Authors note- this chapter is dedicated to Mooncheese for being one of my bestest best friends in the entire world and Tonks42 for being my first reviewer - thanks!

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About fifty miles away from the suburban cul-de-sac in which Lily was suffering her own personalised version of hell, another Hogwarts student was also wishing he was somewhere else. In a large, grimy Victorian terrace in southwest London, Sirius Black had finally had enough.

"YOU MUGGLE LOVING FILTH!" A thin, dark haired woman in an old fashioned dress was screaming bloody murder from the top of the stairs and firing a string of jinxes at her son, pausing only to hurl what she considered offensive insults at him.

"SCOURGE TO OUR ANCESTORS! FILTH! BLOOD-TRAITOR! DONT EXPECT TO BE SPARED WHEN THE PURE BLOODS REVOLT, YOU WILL GO DOWN! DOWN WITH THE REST OF YOUR FILTHY MUDBLOOD FRIENDS!"

Considering the array of hexes and sharp objects being used as missiles by his deranged mother, the young Mr Black seemed amazingly unperturbed as he pulled together his array of battered suitcases (all the half-way decent luggage in the house was emblazoned with the noble Black family crest, and hence unsuitable for the Muggle-spawned blood traitor). Dragging what, he mused sadly as he dodged a particularly lethal-looking letter opener, were his entire worldly possessions, he kicked open the front door and turned to face his mother

"Goodbye Mummy-dear!" He sneered, his voice seething with undisguised hatred, "Do write now and then, you know how desolate I will be without your constant correspondence…"

With that he threw his possessions out onto the street, and slammed the front door, blocking out the blood-curdling shrieks of the creature to whom he felt nothing but hatred and revulsion for; the person that, if it weren't for the unfortunate connection of bloodline between them, he would have wiped from his life years beforehand. Sitting on top of a particularly large case that contained all his schoolbooks, he reached inside his blazer coat and pulled out a small, square mirror. Concentrating on its gleaming surface, he spoke into it.

"Prongs? You there?" There was no response. He tried again, aware of the fact that had any muggles chosen that moment to walk past he would have looked extremely strange indeed, sat as he was amongst his assortment of possessions on the street talking to inanimate objects. He tried again, a little louder

"James!" Abandoning all attempts at dignity, he bellowed into the mirror:

"JAMES POTTER YOU MESSY-HAIRED TWAT LISTEN TO THE VOICE IN YOUR MIRROR AND ANSWER ME!" There was a scuffling sound that appeared to come out of the mirror itself, and then the messy dark hair and bespectacled face of James Potter himself appeared, looking slightly bemused.

"Wassup?" he croaked blearily. "And, for your information, my hair is not messy. It is merely 'artistically ruffled'!" He appeared to have just woken up, a slightly odd scenario considering the time of day, but Sirius knew his friends peculiar habits too well to bother questioning him.

"James – I've done it!" James looked blankly at him.

"You what?" It was all Sirius could do to stop himself from laughing- James' face appeared glazed and confused which looked all the more comical when combined with his messy hair and a large, red crease line on the side of his cheek where his pillow had been.

"I've done it! I told the old witch where to get off!" His friends' expression remained vacant. Sirius sighed; frustrated.

"I've left home!"

A look of dawning comprehension passed over the other boys face – immediately James was awake and staring into the mirror intently, mouth open in shock.

"You moved out? Really? Bloody hell!"

"I know!"

"What did your mum say?" Sirius grimaced.

"Oh you know…the usual crap. But mate, I've got a problem. I've got nowhere to stay. I don't suppose I could kind of… crash at your place for a while?" James' boyish face split into a wide grin.

"Of course you can! Mum'll be delighted! She's been going on about poor Sirius all summer - I expect she would have come down and dragged you up here herself if this hadn't happened." Sirius smiled in relief, thinking, not for the first time in his life, how grateful he was for people like the Potters, with whom he had stayed on numerous occasions since starting Hogwarts as an excuse to escape the hellhole he had been forced to call home. James, who now seemed far more awake, was scribbling intently on a piece of old parchment with a broken quill.

"Wha…?" Sirius frowned in confusion. James looked back into the mirror.

"Ok Padfoot mate, I've just owled the Ministry - if you get down there now they'll provide a floo link with mine! I guess I'll see you in a bit then!" Sirius grinned happily and watched as the mirror clouded and James disappeared from view. Picking up his possessions, he began to drag them the half mile that separated the miserable House of Black from the entrance to the Ministry and what promised to be the best summer Sirius Black had ever had.

Sirius' arrival at the Potters large Gloucestershire farmhouse caused a great deal of excitement. Mrs. Potter (who was exceptionally fond of Sirius) immediately put all her efforts into cooking a casserole large enough to feed the whole of the Hogwarts student body, never mind two teenage boys. Mr. Potter had seized his wand and gone off to do a bit off rearranging upstairs in order to make the spacious spare bedroom all the more comfortable. James, who despite his sixteen years still maintained many characteristics of an eight year old, was merely dashing excitedly round the house gathering quaffles, beater bats and broomsticks and owling a good number of Hogwarts students for a celebratory Quidditch match.

After the initial excitement, July passed in a haze for the two boys, who frequently met with the remaining two marauders for Quidditch and in order to plan a large array of tricks and jokes on unwitting fellow students and professors. The days were long and hot- the heat wave of 1976 was greatly appreciated, as it left ample opportunity to practise their favourite sport and lounge around in the Potter's considerable grounds. Mrs Potter did not seem to object to the other boys constant presence in the slightest- on the contrary she prepared ridiculously large and delicious snacks for them all and practically waited on them, providing butterbeer, pumpkin juice and all array of sweets whenever they were required. James- who often found that the summers on his own were exceedingly lonely- was grateful for the company of his best friend, although he would never admit it. Sirius- for whom the previous school holidays had been anticipated with about as much enthusiasm one associates with visits to the dentist- was happier than he could ever remember. Even the outside threat of the ever-growing army of Death Eaters could not spoil the mood that surrounded Godric House in that long, peaceful July.

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After being forced against her every will to spend a large part of July and early August in the company of Petunia and the revoltingly unsavoury Vernon, Lily could not remember ever being more grateful for the arrival of Alice's mid-holiday letter, which arrived clutched in the beak of Alice's barn owl, Floyd. The owl was named after a muggle band that Alice had recently developed an obsession with after borrowing some of Lily's records for a muggle studies class. (A/n: Pink Floyd baby rock on!)

Lils,

I know you're probably desperate to escape your sister so I thought I'd invite you to stay at mine through August. Zis is coming too; she says she wants to visit her cousin- she is pregnant or something like that. Anyway, see you soon; write back if you wanna come and I'll pick you up at 3.30 on Saturday. We're having a party!

Hope Petunia hasn't driven you insane!

Alice x x x x

Lily grinned and scribbled Love to come see you soon on the back of the parchment as Floyd waited patiently to return home for his dinner.

The next week, as far as Lily was concerned, couldn't go fast enough. The thought of finally escaping her nightmare of a home (albeit with very nice parents) was the most exciting thought she'd had all summer. Alice's house was always a good place to stay over the summer- not least because her parents threw some of the most famous and exclusive parties in the wizarding world. Alice's father, Algernon Fletcher, was the deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which meant he knew pretty much everyone who worked at the ministry and hence could summon up some pretty fantastic guests. The guest lists for last years Christmas party had been rumoured to include vampires, hags, several members of the highly successful Appleby Arrows team of 75 and even the Minister for Magic himself. Lily knew Alice had been trying for years to get her dad to hire Four Broken Spells- a four part progressive rock band whose appearance at the party would be enough to seal its reputation as THE place to be seen. So far she had had no luck, but Lily turned up every year just to be sure.

Saturday seemed to drag by- Lily spent most of the morning flopping around on the sofa watching re-runs of The Clangers and trying in vain to convince herself that her homemade fan was actually cooling her rather than just blowing the hot, humid air around a bit more.

One o clock- surely it had to be later than that? She was in the house on her own- Petunia had gone shopping for her first car with their parents- her eighteenth birthday present. Bored, Lily spent the next half hour re-checking (for about the hundredth time) that she had everything she needed. For once she was actually sad that the OWLs meant no homework for the holidays- at least it would have given her something to do.

Two thirty. The familiar click of the front door alerted her of the fact her parents were home. Petunia crowed happily about the brand new Austin 1100 parked in the driveway before throwing Lily a filthy look and disappearing off up to her room to phone Tina and brag some more. Charming.

Alice's eventual arrival at 4 o'clock that afternoon, seated in one of the best cars the Ministry owned (it paid to have influence) was as welcome to Lily as an oasis in a desert. Much as she adored her parents, 5 weeks spent outside the wizarding world unable to perform any kind of magic or even chat with her best friends was unbearable. Grabbing her suitcase, she kissed her parents quickly goodbye (she would see them before she returned to Hogwarts to collect the rest of her school books) and jumped into the impressive looking black car.

Alice grinned at her from the back seat.

"Hey," she said. "You know I'd get up and hug you but I am just too damn comfortable." Lily grinned back. The cab was indeed very luxurious- the seats were suede and there was a small gap in the back of the seats which politely inquired as to what refreshments you would like for the trip. Alice- who much to Lily's envy still caught up with the entire goings on in the wizard world during the holidays- spent the next 45 minutes updating Lily with all things gossip. Who was dating who, who dumped whom, parties, drunken flings and petty fallouts were all covered. Lily noticed that the topic of Voldemort was casually avoided- as if failing to mention it would cover the growing numbers of disappearances and the whispers about unforgivable curses. Gossip, Lily mused, was one of the many advantages of being born into a wizarding family. Lily was not ashamed of her roots ion the least, but she often wished that she could still feel a part of her world during the times she was outside of school.

The journey took surprisingly little time- they had not made the journey entirely by car as Lily had expected but had instead flooed to Alice's house via the ministry of magic. Being a muggle-born, Lily was not particularly fond of the floo network but she did at least appreciate that it was faster and safer than any muggle form of transportation, and it meant that by the time they arrived at Alice's large, spacious Norfolk home, the party preparations for the evening were still well under way and there was plenty going on. The girls offer to help was declined- the fact that they were not old enough to be allowed to perform magic outside of school detracted from their usefulness- and they were told to: "Just go and get ready" by Alice's mother; an invitation that they willingly accepted.

The party started at eight thirty that evening- as several hundred guests had began to arrive at the Fletchers. The party was to be held in a large field on the fens at the back of the family home. By nine, Lily had already chatted to the Minister, caught up with several of her friends who had left Hogwarts the previous year and flirted shamelessly with Christopher Ragwick- a beater for the Appleby Arrows with a body to prove it. Lily hoped her flirting had been subtle and sophisticated yet obvious, and yet she had the sneaking suspicion that it had been more groupie and desperate. Picking up a glass of rose mead from a passing waiter Lily wound in and out of the crowd, searching out the rest of her friends.

She found them almost immediately. Unfortunately- and much to her immense distaste- they were in the company of James Potter and Sirius Black. The Potters made an appearance most years at the Fletchers parties- something Alice said couldn't be avoided due to James' father's influence at the ministry. Sirius, she saw disgustedly, was paying very close attention to Hepzibah's considerable cleavage; he obviously wasn't aware that the nods and uhuhs emitting from him at regular intervals did not disguise his complete lack of attention to what Hepzibah was actually saying.

Lily wandered over, sighing irritably as her arrival sparked the imminent hair fluffing on the part of Potter. He grinned at her in what he seemed to think was an endearing way.

"Hey Lily." He looked her up and down. "I must say you are looking lovely tonight…"

"Hey James!" she simpered. "I see you're going for the usual stick-up-your-arse look tonight!" Sirius- momentarily distracted from Hepzibah's breasts- smirked at Lily.

"Ah my dear- so cruel- must you break the poor boys heart so frequently?" Lily looked daggers at him. He turned away, still smirking. James seemed unperturbed by Lily's flat refusal of his immense charm, merely grinning at her. Lily found this highly unnerving.

"Stop STARING at me Potter!"

"You won't be saying that on our wedding day," he quipped.

"No, you're right." James looked surprised at this apparent turn of events. "I'll be a bit preoccupied, what with Hell freezing over and all that."

The rest of the group had started to look edgy- this was how Lily and James famous one-sided screaming matches (James didn't often get much screaming done) usually began.

"You know you love me," James said, happily. Lily did not look pleased at this apparent revelation

"No, Potter," she said, scathingly "What I actually know is that you are, in fact, selfish, arrogant, and a bully. I am about as likely to love you as I am to pole dance with hags." James smiled, running his tongue over his teeth with the sort of endearing, boyish charm that sent many of Lily's fellow students into raptures of swooning, often followed by periods of doodling Mrs J Potter across old bits of parchment.

"Now THAT," he said, with great relish "is something I'd like to see."

Lily growled, frustrated.

"You know, Lily," James quipped, "All that anger… That could be put to very good use in b.." Lily cut in angrily.

"If, Potter, you are inferring that I would ever, EVER sleep with you, you are sadly mistaken." Her eyes flashed angrily. "You are, without a doubt, one of the most unpleasant people I have ever met. Lily was on full rant mode at this point, but this didn't stop her using the most cutting remarks she could think up in the short pauses she kept having to make in order to breath. "Anyway," she ranted, "I am in no doubt that your dick is infinitely smaller than your ego!" James looked highly affronted at the suggestion, but Lily hadn't finished. "With your utter lack of morals and decorum, I'm surprised they didn't put you in Slytherin! You belong there!"

This, more than any other remark, hit a nerve, and James responded angrily:

"I am a hundred times better than those scum!"

"No, Potter." Lily had mustered every bit of scorn she could feel, her voice dripped with undisguised disdain. "You are just as arrogant as them, just as pathetic, and bullying. You pick on people who are less popular than you, just so that people will laugh at them and admire you. Well I don't! Ok?"

James, by this point, was severely hacked off. Lily's casual dismissals of him were usually handled stoically enough. Every so often, however the constant streams of insults got too much for him, and this particular argument had hit a nerve. His jaw tightened, and his usually laughing eyes hardened. Muttering something incomprehensible under his breath, he turned away from Lily's scornful glare and walked off towards the bar and the temptation of incredibly strong alcohol. Sirius, who had finally begun to take in a larger portion of his surrounding than previously, stood up straight and looked seriously at Lily.

"There's no need to take it so far, you know," he said shortly, and, turning away from the gaggle of Griffindor girls, followed his best friends retreating back.

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Okayyy…. I am not the begging type…. But PLEASSEEE PLEASE review…. It's just an ikkle button click… it will take like, THIRTY SECONDS out of your lives! PLEASE! Looks pointedly at small review button and does puppy dog eyes