A/N A marauder era fic, centered around Lily's best friend Michelle, and her relationship with Sirius, which will carry on through the current HP books. Please read and review, my first HP fic!

'Michelle will you get your arse out of bed! We're going to be late for transfiguration!'

'Give me ten more minutes,' the brown-haired girl mumbled into her pillow, which felt strangely hard, stupid school bedding…

Lily Evans, loosing her patience, threw open the door and stormed into her best friend's dorm only to be greeted by a scene that was certainly above PG-13.

'Oh for god's sake Mich, how many times do I have to tell you, you can't have guys in your room! How'd you sneak him up here in the first place?'

'There 'sno guy,' she slurred in response, until this time she actually swore her pillow was moving underneath her. The blonde-haired seventh year Ravenclaw stretched out his arms above his head with a tremendous yawn, causing the sheets to fall even further off him and Michelle who was sprawled ungracefully across him. Lily rolled her eyes and, trying to avoid staring at the boy's exposed arse, picked her way across the room that was littered with discarded clothes and several bottles of firewhisky to reach the bed. Whipping out her wand she muttered some words under her breath and Michelle was promptly drenched in ice-cold water.

'WHAT THE FUCK!' She screeched as she leapt out of bed, grabbing the sheet to preserve what little was left of her dignity and at the same time robbing the anonymous boy of his. Lily blushed crimson to match her hair and turned her back on the very naked and very handsome Ravenclaw.

'That was uncalled for Lils,' Michelle said now fully awake as she reached for some school robes.'

'I can't honestly believe you,' Lily replied indignantly. 'We've been back here, what, like twelve hours and you've already got a guy butt naked in your room.'

'Name's Joe,' the boy offered.

'Hi Joe,' Lily grimaced. Michelle giggled delightfully.

'You can be such a pris sometimes Lils, now come on, what was that about transfiguration?' She grabbed her books and began to frog-march Lily out of the room.

'Hey!' Cried Joe in surprise. 'What about me?'

'You did well babe, I'll call you!' Michelle threw back carelessly over her shoulder. The boy thought about it for a moment, then shrugged and flopped back into the tangle of sheets.

'A new one already?' Lily enquired as they raced through the halls towards their class, forgoing breakfast as a penalty for Michelle's dalliance. Michelle shrugged.

'Yeah, you remember Samantha Price in Ravenclaw?'

'Vaguely,' Lily replied, picturing a busty blonde who she'd spent most of her first year as prefect forcibly removing from boy's arms in broom cupboards.

'Well she asked me if I wanted to go to this little get-together in their common room last night, we had a few drinks, a few laughs, and well…y'know.'

'You know I could put you in several weeks worth of detentions for this if I reported you?'

Michelle grinned widely before barging into their classroom ahead of Lily.

'I know.'

So, the beginning of sixth year definitely started out with a bang, at least for these two. Lily was already unwillingly resigned to the fact that Mich wasn't going to take anymore notice of her responsibility as prefect than she had in fifth year. They had been best friends since second year, whereas in first year…well that was spent in a mutual loathing. Finally, after an argument between them in potions had escalated into entire cauldrons being overturned (by Michelle of course, Lily was far too much of a good student to do anything like that), and thus detention, they'd finally sat down and resolved their differences. It turned out that Michelle was jealous of Lily's ability to fit into something which she considered her world, and on top of that beat her in lessons. Lily was from a Muggle family unlike Michelle who was from one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain, systematically dubbed 'blood traitors,' alongside the Prewetts, Potters, Longbottoms, Diggorys and several others. Michelle had never been prejudiced against non-wizarding families but originally the two simply hadn't clicked; yet now they were inseparable. They were quite an unlikely pair; Lily the Prefect, beautiful, innocent perfect student and Michelle the punk, unconsciously sexy, rebel who enjoyed sexual escapades as much as a man did.

'Sorry we're late Professor,' Lily panted, blushing furiously as she skidded into the classroom after Michelle.'

'Yeah big apologies Professor M,' Michelle added breezily causing a collective snigger from the class.

Professor McGonagall raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the pair.

'Miss Evans, this is quite unlike you, I trust you will not let this happen again?'

'Of course not Professor, sorry again.'

'Please take your seat,' the elder woman replied before turning her attention back to Michelle. Lily threw her bag down and took out parchment, a quill and a textbook before the quill was snatched out of her hand. She looked up to find non other than James Potter running it through his fingers, his best flirtatious smile plastered upon his face. Lily groaned; oh great Merlin, I swear if he even thinks about it…

'Wanna go out with me sometime Evans?'

He thought about it.

'No! Give me back my quill, now Potter!' She hissed, but thankfully McGonagall was too preoccupied with lecturing Michelle on tardiness to notice that she was talking in class. James's face had fallen slightly at her rejection but he kept her quill nevertheless.

'Ah now Evans, no need to be rude, so how was your summer?'

'My summer was fine thank you,' she replied through gritted teeth. 'But I really don't want to be bothered with telling you about it so give me back my quill right now!'

'James, just give her the quill.' Intervened Remus Lupin, Lily's fellow Prefect and peacemaker amongst the infamous Marauders. This…interesting little group comprised of James Potter, Sirius Black, who held the positions of most popular boys in the school (except with the Slytherins of course), Remus Lupin, studious and rule abiding (most of the time) and lastly Peter Pettigrew, the shy slightly chubby boy who followed James and Sirius around in a state of hero worship and the one people tended to forget about. And the reason for them being infamous? Pranks. Stupid, idiotically amusing, immensely childish pranks. Oh and the fact that Sirius was considered to be the most gorgeous sex God to have ever walked the earth (with the exception of Brad Pitt) and James, not far behind him in the looks department, the best quiditch player in the history of Hogwarts. Now Lily couldn't disagree on the assumptions about Sirius and James; Sirius was incredibly good-looking despite in her opinion being a bit emotionally stunted, and James was very talented at quiditch, it was just a shame that it made his ego swell up to obscene proportions. He'd been hell-bent on making her his girlfriend since about half way through their second year and unfortunately for his little plan, she loathed him. With Michelle's occasional assistance, but generally left to her own devices, she'd been successfully fighting him off for a good three years. Frankly she was getting sick of it.

James handed her the quill reluctantly.

'So, as I was saying about that date thing…'

'No Potter!'

Sirius suddenly sat up from where he'd been daydreaming and getting drool on his desk.

'Oh a new year, a new tally! What's that Prongs, two rejections already? I think this year's going to be a biggie!'

'Shut up Padfoot,' James replied moodily.

Prongs, Padfoot, very odd names. Lily had heard them being used since the beginning of the previous year, alongside Moony and Wormtail, and was determined to find out what they meant, no matter how many proposals she had to suffer from James in the process. She didn't have time to think about it right then as Michelle finally took her seat next to Sirius and McGonagall turned to resume the lesson, the class starting the very first preparations for their NEWT exams in two years time.

'I thought that class was never going to end!' Cried Michelle loudly as soon as they were out the door. 'If I'd known how much harder Transfiguration was going to get at NEWT level I would have dropped out after OWLs!' She shook her head at Lily's horrified stare.

'Geez Lils don't look so bloody scandalized!'

'I for one couldn't agree with you more Michelle,' announced Sirius as he caught up with the girls. 'Really what is the point to all this? We could be spending our time in much more…pleasurable ways,' he said with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. Michelle looked on coolly, unimpressed.

'Yeah I mean you could be locked in your room with a stack of playboys and some lubricant having a right old time Sirius,' he laughed as she shot him down. 'Come on Lils,' she said grabbing hold of her friend by the arm. 'We've got a free period and I really, REALLY need to get some knickers on!'

Peter squeaked. Remus blushed. James snorted. Sirius looked interested.

Most of the other boys in hearing distance found their pants a little too tight all of a sudden and the thought of a cold shower seemed very appealing.

Lily took a deep breath.

'Mich, you mean to say that you forgot to put knickers on?'

'Well yeah, I mean you did come barreling in, dragging me off Tom…'

'Joe.'

'Whatever, he was the one with the black hair.'

'Blonde.'

'Oh,' Michelle paused and then shrugged. 'Oh well, as I was saying, I can't help it if I forget some things, come on!' She dragged Lily back towards Hogwarts, Sirius watching them curiously until they were out of sight.

'We haven't even got to lunch and Lily's already rejected me, twice!' James moaned to anyone who would listen. Remus patted him on the shoulder comfortingly.

'Have you ever considered that it might be worth going after another girl James?' At once the boy's eyes lit up.

'Oh like to make Evans jealous right? Great idea Moony! But which girl…Wormtail help me out here!' He grabbed the chubby blonde boy by the arm and pulled him away, busy concocting a list of possible new girlfriends.

'No James that's not what I meant!' Remus called after him wearily. He shifted his bag on his shoulder and was about to follow his friends when he realised that Sirius hadn't moved.

'Padfoot, you ok mate?'

Sirius turned around with a predatory smile across his face.

'You know what Moony, I think I've found something to keep me occupied this year.' Remus looked puzzled, but then realisation hit him.

'Sirius, you're not thinking about going after Mich are you?' Sirius shrugged.

'Why the hell not?'

'But she's our friend.'

'So?' Sirius demanded. 'Did you get a look at her today Remus? The girl's gotten hot over the summer!'

'She always was pretty Sirius, but she never had anything to do with you so you never noticed, you were too busy making your way through the Hufflepuff girls.'

'They're boring,' Sirius said dismissively as they started to catch up with James and Peter. 'I mean who else do you know who would publicly announce that she'd forgotten to put knickers on this morning?' Remus considered it for a moment.

'True, but just watch out with this one mate.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, she's as big a flirt as you are, and things could get messy,' Remus explained quickly, squirming under Sirius's piercing blue gaze, which was more than a little intimidating.

'I'm not talking about dating her Moony, remember I don't DO relationships, I just DO girls.'

With that, Sirius strutted off ahead, winking at some third years sending them into a fit of hysterical giggles, one almost fainting as she flushed bright red.

'The Sirius Black philosophy,' he muttered as he followed his diverse group of friends to Potions.

It all sounds carefree doesn't it? A group of sexually overcharged, slightly unbalanced yet otherwise normal teenagers on the second official day of term. Nothing unexpected or unusual. Except it was so much more than that, and we were far too oblivious to what was really happening to us, just beneath the surface. That year, friendships were tested, alliances formed and innocence lost. The beginning of something even more terrible, something none of us were prepared to face, but we did anyway, and look where it's gotten us.

Michelle took a deep labored breath as she looked at her reflection in the mirror of one of the girls' toilets later that day. Her lips were swollen and her newly dyed brown hair was mused, refusing to flatten as she dragged her fingers through it. Her cheeks were flushed from being pulled into a broom closet by Joe fifteen minutes ago and she took several more deep breaths in an attempt to calm her racing heart down. She adjusted her tie and fastened a few more buttons on the shirt to retain some modesty.

I suppose if you want to be particular, Michelle would be the focus of this…whatever this is. An account would be an appropriate way to sum it up. She was passionate, as you've already discovered, but it ran deeper than just carnal primal actions. She was fiercely loyal, foolishly brave and when she finally allowed herself to, loved with all of her being. One thing I always admired about her was her complete lack of interest in what people thought about her, which worked both ways for her, as a blessing, and as a curse.

She looked again at her tamed reflection, satisfied. Michelle was perfectly aware of what people, especially girls, said about her behind her back. They called her a common, filthy slut and she agreed with them. She was a slut, and she loved every second of it. Biology had given men the advantage, and women were traditionally bound until their wedding night to find out what sex was all about, or something along those lines. Michelle's attitude had been 'why the hell not?' If a man could screw around and have a damn good time whilst doing it, the fact that she was a girl was not going to stop her. She was unashamed to admit that she loved sex and had her very own life philosophy, not very articulate but hey it worked for her; want, take, have.' That was about the crux of it. She'd tried to coach Lily into following along the same lines, but it was a lost cause. Most people questioned why they were such good friends, as Lily was Michelle's total opposite, in every aspect of their lives. Michelle figured they complimented each other; she kept Lily fun, and Lily in return kept her grounded. That also seemed to be working out rather well.

Everyone always pondered as to why Michelle and Lily Evans became and remained such incredibly close friends, even beyond the confines of Hogwarts. Even us Marauders questioned it once or twice; it was just such an unlikely friendship. Yet, who were we to demand a reason? It was just as it was, and both girls found themselves saved more than once through the bond they shared. They never argued, never, except on two separate, momentous, life-changing occasions, but you'll hear about that later. I think, in some ways, Michelle was a mirror reflection of everything wild and dare I say human that Lily was devoid, or hid behind her perfect flawless appearance. Michelle was an outlet for everything Lily wanted to be, or couldn't achieve, and at the same time, Michelle placed all her hopes and aspirations that there was something better out there in the simple fact that there was Lily.

Her impromptu meeting with Joe had happened as she was leaving the dining hall after dinner, and Lily had seemed quite bewildered when Michelle had apparently disappeared into thin air. Michelle laughed and wished she could have seen the expression on the redhead's face, but she had been otherwise engaged. Speaking of, she reached quickly under her skirt and was relieved to find that she'd remembered to put her knickers back on this time. It was irritating that she was so forgetful, oh well; it was sod's law. She picked up her school bag and headed towards the door, having to leap backwards however, as it was pushed from the outside and none other than Bellatix Black strode into the room. Instantly, Michelle was on guard, her entire posture straighter, her eyes hardened, adopting what Lily had acutely called her 'resolve face,' or her 'bring it on bitch,' face if one wanted to be crude.

'Move,' came the single word from Bellatix, yet it was filled with enough malice to send unwanted shivers up Michelle's spine.

'Don't they teach you any manners at all in Slytherin?' She retorted harshly as the other girl calmly considered herself in the mirror as she washed her pale hands. Bellatix, the most feared girl in Hogwarts, subsequently Sirius's cousin. He was the dreaded bad seed of their perfect, racist, wealthy pureblood family, the one who got sorted into and for that him, and everyone like him (a good decent person), Bellatix detested.

Alarm bells should be ringing about now.

'They do, but I don't intend on lowering myself enough to waste them on your kind Taylor,' the girl replied in velvet bored tones, that dripped of money and indulgence.

'My kind?' Michelle demanded, fighting to keep her temper under control, something that was quite foreign to the willful girl.

Bellatix whirled around suddenly and Michelle trembled at the scorn that shone through the heated coals that Bella had for eyes, devoid of anything remotely good, or even human.

'You know exactly what I mean blood traitor. Now I'm warning you, this year you and your little mudblood friend best stay the hell away from me and mine.' She sneered, masking her dark beauty, and shoved past the other girl and out of the bathroom leaving Michelle seething with

hatred, if not a little shaken up.

Now the thing to understand about Bella as a teenager was, well…she was exactly the same as she is now. Evil, cold, ruthless, and most of all, powerful. She always achieved excellent marks in all her subjects, only being topped by Lily Evans, which she detested, and it was a widely told rumour (and rumours always stem from truth) that her parents taught her dark arts in the holidays, in which she also excelled. I think the Black family, like all other fanatical pureblood families, ingrained hatred for those considered inferior in their children since birth. They seemed to lack any ability to love or even to feel and Bella definitely would reject both at the cost of more power, something she craved even then. She wasn't a healthy normal girl, she was a twisted, manipulative, soulless whore, and that's just how she described herself! But, no matter how much you hated her, she was gorgeous, in a heartless unattainable way, not that I'd ever admit that infront of Sirius, unless I wanted to be kicked in the teeth.

She stepped through the portrait hole after a good ten-minute lecture from the fat lady on propriety with regards to the opposite sex ('You ought to be careful young lady, you're already making a name for yourself.') and promptly collapsed in her favourite armchair by the fire, eyes closing blissfully.

'Hey Mich,' came the voice of James Potter, not looking up from a game of Wizard's Chess. Sirius was beating him soundly, so the dark-haired, blue-eyed boy took the opportunity to look up at the girl reclining in the red upholstered armchair.

'Someone's tired you out by the looks of things,' Sirius commented silkily. Michelle cracked open one eyelid to give him a superior look.

'Eat shit Black.'

'Queen to A6,' James muttered and gleefully watched on as his queen broke Sirius's knight into tiny shards.

'You sadistic pup,' Michelle said as she watched his excitement.

'It's all he's got in life,' answered Sirius mournfully, cracking up when she glanced his way. 'It's like a family tradition at the Potters, every son must be obsessed with Wizard's Chess.'

'Speaking of family,' Michelle replied, sitting up in her chair to look at Sirius seriously for a change. 'I've just had a lovely run in with your cousin.'

'Which one?' He asked, the light instantly gone from his cerulean eyes.

'Well let's think about it, Andy's nice, Narcissa's a twit who needs a decent bog washing, and we know neither of them would have me remotely fazed afterwards, so I wonder who it could be…'

'Bella then,' Sirius concluded, his jaw tight, yet trying to appear completely not bothered by what she had to say about his relatives.

'Yeah, just as charming and pleasant as ever.'

'My parents made me see her this summer before I escaped to James's, I swear each year she's even more insane. It won't be long until they cart her off to the loony bin for trying to bring back Hitler with a vile of blood and a toothbrush or something, the girl thinks she can do anything.'

Before Michelle could reply, a shadow fell over them and Lily's shrill voice ran through the Common Room.

'There you are! I've been looking for you for over half an hour! Where'd you go? One minute you were right next to me and the next you were…'

'In a broom closet,' Michelle supplied casually. All three pairs of eyes were on her. 'On my own I swear! I just remembered that I had a sudden urge to…mop the floors?' Sirius shook his head. 'Cry in an enclosed space?' Another shake. 'Have a quickie?'

'That sounds about right,' Sirius said with a satisfied smirk, inwardly thankful that the conversation had moved away from his deranged family.

'Joe again?' Asked Remus mildly. Joe had in fact been bragging to anyone who would listen that he'd had sex with Michelle twice, the second time in a broom closet and Remus had caught wind of it. Michelle's eyes widened and she let out an embarrassed squeak before dragging Lily after her up the girls' staircase.