Author's Note:

I know a lot of you have been commenting on how much you like Althea Castellanos and I really like her too, but at this point in the story, she is no longer important. Will she come back? I can't say (well, won't say). But I will give you a little snippet here of why she is still gone, which I believe most of you saw coming.

Also, I am one of those fans who have a love-hate relationship with Snape. Was he a hero? Undoubtably he was, but was he a good man — no, I don't think he was that either. He was selfish and unforgiving and I think this part of him is often overlooked. I love Snape, especially in the films because Alan Rickman was one of the most amazing actors to ever grace the screen, but I think that we all know that he and Sirius Black will never be friends. But maybe, just maybe, Sirius can convince him to give something back to Lily's son for Lily's sake.

I know that I've been mentioning the Pensieve idea a lot and I want to do some Marauder stuff here, some great memories and some bad memories too so, these next few chapters are going to be a lot of flashbacks that I have been writing a lot lately and I hope you guys enjoy them.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the lovely memory of Lily and Petunia, that belongs to JKR from chapter thirty-three of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; however I did take liberty a wee bit.

Reviews and Comments: To E-Dett: Thank you! Yes, I wanted to show the contrast between the Christmases he is used to and the Christmas he received in his new home. It will take time for Harry to fully heal and showing that it isn't happening overnight is very important to me. Thank you! To Mattelle: Thank you! I like showing the playful side of Sirius while still showing that he knows how important it is for him to be a strong parental figure. Of course he got a Weasley jumper, LOL! To Claire F: Thank you!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE:

The One With the Pensieve

As January ushered in 1987, Sirius felt like everything was going well. He heard from Castellanos briefly after the new year, surprising him as she hadn't written once since he'd seen her off back in September. The letter now was simply a short note.

Sirius,

Sorry, I haven't written. It's been so busy here and so heartbreaking. I have decided to extend my trip as I'm sure you've realized by now. I've taken a year long sabbatical from St Mungo's to stay and help the organization. I don't know if that means I will be staying here in Sri Lanka for the full year or if I will be moving on somewhere else, but I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year. I hope you and Harry are well.

Thea

He had simply crumpled the parchment up into his hand and tossed it into the bin. Sirius had known on some level when she had left that she wouldn't be coming back. And while he missed her, he knew that he wasn't disappointed she was gone either. He wasn't ready to make any major changes in his life including a relationship.

Harry was his life and that was the only important thing.

As January breathed cold wind and blizzards into Britain, Sirius headed to Hogwarts to get the new batch of Wolfsbane Potion from Snape.

"Instructions are the same, Black. I'm sure even someone as simple-minded as yourself can follow them," Snape sneered at him as he handed over the potion for Remus.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Listen, Snape, I'm not going to pretend that I like you and I don't expect you to pretend you like me, but you are brewing this for Remus and that is appreciated more than you can know."

Snape opened his mouth to speak and seemed to change his mind, only nodding.

Sirius sighed. "I wasn't going to bother, in fact I had talked myself out of it, but this is for Harry and I think it's important."

Snape only stared at him, one sharpened eyebrow pointing upward. "You lost me, Black, that potion is for Lupin not the Potter brat. Unless you've decided to let Lupin bite the child than I can assure you, I have zero sympathy for your stupidity."

Sirius rolled his eyes again, biting his tongue to stop the sharp comment from coming out. "He's not just 'the Potter brat,' Snape." He took a deep breath before he spoke. "He's six years old and I know how much you loathed James Potter, but I also know how much you once meant to Lily."

"Don't you dare talk about her to me! You and — you're part of the reason I lost her!"

"Don't make me laugh," Sirius said, condescendingly. "You lost her because you chose the dark arts over your friendship! You can go on and on and keep thinking that James turned her against you, but we both know that you did that all on your own before James was even really in the picture."

A vein was popping in Snape's forehead now. "You — will — not — talk — to — me — about — her!"

Sirius only stared at him for a moment before he shook his head. "No, I want to get this out. Just once, and you will listen to me. Harry doesn't remember Lily and James, Snape. He has no memories of the people who loved him most in the world. Dumbledore gave me a Pensieve to give him some memories and I'm working on putting that together. I wasn't going to ask you, mostly because I hate you and I think that you're a huge prick, but Lily… you were her best friend once upon a time, Snape. Godric knows what she saw in you, but you knew her before I did, before she even came to Hogwarts."

"You have the gall to ask me for memories of Lily to share with Potter's brat?"

"Potter's brat is also the son of Lily, Snivellus, so maybe you should start remembering that!" Sirius exclaimed, his anger rising now. "He has her fucking eyes! And her absolute goodness! All things that I want him to realize if he has a chance to get to know what his mother was like. You spent time with her; you were best friends with her at one time, and I'm not looking for you to show him some awful memory of when you lost that friendship, but to remember the good times. Is that really too much to ask of you? Lily would have been honoured if you chose to show her son this kindness! Are you really telling me that for the sake of the relationship you once shared with her — you won't even consider it?"

Snape sneered at him. "She wasn't my friend. She was nothing but a Mudblooded bitch."

Sirius' fist flung out and popped Snape in the side of the jaw, startling him. "Some friend, dickwad! Thanks for the potion."

He stepped into the Floo and left Snape standing in his office, wand pointed at the fire in rage, and Sirius was left with his thoughts of wondering not for the first time how the amazing woman that he had known as Lily Evans Potter had ever befriended such a foul git.

~ ASC ~

After the fiasco of daring to ask Snape for memories of Lily, Sirius figured that maybe the best start he could make was collecting and cataloguing his own memories. It was where Remus found him one afternoon a week later while Harry was having his first sleepover at The Burrow. He was sitting at the kitchen table with the Pensieve basin in front of him and little bottles standing in front of it.

"What are you doing, Padfoot?" Remus asked, taking a seat at the table across from his friend.

Sirius nodded at the Pensieve, "Trying to decide if I should organize these chronologically and log them somehow or if I should just leave them to be a surprise as Harry views them."

Remus smiled and picked up one of the bottles. "Who are these from?"

"Me so far. I wanted to see how it went before I started collecting from others, you know? I mean, they are only copies of one's memory, but I want to collect as many of them as I can."

Remus nodded, turning the small bottle over in his hand. "Can I ask what your first memories are?"

Sirius smiled and took the bottle from Remus, pouring it into the basin. "My first train ride to school."

They both looked up at the tapping from the window, surprised to see a large brown barn owl. Sirius opened the window and let the owl inside to warm up, getting a small bowl of water for him as he carefully unhooked the package from his leg.

"It's from Hogwarts," he said as he brought it over to the table. "I wonder what Minnie has sent me."

Remus smiled. "Could be from Dumbledore," he said, but when Sirius only rolled his eyes he laughed. "You're right, it's probably from Minerva. She's probably just checking up on you."

Sirius laughed as he opened the package, his eyes widening at the bottles all containing the silvery blue-white swirl of memories. He reached for the letter, tugging it from the envelope.

Black,

This is for Lily.

Do not speak to me of this ever again.

Snape

"Holy shit," Sirius exclaimed, holding the letter out to Remus. "He actually sent me his fucking memories! Holy shit!"

"Who did?" he asked, his eyes moving over the words and his eyes widening in disbelief. "Snape? You asked Severus Snape to give you memories for Harry and he said yes? What in bleeding Merlin did you do to him?"

Sirius snorted. "I guess he actually listened to me for once."

"The world must be ending," Remus said, making his friend laugh loudly.

"No," Sirius said with a smile. "I think I just got through to him about trying to do something to make up for everything that happened between him and Lily. He regrets it, anyone can see that. And I said to him that he was the first person to know her and to befriend her and that's an important memory to share with her son. I never in a million years thought he would actually… I wonder what they are."

Remus picked up the first bottle with a small smile on his face. "In terms of organization, if you were going to log the bottles, we would definitely have to view them first, right?"

Sirius put his tongue in his cheek. "Yeah, I think we do, I mean strictly for organizational purposes, of course."

Remus popped open the bottle and hesitated before he poured it into the Pensieve. "You already have one memory in here, should we remove it first?"

Sirius shook his head. "Nah, it's just my first train ride when I met James and Lily. We can view it after we watch Snape's."

Remus nodded and poured the memory into the basin and then they both smiled and leaned forward, losing themselves in the memory.

Severus Snape was standing nearby watching out for Lily with his dark intense eyes. His greasy black hair was in his eyes and he was holding onto this trolley so tightly that his knuckles had whitened in their grip. His mother, a rather plain looking woman, stood behind him with a severe look on her face.

He didn't see his friend anywhere, but his eyes fell on a small scrawny boy standing nearby with his parents. He had black hair sticking up in every which direction and round glasses. He was practically bouncing up and down on his feet.

"Look Mum! There it is!" The boy called out, turning Snape's attention away from the platform where he had been looking for his friend Lily.

Euphemia Potter shook her head in amusement. She couldn't contain the ball of excitement that was her eleven-year-old-son. "James, come here!" she insisted, attempting to tame his messy hair. "You could have at least combed your hair this morning!"

James maneuvered out of her grip, grinning broadly. "Nah, looks better this way! Don't you think so, Dad?"

Fleamont Potter only grinned widely, hands in his pockets as he danced on the heels of his feet. "You'll change your mind when you get older. Leave him, Fee, he's fine. Another strong Gryffindor!"

"Monty! You don't know that he's going to be in Gryffindor! He's a smart young man, maybe Ravenclaw is his house." Euphemia insisted, shooting her husband a look of despair.

Fleamont winked at his son. "Gryffindor," he whispered making James laugh. "Got to make your granddad proud."

James grinned wider, laughing when his mum elbowed his dad playfully in the ribs. "The hat always knows what's best, James; don't listen to your father."

Fleamont winked again. "Little secret, Jamie, the hat takes your opinion into count." He grinned widely at his son. "But any house would make me proud if it's what you wanted."

Euphemia was picking lint and dog hair off of the back of James' shirt. "Jamie! How did you get so dirty already, we just left the house?"

"Mum," he said in exasperation, wiggling out from her grasp. When she only stared at him, he sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be fine, Mum! I'll make friends and study hard and play lots and lots of Quidditch."

Euphemia hugged her son close, kissing his cheeks. "What am I going to do without you hanging around the house all of the time?" She kissed his forehead. "I love you, my darling boy."

James blushed in embarrassment and moved to hug his dad. "I love you too, Mum! Geez — it's not like you're never going to see me again!"

Fleamont laughed and hugged his son close. "Behave yourself," he kissed his son's cheek and then held him close for a moment as he seemed to be whispering something in his ear.

"There's your friend Lily, Severus," Mrs Snape said, tearing Snape's rather jealous gaze from the boy hugging his father to watch Lily with her parents and sister. He moved closer so that he could hear what she was saying.

He watched as Lily bit her bottom lip and she squeezed her father's hand tightly. The big red steam engine bearing the words: Hogwarts Express flashed before her. She looked up at her father nervously as he smiled down at her.

"I see Severus over there, Lily. He's not worried about going off on the train." Mr Evans told her, pointing over to where Snape was hovering, eavesdropping on the conversation with her family.

Lily smiled up at her father. "I know, Dad. I see him."

Mr Evans knelt down in front of his daughter, gently tucking her long red hair behind her ears. "Are you nervous, sweetie?"

She nodded, stealing a glance at her big sister of three years, Petunia, who was standing next to their mother, arms crossed in annoyance in front of her. Her mother caught her glance and smiled warmly at her and Lily swallowed carefully. "Tuney is still cross with me."

Mr Evans glanced back at his eldest daughter and sighed. "Petunia is a very stubborn young girl, like someone else that I know," he added, making Lily blush. "But today is about you, Lily, not Petunia. You have been given a wonderful gift. Something that no one else in this family has ever before been given. The gift of magic." He kissed her forehead, smiling when she threw her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, Daddy," she whispered, her face buried in his shoulder.

When he stood up, patting her gently on the head she turned to run into her mum's arms. Mrs Evans hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. "Now, you be a good girl, Lily. Study hard and practice your skills."

"I will, Mum, I promise."

Mrs Evans smiled and gently ran a finger down her daughter's cheek. "And don't forget to have fun, too." She tapped Lily's nose, making her smile.

"I will."

"I love you, Lily," Mrs Evans said, kissing her cheek.

Lily smiled and turned towards her sister. Petunia's arms were still crossed in front of her and she had a snooty look on her face like something smelt terrible nearby. Lily simply wrapped her arms around her sister's waist, hugging her tightly. "I'm going to miss you so much, Tuney!"

Petunia snorted, attempting to push her sister off, but Lily only hugged her tighter making Snape snort as Petunia continued to attempt to disentangle herself. "Honestly, Lily! Let go!"

Lily pulled back and looked up at her sister. "Aren't you even a little sad that you won't see me until Christmas?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen —" she caught her sister's hand when she pushed her away and held tight onto it even though Petunia tried to pull it from her grasp. "Maybe once I'm there — no listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"I don't — want — to — go!" Petunia said, and she dragged her hand back out of her sister's grasp. "You think that I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a — a —" Her pale eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewling in their owner's arms, over the owls fluttering and hooting at each other's cages, over the students, some already in their long, black robes, loading trunks on to the scarlet steam engine or else greeting one another with glad cries after a summer apart. "You think I want to be a — a freak?"

Lily's eyes filled with tears as Petunia succeeded in tugging her hand away. "I'm not a freak. That's a horrible thing to say."

"That's where you're going," Petunia said with relish. "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy… weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

Lily glanced towards her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce. "You didn't think that it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you!"

Petunia turned scarlet. "Beg? I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

"You shouldn't have read —" Petunia whispered. "That was my private — how could you —?"

Lily gave herself away by half glancing towards where Severus stood nearby.

Petunia gasped. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No — not sneaking!" Now Lily was on the defensive. "Severus saw the envelope and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of —"

"— Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" Petunia said, now as pale as she had been flushed. "Freak!" she spat at her sister and she flounced off to where her parents stood.

Lily moved over as well to hug her parents one last time, promising to write home every week and her heart breaking a little as her sister pointedly ignored her. She grabbed her trolley. She waved goodbye and made her way over to Snape, narrowly escaping a skinny dark-haired boy with glasses who almost crashed into her trolley in his attempt to get onto the train.

"Sorry!" he called out, stopping to smile at her.

Lily smiled back, trying not to let him see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. His grin lit up his whole face and it was impossible not to smile back at him. "It's all right; no harm done."

The boy grinned widely at her, adjusting his glasses. "I'm just excited to get on the train. I'm James."

"Lily," she said, accepting his hand. "Have you been to Hogwarts before?"

He nodded, grinning widely. "Once with my mum, but it was in the summer and no students were there. I'm a first year. I can't wait to be sorted into Gryffindor and to watch some Quidditch games! It's going to be the best year ever! Are you a first year too?"

Lily smiled back at him. "Yes. What's Quidditch?"

"Only the best sport in the whole world! You'll see! Come on; you can sit with me if you'd like!" he told her, grinning widely.

Lily pointed to where Snape was standing by awkwardly watching them. "My friend is waiting for me."

"He can come too," James told her, waving at Snape.

Snape merely glowered at him and James shrugged, turning back to Lily. "Well, if you can't find a compartment I'll save you a seat."

"Thanks, James."

He waved goodbye and carefully lugged his trunk up the steps to the train with the help of an older boy. Lily headed over to Snape smiling. "That was James. He's a first year, too. He told me about Gryffindor, another house."

"Slytherin is the only house that matters, Lily," Snape told her shortly. "Trust me, you don't want to be in any other house."

"You don't even know if you will be in Slytherin House yet, Sev!"

He shrugged, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "I just know. What did Petunia say to you to make you so upset?"

Lily shrugged as the tears threatened her eyes again. "I know you could hear her, Sev! She hates me and it's your fault! You snooped and found that letter from Dumbledore."

Snape's mouth opened in surprise. "It's not my fault that she left it lying open in her trash bin like that. And you don't need her, Lily!"

"She's my sister!"

"She's only a —" He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him. "Come on; let's go find a compartment."

As the memory swirled around them, Sirius and Remus found themselves once again on Platform Nine and Three Quarters but this time, it was Sirius who stood there.

Sirius stood on the platform looking at the Hogwarts Express wistfully. He had been dreaming of coming to school for years now. A chance to leave the nest and get out of the house of his mad parents. A chance to have a bit of an adventure.

"Sirius, are you even listening to me?" Walburga Black demanded, her hands on her hips.

Sirius rolled his eyes before he turned to look at his mother. Her long black hair was pinned up in a tight bun and her grey eyes were glaring at him in annoyance "Yes. Behave. Be a good Slytherin. Stay out of trouble or you'll bring me straight home. Did I miss anything?"

Walburga's eyes narrowed. "Don't get smart with me, boy!"

Sirius took a slow breath in and out. "Yes, Mum."

Walburga stared at him for a moment. "I expect you to do your best, Sirius. To bring fame to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black as a loyal Slytherin and first born son of Orion Black, you are going to do what's best for this family. Stay out of trouble and away from anyone who is beneath you. Make friends with the right sort of people. Remember, you are a Black. There is no higher honour."

Sirius merely nodded, looking longingly at the steam engine up ahead. "I will, Mum."

Walburga nodded, seemingly satisfied with his response. "Good. I expect a letter by the end of the week telling me all about Slytherin and about some of the friends you've made and the good families that they come from. Toujours Pur, understood."

"Yes, Mum."

"We'll see you at Christmas."

Sirius nodded, grabbing his trunk and hurrying off. He jumped up onto the train, dragging his trunk up without help and moving to find a compartment to sit in. He opened the door to one, seeing a scrawny boy with glasses and messy hair stretched out across the bench. He knocked lightly on the doorjamb to get his attention.

"Got room in here for one more or are you keeping the whole place to yourself?"

The boy grinned at him and gestured for him to come inside. He dragged his trunk with him and between the two of them they shoved their trunks up onto the rack before he sat down next to James, stretching his legs out across the same bench so that they were facing each other.

"I can see why you were stretched out; much more comfortable, mate."

The boy leaned forward, extending his hand. "I'm James."

"Sirius." he said, dragging his fingers through his slightly shaggy dark black hair. He wondered if James was someone his mother would deem socially acceptable for him to be talking to, he thought. "So James, you a first year?"

"Definitely. I can't wait to start learning real magic! Seems like every time I want to do something Mum and Dad are always telling me to wait until I'm old enough. Other than Quidditch. I love Quidditch! I could spend the rest of my life on a broomstick!"

Sirius' mouth twitched in amusement. "Flying is pretty great. You going to play on your house team?"

James nodded eagerly. "You bet! I'm a pretty great Chaser. It totally sucks that you have to be a second year to play! What position do you play?"

Sirius shrugged, scratching his chin. He usually only played with Regulus so it was hard to really know what position he liked. "Keeper usually, but I don't want to play on the school team. I'll just watch."

"You don't like to play Quidditch?" James exclaimed, his mouth open in alarm. "That's practically blasphemy!"

Sirius laughed, crossing his arms in front of him. The boy was radiating excitement at the mentioning of anything to do with Quidditch. James immediately began to tell him about his favourite teams (Puddlemere and Holyhead) and all about his new broomstick (the Nimbus 1000) and its many perks. Their Quidditch discussion was interrupted when the compartment door slid open and they both looked up at the redhead who was standing there.

"Hi, Lily," James smiled. "Come on in!"

The girl had long red hair, tucked behind her ears and bright green eyes that were brimming with tears as she hastily tried to wipe them away. "Th-thanks."

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked her, his eyebrow rising in question.

Why would she be crying? Maybe she was scared to leave home, he thought. He was sure not everyone was happy to get away from their family like he was.

She nodded. "Fine."

"This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" A short boy with greasy black hair exclaimed, coming into the compartment behind Lily.

Lily nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," the greasy-haired boy said.

James looked up quickly and winced. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius, who was still lounging next to him on the seat.

Sirius smiled half-heartedly at them. Slytherin always had a bad reputation because of the desire of Salazar Slytherin for it to be a pure house; one of purebloods only. His own family motto, he thought, toujours pur, always pure.

"My whole family has been in that house for centuries."

"Blimey!" James exclaimed, eyes wide. "And I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned. He liked the boy immensely and he hoped that he wasn't going to be judged on his family before he got the chance to show him who he really was. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword. "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad!" The greasy-haired boy made a small, disparaging noise making James turn to him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No," he said, sneering at him. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy —"

" — Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interrupted, annoyed at the rudeness of the boy. James was the first potential friend he had ever really had and he wasn't going to let some little snot disrespect him.

James roared with laughter making Sirius grin. At least he was entertaining the potential friend, he thought.

Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike. "Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Ooooo…" James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice and James tried to trip Snape as they passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius called out as they opened the compartment door. The door slammed behind them and Sirius turned to grin at James. "What an unpleasant git! The redhead seemed nice though, do you know her?"

James shook his head. "Nah, just bumped into her outside of the train. She seemed nice enough. Rotten taste in friends, though. Sirius, has your whole family really been in Slytherin?"

Sirius nodded, his eyes befitting his name as the train began to move. "Yeah, my Mum told me that I must continue the family tradition."

"Gryffindor is a much better house, though! It's for the brave and the courageous and it's a lion instead of a snake, which is clearly the superior animal!" James told him, grinning. "We just have to be in the same house!"

Sirius shrugged good naturally. "We've each got our own paths to take and my mum seems to think mine is to follow in the family tradition which starts with becoming a Slytherin."

"My dad told me that the hat takes your opinion into the equation," James told him with a grin. "If you want to be in Slytherin, you can be, but if you'd rather be in Hufflepuff or say in Gryffindor like me then tell the hat. I guess it's supposed to listen to your desires."

Sirius stared at James in surprise. "Really?"

James nodded. "My dad doesn't lie."

"Wow, I didn't know it gave you an option. As my dear mum always tells me, the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black is born and bred in Slytherin House, but maybe I'll be the one to break that tradition."

"You're a Black? You must know my uncle Charlie and Aunt Dory!"

Sirius nodded. "Charlus Potter yeah, does that mean… didn't your dad invent that hair potion back in the twenties? Isn't he like super old?"

James shrugged, smiling. "Not super old, but yeah, definitely older. Mum thought that they weren't meant to have children because they tried so long and nothing, but then there was me. Mum was fifty-eight when she had me."

"Bloody hell," Sirius said. "So, you're an only child then?"

James nodded, placing his hands behind his head. "Yup. You?"

"Little brother, Regulus. He's nine. Kind of a pain in the arse mostly."

James laughed. He had always wanted a brother. "I think it'd be great to have a brother. It's kind of lonely when you only have your parents to play with. Hey, do you like music?"

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "It has its moments. I like the orchestra crescendos and stuff, I guess."

James stared at him for a moment. "Well, classical is great for, you know, balls and stuff, but I mean like rock and roll music?"

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know what that is."

"The Beatles man? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am Sirius, but I don't know what the Beatles are outside of an insect?"

James rolled his eyes at the lame joke and jumped up to get into his trunk and find his wireless record player. "Ha, ha! Mate, you're going to love them! Just you wait!"

Remus laughed as he rebottled the two memories, labelling them as first train ride. "James really did love music. Did you see Snape's memory, the way he was just watching James with his parents and then Lily with hers?"

Sirius nodded. "He looked jealous. His mum barely even acknowledged him to send him off to school. He didn't like James right away before he had even done anything. James even invited him to share his compartment right off the bat and he practically sneered at him. Pathetic git."

Remus stared at the bottles still sitting on the table. "I think he looked lonely and I think Lily was his only real friend which makes the fact that he pushed her away even sadder. I did notice that the very first time you met Severus, you were an arse, how did I not know that?"

Sirius shrugged. "He was a git from the get-go! Mocking James for wanting to be in Gryffindor."

"After James mocked him for wanting to be in Slytherin," Remus said in exasperation. "You two were already causing trouble.

Sirius grinned. "We knew that we didn't like the git, Moony, that's all I can say."

"These are great first memories though, Sirius. What's this second one you have here?" Remus asked.

"Oh, I think it's the Sorting," Sirius said absentmindedly as he picked up another bottle from the package Snape had sent. "Don't you want to see what else Snape left us?"

Remus nodded. "Most definitely."