Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or its universe (sadly!). It's all property of J.K Rowling's brilliant mind.

Harry Potter - The Marauders Era

"The Princess Marauder"

First Year - September, 1971

I didn't know whether to be more scared or excited about my first year at Hogwarts. My parents had filled my childhood with tales of their years as students, colouring my bedtime with countless stories of their adventures and funny mishaps. My favourite was the story of how the two of them met and how fate had worked its tricky, wonderful magic into bringing them together despite everything separating them. They made love blossom in what everyone saw as a barren place.

Hogwarts was more than a school for young witches and wizards. For me, it meant the beginning of a journey. I could feel it in the depths of my soul, in my very bones. It was a feeling as much thrilling as it was frightening.

As my mother swiveled through the crowd of witches and wizards, dragging me along by the hand across the platform, I made an effort to control my racing heart from trying to burst out of my ribcage. There were so many people. Children of my age, who seemed just as nervous and who stayed close to their parents, and older students, running around to meet their friends and housemates.

The loud churning of the train mixed with the sound of laughter and crying, and the cooing of the animals in their cages. White smoke poured from the long vehicle, creeping into my nostrils, tickling the insides of my nose. In my young eleven years old, I was incredibly overwhelmed by everything.

"Ahh, there he is! Brennus!" My mother waved a hand in the air when she spotted my father. He swiftly made his way to us, grinning so widely that the corners of his bright grey eyes crinkled. "Did you take care of her bags? And her books? What about the cauldron? And the–"

"Yes, my love," my father promptly interrupted her. He kissed her to be more effective in shutting her up and because he could never let an opportunity to kiss the woman he loved pass. I rolled my eyes; they were so mushy. "I've taken care of everything so quit fussing."

"I don't fuss!" mom mumbled with flaming cheeks.

I snorted at the blatant lie, exchanging a knowing smile with my father, who was clearly thinking the same.

"Now listen, missy," mom started in a stern voice that demanded attention, "I don't want to receive any letters about you misbehaving, alright? So you better ease off on that prankster streak of yours and focus on your studies."

My father rolled his eyes. "Pay no care to your mother, dandelion, you mustn't ease off on anything. Just be yourself!"

"Honestly, Bren... if she behaves anything like she does at home with her brother, the castle will be turned inside out in less than a month!"

"I know! Wouldn't that be fun?" He flashed me a cheeky wink, making me giggle.

"Don't worry, Ma, I promise I'll try to keep the castle intact."

"I do not believe you the slightest, Aurora," she replied with a look of both mirth and exasperation.

Laughing, I hugged her by the waist, burying my face into the soft fabric of her dress. Her flowery perfume was too strong and it made my nose itch, but I loved it. Godric, I was going to miss them terribly. This was the first time I would be on my own, away from both of my parents... and it was absolutely terrifying.

"I'm so nervous! What if I end up placed in a house where I don't belong and I can't make any friends?" I asked worriedly.

"Nonsense, Aurora!"

Dad lowered himself to my height, piercing me with fathomless grey eyes. I had those too, I had his eyes. It was perhaps our only connection to a family which was once ours before he was disowned for marrying my mother.

"The Sorting Hat has never made a mistake before, dandelion, but it doesn't matter which house it places you into as long as you don't let it define who you really are," he said with a smile. "If you ever find yourself doubting the Hat's choice, just think of me. I am your best example of how truly possible it is to break free from a prejudiced stereotype."

I grinned at those words. That was very true.

"Now, come on; get that lovely bum on that train." Mom's warm voice was playful as she pulled me into another bone-crushing hug. "The beginning of your journey awaits!"

After biding goodbye to them, I happily skipped aboard the Hogwarts Express to search for an empty compartment. Not long, the train whistled and left the station. I could feel the wheels reeling underneath my feet and the walls all around vibrating, forcing me to take shorter and more careful strides as I walked along the corridors. It was quite strange, I'd never been on a train before.

Most of the compartments had already been taken, which only aggravated me more. I was anxious enough on my own, I didn't want to intrude on anyone. Although by the time I opened a seventh door and found it also occupied, I figured there really was no other option. With a sigh, I went for an eight attempt. I would take that one whether it was occupied or not.

I stood in the doorway, frozen with surprise when one of the two occupants looked up at me with a familiar pair of eyes.

Well what do you figure.

We both blinked before breaking into matching grins.

"Aurora!"

"Sirius!"

My cousin sprung from his seat and swooped me in his arms, laughing boisterously. "I knew I would see you sooner or later."

I drew back, giggling. "Of course you would, there's only one Hogwarts school!"

"Well yes," he said, rolling his eyes, "but you could've gone to some other magic school in Ireland or something like that."

"I wouldn't even if I got into one. Hogwarts meant a lot to my parents, there's no other place I'd go to," I replied with a smile.

The other boy in the compartment stood up and poked his head around Sirius. He had brown eyes behind round spectacles and brown hair, from which a few rebel pieces fell into his friendly-looking face before he smoothly pushed them back. His grin was so arrogant that I could only assume he was probably spoiled as well, though he reminded me a little of Sirius in that particular way.

"Hi!"

"Hello," I drawled with a short wave.

He stuck his hand out, grinning wider. "I'm James. James Potter."

"Nice to meet you, James. I'm Aurora Rosier," I chuckled, gladly accepting his hand. He turned it around to place a gallant kiss on my knuckles, which only added to my amusement.

"Hey!" Sirius snatched my hand away, glaring. "Hands off my cousin, Potter!"

James shrugged and crossed arms behind his head, completely unruffled by Sirius' comment. "I'm pretty sure she's capable of deciding whether or not she wants my hands on her, Black."

"Lovely," I muttered dryly. "Is he your friend, Sirius?"

"Oh I wouldn't call him a friend exactly... we just met," he answered, still glaring at the arrogant boy.

"Then it's not too late for us to switch compartments, is it?" I asked in a not so secretive whisper.

"I see the comedian blood runs in the family." James plopped back on his seat by the window. "Although I can't say the same about good looks. Aurora is a far more wonderful sight for the eyes than you, Black."

"Aww, you know what? I think I might like him after all," I joked, sitting next to him. My cousin shot me a playful glare before copying me and sitting in front of us.

The rest of the train ride went by eventfully while the three of us became acquainted. James and Sirius spent the entire trip bickering like a married couple. I didn't think I had ever laughed so hard in such short period of time. Like I figured, arrogant or not, James was just as bad as my cousin.

Sirius and I weren't exactly close cousins. My father's sister was married to his mother's brother so it was probably safe to assume we didn't exactly share the same blood, but it was possible some of our oldest ancestors might have. All Pureblood families seemed to be related in some way, and it would've certainly explained the colour of our eyes being passed down generation after generation.

We met when we were about six years old when dad took me to Sirius' uncle, Alphard, birthday party. He was pretty much the only remaining member of my father's family with whom he still kept contact with. Even if uncle Alphard was just my father's brother-in-law's brother, he had stood up and supported dad's decision to marry my muggle-born mom when no one else did, and for that he would always be dear to our family. Alphard's unprejudiced and good nature was Sirius' blessing and it was to his house he always ran to when his parents' wickedness became too much to handle.

Lucky for him, after we found each other and became good friends, he had my house to run to as well. My parents absolutely adored Sirius. Although he did make my mother insane sometimes with his pranks.

When the train arrived at Hogsmead station, the biggest man I had ever seen called all the first years to follow him. I rolled my eyes at Sirius and James who were making fun of the poor man as they trailed after me. Sirius was under the impression that he was big because he ate all the students who misbehaved and broke the rules, while James, on the other hand, claimed that instead of eating the students he simply crushed them in his meaty hands and then used their bones to decorate his cave. A lot of fellow first years listening were turning a sickly shade of green and shaking with fear.

Yep, I thought, they were definitely a match.

The giant man, Hagrid he said his name was (and who was actually a very sweet and friendly person, much to the idiots dismay), led us down a narrow path which ended right on the edge of a wide lake. As we climbed into the small wooden boats, like we were told to, I stared in awe at the tall castle perched on top of the mountain on the other side. Wow. The tallest of the towers almost seemed to touch the stars in the midnight blue sky.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by a powerful rush of excitement. I was finally there. I was finally at Hogwarts.

Our boats floated down a tunnel under the cliff where the castle stood before docking into a sort of underground harbour. I couldn't, for the life of me, stop gawking at the beautiful school and, as I climbed off the boat, my foot got caught on the edge and I tripped. My eyes flew shut and I mentally prepared myself to fall straight on my face. Boy, this was so going to hurt–

Instead of hard gravel, however, I was met with something warm and soft. Someone was gently gripping my arms. I looked up at my saviour, meeting a pair of dancing hazel green eyes. His lips stretched into a smile.

"That was a close one!"

"Thank you," I breathed, feeling a little awestruck. Noticing I was still leaning against his chest, I blushed and quickly pulled back, which was a bad idea because I ended up hitting him on the nose with my hand. I paled in utter horror as he let out a painful groan. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Oh god!"

I touched his hand to pry it away so I could see the damage when I realized he was laughing. Oh that's just brilliant, I'm a walking disaster and this bloke finds it funny!

He stared at me with a grin that, for the briefest of moments, made my heart melt. He had a really nice smile. "Remind me to wear a shield the next time I try to catch you," he joked.

"There's no need for you to catch me again, thank you very much!" I crossed my arms and tilted my chin proudly. Sirius and James burst into a fit of sniggers behind me, flustering me further and making my face even redder.

"Way to go, 'Ro," my idiot cousin hooted, swinging an arm over my shoulders as he came to stand by me. "I do apologize for her, she was born with a horrible affliction: extreme clumsiness."

I shrugged his arm off with a snap."Oh sod off, Sirius!"

When Hagrid barked for us to get moving, we rushed after him down a tunnel. I heard someone come up next to me. I sneaked a glance to the boy who had caught me, fighting off another blush.

"I'm Remus," he told me with a smile.

"Aurora," I said, giving him my hand. As he took it, I tripped again and he immediately used it to keep me up, laughing. "Oh my God, what's wrong with this place?! It keeps tripping me!"

Remus laughed harder. "I hardly think it's this place's fault."

"Are you implying it's mine?" I tried to glare but found it absolutely impossible when his eyes were twinkling like that.

"I didn't say that, but don't worry. As long as you don't hit me again, I'll keep you from falling on your face."

I rolled my eyes, cracking a smile at that. "How very chivalrous of you, Sir Remus."

"Why thank you, Lady Aurora."

Behind me, those two bloody idiots kept on sniggering.

After knocking on the wide dark doors of the castle, Hagrid stood back waiting. On the other side came to stand a tall witch with dark purple robes and a black pointy hat. I fought back a shiver; she looked incredibly stern.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

The doors opened more so we could follow her inside. The entrance hall was lit with torches and there was a large marble staircase as I glanced to my right. To the left I saw another door from which a loud rumble of noise could be heard. That must where everyone is, I thought curiously.

Professor McGonagall led us into a small chamber where we all had to squeeze uncomfortably in order to fit. I ignored my flaming red cheeks as I felt Remus' chest dig into my back. That big of a castle and she had to bring us all into what was, quite possibly, the smallest room in the whole place. This really wasn't my night.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you wait."

I rolled my eyes when several girls tried to comb their hair and some boys nervously made sure all of their uniforms were in place. I felt Remus' chest vibrate against me as he chuckled quietly.

Brilliant, I was blushing again.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall said. "Please wait quietly."

Once her dark purple robes disappeared behind the door, I turned to look at my cousin. Well, he looked positively bored out of his mind.

"Do you know which house you would like to be sorted into?"

He snorted. "I know which one I don't want to be for sure and that's good enough for me."

"My father says your house doesn't have to define you," I said softly. His answer did nothing but to worsen my nerves. What if I was sorted into Slytherin? I didn't want to end up in the house my only favourite cousin hated.

"Yeah well, maybe uncle Bren should tell that to my parents," he remarked bitterly.

It was my turn to snort. "Because that would be such a lovely discussion."

"You're preaching to the choir, cousin." Sirius flashed me a smirk, which I returned.

Not long after, Professor McGonagall returned and guided us into the Great Hall. It was more beautiful than any words from my parents could ever describe. Thousands of lit candles floated over four long wooden tables, where the rest of the students were sitting as they eagerly awaited for their golden plates to fill with food. At the end of the hall stood the professors' table, with Dumbledore taking the centre, his blue eyes shining with delight. I would recognize him anywhere.

Next to me, Remus tapped my shoulder and pointed upwards. Raising an eyebrow, I followed his finger. I gasped, my eyes widening in wonder. The ceiling was an exact replica of the dark sky outside, with the crescent moon and tiny speckles of stars hovering amidst the clouds. He chuckled at my reaction and I flashed him a grin. How could I not gawk at something so spectacular? It was really rather impossible not to.

The Sorting Hat, which was much more tattered than I imagined, sitting on the stool in the middle of the podium, cracked a slit open and began to sing. The Hat sung about each house and the great wizards who bestowed upon it life and power. When the song ended, the hall erupted in applause before quieting it down once more.

Professor McGonagall picked up the Hat and called the first student - a little girl named Andrea who was sorted into Ravenclaw. Then she proceeded alphabetically, so it was no surprise when my cousin was called not long after. The Hall fell into a tense silence as Sirius walked forward and climbed onto the stool, squirming a little as McGonagall placed the hat over his head. There were a few exceptions but the members of the Black family had always been sorted into Slytherin. By the way everyone at said table was watching, obviously it was expected of Sirius to also be sorted there. He was never one to follow rules, however.

When the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!", Sirius broke into a huge grin, face lighting up with glee. The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers and welcomed him with open arms. I could tell he was absolutely ecstatic; not only was he not in Slytherin, but also he'd finally found a place to accept him wholeheartedly.

The sorting ceremony proceeded with a few other students sorted into Gryffindor, including a red-haired girl who I remembered seeing in the train. There were also a few other Ravenclaws and a couple of Slytherins. A lot of Hufflepuffs, though. Meanwhile, James wouldn't stop put. He was right in front of me and he kept fidgeting with his robes or combing his fingers to his hair until it was completely out of place, sticking into every possible direction.

I poked him in the ribs, making him jump a little. "Stop that, or you'll end up having a nervous breakdown before actually getting sorted!"

He chuckled, but nodded nonetheless, and soon his name was called. I flashed him a thumbs up and an encouraging grin as he sat down. The hat barely even touched his head before it called out Gryffindor. I cheered on along with his new housemates, watching him join Sirius, paying no mind to all the odd looks my colleagues threw me. I did the same when Remus followed the same fate.

Please let me join them!, I prayed to whichever entity there was out there.

"Rosier, Aurora!"

I climbed onto the stool, feeling not only awfully self-conscious of the hundreds of people around me but also, and especially, of my cousins as they sat at the Slytherin table. There was a tense silence, yet again. I was, after all, considered a blood-traitor in the eyes of my family. But as Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on my head, I pushed everything out of my mind until it was blank and peaceful.

It was quite a fright when I suddenly heard a small voice in my ear ( or was it inside my head?), humming thoughtfully:

"Hmmm... What an interesting one you are..." the Hat said. "I remember your father yes... and I also remember your mother... Oh, what a wonderful turn of events for those two! Now where would you fit the best... You have the power to succeed in Slytherin, like your father... hum, but I see a great deal of bravery inside your heart as well... Clearly it seems you have taken after your mother... Well then, without any further due...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I grinned, my heart soaring with unbelievable happiness. My mother's house! I was sorted into my mother's house!

Once Professor McGonagall took the Hat from my head, I bolted to the Gryffindor table, where my now housemates cheered loudly. Fabian and Gideon Prewett, sons of one of my mother's friends, patted me on my back and ruffled my hair, laughing and congratulating me. Obviously I was beyond ecstatic for being in the same house as both Sirius and James, but as I sat down next to Remus, who offered me a beautiful whimsical smile, I suddenly realized just how right my mother was.

Hogwarts was really the beginning of my journey.