Are You Happy Now? (A Marauders Tale)

Chapter 1: Here We Go Again

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize -- such as the characters, certain spells, and the Wizarding community -- belong to JK Rowling. I don't pretend to be the second-richest woman in the world... But I wish I was! Any characters or plots you aren't familiar with came from me.

Book cover by Ninja at the-dark-arts.net! <3

Note: This story was written many years ago. As the author, I do not wish for you to think that my writing style is this sloppy or that I have no grasp on Mary-Sues or clichés. If I could go back and re-write this story and take out elements that some may find overdone, I would. Please plug through this if you find it somewhat interesting as I assure you that the actual writing gets better. Thanks!

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What was better than a full year at a school away from home? Nothing. Not for me, anyway. With a father like mine, summer lasted only too long. I was grateful for its end.

He wasn't abusive or anything like that. He just made my life miserable without realizing it.

I was pulled away from my own little world by the hearty whistle of the scarlet train. Passengers were already starting to board. My cousin Remus and I would follow suit.

When I least expected it, Remus and I got attacked by a herd of idiots. Those idiots were also known as Remus's inner circle of friends. James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew all embraced me into warm hugs, especially Sirius. I scoffed in distaste. Sirius Black had tried (to the best of his ability) to get me to like him ever since I met him on the train ride to Hogwarts in my first year.

Don't get me wrong. Having a tall, handsome-looking, and smart boy come up to me and hug me isn't a bad thing (well, tall compared to my 5'3" self). It was just the games that he played. I always felt like he was trying to win my heart just to go and play Quidditch with it. My heart was fragile. Breaking it was easy, and his stupid childish games would be like dropping my heart fifty feet above the ground.

"Erm, Sirius? You can let go of me now," I said uncomfortably, trying to squirm my way out of his grasp. He saw my struggle and slowly backed away.

"Oh... Sorry, Kris," he mumbled, earning a loud laugh from James, Remus, and Peter. Sirius glared and hit James squarely in the chest for starting such commotion.

Kris isn't just a boy name. It can be short for Kristopher, true, but not in my case. I was named Kristin Safara Lupin, but I preferred to be called Kris. My whole name, Kristin, was too... not me.

"Oww! Geez. Be careful, mate. I use my chest for breathing occassionally!" James whined, messing with his already-askew black hair by scratching his head. I simply rolled my eyes. He had usually only done that in front of a certain girl...

"Ugh, let's go find a compartment before they're all full," I suggested in annoyance. We headed into the train, leaving our trolleys with the man in front of the entry.

I didn't normally go around spending all of my time with my cousin's friends. I had my own group of friends. We met by rooming together in third year. It turned out that we were all very similar, personality-wise. The only reason for my riding to Hogwarts with Remus and his friends was because when my Mother left my Father, she made him promise that I'd stay with Remus so we wouldn't be alone. Of course, she only meant for our first year, but my Father always made me do the same thing every year. I usually ditched them, but this year, I decided that I would stay and catch up.

"Here's an empty one!" Peter shouted across the train's corridor. We all followed his voice and it led us to the empty compartment.

"Ladies first." Sirius turned to me, holding his arm out for me to go ahead of him. I rolled my eyes and kept a straight face. This would be fun.