Marauders 1971 - 1978

20th December 1971

Sirius stood at the platform and watched as the crowd slowly thinned. He'd waved to his friends, one by one, as they spotted their families and ran off to greet them. For the first time, he glimpsed James' parents - James seemed to have inherited his father's unruly hair and excitable air. Remus was next, running to the open arms of his mother then blushing and hurrying back for his forgotten trunk. Before they left the platform, he'd turned to offer Sirius a smile. Finally, Peter left his side and called out to who must have been a brother of his. Behind the equally blond sibling appeared his delighted parents. His father actually picked him up, jokingly, trunk under one arm, son under the other until Peter managed to wriggle himself free.

Then there he was, alone on the platform, dwarfed by his large, heavy trunk and wondering if it was too late to get back on the train.

As the thought occurred to him, a hiss of steam warned him of the train's journey back to Scotland and he was left with no choice. He took the handle of his trunk and began to drag it to the exit. He hadn't gotten far before he was intercepted.

"Hey, Little Imp!"

He whipped around to see his cousin approaching him with her own belongings. She towered over him, but smiled down benignly.

"Andromeda?" he was bemused why she was hanging about so late.

"Oh please, we're not there yet! Don't tell me Gryffendor hasn't loosened you up, Little Imp."

Sirius scowled and her smile only widened. "I'm not little."

"Hmm? You're looking quite little from where I'm standing." She gave him a cheeky look and flicked her wand at his trunk, easily blessing it with a small set of wheels.

"Nice! Thanks!"

Andromeda started off with her own trunk and Sirius' face fell at her abrupt departure, but she turned back to him and rolled her eyes. "Hurry up!"

Sirius fumbled his trunk handle and hurried to catch up.

"Er... where are we going?"

Andromeda leaned against the wall and Sirius copied her.

"Oh for goodness' sake- didn't your parents write to you? What am I saying, of course they didn't. I'm going to take you home, idiot."

Sirius beamed for the first time since the Christmas holiday list had been announced at Hogwarts. As much as he had a hollow dread residing inside his chest at the thought of going home, Andromeda had always been a shining light of his pre-Hogwarts existence and a much-needed glimpse into the world outside.

They walked out of King's Cross Station into the damp, tobacco laced air of the muggle street outside. Sirius hoped that Andromeda might take him down a back alley and apparate him home - he knew she had passed her exam over the summer and he was itching for a rare chance to experience it.

But instead, his cousin led him to the glowing subway steps that led into the Underground station.

Even better , he thought. This was why he loved Andromeda.

Without magic to help them along, they were forced to thunk their trunks down the stairs, earning themselves tired glances from the damp commuters around them. They queued by the ticket machines so Andromeda could buy them passes and made their way through the barriers.

"Are you coming to visit?" Asked Sirius, thankful for the escalator so that he didn't have to bump his case down what he assumed would be hundreds of stairs. His eyes flicked across the West End show adverts that accompanied them on the ride down into London's depths.

"Well, I wasn't planning to, but I suppose I could pop in with you - might as well see Regulus and wish him a happy late-birthday."

Sirius shelved thoughts of his brother for the time being. He was excited to be on the Underground with his big cousin and didn't need his guilt ruining it. When they reached the bottom of the escalator, Andromeda began to feign idiocy for Sirius' amusement.