Ok, ok. I know I should be working on Summer Lovin, but I heard this song—I really couldn't help myself! It practically screamed James Potter at me! Anyways, I think I'm going to do a series of one-shots about the Marauders in a band. They will just be little chapters about them and their various performances. Does it sound stupid? Let me know!
Disclaimer: I Siriusly don't own the Marauders or One Direction.
Now onto the story!
p.s. this chapter is set in 6th year. Lily and James are beginning to become friends.
Sirius swung his Beater bat with as much force as his body could muster. He grinned when the Bludger hit its mark and knocked a Ravenclaw Chaser off course. As the Quaffle plummeted to the earth below, James Potter swooped underneath in a gravity-defying dive. He pulled his broom up just as he leveled with the ground. His toes swept the grass as he shot back into the air, weaving through the sea of players and Bludgers aimed at him. As he neared the hoop, he tossed the Quaffle in the air, spun his broom around, and smacked the Quaffle through the hoop, just grazing the Keeper's outstretched fingers.
Below, in the stands, Lily Evans cheered along with her fellow Gryffindors and her best friends, Katie Parkins and Sara Snow, as their team Captain scored.
"And that's the strapping James Potter scoring for Gryffindor!" Fabian Prewett's voice rang around the stadium despite the rough wind from the fast-approaching storm.
"His goal puts Gryffindor in the lead!" Gideon Prewett cheered with his twin as they led the commentary on the match. "They lead Ravenclaw 120 to 110!" This was met with a mix of cheers and boos as James flew by the commentator box and slapped hands with Fabian.
"What is this, Fab?" Gideon exclaimed.
"Well, Gid, I believe Angelica Johnson, Gryffindor Seeker, has spotted the Snitch! She has! Look at that spectacular speed she's displaying!"
Fabian was of course right. Angelica Johnson was streaking across the pitch at breakneck speeds, her arm outstretched as she chased the Snitch down. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Luke Chang, was on her tail and soon pulled up beside her. He gave her a rough shove with his shoulder and nearly knocked her off course, but Angelica was having none of that. She returned the push with more force and Luke faltered. In his momentary fumble, Sirius hit another well-aimed Bludger that caused the Seeker to duck. Taking advantage of his distraction, Angelica pushed her broom to the absolute limit and snatched the Snitch from the air, rolling in the air to avoid the tower in front of her. Her face shined with happiness as she held the Snitch up in the air triumphantly and her team flew around her. James grabbed her by the face and kissed her head as Sirius hugged her tightly.
"And that wraps up the match, folks!" Fabian boomed. "Gryffindor wins 270 to 110!"
"And this win puts them in the Quidditch final next month where they will face those stinking Slytherins!" Gideon yelled.
"Mr. Prewett!" McGonagall screeched.
"Sorry, Professor," Gideon snickered. "Well the match is over kids! Time to get back to your dorms and get ready for bed! Nighty night!"
The older Gryffindors grinned at each other. This message was code, a code that meant party. The Marauders often had post-Quidditch parties and the victory from today's match promised a good one.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team made its way to the locker room with James and Sirius bringing up the rear.
"That was a spectacular goal, mate!" Sirius exclaimed, ruffling James's already messy hair.
"Nowhere near as brilliant as those last two Bludgers you hit, Padfoot!" James grinned as he threw an arm around Sirius's shoulders. "Ready for tonight, brother?"
"Ready?" Sirius laughed as they went to the showers. "Of course!"
As they finished their showers and got dressed, they went outside to meet Remus and Peter.
"Fantastic game, mates! Very well played!" Peter squeaked as they emerged from the locker room.
"Thanks, Pete," Sirius grinned as he leaned on Peter's shoulder. "Wouldn't have been nearly as good if Captain over here hadn't nearly ran us to death in practice," he smirked at James.
"Exactly," James grinned. "Now maybe you won't complain about a 'sore bum' the next time we practice because you see it's worth it."
"No promises, mate," Sirius chuckled.
"If you two are done," Remus cut in good-naturedly, "we should probably head up to the Common Room now."
"Are you guys sure about this?" Peter asked, looking slightly nervous.
"Of course, Wormtail!" James exclaimed, clapping Peter on the back as they began to walk to the castle. "We'll be brilliant," he said with a smirk.
"Exactly," Sirius said as he pushed the doors open. "The fact that we can make good music only adds to the beauty factor of the Marauders. The birds might faint from the estrogen rush," he said with a roguish wink.
"Easy there, Pads," Remus said as they walked past the Great Hall. "They're used to our parties, but they haven't heard us play. For all we know, we could sound like rubbish."
"Oh Moony," James laughed with a wave of his hand, "we sound brilliant and you know it. Don't give us this second guessing bit. We can do this, no problem. It'll be like a midnight stroll through the Forest." Remus glared slightly at the suggestive pun. James grinned and slung his arms around both Sirius and Remus. Sirius grabbed Peter by the collar and pulled him back to the huddle.
"Are you gents ready for this?" Sirius boomed as he squeezed James and Peter's shoulders. The other three nodded eagerly. "Then enough with this damn negativity! We're the Marauders! Pranksters and kings of the school! Playing for our fellow Gryffindors should be no problem!"
"You're right, Sirius," Remus sighed as he looked at James.
"Bigger than the Beatles?" James asked as he placed his hand in the middle of the group.
"Bigger than the Beatles," the other three said in unison as they put their hands on top of James's.
"Mischief Managed," they all said together quietly. Then they pulled away and marched off to Gryffindor Tower.
When Lily Evans stepped through the portrait of Gryffindor Tower, her eyes danced with the adrenaline of the match and the promise of alcohol. Though she didn't always approve of the Marauders and their mischief making, even she couldn't resist their spectacular parties. So with that thought, she walked over to the drink table with Katie and Sara. She grabbed a Butterbeer and grinned when the top came off with a satisfying 'pop!'. Taking a long swig, she caught sight of a pretty blonde approaching.
"Marls!" she exclaimed as she walked over to her dear friend and embraced her. "You played brilliantly today!"
"Thanks, Lily," Marlene smiled. "We wouldn't have been half as good if James hadn't come up with a new strategy."
"Yes, yes. James Potter is bloody fantastic at Quidditch. We all know," Lily chortled good-naturedly. James was slowly beginning to grow on her. She believed this was partially due to her friendship with Remus. Even more surprisingly, Lily had grown quite close to Sirius Black this year. She was shocked to find she enjoyed the rogue boy's company more than most. Though there was nothing romantic in their odd relationship, Lily now considered him one of her favorite people.
James was another story entirely. After the incident by the Black Lake last year, James had profusely apologized to Lily. He soon discovered she would not respond at all and apologized once more on the train ride home. It was most likely the most sincere and least dramatic apology he had ever given. Lily had graced him with a smile that didn't quite touch her eyes, but she nodded her head at him. James took this as forgiveness but knew not to push it. He did not write to Lily once over the summer even though he came close many times. Thankfully, Sirius and Remus had stopped him. At the Welcoming Feast at the beginning of their sixth year, James greeted her politely, even using her first name. Lily returned the greeting with that same smile she had given him at the end of fifth year. Slowly, she began returning his greetings and took to calling him 'James'. Of course, there was the occasional heated row that set them back a few steps, but how could they be Lily and James without these fights? Now, Lily was sorely tempted to consider him her friend. 'James Potter' and 'friend' in the same sentence seemed foreign to Lily but not altogether bad.
At this thought, the Marauders came bursting through the portrait hole. Sirius flicked his wand and conjured a stage in the middle of the Common Room. With a grin, the Marauders clambered up on the stage.
"Oh this should be good," Sara chuckled as Peter timidly tapped on the drums.
"I wondered where they had been disappearing to lately," Katie observed as Sirius strummed on a guitar and Remus picked up a bass.
Lily nearly spat out her Butterbeer when she saw James take the microphone. "No way Potter can sing!" she laughed.
James took a deep breath. He was used to eyes being on him but he was more accustomed to getting a laugh out of people. He desperately prayed no one laughed now. Summoning up all his Gryffindor courage and Marauder bravado, he put on a knee-jerking smile and addressed his fellow housemates.
"Hullo Gryffindor house," he grinned. "You're probably not familiar with this kind of entertainment coming from the Marauders, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Now this song was written with a special person in mind," he said with a devilish wink sent in Lily's direction. She subconsciously looked down and hid behind her hair. Occasionally, James would do something to remind her of his affections for her and it always caused her to turn an awful shade of red that clashed with her vibrant hair.
Peter tapped the drums to give the beat and Sirius broke in on the guitar followed by Remus on the bass. James took a final breath before breaking into song.
"You're insecure, don't know what for," he sang. Lily looked at Katie and Sara in surprise at the realization that James Potter could sing. Not only that, he could sing bloody well!
"You're turnin' heads when you walk through the do-o-or
Don't need make-up, to cover up," Lily subconsciously touched her bare face as James sang the line.
"Being the way that you are is eno-o-ough," Sirius and Remus joined James in the background.
"Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed," James thought fondly of Lily's fiery hair that smelled of strawberries and summer.
"And when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful," the corners of James's mouth tugged into a grin as he thought of Lily tipping her head back in a laugh.
"If only you saw what I could see
You'd understand why I want you so desperately," at this, James's mouth broke into a wide smile. If only Lily knew how badly he truly wanted her.
"Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful," James thought his lyrics were quite clever. One of the things he adored most about Lily was that despite her obvious beauty, she was not vain. In fact, she was oblivious to it.
"So girl come on
You got it wrong
To prove I'm right I put it in a so-o-ong," at this, Lily smirked. James really would go to any length to prove he was right. Stubborn git.
"I don't know why, you're being shy
And turn away when I look into your ey-ey-eyes," to prove a point, James looked directly at Lily, his hazel eyes boring into her emerald ones. Lily fought the urge to shift her gaze and James quirked his eyebrow, amused.
"Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you
Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
And when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful
If only you saw what I could see
You'd understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful oh oh
That's what makes you beautiful," James broke off as he regained his breathing, bouncing around the stage. To his delight, the Gryffindors were jumping to the beat and clapping their hands, Lily included. Sirius and Remus carried the tune on.
"Na-nana-nah-nanah-nana-nah
Na-nana-nah-nana
Na-nana-nah-nanah-nana-nah
Na-nana-nah-nana," they broke off and Remus and Peter stopped playing. This left Sirius strumming softly as James sang directly to Lily, his eyes not daring to leave hers.
"Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
And when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell," he crooned sweetly. Lily was unable to break their gaze and stared back at him, frozen in the intensity of his words. Sirius and Remus nearly laughed when James unexpectedly dropped out as he looked at Lily. To save him from embarrassment they picked up his line.
"You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful," Sirius danced across the stage and purposefully bumped into James to break him from his stupor. He smirked as James shook his head lightly to gain his wits and join back in the chorus.
"Baby you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
And when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell
You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful," Lily smiled a genuine smile at James as he danced around the stage with Sirius as Remus shook his head good-naturedly and Peter laughed behind the drumset.
"If only you saw what I could see
You'd understand why I want you so desperately
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe
You don't know oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful oh oh
You don't know you're beautiful oh oh," as the song came to a close, James turned back to Lily and fixed her with a smile, the smile he only saved for her. It was a smile without sarcasm or any hidden agenda. It wasn't the Marauder James, it was her James.
"That's what makes you beautiful." Lily's face broke into a smile James was familiar with. However, something about this smile was different. There was no wall in front of it; it wasn't guarded. It reached Lily's eyes. It wasn't the polite smile she wore every day. It meant much more than that. It wasn't Prefect Lily, it was his Lily.
The Gryffindors broke into applause and the other three Marauders basked in the glory. James stay entranced in Lily's eyes and the spell between them was only broken when Sirius clapped him on the back. James turned to his friend with a grin but before he became lost in the festivities, he turned back to Lily.
"You're beautiful," he mouthed. True to form, Lily ducked her head and blushed, her smile still stretching across her face.
So? Do you like this idea? Was it ok? Let me know!
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