A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! And so, the second year begins...

Chapter 11 - 2.1 or "We Need a Name for Ourselves Now?"

Two more weeks. Two more weeks and he'd be back on the Hogwarts Express, back with his friends, back to wreaking havoc and laughing constantly. Two more weeks and he'd be out of Grimmauld Place.

It had been, to put it mildly, the worst month and a half of Sirius's life. When he had got off the train at platform nine and three-quarters, his mother had been waiting for him, but instead of the warm embraces and excited welcomes that has classmates had received from their parents, Walburga Black had simply looked at him, turned on her heel, and marched out of the station, Sirius trailing miserably behind her. Once they had arrived back at Grimmauld Place, Sirius had been ordered to his room, where he had stayed, with the exception of mealtimes, ever since.

He had expected yelling, berating, foul words, valuable family heirlooms thrown across the room, less-valuable family heirlooms thrown at him, and all sorts of horrible punishments from his mother. She had surprised him, then, when she staunchly ignored his presence completely. She lavished praise on Sirius's brother Regulus at every chance she could get, making snide remarks about how he would never turn his back on his own lineage and how he would never break her heart. This didn't fool Sirius – he knew she didn't have a heart to break.

His father's reaction had been less surprising. Orion Black had visited Sirius's bedroom on the very first night of Sirius's return to London. Sirius knew immediately what was coming; his father never had anything to do with him except for administering his punishments. He stood up as his father stepped inside. The door snapped closed and his father suddenly loomed very tall.

"Hello, Father," Sirius said, doing his best to rid his face of all emotion.

"Stand up straight," his father commanded by way of greeting. Sirius pulled his shoulders back and looked the man in the eye. Orion Black was broad-shouldered and handsome, with dark hair streaked with grey and a finely trimmed beard. His eyes were very similar to Sirius's.

"You are still a Gryffindor?" It was more a statement than a question, but he paused as if waiting for an answer.

"Yes."

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir."

"You never requested to be re-sorted into Slytherin?"

"No."

"No, sir."

"No, sir."

"Despite our specific instructions to do so."

Sirius remained silent at this, trying not to think of what was coming.

"You are an embarrassment to your mother and me and to the name of Black. You have deliberately disobeyed our instructions and have turned your back on the great traditions of this family. You have spent your year making friends with Mudbloods and blood traitors, cavorting around the school doing Merlin knows what, getting letters sent home every other week." He paused. The iciness in his voice sent a shiver down Sirius's spine.

"You will spend your summer in this room, thinking of all you have done to bring shame on this family. And you will be punished for it." He pulled out his wand – a wand Sirius knew all too well – and hissed, "Acerbio." At once, a long blue flame, shaped like a lash, emerged from the tip of the wand.

Sirius was unable to lie on his back for a week.

Luckily, Orion Black wasn't around Grimmauld Place much that summer, so his visits to Sirius's room were few and far between. Sirius didn't much care why his father was absent so frequently; anything that kept his wand at a distance was good enough for Sirius. The one thing that Sirius had been looking forward to that summer was being able to see his little brother, Regulus. Regulus, however, was under strict instructions from their mother that he should have as little to do with his brother as possible. Sirius supposed she thought that his Gryffindor ways might rub off on the youngest Black. They were forbidden to speak at mealtimes, which was generally the only time they were in the same room.

Two weeks before the start of term found Sirius lying on his bed, staring up at the hideous green and silver canopy above him. He was trying to remember a spell that would allow him to change the coloring to red and gold, just to annoy his mother, when a sharp tapping at his window brought him out of his reverie. James's owl Ari was perched on the sill outside, a letter grasped in his talons. Sirius jumped up to let him in at once, ripping open the envelope as fast as he could.

"Hi Sirius,

Hope you're okay. Remus and Peter are here for the week. They say hi. It's not the same without you...I wish your mum had let you come."

Sirius tried not to feel too jealous. When the Potters' letter had arrived the previous week, asking permission for Sirius to come and visit, his mother had laughed aloud and asked him why she should allow him to do anything remotely fun. He was being punished, after all.

"We've been practicing that Tripping Jinx we talked about. Remus is scared we'll get expelled for doing magic outside of school, can you imagine? As if the Ministry can really tell that we're the ones doing magic and not my parents. Peter's parents actually took his wand away at the beginning of the summer, to keep him from getting in trouble. Absolute nutters. How are we supposed to practice all of the hexes and jinxes we want to use on Snivelly next year if we can't do magic? We just have to be careful not to do any when my parents are nearby, is all.

The three of us will be going to Diagon Alley on Wednesday to get our things for next year. You should try to make it. Dad even said we'd be allowed to go round by ourselves this year. Maybe there'll be some Slytherins there to practice that Tripping Jinx on. There's a new Cleansweep out, too. I'm going to try and convince Dad to let me get it. My Shooting Star is going to look outdated, and that just won't do when I make the Quidditch team this year.

Anyway, have to run. Remus wants to walk up to the village...says he wants to check out the Muggle bookshop. Really. Do you remember why we are friends with him again? A bookshop. Mental, I tell you.

Hope to see you in Diagon Alley,

James"

Sirius sighed and folded up the letter, hiding it in his wardrobe with the rest of the letters his friends had sent him that summer. He would do anything to be able to meet James in Diagon Alley in a few days' time. The problem would be convincing his mother to allow him to go. If she knew it was something he wanted to do, she would laugh in his face again. The sound of light footsteps in the corridor alerted him to Regulus crossing the landing and into his own room. This gave Sirius an idea. Jumping up, he stuck his head out the door to ensure the coast was clear, and then hurried out onto the landing. The door to his brother's room was open, so Sirius walked right in.

Regulus's room was very much like Sirius's – filled with ornate furniture and Slytherin green. Regulus was standing in the middle of it, clutching the latest issue of The Adventures of Dino Danger, and looking at Sirius exasperatedly.

"You know, you could have knocked."

"The door was open," Sirius shrugged.

"What do you want then? If Mother catches you in here…"

"Oh, give it a rest," said Sirius, closing the bedroom door and plopping down on his brother's bed. "I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"Okay…" Regulus said, still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

Sirius nodded at the comic in his brother's hand. "Is it a good one then? You gonna tell me what happens?"

"I only just got it, I haven't read it yet." Regulus hugged the comic against his chest as though embarrassed by it. "And I thought you thought Dino was stupid. That's what you said last summer anyhow."

Sirius shrugged again. "He's not too bad of a bloke, that Dino, but it seems like he should just Avada Kedavra that Silver Sorcerer nutter and get on with it already."

Regulus gasped and shook his head fervently. "No no! Dino doesn't kill people, Sirius, he's the good guy."

"It's a shame. That Sorcerer sure does cock up most of his plans, doesn't he? Probably deserves a nice long stint in Azkaban at the very least." Regulus was still looking at him as though he were ludicrous for suggesting a comic book character murder someone. Sirius decided to steer the conversation more to his tactical advantage. "Anyway, there'll be loads of firsties at school who'll be better than me to talk about Dino with. Are you excited about Hogwarts?"

Regulus nodded but didn't say anything. Sirius pressed on.

"You'll love it, I know it. The castle's fabulous – tons of secret passageways, ghosts around every corner, Quidditch matches to watch every few weeks. I can even show you where the kitchens are. There's hundreds of house elves in there and they'll bring you whatever you're in the mood for. Treacle tart, toffee bars, chocolate eclairs – it's brilliant. And at mealtimes you can eat whatever you can get your hands on…nobody's there to tell you to eat the asparagus or the melon…"

Regulus's interest had been piqued, though, and he interrupted Sirius's rambling. "You'd show me where the kitchens are? Really?"

"Sure. I can show you it all. And lessons are pretty good too, except for History of Magic, but you can sleep through that, Binns doesn't notice. Have you got your robes and everything yet?"

"No," Regulus said. "Mother keeps saying she'll take me soon. I can't wait to get my wand."

Sirius pulled a face. "You don't want to be seen shopping with Mother," he said dramatically. "You'll be laughed at before even getting on the train. No one's who's anyone goes shopping with their parents."

This seemed to worry Regulus. "Really? How am I supposed to get all of my things then?"

Sirius tried not to grin as he brushed some imaginary dirt from the knee of his robes. Regulus was playing right into his hands. "I don't know, but you'd better hurry up. If you haven't even got your wand yet, you're way behind most first years. I got my wand at the beginning of the summer last year."

Regulus's frown became more and more pronounced as Sirius spoke. At length, though, some sort of epiphany seemed to brighten his young face, and it was just the epiphany Sirius had been aiming for.

"Could you take me to Diagon Alley?"

Sirius sighed heavily. "I'm quite busy, actually. Lots to do. Well, maybe I could take you on Wednesday, but you'd have to convince Mother. Only I don't know if she'd be very keen on the idea."

"I'll tell her," said Regulus. "I'll make something up, if I have to. She'll listen to me. She never says no, not if I really want something."

Sirius fought not to gag.

On Wednesday morning, Sirius found himself, not daring to believe his own brilliant luck, sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor with Regulus. He had no idea what his little brother had said in order to get his mother to let them out together. Perhaps Regulus was smarter than Sirius gave him credit for. They had been to the apothecary and the bookshop already, but Sirius suggested they take a break and get some ice cream. He was feeling very pleased with himself for finding a way to slip out from his mother's glares, even if just for the day. He looked around the street, hoping to spot James, Remus, or Peter; instead, his eyes locked on Gin Leigh and Ev Linney, who were standing outside of the Magical Menagerie.

"I'll be right back," Sirius said, rising quickly from the table.

"Where are you going?" asked Regulus, a note of panic in his voice. "Mother said I wasn't allowed on my own!"

Sirius just laughed and started to cross the street, pausing to chuck his empty ice cream cup in the rubbish bin. "I'll be back in two minutes. Just eat your ice cream."

The girls were apparently discussing what kind of animal Ev should buy.

"Oh, but look at the Puffskeins," Ev was saying. "They're so cute!"

"They don't do anything, though. They just sit there like blobs."

"That's not true, they like to cuddle!"

Gin shook her head. Her loose blonde curls had become significantly lighter in the summer sun. "What about an owl, Ev? They do loads of stuff. Practical stuff."

"I don't have enough money for an owl, though."

"That's okay," said Gin. "How about a cat, then?"

"A cat, Gin?" Sirius cut in. Both girls jumped visibly and turned to look at him. "I thought you had better taste than that. Who wants a cat?"

"Hi Sirius!" Ev said. "How was your summer?"

"Excellent," he lied easily. "All right, Ev?"

Gin didn't let her answer though. "Who asked you anyway, Sirius? I happen to like cats."

Sirius shrugged and grinned at her. "Suit yourself. I'm not a cat person, myself."

"Hm, no surprise there. You're more of a toad person, aren't you?"

"Actually, I'm more of a –" Sirius cut off when he caught sight of James, Remus, and Peter walking up the street. "See you girls later!" he said, taking off after his friends without a glance back. "Oi! James!" The three of them turned and grinned when they saw who had called to them.

"Sirius!" James said. "You made it!"

"We thought you might not be able to come," Remus said.

"I escaped for the day," Sirius told them, thrilled to be in the presence of his friends once more. "Come on, I want you to meet my brother."

The four boys ambled over to Florean Fortescue's, where Regulus was still sitting, watching them approach curiously.

"James, Peter, Remus," Sirius said, "this is my brother Regulus. He's starting at Hogwarts next week. Reg, these are some friends."

They all said hello pleasantly.

"Come to get your books and everything for first year?" Remus asked him.

Regulus nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

"Brilliant," said James. "Come on, Sirius, let's go into Quality Quidditch Supplies. I've got to check out that new Cleansweep."

"Sirius," Regulus said, "I still have to go get my wand and my robes."

"Right," said Sirius, looking down the street toward the Quidditch shop. "Well you can go into Ollivander's while we're in Quality Quidditch Supplies. They're just next door to each other."

The boys began walking down the street, Regulus trailing after them.

"But you're not going to come in with me?"

Sirius rolled his eyes back at his brother. "You're eleven now, Reg. I think you can manage by yourself. We won't be far."

The boys dropped Regulus off at Ollivander's and headed next door, where a large group of people was ogling the new Cleansweep in the window.

"Dad said I couldn't get a new broom yet," James said, looking longingly at the shiny broomstick. "He said I have a perfectly good broom at home, but that if I make the Quidditch team this year, maybe they'll get it for me for Christmas."

"You have about ten perfectly good brooms at home, James, what are you on about?" Sirius said.

"Yes, but the best one is the Shooting Star and that's laughable compared to this new Cleansweep."

Sirius met Peter and Remus's eyes and forced himself not to laugh. The boys spent close to an hour in the shop, perusing the hundreds of different brooms and sniggering at James's exaggerated reactions. When Regulus appeared after a while, he was brandishing a long rectangular box with glee.

"Eleven and a half inches!" he told Sirius. "Unicorn hair and hazel. Mr. Ollivander seemed impressed!"

"Of course he was impressed," Sirius said. "He made it. Sure likes to pat himself on the back, that Ollivander."

"He's a bit creepy, isn't he? Isn't he Sirius?"

"Barmy, more like," said Sirius, but Regulus had just spotted the new Cleansweep and was no longer listening to him.

"Whoa," Regulus said, pushing through the crowd to get closer to the broomstick. He and James now stood shoulder to shoulder, admiring the display before them.

"A beauty, isn't it?" said James, his eyes misty. "Zero to eighty in four seconds. Precision turning, fine holly bristles to negate the tailwind, no tremble at all on a steep dive…"

It was another fifteen minutes before they pulled James and Regulus away from the magnetic power of the Cleansweep and back out onto the sunny street.

"Just came out last month!" Regulus was telling Sirius. "And, you know, it's only about 100 Galleons more than the latest in the Comet line, I wonder if Mother…"

"You're not allowed a broomstick first year," Sirius reminded his brother. "And by the time you're allowed one next year, there'll probably be a new model out."

"All the same," Regulus said, "I think my best bet is to convince Mother…there's no way Father would go for…"

Sirius, though, was not paying attention to his brother. He had just spotted Severus Snape sitting alone at a table outside of Flourish and Blotts. He appeared to be quite absorbed in a heavy-looking book, his greasy hair curtaining his eyes as he leaned over it. Sirius nudged James and nodded in Snape's direction. James grinned.

"Go on to Madam Malkin's, Regulus," Sirius instructed, not taking his eyes off of Snape. "We'll meet you in an hour at Gambol and Japes."

"Oh. Well…okay," said Regulus.

"Er, Sirius," Remus said, watching Regulus make his way into the robe shop, "do you think he's all right being all alone?"

"He's fine. Come on, let's go mess with Snape."

"Wait," Remus said, as they crept closer to Snape's hunched-over form, "we're not supposed to do magic outside of school! It's one thing to do it at your house, James, but we're in broad daylight! We could be expelled!"

"Lighten up, Remus," said James, and Remus shrank back almost instinctively. "We're just going to have a little fun. No one needs to know."

The boys hurried over to an alley across the street from the bookshop. From there, they were hidden in the shadows of the buildings, but they still had a good angle from which to see Snape.

"What are you going to do?" whispered Peter. "Are you going to do that Tripping Jinx we've been practicing?"

"A Tripping Jinx? He's sitting down, Peter. Don't be thick."

Remus still wasn't convinced. "I really don't think we should –"

"I've been practicing a good one on our house elf Kreacher," Sirius interrupted. "Let me try it out."

James nodded and Remus sighed, resigned. Taking out his wand and pointing it at Snape, Sirius muttered, "Canero." Immediately, a bellowing croak like that of a monstrous bullfrog erupted from Snape's mouth. Several passersby stopped and stared at him. Snape turned a blotchy red and looked around in confusion. From behind the cover of the shadow, Sirius flicked his wand again. Snape croaked. After a few more times, one of the Flourish and Blotts workers emerged from the shop and approached Snape hesitantly, as if worried the boy in question possessed some sort of contagion.

"Are you quite okay, young man?'

Sirius flicked his wand once more and Snape croaked loudly in response. In the alleyway, the boys were practically doubled up in laughter. Even Remus was chuckling appreciatively, shaking his head in an exasperated sort of way. It felt good to laugh, Sirius thought. He couldn't remember even smiling all summer.

Snape stood up and started collecting his things. He was looking around apprehensively, his face still red in embarrassment.

"Come on," Sirius said, stashing his wand out of sight and making his way back across the street toward the bookshop.

"All right there, Snivellus?" James said, once they were close to him. Snape wheeled around and glared at him, his hand twitching as if to grab his wand.

"I'll get you, Potter," he said lowly. "You're not allowed to do magic outside of school. They'll expel you for this."

"For what? What's he on about, Sirius?"

"No idea. It's hard for me to pay attention when he's making idle threats."

"You really should lighten up a bit, Snivelly."

"Yes," Sirius added, "maybe your nose'd look smaller if you weren't grimacing like a troll all the time."

James snorted in laughter. From behind him, Sirius could hear Peter giggling like mad.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Snape said, his teeth slightly bared. "Well I'll be the one laughing when I catch you at one of your games. I'll be laughing when they expel you."

"There you go making idle threats again. Pity you can't back them up."

"Shut up, Potter," Snape snarled. Sirius noticed his eyes were bugging out of his head in a rather amusing sort of way. "I'll catch you. All of you, playing your jokes all of the time, sneaking out every other week, marauding round the school like you own the place…"

"Oooh, 'marauding' are we? Good word, Snivellus. How long did it take you to come up with that one?"

"How long did it take you to get that Croaking Charm down, Black? Been working on it every day? Spent your whole summer practicing that one pathetic little spell, did you?"

"No idea what you're talking about," said Sirius lightly. "Anyway, it's been horrible chatting with you as always Snivelly, but we must be on our way. Don't want anyone to see us keeping this sort of company, you understand."

And with that, the four boys made their way back down the high street, three of the four laughing heartily. It was only when they had stopped outside of Gambol and Japes that James stopped chuckling, an excited look in his eye.

"Marauding!" he said suddenly. They all stared at him. "The Marauders! That's what we should call ourselves!"

"We need a name for ourselves now?" Remus asked, amused.

"Of course we need a name for ourselves. We're the best, most talented, and cleverest wizards to come through Hogwarts since Dumbledore himself. The Marauders! We'll be legends!"

"I like it!" said Peter, which was unsurprising – he liked everything James suggested. James, though, turned to his best friend for affirmation.

Sirius grinned. "The Marauders. Has a nice ring to it. Remind me to thank old Snivelly the next time I see him."

When Sirius, Regulus, and Walburga Black arrived at platform nine and three-quarters the following week, it was to an almost empty platform. For some unknown reason, Sirius's mother insisted that they get there at least an hour before the train was scheduled to depart. Sirius didn't mind in the least – it was one fewer hour that he had to spend in Grimmauld Place.

"Filth," Walburga spat as the three of them made their way through the barrier. "Every year we have to wade through Muggle filth just to get to the platform. Do you see the clothes they wear? They have no shame."

Sirius ignored her. He was used to his parents' complaints whenever they had to go near Muggles. He looked around at the handful of students who were now milling about the platform, trying to find someone he felt like greeting.

"Now, Regulus, dear," his mother was saying, "come this way. I've arranged for you to meet up with some other first years before boarding the train. Yes, there are the Notts now…"

And without a glance or word of farewell to her older son, she steered Regulus down the platform toward a small, sullen-looking family. Sirius grinned and pulled his trunk toward the train. He knew that she would not pay him any more attention while there were other people around to impress. He was free.

Considering there were only a few students already on the train, Sirius had his pick of compartments. He decided on the very last compartment in the very last train car, as it was the one farthest from the direction his mother had walked. After finally maneuvering his trunk up into the luggage rack, he sat down and looked out the window. Up the platform a ways, Regulus was now talking to the Nott boy, who he and Sirius had met on several occasions. Sirius frowned. He had never much cared for the Notts, perhaps because his mother approved of them so wholeheartedly. Robert Nott had a mean look about him, and had absolutely no sense of humor that Sirius had ever detected. He was about the dullest boy Sirius had ever met.

He had been watching them for several minutes when the door to his compartment banged open. Sirius looked up and felt his stomach flip over. In the doorway stood Didina Murphy, a fourth-year Gryffindor and, in Sirius's opinion, the prettiest girl in all of Hogwarts. She looked startled to find him there.

"What are you doing in here, Black?"

Sirius swallowed and smiled at her in what he hoped was a charming manner.

"Free country, Murphy."

"Get out, will you, this is our compartment."

"Oh is there a name plaque on the door that I missed?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone knows that my friends and I sit in this compartment every train ride. Now get out."

Sirius just smiled and propped his feet up on the seat in front of him. "Well you're welcome to join me."

She sighed and crossed her arms, but made no move to sit down. "Why are you here so early anyway?"

"Had to make sure I got the best compartment, didn't I?" he taunted.

"Sod off, Black."

"Well why are you here so early then?"

She shrugged. "My parents are Muggles. They always think it's going to take way longer than it actually does to get places. Don't ask me why."

Sirius was barely listening. He was too distracted by the way the Muggle shorts she was wearing only covered half of her thighs.

"Have a nice summer, then?" he asked when he realized she had stopped talking.

"Oh, come on, Sirius, I don't want to chat, I just want my compartment." She smiled at him. "Please?"

It was very tempting to let her have the compartment when she was smiling at him like that. He mentally shook himself and decided to hold his ground.

"No can do, Murphy. You snooze, you lose."

"Ugh, fine," she said, and with a flip of her long brown hair, she turned on her heel and disappeared down the corridor. Sirius was quite sorry to see her go.

He turned back to the window. The platform had become much more crowded in the last fifteen minutes. Straining his neck, he watched as Regulus, now surrounded by several other first years who his mother had apparently deemed acceptable, boarded the train. After a few minutes of watching the students on the platform, Sirius stood up to go find his brother. He had just made it to the next car up when the corridor was blocked by Adin Balini, who was helping a small girl lug her trunk into a compartment. Adin beamed when she saw him.

"Hey Sirius!" she said, nervously fixing her hair. "How are you?"

"Excellent," he said. "Here, let me help you with that trunk."

Sirius took the trunk handle from her and succeeded in stowing the trunk in the compartment next to the cage of a speckled owl, before turning back to the girls.

"Thanks a lot!" said Adin. "Oh, this is my sister Kaia. She's starting Hogwarts this year. Kaia, this is Sirius Black."

"Hello," Sirius said to the girl, who looked strikingly like her sister.

"Black?" she said, glancing confusedly at her sister. Sirius gritted his teeth at her reaction to his last name. Being locked in Grimmauld Place for two months had dulled his memory to the general perception of his family, but the reminder seemed to hit him full in the face at this moment.

"Yeah," he said, somewhat resigned.

"Oh," said Kaia, now looking very embarrassed. "Erm, well, thanks. For helping me with, er, with my trunk."

"Sure," he said, ready to get away from them. "See you later, then, Balini."

"Bye Sirius!"

He hurried up the train car, pushing past socializing students and peeking into the occupied compartments for a sign of his brother. Finally, several cars up, he found Regulus sitting with Robert Nott and a few other boys who Sirius didn't know by name. He slid open the door and stuck his head in.

"Hey, Reg," he said, ignoring the other occupants entirely, "I've got a compartment in the back. You should come sit with us."

Regulus fidgeted and didn't meet Sirius's eye.

"Er, well, I think I'll just stay up here, if that's –"

"Is this your brother, Regulus?" interrupted one of the other boys coldly. Sirius looked at him. He had hair like straw and black, beady eyes.

"Y-yes," said Regulus. "This is my brother Sirius. Sirius, this is Adrian Bole. And that's Darius Montague, and I don't know if you remember, Robert Nott…"

"Yeah, I've heard of him," said Bole. "Black, the Gryffindor blood-traitor."

It was less than a second before Sirius had his wand pointed in Bole's face.

"Say that again, you little toss-pot, I dare you."

"Sirius, stop!" cried Regulus, jumping up and pushing Sirius forcefully out of the compartment. Sirius stumbled backward, shocked. He lowered his wand and stared at his little brother.

"You're really going to sit up here with them?"

Regulus looked uncomfortable. "Well…well, yes. I mean…I l-like Robert, and Mother said I should try to make my own friends and –"

"Make the friends that she picked out for you, you mean?" snapped Sirius, anger pumping through him. How could Regulus possibly want to be friends with these boys?

Regulus was staring at his shoes. The train was becoming more crowded and people kept pushing past them as they stood in the corridor.

"Come on," said Sirius, losing patience and grabbing Regulus's arm to pull him down the narrow passage. "You should sit with us. We'll have a blast."

Regulus, however, wrenched his arm free from his brother's grasp and disappeared back into the compartment, slamming the door in Sirius's face. Sirius stared at it for a moment in disbelief before turning and stalking back down the train. He had made his way to the last train car when someone jumped on him from behind.

"There you are!" said James, as Sirius pushed him off and straightened his robes. "We've been looking for you!"

Peter was standing behind James, trunk in hand, grinning at them.

"Well you can't have been looking hard. I've been here for ages. My mum didn't want anyone to see me with her, you know how it is. Come on, I've got the last compartment down this way."

The three boys made their way down the car and into the compartment before stowing the two trunks and Ari's cage and flopping down into the seats.

"You seen Remus yet?" Sirius asked them.

"Nope," said James, "but he better get here soon. The train's set to leave in a few minutes. We saw Goomer and Raeanne, though. They're in the next car up."

"We saw Adin, too," Peter added. "She said you'd been by."

"Yeah, I saw her and met her little sister, who seemed horrified that Adin was on speaking terms with a Black."

"Ah, well," said James, digging in his pocket and throwing them both chocolate frogs, "she'll learn fast enough. Nobody underestimates the Marauders!"

"Hey, look!" said Peter, pointing out the window. "It's Remus!"

All three of them jumped up to get a good view. Remus was on the platform with his parents, who were giving him hugs goodbye. James opened the window and stuck his head out.

"Oi! Remus!"

Remus jumped, but broke into a broad smile when he saw James hanging out the window, Sirius and Peter behind him. He allowed his mother to give him one last kiss on the cheek before making his way to the last train car and hopping on board.

"Hi," he said after stowing his trunk and plopping on the seat next to James. Sirius noticed how ill Remus looked. He was paler than usual, had dark purple circles under his eyes, and a deep bruise shining on his temple.

James seemed to be noticing the same thing. He looked at Remus in concern. "You all right, mate?"

Remus grinned. "Never better."

"What'd you do to your head?" Sirius asked.

Remus's smile faltered a bit. "Oh, well, my dad and I went out a few days ago and played a bit of Quidditch. You know me...I'm not much of a flyer...had a bit of an accident with a tree."

As the train pulled away from the station, James jumped on the chance to talk about Quidditch. Sirius, though, continued to watch Remus, who seemed very relieved at the change of topic. The bruise struck Sirius as odd, both in the location of it on Remus's face and in the hasty way in which Remus had brushed the inquiry aside in conversation. Sirius did not know much about his friend's father, only that he was a pureblood wizard. He wondered if Remus – quiet, studious, kind Remus – had been on the receiving end of an angry wand, but then quickly dismissed the idea. Purebloods didn't leave evidence of their displeasure across their children's faces; such an act would be akin to airing their dirty robes on the front stoop for all the neighbors to see. Punishments were doled out behind closed doors, by spells specifically created to leave no lasting physical scars. Shivering slightly, Sirius tried to keep up with James and Peter's conversation. Apparently, the Chudley Cannons had just beaten Puddlemere United in league play, which was the biggest upset that James could remember, and, indeed, the Cannons' first victory in sixty-one straight matches. Discussion of it lasted for so long that the Hogwarts Express had long made its way out of London before talk turned to something else. Sirius lost interest after a while and stared out the window, his thoughts going back to Regulus.

Sirius and his brother had always got on as well as could be expected, considering their vastly different relationships with their parents. Where Sirius was defiant, Regulus leaned toward submissive. Sirius had been hoping that when Regulus came to Hogwarts, the youngest Black would realize that there was more to the world than Orion and Walburga Black's demented view of it. He was a kind child, inquisitive and talkative, and though these traits often served as irritants to his older brother, Regulus certainly did not fit in among the nasty, brash Slytherins. Regulus, Sirius supposed, would make an excellent Gryffindor, and then Sirius would no longer be the one odd Black. Maybe there was hope that people wouldn't point and whisper and act confused when they met him. Maybe the name 'Black' would no longer be synonymous with dark magic and pureblood ideals.

Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for Regulus – and hope for Sirius – yet.