Malevolence & Mercey
Chapter 1: Meet the Girls
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Malevolence-n-the showing of or rising from ill will, spite, or hatred. syn malignant, malign, malicious, spiteful.
Mercey Hawthorne was the appointed leader of Malevolence. She was stubborn and strong for a known Ravenclaw flirt. She had light brown hair that tumbled perfectly down her back in a flawlessly straight waterfall. When the creative mind of the group thought it would be a great idea for all the girls to dye colored streaks in their hair, Mercey quickly chose her favorite color. Now her beautiful light brown hair was forever streaked with navy blue. She was sure in her ways and ideas even when the rest of her team tweaked them so they would be possible. Still, she was their leader and coconspirator and she wore the responsibility well.
Lucy Hawthorne was the brilliant one, formulation most of the plans. Her projects and plans work a lot better than her cousin's did. She was a very mysterious member and a little less obvious flirting, but all the Ravenclaw boys knew to steer clear of her. She had deep chocolate brown eyes that boys nearly drowned in when she flirted, and played the part of dangerous tools in such events. She held tight curls in her silky black hair that shined with violet to match her colored 'highlights'. She was quick-witted and had quite a good joking streak. Even though Mercey was her cousin, she was not spared if she broke any of the rules set down in Malevolence Code.
Vanessa Lawrence, the fair-haired princess, was the most unlikely member of the team. She was strictly a girly-girl, and was very preppy up until the fateful day she mistakenly crossed paths with Hawthorne cousins when they were still fresh-faced first-years. She was still a girly-girl, as shown by the pink tones in her golden blonde hair, but she didn't mind rolling up her sleeves and getting dirty every now and again. Since everyone else seemed to bring something to the group, she decided, if it ever came down to it, she gave Malevolence its flare. And for a Hufflepuff, she was a bit more rebellious than the rest of her house.
Lindsay Daymondé was the creative one, bringing up the Color Changing Charm for a signature for the girls. She got to pick first, sticking pale green in her brilliant red hair. On anyone else, green streaked red hair would have looked like a horrible Christmas tragedy, but Lindsay made it work for her. She was the quiet and reserved member, but brilliantly intelligent and a very brave member, the perfect Gryffindor female role-model…except for the pranks she thought up for Malevolence.
Nicole Ezmond was the rebel, and that made her the perfect for being a Malevolence girl, even though she would be the only Slytherin ever allowed in. she had refused to streak her short black hair with a color, but instead modified it so the tips were a golden yellow. She was smart, and could have been every teacher's favorite student if only she would apply herself to her school work instead of pulling pranks. She preferred to act up in class and was known to even dare teachers to give her even stricter punishments than she really deserved.
Castella Cromwell was the shy one and she was the last to join. By the 'no doubles' rule on the Color Changing Charm, she was supposed to have orange. Vanessa, self-appointed image manager, was the first to stand up and say no. Eventually, they decided that if they used teal it wouldn't be against the rules. And with Castella's light blonde hair, the teal turned to a much more mint like shade. But the mint-color fit her spacey personality a lot better, and fit her well with the rest of her group.
The six girls were a very tight group. They went everywhere together and had the flawless talent that made them somewhat of a dream team, or to their teachers, a nightmare. They were infamous, everyone knew who they were and if they didn't, they soon learned.
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Mercey walked around the edge of the lake, her socks and shoes stripped off so she could dip her feet in the chilly water. Her hair was swept back in a single braid down her back, stopping about half-way down. Her shirt was sloppily coming untucked and unbuttoned at top to show off her lacey new camisole. Her too-short skirt fluttered gently in the breeze, floating up almost to the point of showing-off more than she had meant to. Her sweater and robes were lying beside her socks, shoes and bag. She was laughing, gossiping and plotting with her five friends, who were dressed about the same as her.
"Luc, did you get that essay for Defense?" Vanessa asked, skipping away from a wave in the cold water.
"I still don't get why someone had to come in late, and get us the essay in the first place." The curly haired girl replied, glaring pointedly at her cousin.
"Hey," Mercey laughed. "Just 'because I was late for class five-"
"Six times," Lindsay pointed out.
"Okay, six-"
"No, it was the seventh time," Castella remarked, "or have you forgotten when Professor Slughorn caught her painting her nails in the bathroom and escorted her to class."
"Oh, that was awesome, Josten's face was hilarious!" Nicole grinned, remembering their latest Defense Against Dark Arts teacher's face when the Potions teacher escorted a scowling brown haired girl into class. It was Mercey's third time being late for class.
"Okay, okay, I give up," Mercey blushed, holding her hands up in surrender, and grinning. "I just don't get why Josten got so mad for it."
Silent for a moment, the girls looked at one another, slowly smiles crept across their faces and they all broke out in laughter.
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"Hey, Prongs, check out those girls by the lake," Sirius Black grinned, nodding toward the girls.
"You mean Malevolence?" James Potter asked, looking to the lake and noticing the group.
"Malevolence? Where have I heard that before?" Sirius said, trying to think of where he had heard the title before.
"You know," Remus looked up from his book, "Mercey, Lucy, Vanessa, Lindsay, Nicole, and Castella? They're all in our year aren't they?"
"You mean, the Malevolence?" Sirius looked shocked. "As in our competition?"
"Is there any other?" James replied, "There may be six of them but at least they don't have someone like Wormtail."
"I didn't think they looked like that!" Sirius ran a hand through his dark hair, sweeping it out of his eyes. "The one with the blue in her hair, she is hot!"
"Which one? Blonde or brunette?" Remus asked, putting a bookmark back in his books, and shoving the book in his bag.
"Brunette, with the braid," Sirius said as he stood up from his spot under the tree, bushing the dirt and dead grass off his bottom. "The other one looks like too much of a goody-witch for me. I'll be back in a second."
"See ya later, Padfoot," Remus also stood. "I'm going to go visit Wormtail."
"I guess, I'll go with you." James reluctantly got up as well, stowing the Snitch he was playing with back in his pocket. "Or maybe I should head over to the library to find Lily."
James and Remus headed up to the castle as Sirius went down to the lake.
The brown-and-blue haired girl had fallen behind, stopping a few times to flick the water with her toes. Sirius snuck up behind her, draping his arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "Nice braid,"
Caught off guard, the girl kicked out behind her and sweeping her arm around to the side, catching one of his legs and knocking him to the ground. Quickly grabbing his arm, she forced it against his back as he fell, and knelt with one knee on his back.
"Okay, you're not the kind of girl that likes complements." He gasped slightly, winded from his sudden fall.
"What's the matter with you?" she demanded, letting go of his arm, and stepping back. "Sneaking up behind people and scaring them? That your idea of a good time?"
"Sorry," Sirius muttered. "I just didn't know you were so easily scared."
"I'm not easily scared," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring defiantly. "I just have a lot of people who aren't…well, aren't too fond of me."
"I see," he smiled, flipping his hair back, and offering his hand, with a casual air of flirting. "I'm Sirius by the way."
"You can stop trying to flirt with me, it's not going to work," she looked over him, her deep blue eyes cold. "I didn't get to be part of the team by giving into guys like you." She grabbed the chain around her neck and lifted the charm out from under her shirt, showing off the silver-and-sapphire M pendant. "I'm Mercey, and if you're too slow to see that Malevolence isn't just a cute name we thought up, it's our first initials."
The other girls had come up behind her after they notice she lagged behind, and now took their cue to introduce themselves to prove Malevolence was just their initials.
"I'm Lucy," the curly haired, girl stepped forward first, resting her forearm on Mercey's shoulder. "I'm Mercey's cousin, so, I know a lot more about her than anyone and trust me when I say, this girl has some pretty wicked power, so don't mess with her."
"I'm Vanessa," one of the two blonde girls said, twirling a section of bright, bubble-gum pink hair around her finger, checking him over in her not so subtle way of letting him she liked what she saw.
"Lindsay," the red-haired girl said, looking at him as though daring him to make fun of her clashing hair colors.
"Nikki," the short-haired girl said, trying not to look too bored, she had seen what Mercey could do, and she'd rather not see it again.
"Castella," the last girl smiled, before spacing out again, her green eyes drifting dreamily across the lake.
"You aren't going to start some silly chant now, are you?" Sirius laughed, refusing to be afraid of a bunch of girls.
"We don't do chants or cheers," Mercey sneered. "Well, 'Nessy might, but the closest I do is poetry."
"You write poetry?" he perked up slightly; poetic girls usually didn't hold grudges. "Can I hear something?"
Mercey's look didn't soften; instead she just glared more intensely at him. She took a breath before reciting from memory her favorite poem.
"I love to play
Messing with my prey
They don't get it
For that, they'll pay
Mean, quick-tempered
When set in right mind
Few can set me
To show I can be kind
I could suck you dry
Vampire venom is sweet
By my luminous eyes
You are fresh meat"
She continued to glare at him after she finished, as if she was daring him to flinch or react in some way. The other girls watched in anticipation, trying not to smirk.
"Nice," Sirius complemented. "It's really a bit creepy, but I'm guessing that's one of the points you were going for."
"You mean you liked it?" her eyes lit up, widening in surprise for a moment, than quickly fading back, narrowing back into a glare. "You're playing with me again, aren't you?"
"No, really, it's a good poem," He insisted, trying not to notice the rest of the girls look really eager for something to happen. "I better get going though, but if you ever need help, I'm open for it."
Looking disgusted for a moment, Mercey turned a flirty smile on him. She stepped forward, getting very closed to him, she put her hand on his shoulder and rose up on her toes (because of his height) to whisper in his ear, "don't be cute with me, or you'll end up like the rest of the guys who have. And trust me, that's not somewhere you wanna go."
Sirius looked skeptical, raiding his eyebrows curiously, but before he was given the chance to reply, she had pushed past him, the other girls close behind, looking slightly disappointed. Mercey glanced back, after collecting she had collected her things, and slipped her shoes back on. She looked slightly amused and satisfied, as she headed back up to the castle with the rest of the girls.
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"So, what's she like?" James asked later when they met back in the common room.
"Brr," Sirius elaborated with a shiver.
"Cold, huh?" Remus asked over his book.
"Well, when I came up to her, she knocked me to the ground," he ticked off the events on his fingers, "then she told me off for flirting, she recited a kind of creepy poem.."
"Wow, I never would have pegged her for a poet." James commented.
"Really?" Remus asked, "She's always writing poetry in class, I thought you knew. She's really good too."
"Yeah, well, anyways," Sirius began again, "She threatened me for complementing the poem."
"I would to," James joked.
"Well, maybe if you actually wrote something halfway decent, you'd know the difference between sarcasm and sincerity." Sirius replied, also joking. "So, Mercey isn't really all that nice."
"At least you tried your best. You can't do better than that." Remus said wisely, before returning once more to his book.
"Actually, I haven't." Sirius brightened. "Great idea, Moony! I'm off for round two." He jumped up from his chair by the fire.
"Wait, I'll go with you." James followed suite. "I wanna see you get rejected again."
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A/N: okay, as you must know, I own very little of this, only the plot, and Malevolence belong to me at this point, the rest belongs to the great J.K. Rowling. I have a thing for the Marauders, and since we really don't know all that much about them, I like to write about them…this is only my first of my Marauders tales.
Now, this is only chapter one, so this is setting up all the questions for the rest of the story. What does Malevolence actually do? What's gonna happen to Sirius and Mercey? Where's Lily? What put Peter in the hospital wing? Did she actually mean to spell "Mercey" with an extra "e"? Yadda, yadda, yadda, yeah well, everything will be answered in the chapters to come. So please review, so I know what I have to fix for the next chapter!