"Doing What We're Doing"

-rewrite-

Mystical Mattie

Chapter One

"Okay, men," James Potter said, wand behind his ear and pacing between the four posters.

"And woman!" Peter Pettigrew injected, tossing a smile my way.

"And woman," James amended. He came to a stop in front of the four of us. I leaned back against James' headboard, a smirk on my face, and Remus Lupin was leaning against Sirius Blacks nightstand. Peter was sitting at the end of his bed, and Sirius was the only one playing along with James' game. He stood front and center as it were, between the two beds and right in front of James. Back straight, left arm straight against his side, right arm brought up in a soldier salute. "Do you accept your missions?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Sirius shouted. I heard Remus chuckle beside me, and I had to smirk. Peter outright laughed.

"I said…" James said, repeating himself much louder this time. "Do you accept your missions!?"

This time, we all joined Sirius, mostly to humor James.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Alright, people. Repeat them back to me!" James pulled his wand out from behind his ear and pointed at Sirius. "Padfoot, you first!"

"I am to secure the common room. Charming those who seek to ruin our fun into not realizing what's going on. The list is extensive, but I believe I can handle it," Sirius said this in a straight to the point tone. James nodded approvingly. "I am also to provide entertainment. I have this covered already, just needs setting up."

"Wormtail, you next!"

"I am to go to the kitchens and request our food. Cakes, popcorn, sandwiches, and punch. I am to instruct the House Elves to have it ready and in the common room before 8:30 pm, sharp!"

"Excellent! Moony, if you will be so kind," James knew Remus would take a little more gentle tone than him simply barking orders at him.

With a roll of his eye, "I am to assist in securing this common room. By assist, I am to cast silencing charms and jinxes to turn around any professor who thinks they need to come our way. I am also to rearrange a little to provide a 'socializing ring', by which you mean a place for you and Sirius to dance with the Gryffindor ladies.

"Well put, Moony, well put! And now, onto our leading lady herself, Dandelion!"

My smirk still in place, I played along happily. "I am to secure the goods," I said plainly.

"And why are you to secure the goods, oh great one?" James continued his charade. I picked at my nails.

"Because I'm the best at it," I said, looking at each of them. "We all know the Seventh years can't resist these eyes." I pouted at them and batted my eyes. I could have sworn I saw Remus go hazy eyed for a moment. When I cut my eyes to him though, he was normal. Sirius gagged.

"Baby cousin, I need you to refrain from being sexual in my presence," He said to me, a serious look on his face. I laughed and got up.

"We all know who the baby in the family is, Siri, and it's certainly not me," I winked. I turned towards James. "And what's your task, Prongs?"

"Why, my task is the most difficult of them all!" He declared. "I have to get Evans to dance with me."

Cue the collective groans.

"Prongsie, mate," Sirius said, going to James and patting him on the back. "You might as well find another lass. She's never going to say yes."

"Your time would be much better spent helping charm the real stuck ups and the common room," Peter suggested. "You know, assist where assistance is needed."

James seemed to consider this for a moment and sighed dramatically. "Alas, I hear you, young soldiers. And yet, I cannot give up my efforts to win the goddess's heart. I will, however, put my efforts off to another time. I will assist where needed!"

After a few laughs, Remus brought attention to himself. "Great. Come with me and provide a distraction for anyone that isn't a Gryffindor while I charm the landing around the portrait hole."

With that, Remus and James disappeared out of the boys dormitory.

"Well, I'm going to the common room to sniff out the fun suckers," Sirius said. "When are you placing the food order, Pete?"

"I'm headed down there now," He said. "The Elves will need time to prepare it all, around lunch and dinner too."

"And I am going to find my connections," I said, smiling at them both mischievously. "Don't wait up." Sirius gagged again, and I ran off before he could complain again.

I left the Fifth years dormitory and wandered up to the Seventh. I wasn't sure who was inside, if anyone, but there was always a good place to start. I knew I had to stick to the Gryffindors. The other Houses provided excellent products, of course, but seeing as how this was a Lion Only party, I didn't need them whining about not getting to enjoy what they produced.

I didn't find anyone in the Seventh year's dormitory, so I went down to the common room. There I found Sirius flirting with a Fourth year, instead of doing his job. Rolling my eyes, I scanned the room for anyone I knew to be seventeen or older. There was a group of them in the corner. I grinned as I pounced on my prey.

"Hey, guys," I said as I approached the group. Frank Longbottom was among them, as was his girlfriend Alice Collins. Not the easiest targets, but not the worst ones either. There was also Gideon and Fabian Prewett, twins, who loved to party. They would be like putty in my hands the second I asked. Bertha Jorkins, an annoying and most unpleasant girl was also there, along with Davey Gudgeon. All in all, not a bad lot. They each regarded me apprehensively, they knew my reputation with my friends. Everyone knew when we ventured out of our little group, trouble was sure to follow.

See, way back in first year, five little misfits met on the Hogwarts Express. Sirius and I were entering our first year at Hogwarts and had looked for a compartment to call our own. Sirius and I belonged to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, one of the last 'truly pure' pureblood families left. This is only because of inter-family breeding, and any 'blood traitors' being blasted off the family tree. A pureblood, as I'm sure you're aware, is a witch or wizard born into an all magical family. A blood traitor is any pureblood that defies the 'old ways' and fraternizes with half-bloods, muggle-borns, or Muggles themselves. My cousin and I didn't hold to the values, something that infuriated Sirius' mum, my Aunt Walburga. She had insisted we be Sorted into Slytherin House, that way we could be surrounded by 'like-minded' wizards and witches. This didn't happen though, as our tale will soon tell.

Our reputation around the pureblood community had preceded us and we were already something of outcasts among our schoolmates. Blood traitors to family and family friends, and one of the bad guys to everyone else. We had a lot to prove when reaching Hogwarts. Fortunately, Peter had also been looking for somewhere quiet to sit, and had slipped into our compartment with a quiet 'is this okay'. Not long after him came Remus, who slipped in with his head down and a mumbled 'everywhere else is full'.

We had spent most of the ride in silence. I had attempted small talk, but Peter had been in a fit of nerves and couldn't talk. Remus resorted to one-word answers and made communication very hard. Eventually, we had decided that was just how it would be. Until James showed up.

There had been a loud row going on outside that caught all of our interests. Outside our compartment was a red-haired girl and a messy black-haired boy. The boy, who we now know as James Potter, had jinxed the girls' friend and the girl was not happy about it. She was yelling at him and he was just standing there laughing. When she had finally had enough of him and stormed off, James had looked into the compartment and had slipped in as well.

"Blimey, the old bird just can't take a joke, huh?"

Sirius had taken to James instantly, and as they laughed and joked around, Peter opened up a little more, not much, but a little, and the three were quick friends. Remus and I had sat there forgotten, just listening. When we had arrived at Hogwarts, Sirius had run off with James and left me alone. He'd later apologized for it and we'd made up, but that gave me my first real interaction with Remus John Lupin.

He helped me get my bags down and gave me a soft smile. "My names Remus," He said and stuck out his hand. "Sorry if I was a little grumpy….I get that way when I'm hungry." I had grinned up at him. He was a head taller than me then and was still taller than me now.

"Isabella Black," I introduced myself. "But you can call me Bell."

And the rest, as they say, is history.

"What can we help you with, Bell?" Alice asked, jarring me back to the present. I'd momentarily forgotten my task. "We're a little busy at the moment. We have a Potions project due Monday morning."

"This won't take long. Can I borrow you two?" I asked, looking at the Prewett twins. Gudgeon whistled lowly, which gave me a faint blush, but I ignored him and beamed at the red-haired twins. "Well?"

"Of course, Lady Mischief," They said together, getting up with ease and allowing me to lead them to the only corner that was left empty in the common room. "How can we be of assistance?"

"The boys and I are throwing a party tonight, as you know," I said.

"Ah yes, the infamous Marauders Costume party," Fabian said.

"Just in time for Halloween, I see," Gideon continued.

" I imagine you need help giving it a little kick?" Fabian winked. "We, of course, will need to take ten percent for ourselves."

"Well aware, boys," I said and handed out a money pouch. "Should be enough for a few cases in there, yeah?"

Gideon took it and looked inside. He smiled. "More than enough, young grasshopper. You're learning."

"Only from the best," I gave a flirty smirk. "Can I count on you to have it here by 9?"

"Are you doubting our ambitions?" Fabian asked, faking a hurt expression. Gideon pretended to faint.

"Of course not," I said quickly. "Just insurance, lads."

"You can count on us, Lady Mischief," They saluted me. I beamed at them again and left them to return to their Potions project.

Later that night, I stood in my dormitory, looking through my dresser. I didn't spend too much time in here, only for naps during the day or to change clothes in the morning. I usually fell asleep in the boy's dorm or the common room. Once I fall asleep, there is no waking me up and one of the boys usually just carries me up to their dorm and puts me in one of their beds.

Technically, of course, I'm not supposed to sleep there. But seeing as no charms are keeping me out, I do so anyway. The boys can't get into the girls' dormitories, because the steps leading up to it are bewitched to turn into a slide if a male tries to climb it. Many have tried and many have failed. It is a wonderful place for some alone time, though. No one has ever caught me in the boy's dormitory, and so until that day comes, if it does, I will continue to stay close to the action.

Now, of course, I am looking for something to wear to the party tonight. As previously mentioned, it's a costume party, and I must dress up to my fullest extent. I always do. Pushing aside yet another Muggle band t-shirt, I spy a tight little black dress and claim my prize.

It doesn't take me long to get ready. Lily Evans comes in, followed by Marlene Mckinnon.

"Well, don't you look dashing," Lily said, looking me up and down. "Almost good enough to eat." She punctuated this statement by pretending to bite my shoulder."

"Thanks, Lily," I said, admiring myself in the mirror. I had straightened my long black and curly hair, and it was now slicked straight down my back. The dress I was wearing fell mid-thigh, and I had paired it with a long cloak. My makeup was minimal, but I had down a dramatic eye. Or rather, the spell I cast had. I wasn't good at makeup myself.

I took my wand and charmed my teeth to grow into a set of fangs. Once the transformation was done, I asked, "So what are you two going as?"

"I'm going as a nurse," Marlene said. "It's the easiest thing I could think of." As she said this, she was pulling out what looked like Muggle scrubs. When she saw Lily's raised eyebrow, she defended herself. "What? I'm a half-blood! My aunts a Muggle nurse in London."

"Well, I'm not dressing up," Lily said. Marlene and I rounded on her immediately.

"What? You have to! Costumes are mandatory!" Lily and I may not exactly be best friends, but we're not exactly not friends either. We talk when I'm in the dorm, and we occasionally pair together in classes. We're pleasant to each other and I can only think of a handful of times we've had a go at it that didn't involve James. Now was quite possibly one of those times.

"I'm not even really okay with us having a party in the common room," Lily huffed. Marlene groaned. I assumed this was not the first time they had this discussion. "It's against school rules!"

"Lily, we've talked about this. School is important, but so is fun!" Marlene said, changing into her scrubs. "Please, can't you just try to have a little fun tonight? Maybe Potter will even leave you alone!"

"I highly doubt it," Lily said, but I could hear the guilt in her voice. She and Marlene were best friends. She wouldn't want to bring her best friend down. "Oh, alright. What should I go as?"

I left the two of them to figure that out on their own and went downstairs. I used my cloak to hide my costume and went to the boy's dormitory. Only Remus was in their room, leaning back against his headboard and reading Defensive Charms: What's Helpful in a Duel. He looked up when he saw me come in and gave me a warm smile. "Little early for dressing up, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but I won't have time to later," I said. I moved to his trunk and started digging around in it. He was the 'Keeper of the Map', which meant he was responsible for making sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. "I need to find the Prewett twins, and I'm not going to run around this castle in costume."

So I pulled the Map out and taped it with my wand to its center. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," I said firmly. The Marauders Map blossomed into an exact replica of Hogwarts castle, with a thousand little footsteps wandering about it. For that was exactly what this was, a Map of Hogwarts, only with a little something special that tracked every individual that stepped onto the grounds. My cousin and James had created it back in Second year but had only fully completed it with the help of the rest of us at the end of last year.

I found the twins in their dormitory and quickly shut the Map and put it back where I found it. When I looked up at Remus with a smile, I found him staring at me. My smile quickly turned into a frown. "Is something wrong, Remus? Do I look funny or something?"

He snapped his eyes up to meet mine instantly and shook his head. "No, Dandelion. You look very nice," He said, his smile genuine. I was very good at reading Remus Lupin. We were closer to each other out of all of our friends, the first one the other sought out when they had anything to share. Because I knew my best friend, I beamed back.

"Thank you, Moony," I said. I went to stand beside him and sat on the edge of his bed. "What are you dressing up as?"

He closed his book and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. " Haven't the foggiest, honestly. I hadn't put any thought in it."

"Well, you have to dress up!" I said. "You're a Marauder, it's practically mandatory!"

"I know," He laughed. "But as what?"

I sat there for a moment, puzzling it out. Then I sat up straighter and grinned at him. "A vampire!" He simply raised an eyebrow at me and gestured to my costume. "Oh, nevermind that! We can just match! It'll be fun. Just put on your worst black slacks and an already torn up white shirt, and when I come back, I'll make you look all pale and stuff."

Whether he was agreeing out of relief of finally having a costume, or just to humor me, didn't matter. I got up and left their dormitory with an "I'll be back in ten minutes!" thrown over my shoulder.

Fabian and Gideon had come through brilliantly, and the party was in full swing. Lily had dressed up as a nurse as well, mostly for lack of time to put any effort into really trying. James had dressed up as a ghoul, Sirius as a Muggle rock star, and Peter went as a mouse.

I'd only had a single bottle of firewhiskey, I wasn't big on drinking too much. I shared that with Remus. James and Sirius, though, were absolutely wasted. Lily, I could tell, was quickly regretting attending the party at all. So I swooped in to save her.

"James, darling," I said loudly, throwing my arm over his shoulders, and showing him my teeth. The drunker he got, the more he pretended that mine and Remus' costumes were real. Apparently, James was quite afraid of vampires. At this point, he screamed and ran away. He found Sirius almost immediately and hid behind him. Sirius was so far gone, he didn't even notice. I turned to Lily with a grin. She gave me one in return.

"I swear, one day I'm just going to hex him!" She sounded frustrated, and I could smell the firewhiskey on her breath. I wondered to myself if she'd really drank it voluntarily. She went into a full rant about James that I quickly tuned out in favor of people watching.

Marlene was dancing with Fabian, and I could see Gideon taking pictures from the sidelines. I wondered if it was just a hobby or if it was blackmail. Knowing the twins, it could be either. Moving on from them, I saw James chatting away with Dorcas Meadows, another girl in our year, and Sirius snogging a girl who was all legs, I couldn't see anything besides that of her. I saw Peter sitting on the steps to the boys dormitory, talking to a Fourth-year girl. I smiled, Peter really did need to try to get out of James and Sirius' shadow. Curiously, though, I didn't see Remus.

I turned my attention back to Lily, who I found had left me completely. I blinked and looked around, but I didn't see her anywhere. I decided not to think too much of it, and got up in search of Gryffindors resident werewolf.

It didn't take me too long to find him. After circling the room once, I looked up, and found him at the entryway to the boys dormitories, looking down at the party. I smiled to myself and went up to him.

"Enjoying the party, Lupin?" I asked, bumping his hip with mine with a saucy grin on my face. He gave me an equally dazzling grin in return.

"Why of course, I love watching our friends make fools of themselves."

"It can't be too much fun if you're up here all alone."

"Oh, but I'm not alone. You're here, aren't you?"

"You never know, I could just be a figment of your imagination."

"A rather unpleasant figment," He replied teasingly. I faked a hurt expression.

"Why, Remus! I didn't expect this from the likes of you!"

"Oh, Lady of Mischief, however will I make it up to thee?" His eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Dance with me," I said simply, and walked away, knowing he would follow. He did.

That was one thing about the boys, they never seemed to question me. Sometimes, it was a blessing and a curse.

A/N:

So, this is technically a rewrite of a story I wrote like seven or eight years ago, under a different pen name but with the same story title. I just couldn't let this story go unfinished, but seeing as how I deleted the original work and account, and can't find any of my old documents, I've decided to rewrite it with some new ideas and a very different writing style.

So while the original story is still the same, there are some definite changes. I highly doubt anyone will recognize this as the original DWWD, but hey, who knows.

Anyway, reviews are always welcome! Please tell me what y'all think, as I hurriedly try to finish Chapter Two!