DISCLAIMER: Since I am not, J.K. Rowling, I know its sad, but I unfortunately do not own these lovely characters that you recognize. Or any Harry Potter related items that you may recognize. I 'm just interpreting how these people may have led their lives along with some made up characters of my own.

Chapter 1: Returning Home

Lily Evans bid her best friends good bye at the train station before heading to see her parents. This summer was going to be different because Petunia had gotten married at the end of Lily's fifth year while Lily was busy with her O.W.L.s. Petunia had done this on purpose so Lily would not be able to attend her wedding she "insisted that Lily needed to stay at school so as to not fall behind in her schoolwork." John and Crystal Evans were disappointed but understood seeing as how Lily and her sister did not get along all that well--that being an understatement. Neither parent wanted to ruin this special day for one of their daughters.

Lily shuddered to think of the past summer holidays when Petunia was home. Petunia was always spying on Lily but claimed she wasn't and was always yelling when something weird happened and immediately blamed it on Lily. At least now Lily only had to see Petunia and her horrid husband Vernon very seldom. Lily remembered meeting Vernon for the first time. He was absolutely, terrifyingly ugly! She didn't know how anyone could be so ugly, let alone how Petunia could fall in love with this beached whale. She could understand if Vernon was somewhat attractive but other than that he was just dull, like an overused knife. Petunia had told Vernon that Lily was a witch. She really didn't have a choice because an owl happened to fly into the Evan's household and drop a letter at Lily's feet. There was no other logical explanation so Petunia told the truth. He shared Petunia's sentiments--he thought Lily was a freak. John and Crystal didn't like Lily being called a freak and asked that he not call her that ever again in their presence. Lily had gotten used to the word as hurtful as it was. Vernon stopped coming to their house after this incident, which was fine with Lily.

"Welcome home, sweetheart!" exclaimed John Evans as he pulled into their driveway. Lily loved her home. The lawn was green, and there were many different types of trees that lined the front of her house. Lots of flowers too, and a special garden of lilies and petunias--something for John and Crystal. The house was two stories. Lily's bedroom was on the top floor. It was a warm day, but not too bad for June. Her house was made of a grayish tan brick. Lily always thought her house was very pretty.

As a rule, the ride home from the train station never was talkative for Lily's sake. Each parent wanted to give their daughter a chance to unwind and get settled at home before bombarding her with questions.

Lily was thankful for this because she'd rather forget how her summer got started off….James and Sirius were hexing and heckling Snape again and Lily intervened. And his thanks to her was him calling her a mud blood and James tried to be all gallant and make Snape apologize as if that would make things better. She told James that she'd rather go out with the giant squid rather than him. Not that that bothered her, but she always hated having to stick up for Snape and James was always asking her out so maybe she got her point across this time.

She sighed in frustration. "Why can't Potter just leave me alone?" she wondered. She didn't need his protection. She had her other friends. Lily decided to just not think about it anymore. She would avoid this subject like the plague if her mother brought it up. Seriously, her mother LOVED James Potter. She thought he was charming and couldn't believe all what Lily said he had done. And his crush on her was "sweet and cute" according to Lily's mother. Lily's past summers would include Lily ranting about the Marauders and their stupid pranks and how many times Lily had been asked out by James. He broke his record this year. Everyday of the entire school year. Lily wanted to scream when she thought about it.

Lily wasn't always frustrated and aggravated. She had plenty of friends to keep her sane. Her prefect duties this year introduced her to someone she had never talked to before, Shawn Austin. He was great fun to talk to. It was a shame that Lily met him at the end of the year, it just so happened that she had patrolling duties with him one night and they just hit it off. He was in Gryffindor, which amazes Lily because she never had talked to him before even though he shared the same boys dormitory with the infamous Marauders. It was nice having a friend that she could discuss intellectual items with or just gossip if she so chose too. She promised Shawn that they would keep in touch during the summer.

Lily decided that she had had enough time to unwind when her mother called that dinner was ready. She couldn't believe that she had spent that much time in her room. Well it had only been an hour.

Crystal Evans decided to make a fancy dinner for Lily's return, grilled steak, baked potatoes, and a strawberry pie for dessert. Lily loved strawberry pie, it was so tasty to her. Dinner time was used for Lily's parents to tell her about her family and local news and the such.

"Did you know Mary Bates was getting a new house?"

Lily said she was surprised since Mary had lived in their neighborhood for as long as she could remember.

"Grandmama and Pater are doing well and send their love to you, Lily."

Conversation continued like this for a bit and then Lily thanked her mother for such an amazing dinner and then she knew what was coming next. The annual family trip to the living room. "Here comes the bombardment," she mumbled.

"Lily, darling, we've missed you so much! Look at how you've grown and you're becoming an even more beautiful young lady," said Crystal.

"Well, how was school, sweetheart?" said John.

Lily replied that school was fine and was interesting because she was learning more advanced magic. "But I am nervous that I may not have done well in some of my O.W.L.s…"

"Owls? What are owls? I know you are not talking about birds surely?" said John laughing.

Lily giggled, "No, dad, O.W.L. stands for Ordinary Wizarding Level. They're tests you take in order to help determine your career. For more challenging careers you need to get at least an E or an O in everything. I am confident that I did well in Charms and Potions, but the other classes are up to debate."

Crystal stepped in, "Honey, I'm sure you did wonderful, we will be proud of you however you do."

"Thanks, mom and dad." said Lily.

"I can't believe that I'll be in my sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Lily thought to herself.

Lily then proceeded to tell her parents about how her friends were. "Gina and Jenny were going to Scotland with Jenny's family and Taylor and Brooke were just staying home for the time being."

"And how are the Marauders?" asked John.

Lily signed inaudibly and answered "as mischievous as ever." Remus was Lily's favorite of the group. James and Sirius were annoying, and Peter, well Peter just gave her the creeps, but she did feel sorry for him. Peter just didn't seem to fit in with the group but they all stuck together like brothers.

Lily felt her mother's gaze on her and she had a feeling something about James was going to be mentioned. She was right.

"You know Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus came by and said hello to your father and I at the train station. They really are sweet boys. Does James still have a crush on you?"

"Unfortunately, yes he does, mother. If he wasn't so conceited, maybe I'd give him a chance, but honestly, I just can't stand to be around him. Remus is really the only one I can tolerate talking too. Sirius is just like James, so immature." Lily replied.

Seeing that Lily wasn't really in a good mood now, her mother suggested they head to bed. Lily was gracious for the idea. But first, Lily told her mother about meeting Shawn. Her mother said, "That's nice dear," and headed to bed.

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2 months into her summer vacation Lily received an owl from Gina. She obviously had just got back from Scotland. Gina was a nice girl, she had a ton of hair that was a dark blonde color and wavy curly and she had hazel eyes. She was very intelligent, friendly and level headed for the most part. She was a great friend, Lily's best friend actually.

Lily,

I hope that you are doing well. I just got back from Scotland, I swear Ithink I've picked up an accent, but you'll have to help me get it to go away! I bet you're having fun without Petunia being home too. Scotland was wonderful. Jenny swears she saw a leprechaun, but I say it was probably just a goblin if anything….but nonetheless, it was beautiful there. I really wished you could have been there too!

Oh, I found you a birthday present! Aren't you excited? One week! I miss you terribly! Her family made me feel welcome. Are you planning to do anything for your birthday? If not, I was thinking we could go to Diagon Alley to get ourthings. Well just owl me back and let me know. I can't wait to see you!

Your friend always,

Gina

Lily giggled, Gina was always so excited! She loved her dearly. "I really haven't thought about what I wanted to do with my birthday." She decided to owl Gina back.

Gina,

I am glad that you're doing well. Yes, life at home is much pleasanter without having Petunia around. I wish I could have been with you at Scotland, too. But, Jenny's parent's asked you. So, that's okay. I went with them last year to France. I haven't thought about what I wanted to do for my birthday, but a trip to Diagon Alley sounds great!

Not much has been going on in my life, just a calm summer. I'm not complaining though. I can't wait to see you either. Maybe we can meet around eleven o'clock at the Leaky Cauldron?

Your best friend,

Lily

Lily decided to send her letter back with Gina's owl Lizzy. Lizzy was a black owl with a white chest, very pretty. Lily's own owl was a solid black owl named Amber, since she had amber colored eyes.

Lily thought about what she wrote to Gina, "a calm summer." She just realized she really did have a calm summer. Petunia hadn't been there to harass her and she had only received one owl from James professing his undying love to her and that he'd throw himself off his broomstick if she didn't say yes to going out with him, but she just sent back that her mind had not changed and the giant squid still had a better chance than he did.

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A tall boy with untidy jet black hair and hazel eyes was walking around the train station looking for his mother. He wasn't looking long when he saw Lily's mother. She was always so nice to him. "Why can't Lily be nice to me like that?" he thought. He walked up to her and asked her how she was and said hello when Remus Lupin and Sirius Black walked up behind him.

"Mrs. Evans, always a pleasure to see you," said Sirius bowing towards her.

"Sirius, it's always good to see you too," replied Crystal laughingly, "and hello to you too Remus, I hope you had a good term at school?"

"Oh, definitely, thanks for asking Mrs. Evans. We had a lot of fun this year pull.."

James began to cough drastically, as did Sirius. Remus realized he was just about to tell Lily's mother they had fun pulling pranks this year. He didn't want to make Mrs. Evans think ill of him, or the rest of the Marauders, especially James. James wanted to stay on her good side, just in the off chance that Lily ever decides to give him a chance. If Lily's mother hated him, he had a feeling things would never work.

Three of the four Marauders bid Mrs. Evans a cheery goodbye as Lily came walking towards her mother. James tried to wave at her, but Lily either didn't see or just decided to ignore him. The latter most likely.

There was still no sign of Melanie Potter as the three boys walked around. "James, do you really think it will be okay for me to come spend the summer with you again?" asked Sirius hopefully.

"Padfoot, I promise you, why would it not be okay this summer?" replied James.

"I just don't even want to go home, I hate it there. The sooner I can get out of that house, the better. Kreacher stares daggers at me and that portrait of that old hag drives me INSANE! Not to mention the rest of my twisted, demented, evil family," said Sirius.

"Listen Padfoot, you need to go home at least one day, just so your mum can see you. Be serious…."

"…But I am Sirius…"

"You should have saw that one coming, Moony." replied Prongs.

"Look, surely you can put up with it for one day, but I see my mum over there. I'll see you guys soon."

Peter Pettigrew, the missing Marauder, having already left just as soon as the crowd emerged from the train station, and Remus on his way home, left James and Sirius to themselves. They both noticed a woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes coming walking towards them with a gigantic smile plastered on her face.

"James! Sirius! It is so good to see both of you!" shouted Melanie Potter over the crowd of people at the train station, "Sirius, I've had an owl from your mother. She said unless you've decided to change your mind since last summer, you are to come home with me."

Sirius remembered last summer, it wasn't good. He was preparing to go back to Hogwarts when his mother and father asked for him to come down to the living area. Sirius had an idea of what this was about. Regulus, his brother, was there. A family meeting. "Oh, great, just terrific," he thought.

"Sirius, we know how you've disgraced our family in the past, but we're willing to look over that if you are willing to join the dark lord's force like your brother." said Lydia Black.

Sirius was fuming, "Disgrace, DISGRACE? You call me being sorted into Gryffindor a disgrace and my not wanting anything to do with the dark arts? Why, why, you're the disgrace to me, the whole lot of you! I am finished with you all." screamed Sirius.

"You'll be sorry, Sirius, trust me, you will. Just wait until the time of the dark lord comes. You've made your choice." hissed Regulus.

Sirius immediately left and went to James' house for the rest of the summer.

"What a git," said Sirius.

"I'm sorry, what?" said Mrs. Potter.

"Oh, I'm sorry Melanie, I was just thinking about last summer." said Sirius. Sirius loved Melanie very much, she, in all honesty, was like his mother.

"Alright there, Padfoot?" asked James.

"Yea, fine, Prongs." replied Sirius

The ride home was uneventful. James and Sirius were sad to be leaving Hogwarts behind but happy to be home for the summer. No good pranks for awhile. James was sad to be leaving Lily behind too. He winced remembering her words that still stung after a few days: "The giant squid has a better chance than you do!" He decided that he better leave her alone during the summer. James had liked Lily ever since he set eyes on her about five years ago. He loved her long red hair, her almond shaped emerald green eyes that sparkled when she was happy, and her sweet personality, well sweet to others, just not him or Sirius.

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"SIRIUS, WAKE UP!" shouted James as he jumped on Sirius' bed.

"Whaaaat?" replied Sirius, seeing how furious James looked, he instantly shot up, "What's wrong Prongs?"

"Lily still refuses me! I mean it hurt the first time she said the giant squid would be a better boyfriend, but the second time…" said the black haired boy.

"Eh, Prongs, maybe you shouldn't have sent that letter." said Sirius.

"I guess your right, Sirius, I'll just leave Lily alone for the rest of the summer, or at least I'll try to." said James mischievously. Even though he hated Lily disliking him, he still loved to aggravate her, the marauder in him coming out.

With that settled, both boys went downstairs to a wonderful breakfast. Eggs, pancakes with syrup and jam, bacon, sausage, toast, and to top it off, fresh pumpkin juice. After breakfast Melanie was thinking about taking the boys to Diagon Alley, for the sake of the poor house elves' nerves. James and Sirius had been bored and James, Sirius, and bored do not go to together. To say the least, the house elves cooking at all was a miracle. James and Sirius had set up several booby traps. It was a little harder to pull pranks without being able to use magic outside of school. But they managed. They put itching powder on the house elves clothes. "HAHAHAHAHA do you see how they just walk around trying to scratch themselves without people noticing. They don't want to say anything because they think it will offend us. It's great!" choked out James. Sirius couldn't do anything but hold his side from laughing so much. They, also, stacked the pots and pans and had a string tied to one and pulled it when the house elves were standing around. It took much apologizing from Sirius and James to Sissy, their head chef for her to keep cooking at all.

After breakfast was over Mrs. Potter thought it was time to let the boys know they were in for some fun today. "Boys, go get ready, we're going to Diagon Alley today." stated Melanie.

"WOOHOO!" shouted both black haired boys!

"Oh dear, I hope this was a good idea…oh, two owls from Hogwarts, must be O.W.L. results. JAMES! SIRIUS! Hurry up! You each have an owl down here!" shouted Melanie Potter.

James and Sirius came running down the stairs and ran to each of their owls, respectively. James was the first to see his results, "Nine! I got nine O.W.L.s!" Sirius said excitedly, "Hey, me too!"

James and Sirius were very smart, as were the other now sixth year students in Gryffindor, except Peter, but Peter's heart was in it.

"That's terrific, boys! I'm so proud of each of you. This justifies our trip to Diagon Alley. I will buy each of you what you want besides school items. What subject did you each not get an O in?" asked Mrs. Potter kindly.

"Divination," each boy replied at the same time, looked at each other, and then began having a laughing fit. "I still got an E," added James, as did Sirius.

"What may I ask is so funny?" inquired Melanie.

"We predicted our entire way through the entire class," said James unenthusiastically, "we, err, don't respect that class."

"It just seems like a load of …. 'Sirius!' said Mrs. Potter….crock." Sirius grinned innocently at Melanie. She just looked at him reproachfully and told them both to finish getting ready.

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That is the end of Chapter 1! This is my first fanfic, so I hope everyone enjoys it! I am having a blast writing it. I love Lily/James/Marauders fanfiction. Chapter 2 will be posted shortly. Please review. I'd love to hear feedback.