Back To Hogwarts
Sirius Black, James Potter
"Wake up!" Yelled James as he jumped on Sirius' bed. "School starts today mate." Sirius pushed James off his bed and rolled over to put his pillow over his head. James laughed but was interrupted by his mother who was standing in the doorway with a bundle of Sirius' clean clothes.
"Sirius, honey we will be having breakfast in about half an hour." She said while carefully putting the clothes in Sirius' black trunk.
Sirius removed the pillow from his head and squinted into the light. "I'm not hungry Mrs. P." He said.
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Potter asked sternly.
"I'll be down in a minute." Sirius said as he hopped out of bed with extreme energy for someone who was definitely not a morning person. He grabbed his towel and hurried to his bathroom. Mrs. Potter winked at her son who smiled in return before she went to help Layla the house elf with breakfast. Sirius was the type who only needed a little nudge to get going. He came back out a few minutes later with his hair in his face and a big smile.
"Now I'm ready for school!" He exclaimed with laughter playing at his lips. James grinned back at his best friend but didn't say anything. Much was on the poor boy's mind. He was made head boy this summer but James found it hard to be happy about it. First of all, he did not know who his head girl was. Secondly, Sirius tormented last year's head boy. And thirdly, he did not know if he could find a way to be a head boy and a Marauder without disappointing someone. Sirius, noticing James was being unusually quiet, sat down next to his best friend and asked:
"Are you ready for this year?" James couldn't help but smile. Of course Sirius would know exactly what he was thinking. Sirius tended to know what everyone was thinking and he often knew exactly how to handle it but James knew this was not going to be one of those times. Sirius was a troublemaker and he ignored every responsibility given to him since James could remember. To him, rules were meant to be broken. James didn't think Sirius would understand if James ever got in the position where he would have to put Sirius in detention or stop him from doing something resulting in detention. "You think I don't know that things are going to change But James, I do understand that there are certain things you won't be able to do anymore. I'll just have to do them on my own and behind your back." Sirius said reassuringly and James chuckled. Once again, Sirius knew exactly what to say but he wasn't exactly honest about it that time. He hated the possibility of lacking pranks but he knew being head boy was an honour for James even if James didn't even know it himself. "Well I suppose we should be going down to breakfast. I still can't believe your mother won't accept the fact that I do not eat breakfast." Sirius whined and James laughed. "Well, she reads a lot of books and many health books say that it is not healthy to skip breakfast. Besides, she thinks you're too thin." James said. "Oh please! You and I are the same size." Sirius argued and James nodded. The two of them got up and debated about their size all the way down to the kitchen where Mr. Potter shushed and told them to eat their pancakes without further arguments. "Do you two have everything? Socks? Clean underwear? James, I put your underwear in your trunk because you forgot them in the laundry room." Mrs. Potter said. "Mom!" James exclaimed with embarrassment. "For goodness sake James. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. You and Sirius may as well be brothers. Besides, you sleep in your underwear so I'm sure you've both seen each other's undergarments before." Mrs. Potter stated. "Okay Mum, you can stop now." James said while trying to hide his flushing face. The rest of the table laughed and continued to eat their breakfast. The two boys finished shortly after and made their way upstairs so Sirius could finish packing. It didn't take long for him to stuff all his things in his trunk but James circled the room and found two forgotten items: Sirius' Potions book and also the History of Magic book. "Darn, I was hoping to forget those." Sirius joked as he took the books from James. He put the books in his trunk and attempted to close it but it just wouldn't close. Sirius owned enough clothes to clothe England so naturally he decides to bring every piece of clothing even though he doesn't wear half of them. "James! Come sit on the trunk so I can buckle it…Please!" Sirius pleaded and James obliged by sitting on the trunk, which allowed Sirius to buckle it. Sirius was now occupied with preparing Antimony for the trip. After he was finished, the boys raced down the stairs with their trunks rattling behind them.
"James, come in the den for a second. I need to speak to you about something." Mr. Potter said to his son. James handed Sirius his trunk who struggled with it along with his own trunk and his owl but James did not notice. He kept wondering what his father needed to tell him. He followed his father into the elaborate den.
"I wanted you to know that your Mum and I are very proud of you, son. Your becoming head boy was an honour to the Potter name but that is not all that made us proud. We are proud that you never let your superiority get the best of you. You befriended a werewolf, an underachiever and an outcast and you managed to create some sort of brotherly bond between the four of you. I'm sure you thought of all the pros and cons of being head boy and how your friendship will change but I don't want you to become arrogant and leave behind the ones who matter. I've seen too many head boys lose everything because they became too responsible. They became nothing…but a head boy. I don't want that to be you and neither does your mother. Sirius has really grown on her and sometimes I think she forgets that he is not her real son."
"Dad! Please stop! The Marauders and I are equals and nothing could come between us. You and Mum can rest well tonight because Sirius will not disappear from your lives anytime soon." James interrupted his father.
"Hector! We should get going if we do not want to be late." Mrs. Potter yelled from the kitchen.
James turned to make his way to the kitchen but his dad stopped him by putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself." He said before joining his wife. James thought for a moment before, he too left for the kitchen. The Potters and Sirius said goodbye to Layla and got in the car. Mr. and Mrs. Potter chatted about the events written in the Daily Prophet while James pestered Sirius about joining Quidditch.
"Come on! There are two spots on the Gryffindor team! One of them just happens to be a chaser and you know that you are a top flyer."
"No thank you." Sirius answered simply and got a slap in the head as a reward. "What!" Sirius asked.
"I don't see why you won't tryout. You'd get in and I'm not saying that because I'm the captain. McGonagall has asked me numerous times to get you on the team. She figures it'll get you out of detention. I hope you realise that you are being unreasonable and people must hate you because you are wasting your perfect talent while they all suck." James argued. Sirius sighed and asked:
"Why is this so important to you?"
"This is our last year, Sirius. My chance to come out on top is only on the Quidditch pitch and you are the only person that I trust by my side out there. You know we're unbeatable." James debated and Sirius sighed again.
"The things I do for you." Sirius said with a small smile and James grinned back at him.
"Now I just have to convince Remus to tryout as keeper." James said and they both laughed.
Remus LupinRemus Lupin yawned and stretched as he rolled over to face the glaring rising sun. His clock read 7:30 and Remus chuckled as he thought of something Sirius said awhile back. "The early bird never gets the worm because the late birds will beat the early bird up for making too much noise." He said that when he was angry because he was woken up at an early hour by Remus' page turning. It wasn't Remus' fault that Sirius was a light sleeper. Remus was amazed by some of the things he could remember.
He would be going back to Hogwarts in less than 4 hours. He was so glad to hear that James was head boy and also relieved because he would no longer be the only one who had to follow the rules. Remus chuckled at the thought of pulling a two on one against Sirius. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in!" He yelled and his mother entered with a platter. She loved surprising her son with things like breakfast in bed and Remus loved her for it.
"How are you today sweetie? I brought you some breakfast." Mrs. Lupin said as she placed the tray on her son's lap.
"I'm fine Mum…excited to go back to school." Remus answered but regretted his words once he saw his mother's face fall. "Mum, what's wrong?" Remus asked with concern.
"Oh it's nothing…well it's just that I always find it hard seeing you leave. I worry about you constantly and of course for the other children even though I know you are probably safer there than you are here. I wish I could ignore the feeling of dread but I can't. Voldemort continues to grow more powerful and some say he will attempt to fight Dumbledore soon. You are not one of the people who will safe from him. He doesn't like…you." Mrs. Lupin said uncertainly.
"Half-breeds, Mum. He doesn't like half-breeds." Remus said to her and she nodded.
"You and your friends won't be safe…especially the tall one with black hair. I heard Voldemort is looking for him." Mrs. Lupin said with fear in her voice.
"Mum, no one is looking for Sirius. We will be fine. You don't need to worry." Remus reassured his mother and she smiled. She knew she was being paranoid. It came with having a werewolf for a son. She left Remus to eat his breakfast alone. Remus finished his plate and got ready to leave. He packed everything in his trunk making sure everything was neatly folded so his clothes wouldn't be wrinkly upon arrival. He got dressed in muggle clothing and went downstairs with his trunk towing magically behind him. By the time he finished all of this, it was almost time to leave. He waited patiently for his parents to be ready. They were soon ready to drive to London's train station. Remus hopped in the backseat and his parents climbed in the front and started the car. The drive was an hour long but Remus loved to be in the car so he didn't mind at all. Once he got to the train station, he casually walked through the middle of platform 9 and 10. It amazed him every time he did this because it was always a delight to see the hustle and bustle of wizards on the other side. He saw many people he knew. Kids he tutored, classmates and a few Slytherins that cracked their knuckles when he went by. His parents stopped to talk to a few friends but Remus continued to roam the platform. He finally saw someone he knew very well. Peter Pettigrew standing alone by the train. He grinned when he saw Remus approach. They hugged and exchanged hellos when Remus finally reached the slightly chubby boy through the crowd.
"How was your summer Peter?" Remus asked the grinning boy.
"Mostly quiet and yours?" He responded.
"The same as always. I assume you heard James was named head boy. Somehow everyone seems surprised but I kind of saw it coming." Remus told Peter who nodded in agreement.
"You came in third…I reckon Dumbledore thought you had enough on your plate." Peter said and Remus nodded, secretly thanking the headmaster in his mind. "Sirius came in second…I could barely believe it but if you really think about it…it makes sense. He's the most popular…he gets the best grades and he knows everything! He only has a little problem with the law." Peter went on and Remus chuckled. Sirius being head boy wouldn't surprise him either but Sirius wouldn't accept being a head boy. It goes against everything he believes in.
"Well you seem to know everything…I suppose you've been spying again. I assume you know who the head girl is then." Remus said and Peter smiled mischievously.
"Lily Evans."
Lily Evans
"Mum! Where is my head girl badge?" Lily Evans yelled to her mother downstairs. She had overslept and now she is hurrying to get everything in order so that she would not get to the platform a nervous wreck.
"It's in the pocket of your cloak, sweetheart." Mrs. Evans answered. Lily jammed her hand into her pocket and felt around. Sure enough, her badge was there. She took it out and quickly brushed the lint off of it. She smiled and it. It was such an achievement to become head girl. She was the first muggle born to have done so. "I wonder who the head boy is." She thought to herself. "I hope it's Remus. He seems like the right choice but he was also still a boy who spent more time in detention than an average person." Lily shook her head to stop the thoughts. She needed to stay focused if she wanted to get packed in time. She went in her bathroom to brush her hair. That always managed to calm her down a bit. Afterwards, she was able to get everything done before her mother called her down. Her mother would be dropping her off at the train station and going to work right after. Her father was already at work and her sister moved out last year. Lily sighed. She hated thinking about her sister. They were never really friends because her sister absolutely despised her. Her friends tell her it's because she is jealous but Lily really isn't sure. Lily grabbed a bagel before following her mother in the car. Lily lived in London so it wasn't a very long drive. Once they got there, she said her goodbyes to her mother in the car and walked into the crowded station. She immediately saw James and Sirius who were getting out of the Potter's car. "Why would Sirius be with them? His family comes to Kings Cross every year." Lily thought to herself as her detective instincts kicked in. She confidently walked over and started to walk with them.
"Hi guys! How were your summers?" Lily asked nicely.
"Oh hey Lils…our summer was great. Sirius and I always have a great time. How about you?" James said without even stuttering. This completely startled Lily. "He must've matured." She thought.
"Mine was great. It's always fun to return to the muggle world after spending 10 months at Hogwarts. Did Sirius stay with you?" Lily probed. A weird expression crossed Sirius' face but it was gone as quick as it had come.
"Uh yeah…Sirius lives with me." James said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh…okay…" Lily stuttered. "Darn, when did he get so cool?" She thought to herself. They walked the rest of the way through the station in silence. They went through the barrier together and quickly met up with Remus and Peter. Lily awkwardly stood there while the Marauders had a big group hug and found it even more awkward when Sirius pulled her in and she was so close to James, she could smell him. "Whoa, he smells good…wait, what am I saying? This is James Potter. The most annoying guy I've ever met." She thought and quickly pulled out of the hug.
"Hey Lily, congratulations on being head girl." Remus said.
"WHAT?" James and Sirius said at the same time.
"You're head girl? Whoa, this should be an interesting year." Sirius said slyly.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked, confused.
James turned to his left and for the first time, Lily saw a bright badge pinned to his shirt.
"Head boy." She whispered.