Hi everyone! Okay so I'm very excited, this is my first ever fanfiction. It was going to happen eventually. So now I've finished University I finally have the spare time. Originally I wasn't going to publish these, but I soon realised that my friends reviews are incredibly biased! So please, please, PLEASE be honest when you review, I super need the criticism. Hopefully my writing will improve as the story continues. Anyway, the Marauders era has always fascinated me and I reeeeally hope I can do the characters justice. Obviously I don't own anything other than things that I've made up in my head, it all belongs to our Queen JK. Please leave me a review if you have the time and would like me to continue with the story!

Lots of love, Rachel xxxx


Chapter 1

"Alice!" shouted a voice from downstairs. "A letter's come for you!" Jane Evans received only the muffled, thumping resonance of her youngest daughter's record player by way of a response. She sighed heavily, drew in a breath and called again, "Alice!" startling the indignant looking Grey owl which for reasons unknown appeared quite at home on the kitchen counter next to her gleaming, white toaster.

A door opened onto the landing and new voice joined the melee of shouting and vibrations that were threatening to crack the plaster in the ceilings, "They can't hear you Mum" called the haughty voice, "…not through that racket and all the rubbish in their hideous, freakish heads."

"Petunia Jane Evans, if you use the F word to describe you sister and her friends one more time I swear to God I will confiscate your car keys and retract your father's permission for you to go out with Vernon tonight!" a very audible and shocked gasp rushed down the stairs. "Now go and tell your sister's friend that a letter has come for her!" Mrs Evans retreated from the bottom of the stairs and then suddenly stopped at the entrance to the kitchen, seeming to think better of it, she turned around, retraced her steps and placed her hand on the lowest bannister and added, "Nicely!"

She heard a sigh as her eldest daughter stomped across the landing and hammered on her sister's door. There was a distinct and unwelcome scratch as the needle of the record player was lifted and the rattling bass of the music promptly stopped before Petunia irritably announced, "There's a letter for you Alice. It came with an- … well I assume it came your way."

"Oh, thanks Petunia!" trilled Alice's pretty, high-pitched voice, "Cheers Tuney" added a second, though rather more stiffly, as the two girls rushed out of the room and across the landing before thundering down the stairs. As they entered the kitchen in which Mrs Evans was emptying the dishwasher, the large owl ruffled its wing feathers and stuck out its left leg to which an envelope was rather haphazardly tied, as though it had been attached in rather a hurry. The girl with the shining blonde pixie cut approached the owl and removed the letter from its winged courier. "I wonder who this is from", she said with a frown, "I don't recognise the owl or the handwriting…" a few seconds passed as Alice ripped open the envelope, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the first few lines before widening with surprise and joy as a wide smile spread across her face. "Oh brilliant! Lily, it's from Frank! You know the one in the year below who I tutor in Transfiguration? Yeah him, he passed his O.W.L with an E! He can take it as a N.E.W.T subject!"

"Oh that is brilliant!" replied Lily, before her startlingly green eyes narrowed into a mischievous grin as she flipped her waves of glittering, shocking red hair behind one shoulder, "that means you two can have more secret Transfiguration lessons that go on until waaaay past the curfew… wink win- OW!" Alice had poked her in the stomach with her wand. "That was uncalled for, you monster!"

"Your lewd and unsavoury comments about my strictly academic lessons with Frank Longbottom were uncalled for!" retorted Alice, as she tried to repress her laughter whilst watching Lily rubbing the spot on her stomach where Alice had poked her.

"Lily, don't tease your friend!" said Mrs Evans with a smile and a mock frown.

"Yeah Lily, don't tease your friend!" chimed in Alice, as she shoved Lily lightly with her shoulder. They smiled at each other, and Mrs Evans surveyed the pair of them fondly from the other side of the kitchen counter.

"So when are you two going to go shopping for your new school books? Have you made any plans with Mary and Marlene? Or… what's that other girl's name? Hestia?" asked Mrs Evans, whose eyes then narrowed mischievously too, mirroring the exact facial expression Lily had employed not a minute before, "Or perhaps you should call James, Lily, I'm sure he'd love to take you out!" Mrs Evans grinned, then recoiled slightly at the venomous look her daughter had sent her, before beginning to chuckle along with Alice.

"Yeah Lils! Let's get the boys involved, it'd be an interesting if not altogether distressing experience!" piped up Alice. 'The boys', who were more often referred to as 'the Marauders' for reasons as yet unknown to the student population of Hogwarts, consisted of four boys (are they still boys?) in Lily and Alice's house and year at school; James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. However, Lily had always steadfastly and stubbornly refused to play into that egocentric vision of themselves and address them as such. Even though it appeared that Lily Evans and James Potter had finally relented and become mutually amicable towards one another – most of the time – after over 3 years of constant bickering and hexes, occasionally peppered with James' outlandish and oftentimes downright pathetic attempts to get Lily to go out with him, Lily remained habitually averse to the thought of consciously choosing to spend her free time with James Potter and Sirius Black. "Anyway, I need to speak to James about Quidditch tryouts for next year" added Alice.

"Ooh Alice, do we have to?" Lily whined, "even if James has deflated his head a bit that doesn't make him any less obnoxious, I'm just not in the mood. I mean, of course I'd love to see Remus, but unfortunately outside of the library he comes with an entourage of idiocy."

"Oh Lily, get over yourself! You know they're great fun to be around and it'll make a change from sitting in your room listening to the Doors and reading the same magazines over and over again." Alice deplored.

"Um, excuse me Twiggy! But I think you'll find it's you who only last week made me cut your hair so that you could look like a Muggle model!" Lily retorted. "And besides, they're only fun in school because they occasionally provide a welcome distraction from schoolwork."

"I think you'll find that I am absolutely rocking this look!" Alice replied. "Come on, let's go out and have some real summer fun! It's a gorgeous day,I'll buy you an ice cream from Florean's and let you watch people admire my newly emphasised bone structure." This declaration resulted in a snicker from both Lily and Mrs Evans, as Alice had planned. She knew that a delicate combination of bribery and wit would be enough to break her friend's resolution, it was a sure fire method of getting her way with the stubborn red head that stood before her.

"Fine." said Lily, not without a touch of annoyance for effect. "But you're buying me the biggest ice cream on offer and letting me sit in the corner of Flourish and Blotts for at least an hour."

"You've got yourself a deal, my gorgeous, obstinate friend!"

"Well, that's settled then!" said Mrs Evans, who appeared relieved that they had come to an agreement. "Alice you are of course welcome to stay over again when you're done shopping. Would you girls like something to eat before you go?"

"No thanks Mum, I'd better get dressed if we're going out," said Lily, then turning to Alice asked, "Are you going to go and see what the girls are doing? Marlene will probably know the boys plans."

"Yes good idea, I'll pop over to hers and she can get hold of the boys. I'll be back in a few minutes." Then, without much warning, Alice swirled on the spot and with a faint pop and a small jump of surprise from Mrs Evans who was still not used to this abrupt form of transportation,she had disappeared out of the kitchen.

"I'd better go and get dressed then." sighed Lily, as she began to exit the kitchen in a much more traditional manner.

"Okay darling, and maybe do something about your face." said Mrs Evans with a grin.

Lily turned sharply with a look of confused rage, "What's wrong with my face?!" she asked.

Mrs Evans' grin only got wider and she shook her head as though Lily hadn't understood a very simple joke. "You look like a child who hasn't got their way. Honestly, Lily, a day out will do you good! Please smile and at least pretend that you're having fun for once. You've only one year left at school, and I'd hate for you to look back on your adolescence and wish that you had smiled more. Now off you go. You're not too old for me to tickle you to death and make you smile!" This made Lily chuckle as she dashed out of her mother's reach and started to climb the stairs.

Her mother was right, as usual. Perhaps she was too serious sometimes. This summer would be a good chance to make some memories that didn't involve her telling someone off, especially considering her new position as Head Girl. Although, she had a feeling that she may have rather a lot more telling off to do this year what with Potter as Head Boy. Honestly, she thought. Potter? Why Dumbledore? Just, why? Even Alice had admonished that this was particularly unexpected. Lily recalled their conversation of three days ago when they were opening their Hogwarts letters, which held the news of Lily's appointment as Head Girl, and the surprising (for want of a better word) choice the Headmaster had made for Head Boy. "He's lost it," Alice had said, disbelievingly, "I truly think he's lost it. James? Really? James Potter Head Boy of Hogwarts? Do you think he's met him? Does he actually know who he is? Do you think he thinks Remus is called James Potter?"

"He must do, what with the amount of times he's been sent to his office," Lily had replied. "Do you think this is a joke? It seems like something James would do. Is there a spell that checks the authenticity of letters, or handwriting?" She appeared to be begging Alice for the answer to a question that hadn't even properly formed in her head yet. Why?

As it turned out, the reality of the situation was that James Potter had in fact been appointed Head Boy. Lily had owled Remus for verification. He had replied saying that it was true, that James was just as shocked as the rest of them, that Peter had fallen off his seat in surprise and that Sirius had cried. This had failed to appease Lily, and she was still getting used to the notion of having to spend more time with Potter than was, in her opinion, strictly necessary. She sighed as she sat down on her bed. 'There's nothing really to be done but make the best of a shitty situation' she told herself. 'I'm Head Girl, I have wonderful friends, it's sunny, and I can do freaking magic!' She smiled despite herself.