Hello there! How are ya? So, this is my first time ever publishing anything. Yikes. I've written for years but have never had the nerve to send my work out there. So, preface: I own nothing. Characters belong to the talented, amazing, brilliant J.K Rowling, and the plot is based off of The Prince and Me, to which I also own no rights. That being said, I hope you enjoy! Please review, I'd love to hear feedback! xoxo
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Chapter One: The Master Plan
"Look out below!" Sirius Black called though to no one in particular, as he watched his golf ball as it soared off of the tee and over the rooftops of Brighton. The ball bounced off of a chimney about a hundred meters away, sending it closer towards the beach, where it rolled down a roof, continuing its journey as it sunk into a gutter, following the metal down the side of the building to the street, where it rolled along the sidewalk before finally coming to a stop underneath the foot of one Remus Lupin.
Remus Lupin had a super power you see. He had an uncanny ability to sense when his companions were causing trouble, no matter how far away they were. It was a bit of a pain for Sirius, who liked to cause trouble, almost as much as he liked fine wine and even finer women. But he enjoyed Remus' company, after all they'd been friends for years, so he accepted the annoying super power his friend possessed.
This was how Remus was able to look directly towards the rooftop upon which Sirius was perched, a spot of black clothing and even blacker hair in the distance. Remus sighed, and with a roll of his eyes scooped up the ball, tucking it safely in his pocket. He then reversed the journey the ball had made, though not in nearly as exciting a fashion, for he did not possess the power to scale building sides and leap merrily across rooftops. So, Remus stuck to the paved Brighton streets, shaking his head at his friend's antics. Golfing off a rooftop. This was new, even for Sirius Black.
"You do realise that you very likely could have killed someone, don't you?" Remus asked about twenty minutes later when he'd joined Sirius on the rooftop terrace of a certain very famous hotel.
"No, I have very good aim, thank you." Sirius shook his head as he sipped a mimosa. "Besides, James would have handled it for me." Remus snorted and took Sirius' mimosa, setting it on the table beside them.
"Drinking at this hour? Really?"
"The mimosa is a morning beverage." Sirius pouted. "Besides, I needed something to cure my hangover."
"You wouldn't have a hangover if you didn't drink." Remus countered, raising a light brown eyebrow.
"True, but I would be sincerely depressed."
"Why is Sirius sincerely depressed?" A new voice asked as the door to the roof opened once more. "What did you talk him out of now Remus?" The two young men stood immediately and bowed, though Sirius' bow was made up more of amusement than respect for the new member of their party. Remus rolled his eyes once more.
"The dreadful position I would be in had your lovely Mum and Dad not taken me in." Sirius tossed a golf ball to the third young man and his best friend.
"Ah, of course. God forbid you be stuck with your parents a moment longer." Jame Potter said, rolling the ball in between his fingers, tossing it up in the air before lobbing it over towards Remus who plopped it back into the bucket. "Why the golf balls?" He asked Sirius, who'd taken to lounging on a chaise-longue, mimosa back in hand.
"I was practicing my swing."
"Good idea." James grinned, grabbing a club of his own and setting up the tee. "We do have that charity event coming up."
"Indeed. I'm only thinking of the children." Sirius simpered, watching as James swung, sending the ball flying even farther that Sirius. "Show off." He grumbled.
"Sirius, the event is for Alzheimer victims." Remus frowned. Must he be the only organized one?
"Eh, as long as we show up and give them money it doesn't matter." Sirius waved a hand.
"And besides," James piped up, putting on another ball. "They have Alzheimer's, so it's not like they'll remember anyway, or even know who we are." He grinned as the ball bounced off of the peak of a building and went sideways towards the pier.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" Remus asked, more to himself than the other two, sinking down onto a chair in defeat. Remus was the son of the head of security for Peverell Palace, meaning that he had spent the majority of his life in the palace walls, and had become friend with James after years of being towed to events where his father was needed. They'd become mates rather quickly, and though he acted annoyed, Remus got much amusement from the stunts James and Sirius pulled. And, admittedly, sometimes he joined in.
Sirius was the son of the Duke and Duchess of Grimmauld, a very old and rich family with more interest in their publicity than their son. Sirius had run away when he was fourteen, convincing James' parents to take him in. He didn't like to talk about why, which was made him so interesting to the ladies of England. He was tall, dark, and mysterious. To Remus and James it made him even more obnoxious. Yet they kept him around anyway, for some reason.
James was the glue that held them all together. The crown prince of England was a sort of enigma to the country of London. Though worshipped all over the country by teenage girls, girls his age, and even older women, James was as much of a mystery as Sirius, though admittedly less moody. James liked to cause trouble, which meant that his parents didn't like him in the tabloids, so they tried to keep him out of the tabloids. But this just meant that the press were even more interested in him. It was a bit of a paradox to be honest.
"So, are you still having wild thoughts about going to a university in the states?" Sirius asked. Though he had been joking, never actually taking James' plan seriously (no pun intended. But James was not joking.
"Actually yes, and I think I found one." At this, Sirius spit his mimosa out, sending it flying directly into Remus' face. With his lips tight and eyes shut, Remus grimaced and wiped the orange liquid off his face with a handkerchief.
"Wait-really? You're taking the mickey. Please tell me you're taking the mickey." He looked with wide eyes at his friend, not bothering to apologize to Remus who now smelled of fruit and alcohol.
"Yes. I mean no, I'm not taking the mickey." James swung the golf club over his shoulder so that it hung behind his back, walking lazily over towards where his friends sat. "I've thought about it for a while, and Mum thinks it could be good for me, to be honest." He shrugged. "I dunno, I think it could be fun."
"Fun." Sirius' face was blank. "University. Sitting in classrooms and doing homework, studying and taking exams- James are you out of your bloody mind? You're a bloody prince! You can do whatever the hell you want and no one can tell you no."
"Actually, people do tell him no." Remus held up a sticky finger. "Case in point, Alexander and Moira." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Sirius, I thought you'd be supportive of the idea." James pouted.
"Why on Earth would I be supportive?" He scoffed. "I hate studying. Why do you think I ran away?" Both his friends rolled their eyes at this, knowing full well that this was not why he ran away. Sirius had a nasty habit of bringing up his running away whenever he had to do something he didn't want to, or talking about something he didn't like. "My mum and dad made me do that, it's why I ran away." or, "I ran away from home when I was fourteen, cut me some slack!"
"I have three words for you, mate." James purt the golf club to the ground and leaned forward on it towards his friends. "Girls. Alcohol. Parties. All the time." At this Sirius perked up. Those were his three favorite words. "I mean, have you never seen a college movie?"
"No." Sirius admitted. "You know that I prefer to read and study languages so I can use them to dazzle the many find ladies I encounter." The two others rolled their eyes once more as Sirius refused to realise he'd just contradicted himself. "But that's a thing? The girls, alcohol, and parties."
"Aye." James nodded. "Just watch 'Animal House'. Or 'Neighbors'. The first or the second, both work." Sirius nodded as he stored this information, and Remus saw that Sirius had obviously begun to accept James idea, meaning he was the only one with any chance of talking some sense into his friend.
"James, you have duty here-" He tried but the prince cut him off.
"Remus, think about the benefits of this. I mean, what better way to get to know about common people than by going to a university filled with them?" Remus sighed. It was obvious he wasn't going
"Fine, but why in the United States?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to fight the impending migraine that was sure to come.
"Remus, if I went to a university in England I would be bombarded everywhere I go. You know that the tabloids are obsessed with me. But if I went to the states I'd have more of a change to have a bit on anonymity. I mean, as far as we know the United States have no idea who I am. Right?"
"Yes, my father has made sure of that." Remus nodded grimly. "Though how he accomplished it, I've no idea."
"See? So this is obviously the best option." James grinned.
"Well, you sure seem to think so."
"Remus," James sighed. "My mum already agreed, and I'd rather like to not have to test this. Let's just accept a beautiful thing, yeah?"
"Fine." Remus sighed. "Whatever. But if this ends poorly, it's on you. Not me."
"Knew I could count on you, mate." James grinned, slapping Remus on the back. Where Remus felt with certainty that this would be disastrous, James felt like nothing could go wrong. In a way, both were right.
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Ah! First chapter submitted! Exciting stuff huh? I hope to publish regularly, I already have the first six chapters written, but the life of a college student is always unpredictable. But, I will do my best. Please please review! If you're actually reading this, THANK YOU! I'm excited to begin this journey, but also nervous because I don't know where it'll take me. Regardless, enjoy.
xoxo- Mar