Magical Mayhem and Managing Mischief - A Marauders Era Story

Chapter 1 - Your House Will Be Like Your Family (Part 2/?)

The tables in the Great Hall at breakfast were almost as full as the night before during the welcome feast. There were piles of toast and waffles and fruit and sausages on each table. If one got emptied, more food would magically appear on the plates, and all of the first-year students, even the purebloods, had never been happier.

During the meal, the boys met the other girls in their house. Along with Lily, there was Marlene McKinnon, Mary Macdonald, Alice Fortescue and Dorcas Meadowes. The girls seemed to have become good friends already in the one night they had spent at the school.

"Black, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you in Slytherin?" Marlene asked as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"I've always been different from my family. I don't know why, I'm just...not like them. They prefer Reg." Sirius replied casually, reaching across the table to pick up a slice of toast.

"Reg?" Lily, being Muggleborn, didn't know much about the Black family.

"My little brother. He's 9, and still gets more attention from my parents."

"I'm sorry..." Lily looked sad and apologetic.

There was an awkward silence at the bottom of the Gryffindor table for a few moments, until it was interrupted by the noise of the owls flying through the hall.

"Mail!" James said, a bit too loudly. Most of the second years turned and looked at him. His cheeks turned red and he stared at the ground. Then, an owl dropped a package on his head. "Ouch!"

Sirius stifled a laugh, which James responded to with a death stare as he rubbed his head and moved the package onto his lap. It was rather large, but didn't have much shape, as if there was a piece of clothing inside.

"Did you seriously forget some of your uniform?" Dorcas laughed.

"No! I'm not that much of an idiot!"

Now, it was Mary's turn to laugh.

"What's so funny now?" James groaned

"You basically just called yourself an idiot."

James gave Mary the same glare he gave Sirius. He sighed and tore open the brown paper that covered the parcel. There was a cloak inside.

"What's the cloak?" Remus asked.

James smiled. He knew exactly what it was.

"Oh, it's just something my dad said he'd give me, it's sort of a family heirloom. I'm not going to wear it, though. It's pretty ugly."
"Oh, go on! Just wear it once!" Sirius teased.

"No!"

As they continued to argue, Lily rolled her eyes. She had known James and Sirius for less than a day and she already found them insufferable.

"Lily!" a voice came from a few feet down the hall.

Everyone turned to see Severus Snape running towards them.

"Oh, just go away, greasy," James sighed, annoyed with the Slytherin already.

"Hey! Don't call him that!" Lily said defensively, rising from her seat on the bench.

"Still, he's a Slytherin. This, if you hadn't noticed, is the Gryffindor table."

"You're an asshole, you know that, right?" she sneered as she turned around, flipping her hair as she did so.

"Come on, Severus," she dragged his arm and they quickly walked out of the Great Hall.

"That was pretty harsh, guys," Peter said, placing his fork and his half-eaten sausage onto his plate.