A/N: This is written by two authors. Me and CleveristWitchHerAge. We would both like to add that we don't own Harry Potter, though we both wish we did, but you all knew that already, didn't you?

Family Keeps You Sane

By: animaguswolfsong and CleveristWitchHerAge

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never have, never will.

Chapter 2 – The Hogwarts Express

"Come on, Sirius. We're almost to the platform!" James shouted to his friend. He reached the gateway to Platform Nine and Three Quarters and passed through the brick wall silently.

They had come early so not many people were on the platform yet. The letter had told James to be on the Hogwarts Express at ten thirty in order to meet with the Head Girl and prepare for the Prefect's meeting.

"Don't you bloody know the meaning of the word wait?" Sirius huffed as he caught up with James.

"Stop complaining, Padfoot, and follow me."

The Potters and David couldn't accompany James and Sirius to the train so before they had left, the family had sat down for a large breakfast. Sirius complained, once again, about the inhuman waking hours he was forced to keep, but once he saw the breakfast that had been prepared, he immediately woke up and tended to his stomach's needs.

"What's your hurry anyway?" Sirius asked as they boarded the train. "The Head Girl's probably some insane, hideous know-it-all prat who has some weird name like Prudence or—"

"Lily!" James exclaimed.

Sirius shook his head. "No, not Lily."

"No, you prick. Lily's here." Sirius looked around just in time to see the red-head disappear onto the train.

"Let's go!"

"Oh, that's why you're in such a hurry," Sirius realized. "Hey! Wait up!" Sirius ran after his friend and swung himself up onto the train.

James made his way to the front of the train where the compartment reserved for the prefect's meeting was located. He slid the door to the side to find Lily standing looking out of the window as she readied for the meeting. Lily looked up, startled by the intrusion, but when she saw James standing in the doorway, her fright turned to annoyance.

"Oh, great. The first person I see when I get back is Potter," Lily said exasperatedly. "What are you doing here?"

James smirked. "Why, Evans, dear! Did you not guess that I would be Head Boy?" James asked, trying to look hurt. Lily was speechless for a moment.

"You're Head Boy?" she asked faintly. "That's not possible. How could Dumbledore have chosen you? He's not that insane. You have absolutely no sense of respect, no sense of responsibility—"

"I resent that! That's not true!" James defended. Lily gave him a look as she crossed her arms.

"I happen to take great responsibility in my Quidditch duties." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Indeed," she said. "It takes great responsibility to look like a show-off on a broomstick," she said sarcastically. "I'm so proud of you, Potter."

James smiled. "Why, thank, you Evans. Your support is greatly appreciated."

"I know you're not the Head Boy, Potter, so stop pretending. Give the badge back to your friend," Lily said exasperatedly.

James gave her a quizzical look. "You want Sirius to be Head Boy?"

"No, you imbecile! Remus!"

"Oh!" James exclaimed. "Remus isn't here," he said seriously.

"Stop lying, Potter. It's not funny."

"I'm not lying. I'm really Head Boy. Here's the letter." James reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment and handed it to Lily.

Lily took the letter and read through it. When she was done, she stared at the letter disbelievingly.

"Why on earth would he choose Potter?" she muttered to herself, starting to pace. "I don't understand it. He has no sense of responsibility as I've already said, no respect for teachers, he doesn't do his homework but somehow he manages to get good grades, I smell conspiracy! He acts like he is king of the world, and he is always goofing of," Lily said, her voice growing steadily louder. She seemed to have forgotten that James was there.

James stood watching Lily continue to rant. He couldn't see what the big deal was.

"—Egotistical, arrogant, big-headed, stuck-up, stupid, idiotic git, show-offy brat—"

"Evans, you know that I'm still here, right?" James pointed out. Lily didn't hear him and kept going.

"—pompous, ignorant, selfish, shallow—"

"I resent that! I am not shallow!" James yelled over Lily.

"Like hell you are!" Lily exclaimed firmly, turning to James. "You go around thinking that you're 'oh so important' and rule everything in your sight! You go around cursing defenseless people—"

"Snape is not defenseless!" James said. "Why do you think we curse him all the time?"

"Because you're a self-centered pork!" Lily said angrily, glaring at James.

James raised an eyebrow at her. "Pork?" he asked, interested.

"Pork! Where?" Sirius exclaimed as he entered the compartment.

"Apparently I'm a self-centered pork, Padfoot," James informed his friend.

Outraged, Lily let out a furiated scream.

"Get out! Get out, both of you!" she screamed.

"Technically you can only kick Sirius out. I'm allowed to be here," James said.

"I said get out!" Lily shrieked again, drawing her wand.

James and Sirius stared at the wand.

"Now, Evans, you don't really want to hurt us now do you?" James asked.

"Not that you could," Sirius muttered under his breath, but Lily heard him.

"Would you care for a demonstration, Black?" she said in a sickly-sweet voice.

Sirius and James glanced at each other.

"Well, look at the time!" Sirius declared. "I guess we should be going."

"Yeah, we really should! See ya around, Evans!" he shouted before disappearing from sight.

James and Sirius sat slouched in a compartment with Peter Pettigrew sitting across from them. It had started raining outside and the raindrops streaked the windows. The train was rather quiet all around; not much was going on.

Just then, the door to their compartment opened.

James looked up and saw Remus Lupin walk into the compartment.

"How was the prefect meeting?" James asked, sitting up as Remus sat down next to Peter.

"Same as last year. Just how the rounds work and such. The Head Girl's Lily, of course. No surprise there. But this year, the Head Boy wasn't there and Lily wouldn't tell us who it is. A bit odd if you ask me," Remus informed them.

James and Sirius shared a mischievous look.

"I know that look," Remus said.

"What do you two know that we don't?" Peter asked.

James turned to face his friends, a huge grin plastered on his face. "You are looking at the school's new Head Boy."

Remus and Peter remained silent in shock for a moment, before Remus burst into laughter, Peter following.

"You've got to be joking!" Remus laughed. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"No, seriously!" James said adamantly. "I have the letter, wanna see it?" James reached into his pocket, but the letter wasn't there.

"Oh, Lily has it. I showed it to her and she didn't give it back. Here's the badge," James said, pulling it out. Remus took it from James and studied it.

"A very good imitation, James, I must say, but I'm not buying it. Who's the real Head Boy?" Remus said, still smirking.

"I am!" James insisted. "Why won't anyone believe that I am Head Boy?"

"Because you aren't," Peter said, holding back his laughter.

"No, really!" James stopped. How could he convince them? "Why wouldn't Lily tell you who the Head Boy is? She didn't tell you because she doesn't want to admit that I've actually been named Head Boy."

Remus stopped. It made sense. Come to think of it, every time someone mentioned the Head Boy, her eyes glazed over, she clenched her fists, and she narrowed her eyes in what Remus now recognized as loathing.

"But why would Dumbledore choose you, James?" Peter queried. "Why not Remus or someone else. Let's face it, you're not exactly a model student."

"We've been wondering that, too," Sirius said. "I think Dumbledore's finally gone nutters." Sirius had a strangely matter-of-fact face as he said that.

"That's a really good explanation, Sirius, but we're going to keep trying," James said.

'How was your summer?" Remus asked, changing the subject.

"Not bad," James answered. "Though Sirius was a bit of a pain."

"Excuse me!" Sirius exclaimed. "I was not the one fantasizing about a certain someone very loudly all night in my sleep."

Remus choked back a laugh as Peter's eyes grew in amusement. James' cheeks grew red as his eyes narrowed at Sirius.

"Mr. Prongs would like to inform Mr. Padfoot that he has just crossed the line." James said, standing up and drawing his wand. Sirius stood as well with his wand as he squared to face James.

"Mr. Padfoot would like to query as to which line he supposedly stepped over?"

"Mr. Moony would like to inform Mr. Prongs and his dim-witted accomplice that they are acting particularly childish at this time."

"Mr. Prongs would like to tell Mr. Moony to shove it."

"Mr. Wormtail would like to voice a question. Why are we talking weird?"

"Aw, Wormtail! You messed it up!" Sirius whined, looking at Peter.

Seeing his opportunity, James jumped on Sirius, knocking him to the ground.

"Get off, prick!"

"Prat!"

"Imbecile!"

"Git!"

"Slime-ball!"

"Slytherin-scum!"

"Greasy git!"

"Ha! I win! I already said 'git'!" James said, standing up.

"No, I said greasy git. That's different."

"Is not!"

"Is too,"

"Is not!"

"Is too,"

"Alright! Alright! That's enough!" Remus shouted. "We're seventeen, for heaven's sake! Start acting like it."

James and Sirius sat down obediently.

"That's more like it," Remus said, leaning back in his seat, getting comfortable.

"How was your summer, Peter?" Remus asked.

"Of, fine, I guess. A bit awkward, though."

"In what way?" Remus asked curiously.

"M dad kept acting really strange. He'd come home late, leave in the middle of meals. He'd be telling a joke one minute and the next, he'd apparate away."

"You haven't put anti-apparation wards on your house?" James asked inquisitively.

"You have? Why?"

"My dad hired someone to put them up because of Voldemort," James said. "He's a bit cautious, my dad."

"He has a right to be!" Sirius exclaimed. "Anyone my idiotic family approves of is bound to be bad news,"

"How do you know your family supports him?" Remus questioned.

"Besides the obvious that he's dark and my family attaches to anything dark, they owled me a few times this summer." Sirius shrugged. "Just telling me I've made the biggest mistake of my life and it's going to get completely destroyed. Oh, and that I'm not welcome back, not that I had any intention of returning," Sirius muttered, looking out the window.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Remus whispered.

Sirius spun around. "Don't be!" he exclaimed. "They're not my family; I'm more a Potter than a Black anyway. I don't care what they think. Like James says, blood doesn't make you family. It's what you have in common with them that makes them your family."

"Like love," Peter said.

"Oh, don't get too corny, Wormtail!" Sirius jested.

"Sorry," Peter mumbled, embarrassed.

"Don't be!" James said. "We're all a family. You don't have to apologize to each other."

"We're all Marauders. We've got Moony Marauder, Wormtail Marauder, Padfoot Marauder, and Prongs Marauder. Four brothers," Sirius said.

There was silence for a moment before James said, "That was probably the sappiest moment we've ever had. Let's never do that again." There was a short murmur of agreement before they burst out laughing and the train pulled to a stop to mark their arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Next chapter up soon!