Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything.

Just a collection of little moments in the lives of the marauders and those around them.

Lily Marie Evans had a knack for catching mischief-making students at Hogwarts School of a Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately, this made her a rather obvious target for said trouble-makers. For example, James Potter and his arrogant band of prats who paraded around as though they owned the school. Lily scoffed. As if.

Of course, because they were so notorious, the Hogwarts population generally loved them. Most Ravenclaws thought of them in disdain and Slytherins in the usual prejudiced disgust, but that was until they actually came face to face with the infamous 'Marauders'. Because as much as Lily would like to deny it, they were a rather attractive bunch. Well, mainly Sirius and James. And Remus. Peter, not so much. But that was beside the point. So Lily would have been fine, brilliant even, if one out of the group didn't incessantly bug her.

As a matter of fact, she could hear him calling her now, hollering across the corridors. Readjusting her messenger bag on her shoulder, she ignored the boy just like she ignored any thoughts of him that were anything other than hatred.

"Evans! Hey Evans! Evansssss!" Just ignore it and he will go away, just ignore it and James Potter will leave you alone, she chanted in her head like a mantra.

"Lily!" he hollered and without realizing she did so, she turned around. Instantly she wanted to smack herself. So much for ignoring him.

"What could you possibly need me for this desperately, Potter?" she asked snappily.

He beamed that she answered and seemed not to notice the icy glare she gave him as he answered. "I just wanted to walk you to the Great Hall."

She suddenly fumbled for words, which had nothing to do with the fact that his hazel eyes were gazing straight into hers. "Why, so you can ask me out again?"

He crossed his arms and pulled his best innocent face. "Jeez, Evans, self-centered much? You just think I'm going to ask you out all the time..." He didn't bother to hide the smirk that was creeping onto his face.

She crossed her arms angrily. "Me? I'm the arrogant one here? At least I don't strut about the school as though I own it! As a matter or fact, I'm surprised you can get off the ground on your broomstick with such a big head!"

With that she stormed off, taking vindictive pleasure in the hurt look she received. Then came the stabbing pain of guilt which she quickly quenched with the reminder that it was all true (to an extent) and he needed to keep his arrogance in check.

XxXxXxXx

"Earth to Lily, what's going on in planet redhead?" Alice Prewett giggled to Marlene McKinnon. Mary snickered from her four-poster where she was flipping through a 'Witch Weekly' magazine.

"I think she's in loveee," Marlene sang.

That got the redhead's attention. "What?"

The three just laughed at her. "You're in love with someone, I just know it." Alice continued.

Lily scoffed. She was in love? Right, and Potter wasn't annoying. "Yeah okay. And you don't love Frank Longbottom."

The flood of pink to Alice's cheeks made Lily smirk and the other girls to move on and tease her.

"When's he going to ask you out?" Mary called.

Alice rolled her eyes, fighting in vain to keep the pink out of her cheeks. "Never because I don't like him like that."

Marlene nodded, surprisingly seeming to agree. "You're right, you don't like him like that-" she started then looked to Lily.

Catching on, she continued, "you love him like that."

The pillow to her head was worth it as she watched Alice blush even more and couldn't stifle a giggle and a squeal. "Oh, I'm sorry Alice, but you two would be so cute!"

Mary rolled her eyes from her position on her back but silently agreed. "Not as cute as James and Lily though," she said smirking, knowing full well the reaction Lily would have. The other girls prepared themselves for the shouting, but it never came.

Slowly three sets of eyes swiveled and set upon one Lily Evans, staring down at her lap, fiddling with her jumper sleeve, face a tomato. Alice was the first to approach her.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked softly.

Slowly Lily nodded, but she didn't look up. There was a moment of quiet where Alice gestured for Marlene and Mary to sit down but be quiet. Finally Lily spoke.

"It's just...I've hated him for so long. And just now, when you said that...I don't even know. I may like him, girls. It's just...strange. Not hating James Potter. It's like not having red hair. It just isn't me."

She was aware she was rambling yet couldn't stop. Alice stooped down and gave her a hug. Lily leaned into the embrace, forever grateful for her friends.

"I know how you feel," Marlene said quietly. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Lily arched an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Marlene took a deep breath. It was now or never, she supposed. "I may or may not fancy Sirius Black."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, that? We knew that ages ago." The other girls nodded their agreement.

It was Marlene's turn to stare at them in surprise. "What? I only just found out myself last week."

Mary laughed, a light, tinkling lilt in her voice. "Oh please. It's so obvious, I would be surprised if even the Slytherins hadn't caught on by now."

Alice giggled. "Yeah," she added, "you and Sirius aren't exactly subtle in your flirting."

Marlene shook her head as Lily nodded, laughing. "No, we don't flirt-wait. Yes we do. We sort of always have."

Mary MacDonald shook her head. "Agh, I'm losing you lot to love! Come back to the girly side, we have makeup!"she cried dramatically.

Amidst giggles, Lily looked at the clock. Getting into bed not an hour later, she snuggled into the maroon bed sheets and closed her eyes.

XxXxXxXx

Over the years, James Potter had done a rather large number of surprising things, a large number of them breaking rules, and others breaking objects in the process. Of course, they didn't particularly matter because why would there be rules if not to be broken? And besides, it didn't matter if it was all for fun.

Lily Evans didn't see it that way, though. Countless times he'd tried to explain that to her, let her see it the way he did. It didn't work. Arguing with Lily was like picking a fight with a wall. Well, a rather attractive wall. James shook his head, doing his best to clear all thoughts of the fiery girl from his mind. Making his way to the Gryffindor table, he plopped down between Remus and Sirius.

"Mahning," Sirius greeted him through a mouthful of sausage. Remus rolled his eyes and went back to his conversation with Peter about the day prior's Transfiguration lesson.

Following them for only a moment before becoming bored, James suddenly declared, "I want to sit with Lily."

This in and of itself wasn't very surprising as he'd said many such things previously. What made this so surprising that as he glanced down the table to where Lily, Alice, Marlene, and Mary sat, he actually stood up and went over.

Remus and Peter, who had looked up just in time, nudged Sirius and the three looked on in awe as Prongs talked calmly to Lily who in turn nodded, smiled, and...blushed? No way. Sirius blinked and rubbed his eyes and when he opened them, there sat his best friend, next to Mary and across from Lily.

Remus wasn't sure which was more surprising-James actually going over or Lily allowing him to sit down. The three remaining Marauders glanced at each other and wordlessly stood to sit with the girls and James.

Sirius slouched down and wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Lily and Marlene. "Hey ladies," he greeted lazily.

Lily rolled her eyes, while Marlene smiled and shyly said, "hello Sirius."

Sirius froze. Since when did Marlene McKinnon act shy? And since when did she stare quietly at her lap?

He looked at her quizzically. "Are you okay, Mars?"

She smiled softly at the nickname. Why was she being so timid? She was being like...like Mary, for Merlin's sake! "I'm fine," Marlene interrupted his thoughts. "Although I should ask you, are you feeling okay? I know being caring doesn't necessarily come easily to you."

He pretended like the words didn't cut into his heart. Rapidly pasting on a smile he simply said, "yeah. You know me, Marlene."

She looked at him puzzled. Had she said something wrong? "Are...are you really okay, Sirius?" she almost whispered.

He nodded mutely, not trusting himself to speak when her eyes were dark with concern for him.

XxXxXxXx

"Oh please. Of course I know how to relax. But I'd be surprised if you knew how to do your homework without me reprimanding you to do it." Remus remarked to Sirius.

Sirius gasped dramatically from the couch he was sprawled out on. "How dare you accuse me of something so...so..." he searched for the right word.

"So true?" James suggested from his armchair. Remus snickered and Peter snorted from next to the coffee table.

"Like you're any better, Prongs," taunted the lycanthrope.

"Hey," Sirius interrupted, "do you guys wanna prank Snivellus instead of doing our homework?"

He looked pointedly at Remus. Said lycanthrope shook his head. "Not only is that not nice, but I also need to study for exams. NEWTs are important. If we ever want to get anywhere in the world, we need to do our best on them and it's the only way to get a job. I don't know about you lot, but that's important to me."

James solemnly wondered if this had to do with Remus' fears of being unemployed due to his condition and the new laws that had arisen about hiring werewolves. James knew better than to mention it, however.

"You're right, but you've been studying for hours today alone, and for weeks. One night won't hurt you." Sirius gave his best attempt to persuade him.

Remus shook his head stubbornly. "You don't want to do that, right James? Because it wouldn't make Lily happy..."

He trailed off as they took in James' glazed over look as Lily Evans walked in through the portrait hole.

Lily smiled at Remus, ignored Peter as he scribbled on a piece of parchment, rolled her eyes at Sirius' roguish wink, and...smiled at James?

Before Remus could puzzle it more, however, Mary lowered herself next to him on the loveseat. "Hello, Remus," she greeted with a soft smile.

He smiled up at her from the top of his book. "Hey Mary," he answered. The pair sat as she yawned and the curled up with her legs tucked sideways and rested her head on his shoulder. He stiffened and felt his heart race, then slowly relaxed, letting his arm drape naturally around her.

It was hours later that they were both sound asleep by the fire when Lily came over and took a photograph.

XxXxXxXxXx

"What do I wear?" Marlene screeched down to the girls in the common room. Lily rolled her eyes and Mary laughed. Alice was at the library making goo-goo eyes at Frank, or studying, although the former was much more common than the latter.

Mary hollered back, "wear nothing. I'm sure Sirius would appreciate that." The girls cackled and Lily was trying and failing to stave off a fit of giggles.

"Mary!" Marlene screeched.

"Yes?" Mary responded as innocently as she could.

"You said that so now you have to help me figure out what to wear. C'mon upstairs now!"

It was right after lunch and the girls were getting ready for one of the last Hogsmeade trips of the year, and Marlene was insisting that although he didn't call it a date, Sirius had in fact asked her out. That left her in a mad rush to get ready.

The other girls had agreed that they would all go shopping separately and then meet up at the Three Broomsticks. Mary and Remus were going with James and Lily and Peter, while Frank had finally manned up and asked Alice out. She had squealed and thrown her arms around his neck, which he happily took as a yes. They would meet the group at the Three Broomsticks later on as well.

Begrudgingly Mary climbed the staircase up to help Marlene. It was twenty more minutes until they were seen. "Hey Lily? Wanna come up here for a bit please?" Mary asked her.

Lily slid a bookmark into the story she'd been reading and came face to face with Marlene wearing a deep blue sundress that highlighted her eyes and black flats with her signature black-wisp eye makeup. The combination made Marlene's naturally pretty form even prettier.

"Oh, you look beautiful!" Lily said smiling sweetly.

Marlene glared. "I'm wearing a dress," she stated as thought she had contracted a horrible disease.

Lily stifled a chuckle and Mary just rolled her eyes. "Yes, and you look wonderful. So don't even try to get your way out of this one," the normally borderline-pacifist blond warned.

Marlene nodded and deadpanned, "I would never think of doing such a thing."

Now Lily let herself laugh as she started brushing Marlene's thick ebony hair. She soon had it curled and lifted the top layer so it was a simple half-up, half-down hairstyle. Though she would rather snog the Giant Squid than admit it, Marlene thought she didn't look too bad, all in all.

"Thanks girls," she said quietly. Lily chuckled. As this was Marlene, this was about as good as a squeal from Mary.

"No problem, Mars! Have fun, but not too much fun," Mary giggled through the innuendo, finding it too funny to remain serious.

Lily out her best stern face on. "Use safety and be back by 10," she said.

Marlene gave them a mock salute. "Yes Mom and Dad."

She waved as she bolted out of the room to meet Sirius down by the Great Hall. Lily shook her head fondly. "They grow up so fast," she said.

Mary nodded, laughing. "They really do."

XxXxXxXx

"What was that for?" Mary asked softly to the blushing Remus.

"You..you had Butterbeer on your lip," he stuttered.

She smiled softly and gave him a hug, surprising both of them. "Thank you," she whispered to him."

He looked puzzled. "For what?"

"For always being there for me."

Suddenly Remus went pale. "Mary? We need to talk."

Mary was no expert on guys, but she was fairly certain that was never a good thing. Slowly, she stood up as he did, leaving the group of their friends in the Three Broomsticks. "Errr..okay, want to go for a walk?"

He nodded slightly, not looking at her but intently at the ground in front of him as though he was hoping it would swallow him whole.

They walked in an awkward silence, and Mary couldn't think of anything to say. Finally she cracked and said, "what do you need to tell me?"

He had ambled over onto the path towards the Shrieking Shack without meaning to. Remus took a deep breath. "There's something you need to know about me."

Mary looked at him quizzically, something that he was certain she would never do after she heard this. She inclined her head, indicating for him to continue.

"I...I'm a werewolf."

To his utter astonishment, Mary looked relieved. She laughed awkwardly. "Oh, that's all? I've known since second year, Lupin." She smiled at him.

He slowly backed away from her. "What?"

"You can't exactly be best friends with Lily Evans and not realize things. I'm not the queen of observancy-that's Lily- so I wouldn't have realized without her..."she trailed off as she watched him move away from her. "Where are you going, Remus?"

"Well, away from you."

She was bewildered. "What?"

"I'm a werewolf. Clearly you'll want nothing to do with me."

She suddenly rolled her eyes, which was so un-Mary-like that Remus paused. "Please, do you really think I care? Think logically for a second. If I've known since second year, that means that I don't care."

He blanched. "You don't..don't care?"

She shook her head. "Not in the least. So you're a little..furry once a month. What does that change? Nothing. Not our friendship, and definitely not you nor how I see you."

He was shocked, eyes wide. "What? Mary, I...thank you."

She smiled softly at him, and on a sudden impulse, leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "No, thank you," she whispered.

XxXxXxXx

Lily leaned into the boy she had hated for so long it was second nature. It was strange, but for some reason, she felt safe, protected. He gently rocked her.

Maybe this was why she hadn't liked him, he never showed his sensitive side. Not until now. She didn't want to relive what had happened, yet there it was, playing over in her mind, the boy she had called her best friend calling her that word, that damned word echoing in her ears.

She wasn't aware of James whispering for a few minutes. Eventually, his soft comforts overpowered the wretched insult and she nestled her head further into his shoulder. He slowly wrapped his arms around her torso, and she was too preoccupied to care.

Lily and James didn't know how long they sat there, Lily wrapped in his arms, silent tears dripping down her cheeks. Eventually she pulled away. Looking him in the eyes she simply said, "sorry." Her voice was hoarse and scratchy but that hardly mattered to him.

He held her at arms length. "Why are you sorry? You did nothing to deserve this. If anyone caused this, it was me. And him, of course."

She shook her head. "Sorry for getting your sleeve wet."

He cracked a smile and she returned it. "It's okay. I'd rather have my shirt wearing tear-stains than your cheeks. You don't deserve this," he whispered the last part.

She shivered at his words and his gentle presence on her cheeks as he wiped the stains away. "Thank you James," she spoke softly.

"I know you don't believe it, but I'm here for you. I actually care about you."

Lily choked. "James I-"

He held a finger on her lips. "I know you don't believe it right now and honestly who can blame you, I mean, it's not like we're usually the best of friends, and I know it seems like I don't care, but I actually really do-"

"James-"

He shook his head and continued. "-I do care about you and I want to strangle or hex or scream at anyone who hurts you and then I know I can't and it kills me-"

"James!"

He paused and looked at her as if just remembering she was there. She shook her head disbelievingly. "James! Thank you...and I do believe you. I think tonight proved that. I don't know what's happening between us-" she gestured generally between them, "but I just know that I like it. I thought you were a spoiled git but you have a sweet side to you too. I'm just happy you decided to show it to me." she finished.

He stared at her, shell-shocked. "Lily..."

She smiled at him and took his hands in hers. For some reason, they felt perfectly shaped for the other.

XxXxXxXx

"Sirius you idiot!" Sirius Black groaned. This had better be good considering it had woken him from his midafternoon nap.

"Pads, get down here now!" He recognized James' voice.

"Yeah, yeah, coming!" he hollered back, slipping on shoes. He met the remaining Marauders down in the common room.

"What's the big rush?" he asked them. It wasn't like they weren't used to his odd sleeping patterns by now.

Remus looked over at him, sputtering in what appeared to be rage. "The big rush? How about your first official date with Marlene?" Remus said, and added,"which is in ten minutes, might I add?"

"Oh bloody buggering hell, sod it all," he mumbled and fling himself back up the dormitory stairs. Shoving some clean, nicer clothes from his trunk, he ran a brush through his hair.

Five minutes later as he shrugged his other converse on, he smirked at the reflection in his mirror. Dashing to the bathroom at the last minute, he brushed his teeth and gargled. If he was to get a kiss, it would be rather embarrassing to not have a clean mouth. He would know.

Making his way back down the stairs, the others weren't there, but she was. Marlene, he thought. His heart raced and took in her appearance. That blue dress was doing wonders for her figure and it didn't hurt that it showed a considerable amount of cleavage.

"You look nice Mars," Sirius said, trying to keep his calm.

She cleared her throat and snapped her fingers as she made her way over to him. "Siri, dear," she paused to smile sweetly while he glared at the name, "my eyes are up here. So yours should be too."

He cleared his throat. That was not the right way to start this date. "Err.. Right. Sorry. Care to leave for our romantic outing?" he asked in a would-be posh voice, if not for the slight undertone of humor.

"I would love to, " she agreed and hooked her arm through his. "Where would you like to go?"

XxXxXxXx

Yeah. So there's my lengthy collection of Marauder Moments. Reviews are the best *cough hint hint cough*

-Alyssa xx