Once A Marauder
Chapter One
Finley Grace Ryan was an exceptionally extraordinary 15-year-old Irish girl. She had long, shiny black hair and skin that stayed as pale as a porcelain doll all year round, no matter how long she stayed in the sun. She had huge, bright blue eyes that looked too beautiful to be real. She was also a witch. And an extraordinary witch, at that. Being a half-blood, she got a little flack about whether or not she should actually be allowed magical powers, but that just made her work harder to prove everyone wrong. She could master spells in minutes that took most others months and aced every test placed in front of her. She could cast difficult, silent spells that even the seventh years couldn't manage. She also had the ability to see into the future. A special and rare gift that was tricky at best, since the future is ever changing, but there was no doubt she was extraordinary. And there was definitely no doubt that she had extraordinary willpower when it came to resisting the urge to box her four best friends upside their heads on a daily basis.
James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew: self-proclaimed Marauders of Hogwarts and the biggest, blithering idiots Finley had ever met in her life. Save for Remus and Peter, of course; the former who, while he liked a good joke every now and again, was the quiet, reserved, studious type, and the latter was, well, he was just Peter. He idolized Remus, James, and Sirius, and hung on their every word, still not believing after 5 years that they would really be friends with someone like him. But there are some things, like things that involve first years and magic beyond their capabilities, that bring even the most unsuspecting people together. Even if someone's left butt cheek might never be the same again because they now had a curious scar in the shape of the constellation Lynx on it. (Which is coincidental in it's own right, but that's a story for later.)
Yes, friendships were very curious things. And as Finley gazed around at the 4 boys occupying the train compartment, she knew there was nowhere she'd rather be. And then, her opinion flipped 180 degrees as Sirius threw his Exploding Snap cards up in the air to keep them from burning his eyebrows off (again) as they blew up and they landed in Finley's lap with a bang.
"What in the name of Merlin did you do that for?!" Finley said, in her slight Irish brogue, quickly vanishing the cards with a wave of her wand and pointing it at Sirius.
Sirius shrugged. "Accident. Your shirt's smoldering, by the way."
"Fuck!" Finley pulled her sweater off quickly, and made sure the tank top she had underneath it was covering everything it was supposed to, before trying to put it out. "Peter, it's not funny!" Peter quieted his laughter and began to shake silently, trying to hide the fact that he hadn't stopped laughing completely, while James and Sirius howled louder. Remus looked slightly amused behind his Ancient Runes textbook, but knew better than to let Finley know he was laughing, as well. He knew that he'd like to keep his important bits exactly where they belonged, thank you very much. "Good thing Remus and I already had our Prefect meeting. There is no way I'd go like this now. And I'm not putting on those blasted robes until absolutely necessary. Remus, I can see you laughing. It's not funny." She looked down at her ruined sweater and the hole in her jeans and couldn't help but to smile. "Okay. It's kind of funny." Sirius and James howled even louder. "Not that funny, you two."
"Can we have our cards back, Finn?" James asked, trying to control his laughter.
"No." Finley said, simply, with a quizzical look on her face.
"Pretty, pretty please, kitten?" Sirius said, his deep grey eyes smoldering.
"Why would I do that? They'd just end up on me again."
"No, they wouldn't! Scout's honor!" Sirius crossed his heart.
"You aren't, haven't been, and will never be a scout. That doesn't have the effect you think it will. No. Play something else. Something that doesn't result in me being set on fire!"
A pretty, redheaded girl stuck her head into the compartment and smiled at Finley. "Evans!" James said, excitedly. "How was your summer?"
"Absolutely fantastic, Potter." Lily replied, looking bored. "Finley, you and Remus need to get your robes on and meet the other Prefects at the front. We're almost there." With a smile to 3 out of the 5 Marauder's, she spun on her heel and left.
"Thanks, Lily." Finley grumbled as she dug her robes out. "Fuck school robes. Fuck Prefect duties. Fuck my life."
"You really take your job seriously, don't you, Ryan?" James asked.
"Shut it, Potter. I do take it seriously. Just not at the moment." She pulled her robes on and stood at the door of the compartment waiting on Remus. "Come on, Moony. Hurry up." She turned her attention to the three other boys. "If any of you even think about any funny business before we get to the feast, I will not hesitate to take house points away before we get any."
"You wound me, kitten. Why on Earth would we even think of any funny business? It's like you don't know us at all!" Sirius said, with a giant grin plastered on his face.
"Actually, Padfoot, I know you too well. Absolutely NO funny business!"
"Pretty kitty is in a bad mood, isn't she?" James said, looking at Sirius and Peter. "She's no fun when she's in a bad mood. Say, Whiskers, get your knickers out of a twist. We don't have anything planned just yet. Tell her, Wormtail."
"Yeah, Finn. Nothing planned at all." Peter smiled genuinely.
"And the only reason I believe you sorry lot is because Peter can't lie to me." She grinned wickedly. "Now, come on, Moony. We have important Prefect duties to take care of."
"Later, Moons!" James yelled after them and Sirius yelled, "Later, kitten!"
This was definitely going to be a fun year. Whether Finley wanted it to be or not, it was always a fun year when your best friends with the biggest jokesters in the school, Prefect or not.
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A/N: So, I'm trying my hand at a Marauder's Era fic. Let me know what you think! I know this chapter is kind of short, but they'll get longer! :) Read & Review, please! They're always appreciated!