Salamander || The Marauders

O. | N I H I L |

The first time they saw each other, they were both turning eleven. It was in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under a soft, dark blue cover adorned with twinkling stars and floating candles. They came to stand beside each other in the group of first years, waiting a little impatiently for their names to be called. It was the nerves, she decided.

If Sirius could explain the way his heart thumped- well, he probably wouldn't, but he'd most likely say it was beating like when he first found out he would be attending the magical school. He was excited to make a difference, to feel like he belonged somewhere, instead of at home. He just couldn't explain how he'd never felt so nervous in his life.

"James Potter," Professor McGonagall, now a well known name with the first years, had been calling names, seemingly randomly, for a while. Her voice was so authoritative and loud that Sirius was sure that the only place they couldn't hear her was Ilvermony, the magic school on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The kid who had sat down on the stool had pure mischief in his eyes. Anyone could see that. The board of teachers noted it immediately, as well as our female protagonist who could liken his eyes to her own brothers'.

"Gryffindor!" the hat proclaimed as the table under that flag erupted in a wild ruckus of cheers. The boy jumped up and, with a skip in his step, made his way over to the long table, taking a seat by the boy who was previously called.

"Margherita Scamander!" the girl beside Sirius moved, asking him to move quietly as he did so and let her weave her way through the crowd. As she lifted her feet onto the couple of steps to arrive at the stool where the professor put the hat onto her braided blonde hair, the children gazed up at her in interest. There wasn't one magical being who didn't know who her surname came from. Even those who were born to muggle parents had heard the name. This had been the reason her heart had been pounding on the train ride with her brothers.

"Ah! Another Scamander!" the hat came to life on top of her head, at attention to publish her innermost thoughts and fears. Sirius was most apprehensive about that. "Did the great magizoologist fear not enough would take up his profession, huh?" the hat inquired in a teasing tone, making her and her brothers scattered around the room roll their eyes. "Oh, I see the problem. I see your fear of being the last kid, you don't want to complete the house line up," the old hat continued, "Hmm, maybe i should put you in Slytherin, they'd do very well with your knowledge of herbs and potions and family history of black magic, don't you think?" Margherita herself even shook her head quietly, whispering pleads to stay out of the house her family had managed to avoid so far. "But, no. Perhaps-" the hat's pause allowed the girl to pray for one of two outcomes. She knew she didn't belong in the house that prioritised smarts, she was much more about people and action than she was about books, and she feared, for her own family's sake, to be placed in Slytherin because of her father's past with a certain Slytherin alumnus. Yet, with three brothers, she was the one who would be the deciding if the Scamander family would have an even spread of dominant traits in her generation by being placed in Slytherin, or if she would double up and have a friend, a brother, in her sorted house.

"She seems a little nervous," Sirius heard from beside him, and he glanced over to his right to see two Gryffindors talking, one of whom seemed a little familiar. Other than the slightly darker than sandy blond hair, he was almost identical to his father.

"She's fine, she's just praying not to be the snake at the Christmas dinner table," the boy laughed blue eyes twinkling.

"Well I guess you are right, indeed, there's only one place for the only daughter of Newton Scamander," the hat paused for a tiny moment, making even Sirius hold his breath along with the girl's other siblings, "Another magizoologist for Hufflepuff!" the ceremonious tone made the table on the far right cry out in cheers and calls of victory and congratulation, the girl taking out "Yes Mar!" from her brothers in the crowd as she got a huge smile on her face, bearing teeth as she skipped over to the table and hugged her brother who sat a little further up with his year in her house. He put her down after twirling her around with a laugh and they both took their seats as the next first year student was called. Margherita found her other brothers in the crowd of students, both of whom sent winks her way as she grinned and turned back to her table, saying hi to her fellow first years. Sirius did note, however, that when she met the eyes of the boy beside him in Gryffindor, she seemed apologetic, and he couldn't help but be intrigued by it.

It wasn't too long before the name Sirius Black was called, and he made his way up through a throng of whispering students, the hall otherwise shrouded in silence that made even the girl's hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Why's everyone gone quiet?" she whispered, watching the black haired boy take the stairs with his chin held high.

"Background; his aunt is Leta Lestrange," a girl with fiery red hair leaned over to tell her as the boy beside her looked up for a second.

"What's-"

"Oh," Margherita replied, the boy looking at the two girls he happened to be between with curiosity.

"Is that a personal, family thing?" he asked Margherita, who just nodded. "Oh, okay, sorry," he whispered.

"You're okay, don't worry," she smiled slightly before turning back to see Sirius' sorting, already guessing his house.

"Gryffindor!" the hat proclaimed as the table right behind her stood up in an uproar, welcoming their unlikely member with a wave of support as Hufflepuff also applauded with grins on their faces, while Sirius' relief was obvious as a boy immediately high fived him and pulled him onto the bench as others reached over and ruffled his hair. He seemed right where he belonged.

"I guess he's the rebel of the family," Margherita chuckled to herself, seeing the joy on the face of the boy whom she was sure she would be related to in a worse version of this timeline.

"Remus Lupin!" the sorting ceremony lasted a while. By the end, the scattered group who didn't know how much effect they'll have on each other in a couple of years had almost fully integrated into their year. Learning names wasn't difficult but living down family reputations proved to be a task.

"Wait, so there would have been a Scamander in every house?" the red haired girl turned out to be Millie. She had a bubbly personality, constantly talking and cracking jokes, but Margherita believed she'd be someone to turn to in a crisis.

"Yeah, I guess I messed up," the Scamander girl replied with a small smile, helping herself to some roast potatoes.

"Oh, trust me, with the Rosier gang, and Malfoy, you're safe with us," some of the older students had moved down to talk to the first years, one of them being Margherita's brother, Lio, and his best friends, Theresa and Coney. Interestingly, Coney also had a parent who had graduated from Ilvermony.

"I'll trust you," Margherita replied with a grin.

"I'm proud of you, by the way," Lio told her quietly as her new friends talked more with the older years.

"Thanks, do you think dad will try to hide it?" she asked in the same volume.

"Only at christmas in front of the boys, don't worry," he nudged her before they both joined the conversation again.

When everyone had finished with their food, the headmaster sent the prefects to round up the first years and show them to their dorms. While her brother took the Ravenclaws of his own house, she met his girlfriend, Gemma, a muggle-born witch, who she had met the previous christmas. The prefect especially loved seeing her boyfriend's sister's eyes shine as she knocked the well known rhythm on one of the barrels past the kitchen, allowing the group to enter the badgers' burrow.

It really didn't take long to feel at home in the dorms and the Hufflepuff common room for Mar. It just felt like being with the animals and her family in her father's suitcase.

Meanwhile, Sirius lay awake in his bed, though not because it felt wrong. Listening to Peter's snores, Remus' tossing and turning and James' homesick sighs, he realised that he'd never felt so at home. Not even in the house he grew up in. Would it be easier being in a house known for their bravery? He hoped so.