Disclaimer:- This is the official disclaimer of this fanfiction. All I own from this story is the plot and Michelle Beauregard and her Ravenclaw Co. Actually all the characters that have not been mentioned the Harry Potter series. The rest belongs to our Queen J.K. Rowling.

Dedication:- This story goes 7 ways. To the best beta anyone could ask for, Jamie Bond. To the Drama Queen, Lady Augustus. To the ultimate whiz in all things great, Vivianne Cavanaugh. To my cousin, the fan girl in the making, Shizz. To my wonderful class for unconsciously letting me use their personalities for characters here, whether good or bad. To Lady Rowling for creating the Marauder world so that I can write about them and fan girl over them. And to all my readers, the reviewers and the silent ones, for bearing my writer's blocks and late updating track record. Thank you all!

Prologue:-

The past four years were a blur in all their kinds. A blur full of color, laughter, studying, mischief, frowns and memorable days, all tucked away in the back of their minds to either be tugged at and enjoyed at will or simply forgotten about.

Lily Evans could say without a doubt that her fondest memory was of the morning when her results came in from Year One at Hogwarts. Muttering the word 'first' under her breath, letting in roll on her tongue, relishing it's sweet taste. Looking at her parents' proud smiles, the way their eyes shone and how in that moment they only had eyes for her. Her first notable accomplishment. She had done it. She had waded into uncharted waters and walked out with her head held high in victory. Accomplishment.

It gave her some much needed confidence.

Accomplishment.

James Potter would scoff and smirk but would never admit that most of his thoughts were plagued by a certain redhead. Aggravating her was not his guilty pleasure; it was how she reacted to it. She would blush furiously and bow her head slightly so that curtain of red red locks would shield her face. She would hide behind that curtain.

But that only lasted a year, second year to be precise- during first year he himself was too preoccupied by the overwhelming newness of things to notice his fellow student body.

With a new year came a new reaction. She would narrow those emerald green eyes in distate, her lips forming the words of yet another scathing retort. And James would be blown away.

Angry was when Lily was the most beautiful.

It was also the only time she thought about him or noticed him.

Him? Well he was always thinking about her. He could not seem to get her out of his head.

But this wasn't love...was it?

Sirius Black would let out one of his bark-like laughs but there was one night that would come to mind and it wasn't even at Hogwarts. It was back in Grimmauld Place during an especially stormy night. Twelve year old Sirius had been watching the raindrops hit his window, begging him to let them in. The thunder was so loud he could feel it vibrating his bones. But what fascinated him was the lightning; jagged arcs of blinding yellow and white, temporarily overpowering the black black sky. And then it was gone, in a blink of an eye, and who knew when it would return?

It was remarkable how he heard the sniffling over the thunder but he did. There at the doorway stood his brother, looking much younger than what his ten years warranted- with wide eyes alight with panic and his body trembling all over.

The concerned big brother took over in an instant. "Reg, what happened? "

"I - I," he had a habit of stammering when scared. "I asked Mum if I could spend the night with her but-but she just told me to grow up and go to my own room."

His head was bowed as he spoke and then he looked through his long lashes at his elder brother and asked, almost shyly, "Si...can I spend the night with you?"

Sirius knew how scared Regulas was of thunderstorms- of their loud roars and abject darkness. And in that moment he did what his mother had never done; he let Reg act like the kid he was.

He patted the spot next to himself on the bed. "Do you even have to ask? "

They rode the storm out together. And truth be told, it felt so good to be needed by his family for a change.

Hestia Jones had to admit that she could not constrict herself to only one single memory, one single moment. All those days would peek out from the corners of her mind, rushing in. She would talk about her first night at Hogwarts when Sirius had caused her boat to sink and had stolen her shoes and- but she would break off mid-sentence, a laugh bubbling in the back of her throat because oh there was another time when-

She could talk forever. About the time back in first year when she played Spin The Bottle for the first time and ended up kissing Sirius on the cheek (and punching him) because 'no Gryffindor would turn down a dare!'. Or how about the time in third year when she had broken her arm because she was 'tossed' off her broom and Lily would remind her that she had been bouncing on it too much and no broom just tosses it's rider off. And that time when she had persuaded Lily and Dorcas to help her prank the boys and had effectively charmed their hair to change into rainbow colours for a week leading to many distressed cries. Not to forget the first time she and Dorcas had danced in the rain led surprisingly by Lily, who loved twirling as the raindrops hit her face.

Hestia thrived on happiness, wanted to surround herself with the sound of laughter, wanted to fill herself with the high that excitement gave you. You didn't need a wand to make a day magical.

Remus Lupin, with his quiet smiles and calm demeanour, would just stay silent and let the others do the talking. For his best moment included a secret he was willing to take to the grave.

It was back in third year, on a sunny morning after an especially rough full moon. Remus was in the Hospital Wing, resting and trying to get rid of that bone deep ache that seemed to be rooted in him. He couldn't even lift his head and Madam Pomfrey's Strength Potion still hadn't kicked in.

He heard the door swing open but didn't bother to open his eyes. "How are you feeling mate? " came a voice.

"Absolutely knackered," he muttered back, only half paying attention. "Madam Pomfrey, can you please give me a stronger dose? "

"I cannot be sounding that girly," came the same voice, now sounding highly scandalized and indignant.

It took a minute for Remus' s mind to register that. Who else would be here then? He replayed the previous sentence in his head. Surely Madam Pomfrey wouldn't call him mate...

With sudden horrifying realisation, Remus shot up straight, his eyes wide as possible, taking in a sight that should never have existed: three pairs of grey, hazel and blue eyes looking down at him in worry and curiosity.

While Peter took a step back, James moved forward in alarm. "Remus, you alright? "

What are they doing here? I told them that I was going to see mother! So they know? His thoughts jumped at him frantically but we're overwhelmed by a feeling of despair that filled his stomach and clogged his throat. They know.

"Remus mate, you look like you've seen a ghost," Sirius commented, brow furrowed. "Metaphorically speaking of course because that isn't such a big deal. But still, you look like you're going to be sick."

All he could do was shake him head. Taking a shaky breath to calm himself, he put his head in his hands and whispered, "So you know? "

"Know what? It was James who replied.

"About me. About last night."

"Well yeah now we do." He sounded uncomfortable.

Remus laughed bitterly. "So why are you still here then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said through gritted teeth. He hated to admit to the truth. "Why haven't you run out and yelled 'Lupin's a werewolf!'. I'll probably be expelled by tomorrow morning, even Professor Dumbledore won't be able to do anything when the school's board kicks me out because parents labelled me as a killing machine." He resisted the urge to cry. He had no control over his lycanthropy. It just wasn't fair.

For a moment there was silence. He was sure they had left.

Until he felt the hand hit him on top of his head.

Remus yelped- more in surprise than pain- and looked up.

"You don't injure the wounded," James hissed at the attacker. "At least not in the Hospital Wing."

"The wanker bloody deserves it for spouting out such garbage." Sirius narrowed his eyes. "You honestly think we would do something like that?"

Remus blinked at him. "It's what anyone would do." He looked at all three of them slowly. "Does this mean you're all okay with it?"

James gave him a wry smile. "Mate it doesn't really change who you are. And it isn't your fault. So what if you're a werewolf?"

The werewolf in question was shocked into silence. Nobody save his parents had said such a thing to him- and he felt that they said it out of obligation. So his friends were really okay with it? With spending time with him, with the knowledge that he was an uncontrollable monster every full moon? Hell, people from his family didn't even meet him anymore, not since then.

Now looking at them, his mind finally having processed their words, he was filled with gratitude. They trusted him. And he trusted them completely, with his biggest secret. And his trust was a hard thing to gain.

Dorcas Meadowes was a naturally sad person.

She was a pessimist.

She was dramatic.

She was shy.

But she was a rebel on the inside.

Her experience at Hogwarts, she would say, was a series of ups and downs. There were moments that made her laugh wildly and feel on top of the world and there were moments that convinced her that everything was going to hell. There were rainy days and there were stormy days but there were always enough sunny days to even it out. Regression to the mean.

She was a keeper of memories. She took photographs, an endless number of photographs, of all the moments she loved and all the moments she hated. She would take photographs of places, photographs of people; of Hestia who would weird facesfaces and of Lily who would run away as soon as the camera lens were pointed at her.

So for Dorcas, Hogwarts didn't represent a feeling. It was simply a string of endless memories she would cherish forever.

Peter Pettigrew loved the company of his friends.

Before Hogwarts, he had spent his life being bullied, by his cousins, by the kids of the neighborhood. He had been told that he was weak and a coward. He had drunk in their words, hating them yet believing them. He had even believed the possibility of himself being a Squib.

But then the Hogwarts letier arrived and that had to be one of the best surprises he had ever been on the receiving end of.

He was put into Gryffindor, the Sorting Hat gave no explanation except a soft musing, "Interesting."

Proved a wizard and brave yet there came a day when he was once again on the short end of the metaphoric bullying stick.

He can recall the day as easy as breathing, in vivid clarity. Cornered by three Slytherins, Bellatrix Black and her cronies Marcus Mulciber and Jack Avery, he remembered how his heart was thumping wildly and he was once again convinced that they were going to humiliate him. That was the drill, that was how it was always done.

Yet a series of events took place in the blink of an eye. Remus had stunned Avery who lay flat on the floor out cold, Sirius shot a jinx his cousin's way who succumbed to the itches that erupted all over her skin and James merely took his opponent down the Muggle way and kicked Mulciber right where it hurts.

He went down like a sack of potatoes.

Peter stood there, frozen in the astonishment, because no one, especially not people who had been his friends for only a week, had helped him in the face of such a thing. And no one had asked him, like James did then, "You alright Peter?"

First detention in the first week aside, Peter had believed in their friendship from that moment onwards. He had believed that there were some friendships that ran so deep.

Author's Note:-

Before you toss the nearest object at my face, hear me out. Yes I cancelled my story yet again but this is a fresh start. Let's face it, I didn't have enough material to bullshit my way through the first 4 years of their lives, the real tale starts with Year 5! I solemnly swear that from now onwards, I will not restart this story again! Okay? Okay.

So please tell me what you think! Review! :D

~Lily Herondale