Hello all! Thank you very much for your comments for the last chapter. It means a lot that the attack on the Hogwarts Express and Bellatrix's actions to Sirius went down so well. This chapter ran away with me…I didn't expect to nearly reach 4500 words for this chapter. Enjoy!

Marked

Chapter Three

1st September 1976

The feast that evening wasn't joyous – if it could even be called a feast. Food lay scattered on the four house tables in the Great Hall but hardly anyone was touching it. Many students were in shock over the attack, especially over the notion that it was a Pureblood that had been singled out over every other student on the train. The Sorting ceremony for the new group of first years would be held off until the following evening, meaning the first years would sleep in the Great Hall that evening instead. Students were given calming and dreamless sleep potions to ensure the events on the train would not disturb them from sleeping. Parents had also been notified and those children that wanted to speak to their parents were allowed to. Classes would also be cancelled the following day to allow them all to talk to councillors. Some parents were also going to make the trip to see their children in person. Albus Dumbledore was taking the attack on his students very seriously.

Sirius had been taken to the hospital wing where he had been treated by Madam Pomfrey and a healer from St Mungo's who specialised in dealing with witches and wizards who had been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse. James refused to leave his side after the work on Sirius had been finished and the headmaster had given his permission for James to stay in the hospital wing that evening.

Remus and Peter had retreated to Gryffindor Tower upon arrival after briefly speaking to Professor McGonagall where they shut themselves in their dorm room, refusing to let anyone speak to them, until they could see both James and Sirius.

James' parents had been notified as they were considered Sirius' guardians now and they would arrive at the school in the morning. Sirius' younger brother had also been taken aside and given permission to go and see his brother but Regulus Black had refused, choosing to ignore that his older brother had nearly lost his life.

The mood in the castle that night was sombre. In contrast to previous years, this was not the way students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had expected to start the year.

HOGWARTS EXPRESS ATTACKED!

By Henry Dummingston

The Ministry of Magic confirmed last night a team of Aurors were dispatched to the Hogwarts Express yesterday afternoon after Headmaster Albus Dumbledore received a tip-off the train was set to be attacked by Death Eaters. They were already too late when they arrived.

Six Death Eaters, two of them confirmed to be Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband Roldophus, were part of a team attacking students aboard the Hogwarts Express.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore Apparated to the scene after alerting the Aurors to the threat of an attack. His presence caused the Death Eaters to leave. Only one student was harmed in the attack. His identity has not been released. It is believed the student was subjected to one of the unforgiveable curses and is healing in the Hogwarts Infirmary.

The Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, is due to make a statement later today to address the concerns over the safety of the Hogwarts Express during war time.

When he woke it was to find James' worried face leaning over him.

"Let him breathe, Prongs!"

He recognised that voice. Moony.

Sirius blinked a few times before his vision stopped blurring and cleared. "What…happened?" His mind felt fuzzy. He felt like little pinpricks were running up and down his nerves. His memory was patchy.

"The train was attacked," stated James simply. "They came for you."

It took a while for the words to register in his mind but they were enough to jog his mind and images of his insane cousin leaning over him appeared in his head. He involuntary shuddered. She had licked his blood and she had enjoyed it. The mere thought made him feel sick. "They really mean it… don't they? To kill me…" he whispered. Oddly, even after being attacked and nearly killed, Sirius didn't feel scared. Just worried his friends would be caught in the crossfire.

James nodded. "Mum and dad will be visiting today. Classes are cancelled. Councillors are coming today to help anyone who is traumatised by what happened…"

"Oh…" Sirius swallowed, slowly sitting up. "Was… anyone else hurt?"

James shook his head. "No. It was just you. But they terrified a lot of people."

"Bella tends to do that…" sighed Sirius wearily.

"I don't get something…" a voice said to the left of Sirius.

"What is it, Wormtail?" asked Sirius quietly.

The younger boy frowned. "You're a Pureblood. You're valuable to He Who Must Not Be Named."

Sirius snorted. "No I'm not. I'm a blood traitor." He bit his lip. "I don't think this will be the only incident this year."

"You said on the train you had been warned," remembered Remus who was sitting next to James. "Who was it?"

"My Uncle Alphard," replied Sirius. "He told me my parents want me dead… They want Regulus to inherit but they can't do it until I'm dead. It's a complicated form of blood magic. The house knows who the legitimate heir is. No matter what they put in their wills Regulus can never inherit unless I die. So they've sent my insane cousin and her Death Eater friends after me."

"You're going to have to tell Professor Dumbledore about this," said James. "They'll ask you questions."

"I know. They'll try to keep me in the Castle. They won't let me have any freedom," said Sirius.

James frowned. "I'd rather you stayed alive than your crazy cousin accomplish killing you just because you were reckless."

"I thought you'd say that… and I can understand," answered Sirius slowly. "I know my life is at risk…"

"Then don't take any," said James. "Don't do it to us."

"Ok… I won't."

"Promise? Marauders Oath?" asked James, holding his hand out for his friend to take.

Sirius looked at the proffered hand. Slowly he reached out and took it. "Promise."

She didn't know why she wanted to visit him. She had never really liked Sirius. Lily paused outside the hospital wing, wondering whether she should turn around now. But something stopped her and instead she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Sirius was sitting in the last bed at the end of the wing, eating a plate of food.

He looked up as she approached, confusion spreading across his face. He looked a lot better. There was more colour in his face and the wounds on both his cheeks had been healed and wouldn't leave permanent scarring. When seeing the wounds back on the train, Lily had been afraid he'd have a reminder of them for the rest of his life.

"I know, I'm unexpected aren't I?" said Lily quietly.

"I thought you hated me," said Sirius bluntly.

She shook her head, her red hair falling about her shoulders. "No. I've never hated you. I've disliked you, yes... I can't explain why I'm here… I helped save you yesterday… sort of."

"I know. I saw you with Prongs and Moony before I blacked out," replied Sirius quietly.

She had always wondered what it was with those nicknames… But now was not the time to ask.

"Why did you help me?" he asked, watching her carefully.

"That's a bit embarrassing… I didn't want James to get hurt." It wasn't that she didn't care about Black – she did – it had been seeing James run off that had spurred her to follow him. He had not been thinking about himself instead he had been thinking about other people.

A small smile spread across Sirius' face. "Oh, Prongs owes me now."

"What do you mean?" she said, affronted.

He laughed quietly. His usual enthusiasm for life seemed to be lessened due to the incident on the train. "You called him James. You usually refer to him as Potter. He and I had a bet… I said you secretly like him… he doesn't believe that. He thinks you really hate him."

Lily's eyes widened. "I called him Potter, Black!"

"Sure you did," he snickered.

"Don't tell him!"

"I won't."

That surprised her. "You won't?"

He shook his head. "No, I won't. James needs to let you see the real him. What you see is a façade. Until you see the real him, you won't ever get to know him, but to know the real him, you have to get close to him. You should give him a chance… But you secretly have a crush on him. I've noticed it for a while… You just don't like how he acts and though I'm the same as him and we do go round hexing people for fun… We know we shouldn't. We're growing up in a dark world, Lily, and sometimes the world needs laughter."

"Hexing people isn't funny," she stated.

"You've laughed a few times," he pointed out.

"I've always shouted back," she retorted. "Always defended those you've hexed."

"But we don't make a habit out of hexing the same people. It's always someone different. We've hexed one another before," explained Sirius. "Don't bring up Sniv-Snape either. He's just as bad as us, apart from the fact he is far sneakier and doesn't get caught as often. Did you know if James' back is turned he does hex him first? We don't start all of our altercations you know…"

"But you both started it in first year…" she pointed out. "On the train ride here… We left the carriage."

Sirius bowed his head. "I'm not proud of that… But we were young and silly. We didn't really think about the consequences of our actions. We were eleven. You don't think at that age," he bit his lip. "If I had known my differing opinions would lead to my parents putting a death sentence on my head would I have done anything different? Probably not. And… honestly when it comes to Snape… the rivalry would have been there anyway. The only way we are going to be able to change the way Slytherin and Gryffindor House see each other is if you force us to talk and that isn't going to happen. It stems way back to when Hogwarts was created."

Lily hadn't really listened to the last part of his speech. She had tuned out when Sirius had mentioned death sentence. "Death sentence? Your parents sent them after you?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

"Why?"

"Because I don't conform to their expectations," answered Sirius.

"What did they want from you?" she asked.

In answer Sirius just lifted his left arm, rolling up his sleeve and showing her where a very thin, barely noticeable line lay etched into his skin. It was a scar. "I can't get rid of this scar. It reminds me every day of what I was nearly forced to be. Lily, how much do you know about Pure-blood politics?"

"Not a lot," she admitted. She was Muggle-born after all. Even after trying to read as much about the Wizarding World as possible she still felt she didn't know anything concrete about the Pure-blood families.

"I thought so."

"Can you tell me?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't know how much Sirius would reveal to her. He had already opened up a lot to her and they weren't really friends.

"Talk to James."

"What?"

"James is the best one of us to tell you what you want to know. Ask him. And I give him permission to tell you about this scar too. If he asks for the password: its Snuffles."

She cocked her head to the side. "Snuffles?"

"James turned me in to a cuddly puppy once by accident. He named me Snuffles. Before he tells you everything, he'll want to know that. He'll know you genuinely got my permission," replied Sirius. "I could tell you myself but I think James is better placed to do so."

"Okay…" said Lily shortly. She wasn't sure if she would talk to James Potter but Sirius appeared to be dismissing her. Looking at him, he did look tired.

"Thanks for coming to visit me," smiled Sirius, closing his eyes. "It's appreciated."

"Sirius said you wanted to speak to me."

Lily looked up from the book she was reading to find James Potter standing awkwardly in front of her. Remus and Peter stood behind him but with a look from Potter, the two boys left the Common Room and entered the boy's dormitory. It was late and she was left in the Common Room, in a chair by the roaring fire, on her own.

Until the Portrait had opened and Potter, Remus and Pete had entered, having returned from a trip to the Hospital wing to see Sirius.

She hadn't decided whether to talk to James or not but it seemed Sirius had taken it out of her hands. I should hate him for that but I can't. Because she really did want to know.

"I do…" she answered quietly. "Please… sit… Pot-James."

James sat down. He waited for her to speak.

"I wanted to know about Pureblood politics… Erm… Sirius told me that his family had put a death sentence on his head… And then he showed me a scar on his arm… He told me the password is Snuffles. And you turned him into a puppy once."

James whistled. "Wow. He really wants me to tell you everything. We haven't really gone into detail with Moony or Wormtail. Sirius didn't wish for them to know the full story."

Lily was surprised. She had known these four boys for five years. They were so close to one another. They shared everything, didn't they? "Are you going to tell me?"

"Sirius gave you the password."

"That's a yes then," confirmed Lily.

"What do you want to know?" asked Pott – no, she would refer to him as James. Sirius had given her valuable advice about getting to know James Potter and she was going to take it.

"Where is the best place to start?" asked Lily leaning back in her chair, crossing her legs over one another.

James frowned, his face screwed up considering the subject matter. "The status quo in our world is bigoted towards Pure-bloods. If you are a Pure-blood you are more likely to get a job at the Ministry of Magic. Very slowly our world is beginning to break out of that habit though I suspect it will take years before Muggle-borns are considered equals to a lot of Pure-blood families. The Potter family already accepts anyone into our world, regardless of blood. We wouldn't discriminate against you because of where you came from. You can do magic and a lot of Muggle-born witches and wizards show a lot of talent. You, yourself, Lily, are incredibly talented. What a lot of Pure-bloods fail to accept is that Muggle-borns are descended from Squibs."

"Squibs are people who have magical parents but do not have magic themselves, right?" she asked.

James nodded. "Correct. Somewhere in your family line, Lily, there were two Squibs, on both your father and mother's side. The theory is that for a Muggle-born witch or wizard to be born two magical genes need to meet to activate the magic inside someone. So the mother and father of the child must have a recessive gene of magic in them but when they combine in the correct sequence, the gene becomes dominant and produces a child with magical abilities. The same holds true for offspring of wizards. More often than not magical children are born to magic parents however there is always the chance we will produce non-magical children. The idea is thousands of years ago we were all non-magical people, then something happened which caused our genes to mutate which gave us the ability to do magic. It is likely witches and wizards sprang out of nowhere – it was a faulty genetic trait. The magical population has never been large. This suggests that we all are descended from Muggles in some way. Every Pure-blood family has relatives who are Muggles. There are some families who hide any link to them being related to Muggles. The Malfoy and Black families are two such families. But if you look hard enough you will always find blood relations to Muggles. There really is no such thing as a true Pure-blood witch or wizard. We class ourselves as such after several generations have passed with a strong magical bloodline because some believe any Muggle blood would not be running through our veins anymore after a century or so."

She was finding this very interesting. But she didn't understand how this related to Sirius' situation.

James smiled, as if he had read her mind. "You're probably wondering what this has to do with the attack on Sirius."

"I am," she confirmed.

"It's important you understand the basic history of the magical world. There are some families who find it an insult to be related to anyone who is non-magical or an embarrassment to produce a non-magical child. They consider it a height of shame. The Blacks are one such family. But they take it a step further. They have remained as Pureblood as one could possibly go. They have married their own cousins, just to ensure the purity of their blood."

"But that's just wrong…" whispered Lily. "That opens them up to all sorts of genetic faults…"

"And other instabilities," added James. "Sirius' parents are second cousins. They both believe in the purity of blood which is why they married one another. They wanted to produce quality Pureblooded children without having any contaminated blood from any other family. The Blacks are the First Pureblood family of our world. Sirius is the heir to that legacy. His grandfather Arcturus is currently the head of the family. Ever since he was a child Sirius was taught the Pureblood values."

"I think I can guess what those values are," grated Lily. "Keep blood pure. Hate on Muggle-borns and half-bloods?"

"You got it. One of Sirius' relatives wanted to make Muggle hunting legal… thankfully that notion didn't pass. His family is very dark. And they loathe people like you, Lily, and anyone who supports them," explained James.

"If Sirius grew up around those teachings, how is he different?" asked Lily.

"There are some members of the Black family that do not hate upon anyone who is not a Pureblood. Sirius has never told me why he thought differently but someone other than his parents influenced him to believe and think differently, to have more of an open mind, and to decide for himself. Sirius has always been inquisitive, always wanted to know the answers to everything…" shrugged James, running a hand through his black hair. "He formed his own opinions instead of readily accepting what his parents taught him. His parents find it unacceptable Sirius holds opposing views. They pride themselves of being intolerant of Muggles, Muggle-borns and half-bloods. They cannot have an heir who thinks differently. Sirius has a younger brother Regulus who…"

Lily interrupted, understanding where James was going with this. "Can inherit and continue the line they have always followed. But if they don't want Sirius to inherit can't they just change their wills?"

"It's not like that. Sirius is bound to his family home. The house magic knows who the heir is. Regulus cannot become the true Black heir whilst Sirius lives," said James. "Changing a few words on a piece of paper doesn't mean much in the magical world."

"Oh…"

"Sirius is a blood-traitor. He's betrayed the intricate values of the Black family. So they want him dead," finished James.

"And they've sent Death Eaters after him?" said Lily shocked.

"The Death Eater that we stopped yesterday was Bellatrix Lestrange. She is Sirius' cousin. The majority of his family are on the side of Voldemort. Regulus believes in the same creeds his parents do. When Regulus turns sixteen he will become a Death Eater."

Lily stared at James as if he was mad. "But he won't even be qualified yet!"

"That doesn't matter to Voldemort," answered James quietly, bowing his head. "Lily… the scar Sirius showed you on his arm… It happened on Christmas Day last year…"

Lily's mouth suddenly felt dry. "What happened?" she whispered.

"Sirius' parents offered him to Voldemort."

"They did what?" gasped Lily, leaning forward in her chair.

"They hoped at sixteen Sirius would grow up and return to them. Become the true Black heir they had hoped he could still be. They hoped meeting Voldemort would change Sirius' mind but-"

Lily held out a hand. "Wait. Sirius has met Voldemort?" She wasn't afraid to say the name.

"Yes," said James quietly. "The scar on Sirius' arm came from Voldemort. It was made by dark magic. Any injuries sustained by dark magic will always scar."

Lily swallowed, trying to digest everything she had heard. "So they wanted Sirius to be a Death Eater?"

James nodded.

"And Sirius' younger brother will become one?"

"Yes, when he is sixteen, albeit sooner if Sirius is killed."

"And Sirius refused?"

James' face turned grim. "He did. To become a Death Eater you are marked by the Dark Mark."

Lily had seen an image of the Dark Mark in the papers. A skull-like face with a snake hissing out between its teeth symbolised Voldemort or his Death Eaters had been present in the area.

"They tried to force it on Sirius," continued James quietly. "Only Voldemort can place the Dark Mark. Sirius fought it, breaking his arm trying to get away. The scar on Sirius' arm is where Voldemort attempted to place the Dark Mark on him. Voldemort ordered Sirius' death after that and Sirius' parents agreed to it."

Lily was shaking and she knew her skin was white. She had known Sirius had run away from home but hadn't considered this had been the reason why… "How did he escape?"

"He was fortunate after torturing him for hours they left him alone," said James. "They were going to return and kill him later after torturing him some more. Sirius had one chance to escape and he took it. They thought he was too weak to move so they left him unguarded. With the injuries he had it is a surprise he was able to do anything – but he can be very stubborn. The thought of escaping would have spurred him on no matter how much agony he had been in. Sirius found his wand underneath a chair in the room. He thinks Regulus placed it there. It took Sirius a lot of magical strength but he managed to make an illegal Portkey. He appeared outside my house late Christmas evening, half-dead in the snow."

"James…" Lily said softly. "I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. I won't ever forget that night…"

She didn't know what made her do it but she moved towards James and pulled him into a hug. He looked surprised and stared at her. "That hug is a one-time thing, James," she smiled gently.

"Never again, huh?" a lopsided smile crossed James' face.

Lily shook her head, laughing gently. She sat back down and faced him. "And the attack yesterday?"

The black-haired boy sighed. "A few days before we returned to Hogwarts one of Sirius' uncles visited him. He gave Sirius a warning his parents had enlisted the help of Bellatrix Lestrange to get rid of him permanently. Bellatrix Lestrange isn't one to give up."

"She can't get into the school can she?" asked Lily.

James shrugged. "I don't think she can…" He bit his lip. "But there are secret passages out of the Castle… If she knows a few she could get into the Castle…"

"You have to tell Professor Dumbledore," stated Lily.

"About the secret passages?" he clarified. "Or that a crazy Death Eater is after my best friend?"

Lily sighed. "Both."

"He knows. Sirius told him earlier about the warning he was given. My parents know as well now. My dad wasn't pleased Sirius chose to keep it from him. If dad had known he would have contacted the Ministry and Dumbledore and asked for an Auror guard on the train just in case. Neither of us thought the train was a viable target until the attack started…" James lowered his gaze.

Lily leaned forward. "At least no one else was hurt…"

"Which is a surprise because Bellatrix Lestrange is insane. She's never been that stable," sighed James. "She hates Sirius… If she gets him…" He went quiet.

Lily swallowed the lump in her throat. "Sirius won't just be killed…" she realised. "She'll… torture him to death…"

James raised his head. His expression was hard and there was determination in his eyes. "I'm not going to let that happen. If that bitch goes near him again, I'll…. I'll…"

Lily was already by his side. "We won't let her get near him and neither will your parents or Professor Dumbledore. James Potter, I won't let you stand alone against this. I will help you. No matter what." And she meant it, she really did. This is what Black meant. I'm seeing the real James. And I want to help him, be there with him. He's not who I thought he was. It surprised her. But she couldn't help feeling relieved that what he had portrayed himself to be since their first year was just a façade to the real James Potter.

I wonder if I will ever be able to think of him as a friend…

James sniffed. "Thanks Lily… It means a lot to me."

To be continued…

Please let me know what you think!

I think it is quite realistic the Feast would not really go ahead for the start of the school year after what happened on the train ride to school. And I think the Sorting would be delayed and the school would have to get people in to talk to the students about what happened. I didn't want people to think that an attack on the train would be easily forgotten by the students. After all, some did witness Sirius being tortured.

I gave a bit more backstory to what happened to Sirius when he escaped from his family. Since it appears to potentially be canon that Voldemort accepts Death Eaters from age sixteen, its likely, in a last ditch attempt to get Sirius to change his ways, and Orion and Walburga offered him to Voldemort. Voldemort is the only one who can place the Dark Mark on his followers so I made the choice for Sirius to be nearly branded with the Dark Mark. The scar on his arm is where Voldemort tried to brand him but failed. After that Voldemort had no use for Sirius other than to make him an example of what happens to those that defied him. More on how Sirius escaped from that situation will be revealed as well later on in the fic…

James' explanation about magic… I'm sure it has been confirmed that Muggleborns have a relative somewhere in their family tree who was once magical and that they then produce a Squib so the knowledge of magic is lost over time. And it resurfaces many years later. I think it is possible a Muggle-born only needs one parent to have an ancestor who was magical for the chance for them to get the ability years later. But genes are important and though the Wizarding Gene is dominant, I think it is possible for a child to be magical both Muggle parents would have to have that gene in order to create a magical child. This is my own further interpretation because if you only needed one parent with the Wizarding Gene than there would probably be a lot more Muggleborn's around but I could be wrong on that and it hasn't really been fully explained yet by JKR.

I quite enjoyed writing the Sirius and Lily and James and Lily scenes too. This is the beginning of Lily seeing a different James, though their romance and first date won't occur until seventh year as in canon. And, yes, Sirius did intentionally not tell Lily himself because he wanted her to talk to James and learn everything from him. He's trying to get them together…

Finally, Regulus not caring about his brother being attacked… I don't think he would since they are on opposing sides of the war but that doesn't mean he doesn't love his brother.

Up next… Sirius and Regulus talk… Quidditch… Bellatrix… and… Orion and Walburga Black…

The next chapter will be posted next week!

Until then,

the-writer1988