Lily smiled and slipped her car keys into the pocket of her jeans. It wasn't a particularly nice car, just a beat up jeep with a nice speaker system. But she loved it anyway. Her parallel parking wasn't too good either. She would have to have her father help her with that later. Grinning, she trained her eyes on the barely noticeable pub, situated between an oversized department store and one of those new cafés that were springing up all over London.

Lily was a pretty girl, sixteen, tall and thin with a striking appearance that would make (and did make) most guys drool. Her long red hair fell midway down her back. Though, despite all the comments she got for her hair (and the 30 minutes it took to blow-dry it) her eyes were still her favorite feature. Addie always said they reminded her of some old emerald earrings her grandmother had given her. Those earrings had later become Lily's since Addie could never wear them (Addie was the unfortunate child of an entirely pureblood family, which was constantly at odds with Addie and her muggle-loving grandmother).

She quietly made her way into the crowded pub. There was less than an inch between her and the next person (a twisted old woman with a hump and frizzy gray hair), having personal space seemed to be out of the question. Looking over the crowd, Lily noticed that many seemed to be in equally awkward situations. The only reason the pub was ever crowded was because the owners refused to make the building any bigger. There was a simple charm that would allow them to all fit comfortably, but the owners probably wanted the place to feel crowded. Something about making it seem famous and all. Being able to appariate would be rather helpful right about now, she thought with a sigh

Standing outside the Leaky Cauldron twenty minutes later, Lily pulled out her wand and tapped the bricks above the trashcans. Beaming like an idiot, she watched as the bricks moved to offer her the entrance to the world famous Diagon Alley. Standing here only five years ago she had felt nervous and slightly sick. A stranger in the world of wizards, she hadn't had a clue what any of the stuff around her was, but now… Well, she recognized not only the strange items around her, but a few faces as well. Nonetheless, walking into Diagon Alley always excited her. Here she wasn't just Lily Evans. Here she was a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a prefect with a spotless record, the most wanted and popular girl in school, and the brightest female student of her year. No wonder she never went home for the holidays.

She pulled an extremely worn piece of parchment out of her pocket. Like most things in her life, this parchment was more than it seemed. In second year she had suddenly been seized with the inspiration to make a superior form of passing notes. She had spent the greater part of her second year Christmas Break researching a way for other people's writing to appear on her parchment. The final result was the thing she now had in her hand. Pulling out an "Ever Inked Quill" (never dip again!) and pressing the paper up against a wall to write, Now if I were a blond psycho meeting a friend, where would I wait?

Almost instantly came the reply, How about in a trashcan?

Lily smiled, I refuse to look in trashcans for you, Addie.

Then you're lucky I'm a sociopath, Lily.

What's the difference?

Sociopath has more letters, darling, and we prefer ice cream to rotten banana peels.

Lily smiled and made her way over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. The place had been around for quite a while now and was quickly becoming a Diagon Alley favorite. Sitting at a patio table in the shade by the door, with a chocolate ice cream in one hand and a half-eaten strawberry in the other, was Addie.

Addie was about Lily's height with blond hair that waved and curled elegantly, ending at her shoulder blades. She had soft blue eyes always framed by expertly applied makeup. Her lips were usually parted in an amiable grin revealing sparking, even, white teeth. Everything about her appearance was carefully done, from her nails to her hair, even her clothing was painstakingly cared for. Yet, somehow, all together, she gave off a feeling of carefree beauty, as if she could walk through a mudslide and come out looking like she belonged on the cover of a magazine. She was a beauty that came from a long line of beauties. In Addie's family, appearances were everything and how their daughter presented herself was of the utmost importance, which explained Addie's primped appearance that really didn't suit her personality.

In all actuality, left to her own devices, Addie wouldn't even wear makeup. Or brush her hair for that matter. Not that she didn't want to look good. Addie just cared more about other things. Like her friends. She loved to party and have a good time. To Addie, just about everything came second to having a good time. She could be inconsiderate and blunt, but she was always there when she was needed, which was why Lily liked her so much.

"You're lucky these don't ever melt, Evans, or you wouldn't have an ice cream." Addie said teasingly as she handed the chocolate to her friend.

"You're too kind."

"I figured it would save us time" At the questioning look Lily sent her, Addie continued, "We do have some serious shopping to do"

"Ah," they had been planning this for quite some time now, an entire weekend of uninterrupted shopping at Diagon Alley. They were even renting a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Lily had been looking forward to it all summer.

Sure, she loved her parents but she needed to get away from her sister. Petunia hadn't spoken to her since Lily had received her letter from Hogwarts. She even called her a freak behind her back. Her parents tried to help, but no matter what they did, the relationship between the two sisters was forever handicapped. So with her parents in Morocco for the past two weeks, the silence had become suffocating. That is to say, when Petunia wasn't on the phone with her latest love interest, Vernon. Lily had never met him, but from the way Petunia giggled like a hyena when she talked to him, she wasn't sure she wanted to. Anyone that could make her sister swoon wasn't someone Lily would want to spend time getting to know.

The girls made their way back toward the pub. Lily hadn't understood why Addie had wanted to meet inside Diagon Alley until she had seen the crowd in the Leaky Cauldron. Even if they had known where each other was, they wouldn't have been able to make their way toward each other through that crowd. But now with the promise of a fun filled weekend in Diagon Ally ahead of her, not even the nauseatingly close crowd in the Leaky Cauldron could dampen her spirits.

"I'm bored,"

James sighed and looked at Sirius from the corner of his eyes. They were lounging about at a table in front of one of the small restaurants in Diagon Alley. Sirius had his chair tilted back on two legs with his feet propped up on the table. "You're always bored."

"It's not my fault there's nothing fun to do."

"It's not the world's job to entertain you, Padfoot."

"Really?" Sirius gave him a fake surprised expression that made James laugh. They had spent most of the day here, watching people go past, trying to guess why they were here ("Now, she is here buying something for her gran." "How can you tell?" "There is no way her butt is big enough for those panties.")

Sirius was drop dead gorgeous. Girls always said he reminded them of a puppy. His hair fell elegantly into his eyes. If it was possible for hair to possess grace then Sirius's certainly did. He was tall and muscular. But more than his appearance, it was his charm that made him popular. He could sweet talk just about anyone, even the teachers. Though he often acted stupid and innocent, James knew he was just the opposite. Sirius was a joker and had a great sense of humor but was fiercely loyal. He, like James, excelled at every class without ever trying. The information just seemed to stick in his head.

James was a good-looking guy, tall and thin with wiry muscle that came from spending countless hours playing quidditch. He had warm hazel eyes and messy black hair that refused to flatten. James's theory was that if his hair insisted on being unruly, he might as well help it achieve its life long goal. Of course when he had shared this idea with Sirius, the other boy had made a comment about hair having life long goals.

He and Sirius had known each other too long for their own good, though neither of them seemed to notice. They were constantly in trouble, whether for blowing up the dorms or breaking some girl's heart. They were the original Marauders, James, Sirius, and Remus, Hogwarts' Heartthrobs. Peter was considered a Marauder too, but without the usual perks. Few girls were after shy Peter. They were far more interested in the Charming James Potter, the Sexy Sirius Black, or the Gentlemanly Remus Lupin.

The Marauders had every girl at Hogwarts wrapped around their finger. Every girl, except for the one, that in James's opinion, mattered. Lily Evans, James' object of interest since third year. Sadly, the two had a conflict of interest. Lily was the rule-abiding type who'd never gotten in trouble in her life. James was a prankster with his own laminated detention slip. Lily was also the only girl capable of making James lose his head. He would never dream of continuously asking a girl out, yet whenever Lily came close to him, his mouth just started moving and he had no control over what came out. He never felt quite so together when he was around her. He had trained himself against his clumsiness all his life, but when Lily was around, things just seemed to jump out and trip him. James honestly didn't know what it was about the girl that made him lose his head, but he was sure he liked it.

"Alright, Prongs?" Sirius's voice brought James crashing back to reality. A reality in which Lily Evans was an unreachable goal.

"You could call it that," James said sulking back into his chair.

"Ah, troubles of the feminine kind!" Sirius said jubilantly, "Well, wait until you hear the plans I have in store for you this year!"

James groaned. He loved Sirius like his own brother, but his plans often consisted of trips to the hospital wing for Peter.

"This year, Evans won't refuse!" Sirius had a comical triumphant look on his face as he said this.

"That's what you said last year, and the year before…" James smiled, he hadn't realized how fond Sirius was of that phrase.

"Hey! Who's the brains here?"

"Remus?"

"Well, after him." Sirius made a face; it was hard to beat Remus when it came to academics. "Speak of the devil! There's old Moony now!"

Sure enough the third Marauder stood just a little ways off from them. He hadn't noticed them yet, but could practically feel the presence of his two friends. They had been the best of friends to him. They had endured a lot together, everything from the first day of school to finding out he was a werewolf. Lupin hadn't honestly thought they would stick with him after that, but was surprised to find they didn't care. In fact they thought of an amazing way to help him out. They had sacrificed countless nights reading by candlelight under James's invisibility cloak. Then in Fifth year they had revealed what they had been researching all that time.

They were Animagi. Illegal Animagi, but Animagi nonetheless. "No one should endure that alone, especially not you Moony," James had said it that first night. Now they would accompany him every full moon, in animal form of course, and keep him company.

That was when the Marauders had really become what they were. Yeah, they had existed before, but now they had a purpose. That and a serious knowledge of Hogwarts and the surrounding area.

"Oy! Moony! Over here!" Remus spun and searched the crowd for the source of the voice. Only the Marauders called him Moony. There they were, sitting without a care in the world by a café. Grinning Lupin moved towards them. It had been a long summer without his friends.