Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is JK Rowling's.
A/N: Why, hello! Welcome to this messed up word vomit I call fanfiction. I have decided to try and break some repetitive elements I've seen in other Jily/Marauder stories and run with a couple of headcanons of my own. I really love this era, and this story is practically writing itself in my excitement. We'll see how far that goes. It's written from Lily and James' third person perspective, most of the time, but I'm toying with switching to another character sometimes.
Oh, ominous place, spellbound and un-childproofed
Compatriots in place, they'd cringe if I told you
Our best back pocket secret, our bond full blown.
I am a magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment
I am a wunderkind, oh.
I am a pioneer naive enough to believe this
Destined to seek, destined to know.
-Wunderkind (Alanis Morissette)
The first time Lily Evans met James Potter was on the Hogwarts Express. A quite normal place to meet, perhaps, but meeting-places are always to be remembered.
The first time James met Lily, he was quite mean. But what can you expect from an eleven-year-old?
(**************)
"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall called, and whispers echoed around the room.
"Black? Did she say 'Black'? Another one of those? Oh, he'll be in Slytherin for sure. "
The tattered hat sat for a full minute on Sirius' head before opening its mouth. "GRYFFINDOR!" Silence reigned in the room. Sirius hopped up and handed the hat back to McGonagall, walking with a straight back to the Gryffindor table. It was not until he sat down that someone started to cheer.
Sirius was taking no interest in the Sorting as he sat down but instead watched the Slytherin table. A blonde-haired girl with piercing eyes watched back. There was a sneer on her lips that made Lily shiver. Sirius sent the blonde a taunting grin that finally broke her stare.
"Bloody hell," she heard someone mutter behind her. She turned and noticed that the other boy from the train was behind her. He had seen the showdown as well.
"Evans, Lily!" The professor called. Goodness, she hadn't heard all the rest of the B's, C's and D's. She hesitantly took a seat on the rickety stool and tried not to panic.
"Well, where should I put you?" The quiet voice in her ear asked. Lily breathed in deeply through her mouth. Sev wanted her in Slytherin, but what she had seen of them scared her. She didn't want to be anywhere near the mean-looking girl.
"So no to Slytherin." Sev was going to be upset. "I guess it's GRYFFINDOR!" Lily pulled the hat off with a sigh of relief and whirled around to face Severus. He was pale and looked resigned.
"Sorry," she mouthed before stepping down to the red-and-gold table. Sirius made room for her to sit, but she turned up her nose and sat next to a brown-haired girl instead.
"Alice," the girl offered as an introduction. "Second year."
"Lily." She was soon joined by a great many others at the Gryffindor table.
"Snape, Severus!" The (scary) McGonagall called, and Lily watched as her friend tripped up to the stool and eagerly pulled the hat on. No sooner did it fall past his eyes than it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" and the thing she feared most happened. She and Sev, her only friend, were separated.
(**************)
"Can I have the chocolate cake?" the boy next to James asked. He handed it over and took a longer glance at the boy. He was a first year, that was obvious, but he had an air of shabbiness, almost, about him.
"What's your name?"
"Remus," the boy offered, adding a smile as he took a bite of cake. He popped it into his mouth before his question. "And you?"
"James."
"Pleasure. And this is Peter?" Remus wondered aloud to a mousy-looking boy across from him. "Yes, this is Peter. We're both first years, too."
"Nice to meet you," Peter squeaked, his watery blue eyes almost disappearing when he smiled. James grinned back.
"Nice to meet you too. This place is amazing, yeah?" He gestured to the enchanted ceiling above that was filled with a breathtaking night sky.
As the four boys—as Sirius had included himself in the conversation—watched, no less than four shooting stars flitted across the sky. There was no moon, and it made the heavens all the more incredible.
"Wow!" Peter breathed. "I'll say."
"So do you boys follow Quidditch?" Sirius asked, and a light dawned in James' eyes
(**************).
James made four friends the first day. But then again, he also made two enemies. He didn't know girls could be so protective.
Lily made her first friend the first day. It was something she was proud of because she felt so out of place in this magical world.
She walked into the dormitory, her head spinning with all the information she had learned in the short five-minute walk to Gryffindor Tower. There was so much to learn: switching staircases, shortcuts, talking paintings, and trick doors. How was she ever going to get around the castle without getting lost?
Shaking herself out of her reverie, she focused on the other four girls in the room with her. There was a gentle-looking witch with soft, brown hair, one with almost-black eyes, one that towered over everyone in the room with the awkward earmarks of a growth spurt, and one that was so skinny and pale that Lily was surprised she wasn't a ghost.
"Erm, hi," she said quietly. "I'm Lily."
"Nice to meet you," the pale girl said enthusiastically, tossing the clothes she held onto the bed and throwing her arms around Lily. "I'm Mary, Mary MacDonald. I'm eleven and a half; I'll be twelve in February. I like ice cream, and I have an older sister in Hufflepuff and two younger ones." She turned to the tall girl. "Your turn."
"Fine." The girl paused for a second and fidgeted with her hem. "I'm Marlene McKinnon. Is that all I have to do?" Mary nodded, and Marlene visibly relaxed. She obviously did not like attention to be focused on her.
"My name is Sade Shacklebolt," the dark-eyed one said, her voice slightly accented and sounding like music. Lily liked the sound of it immediately. "I have an older brother here somewhere."
"I'm Emmeline. I like rainy days and snowy days." The fifth girl pushed a strand of her brown hair behind her ear and smiled. "I brought my cat with me. Are any of you allergic?"
"Yes, but only a tiny— ACHOO!" And Mary let out a sneeze that nearly scared Lily out of her skin. "Sorry!" she apologized and turned back to the pile of clothes on her bed.
Lily sighed and unlocked her trunk. Staring dejectedly at the task ahead of her, she closed it again and climbed into bed with a book instead.
One by one, the girls dropped what they were doing and snuggled under the covers. Sade went silent immediately, but Mary and Marlene talked quietly.
"What are you reading?" Emmeline asked. Lily looked up from her book, startled, and shoved her fringe out of her face.
"Narnia," she answered, showing her the cover. It was the first book and was worn out and faded from frequent use.
"Oh, I've never heard of those. Are they good?"
"You've never heard of The Chronicles of Narnia?" Emmeline shook her head. "But it's a classic children's story. Everyone knows it.
"What's it about?" Emmeline wondered mildly.
Lily shook her head and smiled a little bit."It's about a lion and a girl who finds a new land through a wardrobe, and there's an evil witch."
"Sounds like a story that happened to my aunt. She was investigating a Vanishing Cabinet and wound up in France."
"Sorry?" Lily was utterly bemused. "What's the point of a Vanishing Cabinet? Isn't that a bit silly?"
Emmeline regarded her thoughtfully. "Who are your parents?"
"Rose and Harold Evans. Why?"
"I haven't heard of them. You're a Muggle-born, yeah?"
Lily tugged on a strand of hair, as she often did when she was nervous. "Um, yeah. Is that a bad thing? Do I have to go to separate classes or something because I don't have wizard parents? Am I here on a scholarship or something? What if I don't do well? Will they kick me out?"
"Slow down and take a breath. Stop stressing. No, it's not a bad thing and no, you'll go to the same classes. You're here because you were detected to have magic. You'll do well enough here. They won't kick you out unless you, oh, I dunno, do something horrible, perhaps. I think you're safe for now."
Lily let out the breath she was holding and unraveled her plait, reaching up to knock the hair out of her eyes again.
"Can we go to sleep now?" Sade called from her pillow. Mary and Marlene quieted their talking, and Lily wandered away to the shores of sleep.
(**************)
"Can you imagine that ever happening to you?" Peter finished, sitting on the floor of his dorm with James, Sirius and Lupin. "Someone breaking up with you in front of everyone?"
"Girlfriends are stupid. I'm never going to have one," declared Sirius, flinging a jacket into the closet. "And if I do, I'm not breaking up with her in the middle of the Great Hall."
"Me either," James agreed, winding up his Gryffindor scarf.
Remus turned a page of his book and chewed on his thumb. Peter nervously played with a Sickle, flipping it in the air and clumsily trying to catch it.
"Whatcha thinkin' about, Pete?" James asked, having given up all hope of fully unpacking his trunk, instead lying on his clothes-strewn bed.
"Nothing in particular. What do you think the classes will be like?" Peter's round face was filled with uncertainty.
"Hard," Remus said honestly, marking his place in his book with a finger. "I think they'll be hard but a lot of fun."
"I just hope we can learn how to do Stunning Spells!" Sirius announced from his pile of belongings, having regained his good mood.
"Well, they're not in The Standard Book of Spells, so probably not this year," said Remus. James propped himself up on an elbow and stared at Remus.
"You actually read that?"
"I'm reading it now." Remus held up the book he had been engrossed in. James threw a pillow across the room at him.
"No! You don't read books over the holiday! Our first year of school hasn't even started," James complained, flopping down onto his back.
"Is this a bad time to say that I read some of our textbooks over the summer?" Peter said nervously, preparing to dodge any flying pillows.
"There's so much to teach you both," James sighed.
"Random question," Sirius announced, popping out of his trunk like a jack-in-the-box, "what is your favorite animal?"
"Horse," said Peter.
"Tiger," said James.
"Owl," said Remus. The three boys looked at him, incredulous. Remus stared right back, his eyebrows drawn down. "What?"
"Out of all the animals in the universe, you go for an owl? Not even a cool animal like…I don't know…an albatross or a penguin or something. But an owl?"
"It fits my personality. I like them. They're meek and kind and loyal," Remus insisted, realizing that he would read no longer that evening and putting his book away.
"Kind and loyal? You should have been in Hufflepuff, mate," Sirius shot back.
Remus rolled his eyes and got into bed. "Fine. Whatever. I'm going to sleep because tomorrow is the first day of classes and I want to be well-rested. Good night."
(**************)
Lily started to bounce in her seat when class schedules were handed out. She was full of excitement. Emmeline laughed over her pastry.
"Is someone anxious this morning or what?" she asked, and Lily quit her jumping, her face tinged red.
"I'm not anxious. I'm excited. I'm excited about classes. I'm excited to use magic! Oh, I'm excited about everything." She started up her bouncing again.
"Oi, Jumping Bean! Stop your bloody bouncing; you made me spill my pumpkin juice," Sirius, obviously not a morning person, snapped from his position two people over.
Lily stilled, her cheeks burning more than ever, and her temper simmering. "Jumping Bean? Honestly?"
"Lily's a stupid name," he said with a shrug.
"Says the boy named after a star," Emmeline snarled, swinging her legs around and regarding Sirius like she would regard chewing gum on the bottom of her shoe.
"Hello, Limes. Attracted any owls lately?" Sirius smiled lazily at her. Emmeline narrowed her eyes.
"Got a haircut recently?" He pulled a face and twisted back to his friends. Lily looked at Emmeline and frowned.
"What was that about? And why does he call you Limes?"
Emmeline sighed. "Sirius and I are fourth cousins or something like that. We've seen each other around. He calls me Limes 'cause he says I'm sour. One day, he got the brilliant idea to 'accidentally' sprinkle me with birdseed. Owls were absolutely everywhere, it was so annoying. I was picking feathers out of my clothes for weeks. But I got back at him by putting a wad of gum in his hair."
"When was this?"
"Two months ago. There was a party at the Ministry." Grinning, Emmeline took a bite of her toast and jam.
"I am so bored," announced a blonde girl, collapsing beside Lily.
"Calm down," the brunette across from her said. Lily recognized her. "You just have to get through four classes today."
"I want to go home."
"It's the first day. You can't go home until Christmas break."
"But I'm so bored!" the blonde repeated dramatically, burrowing her face in her arms. "Let's go blow something up."
"We can't today," the brunette told her sternly, trying to keep a smile off of her face. "Am I right? We can't blow up anything today?" she asked suddenly, whirling on Emmeline and Lily.
"Who are you again?" Emmeline ventured after a moment's pause.
"Oh, this is Alice Greengrass and I'm Dorcas Meadowes. Everyone just calls me Cass though, because my parents were stupid enough to name me Dorcas," the blonde said, lifting her head up off her arms.
"We're second years," Alice said with a smile. "And you guys are ickle firsties?"
"Not that it matters to us, but some people get, well, put off by it." Cass shrugged, shooting a glare over at the Slytherin table. Lily frowned, wondering.
"That's mean. Everyone was a first year once." Emmeline scowled.
"Like she said: we don't care."
"Er, right," Emmeline said, shaking her head. Lily thought the two girls might be just a little crazy. "Come on, it's time for class. And Cass, don't blow anything up. Wait at least a week."
"See I was right—" She heard Alice insist as she trailed Emmeline out of the Great Hall. People at this school were crazy.
(**************)
James and Sirius, self-proclaimed masters of pranks, earned their title the second day. Deciding that Lucius Malfoy's hair was getting too long, they trimmed it with a well-placed fireball. They escaped, but Malfoy's hair was five inches shorter.
McGonagall handed him a match and effectively broke his train of thought. He glanced over at Sirius, who shrugged. So James turned to the boy on the other side of him.
"Um, Ryan. Right?"
"Yeah. Ryan Burke. And you're James Potter?"
"That's right," James said, giving him a cheeky grin. "Now, what are we supposed to be doing with this match?"
"Weren't you listening? We're supposed to turn it into a needle," Ryan explained, staring very hard at his own match and wondering if it had gotten a tiny bit more pointy.
James laughed and laid his object of focus on his desk. "A needle, huh? But a match is so much more useful. You can do a lot with a match."
"Like what?"
"Lighting fires." Grinning at Ryan's face, he continued. "You can light fires with matches. It's a lot of fun, have you ever done it?"
"N-n-no. I prefer not getting burned."
"What House are you in?"
"Ravenclaw."
"Ah, that would explain it." James stretched his arms over his head, his ever-present smirk in place. Ryan looked uncomfortable sitting next to the crazy eleven-year-old. "Does this look like a needle to you?"
"It's too fat. It needs to be skinnier to be a needle," Ryan answered, though the match did seem distinctly needle-like.
James glanced over to where Sirius had succeeded in making the tip pointy enough to poke people with and was distracting Peter. Remus was lost in his own world, match forgotten on the table. The girl next to him—what was her name? Petunia, maybe?—was twirling her match around and nervously tapping her fingers on the desk. James wondered what had gotten her knickers in a twist today.
"Mr. Potter, what have you done this class?" Professor McGonagall swooped down on him suddenly, and he gave a start, dreaming about food. He glanced up at her, his grin sliding from his face. Behind her, Sirius and Peter were sniggering.
"I've tried to get this match to turn into a needle. I've gotten it silver and such, but that's it," he said, handing it over. She inspected it carefully, lips pressed into a thin line, and sighed.
"Very well, good start. Perhaps if you paid attention in class instead of daydreaming or chatting, you could have transformed the whole thing. Five points to Gryffindor. Mr. Black!" she cried as she whirled on him.
"Yes, Professor?"
"We do not use our Transfigured objects to poke people," she told him. "Please leave Mr. Pettigrew alone."
He nodded solemnly and held it up to his face in a caricature of deep thought. McGonagall's lips twitched, and James was certain she was holding back a smile.
"That Black is a character, isn't he?" Ryan remarked. "Especially because he's a Black, if you get me. Wonder how long it'll be until he realizes he's supposed to be in Slytherin with all the rest of his lunatic family. They're all insane, and I'm sure he is, too."
"Don't you ever, ever say that about my friends again." James realized he was shouting at a bloody-nosed, whimpering Ryan. The whole class had gone silent, impressed with the first fight of the year.
"James Potter!" McGonagall snapped, shocked and furious. "Come with me. Now." She stalked to the door, pulling him by the arm. "Miss Evans, Mr. Lupin, please escort Mr. Burke to the Hospital Wing," she called over her shoulder. The door closed on his classmates' stunned expressions, and James suddenly felt weary. He marched behind McGonagall, and she pulled him into her office. "What exactly were you thinking?"
James crossed his arms and lifted his chin stubbornly. "He insulted my friend. I won't stand for that."
"So you punched him?"
"He deserved it. Believe me, he deserved it."
"So you resorted to Muggle violence and interrupted my class? You could have reported it or been the greater man by ignoring it. There was absolutely no need. Detention, Mr. Potter, for the next two Saturdays. And fifteen points from Gryffindor."
"Professor, what about Ryan? He said those horrible things—"
"Fine, ten points from Ravenclaw," she said quickly. James exhaled and nodded, but his eyes burned.
"Thank you. Can I leave now? I really have to go to lunch," he forced out.
McGonagall regarded him carefully, before sighing. "Very well, Mr. Potter. You may go."
(**************)
James was only mildly surprised when Sirius Black slid in next to him in detention. They were cut from the same cloth, after all.
"Hey."
"Hi. What are you doing here?"
"Eh, I hexed a couple of Slytherins. Thought I'd keep you company."
"Thanks, mate." There was a pause in the conversation, slightly awkward, but neither of the boys was willing to fill the space up.
"So I never did find out what made you so mad at Burke that you punched him," Sirius said quietly, deciding to get it over with. James' expression darkened.
"It's not worth knowing."
"Who did he insult?" Sirius asked. James was silent, his head buried in his arms, and Sirius sighed. "Okay, it was me. What was he saying?"
James turned so that he could see him. "Do you really want to know?"
"Probably not. But I'm going to ask anyway."
"He called you a lunatic and implied that you should be in Slytherin with the rest of your crazy family."
"Git. But it's nothing I haven't heard before. And my family is quite crazy… Toujours pur and all that jazz."
"If you don't mind me asking," James started, hesitating, "why aren't you like them? All about blood purity and whatnot." Sirius was silent for a moment, and James was worried that he had offended the best friend he had at school. He shrunk and pretended he was as small as a Pygmy Puff. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I'll just be quiet now."
"No, it's fine. I just need a moment to think." A pause. "It started with Andromeda, I think. She was one of my favorite cousins; she was like the white sheep." Sirius smiled at his joke, congratulating himself for a moment. "She was sorted into Slytherin, but she met this bloke named Ted. He was a Hufflepuff and a Muggle-born, so naturally my parents despised him. 'Meda didn't though. They got married two-ish years ago. Anyway, they showed me that pure-bloods aren't the only special people around. I actually met him at the Weasleys—you know them, right?"
"Oh, yeah. My parents are great friends with them. I used to watch their son sometimes."
"Well, they're my cousins too. Second cousins or something, I think. My parents call them 'blood traitors', the idiots, so I naturally spend as much time with them as I can. They're cool as well. Blimey, that was a long story. Sorry, mate."
James waved his hand in dismissal and flashed Sirius a grin, which he returned. "Where is everyone?" The boys looked around the very empty classroom and then at each other. "Do you think-?" he started.
"Nah."
"You don't even know what I was going to say!"
"I could guess," Sirius said, tipping his chair back on two legs, returning James' glare with a wink.
"Are you a Legilimens now?" he demanded. "What was I going to say?"
"You were going to say that everyone had turned invisible, and we can only hear and see each other. After that, you were going to say this is the hardest detention you've ever been in," Sirius replied, examining his fingernails. James stared.
"That's not even close to what I was saying at all!"
"Your loss, then."
"You're mad, mate. Completely and utterly bonkers," he told him, emphasizing the last word with a hit to Sirius' head.
"Ow, gerroff!" wailed Sirius. "You're messing up my hair. And I've been called a lot worse than 'mad', honestly. It's not even that creative," he said, smoothing his fringe down indignantly, and James narrowed his eyes.
"Is that a challenge?"
Sirius grinned. "Hit me with your best shot."
James rolled his eyes and rattled off every insult his eleven-year-old mind could think of. Sirius laughed hysterically over more than a few—"lower than a dirt clod, brains of a flobberworm"—and winced at few choice ones—"as graceful as a house-elf and as pretty as a Cornish pixie."
When he was done, Sirius wiped his eyes and dropped his chair so all four legs were on the ground again.
"Hey, James. Reckon we can leave if the teacher doesn't show up after half an hour?"
James thought about it for a moment. "Suppose that's allowed, yeah." And the two boys hopped off their chairs and meandered out of the classroom.
It turns out they had reported to the wrong room. McGonagall was not impressed, and she let them know it as she marched them to their proper detention.
"If you two make a mistake and go to the wrong room, don't assume that the teacher forgot— because they will not forget a detention—but go find out what's wrong!"
The two boys didn't care, though. They had laughed far too much for it to bother them now.
(**************)
First year was plagued with hexes for Severus, courtesy of the troublemakers. He washed his hair often enough. They didn't need to make fun of it. But his Slytherin friends were interesting to be around. And then there was always Lily…
First year was plagued with hexes for the troublemakers, courtesy of Lily. They thought she was quite aggravating, supporting that annoying Snivellus. She thought they were bullies, not accepting her and her friends. Perhaps she was right.
(**************)
"Do you ever get the feeling that something's off with Remus?" James asked, sprawled out on the couch in the sleepy common room.
"What do you mean?" Sirius' voice was muffled; he was lying face down on the floor. James struggled to find the right words.
"I don't know. He just is always gone and he looks peaky all the time. And he eats and eats and eats but doesn't get fat."
"That is called a fast metabolism," Sirius replied, flipping over onto his back so he could watch the snow fall. "And he's probably always looking peaky because he eats so much."
"But it's more than that. He's just…with all those scars…and yeah. I don't know." He glanced away from the curtains and glanced at Sirius. "I was just thinking aloud."
"No, I get what you're saying. There is something off about him," he said seriously. Further conversation was cut short when Kingsley entered the room. Despite his solemn demeanor and second year status, he had become friends with the two black-haired boys. James sat up straight and gave him a welcoming grin.
"Where've you been?"
"Christmas break?" he replied, somewhat confused.
Sirius snorted and rolled over again. "Brilliant, mate. No wonder you're top of all your classes."
James shook his head, hair flopping around wildly. "No, that's not what I meant. I saw you in the Great Hall when I came in. But that was hours ago."
"Can't I have a life outside this common room?" Kingsley asked, amused. James groaned and was taken pity on. "No, I was with my sister."
"You have a sister?"
"Don't sound so surprised because you don't pay attention, Black. It's hardly a secret." Kingsley said, shrugging.
"What year is she in?"
"First, like you."
"You have a sister and she's a first year? Blimey, how do I miss these things? Next you're going to tell me that Peter has a brother—"
"I think he does, actually," James interrupted. "Goes by Simon, or something. I think he's a Muggle though. Or a Squib. I don't know if his father's a wizard."
Sirius snorted again, waving his hand aimlessly. "Bah, I can't be bothered with siblings. What's your sister's name, then?"
"Sade."
"Oh, I know her. I think."
"She jinxed you once." James could tell that Kingsley liked this conversation very much. He smiled.
"Did she?" Sirius wondered, sitting up and regarding Kingsley. "She's the one that's friends with Evans, right? Yeah, she got me with a Jelly Legs Jinx. Forget why though."
"You had dropped a pie on her head," James said.
"A pie meant for Evans. It's not my fault that they look alike."
"Sirius, they look nothing alike. At all. And it is your fault, because you can't do a levitating charm to save your life."
"The devil's in the details, James," said he, waving his hand again.
Kingsley shook his head and yawned. "You two are impossible."
(**************)
Remus lived in continual fear that someone would figure out his secret. Peter lived in continual fear that he wouldn't be friends with the boys. James lived in continual fear that he would fail his classes. Sirius lived in continual fear that he was put into the wrong house.
(**************)
Oddly enough, it was Professor McGonagall that gave the four boys the nickname they were so infamous for.
"You four cannot—I repeat: cannot!—go traipsing around the castle after hours like this. You are first years, for one, and you are supposed to be asleep—I repeat: asleep!—at half past eleven. Why are you here?"
"I fancied a change of scenery," Sirius replied cheekily and instantly regretted it when the full force of her glare descended on him. "Sorry," he muttered.
"And you, Mr. Lupin, I expected more from you. I would think that you would know better and keep a tighter rein on your friends. You too, Mr. Potter."
"Hey!" Sirius protested. "I am not some type of dog and neither is Peter!"
"Mr. Black, you already have one detention. I will not hesitate to make it two," she warned. He shut up again. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Marauding around the castle, stealing food. Honestly, you would think that you could wait for breakfast, like normal students." She deposited the four in front of the Fat Lady and told her the password. "No more. Go to bed!"
The four glumly climbed into the common room, heads hanging. The portrait shut tightly behind them, and they didn't dare go out again.
"I'm sorry. If I didn't want to go out for food, we would've never gotten caught," Remus started, feeling very guilty and very tired.
"That's all right, Remmy. I'm sure if you hadn't suggested it, Sirius would have," James said, jerking his head at his friend.
"Hey!" Sirius said. "Why am I always to blame?"
"Because you're usually the instigator?" Peter supplied, the smile fading off his face with the dirty look he was given.
"I'm choosing to ignore that slight on my personality, Peter," Sirius said, nose in the air. "But anyway, I know what we should call ourselves."
"…Our names?" Remus asked. Sirius snorted.
"Because that's not boring as History of Magic. We need a good group name; every Dark-wizard-fighting legendary band of friends has one."
"I didn't know he knew this many words," Remus muttered to James, impressed
"The Wicked Witches. The Bumbling Band of BA Boys. The Coalbiters. The Troll Trio—"
"Isn't that a band?"
Sirius ignored him. "And I've got the perfect name."
"Well, go on. Tell us," James prompted.
Sirius frowned; his dramatic pause was not supposed to be interrupted. Mildly frustrated, he continued. "We should be the Marauders. Because we're always cheeky."
"Sirius, I really don't think that's what it means—" To his credit, Remus did try. But the boys was not to be deterred.
"Oh, shut it. It's bloody brilliant! The Marauders." James got a faraway look in his eye. "Defenders of justice and pranks! Potter, Pettigrew, Lupin and Black!"
"Why am I last?"
"Because your name is Black."
"What does that have to anything with it? My name should be first, it starts with a 'B'!" he protested. Remus rolled his eyes.
"And that is my cue to go to bed," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. James yawned and stretched.
"I suppose you're right. We can talk about the details tomorrow."
And the four boys traipsed up to their room as silently as they could. James had almost fallen asleep when he heard Remus whisper, "The Marauders. I do like the sound of that."
A/N: And there is the first chapter! Don't worry, the chapters will be in this jerky, one-shot format only until the main story starts around fifth year. Hang on until then!
Shoutout to my awesome beta Lissie at biggerandbeta—you're amazing. Thank you so much.
Reviews would make my day. :) Happy New Year!