A/N: And here is chapter two! I hope you all enjoy it, and it's longer than the previous, so hopefully the readers will be happy. This'll be the average length for each chapter I reckon, I'm pretty proud :D

Thanks HPfanforever for the review, hope you had a good new year.

Now, on with the show....


The Marauders Tale: The Hogwart's Years

Chapter Two

Journey to Hogwarts

On a crowded platform in London's Kings Cross Station, hidden away from the prying eyes of curious Muggles, platform 9¾ was a buzz with chattering young wizards and witches. Cats of all colours snaked their way through the crowds, large owls hooting and flapping their wings, and large, fat bull frogs croaked lazily as the students of Hogwarts prepared for the journey to their beloved school.

A nervous James Potter glanced at the crowds warily, unsure as to what to do next. Turning his gaze to his mother, he felt a sudden warmth spread through him at the sight of her encouraging smile, and his nerves eased a little.

"Come on honey, dad will help you with your trunk, then we'll go and find Aunt Ivy and Uncle Ian" started Mrs Potter, ushering her son forward.

James stared at the magnificent red steam engine; the Hogwarts Express. His attention elsewhere, he barely registered the small boy before him until he collided with him.

"OW!"

James glanced up, and saw a dark haired, grey eyed young boy, no older than himself, grumbling in annoyance. The two boys clambered to their feet, immediately retreating to their parent's side as if hiding from one another.

"Gwendolyn, Harold." A tall, rather stern looking man nodded his head slightly towards James' parents. James's mother's eyes widened slightly in recognition, but Mr Potter merely nodded in return.

"Orion, Walburga," Mr Potter replied in the same emotionless tone. James glanced at the boy he'd run into, who seemed to be just as confused as he felt.

"Ahh yes, I forgot your son was the same age as our Sirius," the man named Orion continued, "Jimmy, isn't it?"

"James, actually," Mr Potter corrected quickly, and James bit back the small laugh bursting to make itself known. Clearly his parents and these people didn't get along. James looked again to the boy he'd run into, assuming he was Sirius. He looked bored, and was leaning on a boy, presumably his brother, who looked to be just a little younger than himself.

"Hi, I'm James Potter," James extended his hand.

The boy eyed his hand for a moment, and glanced at his parents. For some reason, they seemed to be glaring.

"Sirius Black," the boy took his hand and smirked. James had no idea what was going on, but decided he liked Sirius Black nevertheless, there was something about him, something that told James he could trust this boy, and James was the type of person who always trusted his instincts.

"Well, we'd best be off," Sirius' mother, who looked quite frightening, if James were honest, stepped forward and grabbed Sirius by the shoulder, "Come, Sirius".

Sirius rolled his eyes and shrugged himself free of his mothers grasp, "Actually, I'll stay with James. Someone to sit with on the train, isn't it?"

Again, Sirius' parents glared. In fact, his father had already turned his back and was saying something to their other son. Mrs Black's nostrils flared for a moment, and she seemed genuinely angry.

"Very well. Send a letter when you get to school, I want to know who your classmates will be this year," Mrs Black shot a sly look at James, and smirked, "Keep yourself out of trouble, I don't want to have to come all the way up there to sort out some mess you've gotten into".

Sirius mock saluted his mother, "Aye aye captain!"

James couldn't help it, and snorted loudly. Mrs Black inhaled loudly in anger, then turned on her heel and disappeared. Sirius raised his eyebrows at James, then grinned.

As Mrs Potter rummaged through her handbag for a comb, Mr Potter helped James and Sirius haul their trunks aboard the train, before hurrying back onto the station to bid farewell to James' mother. Sirius didn't seem shy at all, and was positively beaming by the time they got back.

"Now James, be good, and if you've forgotten anything just send Merlin and let us know".

James nodded, and embraced his parents tightly.

"We'll miss you honey, but you're going to have a wonderful time," assured Mrs Potter.

"James...uhh...wanna get going?" asked Sirius, jerking a thumb towards the train behind him. James nodded, and turned back to his parents.

"Looks like you've made a friend already," Mr Potter winked, and ruffled his son's hair, messing it up even more. James grinned, thinking about his new friend.

"Now get going, and owl us as soon as you get there," called Mrs Potter, as James and Sirius climbed aboard the train.

"I will mum, bye!" waved James.

"Bye son, have fun!" called Mr Potter. James nodded affirmatively, and followed Sirius back to the compartment they'd chosen.

~**~

Lily glanced nervously at her sister. She still wasn't speaking to her. Not a word had been spoken between the pair for about a week now, save for the appearances the girls were putting on for their parents. Not that Mr and Mrs Evans had noticed much, they were far too engrossed in the fact that their little girl was off to a school to learn magic, of all things.

Lily sighed, a tired and sad sigh. One more try, before she was off to start what she assumed would be a brand new life.

"This is really exciting, isn't it," the red head started, adopting a bright look on her pretty face, "Did you see that boy with the owl? Maybe when I get back we can go and buy one, I think that'd be really cool!"

Lily eyed her sister warily. Petunia shot an annoyed look at her sister, and turned away huffily.

"Can't we go yet?" she whined to her parents. However, Mr and Mrs Evans were far to captured with the people around them to notice the icy tension between their two children. Mrs Evans was currently pointing out the portly woman with the large green pointed hat.

Lily chewed her lip, and stepped a little closer to her sister.

"We can go at Christmas," she continued, "You would've had so much fun and Diagon Alley, and I know Daddy is dying to go too".

Petunia sneered at her sister, "If you come back for Christmas," she spat, "No doubt you'll having oh so much fun at that...place. I can't believe you're actually agreeing to this!"

Lily blanched. So that's what it was. Petunia was worried she'd forget.

"Oh, Tuney. Of course I'll be coming home! I know it'll be hard, me being away for so long, I'm sorry," Petunia clearly wasn't listening to her, and Lily was getting desperate, "Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen –" Lily grabbed Petunia's hand and held onto it tightly, "Maybe once I'm there," Petunia continued to turn her head in the other direction, "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 snatched her hand from Lily's grasp, glaring, "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a – "

Petunia trailed off, her eyes darting to the proud scarlet steam engine, passing over the hoards of students bidding goodbye to their families and greeting their friends.

Her eyes snapped back to Lily, who looked rather a fearful.

" – you think I want to be a – a freak?"

Lily gasped. Her eyes widened, and filled with tears, letting go of Petunia's hand in the process.

"I'm not a freak," she protested weakly, "That's a horrible thing to say".

"That's where you're going," Petunia affirmed, as though it was all suddenly clear to her, "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy...wierdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our own safety".

She seemed so sure of it. As if that was the only possible explanation. Lily felt a rush of anger sweep through her. She wasn't a freak. Not at all. Petunia was jealous. Simply jealous. Lily glanced at her parents, who pointing unabashedly at a man carrying a long wooden broom, looks of glee shining on their faces.

The red head turned back to Petunia, lowering her voice considerably, fire in her eyes.

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you".

Petunia visibly reddened, her pale eyes widening slightly.

"Beg?" she tried to look flabbergasted, "I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply," Lily countered, "It was very kind".

"You shouldn't have read –" Petunia looked mortified, to say the least, and was now whispering, "That was my private – how could you - ?"

She tried not to, but she couldn't help it. Lily could see Snape watching her nearby, and for a split second, her eyes flickered towards him. Hoping against hope that Petunia wouldn't notice, her gaze snapped back. But it was too late. Petunia gasped.

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

"No," Lily defended, feeling rather guilty for bringing the whole thing up. Sometimes, her temper got the better of her, "Not sneaking – Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must have been wizards working undercover at the postal service who take care of –"

Lily was cut off by the angry snap of her sister, who had now paled to a rather unsightly puce colour.

"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" the older girl stepped closer to Lily, a nasty sneer upon her face, "Freak!"

Petunia turned on her heel and flounced over to her parents, leaving Lily in a stunned silence. She mouthed wordlessly for a moment, quite unable to register what had just happened. It was then, that Mr Evans clapped his hands together, oblivious to the heated exchange the two girls had previously partook in.

"Now, what's say we get you sorted and ready to go, princess," he sent a glowing smile towards Lily, who merely nodded slowly.

"No need to be nervous darling," Mr Evans continued, clearly mistaking her expression, "This is all so fascinating. Really? Pointed hats and the like! And here was me thinking these were all just stories..." Mr Evans trailed off, his gaze wandering to a group of rowdy young wizards who were crowded around a smoking box.

Lily barely registered saying goodbye to her parents. She put on a brave smile as her father lugged her trunk aboard the train. She attempted a laugh when her mother began rabbiting on about the fashion the witches were wearing, and she desperately held back the tears threatening to spill when Petunia turned her nose in the air and stalked off towards the barrier they had come through.

After saying a final farewell, Lily hurried aboard the train, and slipped into a small compartment she stowed her trunk away in. It was empty still, thankfully. She didn't feel much like talking to anyone right now. And it was only then, that she let the tears fall.

So Petunia thought she was a freak. It was as simple as that. Eleven years of being best friends, of spending every waking moment in each other's company, of laughing, crying, joking and playing together...gone.

The tears fell in earnest, cascading down her cheeks thick and fast. She didn't even bother to stop them. Better to get it all out now, rather than in front of someone.

The train gave a shudder, and a lurch, signalling the journey had begun. Lily shot a glance out of the window, furiously wiping her eyes as she did so. But the tears continued to fall. Petunia hated her, she was sure of it.

"Mind if we sit here?"

Lily looked up to see two boys standing in the doorway, and quickly wiped her eyes again. She nodded, and looked back out of the train window

~**~

James glanced uneasily at the girl in the corner. It was clear to him that she had been crying, but in all honesty, he wasn't good with things like that. He wasn't much of a crier, if truth be told.

"So, excited?"

James turned back to Sirius, who was lounging lazily in his seat. James nodded, ignoring the small, but present flip of nerves in his stomach. It was getting better though, now that he'd made a friend.

"Course. Hey, no offence, but what was up with our parents?"

Sirius shrugged, kicking up his feet, his dark hair flopping into his eyes.

"Dunno. Mum didn't have her coffee this morning, and dad's always grouchy on a morning".

James laughed at this, and settled back into his seat, "I think my mum had a bit too much coffee this morning. Bouncing all over the place, she was".

Sirius barked a loud laugh, his eyes dancing with mirth. The boys were interrupted, when the compartment door slid open again. Three boys slipped in, carrying large trunks and joking loudly.

"Alright, mind if we sit here?"

James and Sirius grinned, and moved down to allow room for the new additions.

The first boy who spoke, was a tall, sandy haired boy, with dark brown eyes and a cheery smile, "I'm Aiden McKinnon, this is Brian Milburn," he indicated to the dark boy with curly black hair on his left, "And this is Donald Cobbett," he pointed to the red headed boy who had taken a seat next to James.

"I'm James Potter," James grinned, "And that's Sirius Black," he waved towards Sirius, who nodded to the boys.

"Nice to meet you, anyone else as nervous as I am?" started Aiden, not missing a beat. James chuckled, and shrugged, looking to Sirius.

"Me? Nervous? Bah!" Sirius cried dramatically, eliciting loud guffaws from the surrounding boys.

Just as James was about to add to that comment, the door slid open once again, revealing a skinny, plaid boy with dark, shoulder length hair and beady black eyes. James paid no attention to the boy, as Brian had just pulled out a copy of Which Broomstick and was commenting on the new Cleansweep model that had just come out.

"....be in Slytherin".

James' ears perked up slightly, and he slid his gaze towards the skinny boy and the red head. Sirius too, seemed to have heard the comment, and was eyeing the two strangely.

"Slytherin?" James felt this was an opportunity he just couldn't miss. Time to impress, he thought.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin?" James continued, smirking slightly, "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James looked to Sirius, who to his surprise seemed a little annoyed.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," Sirius said, looking back at James.

"Blimey," said James, attempting some humour, "And I thought you seemed alright," really though, Slytherin had quite a reputation. Even James knew that.

Sirius, however, broke into a grin, thinking of just how his mother would react if he weren't sorted into Slytherin.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition," he smirked, "Where're you headed if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an imaginary sword, clearing his throat.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad," he grinned proudly at Sirius, who chuckled heartily. The pallid boy snorted, and both James and Sirius snapped their attention to him.

"Got a problem with that?" asked James, frowning.

"No," the boy didn't even bother to hide his obvious sneer, "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy – "

"Where're you hoping to go," Sirius cut across, "Saying as you're neither?"

James snorted, then burst into laughter at an arrogantly pleased with himself Sirius. Beside the pallid boy, the red head, who had been rather quiet, flushed, and sat up straight.

"Come on, Severus," she said in a rather lofty voice, "Let's find another compartment".

James and Sirius glanced at each other, identical smirks on their faces.

"Oooooooo," the adopted high pitched, mocking voices, and as the boy named Severus passed, James stuck his foot out to trip him.

"See ya, Snivellus," Sirius called, just as the compartment door slammed shut. James burst into laughter once again, grinning at Sirius.

"Brilliant! Slimy git. Whichever house I'm in, I hope it's not with those two," James scoffed. Sirius nodded affirmatively, scowling.

"I'm surprised his type even have friends, let alone girl friends," Sirius sneered, his grey eyes glinting. James chuckled.

"Idiots".

~**~

Lily stormed down the train corridor whilst muttering under her breath, pulling Severus along by his sleeve. Severus remained silent, though a small smile formed on his face when he heard some of the mumblings escaping her mouth.

The red head spotted a compartment several carriages down, and dragged Severus into it, noticing it was occupied by two girls.

"Hello, do you mind if we sit here?" Lily asked breathlessly, running a hand through her hair. The two girls nodded, and Lily flopped into a seat, joined by a rather uncomfortable looking Severus.

A moments silence passed, until one of the girls, a petite dark haired girl who looked slightly familiar for some reason, leant forwards and extended her hand to Lily.

"Hi, I'm Holly, Holly Knight".

Lily glanced away from her shoes, which she had been determinedly staring at in her bad mood, and smiled timidly.

"Lily Evans," she took the girls hand and shook it. Holly smiled warmly, and gestured to the pixie like blonde girl beside her, "This is Christina Coddlesworth, who prefers to be called Chris, apparently".

"Christina's a right mouthful," the blonde girl affirmed, her blue eyes twinkling. Lily giggled, and placed a hand on Severus' arm. He stiffened slightly, but remained impassive.

"This is my friend Severus Snape, is this your first year too?"

The two girls nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this ever since I found out what it was," grinned Chris, bouncing slightly in her seat.

Lily smiled sheepishly, "I didn't know what this was until Sev told me, I'm a – what was it," she looked to Severus, "A Muggle-born".

Severus nodded stiffly, but made no other acknowledgment that the other girls were there.

Chris and Holly exchanged significant looks, but said nothing.

"S'ok, they'll explain everything once we get there. Frankly, I haven't got a clue what to expect, my family said they didn't want to ruin the surprise," Holly added darkly. Chris and Lily giggled, Lily feeling herself warming to the two girls already. They seemed so friendly.

"You seemed a little angry when you came in," Chris commented, lounging back in her seat, "What's up?"

Lily puffed out her chest a little, her eyes flashing, "Oh, these two boys were rather rude to Sev before".

Chris nodded, "What were their names? Do you know?"

"James Potter and Sirius Black," replied Severus promptly, seeming quite proud of himself for some reason, "Troublemakers, if you ask me".

Lily nodded, smiling at the tabby cat that had just climbed onto her lap.

"So Sev," started Holly, slightly annoyed that this greasy little boy had bad mouthed a member of her family, "Tell us about yourself".

Lily frowned at the tone in which Holly addressed Severus, but said nothing.

"Im not sure I'd care to tell a stranger about myself," sneered Severus. Holly looked slightly taken aback, and Chris shrugged, "It's called making friends".

Lily bit her lip, and turned to Severus, "Umm, maybe we should find another compartment," she suggested, at a loss as to why people weren't warming to her friend.

Severus shrugged, and looked away.

"No, sorry," Holly quickly amended, "Stay, really. It's just, James Potter, well, he's my cousin, so...uhh..."

"Your cousin," Lily seemed rather shocked, "I thought you looked a little familiar, you two look a little like each other".

"So I've heard," Holly replied wryly, "In fact, I said I'd meet him on the train. I'll tell him off for annoying your friend too," Holly winked at Lily, who giggled and smiled brightly.

~**~

"Making enemies already?"

The five boys, including James and Sirius, glanced up from their conversation about Puddlemere United's new keeper, and saw dark haired, dark haired girl casually leaning against the door frame, a small smirk playing about her features.

"Hey Holly," greeted James, jumping up and hugging her, "Guys, this is Holly Knight, my cousin".

Sirius glanced appreciatively at Holly, and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you".

Holly smiled, and shook his hand, greeting Aiden, Brian and Donald too. She took a seat next to Brian, and narrowed her eyes at James.

"What?" cried James defensively, "What have I done now?"

"What did you say to Snape?" asked Holly.

"Who?"

"The greasy haired kid, what did you say?" she repeated.

James frowned, "Don't tell me you've actually been talking to him?"

Holly rolled her eyes, "No, I haven't, theres something about that kid I don't like, but I just wanted to find out for a friend...Lily is very angry with you".

James looked rather confused, "The red head...is that Lily?"

Holly nodded, "Yes, and she's seems to be good friends with Snape. What exactly happened?"

"Snivellus seemed a little too slimy for our liking. He insulted our intelligence, so we insulted his," replied Sirius proudly.

Holly rolled her eyes, "I think that's the wrong attitude to have, umm...serious, isn't it?"

Sirius' shoulders sagged a little, and he leant back, mumbling incoherently. The boys in the compartment sniggered, and James shared and amused look with Aiden.

"Anyway, I just thought I'd come and clear things up. Oh, Jonny made prefect you know," she added.

"Yeah, Aunt Ivy called mum. How did he manage that, he's always telling me the trouble he and his friends get into," chuckled James.

"No idea, but he said he's come and find you later on, so you can ask him then," smiled Holly, "Well it was good to see you James, guys, I'll see you at the sorting".

"Okay, see you Holly," called James, as she disappeared into the corridor.

"Jonny made prefect, oh this is perfect, we'll get away with murder," grinned James mischievously.

Sirius matched his smile, then glanced at the door, making sure no one was listening.

"Hey James?"

"Yeah?"

Sirius smirked, "Your cousin is really fit".

Aiden, Brian and Donald burst into fits of laughter, and James glared at Sirius.

"Oh you are dead!"

~*~

After much tumbling about, James and Sirius finally managed to settle down long enough to realise the food trolley had reached their compartment.

"Brilliant! Food!"

Sirius jumped to his feet and bounded out of the compartment, closely followed by a chuckling James and Aiden. James' mouth began to water as he spied the sumptuous array of sweets and treats piled onto the rickety trolley, not having realised just how long it had been since his pancake breakfast.

"How's about we pull our money together and just get a bit of everything," suggested Sirius, delving into his jacket pocket and pulling out a handful of sparkling gold coins. James and Aiden nodded, purchased their choices, and returned to their compartment laden down with armfuls of sweets.

The boys dove right into the treats, Sirius in particular stuffing his face with as much as humanly possible.

"Sirius, you may want to slow down, choking to death before you even make it Hogwarts...well, that would be a shame, wouldn't it," smirked James. Sirius pulled a face at James, opening his mouth and showing him a mush of chocolate and jelly. Beside him, Brian recoiled in disgust, whilst James let out a snort of laughter.

BANG!

The five boys jumped to their feet, wands already pulled out; regardless of the fact they knew about as much magic as a peanut between them.

"What the hell was that?" asked James, inching towards the door. The other four shrugged, and James slid the compartment door open, revealing a round, tubby boy lying on the floor and clutching his stomach.

"Whoa, you okay?" asked James, kneeling down next to the boy. The boy turned a watery gaze to James, and nodded. James pulled him up, and pushed him into the compartment.

"Stay here," he said, before James and Sirius both stepped into the corridor, the other three boys remaining behind to tend to the tubby boy.

"I should have known," muttered Sirius, as the two saw a small group of snarling witches and wizards. A particularly good looking girl, with silvery blonde hair and porcelain looking skin stepped forward, sneering.

"Sirius, we've been looking for you," smirked the girl.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Shove off Cissy, what do you think you're doing hexing first years".

"You know her?" asked James quietly.

"Cousin," mumbled Sirius.

"Dear baby cousin, what do you think you're doing with the likes of him," spat Narcissa Black, pointing her wand to James.

"I'd put that down if I were you," warned James. The gaggle of students snickered, all of them glancing at Narcissa.

"Oh, he's a brave one alright, you're Potter's son, aren't you?" sneered a tall, dark haired and burly young man.

"So what if I am," replied James through gritted teeth.

The group of students glanced at each other, smirking.

"No reason, we happen to know of your father. Rather well, actually," commented a blond boy, he looked to be about sixteen, and had an air of snobbery about him, "Auror, isn't he?"

James nodded, grinding his teeth, "Yeah".

The students chuckled, and James noticed they all seemed to be wearing green and silver ties. Two boys who looked to be the same age as James and Sirius cracked their knuckles in a threatening manner, and grinned.

"Come on Lucius," Narcissa smiled sweetly at the tall blond boy, "We'll leave my cousin to his little...acquaintances".

Sirius and James glared after the group as they hurried back into their compartment. The two stood in silence for a moment, before James turned to Sirius, gaping.

"Family? I feel sorry for you mate".

Sirius grimaced, and narrowed his eyes, "You and me both".

The two returned to the compartment to find Aiden trying to get the small tubby boy to talk.

"What's your name?" asked James, as he and Sirius took their seats. The small boy gave a frightened squeak, his watery blue eyes darting around the compartment.

"His names Peter Pettigrew," sounded Aiden, "He's fine, it was just a small hex, no lasting damage".

James nodded, and turned back to Peter, "You okay mate, what happened?"

Pete bit his lip, "They...they just...hexed..." he squeaked. James looked apologetically at Peter.

"Don't worry mate, just stick with us, we won't let them bother you".

Peter smiled shakily, and seemed to relax a little. Sirius grabbed a chocolate frog, and tossed it at Peter, "Here, food always makes me feel better".

"I think we've already realised that," grinned James. Sirius jumped from his seat, and promptly began a rather rough play fight with James. Aiden and the boys rolled their eyes, and picked up the magazine he had intended to read earlier. Peter laughed at Sirius and James's antics, and grew even more relaxed. He liked those two, and decided sticking with them would probably be the best plan.


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