Summary: Sometimes life was sweet, but with a bitter ending. Sometimes it was the opposite. Just like butterbeer.
Full Summary: James Potter was in his prime. He was Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor, he had become Animagus to help Remus, and his group of friends were at their height in their pranking career. Now all he had left was to woo the girl. Lily Evans. But of course, James doesn't do things halfway, and all he needed was someone to help him. Now who fit's the role? Only, Olivia Grey. Of course, Slytherin's aren't always the most helpful type, and Sirius Black knows so. Could she be hiding any ulterior motives?
Author's Note: If Harry Potter were mine, there would be a whole other book series dedicated to the Marauders.
Extra: Like Butterbeer Outfits on Polyvore. Check my author page for the link!
Vanessa's POV
"You all owe me your souls. I lost mine in the storm." We had just gotten to Hogsmeade and Jianyu was already complaining. Honestly, it wasn't even that bad out! It was just a light sprinkle of snow, but trust Jianyu to blow it out of proportion. He was a tad bit on the dramatic side.
"It's not that cold, besides, we're going into the shops. It's not like we have to be in the cold the whole time! Who want's to go to Gladrags Wizardwear with me? I want to see their hat collection!" I flashed Jianyu a smile and he shrugged. The cold weather always had a bad effect on him, he hated winter.
"I'll go!" Embre smiled and hooked her arm with mine, slowly pulling me to the warmth of the store. "I need to find a dress for the holidays anyway. My brother told me we're headed to Sirius Black's Christmas Party this year. Something about how we can't miss another year."
If you didn't know, Sirius Black and his very wealthy, pureblood family have a Christmas Party every year. They invite almost every pureblood family they can, and to not go is basically a death sentence. Embre didn't go last year, with the excuse that her brother, Nathaniel, had Dragon Pox. It was the event of the year for most, and formal attire was expected.
"Your whole family is going?"
"Yep! Mom, Dad, Nathaniel, even Katrina! I don't have the heart to tell her it's not s great as everyone makes it out to be, though."
"Still, I would die if I were invited! Amos goes every year, you could hang out with him if you had too."
"Sound great! Now help me pick out a dress, my old one is a little too short." Embre disappeared into the various different racks of dresses. There was every color imaginable, and all different shapes and sizes. I had only seen Embre in a dress a few times, but I knew her style. This would be fun, right?
…
Olivia's POV
"Well, they ditched us. I can't decide whether that behavior falls under holiday spirit or not." Jianyu was in a much better mood know that I had gotten him into Honeydukes. The store was packed and everyone was pushing, but there was no way we were going back outside. No, sir. "But I suppose I'd rather be here than looking at hats."
"True, true." We were on the opposite side of the exit, but when someone opened the door we could still feel the chill. Even though Amos had given me a yellow sweater, it was lovely warm. It had been a smart decision to go to him.
I hissed when the door opened, but when the Marauders walked in I slowly turned to Jianyu, only to find him looking at me with an identical smirk. "I can think of a few ways to get back at them, can't you?"
…
Jianyu's POV
Grey had strokes of genius. That much could be said without regret. And Grey teaming up with the Marauders? That was a force to be reckoned with. That's for sure.
After giving Potter some lovely pieces of advice on how to deal with Evans on this snowy day, she turned to Lupin, Pettigrew, and Black. She looked to me for an encouraging smile and gave her the nod. And if you don't know just how much power the nod holds by now, well then where have you been? The nod isn't just any nod. It holds power beyond imagining. Especially when given by me.
"Hey, Remus. Care to help us?"
The boy eyed the two of us suspiciously. Smart boy. Be unsure. We could either make or break your future. That much should be common knowledge. Especially since the Marauders were slowly becoming a part of our main circle of friends. There should be an element of fear when it came to dealing with us, especially considering the fact that we were in revenge mode. "Depends. What's the probability rate of failure and what will the consequences be?"
Grey turned to me and nodded, "He's in."
I rubbed my hands together and pulled all of them out of Honeydukes and into the Three Broomsticks. A change of scenery was greatly needed. Honeydukes was far too loud and crowded for me to tell them our master plan. This was much better. Olivia shot me one of her lopsided-smirks as she ran a hand through her hair. Did I mention she was the only one who could possibly pull off that look? Trust me. Many have tried, none have succeeded.
"So," Olivia slipped into a chair and waved us all over. "We're not going to tell you the entirety of the plan, just in case one of us gets compromised. So don't feel bad, all of us know a snippet of what's going on. Except for Chang, of course. But that was expected. So first off, Remus needs to go find Lily. Remus, because he can lure her in with random talk about prefect duties or something. Plus he's non-threatening."
For once - and this surprised all of us - Potter didn't argue. Just agreed with a roll of his eyes. Obviously, he trusted Grey's judgment, which was vital to the plan. "What do I do with Lily once I find her?"
"Simple. Take her to Gladrags Wizardwear. Purposefully wander around until you find me. Oh, and act surprised, okay? I'll be there with Vanessa and Embre, and whatever I say, agree with it. No matter what - that's important."
Olivia gave a reassuring smile, and Remus shrugged. "Sure. Should I go know?"
"Yes, and make sure she is alone. We don't want anyone tagging along."
After a heartbeat of uncertain glances, Lupin got up and headed out of the pub with a long sigh. Olivia gave me a deft nod before heading out after him, pulling the huge yellow sweater tightly around her.
…
Remus' POV
What were those two planning? And why is it that every time someone has some 'master plan' I'm involved? And why was my job always to get Lily to go somewhere? I'm surprised she still trusts me, especially after last years attempt. James had called it 'Lilys Are Red'. Oh, and by the end of the night, Lily was very, very red.
It was easy enough to find Lily. She and her friends always seemed to linger in doorways to shops or somewhere brightly lighted. Her favorite place was Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and if she wasn't there she was at Tomes and Scrolls looking at books and such. Tonight she and her usual group of friends (Alice Longbottom, Marlene McKinnon, Xenophilius Lovegood, occasionally Amelia Bones and Embre Shines.) were hanging around Dominic Maestro's Music Shop, a new shop that popped up over the summer.
I called out to them before approaching, which is the smartest thing to do when going towards a group of females. Lily got that look on her face when she saw me, and her friend group quickly dispersed after a word or two. They all knew what was good for them.
"Hey Remus, what wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothings wrong, I just… came to see h-how you're doing." Lily cocked her head to one side, obviously not buying my act. C'mon Remus! Get yourself together! "You look lovely, which brings me to my next subject."
I hooked her arm with mine and started to walk towards Gladrags Wizardwear. Not the most tactful approach, but it worked. I didn't look to see what death glare Lily had decided on giving me, instead I whispered low enough for her to hear, "If you'd like to stay this way, I'd follow me."
"What?" Lily hissed at me and pulled on my arm. Obviously, she had remembered last year. "What is James planning this time?"
"James?"
"I meant Potter."
…
James' POV
They had nerve, trying to set up Lily and I. They had some serious nerve, that much should be noted for future generations. Just in case we all die before the day is up, know that this was all Olivia and Chang's idea. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea. I mean, sure, it goes against everything Olivia had been telling me to do, but she said it was fine. I guess the Holiday spirit is getting to her, or she has big plans for how this is going to work out.
Either one would work.
I was standing in position, by back against Honeydukes as I faced Gladrags Wizardwear. Sirius was next to me, along with a Slytherin bloke. I had no idea why they were here, all I knew was that I was going to be Charmed next to Lily Evans for the rest of our Hogsmeade visit. Sounds fair enough, right?
Olivia walked out of the store with five other people, ushering them over to us. She seemed innocent enough, but when a small half-smirk pulled at the edge of her mouth I knew we were all going down. Lily saw me and shot Remus an accusing glance. Remus held his hands up, but his tell-tale devilish smile gave him away.
Ah, yes, Remus was a Marauder through and through. Don't let his studious nature fool you, he is a main player in every single one of our pranks. Not to mention the fact that Lily has this problem of blind trust when it comes to him.
Everyone turned to Olivia and Chang to ask what was happening, but when we did we all regretted it. In one swift movement, the two masterminds of this operation had Lily, Remus, and I bound to each other. A look over at Sirius told me that he was bound to Vanessa and Embre. I laughed and Lily looked like she was going to murder someone.
"As you've probably figured out, you guys are bound to each other with a spell." Jianyu flashed us all a grin before walking over to where the rogue Slytherin stood. "Oh, and don't go looking for your wands, Grey has them."
Olivia gave us all a smug smile, twirling our wands. "Pickpocketing is a nice skill to have, huh?" I laughed. I couldn't help it, they had played us so well. No matter what, even if I wanted to, we couldn't get ourselves unbound. "Which brings me to my next point. If you do want to get unbound, you have to solve a few riddles. I scattered them all over Hogsmeade, kind of like a Scavenger Hunt if you know what that is. Chang and Andrew have the first clue, which reminds me…"
Chang turned to Olivia with a confused look, and before he could say 'cheat', he was bound to the Slyth- Andrew. "This wasn't part of the plan!"
"Oh but it was. Have fun!"
And with that Olivia disappeared around a corner, her laughter echoing back to us.
…
Embre's POV
"We're finishing the Scavenger Hunt. Okay? I have a life to live, and it doesn't have Ja-Potter in it."
"Of course, but we will have to work together, you know that Lily, right?"
"It's Evans to you, Potter."
Olivia left us, and nothing was going happening so far. Lily had been griping for the past ten minutes while James had patiently been answering. It was shocking to see, but when you're connected to two other people by a thin, near invisible string, things aren't as shocking as you'd like. Andrew and Jianyu had gone after Olivia in a rage, and Vanessa was slowly having a panic attack. "How are we supposed to finish dress shopping when we are attached to each other? Especially when it's Sirius Black!"
"Well, we need to find Jianyu and Andrew for one, they have the first clue to ending this. Or at least that's what Olivia said."
"Can we really trust anything she says, though? I mean, she's the reason why we're connected in the first place."
"She's our best hope, so come on."
I took a step forward and Vanessa fell down, pulling Sirius and I with her. "Sorry!"
I was going to kill Olivia, make no mistake. She was going to rue this day. "Okay, let's just see here…" I tried to push myself up, but fell again, in a position that hurt more than the last. I held my eyes shut to internalize my sounds of pain. "So every one of our limbs are attached. Great. Everything's just peachy." I opened my eyes with a sigh, only to find Sirius smirking back at me.
How could someone be so calm in a situation like this? Especially considering the fact that I am laying on top of him! Well, partially. I think my right leg was on Vanessa's arm, but maybe that was my arm…
"Here, we'll help you." Before we could object, Remus had tripped over some appendage, sending his whole group on top of us.
"Never offer to help again."
"Agreed."
Do I know that this chapter is long overdue? Yes, yes I do. However, maybe I make up for it by offering outfits for this chapter? The link is in my author page. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!