Before the Betrayal- a Marauders fanfic

On the train

Hi everyone! This is my first ever fanfic... I hope you like it! Feedback much appreciated :) Love you!

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! ALL RIGHTS TO QUEEN JK ROWING!

Moony-The-Bookworm

James POV

September the first. I had been counting down the days until today ever since I got my letter. And today was the day. The day I would finally get to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I hurriedly kissed my parents goodbye (my mum was making such a fuss... she is really over-protective that way) and ran onto the scarlet steam train.

It was five to eleven, so there were already a fair few people in the compartments. Running to find one, I bumped into a really pretty looking redhead. Messing up my hair, I apologized and introduced myself and offered her my hand. She shook it, and introduced herself as Lily Evans. Her eyes were a dashing emerald green and her smile was simply dazzling.

"So, what house do you want to be in?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm muggle-born, you see, so I don't really mind. What about you?" Lily replied.

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart." I shouted.

Our conversation was rudely interrupted by a skinny, greasy-haired boy.

"Well... if you'd rather be brawny than brainy..."

"Oh yeah? And where do you think you'll be heading? Slytherin, no doubt." I bluntly answered.

"As a matter of fact, yes." The slimeball said.

I let out a laugh.

"Come on Severus, let's go. We don't want trouble on our first day.", Lily interrupted.

"Ooooh Snivellus, looks like you've got yourself a girlfriend.", I said, teasing them.

"Oh shut up you arrogant toe-rag." Lily said. Feisty. I liked that.

Before I could reply, Lily and Snivellus walked off in a hurry. Well, that no doubt had been interesting! I finally found a nearly-empty compartment with only a shy but kind-looking first year in it. I promptly sat down.

"Hi! Is it alright if I sit here? I'm a first-year too, and everywhere else is full... My name is James, by the way. James Potter"

"Sure!", the boy replied. "I'm Remus Lupin".

Remus POV

I examined the boy sitting before me. Messy black hair, hazel eyes framed by glasses... He seemed friendly enough. But it wouldn't last. He would never be my friend once he found out. Nobody ever was. I had tried to make friends, but, over the years, I learnt the hard way that, for someone like me, relationships were near impossible. I am Remus John Lupin, and I have a very dark secret... I am a werewolf: a person affected with lycanthropy. I was bitten at the tender age of four by Fenrir Greyback himself. I smiled at James, trying to hide my pain. He wouldn't be my friend forever. Nor would anybody else. I was lucky enough to be admitted into Hogwarts in the first place... Albus Dumbledore is a very accepting and kind person. But to have friends that could last would be impossible. Finding the silence unnerving, James carried on the conversation.

"So... Which house are you hoping for?" He started.

"Well my dad was in Gryffindor and my mum was in Ravenclaw. I wouldn't mind either, but I'm hoping for Gryffindor. Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad either I suppose...", I answered.

"Yeah I suppose Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. I'm hoping for Gryffindor too. Both my parents were in it. Let's hope we can both be Gryffindors and share a dorm toge-"

He was cut short by a small, rather chubby boy who entered our compartment, introducing himself as Peter Pettigrew.

"I'm so so sorry, but everywhere else is full... I can go sit outside if you want.", he stammered nervously.

"Absolutely no problem", James and I answered together.

Peter smiled with relief and sat down. We told him about wanting to be in Gryffindor, and he agreed, nodding along excitedly. He seemed like a nice enough chap. Hopefully they'll never find out about my secret and we could stay friends. Yes, that would be nice.

Peter POV

I sighed with relief. I, Peter Pettigrew, had actually made some friends. James, the chatty, cool one, and Remus, the calm and collected one. They were both rather nice, and I was very, very lucky to have them. But would I be able to get into Gryffindor? I didn't think so, but hoped... Hoped that I could be with my wonderful new friends. But, like them, I agreed that Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad. However, unlike Remus, I would never have the brains to become a Ravenclaw: Back at muggle school (my muggle father had insisted I went), I never got high marks and often struggled. Hopefully, magic would be different.

After fifteen minutes or so, the trolley lady finally came. I was starving, and excitedly got out my purse.

"Two pumpkin pasties, two liquorice wands and one chocolate frog please", I said, handing over my money.

Remus then ordered two chocolate frogs, whilst James dared to buy a packet of the dreaded Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans. Together, we began to eat. As James swallowed his first Bean, Remus and I held our breaths...

"So?", I impatiently asked.

James winced, then started coughing.

"Ewww", he said. "Bogey."

Remus and I laughed at him whilst he ate a cherry flavoured one. Then, there was a knock on our compartment door. Standing outside was a tall boy with stormy grey eyes and shaggy long black hair. He had red boils all over his face and his nose was bleeding.

Sirius POV

I just could not stand it any more. Those cousins of mine sure were horrible, but this? This had taken our fighting to a whole new level. My name is Sirius Orion Black III. I am the rebel of my family, the white sheep in the black herd. My family are a bunch of stuck up pure bloods. Their motto is even "toujours pur"! (always pure in French). But I don't believe in any of their nonsense. If my mother was to cut her finger and a muggle was to cut theirs, their blood would be exactly the same! But, for some reason, my family believe that their so-called "pure" blood make them above everybody else. That was what had started the fight. And this fight was the last straw. I was sick and tired of their rudeness, snobbishness and pure-blood mania. When I said that there was no difference in magical abilities be it pure, half-blood or muggle born, they started throwing hexes at me, calling me a blood-traitor and such. I hexed back, but Bellatrix, my older cousin, has had more experience. Now I am here, outside a compartment of kind-looking first years, praying they'll let me in.

"Um... Hi", I said nervously, poking my head through the door. "Could I please join you? I've, erm, been ejected from my compartment..."

"Sure!", the black haired boy replied. "I'm James Potter, this is Remus Lupin (he pointed at the tall sandy blond boy), and Peter Pettigrew (this was the short chubby boy). So, what happened to you?"

I told them my story. When I said I wanted to be in Gryffindor, they agreed. Remus then offered to try to heal me: his mother was a healer, so he had a little bit of experience.

"Episkey!", he said, pointing his wand at me. I felt a sharp pain, especially in my nose, then, nothing.

"Well?", I asked. "How do I look?"

The others smiled and gave me a mirror. I was as dashing as usual. For no apparent reason, we then burst out laughing... This was the beginning of a new era.