I wish I was JK Rowling, but I'm not. You guys know that. But I feel like I should say it anyway...

This chapter has been edited as of the 2nd of August, just so you know :)

BlueberryQuill

Kora Maver scowled across the common room, as - a good twenty minutes after the last stragglers had arrived - the Marauders emerged through the portrait hole. They lingered a little too long on the edge, before jumping down in what might have looked passably cool in their minds, but instead gave the impression that they were no more than five.

She curled up even tighter on the red and gold armchair, silently willing them not to notice her - before pulling open her latest read, a tattered copy of Watchmen.

Across the common room, Lily Evans disappeared into a flurry of giggles, surrounded by her ever so slightly tipsy cronies. Still thrilled to pieces that she had been made Head Girl, alongside Remus Lupin, her friends were still looking suitably smug, albeit a little bored. Over the course of the banquet, Lily had thrown the name "James Potter" around enough times that everyone, even the teachers, were pretty sure she had a crush.

Typically, Lily was refusing to admit it - having scowled at and besmirched James Potter's not-so-good name for the six years they had been at Hogwarts - but was refusing to back down from those convictions; true to form, she stood up, and stepped away from her girlfriends, tutting in James' direction. The action had far less conviction than usual, and Kora could hardly blame the other girls for rolling their eyes, sighing and vanishing into their dormitory.

James raised an eyebrow at Lily's reaction, but still seemed gratified, as he took his usual place that the head of the gang. They fell into their usual swagger, as they surveyed the circlets of armchairs looking, presumably, for a set of four chairs where they could sit and plan their reign over the other Gryffindors. Of course, the amount of time they had spent skulking around the Fat Lady, waiting for a time when they could make a suitably grand entrance, had also ensured that there was only one seat left - as far from the fireplaces as were possible.

It was also right next to where Kora had just got herself comfortable against the armrest of her own chair.

It was Pettigrew who reached the empty chair first, plopping himself down before lolling backwards against the plush cushions. Potter, Lupin and Black turned their attention to the adjacent seats in turn, before Lupin and Black satisfied themselves by sitting on the carpets, which were about as soft as the chairs anyway.

"Maver, move."

It was James - of course it was James, it was always James - towering over her. She rolled her eyes, before attempting to make eye contact. She could see right up his nose, which, even on James' typically handsome face, was not an attractive angle.

There had been a time when Kora would have eagerly jumped aside, in favour of her former idol; now, however, she smirked up at him, with as much dignity as she could manage. "Oh, yeah. Maybe I will. And maybe I'll start worshipping the Marauders too, doing whatever the hell they say. That's a good idea, I don't think."

Out of sight and earshot of Kora, Sirius smirked to Remus. "Maver gets really cute when she's angry."

"She's got a really hefty kick," retaliated Remus, leafing his way through a dog-eared copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "And she knows where it hurts."

James was not prepared to give up. He slumped over the opposite armrest, facing Kora. She sighed and put down her book. "Come on Maver," pushed James. "Just so I can sit with friends?"

"Because I so owe you a favour," Kora groaned. "Because you've done so many kind favours to me over the years."

One chair along, Pettigrew smirked.

"Mind out of the gutter, Pettigrew," Kora warned. "The answer, Potter, is still no."

James sighed theatrically at Kora, before disappearing off the edge of the armrest. Satisfied that he had gone, presumably to terrorise some other chair occupant, Kora curled her legs back to under her chin and reopened her book. The days of Kora being a Marauder, although at the time, they didn't use the pretentious name, and later, the days of her doing whatever the Marauders asked, were long gone. She began to engross herself back into the book's plot, and pulled out her wand so as to see the text and pictures a little better.

Her serenity, however, lasted only seconds, as cautiously, carefully, James snuck round the back and in a second, shoved at the chair. One of the few things that was undeniable about James Potter, was his strength - years of playing Quidditch had left him with lean muscles. The tiny Kora tipped off easily, still curled up, flew a foot across the carpet and landed in a small, sprawled heap. James slumped down into her armchair, victorious.

Dazed, Kora shook her head from side to side, before finding her wand amongst the tangled mess that was now her hair. Standing up in a flash, she was at James' side in a second, her wand thudding neatly into place on his robes. Her cheeks were a violent, flaming, Gryffindor red, although from anger, embarrassment or carpet burn you couldn't tell.

Carefully, she adjusted her wand so that it sat neatly on his prized Gryffindor badge - and the fabric began to smoulder, softly.

James let out a low laugh. "Merlin, Maver... Did you grow, exactly none over the summer?"

Kora let out a low growl, and Sirius snickered behind his hands. Around them, the common room was continuing as normal, oblivious to the minor scene in the far corner. "I know," she said, her voice as sweet and simpering as possible. James could see fleeting images of newly elected Senior Undersecretary for the Ministry of Magic, Ma'am Umbridge, as she spoke - it was a near perfect impression she was pulling off. "Because whenever I have to - Merlin forbid - look at your face, I see right up your nose. Bet you didn't know that less than attractive feature about yourself."

She withdrew her wand into her breast pocket, leaving the gold in James' badge an ugly scorched brown, and turned back to the dormitory.

James sprawled across the armchair, closing his eyes blissfully. "Thanks for the seat, Maver."

As she turned back, her eyes livid, Sirius turned to Remus. "She's got a hefty kick," he quoted. "And she knows where it hurts."

"I hate you, James Potter," shrugged Kora. "But I do honestly hope you enjoy speaking soprano for the next week."

James doubled over, as she flounced off, hissing profanities through his teeth.

"Well," Remus observed dryly, as his friend continued to swear loudly, calling Kora everything from "cunt" to "a veritable monster who deserves to have her head ripped off". "We've only been here ten seconds, but I would reckon that's an enemy pretty firmly in place."