Double Double Toil and Trouble A Marauders Tale

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the Marauders, or Hogwarts. However, Alex, Nicole, and the other original characters in this story plus the story itself are mine.

1: Back to Hogwarts

"Hogwarts!" Alex shouted skipping through King Cross Train station school trunk in tow. "Hogwarts! Hoggy Warty Hogwa-Yow!" She exclaimed as someone yanked at her hair. "What was that for Nicole?" She asked her sister.

"You were being annoying," Nicole replied smartly. "So I decided to take it upon myself to shut you up. You are fifteen years old, and you still insist on acting like you're three."
"I insist because I must," Alex smiled "Who else would torment you as I do. We might actually be normal without me and Merlin knows we wouldn't want that."

"Behave Alex," Nicole snapped.

"Why should I?"

"Alexandria Silvana Procyon Scalacchi listen to you sister," Their mother said. Her voice was soft, but stern.

"You're elder sister," Nicole said.

"Only by eight minutes!" Alex said exasperated.

"Alex," her father warned. His dark eyes met hers through his, even darker, hair. Hair Alex had inherited. Nicole looked decidedly more like their mother, with her blonde curly hair. She also had her father's height. The one trait that Alex failed to receive. Both had their mother's bright blue eyes.

"Why I'm I always in trouble? What about Nicole?" Alex asked.

"Nicole doesn't do anything wrong," was her mother's haughty reply. "We have no reason to scold her."

"Well I have reason!" Alex exclaimed. "Nicolette Cecile Adhara Scalacchi you are in trouble for... Being selfish goody-two-shoes, and not adoring my geniusness."

Nicole grunted, but did nothing more. It was true, after all. Despite her immaturity Alex, lazy troublesome Alex did very well in school. Nicole hated her for it. She worked twice as hard to get the same grades that Alex got without trying.

"We're here" she said and hurried through the brick barrier to Platform 9 3/4. Antonio and Katarina (their parents) followed, and Alex dragged along behind them. She took a deep breath before stepping threw the bricks.

"Take care Lexi, sweetheart," her father said hugging her tightly, and she smiled.

"I'll miss you dad," she whispered to him, but still she was excited to get back to Hogwarts and her friends. They had to catch up after a whole summer apart.

Absentmindedly hugging her mother, Alex thought about the fun they would have pulling pranks. She was already forming a plan as she and Nicole boarded the train.

By the time they reached an empty compartment, it involved giant frogs, and an excessive amount of Jam.

Alex pulled out blank parchment and began to write her ideas down. Nicole sat next to her, looked at what she was writing, and sighed when she realized it was in the symbolic writing Alex had invented for this exact reason.

"You're already plotting some horrible stunt? We're not even at the school and you're already planning your expulsion."
"It's not a horrible stunt; it's a work of art," Alex said without looking up "And I haven't gotten expelled yet."

At that exact moment the compartment doors flew open, and two boys came tumbling in laughing hysterically. Alex didn't bother to look up, but Nicole did. She eyed them both with interest, but then realized they were Alex's friends James and Sirius. Still they were quite handsome. James, the taller of the two was lanky with chocolate brown eyes, and very untidy black hair. Sirius, had hair as dark as Alex's that fell in front of his sparkling blue-gray eyes with a casual elegance. He was probably the most handsome male at Hogwarts.

"That was bloody brilliant James," Sirius said as he finally regained some composure. Despite his popularity with most of the girls at Hogwarts Nicole had always hated Sirius. She nudged Alex in the ribs hoping to get her attention. Alex ignored the poke and continued to stare at the parchment in front of her. James looked up and seemed to notice them for the first time.

"Well hello," he said, straightening. "haven't seen you in a while."

"We spent the Holiday in Venezia," Nicole replied smiling sweetly. Sirius snapped up at the mention of Venice. Nicole resisted the urge to glare at him. "Alexandria, you do realize your friends are here," she motioned to the girl huddled up beside her.

"It's Alex," she snapped. "Alexandria sounds like some boring historical figure, who did absolutely nothing worthwhile, and died surrounded by wilting flowers," Alex's head had yet to lift, and she was still scribbling away. "I on the other hand intend to live an adventurous and danger filled life, and when I die I will be surrounded by Chocolate Roses and Filibuster's Fireworks."

"I missed this girl," Sirius said grinning down at her.

"What are you doing?" James asked Alex.

"Scheming," Turning to her sister she asked in Italian. "Etta? If I were to drown the entire school in jam would you prefer grape or strawberry?"

"Neither," Nicole replied also in Italian. "I'd prefer you didn't drown the school."

"Sorry, not an option," Alex chirped, referring back to English. "What about you boys? Would you rather spend the day swimming through grape je—" Alex stopped mid-sentence as she finally looked up at Sirius as if just realizing he was there.

The door opened once again, and two more boys entered the compartment, followed by a small girl. Nicole and James turned to look at them. One boy had honey colored hair with eyes to match. Nicole thought he could be quite the looker if he wasn't so sickly, but for some reason she could not remember his name. The second boy was about a foot shorter than Alex and reminded Nicole of a rodent the way his nose narrowed and how his tawny curls stuck to his head. Peter, right? The girl had the same chocolate brown eyes as James, and her long hair was a similar color except it was smoother and better managed, which would make her his younger sister, Lauren.

The shabby boy, Remus that was his name, opened his mouth as if to speak, but James shook his head and nodded toward the still dumbstruck figures. They all turned back as Alex spoke at last.

"Sirius!" Alex jumped from her seat, her plans dropping to the floor, as she tackled Sirius in a bone-crushing hug. Sirius smirked as he fell onto the seat behind him Alex on top of him.

"Miss me?" he asked, hugging her back just as tightly.

"Of course I missed you, git. Who else would help me torture Nicole?"

"James" Nicole replied, glaring at them.

"Yeah," Alex sighed letting go of Sirius and moving to James. "But James is a loser."

"Hey," James glared, but lifted his mate off the floor in a bone-crushing hug.

Nicole nodded turning to Sirius, "Where's Reggie?"

He glared, "I'm not my brother's keeper," he spat. "Find him yourself."

"Fine we will. Come on Alex," Nicole turned back when she realized her sister was now hugging Remus. "Come on Alex."

"No thank you. I'd rather stay here," Alex replied cheerfully ruffling Peter's hair. "Tell him I said hi though."

Nicole glared at Sirius as though it were his fault before stomping out of the room.

Alex smiled, "Well now that she's gone, how were your guys' summers?"

"Dull" Sirius stooped down and hugged her tightly again. She wrapped an arm around his neck and reached for James who joined.

"Of course it was. I wasn't there," she said as the door to the compartment came bursting open for the third time that day.

"Alex!" The poor girl was tackled to the floor in a strangling embrace. The boys thought she was being attacked, and pulled the culprit off. Then they saw who it was.

"Rebecca," Remus greeted.

"Stones!" Sirius and James crushed her in a bear hug.

"Bex!" Alex exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Let her go you morons."

James and Sirius released their grip, and the girls embraced in another tight hug, giggling like two years olds.

Alex woke at 5:30 the next morning. Sighing, she stood. It would be nice to sleep in just once, but it would never happen. Years of early morning training had seen to that. First, it had been combat training. Antonio insisted his daughters needed to be able to defend themselves without magic. So, since the age of four Alex had been waking at 5:30. She would have stopped when she started school, but she got into Quidditch, and her captain insisted his team was in top shape. Early morning runs and practice sessions took the place of combat training. Alex now dressed in sweats and a T-shirt, pulled her hair back, and decided she'd go on a run. It had been burned into her, and she might as well use it.

Alex had returned and taken a shower before Bex had woken. When she did wake, the two girls dressed and headed down to breakfast where they met the guys.

"Hello lovelies," Alex grinned as she sat down. "Sleep well" The marauders who were not morning people grunted responses, as McGonagall handed out their schedules. Alex scanned over hers.

Bex leaned over and read Alex's schedule. "I don't have Runes or Care of Magical Creatures. All our other classes are together though."

Alex grinned at her and glanced at the boys' schedules. She was glad to see that she had at least one of them in each of her classes, and all four in most. Lauren was a third year, and therefore wasn't in any of their classes, but Alex was sure to see plenty of her once Quidditch practices started.

"Oi, James." He grumbled a response between bites of toast. "Aren't you Quidditch captain this year?"

"You bet," he grunted, and Alex grinned. "Tryouts are next Saturday," he looked up at her, Sirius, and Lauren who had all been on the team last year.

"As you all know this fifth year is O.W.L. year," Professor McGonagall said grimly in their first transfiguration class of the year. "You cannot pass an O.W.L. without serious application, practice and study. Everyone in this has the potential to achieve an O.W.L. in Transfiguration so long as they put in the work," Peter made a small disbelieving noise. "Yes, Mr. Pettigrew, you too... Therefore, today you will be attempting Vanishing Spells. These are among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L,"

She had not been lying. By the end of the double period, only eight people had made any progress. Lily Evans was the only person to vanish it completely. Alex smiled as she handed McGonagall what remained of her snail: half its shell. "Not bad, Ms. Scalacchi, but I suggest you practice before Wednesday"

"Not bad!" James exclaimed as they walked out of the classroom. "You did better than I did!"

"We all know how easy that is," Bex teased, but truth be told James was very good at Transfiguration.

"Hey at least I didn't…" Whatever it was James didn't do he was cut off by Sirius who nudged him and pointed to a pallid, greasy haired boy who was scuttling past them down the hall. He walked up to Lily Evans and they started talking energetically about something as they turned the corner.

"Snivellus!" James growled. "What is he doing with Evans?"

"Talking by the looks of it," Alex replied cheerfully. Whistling a strange tune to herself, she stared down at the schedule. "DADA's next with... Professor Birch."

"Wonder what he's like," James said. They had not had a DADA teacher any longer than a year.

"I don't think it really matters," Sirius snickered watching Alex skipping along in front of them. "I bet he doesn't last past Christmas."

"I'll take that bet," Remus said. "Usual terms,"

Sirius nodded and they shook on it.

"Sirius!" A group of giggling girls rushed over greeting him and asking him how his holidays. There was about ten of them from various years. They all wore the same heart shaped badge with the initials S.B. flashing yellow.

"Oh look it's the fan girls," Alex whispered to Bex. She grinned as she watched the girls swarm Sirius. "What do you say we mess with them a bit?" She asked unbuttoning the top buttons on her shirt. She batted her eyelashes imitating the girls, and said in a mock breathless voice. "Ooo Sirius Black! He is such a hunk!"

Bex rolled up her skirt two inches, and they rushed over to him, giggling like maniacs.

"Hey Sirius!" Alex called, still batting her eyes, as she linked arms with him.
Bex did the same on his other side. "Want to go, like—

"To Hogsmead, like-"

"With us, like-"

"Next weekend."

Sirius' fan girls glared, as Alex and Bex pulled him into the DADA classroom. Once inside they dropped his arms and had to use the desks as support they were laughing so hard. James, Remus and Peter, who had been watching the entire scene, all joined in.

Alex laughed the hardest of all, and when she finally composed herself, she realized that most of the guys in the classroom were staring, and not at her face.
"What?" Alex snapped slapping James and Sirius on the back of the head. "Are you all staring at?"

Most of the guys turned away. Remus blushed. James and Sirius kept staring though.

"Well?" Alex put her hand on her hips.

"Um nothing," Sirius said averting his gaze to the floor. He was not usually ashamed of eyeing girls, but with Alex it was different. She was his mate, not some fan girl.

James did not seem to feel as guilty. He just grinned finally looking at her face. "You really grew up this summer Lex."

Finally realizing what they had been staring at Alex buttoned her shirt back up. As she walked to her seat, she slapped James playfully on the shoulder. He grinned and took the seat next to her.