Epiphany

0.02

First year went by quickly, everyone rushing around trying to get used to being in school and being able to use their powers and learn how to control them. Sirius and Josie stayed friends for most of the first year, not hanging out as much as they would like since they were in different houses.

Sirius enjoyed hanging with James, them getting along great, bonding over being pure-bloods who don't agree with other pureblooded beliefs . They had met another student at the feast, a boy with dark brown hair, and him being a half-blood. His mother being a muggle-born and his father being a pure blood. Him being named Remus Lupin. Them bonding over the fact that they all enjoy muggle trinkets and things. Talking the entire feast about it.

When they walked back to their dorm they met a mousy boy with blonde hair, named Peter Pettigrew. He grew up his entire life believing that he was a muggle his entire life until he turned eleven and got the letter from Hogwarts, telling him that he is a wizard. At that moment his father knew to tell his mother and him the truth. His mother kicking the father out for lying to her and the mother saying to never come back. And he listened.

Them becoming thick as thieves. Sirius and James sometimes forgetting about Josie and focusing on their other friends.

Josie hung out with the two people she met at the feast. Learning that Elizabeth, the girl she first met, is the first in her family to not land in Slytherin. Her family disgusted but happy that she wasn't in Gryffindor.

Ravenclaw being better than Hufflepuff in their opinion.

Roger was also the first person in his family to land in Hufflepuff, other members in his family being in other houses but never in Hufflepuff.

They hung out every day, during classes, in the common room, in the courtyard and in the library. On the first day of school the girls met another girl in Hufflepuff that became their best friend every since then.

Her name being Autumn Jackson, her brunette hair pin straight and her smile infectious. Her being a muggle-born. While they were in the library one day goofing off, they were picked on by a pair of Third Years when a Gryffindor girl in their class defended them, even with her not knowing them at all. The Gryffindor was a muggle born ginger named Lily Evans. Her being one of the kindest people that they have met, and her being one of the smartest as well. The four Hufflepuff's gladly accepting the Gryffindor into their group.

Their life was simple, but it was the best thing for them.

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Fall turns into Spring. Everything goes good for the First Years, nothing interesting after their first week after Madam Hooch's Flying Class. Roger climbing on his broom, only for it to plop him right on his butt after he settles onto it. Smacking into Josie and Lizzie, sending them into fits of giggles. Or when Lizzie was sent a remembrall, having forgotten to write her mother, it took them weeks to figure out what it was for, Autumn, Lizzie and Josie were sitting in the library when mail was dropped off.

Only figuring it out when Lizzie's mother sent her a howler for not writing her. It made the trio of girls, giggle and laugh, all three girls running from the library after getting yelled at by Madam Prince, her being an old lady that could drop dead at any moment.  Them running down the corridor, screaming with laughter, running into Roger at the door of the great hall. All three of the girls trying to talk at once, laughing too much for their words to make sense. He starts laughing with them, wondering why he was friends with them.

School was fun for the kids, but having friends made it better. James and Josie never really got to hangout during their Second Year as much as their First Year, only seeing each other in the classes they shared or in the corridor during passing time, most of the time they saw each other in the Great Hall. They may have drifted but they still were the best of friends. She just made some more as did he.

Everyone was having the time of their lives. Hogwarts was the best thing that had happened to them. New friends. New environment. For certain people it was the only time they learned about themselves being witches and wizards, finally being comfortable with themselves. Finally being around people that were just like them. But for Sirius it was the opposite, he became distant with his friends during this time. His family becoming even more harsh than normal on him.

His family was disappointed in him for landing in Gryffindor and not in Slytherin. Also for him making friends with muggle-borns, them using a more colorful word than that one. Making friends with half-breeds as his parents called them, and with blood-traitors, people who were born pure-bloods but hangout with muggle-borns and half-bloods. His mother would send him howlers everyday, screaming at him for disgracing the family name. Saying they would have gotten past the Gryffindor part if he had hung out with people 'like him'.

But since he did not do that, he gotten in trouble. His parents forbidding him from talking to his 'friends' when the new term started, or he would regret it when he had gotten home. He was only allowed to hangout with the sacred 28, and no one more.

And so he listened. He refused to hangout with them, saying that he had to focus on his school work this year since he had barely scraped by last year. Getting all P's on his exams. Saying that since he focused on pranking people last year, his grade suffered. The only people he seemed to hangout with was people from Slytherin, mostly his cousin Cissy, her being in Year Six to his Year Two. Her friends were much older than him, none of them liked the things that he did, so he would hangout with them but since in silence. Reading the same book over and over again until he had gotten it memorized.

And that how he kept it until winter break, until Christmas. When everyone else in the school went home and stayed home until they were supposed to come back two weeks later. It was the day before everyone was supposed to leave for Christmas, it was 3am and he sat alone in the common room, staring at the fireplace with an opened letter sitting on his lap. It was a letter from his parents, specifically from his mother. Saying that he was to stay at school during break, as they would be out of the country. Specifically  in Italy. They did whatever they could to punish him for his decisions.

James and the rest of the Marauders decided to stay behind during Christmas. Them staying to keep him company. Bugging him until he finally snapped and told them what was going on. They paused, digesting the information, and then they smiled and shook their heads. They didn't care about what his family said, they only wanted to make sure their best friend was okay. When he heard that, Sirius was shocked, he in that moment knew that what his family thought in that moment didn't matter. His family didn't make decisions for him.

He did.