As they returned to the train, James refrained from asking what had happened to Remus's father; he understood that it might hurt Remus as the mention of his mother had. As they had settled, the parade of house-elves he had seen earlier entered the compartment, and their mistress stuck her head in.

"Who are you?" she asked James, sneering at Remus's scrappy robes. Her son slipped into the compartment. He had large grey eyes and was tall for a boy of eleven, but surely an older boy would not be getting onto the train with his mother?

James introduced himself and Remus. At the mention of "Potter", the woman stiffened and waved the elves out.

"But we've been to every compartment, Mother. Surely just for the train ride…" The tall boy looked irritated.

"No. If we cannot find a place, you will go sit with Narcissa."

"I cannot sit with the third-year girls!" he snapped, his voice rising. James let out a snicker. He knew it was not nice, but it was almost involuntary. Remus gave a tiny smile.

The Black boy's eyes narrowed. "Never mind, Mother. I think there is another coach. Let's go."

He stalked out, his eyes flashing in anger. James shrugged off the guilty feeling in his stomach and pulled out the Exploding Snap box.

"How do you play?" Remus asked politely. James stared at him.

"Are you Muggle-born?" he enquired, eager to hear more.

"No. I have not played much with other kids; I have heard of the game, but have never played."

James was surprised, but thought that maybe Remus lived in an isolated area. His father did not look like the sort of man who had many friends.

An hour later, Remus had mastered the game and was doing well. The ice was broken and the boys chattered happily. Remus seemed reluctant to talk about himself, but he laughed at James's stories and asked many questions. He was an avid Quidditch fan, though he had never played himself. It seemed to James that Remus had done none of the things that he had taken for granted as a part of his childhood, but he was intelligent and good-natured despite that.

Next they moved onto magic, and James was slightly overawed to discover that Remus was clever. He knew many spells and was a mine of magical trivia. James's parents had often suggested that he start studying during the holiday, but he had avoided the proffered lessons and run outside to fly. On the rare occasions that his father had forced him to learn something, he had mastered things quickly and easily, and he had been confident that he would do well at school. Now he felt slight remorse that he had not advanced as much as Remus had, but he quashed the feeling and remembered that he would catch up quickly at school with Remus's help. Besides, he was eleven. There was more to life than studying.

As the train neared Scotland, the boys pressed their noses to the window and wondered about the future. Suddenly, the door to their compartment opened and the Black boy peered inside. "Can we come in?"

James was silent, willing the boy to go away, but Remus spoke up. "Of course. There is plenty of space. Please forgive us for laughing at you earlier."

"I wasn't asking you. I don't even know who you are, and I don't much care." The boy's tone had no real nastiness in it; he simply disregarded Remus and focused his laughing grey eyes on James. "You're Potter, aren't you? You may not recognize me, but I have seen you many times at Wizarding events, though we have never spoken. I am Sirius Black."

James felt his temper rising. His parents had warned him about reining it in, but this boy was a severe trial. "No, I don't know you. But if you speak to Remus like that, I don't care much for you. Besides, hadn't you better listen to your mother and go sit somewhere more suitable?"

Ignoring James's response, the boy swept in, followed by a most unlikely companion – a fat, wispy-haired boy with pimples and an unexpressive face, who introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew in a tiny voice. They sat themselves opposite James and Remus, looking quite at home.

"What do you want?"

"To get to know you. My mother can be rather fussy about my friends, but you don't seem a bad sort."

James felt drawn in almost involuntarily by Sirius's charming smile. "Why are you so rude to Remus?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's a Mudblood." Sirius considered the matter settled. "I haven't heard of him, and my father knows everyone, so obviously he's not one of us. Why would I want to speak to that sort of trash?"

"I'm not a Muggle-born." Remus's voice was low and distrustful.

"He's not!" James jumped in. "He's been very ill and has not been out much, so that's why you don't know him!"

Sirius regarded Remus with a new interest. "Really? That's OK then."

James stood up firmly, thinking of his father and all he had taught him. "That's not the point. I don't want anyone who is that rude to Muggles as a friend, so get out!"

Sirius leaped to his feet, eyes blazing. "Oh, you're that sort, are you? A blood traitor! That's far worse than a Mudblood, because you could be so much better and you've chosen to betray the wizarding world!" He threw a punch at James.

James had good reflexes and ducked easily, but he lost his temper at Sirius's words. Soon the two boys were locked in a whirl of violence on the floor.

Suddenly James's arms snapped to his side and he fell away from Sirius, who had also gone stiff. He could only move his eyes, which fell upon Remus, who was holding his wand – the thin boy had put a Body-Bind curse on both of them.

"I am sorry. I don't want you to get in trouble." Remus turned to Peter, who still had not said a word. "Please take your friend away – I will not remove his curse myself."

Peter dragged Sirius away, panting under his weight. Remus muttered the counter-curse, and James climbed to his feet, glaring at him. "Why did you do that? I thought you were my friend!"

"Of course I am. That's why I did it. If you were caught fighting you would be punished."

"So? I would have just told them that he started it. Besides, now Sirius thinks I am a coward."

"That is not important, James. What another stupid child thinks is not important. But getting into trouble will hurt your future and disappoint your parents. You should be better than Sirius and not take his bait."

"You're lecturing. You sound like my mother."

Remus made a face. "I am sorry. I never meant to insult you. I was worried."

"It's OK, Remus. But you have to understand, I'm not here just to make my parents happy. I'm going to have fun!"

They finally reached Hogwarts – it was just as James's parents had described. He felt a bit seasick as they crossed the lake – his mother had told him many stories of the giant squid and he kept looking over his shoulder, expecting to see a tentacle snaking behind him. Remus, meanwhile, was staring at the senior students' carriages with a rather queasy expression, but he declined to comment on what he found so horrifying.

They made their way into the Great Hall, overwhelmed by the beautiful sky overhead. They formed an alphabetical line to be Sorted. James was nervous – he knew that his father very much wanted him to follow in his footsteps as a Gryffindor. As a P, he was near the back. Sirius Black's friend Peter was right in front of him.

James had fun guessing what house people would be sorted into based on their looks and names. But he was given a rude shock early in the Sorting. As they had entered the school, Sirius had told everyone in a lofty voice that the Blacks had all been in Slytherin since Hogwarts had been founded; he claimed that one of his ancestors had been Salazar Slytherin's closest friend. So James's jaw dropped dramatically when Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor.

However surprised James was, he had nothing on Sirius himself. The tall boy turned white and his eyes darted around the hall. There was an uproar from the Slytherin table until Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet and stared them into silence. He glanced at Sirius, who composed himself and made his way over to the Gryffindor table. The Hall calmed down and the Sorting continued.

James was thrilled when Remus was Sorted into Gryffindor. He was rather surprised when Peter was too – the boy seemed so unremarkable and was surely better suited to Hufflepuff. When his own turn came, he proudly put on the Hat, confident of his own destination. He was not disappointed; a flash of scarlet and gold passed over his eyes, and he walked over to the table where his father had sat before him. Remus waved him over to an empty spot. As he sat down, he froze awkwardly – Sirius Black was sitting directly in front of him. The two boys regarded each other warily for a few moments and then turned away to their various friends.

They were interrupted by the sound of a girl clearing her throat. It was obvious in her inflection that the girl expected everyone in earshot, possibly everyone in the room, to stop and listen to her. Sirius's eyes widened and James spun around to see who had so scared him.

The girl he faced was much older, maybe seventeen, and very tall. But the resemblance could not be missed. She had the same long black hair and elegant bone structure as Sirius, and she had that same air of being in total control of her surroundings. She wore well-tailored Slytherin robes and a harsh, displeased look.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Sirius?" she demanded. "We were all so excited for you to join us, and now you have disgraced the family. What have you done?"

James cast his eyes around, eager to focus on anything other than the angry girl's tirade. Beside her stood another girl with the same features and matching robes, though her hair and eyes were a dark brown and she was an inch or so shorter. She did not seem likely to congratulate Sirius on his Sorting either, but she looked more disappointed than furious.

The girl, who James assumed to be Sirius's older sister, was still listing the faults of a Gryffindor and the punishments Sirius would face when he returned home, and demanding to know what he had been doing that had led to this. The second girl put her hand on her sister's shoulder to calm her, but was shrugged off angrily. Sirius cringed on the bench. James was tempted to smirk, but suddenly felt a rush of anger at the unfairness of this Slytherin.

"Hey, shut up!" he said loudly. The girl's head snapped towards him. Her eyes were dark grey, almost black, with heavy lids. She looked like a cat ready to pounce.

"You should be proud of your brother! Gryffindor is a great house and I'm glad he is with us. I'm sure he'll be happier in Gryffindor than in Slytherin with a nasty snot like you." James did not stop to think whether he meant these words, but he hated seeing the proud Sirius so shamed.

"My brother?" the girl laughed. "You need to study your genealogy a little more carefully, Potter. If you would take a little more pride in the purity of your blood and in the blood of those with whom you mix, you would know that Sirius is my little cousin, that he is heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and that every Black has been in Slytherin since Hogwarts was founded. You would also know that I am Bellatrix Black and that this is my sister Andromeda. You would know that I am a prefect and the top student in the seventh year. And, finally, you would know that I take enough pride in my blood to give you detention for addressing me in that manner. Please see Professor McGonagall after dinner."

She walked away in a swish of green. Andromeda followed with a regretful glance at her cousin.

Sirius stared at James, his face a mixture of gratitude, anger, suspicion and confusion. Eventually he turned back to Peter and continued their discussion.

After the meal, a prefect instructed all the first years to follow him.

"I am supposed to see Professor McGonagall after dinner about a detention. Should I do that now or later?"

"Detention already, kid? That must be a record!" James looked slightly abashed, but shrugged it off. He was not ashamed, although he was not sure Sirius was worth the effort.

"Go along then; McGonagall will bring you up later. She's the tall one with the square glasses."

Feeling rather small, James approached the tough-looking witch, who looked tired and irritable.

"Professor McGonagall?"

"Potter, is it? You should be going to your dorm with a prefect, not hanging around as if your mother is about to come and take care of you!"

"I know, but I was told to come here – I was given detention…" James was not used to feeling guilty, but it did seem to be a little soon to be in trouble within his first couple of hours at Hogwarts.

"Good grief, Potter! How on earth did you manage that? I did not even think there were any rules that you could break this soon."

"Sorry, Professor, but I was rude to Miss Black and I did not realize she was a prefect…" James did not know how he was supposed to refer to Bellatrix, but he figured it was better to overdo it at this point.

Professor McGonagall seemed to soften somewhat and a quirk that might be a smile appeared on her thin face. James suspected that she was rather used to Bellatrix handing out unwarranted detentions. "Ah, you have run afoul of the dreaded Miss Black, have you? I hope you will be more careful in future."

"I will, ma'am" James assured her, widening his hazel eyes in a way that he had found to be very effective.

"You will do your detention with me tomorrow night. Meanwhile, I will take you to your common room." She walked swiftly towards a staircase; James, who was rather short, struggled to keep up.

She led him into the common room and pointed him towards the correct staircase. Climbing to the top, he found a pleasant room with four large beds with red hangings. Remus waved him over to the bed next to his own; James found that his trunk was already in the room.

Looking around, he noticed that Sirius was his other neighbor. He was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling without saying a word.

"I'm supposed to go talk to Dumbledore." Remus's soft voice broke the silence. "See you later."

He walked out quickly, seeming anxious to avoid questions. Peter, who had been furiously unpacking, finally pulled out his towel and went into the bathroom. James was left alone with Sirius, who still had not moved. It was strange; Sirius had been so loud and excited earlier, though a little proud. What had happened?

"Are you OK?" he asked. He still was not sure if he liked Sirius, but he could not bear to see him in pain.

Sirius shot upright and looked straight at James, tears shining in his lustrous eyes. James was shocked, but sat down on Sirius's bed, waiting for an explanation.

"Bellatrix is right." Sirius's voice was low and full of dread. "I've betrayed my family, and I'm going to be in such trouble."

"You might be in trouble, but I meant what I said earlier, I don't think you've done anything wrong."

Sirius raised his thick eyebrows. "You don't know much about pureblooded ideals, do you? This really is a big deal. I'm the heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. I was supposed to be in Slytherin and live up to my family name and make my parents proud, not be Sorted into a house of reckless blood traitors."

James felt his temper rising, but tried to stay calm. "Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe you'll find out that Gryffindor isn't so bad, and that all these things aren't as important as you think." Sirius appeared to have relaxed a bit, and James decided to continue in this tone. He somehow felt that this boy was worth reaching out to, even if everything he said insulted James to the core.

"I know what it's like to look up to your family. My dad is awesome and I want to be just like him, and I really wanted to be in Gryffindor because he was. But I also wanted to be in Gryffindor because I think it's an awesome house and I want to be brave and to stand up for what is right, and I would do that even if my dad didn't want me to. Maybe you can make your family proud and be a pureblood and still do other things."

Sirius looked confused, but the anger and fear on his face seemed to be subsiding. "You're already pretty brave. I don't know many people who aren't scared of Bella."

"Bella?" James laughed. "You mean your cousin? It's hard to believe she has a mother, let alone a nickname."

Sirius grinned. "You just saw her at her worst. She's actually great fun, and she really is a very talented witch. She just gets a little bossy, but she's actually incredible. I'll introduce you later and you'll see."

"What's your family like?" James felt that maybe it was time to try see the good side of the Blacks. "Do you have brothers and sisters, or just your cousins?"

"I have a little brother, Regulus, but he's just a baby. I mostly play with my older cousins when they're not at Hogwarts. You met Bella, and Meda was behind her – she's in fifth year. Cissy's in third year, but she's not much fun – she's such a girl."

"Sound cool. I'm sorry for laughing at you earlier, by the way – I didn't mean to upset you, but it was really funny."

"I guess it was. Do you wish you had siblings and cousins?"

"How did you know I am an only child?"

Sirius snorted incredulously. "You don't have much pureblood pride, do you? My mother made me study the pedigree of every prominent pureblood family in Britain, and many outside. So I know that you are the last surviving descendent of the Potter line."

James flinched, his dislike for Sirius reigniting. "You sound just like Bellatrix. My parents are proud of our family background, but my father says that the best sign of nobility is to show respect to everyone."

A thoughtful expression crossed Sirius's face. "That's an interesting idea. This is all getting a bit solemn, though – can we talk about something else?"

"Sure. Do you know any cool tricks?"

As simply as that, the boys discovered their shared passion. They were both huge jokers and loved pulling crazy pranks. Peter returned from the bathroom and tried to join in the conversation, but he had no stories of his own to share, so he fell asleep listening to them. After what seemed like an age, Remus returned. His eyes widened to see the animated discussion between the two boys – he had been sure that they hated each other earlier.

"Hi, welcome back!" James turned back to Remus, anxious to not give the impression that he had replaced him with Sirius. "How was Dumbledore? What did he want? Don't worry if you've got detention – I beat you to it."

Remus smiled and threw a pillow at James's head. "No, he just wanted to make sure that I was not ill."

James grabbed the pillow and added it to his own pile. "That was nice of him. What's wrong with you?"

"That's a little blunt, James." Remus said drily. "Let's leave that heart-to-heart for another night, OK?"

Tired, James rolled over and blew out his candle. "OK. Good night, guys." Within seconds he was snoring softly.

Sirius and Remus regarded each other warily. Remus had not witnessed Sirius's softer side earlier, while Sirius still had seen nothing in Remus that compared to James's courage. Each wondered why James had befriended the other.

The impasse remained for a few minutes. Finally the boys shrugged and climbed into bed. Remus fell asleep almost instantly, but Sirius remained awake, staring at the ceiling. The wind whistled softly through the window, and for some reason the sound awakened the echo of his own mind: "Toujours Pur". He blushed deeply, grateful for the dark. What had he been thinking? He could not be in Gryffindor! James, no, Potter was a Muggle-lover, a natural enemy of the house that he would rule one day. He would not allow such people to charm him – he would rise above this weakness. Tomorrow he would set things right.