A/N: Here begins my first Harry Potter fanfiction (not counting the one I started in middle school and have long since deleted). This fanfic follows the school years of the four marauders, plus Lily, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Severus Snape and Narcissa Black. There is one OC involved in the story but since this an ensemble cast she will not be featured anymore than any of the others. The fic will take the characters from first year through seventh year as well as through the war. I will be keeping as close to the canon as possible.

A few canon details will be broken for the sake of this fic. For one thing, ages. I have aged down Bellatrix to a third year and made her the middle sister rather than the oldest, mostly because I wanted to involve her more in the story. I also aged Lucius Malfoy down by one year to keep him in the story longer.

As always, feedback is appreciated. Without further ado, let us begin.

An Age of Mischief

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

― Fred and George Weasley, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

James Potter gazed up in awe at the Hogwarts Express. The red and black paint gleamed so brightly as it peeked from the haze of smoke in the tunnel, as if it was brand new. In the midst of the bustling platform 9 ¾ it looked like magic.

And not normal magic. James, as a member of well-respected pureblood wizarding family, was well used to normal magic. The familiar bursts of light from the tip of a wand each time a spell was cast by his parents. Moving memories in frames on the walls when he ran down the stairs each morning. Potions bubbling in large pewter cauldrons in the kitchens when he snuck in to steal a sweet from under the nose of the cook. Such things had always been common place for James Potter. He read books when he was a child with pictures that danced before his eyes. He'd received his first toy broom the moment he could walk. And he had never, under any circumstances, missed a game of the Quidditch World Cup since he was five years old.

He had long been familiar with Hogwarts as well. He heard the stories of the professors and the moving staircases and the ghosts who roamed every hall. He had visited Diagon alley many times, wistfully gazing into the shop windows, wishing for the day that he might wander into Ollivanders to pick out his wand.

At last his time had arrived. He had bought his books and his robes and received his wand from Mr. Ollivander. Eleven inches, mahogany with a phoenix feather core. Good for transfiguration, the old man had said, to which his father had joked that James better not turn any of his classmates into anything unsavory. James had laughed in return, promising that he wouldn't—probably.

But the enormity of the moment hadn't set in—not really—until he stood on platform 9 ¾ gazing up at the train that was to take him to school for the first time. His heart fluttered in his chest like the wings of his brand new Eagle Owl, Roderick. The creature hadn't stopped making a ruckus since James bought him, but he liked the bird's spirit. All around him, other families shifted through the station, saying hello to old friends and bidding their children goodbye. Many of them would be his classmates soon. James shifted eagerly from foot to foot, his glasses slipping just a bit down his nose.

Here's where it all begins.

"Ready, James?" his father appeared beside him, resting a strong hand on his shoulder. "You're not nervous are you?"

James quickly closed his open mouth, adopting a stance of indifference—or trying to at least. "Not a chance. Why would I be?"

"It's a big day, after all." His father sighed. "I still remember when I boarded this train for the first time."

"And were you nervous?" James asked, looking up at him.

His father grinned down at him. "Terrified."

James laughed.

"You didn't have any reason to be." James' mother appeared on his other side. "And neither will you James. You're bright enough to be among the best at Hogwarts. As long as you don't cause too much mischief." She gave him a look.

James gave a cheeky smile, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Aw, Mum, why would I cause any mischief? Me? Your little angel?"

"Right." Her mouth quirked. "I'm only saying, I better not receive any letters complaining of your behavior."

"Not for a month at least." James' father joked.

"Of course, Dad. I'll wait for two months." James held up his hand in a mock swear.

"Boys," Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes to the sky.

The train whistle blew and James' stomach gave a little lurch of anticipation. Mr. Potter looked up. "They'll be leaving soon. You want to get on before everyone else rushes the train so you can find a seat."

"Right." James said breathlessly.

"Come here." Mrs. Potter pulled him into a hug. He halfheartedly struggled.

"Mum… I'll be fine!"

"I know," she held him at arm's length, tears gleaming in her eyes. James was the only son of the Potters, given to them later in life, and though he was only eleven, they had already started to grey. They doted on him. And now he was off on his own. "You're so grown up." She shook her head.

"He'll be fine, darling." Mr. Potter said, hiding misty eyes of his own. He gave him a hug as well. "We'll write soon."

"Okay. But not too much." James said, pulling back. "I'll be okay."

"We know." Mr. Potter said, stepping back and wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Off with you now."

James nodded, gripping his cart and pushing toward the train. This was the dawning of a new age for him. He could only hope he made his mark.

Sirius had weaseled away from his other family as soon as he reached the platform. Not that anyone had noticed. His mother was much too busy fawning over Regulus, Sirius older brother, who was just beginning his sixth year. Regulus the bright one. The promising young wizard who would one day go onto great things.

Sirius hadn't set foot on the Hogwarts Express yet, but his family already seemed to agree he was destined to fail.

What did they matter though? This beautiful train was all that mattered, and the school to which it would soon spirit him away. A whole year living away from home. Imagine that! He could get away with murder in a huge castle like Hogwarts and his family would never be the wiser. He wouldn't be under the watchful eye of that creepy house elf, Kreacher or in the shadow of his brother. Maybe he'd pretend he wasn't a Black at all. He could pretend to belong to another family instead.

No, perhaps he wouldn't get away with that. The professors would know. He huffed, blowing a scraggly piece of dark hair from his eyes. Well, he'd find other ways to reinvent himself.

Nearing the train now, Sirius froze mid-step as he saw the other branch of the Black family standing only meters away. Bellatrix Black, a soon to be third year, was laughing at something, fingering her slightly curved wand as if wanting to hex some innocent creature. Her curly black hair stuck up every which way, falling in her eyes in places, giving her the look of a feral cat. But any feral cat would tuck tail and run at the sight of his cousin. Sirius had always loathed her.

The eldest sister, he had little opinion of. He talked rarely with Andromea who had finished Hogwarts just last year. He heard occasional rumors about her. Rumors that she associated with muggles. But no one said such rumors to her face.

The youngest, Narcissa, was his age, a first year as well. Her parents were fussing over her at the moment. She had a peculiar look for a Black with platinum blonde hair instead of dark like her sisters. She held her head high like anyone in the family but she seemed considerably more shy than the rest of them. Sirius got on alright with her. But he wanted to avoid Bellatrix at all costs.

He swerved into a large group of first years, heading excitedly toward the train. In the process, he forgot to watch where he was going and he accidentally rammed his cart into someone else's.

"Woah!" A boy with dark hair and round glasses stumbled to grab hold of a cage which had started to tip. He had a nice looking Eagle Owl in the cage who squawked indignantly at the upset. "Easy there." He straightened the cage, shaking his head. "Sorry about that."

"No, it was my fault." Sirius said. "Wasn't watching where I was going." He glanced over the heads of the crowd to make sure his cousins hadn't noticed him. They hadn't. "Er, are you a first year too?"

"Sure am." The boy stuck out a hand. "I'm James Potter. You?"

"Sirius," Sirius replied. He left off his last name for now. "Nice to meet you."

"Same." James grinned. He was a friendly boy to be sure, but not in a deceitful, false-polite way. His smile was supremely honest and Sirius felt as if he was genuinely glad to meet him.

The Eagle Owl squawked loudly again and James wacked his cage. "Oy, Roderick, pipe down for a second, would you?"

"Roderick?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, named him for Roderick Plumpton." James said proudly. "He had the record for the fastest capture of the golden snitch."

"3.5 seconds," Sirius remembered. "Ridiculous time."

"Yeah." James smiled. "You follow Quidditch?"

"I follow it. Not that great at it though." Sirius shrugged. "You?"

"Love it." James said. "I'm going to get on a team at Hogwarts as soon as they let me. You should give it a go too. Just in case you're not as bad as you think."

Sirius stared at him. This boy had a strange amount of optimism that he wasn't used to. His family loved to assume the worst and dismiss good results as a fluke. Sirius was beginning to think he could get along well with James Potter. "I just might."

The train whistled again, more insistent.

"Come on. Let's get on the train. Want to sit with me?" James asked.

"Sure," Sirius said breathlessly.

"Brilliant. I was worried about finding a seat with someone I know." James turned and started heading toward the train where they were storing the luggage.

"You don't know me yet," Sirius pointed out. He hadn't even given him his last name.

"I know you like Quidditch." James shrugged. "That's good enough, don't you think?"

Sirius managed a grin. "I suppose so."

It seemed this year was already off on a good foot. Or at least a thousand times better foot than any year spent with his family.

This is a change I could get used to.

Lily Evans wound a long strand of red hair around her finger, heart beating anxiously in her chest. Her throat was still tight from her last argument with Petunia. She had wanted so badly for Petunia to smile at her and hug her. To tell her that there were no hard feelings. But her sister had only turned up her nose.

Across from her, her friend Severus seemed immune to her nervousness. His leg bounced up and down as he gazed out the window, watching the countryside role by. He must be very glad to be leaving home and his horrid father. To be honest, Lily was glad he was here with her, even though she sort of blamed him for making Tuney mad at her.

"She hates me," she mumbled to herself.

Severus glanced at her. "What?"

"Tuney hates me." Lily tugged harshly on a strand of hair.

"No she doesn't." Severus said. "And even if she does. She's only…" he trailed off and shifted awkwardly. The door to their compartment opened and two boys entered, talking eagerly about Quidditch. Severus had told Lily about the game but she still didn't understand it. But they seemed very interested as they didn't pay Lily or Severus any mind.

"But it doesn't matter right now." Severus said. "We made it. We're finally off to Hogwarts." The enthusiasm in his voice was infectious and Lily couldn't help but smile too.

"I am excited." She fidgeted with her wand in her lap. 10 ¾ inches willow with a core of unicorn hair. The old wand maker, Ollivander, told her it was a good wand for Charms work. Lily did not yet know what made Charms work different from any other type of magic, but it sounded exciting.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus, seeming a little brighter now that she was no longer sad.

"Slytherin?"

One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily or Snape until that point, looked around at the word. He had black hair and blue eyes hidden behind round glasses, and a smile that Lily found arrogant. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him.

The boy didn't smile, rubbing a hand behind his head awkwardly. "Hey now… most of my family has been in Slytherin."

"You don't say." The boy with glasses raised an eyebrow. "And you seemed alright."

The other boy smiled nervously. "You don't know. Maybe I'll be the one to break the chain." He shifted. "And where are you headed… if you have the choice."

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart." The bespectacled boy puffed out his chest proudly. "Like my dad."

Severus made a small, disparaging noise, drawing the arrogant boy's attention once again.

"Got a problem with that?"

"No," said Severus, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy – "

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected the arrogant boy's companion. Lily bristled as the bespectacled boy roared with laughter flushing bright red. She stood abruptly, shooting them both a look that could cut steel. How dare they insult her friend? What had he done?

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo..." the boys sang.

Severus seemed like he wanted to stop to confront them but Lily grabbed his arm and kept him going. The bespectacled boy stuck out his foot as they passed and Severus stumbled a bit. "See ya, Snivellus!"

Lily slammed the compartment door shut.

"I can't believe them," she huffed. "Arrogant, good for nothing…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "Are you alright, Severus."

"Fine," he sniffed, adjusting his robe. "I've heard worse."

Lily bit her lip. "Come on. I'm sure there's another compartment open somewhere. One without them." She strode down the hall, chin high and Severus trotted after her. She didn't even know the names of the two boys who had insulted them, but she resolved to hate both of them for the remainder of the school year. Maybe forever.

Absolutely nothing good could come of people like that.

A/N: We will meet the rest of the characters in the next chapter. Tell me what you thought of this first entry and REVIEW! I will be updating weekly on Mondays as best as I can. Have a good week!