[A/N: This is a Marauders world without Peter. I know that he was actually an integral part of their group, and there are probably a ton of "Three Marauders" stories out there, but I wanted to explore the Marauders' era through the lens of my own OC. Melody is a great girl, but she has her own set of faults and flaws, just like anyone else. One of her best traits is her unconditional acceptance; which I like to think is due to her mixed ancestry and open-mindedness.

Follow along as I delve into this generation of witches and wizards, their successes and failures, their struggles and triumphs, and all the mischief they get into. I solemnly swear that they are up to no good.

Please rate/review and let me know what you think!]

"All right, Mel, admit it… You're lost." Melody Wright sat down dejectedly at an outdoor set of tables and chairs in the middle of Diagon Alley. All around her, witches and wizards bustled about, getting their Saturday errands done.

Melody groaned, replaying the last two weeks in her head. Her father had recently gotten a splendid job offer in Wales. Instead of considering the fact that Mel might not want to move away from Ilvermorny and finish her last two years in a strange new school, he had accepted it and whisked her mother away to live with him in their wonderful new flat. Melody's mother had considered allowing her to continue attending Ilvermorny, but she decided in the end that it was too far away. After many owls between her parents and the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Melody had been allowed to transfer over. A reporter from London's magical newspaper, the Daily Prophet, had Floo Powder-traveled all the way to America to get the first scoop on the Hogwarts transfer student. The woman, Rita Skeeter, was in her mid-20's and made Melody rather uncomfortable. She had a feeling that some things in the article had been exaggerated, but she didn't bother finding it and reading through it.

Melody was a bright young witch of mixed No-Maj and magical ancestry, with both Native American and Irish blood, among other varied nationalities. She was rather slim, and of an average height for a sixteen-year-old girl. Her long dark curls reached the middle of her back, and her eyes, a blue that stood out against her olive-toned skin, were long-lashed and full of a mixture of shrewd awareness and gentle kindness.

Her parents hadn't been able to come along with her to shop for school supplies, so they'd sent her to meet up with her Uncle Saul, who lived near Diagon Alley. Saul Croaker was often busy at the Ministry of Magic, working in some position that he was unable to speak about; and he'd been delayed in joining Melody, so she'd had to find her way around London all by herself. As nervous as Melody was about starting at Hogwarts, she thought it would be much less stressful than this shopping trip had been.

She glanced up, scanning the nearest shops for what seemed like the hundredth time. On the corner of the street, there was an inviting little ice cream shop that had a sign above it, which read "Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour."

With nothing better to do, and a craving for something sweet, Melody hopped up and walked over to the shop. She went inside, the door tinkling slightly as she did, and walked up to the counter. A kind-looking older man smiled at Melody from behind the display case of ice cream flavors.

"Just a moment, dear," he said. The man shoveled up several scoops of a pinkish ice cream and deposited them in a sizeable bowl, handing it to an old lady who winked at Melody as she left. The shop was relatively empty, except for three boys who were standing a little ways from the counter. Two of them were talking loudly, and the third was reading a book intently as he finished a small bowl of ice cream.

"What can I get for you?" The man behind the counter asked. Melody figured he must be Florean Fortescue.

"Um…" She took a moment to scan the list of flavors and toppings posted on the wall. It seemed to stretch on for miles… at least it had her favorite combination. "I'd like two scoops of extra dark chocolate with lightly sweetened cream, please."

He smiled pleasantly as he began to scoop out her ice cream. "Huh, you know, that's not really one of my best sellers, but you're the second person to order it today." Melody looked around to see who he meant, and her gaze fell on the boy with the book, who was returning his now-empty bowl to the counter.

"Here you go—four Sickles."

Melody paid and thanked him, then sat down at one of the indoor tables to eat it. The three boys seemed like they were on their way out, but one of them, a handsome boy with shoulder-length black hair, was lingering at the counter, pretending to peruse the flavors—although he was really shooting glances at Melody.

Melody looked pointedly down at her bowl as she ate her snack.

"Sirius, are you going for seconds or not?" the second boy, with untidy dark hair and glasses, asked good-naturedly. "I want to get to Quality Quidditch Supplies already."

The boy named Sirius stole one more furtive glance towards Melody, who was suddenly very interested in her spoon. "Yeah, and then we can hurry to Flourish and Blotts, in case Evans is there, right?"

"Oh, Sirius, you know me so well."

Melody's heart started beating a little faster. Quality Quidditch Supplies and Flourish and Blotts were two of the places on her shopping list that she'd had trouble finding. In reality, she'd probably passed right by them in her flurry of anxiety, trying to make sure she'd purchased everything—but if these boys knew exactly where to go, perhaps she could follow them to their destinations.

The boys left the shop, and, after hurriedly gulping down the last of her ice cream, Melody followed them. She had assumed they would already be a few paces down the road, but the boys had paused right outside of Florean Fortescue's. Unable to slow her momentum, she knocked right against whichever boy was closest. A book tumbled to the floor, and Mel dove to catch it before it reached the ground, righting herself so quickly that she almost fell over.

"Careful," said a soft voice. Melody looked up into warm grey eyes and felt a flush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Sorry. I mean, here," she sputtered, handing him his book and taking a step back.

"That was a great catch!" the boy with glasses commended her, running his hand through his hair absent-mindedly. "Do you play Quidditch, by any chance?"

"Former Seeker for the Ilvermorny Thunderbirds," Melody said proudly. The boy's eyebrows drew together.

"That sounds familiar..."

"Famili—James, you wanker, she's the American transfer student! Didn't you hear her melodic American accent? Don't you recognize her lovely visage from the paper? She's in our year, to boot!" The boy with long black hair bowed dramatically, looking at her with twinkling black eyes. "I, my dear, am known as Sirius Black. You must be Melody Wright."

Melody felt warmth rising to her cheeks. "Er, yes. Nice to meet you."

"This is James—" he elbowed the one with the glasses, who elbowed him back— "And Remus." The boy with the book inclined his head politely.

Mel gave them an awkward small wave. "Hi. Um, I heard you guys talking about some of the places I'm looking for, and I was wondering if…" She faltered. They were all staring at her with rapt attention.

"So adorable!" Sirius exclaimed, referring to her distinctly American accent. Melody didn't know if she should be flattered or embarrassed. "Of course we'll show you around," he continued. "Right this way."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along through the crowd, all the while cracking jokes with James. After a short while, they approached a store. "First stop—Quality Quidditch Supplies!"

The inside smelled like broom wax and fresh wood, two familiar scents that made Mel feel slightly nostalgic. James pulled Sirius away towards the brooms, and Melody wandered by herself through the other merchandise, finally locating what she needed—broom polish.

"Have you played for long?" a familiar voice asked. She turned around to see Remus, who was perusing the wax a little further down the aisle.

"Yes. I was on my House's team for the past four years. Do you play?"

He smiled ruefully. "No. James does, though—he's a Chaser for the Gryffindor team. I promised him I'd learn some more about it, after he—after he did something very thoughtful for me during summer break." Remus held up his book for her to see the title—Quidditch Through The Ages.

"That's cool," Melody said, suddenly realizing how American she must sound. What did British people say? That's wicked? Bangin'? She decided to change the subject. "Gryffindor is one of the Houses, right? We had four at Ilvermorny—if I remember right, it was modeled after Hogwarts."

"That sounds accurate to me. The Hogwarts Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The three of us are all in Gryffindor."

"Is that the best house, then?" Melody asked, selecting a small tub of polish.

"I don't know if there's really a best House, but James and Sirius would certainly say it's Gryffindor. They've gotten into more than a couple of fights about it with other students."

"Really?" Melody wondered what easygoing James and exuberant Sirius would be like in an argument. They seemed so pleasant and carefree.

Before they had a chance to talk more, the others made them hurry up so they could get to Flourish and Blotts. Upon entering the store, James immediately swooped over to a very pretty redheaded girl who was browsing through the quills and ink.

"There she is! A glorious sight to behold; to take one glimpse of your perfect beauty is to drink a draught of eternal life. Lily, a bloom among thorns, a sunray among moonbeams—"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Potter," Lily said curtly, picking up a book from one of the many shelves. Melody saw Lily hide a smile behind it before she frowned at him. "Don't you have something better to do than bother me?"

"You're all he lives for!" Sirius exclaimed, abashed. "Oh, by the way, this is Melody! She's our new friend. I might even like her better than I like you," he teased.

"Is that supposed to bother me?" Lily raised an eyebrow at him before nodding pleasantly at Mel. "It's nice to meet you. If you ever need some sane company, let me know."

Melody chuckled at that, and Sirius slung his arm around her shoulders. Her eyes widened, but he didn't seem to notice. "Sane? We're perfectly sane, aren't we?"

"Sanely perfect," James agreed loudly, earning himself a disapproving glare from the shop's clerk. Remus just smiled, shaking his head as Lily tossed her hair, walking away with an air of confidence Melody admired.

"Who was that?" Melody ventured. "I didn't catch her name; James was talking so quickly."

"That's Lily Evans, James's one true love," Sirius said matter-of-factly.

"I'm going to marry that girl," James said wistfully, staring after her long after she was out of sight.

"Hey, want to sit with us on the train?" Sirius asked suddenly, grinning.

"Sure," Melody said pleasantly. They exited Flourish and Blotts, and she spotted her uncle down by Ollivander's. "I've gotta go. See you later?"

"'I've gotta go'," Sirius repeated, attempting to recreate her accent. "…So adorable.". He extracted his arm from around her shoulders. "See ya!"

The boys waved, and Melody glanced back to see Remus gazing after her, before she turned to follow her aunt.

"So adorable!" Sirius exclaimed once more, when Melody had disappeared into the crowd.

"Okay, we get it," James deadpanned. Sirius mock-gasped at him, with an offended expression.

"What, I obsess over how cute a girl is for five minutes, and that's too long? You should hear yourself moon over Lily sometime!"

Remus closed his book, lost in thought. Her eyes were very blue.

As the train whistle blew its last warnings of departure, Melody found her way onto the Hogwarts Express, balancing her new tawny owl's cage in one hand, and a book for the ride in the other. Most of the train's compartments seemed to be full, or otherwise filling up as students hurried along the narrow corridor, finding their friends and fellow Housemates. Melody was wondering how she'd be able to find those three boys in all the hubbub, but she didn't have to worry—a little ways down the corridor, Sirius was leaning so far out of a compartment that he was almost horizontal.

"Melody!" he called loudly over to her, ignoring the raised eyebrows as his voice carried through the entire train. "Over here!"

Mildly embarrassed, yet also relieved, Melody hurried over to Sirius and edged into the compartment, frowning slightly in disappointment when she saw that Remus wasn't there.

"Wright! Good to see you," James said heartily, springing from his seat to take her owl's cage off her hands. "Please, come on, come in."

Sirius escorted her to the seats, plopping down beside the window and patting the spot next to him. James sat across from Sirius, stretching his legs out on the seat he had to himself.

"Prepare yourself for a pleasant ride in the best of company with magnificent views," Sirius said seriously, gesturing to the window.

"Remus tells me you play Seeker," James said excitedly, clearly unable to wait any longer to discuss the subject of Quidditch. "Our team needs a good new one, after the disasters Jensen caused last year, missing the Snitch nearly every game. But he's graduated now, so you've got to try out for the team, all right? Which means you've got to make sure you end up in Gryffindor."

"Seriously, though, Mels, if you're not in Gryffindor, I'm going to have to take it up personally with Dumbledore," Sirius said stoutly.

Melody recognized the name from the many owls that her parents had exchanged with Hogwarts. "The headmaster, right?"

Sirius nodded. James's head turned sharply towards the glass doors, and he tried to act casual as, a few moments later, Lily Evans passed by, her red hair glistening in a patch of sunlight that had reached from the window all the way out into the corridor.

"...Perfection," James groaned slightly, before turning back to Melody. "Anyway, you've got to try out. I'm a Chaser for Gryffindor."

"Remus told me," Melody recalled. "I'll try out, that's for certain. But I have no idea what House I'll end up in."

"So long as you're not in Slytherin, you can still be our friend," James said, a glint in his eye.

"If Mels ends up in Slytherin, I'll eat my hat," Sirius sniffed.

"But you don't have a hat," James pointed out.

"I'll eat the Sorting Hat, then."

They were interrupted when Remus entered the compartment, looking tired but with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Prefect's meeting exciting at all this year?" James asked, grinning as he swept his legs off the seat to make room for Remus.

"Nothing that would be interesting to you," Remus said bemusedly as he sat across from Melody. "It was shorter than last time, though."

"What's the common room password?" James inquired. "Always good to know ahead of time."

"I still think they should take password suggestions," Sirius said dreamily. "Wouldn't it be lovely to announce "Snivellus is a git" every time you want to get past the Fat Lady?"

Melody was going to ask who he meant by "Snivellus," but James nudged Sirius, indicating for him to be quiet as Lily returned to their compartment, sliding the doors open with ease.

"Have you come to accept my proposals?" James said airily, running his fingers through his already-untidy dark hair.

"In your dreams," Lily replied. "This is for you, Melody. Professor Slughorn wanted to meet you himself." She handed her a rolled-up piece of parchment, fastened with a violet ribbon.

"Oh? Thank you," Melody said hesitantly, accepting the message and unrolling it.

Sirius whistled lowly. "Barely on the train, and he's already got you down for the Slug Club!"

"The... Slug Club?" Melody asked, looking up from the invitation.

"I can tell you more about it, since I'm actually in it," Lily said pointedly, raising an eyebrow at Sirius. "Are you coming?" she asked Melody.

"Sure, why not?" Melody stood, glancing around for a place to set down the book she was still holding in one hand.

"I'll hold it for you," Remus offered quietly. Melody smiled gratefully and handed him her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"Now that you two are best friends, I expect to be seeing a lot more of you, Evans," James called after the two girls as they started down the corridor.

"I wouldn't count on it," Lily called back to him. Once they were out of earshot, Lily turned her bright hazel eyes onto Melody. "I hope they're not bothering you too much. Sirius can be a bit much, and James is just obnoxious. Put them together, and it's a wonder Gryffindor Tower hasn't crumbled to the ground. Remus is the only one who has any sense, but it's hard to ever find him on his own, without those two around him; so I don't really bother."

Melody's heart had started hammering so loudly when Lily mentioned Remus's name that she was almost sure the other girl would be able to hear it. She willed her pulse to slow down, and shrugged thoughtfully. "They seem all right to me. Though, if any guy talked to me the way James does to you, I would probably be just as annoyed as you are."

"It's not really that I'm annoyed," Lily said simply. "It's that he's an arrogant toerag whose head is larger than his vocabulary. Here we are," she added, gesturing for Melody to enter Professor Slughorn's compartment. A small group of students was seated inside, evidently awaiting her arrival. A few of them looked at her with curiosity.

"Ah, here she is! Welcome," cried an exuberant voice. Professor Slughorn was a large man, with an impressive walrus mustache, rosy cheeks, and twinkling eyes. "Welcome to our new American student. Transfer programs between wizarding schools are, of course, not unheard of; but you'll certainly be the first to grace the halls of Hogwarts in over a century. Sit, sit!" he insisted.

Melody obliged, taking up a free space across from Lily.

"I hear you've had professional Quidditch teams scouting you since your fourth year!" Slughorn exclaimed, beaming around at the group as though he had just finished mentioning this to the rest of them. "And, if I'm not mistaken in my history, you are related to the famous Bowman Wright, are you not? Inventor of the Golden Snitch?"

"Oh—yes, that's right," Melody nodded, not sure why that was relevant. Her distant ancestor had been born sometime in the 1400s; it wasn't like she had ever met him or anything, although she admired him for inventing the very thing that had first drawn her interest for Quidditch. She would have thought it far more interesting, perhaps, to talk about her American Muggle ancestor Orville Wright, who had at least been alive within the past 200 years.

"Excellent, excellent!" Slughorn crowed. "Well, you must be wondering why I've brought you here; and a couple of the rest of you are new faces, too," he said knowingly. "Well, this is a little group of special students I like to refer to informally as the "Slug Club". It's merely a collection of students I've noticed to have, ah, certain potential for greatness! I'll be inviting you to happy little gatherings throughout the year, and I'll be sure to keep up with your progress in all of your classes to see just how much you can achieve! It will, of course, be easiest for me to monitor your achievements in Potions work. For those of you who do not know," he said, inclining his head towards Melody, "I am the Potions instructor at Hogwarts, and Head of Slytherin House."

Melody smiled politely, wondering if it was the students Slughorn was interested in, or their famous ancestry. He went on to talk about some of the previous members of the Slug Club who had gone on to do great things, and introduced several of the current members to each other before dismissing everyone and assuring them he'd be sending out invitations for the first dinner party after everyone had settled into classes.

As Melody turned to go, Slughorn held up a hand, beckoning her towards him. She glanced towards Lily, who was already on her way out of the compartment. Deciding that they could chat more later, Melody went back towards Slughorn, who was standing with a slim, dark-haired boy who looked slightly familiar.

"My dear! I just wanted to introduce you to Regulus, one of my top students. He's Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team! I thought you two might get on well."

Regulus didn't appear to be quite as outgoing as Slughorn seemed to think he was. Melody gave a little wave of her hand, and Regulus raised his eyebrows in greeting.

"I'll see plenty of you at Hogwarts, I expect," Slughorn said jovially. "Can't wait to see how you fare in Potions!"

Melody smiled weakly. Potions wasn't her worst subject, but it wasn't her strongest, either. She often got flustered or distracted while looking back and forth from the instructions to whatever she was preparing, and was prone to missing tiny little details that affected the overall quality of the solution. There was only one potion that she had been able to brew successfully without any issues—and it was one of the most complicated and potentially dangerous potions in existence. If anyone found out what she'd been up to this past summer, she'd surely be expelled for illegal activities.

"Thank you, Professor." Melody exited the compartment, followed by Regulus, who didn't seem keen to speak to her. To her surprise, however, he did.

"How long have you been playing?" he asked in a quiet, though not unpleasant, voice.

"Ever since I could ride a broom," Melody replied, glad to get on a subject she knew and loved. "I'm best at Seeking, but I can play Beater if I need to."

"Beater? Really?" Regulus seemed mildly impressed. He fell into step beside her. "You're rather small for that, I'd think."

"I'm better at hitting off Bludgers than I am at handling the Quaffle," Melody admitted ruefully. "I'm pretty good at dropping the Quaffle anytime one comes near me, actually."

"Well, if you get Sorted into Slytherin..." He trailed off, gazing into the compartment they were approaching. Melody was happy to realize that they had reached the one her new friends were sitting in, but she was startled to see Sirius's handsome face looking grim as he looked past her at Regulus.

"I'll see you later," Regulus finished, continuing on without a second glance backwards. Confused, Melody entered the compartment and took her seat beside Sirius again.

"I had forgotten my brother was in the Slug Club," Sirius said calmly. "He wasn't getting on your nerves, was he?"

"No, not at all," Melody said honestly. It made sense, now, that Regulus looked so familiar—he was like a slightly less handsome, slightly younger version of Sirius. They couldn't have been more than a year apart.

"You missed the trolley," James interjected cheerfully, although Melody could tell that he was purposefully changing the subject. "I've got a spare Pumpkin Pasty if you want it."

"I'm allergic to pumpkin," Melody said regretfully. "Any Chocolate Frogs?"

"You can have mine," Remus offered, holding it out to her atop her book. "I'm not very hungry at the moment."

Melody hesitated, and then smiled gratefully as she accepted both items. "Thank you." She ate her snack, flipping the card over to see who she'd gotten. "Newt Scamander! Finally," she said contentedly.

"I take it you're a fan of magical creatures?" Remus asked, nodding to the book she was holding.

"Yes; it's my favorite subject. A lot of creatures and beings are misunderstood... If I don't go professional with Quidditch, I might do something with magical creatures, unless I decide to become an Auror."

"Misunderstood, eh?" Sirius said, clearly in a better mood again. "I'm sure most of us would have to agree on that point." His eyes were twinkling at Remus. Then he turned to Melody. "You have quite the high aspirations there. Professional Quidditch player, Auror, Magizoologist... I won't be surprised if you end up becoming all three."

"How are you going to get Sorted, anyway?" James asked, clearly still thinking of the Gryffindor team tryouts. "Will they make you stand up there with all the first years? You'd stick out like a sore thumb," he added, chuckling.

"Actually, I'm supposed to wait in the Great Hall after the feast," Melody explained. "In Dumbledore's last owl, he said I'll be Sorted privately, and then a Prefect from my new House will escort me to the common room."

"Fantastic," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together. "We'll have the house-elves set up an extra bed in our room."

Melody choked on her last bit of Chocolate Frog, and Sirius patted her on the back sympathetically. "Joking, Mels, joking," he assured her, ruffling her curly black hair with his other hand.

The rest of the train ride passed pleasantly; and it did indeed have the magnificent views that Sirius had promised. The excitement of everything, however, had tired Melody out; and, after they had all changed into their robes in the train's provided dressing-room compartments, she ended up nodding off against Sirius's shoulder as the sky outside darkened to a starlit night.

Melody found herself being shaken gently awake, and she opened her eyes to see Sirius grinning down at her.

"Rise and shine, little one. We've arrived," he told her.

Melody realized that she was curled up against him, with her arm around his waist as though he were a teddy bear. A bright pink hue colored her olive-toned cheeks as she sprang to her feet, nearly elbowing Sirius in the face as she did so. Melody found herself avoiding eye contact with any of them as they stepped off the train, although none of the boys seemed to feel uncomfortable because of her sleeping position. Had she been snuggled up to Sirius the whole time she was asleep?

A man's voice echoed across the throngs of students, summoning the first years, but Melody had been told to take the carriages along with everyone in second year and up. She looked around for the carriages, and paused when she saw what was pulling them.

Thestrals.

With their dark, skeletal frames, lidless white eyes, and bat-like wings, most people would not consider thestrals to be particularly pleasing to the eye; but Melody was fascinated by them. She was standing, mouth slightly open as she stared at them, when Sirius finally tugged her along gently and helped her into the nearest carriage.

Melody found herself sitting next to Remus this time, and was suddenly very aware of things like how loudly she was breathing and whether her hair smelled nice or not. Remus saw that she was watching the thestrals' movements as they walked purposefully down the lane, and he smiled softly.

"Amazing, aren't they?" he said quietly as James and Sirius began discussing the feast they would soon be enjoying. "Another misunderstood creature, I would venture to say."

Melody looked at her hands, nervous to meet the gaze of those gentle grey eyes. "Yeah, I would say so. It was—it was my grandmother I saw, when I was twelve or so. I've read about thestrals, but they're not so common where I lived."

"It was my mother, for me," Remus replied. "At the end of last term."

Startled at how recently the death he'd witnessed had been, Melody glanced up at Remus. He was regarding her with a thoughtful expression, with warmth in his gaze and pain behind it.

"I'm sorry," Melody said after a moment. "That must be hard to deal with."

Remus's mouth twitched into a smile. "It's all right. I've got a pretty good support system." He nodded his head towards the other two boys. James was imitating some sort of creature, and Sirius was laughing so hard it sounded like he was barking.

"You all seem very close," Melody said, smiling at their antics. "It's good to have close friends."

"Do you have anyone you miss, at your old school?" Remus asked.

Melody considered this for a moment. "Yes, and no," she finally answered. "I had a lot of friends there—it seemed like I was always surrounded by people. But, now that I think about it, they weren't really the kind of people I could count on to be there for me. I often felt like I was alone in a crowd."

"Hogwarts is different," Remus assured her. "You won't feel so alone here, I promise you."

Melody felt her cheeks growing warm again. "Thanks, Remus."

"Of course."