Hello hello! I have some time to kill so I decided to get this chapter up! And yes, I pick on Sirius a bit because he's funny! Snape may seem a little OOC in this story, but this is how I think he would be as a teenager in love. Anyways, I was actually looking at reader traffic and there are quite a few of you – but hardly anyone reviews! To those who do review, thank you so much, your reviews really do make my day. To those who don't bother reviewing, please do as they mean a lot to me. On with the story! :)
Severus and Lily ascended up the steps and walked past two doors before stopping at the third. The room behind the door clearly had a silencing charm placed on it, so you couldn't hear what was happening inside, but they could practically feel the energy that was radiating from the Marauders. Severus gingerly rapped thrice on the door, and almost instantly it swung open to reveal a beaming Sirius. "It's about time you two showed up!" he teased playfully, "What've you been doing...?" he trailed off suggestively with a wink. Lily and Snape instantly blushed, but before they could respond, Sirius was hit upside the head by an amused Remus. "Ignore the village idiot here, come on in" he said, trying not to laugh as he took Sirius' arm and pulled him back into the room.
Lily and Severus walked into the room before shutting the door behind them and saw Sirius, James, Peter and Remus sitting in a large circle on the carpet. Lily took the empty spot next to Remus whilst Severus took the one next to James.
Sirius, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here tonight to witness the witness the union between Lily Evans and Severus Snape, who up until five minutes ago, were probably off shagging like bunnies" he laughed at his own joke.
Remus rolled his eyes in exasperation whilst James and Peter slapped their hands to their foreheads. It was clear that they had heard jokes like this from Sirius before. Severus immediately blushed scarlett, he was sure that he would be red for the rest of his life. Lily however, picked up the nearest pillow and expertly launched it at Sirius' face, successfully knocking the boy backwards. At the sight of Sirius Black, Gryffindor heart-throb and womanizer extraordinaire being defeated by a pillow, the other boys roared with laughter, each one taking turns at high-fiving Lily.
"Alright, alright, time to settle down now!" James said after finally managing to control his laughter. "The real reason we are gathered here tonight is to officially induct Sev and Lily into the Marauders. Lils has is pretty much one of us already and we most definitely want Sev in our midst, however, we need to make it official." he finished. "Yes, and to start off they need to know the rules" Peter added. "Padfoot, go get the rule book! If you can brave another pillow, it's underneath mine!" James chuckled. Sirius shot them a playful scowl before getting up and heading towards one of the scarlet-clad beds, he reached under a pillow and pulled out a dark green leather book with the words "The Official Rules and Guide to the Marauders" inscripted in curly, gold letters.
After Sirius sat down, he spoke "I think that the current Marauders should take turns reading the rules" he suggested. "Good idea" James agreed, "You got the book, so you get to go first".
Sirius nodded before reading. "Rule number one: A Marauder is faithful to his friends; he does not backstab, gossip about or betray his friends in any way.", he passed the book to James. "Rule number two: A Marauder will always have fun; unless of course it is appropriate to be solemn in the situation".
The book was passed to Peter. "Rule number three: A Marauder cannot change their nickname, once the other Marauders have given it to them, they cannot take it back", Peter passed the book to Remus. "Rule number four: Marauders' secrets must always stay secret – no one except a Marauder can know them."
The book was continuously passed around until finally it landed back to Peter again.
"James, Sirius and I have just added this one this afternoon while Remus was in the shower. Rule number one hundred: Every Marauder with an animagus form must be there to support Moony during the full moon – exceptions are illness and death in the family, illness and death in the Marauder and capture by You-Know-Who." he read proudly.
Every pair of eyes in the room landed on Remus. Lily thought that he looked like he was flattered but annoyed at the same time. "Guys, I don't want to force anyone to do anything dangerous on my account. I won't have it. It's not fair" he protested. For the second time that night, Lily picked up another pillow and launched it – watching as it hit Remus square in the face. "Shut it Moony, I knew they were putting that rule in there, I think everyone here would do it by choice anyway, you're our friend. Now stop being stupid, we'll all be there whether you like it or not" she said firmly, causing the other boys to state their agreement whilst stiffling laughs at Lily's pillow-throwing antics.
"Which brings us back to the initiation" James said impatiently. "What are your full names?" he asked Snape and Lily. "Lily Rose Evans", "Severus Tobias Snape", came the replies.
"Good. Now, Severus Tobias Snape, do you promise to uphold the rules of the Marauders – even if it means putting up with Sirius – so help you Merlin?" James asked in a ceremonious voice. "Umm, yes." Severus replied shyly, a light blush gracing his cheeks.
"Hey!" Sirius piped up, looking scandalized.
"And you, Lily Rose Evans, do you promise to uphold the rules of the Marauders – even if it means putting up with Sirius – so help you Merlin?" James continued. "Of course" Lily replied as if it were obvious.
"Is anybody here opposed in any way to either of these two becoming Marauders, or does anybody have anything they want to say before they join?" he asked.
Peter, Sirius and Remus all shot their hands up into the air. "Wormtail, you first" James nodded in encouragement. Whilst Lily and Snape gulped nervously. "I just wanted to say that Lily, you've always been like the older sister that I've never had. And Severus, if Lily likes you then I do too" he said happily, a smile lighting his chubby face. Lily and Severus nodded in thanks. "You next Padfoot" James encouraged. "Well I just wanted to say that I'm happy that you've finally become Marauders. And also that I get a feeling that Sevvy and I well be the best of friends" he said, cheekily using the baby-ish name.
"I think it's my turn now" Remus said patiently. "I'd like to say that Lily, you've always been like a sister to me, to all of us actually. Although the first time we all saw you, Sirius pointed out that you're 'hot', but even he ended up thinking of you as a sister after that. Anyways, I'd just like to wish the both of you the best of luck and I look forward to seeing your animagus forms" he said in his usual kindly manner.
Lily hugged Remus warmly, "Thanks Moony" she whispered in his ear.
"Yeah, yeah enough hugging!" Sirius cried out impatiently. "You're just jealous that you don't get any hugs Padfoot" Remus teased light-heartedly. Sirius mock-sulked at this. James, deciding it was time to finish the ceremony before they got too off-track, spoke up again. "Then by the power vested in me, I officially name you, Lily and you, Sev, Marauders." he finished with a wide smile on his face.
Peter, James, Sirius and Remus immediately pulled Lily and Severus into a big group hug, cheering.
"Thank Merlin there's a silencing charm" Lily commented after they broke apart, laughing. "McGonagall would have our heads by now if there wasn't". The others laughed and nodded in agreement. "Hang on a minute" James interrupted, "You still haven't shown us your Animagus forms, we need to name you!" he said, his tone and expression reminding Lily of a small child demanding ice-cream. "Alright, alright" she said chuckling. "C'mon Sev, if I have to do it then you have to aswell!" she said, taking Snape's hand and pulling him to his feet.
Lily walked over to a large space to the left of the boys, who instantly turned around to face her.
Feeling slightly nervous Lily closed her eyes and took on an expression of deep concentration before finally shifting form. Once Lily had completely transformed, in her place was a beautiful white tiger. It was lean and somehow feminine, it's eyes were a light green, and while they weren't Lily's signature emerald, they were still mesmerising.
The boys all gasped and stared in awe. "Wow Lils, you're beautiful!" James exclaimed, the others nodded in agreement.
The tiger quickly morphed back into Lily, who curtseyed before skipping over and sitting down next to Remus. "Your turn now Sevvy" Sirius grinned. Severus playfully scowled at the name before walking over to where Lily had been standing and closing his eyes and focusing. Seconds later in his place was a big, black fox, it's fur the deepest obsidian, as were it's eyes, which were just like his human eyes. "That's amazing!" Lily said beaming. "Definitely awesome" Sirius agreed.
The fox quickly morphed back into Snape, before the group moved back into their circle.
"So what will they be called?" Peter asked, clearly thinking hard. "Lets take a vote" James suggested.
And I'm going to leave it there – sorry for the cliffhanger but I'm tired and I can't think of any good animagus names. I was originally going to have 'Snowpaw" for Lily but I thought that might be just a little lame – so I need your opinions – if you like Snowpaw, then I'll use it. But if you have any suggestions for her and Severus' animagus names then they'd be greatly appreciated because all the names that I think of seem lame. Also, please review!