THREE:
ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR- UNLESS YOU'RE SIRIUS BLACK
"Who in the world would be dumb enough to make YOU head boy?"
"Oh, shut it, you," James said good-naturedly to his best friend, Sirius. The two of them were walking down Diagon Alley with their two other friends Remus and Peter. It was just 9:30 in the morning, but already the Alley was brimming with life. Students called out to each other as they shopped for school supplies, and the crowd in front of the broom store was so tightly packed that even the Marauders dared not try to push their way through. Above the street the sun shone brightly, cutting its way sharply through the clear blue sky.
"Oy, no," Sirius groaned a moment later as they passed Flourish and Blots, "Not today!"
"What?" Peter asked dumbly, but the others had already caught on.
"Honestly, Sirius, you'd think you'd give the girls a bit more credit," Remus scolded, though he didn't move when Sirius hid behind him. "Maggie's not going to become an ax murderer and chop your head off just because you dumped her."
"You don't understand women," Sirius moaned, though he really didn't understand them, either. "She's probably in there plotting to.to."
"Oh, come on," James said, tugging Sirius by the arm. "We've known them for seven years, they're not going to turn on you now, Sirius. And I want to talk to Lily, I haven't seen her since July."
Peter coughed loudly, a cough that sounded oddly like "Jameslikeslily." James glared at Peter and pulled a miserable Sirius into the shop, Remus and Peter following.
"Hey, girls," James said loudly as they reached the group of female soon-to-be-seventh-years studying some Witchy Woman magazines.
"Hey," Lily answered for the group as they turned to greet their old friends. "How's everyone's summer been?"
"Dreadful," Sirius moaned. "I've been living in fear of being mur-" Remus elbowed him sharply in the stomach, and Sirius fell silent. Julia, Lily, and Elisabeth giggled, but Maggie just looked on soberly.
"So what's new?" Julia asked cheerfully.
"James is head boy!" Remus announced, looking partly proud for his friend, though also faintly jealous.
"That's great! Lily's head girl!" Elisabeth said enthusiastically. She wasn't in the least bit jealous of Lily, there was no way Elisabeth would want to do all of that extra school work in her last year of Hogwarts. This year was gonna be like a huge party.
"Really, Lil? Cool," James said, grinning at his friend of ten years.
"I can't believe you made it, with all the mischief you four cause," Julia said to James, teasing. He grinned at her and replied, "Well, actually, the pranks kind of had something to do with me being chosen."
"James," Lily said warningly, though she was laughing. She knew he hadn't really done anything stupid to get himself chosen as head boy- he was just that good at his school work.
James grinned back at Lily as she laughed, green eyes dancing even in the dim light of the bookstore. Ever since he was a little boy James had marveled at Lily's eyes and the way the sparkled and shone in the light.
"It's kind of stuffy in here," Maggie said, glancing at Sirius as though it were his fault the room was uncomfortable. "Let's head over to the Leaky Cauldron and get something to drink."
"Sounds good, I'll treat," Remus volunteered. Remus's family was wealthy, as was James's, and he often treated the group to food or drinks, and sometimes a night at the movies in muggle London.
That was always an interesting event. Sirius, who could loose his mind sometimes in the crowd of muggles, would exclaim loudly over the electricity and the cars. Just last June the group of them had nearly had to tape his mouth shut to keep him from getting them all questioned by a confused muggle policeman.
As the eight of them walked under the now very hot sun towards the Leaky Cauldron they chatted animatedly about how they'd spent the last part of their summer. Or, the part since they'd last seen each other.
"Mum and Dad took us to France," Julia exclaimed, eyes bright at the memory. "We heard some Beauxbatons students discussing their school- we know French, you know, Mum's family's from Lyon-"
"Petunia dragged us out to Godric's Hollow to meet her boyfriend Vernon Dursly. He's an ugly brute if I've ever seen one," Lily was telling James, who grinned.
"More than Snape?"
"Oy, that's a tough one-"
"I got nearly full marks on my O.W.L.s," Remus told Elisabeth, who was listening intently. "But I messed up on Whittle's potion test, the damn hog-"
"Yeah, so did I," Elisabeth commented, brushing a lock of pure blond hair out of her face. "I couldn't remember if it was one or two teaspoons- "
And the group chattered merrily away as they entered the Leaky Cauldron, James holding the door open to let the ladies- and Sirius- through.
"What'll it be?" asked the bartender as the troupe slid into counter seats.
"Butter beer!" cried out Elisabeth, Remus, Maggie, and Julia.
"Pumpkin fizz!" requested Lily, James, and Peter.
"A pint of mulled mead," Sirius demanded. The bartender chuckled, twisting his thin black mustache. He'd seen Sirius in here very often this summer, and they always had this very same conversation.
"Not till you're older, lad," the bartender smirked at Sirius, who pouted fakely and said, "Oh fine, I'll take a butter beer."
The lanky bartender stepped a few steps away to begin pouring drinks, spilling a bit down his bright red vest.
Meanwhile Maggie and Lily were whispering animatedly to each other at their end of the counter, gesturing with their hands and throwing smirking glances at Sirius. Maggie wasn't exactly an ax-murderer, but she knew how to get back at people when they made her angry. And she and Lily were cooking up just the thing.
"Here ya go, kids," the bartender said, sliding glasses down the counter at each person. "Three sickels each."
Remus pulled a fistful of coins from his pocket and counted them out, pushing them across the shiny countertop at the bartender. He held a hand just below the counter and pushed the money into his hand. With a wink at the group he dissappeared behind a pair of swinging doors.
"Mmm, thanks Remus," Julia said a moment later, taking a breath from gulping her butter beer. Nearly half the glass was gone already.
"Thanks, Remy," Sirius squeaked. Julia rolled her eyes at Sirius and said cheerfully, "Shutup."
A very pleasant rest of the morning was spent sipping foaming and fizzing drinks in the cool dimness of the Leaky Cauldron. The teens watched the witches and wizards come and go, buying drinks or hurrying straight back to tap on the bricks to the Alley.
"Look at that one," Peter muttered to Maggie as a tiny man with green skin hobbled in from the Alley.
"What do you s'pose he is?" James said in a low voice, joining the conversation.
"Who knows?" Maggie said a bit more forcefully and meanly than she'd meant to. Being near Sirius was really making her temper flare. Lily, who'd been listening to her friends talk, noticed the tone in Maggie's voice and glanced up sharply. In a moment Lily had decided what to do.
Clearing her throat Lily stood up and said, "Well, I hate to leave you all like this, but I think we girls had something else to do before we go out wandering today. Official girl business," she said pointedly, looking at Julia and Elisabeth with eyes pleading for them to stay quiet. "Catch up with you later?"
"Sure," James answered, giving a wave as the girls got up.
"How about at the broom store?" Julia suggested as a meeting place.
"Nah, too crowded," James said.
"In front of Olivanders?" Sirius put in.
"Sounds good," Elisabeth agreed for the girls. "See you."
"Bye!" the boys chimed together, and Elisabeth, Julia, Lily and Maggie stepped out of the cool pub into the bright sunshine that beat down from the sky above.
"Where're we going?" Julia asked curiously and quietly, glancing behind her to make sure that the boys hadn't followed for fun.
"Shh, just wait a second," Maggie hushed her sister. She knew where they were going, she and Lily had discussed this earlier this morning.
Lily pulled her wand out of her new black robes, tapping the bricks in front of her. In a moment Diagon Alley was spread before them, a riot of colours and noises.
Slipping onto the street, the girls hurried quickly towards an old joke shop just at the end of the block; an old, brick building that most people missed. They had to weave around quite a few people to get there, and many "Sorry"s were issued as they crashed into strangers.
"What's this all about?" Elisabeth asked as the girls swung into the store, pushing their hair back and staring into the darkness, trying to get the greenish tinge out of their eyes brought there by the sunlight.
"Oh, just a bit of fun," Lily said non-chalantly, taking a few steps in and picking up a fake crystal ball, examining it.
"Fun against Sirius," Maggie added in an undertone, and Elisabeth and Julia instantly understood. Grinning, they hurried deeper into the shop.
"Got anything particular in mind?" Julia asked, eyeing a gruesome set of fizzing blood capsules with interest.
"Let's just give these guidelines; anything embarrassing or horrifying will do," Maggie said with an evil glint in her eye.
The girls circled the shop almost seven times, carefully picking out useful looking objects and pointing at less-likely looking ones, murmuring quietly so as not to disturb the few other customers in the store.
It was on the seventh round, nearly a half an hour after they'd entered the shop, that Elisabeth found a pile of gag clothes that they'd missed before.
"Hey," she summoned her friends, holding up a frilly pink tutu and grinning. They looked at each other and grinned, rushing over to help Elisabeth dig up some more girly clothes.
"Omigod, look at these robes!" Julia exclaimed, holding out turqoise robes with horribly ugly orange piping. The girls threw their heads back and laughed; they could just see Sirius in the horrid thing.
"Nice shoes, eh?" Lily asked, holding up glittering light pink high- heels.
"Yeah, they'd look great on James," Maggie laughed. Lily blushed a bit, she knew the comment was aimed at her, to get a reaction. But still, thinking about him made her blush just a bit. They giggled again, sifting through the outfits and surfacing with the most outrageous clothing they'd ever seen in their life.
"I can't pick just one, theres so many!" Maggie said, grinning. "And I've only got so much money!"
"We'll all pool our money," Elisabeth said. "This is just too good a chance to miss."
"Yeah, and who says we only have to play a trick on Sirius?" Lily asked mischievously.
The group grew silent, smiles and shining eyes showing their agreement on the great idea they were concocting.
"Let's do it."
As they were piling the clothes up on the counter, Elisabeth turned to the others and said, "You don't think it's a bit mean, do you?"
"Hey, all's fair in love and war," Lily said cheerfully.
"Unless you're Sirius Black," Maggie said evily. "Or in association with him. Time for some pay back, girls!"
They were still laughing as they carried their heavy shopping bags out the door.
A/n: Ahh, another chapter done. Now lets see if I can get some reviews on this thing!! I know this was a bit shorter than the last one, so im sorry, but I have a project im working on for english and kinda short on time. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! More lovey dovey flirtiness in the next one, I got a little side tracked this chapter! Review Review and Ill love you lots, and if you don't.. I guess ill love you anyway. Maybe. :) Luv, Cassi~
"Who in the world would be dumb enough to make YOU head boy?"
"Oh, shut it, you," James said good-naturedly to his best friend, Sirius. The two of them were walking down Diagon Alley with their two other friends Remus and Peter. It was just 9:30 in the morning, but already the Alley was brimming with life. Students called out to each other as they shopped for school supplies, and the crowd in front of the broom store was so tightly packed that even the Marauders dared not try to push their way through. Above the street the sun shone brightly, cutting its way sharply through the clear blue sky.
"Oy, no," Sirius groaned a moment later as they passed Flourish and Blots, "Not today!"
"What?" Peter asked dumbly, but the others had already caught on.
"Honestly, Sirius, you'd think you'd give the girls a bit more credit," Remus scolded, though he didn't move when Sirius hid behind him. "Maggie's not going to become an ax murderer and chop your head off just because you dumped her."
"You don't understand women," Sirius moaned, though he really didn't understand them, either. "She's probably in there plotting to.to."
"Oh, come on," James said, tugging Sirius by the arm. "We've known them for seven years, they're not going to turn on you now, Sirius. And I want to talk to Lily, I haven't seen her since July."
Peter coughed loudly, a cough that sounded oddly like "Jameslikeslily." James glared at Peter and pulled a miserable Sirius into the shop, Remus and Peter following.
"Hey, girls," James said loudly as they reached the group of female soon-to-be-seventh-years studying some Witchy Woman magazines.
"Hey," Lily answered for the group as they turned to greet their old friends. "How's everyone's summer been?"
"Dreadful," Sirius moaned. "I've been living in fear of being mur-" Remus elbowed him sharply in the stomach, and Sirius fell silent. Julia, Lily, and Elisabeth giggled, but Maggie just looked on soberly.
"So what's new?" Julia asked cheerfully.
"James is head boy!" Remus announced, looking partly proud for his friend, though also faintly jealous.
"That's great! Lily's head girl!" Elisabeth said enthusiastically. She wasn't in the least bit jealous of Lily, there was no way Elisabeth would want to do all of that extra school work in her last year of Hogwarts. This year was gonna be like a huge party.
"Really, Lil? Cool," James said, grinning at his friend of ten years.
"I can't believe you made it, with all the mischief you four cause," Julia said to James, teasing. He grinned at her and replied, "Well, actually, the pranks kind of had something to do with me being chosen."
"James," Lily said warningly, though she was laughing. She knew he hadn't really done anything stupid to get himself chosen as head boy- he was just that good at his school work.
James grinned back at Lily as she laughed, green eyes dancing even in the dim light of the bookstore. Ever since he was a little boy James had marveled at Lily's eyes and the way the sparkled and shone in the light.
"It's kind of stuffy in here," Maggie said, glancing at Sirius as though it were his fault the room was uncomfortable. "Let's head over to the Leaky Cauldron and get something to drink."
"Sounds good, I'll treat," Remus volunteered. Remus's family was wealthy, as was James's, and he often treated the group to food or drinks, and sometimes a night at the movies in muggle London.
That was always an interesting event. Sirius, who could loose his mind sometimes in the crowd of muggles, would exclaim loudly over the electricity and the cars. Just last June the group of them had nearly had to tape his mouth shut to keep him from getting them all questioned by a confused muggle policeman.
As the eight of them walked under the now very hot sun towards the Leaky Cauldron they chatted animatedly about how they'd spent the last part of their summer. Or, the part since they'd last seen each other.
"Mum and Dad took us to France," Julia exclaimed, eyes bright at the memory. "We heard some Beauxbatons students discussing their school- we know French, you know, Mum's family's from Lyon-"
"Petunia dragged us out to Godric's Hollow to meet her boyfriend Vernon Dursly. He's an ugly brute if I've ever seen one," Lily was telling James, who grinned.
"More than Snape?"
"Oy, that's a tough one-"
"I got nearly full marks on my O.W.L.s," Remus told Elisabeth, who was listening intently. "But I messed up on Whittle's potion test, the damn hog-"
"Yeah, so did I," Elisabeth commented, brushing a lock of pure blond hair out of her face. "I couldn't remember if it was one or two teaspoons- "
And the group chattered merrily away as they entered the Leaky Cauldron, James holding the door open to let the ladies- and Sirius- through.
"What'll it be?" asked the bartender as the troupe slid into counter seats.
"Butter beer!" cried out Elisabeth, Remus, Maggie, and Julia.
"Pumpkin fizz!" requested Lily, James, and Peter.
"A pint of mulled mead," Sirius demanded. The bartender chuckled, twisting his thin black mustache. He'd seen Sirius in here very often this summer, and they always had this very same conversation.
"Not till you're older, lad," the bartender smirked at Sirius, who pouted fakely and said, "Oh fine, I'll take a butter beer."
The lanky bartender stepped a few steps away to begin pouring drinks, spilling a bit down his bright red vest.
Meanwhile Maggie and Lily were whispering animatedly to each other at their end of the counter, gesturing with their hands and throwing smirking glances at Sirius. Maggie wasn't exactly an ax-murderer, but she knew how to get back at people when they made her angry. And she and Lily were cooking up just the thing.
"Here ya go, kids," the bartender said, sliding glasses down the counter at each person. "Three sickels each."
Remus pulled a fistful of coins from his pocket and counted them out, pushing them across the shiny countertop at the bartender. He held a hand just below the counter and pushed the money into his hand. With a wink at the group he dissappeared behind a pair of swinging doors.
"Mmm, thanks Remus," Julia said a moment later, taking a breath from gulping her butter beer. Nearly half the glass was gone already.
"Thanks, Remy," Sirius squeaked. Julia rolled her eyes at Sirius and said cheerfully, "Shutup."
A very pleasant rest of the morning was spent sipping foaming and fizzing drinks in the cool dimness of the Leaky Cauldron. The teens watched the witches and wizards come and go, buying drinks or hurrying straight back to tap on the bricks to the Alley.
"Look at that one," Peter muttered to Maggie as a tiny man with green skin hobbled in from the Alley.
"What do you s'pose he is?" James said in a low voice, joining the conversation.
"Who knows?" Maggie said a bit more forcefully and meanly than she'd meant to. Being near Sirius was really making her temper flare. Lily, who'd been listening to her friends talk, noticed the tone in Maggie's voice and glanced up sharply. In a moment Lily had decided what to do.
Clearing her throat Lily stood up and said, "Well, I hate to leave you all like this, but I think we girls had something else to do before we go out wandering today. Official girl business," she said pointedly, looking at Julia and Elisabeth with eyes pleading for them to stay quiet. "Catch up with you later?"
"Sure," James answered, giving a wave as the girls got up.
"How about at the broom store?" Julia suggested as a meeting place.
"Nah, too crowded," James said.
"In front of Olivanders?" Sirius put in.
"Sounds good," Elisabeth agreed for the girls. "See you."
"Bye!" the boys chimed together, and Elisabeth, Julia, Lily and Maggie stepped out of the cool pub into the bright sunshine that beat down from the sky above.
"Where're we going?" Julia asked curiously and quietly, glancing behind her to make sure that the boys hadn't followed for fun.
"Shh, just wait a second," Maggie hushed her sister. She knew where they were going, she and Lily had discussed this earlier this morning.
Lily pulled her wand out of her new black robes, tapping the bricks in front of her. In a moment Diagon Alley was spread before them, a riot of colours and noises.
Slipping onto the street, the girls hurried quickly towards an old joke shop just at the end of the block; an old, brick building that most people missed. They had to weave around quite a few people to get there, and many "Sorry"s were issued as they crashed into strangers.
"What's this all about?" Elisabeth asked as the girls swung into the store, pushing their hair back and staring into the darkness, trying to get the greenish tinge out of their eyes brought there by the sunlight.
"Oh, just a bit of fun," Lily said non-chalantly, taking a few steps in and picking up a fake crystal ball, examining it.
"Fun against Sirius," Maggie added in an undertone, and Elisabeth and Julia instantly understood. Grinning, they hurried deeper into the shop.
"Got anything particular in mind?" Julia asked, eyeing a gruesome set of fizzing blood capsules with interest.
"Let's just give these guidelines; anything embarrassing or horrifying will do," Maggie said with an evil glint in her eye.
The girls circled the shop almost seven times, carefully picking out useful looking objects and pointing at less-likely looking ones, murmuring quietly so as not to disturb the few other customers in the store.
It was on the seventh round, nearly a half an hour after they'd entered the shop, that Elisabeth found a pile of gag clothes that they'd missed before.
"Hey," she summoned her friends, holding up a frilly pink tutu and grinning. They looked at each other and grinned, rushing over to help Elisabeth dig up some more girly clothes.
"Omigod, look at these robes!" Julia exclaimed, holding out turqoise robes with horribly ugly orange piping. The girls threw their heads back and laughed; they could just see Sirius in the horrid thing.
"Nice shoes, eh?" Lily asked, holding up glittering light pink high- heels.
"Yeah, they'd look great on James," Maggie laughed. Lily blushed a bit, she knew the comment was aimed at her, to get a reaction. But still, thinking about him made her blush just a bit. They giggled again, sifting through the outfits and surfacing with the most outrageous clothing they'd ever seen in their life.
"I can't pick just one, theres so many!" Maggie said, grinning. "And I've only got so much money!"
"We'll all pool our money," Elisabeth said. "This is just too good a chance to miss."
"Yeah, and who says we only have to play a trick on Sirius?" Lily asked mischievously.
The group grew silent, smiles and shining eyes showing their agreement on the great idea they were concocting.
"Let's do it."
As they were piling the clothes up on the counter, Elisabeth turned to the others and said, "You don't think it's a bit mean, do you?"
"Hey, all's fair in love and war," Lily said cheerfully.
"Unless you're Sirius Black," Maggie said evily. "Or in association with him. Time for some pay back, girls!"
They were still laughing as they carried their heavy shopping bags out the door.
A/n: Ahh, another chapter done. Now lets see if I can get some reviews on this thing!! I know this was a bit shorter than the last one, so im sorry, but I have a project im working on for english and kinda short on time. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! More lovey dovey flirtiness in the next one, I got a little side tracked this chapter! Review Review and Ill love you lots, and if you don't.. I guess ill love you anyway. Maybe. :) Luv, Cassi~