Author's Note:
I do not own any of Harry Potter or its characters. All of that belongs to the incredible JK Rowling, who will always have more imagination than I ever will.
I'm not sure where I'm taking this story quite yet, so…let me know what you think! All feedback is wonderful!
"Did you see his face?" Sirius Black laughed gleefully as he and friends trooped up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.
The ever-blundering Peter Pettigrew laughed, a false sound, as he glanced nervously about at the other three boys. Though it seemed like he belonged in the infamous Marauders, what really was the case was that the three other boys had taken pity on him in their first year.
When Peter had been picked on by all of his other classmates for failing to complete the assignments in class and falling behind, Remus Lupin, the kindest and most hard-working of the Marauders by far, had taken Peter under his wing and tutored him back into the teachers' good graces.
At that point, James Potter and Sirius Black had become best friends, widely known for their troublemaking streak and charming good looks. Unseen by most of the school, though, was their kindness. The duo terribly enjoyed teasing others, but deep down, they were true, honest boys who just enjoyed having a little fun.
James and Sirius noticed Remus, a previous loner, and Peter beginning to tag along together and decided to give them a "test." They approached Remus and Peter in the common room one evening and began to lightly prod Peter, while teasing the both of them. Peter's face grew red and he looked down at his homework bashfully.
Remus on the other hand, grew red for a different reason. He bristled and told off both James and Sirius for being insensitive prats who thought only for their own benefit and never bothered to consider others' feelings while making mischief around the castle.
Unknown to both victims, this was what James and Sirius had been hoping for – a streak of loyalty, goodness, and protectiveness in another potential friend (Remus) and another person they could have look up to them (Peter). James and Sirius were rather arrogant and enjoyed the thought of having a "younger brother" figure to look up to them for neither of them actually had brothers. (Sirius did, but due to his family background, his Gryffindor roots made him the white sheep in a black flock.)
Unfortunately, their teasing attempt backfired. What they didn't anticipate was having to work for Remus and Peter's friendship back over almost a month of the strange, but expected, ways friendship grew.
By the time first year was over, the four were inseparable. In their second year, they (James and Sirius's actions backed by Remus' careful planning with Peter's undying support) had wreaked so much havoc in the castle that just about everyone knew their names.
One night when James was sneaking about under his Invisibility Cloak, he overheard Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout on their patrols.
"I swear, I have never seen a group of students so smart but so…mischievous!" McGonagall sighed, exasperated. "They go…marauding around the castle, gathering up detentions like House Points, and yet their grades stay, well…good!"
Since then, James had used the term Marauders for their merry band of four and insisted that everyone else around the school use it as well. By the time third year began, the name stuck and they were hence forth called so.
As for Professor McGonagall, she couldn't help but smile despite the name. It was, in fact, one of the few times James Potter had listened to her to date.
Now in their fifth year, the four – minus Remus – had successfully taught themselves to be Animagi – wizards who could transform into animals at will. Since their second year upon discovering Remus' lycanthropy, they had made it their now-not-so-secret goal to become Animagi to join Remus during the full moon.
James turned into a stag and was appropriately nicknamed "Prongs." Sirius turned into a great, black dog and dubbed himself "Padfoot." Peter turned into a large, brown rat and was called "Wormtail."
It was now the week following their OWLs and the Marauders had most definitely been up to no good in their free time. They had just successfully a Slytherin student's hair bright pink without any prior preparation.
"Did you see his face?" Sirius Black laughed gleefully as he and friends trooped up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.
The ever-blundering Peter Pettigrew laughed, a false sound, as he glanced nervously about at the other three boys. Though it seemed like he belonged in the infamous Marauders, what really was the case was that the three other boys had taken pity on him in their first year.
Remus rolled his eyes and continued ascending the steps without further comment. James laughed with his best mate and ruffled his hair carelessly.
Just as they reached the top step, a dark figure pushed past them, head down.
"Oi, Snivellus!" Sirius crooned, recognizing the form immediately. "Got lost still? You're only going to be a 6th year in a couple months!"
James and Peter laughed loudly as Remus muttered under his breath.
They stepped through the portrait hole after reciting the password – Leo – and swept into their usual seats by the fire.
Sirius and Peter were still animatedly retelling their successful pranking day as Remus cracked open the nearest book at random, hoping to avoid his friends' blather. James, though, suddenly stopped laughing.
Across the common room sat a beautiful red-headed girl with bright green eyes. A decently sized book sat open before her, but her eyes weren't moving. They stared fixedly at the center of the page, and one hand played with the hem of her skirt as the opposite leg shook.
James' face creased into a frown. It was most unlike Lily Evans to play with her skirt and jiggle her leg. She would know; he had been – he preferred the word devotedly – paying attention to her since the Sorting Ceremony in their first year and had asked her out a grand total of 723 times to date. No matter how many times he was turned down, he remained faithful to his goal of going out on a date with Lily Evans.
"Hey, Evans!" James called out.
No response.
The frown deepened. If anything, spitfire Lily Evans would definitely have shot back a smart remark about it being the 724th time she would turn him down or even just a snippy no.
Instead, three second later, Lily shut her book and made her way up to the girls' dormitories.
"You coming, Prongs?"
James looked up, startled. Sirius was standing before him, Peter in his shadow. "Where?"
"The dormitories, unless you've got a hot date we don't know about," Sirius smirked.
"No, uh, no."
"To?"
"Both questions. No, I'm staying here, and no –"
"You haven't got a hot date," Sirius finished. "I figured. The only girl you'd go on a date with is Evans, and speaking of Evans, what was up with the cold shoulder?"
James shrugged listlessly. "I'll see you guys later."
"Take care of Moony, will you?" Sirius called over his shoulder as he departed for the stairs.
A careless nod was sent Sirius' way before he hopped the back of the couch and plopped next to Remus.
"Hey Moony…?"
"Yes, James?" Remus didn't look up from his book.
"…I have a question."
"Mmhmm…"
"…what's happened to Lily that's made her so upset lately?" James finally mustered up the courage to ask his question, albeit almost inaudibly.
This wasn't something Remus was expecting; he looked up, an eyebrow cocked in surprise. "You no – well, of course you would. I'd be surprised if you didn't. What do you mean by 'upset?'"
"She's just… It's not just the fact that she ignores me. It's that at meal times, she eats half of what she usually does. She buries her nose in a book, but doesn't flip a single page. She looks out the window half the time she's in the common room. She –" James rambled on until Remus silenced him with a hand.
"That's…kind of creepy, not going to lie. But, it's you, so I don't expect any differently. Well…Lily…" Remus sighed. "Remember last week right after the Defense OWL?"
James nodded like the attentive schoolboy he never was.
"You and Padfoot decided to hex Snape because you were bored?"
The nodding continued.
"Remember what happened when Lily showed up?"
"He called her the…word."
"Yeah. You do know that Lily and Snape had been really close friends since…before Hogwarts, yes?"
"Unfortunately, yeah."
"Well… Lily was really hurt that Snape called her that and decided to stop talking to him. Snape didn't think it would hurt that badly, so he tried to win back her friendship, which is why he was here before we came, I'm assuming," Remus explained softly.
"How –? Never mind. You're Moony. Of course you'd know," James imitated.
Remus chuckled. "So…? What's the plan?"
"What plan?" James asked, pretending to be completely innocent.
"I know that look, James Potter. You've got something up your sleeve and I'm not sure I'll really like it," Remus continued, nose back into his book.
"No…well, yes, but no."
"Eloquent, Prongs, eloquent. Now I understand why half the girls in school love you."
"Have I got you swooning at my feet yet, dear Remus?" James asked sarcastically.
"Nope. And I even see you half-naked almost every day… I don't know what those girls see in you, mate, to be honest."
At this point, James let out a real laugh. "I love you, mate."
"Yeah, yeah, I love you too."
The two fell silent: James stared into the dying fire and Remus flipped another page in his book.
"So…the plan?"
James sighed. "I was saying, no, you wouldn't not like it, and yes, I do have a plan."
"I would like said plan of yours?" Remus asked, hazel eyes wide in surprise. He shook his head, as if attempting to clear it of the nonsense James had just fed him, causing his brown hair to flop in front of his left eye. "Really."
"I'm positive. Just…give me some time to smooth it out and no mention of it at all to Padfoot and Wormtail."
Remus gave his friend a calculating look. James shrunk under the scrutinizing gaze. Remus' eyes were…unique, due to his lycanthropy. They weren't completely hazel; the irises had flecks of amber and gold in it, causing his gaze to oftentimes adopt the piercing look of real wolf. As much as James had been around Remus, the latter very seldom gave anyone this sort of look, which made it even worse.
"Okay." Remus finally released James from his unblinking stare. "You have my word."
"Thanks –"
"But if I see you making her even more upset, I will stop you, understood?"
"Yeah, of course! Moony, come on! It's Lily Evans." James hissed the last two words. "Why in the name of Merlin's pants would I want to upset her?"
"By asking her out for the I-don't-even-want-to-count-how-many-times-you've-asked-her-out time," Remus deadpanned.
James rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on!"
"You know it's true."
"I hate you, Moony."
"I hate you too, Prongs."