Hey! I am so glad you liked the last chapter! I was so happy to receive all your reviews!

This chapter is a bit of an experiment. I'm trying to show why Lily hated James so much and also show how he was actually a nice guy. This is set in their second year. I'm probably going to be skipping through major incidents in each of the year till I reach the seventh year where all the actual Lily X James stuff happens. As always, the story is in McGonagall's POV and the interruptions are in bold letters.

I hope to get a lot more reviews this time!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter and I never will...

Nothing really interesting happened in their first year. Lily and James fought and apologized a lot. James didn't really know why he pranked her or got her so angry that often. He just knew that he had to see her and hear her talk to him every day even if she was shouting at him. He loved attention and tried to gather it all the time, but Lily's attention was the most important to him. He always thought that it was because she was so fussy about the rules and it felt good to break them in front of her but he didn't realize that it was because, deep inside, he had feelings for her.

But, as much as James tried to get Lily's attention, she tried to escape it. By the end of the first year, she had been the victim of 10 of the Marauders' 30 pranks. And of course, they loathed Severus. They found him to be a typical Slytherin and made sure that he didn't associate with any of the Gryffindors especially not Lily. House unity was a pretty foreign concept to them in those days. Remus wasn't really bothered. He found it slightly cruel. But James and Sirius, especially James, treated Severus as badly as they could. They didn't even care about getting into trouble.

In their second year, they got even more out of hand. They were no longer the youngest in the school and the prospect of having younger students look up to them made them excited. They spent most of their summer planning a big start-of-term prank. It involved a lot of noise and fireworks, but it was almost insignificant compared to the fireworks between Lily and James that year. Their first fight of the year took place on the train.

Lily had been walking down to the lunch trolley which she'd missed since she'd been asleep when it came by her compartment. When she finally caught up with it, she found James and Sirius coming out to get some sweets too. Since she'd been on civil if not too friendly terms with them the previous year, she greeted them.

"Hello Potter, Black."

They ignored her.

She raised an eyebrow and tried again.

"Hello Potter, Black."

This time they turned to her. "Why Evans! Hello! Can you believe we didn't notice her Sirius?" asked James in a tone that said, 'let's tease her.'

"I really can't James. Though how we missed a head so red that even a troll would think it was on fire, I don't know," said Sirius and they both laughed.

"Well that just proves you two are thicker than trolls doesn't it?" said Lily loftily.

"Actually Evans, we did notice you. In fact, James was debating on whether to get a bucket of water to put out the fire on your head."

Lily pulled out her wand, "Watch it Black, or you're going to see some real fire," she growled.

"Oh look James, isn't that steam coming out of ears now? I'm surprised there was anything to burn in her head at all."

Lily pointed her wand at Sirius before either of them could react and cried, "Incendio!" Sirius started screaming as both he and James tried to beat out the fire that had started on his head. The compartment door opened as Remus rushed out with three water bottles in his hand.

Lily looked at Sirius condescendingly, "You should really know better than to insult someone who was at the top of the Charms class, Black." She turned on her heel and walked away just as Remus emptied the last of the three bottles on Sirius' head. A smirk appeared on her face as the last thing she heard as she entered her own compartment was Sirius' agonized voice saying, "My hair! My beautiful, luscious hair!"

"Was that Black screaming?" asked her friend Alison Hayes. Alison had been a very shy girl in their dormitory. She had soft brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. One day, the Marauders had pranked her by making the back of her robes flash rude messages. They'd woken up with long, pink, braided hair (that Flitwick had to change back later) and a note saying, "The quietest ones are the most dangerous." Alison had won their respect after that and had become good friends with the Marauders too. She and Sirius were the only ones who could rival James and Lily's shouting matches but they were also very good friends.

"Yeah, who else is as obsessed with their hair?" asked Lily.

"What did they do this time?" asked Mary.

"I tried to be nice; they annoyed me so I set Sirius' head on fire."

"That was dangerous though," said Alice.

"No, I knew Remus was in the compartment with water. I wouldn't do anything dangerous. I don't want to land in detention," said Lily.

"She's a bit of a stickler for the rules isn't she?" asked James. "Well she did relax a bit in the later years. Mostly after James started asking her out and she needed to break a few rules in the corridors," replied McGonagall.

The rest of the train ride went smoothly. It was after the feast that the Marauders started bullying the kids. James pushed a first year out of a chair and sat down in the common room.

"Potter get out of that chair. That boy was sitting in it!" said Lily angrily.

"He was but now I am," replied James with a cocky grin.

"You're just a year older than him! There are plenty of empty chairs here. You're just being an arrogant idiot again."

"Well I have every right to. In case you haven't noticed, my friends and I are the only source of any excitement here. And I tied for first place in the exams with you last year. I'm cool."

"You're not cool, you're just a jerk. Just because you're good at something and are pampered at home doesn't give you the right to be mean to others."

"Um…I could just sit in another chair," said the first year timidly but neither James nor Lily heard him as they were shouting at the top of their voices by now.

"Don't worry about it," said Remus kindly. "You might as well get used to their fights. You're going to see plenty of them." "Why do they fight anyway?" asked the boy. "It makes them happy," said Mary grinning. "Although I have to admit, Potter's head is bigger this year." "Yeah well, he spent two months being praised and pampered, what do you expect?" asked Alison. "Let's go up, they'll tire out eventually," said Alice. The second years trooped up leaving a very confused first year behind.

"Wait they're second years now. James is allowed on a broom," said James excitedly. "Did he make the team?" "I'm coming to that now," said McGonagall.

By the end of the month, the Marauders had lost quite a few points and earned five detentions. But, they continued to be as notorious as ever. They teased the younger kids. But, for all their faults, they were still kind and never let any hard feelings form between all the non-Slytherin subjects of their pranks. But even among the Slytherins, the one person they especially disliked was Severus. They went out of their way to humiliate him. The one incident that made any regard Lily might have had for them completely disappear was Quidditch tryouts.

Lily had convinced Severus to watch with her even though it was the Gryffindor tryouts. Because of the Marauders' popularity and James' incessant boasting, most of the school had turned up. Lily and her friends found a seat beside Remus who wrinkled his nose when he saw Severus but said nothing. Peter squeaked incoherently and quickly made room for them.

Alice trained her binoculars on the field. "Hey, I can see Potter and Black. I can't believe a second year would try out for beater," she said.

"Yeah well, Black's head is so thick, even a bludger can't penetrate it," said Alison dryly. She and Sirius had had a huge fight over a piece of toast that morning much to the amusement of their friends. They watched as the captain, a fifth year boy named Mike Stewart, called all the aspiring Chasers out first. They were made to work with the two chasers already on the team. They were tested first on their passing and shooting skills.

"He wasn't lying, he really can fly!" said Mary, looking at James as he zoomed past (with a customary wave at Lily who waved her wand threateningly back at him). Even Lily had to admit that he was very agile and quick and an excellent team player. His arrogance on the ground didn't affect his teamwork skills at all. Sirius was just as good. He even managed to give the Captain a good sized bruise with a well aimed bludger. After about two hours, Stewart called them all on the pitch and announced the results.

"Potter, you're definitely the new Chaser. I haven't seen a 12 year old kid who can fly that well in my life."

James looked thrilled but slightly annoyed by the "kid" comment.

"Jack Newman, you're our first new Beater. Sirius Black, you're the second. I'll let you know when I schedule a practice session. Congrats on making the team and try not to get too carried away, we haven't won the tournament yet." Stewart walked away, leaving the youngsters behind.

"We're in!" yelled James and Sirius grinning broadly. Remus and Peter came up to them to congratulate them. Lily and her friends followed. Snape was trying to sneak away but unfortunately, James spotted him. "Well Snivellus, come to marvel at my talents?" he asked loudly.

Severus turned slowly, "No, I came to figure out how your big head can even be supported by a broomstick."

"Well I've obviously proved how good a Quidditch player I am. It's more than you can claim. I doubt you can even get onto a broomstick," said James.

"Of course I can!" retorted Snape.

"Let's see you try. Get on that broom and fly around the pitch."

Severus looked at the school broom James was pointing at. He walked over to it and missed the sly smile James gave Sirius. Lily however saw it. She also noticed Sirius take out his wand. She slipped her own hand into her pocket just in case. Severus reached for the broomstick. It rolled away. He walked towards it again. It started twitching and suddenly started bucking like a bull at a rodeo. He desperately tried to grab it and get on. People around him were laughing loudly. He stepped forward but the broom tail smacked him in the face. People laughed harder.

"Stop it!" yelled Lily pointing her own wand at Sirius and saying a quick spell. He was immediately thrown backwards. She stepped forward and slapped James hard. "Why do you always pick on him?" she demanded.

"He's a Slytherin. What other reason do I need?" retorted James.

"You get your swollen head back to earth Potter. Just because you won a place on the team does not make you a god!"

"You're just jealous because you can't fly."

Lily went red. Everyone knew she couldn't fly. She'd crashed into a tree in the first lesson and they were only supposed to have been learning how to hover. "I'd rather not if your huge ego is going to be polluting the skies," she snapped and stormed off with Severus. Her friends glared at him and walked away too. "What is her problem?" asked James angrily. Remus replied, "Maybe you should stop hexing her best friend. You wouldn't like it if someone hexed one of us would you?" "The day I stop hexing Slytherins is the day the giant squid gets squished," declared James. "I'm with you mate," said Sirius just as fervently. Remus gave up. He knew he should fight back but he didn't. They meant a lot to him and he wasn't losing his friends by defending Slytherins.

"I can't blame Lily for hating him, he's rude and mean and arrogant and really big-headed," said James. "Yeah, and you're such a saint," laughed Albus, "okay maybe you're not as bad as he was." "Why'd he hate you so much?" asked James looking at Snape's portrait. "He was jealous," said Snape. "Of what?" asked both boys together. Snape was debating how best to get out of this situation without telling them.

This time Dumbledore saved the day.

"Minerva, are you going to be telling them only all of James' bad qualities?" he asked. "Yeah," said James. "If she fell in love with him later, there must've been something she liked about him." Albus frowned at the change of subject. Snape had that very familiar look again. "I'm coming to it right now," said McGonagall.

Like I said before, the Marauders were also very kind. They were exceptionally close. They treated each other like brothers. They didn't bat an eyelid when they found out all about Sirius' family. Sirius wouldn't have willingly told them about his family. It happened all because of an innocent remark by Peter.

"Hey Sirius," he said one day at breakfast, "how come I've never seen you get more than a couple of letters every year from home?" Sirius' face darkened, "I don't ask you about the scarcity of words in your letters so don't ask me about the scarcity of my letters," he snapped. He got up and walked away to the staircase. "What's up with him? Why's he acting so weird?" asked James looking concerned. "It's obvious isn't it?" asked Lily. She had been sitting across the table. "His entire family is in Slytherin but he's a Gryffindor. They must hate him as much as you do them.""Oh no! And I asked such a dumb question!" squeaked Peter, getting up. "Let's go, he's probably in the dormitory," said Remus.

The three boys ran up to find the door to their dorm locked. "Sirius? Sirius, let us in!" yelled James banging on the door.

"Go away!" came Sirius' voice.

"I've got this," said Remus, "Alohomora." The door opened and they found Sirius sitting on his bed, head in his hands.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings-" started Peter. "It's okay Peter. You didn't know. None of you did. Now hurry up and disown me. I haven't got all day," said Sirius. He sounded absolutely defeated. "What are you talking about?" demanded James, "why would we disown you?"

"My family is the biggest bunch of orthodox purebloods you'll ever see! You may be purebloods too but they'll hate you for associating with muggleborns and muggles. They'll hate you for being Gryffindors. They already hate me for it. And you'll hate me for being a part of that family and hating them. You guys love your families! So go ahead, tell me you hate me," said Sirius.

"Sirius you prat, you're not making any sense. Why would we hate you for not being like your family? Maybe I'm not their biggest fan, but you're nothing like them. You're in Gryffindor for a reason! You told me on the train that your whole family was in Slytherin. I didn't turn my nose up at you then and I won't do it now! What does it matter who your parents or your siblings are? It may matter to you family but it doesn't matter to any of us or to you. You're not part of the family by anything but blood," said James.

"Yeah, Sirius, James is right. We don't care if people hate you because of the company you keep or who your relatives are. We like you because of who you are – the shaggy, black-haired boy who loves to have fun. And the number of pranks you've played on the Slytherins proves that you're not like them at all!" said Remus.

"You're not part of them Sirius. We're your real family. Aren't we like brothers already?" asked Peter.

Sirius watched them carefully, taking in the sincerity on each face. Then, his face broke into a huge grin as he leapt up from the bed and hugged all of them together.

"Ouch! Sirius that was my head!

"Good to have you back to normal…or as normal as you get…"

"Can't…breathe…" said James. Sirius immediately released them. "Sorry mate," he said grinning widely, "but thanks. All of you. And I'm sorry I snapped at you Pete."

"Well before we get detention again, we'd better head to class. We're going to be late," said Remus. The four boys grinned, picked up their bags and walked out. They were the Marauders. They were inseparable.

Albus suddenly snorted with laughter. "What?" asked McGonagall, looking annoyed. "That last part was a little melodramatic, sorry. It was like one of those movies where the heroes all walk out together looking cool," he replied. "That's how it really was though," said Dumbledore. "Especially with James and Sirius. Some of the younger students even thought they really were brothers." "They didn't even abandon Remus when they found out he was a werewolf. Most people would get away from him immediately even if they'd known him for ages. But the Marauders didn't care what he was. They didn't find that out by accident though," said McGonagall continuing with the story.

It was nearing the full moon. Remus was gathering his clothes. He'd have to think of some excuse again. His friends were clever. He knew he couldn't fool them easily. Just then, they walked in.

"Where are you going Remus?" asked James

"Oh, my mother-" began Remus but Sirius cut him off. "How is it your mother is always ill around this time of the month?" he asked.

"And why have you never told us what's wrong with her?" asked Peter.

Sirius was watching Remus. They had found out the truth and it was time to confirm it. "You always go home around full moon, you're scratched and injured when you come back. It's not your mother who's ill is it? It's you. You're a werewolf."

"So now you know. Go ahead, run away screaming like all the others," said Remus. He looked scared, angry and defiant all at the same time.

"Remus, you're being as much of a drama queen as Sirius. We won't leave you just because you're a werewolf. You're one of the nicest guys I've ever met," said James.

"But I'm a monster," Remus protested.

"That's only once a month. And you can't help it Remus, it's not your fault," said Peter.

"Yeah, mate. It's not like you wanted it to happen. There are just some things you can't control. Besides, I think it's kind of cool," said Sirius.

"So you're not going to just…abandon me? You don't have to be with me if you're scared or you don't want to. I'm serious," said Remus.

"Hey, we knew you before you told us about this and you're harmless. Only people who don't know you will be scared and prejudiced. And you're not Sirius, he is," said James smiling.

"I know, no one can ever be me," said Sirius. For a second, Remus looked confused. Then he saw the joke. "Sirius that pun got old last year," he said and smiled, "I'm glad you're my friends." "Now stop dawdling and hurry up. Let's get you ready for this," said James.

Two days later –

Remus opened his eyes and blinked as three worried faces came into view. "Good morning," said James.

"How do you feel?" asked Peter. "How do you think?" Remus sighed. He was always a little irritable after the transformation. He sat up.

"You told Madam Pomfrey you knew?"

"Yeah, that's why she let us in. She kept muttering something about you being lucky to have such good friends," said Sirius.

Remus smiled gratefully. "We were thinking," said James tentatively, "we wanted to keep you company during your transformation."

"You can't do that! I could seriously injure or even kill you!" said Remus.

"Only if we're human."

"What are you then, part vampire or something?"

"What James is beating around the bush for and trying to say is that we could become Animagi. Illegally of course," said Sirius. Remus looked at them and laughed. "You can't be serious. Have you any idea how complicated and long the process is? Not to mention dangerous. Even if you succeed, I might still lose control and attack."

"Not if we become big enough animals. Come one Remus, we need your brains more than ever this time," said James.

Sirius was giving him the puppy dog eyes and even Peter looked pleading. Remus sighed. He didn't want them to get into trouble or danger. But he knew the transformation would be a lot easier if he had his friends with him. He looked at them and a great rush of affection welled up inside him. "Okay," he said, "I must be out of my mind, but I'll help. You'd have done it anyway."

"YES!" all three of them shouted. Even Remus smiled. He had always thought he'd be the lonely boy that no one would talk to in school. But here he was, a part of the most notorious group in school, with friends who didn't care what he was, with friends who only cared who he was and were actually prepared to break the law just to help him. Madam Pomfrey was right. He was very lucky indeed.

"So James was really considerate," said Albus. "Why didn't he just show Lily this side of him instead of that show-off act he put on? He's as thick as you James." James smiled, "Maybe that's why I was named after him. I can't believe dad never told us all about their trying to become Animagi! Why didn't he tell us?"

Dumbledore replied, "Your father thinks you're too young. He forgets that you are as old as he was when Voldemort returned. He'll realize you're growing up eventually."

"Minerva," said Snape slowly, "How do you know what Remus Lupin was feeling? And if you were stalking them, were you stalking me too?" She grinned, "You're not the only Legilimens in this school. And your thoughts are going to be revealed next."

Snape went pale, "Hogwarts should seriously work on a Privacy Policy," he muttered.

Dumbledore chuckled. He hadn't seen Minerva McGonagall having so much fun in a long time. The boys waited eagerly for the rest of the story. It seemed like things were about to get interesting.

Did you like it? Review and let me know!

Oh and for all the fantasy/magic/mythlogy readers out there, you might want to try the series called "The secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel." I just finished the first book and I loved it!