Word Count: 876
Rating: PG
POV: Third
The noise on Platform 9 and 3/4 was unbearable for little Erin Shotford. Shouts and cries of recognition from the older students, tears from the first years, mothers yelling at their kids, trunks falling, the train whistle blowing…It was too much for her to handle.
Grabbing her trunk and lifting it with ease, Erin clambered onto the train, a thick book tucked tightly against her chest with her other hand. She walked, quick and determined, down the corridor and, finding the first empty compartment, slid open the door and walked in. She left her trunk on the floor––she was such a slight girl that even just carrying it onto the train had exhausted what little muscle she had. She sat down primly in the seat and threw her long braid, which had fallen in front of her while she was walking, over her shoulder and down her back. She opened her book, Jean Stafford's Collected Stories, and began to read.
Within minutes the stillness of her compartment was abruptly shattered. The sliding door was thrown open by a tall boy with long black hair which he had tied back with a small piece of string. Following him closely were three other boys.
One was about his height, with shaggy brown hair and glasses. The next was taller than all of them, with sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The final member of the group was short and pudgy with nondescript features.
Erin's eyes slowly lifted from her book, as if she couldn't bear to tear herself away from the text. The cloudy gray eyes appraised the four boys before her.
The leader of the group cleared his throat, staring right back at her unflinchingly. Erin turned to face him, her gaze leaving the fourth boy who had been trembling under her stare.
"Can I help you?" She inquired, politely but with an undertone of annoyance. The boy with glasses laughed.
"Don't you know who we are?" He questioned, disbelievingly.
"No. Why should I?" Erin asked, not understanding. "What year are you?"
"We're the Marauders." The first boy told her haughtily. "We're in the second year––do you mean to tell me you haven't heard of us?"
Erin watched the four boys rearrange themselves. The last boy was grinning stupidly. It was clear to Erin that the others didn't have much patience for him, and that he was merely a pity case. The boy with the sandy hair rolled his eyes at the other two. Erin decided that he was as much a part of the group as the other three, but that he was more grounded than the others. The first two were the ring leaders. It didn't take any rocket science on Erin's part to figure that out. Their chests swelled importantly; the one with glasses mussed up his hair, and the front boy winked at her.
Pervert.
"Well, I'm a first year, so I don't exactly follow how I'm supposed to have heard of you. Anyways, if there's nothing I can do for you, do you mind?" She gestured towards the door.
Four eyebrows were raised simultaneously.
"Are you…shooing us?" The ponytail boy asked. His sandy haired friend snorted behind him.
"I believe so," replied Erin, looking back at her book, ending discussion. The four boys looked at each other in disbelief. The leader squared his shoulders, grinning. He sat down next to the girl, placing his arm around her shoulders. Erin's eyes flickered from her book to the hand on her arm and back to her book.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced, my dear. I'm Sirius Black. My friend with the glasses is James Potter," Here James bowed deeply. Erin didn't look up. "The fellow behind him is Remus Lupin," Remus gave a small wave. Peter craned his neck into the room, waiting for his turn. "And he, pumpkin, is Peter Pettigrew." Peter squeaked.
"Hi!" Erin didn't even flinch.
"Please remove your hand," She requested.
"You can't be polite and greet us? Maybe reciprocate and tell us your name? Invite us into your compartment?" James admonished.
"Hello. I'm Erin Shotford. But to be honest, I'd rather sit alone and read, expand my mind, rather than sit with you four idiots and lose brain cells just listening to you. Now, please leave before I have to remove you myself."
Remus could not, apparently, contain himself any longer. He burst into soft laughter at Sirius' rejection and James' outrage. He walked away, down the hall, in need of some quieter, less confrontational entertainment.
Sirius stood up. "Well, Miss Shotford, I'm very sorry to announce this, but consider yourself a friend of the Marauders no longer. I'd be watching your back from now on if I was you."
"I'm terrified." Erin remarked dryly. "Please close the door behind you."
"As you wish it, my dear." Sirius bowed again. He turned and followed James out into the hall, closing the door behind him.
"Prank's on her this year?" James muttered.
"Without a doubt," Sirius replied gleefully. "She'll regret talking to me that way."
"One of these days you're going to learn that it's not all about you, Sirius," commented Remus, looking up from his own book as they entered their compartment.
"Says who?"
Hope you enjoyed...please review with any constructive criticism.
Mimi: Thank you for the review, but if you read the beginning of this fiction, you would notice that I write this as according to requests. Someone requested to read a fic about the softer side of Sirius, so this is what they got. And second, everyone has a softer side to them...Sirius included. But if you noticed, he only shows this side with the people he trusts: James, Lily, Remus, and Lauren. He's been hurt and betrayed a lot in the past, by his parents and others, so I do believe that this would give him a tough exterior, where he's just putting on a face, but when the lights are out, he lets out all the emotion he has to keep bottled inside.
In the fic where Sirius cries, you realize that I wrote: A high five was quickly exchanged between the two boys, as identical grins grew upon their faces, making the girls around them swoon in delight. However, before the mood could get too light hearted, after which there was usually no time for any serious discussion, James opened his mouth.
Sirius is light hearted, but not all the time.