Mischief Managed

Chapter One

James strolled onto the train confidently, eager to finally start attending Hogwarts. He searched for an empty compartment, and found one with only one resident; a brooding raven haired boy watching the families part ways with their children for another term. James rapped on the doorframe, startling the boy inside.

"Er," James said somewhat sheepishly. "Do you mind if I sit here?" The boy turned away from the window, grey eyes meeting James's hazel ones. He shook his head, and watched James take the seat across from him.

"I'm called James," he supplied after a few minutes of stifling silence.

"Sirius." the boy replied. "Sirius Black."

Just as the train was about to depart from the station, a small boy who looked too young to even be a first year stumbled over, his ears pink. A somewhat lanky boy with light brown hair appeared behind him, carrying with him an almost motherly air.

"Go on, Peter." he coaxed gently.

"Can we sit here? E-everywhere is full." the smaller boy, Peter, mumbled. James and Sirius looked to each other, and without saying a word, nodded. The taller boy smiled and coaxed Peter into the compartment before sitting next to Sirius.

"Thanks, really. Everywhere else was full, as we were some of the last to get on. Peter's trunk was giving him trouble, so I tried to help." the light brown haired boy smiled goodnaturedly.

"S'all right. I'm James, and this is Sirius." grinned the boy with glasses, running a hand through his unkempt hair out of habit.

"Remus."

The four chattered happily as the train rumbled to Hogwarts.

"It's safe to assume you're both first years, then?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded, a vaguely coy smile playing at his lips.

"We are as well," answered the lanky brunette before mumbling "obviously." to himself, cursing his limited social capabilities.

"Where do you think you'll be placed?" James asked the group after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Sirius's ears grew a bit pink at the question while the other two looked to the bespectacled boy.

"My dad thinks I might get into Ravenclaw, but I'm not so sure." Remus said indifferently. From the conversations that they've been having, the other three boys could see why Remus could possibly become a Ravenclaw; he was quite a clever, witty teen.

"I'll probably get into Hufflepuff or something of the sort; something lame. I'm not the most courageous, clever, or cunning." Peter mumbled, looking down at his knees shamefully.

"I know where I'll be put." Sirius said miserably, his mind racing to the two Slytherins that created him. Everyone turned to James then, expecting his answer.

"I'm a Gryffindor for sure; I'm too attractive to be anything else." he grinned. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"The girls will all be swooning once we get there." he said sarcastically. James's grin widened.

"I'm well aware."

The train arrived at Hogwarts much too soon for the boys' liking. They had found that they quite enjoyed each other's company, and didn't want to leave it so soon.

"Do you think," Peter asked shyly as the group stood to exit the train. "that we'll be friends even if we don't get sorted together?" Sirius looked to James (who he already knew was going to be his unbiological brother), who nodded and looked to Remus. Remus, in turn, gave Peter a reassuring smile. Relief swept over the smallest boy as he realized this meant he would always have friends, always have someone to stand up for him (he wasn't exactly the best at standing up for himself, after all).

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a booming voice said. The youngest students all looked up to see a large man with a scraggly beard waving his arm. Peter glanced nervously at his friends, who exchanged skeptical looks. They went to stand with the other first years, who were all either extraordinarily excited or horribly scared. The first years were herded to the edge of a glassy black lake, where a fleet of boats sat. Everyone loaded into the boats, which began to move on their own accord to the castle looming over the lake. Peter gasped quietly as the boats began moving, reaching over to clutch the side of the boat to steady himself. Remus smiled a bit in awe as they moved, glancing around to see everything. It was beautiful. The stars were reflecting on the surface, causing it to look almost as if they were sailing through the sky. Moonlight shone brightly overhead, further illuminating the journey to Hogwarts castle.

The boat containing the four boys gently bumped against the shoreline. James and Sirius scrambled out first, excited to go ahead and start exploring the school. Remus stepped out easily due to his extremely lanky legs, and looked back to see if Peter needed any help. The young boy straddled the side of the boat before pushing himself a bit so that he could stand up on the sand.

"Coming, Peter?" Remus asked softly. The small boy nodded and quickly strode to his friend's side, internally cursing his legs for being so short and causing him to fall behind the group. The two caught up to James and Sirius, who were walking closely together and whispering about the other children their age; trying to judge who was worth becoming friends with and who, quite frankly, were not. The two black haired boys turned to see the tallest and shortest members of their gang approaching them. James nudged Sirius with his elbow and they stopped walking ahead to allow their friends to catch up.

"Here we go, I guess." Remus murmured to his friends as they entered the school they would quickly learn to call home for the first time.