Misfits

She's sitting on the old worn and comfy armchair by the fire when she first thinks of it, a sugar quill in her mouth and a half written transfiguration essay on her knees. Really, she thinks, it's surprising that this, in her seventh year, is the first time she's thought of it.

She frowns and looks once again to the four boys, now bowing to their audience of devoted Gryffindors after yet another successful prank on the rival Slytherin Quidditch team; it was so glaringly obvious, so…palpable and yet it had taken her seven years to come to the conclusion; the Marauders for all their fame and supposed fans really were just four misfits, that is, alone they were four complete misfits, together, well together they became something else entirely.

Take Peter Pettigrew; short, plump and with blond hair that stayed resolutely flat, despite his (many) attempts for it to resemble the messy hair of his idol. Alone Peter would be that one student that always finds himself the butt of the jokes, one who teachers never seemed to have time (or energy) for, the one who daily tripped or got stuck in the trick step…

Alone Peter Pettigrew would be a misfit.

The one that in that first term nobody would want to befriend, the one that people would wrinkle their noses at when he sat down, the one that could, quite easily, fade to the background; ignored and overlooked.

It wasn't hard to see, the Slytherins already saw him as an easy target, teachers did not fawn over him, and he was more than well acquainted with the trick steps of the castle…

And yet… part of the Marauders Peter Pettigrew spoke; protected by three friends more talented and strong he could give that Slytherin a withering look and a biting insult, Professors did not see him as a hopeless case, doomed to failure but just as another Marauder, undoubtedly hiding some talent, just too immature to yield it, students didn't wrinkle noses but instead called him to join them because even if he was Peter Pettigrew he was still a Marauder…

Remus Lupin was not much different, with his scarred face, ragged robes and mysterious demeanour he could quite easily have become a social outcast. During his first week at Hogwarts. Lily could, with startling clarity remember that Remus Lupin did not talk to a soul, save the Professors, any question on his home life would send the boy scurrying and an attempt to "become friends" was met with wide eyes and startled coughs…Remus Lupin became to the student population an enigma, an enigma that they could have, with time, come to fear.

So yes, alone Remus Lupin was a misfit.

The boy that hid behind shut doors and scarred faces, who went home more times than any other student.

And yet with the Marauders, Remus Lupin, like Peter Pettigrew become something more…he went from the timid boy that ran from friends, to the height of cool; the mastermind, the engineer of some of the Marauders most brilliant pranks, the one that somehow , seemed to be a complete paradox; member of the schools most troublesome group and also one of the people most often seen with a book in hand, he became friendly, a wry joker, and yet held the same enigma as he did during his first weeks at the castle, the only difference was rather than scare, the Remus Lupin of the Marauders became sought after; a mystery waiting to be solved, a friendly face that could offer advice at a moment's notice, the person that managed to both aid and keep in check his two wilder friends.

Sirius Black, she realised was not an exception to this rule. The first Black in Gryffindor. The first Black to break tradition and cause the entire Great Hall to break out into whispered gossip. Lily, in her seat by the fire watched the boy in question laugh, watched him thump his best friend on the back and could not help but feel a sense of awe because he was Sirius Black and though, now part of Hogwarts most notorious gang he could have, quite easily, been shunned by the student population.

His first evening had not been spent excitedly talking about the sorting or the food or the enchanted ceiling…older Gryffindors did not readily accept a Black, questions were made, taunts thrown, absurd suggestions made (a spy from Slytherin) and had it not been for one boy to stand up beside Sirius Black, he could, quite easily have become one of the most shirked student at Hogwarts; hexes from Slytherins, wariness from Ravenclaws, awe from Hufflepuffs and rejection from Gryffindor…

Alone Sirius Black would have been a misfit.

But after that first evening, Sirius Black was never alone and the word misfit had never been associated with the handsome Black, no, instead Sirius Black became the castles most infamous prankster who, had it not been for his friends, could have and most probably would have blown half the castle to smithereens. He was popular, and ridiculously smart and also a bit of bully but he was most definitely not a misfit.

Then there was Potter and really who would have ever thought the pureblood Potter, with ancestors in the house of the Lions could ever be a misfit? But for the first time Lily knew and believed that had it not been for the Marauders, James Potter would never hold the respect he now demanded, because eleven year old Potter had been a terror; a mixture of unrestrained excitement and a constant need for action. He had been a living, breathing, bumbling ball of hyperactivity and to the Professors a horror.

He spoke rapidly, bragged about his own skills and proceeded to quite accidently flood the Sixth year dorms on his second day and so really had he not had Sirius Black to clap him on his back and steer him away, or Remus Lupin to frown and scold or Peter Pettigrew who really needed his help at the moment to come and beg him to stop, James Potter would have become one of the most hated first years of the school's history.

Professors no doubt, would have considered exclusion just to get rid of his annoying drone and ceaseless energy, bouncing up everywhere like a jack in a box, older students would have most probably taught him a lesson and fear would have kept others away.

Alone James Potter would have been a misfit.

But as part of the Marauders, James Potter became something else entirely. He became a protector to little Peter, who looked up to him with awe, and would in time be called Remus Lupins own personal therapist; the only one to get the sandy haired boy to talk and laugh in their first year. To Sirius Black he became a partner in crime, the Hogwarts duo who broke hearts and spread laughter. He was also the only person in the castle, who could tell Sirius it was time to stop, a moral compass for the Black heir. The Marauders gave James Potter somewhere to put his endless stream of energy, something to do instead of following older students or troubling professors (though he still managed to do that quite a lot). It gave him a role and with Peter to call him and Remus to caution him and Sirius to laugh with James Potter became a leader; the person most likely to be followed or listened to by the Hogwarts student population.

Lily smiled from her seat on the armchair; they were luckier than they would ever know- more than just friends, brothers. Nobody doubted it; just as easily as they would all take the blame for a prank only one had taken part in, they would die for each other. It was hard to believe, especially the time they were living in, but the Marauders were bound by a fierce loyalty that nothing could diminish.

They shared everything, successes and failures; if one was in trouble, the rest would go to the ends of the earth to make things right and if one succeeded in something they all celebrated. She thought back to when she and James had first got together; Sirius, Remus and Peter had seemed happier than anyone, even James. They had called for a celebration, something she had complained about but the Marauders would not take no for an answer and Remus who was a day away from a full moon and Sirius who had just had yet another fight with his brother and Peter who had moments before been yawning profusely all stayed up into the early hours of the morning; they had talked and laughed and joked in those few hours, drinking butterbeer and feasting on sweets…Lily had never felt so included, they had let her into their friendship, allowed them to see the real them, something not many people could have claimed to have seen.

She looked up at a burst of laughter and saw Peter, red faced clutching on to James as he pushed yet another éclair into his mouth. The crowd around him burst into applause and a chant of "Peter. Peter. Peter" filled the common room, Remus was beside him, bucket at the ready and Sirius was apparently orchestrating the chants and whooping louder than anybody else. Lily rolled her eyes fondly; they would never grow up and she found that was something that she loved. In a world of war, it was easy to forget to smile but the Marauders despite their desires to fight never ceased to be happy.

And she was sure, without a doubt, that they would be four boys nobody in their year would ever forget; they had caused too much raucous, teased too many people, helped even more, laughed too loud in the corridors to be forgotten so easily. No, she thought, her four misfits would become a legend.

A/N: Yes, two fics in one day- I have too much free time and I'm in a mood to write :D

Please review and let me know what you think!