Sirius Black had often wished his surname was Potter. His sort of cousin James had the best parents and now had the benefit of not being one of the first people to be sorted.

Professor McGonagall put the Sorting Hat over his head and Sirius restrained the urge to fidget.

"Hmm..." Said the hat. "Sly and cunning when you want to be huh...you could do well in Slytherin but that's not the house for you."

Sirius's eyes widened slightly.

"My mother will be upset, " He laughed.

The hat made a hmming sound again. "You are brave but you need someplace more loving. Your loyalty will surely flourish in HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sirius stumbled towards the Hufflepuff table as the Great Hall stared at him in shock.

He sat down and his hands curled into fists as some of the kids nearest to him edged away slightly.

The sorting continued and Sirius was astonished when James strolled to the Hufflepuff table.

Sirius rose his eyebrows. "I thought you'd be in Gryffindor." He muttered.

James shrugged watching the sorting. "Can't abandon you to the badgers, could I?"

The corners of Sirius' mouth rose into a small smile.

The next morning, Sirius received a howler where his mother screamed at him for bringing shame to the family name before saying at least he wasn't in the house of blood traitors, Gryffindor.

Sirius couldn't care less. He was at Hogwarts and his best friend was in the same house as him. Sure Gryffindor seemed cooler than Hufflepuff but at least he wasn't in Slytherin! He shuddered at the thought.

Since there were so many boys in Hufflepuff in their year, James and he had been allocated their own dorm room while the other eight were spilt into two dorms next to their own. The amount of space they had meant they had a study area and a place to plan their first prank.

The first person who became friends with James and Sirius was Ted Tonks, the fifth year Hufflepuff prefect.

They'd been looking for their Charms classroom when they'd literally stumbled into him and he'd grinned, introduced himself and helped them.

James and Sirius repaid his kindness by ensuring their first prank didn't bother him which had led to a mutually beneficial friendship in which Ted helped them with the more advanced magic and James and Sirius agreed to help persuade Andi to go out with him.

The singing black roses surprisingly didn't work but they did mean that James was hexed by Lily Evans, who was in their Herbology class when he accidentally broke her bag.

"Revenge?" Sirius had asked after she'd left.

James stared after her, a hand rubbing his swollen cheek gently. "Nah...I think we just met the next Mrs Potter Siri."

Sirius had stared at him in shock. "NO!" He yelled.

James tried to smile, wincing.

In the summer after his first year, Sirius lived with his grandparents. His grandmother, Melania Black nee McMillan, was ecstatic that he was in Hufflepuff like she had been and had been furious when Sirius told her about the howler he'd received.

He and James had visited each other practically every day while Aunt Dorea got to spend time with her brother and sister-in-law.

His second year was pretty uneventful though they'd become friends with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew after they'd seen how Peeves avoided Remus and had winked at him.

The four had very quickly become friends and James and Sirius had begun to rope them into their pranks. Spending more time with Remus had also meant that James got to see Lily more often and while the two argued, Sirius had taken to talking to Marlene and betting with her.

Marlene won most of the time but Sirius that was since she knew James and Lily while he only knew James.

The only regret Sirius had about his second year was that he barley saw Regulus, his brother, who'd been sorted in Slytherin.

So after spending another summer with his grandparents, Sirius was determined to become friends with Lily Evans this year. To achieve this he'd drawn up a ten-step plan.

Step 1: Sirius had bribed Remus with chocolate to keep James distracted for the whole train ride.

Step 2: Sirius would Lily's compartment and sit down opposite her.

Step 3: Sirius would ask Lily to be friends with him.

Step 4: Lily would look at him warily and say no.

Step 5: To start negotiations with Lily to become her friend.

Step 6: Marlene would intervene and try to convince Lily not to be friends with him.

Step 7: Sirius would guilt trip Alice into supporting him.

Step 8: Alice would agree and Sirius would put his most innocent, get out of trouble face.

Step 9: Sirius would offer pranking immunity in exchange for her friendship and if she refused again then Sirius would say that he'd never stop pranking her.

Step 10: Tired of saying no and overcome by his good looks and charm, Lily would say yes and they would be friends.

Then Sirius would get to know and not lose any more bets with Marlene. How could such a brilliant plan go wrong?

The first clue that his prank would go wrong was when he saw Severus Snape sitting with Lily rather than Marlene and Alice.

"What do you want Black?" Lily asked.

Sirius smirked and sat down opposite her, step two was accomplished! "To be friends with you."

He replied.

Lily stared at him in confusion, a little wary. Steps four and five accomplished!

"Umm okay." She replied.

Sirius was about to start step six but her reply didn't fit the plan. "Okay?" He repeated.

Lily shrugged. "We can be friends."

Snape sneered. "But isn't one of those stupid pranksters? How can you be friends with one of them?" He asked.

Lily shrugged again. "I'm already friends with Remus and Peter so..."

Snape didn't look happy and tried to convince Lily to change her mind.

Sirius interrupted. "Does Lily choose your friends?"

"No," Lily replied.

"Then you can't choose her's," Black said.

Snape sneered. "I don't need to hear about what you Hufflepuffs think is fair."

Sirius cast the body binding curse on him and smiled at Lily. "See you later."

Later at dinner, he told James about how Snape had insulted Hufflepuffs and them as pranksters.

"Which one's Snape again?" James had demanded.

Sirius pointed him out. James glared in his direction. "Look at him - he seems more like a Snivellus than a Snape."

Sirius choked on his potato as he tried to laugh. "Let's teach him to show Hufflepuff some respect," James muttered. "What prank did we plan first?"

Thus began the rivalry between James Potter and Severus Snape. There was a reason, after all, that James Potter's loyalty had landed him in Hufflepuff and Hufflepuffs supported each other.

As the third year went by, Sirius noticed how Remus never seemed to be okay during the full moon. It was during a defence lesson near the end of the year that he almost fell out of his seat when realised why.

Sirius had pulled Remus into an empty classroom as soon their lesson had ended, grateful that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had Defence together.

"You're a werewolf, aren't you?" He asked.

"W...W...What?" Remus stuttered. "No."

Sirius rose an eyebrow. "I won't tell anyone - well apart from James and Peter but we're your friends."

Remus slowly nodded and looked at the chairs in the room.

Sirius grinned. "We need to get into the restricted section."

Remus frowned. "What?"

"To find a book on the animagus transfiguration. Come on, let's find James."

His fourth year consisted of succeeding becoming an animagus, watching Lily reject James Potter and pranking Snivellus whenever he could. Marlene and he had taken to keeping a record of how many times James asked Lily out. It was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

The summer after his fourth year, his grandmother died. Devasted by grief, his grandfather had shipped him off to good old Grimmauld Place where Sirius spent most of his time locked his bedroom.

He'd recoloured the walls to bright, cheery yellow and put up a Hufflepuff banner with a permanent sticking charm. His mother had been furious. It'd been worth being cursed at to see her expression.

His fifth year was revision, creating a map of Hogwarts and creating a name for them as a group and coming up with nicknames.

Everything went wrong at the end of it and it was all his fault.

He'd baited Severus and James into a fight and because of him, Lily wouldn't speak to James or even look at him even after he'd repeatedly tried to apologise for Snape's actions and fighting with him. James looked devasted. Sirius couldn't live with himself if Lily never forgave James because of him.

Mustering his courage, he ditched James on the train ride home and found Lily. She was staring out of the window.

Marlene and Alice were sitting opposite her, talking quietly.

Sirius slipped inside and sat down next to her. Lily looked at him.

"Hi," she said, looking as tired as she felt.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I baited Prongs and Sniv - Snape into fighting. Don't blame James for this." He pleaded.

Lily stared at him. "You're not the one who hates Sev. Potter does," She said.

Sirius looked away. "He didn't even know who Sniv- Snape was until I pointed him out after he tried to convince you not to be friends with me. At first, Pongs just wanted to get back at him for my sake. Then he started liking you and Snivellus was always around you. I started fighting him and roped the others into our fights or pranking him." He confessed.

"Oh," Lily said.

"Please don't hate me," Sirius said quietly.

Lily blinked. "We're friends...I just need...time."

Sirius nodded and left the compartment.

When they reached the station, James glanced towards Lily who hesitated but started to walk towards them.

"Evans...I'm...I didn't know he'd say that. Sorry." James said.

Lily looked at Sirius who looked away and saw his mother glaring at him.

James and Lily saw in the direction he was looking.

"I can't blame you for what he said. That was Sev's choice." Lily replied hesitating slightly. She frowned but continued. "Marlene, Alice and Sirius all think I should give you a chance...so Potter will you be my friend?"

James's mouth opened and closed in shock and opened again, no words coming out.

Sirius rolled his eyes and pushed James's chin up to close his mouth. "Do you want to catch a snitch with your mouth? That's a yes Lilyflower."

Lily gave a small smile and went to meet her parents. James stared after her still in shock. "Did you hear that?" He finally yelled. "Lily Evans wants to be friends with me!"

Sirius spent the beginning of the summer in Grimmauld Place again, his grandfather hadn't been seen for over a year. Then Bellatrix Lestrange came to visit with a guest.

"Welcome home, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix grinned manically. "Siri! I have a surprise for you!" She cooed.

Sirius fingered his wand nervously, smirking as he arched an eyebrow. "Oh really," He drawled.

The man next to Bellatrix stepped forward and Sirius watched his mother gasp and curtsey low. "Oh my lord, you honour us." She gushed.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Crucio!" Bella screamed. Sirius fell to the floor in agony. "You dare disrespect the dark lord," Bellatrix hissed.

The man, Voldermort, raised his hand. "Now, now Bellatrix. He will learn to respect me in time."

Bellatrix ended the curse and bowed in front of her lord.

"Join me Sirius Black and you will help cleanse the world of filth."

Sirius slowly stood up, trembling from head to toe. "N...Never." He spat near the man's feet before activating the portkey he was wearing. He'd never been gladder that Aunt Dorea had made him promise to never take the portkey off when she'd given it to him at the start of the year.

He spent the rest of the summer with the Potters. He and Aunt Dorea took great pleasure in burning his mother's howlers and James and he made sure to send a howler back to her after each one he received.

Sirius hadn't told any of his friends that he'd run away from home. The only person outside of the Potters who knew was Marlene and that was only because she had been present when he'd arrived, trembling in pain.

Marlene nudged his arm with her own, bringing him back into the present where he was sitting in the compartment next to her.

"What?" He asked, smirking. "Missing my brilliant conversation McKinnon."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "No, you idiot. Look!" She jilted her head towards James and Lily who quietly talking.

Sirius grinned. "At least he'll stop moaning about Lily all the time now."

"Nope. He won't stop doing that until she goes out with him," Marlene replied.

Sirius shrugged. "She'll agree eventually."

Marlene shook her head. "You think James won't ask her out?"

Sirius thought about this and looked at James. "Yes,"

Marlene grinned. "That sounds like a bet."

Sirius smirked. "Care to make it more interesting?"

Marlene shifted so that her whole body was facing him. "How?"

"If James doesn't ask Lily out for two weeks, you go out with me."

"If you wanted to ask me out, you could do it now," Marlene replied, winking.

"But where's the fun in that McKitten?"

Marlene stuck out her hand. "One month and you've got yourself a deal. If I win, you'll do whatever I say for a week."

Sirius smirked and shook her hand.

One month later, Sirius Black was escorting Marlene McKinnon on a date in Hogsmede.

"Why did you want to go out with me anyway?" Marlene asked as she walked around aimlessly.

"To give you the honour of dating me," He teased, winking.

Marlene smacked his arm, laughing. "No, but seriously - don't you dare make that pun Black! Why?"

Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her into The Three Broomsticks.

After buying two drinks, Sirius sat down next to Marlene.

"When I saw you this summer...none of the pain mattered. I just never wanted to see you like that again." He confessed, fiddling with his butterbeer.

Marlene grabbed his hand and stilled it. She opened her mouth and then closed it again but Sirius knew what she wanted to say.

He had fallen as soon as the twisting and disorientating feeling of portkeying had ended. His body trembled against the cold floor and the sensation of burning pain in contact with the cold floor seemed to enhance the pain. Sirius barked out a shaking laugh, he was free and he was never going back.

"SIRIUS!" He heard someone scream. He moved his head slowly to look up, wincing at the pain. Why couldn't he stop trembling? It was just one curse for Merlin's sake.

Marlene and Aunt Dorea were kneeling in front of him. Marlene was pale, her face pinched tight. Her eyes were wild as she looked him over while Aunt Dorea helped him sit. Sirius couldn't balance so Aunt Dorea summoned the sofa closer so he could lean against it, calling for Uncle Charlus to floor Saint Mungos for a healer.

Marlene's hand was shaking as she cast the diagnostic spells she'd learnt from Madam Pomfrey. Sirius didn't know why he'd teased her for spending so much time in the Hospital Wing.

"I don't know what's wrong," Marlene cried, casting spell after spell. "I've never seen these symptoms in the healing books I've read."

"The healer's on their way. Everything's going to be alright."

One date was followed by another, a silent change from friendship to something more was mutually agreed.

Sirius left Snivellous alone or tried to. Wherever he went alone, Snivellus picked fights with him. After the first few times, Sirius stopped going to Madam Pomfrey and went straight to Marlene who narrowed her eyes but fixed him up.

He'd tried to tease her that he was helping her learn but she'd smacked his stinging shoulder in anger and he'd never mentioned it again.

As the war truly began outside of Hogwarts, Sirius noticed how pale Peter became. How Remus's face darkened every time Greyback was mentioned in the newspapers. How James looked relieved at each letter he received from his parents. How Lily frowned every time a muggle or muggleborn killing was in the Daily Prophet and how her grip on her wand tightened. He noticed how Alice leant into Frank and wept when her parent's death was on the front page. How he and his friends had not left her alone for weeks after that.

But most of all, he noticed how Marlene seemed to always be reading some healing textbook or another. Her hand moving to practise wand movements and incantations. How Marlene collected every scrap of information about the cruciatus curse Bellatrix Lestrange created. How she kept a notebook trying to figure out how to reverse or cure the side effects of it and how it very rarely was out of her sights. Sirius did not doubt that Marlene would figure it out. If anybody would it would be her.

It is a saying that bad things come in threes. The first had been Alice's parents' deaths. The second was when Sirius lost in anger and told Snivellus how to get through the Willow. The third was when all of his friends ignored him. Alice was withdrawn and barely talking to anyone. Sirus doubted she even knew what had happened. James was furious and wouldn't listen to anything he said. Lily gave him disappointed looks after James had relented and told her why he wasn't speaking to Sirius. Peter would give him sad looks and not speak. And Remus wouldn't even acknowledge he existed. His life had never been worse. He couldn't bear to know what Marlene thought of him and so when she'd gathered them all in an empty classroom and demanded to know what was happening, he fled.

He'd avoided her for days until she'd cornered him and dragged him into the same empty classroom and simply asked. "Why? What happened?"

He didn't understand how Marlene could believe Snape was to blame. He had hated himself for what he did.

He'd stared at her in surprise and Marlene rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot Sirius but you'd never hurt your friends on purpose. What did Snape do?"

And so he told her. He told her how Snape had found him after an argument with Regulus where Sirius had begged him to leave home and come live with Aunt Dorea like him. Regulus had refused and they'd argued. He told how he'd tried to ignore Snape when he mocked Sirius and taunted him. How he tried to leave when Snape threatened to expose the fact Remus was a werewolf.

"I asked him for proof?"

"What did he say?"

"He said that after Bellatrix put James under the cruciatus curse, he'd confess everything. I asked how he knew Bellatrix and Snape laughed. Said I was an idiot to refuse the dark lord and how I'd regret it when he killed everyone I loved. I couldn't think. I was angry. I told him to press something against the knot in the Willow and to meet the werewolf and get killed. I wanted him to die."

Marlene hugged him then. "I don't blame you,"

Without Marlene, Sirius doubted that his friends would have forgiven him. She'd hexed them still and then told them what Sirius had told her.

She pestered them until they forgave Sirius and that was when Sirius realised he was in love with her.

His sixth year ended more quietly than it began. He spent the summer with James and they joined the Order of the Phoenix together with Remus, Frank and Alice. Peter, Marlene and Lily had joined the week after them.

In his seventh year, Sirius watched as Lily finally agreed to go out with James. He spent his free time with his friends and Marlene. The common room was quieter now so the Marauders began pranking more often. The younger years deserved good memories of their Hogwarts years.

School ended and adulthood truly began. James proposed to Lily and they married shortly after Alice and Frank. Sirius had spent most of the two weddings staring at Marlene and wondering if she'd say yes if he proposed.

The next two years of his life were spent fighting. The war had consumed him and he barely saw Marlene outside of Order meetings. She was busy training as a healer and he was busy as an Auror.

Then Alice and Frank announced they were pregnant and Sirius's eyes had automatically flickered towards Marlene as he imagined what their child might one day look like.

Marlene was grinning and hugging Alice when Lily and James got up and James laughed and said Frank had stolen the words out of James's mouth.

Alice had beamed and hugged Lily as Frank teased Sirius that his and James's children would be best friends rather than Sirius's and James's. Sirius had rolled his eyes and accioed Marlene into a hug declaring that Marlene and his kid would be the best looking and that they were all just jealous.

When Alice and Lily had looked expectedly at Marlene, she'd blushed and said that she wasn't pregnant and Alice and Lily's faces fell.

"But imagine if our children were in the same year," Lily said.

Sirius laughed. "Minne would get even more grey! Imagine the pranks!"

James had chuckled while Lily smacked her husband and Sirius had never been happier.

The next week Sirius proposed and Marlene accepted, laughing as her hair changed colour to pink.

"Only you would propose by pranking me," She laughed.

Later that evening, Marlene and Sirius announced their news to the order before Alice, Frank, James and Lily did.

Despite the war, the room had been filled with cheer and Marlene demanded that a photo should be taken.

A week later, Sirius and Marlene decided to marry at the end of the month.

Two weeks after the photo was taken, Marlene was killed with her family.

Sirius had watched Snivellus torture her while Bellatrix placed him under the craciatus curse.

Marlene's gaze was on his and Sirius watched as she moved her wand and the pain in his body stopped. Her last action was to help him as she died.

The day Sirius was meant to marry Marlene McKinnon, he said goodbye to her.

When Harry James Potter was born, Sirius had cried along with Lily when Lily confessed that she promised Marlene she would be Harry's godmother. Alice had accepted the role with tears.

Harry's and Neville's birth gave them all a reason to fight on.

Two months later though, Sirius lost his parents. Dorea and Charlus Potter were murdered in Diagon Alley.

Six months after that, his friends all went into hiding. Sirius begged James to use Peter as the Secret Keeper. He couldn't live with himself if he hurt James like he'd hurt Remus in Hogwarts.

There were so many deaths. Too many deaths. Sirius watched as his friends were murdered one by one. Each time he lost one, he remembered them laughing in that Order meeting celebrating life.

Then came the day, Sirius Black lost the last of whom he loved. James and Lily were murdered. Harry was taken by Hagrid as Sirius sat there, in shock, next to the body of Lily Potter. His friend. He remembered creating that stupid plan so long ago, her laughing over his jokes and pranks and hexing him and James when they woke Harry up after he'd fallen asleep.

James was dead. His brother. The person who'd followed him into Hufflepuff so he wouldn't be alone. Betrayed by Peter. Peter who'd help them create new spells. Peter who'd replaced Remus's chocolate after Sirius stole it.

Sirius Black stood up calmly. He had to find Peter. He had to know why he'd done this.

And so he did but Peter was dead. He was replaced by a man Sirius didn't know. A man who framed him for something he would never do and everyone believed him.

When Sirius Black saw them throw Bellatrix Lestrange into the cell opposite his and heard what she did.

He thought. "You would have cured them, Marlene. You would have cured them and you'd help them free me. But you're dead and you were wrong. Snivellus was right. I should have joined his lord because then I wouldn't have lost everyone I loved. I wouldn't have lost everything."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! This wasn't meant to be a tragedy but my muse got carried away. I'd love to hear what you thought!