So here's my first Harry Potter story. Hope you like. Just remember, Joule is mine, but nothing else is. Also, feel free to shout out, scream, whisper, comment, or just calmly tell me something. The freedom of speech is highly enforced.

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I was bone-dead, drop-dead tired. Let's start there.

King's Cross Station was packed as usual, crammed with Hogwarts students of all ages from scared, puny first-years to arrogant, know-it-all seventh-years. Bumbling with hands full of a bulky owl cage and supplies, I yawningly stumbled through Platform 9 ¾ and arrived promptly on the other side to see the magnificent Hogwarts Express.

Lovely. Oh, how I missed its red and black engine and its comforting chugga-chugga noises.

They made my year, simply put.

Who doesn't love train sounds? Seriously?

Anyways, September 1st was always my favorite day of the year, because, well, I was muggleborn. Yeah, that's right, Dumbledore came to my door the night of my 11th birthday while I was in the middle of stuffing my face with strawberry cake and announced to my family that I was a witch, holding his official Hogwarts letter up and everything, complete in flowing purple wizard robes.

I remember spitting out my cake and hitting the family cat, Slinky. Slinky wasn't too happy with me after that; he still gives me the stink eye every now and then, years later.

So, naturally, after a whole lecture of how neither he nor anyone in my family was insane, Dumbledore gave us, the Quaids, scrawled instructions on a McDonald's napkin to Diagon Alley and was off in a poof, apparating in our very living room.

He really shouldn't have done that. My parents almost went into panic attacks, the logical people that they were. After all, doctors believe strictly in science, nothing magical, nothing supernatural. Pure logic.

I was just the exception they reluctantly accepted.

So here I was. King's Cross, seventh year Gryffindor, living the life. I always came here alone; my parents were content in dropping me off at the entrance to the station, comforted in deluding themselves that I was just taking a regular train to a regular boarding school.

Oh well. You can't win them all. Besides, Hogwarts was my second home.

"Joule!" A familiar voice shouted, and I turned around, tiredly curious. Whoever could be shouting my name this loud, I wondered sarcastically.

And yes. My name was Joule, like the unit of force.

I had doctors for parents. Need I explain more? I'm just lucky I didn't end up with Quotient or Meter.

A blur of messy black hair tackled me and pulled me into a big hug. I gasped, almost suffocating from my friend's grip; he needed to learn some restraint.

"Heh…" I breathed hesitantly. "Okay…James, you can let me go now….That's enough…James!" This getting oxygen thing was becoming harder and harder or each second the breath was pushed out of my lungs.

This boy needed some major control issues.

James Potter, aka one of my best friends, let go of me immediately, grinning bashfully. "Sorry, Joule, just got carried away since I haven't seen you in, you know, SIX HOURS! So much has happened since you left the house, seeing as this year is now going to be epic."

I raised an eyebrow. "What could have possibly happened in the last six hours I was gone? You confessed your love to Sirius, no wait…you did a role play pretending Sirius was Lily?"

"No." He frowned, but quickly recovered his bright attitude. "This afternoon I got another letter from Hogwarts. I'm Head Boy!" James puffed out his chest like a proud rooster.

"What?!" I eyed him suspiciously. "Is this a joke?"

"Nope." James said, popping the 'p'. "And it gets even better. Guess who's Head Girl?"

"Lily." I groaned, clutching my forehead. I could only imagine the amount of fights they'd have would increase dramatically this year. And that was hard to believe. It gave me a headache almost just thinking about it. "Oh, God."

"Oh, God is right." James was practically lit up like a light. "This is my chance, Joule, my chance to show Lily how mature and awesome I am and how perfect we are together. We get to patrol together almost every day; this has to be a sign."

"Do you even hear yourself?" I rolled my eyes at his exuberance, giving him a simpering smile. "Try your best, but Lily will do as Lily does."

"Don't be so negative." He kept that darn hopeful expression on his face at full blast. It seemed to be the reason why his hair stood up at all angles all the time. "Things are looking up this year; after all, we are the oldest now. We'll put those first years in their places, those little brats."

"I know, I know." I waved him off. "It's the tiredness talking. Sirius and I stayed up way too late last night."

James gave me a secretive smile, toning down his enthusiasm for a second. "Oh, did you? I didn't notice since I went to bed at a normal time, like midnight."

"Shut up." I grunted, fake-punching his shoulder to which he appropriately groaned to. "Don't you have your Head Boy duties to attend to or something? Maybe like bugging Lily?"

"Right. I do." He straightened up, brushing invisible lint off of his sweater. He even smoothed down his hair, as if that could possibly tame it. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." I drawled, feeling very drained all of a sudden. "Now go find your ginger victim."

"Beautiful is what you say to girls." James pouted, checking his watch. "I'm handsome."

"Whatever you say, Jamie." I winked at him, walking away towards the train. "You're always a girl to me."

Hearing James's retorts shouted out from behind me, I smiled to myself and threw my entire luggage onboard, taking care to put Newton and his cage in a safe place.

And yes. I named my big, gray owl Newton. I figured he should have to suffer from a science name like me, so we could bond more.

I liked to think that my plan was working. We were pretty tight, me and my owl.

Yawning again, I shuffled through the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, peering into compartment after compartment to find my dearest friends. After about twenty, I found the lucky one near the back of the train, spotting a distinct head of long, black hair through the window.

"Surprise, surprise." I murmured as I closed the compartment door behind me. Sirius was leaning his silky black head against the wall, his eyes closed and peaceful. He was probably as fatigued as I was.

Without a thought, I sat down next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder, getting my own rest. He had a very comfy shoulder. I had to utilize it.

"You too, huh?" His voice was gravelly from sleep, his eyes still closed.

"Exhausted." I agreed, not opening my eyes either. "I'm never doing that again, especially not the day before we go back to school."

"What can I say?" I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "I have stamina."

I snorted, shifting my head into a more comfortable position. "As I remember, I was the one with stamina. You were the one complaining and whining of how late it was getting, remember?"

"Details, details." Sirius rolled his shoulder and nearly knocked me off of my headrest.

I planted my head firmly in its place. "Those pesky details included me winning, if I remember correctly. I didn't just play an eight hour game of Wizard's Chess just to lose, you know?"

"I remember." He said deeply. "Though I still don't know how that even happened. I grew up playing the game practically from birth, whereas you just learned it a few weeks ago."

"I studied the official manual." I yawned loudly. "Front to back. I really wanted to beat you."

Sirius hummed in understanding and rolled his shoulders again, as if in relaxing them.

"Stop that." I groaned. "I can't sleep if my pillow keeps moving, dimwit."

"Someone's a little feisty right now, aren't they?"

"Just when I'm tired." I yawned again, feeling like a fish with my big mouth gulping for air.

How attractive.

"What lies."

"Sirius…seriously." I growled. "Shut up."

Chuckling, he guided my head down from his shoulder into his lap, which, in fact, was a whole hell of a lot more accommodating. My eyes drooped close again, and I felt the pull of sleep stronger than ever. Sirius's familiar scent was all around me: musky, woodsy, with a little bit of pepper. Unconsciousness almost had me.

"Joule, Joule." Sirius whispered, perching his hand on my hip and rubbed it soothingly. I felt his thumb stroking circles into my hipbone. "Go to sleep."

And I did.

For a period of time.

Until I was rudely awakened.

By a spitball.

Grrr.

My eyes snapped open the second I felt the slimy missile lodge inside my thick brown hair, and I knew instantly that there would be revenge. Looking at the seats across from me, I saw an amused Remus and a guilty looking Peter Pettigrew.

"Peter," I growled, sitting up slowly. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

The smaller tawny-haired boy (though still taller than my height of 5'2") gave me a sheepish yet mischievous smile. "Whatever do you mean, Joule?" He held his hands up in the air innocently.

I gave him a discerning look. "I'm getting you back for this, you know. You have no idea how hard it is to deal with this hair of mine in the first place, even without your spit inside of it."

"Now, now." Sirius mocked from next to me. "Don't be a sore loser. We're all pranksters here, and Peter has just scored a point for the team. You should probably congratulate that he's actually pulled one on you, love."

I turned my stare to Sirius, raising an eyebrow in consideration. "Hmm, I suppose I'll have to include you in the revenge too then."

In return, he gave me a devious smirk. "You can try."

I gave him a smirk in return. It was one of our favorite games to one-up each other.

Turning, I shifted my gaze to a lanky Remus who sat there with a large book in his hands. "You too, mister. I'm not forgetting your lovely mug either; you were involved too."

Remus rolled his eyes at me, shaking out his shaggy sandy hair. "If you count involved as sitting here reading Hogwarts: A History, I suppose I am deeply guilty. Arrest me now, officer." He put his hands out for me to cuff.

I liked Remus. Not like liked, just liked. He got my muggle references in the group since he was a halfblood, and we regularly used them in the group to confuse Sirius, James, and Peter. Sometimes being a pureblood was such a disadvantage.

Inside jokes were the best.

"I suppose I will, dear Remus." I got up dramatically, clamping my hands over Remus's wrists as if they were handcuffs. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you-" Remus started laughing at my serious tone and our inside muggle joke, revealing slightly pointed canines.

Staring, I wondered if they were like that before he was bitten by a werewolf. They looked quite sharp, sharp enough to break skin. Hmm…

A barking cough came from Sirius as he yanked me back by one of my belt loops, pulling me back into my original seat beside him. I frowned, a little ticked off that he took me away from my fun. Didn't he just say to embrace the fun, carefree prankster attitude?

He coughed a little softer this time, averting his gray eyes from mine. "No need to start spouting gibberish to us. We know you're desperate for attention, but you don't have to broadcast it, love."

Oh, two could play at this game.

"But I'm oh-so lonely." I pouted, twisting some of my hair around my finger. And yes, the sarcasm was laid on thick. "I don't have any friends, and I was just hoping maybe one of you fine lads might take me up on the offer. I…I'll even pay you if you want."

Glancing underneath my eyelashes, I observed an impressed and amused Sirius, his mouth turned into a half-smirk, half-smile. His face always got this way when I dished back to him exactly what he served. To my side, I heard Remus snickering under his breath and a blinking Peter.

"I'm your friend, Joule!" Peter exclaimed, the level of sarcasm going straight over his head. "I'm here for you!"

I tried to hide my smile as Remus attempted to explain how it was all a ruse to poor, little, confused Peter. He was the most naïve of us all, but we all loved him for it. I personally considered him the Bambi of our group.

"So?" I bit my lip faux-nervously as I looked up at Sirius. "Will you be my friend?"

Sirius simply looked at me, the edges of his lips pulled up, and opened his mouth to answer, but was startlingly cut off by a loud bang of the compartment door. He blinked, staring at me, lost for words.

"Joule!" A shrill voice screeched from the doorway in the form of a certain redheaded Gryffindor girl. "How dare you not come see me! I haven't seen you all summer, you wench! I didn't even know if you made it on the train, no less!"

"Lily! My savior!" I jumped up and dove into her arms, giving her a bear hug. It was time for the dramatics. "Take me away from these people. No one wants me here!"

Lily's eyes widened and she played along, holding me tighter. She could tune into my wavelengths of thought anytime, anyplace. Lily was just that perceptive. Well, and she knew me…scarily well. That might factor in too.

"No one?" She gasped. "No one wants you at all? You poor girl!"

"I want you!" Peter stood up and declared, indignant. Apparently Remus hadn't gotten through to him, judging by the young werewolf's pained expression and hand to his face.

"Peter, would you shut the hell up?" Sirius snapped. "It's just a joke for Merlin's sake. Keep up."

Peter blinked, very disoriented at the turn in the conversation. "But I want Joule."

Sirius growled lowly, glaring at little Peter. "Could you stop saying that? You sound like an idiot."

"Why?" Peter scratched his thin head of hair, deep in thought. Sirius looked like he was about to blow a fuse, he was so worked up.

Lily and I, on the other hand, were attempting to stifle the giggles that almost poured out of us in streams of hilarity. It was always fun to play and wreak havoc with the boys. Lily got along with all of them, excepting James, of course, which made every outing difficult to endure.

"Because, Peter." Sirius morphed into his dramatic mode as well, as he elegantly stood up and gently detached me from Lily. His arms wrapped around me like cables from behind me, binding us together, and his head settled on top of mine. I could almost feel the vicious smirk that stretched across his lips. "She's mine. I was friends with her first."

"Oh." Peter said, wilting underneath Sirius's stare as if that declaration had explained it all. He sat back down very meekly.

"She's mine too." Lily stared hard at Sirius, quirking one of her own brows. "I only met her a few hours later, after all."

And it was true. I'd met Lily when we'd gone to our dormitories for the first time as first years, but I'd met Sirius on the train. He had been my first real wizarding friend, a pureblood, no less. It definitely caused us to puzzle each other with our alternative styles of upbringing, but somehow our friendship worked.

Sirius, in turn, kept his malicious, smooth smirk on for Lily. "Finder's keeper's, Lily. Maybe you should go search out James now, and then you can have someone."

Lily's emerald green eyes narrowed, and I could practically see her Gryffindor temper flare up. I saw Remus and Peter both flinch from the corner of my eye; even they knew Lily's limits, and those limits began at James.

Oooh, that was so the wrong thing to say.

"You know," I enunciated loudly to distract from the awkwardness of the situation. "One might find it strange and somewhat awkward to be claimed by friends. I am a person, you know, and not a…um, pocket watch. We might need to work on our ways of expressing ourselves, people."

"I think I express myself brilliantly, if I do say so myself." Sirius's voice echoed through my body we were so tightly squeezed together. "The rest of you lot, however, might need some work."

"How humble of you." Remus commented from his seat, his attention mainly focused on his book that he had out before.

"Yes," Lily hissed, looking positively rabid. "How nice it must be to consider yourself perfect and above everyone else. Your ego must be larger than your brain."

Sirius tensed behind me, and I could practically feel a retort bubbling from within him. I needed to avert this situation; I hated it when my friends fought, especially when it was between my two best friends.

"Lily!" I shouted, and everyone's eyes turned to me, focusing on me.

Oops.

I should have thought about this plan beforehand. Oh well…

"Let's go change into our robes." I suggested, cocking my head towards the compartment door. It seemed like the best excuse to get her out of there. She and I needed some girl time.

She stared at me hard, knowing what I was up to. "But—"

"But nothing." I gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Let's go, Lils. Get some space from these boys, yeah?"

Lily gave me a nod, agreeing with my sentiments, and flipped her red hair over her shoulder. Sirius and I weren't the only ones with a dramatic side, you know. We all had our attitudes. Lily strode out of the room, eager to get away from the testosterone.

Sighing, I turned around in Sirius's arms and looked him in the eye. I tapped on his chest with my pointer finger.

"Behave yourself." I said in my sternest voice possible. I had to tilt my head a ways up just to see him eye to eye this close.

"Why?" He tightened his arms which were now around my waist, and it squished us even closer together. He was pretty warm, radiating heat into me. "Good behavior is overrated. It's predictable."

"You don't play well with others." I countered. "You might want to tone it down a bit."

"I play well with you." He said lowly, and his gray eyes seemed to darken.

"Naturally." I said flippantly, ignoring the odd fluttery feeling in my stomach. Where had that come from? "We're just two peas in a pod, but everyone else can't share our pod, so you have to be nicer sometimes. It's life."

"I suppose." He sighed heavily and exaggeratedly. "But I think everyone should compensate for our pod of awesomeness. We are just that better, of course."

"You're impossible." I rolled my eyes and flicked his nose. Somehow I manage to squirm out of his arms and head towards the door. "Try to survive without me, idiot."

He smirked cheekily. "What did you say your name was again?"

Laughing, I flipped him the bird on the way out.