CHAPTER ONE — THE THING ABOUT SIRIUS BLACK

Olivia Madden considered it rather bad luck that she'd lived next door to James Potter her entire life.

It was even worse luck that their parents had become such good friends, giving them no choice but to bond during their childhood. It was then particularly unfortunate that they both ended up sorted into Gryffindor house during their first year of Hogwarts. And absolutely fucking disastrous that despite James finding his own gang of morons to hang around with, he still claimed to enjoy spending time with her – his favourite person and longest serving best friend.

Worst of all? Liv, hand on heart, would probably die for that idiot.

The morning of September 1st 1976, however, had Liv questioning her loyalty. In fact, she was so exhausted with James incessantly talking her ear off about his unbearable crush on Lily Evans, that by the time they reached platform 9 and 3/4, the sight of his friends emerging from the crowd actually filled Liv with relief, rather than dread.

"There they are!" James exclaimed, throwing up a hand and waving enthusiastically. Liv slowed to a far less enthusiastic stop beside him, arms crossing over her chest. "Do you think they see us? Should I shout?"

"Don't even think about i–"

"Potter! Madden!" Sirius Black called out, striding towards them with an irritating smirk on his lips. "Miss me?"

Liv could not help the scoff that slipped out of her mouth, arching an eyebrow in only half amusement as he approached them. Missed him? Sirius Black? That would be the day.

She watched as the crowd seemed to naturally part way, allowing Sirius to pass straight through. It was something Liv really hated recognising as a regular occurrence, because that was just the thing about Sirius Black – he couldn't help but command attention everywhere he went.

Dressed in his newly perfected signature style; black jeans, fitted white t-shirt and leather jacket, the muggle inspired combination that he knew might send his mother into an early grave (with a bit of luck), and his long dark hair, and the assortment of bracelets on his wrists, and the rings decorating his fingers...everyone was staring at Sirius Black as if he was some kind of God.

And don't get a Liv wrong, she could perhaps, from somewhere incredibly deep within her, fantom a tiny, minuscule amount of understanding over the attraction to him. Because that was another thing about Sirius Black – whilst reckless, obnoxious, and largely insufferable, he was also rather witty, charming and, above all, irritatingly handsome. And as much as Liv wanted to hate him, she couldn't fully commit to it.

James and Sirius met in the middle of the platform and embraced in a dramatic hug, as if they were reuniting lovers who had been torn apart by unfortunate circumstances. To be honest, there was a little part of Liv that was convinced those two really did have some sort of great big love story going on, even if it was only platonic.

"Sirius, mate, it's so good to see you!"

Liv rolled her eyes. She knew for a fact they'd actually seen each other only three weeks ago. As always, Sirius had spent some time at Potter manor during the summer. Both boys made sure Liv knew plenty about that when they attempted to unleash pranking hell on her. She'd have thought they would've known better than to mess with her by now, but Liv had learned that guys were incredibly stupid – and apparently they didn't come any stupider than James and Sirius.

Once the boys let go of one another, Sirius' gaze drifted towards Liv, a faint grin gradually smoothing across his lips.

"Sirius," she acknowledged.

Yeah, so Liv was slightly bitter over something that happened over summer. James had labelled it The Great Pranking Incident of '76, and Liv had sworn that if either of them mentioned it ever again they would get smacked with whatever object was nearest – sadly, it hadn't seemed to deter them very much.

"Olivia," Sirius addressed. "An honour to be in your presence, as always."

Liv's narrowed stare met his piercing grey eyes, catching the mischievous glint within them. She knew exactly what he was thinking about, and desperately wanted to wipe the smug look off his face.

James glanced between them as their gazes lingered on one another for perhaps a moment too long. He raised his eyebrows at Remus, who responded with a heavily exasperated look that only a long suffering friend of both Liv and Sirius could understand.

Sirius, undeniably, thought that Olivia was gorgeous. Everybody knew that. Liv definitely knew that. Even their Hogwarts teachers knew, though they didn't take so kindly to Sirius reminding everyone in the middle of class ("Mr Black, what is so important that you're not paying attention in my lesson?", "Sorry Professor, I just keep getting lost in Liv's eyes.") He didn't do much to hide his attraction, and certainly wasn't afraid of shamelessly flirting with her whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Despite often being on the receiving end of Liv's numerous prickly insults and less than savoury words, Sirius always thought that she seemed to maintain the balance of being a bit of a dick with an effortless aura of charm and quick wit, which appeared to be a combination that was completely irresistible to him.

Whilst, for some unknown reason, his incredible talent for charming women didn't seem to work on her, he was sure it was only a matter of time before it did.

And anyway, Sirius liked a challenge.

He also knew that Liv was possibly the very person James trusted most in his life – which meant that Sirius trusted her too. And although they sometimes bickered, and occasionally got too competitive in Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons, and although Sirius could definitely name several instances during quidditch practices where he believed Liv had purposely sent a bludger in his direction, the most important thing about their sort-of-friendship was that Liv had never let Sirius down, and he didn't think she ever would.

Whether they'd always have each other's backs because of James, or if it was just some kind of unspoken agreement between them, Sirius didn't know for sure, but he did appreciate Liv being in his life...Even if she did threaten to kill him now and again.

James cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him. Liv's eyes quickly fell upon on the two quieter boys in the background, both of whom were grinning.

"Hey, Loops. Hey, Pete. How were your holidays?"

Remus Lupin. Liv had a soft spot for him – okay, fine, she absolutely adored him and was quite certain the entirety of Hogwarts did too. Because who could look at lovely Remus John Lupin, in his little cardigans, with the frayed sleeves that now only come down to his wrists because he keeps outgrowing them, and not want to give him the entire world?

And Peter Pettigrew, sweet boy Pete, who did things like forgetting his left and rights and accidentally blowing up his cauldron in potions and almost breaking his leg missing where to get off on the moving staircase because he was laughing so hard at James' jokes. Liv had so much time for him, especially because they were definitely both failing Herbology together – which was fine because at least they didn't have to do it alone! And although he was not as effortlessly cool as James, or gifted with the bad boy charm of Sirius (Listen, Liv has read Muggle books, she knows all about bad boys) or the cleverness of Remus Lupin, Peter was still completely irreplaceable in that group of friends.

In response to her question, Remus had immediately launched into an anecdote about his summer holidays, automatically earning Liv's interest.

Sirius frowned as he watched laughter light up her features. It was a smile usually reserved for her closest friends, one that Sirius rarely saw because she was always scowling at him and James, but somehow Remus managed to entice it out of her within seconds.

He couldn't understand it. Like, Remus had told him and Peter the exact same story earlier, and Sirius didn't think it was particularly funny or interesting enough for him to deserve Liv's sole attention like that.

He turned to James in disbelief. "I'm standing here in my best leather jacket and get like what, five words? Those two just show up and get her full attention?"

"Oh, mate, this is exactly what happens with Lily," James sympathised.

Sirius had to physically restrain himself from groaning because how the fuck did James manage to work Lily Evans into every possible conversation? Sirius loved Lily, he really did, she was great, but if James kept going on about his undying love for her, he might lose his mind.

"I'm ninety-nine percent certain it's because she's trying not to admit that she actually likes me," James carried on. "I mean, it's the only thing that makes sense, right?"

"Right." Sirius, entirely disinterested in what was being said about Lily as he watched the conversation with Remus and Liv unfold, decided it was easier to just nod and agree.

"And with Liv, right, she's never had a proper boyfriend before–"

Sirius' head snapped back to look at James. "She hasn't?"

"Nope. Plenty of them asking her out, mind you, but they never get anywhere."

"Yeah, not that you know of."

James chuckled. "Come on, I've known her my whole life, you think she wouldn't tell me?"

"I think there's a lot of things she doesn't tell you," Sirius replied. "Actually, I know for a fact there's things she doesn't tell you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Remus says it's because you're a horrible listener," Sirius told him. "Personally, I think it's because you always make jokes out of serious situations."

"Thank you."

"Wasn't a compliment."

"What I'm hearing, Sirius, is that you think I'm funny."

As if on cue, laughter from the others interrupted their conversation. Their eyes landed on Liv again, who had found amusement in something either Remus or Peter had said.

Sirius exhaled heavily.

James placed a hand on his shoulder. "By the way, I think your jacket looks great."

Admittedly, the compliment did make Sirius feel a little better. "Thanks, mate."

James smiled back at him, but his expression soon changed into a frown. He leaned to the left, neck craning to see past Sirius. "Is that?"

"Oh, Merlin, Liv!" The excitable shout tore through the air as Chrissy Hale bounded eagerly towards the group, beaming as she crashed into a slightly startled Liv and threw her arms around her.

Sirius felt the sudden urge to give Chrissy Hale a massive hug too, for he was incredibly thankful for her well-timed interruption.

"I missed you so much!"

Liv laughed, arms wrapping around Chrissy as they swayed from side to side. "I missed you too!"

Liv reckoned that if James and Sirius could have an overly dramatic reunion in the middle of the platform, so could she and Chrissy. Plus, Liv hadn't actually seen her in over a month, so the reunion was far more justified.

Chrissy had cut her wavy blonde hair over the summer. It now reached just above her shoulders, and Liv thought it made her look much older. The gold locket she always wore was resting around her neck, enclosing a photograph of them in their first year.

They'd met as dorm mates, one very nervous Gryffindor who had been convinced she was going to end up in Hufflepuff and was having a minor identity crisis, and another Gryffindor who was practically bursting with excitement because she'd eaten a few too many sweets at the welcome feast – naturally, James' fault.

They became close after trying out for the Gryffindor quidditch team together, with Liv making it as a reserve chaser before eventually settling her place in second year. Chrissy had to wait until their previous keeper left in fourth year before she could claim the regular spot.

Both of them still played, and James had even made captain for their sixth year. Liv, who firmly believed that he was not equipped to take on any sort of serious responsibility, felt a little betrayed by Professor McGonagall's decision. Though, she fully expected that James would be enlisting her help, so perhaps it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Whilst Liv had shown her congratulations to James' quidditch captaincy with a fist bump (after she had gotten over her initial shock and claimed that he was a "jammy git" several times), Chrissy had written him a three page letter about how excited she was for him and the upcoming quidditch season.

That was simply the kind of person Chrissy Hale was, a personal ray of sunshine that was genuinely impossible to dislike – even the Slytherins didn't bother her much. Although, that could've been because of the popularity of her twin brother.

Wesley Hale was the complete opposite to his sister; introverted, aloof and unnecessarily sarcastic. But he was Slytherin's best quidditch player and their captain, and had a level of popularity that could've probably rivalled James and Sirius if he hadn't been in Slytherin.

Liv didn't actually mind Wes' company. They shared a few similar interests and her friendship with him seemed to annoy James and Sirius endlessly, which only encouraged her more. It was, perhaps, one of the reasons she was still grinning – the arrival of one Hale sibling on the platform, meant the other wasn't far behind.

"Morning," Wes spoke as he reached them, nodding briefly at the four boys, though only Remus returned his greeting with a polite smile.

"Wes. How's it going?" James responded civilly. Beside him, Sirius stiffened.

Whist James wasn't fond of Wes, Sirius thought that the Slytherin was, in his own words, "an arrogant twat," and Wes thought the same about him. Liv, for the life of her, could not figure out where the hatred had even originally stemmed from, aside from it being house rivalry gone too far – they had a similar issue with Severus Snape, though Liv could understand that one since he was an utter prick.

Clearly though, the disliking of Wes didn't extend to both Hale siblings, since Sirius and Chrissy were great friends and James often proclaimed how much he wanted to kiss her whenever she made a good save during their quidditch matches.

"Yeah, I'm not too bad," Wes answered. Sirius' jaw tightened. "Yourself?"

James nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Excellent." Wes turned away from them, glancing at Chrissy, who looked a little sheepish. "I'm gonna find a compartment before they get full. See you later."

Chrissy nodded. "Me too. Those first years keep taking all the seats. Coming Liv?"

"Yeah, I promised Lils and Marlene I'd find them." At her words, James opened his mouth to speak, but Liv quickly held a hand up to silence him. "No, I will not remind Lily of your undying love for her, nor will I question whether she has changed her stance on dating you yet, because, sorry to break it to you, it is never going to happen."

"It might," James insisted.

"Yeah, don't be a spoil sport, Madden," Sirius added with a knowing grin.

Liv glared at him. She hated it when Sirius encouraged James to do anything stupid, but pursue Lily Evans was the worst of all. Not to mention, Liv knew it annoyed him too, which meant he only did it because it annoyed her even more.

"It's really not going to happen."

"Before we left for summer, she called me James and not Potter, so, honestly, I think we might be getting somewhere."

Liv laughed pitifully at James' observation, patting him on the shoulder as she started to move past. "You keep telling yourself that."

And with that, Olivia left the four Marauders standing on the platform, with Sirius Black's eyes wandering after her.

A/N

I hate first chapters so. fucking. much. I promise this will get better but anyway, Liv is  finally here and she is everything to me!!

This literally took me a whole year to start writing so I'm not even gonna promise regular updates but I will do my best because I love this little group of found family with my whole heart.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Sirius simping and Liv pretending she doesn't wanna snog him, aka the entire plot of this book!!