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, I'd cry every morning. Tears of joy.
Ships: Maros (Mary MacDonald x Amos Diggory), Simbre (Sirius Black x Embre Shines), Jiandrew (Jianyu Chang x Andrew Thomas), Fralice (Frank Longbottom x Alice Fortescue)
Vanessa's POV
There was something in the air that made the train ride to Hogwarts different. Fourth-year students carried themselves differently than I remember, the first-years don't carry that buzz of excitement that they always have too much of. Everyone was more subdued; quiet, as though they were afraid that if they were too memorable, they'd be at risk of being turned to a darker side. The thought of all that they could have lost during the summer made me sigh ever so softly. Embre, who sat across from me, opened her mouth to say something encouraging with a soft smile but was interrupted by a soft knocking at our compartment door.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" The door to our compartment slid open and the old lady who always sold sweets had a cheerful grin on her face. Olivia shook her head and continued to play with the ends of her (now shorter but still long) hair. Embre seemed to consider her for a moment, and I stood, walking just out of the compartment.
"I'll have a... Cauldron Cake, please." I handed a few knuts to the witch and she picked one off of the cart labeled 'The Honeydukes Express'. I smiled kindly at her and was about to turn around and go back into the compartment when someone down the hall caught my eye.
Sirius, who had stopped by earlier to see our dear Bre, was a couple of paces away and was talking to his younger brother. I didn't stare long, but I saw the pain in both of their eyes and as I turned into my own compartment, Regulus turned and went into his. I locked eyes with Sirius for a moment, but I think he was looking without really seeing.
I sat back down and little Katrina (who's not so little anymore) fixed me with an odd look. "Did something catch your eye out there?"
"I saw an old friend."
"Oof," Kat Kat rose her eyebrows and Olivia laughed, "that usually means you've excommunicated them. Did you have a throwdown before last school year ended? I've heard that you can be pretty brutal when you have to be."
We all laughed, despite the worry that clung to the back of my mind.
...
Amos' POV
The Great Hall was filled with senseless chatter - a low buzz of commotion that would have bothered someone who wasn't a morning person. Someone like Jianyu; who stormed into the Great Hall with a frown on his face and practically hissed at his Head Boy when he tried to hand him his schedule for the year. I chuckled at him from afar, glad that he didn't see me from a few tables over. Speaking of Head Boys, I'm still reeling from the fact that James Potter was chosen for Gryffindor. I mean, I understand why Lily was chosen as Head Girl, but James? If this isn't proof that Dumbledore plays favorites then I don't know what is. All of the choices this year are biased if you ask me. Not that I'm complaining, I love my new position in the Hufflepuff House. But that doesn't mean there's some kind of favoritism happening...
"Amos!" I turned and found Olivia walking toward me; one hand pointed at me, a quizzical look on her face. "What in God's name is 'Seminar'? Literally, every seventh year has it labeled, but no one knows what the hell it is. And with McGonagall? I feel like it's a trap. I can only handle so many people my age."
"I don't know," I shrugged and continued to pass out schedules, "I'm not the one that makes them, I just pass them out."
"But you're a Head Boy! Shouldn't you know?"
"You're an eavesdropping Slytherin, shouldn't you know?" Olivia stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, effectively making me laugh. "Ask Vanessa, our resident busy-body knows everything."
"You called?" As if on cue, Vanessa popped up, the only betrayal of her sunny disposition being the sleep that misted over her eyes. I stuck my hand into my cloak pocket and pulled out her schedule. Her eyes lit up and she mumbled a quick 'thanks' as she gave it a once-over.
"What class is 'seminar'? Do you know anything about this class that I didn't sign up for?" Olivia ran a hand through her hair, Vanessa smiled, happy to know something that the darker girl didn't. I continued to go through my stack of papers, now bewitching them to find their owner. What? There are some things that I have to prioritize; having breakfast every morning is one of them. Trust me, you do not want to deal with me when I'm hungry.
"It's exactly what it sounds like, honey." Olivia glared at her and Vanessa made a mental note to never use that term of endearment again. "It's a class where McGonagall gets to lecture us about being a 'contributing wizard to society." We all groaned in unison. "It's also where we decide awards for seventh-years."
"Awards?"
"Y'know, like 'cutest couple' and 'most likely to become Minister of Magic', that kind of stuff."
I rolled my eyes, "So a popularity contest?" Vanessa nodded at my comment with an 'oh-well' shrug. Olivia laughed at the truth of it and gave me a high-five. I haven't been at Hogwarts for seven long years to keep up the pretense that the awards given at the Seventh-Year Ball are anything but a claim of popularity. Don't offend me; I'm smarter than that.
"Well, if this is a popularity contest, it would seem that you are winning," Vanessa said it slowly, a laugh starting to blossom in her chest, "at least, according to Dumbledore." The two girls snickered and Olivia punched me lightly on the arm. I rolled my eyes and picked up a piece of toast.
The bell that starts the classes for the day rung and we all grimaced. I slung my bumblebee-yellow bookbag over my shoulder and took a swig of pumpkin juice. "Duty calls," Mary walked over to me, I took her hand in mine as we walked out of the Great Hall.
Olivia jokingly gagged while Vanessa slapped her lightly on the arm.
Lily's POV
"So, Evans, are you sick of me yet?" I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time that morning as James walked beside me, his signature smirk slapped onto his face. "Imagine how terrible this would be if you still hated me."
"Trust me, I have," his laugh at that was exceptionally loud, I groaned to hide the smile that threatened to make its way to my face. Merlin, help me. Being a Head Girl with James Potter will take all of the willpower that I have in me.
I walked into McGonagall's classroom and Embre immediately flagged me down. I sighed when I saw Sirius on the other end of the room. Finally, somewhere I can go that isn't infested with the Marauders. Not that they're such a pain anymore, but I've already had my fill for the morning. James went the other way, messing up Peter's hair as he sat down next to him. When I made it to Embre she beamed at me, playing with the fraying ends of her school bag. It's crazy to think that we only need them for one more year - mine has been a part of me ever since first-year when I clutched to it for dear life. Discovering the Wizarding World has been a journey, that's for sure.
"Are you ready for McGonagall's lecture? I bet you a galleon she is going to say we're 'bright, young, blossoming adults' about twelve times, today." We both laughed as I pulled my hair up, off of my neck.
"And I think that at the end of today that McGonagall is going to resign. It's honestly a surprise she hasn't already." Mary slid in on my left. I gave her a quick hug before continuing, "how stubborn do you have to be to stomach the Marauders for six years running? Especially when they gave her that awful nickname."
Embre nodded in agreement as Mary cut my rant off, "You two do realize that the nickname McGonagall has been burdened with is the work of your boyfriends?"
"At least ours pretended to not be in love with us for years."
"While you were pining after him, no less!" Alice, who always has an ear for gossip, poked my exposed neck as she sat down behind us. "C'mon, Mary. You have no room to talk about boyfriends when you're dating someone like Amos Diggory."
"Oh, right, because Frank Longbottom is somehow better."
The two continued to bicker loudly while Embre fixed me with a smile. I almost commented on it, but McGonagall cleared her throat, effectively stopping me in the act. Alice's indignant tone faded into nothingness as the stern woman shot her a withering look. Note to self: first days are not McGonagall's cup of tea.
Her lecture was so practiced and routine that very few listened. Luckily, she said note-taking wasn't needed, but that did cause problems. We've been at Hogwarts for seven years now. If we don't need to take notes, none of us actually listen. At least, the majority of us don't. Crazies like Embre do, but how many of those last this long? Very few.
"As you've all heard at this point," McGonagall looked very unamused as she looked Vanessa Schwartz dead in the eye, "there are certain... festivities that seventh-year students get at the end of the final term. While I am sure you are all very anxious to plan those, I already have a committee that I personally handpicked. I expect you to treat them with respect. Further questions will be answered by the president of the committee."
McGonagall gestured towards her office, and we all had baited breath as we waited to see the stick-in-the-mud she picked out. Hopefully, it's someone who can be swayed into a good idea. So not a Ravenclaw. But they also need to have their wits about them. So definitely not a Gryffindor...
"I'll be damned!" Olivia, using her overly loud American accent and her outstandingly blunt vocabulary, was the first one to make a sound as none other than Jianyu Chang walked out of McGonagall's office. He had a smug smile on his face that made Sirius Black laugh out loud, very similar to the bark of a dog.
What in the name of Merlin possessed McGonagall to make Jianyu Chang the president of a committee? I don't care if it's a party committee, he should never have this kind of power. He's everything she should be going against; stubborn, bossy, arguably lazy, and has an unhealthy disregard for... everything. I mean, I barely understand the appeal he has in the sense of friendship. But leadership? Let's pray that McGonagall knows what she's doing, Godric knows I don't.
"And I'll take 10 points from Slytherin for that comment, Miss Grey, thank you for your contribution to Ravenclaw winning the House Cup for another year," Jianyu smirked as he addressed his friend like an inferior. Olivia seethed, turning a nice shade of red.
...
James' POV
Peter has a girlfriend. I repeat: Peter Pettigrew, the youngest Marauder, the shy one, quiet Peter, has a girlfriend.
Dorcas Meadowes and one of my best mates are dating, which is a shock if there ever was one. Why? Sirius and I have been trying to set the two up on a date for years now. Peter swore that he would never date her for that exact reason. I guess conviction is low when you have other emotions fueling your drive...
"How does it feel to be the only Marauder without a girlfriend, James?" Remus looked over at me with a cocked eyebrow as Sirius and Peter wrestled on the floor of our dormitory. "Didn't you say that you were going to be the first one out of all of us? That you'd 'woo Evans' with your 'masculine charm'?"
I rolled my eyes. "Wanker."
Remus chucked deeply as I polished my Nimbus 1500. "Yeah, he is," Sirius piped up from his spot on the floor, "with your dream girl." Everyone laughed at that and Peter took this to his advantage, pinning Sirius beneath him. The other boy tapped out, "But honestly, James. My great-great-grandfather had more stable relationships than you. And he married five times."
"And can you even count Marlene as a steady relationship? How long did that last? Five months at most?"
"Eight, if you round up."
"Wow. That's so... serious." Sirius waggled his eyebrows and I tossed a pillow at him.
"Can we not talk about my love life? I thought this was a celebration for Peter," the three of them looked at me, rather unimpressed. Okay, so maybe trying to avoid a conversation about my love life is stupid. I mean, that's only been a staple of our conversations for years...
"So, who is the infamous James Potter pining after now?"
I looked at them and each one of them had a plotting look on their face. "Sirius," I deadpanned, turning back to polish my broomstick.
"I can't say I blame you, I am the hottest person in this school." Remus snorted while Sirius flipped his hair, but I felt Peter's questioning eyes land on me.
