All Is Fair In Love and War
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter no matter how much I wish I did…
Chapter One
"Lily!"
A ginger-haired girl turned, beaming at her friend who was running towards her. Lily had not seen Emmeline Vance since the year previous and she had missed her terribly. Lily and Emmeline were an inseparable pair and you could never find one without the other close by. The friendship came about on their first trip to Hogwarts four years ago when the clumsy blonde bumped into the ginger haired girl when they were making their way into their own compartments.
"Emmeline!" Lilly exclaimed as they threw their arms around each other in a great hug, Lily struggling to keep hold of the book she had in her hands. "I miss you over the summer! How was Albania? I got all your letters and it seemed wonderful! You have to tell me all about it!"
Kissing their parents goodbye and promising to write them, Lily and Emmeline dragged their luggage through Platform 9 ¾ laughing the whole while as the two girl recounted their summers with their family away from Hogwarts. When finally coming across and empty compartment, the two hoisted their trunks onto the rack and plopped themselves upon the comfortable seats.
"I can't believe it." Lily began as she tucked her right foot underneath her so that she was sitting comfortable on it. "I can't believe we're Fifth Years now… and we've got our O.W.L.s this year!"
Emmeline let out a peal of laughter before shaking her head. "I can't believe that you're worrying about O.W.L.s already and it's only September!"
"No I am not!" exclaimed Lily attempting to hide the fact the she was indeed fretting.
Emmeline let out another roar of laughter. "Yes alright Oh Mighty One. You were not just fidgeting with your wand and running through all the information sorted into you copious brain and thinking that you should start studying soon." When Emmeline caught sight of Lily's astonished face she only smiled and said. "Dear God I know you too well."
Suddenly the door burst open and two girls stood before them posed with their heads tilted backwards, one hand on the backs of their head with their bent elbows sticking straight out and the other arms elevated in the air with the hand locked as if to show off an expensive ring to a very tall person. "We're here!" The two girls exclaimed continuing to hold their pose. "Don't pretend that you didn't miss us."
Lily and Emmeline laughed as Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadowes dropped their poses and laughed along with them as the two other best friends settled themselves in the compartment as well. These four were the inseparables. Again, like Lily and Emmeline, they had all met on their first trip to Hogwarts and instantly became the best of friends. The four of them did everything together and usually they spent the summer together as well, but they all went their separate ways that summer because their families had all planned vacations.
"Eww! Look Lils it's those two barmpots that stalk us all the time!" Emmeline shrieked with a huge grin on her face
"Oh… yea… Well who wouldn't follow us at every moment in their lives? We're just too gorgeous for our own good!" Lily ran her fingers through her stunning hair and batting her emerald eyes as Emmeline applied imaginary lip gloss stroking her curled blonde locks.
"How did you know we were so jealous of you guys?" Marlene asked continuing to play along. "Dorcas and I were just talking about how much we coveted your beauty. We said we would stun you and take all of your loveliness, bottle it and sell it to everyone we know."
"We'll make tons of money off it!" Dorcas quipped in before she slid to her knees and held out her arms to Lily. "Oh please Madam! I need the money to feed my children! They're shivering in the cold and the snow and they have to walk to school uphill both ways and barefoot!"
Lily could no longer keep a straight face and she dropped her hands into her laps and he book fell to the floor as the four of them broke into great laughter. They were still laughing when Sirius, accompanied by James, Remus and Peter opened up their compartment and stared down at Dorcas who was kneeling in front of Lilly, Dorcas' hands in Lily's lap and Marlene and Emmeline were hunched over gasping for breath.
"Did I just miss a proposal?" Sirius glanced from Dorcas to Lily and suddenly exclaimed, "WHEN'S THE WEDDING!?"
Laughter once again erupted from the girls and through her laugher Lily answered his outlandish statement with, "I swear Sirius, you lose IQ points by the second."
"Oi!" Sirius shouted in earnest, "I take pride in my disintegrating IQ points. It gives me a good excuse to tell the teachers I have some sort of learning disorder and then BAM come back with a vengeance and get extra credit."
James laughed at this as the Marauders squished into the compartment with the girls. "Watch out Padfoot, I think McGonagall has caught onto your little scheme last year. She cornered me in the hallway one day and asked me if you thought all the teachers at Hogwarts were gromless."
Sirius stopped laughing. "Oh… damn… Remus I'm cheating off of you this year!"
"Yeah okay Padfoot, in your dreams." Remus smiled and winked Emmeline and watched her as she turned her head away and flushed a deep shade of pink.
"No actually. In my dream I see the gorgeous face of Marlene McKinnon and she professes how much she loves me." Sirius smiled brazenly and wrapped his long arm around Marlene's slender shoulders.
Marlene laughed, "I happen to agree with Remus. In your dreams, Black."
"Oh now Mar Mar, baby, don't go and cut a man down so quickly!"
"Too late," Marlene smiled obviously flirting. "And I thought I told you not to call me that!"
Sirius caught Marlene under her chin with his thumb and forefinger smiling brightly. "It stuck babe. Once Mar Maralways Mar Mar."
Throughout this whole scene James, who was usually joking and laughing along with everyone, was staring intently at Lily Evans. She had really matured over the summer and in more ways than one. She was curvier, her hair had grown longer, and she… she was beautiful. He had always made fun of Lily but when he was about to make a comment, his tongue seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth rendering him silent.
To Lily however, this had not gone unnoticed and once she turned her head away from the flirtatious Sirius and Marlene, she asked James, "What's with you today Potter? You're usually the first one to comment and not very pleasantly I must say. Could it be? Have you grown manners over summer break?"
James erupted in laughter and punched her chin gently, "You should be one to talk Evans. At least I'm not the one always snogging a book." He directed her gaze with a flick of his head toward the book which she had picked up and laid on her lap.
"Ah…I knew it was too good to be true."
There was suddenly a gentle knock at the door of the compartment. The entrance slid open slightly and a greasy black haired boy their age poked his head in and found Lily's gaze. "Hey Lily, can I talk to you for a second?"
Lily smiled brightly, a gesture which James did not fail to see, and quickly got up to follow Severus Snape out of the compartment as Sirius and James let out noises of disgust and James felt as if he wanted to strangle that filthy Snape for taking Lily from their conversation.