DISCLAIMER!DISCLAIMER!

The hustle and bustle of Platform nine and three quarters drowned out all the other worries that swamped the mind of one Miss Lily Evans. She had just said goodbye to her parents on the other side of the gateway, the same fear of leaving them behind niggled in her stomach; that feeling had tormented her every year since she first found out she was a witch. The familiar sight of the Scarlett Hogwarts Express suppressed any doubt she had about returning in this time of magical upheaval. She had heard whispers over the summer, of a dark wizard with radical ideas about muggles and muggleborns. It was sure to be nothing and she wouldn't let the worry ruin her first day of her final year at Hogwarts.

Lily made her way through the mass of Hogwarts students, from first years who warily stood wide eyed at the grand sight of the train, to 5th years who shouted loudly from compartment windows, to their parents on the platform waiting to wave them goodbye. Lily remembered her the first time she had stood on the this very platform. She had been so afraid, all alone as her parents had said goodbye back at Kings Cross. Thankfully she had made friends quickly, as you do at that age. But of course, friends don't come without enemies. James Potter and Sirius Black fitted that description, the troublesome duo had plagued her school existence since they first met on the train. They often played pranks on her, getting more elaborate as the years went on and as their magical ability improved.

Last year Lily had gotten her revenge. The day after there final exams last year Lily had lured the boys down to the lake...

"Evans? What are we doing here?" James Potter smirked nonchalantly as he skimmed a stones along the glass top of the Black lake. Sirius hung back from the waters edge, wary of the attention Lily had been paying them.

"Is the great James Potter worried?" Lily sang mockingly as she took off her socks and shoes and waded into the water, creating ripples with her foot falls. Sirius trained his calculating grey eyes on her bewitching form ready for any change in events. His eyes were glued as she waded further and further, the water completely drowned her skirt and rested at her mid-drift. He was extremely confused as to her actions but remained quiet. He hadn't even noticed James following her in...the idiot had forgotten to take his shoes off.

"SIRIUS! COME ON!" His best mate called from the water, a couple feet away from Evans. Sirius copied Lily's actions and left his shoes on the pebbled beach before joining his friend.

"What are we doing here Evans?" Sirius asked as he approached the conniving red head smiling angelically in front of him. The bright sunshine reflected like fire off of her auburn hair, heating the water around them.

"Swimming." Lily said simply as she sprung backwards in the water and swam further out into the heart of the lake. The boys watched her swim away seemingly enchanted by her little 'act'. When she finally stopped swimming she looked like a mermaid bobbing serenely in the placid water. "Are the famous marauders afraid of a little water?" she called laughingly. Her beautiful voice chiming like crystal through the air.

Immediately James and Sirius followed Lily out into the lake until they were treading water next to her lithe body. For a few minutes they just waited there, Lily smiling brightly and giggling for some unknown reason. The boys were too delighted of the attention to notice. Lily suddenly started waving at the beach "Alice! Marly! Frank! Come join, the water is great!", the invitation to her friends put the small fear of growing in the back of Sirius' mind at ease. Although he could see James was too smitten to notice anything wrong.

Suddenly Sirius felt something brush past his leg, he stiffened but relaxed after a moment. James jolted beside him "Something just brushed my leg!" . The boys each had a sudden realization and turned on the cackling Lily Evans swimming beside them. "EVANS!" They screamed together. She didn't stop laughing, she didn't even give them a second glance. Something slithered quickly around each of there legs and pulled them quickly under the water. There last sight of the evil red head, was of her laughing so hard she was crying.

Lily swam as quickly as she could back to her friends on the beach. "I can't believe they fell for it!" Marlene giggled uncontrollably as she wrapped Lily in a warm towel.

"The best part is yet to come"

"I don't see them" Alice said anxiously as she eyed the still water. She was always such the worry wart.

"Don't worry Alice. I'm sure Lily wouldn't actually kill them" Frank said referring to the many threats she had made over the years. The group went silent, they watched, they waited, they looked for any sign of the boys. Before they knew it, a giant wave of water leapt up from the center of the lake, like an explosion in reverse. Two bodies could be seen flung into the air by a great purple tentacle and shot so high they looked on par with some of the smaller Hogwarts towers. The group on the beach could her two bellowing screams as the bodies fell back down to water with a great thundering *SMACK*.

James and Sirius resurfaced not too far from where Lily had first waded out too. They were red faced and breathing heavily, there clothes ripped to pieces as it hung off of them in rags. Once the boys had spotted Lily wrapped warmly in her white fluffy towel smirking evilly at the two-while her friends fell about laughing, even Alice who had always been such a martyr-they couldn't believe their humiliation, which had been timed perfectly with the rest of the schools lunch break. "EVANS!" James and Sirius raged so loudly it created ripples along the surface of the water.

"I told you I'd feed you to the Octopus some day!" she laughed merrily back.

Lily giggled quietly to herself as she relived the moment. It was her one perfect prank. She had never been one to do things by half, that was why she had been so willing to get wet. Lily clambered onto the end of the train, trying to put as much distance between herself and the marauders as possible; they liked sitting at the front. She halled her trunk up onto the train and followed the hallway a little way before she found an empty compartment. Lily had arrived half an hour early in order to claim a compartment, know one would dare sit next to a loan Gryffindor 7th year.

Lily dove straight into getting comfortable, she stowed her trunk always in the overhead compartments...with a little bit of a struggle, until she realized she could use magic. Lily retrieved her favourite muggle book-which she read at beginning of each term-from her bag and stretched out on the compartment seats, settling into her book. It could have been hours that had passed before Lily's compartment door was whipped open and she was wrenched away from her imaginary Heathcliff.

"Helloooo my dear!" Marlene strode into the compartment, kissed Lily on the forehead and proceeded to stow away her rather large trunk.

"Hi Marly, someone got into the the forbidden chocolate frogs again. I don't know why your parents bother hiding them..." Lily rambled as she helped her best friend with her trunk. "My god Marly, what the hell have you got in here" she puffed as they gave one final push on the trunk.

"Essentials" Marly winked and burst into laughter. "Have you seen lovely little Alice yet and her darling daring Frank?" Marlene Mckninnon fell back onto the compartment seats. Lily Just rolled her eyes.

"Nope, but I'm sure they'll be here soon. What time is it?"

"10:55"

"She'll be here very soon then. For someone who worries so much, she's always so bloody late", Lily stood and stretched out her limbs until she felt a satisfying crack in her back.

"Woah! Lily put that body away before you hurt some poor little boy" Marly jibed lovingly. Its true Lily had developed over the summer but Marly was overreacting. But unknown to Lily a 3rd year Hufflepuff saw her stretching and got so distracted he had fallen over his own feet.

"MERLIN! Are you alright!" They each heard the familiar screech of one Alice Prewitt. Lily and Marly rushed to the compartment door to see Frank helping up a third year who was lying flat on the floor his nose bleeding from the obvious fall. "Do you want me to stop the bleeding?" Alice mothered the younger boy, who couldn't get away fast enough.

"I wonder how he fell?" Frank asked.

"He was watching Lily stretch" Marly answered with an all together serious face.

"The poor boy"

"Hey!" Lily interjected.

Alice decided to play mediator, like always "Leave her alone you two".

"Its soooo good to see you Aly!"-Lily wrapped her arms around her petite friend. Marly not wanting to be left out jumped in on the hug as well.

"Look at us! Sisters! Together again!"

"You girls seen the marauders?" Frank said while stowing his and Alice's trunks away.

"Way to ruin the moment Franklin!" Marly whined his full name, much to his displeasure. Frank had been a permanent part of their group since Alice and him had started going out in 5th year. So he was used to comedy antics of Marlene Mckinnon by now. The four of them settled in for the train journey in the usual way. Lily relaxed by the window with her book, Marly convinced Frank and Alice into a game of exploding snap and Lily good naturedly refused to play, after one unfortunate game had burned her eyebrows off. The train pulled away at exactly 11o'clock and sped off into the distance. Yells of 'goodbye' and 'see you soon' could be heard from up and down the train. The low drum of students voices slowly whisped away as Lily was pulled back in to the Gothic romance of Wuthering Heights. Time passed quickly, the sweet trolley came and went, it could even have been considered a very peaceful journey. Frank and Marly hadn't fought and Alice had even had time to go visit her friends in Ravenclaw just down the hall. Yes, it had been a peaceful journey. But one thought was niggling in the back of Lily's mind as they pulled into the platform..."Where were the Marauders?"