I know I know I know.. I'm only supposed to work on one fic at a time but something was like.. really really bugging me and it was the Marauder Era that was serisously giving me griefe. I dunno Why, but it seriously was. So.. I decided to dip my fingers into the Marauder Era and see if I was any good at it.. Uhm.. I hope I don't butcher the characters too much.. I hope the fic is like.. Review if you want.. But I really REALLY want reviews to go to QTTA for those of you who don't know what that it Quidditch Throughout the Ages.. Alright! Enjoy!
James Potter glared at Sirius Black, who retaliated in the very same fashion. Both boys looked ready to kill the other. Potters and Blacks didn't get along, that's just the way it was, and that was the way it would always be. No questions asked.
A small crowd had formed around the two boys, most anticipating the boys to break out into a raging battle. There was nothing else these two boys could do other than fight. Their last names made all the difference in the world, and the simple sight of someone unworthy of being a wizard was what truly seperated them in every single way.
James was the first of the two boys to speak, "Just because you're in Gryffindor, doesn't mean you're one of us. You are still a Black and a bloody prat at that!" He spat the words out in disgust.
"You Potters are supposed to be cream of the crop, or at least that would other families say about your lot," Sirius shook his head and began to leave. The crowd immidiately parted to let him pass. Before he did leave; however, he stopped and turned around, "But you're just as bad as my family. And don't judge me, Potter, you know nothing about me."
With that, the young Sirius Black left the Gryffindor Common Room, and headed out. As long as he wouldn't have to mingle with those high and mighty prats that had the nerve to call themselves Gryffindors. He supposed they were better company than Slytherins and his family, but with the warm welcoming he had so far recieved, he would have much rather spent his entire year at Hogwarts in solitude.
The Black family was well known for its terrible family members and close and equally as terrible family friends. Bellatrix Black and Narcissa Black were both cousins of Sirius' and had been able to make his first week at Hogwarts a living nightmare. Because he had been sorted into Gryffindor and often opted to travel in solitude, any Slytherins he bumped into, with much encouragement from his oh so beloved cousins, would attack him. Whether with jinxes, hexes, curses or good old fashioned bullying.
He was able to hide the bruises, cuts and scratches with a little bit of help from the school nurse, who had promised not to let anyone know about his great number of small unjuries and "wand problems."
As if passing by people who hated him wasn't bad enough, he had to live with a completely different group of people that hated him, or were afraid of what he might do to them. Just because he belonged to certain family, people expected certain things of him. Though he may have had the blood of a Black and Black's last name, at heart, he was a nameless no account. He had no house, no friends, no family, no nothing.
Loyalty wasn't exactly his strong suit. He hadn't exactly been what one would call loyal to the family, so the sorting hat hadn't even thought to put him in Hufflepuff.
Though he was clever, he wasn't the smartest person he knew, and the sorting hat had been able to sense that as well. Ravenclaw was no house for this particular young man.
Cleverness and whitt was something accepted among Slytherin, though not the positive aspects of it. Sirius was a cunning young man, a smooth talker when he needed to be. He could easily sink into the shadows and slither his way about, weaving in and out of trouble with the ease and grace of a snake. And still, the sorting hat had not placed him in Slytherin.
Instead the sorting hat had chosen Gryffindor, and though Sirius was glad to bring dishonor to the Black name, he couldn't imagine why the ratty old hat had put him in this house.
Probably because there was no house for misfits, he thought ruefully as he strode down the castle's corridors toward the library, the one place he would be, at least for some time, able to bask in silence and solitude.
Lily Evans had been present at the little spat between James and Sirius and rolled her eyes at the whole thing. Being that she wasn't of a wizarding family, she didn't seem to understand the intense rivalries between pureblood wizarding families. She had watched the Black boy leave the common room rather angrily, and she felt bad for him.
Once the boy was gone, Lily turned her gaze to James, the temporary victor of the spat, and quite obviously the first year savior for Gryffindor. Her eyes narrowed at him, and stormed off to her dormitory.
James did not notice, only basked in the glow of praise from his fellow first year Gryffindors. Even some older students who had seen the row commented on how nicely he had done.
"Bloody Blacks are trying to invade Gryffindor--"
"--wouldn't mind giving those bloodyprats a piece of th---"
"---can't be satisfied with their own snakes, have to come and--"
And so an and so forth.
Almost every Gryffindor student had a comment about Sirius Black, or about the Blacks in general, those who were raised in wizarding families anyway. One boy; however, remained eerily silent on the issue. He simply sat contently on the plush scarlet armchair and read.
"Remus!" James called to his friend, leaving his crowd of worshippers andjoining his friend. He seated himself on the arm of the armchair and looked over the skinny boy's shoulder, trying to find out what the book was about that had captured his friend's attention so.
The boy, or, Remus, as James had called him, glanced at James and shook his head at the boy, "Hello, James."
"What are you reading? Something about--" he squinted and adjusted his round spectacles a bit. "The print is so tiny! How can you possibly read anything that the page says?"
Closing his book, Remus fixed his friend with a glare, "Just because you have glasses and still can't read, doesn't mean the print is too small." He held up the cover of his book so that James could examine it.
"Herbology?"
"Yes," Remus stated plainly, re-opening the book and searching for the page he had left off on. "Herbology. You know, that subject you're already failing even though we've only been at Hogwarts for a week?"
A small blush crept up on James' cheeks and he shook his head, "You pay attention to too much detail. We have how many months in that class? I'll be fine." He hopped off of the chair's arm and began to head for the boys' dormitory. "Well, don't be too long, we've got dinner in a little bit."
"Alright," Remus muttered, eyes trained onto the pages infront of him and their words.
Shaking his head at Remus, James went up into the boys' dormitory to change out of his uniform for dinner.
"Go away, Pettigrew," Sirius growled to a small mousy boy who had bumped into him in the corridors. "I said that I wanted to study alone. Is that too hard for you to comprehend?"
Out of all the Gryffindor students, Peter Pettigrew was the only one that dared to approach Sirius as a person, rather than just a wizard belonging to a bad family. "I- I know you s-said that y-you wanted to s-study alone, but you're r-really good at ch-charms and I was hoping you could help m-me."
Sirius didn't know if the boy was afraid of him, or if he always stuttered, but he knew he didn't want to be pestered at the moment, and definetely not by Peter Pettigrew. He sighed as he seated himself down at a small round table. "Aren't you going to go to dinner with everyone else?"
"O-oh, I'm not h-hungry," as he said this, his stomach let out a loud, long, agonizing growl. This cused Sirius to raise an eyebrow at him. Peter decided to rephrase his former statement, "W-what I mean is, I don't like t-to really sit w-with anyone. T-they don't really like me much."
Join the club, Sirius thought ruefully. "Well, if I'm going to help you with charms, you'll be needing a charms book, no? Unless you think I'm some sort of charms prodege."
Peter let out a weak laugh, but quickly sat down beside the larger boy, and they instantly engaged themselves in studying different charms they had been learning for the past week. After Peter had a firm grasp on what it was he would be doing in class, Peter returned the favor by helping Sirius with History of magic.
"One week of school and we're already learning about bloody witch hunts," Sirius mumbled, in attempts to evade the question Peter had asked him about the very first witch to be burned by the Puritans, but survived.
Grinning and shaking his head, Peter caught on to Sirius' game, "Afraid th-that's the wrong answer, m-mate. I thought this o-one would be an e-easy one. Her name w-was Scarlet."
"I thought a lot of witches named got burned at the stake an awful lot," he mumbled, flipping through his book and trying to count out exactly how many Scarlets had been burned at the stake.
In no time at all, they had completed their studies and homework for the day and had missed lunch entirely. Joking and laughing, the two Gryffindor misfits made their way up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Though Sirius had made a friend out of the small mouse like boy, Peter wasn't one Sirius would ever consider a best friend, just someone he could fall back on during those boring or awkward times.
Like now.
All eyes were on the odd pair as they entered the common room, but Sirius acted as though he hardly noticed all the extra attention. Peter cowered back, falling into the shadows and trying not to be seen. As they walked by, whispers broke out amongst the students.
Did they have nothing better to do than start gossip?
James was in the corner of the common room, sitting at a table piled with books. Every one of them were untouched, and the parchment that was infront of him was blank. As Sirius strode by proudly, head up and eyes straight ahead, the Potter boy glared and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
The person across from him, Lily Evans, poked him hard on the arm, "Get to work, James. I should hate to think that your hatred toward another person would ultimately effect your work effort." Her emerald eyes narrowed at him in a way that told him that she had a wand and she knew how to use it.
In more ways than one.
Peter had vanished somewhere between the portrait hole and the boys' dormitory, but Sirius didn't go off looking for him, he simply continued his procession to his four poster bed. When he crashed heavily upon that soft, lumpy mattress, his stomach let out a distressing call for food, but being the proud youth he was, Sirius ignored it.
Though Sirius was ignoring his growling stomach, Remus didn't. "You weren't at dinner," he stated the obvious.
The other boy jumped suddely, not noticing someone else was in the dorm other than himself. Sirius blinked several times, allowing his eyes adjust to the darkness. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but Remus beat him to the punch, "Here, I took the liberty of bringing you something to eat."
Sirius could make out the boy's figure reaching for something that rested on a dresser and sliding it across the carpeted floor. Recognizing it to be his dinner, Sirius scooped it up and began to eat silently. Remembering his manners, he swallowed and spoke, "Thanks--"
"Remus," he supplied his name dully and letting out a gentle yawn, "Remus Lupin."
Sirius nodded his head slightly, "I'm--"
"Sirius Black, I know," Remus said. There was a moment of silence before Remus spoke again. There was a hint of sympathy and understanding in his voice when spoke, "I'm sorry you're receiving so much grief about what house you're in. No one should be judged before they're really known."
Chewing on a tender piece of venison, Sirius couldn't answer nor reply to this comment, but agreed with every fiber of his being. When he did swallow the partially chewed meat he bade Remus goodnight and thanked him once more for the small meal. Remus nodded once, before allowing his gaze to drop to a book in his hands.
"This is unexceptable!" Professor McGonagall growled furiously, glaring at Sirius and James in turn. "The both of you should be asahmed of yourselves! Fifteen points from each of for your serious lack of maturity and you will be serving detention tonight in the dungeons!"
Sirius and James looked at each other with menacing glares before turning innocent glances to their transfiguration professor and began to argue about how it was the other's fault.
"Silence, both of you!" But when neither boy fell silent, the lady professor used a silencing charm on each of them. Pointing her wand threateningly at the two, very different, Gryffindor boys, she spoke slowly, "You two are in the same house. If there can be no peace inside the house, how do ever expect all the houses to ever unite?"
Being that they were forced to be silent, the two boys had nothing to say. Professor McGonagall released them from the charm and sent them away. "Don't forget, in the dungeons, after dinner. Should you elect not to come, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, you both will be in more trouble than either of you can imagine."
They decided to tempt the professor to use the full extent of her power.
For the first time since the begining of the year feast, Sirius found himself entering the Great Hall, but fortunately he was not alone. Unfortunately, he was accompanied by Peter Pettigrew, yet again.
When the duo entered, Sirius began to look up and down Gryffindor table for a seat. A pale hand had raised into the air and had begun to wave Sirius and Peter over.
Remus smiled weakly as he waved for Sirius to come over and he mouthed the words, 'Come on! I saved some seats!' He waved a bit more furiously, a motion for the boys to hurry up if they wanted to sit and eat. Sirius gave a curt nod and began to make his way down the Gryffindor table, toward the waving Remus.
James, who was directly across from Remus, noticed his friend waving feverently to someone or other. He took a swig of pumpkin juice, then leaned back on the bench to see who it was that Remus was inviting over. At seeing Sirius Black stroding purposefully toward the area, James spit out all the pumpkin juice in his mouth and quickly leaned back toward the table. "Bloody hell, Lupin! What are you doing!"
"Inviting Sirius over," Remus said with a small smirk as he slowly put his hand down and began to eat. "Is there something wrong with that?"
Apparently, the question was very offensive to James, "You know I can't sit with him! He bloody hates me, and I hate him just as mu--" he fell silent when he felt Sirius' presence directly behind him.
Peter had scarmbled around to the other side, and took up a seat next to Remus. The small boy was grinning widely, as if being invited to sit with someone was the best thing that could ever happen to someone like him. "H-hello!" He squeaked.
There was a small grunt emitted from James as Sirius seated himself next to his enemy. Sirius rolled his eyes, "Well I'm about as thrilled being next to you as a flobber worm is about being a dragon's appetizer." And once again for probably the hundreth time that week, the two boys were glaring at one another.
"Hear you both got detentions from McGonagall," came the voice of Lily Evans as she passed by with a couple of her gal pals. The two girls she walked with giggled and continued to walk down to the end of the table. Lily; however, stopped behind Remus and Peter. "What? Did she not think your taking turns turning various body parts into blades of grass entertaining?" She let out a small laugh then left, joining her own flock of friends at the end of Gryffindor table.
Again, James and Sirius glared, but this time at Lily's retreating form. James spoke first, "Evans would be a bloody prat about someone getting in trouble for no reason."
"Girls," Sirius muttered.
"You said it," James agreed.
Realizing that they were actually having a somewhat decent exchange of words, James and Sirius elected to just shut up, eat and glare at ech other for the rest of the dinner. Remus shook his head at the two. They could be the best of friends if they would just get over their pride and getto know each other.
After dinner, both boys departed the Great Hall to make their way to the dungeons, where they would probably face the worst. To greet them was Mr. Filch with a nasty grin across his unshaven face. "There are four dungeons that need to be cleaned, you trouble makers will be cleaning them, without your magic." He reached down into the pocket of his long, dark coat and withdrew to items much too small and skinny to be wands. He threw them to the floor. "You'll be using these." His face twisted painfully, and it took the boys a minute to realize that he was smiling.
Sirius picked up the blue toothbrush and examined it carefully, "Bloody he--" he stopped himself, "This is my toothbrush!"
Filch's face was still in that twisted contorted smile, "Enjoy."
The boys were left alone, to scrub four filthy dungeons with their own personal toothbrushes. A bucket of soapy water appeared in the dungeon corner, a sign that they boys should probably start. The two boys started at opposite ends of the dungeon and began to scrub with their toothbrushes. In a matter of minutes they were covered in grime and scum from the neglect area.
"This is the sickest thing," James muttered, leaning against the grimy wall with a sigh.
Sirius muttered his agreement and dipped his toothbrush into the soapy water that had yet to get dirty. "Filch'll get what's coming to him though."
A moment of silence passed between them.
"Listen," James began, hesitantly, "I want to apologize for being a prat to you, and--"
Sirius waved his apology aside, "You were raised one way, I was raised another." He shrugged a little and pulled his toothbrush out of the bucket and began to scrub the floor. "Besides, I was a bit of a prat too."
Another hour passed slowly by in silence. The two boys, so used to hating each other, remained in peaceful silence, exchanging a few words every now and then. After another half hour, they were talking as friends often do. A quarter of an hour later, they were swapping stories about life at home.
"My mum hadsn't sent me a howler yet, about being in Gryffindor yet. She's probably just waiting to beat me up when I go home this summer," Sirius shrugged, putting a conclusion to his story of home.
James was stunned at how lightly Sirius took all this, "Well, aren't you afriad? Aren't you going to try and do something?"
Sirius simply lifted and dropped his shoulders, "It isn't as if my mother hasn't beaten me before, my father either for that matter." He leaned against the dungeon wall and sunk down into a sitting position. "It's nothing I can't handle, if I have to go home that is. I might try to work out a deal with Dumbledore or something, and try to get him to let me stay here over the summer."
The dark haired, bespectacled boy shook his head and ran a hand over his hair that refused to stay flat, "You shouldn't have to stay at Hogwarts all the time. Maybe, if I could work something out with my parents, you could come to my place?" When Sirius lifted a skeptical brow, James grinned, "Unless you want to stay with Pettigrew."
That definately got a reaction out of the large boy, who's eyes widened and shook his head quickly. The two boys laughed, and continued to get to know each other, neglecting their punishment.
From the shadows of the dungeon, a small brey cat with black stripes remained concealed in the shadows, watching over the two boys with a look that could be viewed as approval.
Hope you all enjoyed...
Hope you all will review..
Hope you all didn't get any brain damage whilst reading this cuz then I'd feel really really bad..
Anyway..
Later Days!
Richi Sama
