A/N: I started this over a year ago, I think, without even knowing which direction it was going in or what the plot was - or even what year I decided the Marauders would be in when I wrote the fic. Now I recently finished the whole thing, converted it into Word and saw that it consists of 209 pages! Crazy, crazy times. But anyway, here is the prologue and I'll be publishing the first chapter, too, so that you know when the fic is actually set. It doesn't have a complete mastermind of a plot, but I wrote it for the pure enjoyment of it, and I hope you'll like it if you take the time to read it. I also wanted to try a different ship other than L/J, and found that I quite liked writing from Sirius's POV, but I think I'll always ship Lily and James! R&R please. MWPP.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sirius Black. Nor do I own Hogwarts or characters belonging to J.K Rowling. I just own my plot, and some original characters I created.

Prologue

September the First, 1971

Sirius Black stared longingly out of the large, dirt-encrusted window. Trees, wide squares of golden fields and long, rickety picket fences flashed past in an earthy blur. He gazed out into the distance; but still, he could see nothing up ahead except more forests and, just on the horizon, the bold iron grey mountains. He shifted back into his seat and peered at the half-eaten pumpkin pasty lying in a brown wrapper on the table.
'So?' said the dark haired boy sitting next to him, wearing round glasses and an eager grin. 'What d'you think it'll be like? Eh? My dad says it's bigger than you think...you could fit fifty Quidditch pitches into the Great Hall, he says...'

'I don't know,' Sirius replied truthfully, 'all my father told me is that he'd disown me if...'

'What?' asked James Potter, his jaw dropping in surprise. 'If what?'

Sirius hesitated. 'Nah, I don't want to jinx it,' he said, shrugging casually, trying to laugh it off. But it was true, he thought sadly. What if he wasn't in Slytherin? What would his father say? Or, possibly even worse, his mother? Would he be shunned like his great-uncles and cousins and so many others before him?

James opened his mouth to say something, but the shy-looking boy with light brown hair and a kind smile spoke up. 'I think we're nearly there,' he said quietly. 'I can see the mountains clearer now.'

'Oh, yeah, look, Remus is right,' James pointed out, getting up from his seat and brushing crumbs off of his sweater. 'Better change into our robes, then...' He turned to the luggage compartment to locate his suitcase and was just about to heave it from the rack when the compartment door slid open. James gave a start and turned to see who had just entered. It was a small, pretty girl with a shiny waterfall of long red hair and a miserable expression. Her bright green eyes were red and sore and her eyelashes sparkled with tears.

'Can I come and sit here?' she mumbled, turning away shortly afterwards to wipe her eyes. Evidently, she did not want the boys to know she had been crying.

James, who was stood up, was the first to speak. 'Yeah, 'course,' he said hoarsely, as though he was suffering from a sore throat; he coughed. 'Erm...sit next to Remus...hey, are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' she said firmly, with a touch of defiance as she took her seat. She smiled at Remus next to her, who smiled shyly back and then gave Sirius and James a terrified glance as though he did not know what to do. It was as if they all expected her to explode like some sort of time bomb; they watched her warily, occasionally sneaking a look to see if she was crying again, debating in silent gestures whether to offer her some leftover food. But all she did was press her head against the window pane and sit there without making a sound, her face covered by her long hair. Eventually they settled back into their state of reading, excitedly chatting or swapping Chocolate Frog cards. It was like the strange red-haired girl wasn't in their midst at all. But Sirius was watching James carefully, and noticed that he kept staring at her when he thought no-one was looking, with a strange glint in his eyes, as if he yearned to know who she was.

It was not until half an hour later when something happened to again disturb the boys' rowdy conversation. The compartment door slid open a second time and in walked a sullen, black-haired boy already dressed in school robes, who appeared not to notice three of the eleven-year-olds and sat down opposite the crying girl instead, next to Sirius. Sirius shifted farther along the row of seats so he was closer to James and gave the other two a look of perplexed amusement, his grey eyes wide. Remus gave him a smile to reassure him but James only had eyes for the unsmiling and shabby-looking boy who was attempting to talk to the red-haired, nameless stranger.

'I don't want to talk to you,' she said, pushing her red hair out of her eyes to reveal her freckled, saddened face. Sirius thought she had definitely been crying since she entered the compartment and sat down.

'Why not?' said the black-haired boy indignantly.

'Tuney h – hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore.' She looked down at her hands, evidently feeling ashamed.

'So what?' replied the boy shortly.

'So she's my sister!' the girl replied in anger.

'She's only a – ' started the boy, but he seemed to realise what he was about to say would have been some sort of insult, and so he withdrew it and looked at the floor instead, searching for words to say. The girl turned to the window to wipe her eyes and appeared not to have heard him.

Sirius chanced a glance at the others; they, like he, had been watching the whole conversation. James was glaring at the boy with black hair in deep disgust.

'But we're going!' cried the sullen boy, in almost a whisper. 'This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!'

The red-haired girl nodded as she wiped her eyes again, ducking her head so that no-one could see; she gave the black-haired boy a watery smile. He looked around the compartment; Sirius and the other two promptly turned away and returned to their book or, in James's case, a Cauldron Cake, as if they had no interest at all in what had just happened.

'You'd better be in Slytherin.'

'Slytherin?' Sirius heard James say to the left of him. He turned; James had rammed the rest of the Cauldron Cake into his mouth and was looking at the black-haired boy as if he could not believe what he had just heard. 'Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?' James grinned at Sirius, his brown eyes twinkling.

Sirius looked back at James, unsmiling, not sharing the joke. 'My whole family have been in Slytherin,' he said in a monotone. He didn't really want to tell anyone this, especially not the odd black-haired boy who he felt had just barged in on their conversation to upset the poor crying girl again, but he decided that people had to know sooner or later.

James gawked and even Remus looked up from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 to raise his eyebrows in astonishment. 'Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright!' said James in utter surprise.

Sirius grinned; he knew now that at least James wouldn't think any less of him, as he feared he would.

'Maybe I'll break the tradition,' Sirius mused. 'Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?'

James answered quickly as if he had it ready. He threw his hand high into the air, brandishing an invisible sword. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius thought he saw the black-haired boy smirk a little.

'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad,' continued James.

This time the black-haired boy definitely smirked; he made a small coughing noise that, quiet though it was, made everyone in the compartment turn to stare at him. Sirius eyed him with annoyance. What was wrong with Gryffindor? Why was he even here, anyway?

James said what Sirius was thinking. 'Got a problem with that?' he said loudly, defiantly.

'No...' answered the boy with a hint of sarcasm. 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy - '

'Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?' interrupted Sirius with a thrill of anger, he just had to say it; really, what was his problem?

James's grimace turned into a grin. He sat back on his seat and roared with laughter amid cries of 'good one, Sirius!' and 'didn't see that one coming, eh?'. Remus chuckled a little; the redhead however, flushed and her brow furrowed in anger and annoyance. She threw looks at James and Sirius in turn, who were both still laughing and slapping hands, and then stood up with an air of grandeur.

'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment,' she said loudly, and at this James sat up properly to look at her with a grin still etched upon his face.

'Ooooooh!' James imitated in a high-pitched lofty voice. 'Tetchy...' Sirius joined in too, laughing as Severus, the black-haired boy, passed them. James stuck his foot out at a feeble attempt to trip him up; Severus stumbled and followed the red-headed girl, clearly wanting to get out as soon as possible.

'See ya, Snivellus!' James called, smirking at the cruel nickname of his own creation, and the thin, dark shadow on the other side of the compartment slammed the door shut.