Disclaimer: We own nothing apart from the plot, Esmee, Ally and Lia and any other characters you don't recognise. Everything else belongs to J.K.Rowling and we take no credit for it whatsoever so please don't sue us. Thankyou.
Summary: Its 6th year and things are getting dangerous. Join the Marauders and Lily, Esmee, Ally and Lia as they face up to prophecies, attempted romance and the rising power of the evil Lord Voldemort.
A/N: Okay myself and SunStar are back! Light in my Life but Love in the dark, we hope is going to be better than before, as we go through the trials and tribulations of Lily and James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and of course our new characters Esmee, Ally and Lia. We really hope you enjoy and this time we are definitely here for good. It is going to be similar to our original version, well the main story line is, but we are going to expand the plot and of course the characters. Please let us know what you think!
Yavanna and SunStar
Prologue
The trees loomed in around them, tall, harsh and menacing. No light apart from the stars above and from their wands could be seen. They paused in a small clearing, the undergrowth seeming to allow them entry for the meeting that would soon commence. They were in fact Professor Dumbledore, the relatively new Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor McGonagall the Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor. Also lurking nearby with a sour expression on his face was Professor Terp, the Potions master and Head of Slytherin.
The times they lived in were darkening with the rise of the self appointed Lord Voldemort, who was growing in power each day. It was now time for good to rally against the evil that was festering and they were willing to get any extra information that had the slightest possibility of helping. This was why the three professors were there, waiting to meet with one of the centaurs that lived in the Forbidden Forest. It appeared however that not all of them thought that this was the best idea.
"Centaurs!" Professor Terp exclaimed under his breath. "Bloody stargazing fools who share nothing" he muttered, clearly thinking this a waste of time. However the forest was so silent that he was easily heard, and Professor McGonagall gave a sigh of exasperation.
"Look Hanas, you didn't have to come, but I'm sure Professor Dumbledore has a very good reason for arranging this meeting", she snapped, although jumped slightly as what she hoped was an owl took flight from a nearby tree. Terp allowed a smirk to grace his features.
"I'm sure he does, I was merely stating that centaurs don't share information with us lowly humans".
McGonagall started to open her mouth to reply but Professor Dumbledore intervened.
"Peace Hanas, Minerva. I do not doubt that most centaurs dislike sharing information of the future with humans, yet there is one who is willing to provide some information, and for that we should be very grateful, as it is a great risk on his part". He pinned them both with his gaze until the faint sound of hooves could be heard. "Now if I'm not mistaken, I do believe this is him".
As Dumbledore finished speaking a wild looking, young, black haired centaur entered the clearing, an inner flame appearing to be burning in his eyes. He extended his hand to Dumbledore.
"Hello Professor Dumbledore, I hope you and your companions are well but I do not have much time to spare. If the rest of my tribe discovers what I am doing, things may go very ill indeed". His voice was deep and rumbling that suited his powerful looking stature. Dumbledore grasped his hand firmly.
"I understand Bane, and I thank you once more. I have noticed however that Venus and Mars are becoming aligned, something which has not happened in many a year I believe, and in all of my so called wisdom I am unable to understand what this means. Perhaps you may shed some light on the matter?" The ageing wizard got straight to the point, his blue eyes gazing intently at the centaur over his half moon spectacles.
Bane threw his head back and stared at the sky and in a voice that seemed far away, began to speak.
"Darkness is coming, yet there is hope in eight, they can do much to help, but only together, not separate. Evil will be vanquished for a time through an act of tragedy, but whether it returns, the stars do not say". He dropped his head suddenly and his eyes seemed to burn.
"I can say no more, I have already betrayed the laws of my people, I can not risk anymore. Farewell". And with that he was off, kicking up a trail of dust and dead leaves behind him. Silence settled around the Professors once more, but not for long.
"I told you, centaurs reveal nothing. I can't see any good that has come from this" Terp snapped, thoroughly annoyed by what he deemed to be a waste of time.
"Can you not?" Dumbledore questioned, his silver beard shimmering slightly. "I believe Bane revealed more than he meant to", and before waiting for a reply he turned and began to walk back through the forest to his school, the two other Professors trailing behind him in deep thought.
Chapter 1
How to win the heart of Lily Evans
1. Firstly…
James Potter looked down at what he had just written and cringed in embarrassment. It didn't matter that no one else would see it; it was, to put it frankly, a desperate and pathetic attempt. He knew that a simple and stupid plan wouldn't win her over, he'd been trying to get her to like him for the past two years and where had it gotten him? Into a whole load of embarrassing situations that his friends the Marauders would never let him live down. A slight flush crept over his cheeks as he remembered her last outburst at him, it had taken a lot but surprisingly she'd gotten through to him. He really was a great big bullying prat.
A sigh of frustration escaped him as he buried his hands in his hair and let his head drop to the table in defeat. That was another mark against him. If it wasn't bad enough that the love of his life thought he had the personality of a soiled dishcloth, she also hated the fact that his hair was so bloody messy and that part of it wasn't even his fault! Didn't she know that he'd already tried "Witch weekly's industrial super strength hair gel – it keeps even the most stubborn hair under control"? Well actually when he came to think about it she probably didn't but that wasn't really the point. The fact was he had used it and it just didn't work! James decided then and there to blame everything on his gene pool.
But then it wasn't as if it worked against him with other girls, in fact they seemed to like it. No…Lily was just different, not just different, but special in James' eyes. His eyes…now they could be his saving grace! How many girls had he seen fall for his sparkling hazel eyes, despite the fact he wore glasses? Well he must have lost count but then…Lily wasn't most girls.
A call from downstairs alerted him to the time. If he didn't leave now then he'd be late for catching the Hogwarts Express. He unfolded his 6ft frame from his desk chair and glared down at the piece of paper that was gazing mockingly back up at him. A surge of determination ran through him as he crumpled it up. This year was to be a year of new beginnings, a year of change and he'd be damned if he wasted another year of his life in pining after Lily Evans. No this year there would be no pining; he was definitely going to win her over.
The sunshine peeped in through a gap in the curtains, waving and beckoning for the inhabitant of a snug cosy bed to get up. The inhabitant happened to be a sixteen year old red headed, green eyed girl who otherwise went by the name of Lily Evans. She rolled over and stretched, a smile spreading over her face. It was September 1st and she knew that within a matter of hours she'd be speeding back to school on the Hogwarts Express. Glancing at her bedside clock she saw that it had just turned seven o'clock, perfect timing on her part. She'd already packed her trunk the night before so she now had ample time to have a shower and breakfast before starting the drive up to King's Cross station.
After a fifteen minute shower, she dried herself quickly before dressing in the clothes she'd set out the night before. Leaving her hair up in a towel she hurried downstairs, the scent of a fried breakfast causing her stomach to rumble quietly. She paused in the doorway of the kitchen, a smile on her face and drunk in the site. There was her father, sitting at the table and reading the morning paper while her mother was busy cooking at the stove. Her smile faltered however when her emerald eyes rested on the figure of her older sister Petunia. Her sister was glowering at her and Lily gave herself up to the inevitable as she walked in to the room and sat down to eat.
"So freak, today's the day we finally manage to get rid of you is it?" her sister bit out nastily as Lily tried her best to ignore the stab of pain she felt. She remembered briefly the time before she'd been accepted to Hogwarts, when she and Petty had been the best of friends but she knew they'd never be able to get that close bond back again. Mr Evans glanced up from the paper and gave Petunia a stern look.
"Now, now Petty that's not very nice" he admonished but there was a tone of resignation in his voice, he knew it wouldn't make any difference. Instead he turned his attention to Lily. "All packed and ready are we sweetheart?"
"Yep Daddy I finished packing last night" Lily smiled at him which quickly turned into a beam of pleasure at the food that was placed in front of her. "Thanks Mum this smells delicious!" she exclaimed. Mrs Evans smiled fondly at her daughter before replying.
"Well dear it is the last time you'll be home for a while, no doubt your friends will want you stay with them at school for Christmas, so be sure that you write a lot to us, we will miss you so".
"Oh Mum you always know I'll write to you all, I miss you just as much" Lily assured her family before tucking in to her breakfast. Her eyes held a slightly distant look as she wondered what exactly her three best friends; Esmee Harris, Aldara Taylor and Karlia Smith were doing at this moment in time.
Peter Pettigrew was to put it simply, a nervous wreck. He'd tried his best to smooth his straw coloured hair down, to stop his watery blue eyes looking so watery, to be dressed tidily and had even practiced holding in his stomach for long periods of time whilst also managing to breath – a marvellous skill even if he did say so himself. But a sickening, sinking feeling warned him that it wouldn't be enough and that Esmee Harris just wouldn't be interested in him.
Ever since he'd first seen her on the platform at the beginning of their first year he'd been captivated. How could he not have been? Her violet eyes were the most spectacular thing he'd ever seen. It also helped that she was good friends with some of the boys in his year, which was one of the reasons why he'd decided to try and become such good friends with them, and to an extent his plan had worked. He had now three of the best friends he could ask for but he hadn't gotten the girl. As much as the Marauders were amazing there was some part of him that resented them. It was always James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin – the most popular and well liked, it was very rare that anyone ever seemed to notice him and Esmee certainly didn't.
But this year, this year he'd try harder, he'd do anything to get her to go out with him. After all wasn't he worthy? Wasn't he a part of the strongest group in school – what could she possibly not like about him? A spark of anger passed through him briefly as he recalled how many times she'd rejected him – he could only hope that this year that would change.
"Peter pumpkin are you ready?" his mothers light and high voice floated up the stairs to him.
"Yes Mummy I'll be down in a minute", was his despondent reply although he tried to force a lighter note into it for his mother's sake. He quickly gathered his things and carried his trunk down the stairs, sweating slightly as he finally reached the bottom. His mother seeing this immediately took out a handkerchief and started mopping his brow.
"Now Peter I know you don't like how I go on but you really must look after yourself this year and work hard. No getting in to trouble do you hear me? I know those friends of yours…" Peter sighed quietly and let his mother's voice wash over him, knowing that the lecture would last the whole journey to Kings Cross Station and he for one couldn't wait for it to be over.
Esmee Harris gazed at herself critically in the mirror before carefully applying another layer of mascara around her violet eyes. She'd already dealt with her blonde hair which her mother had magically straightened for her. Satisfied with her appearance that hadn't taken her too long to sort out (thankfully) she looked around her room checking to see if she'd forgotten anything. She'd packed most of her things the night before but got bored towards the end so she'd left the last few things for the morning.
Pleased that she hadn't forgotten anything she grabbed her trunk and started dragging it behind her and towards the stairs.
"You do realise that you'll strain your back by doing that now don't you?" an amused voice sounded behind her. She turned quickly to see her father standing in the doorway of the bathroom, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Well father dearest", she said sarcastically, "How about you help me with it then?" Her father walked over and picked the impossibly heavy (in her opinion) trunk with ease before walking off ahead of her. She frowned slightly before catching up with him on his way down the stairs and poked him in the ribs. "Show off" she sulked just as her mother appeared by the front door.
"Well at least now we know where you get it from" Mrs Harris smirked as Esmee tried not to splutter.
"I do not show off!" she cried indignantly.
"No of course not, it must have been someone completely different who has been informing us of her amazing successes as being the ultimate matchmaker extraordinaire for the past five years at Hogwarts" her father said sarcastically whilst making his way out to the car. Esmee's face broke off in to a grin.
"Well what can I say? Is it my fault that my talents are so amazing that they have to be talked about?" she said with a mock seriousness before following her parents to the car.
"Now dear are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?" her mother inquired for what seemed like the millionth time.
"Yes Mum I have got everything I need" Esmee tried to disguise the exasperation she felt. They'd gotten about a mile down the road before Esmee forced them to turn back and she sprinted up in to the house. But the time she got back to the car she was completely out of breath.
"So you didn't forget anything?" her father asked with a raised eyebrow.
Esmee raised an eyebrow of her own in return "I have no idea what you are talking about" she said with feigned bemusement before joining in with the laughter of her parents. She glanced down at the red notebook in her hands – there was no way she could have forgotten this.
He really couldn't believe his luck. She was right there in front of him, a perfect vision of beauty as her blue eyed gaze glanced coyly up into his own silvery grey one. He didn't know how he'd done it but she'd finally come around to his way of thinking, she'd finally noticed him. His breathing quickened as she leant in slightly, and for a moment he thought he'd died and gone to heaven as –
"Remus! We've arrived already! Are you just going to sit there with a silly smile on your face all day?"
Remus glanced up sheepishly and tried desperately to stop a flush from appearing in his cheeks as he looked in to his mothers slightly amused face. Was it just him or did mothers always have a way of knowing what their own children were thinking? A worrying thought if ever there was one.
He rubbed tiredly at his eyes as he slipped out of the car but was slightly disappointed that he still wasn't taller then his father. Sure he wasn't short at 5'11 but he would much rather be 6ft. He didn't know why but for some reason that height would make him seem more like a man. He was brought out of his musing by his mother once more.
"Have a good year dear, and try your best to live up to your prefect status" she said somewhat reproachfully as Remus gave her a small hug.
"I will Mum don't worry. I'll try and write lots to both of you as well. Bye Mum, bye Dad". He gave them both a brief wave before he turned and went to pass through the boundary of Platform 9 ¾. A deep sigh escaped him somewhat. It seemed that no matter how hard any of them tried they could never become a fully functional family. His parents, his father especially always had the guilt of knowing that they could have stopped their son's suffering, could have prevented his becoming a werewolf. Remus tried valiantly to shake off his depressing thoughts, something that was made a whole lot easier as a certain blue eyed girl walked past him.
Aldara Taylor, more commonly known as Ally, was in what one would call a catastrophic hectic mess. She had well and truly meant to pack the night before but then more important issues had come up that she couldn't ignore. Like what on earth she was going to wear on the day she went back to school that would match with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, and how she should wear her hair and what make up she should have with it. Therefore the packing of such trifle things such as school work had been forgotten, hence the rush right now.
"Ally aren't you ready yet!" her brother Chris yelled from downstairs, frustration though laced with a bit of humour evident in his tone.
"Nearly!" Ally called back, giving up trying to pack things in an orderly manner and was stuffing things in to her trunk higgledy piggledy. She'd almost finished packing everything and was just chucking in the last of her lipsticks when something terrible happened. There was only one thing that she could do.
An ear-splitting scream rent through the house causing Chris, and Mr and Mrs Taylor to come running up to Ally's room.
"What? What is it!" Chris asked in a panic. Ally appeared too distraught for a moment to answer but then she slowly turned around.
"I broke a nail!" she exclaimed and when her parents laughed and her brother rolled his eyes she sought to defend herself. "No you don't understand, they were all perfect and now I'll have to re-do them all before we leave…."
"Oh no you won't" Chris stated. "There is no way we are losing to the other two and I will get you to King's Cross before them". It was Ally's turn to roll her eyes.
"Oh please brother dearest we have beaten them for the past three years in a row, plus you are forgetting the most important point" she stated sweetly with an air of smugness around her. Her brother raised his eyebrows.
"Do you care to enlighten me?"
Ally said just one word that caused Chris's face to break out in to a wicked grin.
"Lia".
Sirius Black glared miserably at his feet. Why oh why couldn't his family just hurry up so he could be off and back to school as quickly as possible? Was it really too much to ask?
Sure they were the most Ancient and Noble House of Black but really what did that matter? They were backstabbing, blackmailing miscreants the lot of them and he couldn't wait to get away.
"Oh Regulus dear I'm just so proud you've gotten your Prefect badge, not like that brother of yours to be sure. You do our family so proud!"
Cue a mental snort from Sirius. Could his younger brother be any more brown nosed? Could his mother be any more simpering? This summer had most definitely been the worst. It would have been unbearable if it wasn't for a visit from one of his uncles who had surprisingly taken a liking to him. Merlin, the house was driving him insane, and he was practically itching to get on to the train and be back with his fellow Marauders.
They were undoubtedly the most popular group of boys in the school, and the pranks they pulled, well in Sirius' eyes they were the best thing ever. Plus there was always the added bonus of having girls surrounding them. A grin settled over his handsome features as his dark black hair fell perfectly in to place, the girls were definitely one of the best perks of being popular.
A sharp, screeching noise that he had become accustomed to, which was in fact the voice of his mother pierced through his consciousness. Taking this as the signal to leave he took a pinch of floo powder and went spiralling to Kings Cross Station. What really surprised him was that his mother had followed him.
"Here you are boy" she hissed nastily before disapparating with a swish of her wand. Sirius glanced at his feet and noticed the envelope she had dropped there. His 6'1 frame (finally a man in Remus' eyes) scooped down to pick it up, but his chocolate brown eyes clouded over in confusion as he read its contents.
He'd been disowned.
Tony ran quickly up the stairs. If they didn't leave now then they'd never get to King's Cross before Chris and Ally. They'd been beaten for three years in a row and he'd be damned if they'd lose again this year. He reached his sisters bedroom and flung the door open and as he took in the sight he gave an incredibly un-manly shriek. She wasn't up. Scrap that – she hadn't even packed yet!
"Karli!" he bellowed and for once his sister jolted awake straight away.
"Wassit?" she said groggily, no where near being awake and her eyes unwilling to open.
"Karli we have to leave in five minutes, if we don't you'll miss the train". This comment definitely woke her up and her eyes snapped open.
"What!" she yelled and attempted to jump out of bed but got tangled in her sheets. "I haven't packed or eaten! I have to eat!"
Tony sighed in frustration before taking his wand out and muttering a spell. All of Lia's belonging quickly flew and packed themselves neatly (for a change) in to her trunk. While this was happening she'd finally managed to untangle herself from the bed sheets. She quickly flung her arms around him.
"Awww Tony you are so the bestest big brother in the whole wide world!" she exclaimed as he hugged her back quickly.
"I'm your only brother" he said dryly. "But get dressed quickly, you're going to have to eat on the way" and with that he hefted up her trunk and left the room.
The journey was quick and soon enough they'd arrived at King's Cross station – at one minute to eleven. They dumped her trunk on a trolley and sprinted to the barrier and crossed through it just as the whistle blew. Tony managed to chuck her trunk on board as she scrambled up with the help of a porter. She turned around quickly to say goodbye, even though the train was quickly gathering up speed.
"Bye Tony, I love you!" she called out to him as he got ever smaller.
"Love you Karli!" was the reply she faintly heard before he disappeared out of sight.
Lily sat worriedly in the compartment she shared with Esmee and Ally, attempting to reassure herself that there was no way Lia could have missed the train. Esmee also seemed troubled but with Ally there was no such sign. In fact she was giggling madly to herself.
"Ally how can you find it so amusing that your own cousin has missed the train?" Lily asked in disbelief. Ally was about to reply when a new voice sounded in the compartment.
"Hi guys! Miss me?"
Lily turned around to see Lia lounging in the doorway her long black hair tied up as usual and her blue eyes full of mirth.
"Lia! Don't you ever do that again you had me so worried!" she exclaimed rushing over to hug her friend.
"Oh c'mon you know I'd never miss the train" Lia grinned hugging Esmee as well, although giving Ally a weird look as she was still giggling madly. "Okay cousin, you've been at the chocolate already?" she asked.
"Nope!" Ally giggled, "I saw you running to get on the train, very amusing I must say, what did you do to be late this time?"
Lia had the decency to blush as she told them all of the morning's events and soon enough they were all seated around laughing and swapping summer stories. As Lily examined her closest friends a thought entered her head and she gazed at Lia, a grin spreading over her face.
"So how did you all find the potions essay we were set this summer?" she asked innocently, trying to choke back her laughter at the different expressions on her friends faces.
Esmee and Ally had identical looks of disgust, whilst Lia's had one of uncontrolled horror.
"Ugh Lils did you have to remind me?" Esmee shuddered. "That was by far the most evil essay we've ever had set"
"Yeah definitely" Ally agreed, "I mean we'd just had our OWL's as well, what on earth was Terp thinking?"
Lily thought briefly back to her OWL results with pleasure, she'd gotten 10 O's just like Lia and Ally and Esmee had gotten 9 O's and 1 E, undoubtedly amongst the highest in the year. Her thoughts were brought back the present by the spluttering noise emitting from Lia.
"Why must you do this to me? What potions essay!" she asked in a complete panic. Ally smirked at her.
"Girl do you ever do work?" she asked, a comment that Lia chose to overlook as a look of concentration showed on her face, showing that she was doing some fast thinking. Her gaze settled on Lily who immediately became suspicious - even more so when Lia quickly plastered a sweet smile to her face.
"Lily my best friend in the whole wide world" she crooned whilst looking hopeful, and despite herself, Lily found herself giggling.
"Alright you can look at it, but no copying" she warned. Lia grinned at her and mumbled "yeah, yeah" whilst rummaging around for a quill and some parchment.
Silence reigned for a moment before Ally decided to tell the others about one of her many summer flings. As Lily had no interest in that she quickly brought out a book to content herself with.
"This guy I met was sooo gorgeous. He was tall dark and looked so mysterious – seriously Esmee one look at him and you'd be in love".
"What's this?" Lia inquired distractedly from her position of writing her essay on the floor.
"Oh just some guy Ally met over the summer. She says its love, I say its lust. But surely you know about him, you and Ally only live a mile apart" Esmee commented. Lia was about to reply when the compartment door slid open and she had to bite back a groan of dismay when she saw who it was. There in the doorway were the four Marauders: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. The four of them said Hi with James shooting furtive glances at Lily but only Esmee said Hi back, she'd practically grown up with James. Ally herself didn't like any of them and the only one Lia liked was Remus and she despised Sirius more than anyone knew. Lily needless to say despised James Potter with a fiery passion, especially considering the events that took place at the end of their 5th year, and she only tolerated Remus because he was a fellow prefect along with herself and Peter because he seemed perfectly harmless.
"Hello, goodbye" Ally said coldly.
"Yeah bugger off", Lia added. They looked at Lily as if expecting a reply but she ignored them and continued reading 'Jane Eyre'. Ally also looked at Lily and said;
"That stands for go away and leave me alone if you were wondering".
Sirius spoke first: "You girls could be a bit friendlier to us you know", he said.
"No I don't think so, it would be a wasted effort", Lia said, not taking her eyes off of her parchment. James then continued;
"Yeah we're only looking for a compartment to sit in".
This time Lia pulled out her wand from her pocket. "Look I'm busy so go away now or I'll hex you all!" she said whilst pushing them out of the door. "Hi Remus by the way", she finished, slamming the door in their faces. Back in the compartment Esmee looked a little put out.
"You know you could be a lot nicer to them, they're not that bad – minus Peter who needs to burn in hell".
"Yeah whatever, Remus is the only nice one out of that lot" Lia stated, seating herself back on the floor. Lily finally looked up from the book, trying to calm herself down a bit, just the very sound of Potter's voice made her blood boil.
"Well in my opinion Remus is tolerable and Peter is the only nice one".
This comment was met with stunned silence before Ally decided to break it.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say Lily, but I can't stand any of them and quite frankly Esmee I think you could seriously be mentally unhinged for being such good friends with Sirius and James. They are by far the worst".
"Okay before any arguments break out" Lia quickly said seeing Esmee beginning to form a retort, "can you all please be quiet, I've an essay to finish!"
The girls smiled slightly at Lia and turned back to what they were previously doing.
Outside of the compartment, half of the Marauders were practically spluttering in shock. James couldn't believe that apart from Lily that Esmee, one of his closest friends was best friends with two girls who in his eyes seemed to be complete bitches. Sirius, slightly peeved from the earlier mornings events, seemed to be in shock for the fact that neither of them had flung themselves at his feet. The girl with the dark hair had especially seemed completely oblivious so his good looks and charm. There was silence for a moment but it didn't last long.
"Can you believe the nerve of that girl? Gees that was so rude, scrap that they were all rude except for Esmee - no offence Prongs but Evans didn't exactly seem to be bubbling with politeness and-" he was cut off mid rant by Remus chuckling to himself.
"Pray tell Moony what is so funny?" James asked.
"Oh nothing, but that was such a typical Lia thing to do".
"Who?" Sirius asked and even Peter had the opportunity to roll his eyes.
"Oh I don't know Padfoot, maybe she's just been someone who's been in the same house as you and all of your classes for the past five years" he piped up. Sirius still looked clueless and James decided to put him out of his misery.
"The girl who was so rude to you" he supplied. Comprehension dawned on his best friends face.
"Oh well never mind, they're just stuck up girls who think they are above us, let's go find another compartment so sit in" he said, not realising how hypocritical he sounded, when he believed that the Marauders were the best thing that had ever happened to Hogwarts. The boys quickly picked up their bags and hauled their trunks behind them further down the train, attracting a lot of attention along the way. It was hardly surprising seeing as they were the most popular boys in the school. After a small amount of fuss concerning a number of Slytherins and some dungbombs, they finally found an empty compartment and collapsed on to the seats, awaiting the food trolley which would soon go past.
By the time the Hogwarts train arrived at the station, Lily had finished her book and Lia her essay and all four of the girls were eager to get to the feast. They all hurried to get to a horseless carriage, after saying a quick hello to Hagrid, the keeper of the keys at Hogwarts, but none of them were all that pleased by who they saw sitting opposite them, neither were those who now had to share a carriage with them.
"Oh great it's the egotistical pricks", Lia muttered darkly to Ally.
"Oh Merlin it's the grovelling rat", Esmee said out loud, looking directly at Peter. He only smiled back adoringly – it was a well known fact that he had had a major crush on Esmee since first year. Esmee shuddered slightly and turned her face away from him and began to talk to James and Sirius.
Lily was trying desperately to keep a hold on her temper as Ally tried to persuade her to wear her hair down, something she never did. It didn't help with the fact that James was sitting less than a meter away from her, something that she found unacceptable. She growled under her breath as he reached up to ruffle his hair, something that completely and utterly infuriated her. Ally looked slightly startled but seemed to take the hint to shut up about the hair, and quickly changed topics. Lia on the other hand was chatting amiably to Remus about his summer. They had worked together on a 'History of Magic' essay in their forth year and she had discovered that unlike Sirius and James he wasn't big headed and was an actual nice person, something all of her friends bar Ally seemed to agree with her on. The carriage jostled to a halt suddenly and all the girls were surprised at how quickly the trip had passed. Lia however wasted no time and quickly ushered her friends out after a quick goodbye to Remus – she was eager to get to the food, as they all were for that matter.
The four of them sat down and waited rather impatiently for the sorting to finish, although they did cheer every time someone was sorted in to Gryffindor. After what seemed like an eternity the plates filled with multitudes of delicious food and they all began to tuck in. For Lia it was practically heaven, she was with her friends once more and doing one of her favourite things – eating. All too soon the feast ended and the Headmaster stood up to make his annual speech. He looked around at them and beamed warmly.
"Another year beginning which I'm sure will be as memorable as the others…." He continued on but Lia and Ally had grown bored. They were gazing up at the enchanted ceiling which at the moment was a clear night sky full of stars. Gazing around the hall they both spilt out in to devilish grins as an idea hit them. Discreetly taking out their wands, they shot a spell over to the Slytherin table without the other knowing, both of them hitting Narcissa Black right on her white blonde hair. The Hall erupted in laughter as Narcissa squealed in dismay the fact that her hair now had turned an alarming mixture of blue and pink. Lia and Ally grinned at each other.
"I love that spell Lily!" they both whispered amidst the laughter that was echoing around the room. Dumbledore quickly quietened everyone down and continued on with his speech.
"I would like to congratulate all of those students who were chosen as perfects", Lily beamed with pleasure "and of course to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is indeed just that – forbidden. Now I am all sure that you are very tired so please make your way to the dormitories, first years, just follow your prefects".
They all trooped outside of the Hall, Lia and Ally bursting into hysterical laughter as they heard Narcissa moaning to her friends and they just beamed at the evil look she sent them. The houses were led by the prefects back to their dorms, and as usual had to wait outside the portrait who commanded;
"What's the password?"
Lily replied "Hobgoblin" and all of the students filed into the Gryffindor common room. They all filed slowly off to bed and on their way up the girls heard Sirius and James talking.
"Hey Padfoot, how'd you turn Narcissa's hair pink and blue? I didn't even see your lips move".
Sirius shook his head and said;
"Wasn't me man – good prank though although it's no where near Marauder standard, if only we knew, we could give them a few tips"
James chuckled his agreement and they disappeared up to the boys dormitories leaving Lily and Esmee to giggle at the looks of muted anger on Lia and Ally's faces. Their annoyance however was forgotten once they reached their dorms and they all seemed to share a collective sigh. There was always one thing to say about Hogwarts – it was great to be home.
