When They Were Marauders || A Marauders Tale

Year One: Part One (1.1)

"Oh, Remus, " a woman with amber hair said while hugging an eleven-year-old boy with mousy brown hair that was streaked with grey and matching eyes. The scars on his face ran, crossing over each other and, as he looked over at a girl a bit older than him, she burst into tears, burying her face in her mother's skirt. Another girl, who must have been her younger sister, dressed already in her Hogwarts robes, came over to him, her long red hair swishing as she walked.

"Sorry about her, " she said.

"It's fine."

"Lily!" the girl called, making her sister turn and go back to her family as the boy looked back at his father.

"Are you sure that I should do this?" Remus asked, rubbing his hands together. "I mean. . .I just made a girl cry."

"You can do it, " his mother told him, patting her son's scarred cheek. "If the year doesn't work out, we can homeschool you."

"But give it a year, " Remus' father told him. "Then we can talk about it."

Remus nodded but frowned. His mother joked, "Stop that, you'll get wrinkles."

Remus laughed and gave his mother another hug and allowed her to give him a kiss on his cheek before making his way to the Hogwarts Express. "Hey, " a voice said from behind him.

Peter stood, his hands twitching as he came up behind a boy who looked to be his age. The boy turned and Peter tried not to stare at the dozens of scars on his face.

"Yes?"

"Are you a first year?"

"Yes, " he replied. He held out his hand as the train let out it's low, sorrowful whistle. "My name is Remus Lupin."

"Peter Pettigrew." The two boys shook hands and they climbed onto the train, searching for a compartment with occupants that wouldn't mind the extra faces.

As the train started to move, a boy with unruly, somewhat curly, black hair and spectacles emerged from a compartment as the two boys passed. "Are you two looking for a, dare I say it, compartment?"

"Er, yes, " Remus answered.

The boy with glasses smiled, telling them both, "There's room in here, if you like."

Remus grinned as Peter said, "Thank you."

The boy stepped into the cabin as Remus and Peter followed, seeing another boy with long black hair and a thoughtful, concerned face. He hadn't even noticed the extra company until the first boy said loudly, "Merlin, Sirius, you look as brooding as they come."

"Oh, shut up, " the boy, Sirius, replied. He looked up, his eyes landing on Remus' face. "James, I think you've been followed."

"Haha, " James, the boy with spectacles said in a monotone voice. "At least I noticed people walking about on a moving train."

"It's not as if it isn't a smooth ride."

James huffed, looking over at the two boys, who were still standing. "You can have a seat. We don't bite much."

"Much?" Peter repeated jokingly, a smirk switching on his lips. He and Remus sat down across from the pair that had allowed the company. "I'm Peter Pettigrew."

The boy with a scarred face added, "Remus Lupin."

"Potter, James, " he said with a smile. "And the sack of dragon dung is Sirius Orion Black."

Sirius glared at his friend. "I don't like my middle name."

"And I don't like when you act like this but, " James put his hands in front of his body, the palms facing the sky, "we're here."