Disclaimer: Everything you recognize – names, places, concepts – comes from the remarkable brain of J.K. Rowling. I've made up a few things to fill in the gaps, but the world belongs to her.
Notes: Fear not, I am still working on Harry Potter and the Order of Merlin. I am actually writing both stories simultaneously – there's a whole continuity I want to develop. I was originally planning to do three at once, the third being set in the future as Victoire makes her first trip to Hogwarts, but figured that might be a bit much. Maybe once these two are a little more established.
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CHAPTER ONE – FIRST MEETINGS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Lily Evans was not what one would call a normal girl. Even a casual glance could tell you that much. Her father's hair was brown with hints of grey, her mother's blonde with the same, and her older sister Petunia even blonder. Lily's hair was a deep, auburn red, and thick and lush. She was not by any means a ginger, and her hair stood out all the more as a result. In addition, her almond-shaped eyes were a vibrant, piercing green – another feature she shared with none of her living relatives.
In personality, Lily stood out as well. She was outgoing and cheerful, with a sense of adventure that often made her parents (and her sister) nervous, she was never afraid to say what she thought and never backed down from a challenge. People were drawn to Lily; despite all these character traits that may well have made her brash and unpleasant, she was one of the kindest people you'd ever meet.
Oh, and she was a witch. This last bit was perhaps the least normal thing about Lily, as well as the part she was most proud of. She'd known for a while, of course; her friend Severus – a wizard himself – had told her over a year ago, and had been filling her head with stories of the magical school called Hogwarts where they were both apparently destined to attend. Only a few weeks ago, however, it had all been made real in the most spectacular way imaginable. A letter had arrived for her, written on thick old-fashioned parchment and with no postage or any other markings aside from an oddly specific address.
In the letter was an official notice of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, complete with a supply list and train ticket. Lily had never been more excited in her life…until the doorbell rang.
Calling at the Evans' small suburban home was a woman unlike anyone Lily had ever seen. She wore deep green, velvet flowing robes, a matching pointed hat, square spectacles, and had a stern yet kind expression on her face. She introduced herself to Lily's mother and father as Professor Minerva McGonagall, and explained that she was a witch who had come to offer Lily a position at her school.
Lily's heart had nearly exploded in her chest. Naturally, her parents had thought it was a hoax of some kind, until Professor McGonagall had caused all of their living room furniture to tap-dance around the room. Lily didn't think things could get any better until her parents took her to London to buy her school things, and she got her first look at the magical world she was about to join.
Diagon Alley looked like something out of a storybook, only it was better than anything any artist could ever have imagined. For one thing, it was real. She had so much fun looking at all the different shops, buying her school supplies and choosing a wand, she didn't even notice how much Petunia was being left out.
She felt bad about that afterwards, especially after Severus talked her into reading her sister's mail, even though she knew it was wrong. She should have realized how much it must have hurt Petunia to see all these amazing things happening for Lily and not be able to share in it, but it didn't truly strike her until she'd read Tuney's letter to the headmaster, begging to be admitted to Hogwarts as well. His response very gently explained that such a thing was simply not possible – a person was either magical or they were not. This exclusion tore at Lily's heart and made her feel incredibly guilty, even though Severus told her she shouldn't worry about it.
It turned out to be even worse than she thought. They day they left for London, Lily was so excited she could barely think straight, but she noticed that Petunia was acting very withdrawn. She kept trying to coax her sister out of it, saying she would speak to the headmaster and ask if he could make an exception, but Petunia was having none of it. If Lily had known where that conversation would eventually lead, she would have let it go. Alas, she'd persisted, and for all she knew ended up pushing her sister away forever.
Of course, Lily Evans was not the only one making that fateful first journey to King's Cross that day. Another first-time Hogwarts student, James Potter, arrived with his parents a good half hour before the Evans family. And it is here that our story truly begins.
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It was early; the platform wasn't very crowded and very few people were on the train yet, but James didn't mind. He knew his parents were nearly as excited as he was, and it was actually kind of funny. Anyone would think they were headed to their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as opposed to their only son.
Of course, being the only son had its benefits. They'd loaded his trunk with all sorts of sweets and snacks, they'd bought him the best set of scales in the shop when he'd asked (his mum seemed pleased he'd taken any interest at all in potions, which he'd always stuck his nose up at), and they'd even bought him his very own owl: a gold and brown speckled eagle owl he'd named Tiberius. The best of all of it though had happened that morning at breakfast, when his father had pulled him aside and handed him a small bundle wrapped in cloth.
'What is it?' he'd asked eagerly, but his father had made a shushing gesture and glanced nervously over his shoulder.
'Open it when you get to school, and under no circumstances is your mother to learn you have that.'
Naturally, James had opened the bundle as soon as both his parents were out of sight and discovered to his absolute glee that it contained a shimmering bit of fabric that James had recognized instantly as an invisibility cloak. He couldn't imagine what had possessed his father to buy such a thing for him, but he wasn't going to complain.
James said a quick goodbye to his parents, because he knew if he left it up to them they'd stand there hugging him for half an hour, and hopped onto the train. Without even looking where he was going, he strolled to the first compartment he came to, stowed his trunk and flopped down onto one of the seats. He stretched his arms and placed his hands behind his head, waiting for the train to fill up.
He didn't have long to wait. Not two minutes after he sat down, people began filing past his compartment door. It was a slow trickle at first, and mostly older students, but then more and more who were recognizably first years started to appear, and soon enough one of them entered his compartment asking to join him.
'Sure,' James agreed pleasantly, gesturing to the seat across from him with a grin.
'Thanks,' the boy said, and stowed his trunk before taking a seat. 'Max Decker,' he said.
'James Potter.'
They got to talking, and Max seemed a pleasant enough bloke. He was a bit shorter than James, but a little broader as well and his brown hair was clearly much more manageable. Soon they were joined by three other boys who introduced themselves as Peter Pettigrew, who was short and almost-but-not-quite chubby and seemed a little nervous, Lucas Shields who was tall and thin with very large ears and had a very resounding voice, and Sirius Black, who was about James' height with black hair and as much exuberance as James himself.
The conversation turned, inevitably, to Quiddich. Lucas, it seemed, was a Chudley Cannons fan, which James and Sirius in particular found amusing. Sirius, as it turned out, was a Pride of Portree fan like himself.
'Not really sure why, to be honest,' Sirius admitted with a shrug. 'I've always just liked them.'
'I know why I like them,' James said. 'First match my dad ever took me to was Portree vs. Kenmare. It was bloody brilliant. The Pride won it after about six hours and I was a fan for life. They won the league that year, too.'
Peter favored the Montrose Magpies, which led to groans from everyone else in the compartment.
'What?' Peter demanded indignantly.
'What do you mean "What?"' Sirius said. 'Montrose? Really?' Peter still clearly didn't understand what he'd done wrong.
'Montrose is the devil, mate,' James explained. 'Nobody has any business winning that much.'
'What's wrong with winning? It means they're a good team!' Peter insisted.
'Yeah, but they're boring.' Sirius said. 'You have to know a good half of those wins are bought. The Magpies steal up all the best players; their payroll has to be twice as high as anyone else's.'
'All right, ease up,' Max said, laughing. 'He's free to like the Money Magpies if he likes.' James and the others laughed and Peter huffed.
'What about you, Decker?' James asked. 'What's your team?'
'Appleby,' Max answered simply. Sirius grinned.
'Always liked them too. Least, I cheer for 'em cuz it annoys my brother. He's a Wimbourne fan, see,' he explained with a wicked grin. James laughed, and just as he did the door slid open again and a girl stood there, looking surprised.
'Oh, I'm sorry,' she said quickly. 'I didn't notice there were people in here.' How she could have missed it James could not imagine; they weren't exactly keeping their voices down. But upon closer inspection the girl seemed to be rather upset; she might even have been crying.
'Hey, don't worry about it,' he said as she was turning to leave. 'Might as well join us. Most places are going to be full now anyway and you wouldn't want to end up with a bunch of older kids who won't talk to you.'
The girl murmured her thanks and moved to sit in the empty seat next to the window on the bench across from James. Sirius scooted over a little to make sure she had room. She was pretty, James thought, with her dark red hair that fell down past her shoulders. He wondered what she was upset about, for she had leaned her head against the glass and was looking out of it, clearly not intending to join the conversation.
A disparaging jest about Portree pulled James back into the Quiddich conversation and he and Sirius began enthusiastically defending their team. He put the girl out of his mind for the moment; maybe they could coax her into talking later when the sweets cart came by. He knew the value of taking time to think and so let her be, thinking she would join them when she was ready.
A few more minutes went by and another boy entered the compartment, though James barely noticed him. He sat down across from the girl without a word to anyone else and began talking to her. Apparently they knew each other, but James wasn't really interested in whatever they were talking about. That is, until he heard the boy say to her, 'You'd better be in Slytherin.'
It was perhaps the shock that anyone would want to be in Slytherin as much as anything, but James was instantly pulled out of his own conversation – now centered around the national squads and which of them stood the best chance in the next World Cup, none of them making it past the second round in the previous one – and butted into theirs.
'Slytherin?' he asked, not bothering to hide his incredulity. The other boys appeared to have heard him, for their voices tapered off and they turned to listen. 'Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?' James asked, turning to Sirius.
For the first time since entering the compartment, Sirius was not smiling. 'My whole family have been in Slytherin,' he said. This was, to say the least, rather shocking.
'Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!' James exclaimed, half joking and half serious. Now the other boy grinned again – the same grin as when he'd explained about deliberately rooting against his brother's Quiddich team.
'Maybe I'll break the tradition,' he declared. 'Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?'
For James there was of course no question. He mimed drawing a sword and holding it in the air. '"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!"' he proclaimed overdramatically, and then added with great pride, 'Like my dad.' Sirius grinned wider, and the other boys chuckled as well. The girl looked mildly amused – her lips quivered as though she might smile, anyway – but the Slytherin boy made a sort of disparaging snort. James turned on him, slightly annoyed. 'Got a problem with that?' he asked haughtily.
'No,' the boy answered, and James for the first time got a good look at him. He was very thin and sallow, and his very greasy hair fell in untidy curtains in front of his face. He was sneering, clearly not meaning what he'd just said. As if to make that point clear, he added, 'If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –' he trailed off, leaving the implication hanging. James was more than a little annoyed now and was about to throw something back at the pale and greasy boy when Sirius beat him to it.
'Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?' he quipped. James burst out laughing. It was even better than what he'd been about to say. Before the pale boy could respond, the girl sat up abruptly and looked back and forth between James and Sirius. She was rather flushed and clearly was not impressed by either of them.
'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment,' she said loftily. If he'd heard her saying it without looking at her he would have imagined her nose sticking straight in the air from her tone.
'Ooooooo,' the other three boys jeered, and James laughed again.
'Yes, come along, Severus,' Sirius mocked, his falsetto making the girl sound like some of James's mother's stuffy old friends.
'Yes, yes,' James added, trying to make his own falsetto as lofty as he could. 'We needn't put up with this riffraff.' The girl flushed even deeper and as the two of them made to leave James stuck his foot out to trip the greasy-haired boy, who noticed at the last second and stepped over it.
'See ya, Snivellus!' Max called after them, and the door slammed shut. James was howling with laughter.
'Snivellus! That's brilliant!' he cried in mirth. 'I'm going to have to remember that one!'
'It's his parents' fault, really,' Max said. 'I mean honestly, what were they thinking naming him Severus?'
'Could be worse, I suppose,' Sirius put in. 'You should hear some of the names people in my family come up with.'
'Sirius doesn't seem so bad,' Peter said.
'Well it's not, of course,' Sirius waved indifferently. 'It's a brilliant name. I'm talking some of the weirder ones. Most everyone in my family is named for a star or a constellation. A lot of them are all right, but some…well, some are just bloody stupid. And my mum – my mum's name's Walburga.'
James cocked an eyebrow, and from the looks of the other boys' faces, he wasn't the only one confused.
'That's not a constellation, is it?' Lucas asked.
'No, it's not. She's named after Walpurgis Night or some such rubbish. But really now. Walburga? It's no wonder she's a bitter old hag; kids at school must have never let up on her for that one.'
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The rest of the train ride passed quickly for Lily and Severus. They had found another compartment half-filled with some slightly older students who hadn't seemed to mind two first years joining them. They talked excitedly of the things they would see at Hogwarts and the things they would do.
Lily couldn't pretend she wasn't disappointed by the behaviour of the boys in the other compartment. At first they had seemed all right, and the boy with the glasses had even seemed nice when he invited her to stay in their compartment. She had seen him glance over at her and pointedly decide to give her space, which she had appreciated. But then they'd had to go and act like complete prats, making fun of Severus for no reason and then her as well.
The worst of it was, the boy had said he wanted to be in Gryffindor. From all she'd read, Gryffindor had looked like the best house, and the one she wanted to be in no matter what Severus said. But that boy had behaved just as Severus claimed all Gryffindors did: arrogantly and immaturely. She sincerely hoped he was an exception and not the rule, because regardless of what Severus said about it, she hadn't liked the things she'd read about Slytherin house at all.
Oh, well. Perhaps Ravenclaw would be okay.
'You should get into your school robes,' someone said to Lily. It was one of the older students, a girl maybe a couple of years older than herself, with a kind, round face and shoulder-length dark blonde hair.
'Oh, are we nearly there?' Lily asked.
'Just about,' the girl said. 'Should be another ten minutes or so.'
Lily changed and felt her anticipation reach nearly unbearable levels. She was quivering with excitement and her heart was beating as though she'd drank far too much tea. Severus looked excited too, though he looked like he was enjoying her reaction as much as anything. A voice rang out announcing they were about to arrive, and to leave all their luggage behind. Lily immediately began imagining what kinds of magic would be used to transport it all up to the school for them.
As the train slowed to a stop, the round-faced girl and her friends helped Lily and Severus navigate their way through the crowd and off onto the platform. Lily thanked them politely and frowned when Severus didn't do the same. He must have noticed this, because a second later he murmured a small, 'Thanks,' even though the girl and her friends were already walking away.
She didn't have time to dwell on this though, because a booming voice was calling, 'FIRS' YEARS THIS WAY!' over the din and when she turned toward it she gasped and nearly lost her footing. A giant of a man with a wild mane of black hair and a beard to match was standing at the end of the platform, waving a tree-trunk of an arm in a beckoning motion as he called for them. The man quite frankly looked too big to be allowed, but despite his alarming appearance he had a very friendly expression on his face. Lily reminded herself not to judge on appearances and proceeded to drag Severus by the arm over toward the giant.
'Do you think he's safe?' Severus asked.
'Don't be silly, of course he is,' she replied. 'None of the older students are even paying any attention to him, so you know he must work at the school. I can't imagine not noticing someone like that if I weren't used to seeing him.'
Severus calmed down after that and allowed himself to be pulled along. Lily noticed the boys from earlier and swerved to avoid them. She thought the one with glasses might have spotted her, but thankfully he didn't do anything.
The giant – she really had to learn his name – led them down a steep and narrow path. There was a lot of stumbling, but nobody actually fell. As they were rounding a bend, she heard the booming voice call out again, 'There she is, ladies 'n gents: Hogwarts!' He swept his dustbin-lid hand in a grand gesture and Lily's breath caught in her throat. None of Severus's stories, none of the Disney movies or fantasy books she'd read could have ever prepared her for the most magnificent sight she'd ever beheld in her life. Situated over a cliff on the other side of a great black lake, the castle was massive; there were turrets and towers all around, and the lights in the windows seemed to blend seamlessly into the stars in the sky. To complete the image of perfection, the entire thing was reflected in the clear black lake along with a nearly full moon, so it looked like there were two castles – one above and one below.
Lily was so entranced with the sight of the castle that she almost walked straight into the lake. A hand larger than her head reached out to hold her back, and though there was a small amount of sniggering, it seemed most everyone else was spellbound as well and did not notice her mistake.
Regaining her senses, she looked around and noticed a small fleet of boats anchored at the shore. It was obvious what they were going to do even before the announcement of 'Four to a boat!'
Lily climbed into the nearest little boat and Severus crawled in after her. She could tell without looking that he was nervous; he had never learned to swim, after all. They were soon followed by a sickly looking boy with drooping brown hair and – she gritted her teeth – the black-haired boy with glasses after his four other mates filled up the boat next to them.
'Do you have to sit with us?' she asked, perhaps a bit more rudely than she should have.
'Unless you want to swap with one of those other blokes, looks like you're stuck with me,' he said with an infuriating smirk. 'I'm not too crazy about the company either,' he shot a sidelong glance at Severus, who scowled, 'but I'm not gonna make Pettigrew sit over here. Poor bloke's never had a real mate in his life, you can see it from looking at him.'
Lily didn't understand how this boy could be so thoughtful toward one person and so rude towards another at the same time. The boats shot forward with a lurch and Severus nearly fell over. The black-haired boy grinned but when he spoke again it thankfully wasn't another insult.
'Anyway, did I introduce myself?' he asked. 'James Potter.' He thrust his hand forward proudly. Lily was debating whether or not to shake it when she heard Severus mutter something under his breath.
'Potter. Of course.'
James Potter evidently heard it too, for his eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Is there something wrong with my family?' he asked quite coldly. Lily, anxious to avoid another confrontation, put her hand out and said, 'Lily Evans.' Severus's eyes widened and he looked at her with an unreadable expression. Meanwhile James was looking back and forth between her and Severus, possibly deciding between taking her hand or pushing Severus into the lake.
Just as she thought it could not get any more awkward, he took her hand and she sighed mildly in relief.
'Pleased to meet you,' he said amiably enough. He glanced at Severus again but did not ask after his name. She hadn't really been expecting him to. Then he turned to the fourth member of their boat – the sick-looking boy – and greeted him pleasantly, asking his name.
'Er, Remus Lupin,' the boy said, shaking Potter's hand hesitantly. Wanting to appear friendly, Lily offered him her hand as well and flashed him an inviting smile, but he didn't respond beyond briefly shaking her hand and muttering 'Hullo.' He seemed incredibly shy. Though maybe, Lily thought, he was embarrassed about whatever illness he had.
While James Potter tried (with mild success) to engage Remus Lupin in conversation, Severus leaned over and hissed in her ear, 'What was that about?'
'What was what about?' she whispered back.
'Why are you talking to that arrogant git?' he demanded.
'I was just being polite, Sev. You should try it sometimes, maybe.'
'Right, because he was so polite to us back on the train,' Severus sneered.
'No, you're right,' she agreed. 'But he's being all right now, and if anything's going to happen it won't be because I started it.'
Severus opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a great cry of, 'Heads down!' They ducked and the boats carried them under a curtain of ivy overhanging the cliff face and into a dark tunnel. All conversation ceased as they drifted through the blackness until there was a series of crunching noises, and Lily felt her own boat joining the others at what appeared to be an underground harbour with a gravel shore.
They disembarked, and the giant did a quick head count before leading them up a stone staircase. Severus took the opportunity to say what he'd been about to say earlier.
'I'm telling you, Lily, he's not worth the effort. He says his last name's Potter – well, the Potters are one of the oldest, wealthiest wizarding families. He's probably lived his whole life with everything handed to him. No surprise at all he's such an arrogant ponce.'
Lily didn't get a chance to even form a response in her head because they had arrived at a pair of great oaken doors and the giant was banging his hand on them. This was it; she was finally at Hogwarts. She was going to be a witch.
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Here comes the true meaning of the story's title. True, a major theme is going to be about assumptions the characters make, and there will be a lot of jumping to conclusions and preconceived notions and whatnot. But that's not what the title refers to. No, I'm talking about certain aspects of the Marauder era that have pretty much become established convention at this point. Fanon. That is, there is nothing in canon to support these ideas, but they have cropped up in fanfics over and over so many times that people just accept them as if they were canon to begin with.
Each chapter – or near enough – I will attempt to break down some of these ideas, while at the same time not breaking canon. Most often the ideas I use in my story will be things I have assumed all along, and I simply don't see where these more common ideas even come from. Other times I'm just breaking convention for the fun of it. The most important thing to remember though is that I will not go against canon. If you think you spot something that does, please tell me.
ASSUMPTIONS
1. The Marauders all met on the train. I always see this. Yes, we know James and Sirius met there, but we have no indication that they met any of the others before the Sorting.
2. The "group of rowdy boys" in Snape's flashback is the Marauders. Again, people tend to assume this because of Assumption 1 and the presence of James and Sirius. I actually find it unlikely, since while he may not have cared much about Peter, Harry would surely have noticed if Remus had been there. Also…
3. The Marauders didn't meet any other friends. This ties in with both 1 and 2, and it really doesn't make any sense when you think about it. I mean, what are the odds that you will randomly meet the three people you're going to room with for the next seven years and nobody else on your first day. Hence the presence of Max Decker and Lucas Shields.
4. James was a jerk right from the start. We know from his relationship with the other Marauders, as well as his later relationship with Lily, that James is at heart a good person. And really even his jerkish behavior in the flashback was in response to Snape.
5. James or Sirius was the first one to call Snape "Snivellus". Again, I find this unlikely because of the wording of Rowling's narration. It says "a voice" called out, and Harry likely would have noted had it been his father or Sirius.
6. It took Lily a long time to recognize Snape's character flaws. I think she recognized them early on, but was willing to overlook them because he was her friend, and her first link to the wizarding world. Also, by the way she has been described by those who knew her, I see Lily as having a fairly forgiving personality.
That's it for chapter one. Be sure to come back for Round 2. Reviews are always appreciated!