Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize. That all belongs to the genius among the apes, J. K. Rowling. So don't bother to sue me. You won't get anything. I'm poor. :)
Summary: Welcome to Hogwarts, 1977, where we have crazy Gryffindors, cowardly Head Boys, sneaky Marauders, and champagne kisses. Lily and James, along with their friends and their weird sense of humor, draw closer during the horrible times of darkness.
(A/N: Every 2 chapters I'm going to switch off between Lily and James' P.O.V. Get used to it)
Chapter One: Black Letters and Black Encounters
Black letters. That was what arrived in droves that one fateful morning, and that was NOT what you wanted to see on your last day of school, whether you were a first year or Head Girl. I was a 6th year, I had just turned seventeen, and I was loving life.
Watching those dark envelopes rain down around me, coming towards my friends, I was seized with dread. Please, please not my parents. That was the only thing I can remember going through my head that morning at breakfast. But I silently contradicted myself, telling myself that my parents were Muggles, Voldemort probably didn't even know they existed. What would he wasn't with them anyways? They couldn't do anything to harm him, not in any possible way.
So you can imagine my horror, my shock, when that horrible, cocky black owl landed in front of me. And I remember thinking, even through all of my anxiety, how much that stupid animal reminded me of James-bloody-Potter, as I so fondly called him. Stop ruffling your feathers! I mentally screamed.
With shaking fingers, I broke the wax seal on that horrid, black parchment, pulling out the letter. The letter that I would hate more than any other letter I ever had, or ever would receive. The letter that would change my life almost as much as the first letter I ever received through owl post, my first Hogwarts letter.
I read it over several, several times, before I did the only sensible thing I could have done. I ran, I ran and I ran, not paying attention to where I was going. I had treaded those paths so many times I could walk them if I was suddenly blind.
I didn't pay attention to the fact that Alice Compton, or Kristen Ashcraft, two of my best friends, were running after me, screaming, "Lily Elizabeth Evans!" I didn't even notice that suddenly I was on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, face down, muffling my tears. I didn't care that mascara was running down my face, I didn't care that I had just had a nervous break down in front of about a thousand people. And that was strange, because Lily Evans always noticed things and she always cared. But this time she didn't.
Because I could never again look into my mother's deep blue eyes, and know that she cared even when others didn't. I could never again hear my Daddy's deep voice telling me that he loved me. And it was all because of some ignorant bastard who wanted to rule the wizarding world. It was all WAY too Adolph Hitler for me.
As I looked at the Hogwarts Express later that day, I got choked up. I didn't want to go home over the summer, because in reality my home stood tall and proud against the blue sky behind me. I had no family left to go to. I had no aunts, no uncles, or even grandparents. And I sure as hell couldn't go to my sister, "Mrs. Petunia Dursley." She hated me , thought I was a freak, as she so kindly reminded me often. And I, just as kindly , assured her the feeling was mutual, and asked if she needed directions after I told her where to go . (Trust me, she didn't.)
Sighing, and throwing one last look at the magnificent castle behind me, I pulled myself together and boarded the train.
"Lily!" This shriek came from Alice, who had seen me 5 minutes ago, as soon as I stepped into the compartment.
Sighing, I turned around to look into Alice's happy-go-lucky face. I wasn't exactly in a care free mood. My parents just died, remember? But I forced myself to put on a "Happy Face," as Alice called them. She was my best friend and all, but she was just too darn cheerful sometimes! But this time, she had a solemn expression on her face.
"Lily, you don't have to be happy, doll. I know how much you must be hurting. I just wanted to tell you that if you wanted, you can stay with me during the summer. My Mum just owled and told me to invite you, and she sends her condolences."
Alice looked at me with those big blue eyes so full of sincerity and sorrow that I knew I couldn't refuse if I wanted to. But of course, I didn't.
"Oh, Alice!" It was all I could say, all I could even utter, before Alice embraced me and got their shirt soaking wet in the process. But she didn't mind. Alice never minded a, and that was why I loved her.
Soon after I had dried my shirt and taken a seat, the compartment door opened. My three other best Abby Grey, Kristen Ashcraft, and Kelli Whitaker, had finally arrived.
Now, let me pause for a second. I know, I'm the oddball. Two K's, Two A's, and a bloody L. But I love my name, so get over it.
Anyways, so back to where I was being suffocated by cotton shirts.
"Err, guys, I can't breathe!" This was me, as you might have guessed.
"Oh, sorry Lils!" Abby exclaimed as she moved off of me. Aside from that giant "Group Hug," however, none of my friends mentioned my parents. They and I both knew, and still know, that 'I'm sorry,' is the worst thing you can say to a person that just lost family. And, knowing me, they knew I would rather not talk about it.
All of my friends settled in, talking away animatedly about their summers, and what they would be doing (or not doing, in some peoples case) But I wasn't in the mood for idle chit chat, so I just stared blankly out the window, hardly thinking at all, until about 12:30.
That was when the compartment door slid open, and we all whirled around, expecting our usual un-invited visitors,. But we found someone (or rather, someones) who might have been even more unwelcome. And it was hard to top the bloody Marauders, trust me. I even remember blinking a few times, trying to make her go away.
But there she stood, her many cronies standing straight behind her, the beautiful, demented Bellatrix Black.
"Can we help you, Black?" Kelli asked aggressively.
"No, I think you could leave the Gryffindor boys to do me that pleasure." She grinned her manic grin as she watched Kelli tense. Bella wasn't going to touch Remus Lupin, not unless she wanted to die a very painful death. Kelli was in love with Remus, whether she cared to admit it or not.
"No, Bella, please stop talking there. You're giving me very, very bad mental images." The voice came from behind the large Slytherin group, and I smirked. I knew exactly who it was, who was with them, and for the first time in my life, I was happy to see the Marauders as a group. (I'm close friends with Remus, but more on that later.) With much pushing, shoving, and hissing, three very good looking boys, Sirius Black (who had spoken), James Potter (who had a very unfortunate crush on me), and Remus Lupin (whom I was friends with and who had a secret) appeared, along with their short and ugly tag-a-long, Peter Pettigrew. I honestly don't know why the boys put up with him, but that's another story.
I glance back at Bellatrix, to see how she's taking all of this. To my surprise, she's looking James up and down like she's never seen him before. Something inside me seizes up, but before I had time to register that, I felt Abby, who was beside me, tense up. Now, don't get me wrong, Abs had no romantic feelings whatsoever towards James. It's just that she had know James since they were in diapers, and if Bella took one step towards her 'big brother' Abby would be using Unforgivable Curses.
But instead, Bella focused her glare on Sirius, who was looking like he was trying very hard not to laugh.
"Oh, but what you consider disgusting, I might consider quite fun, cousin." Bellatrix, grinning, stepped forward towards James, who, with a look of horror on his face, stepped backwards, tripping over my cat's carrier case and fell into the seat I had just vacated. Bella scowled, but Sirius, Remus, Peter and Abby snickered. I decided it was time for me to step in.
"Leave, Black." Both Bella and Sirius looked at me, Bella angry, Sirius surprised. Rolling my eyes at Sirius, I pointed at Bellatrix. "Her, you bloody idiot!" Really, I felt like screaming. How were he and James top of the bloody class again?
But, if Bella was livid, her face no longer showed it. " I'm not leaving until I get a proper kiss from one of these brave Gryffindor boys," she said in a singsong voice. I smirked again as I saw one of the boys in the crowd behind Bella scowl.
"I doubt even Gryffindor courage could get one of them to snog you, you slimy, dirty Slytherin. But I'm sure Lestrange will do it for them. Now leave." The boy, Rodolphus Lestrange, deepened his scowl but blushed none the less.
Oh, I thought I was in for it then; Bella looked ready to kill. But to my surprise, she grinned and subconsciously rubbed her left forearm.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll leave you now. But you, and your friends," here she paused to throw a glance and James and I raise my eyebrows. "You and your friends will get what is coming to you. Just like your disgusting Muggle parents. Later, Mud blood, cousin... Potter." With that, she backed away slowly, the rest of the Slithering following her out.
It was only when the compartment door closed did Sirius lose his cool demeanor.
"Damn her, damn her, damn her! She crazy, she's out of her ever-loving mind!"
I raised my eyebrows at his antics, but turned to Kristen, who had already drawn a long piece of parchment out of her carry-on bag, and was dipping her quill into my bottle of color change ink.
"Who are you writing?" I asked curiously, before realizing the answer was obvious.
"Jonathon." It was her single word reply every time you asked that question. Jonathon Dunn was a Muggle whom I found quite boring, but there you have it. Kristen was engaged to him, and she had the sparkle on her left hand to prove it.
The Marauders stayed with us the rest of the train ride to King's Cross, but I didn't speak to any of them, not even Remus. I just stayed over in my corner, surveying all of my friends laughing at their crazy jokes.
Oh, right. I bet you're wandering what my friends and the Marauders look like. Well, Alice is about an inch taller than me, which isn't saying much because I'm only about 5'3. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and a round face. Kristen is taller, with dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, and she ALWAYS looks like she just stepped out of a catalog. Kelli has black hair and dark eyes, which makes her look slightly Latin in my opinion, but she's just British, or so she says. Abby has brown hair, green eyes, and the perfect little nose. Everyone says that together we should be models. But that makes me wonder if we aren't pretty when we're not together.
Now, on to the Marauders. Sirius is, of course, the current Hogwarts heartthrob. With his collar length black hair, dark eyes, and perfect facial features, no one could resist his charm. Except us 5, of course. James had a fan club just the same as Sirius, though not as large. He has deep hazel eyes, jet black hair that is always untidy, and a sort of lopsided grin that would make your knees melt. Next was Remus. He was a mystery to Hogwarts, but that just added to his popularity. Most of the female population had him labeled "extremely sexy." In fact one of his ex girlfriends had once told me, and I quote,
'"Lily, I know my boyfriend is extremely sexy, and I know it must be very hard to keep your hands off him during prefect patrols. But remember that he's taken, or something drastic WILL happen. Toddles!"
Sara Fannan, Hufflepuff
But in all seriousness, Remus is adorable. Sandy brown hair, grayish blue eyes, and a mysterious aura. But Remus is not mystery to me, as I know his secret. So you know now, I have NEVER been drawn to Remus romantically.
I don't have much to say about Peter. He's fat, blonde, and has watery blue eyes. Oh, and he's short. Personally I like tall guys, it makes me feel protected. Tall guys like Po- nope, not going to even finish that sentence. Stupid mind!
Okay,
sorry if that sucked really bad ya'll, this is my first fanfic and I
find it really hard to put all my ideas into words. Hee Hee. It'll
get longer and better, I promise. Next chappie in a couple of
days!
Loves ya.