A re-working of a fic that I started a few years ago. A story set in Lily and James school days, but not directly about them as a couple, even though they do get together. Will be plenty of fluff in later chapters! Hope you like…

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone you recognise.

Chapter 1- And so it all begins

Sirius Black leaned against a wall, staring at the scene before him. Students greeting each other, parents waving goodbye, and all manners of bustle and confusion. He smiled. Sirius was a playful, fun loving boy, one of the best-looking guys in school, certified by the small group of girls that seemed to follow him around everywhere. A prankster at heart, he led most of the infamous tricks and jokes his group of friends, the Marauders, played on their fellow students. Blessed with his ability to get good marks with practically no work whatsoever, he wasn't so blessed with his family. He came from a pure-blooded family who were not quite as receptive to muggles as some. He has a very bad relationship with his mother and spends as much time as possible away from her and the Black Manor.

He heard a whistle to his side and spun to see his best friend, James Potter. Sirius and James gave each other a manly high five as they met at Platform 9 3/4, ready to set off to Hogwarts for their 6th Year.

"Good holiday?" asked Sirius once the greetings were over.

"Just as good as it was when you asked me yesterday," replied James with a grin. Sirius had spent most of his summer with James at the Potter manor, due to the on-going feud between him and his mother.

"Just wanted to check that it hadn't got any better. You know, you haven't seen Lily or Hope yet?" His eyes sparkled as he mentioned Hope's name.

"Nope. But I can see them now," James' grin widened as he spotted their latest fixations, who they were sure just hadn't realised what gorgeous men they really were. With a silent acknowledgment they set off to where the girls were having their little reunion.

-----

"Two female prefects," said Hope White as she too leaned against a wall at the Hogwarts platform. She has quite long blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a figure any girl would die for. Despite her sharp tongue, she was still fancied by practically every guy in the school. Most important, though, was the fact she had a very short temper, and Sirius was usually the unfortunate recipient of it. She grinned at her best friend, Lily Evans. "My, won't that cause a stir. I bet the Marauders will have something to say about that. I just hope they are less than pleased."

"Well, it looks like we are about to find out. Sirius and James are on their way over." Lily replied, a small smile playing on her lips.

"They look as smug as ever." Hope answered back. "I think it's about time we take them down a peg or two."

"I agree. I just hope it's a lot more pegs."

-----

Sirius sighed as he took in the sight of his latest attachment. It was common knowledge that Hope White was the prettiest girl in school and that had always been a fact. Even in his first year, as Sirius thought back, he knew he was going to get that girl to marry him if it was the last thing he did. But he had soon realised that she was not like normal girls, flattered to be asked out by his handsome self. After a few desperate attempts, which ended badly on his part, he had decided to stick with the girls who already liked him.

But that was before. He had been young and naïve when he had giving up on wooing her. But, by his 5th year, he had gained a lot more experience concerning the topic of girls and he was at it again, trying to show her what a kind, thoughtful and clever guy he was, mostly by showing his vast array of talents as pranks on Slytherins. Unfortunately, she seemed less than impressed. But, now that he was older, he was not to be put off.

He was back for another year of endless flattery and gifts, hoping that one of them would be Severus Snape's head on a platter.

His head perked up when he saw her smile in his direction, and, mistaking it for a smile of happiness because of the sight of him, he bounded over the last few metres to where Lily and her were standing and started the conversation with a boisterous, " Hello Hope!"

"Black," she replied, with a nod of acknowledgement. "I don't remember giving you permission to call me by my first name. In fact, I don't remember to call me at all, but you did, all through the summer. Your calls were not the reason I bought a Muggle telephone."

"Well," Sirius said, not at all put off by her opening statement, "I knew you couldn't go long without talking to me but were too shy to call me yourself, so I decided to call you instead." Here, Hope opened her mouth to reply, but Sirius continued, relentlessly.

"Anyway. You did give me permission to call you by your first name."

"And when, pray tell, was that?"

"It was the same day you professed your undying love for me. No wonder you've been so unresponsive to my feelings. You've had a case of amnesia and forgotten that all important day!" Sirius was denied an answer when James butted in with,

"Hi, Lily. Did you have a good holiday?"

"As good as can be expected, when you have to work during your holiday to earn a bit of money. Not that you would know much about that, considering how rich your family seems to be." James blushed, but he wasn't the only one. Both Hope and Sirius were members of old, pure blooded families and had more money that they would ever need, though Sirius didn't seem to get as big a share of that fortune as suited him. James changed the subject quickly.

"I hear both of you are Prefects this year. That's new."

Sirius, on hearing this, broke his staring contest with Hope, or in her case a glaring contest.

"What! Two female prefects. That can't be allowed."

"Actually, it can and it has." She grinned at Sirius' dismayed expression,

"But WHY!" Sirius whined. "What's wrong with any of us?"

"Well, Uncle said that he thought that James would probably be too busy, being Quidditch Captain and all and Remus already has a fair share on his plate." The other three knew she was referring to his being a werewolf as they had all figured it out a few years ago.

"Peter has enough trouble with keeping up with his school work and you," She paused to glare at Sirius," You have probably broken every school rule ever invented and are most likely to have contributed to the invention of new ones!"

Instead of looking ashamed, as was Hope's initial incentive, Sirius grinned at his achievements, quite proud of his school accomplishments.

"Anyway," she continued, a little upset his was not feeling humiliated, "that rids all the boys of a badge and since we have to have two Gryffindor prefects, it had to be up to two girls to fill the role."

It was a known fact that there were only eight people in the Gryffindor 6th year. The two twins, who had made up the last two of that number, had moved to France after their father had been killed by Voldemort. They had left at the end of their 1st year and it is sad to say, they were not sorely missed.

Sirius stilled looked a little peeved at the fact that none of the Marauders had managed to snag a badge. Luckily, they were saved of a famed Sirius outburst by the whistle signalling it was time for everyone to start boarding the train.

"Off you go, kids," Hope said in her most annoying voice. "Be good." Hope gave Sirius a smug wink and then she and Lily strolled of in the direction of the Prefects carriage, laughing.

"I think that took care of more than a few pegs, don't you?"

-----

Sirius and James stared at their retreating backs and then simultaneously turned towards each other and said, "We have to get back at them." Most people found it odd on how well they knew each other but people who knew them just saw it as a way on confirming how close they seemed.

Sirius' eyes suddenly lit up. "I have the perfect solution. Let's go and find Moony and Wormtail."

-----

Lily sighed as she and Hope walked through the carriages. Their prefect meeting had ended and they were looking for the other two members of their foursome, Arabella Figg and Dawn Xavier.

"I swear, they got the very last carriage in the train just to spite us," muttered Hope as they reached the last doors.

"I agree, but don't you think it's weird we haven't seen…" before she could finish her sentence, Hope opened the door and was welcomed with the sight of,

"… the Marauders," Lily finished off. She could swear she could see steam coming out of Hope's ears.

-----

"What do you think you're doing here?" was the high-pitched question that stated their entrance.

"My, my. Just because you're a Prefect now, doesn't mean you can get away with being so rude. A calm hello wouldn't hurt," Arabella teased from her seat next to Remus. Dawn, James, Peter and Sirius were on the floor in the middle of the carriage, playing a game of Exploding Snap. From the looks of things, Arabella and Remus were commentating as per their usual posts during house quidditch matches.

"Heya babe," was Sirius' calm acknowledgement of her presence.

"What are they doing here!" Hope yelled, her voice still around five tones higher.

"Calm down. Don't get your robes in a twist. The guys, being the caring blokes they are," here, Sirius grinned, showing all his pearly whites, "though that we might be lonely, considering out two best friends had abandoned us for the comforts of the Prefects carriage and so they sacrificed their privacy to give us two girls some company."

"That and they got on their knees begging because there weren't any carriages left, considering how they are the always the last people to board the train," Dawn added from her seat on the floor.

"Well then," Hope said, trying to contain her anger, "receive your thanks and LEAVE"

"But Hope," Sirius added with a grin, "maybe you didn't hear, but the trains all full up now. So we have nowhere to leave to."

Hope let out a very loud growl and sent a glare in Sirius' direction. Anybody else would have high tailed it out of there as fast as their legs could carry them, but Sirius just widened his grin.

"You look like a cute little angry Labrador."

"Watch me bite you!"

"With pleasure," Sirius replied. The rest of the carriage groaned. It was going to be an interesting ride.

-----

The four girls bagged the first horseless carriage in the line and set off quickly, intent on talking about the more sensitive things that couldn't be mentioned in front of the boys. In other words, girl talk. One of the topics brushed was sleeping arrangements. Traditionally, the Prefects were given their own rooms so that they could have some privacy if someone came to them with a problem they wanted to discuss. But, with two girl prefects, the second prefect room was not in the ideal position, opposite the 6th year boys' dorm room. However, this did not put Hope off her chance of complete privacy. Though she loved her friends, she was extremely moody and often craved peace and quiet.

"Uncle and I discussed it. He trusts me fully to stay in the boys tower. We worked together, and have put a magical door in Lily's room, which is keyed to work only for me, and will send me straight to mine. Also, if you guys want me, you just need to knock on that door, and I'll here you as if you were outside the real one"

"But someone is sure to notice, especially the guys. They are right opposite you and they'll probably think that they can break into the room and use it as a secret hideout or something," Lily pointed out.

"So what if they notice. I'll just tell them I was sent to keep an extra special eye on them and they'll keep their mouths shut. We're at the top of the tower, so it's not like anyone else will be passing the doors and notice. They'll have no reason to go up there."

The girls sighed but nothing more was said on the subject as they had reached the Hogwarts doors, significantly ahead of everyone else. With a nod to Professor Mc Gonagall, who was standing by the entrance door, they entered the Hall. As the girls started to walk toward the Gryffindor table, Hope paused them and whispered, "I'm just going to say hello to uncle. I'll join you in a sec." They looked up toward the High Table and saw Professor Dumbledore take his place for the first time as Headmaster of Hogwarts.

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Well, that's it for my first chapter. I hope it isn't too random. I have a habit of making my characters too perfect and I will try to correct that, but please tell me what you think. Any opinion will be well appreciated.

Please review.