A/N: Helloooo! So this is a first chapter. It doesn't make much sense now, but it will, promise!
Copyright: Jo Rowling. Duh.
Lily Evans sat dutifully at the large round table, which held her sister's entire wedding party. She hated the lot of them, but in order to keep her sister at ease, or her mother rather, seeing as how Petunia probably couldn't care less if Lily was present or not, she was required to stay until the tea was gone.
"Oh this is just lovely, Petunia!" Erica, Petunia's best friend from Secondary School and maid of honor, was gushing to the soon-to-be bride, who beamed at her.
"It's going to be such a beautiful wedding!" Chimed in Louise, another friend and bridesmaid. "You're both going to look just wonderful at the alter together!"
Lily had chosen the wrong moment to take a sip of tea, for she couldn't not hold back a quiet laugh at the thought of Vernon Dursley ever looking wonderful and she choked slightly.
"Problem, Lily?" Petunia asked, eyeing the witch crossly.
"No, not at all. If you'll all excuse me for just a moment..." Lily stood from the table and left the room, muttering some excuse about using the loo. The seventeen-year-old did not however, make her way to the loo. Instead, she walked straight into her bedroom and pulled out a bottle of ink, a quill, and a small sheet of parchment.
Marlene & Mary,
I hate you for being together right now, sitting around eating Honeyduke's and laughing at things that probably aren't even funny. I, on the other hand, am forced to sit in a room with the most boring and unattractive people I have ever met. Honestly, they make Binns seem like an interesting bloke. Save me. This dreadful tea will be over in half an hour. I am begging you. I will take all of your N.E.W.T's for you, if you come rescue me.
I hope I'm still alive when you receive this.
I still hate you,
Lily
She attached the letter to Lizzie, her impatient owl's leg, and watched her fly away. There was a knock on her door just then and she stood, just as her mother entered the room.
"Lily?" She raised her eyebrows at her youngest daughter. "This isn't the loo, Love. Sorry to break it to you. What are you doing up here?"
"Sending out a cry for help." The witch answered.
"Oh, Lily. Don't be so dramatic!" Lily did not miss the slight smile that Mrs. Evans fought to keep back. "They are a bit dull though, aren't they?"
"A bit? Mum, I have a magic want in my pocket, and I'm bored. That's more than a bit dull. Anyway, Dad doesn't have to be here." Lily pointed out.
"Your father's working, Lily. If you'd like to go sit in an office all day, filing paperwork and meeting with clients, by all means..." Mrs. Evans gestured toward the bedroom door.
Lily's eyes rolled slightly and she looked at her mother pleadingly. "Mum, they all hate me and I have no reason to even be here." She said, running a hand through the red waves that lived atop her head.
"You're a bridesmaid, Lily Marie! It's only another half hour, you can manage, can't you? For your sister?" Lily looked at her doubtfully, "For me, then?" She did look desperate.
Lily sighed, "If I stay now, can I get out of going to the actual wedding?"
"Lily."
"I'm joking, Mum. Come on, then. We must be terribly missed down there you know. I can't believe you've kept me from all the fun for this long." Lily kissed her mother's cheek, to which she received an eyeroll, but Mrs. Evans followed her down the rickety staircase all the same.
The half hour seemed more like an hour, but the tea was coming to a close, with all the guests preparing their departure, when the doorbell rang. Lily hopped up from her seat too quickly causing everyone to look at her.
"Er..." She said, stepping away from the table, "I'll answer that, shall I, while you all get in your goodbyes?"
She hurried into the sitting room without a response, prepared to hug her friends in thanks for them rescuing her. She opened the door and did not find the smiling faces of either Marlene Wright or Mary MacDonald. Instead, she found Sirius Black.
"Black?" confusion was apparent in both Lily's voice and on her face. The marauder bowed his head at her.
"I've been sent on a rescue mission." He informed her, grinning.
The redhead raised her eyebrows, amused. "By who, may I ask?"
"I mustn't reveal my secrets." He told her, but relented at her still raised eyebrows. "Marlene and MacDonald wrote James, Pete, Remus and I saying you were desperate. We all banded together at the Potters' and they decided I should be your knight in shining armor."
Lily took in his appearance. He wore street clothes, but nothing shiny. She said as much and he grimaced, "Don't ruin it, Evans. Do you want to be rescued or not?"
She grinned and looked back towards the kitchen.
"Yes, please. Can you wait here a moment?" She wondered.
"Certainly, M'Lady." Sirius bowed again and the witch laughed, walking back to the kitchen to inform her mother of her departure. When she arrived, she discovered all of her sister's friends had left out the backdoor. Lily fought back the sarcastic comment she had about not being able to say goodbye.
"Who was at the door?" Petunia asked, "Was it for me?"
"Why would I have taken so long to greet someone at the door, if it was for you?" Lily wondered, grabbing her handbag from its hook. Petunia only shrugged.
"Anyway, Mum." Lily addressed Mrs. Evans now, "I've been asked to go out, if that's alright with you?"
"Sure, Love. Will you be here for supper then?" Her mother was not paying much attention, as she was still cleaning up from the delightful gathering they had all just shared.
"I wouldn't count on it. See you later, Mum. Bye, Petunia." Her sister ignored Lily as she walked back to the front door.
"Ready?" Sirius wanted to know, holding out his arm for Lily to loop her's through.
She smiled, "Ready." She told him.
"Excellent."
The two walked down the street, arm in arm, in search of a deserted area to appararate.
"Had a nice Holiday, have you?" The marauder asked Lily, who snorted.
"Right. I've been listening to my sister plan her wedding all summer, to a bloke that could probably bore the pants off of Madeline, if they got to talking."
"Oh, no one could bore that girl." Sirius said, thinking of their fellow Gryffindor. "If Moony dated her, not much else out there to bore her, yeah?"
Lily laughed, pushing her elbow into his side. "Remus is not boring!"
"Nah, s'pose not. Bet he is in the sack though, don't you? Too polite, if you ask me."
"I am not discussing your friend's sex life with you, Black." Lily shook her head at the wizard, who laughed.
"Shame, that." He said, feigning disappointment. "And here I thought you were interested in the sex lives of my mates."
"Not particularly." The witch made a face at him. "How has your Holiday been, then?"
Sirius's eyes turned cold and when he answered, his tone was more bitter. "Oh, you know, dear old dad broke a few ribs, bruised an eye or two, and sent me to the streets." Lily stopped walking, staring at the marauder, eyes wide. He pulled her along without hesitation and added, grinning, "Oh nothing to worry about, Prongs' Mum is a much better cook than mine. And he gets to be exposed to my shining personality every waking moment of everyday now, instead of just during school. Bit of a win-win, yeah?"
Lily tried to make sense of it all, ignoring Sirius' jokes.
"So, you're living at the Potters' now, then?"
Sirius nodded, "Not that I wasn't before, you know. I've been round their house practically every day of Summer holiday since third year. Now I just... Have a bedroom, too, is all."
"Why'd your dad kick you out? What reason could he possibly have?" Lily wanted to know.
"You think being in Gryffindor wasn't enough to make him want to kick me out six years ago? Crossed a line, I suppose. He'd had enough of me. 'Bout time, if you ask me." Sirius shrugged.
"Sirius, that's awful!" Lily did not understand his nonchalant attitude about the whole thing.
"Nah, it's not." He assured her, "Wanted to be rid of them anyway. Dreadful lot of pricks, they are."
Lily wasn't convinced, but decided it was not her place to pursue the conversation, so remained quiet, leaving the wizard to his thoughts. "This looks secluded enough, you think?" Sirius stopped walking and looked around. The two had wandered into a small clearing of trees, which hid them from view of the surrounding houses.
"Right, yeah." Lily agreed and closed her eyes, preparing herself for the unfortunate task of apparating.
When she opened her eyes, she stood before a beautiful, if not slightly over done, mansion.
"This is where he lives?" Lily's jaw dropped upon seeing the building.
Sirius chuckled, "Where I live too, now, remember? Wait until you see the inside." He approached the front double doors and rapped once with the brass knocker.
"So you live here, but you can't just walk in?" Lily asked, her voice teasing.
"Protective enchantments." Sirius explained, smirking at her. "Door can only be opened from the inside, and only by the wand of a Potter, or one of their elves."
"Elves?" Lily asked, "You mean, House Elves? James has House Elves?"
"Well, not exactly. They have two, Millie and Elroy, but Ellie and Timothy- that is, James' Mum and Dad- pay them. They're allowed to dress how they like and leave whenever they please. Lovely people, the Potters. Shame they had such a rotten son."
Lily chuckled as the door swung open before them. A short, rather ugly, Lily observed, elf, wearing what appeared to be an old wizard's robe that had been enchanted to fit him, stood behind the door.
"Hello again, Elroy! Long time no see, eh?" Sirius greeted enthusiastically, striding through the door and into the Foyer. "Been a whole twenty minutes!"
"Welcome back, Mister Sirius." The elf croaked, he eyed Lily and gave her a toothy grin, "And this must be Miss Lily Evans, please enter." He extended his arm, motioning for her to cross the threshold.
"That's right," Lily smiled, "Thank you." She followed Sirius into the, somehow More Beautiful From The Inside, Potter Mansion and Elroy shut the door behind her.
"Your company still resides in Mister James' bedroom, Mister Sirius."
"Thanks, Roy! Come on, Evans." Sirius bounded up the spiral steps and Lily followed. "The git asked for the bedroom on the top floor when he was twelve. Horrible on your knees." Sirius complained as the spiral steps kept climbing.
"Exactly how many floors are there in this place?" Lily was still looking around as she followed Sirius, wide eyed, amazed that someone she knew and potentially called a kind-of-but-not-exactly-mate, could actually live in a house this grand.
"Four." Sirius replied. "But the ceilings are so bloody high, it feels like you're walking up ten flights of stairs. Wealthy families are so annoying."
"Watch yourself, Sirius Black." A somewhat elderly witch was descending the steps just as Lily and the marauder were reaching the top. The former recognized her immediately to be James Potter's mother. Not only had she seen her kiss her son goodbye at King's Cross Station every September The First for the last six years, but James bore an incredible resemblance to the woman. Her hair, while much more tidy and longer than her son's, was the same jet black in color and she had the same round, hazel eyes, just lacking some of the innocent excitement Lily had always noticed in James'.
"My apologies, your majesty." Sirius bowed to the woman, who laughed.
"Oh, stand up, you fool." She turned to Lily, "You must be Miss Evans?" Her smile was warm and very genuine.
"Yes." Lily returned her smile. She reached out her hand. "Lily. Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Potter."
"You as well, Dear. I've heard so much about you over the years."
"Oh?" Lily turned to Sirius, who put his arm around her shoulders.
"Time to go, see you in a bit, Mum." Sirius said the last word with a bit of teasing in his voice and Mrs. Potter laughed again, patting his hand that rested on Lily's arm.
"She's heard so much about me?" Lily asked in a whisper, after she assumed Mrs. Potter was out of earshot.
"Mental, that one. Doesn't know what she's saying most of the time." Sirius kept his arm around her shoulders, guiding her down the hall.
"Oh, I bet." Was Lily's sarcastic reply.
Sirius opened the door to reveal James' bedroom.
It was surprisingly small, considering the size of the rest of the house. There were Quidditch posters lining the walls and an alarming amount of scarlet and gold. To say that James Potter had House Pride was something of an understatement.
The room was also filled with Gryffindors. James lounged on his bed, with Remus Lupin at the foot. Peter Pettigrew sat on a very handsome armchair pushed off to the side, and the rest resided in chairs that had apparently been summoned upon their arrival and did not match the rest of the room.
Marlene Wright and Mary MacDonald were present, with Frank Longbottom and Alice Fortescue, who were- as always- holding hands and stealing glances at one another, just to their left. Jack McKinnon, the sixth Gryffindor boy in the soon-to-be Seventh Year's dorm, sat next to the happy couple. Madeline Cooper brought the circle around back to the bed, sitting on the floor next to it, her head dangerously close to resting on Remus' leg.
"Hello, all." Sirius greeted, lazily. Pushing Remus out of the way as he sat next to him on the bed.
"You know, 'excuse me' has been known to make people move out of your way without physical force, Padfoot. You should try it some time." He retired to the floor next to Madeline, which seemed to make them both uncomfortable, Lily realized. "Hello, Lily." Remus smiled at her.
"Hullo." Lily returned the smile. Marlene and Alice both stood to hug her simultaneously and Lily laughed at their eagerness, delighted to be in their presence, instead of what her sister described as friends. "Well, hello there." She hugged them back just as enthusiastically.
"Oh my Merlin Lily, it's been ages!" Marlene exaggerated, "Have you grown? You look taller. Your hair's gotten longer too, hasn't it? Lily, it's been so long since I've seen you your hair is noticeably longer!" The blond put her hands dramatically on her mate's shoulders as she spoke.
"Oh, calm down you drama queen!" Lily chuckled.
"How are you, Lily?" Frank called to her, putting his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder as she sat back down next to him.
"Wonderful, thanks, Frank. Jack, Mary." Lily grinned at them and rounded on Madeline, "If I don't get a hug in three seconds, we are going to have a very great amount of problems, Madeline Cooper."
Her best mate beamed at her, jumping up from her spot next to Remus. "'Bout time you've retreated from the muggle world, Evans!" She said, matching Lily's faux cross tone, "We've hardly heard from you in a month, let alone actually see you!"
"Blame my sister and her bloody wedding." Lily grumbled, releasing her friend, taking a seat on the chair Remus had just conjured for her. "Hello, Peter." She said, after thanking Remus.
"Lily." Peter nodded, smiling appropriately.
"Your house is incredible." She added to James, who had been remarkably quiet since her arrival. He smirked, "Gets old. And there's way too much unnecessary space. Damn wealthy wizard families..."
"That's what I said!" Sirius chimed in.
The Gryffindors chatted and caught up, all appearing horrified at Lily's, not at all exaggerated, mind you, retelling of all the wedding planning she had been forced to take part in, ending with the previous two hours spent having tea.
"Oh my Merlin! Lily, you haven't heard!" Madeline exclaimed at one point, when the conversation had turned to Quidditch.
"Heard what?" Lily inquired.
"Cooper's finally shagging Moony again!" Sirius mocked Madeline's excited tone and she, along with Remus, swatted at his legs, a blush creeping into both of their cheeks.
"No." Madeline continued, "Mary has a new boyfriend." They all looked at the light haired girl across the room, who was shaking her head. "We are not talking about this." She said.
"Sure we are," Marlene began. "It's Mark Aldridge."
Mary rolled her eyes. "I hate you."
Lily raised an eyebrow at Mary. "The Slytherin Quidditch Captain?" She asked, "That's- interesting. I mean he's-"
"Dreamy?" James suggested, while he threw a quaffle into the air and caught it repeatedly. The Gryffindors laughed appreciatively, apart from Mary.
"He's fit." Mary replied. "And I don't care what any of you think, so you can all sod off." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Plus, it's not so much dating as it is..."
"Casual shagging?" Sirius grinned.
"Well that makes me sound like a slag." Mary argued.
"You're not?" Sirius asked, winking at her.
"Hit him with the quaffle, will you, Potter?"
James chuckled, but did not comply.
"Too bad you'll have to root against him in Quidditch." Peter said.
"That is," James said, "Unless you're planning to cheer for Slytherin this year." He eyed her skeptically.
Mary scoffed, "What do you take me for, Potter?" She asked the Quidditch Captain.
"Good, thought I'd have to kick you out of my bedroom, just then." James sat up from his lounging position and said, "Elroy."
The elf appeared a second later, bowing to James. "Yes, Mister James, Sir?"
"You don't have to bow, Roy. I've told you a hundred times." James told the elf.
"Oh no, Mister James, Sir. Elroy could not disrespecta Potter in such a manor. Did you need something, Sir?"
"Right, suit yourself. Could you see about getting drinks for my mates, then? If you're not in the middle of anything, I could call Millie, if you are."
"Oh no, not at all, Mister James. Elroy would be pleased to serve Mister James and Mister Sirius and their friends."
"Or," Remus spoke up, "You could be a good host and get them yourself."
"Yeah, Prongs." Peter added, "The lot of us have been here for three quarters of an hour and you haven't even offered us drinks until now. Pathetic."
"Oh shut up, the pair of you. Sirius lives here too, you know."
"Oi! For all of five minutes! Don't put your bad hospitality on me, Prongs!" Sirius defended. James did throw the quaffle at him now, which the former caught without hesitation.
"James, how many times have I told you not to throw that quaffle in the house?" Mrs. Potter's voice came from the doorway, apparently having slipped in without anyone noticing. "You'll hurt someone. Or yourself. Elroy, you can go, I'll take care of everything." She beamed at the elf, who bowed at her and disappeared.
"Mum, I throw it while on a broomstick, with bludgers coming at me daily. I've got it covered, I assure you."
"Well don't throw it in my house and I'll let you keep your broomstick." Mrs. Potter challenged. James made a face at her, which she returned.
They had quite an interesting relationship, Lily thought.
"You have yet to introduce me to everyone." Ellie Potter told her son.
"Oi, right!" Said James, "Sorry. Well, Mum," He cleared his throat and his tone changed to imitate that of a bored Quidditch announcer, "That over there is Sirius Black, you love him more than me, even though I'm much better looking, not to mention I'm your own flesh and blood-"
"I'm still not convinced..." Mrs. Potter interrupted him, James ignored her.
"This here is Remus Lupin, he steals all your books and returns them before you notice, but you love him more than me, as well."
"That's called borrowing, Dear." She winked at Remus, who shook his head.
Still ignoring her, James pressed on. "Peter Pettigrew, he's just here, no one really knows why."
"Oi!" Peter protested. James grinned at him.
"Then there's Madeline Cooper. You're already acquainted, also you're madly in love with her and would trade both Sirius and me, to have her as a daughter in a second. Her and Moony dated, sort of. But they ended it last year because they're a pair of idiots." Madeline slapped his leg, her cheeks coloring again, while Remus awkwardly studied his fingernails.
"Frank Longbottom and Alice Fortescue," James said, gesturing to the two, "They're sickening, just look at them. In love and all that. Mary MacDonald, she's sleeping with a Slytherin."
Mary threw up her hands, "Is that just what I'm going to be known for now?"
"Yes." James and Sirius said in unison, both grinning at the blonde.
"Marlene Wright. She's a vegetarian and references loads of Muggle books that no one has read. Jack McKinnon, but you can call him World's Greatest Beater." Jack high-fived the Quidditch Captain.
"Git." Sirius muttered.
"And last but not least," James gestured toward Lily, "Lily Evans, I believe you met on the staircase."
"Wonderful." Mrs. Potter said sarcastically, "After that thrilling round of introductions, I feel as if I know you all very well." She smiled, rolling her eyes at her son. "And Remus, Dear, borrow all the books you'd like."
Remus thanked her, sending an arrogant smirk James' way.
"I can get you all Butterbeer, if you'd like. And if anyone is hungry...?"
"I'll help you!" Madeline jumped up and made for the door.
"Oh, that's very kind, thank you Maddie." Mrs. Potter beamed at the young witch and they exited the room, descending the staircase.
"I can see why she prefers Maddie to the two of you." Lily told James and Sirius.
Three hours later, the group of Gryffindors, minus Frank and Alice, who excused themselves to have dinner with Frank's Mum, and Jack, who had to watch his little sister while his Mum worked a night shift, found themselves in a park, sitting in a circle on the grass, with a bottle of Mr. and Mrs. Potter's Firewhiskey that James had nicked.
"Ooh!" Mary exclaimed eventually, handing the bottle to Sirius, who was to her right. "Let's play kiss or tell!"
"That sounds like a terrible idea." Remus said.
"What is it?" James wanted to know, grabbing the bottle from Marlene, who had been passed it by Sirius.
"It's a muggle drinking game." Lily explained, taking a drink of the bottle James handed her. "Someone asks you a personal question, if you don't want to answer it, you have to kiss them. If you answer, the asker takes a drink, if you kiss, you have to drink."
"There could be a ton of potential there..." Sirius mused. Marly giggled next to him, not able to hold alcohol as well as the rest.
Madeline took the bottle from Lily, took a longer drink than necessary and handed it to Peter, "Let's play." She said.
"Finish off the circle first though." James advised. "Wormtail, Moony." Both marauders drank and Mary clapped her hands together. "Excellent, I'll go first." She looked around at everyone, "Lily." She said.
Lily's stomach did backflips at the sound of her name. There were way too many questions that Drunk Mary MacDonald could ask her, that she did not want asked.
"Do you love me?" Mary asked in a serious tone.
"Of course, Darling." Lily replied, rolling her eyes, "You just wanted another drink!" She accused, as Mary tipped the bottle back into her mouth once again. Sirius pulled it from her.
"Woah there, MacDonald. Take it easy, we don't want to be carrying you home."
"You wish I'd let you carry me home." Mary told him, knocking her shoulder into his.
"That's not incorrect." Sirius agreed. Mary giggled again.
"Gross." Marlene scoffed, "Your turn, Black."
"Right, okay." Sirius thought for a moment. "Prongs, do you want to kiss me?"
James laughed, as did most of the others. "Not in the slightest, mate. Drink up." Sirius did so and looked at Marlene expectantly, handing her the bottle.
"James." She said, he looked at her, "Are you going to tell Lily that thing you need to tell her about what you received in-"
"Kiss." James cut her off, sternly. "Bloody hell, Wright."
Marlene shrugged, "You could just answer." James shook his head.
They leaned in and their lips hardly touched before their heads turned back to face the circle and James took a drink from the bottle.
"What was that about?" Lily looked at the two, but James just shook his head.
"Right, my turn. Okay, Maddie." Madeline looked nervous. "Are you ever going to forgive Remus for what happened last year?"
The witch suddenly became very interested in her hands and refused to look at anyone. Everyone was silent for a full minute before the brunette looked up. Her eyes met James' and she whispered, "I don't know." She took a drink, even though she answered the question, and handed the bottle over to Peter.
"I'm going to take a walk." She mumbled, staggering slightly as she stood.
"Maddie don't go anywhere, it's dark. It isn't safe." Lily advised her friend, but she was already walking away from the circle.
"Nice going." Lily said to James, who did look a bit guilty. The former stood, but Remus told her to stay, rising from the circle as well.
"Remus, maybe you shouldn't-" Lily started. The marauder shook his head and jogged after Madeline.
"And then everything got awkward..." Sirius announced.
Are you confused? Good. That's the point! Will have another chapter by the weekend!
Reviews are like a giant hug! Please & Thank you.
Love and all that,
Jess