I Dare You, to Tell the Truth
A/N: Ok guys, this is my first Harry Potter fanfic EVER, and I am uber excited! A Marauders fic was definitely one I'd been wanting to write for quite awhile, and I finally got around to it. Thanks a billion tons for even clicking on this story. I don't even mind if you think it sucks, but if you do, maybe leave a review telling me why, so I can fix it? I'm always open for constructive criticism! Please? Anyways, on with the happiness!
Disclaimer: The brilliance that is the Harry Potter world belongs to JK Rowling, and (unfortunately) not me.
A (very short) Prologue
Lily Evans had never been at such a loss for words, ever. Sure, there were times then and there where she may have stuttered, stumbled, but this... This moment topped the top. Beat the best. Creamed the champ, or whatever other alliteration you wished to use. For one of the first times ever, thinking and planning was not working out for her, and it seemed her brain had just given up. There was no doubt about it, no one had ever made her as speechless as James Potter just did.
Chapter One- Well Then, Evans. I Heard You Were Tickilish.
It started off as just another innocent evening in the Gryffindor common room: Lily was lounging in the comfy red couches, with Marlene McKinnon sitting on her legs, and Alice Prewett slouched opposite them in her favourite armchair. The fire was crackling, and all the other students had retired to their beds, leaving the three best friends free to gossip about whomever they wished, without being heard. The victim at the moment was Kristen Holmes, a fellow seventh-year Ravenclaw who had yet to understand the meaning of clothing sizes.
"It's like she hasn't bought new robes since first year or something." complained Marlene. "Really, people need to understand that just because you fit in a size small does not mean that the size small fits you. Take the extra-large, hun, you've got stuff hanging out.
Alice giggled. "She's such a know-it-all too! Worse than Lily!"
"Hey!" protested Lily. It was pointless, really, though. She was such a know-it-all, and she would be the first to admit it.
"Just kidding, Lils, you're flawless!"
"Somebody mention flawless?" All of a sudden, the figures of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew appeared through the portrait hole. Lily groaned inwardly. Her patience level was not up for another session of Maurauder shenanigans, not after today's Potions class fiasco. The four boys had let loose a giant tarantula that they'd found in Professor Slughorn's Potions storage onto the Slytherin table. Tabithia Drench, a seventh-year Slytherin had screamed and knocked her potion everywhere. Sev- Er, Snape (she would not call him Severus, they were no longer friends) and his friends had broken out in green colored hives, much to the amusement of the other students. Slughorn had quickly rushed them off to Madame Pomfrey, but not before Potter and his crew had gotten in their fair share of insults. "Oh, we were brewing make-up removing potion?", "Even pimples wouldn't want to be on that!" and "Oi, Snivellus! Scary mask! Oh wait, that's your face!"
Quite understandably, Lily had had enough of them.
"Sod off Black," Marlene shot, voicing Lily's thoughts. Marlene was such a fireball, and she looked the part too. Her long, curly brown hair always had a wild edge to it, and she smiled at everyone, sometimes to be nice and sometimes (generally in the case of the Slytherins) to merely piss people off.
"But Marly," Sirius Black sang, awfully off-key, "Marly I love you. Marly I do. When we're apart, my heart beats for you." He warbled (but more so wobbled) the last note.
Lily turned to Remus, probably the only sensible one of their lot. He was a prefect, and the person who should have been Head Boy, not his arrogant prick of a friend, Potter. "How drunk is he?"
"Surprisingly not"
"Hmmph."
"Oi, I'm never drunk," objected Sirius. "just... giddily hydrated."
Lily groaned. But then again, what did she expect from Potter's best mate? "Out of all the words in the world, you come up with 'giddily hydrated'? What do girls see in you?" she turned, swinging her bright ginger hair back to her friends "Now, about Kristen, I -"
"What is there not to see?" Sirius interrupted, waving his arms in the general direction of himself, but Lily had already stopped looking. Sirius was an arrogant prick too, anyways.
"Certainly not your ego." supplied Alice. Before Lily had the chance to agree, the four boys had sat down right on her legs, adding to the considerable weight that was Marlene.
"Ouch! Get off you prats!"
"Lily, my dear," said James, earning a glare from the former, "I would love to get off, but unfortunately I don't want to. And you lot look really bored. We figured we'd help, right boys?"
"Correct," agreed Sirius. "And we've just the game to do so."
Peter grinned. "Do we ever. It's called Truth or Snare!"
"No, Peter. Truth or DARE."
"Whatever. Truth or Dare, Truth or Snare, same difference."
James turned to Lily. "It's a game where people go around and ask each other truth or dare, and then-"
"I know Potter, I'm muggleborn." The less she had to hear him talk, the better.
"Alice and Marlene aren't."
"Whatever." It wasn't like they were actually going to play, anyways. Right? Marlene and Alice had never shown an interest in muggle games, so it was only logical that they wouldn't this time either. No, they wouldn't agree. She let Potter finished his pointless explanation. Once he was done, Lily could have sworn she saw Marlene wink at Alice, just before she said two very startling words: "We're in." Lily's mental jaw dropped. No. They did not just- No, the boys' weight on her legs was probably blocking the blood flow to her brain, or something. They wouldn't dare, they knew how much she despised James! No, she must've misheard. She certainly hoped she'd misheard! But then, James exclaimed "Great!"
She hadn't been mistaken.
"No way." she groaned. "There's is no way in bloody hell I'm playing truth or dare with you lot."
"Aw, come on," James whined. "It'll be fun!"
"Nope. Not likely. Negative."
And then, an evil look came into the messy haired boy's eyes. "Well then, Evans. I heard you were ticklish."
Oh, bugger.
And James, Sirius, Marlene and Alice pounced on her, waging a full on, unfair four-against-one tickle war.
"Aaah! No! Ahaaaaha! Quit it, you lot!"
"Say you'll play!"
"No way in hell!" But she was beginning to doubt it. Anyone who knew Lily Evans knew that her greatest weakness (aside from being a stubborn, insufferable know-it-all) was probably being ticklish. A game of Truth or Dare was beginning to look quite pleasurable compared to this.
Between giggles, she pleaded. "Remus! Make them stop!"
"Sorry Lils. No can do!"
She would forever despise Marlene and Alice for this.
"Fine! I surrender! I'll play." Cheers of victory echoed through the room. Her four tickle torturers shared a look of triumph. And Lily immediately regretted her decision when she saw the mischief in Black's features, dimly illuminated by the flickering fire, while he announced:
"Let the fun begin."