Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize that looks like anything you read in JK Rowling's world. I only own the OC's and the plot.
NOTE: I worked really hard on this, and I'd appreciate constructive criticism.
If you felt like you couldn't get into the story enough to write a satisfactory review on it, then I'd like to know why you weren't engaged or why you weren't hooked onto the story, like hook-line-and-sinker kind of thing, ha-ha.
Have a good one.
-HPITBBE
Daphne "Daffy" Beth popped a bean in her mouth, and chewed carefully, in case it wasn't the strawberry one she was hoping for. Lily Evans and Alice Prewitt looked at Daphne warily, expecting her to spit it out disgustedly. Instead, Daffy gave them a thumbs up and smiled smugly.
Alice giggled and gestured for Lily to hand her a Flavored Bean. She obliged and handed her a violent red one eagerly. Lily and Daphne watched her apprehensively.
"You and Lily always gets the good ones," Alice complained when she spat out the blood flavored bean and gagged.
Lily and Daphne gave each other a crisp high-five and exchanged bright grins.
---
It was as if someone had surreptitiously cast a Silencing Charm in the Marauder's compartment. Sirius Black just stared, absolutely immobile, as was his best friend, James Potter. His other best friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, could only gaze at the letter that had fluttered to the ground.
James cleared his throat and stayed silent. Remus slowly looked up from the letter with his mouth slightly ajar.
"So," Peter said quietly, meeting the ghost of James's hazel eyes. "I guess…"
He didn't know what to say. Sirius looked at Peter expectantly, who just shrugged as if to say, 'well, someone has to say something'.
"Remind me why you didn't open your letter at home," Sirius asked James, in a deadpanned voice, not meeting his eyes.
"I mean, at least by the time we made it on the train, we would have gotten over it…somewhat," Peter added in the same impassive tone.
James looked at the ceiling for answers. He sighed deeply and mumbled, "I thought it was just my Quidditch badge."
"How thick can you get, Prongs?" Sirius snapped, out of his stupor. "Since when is one badge that bulky?"
"I don't bloody know, Padfoot, why don't you tell me?" James retorted coldly.
"Hey now," Remus said airily. "No need to jump down each other's throats. And to be fair, his badge was in there."
"I just can't believe that James is -"
"Don't say it, Wormtail," Sirius warned with a glare.
Peter rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm talking about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Sirius snorted. "Saying Voldemort," (Peter flinched violently, while Remus and James remained undeterred.) "is hardly worse than James being…" he trailed off, and looked at the ceiling with his arms folded stubbornly.
Remus leaned back against his seat and . "He's right, Sirius. James is Head Boy - Merlin's beard!" Remus shouted when Sirius yelped and accidentally hit him in the face.
"Sorry, Moony, but I'm going to have to get used to the term," Sirius said shortly.
James groaned and buried his face in his hands, rose with shame.
"I think the initial shock is over," Remus said roughly, rubbing his cheek tenderly and glaring at Sirius. "So now all we need to do is see who your counter part is, James. James," he prodded again when James didn't look up.
"I beh ih e ens," James said, his voice muffled by his sleeve.
"Pardon?" Remus said.
"Don't be a prude, Moony. You've got to be harsh," Sirius explained. He coughed. "WHAT WAS THAT, YOU GIT?" he shouted at James.
James raised his head, anger so evident in his eyes that Sirius wouldn't have been surprised to see his glasses fog up.
"I said," James said impatiently, "that - I BET EVANS IS HEAD GIRL," he told him just as loudly.
"Oh, no doubt," Lupin said as-a-matter-of-factly. Immediately James was alert as he raised an eyebrow.
"What's that supposed to mean? And I thought you wanted you wanted to figure out who my counterpart is and now you just say 'it's Evans, duh,' like you knew all along?" he said irritably.
"What it means is that Lily is the brightest witch of the year, so it's obvious she would be Head Girl," Remus told James calmly. "And I said that coax you out of your shell."
"Who says 'coax out of your shell'? Sirius wondered aloud. Remus rolled his eyes.
"I thought you would be happy that Lily is Head Girl, James," Peter said quickly, trying to make the Quidditch captain feel better.
James grinned but it didn't reach his eyes. "It made my world, Peter, you have no idea. I mean, sharing a dormitory with Lily? But, I don't think I was the right choice," he grumbled and sighed.
"Dumbledore is odd, isn't he?" Sirius said, but then quickly added, "but of course you'd make a great Head Boy," upon the look on Remus's stern look.
"It makes sense, James," Peter said earnestly. " You're the best dueler, along with Snivellus, and Sirius, and Alice Prewitt -"
" - people look up to you, to some extent," Sirius joked.
"You're a natural leader, look who your father is. You have the top grades - well, almost tops, besides Potions and Charms - those are Lily's fields, but everything else is the same or better," Remus assured him. James looked at his friends, and his heart warmed because they were deliberately sucking up to him to make him feel better.
"It's either that or something else,' Sirius said lightly, shooting James a lopsided grin that fell off one side of his face.
"What?" James challenged, stretching and putting his feet on Remus's lap, who shoved him away roughly.
"Well, your dad is dreadfully wealthy."
It was the first time James had smiled today.
---
"I'm hungry," Peter said out of the blue.
"Your eating habits are appalling," Remus said lightly.
"Didn't you just eat five chocolate frogs?" Sirius asked lazily.
"I know right," James said, flicking pieces of dirt at Sirius with his wand. The latter responded by flicking pieces of grass at him. Neither seemed to mind that it was getting in their hair.
"You put a curse on them that made my ears grow twice their size," Peter reminded him sourly.
"Oh yeah," James responded indifferently.
"Do you want to go to the trolley lady? I can't wait, I feel like I'm going to throw up," Peter said nervously.
"Just not on me," Remus said quickly. "You guys go ahead, I'll just stay here in case somebody decides to take our compartment."
Peter laughed. "Good one," he said to a confused Remus. "Everyone knows this is the marauder's compartment," Peter said slowly, as if this was common knowledge.
"Right you are, Wormtail," Sirius said clapping him on the back. Peter was beaming when left the compartment.
"They need someone to shrink their egos," Remus muttered affectionately.
It was deadly quiet without the bustling boys to reprimand. He felt like too much of a father when they were around - he felt and looked old enough as it is, even if other witches couldn't see, he thought bitterly. He was sure it was easier if he wasn't attractive. He didn't mean to sound egocentric, but when you're aiming to keep girls and love interests away, the first step is to remove any physical attraction. That was easy - at least around the full moon. He turned sour, and always appeared sick and malnourished when it was almost time. But he couldn't do anything about the other days where he wasn't so lucky.
Bored out of his mind, he looked out the window. Nothing interesting there.
He ignored the piercing shrieks of a nearby compartment that started when he took out his Charms book to start reading. He knew that as a responsible prefect he should be patrolling the train, but he figured it was just a small toy. When the shrieking wouldn't stop, he slowly lowered his book, and he stopped reading to listen. Thanks to his wolf ears, he thought dryly, his hearing was super-sensitive.
It was a damsel.
He threw the book aside and stepped out of his cubicle. When his ears directed him to a compartment three steps away, he looked knocked on the door with his wand out before sliding it open.
Kate Smith, a fellow prefect who was quite good looking and bossy, glared at him. The other mousy girl looked at him apologetically, and placed her wand carefully next to her.
"What's going on here?" Remus demanded.
"There was no reason for you to bust in here, Remus. I'm a prefect, I can handle things if they go out of hand," Kate sneered. To this day Remus had never met a Hufflepuff as haughty as she is. It goes without saying that he wasn't fond of her.
"I'm a prefect too, Kate, and excuse me if I couldn't ignore earsplitting shrieking," Remus shot back, uncharacteristically cold. "Now, what was that noise?"
"I was just testing a new spell," Kate said testily.
Remus narrowed his eyess. "New spell?"
"Did I stutter?' Kate said.
"Cut it out, Kate," the mousy witch said sharply. The prefect rolled her eyes.
"What new spell?" he asked, now looking at Kate's friend, who suddenly looked sheepish under his stern gaze.
"I made up a spell," Kate said, "and I decided to try it on her. Right, Zephyr?"
Zephyr gave her a pointed look and shook her head.
"I made it up," Zephyr contradicted, "and I told Kate to try it on me," she said louder, giving Kate a look that said to leave it to her.
Remus watched this silent encounter suspiciously. There were two options. One, Kate was trying to take credit for Zephyr's invention (which wouldn't surprise him at all), or two, Kate was brilliant, made up a new spell, but Zephyr was trying to cover for her. In other words, what a Hufflepuff would have done. He exhaled slowly and muttered, "I don't need this."
"What was that?" Kate asked.
"Nothing," Remus said. "Just…stay out of trouble, I'll give you guys a pass, for misdemeanor. And Kate, you ought to know better."
"Don't tell me what to do."
Remus closed his eyes and counted to three. Then he smiled tightly and was ready to leave when Kate said, "I heard Potter became Head Boy."
The werewolf turned around slowly and looked her in the eyes. "I heard," he said sarcastically.
"Come sit down," Zephyr invited. Noticing his best friends wouldn't be back in a while, Remus grudgingly sat down next to Zephyr. He folded his hands and looked out the window.
"I bet James only got the position because he's popular," Kate said to Remus. Remus set his jaw and shook his head.
"You don't know him at all, Kate. Don't judge him," he said harshly.
"That's what a lot of people thought, when I was walking around," Zephyr cut in defensively. "I mean, he hasn't been the model student, has he? Head Boy," she said slowly. "I know he's your best mate, Remus, but I thought for sure you were going to receive the badge, didn't you?" She looked at him carefully with wide blue eyes.
At this, Remus smiled warmly and leaned back with his hands behind his head, unconcerned. "Well," he started thoughtfully. "I knew I was up for consideration, and I knew I had a good shot at making it, but," he grinned and averted his eyes downward before saying smoothly, "James got it, and he deserved it."
"Deserved it?" Kate repeated incredulously. "Remus, James is a notorious prankster - !"
"As am I - "
"- but James can not pretend to lead by example when his own record is probably thicker than all the students of seventh year put together! I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking when he chose him! I respect the Headmaster and his decisions but this is ridiculous!" Kate huffed, poised to steamroll any counterarguments her fellow prefect had.
"He will make a better Head Boy than I will ever be," Remus said shortly, tone borderline finality. Kate glared at him, but Zephyr wasn't ready to back down.
"How can you say that? You are near the top of the class, and you lead by example, and you are reliable - "
"Near, Zephyr, not the top. Lily and James are top of the class." He ignored the compliment about reliability. You can't be reliable but also miss a couple of days every month.
Zephyr was quiet. "He is?" she asked quietly. "But, he never does his work and he's always getting into trouble with Professors, especially McGonagall!" she continued.
"He's the most skilled wizard in the school," Remus said patiently. "He always completes his assignments and McGonagall adores him. He's brilliant at dueling, I'd say, though Sirius and Alice might give him a run for his money and he's excellent at Transfiguring."
"But - "
"Zephyr," Remus said shortly. "Please let me continue."
Zephyr nodded after a second and stared at him with intensity.
"James is a leader. He has excellent marks. People trust and look up to him. He can put up a fight against a mediocre Death Eater, which is more than what most of us can say, including myself. And he's the best friend anyone can have."
Zephyr considered this. Then she glared at Remus before standing up, all shyness vanishing. "I just think no one will take him seriously when they take into consideration what he has done. How can he be a leader without being hypocritical? Why should he be Head Boy?"
Kate glanced at Zephyr, surprised at how passionate she was about this. She didn't usually speak out with such fire.
"Because he's James Potter," Remus said curtly.
---
Daphne yawned and flipped through Witch Weekly, uninterested in how to magic pimples away (her skin was perfectly fine), how to magic her hair from uninspiring to "glamorous" (her blond hair was satisfactory), or how to magic her eyes to a different color; (her blue eyes were acceptable and lovely).
Alice was laying her head on Lily's lap while the latter read chapter one from Potions Plans, or as well as she could read it with Alice's brown hair sprayed everywhere.
"The prats are on their way," Daphne murmured. Lily grunted in response and Alice gave a tiny sigh. Daphne was flipping through and skipping the "Ask Sharon" column. She did not need to read the trivial issues of shallow witches.
Just as Daphne had declared, the door creaked open and a handsome wizard in the form of James Potter stuck his head in.
"Good afternoon, ladies," James said charmingly. Lily didn't stir, Daphne kept flipping pages mindlessly and Alice drew pictures in the ceiling with her wand. Smiling at the girls who were blatantly ignoring him, he sighed dramatically and said over his shoulder, "Sorry, Longbottom, your girlfriend's not here - oomph!" James spluttered as he fell on his back. Alice had jumped up, in the process knocking Lily's book off her hands, and shoving James out of the way to get to her one year boyfriend, Frank Longbottom.
"She's a fighter, Frank," James said from the ground. Frank didn't respond. As a matter of fact, as soon as Alice had jumped into his arms they left to find a suitable and preferably empty compartment.
Peter helped James from the ground but James slapped his hand away and got up himself.
"Hey Lily," Sirius said brightly. Lily smiled in acknowledgment and peered behind him. "Hey Remus, Peter." She looked at James who was now leaning against the frame, and who was looking at her expectantly. She opened her mouth but Daphne beat her to the punch, yelling "Hey James, my boy!" She got up and gave him a tender hug; James lifted her up and set her down again.
"Get a room," Sirius snorted, sitting down near Lily disgustedly.
"Shut it, Black," Daphne snarled. She and James were just good friends who were very comfortable around each other. It was like a sibling relationship. But Sirius took every chance to snap at her and she happily snapped back.
Daphne settled down in between Peter and James. Remus sat next to Sirius.
"Merlin knows you know you want to make me," Sirius snapped.
"I would never touch you, you loathsome git," Daphne said coldly. They glared at each other through narrowed eyes.
"How was your summer, Lily?" James asked loudly, giving her a look.
"It was fine, peaceful," she emphasized, looking at both Sirius and Daphne. "Yours?"
"Well, it was fairly eventful. I made Head Boy," he said quickly. They girls did not disappoint. Lily's limbs seemed to have frozen, and Daphne forgot all abut loathing Sirius to drop her jaw. Her striking blue eyes looked at Remus, as if asking for an explanation.
"Why do you look so surprised, Beth? Think that James wouldn't make a good Head Boy?" Sirius said scathingly. Daphne opened her mouth angrily but Remus interjected, saying evenly, "Sirius, stop acting like a child. You were the one who was immobile for about half an hour."
"Thank you, Remus," Daphne said pointedly. Sirius got up and left the room, slamming the door.
Lily clenched her jaw and shook her head. "Unbelievable," James heard her mutter. He didn't know if it was because he made Head Boy or because of Daffy and Sirius.
"Well, congratulations," Lily said finally. James was now her friend, since about the end of last year, and it was still a little bit awkward talking to him evenly when she had hated him for the better part of their Hogwarts tenure.
James chuckled. "You still sound surprised."
"Well…your reputation isn't exactly spotless, but Dumbledore always has his reasons, and I reckon that he wouldn't have picked if he didn't think you would be adequate. People do pay attention to you, albeit not for good things, but…" she trailed off and chewed her lip. "And don't get a big head about it," she added for good measure.
"Thanks, Lily," James said. It meant a lot that she thought somewhat highly of him. He could not help but notice that her hair had grown longer, and thicker, and she looked older than last year. In a good way of course - she looked radiant.
"I think I should go find Sirius," Remus said after a sigh.
James nodded seriously and when Remus left, another hand caught the door before he closed it. They heard Remus mutter "excuse me," and in popped Marlene.
Marlene was a tall brunette with warm brown eyes and shy demeanor. She looked uncomfortable as she looked at James.
"Hi, Marlene," Lily said courteously.
"Hey Lily, had a good summer?' But she looked away before Lily could answer. She shrugged at Daphne, who looked at Marlene curiously.
'Um," Marlene said. She took her time forming the conversation in her head.
"Marlene, out with it," Lily said forcefully, after the scenery outside shifted.
"James -"
"Yeah?"
"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me…I mean the first one, that we have, of course," she finished lamely. She blushed red to the roots of her hair and smiled shyly.
Lily didn't know whether to feel pity or to wonder how the girls spread around the memo so quickly. James's fan club usually didn't act until at least the dinner at the Great Hall. But she had to give it to Marlene, this was bold.
"You couldn't find Sirius, eh?" James joked. Daphne smirked weakly.
"I want to go out with you, James," Marlene said, still uncertain about what she was saying to this very popular wizard sitting with pretty witches.
"I'm sorry, Marlene," James said, wincing. "You're lovely, really, but-"
"Why not?" Marlene cried. She stood up a little straighter and ran her hands through her hands nervously. "I - I mean, Anna told me you weren't taken, a-and I just thought that you would want to go out with someone like m-me," she panted.
Lily motioned for Daphne to lean in closer. "I think she's on the edge of a breakdown," she whispered anxiously. Daphne nodded mutely.
"Ah, Anna. She's almost always accurate." He paused, "She heard wrong. I'm not a bachelor anymore, or at least for the time being," he said, looking at Marlene who was turning paler, instead of her usual scarlet.
This was news to Daphne and Lily. They looked at each other briefly and wondered what the hell James was cooking up with an emotionally fragile witch.
"I think you should sit down, hon." James offered gently. Marlene nodded shakily and sat down next to Lily. Lily gave her a smile that was more like a grimace and turned around to close her eyes.
"My girlfriend's Daphne," he said to the astonishment and grief of Marlene. "Right, sweetheart?" James said quickly, nudging a shell-shocked Daphne into laughing, an unnatural giggle that was supposed to confirm this.
"Oh, that James!" Daphne said, falsely affectionate. "I'm sorry Marlene, but he's right." She smiled so tightly her lips were a thin line. Lily was staring horrified at Daphne and glanced at Marlene, who was nearing tears.
"Oh," she said to Daphne, who tried her best to look like the wicked hard combination of pity and the natural protectiveness a girlfriend would have. "Well, I best be going n-now," she whimpered. "Bye," she whispered and ran out.
The train rumbled past open fields of green before James, Daphne, and Peter, who was surprisingly quiet during this whole ordeal, starting laughing. James found this especially funny, seeing first-hand Daffy's horrid acting skills.
"You owe me, you prat," Daphne giggled. James clutched his middle and gasped "anytime, Daf."
"Not everyone can be as good a liars as you stupid marauders," Daphne said playfully. "You guys can look McGonagall in the eye and tell her that you're a hippogriff."
"'Oh, that James!'" James repeated in a high imitation of Daphne. He erupted into sniggers again, with his friend rolling their eyes.
Lily meanwhile, was huddled near the corner and watched the scene unfold before her with marginal amusement.
She found it just slightly…unexpected, that he chose Daphne as his girlfriend. Of course, it was a lie, but seeing as he liked her, she would have that that the first girl that came to mind would be her, not Daphne. Maybe it's because he was closer to Daphne, or that Daphne was more easygoing and would not have ruined the act, as Lily would have surely done a dismal job - she was worse than Daphne.
Or maybe just maybe just maybe - James was over her.
That left her feeling oddly light, as if a strong gust of wind would send her heart floating in the air, looking for a home.
I started writing this with a fervor you would not believe and then it just left as quickly as it came. I'm trying to find reason to continue, because after mapping out a plot, I don't see where it's going or whether it WILL go anywhere.
Anyway, I posted this to see if the general interest is there, and maybe I'll continue this with that fervor that I'm trying to find again. (:
Review?