Disclaimer: Copyrighticus Mineakis ::waves wand:: Yeah that's right I own this. (Kidding don't sue me.)

Year One: Contrary to Popular Belief . . .

First Sight

Contrary to popular belief the first time James Potter saw Lily Evans he did not think that she looked beautiful.

In fact with her long red hair and big green eyes he rather thought that she looked like one of his mum's Christmas ornaments. The ones with long spindly limbs that marched up and down the tree branches when they were tapped with a wand.

That year at Christmas he put the color-switching spell they learned in Charms to good use. So when he gleefully informed a red-eyed, green-haired Evans that he didn't really see any difference in her appearance no one was particularly surprised or sympathetic when, a week later, James woke up bald.

That the Christmas ornaments she resembled were his favorites had no bearing on the subject and he would not mention this fact to her until much later. Lily, expecting her new boyfriend to produce something sparkly and delicate, demanded to see them.

She was not amused.

Friendship

Contrary to popular belief Remus Lupin was not Lily's first friend among the Marauders.

It was Sirius Black.

Lily was the only muggleborn out of all the first year Gryffindors and while everyone had been at least moderately friendly she was still so busy trying to acclimate herself to the new environment that she had not found the time to get close to anyone.

Sirius, facing disappointment and open hostility from his family and suspicion from his housemates, decided to befriend her out of spite.

Despite this rather inauspicious beginning the two proved to be a surprisingly good match. Lily did not know enough of the Wizarding World to have heard about his family and found him to be an invaluable source of information whose snarky comments about the professors, Houses, and other students made even History of Magic enjoyable. In Lily, Sirius found someone witty and intelligent who was willing to listen and, more importantly, willing to laugh.

Of all the Marauders Sirius would later accept Remus's lycanthropy with the most ease and though he would never tell anyone he would privately attribute this to his friendship with Lily. He had seen how wrong society could be before, and had long ago discovered that friendship was worth the censure of people whose opinions he had long since ceased to care about.

Rivalry

Contrary to popular belief neither James nor Sirius started the feud between the Marauders and Severus Snape.

Remus did.

Lily and Remus had soon found that, as the two most academically minded Gryffindor first years, it would benefit them both to become study partners.

Severus Snape did not agree.

In fact he disagreed to such an extent that he did everything in his power to disrupt them.

Remus, out of respect for the fact that the boy was a childhood friend of Lily's, put up with his behavior for as long as he could but even the most mild mannered of people have their breaking point. Remus reached his a week before a major Potions essay was due when Severus spilt unvanishable ink all over his finished copy.

After enlisting the help of his friends Remus proceeded to start what would become one of the greatest rivalries in Hogwarts' History over homework.

For the rest of the week at the precise time that Remus and Lily would make their way to the Library, Severus Snape would find himself alternately locked in a broom closet, the boys' loo, an abandoned classroom, cocooned by his bed curtains, held captive inside a suit of armor, and stuck to the ceiling of the Great Hall with a time release version of the Permanent Sticking Charm.

Remus got full marks on his paper.

First Crush

Contrary to popular belief James Potter was not the first Marauder, or even the second, to have a crush on Lily Evans.

Peter was.

And the whole thing was based upon the fact that she was the only girl in the whole school who would rather talk to him than to James.

The fact that he still lost to Remus and Sirius would plant the first small seed of resentment towards his friends in his heart.

It would grow.

A/N: This fic will have eight chapters (one for each year and an epilogue) and each will have a theme. This chapter's was obviously 'contrary to popular belief' next chapter will probably be 'keeping'.

Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated. Nit pick at my grammar I'm begging you, tell me where the prose is rough I swear I won't flip and send an angry reply or bash you in the A/N in the next chapter.