A Marauder's Life For Me
Chapter 1
"Master James, you is going to be late!" Margarette, the Potters' house elf, called up the stairs.
"Coming, Mar!" James yelled, sticking his head out his bedroom door. "I'll be down in a minute!"
James Potter was an eleven year old boy who had black hair and glasses. He had inherited his hair from his father, Harold. It was always messy and unruly, no matter what he did to it, but that didn't bother James one bit. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, stuffing his wand in the pocket of his jeans as he made to leave the bedroom. However, before he left, he ruffled his hair in front of the mirror, making it look windswept. Smiling at his reflection, he darted out of the bedroom and slid down the staircase banister, landing with a THUMP on the floor in the foyer. He then walked casually into the kitchen, grinning madly.
"James, how many times do I have to ask you not to slide down the banister before you actually listen?" James's mother, Sabrina, asked.
"Many, many times," Harold replied.
James sat down at the breakfast table as Margarette brought over a plate of scrambled eggs and began serving them to the family.
"Dad, when are we leaving for King's Cross?" James asked.
Harold looked over at the clock that was hanging on the kitchen wall. It read 9:30 AM. He then turned to look back at James.
"How about 10:35? That gives you plenty of time to finish packing your trunk, plus extra time in case we run into traffic on the road," Harold replied.
"Okay," James said brightly.
When James finished eating, he went back up to his bedroom to finish packing his trunk. His books were neatly stacked inside, but his robes were sitting in piles on his bed. He picked up the robes and threw them unceremoniously into his trunk. He made to stand up when a knock sounded on the door, making him jump and hit his head on the inside of the trunk lid.
"OUCH!" James exclaimed, furiously massaging the spot on his head where it had hit the trunk.
"Sorry, hun," Sabrina said. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to give you something. It's a going-away present from your father and me."
In her left hand was a small cage, and inside was a baby tawny owl that was twittering madly.
"Wow, Mum! An owl!" James said, walking over and taking the cage from her.
"It still needs a name," Harold said, joining Sabrina on the landing in front of his son's room.
"How about Merlin?" Sabrina suggested.
"I like it. However, the question is do you like it?" James asked, looking at the baby owl in its cage.
"Hoo!" the baby owl said.
"I'll take that as a yes," James said with a grin.
The Potters reached King's Cross by 10:50. James walked through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, and Platform 9¾ materialized in front of him; Harold and Sabrina followed with James's trunk.
"Wow," James said softly, staring at the magnificent scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express.
James put his trunk in one of the train's compartments, and then rejoined his mother and father on the platform.
"I'll miss you," James said.
"We'll miss you too," Sabrina said, "but I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time."
"Mum, I've been waiting to go to Hogwarts for a really long time. Of course I'll have a good time."
"Okay, I know you'll have a good time. Just try to stay out of trouble."
"I'll try," James said seriously, but turned to grin at his dad when his mother wasn't looking.
The train's warning whistle blew, signaling that it was time to board.
"I love you, James," Sabrina said, kissing him on the forehead.
"Mum, stop," James said as he struggled to get away.
Sabrina rolled her eyes as she let go of her son.
"Send us owls," Harold put in as he ruffled James's hair.
"I will," James said as he stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.
The train began to move, and James waved from the compartment window until it turned a corner, losing sight of Platform 9¾. He continued to look out the window until a knock sounded on the compartment door.
"Come in," James said.
In walked a boy of about James's height. He had long black hair that fell elegantly into his gray eyes, and looked (to James) to be about his own age. The boy put his trunk in the overhead compartment, and sat down in the seat across from James.
"Hi," James said to the boy. "I'm James Potter."
"Sirius Black. I'm starting Hogwarts this year. What year are you?"
"I'm a first year too," James replied. "Or I will be, once I'm sorted."
"Good. So I know at least one person who's in my year," Sirius said.
"Sounds like I've made a friend," James said, grinning.
James and Sirius each bought some food off the trolley cart when it came around. About fifteen minutes after that, there was another knock on the door, and a girl with brown hair down to her shoulders opened it.
"Hey, Sirius!" the girl said.
"You know her?" James asked, looking from the girl in the doorway to Sirius.
"Yeah, this is my cousin Andromeda. Andromeda, I'd like you to meet my new friend James Potter."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, James," Andromeda said with a smile.
"Andromeda's starting this year, too," Sirius explained as a second girl entered the compartment and placed her hand on Andromeda's shoulder.
"Oh, hey Bella," Andromeda said, smiling at her.
"Another cousin?" James asked with a smirk.
"Yes," Sirius said, his voice distinctly colder. "James, this is Bellatrix. She's also starting this year."
"It's Bella, get it right," she shot at Sirius. "Pleasure, James."
Andromeda, sensing the tension between Bellatrix and Sirius, thought frantically for something to say. If the two of them were left together for too long, there was bound to be trouble. Finally, she thought of something to say.
"Come, Bella, let's go find Narcissa. She's probably been looking for us."
"Okay. Nice meeting you, James. Sirius," Bellatrix said, scowling at him as she and Andromeda left the compartment.
Sirius laughed sourly as the compartment door shut behind the two girls.
"Won't she be in for a surprise when she finds out you're a Potter," he said, looking at James.
"Is that a problem?" James asked, raising his voice defensively.
"Not to me, no," Sirius replied, sighing. "But it will be to my family."
"What do you mean?" James asked questioningly.
"Well, you see, everyone in my family – with the exception of Andromeda and myself – is a big supporter of Voldemort," Sirius said.
"I've been hearing his name crop up more and more often lately," James said. "My parents are Aurors, you see. However, it doesn't matter what your family's like. It only matters to me what you're like. And in my opinion, you're fine."
Sirius's depressed expression turned into a grin as another knock sounded on the door.
"Come in," Sirius said.
A pale boy with light brown hair and blue eyes opened the door. He was only a little bit shorter than James and Sirius, but you couldn't tell, seeing as both of them were seated.
"May I join you?" the boy asked.
"Sure," James replied. "I don't see why not."
"I'm Remus Lupin," the boy said as he struggled to get his trunk in the overhead compartment.
"James Potter," James said as Remus sat down next to him, "and this is Sirius Black."
"It's nice to meet both of you," Remus said.
"You seem like a nice guy," Sirius said, looking at Remus as though sizing him up. "We can all be friends."
James, Sirius, and Remus stepped off the train at Hogsmeade Station. They had left their stuff on the train because, according to the conductor, it would be taken up to the castle separately.
A voice called out to the students, "Firs' years this way!" It was the voice of Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper.
"Hey, Hagrid!" James called, running to catch up with him.
"You must be James Potter," Hagrid said, looking down at James and smiling. "Yeh look jus' like Harry. How are yeh?"
"Fine, Hagrid. Are we supposed to follow you?" James asked.
"Yeah, follow me ter the boats," Hagrid replied.
James followed Hagrid; Remus and Sirius followed a little ways behind James, staring at him incredulously.
"You know him?" Remus asked, looking at the back of Hagrid's immense form.
"Yeah, my parents were friends of his when they were here," James replied.
"Is he nice?" Sirius asked.
"Oh yeah. He's one of the nicest people you could ever meet," James said loyally.
"No more'n four ter a boat," Hagrid called to the first years that had followed him to the shore.
Sirius, Remus, and James got into one of the small boats and were joined by a short, blond haired boy who looked extremely nervous.
"What's your name?" Remus asked the boy.
"Peter Pettigrew," he answered quietly.
"Well, I'm Remus Lupin, and this is James Potter and Sirius Black," Remus said, smiling at Peter.
The boats, which had been gliding silently across the lake, clanked gently against the harbor wall. The four boys got out, walked up the steps carved into the stone, and entered the castle through the double doors at the top. Waiting for the new students in the corridor was a stern looking woman; she wore square spectacles and her brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," she said, and led the first years into an empty chamber off of the Great Hall.
Once all of the new students had filed in, she turned around to look at them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall. The start-of-term feast will take place shortly, but first, you must be sorted into houses. There are four houses here at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house is like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points, but any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of each year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"In a few minutes, I will come and get you for the Sorting Ceremony. Wait here, and please do so quietly."
A/N: Hi, all. This is a rewrite of the story A Marauder's Life For Me that I originally had posted here. I didn't really like the way the story was going, so I decided to start over. I will try to update this story frequently, but it might not be as often as you guys would like because I also decided to rewrite Harry Potter and the Lost Prophecy, so I'm in the middle of that too. Thanks to all the readers who reviewed my old story - I love you so much! I'd love you even more if you reviewed my new one! Feel free to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns - my email is on my fanfiction page. Love you all!
Astronomylover