c. September 1, 1970
Kings Cross Station

"JAMES!"

James, having just stepped through the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾ only seconds before, halted at the shout, and looked around the crowded platform, trying to discern who had just called him, or rather, hollered for him. Ah ha! There…farther down the platform, bouncing on the balls of his feet and wildly waving his hands to get James' attention was the boy he had met at Diagon Alley only days ago, that kid with the weird name…Serious. Yeah, Serious, an odd name for a kid who seemed to be anything but serious, a kid who seemed to be so full of energy that he barely knew what to do with himself.

"HEY!" James shouted back, cupping his hands around his mouth. "WHAT'S UP?"

Beaming, the boy bounded in his direction, plunging through the crowds with reckless abandon, long black hair flopping into his face. Sirius shoved people unceremoniously out of his way, almost knocking a vaguely familiar looking boy with light brown hair onto the train tracks, but by seizing his arm at the last second, arrested the boy's decent. With a sheepish grin and a good-natured shrug by way of an apology, Sirius continued to make headway in the crowd, disappearing from James' view for an instant, and reappearing by his side a moment later.

"Heya!" Sirius greeted James, a bit breathless, grinning widely. "I made good time."

James snorted. "Wow, real smooth, Serious, real smooth."

"Well I try." Sirius replied self-assuredly.

"No, that was meant to be sarcastic. What happened? You almost killed Remus."

"Re—who?" Sirius frowned, cocking his head. "I don't know any…any Remooses? Remoose, is that even a word? Isn't that an animal?" Before James could respond, Sirius's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "No, I get it! It's a joke isn't it? Brilliant! OK, James, what happens when you kill a Remoose?"

James cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. "Remus." James corrected. "Remus, as in that kid we met at Diagon Alley, remember? You ran into him with your broom."

"Oh! Right, right, that kid. Meek, kinda scrawny, patched up robes, right?"

James nodded. "That's him."

"Thought I was making fun of him or something and ran away. So come again, what about him now?"

"That's the kid you almost pushed onto the tracks."

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is."

"I think I would know who I almost pushed onto the tracks better than you, James."

"Really? Why don't you have a look for yourself then?"

"Fine, not like it'll make any diff—" Sirius began, whirling around to look in the direction James pointed. "Whoa, mate, I guess you're right. Hmm, I suppose I owe him an apology or something now?"

James snorted. "Well, that would probably be a nice thing to do…although I doubt the kid will ever let you near him again."

"Why not? I did save him from actually falling onto the tracks. You saw, I grabbed his arm, no harm, no foul. So I'm a hero." Sirius declared proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Yeah, I saw, and that is all well and good…except for the fact that you pushed him onto the tracks in the first place. I would imagine that negates any heroism on your part."

Sirius brushed the thought aside with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Jamesie, Jamesie, Jamesie—"

"Could you never call me that? Ever again."

"Jamesie," Sirius continued, undaunted. "You poor, misguided boy. Heroism always wins out in the end."

"Even if you caused the potentially dangerous situation in the first place?"

"Especially them."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're completely mental?"

"You'll be shocked, I know, but actually, that idea has been posed to me quite a few times in my life."

"Oh, yes, I am shocked." James responded dryly. "Very shocked. Extraordinarily so."

"I thought you would be." Sirius replied grimly. "It's OK, sometimes people just say things to hurt others; you just can't let them get you down. Imagine, me, crazy?" He laughed at the notion.

James glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, imagine that."

"So…so silly isn't it?"

"Yes, that's exactly the word I would have used. If silly were another term for "completely true"."

Sirius chuckled. "You've got a good sense of humor mate!"

"Wow." James breathed.

"What?" Sirius prompted, looking aroundwildly for what could possibly elicit a "wow". "I wanna see!" He commented impatiently.

"Who's that?" James asked, nodding his head in the direction of a young, thin girl with long, thick, glossy, dark red hair and bright green eyes.

The red-haired girl wore an overlarge black T-shirt with the name of some muggle band splashed across the front in acid green letters, a pair of fraying jeans, which sagged slightly on her thin frame and were smattered with multicolored patches in various shapes, and scuffed up trainers. She shifted her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other while she answered some rapid-fire questions from her parents, occasionally brushing locks of her long hair behind her ears and out of her face, a seeming nervous gesture. An older, shorter girl, with blond hair and fitted, immaculate clothing stood nearby, glowering at her. Her parents turned to converse for a moment, and the older girl said something to the red-haired girl, which made hurt flicker in the younger girl's eyes for an instant. Suddenly, as an irritated look passed over her face, she pulled out her wand and brandished it at the older girl, who yelped and hid behind their parents, gesticulating angrily at the red-headed girl, who merely smiled back.

Sirius Black looked over at the girl and shrugged. "Dunno. I saw her at Diagon Alley with her parents, I think she's another first year. And she's a muggle-born." He laughed when he saw the red-haired girl wave her wand at who he supposed was her older sister. "Got some fire in her though."

The red-haired girl swept her green eyes over the crowd and they rested on James for just a second. James felt as if he had been rooted to the spot; her gaze seemed to pass right through him. After a moment, she turned away. James blinked, that numbing sensation gone from his limbs, and he could have sworn she had blushed, just the slightest bit.

"Weird huh?" Sirius remarked. "Feels like she looks right through you?"

James could only nod, speechless.

"James, do you have everything?" James' mother, Jenna, a slender, graceful, older witch with straight black hair inquired, coming over to them.

"Yes, Mum."

"Your robes, your wand, everything?"

"Yes Mum."

"And who might this be?" Jenna asked, her warm gaze flicking over to Sirius.

James' mother looked over at Sirius, curiously, taking in his stormy gray eyes, mane of glossy black hair, pale skin, his overall aristocratic, somewhat haughty good looks. She also noticed his expensive clothes, down to his custom-fitted dragon hide boots. Sirius thought he saw a glint of worry flash in her hazel eyes for a moment.

"Let me guess, you're a Black?" Jenna said, slowly. "Orion and Cassiopeia oldest son?"

Sirius nodded, eyes widening in surprise and a bit of trepidation. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"Oh I do some freelance work for the Ministry and everyone knows the Blacks. Cassiopeia and Orion come by quite a lot. You look just like him."

Sirius smiled slightly, and it looked a little forced. "Er, I guess so."

"Mum, this is Serious." James introduced. "We met at Diagon Alley."

"Sirius?" His mother repeated, a slight smile appearing on her face. "Another constellation name? The Dog Star, if I'm not mistaken."

Sirius and James exchanged a confused look, before both shrugging. "I guess so." Sirius responded again. "My family does like constellation names, for some reason."

"Well, it makes you unique."

"I guess so." Sirius glanced down at his boots, feeling slightly cowed, for some reason."

"Taciturn, hmm?" She remarked. "Everything all right?" A look of genuine concern creased her face.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" She asked, kindly.

Sirius shrugged, flashing James another confused look, and a silent plea for help.

"Mum, c'mon, we wanna get on the train early so we can get a good seat!" James jumped in on cue.

"Right, right," she responded, still giving Sirius a piercing look. Abruptly, she seemed to release him from her gaze, turning and pulling James him into a big hug.

"Mum…no…geroff…" He protested, struggling. "We're in public!" He hissed.

She only laughed and hugged him tighter, before finally releasing him. "You be good, now."

"Aw, mum, I'm always an angel, you know that."

She laughed again. "Yeah, right." She turned to Sirius and offered him a kind, motherly smile. "You be good too, Sirius."

The smile was infectious; Sirius returned it more readily this time. "I will Mrs. Potter. And I'll try and keep James in line, but I can't make any promises."

James' mother laughed and pulled Sirius into a hug. Sirius, shocked, unused to such displays, stiffened for a moment, before relaxing and awkwardly hugging her back. "Um, thanks…" He said, still slightly uncomfortable, when she let go. "I'll, um, see you, I guess…"

She smiled warmly at him. "I hope so."

"Yeah, bye, Mum!" James added, pulling Sirius behind him and heading for the train.

"Goodbye boys! Have fun and try to behave yourselves! At least try!"

"We'll try!" They chorused.

"But I can't make any promises!" James added.

"Your mom's awfully…affectionate." Sirius murmured.

"What? Oh, yeah, she's always like that. My dad too."

"Really?" Sirius looked stunned.

"Yeah. Did it bother you? I'm sorry…"

"No, no it was cool…" Sirius replied, distractedly, a half-smile on his face.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read my story! I have recently edited some of the early chapters due to new canon info recieved in Half-Blood Prince, and have almost completely re-written Chapter 5 (now called "Contraversial Parenting Techniques"). I introduced some new characters and added a little interesting twist, so please tell me what you think about the re-vamped chapter, as well as commenting on this, if you are so inclined.

SiriusBlackisalive15: Thank you for reading and reviewing this story as well! I am glad that you enjoy my writing:)
Remussweetie: As always, thank you so much for your reviews. Yes, James does not realize that it's "Sirius" not "Serious" yet; he'll find out soon. Yep, I tried to add some connections to OotP with Bellatrix, and I've tried to add some references to other later books as well, peppered throughout the chapters. Yes, I think Sirius does have a smart mouth which certainly contributes to his getting into trouble. Lastly, I believe Sirius' good cousin, Andromeda's name is pronounced Anne-drom-mah-dah.
Storm Front: Thank you so much for your compliment on how I portray the characters. That I keep them faithful to the books and well-developed is the like the story!