmony Anderson. She was blonde, like him, and just sat on her suitcase, staring at the different people. She didn't pay any attention to Peter, but then again who did? Peter sighed, it was going to be a long seven years at this rate.

Harmony was so bored, she had begun braiding her hair. She loved watching people, and the Hogwarts express train station gave her a new venue of people to stare at. She did glance over back to Mrs. Pettigrew's son Peter, whom she had briefly met before. Apparently her mother and his mother were roommates back in Hogwarts. She knew Peter was a pureblood, while her father was actually a squib. She didn't know if that counted for much, but she didn't care. Sounds of an argument soon broke her thoughts as she looked up.

Sirius didn't know what happened. He had noticed a pretty girl with black hair and pink streaks sitting on a nearby trunk and decided to go talk to her. One of his cousins had been teaching him how to flirt with girls and he wanted to try it out on this girl. She, however, didn't want to be flirted with. She promptly and coldly told him so, standing up quickly.

Kiki wasn't pleased with this one Sirius Black, and lashed into him. "We're only eleven for crying out loud! I am not into having a boyfriend yet!"

"What makes you think I'm eleven, too?"

"Please, I grew up in the wizarding world. Don't think I don't know what the name Black means!"

"Oh yeah, what does it mean?"

"It means that you are one of the biggest family of Dark wizards ever!"

The argument had also gotten the attention of the Potter and Lupin families. Mrs. Potter recognized the Black son and Wright daughter arguing. James and Remus watched in fascination, wondering where the argument would go. Their mothers, however, exchanged a knowing look only women can exchange. It wasn't until they saw the girl's fist flying through the air did anyone do something.

"At least my father isn't some lowlife Muggle lover!" Sirius screamed, instantly regretting his choice of words. His temper tended to get the best of him and he didn't always think things through completely. He hoped he didn't hurt this Kristin Wright's feelings.

But he did. "How dare you speak about my father, you pureblood creep!" she screamed, sending her fist to meet his face. Unfortunately, it never made it there. Kiki was jerked away from Sirius by a strong man. The only thing Kiki could do was start crying.

"Hey, calm down there, Miss Wright," said a man's voice. "You, too, Sirius Black." Sirius recognized the man as Mr. Potter, whom his parents often insulted at the dinner table. Mr. Potter just stood there with his arms around Kiki, trying to get the girl to stop crying. Mrs. Black jerked Sirius away from the group, and then smiled at him when their backs were turned. Sirius turned his head to see Mrs. Wright come up, chastise her daughter and then hug her.

The students rushed to board the train. Kiki hugged her mother one last time and got on the train. There she met up with Harmony and the two found a compartment together. Soon, the two were in a deep discussion concerning topics any normal eleven-years-old girls would talk about.

Remus and James boarded at the same time and began looking for an empty compartment. They accidentally bumped into an older student. "Watch you two!" the older boy said. "Oh, first years, huh? Name's Frank Longbottom. I'm the Head Boy and a Gryffindor."

"My entire family has been in Gryffindor. I'm James Potter," James introduced himself. Frank smiled. "Hope to see you in there, Frank."

"Excuse me, Frank," Remus said, "but do you know where there's an empty compartment for us?" Remus and James looked hopeful at the older boy. Frank could only shake his head, say his farewells and continue along the train. James and Remus just stood there, crestfallen.

"Could you two help me? I'm looking for a compartment and the girl I was with left me," said a small voice. The two boys turned to see Peter standing there. "I'm Peter," he introduced himself, and Remus and James followed suit.

"Well, Remus, I guess we are going to have to find our own compartment. Come on, Peter," James said. Peter's eyes lighted up and he followed the two boys down a hall. Halfway down, the three bumped into Sirius Black. "Have you found a compartment?" James asked. Sirius nodded and pointed into the compartment they were standing in front of.

"I checked. There's only one person sitting in there. I think we can oust her and have the compartment to ourselves," Sirius said, opening the door. Inside sat Lily, a book in her hand. She looked up when the door opened and laid the book on her lap. James may have been only eleven, but he was starting to notice girls in that way, and this girl had caught his attention.

Sirius sauntered in and sat down across from Lily. "I'm Sirius Black—"

"I know."

"Oh, and how do you know?"

"Kiki Wright told me. You know—the girl that nearly slugged you?"

Sirius was now upset. How dare she mention that girl and what she had nearly tried to do to him on the platform! "Oh," he said, hotly, "and you are?"

"Lily Evans. What do you want?"

"Well I—and my friends—want you to leave so we can have this compartment to ourselves."

James and Remus gasped—they couldn't believe what Sirius had done. "Sirius, maybe you could do it nicely? Maybe if you said 'please?'" James said to Sirius as Remus apologized for the Black boy's behavior.

Lily stood up suddenly, knocking Remus down next to Sirius. "Don't bother. I'll go find some place else and leave you boys to your own wills." She walked out of the compartment, but turned to throw one last barb at Sirius. "Once a Black, always a Black."

Sirius' jaw clenched and his fists tightened. James patted the boy's hands. "Don't let her get to you," he said. "She probably is just upset you asked her to leave when she was here first."

"Typical. We're not even friends a day and you're already choosing a girl over me."

"Who says we're friends?"

"What do you think we are?"

James thought about it for a while, looked between Remus, Sirius and Peter and smiled. "I think we are friends," he said. "I think we are going to be the best friends ever to grace Hogwarts school."

"And we may be the first friends in different houses," Sirius said, frowning. The others gave him a questioning look. "You know my entire family has been in Slytherin. I'm doomed to be in that house. And you said all your family was in Gryffindor, right James?"

James could only nod glumly. He knew that Slytherins and Gryffindors were mortal enemies from the moment they were sorted. Remus leaned forward. "From what my father has told me, I'll probably end up in Ravenclaw," he said, his elbow resting on a book he had taken out.

Even Peter had his own say, suggesting he might end up in Hufflepuff. "See?" Sirius asked. "We are going to be in different houses." Then his eyes lit up. "Let's make a pact. No matter what house we end up in, we're going to be friends. Promise?" Three other promises sounded through the room.

Down the train, Lily finally found another compartment and met Harmony and Kiki. She sat down, happy to find girls her own age. She soon joined into their conversation, about some of the boys they saw on the platform. "Sirius Black is a jerk!" Kiki declared. "A big jerk!"

"I know. He just kicked me out of my compartment."

"See? But, he is cute..."

"No, he isn't."

"What about James Potter?"

"Oh, he wasn't any better. None of them were!"

"What about the boy talking with James Potter? Did anyone catch his name?" Harmony asked. The other two girls shook their heads. "Oh, I was just hoping someone did. He seemed nice," she explained.

"He was nice. He just didn't do anything when Black and Potter threw me out of my compartment. I don't think he mentioned his name," Lily said. Harmony smiled. "Anyway," the red head continued, "what house do you think you'll be in."

"Hopefully Gryffindor. Wouldn't want to be in Slytherin."

"Why?" asked Lily and Harmony asked in unison. Kiki was about to answer when another voice cut her off.

"Because Slytherin has a history of turning out the most dark wizards and witches," said an older girl at the door. "Sorry to disturb you. I'm Alice Pulier and I'm the Hogwarts Head Girl. I'm just here to welcome you to Hogwarts and to tell you that they will tell you when we are close to the school so you can all change. Nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you in Ravenclaw."

A chorus of "Thanks, Alice," resounded through the compartment as the Head Girl closed the door. "Ravenclaw," Harmony said. "I might end up there. That or Gryffindor."

"I think I might be in Ravenclaw myself," Lily said. "But, let's promise not to let houses come in between us. I think you are going to be some of the best friends I've ever had and I don't want any stupid loyalty issue ruining that."

"Don't worry, neither do we. So, no houses and no boys. Deal?" Kiki said. The other girls agreed.

Soon enough, they reached Hogwarts. "Firs' year, over 'ere!" yelled a voice over the crowd of students. The first years pushed their way to a giant (it seemed to them) holding a lantern. "My name's Hadgrid and I'm keeper o' the key 'ere at 'ogwarts. Come with me," he said, leading them to boats at the lake. "Careful of the monster. Off we go!"

The seven first years we have most recently discussed observed their new home for the next seven years of their lives in awe. The castle loomed majestically against the night sky. The lanterns of the boats as they sailed through the lake seemed to lead them down a golden carpet to the front doors where a stern woman stood.

"Good evening. I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress, professor of Transfiguration and head of the Gryffindor house. In a moment you will be let into the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Any good deed performed during your time here will earn your house points, any mischief will cause you to lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup. I'll be seeing you all soon."

With that, McGonagall left the room and the small group of nervous first years. They were given the signal to enter and they gazed in awe at the ceiling, which resembled the night sky. "My mother says it's bewitched to look like that," Harmony whispered to Lily and Kiki. They reached McGonagall, who stood before a stool and an old hat. She opened a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, come up to be sorted. Harmony Anderson."

Harmony gulped. She was the first person? She walked shakily up to the stool and sat down, feeling McGonagall place the hat on her head. Well, what do we have here? The daughter of Janice Paulson. What to do with you? You certainly aren't Slytherin or Hufflepuff material.

Thank goodness.

Oh, a sense of humor, hmm? I see you can do well in Ravenclaw, the intellect is there. But, there's a courage down there...I can sense, so best be... "Gryffindor!" the hat shouted. Harmony smiled, jumped down and walked to the Gryffindor table.

A few B's later, McGonagall read out, "Narcissa Black." Narcissa shot her cousin a smile and sat down on the stool. A few seconds later, the hat called out: "Slytherin!" Narcissa walked to the table, smiling the whole way. McGonagall next called out: "Sirius Black!" Sirius shot a look at his three new friends and walked up to the hat. Two Blacks in one night? But you are different from the rest...you reject your family's belief. That in and of itself is bravery, so there's only one place to put you, boy... "Gryffindor!"

Gryffindor? Sirius jumped down confused. Happy, but confused. Silence seemed to reign in the Great Hall as the Black child walked to the Gryffindor table. As he looked across to see Narcissa frowning at him. 'She doesn't like this. Neither will Mother. Oh, well,' he thought. To break the uneven silence, he did stand up at the Gryffindor table and raised his hands in triumph. This worked, causing a patter of laughter and the sorting continued.

"Lily Evans!" Lily shakily walked up to the hat and tested her luck. So much going on inside this pretty little head...where to put you?...you're muggle born, so that leaves Slytherin out of this search. You're loyal, intellectual, but brave as well... "Gryffindor!" Lily hopped down and ran to the Gryffindor table, embracing Harmony. She shot Sirius a look and sat down.

"Remus Lupin." Sirius perked up, waiting to see where his new friend would end. Remus sat down on top of the chair. Hmm...a werewolf? That alone should put you in Slytherin, but you are different than a werewolf. You have qualities for Ravenclaw, but to go through those transformations month after month shows real courage, so... "Gryffindor!"

Remus took the hat off, handed it back to McGonagall and walked on unsteady legs to take the seat next to Sirius, who was cheering like a madman. They waited for James and Peter to be sorted. Soon McGonagall's voice called out, "Peter Pettigrew." They watched Peter walk up and sit down.

You are hard to sort, but everyone except that Black girl has been tonight. You have a sneaky quality to you that would suggest you belong in Slytherin.

Not Slytherin. I wouldn't make it there!

Not Slytherin? No, you're right. You do need to be in the presence of wizards better and stronger than you...

Hey!

I'm only reading what's inside your mind. So... "Gryffindor!"

Sirius and Remus welcomed Peter to their table by clapping their hands on his back. He sat down, but was still shaken by what the Sorting Hat had said. He didn't have long to dwell on it, because James was right behind him. The three held their breaths; though James had said his entire family had been in Gryffindor, the Blacks had been in Slytherin but Sirius had ended up in Gryffindor.

"James Potter!" James sat down and smiled at his friends before the hat blocked him out. Thank Merlin for another easy one. Only two things: You're a Potter and you've got bravery down there. Here we go... "Gryffindor!" James smiled in victory and walked down to his other four friends. "We didn't get separated after all," he said. He was also glad that he would be in the same house as that Lily girl...maybe, just maybe...

After a while, McGonagall reached the end of the list. "Kristin Wright." Kiki walked up and sat down. Wright...two households held in that name. Your father was a Gryffindor, your mother a Ravenclaw. You have the mixed abilities of both, but the Gryffindor side comes out stronger. You're easy like the Black girl and Potter boy... "Gryffindor!" Kiki released the breath she didn't know she was holding and joined Harmony and Lily at the table.

The next day, the first year Gryffindors were on their way to Potions with the first year Slytherins. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus were walking and talking animatedly to those around them. Even shy Remus and timid Peter. Harmony, Lily and Kiki were separated from the boys by choice and were talking with some of the girls nearby. They made it to the dungeons where Professor Orlick was waiting.

"Welcome to your first Potions class," she said, smiling. "I hope this won't be a fearsome class, but I will tell you this: I will not take goofing off lightly. Understood?" She watched as the students nodded their heads. "Now, I will pair you off by house and with the opposite gender." She read off a prepared list and the students met each other. Sirius and Lily were paired, much to the latter' dislike and the former's best friend's jealousy. Peter and Kiki were paired together and sat next to Slytherin Severus Snape and Narcissa. Harmony and Remus were paired together.

The two just sat there, not knowing what to talk about while Professor Orlick instructed them. "So, ever brew a potion before?" Harmony asked. Remus only shook his head. "Me neither. This should be interesting."

Twenty minutes later... "I think we were supposed to add something before turning down the fire."

"Are you sure, Harmony?"

"Um...no, Remus, I'm not."

"So..."

"Don't. Even. Go. There. Black."

"Peter, you know what?"

"What?"

"Just let me handle the potion."

"Ooh, look Severus, Peter Pettigrew can't handle a potion."

"At least his partner can..."

"Sev, don't tell me you have a crush on a Gryffindor."

"Professor, why did you pair me with Sibyll? She's always talking about..."

"James, I sense your aura is off."

"That!"

With that, an explosion rocked the dungeon. Professor Orlick scanned the room for the offending cauldron. She immediately became worried when she saw Harmony trying to revive Remus, and ran to gather up the boy. "Anderson, clean this up and five points from Gryffindor."

"Can't I go with him?" Harmony asked, concerned for her partner. Orlick gave her a look and dismissed the class. Only Lily and Kiki hung back to help clean the dungeons, while Severus Snape hid behind the dungeon doors to spy more on Kiki. James, Sirius and Peter rushed to the hospital and away from a nagging Narcissa.

"Will he be alright, Poppy?"

"Don't worry, Sabrina, he'll be fine. Just a bump on the head. He'll probably be a little dazed for the day, though."

"I was just so worried. You know Albus told us about his condition...I just don't know what to expect!"

"I understand, Sabrina, but I spent some time in St. Mungo's, remember? I can easily handle this. They are a lot stronger than they seem—even Mr. Lupin here. Ah, good morning sunshine!"

James and Sirius were huddled by the door, listening in on the conversation. James turned to Peter, who was the look out and mouthed "He's alright" to the smaller boy. In return, Peter look relieved, but only for a bit. He tensed up and gave his new friends the "someone's coming" sign. The two backed away from the door, but sighed when they saw it was only Harmony.

"Is he alright?" she asked, very concerned.

"He's going to be fine," James said. "That's what Madame Pomfrey was just saying."

Harmony looked relieved. "She came out and told you?"

"Uh," James said, nervously, "no."

"We eavesdropped," Sirius stated proudly. "But what do you think she meant of his 'condition?'" Harmony, James, and Peter could only shrug in response.

"Well, I think I know," came a slimy, cold voice. The four turned to see Severus Snape standing there. "He suffers from the same thing our dear Miss Anderson here suffers from."

"And what's that, Snape?" Harmony asked, slightly annoyed.

"Isuckatpotionsitis. Common disease really. Only a few are fully immune," Snape said, smugly.

Sirius couldn't stand this git any longer. "Oh, and I guess you consider yourself one of those few, don't you?"

Snape pulled himself up. "If you must know, yes I do." He sniffed and looked down at Sirius, who was still actually crouching by the door. "But," he drawled, "at least I'm not a disgrace to my family by ending up in Gryffindor and hanging out with half-breeds!"

Sirius and James decided they had had enough and pulled out their wands. "Now, now, we wouldn't want to do anything rash," came another cold voice. A tall boy with platinum blonde hair and a sneer came from the shadows.

"Lucius Malfoy!" Harmony gasped, while Sirius and James continued to stew. "What are you doing here?"

"My family and the Snapes are close, and they asked me to keep an eye on him. Now, don't make me have to hurt you. After all, I am a Seventh year."

"And not afraid of trying anything dark or illegal," Harmony snorted, creating more tension.

They were saved when Alice came through the halls. "Malfoy! Snape! What are you doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Why don't you ask them?" Malfoy asked, challenging the Head Girl.

Alice didn't lose her temper. "Because," she said, enunciating every word for emphasis, "I know why they are here. They're friend is in the hospital wing for a potions injury. Now you two on the other hand have no reason, so scat before I take away ten points from Slytherin."

Malfoy and Snape made no move to leave. "Fine," Alice said. "Ten points from Slytherin."

"Fine, see if we care," Snape said while Malfoy laughed. He proudly patted the younger boy's shoulder.

Alice smiled. "Each. Don't make me take twenty more points from Slytherin," she said. This finally got to the two and they turned to leave. She turned to the four. "Tell your friend I hope he gets better."

Harmony smiled. "We will. Thanks, Alice!" At that point, the door opened and a slightly dazed Remus stumbled out. "Remus!" Harmony cried, catching his right arm as James caught his left.

"Hey, guys, sorry about that. How many classes did I miss?" he asked, leaning heavily on his two supports.

"Every one today," James responded. "But don't worry, you basically missed the introductions to everything. So let's just get you back to the common room. Harmony if you can't handle him, Sirius can take over."

The five stumbled into the Gryffindor common room and got Remus to the couch. "You just rest now," Harmony said, as sat down next to him. James, Sirius and Peter joined her as Kiki and Lily came over.

"Thanks. You guys really are friends," Remus said, though not really focusing on anyone.

Lily patted his hand. "Don't worry, you can use my notes to catch up. But not tonight. I think we should ask McGonagall to send up food from the kitchens."

"I missed lunch?"

"And dinner," Lily said. She turned but there was McGonagall with a tray of steaming food.

"One ahead of you, Miss Evans," the Transfiguration teacher said. "But in the future, it's Professor McGonagall."

Lily blushed as Remus tried to eat his meal. "Someone help Mr. Lupin and then get him to bed. Goodnight," she said.

"Night, Professor," they chimed before Kiki grabbed the fork out of Remus' hand. She then proceeded to feed him, much to the boy's disapproval.

"I can do it myself!" Remus argued. "But thanks anyway. You all are great friends, even if some of you can't stand each other." From that moment on, the seven of them would stick together through the good, the bad, and the Snape.