The sun beams in through the window and hits the sleeping form of Lily Evans, causing her to stir in her sleep. She mumbles and rolls over, not wanting to get up just yet. It was too early. Sleepily, she reaches over to her night stand and grabs her wand, flicking it and muttering a spell to make the blinds close. It isn't long before her alarm rings and the rest of her dorm starts to stir. With a soft groan, Lily gets up from her bed and stretches, wishing her dorm mates a quiet and half hearted good morning. The girls get ready in relative silence and it isn't long before they're heading down towards the common room in their usual groups of twos and threes. Lily grabs her backpack and double checks to make sure all of her assignments are in there before heading down by herself.
She sits on the couch and waits, checking her watch repeatedly. The boys were supposed to be meeting her so they could walk down to breakfast together but they hadn't yet emerged from their room. With a frustrated frown, Lily drops her bag and her robes and stands up, going to the boy's dormitory. She knocks on the door, first soft and then a bit harsher. By the third time she knocks, she begins to get frustrated. "I know you're in th-"
"Blood hell woman, calm down." Sirius mutters as he flings open the door, his hair wet from a shower. "We're coming. Jeez." He steps away, leaving the door open, and walks to his bed where his uniform was laying out. Remus gives her a friendly wave from his bed where he was sitting, fully dressed and reading a book. Peter gives a characteristic squeal and holds a shirt up to his bare chest, instantly flushing a dark red color. Lily averts her eyes and folds her hands in front of her, her ears slightly pink. Now that she was thinking about it, she had arrived in the common room earlier than they had expected. It wasn't fair to expect them to be early.
"Sirius, get your blood hair out of the shower!" James yells, hurrying out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair wet and hanging over his eyes. His glasses were still steamy from the water vapor from the shower. He hurries over to his bed and starts digging through his trunk, "where's my deodorant? I can't find it anywhere!"
"Um, James," Remus tries to stop him from walking around without a shirt on while Lily is there.
"I have to find it! Lily is probably downstairs right now, you know how she is! Punctual as all hell! And I-" James finally straightens out and sees Lily, freezing like a deer in headlights. Lily's face flushes even more as she takes in his wet half naked form, toned from years of Quidditch. After a moment, she averts her eyes to the floor, stuttering over a poor apology for being in there. James grips his towel even tighter, his face turning pink as well while Sirius laughs at his best friend, clutching his side from laughing so hard.
Remus gives a small chuckle and shakes his head, "I did try to warn you Padfoot." He swings his legs off his bed and stands up, putting his book into his bag. "How about you finish getting ready and Lily and I will wait in the common room?" He walks over to her and gives her a friendly "good morning". Lily, stumbling over her own feet now, turns on her heel and hurries down the stairs, wishing that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. The two walk down and take seats on the couch, Remus lightly chuckling. "Sorry about that. I should have expected you to be early, we've been friends long enough."
Lily shakes her head and gives him a small smile, "no, I should have expected you all not to be early like me and shouldn't have gotten upset when you weren't here." Lily blushes slightly and shoots a glance towards the stairwell, seeing Peter walk down with his bag spewing different papers. She shakes her head as he walks over, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the bag, muttering a spell to organize everything.
"Thank you," Peter squeaks out, taking a seat in one of the arm chairs and fixing his shirt buttons. "Sorry about earlier."
Lily shakes her head, "no, like I told Remus, it was totally my fault." A few younger students walk past them and she gives them a friendly wave. Being a prefect, she knew all of the Gryffindors by name. "I shouldn't have burst in on you all."
"I mean, if you really wanted to see me shirtless all you had to do was ask Evans!" Sirius loudly announces as he and James step off the last step. James's face was still slightly pink as they walk over and join the group.
Lily stands up and begins to pull on her robes as she retorts, "I didn't want to see you shirtless, Black."
"Oh then it must have been dear old Padfoot here." He slings his arm over James's shoulder and jostles him, "there is a chance after all!"
"Shove off you." James gives Sirius a push and looks at Lily, "sorry about that. I just wasn't expecting you to be in there."
"It's quite alright, really." Lily feels her face heat up again and she quickly turns away, grabbing her bag and slinging the strap over her shoulder, "we all ready now?" There's a general noise of agreement in the group and they all head towards the portrait. As the portrait closes, they wish a good morning to the Fat Lady who returns it. As they descend the stairs, Sirius leads the way with Remus while Peter tottles close behind and James and Lily bring up the rear of the group. The two of them walk side by side in relative silence, their hands occasionally brushing. "How was quidditch practice last night? I didn't catch you afterwards."
"Oh, it went well. The team really seems to be getting into shape. I think we've got a real shot at the Cup this year, so long as we win against Slytherin tomorrow." James explains, "did you finish up with that paper alright?"
"I did, though it took a little bit longer than I expected it to but that's alright. You'll do great against Slytherin. We have a better offense than they do." The two share a smile before having to stop walking as they bump into the back of Peter who had stopped because he'd stepped in a trick stair. Again. The group all laugh while Peter bumbles excuses, trying to pull himself out. Lily takes James's bag while Remus takes Sirius's.
"Hold on there mate, we've got you." James says, grabbing him under his arms with Sirius on the other side. "One, two, three!" With practiced ease, James and Sirius are able to pull Peter out and set him on the steps.
"Seriously Wormtail, you've got to watch yourself. You've been a student here for how long now?" Sirius heckles him good naturedly, taking his bag back from Remus. James thanks Lily for holding his bag and takes it back, also shouldering it. The gang sets off again, making idle chatter as they walk into the foyer and towards the Great Hall. As they round the corner into the Great Hall, their group collides with a group of Slytherins. Lily's heart pounds a little bit as she sees Severus is walking at the head of the group. The two make eye contact and Lily looks away, gripping her bag tightly.
"Watch where you're going Potter. I'd hate for you to get hurt before tomorrow." Mulciber says with a humorless grin on his face. James and Sirius immediately go on the defensive, both of them gripping their wands.
"It wouldn't be wise to say things like that. Someone might think that you're making a threat." Remus states, his brow furrowed. While he didn't like conflict, he was willing to stand up with his friends if need be. Besides, as a prefect alongside Lily, he needed to make sure that some relative peace was kept between the different groups of students.
"No threat, Lupin, don't worry. Just pointing out that we wouldn't want dear ol' Potter here to get hurt before tomorrow, that's all." Mulciber says in a sarcastic tone, smirking the entire time. "We would want his face to end up like yours, now would we?" Remus's blank expression falters and his ears turn slightly pink. Since his last transformation, he'd earned a new scar across his forehead.
"Why you little-" Sirius takes a step forward, beginning to draw his wand from his pocket. At the same time, Severus begins to draw his wand, a look of determination on his face that Lily had only seen when he was working on potions. James starts to draw his and before anyone knows it, he's fired off the first spell, a minor blasting charm between the groups which causes everyone to jump back and separate.
"Enough!" Lily yells, catching everyone's attention. She jumps between the groups, looking between them, "everyone put your wands away! Now!"
"Ah, Evans, coming to save the day again." Mulciber comments, his eyes glittering with malicious intent, turning his wand over and over in his hand.
Lily turns to him, her large emerald eyes filled with determination, "put your wand away. Now. That's an order from a prefect Mulicber. I suggest you not ignore it." Her tone has a finality to it and Mulciber falters. "Don't make me turn you over to McGonagall again." Mulciber's jaw tenses but he puts his wand back in his pocket, Severus following suit. James and Sirius put theirs away as well, each barely containing themselves. Lily had strategically placed herself to where they couldn't grab the Slytherins without her getting in the way. "Now, let's all just go about our day."
The Slytherins begin to move first, Emma Vanity makes sure to slam her shoulder into Lily as she walks by causing the smaller girl to stagger and almost fall down. James gently grabs her arms to steady her, holding her upright until she gets her footing. Lily's face flushes slightly and she gives him a grateful smile, rubbing her shoulder as the group walks into the Great Hall. All eyes were on them but the Marauders all act as though they didn't notice, heading to their usual spot. Lily keeps her head down and slides into her seat next to James, resting her book bag on the floor before turning and helping herself to food.
Professor McGonagall walks down from the staff table and over to the group, her presence loudly announced by Sirius. "Come to accept my invitation to Professor Slughorn's party?" A few first years who are listening in giggle and whisper to each other with glee.
Professor McGonagall looks down on the boy, her lips slightly pursing in disapproval. "That was highly inappropriate, Black. I am your professor." She turns her attention then to Remus and Lily, "I hope that house points were taken away from those involved in the altercation."
"Oh, well, I just thought," Lily looks at Remus for help, unsure what to say.
"Both parties were at fault, Professor, and no one was actually hurt so we just thought that that was enough." Remus gives the excuse, knowing that it was a sad one.
"Well then I'll take off points. Ten points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor houses." The gems from those respective houses float up from the pile into the top of their house glasses and a murmur of disappointment goes up from either table. "That will suffice I believe. Next time, don't let your friends or others off so easily. And Potter, fix your tie." With that, Professor McGonagall turns and walks away, students scrambling to get out of her way.
Lily softly groans, rubbing her temples slightly. This was not how she wanted to start her morning. The rest of the group just shrugs it off and goes back to eating. The Marauders were used to losing house points. In their six years at Hogwarts, they had probably lost the most of any group in history so losing a mere ten points wouldn't affect them in any way.
"Don't worry Lily, we'll earn them back tomorrow during the match!" Peter points out with a smile her way. Lily gives him a small one in return and returns to eating. As the first bell of the day rings out, the Marauders and Lily make their way to their first class of the day, Charms. Nothing special happens throughout the day and before they know it, it's time to do homework and go to bed.
Quicker than anyone could have accounted for, it is the next morning. The morning of the match everyone had been talking about between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The Great Hall is bursting with noise from every one of the tables. Bets were placed and discussed with students discussing the statistics and the scoring rates of either team. When Lily walks down and into the Hall, the Slytherin team is sitting together, all looking very serious and barely speaking to each other or anyone else. James and the Gryffindor team on the other hand, are chattering away and joking about as they normally do. Lily catches James's eye and he pats the seat beside him, a smile on his face. She practically skips over to him, her red hair falling behind her in a wave and bouncing as she does so.
"Love the jumper," James comments as she sits down. It was her Gryffindor jumper that she had decorated with various pins with the player's name and number. On her cheek, she'd had her roommate paint James's number and it would switch everyone five second to his last name. Since it was beginning to be winter, she also had her Gryffindor red scarf and mittens. "And the face paint." James's hazel eyes dance with excitement.
"I figured you would appreciate it. How do you feel?"
"I feel good. Excited and nervous of course. This is my first game as captain against Slytherin." James runs his hand through his hair and chuckles slightly, "I'm sure it'll be fine though."
Lily reaches over and squeezes his hand that was resting on the table next to his plate, "you're going to be amazing, as usual." James gives her a smile and squeezes her hand back, neither one of them letting go for several seconds until James is jostled by Sirius and his attention is drawn that way. Lily shakes her head and begins to help herself to food, putting food on her plate and diving in, greeting Remus and Peter.
Pretty soon it is time for the teams to head down. James stands up and whistles, calling for his team to fall out. The team members take a few more bites of food and scramble up. Lily gently grabs James's hand as he turns to walk down the aisle, giving him a smile. "Good luck!" He gives her a wink and squeezes her hand before walking away, leading the pack. Sirius stands up in his seat and leads the Gryffindors in a cheer as the team exits, spurring them on. Lily cheers for them, waving to James as he turns back to look at the Marauders, grinning from ear to ear. About fifteen minutes later, the group decides to head out to the pitch. Lily walks with the Marauders, a few of their fellow sixth years joining their group. They're about half way there when Lily realizes she'd dropped her glove.
"I'll be right back!" She tells Remus who stops walking.
"Everything okay?"
Lily gives her friend a smile and nods, "yeah, I must have just dropped my glove back in the Great Hall. I'll be there. Save me a seat!" Turning, Lily jogs backup and into the castle. She goes into the Great Hall and to where they were sitting, looking under the seats and frowning when she can't find it. "Where in the world could it be?"
"Looking for this?" Severus's voice makes Lily jump five feet in the air as she lets out a rather unlady-like noise of shock. She turns and looks up at her former best friend, seeing her glove clutched in his long fingers. "I saw you had dropped it and picked it up."
"Um, thanks." The Great Hall was fairly empty at that point, most of the students having followed the Marauders example and had begun to head down to the Quidditch pitch. Gingerly, she reaches out and takes the mitten from him. She didn't really know what else to say to him so busied herself with pulling it on and digging the other one out of her pocket.
"What's going on with you and Potter?" Severus spits the other wizard's name out as if it burned him to say.
"What do you mean?" Lily questions him, looking up into his dark obsidian eyes. Severus stares down into her eyes, his expression extremely guarded. Even after knowing him for so many years, she was still surprised at how well he could hide his emotions. It was like he was a blank slate sometimes. "And any way, how is that any of your business what me and my friends are doing?"
"It looked like more than friendship to me." Lily rolls her eyes and steps around him, choosing to ignore him rather than react. Severus easily keeps up with her, stepping in front of her and blocking her path. "Please, hear me out Lily. They're-they're bad!" Lily whips around at him, glaring whole heartedly .
"They're bad? They're bad? I've bet I haven't even heard half the shit that your house mates get up to and they're ten times worse! The Marauders have at least apologized for what they did and don't forget about how," Lily lowers her voice slightly, "they saved your sorry arse last year! Now, you will stop interfering where you are not needed nor wanted!" Lily rips her arm away and runs away, heading back down towards the Quidditch pitch. She knew that she probably shouldn't have snapped at him like that but she didn't care. He had no right to criticize her friends like that! Lily marches down and into the stands, joining the Marauders with Sirius dancing around the front row, leading the fans in a chant in support of Gryffindor.
Remus turns his head as he notices that she's joined them and frowns when he sees how red she is. It wasn't red from the cold either. She had that look about her which meant that she was mad about something. "Are you okay?" He mouths to her, raising an eyebrow. Lily just nods, giving him a tight smile and joining in the clapping as the teams emerge from their respective dressing rooms. James's face is completely transformed as he walks forward to meet the Slytherin captain. No longer does he wear his signature smile, the one that Lily had grown from hating to loving over the past months, but he was wearing a stern and serious look he often wore during dueling practice with the rest of the Marauders.
James walks forward and greets the Slytherin captain, a seventh year who was big and ugly looking. The two refuse to shake but James gives a polite nod of acknowledgement before stepping back. The teams climb up on their brooms and kick off, all hovering over the center of the field. Madam Hooch pulls out her whistle and wand, tapping the case. The two bludgers fly out as well as the snitch which zig zags between the players before darting off Godric knows where. Madam Hooch puts the whistle to her lips and picks up the quaffle, tossing it into the air and blowing the whistle. James immediately flies into action, grabbing the quaffle and tucking it in his side, darting off. Lily and the rest of the Gryffindors let out a scream as he and the other chasers navigate their way through the air with ease, darting away from the Slytherin players and expertly passing the quaffle between each other.
James ends up with the quaffle, putting his head down and darting towards the goal posts faster than anyone else on the field. In the blink of an eye, he fainted a shot and scored ten points for Gryffindor. The stands absolutely explode with the fans cheers and yells. James does a short lap over the field before jumping back in as the Slytherins gain possession of the quaffle. After scoring that goal, James looked much more relaxed than before. The first one was always the worst and most nerve wracking. The game goes one, with each team scoring points back and forth. James scores the most for the Gryffindors, as usual. He weaves throughout the field, barking orders at his team and knocking the Slytherins through loop after loop. After an hour, both seekers suddenly dive.
"-and that's Potter with - wait! What's this? Both seekers are diving! It appears as if they've seen the Snitch! That's right people! They've seen the snitch!" The crowd erupts, everyone on the edge of their seats, "who will be the first to get to it? They're head to head - and Gryffindor's very own Cresswell pulls ahead! Will he get to it in time- YES HE WILL! CRESSWELL HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! GRYFFINDOR WINS! 270 TO 90!" At this, the stands erupt with wild cheers from the Gryffindors and their supporters. Cresswell does a lap, holding the snitch high in his hand as the rest of his team joins him. As soon as they land, the Gryffindor team is swamped with their fans. The Marauders make a bee line for James and Sirius and Remus lift him up by his legs, propping him up between them on their shoulders. Cresswell had passed off the winning snitch to him and James held it up, clutching it in his hand. Lily laughs as he's jostled about by Sirius and Remus, clapping and cheering.
"Go, go Gryffindor! Go, go Gryffindor!" Sirius starts and the entire student body, except those who had supported Slytherin, join in. Sirius and Remus both lower James to the ground and everyone starts to congratulate him. Sirius starts to spread the word of an after party to celebrate as the crowd starts to disperse. Lily weaves her way through the crowd and over to James who turns to her and gives a huge smile.
"Congratulations! That was absolutely brilliant!"
James shrugs, running a hand through his windswept hair, "it was nothing really." Lily rolls her eyes but continues to smile. Whereas a year ago, she would have found it annoying how cocky he sounded, she now found it enduring. Sirius slings his arm over James's back, his hair having escaped it's pony tail in all of the hubbub of the celebration.
"Alright you two! Time to let the hero of the day go shower off and then, it's party time!" Sirius lets out a wild howl and grins. Remus shakes his head but continues to smile. Peter, meanwhile, looked like he was about to pee himself; he was so excited.
"You really shouldn't announce things like that to not one but two prefects, sirius." Lily reminds him, shaking her head.
"Oh come on Lily! Live a little!" Sirius gently pokes her in the shoulder, grinning. "Besides, like you don't like to party. I saw you last time with some of that giggle water." Sirius winks at her and Lily's face flushes bright red as she sputters, trying to deny it.
James laughs a little and shakes his head, "I'll see you lot in a few. I've got to go and debrief the team and then shower. See you in the Common Room?" The Marauders agree and James jogs off towards the dressing room, calling to his teammates to join him. Lily watches as he disappears and can't help but smile even wider. Remus sees the look in her eyes and smiles, shaking his head slightly. He was probably the only one who had picked up on how Lily had begun to return James's affection. He doubted even Lily noticed it about herself.
"Alright Marauders! And Lily," Sirius adds with a wink. They hadn't yet made her an official Marauder. "We have a very important mission. We have to throw the best party that Hogwarts has seen yet this year. Peter, you and Remus go down to the kitchens and get some food and drinks." Peter and Remus both nod, accepting their job. "Lily, you are in charge of decorations. I will handle the… fun stuff." Sirius winks at Lily and she rolls her eyes at him. "Relax! I'll make sure that none of the wee babies can get to it. Just like we did last time." It was true. No matter how reckless the Marauders were, they only gave the giggle water and firewhiskey to those who were in sixth or seventh year, never anyone younger than that. If they caught anyone sneaking it to those younger, they were immediately barred from attending and liable to get a stinging hex from James or Sirius. "We all have our missions! The party starts at six o'clock! Off we go!" Sirius, Remus, and Peter all head out towards the castle but Lily hangs around, waiting for James.
It takes a few minutes but eventually James emerges from the dressing room after the rest of his teammates have already walked out. She waves to him and walks over. His hair was messy and wet and it was clear he'd taken a quick shower before walking out. As she walks up, he gently pulls her in for a hug, crushing her against his chest. Lily giggles a little bit and returns it, burying her nose in his shirt and breathing in deeply. The two separate, Lily's cheeks slightly pinker than they had been before. "Where are the rest of 'em?"
"Well," Lily begins as they start to walk back up to the castle, "Peter and Remus went to the kitchen to knick some food while Sirius went to go knick some "fun stuff", as he calls it. I'm apparently in charge of decorations tonight."
"Ah, so they gave you my usual job." James chuckles lightly and walks with her, closer than most people would.
"You really were absolutely brilliant. I mean, you scored nearly seventy percent of the goals for Gryffindor. That's amazing." James's ears turn slightly pink and he once again shrugs, acting like it's no big deal. "Don't shrug it off! You could go pro if you play like that next year. Besides, you've always had good statistics."
"Oh really? And here I was thinking over the past six years you never paid attention to me. If I remember correctly, you even called me an arrogant toe rag." James lightly teases, pushing her slightly with his shoulder.
Lily's face flushes and she bites her lip nervously, "well, just because you were an arrogant toe rag doesn't mean that I didn't pay attention to you. It just meant that I was annoyed by you."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is so." Lily rolls her eyes, smiling from ear to ear. She liked this. It felt natural to be around him and joke like this with him.
"Well, I'm truly flatt-"
"Oi! Potter!" Avery calls from behind them. The two Gryffindor's freeze and turn, going on the defensive. Neither pulls their wand just yet but their fingers itch to do so as they watch Avery walk up, half of the Slytherin team behind him along with a few others. Lily's face hardens even more when she sees that Severus is a part of the group, even if he was towards the back. "Are you going to go gloat with your Gryffindor buddies about how you cheated and won?"
"We didn't cheat. Unlike some people, Gryffindor can win off of pure talent alone." James shoots back, an easy grin on his face. Lily could see that his fingers were twitching however, a response to wanting to hex them all.
"Slytherin doesn't need to cheat but we all saw that nasty move that your beaters did against Black." Avery shoots back, walking closer and closer like he was a predator stalking his prey.
"There was nothing illegal about that shot. If little Black can't handle some rough play.. Well maybe he needs to go back to the minor leagues." James says with a grin, staring them down behind his glasses. "Now, if you'll excuse us. We have places to be." James gently puts a hand on Lily's lower back, guiding her into a turn.
"Potter!" Severus calls, drawing the attention back to the group. Lily could see that he was livid at James touching her.
James's jaw twitches but he turns back, "what Snivellus?"
"Parties aren't allowed at Hogwarts. Hope you and your merry band of idiots aren't planning anything. And Lily, I would have thought you would stop them."
Lily glowers at him, stepping forward, "what my house mates and I do is none of your business. Isn't that what you once told me when I tried to get you away from this lot? Besides, you and I aren't friends. If I want to be with my friends, then that's none of your business." With that, Lily turns and walks away, "come on James. They're not worth our time."
"Oh! Just going to follow your little mudblood pet, Potter?" Mulciber calls, grinning from ear to ear with malice. James whips around, pulling out his wand in a fluid motion. Lily turns at the same time, standing beside James.
"What did you just call her?" James's voice is quiet and deadly. "Say it again. I dare you." Mulciber grins and steps forward, his wand out as well.
"I said, you going to follow orders from that little mudblood whore? I would have thought a pureblood such as yourself would know better. Then again, your family always was soft." James raises his wand to hex but Lily grabs his wrist, pulling it down.
"No! That's what he wants James! To get you in trouble!" She looks up at him, placing a hand on his chest where she could feel his heart beating rapidly in rage. "Let's just go!" James tears his eyes away from Mulciber and looks into her pleading eyes, "please." With an animalistic noise of rage, James takes her hand and stalks away. Lily yelps slightly as he gently pulls her along and into the castle. She quickens her steps to keep up with his long legs, going along with him as he pulls her down different corridors, winding away from the group of Slytherin. She had no idea where he was going and finally asked, "James, where are we going?" He pulls her into an alcove behind a tapestry of two wizards dueling, pulling her close to his chest, holding her there. For a second, Lily freezes but then melts into the embrace, closing her eyes.
"You're not dirty Lily. They're cowards. Ignorant cowards, the lot of them." James murmurs, still shaking with rage.
"I know… Don't worry, I don't hold stock in what any of them say. They don't matter." Lily assures him, still holding on to him tightly. James leans down and breathes in her familiar smell, relaxing after a few deep breaths. "I know who I am and they can all go and kiss the giant squid for all I care."
James chuckles a little, though the sound comes out rather forced, "thank you for stopping me from hexing the lot of them. As much as I fancy detentions, I'd rather not get any tonight." The two separate but are forced to stay close together as the space behind the tapestry was quite small. Lily couldn't help but notice how James's hand lingered on her waist, not gripping but also not moving.
"Where are we anyway?"
"Huh? Oh, it's a hidden spot up on the third floor. They came after us as soon as we got through the doors so I figured it was a good spot to lose them." James looks down at her and reaches up, brushing a piece of hair back from her face. "You're all flushed. You good Evans?"
"You never call me Evans anymore." Lily comments, ignoring the question as her face flushes even more. James's fingers linger against her cheekbone, trailing down the side of her face. She couldn't quite read his face anymore, it was like he'd put up a mask. "Sickle for your thoughts?"
James chuckles quietly, his signature grin returning to his face, "for you Evans, you can have them for free. I'm just thinking-" He cuts himself off as they hear movement in the corridor, listening intently. Lily holds her breath, pulling her wand slowly out of her pocket as James does the same, just in case. The tapestry is pulled back and the light of a camera goes off as their friends all laugh at catching the two of them. "What the- oh you pricks!" James loudly announces, charging out after them and tackling Sirius.
"How did you find us?" Lily asks, stepping out from the alcove and looking left and right to make sure no Slytherins were there. When she confirms it, she stows her wand back in it's spot.
Remus grins and looks at the other Marauders, "should we tell her?" Sirius and James sit up from wrestling on the floor, Sirius's hair covering most of his face.
"Oh, alright. Go on Moony. Let her in." Sirius gives in and laughs, shoving his hair out of his face. Remus pulls a piece of blank parchment out of his back pocket and hands it over to Lily who studies it curiously, unfolding it.
"This is blank." She points out, thoroughly confused.
Remus whips out his wand and touches the parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly, the parchment opens up and a map begins to sprawl across it. The ink settles and Lily gasps in recognition.
"The Marauders Map? Don't tell me.. Is this a map of Hogwarts?" She opens it up, studying it, "did you lot make this?"
Peter grins, rocking back and forth on his heels, "we did!"
"Finished it up just earlier this year." Remus says, unfolding the map to show where they were. Lily could see the spots labeled with their names and gasps as she sees others moving about on the map.
"This is, this is incredible!" She announces, her jaw dropping as she looks through it. "This shows everyone at Hogwarts?"
James nods and stands up, dusting himself off, "it sure does. Shows where they are every minute of the day. It's one of our best kept secrets." He gives a wink in Remus's direction. "We seal it away with a simple spell." James pulls out his wand and taps the parchment, "mischief managed." Instantly, the ink goes away and the parchment is left as blank as when Remus had first pulled it out. "That way no one can find it. Now, trying to get it to reveal its secrets."
Lily raises an eyebrow but pulls out her wand, tapping the parchment "reveal your secrets." Instead of the map, a message scrawled across it, a sentence from each one of the Marauders. "Mr. Moony wishes that Lily Evans would ask them the password. Mr. Padfoot would like to recognize that Lily Evans has tried and failed at something for perhaps the first time ever." At that one, she cuts him a scowl but he just grins and gestures for her to continue. "Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would agree to give her the password if she agreed to a date with him. Mr. Wormtail bids Lily Evans a good day and wishes that she would give him more muggle candies.' You lot are.. Truly something."
"Oh, are we now?" Sirius says with a grin, "go on Evans. Say it. Say we're brilliant."
Lily stores her wand away in her pocket, folding the map up, "you lot are… Not totally stupid." With that comment, Lily tears down the hallway at a full sprint, clutching the map in her hands, "but you're easily tricked!"
"Hey!" The Marauders yell, chasing after her while laughing. Lily runs around the corner and giggles as she does so, feeling truly free while joking with the Marauders. James easily catches her, grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her up. "Grab the map!" Lily clutches the map in her hand as she squeals, holding it high above her head. Sirius easily reaches up and snatches it back, shoving it down his trousers with a triumphant smile.
"Oh! Padfoot! Now we have to burn the map!" Peter says exasperated. All the Marauders chuckle good naturedly and James sets Lily down, his hands lingering on her waist as he does so.
"I believe we have a celebration to get to," Remus reminds the group and they all head that way. Lily walks beside James, falling in step with them as she so often did now-a-days. Looking between the faces of her friends, she knew that all was going to be fine. Though they didn't say it, Lily knew that them showing her their map was a large step. It had made her feel like she was really a part of the group. For the first time in a long time, the hole that had been empty since her and Severus had stopped being friends, felt no larger than the tip of a quill.