Hi everyone. This isn't my first fic- I write fanfiction on other sights. Anyway, i'd like you all to know that I will be updating every Monday. If you have any questions, comments or corrections, please put them in a review. Anything else? Put that in a review too! The more reviews, the more I am encouraged to write.

The first thing Sirius Black noticed about his best friend, James Potter, when he finally spotted him on platform nine and three-quarters, was his height. Even from a distant it was obvious that he had gained a few inches. Sirius felt a twinge of annoyance. Ever since they had met, five years ago on the very train that James was standing next to, the two boys had been the exact same height. Sure, every now-and-again one would gain the advantage in a growth spurt, but the other would soon catch up. It had become something of a rivalry between the two during third-year, when both had shot up so fast it had been, to use the words of Remus Lupin, "As if when you go to bed some strange spell stretches you both a few centimeters every single night, to the point where you two will end up being the size of Hagrid." At first this comment had caused alarm for the two purebloods, but after Remus assured them that it was not physically possible for them to be the size of Hagrid and most likely they would just end up being 'bloody tall', they had relaxed and enjoyed the advantages of being tall. Of which there were many.

During the summer, among various fights with his 'wonderful' parents and 'darling' brother, Sirius had shot up once again. He had been amazed. He didn't think that the food he had eaten over the summer had been enough to sustain him, let alone allow him to grow ever taller. It wasn't there hadn't been enough food in the Black household; on the contrary, food was in abundance at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It had been the fact that if he wanted food, he had to leave the safety of his room and get it from the kitchen. On the way he was sure to encounter a family member and doubtless end up fighting with them. It was better, he had decided, to go without food, than endure one more rant from his mother about what a worthless Gryffindor he was. Yet despite this, he had gained enough height that he had thought that he would finally be taller than James. From the look of it, he was wrong.

The second thing he noticed, as he pushed his way through hordes of Hogwarts students in James's direction, was that he was talking to a redhead. As James was facing him and the girl's back was to him, he could not get a clear view of who it was. He assumed it was Lily Evans, the young muggleborn witch that James had harbored a not-so-secret love for since second-year. She was, as far as he knew, the only witch in the school with fiery red hair. The girl James was chatting with had hair that reached the small of her back and was extremely curly. He didn't remember Evans hair being that long or that curly, but he figured, a lot could change over the summer holidays. If Evans was really talking to James, then a lot had changed. It was no secret that Lily Evans despised James Potter as much as he desired her.

Sirius watched as the girl (presumably Evans) said something to James that made him laugh and grin at her. James climbed onto the Hogwarts Express, put his trunk down then helped the girl lift hers onto the school train. She hopped up next to James then both walked further onto the train, and out of Sirius's view.

"That can't have been Evans." A voice said from his shoulder in disbelief, and Sirius Black turned to face one of his other two best friends, Peter Pettigrew.

"Hey." He greeted Peter, looking down at his short friend.

"Urghh, you've grown again Sirius," The rat animagus complained, "I hoped I had caught up a bit to you and Prongs, but it looks like you've both decided to continue being the tallest boys in our year."

"Sorry Pete, but it is what we do best. Among other things. How's your Dad?"

It was a well-known fact between the marauders that if Peter came back from the holidays badly sun burnt, as he was now, it meant he had spent the summer with his muggle father at his holiday home, in Florida. Peter's parents were divorced, and he never knew whether he would visit his father during the summer until he got home.

"He's great. He broke up with Janice!" Peter beamed up at Sirius, clearly delighted that his father had broken up with his irritating girlfriend. Sirius had only met her once, but could understand why his friend disliked Janice. She had been very loud and, upon greeting him, had pinched Sirius's cheeks and exclaimed over how 'positively adorable' he was. Sirius had not enjoyed this in the slightest.

"That's brilliant. Come on, there's no point waiting for Moony, he either got here early and got a compartment already or he's going to be late."

Sirius and Peter exchanged glances as they picked up their trunks. Oh, Remus parents were nice enough- nicer than Sirius's, at any rate- and his home life was certainly better than Peter's, who was constantly shuttled between his parents but, well. Although they had never mentioned it to him, Sirius, Peter and James all thought something was rather odd with Remus's life.

The werewolf's' parents were both halfbloods, meaning Remus knew about both the wizarding world and the muggle one. His parents obviously loved him but had a habit of forgetting about their child, or appearing desperate to get rid of him. The other three marauders suspected that the Lupin's were highly uncomfortable around their son- no doubt they blamed themselves for his 'furry little problem'. One time, having arranged to meet in Diagon Alley, Remus was dropped off at seven in the morning and left alone, when they weren't supposed to meet until noon. Another incident occurred when James invited them all over for a sleepover at Potter Manor. Remus had not shown up until eight-o-clock in the afternoon, when he had been expected at 2pm.

As Sirius and Peter lugged their trunks down the corridors, looking for James or Remus, or perhaps both, Sirius kept an eye out for Lily Evans. He soon spotted her, in a compartment with the other fifth-year Gryffindor girls. His suspions that James hadn't been talking to Evans were soon proved correct- her fiery locks were shorter than they had been at the end of last year, and were in a ponytail. "Who was he talking to then?" Sirius muttered out loud.

"Hmm?"

"Look, Evans had a haircut. James must have been talking to someone else." Sirius pointed out to Peter.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Peter suggested, as he pulled his trunk into a compartment occupied by a sleeping Remus and a grinning James.

"Pads!" James greeted Sirius cheerfully. He stood up and grabbed Peter's trunk for him, storing it in the luggage rack as Sirius did the same with his own trunk.

"Thanks," Peter said. "Come on already, lets see whose tallest."

Sirius and James, obliging, stood back-to-back.

"well..." said Peter, drawing out the word.

"Tell us Pete!" James insisted, as Sirius fidgeted next to him. "Padfoot's got fleas."

"No I don't!" Sirius snapped, and he quickly stopped fidgeting.

"Sorry James, Sirius is about a centimeter taller. Although for the first time ever, he's skinnier than you."

"Really?" Both boys' exclaimed, turning to face each other and whacking noses.

"Owwww," Sirius moaned as he collapsed by Remus's head. James did the same across the aisle, and Peter slouched in the seat next to him.

"Hey," He said, staring at Remus, "What's up with Moony?"

The werewolf was fast asleep, his head on a pillow and covered in a blanket. Sirius, who had squeezed himself in the gap between pillow and window, adjusted the pillow so, where it had previously been propped up by the wall, it was now propped up by Sirius's leg.

"His furry little problem must have kept him up all night." James told them, lowering his voice automaticly. "He was asleep when I found him, so I just conjured some blankets and the pillow."

Sirius looked down at his friend. Even in his sleep he looked exhausted. There were dark shadows under his eyes and his skin was sallow and bruised looking. "Poor guy." He murmured.

"So Prongs" Peter turned to James. "Who was the girl?"

"What girl?"

"Don't be an idiot James. Me and Pete saw you talking to a redhead. Thought it was Evans for a moment before I came to my senses. She would never speak to the king of prats. So who was it? Have you got a new love of your life?" Sirius leaned forward, Remus forgotten.

James looked smug. "You'll have to wait and see. But trust me, I think there may be a new marauder soon enough."

"What!" Peter yelped, shooting upright and banging his head on the luggage rack. As he nursed his head, wincing, he muttered, "What makes you say that?"

"All in good time, my friend. You will see." Changing the subject, he pulled out a pack of cards. "Anyone up for some exploding snap?"

They didn't have to worry about Remus waking up. The four boys had lived together for around four years now, and knew each others sleeping habits better than their own. Remus was a heavy sleeper, whom nothing would wake up. He would start to stir about an hour before he woke up. During this time (dubbed 'the stirring hour' by Sirius) he would only wake up if somebody shook him and said his name. They usually refrained from doing this without good reason however, as Remus would get extremely grumpy at who ever woke him up.

Peter slept on his back and snored. If the snores got particularly loud, throwing something at him tended to wake him up. He, however, only woke to voices if they were extremely loud voices. Sirius, on the other hand, was a fitful sleeper, who took ages to get to sleep and usually woke up entangled in his blankets from tossing and turning all night. The slightest noise woke him, so if the others were awake before him they tried to be completely silent. James slept on his stomach with his head buried in his pillow. While whispering wouldn't wake him, anything louder would.

As the day went by, Remus continued to sleep, and the other three played exploding snap. They stopped at around half past twelve, when a particularly violent explosion singed Peter eyebrows off. While Sirius and James were wracked with laughter at their friends' appearance, Lily Evans poked her head in the compartment.

"Hello?"

"H-h-hello Evans," Sirius gasped in greeting, as both he and James tried in vain to control their laughter.

"What are you laughing about?" She snapped, looking irritated.

"Me, Lily," Peter told her miserably. Evans looked down at his supposed best friends in disapproval, before growing Peter's eyebrows back for him.

"How can I help you, Evans?" James asked, running a hand through his hair confidently.

"Its not you I'm looking for. Is Remus here? He was supposed to be in the prefects' carriage hours ago."

"Remus? A prefect?" All three boys exclaimed in unison, gathering around the sleeping boy. A shiny prefects badge was indeed pinned to his uniform, which he was already wearing.

James turned to Evans. "He's going to kill me! I got him the blankets and pillow to make him comfortable- he was probably just taking a nap before the meeting."

"Don't worry about it Potter. I can do the rounds without him. I'll fill him in on our duties at the feast."

When Evans was gone, Sirius, sitting down again, said, "Poor you. Not only are Remus and 'your girl' study buddies, now they'll be patrolling alone at night together. Looks like Moony has a better chance than you do, I'm afraid. Worried yet?"

"Not in the slightest. Me and Evans are meant to be. She's just in denial." James responded, as he and Peter sat down as well.

"If you say so." said Sirius, snorting. Beside him, Remus started to stir. "Moony's gonna be so annoyed when he realizes he slept through the prefects meeting. Minnie might give him detention."

"Hardly. She knows about Remus's," James lowered his voice again, "condition. If you'd been a crazy wild animal all night, you'd probably be tired in the morning too."

"Plus she has a soft spot for Remus." Peter added.

That was true Sirius mused to himself. She always gives him chocolate after the full moon. And good chocolate, not just the cheap kind.

"Should I wake Rem up?" Sirius asked as James got up to get them lunch. The food trolley had arrived. Peter nodded to Sirius, before passing some money to James to help pay.

"Rem? Remmy? Remus? Wakey wakey!" Sirius said as he shook the werewolf awake. Soon sleepy amber eyes were blinking up at him.

"What..?" groaned Remus Lupin, as he groggily pushed himself upright.

"Here mate" James handed Remus a bar of chocolate, some cauldron cakes and a Pumpkin Pastry, dumping the rest of their lunch between him and Peter, where Sirius helped himself. The large pile also consisted of each of their favourite sweets; for James, Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, for Peter, Liquorice Wands, and for Sirius, Droobles Best Blowing Gum as well as Chocolate Frog's for Remus. They got the same pile of food every year.

The chocolate woke Remus up considerably, at which point he asked what the time was.

"Ten past one." Peter informed him. They all watched in amusement as his eyes widened comically and he gaped in horror.

"I've missed the prefects meeting!" He exclaimed, leaping to his feet. Sirius chuckled as Remus nearly fell over and pulled him back onto the seat.

"Not in your condition, you won't. You should probably go to Madame Promfrey after the feast, I expect she'll want you to stay overnight."

"You think I'm that bad?" Remus asked.

"Moony, you haven't looked this terrible since we became animagi." Sirius told him.

"Its probably because we weren't there! I told you we should come over, Rem." James said, looking concerned for his friend. "Evans came over and said she could do the rounds without you, and she'll talk to you during the feast, so relax already."

Remus did as James said and relaxed. The four marauders were halfway through their food when Sirius remembered the girl. "Guess what James did, Moony!"

"What?" He replied, half dreading the answer. "Please don't tell me hexed Snape again."

"Nah, although good idea. He cheated on Evans!" Both Sirius and Peter gasped dramatically for effect, while James rolled his eyes.

"Its impossible for Prongs to cheat on Lily," Remus pointed out, "Seeing as they aren't dating."

"You're such a spoilsport Moony!" Sirius whined. "He did too!"

"He couldn't!"

"But he did!"

"Noo, he didn't because he couldn't have."

"He did."

"Be sensible, Padfoot. It is impossible for Prongs to cheat on Lily!"

"Yet he somehow managed to..."

Remus sighed. "Alright, how did James cheat on Lily?"

"He talked to another redhead!" Sirius bounced up and down on his seat.

"Sit down Pads. Just because he talked to another redhead does not mean he cheated on Lily. Even if Lily was his girlfriend, who she isn't, then that still does not mean he cheated on her. It was just a friendly conversation with another girl." He looked at James, who nodded. "See."

"He didn't just talk to her," Peter interjected, "He was laughing and grinning at her."

"Prongs laughs and grins at us all the time. Does that mean he likes us?"

Sirius and Peter exchanged horrified glances and turned to stare at James, who balked at the thought. "Of course I don't!" He snapped at them.

"Just checking." Sirius assured him.

"I do like you guys though…"

"WHAT?" All three exclaimed, staring at James

"Not that way! I like you guys as friends! How you could even thin-"

"So we've established that James grinning and laughing at people does not mean he likes them in a romantic sense, although it can sometimes mean that, and it often means he likes them as friends. All clear? No more staring at James? Good." Remus hastily interrupted.

"Can it mean he likes them in both ways?" Sirius asked, grinning cheekily.

The conversation managed to continue away from the original topic, and by the time the knock on the compartment door came three hours later, they were debating whether griffins should replace lions as the Gryffindor animal.

"Come in," Remus called to the girl who had just knocked on the door. He was the only one to have noticed the knock. As the girl came in the bickering between the other ceased.

"That's the girl!" Sirius whispered to Remus excitedly.

"I'd gathered." Remus whispered back, before both turned their attention to the girl in question.

"Mmmm? How can I help?" James asked the redhead, who was standing in the doorway. Sirius looked, but there was no sign of a house on her robes. Her hair seemed darker than before, but Sirius figured it was just the lighting.

"You haven't seen Merlin around have you James?" The girl asked in a heavy American drawl.

"No, why?" James replied, obviously knowing who Merlin was. Enlighten dawned on his face. "You've lost him again, haven't you!" He grinned at her.

"So what?" She scowled at him from the doorway.

"That has got to be a record! Not even at school yet and you've lost him already! Don't worry though, he can't have got off the train. He'll go with the luggage to your dorm."

"So he won't get left behind?" She asked, frowning.

"Nope! He's perfectly safe."

"Thanks James. You might want to put your robes on soon, we'll be there in an hour or two, I just asked the driver." With a swish of red hair she had left the compartment.

"So?" Sirius asked James, waggling his eyebrows at his friend.

"You have got to teach me how to do that eyebrow thing." James said enviously.

"Don't avoid the subject!" Sirius frowned, flicking James on the ear.

"Is she a replacement Lily?" Peter asked.

"No. N-O. NO. NOOOOOOOO. I do not like her. You will find out why soon enough." James grabbed his robes and left the apartment, annoyed with his friends.

When he returned the girl wasn't mentioned again.

As the marauders waited for a carriage on the platform, Sirius searched for bright red hair. He was disappointed- the only redhead he could spot was Evans. He banished all thoughts of the American and clambered aboard the carriage.

When they arrived in the hall Remus sat next to Evans, James next to him, at the Gryffindor table. Peter seated himself across from Remus and Sirius across from James. The stag animagus was craning his head round frequently, looking excited about something.

"Hurry up firsties!" Sirius moaned, sticking his tongue out at Evans when she gave him a disapproving look, before winking at her friend Mary next to her. Mary blew him a kiss back, just before a horde of first-years entered the hall and they both turned their attention to McGonagall- or Minnie in Sirius's mind- and the sorting hat.

When the song was over the marauders all clapped politely. James was paying a lot more attention than usual to the sorting.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," McGonagall said, "Aarons, Kelly" A short girl with brown hair in plaits was the first sorted, and she quickly joined Ravenclaw.

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!" Sirius moaned repeatively, attracting several looks from the surrounding Gryffindors. He let out a cheer when the sorting finished and picked up his knife and fork, ready for his first proper meal in ages. When it didn't come he looked up, irritated, to see Dumbledore looking at him sternly. Grinning wildly, he placed them back down and paid attention.

Next to the Headmaster a girl who looked around fifteen was standing with her hands in the pockets of her robes. She had medium-length pitch-black hair that was tied in a perky ponytail, and two strands framed her face. He couldn't see her eyes from where he was sitting, but she looked remarkably familiar.

"I am pleased to inform you all that we have a new student, who will be entering fifth year, joining us from the Salem Academy of Magic in America. I have the pleasure of introducing to you all," Dumbledore paused, "Morgana Potter."

I hope you all enjoyed that! Now, I'll repeat myself: I'd like you all to know that I will be updating every Monday. If you have any questions, comments or corrections, please put them in a review. Anything else? Put that in a review too! The more reviews, the more I am encouraged to write.