Just Kids

A Marauders Fic

Summary

Their lives will shape the fate of the world, magic and muggle. They will help drive back the darkness, their names will be known to everyone, they will be loved and hated in turn. Not quite yet though, right now…they're just kids.

Disclaimer

You are gullible if you believe the following:

That the word gullible has been taken out of the dictionary.

&

That I am our beloved JKR. I'm not, I don't own the rights to the Harry Potter books or any of the characters in them. I am not making any money out of this so please don't sue. Since I don't have much money you wouldn't get much out of me anyway.

Also, the idea for the trunk comes from The Luggage, it belongs to Terry Pratchet.

Wishing I Was Someone/Somewhere Else Entirely

Remus Lupin stared out of the window into a sea of faces, all except for a select few were smiling and waving to their departing loved ones. People who weren't smiling included a cluster of Blacks who seemed to think that showing any emotion other than icy superiority was beneath them, a tall horse-faced girl at the back of the crowd who wore an expression of mingled disgust and fury and his parents who's faces mirrored his own. They were hopeful, scared, bemused and thankful, with a bit of "I am going to miss you" and "Is this a dream" thrown in for good measure. The Lupins hadn't thought they were going to be here today.

His father managed a small smile and a wave but his mother just stared up at him, and her face spoke a thousand words. On the platform they had clung to one another, desperate for something solid, in what seemed to be a dream. Now, looking down on her from the train, she seemed wispy, fragile, as though she would snap at any moment. His dad didn't look much better, the Black patriarch kept shooting him contemptuous glances.

Remus was almost glad when a commotion at the gate drew his attention away from his parents, a tall, athletic girl with short brown hair was pushing her way through the mass of people or rather her trunk on legs was. Just then the train gave a shudder and with a screech from its whistle they were off.

"No!" the girl exclaimed and ran faster, the trunk pumping its little legs to keep up. at first it looked like she wasn't going to make it, the train was gaining speed and she was beginning to look puffed. Then a door opened at the end of the train and a hand was extended towards the girl. she looked very thankful and put on an extra burst of speed, reached for the hand, grabbed at it once, twice then caught it. She was pulled in gasping for breath, her magic trunk gave an odd little hop and neatly landed in the train. An ear-splitting cheer went up from the audience. From what Remus could see the girl had just given a bow. The train was almost out of the station, she had been very lucky.

The little performance seemed to have cheered up his parents though, they were clapping along with the rest. In that moment he would of given anything to be like her, to be able to make his family smile. Their house didn't have much laughter in it now. it used to until a full moon night in August 7 years ago when Romulus had died and Remus had received a scar that would mark him for life in more ways then one.

Now every month he became a monster that full grown wizards were afraid of. On the night of the full moon he was locked in a sturdy shed at the bottom of their garden. All the windows and doors were locked, the tall gate at the entrance was barred and the high walls that separated the Lupins from the rest of the world were checked for holes. The fiend that Remus became had been know to escape from the hut and he couldn't bear the thought of the brute getting out a killing someone.

Remus didn't have any friends, the only people he talked to apart from his parents were the Healers at St Mungo's after a particularly bloody night. He was cut of from the outside world by more than walls, where ever he went he was dogged suspicion, prejudice and mistrust. No parent would want their child with a werewolf, who knows what might happen.

School had at first been out of the question. How would they control the beast? What if one of the students was bitten or killed? Armando Dippet had been very insistent, no werewolves in my school! Then Dippet had died and Albus Dumbledore was made headmaster. Dumbledore had contacted them almost as soon as he was appointed. Mrs Lupin had framed the letter and hung it in front of her bed, for Headmaster Dumbledore believed that everyone should have an equal chance to learn magic, this policy included Remus.

He should have been jumping for joy, but even though he was going to Hogwarts, had his Headmasters complete trust and would soon be meeting people his own age. He couldn't feel normal or happy, he was still a monster and if his peers ever found out… Life sucks, thought Remus, especially if your me.

***

Slumped in the corner of a Slitherin filled carriage was another boy who was not loving his life, especially since it included Belatrix Black, cousin and mortal enemy. She was currently sucking up to some Slitherin sixth-years, she called it making contacts and apparently he was meant to be following her example.

His mother had been very definite about that, Agatha Black was an imposing figure and she had a very loud voice, Sirius was used to her speeches but he didn't think that the surrounding families had been expecting a long talk on his faults, Dumbledore's faults and a lot of insulting views on Muggleborns, half-bloods and blood traitors to see them on their way. When she wasn't insulting three-quarters of the station she was praising Belatrix, who was apparently a model child, well behaved, respectful to her elders, ambitious, eager to please, the list went on but in short everything he wasn't.

Despite being the Blacks first born son and heir, he had grown up hating his family. This had led to hating everything they stood for, so Sirius was now that rare thing, a Black who didn't think that all Muggles should be rounded up and cursed to death, couldn't care less about purity of blood and most importantly at this point in his life would curl up and die if he was sorted in to Slitherin.

So in fact Mrs Black was wrong about Sirius, he was ambitious. He wanted to be blasted of his family tree and become an Auror so he could put his whole family(except for Andromeda) into Askaban. He hungered for that day when he could watch them begging for mercy as the Dementors glided towards them twitching their hoods aside to revel…

Uproarious laughter interrupted his thoughts, Lucious Malfoy had just finished telling an apparently hilarious joke. Of course he had money, so if he had said "Golye stinks" everyone would have cracked a rib laughing.

"Doesn't Sirius think Lucious' story is funny?" Bellatrix had decided that he was due some taunting "Maybe Sirius thinks that cursing Mudbloods isn't worth a laugh."

"What!" the platinum blonde sixth-year stood up "The Black heir is a blood traitor, he actually thinks that Mudbloods have rights?"

"I thought you were meant to be promoting my interests, dearest cousin." said Sirius sarcastically "I'm sure I heard mother say something like that, she was shouting loud enough, you ought to have heard."

"Oh!" exclaimed Bellatrix moving closer "You actually want me to help you?"

"In your dreams, cuz." sneered Sirius

"With his attitude it's a wonder your family hasn't disowned him." sniggered a burly fifth-year called Kenneth Mulciber.

"Personally I think he should have been drowned at birth," his older cousin Narcissia smirked "but, alas, I couldn't make that decision."

"Keep your mouth shut Cissy or you might find you've bitten of more than you can chew."

"Don't you threaten my girlfriend!" Malfoy stood up drawing his wand but he was dwarfed by Crabbe and Goyle, who loomed up behind him glaring and cracking their knuckles. Sirius began to feel very small but he had never be one for backing down, in the past this had got him into a lot of trouble, but he ignored his more cautious feelings and stepped into the fray.

"Look, Malfoy can't even threaten a first-year without his two human boulders." he drew his wand "How very Slitherin."

"Where are your goons then?" asked Edward Wilkins "'Cause that's where you'll be going, can't escape your linage."

"To dumb to be in Ravenclaw" a thickset second-year called Rdolphus Lestrange jeered.

"Not very loyal, betraying your family with every sentence you speak." hissed Deride Meliflua, a brown haired girl with poisonous green nails.

Sirius thought he had seen her before, at the last family get together. Her mother had been talking about the law she was trying to pass that would make Muggle hunting legal, Deride had suggested that they go out and practice. Sirius had then been locked in the cellar for making a derogative comment about her intelligence, so he hadn't really got to know her.

"Sorry, Hufflepuffs out then." he was starting to hate her though.

"I suppose there's always Gryfindor," said Bellatrix in a hushed voice as she circled him "but no, your still a Black, whatever you might think, black to the core."

"Rotten to the core you mean" said Sirius bluntly, Bellatrix laughed sharply.

"I'm looking forward to making your school life hell. You'll have no friends, all the other houses will hate you for being a Black and your own house will hate you for just being you. There'll be curse round every corner, an insult on every ones lips," she put on a comforting expression "but don't be sad, don't worry, holidays are coming soon, you'll be back were you belong, with you family. Won't that be nice. In the meantime though, better get started with that hell-making.

She drew her wand and Sirius laughed.