~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

I run to the train laughing as Rowan catches up, mock glaring at me. His hair's gotten a bit longer and he looks more like me than normal. His blue gray eyes dart toward mother and father quickly before refocusing on me.

"How did you learn to get away from them?" Rowan asks.

"Months of nights spent avoiding Filch," I shrug, "Of course, you won't have that problem will you?"

Rowan shakes his head, "Of course not!"

I chuckle and lead Rowan to the compartment that the other boys are in. Rowan and Regulus, who is sitting in the corner of the compartment, immediately begin to chat and think about what they would do in Hogwarts. I sit next to Sirius. The moment my arm knocks against him, a strange smell meets my nose.

I turn to Sirius, "Is that cologne?"

"No…" he raises his eyebrows.

I give a subtle sniff and my eyes narrow as I realize what it is, "Sirius, why do I smell dark magic on you?"

"Maybe because I come from a dark house?" Sirius suggests, his eyes not fully meeting me.

"But you've never smelled so strongly of it before," I mutter.

"Just drop it, would you?"

"For now."

James enters, hair looking bird nest like as ever, "Did you all see Evans? I think her hair grew about a foot over break."

"That's physically impossible," I deadpan, "Unless she used a hair growth potion, but I doubt that she would.'

"Fine," James huffs, looking pouty.

Sirius gives a grin, "Someone has a crush doesn't he?"

"What? No, I just noticed and it seemed odd to me," James says defensively.

"Uh-huh," Sirius rolls his eyes, "Of course."

The door slides open again and Remus and Peter walk in. I slide closer to Rowan and Sirius moves to Regulus.

"It's getting kind of tight in here," Rowan points out.

"Having seven people in one compartment will do that."

All too soon the ride to Hogwarts turns to a mini party. With James pulling out Exploding snap cards, Peter giving everyone candy, Sirius firing off jokes when it became too quiet and Remus transfiguring a couple of quills into some pillows so that the place was much more comfortable, we all were soon just laughing and avoiding the mini explosions while snacking on chocolate frogs.

When James's hair is turned bright blue that sparkles everyone laughs. Smirking I put my wand back into its holster.

Sirius pauses in his joke to laugh, "And round one goes to Ann! Anyway, so the Scotsman puts on the heaviest pair of boots he can find. Taking a few steps back he runs to the Englishman and kicks him as hard as he could in the testicles. The Englishman falls to the ground, holding his groin and howling in agony for thirty minutes. Finally the Englishman stands up and says, "It's my turn to kick you!" The Scotsman smiles and says, "You can keep the damn egg.'"

We burst out laughing, but Remus soon is shaking his head and hits Sirius on the back of the head.

"Could you watch your vulgarity? There are two first years and a lady in the compartment," Remus scolds, though it's not as effective as usual because he keeps pulling back a grin.

"Hey, this isn't anything Regulus hasn't heard before!"

I cut in, "And Rowan isn't some little angel either. Plus, I'm no lady. I might be a female, but I'm no lady. Too unrefined for that."

"Really?"

I stare at Remus with a raised eyebrow until he shakes his head. It takes a moment, but then I realize that James and Sirius are gone. My eyes narrow and I turn to my brother and Regulus.

"Did either of you see where Sirius and James went?"

"No," they chorus.

I frown, "Why do I have a bad-"

An explosion comes from in the corridor and I jump up, throwing open the door. The walls floor and ceiling of the corridor have been turned into ice with red, green, yellow and blue spots. Standing in the center, laughing their heads off, are idiot one and idiot two. The prefect near them starts to yell, and I just reenter the compartment, smile on my face and shake my head.

"If those two don't watch it they'll have detentions before school even starts." Remus frowns slightly, but grins, "But that was a really good charm."

I laugh, "Of course you would say that. You're the one who figured out what quite a few of those spells were for and how to use them effectively."

"Well…I would be modest, but yeah." Remus grins then sits back down in the compartment.

I nod and flop into the seat across from him, "Oh you're the picture of modesty Remus."

Remus laughs, "So what do you think about this year? Are those two going to cause me to hex them again?"

"Of course," Peter pipes up, "Come on Remus, you have a brilliant amount of patience, but they tend to tread on it a lot."

"That may be," he says, "But they're my friends, I don't want to do that again."

"Eh, you'll be fine. They're the ones who'll have to watch it or else their grades will turn to rubbish." Peter turns back to the parchment that he was reading. Apparently it was a letter from his aunt who he hasn't seen in years.

I turn to Remus and shrug before jinxing my brother's hair into a bright pink Mohawk.

~*~AG~*~

I watch the first years as they enter the Great Hall and I can feel my nerves growing. Across the table, Sirius looks just as nervous and James is trying to calm him down. As they reach the front I keep flashing back to our sorting two years previously. Giving my head a good shake, I notice that I've missed the hat's song and the first couple of firsties being sorted. Sirius's brother is called up and sits under the hat for a while. After about four minutes the hat yells out Slytherin and the younger Black hurries over to the green and silver table, throwing his brother glances. Sirius smiles at Regulus, all the while his eyes look worried. A small troop of first years is sorted before Rowan sits on the stool. It takes him about the same amount of time that it took for Regulus's sorting and the hat makes the same decision. As I nod at him, I can feel my heart drop and the worry set in. I only hope that he's learned enough Slytherin tendencies to make it through the pit of the snakes.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

"Slytherin!"

Hard to believe that one word would cause me so much worry and so much pain. Hard to believe that I would come to regard that one word with as many conflicted emotions as I do. I stare at the ceiling of the great hall and think of all the times that I've escaped to just lay down here. Granted, I would prefer to just sit on the astronomy tower, but that usually has a class occupying it. I've always found peace in the stars. I don't know why. I watch as the stars twinkle down brightly and then as a meteor flies across the sky. In that moment, I realize that my life will never be the same.

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

I sit in the abandoned charms room thinking back to what happened over the summer. Ever since that incident, I've felt my magic flowing around me more than ever. Catching a hint, I try the animagus transformation. I nearly get it and turn back to human, slightly disappointed. Sighing I look out the window and watch the clouds as they float across the southern night sky. Sighing again I wonder if life is ever going to be simpler, or if this is just the beginning of some complex mess.

~*+)o(+*~

Whatever happens from now, I shall not care. So long as I have my friends I know that this life will never be the same.

And it is because of these friends that I have found myself. I do not care what happens to myself, but these people I will protect.

For to have such friends gather round me, even with all the danger involved, is a gift I will never forget. I am tied to them and they to me.

But I will not complain of this fact. This is because my friendship makes me stronger rather than pulling me down. For them, I'll do the same.

So no matter what it is decided that we shall stick together. And no matter the problem, no matter the cost, our loyalty shall not waver, we'll stand by one another.

Mischief Managed

The little script at the end is between the Marauders and Ann. The order of writing goes Ann, Sirius, Remus, James and Peter. This is the end of Crystalline Glass, I hope you've enjoyed reading it. The sequal, Breaking Glass, is already being published as I write and edit it. I would appreciate a review telling me what you thought of CG. Thank you to those who have read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted.