Wow, I actually got some reviews! Go figure

After this chapter, I'm going to start updating between weekly and bi-weekly, but that'll be hard to keep up once school starts again. I'll try my hardest, but I can't guarantee anything. I'll probably update every weekend.

One reviewer commented that I could have included Lily, and I just want to say this for everyone who might think that. This story is focused on the relationship between the Marauders. Yes, Lily will be mention several times in the story, and yes, she will have a speaking part. In fact, she's mentioned a few times in this chapter.

I've decided that the main character of this story is Sirius, and most of this will be from Sirius' point of view. I'll lace in some James, Remus, and Peter from time to time, but just a fair warning.

Okay, today is Wed., so I'll probably be done the next chapter by the weekend.

I want your guys' opinion - which do you like better: long chapters with less frequent updates, or shorter chapters with more frequent updates? If you choose the second option, the chapters would be a little shorter than this, and if you choose the first option, the chapter will probably be 150 longer. Just tell me when you review!

Enjoy this chapter, everyone!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the Marauders or any other familiar characters in this story, and I am not getting money off of this story. Boo hoo.

Hate Is Such a Strong Word

Chapter One:

Pure, Half, and Mudblood

By PotterScar

"SIRIUS!"

There she went again! Sirius winced at his mother's sudden shriek, looking up from the book he had been reading, British Pureblooded Wizarding Lineage of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century.

"Yes, Mother?" he called back, a tone of irritation laced into his voice. He disliked people interupting him while he read. For this, his obnoixous little brother Regulus labeled him a bookworm, and Sirius labeled him a prat.

"We're going to Diagon Alley to purchase school supplies! Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes, and be sure to shower!" she called up the stairs. Sirius rolled his eyes, setting down his book and walking over to the bathroom, grabbing some clothing from his wardrobe on the way.

He pondered the contents of his book while in the shower. Some of the names had stuck out at him. Obviously, Black was high on that list, and he went through each person in his line. Every person in his family had been a Slytherin, save his Uncle Alphard and cousin Andromeda, who had both been Ravenclaws. Ravenclaws were accepted by his family, because intelligence was a highly favored quality. The list of houses and names had stopped at himself. The book was enchanted, Sirius knew, to update itself after a certain person in the book was sorted into a house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Another name that had stuck out at him was the name Malfoy. His father was a good friend of Abraxas Malfoy, and Sirius was aware that Abraxas' son Lucius would be in his sixth year at Hogwarts while Sirius was in attendance there. This didn't make him want to jump up and down with glee, but he was tolerant enough of the arrogant boy. As far as the book was concerned, Lucius was an only child.

Then there were the Potters - his father spoke of them often, and it was an angry word. Daniel Potter and Orion Black worked in the same Department at the Ministry: The Department of Mysteries. Sirius marveled at his father's work as an Unspeakable - his father never spoke of the work he did, just of the people he worked with.

Apparently, the Potters were one of the richest families in England, rivaled only by the Malfoys, the Whitbys, the Rosiers, and, of course, the Blacks. His father referred to them as "the pack of blood-traitors" and Sirius' father hated Daniel Potter with a passion.

After a quick shower, Sirius emerged from the bathroom, brushing his hair. He was donning black robes made of the finest silk with the Black family crest (a black viper on a silver background) embroidered on the chest, and brushing his hair.

He appeared in the kitchen in good time, with five minutes to spare. His mother tutted upon seeing him, and performed a drying spell on his hair. Sirius rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

Finally, after a few minutes of fussing with his appearance, Sirius' father got up from the chair he'd been sitting in. "Are you quite done yet, Celena?" he asked, barely able to supress rolling his eyes. Celena Black made a small noise of indignation, but stepped away from her son.

Wordlessly, Orion Black sheperded his son to the fireplace, where a fire was already roaring in the grate, and handed him the small clay pot of Floo powder. Taking a pinch from the pot, Sirius asked, "Where should I ask to go?"

"Gringotts," Celena answered, adjusting her robes. Sirius nodded, tossing the green powder into the fire. The flames instantly changed colors, turning to emerald green. Sirius stepped into them without hesitation.

"Gringotts Bank," he said clearly, and soon, the whizzing sensation of Floo took him over.

Personally, Sirius had never liked to travel by Floo. He hid his discomfort in it easily behind a mask of cool indifference, but spinning through hundreds of thousands of grates made him uneasy. He worried that he'd fall out of the wrong one and end up somewhere he didn't want to be.

However, he managed to keep himself in the fire until the spinning slowly stopped and he was facing the white marble interior of Gringotts. Many Hogwarts students were out to buy school supplies today, he noted, as he stepped out of the fire and brushed his robes off haughtily. Minutes later, his mother stepped easily out of the grate, and a minute or two later his father joined them.

Orion looked around himself with a peturbed air. "Allowing filth like that into a fine Wizarding establishment should be against the law," he sniffed, looking at a family that was obviously Muggle with a Muggle-born witch. Sirius thought the young redhead was quite pretty, but he wasn't about to say that aloud. Her emerald green eyes were looking around her curiously. They landed on Sirius, and the corners of her mouth tugged up slightly. Sirius only acknowledged her by inclining his head slightly. The girl was obviously startled by his way of greeting, and she looked away.

"Come, Sirius," said his mother, prodding him sharply in the back, and he strode after them to the desk of a goblin so they could retrieve their gold.

In the meantime, Sirus decided to try and make himself familiar with the faces he would be seeing in school. His eyes first landed on a short, blonde woman with her equally short, blonde son. The woman was making transactions with the goblin, who was explaining to her what the values of a Knut, Sickle, and Galleon were, while her son was watching the goblin rather nervously. Must be a Mudblood, Sirius thought, using the word his parents always used for a witch or wizard born to Muggle parents.

His eyes left the boy and his mother and stopped on a man with greasy, black hair, a willowy brunette, and their son. They weren't familiar to Sirius, and since they were out of earshot, he couldn't hear them. The man looked slightly unnerved, but his wife seemed at home in Gringotts. Their son looked indifferent.

Sirius' eyes slipped from the three and looked to the mother and son at the desk next to them. The mother was an average height with almost black hair and her son looked to be an inch or two shorter than her, and had medium brown hair flecked with grey. Sirius frowned slightly at this, but didn't ponder it further as his eyes landed on a man with messy brown hair, a lady with wavy black hair, and their son.

Seconds after his eyes stopped on the three, he heard his father sneer behind him. "So Potter's kid is going to Hogwarts too this year," he drawled, looking dispassionate.

In his hands was a bag of gold. Sirius didn't question why they didn't have to go down to their vault to get the money - such questions didn't merit an answer, according to his father.

Ah, so thats who Daniel Potter was, Sirius thought, as he observed the man who was ushering his son away from the goblins and towards the door. The Potters passed the Blacks on the way to the door, and Daniel paused when he saw Orion.

"Orion," he greeted, with as much civility in his voice as he could muster.

"Daniel," Orion replied, inclining his head. "How are you?"

"Fair, and yourself?" Daniel said back, with a forced smile.

"Fair enough. Your son?" Orion's cold grey eyes left Daniel Potter and switched to James Potter, who looked back for several seconds before looking away quickly. Sirius sneered slightly at this.

Daniel nodded. "Yes, this is James. He's starting Hogwarts this year."

Orion smiled coldly. "So is my son Sirius."

Sirius looked away from the goblin he'd been watching when his name was mentioned, and he fixed his eyes on Daniel Potter.

"Well, if you'll excuse us, we have quite a bit of shopping to do. Have a good day." With that, Daniel led his family away.

The second the Potters were out of earshot, Celena and Orion turned to Sirius. "You are not to converse or acknowledge the Potter boy in any way while you are at school, understand?" Celena snapped, and Sirius nodded without question.

X

Once the Potter family was out of Gringotts, Daniel Potter looked down at his son. James blinked back up at him, wondering what his father was going to say. Daniel looked pained and irritated.

"James, the Blacks are bad blood. We don't want you to get mixed up with them. Just avoid that Black boy," Daniel said quietly, looking down at James through his black-framed glasses.

James nodded. He'd heard his father talk about Orion Black and the Blacks in general. They were a Dark family that hated half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and what they called "blood-traitors" - basically anyone who liked the first two. The Potters fell under that category.

"With any luck, you won't have to deal with him," said Celena grimly. "Every Black in history has been sorted into Slytherin except for two. I wouldn't doubt that the boy is the next to go into Slytherin. He sure behaves like it."

James spoke up. "How do you know, Mum? He didn't even speak," James pointed out.

His mother's lips were pursed, and she opened her mouth to answer, but Daniel Potter beat her to it. "The look on his face. It's the same look his father wears. The Blacks think they're better than everyone else, because of their blood. Bunch of -"

"Daniel!" Michelle Potter scolded, and Mr. Potter had the good grace to look abashed. James grinned as the tension was lifted.

"Well, we should get started with that shopping, then! First stop: Ollivander's for your first wand!" Daniel said, clapping his son on the back as James' grin stretched even wider at the mention of his first wand.

X

"Thank you," Sarah Lupin said to the goblin when he handed her a small sack of gold. She and Remus exited the bank, passing two families talking to one another. Remus frowned - it sounded to him like the conversation was rather forced, and he assumed the two families didn't like one another much.

Sarah made a face as they passed the two families, looking at the boy with dark hair and grey eyes in particular. When they had left the Wizarding bank, Sarah strode to the bookshop, with Remus rushing to keep up.

"Mum, why did you look at those two families like that?" Remus questioned her quietly. Sarah sighed.

"Those were the Potters and the Blacks. The two fathers work at the Ministry like your father, but in a different compartment."

Black... the name sounded familiar. "Your father has mention Orion Black a few times at the dinner table," his mother said, looking sideways at him. Remus nodded, remembering.

"Dad doesn't like Mr. Black that much, does he?" Remus said, picking his brain to remember what his father had said about Orion Black. Sarah sighed and shook her head.

"No, he doesn't. Black is one of those people that supports that new Dark Lord... no, he's not a Death Eater as far as we know," Sarah said, seeing Remus' shocked face, "but he likes his ideas of 'purifying' the Wizarding world... come along, let's get your books and have no more talk of this," she said, getting off the rather miserable subject. "Let's see... we're looking for Charms and Beyond: Year One."

X

June Pettigrew was looking anxiously at the coins in her hand as they stepped out of the white bank, trying to remember their values. Peter looked at her sympathetically, clutching the school supplies list in his hand.

As they walked down the street, Peter's mouth hung open slightly at the sights and sounds. Owls were on sale in a pet shop, potions were brewing in the Apothecary, and a girl was carrying what looked like a purple rabbit with wings out of a shop call The Magical Menagerie.

Blinking his watery blue eyes, he looked away from her to his mother, who had snatched the list out of Peter's hand while he wasn't paying attention and was looking at it with her eyes slightly squinted.

"A wand?" she exclaimed, looking faintly shocked. Peter grinned slightly.

"That's what it says, Mum," he said cheerfully, looking at the small information packet they picked up at Gringotts. Flicking through the leaflet, he stopped everytime he saw the word 'wand' until he found the section that showed where you could buy supplies.

"They say here that you can buy a wand from a place called Ollivander's, Mum," Peter said, looking up from the packet. "It's up the street a ways."

"Well, come on, then, we'd better get a move on, before it's Christmas," Peter's mother said, but Peter wasn't paying attention.

His attention had been caught by an owl about to let go of its droppings right above his mother's head.

Well, what did you think of this chapter? Too short, too long, or just right?

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, flames are ignored, and praise is loved!

Until Chapter 3,

PotterScar