The Marauders Meeting

Sirius winced as he ran at the wall between platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross Station; however, he passed through it harmlessly and appeared on Platform 9 ¾. He brushed his wavy black hair from his face and stood in awe at the crowd around him. Hundreds of students were bustling around, their parents giving them last orders and farewell hugs before they boarded the scarlet steam engine. Sirius felt a bit empty when he saw a mother kissing her son good-bye, and seeing the son run off with a group of friends.

Something suddenly impacted him from behind, causing him and his trolley to fall over. Sirius hit his head on the stone floor hard, and his vision was blurry. Above him, he saw a figure with dark hair. "Oh, no," he muttered.

"Oh, Sirius, I'm so sorry." Sirius' vision cleared, and he gave a sigh of relief when he saw Andromeda above him, holding out her hand to help him stand. "Are you all right?"

"Thank goodness it's her," Sirius thought, taking her hand and getting to his feet. Andromeda was by far Sirius' favorite cousin-and the only family member he had that he even liked. "I'm fine, Meda. Sorry, that was my fault, I shouldn't have been standing there."

Andromeda laughed. "I did the same thing when first I came here. And guess who ran into me." She nodded to a young woman who had just come through the wall. The woman looked much like Andromeda, except that she had what appeared to be a permanent frown on her face, and her eyes did not show the kindness that was present in Andromeda's.

Sirius let out another great sigh as he watched another of his cousins, Bellatrix, ushering her youngest sister, Narcissa. "I'm glad you ran into me," Sirius said quietly. Andromeda laughed again.

"Cissy, go on, get on the train, and good luck with your O.W.L.'s!" Bellatrix said to Narcissa. Narcissa's hair as pale as Bellatrix's was black. Narcissa waved to Andromeda and Sirius before Bellatrix gave her little push towards the train. "Go on, Cissy." Bellatrix turned toward Andromeda and Sirius. "Meda! Get on the train!" Bellatrix called harshly.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "I don't need you telling me what to do. You aren't our mother."

Bellatrix glared at her younger sister. "I'm supposed to get you safely on the train…now go!" Bellatrix's eyes fell on Sirius, who gulped. "You too."

If Sirius had been braver, he would have said something about her not being his mother as well, but his older cousin frightened him to no end. After all, she was an accomplished and powerful witch. Sirius had yet to be Sorted.

The entire Black clan had been in Slytherin for as far back as anyone could trace. At least, only Slytherins were on the family tree. Anyone who did anything that contradicted the pureblood Slytherin way was blasted right off of the family tree and disowned. Sirius was determined to be the next burn mark on the 'Noble and Ancient House of Black' tapestry. He hoped he would be put in another house…any other house, he wasn't picky…but feared that he would be doomed to Slytherin.

Andromeda tried to help Sirius find a compartment. They passed Narcissa about halfway back in the train, sitting with her two best friends. Narcissa smiled at them as they passed. Sirius felt the sudden urge to sit with them, desperately wanting to be with someone he knew, even if they weren't the closest of cousins. "Can I sit with you?" he asked Andromeda, knowing the answer full well.

"You really want to sit with a bunch of seventh years? You need to meet people your own age, Sirius." Sirius sighed. He never liked meeting new people. This was partially due to the fact that nearly everyone he had ever met was a git. And he was related to most of them. "What about here?"

Sirius shook his head. "Someone's in there."

"Sirius, look at him! He's all alone, I'm sure he'd be glad to meet someone," Andromeda said.

"Oi, Black!" A young man waved from a nearby compartment. "We're having a bit of an Exploding Snap tournament, here, I need someone else to beat."

Andromeda put her hands on her hips. "Then you need to look for someone else, Warrington."

"Is little Meda afraid?" Warrington asked in a baby voice, sticking out his lower lip.

Andromeda laughed. "Why should I be afraid of winning?" She turned to Sirius. "Go on."

"But-."

"Go. That's an order, young man," Andromeda said, suddenly resembling her older sister, except with she cracked a smile at the look Sirius gave her. Andromeda headed to the compartment Warrington had invited her to.

Sirius took a deep breath and poked his head inside the compartment with the pale boy. "Can I sit in here?" Sirius asked.

The boy turned quickly, his eyes wide with shock. "Here? With me?"

Sirius' brow furrowed. "Yes. Here. With you." He smiled at the nervous boy, who watched him in astonishment as Sirius sat down across from him. "My name's Sirius-what's yours?" he asked, throwing his hand out toward the boy, making him jump. Sirius tried to keep from laughing at the boy's odd behavior. The boy was even more nervous than he was!