2021, Lily's Flat.
Lily's first thought when she woke up was sheer panic, Fuck I'm late!
Lily's second thought was, shit, my head hurts.
Lily's third thought was, why is James Potter laying on my floor?
The rest of Lily's thoughts were something like; Holy shit James Potter! Wait, I work for him. Shit. I work for him. My head hurts. I want a bacon sandwi— James Potter is on my floor!
Lily sat up in her bed, noting that she was wearing James's High school Musical hoodie, and her clothes from the previous night. She groaned softly, grabbing her head and attempting to remember what the hell had happened.
Me, drinks, drunk. Ringing Potter, Potter carrying me up the stairs… Fuzzy. Shit.
Lily would have guessed from her limited memory of last night that Potter had helped her into bed, what had she said to him? She just hoped that her dignity was still intact. Not like she had much dignity to begin with.
Getting up as silently as she could, Lily padded over to her bathroom, slipping in and locking the door. Looking in the mirror, she was certainly worse for wear, with her blackened mascara smudged eyes and her no doubt knotted hair. She could have laughed, this is what she looked like after having a rockstar in her room overnight.
Her fifteen-year-old self would've been ashamed, and Alice would've be screaming at her right now if she knew.
After somewhat fixing her appearance, she left the bathroom and tip-toed into her kitchen, taking a look in her fridge and deciding that eggs were the best course of action. Lily was proud of her cookery skills, she was more than mediocre, and had fed herself, Alice and Mary throughout uni. Lily truly believed that the pair wouldn't have survived without her.
So that's how she ended up accidentally cooking a massive fry up. She had been skidding about the kitchen, humming crazily and popping every single breakfast related food on the stove. In fact, Lily had gotten so absorbed in her cooking she forgot about her guest, cranking up and screaming along to Lily Allen.
"We actually met Lily Allen once, at the BRITs," James interrupted, smiling smugly from the doorway, watching Lily curiously as she flipped an omelette, letting out a little yelp at the sight of James.
"Fuckin' hell Potter, I very nearly crapped myself, I forgot about you," Lily said, putting the omelette on a plate, next to the various arrays of bacon, egg and sausage rolls she had cooked up
"Clearly, I hope not all of your house guests wake up to you screeching to Smile ."
Lily tutted but reached over to her speaker, lowering the volume, "Not all of us can be rockstars Potter."
James smiled and walked further into the kitchen, picking up a roll and biting into it hungrily.
"Holy shit," James said, making a sound that made Lily's ears go bright red, "why didn't you tell me you could cook ? We've been living off shitty takeaways."
Lily rolled her eyes as she cleaned the hob, overly conscious of James's presence. She still scolded that inner part of herself that was geeking over the fact that she could even talk to the James Potter.
"Cause, funnily enough Potter, I'm not your chef," Lily quipped, a small smug smile playing on her lips as she turned to face James.
James rolled his eyes fondly and Lily's flimsy confidence was shattered, her embarrassment from the night before seeping through.
"Thank—Thanks for helping me last night, I'm absolutely mortified," Lily laughed awkwardly and James waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't be, I'm sure you've seen that video of me when I was sick on Rhianna's shoes at the VMA's," James said, finishing off the roll and reaching for another one whilst hopping up and sitting on Lily's counter, looking oddly at home in Lily's tiny flat.
"I remember that! Oh my god Alice—" Lily stopped herself midway, not ready for all the questions that would be asked in connection to Alice.
"—I remember it…"
James gave Lily a small smile as he looked at her, somehow finding the courage to say, "Evans, do you remember what you sai—"
However, James was interrupted by Sirius Black barging into the flat, making the blushing Lily look away and focus back on the pancakes that she had to flip.
"What did I tell you Pete? I knew that he was here, you owe me a fiver," Sirius said obnoxiously, coming and hopping up on a stool like he owned the place.
"Yeah fine whatever… Oh my god, breakfast! Lily can I?" Pete asked, and Lily nodded, stacking the pancakes on a plate.
"Please, eat. I've made way too much," She said with a smile, feeling James's eyes on the side of her face. She desperately wanted to know what he was about to say. She barely remembered anything.
Oh god. What did I say to him? She thought, and a panging feeling erupted in her stomach. Sirius whooped cheerfully as he wolfed into the food, with Peter following, grabbing the pancakes happily. Sirius made some over-exaggerated moaning sounds before looking up and examining Lily suspiciously.
"Hold up, Evans. Are you wearing James's hoodie?" Sirius asked, with a mouthful of bacon. Lily suddenly stopped scrubbing the pan she was holding and looked down at the jumper, an unwelcome blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Yeah, guess I am," Lily said, continuing her washing up, desperately willing herself to be nonchalant. Be nonchalant.
A moderately awkward silence fell upon the group before Lily heard a rather aggressive whisper from Sirius to James.
"Prongs did you two—"
"—No, and don't be a dick. Thank her for the pancakes," James whispered back.
"Thanks for the pancakes Red," Sirius said, giving Peter a small kick under the counter.
"Ouch, er yeah—thanks Lily," Pete coughed, and James smirked victoriously as Lily nodded bashfully.
"No problem boys, can't have Britain's favourite boy band dying of scurvy," Lily smiled, hating that she was warming up to these idiots.
"Wait? One Direction is dying of scurvy?" Sirius teased, and Lily whipped him with a tea towel, eliciting a girly shriek from the alleged heartthrob.
Lily was about to make a rather hilarious dig at said girly shriek but Remus burst in, holding his phone, looking alert.
"Lads," Remus paused before giving a nod to Lily, "And Lily. Code blonde, Marlene's on the phone."
All three boys went stiff, looking equally as terrified as Remus. Lily felt confused, Marlene was the boys' manager. So why did they look like they were about to piss themselves?
"Shit, shit. Rock paper scissors for who has to speak to her?" Sirius said, preparing his hand, pancake still hanging out of his mouth. Remus shook his head at this.
"Too late, she wants to speak to Prongs," Remus said, walking over and handing the phone to James, who froze in what could only be described as fear. The rockstar gulped, holding the phone horizontally and unmuting their side of the call.
"Marley! How's my favourite natural blonde?" James asked, putting Marlene on speaker for the group to hear.
"Potter, care to tell me what the hell you are playing at!" Marlene shouted, a terrifying Irish accent protruding from the speakers.
James cringed, holding the phone away from his eardrums, replying with a hilariously timid voice, "Could you possibly tell me what I'm playing at?" He asked, and Sirius bit his fist in an effort not to laugh.
"Well Potter, tell me why you have apparently hired a songwriter without asking for my permission," Marlene asked, and Lily felt panic run through her.
They haven't even told Marlene about me writing for the band? She thought worriedly, examining James's slightly fearful expression as he avoided Lily's gaze.
"Well, I didn't think we needed permission, It is our band after all," James said, voice strong and unwavering even under the intimidating Marlene Mckinnon.
"You do know that all band decisions have to be run through me James, your label will need to know if you have recruited some random girl to be—"
"Marlene, I am going to stop you right there sweetheart," James said, turning the call off of the speaker and bringing it up to his ear. Lily was shocked to see the usually childish Potter turn so authoritative in a matter of seconds.
Lily shared a shocked look with Remus as James stood up, walking into Lily's bathroom and shutting the door. Remus let out a shocked scoff as he turned to Lily, "He must really have a deathwish if he's willing to fight with Marlene."
"Or must really like Red—" Sirius laughed, getting interrupted with Peter smacking him on the arm, giving him a scathing look.
"What! We're all thinking it!" Sirius defended, and Lily turned a bright red.
"Just shut up Pads," Remus said, a small smile playing on his lips.
2017, McDonald's Car Park.
"Now this is the real reason you learned to drive, isn't it?" Alice said, happily munching into her Big Mac.
"What? So that we could go through the Mcdonalds drive through? Hell yeah!" Lily laughed, maybe spending all that money on lessons was worth it, maybe.
Alice laughed as well, throwing her feet up onto the dashboard, stretching slightly, reminding Lily of some sort of human-sized cat.
"Spencer wants to have sex," Alice said casually, picking the gherkin out of her burger and handing it to Lily, (who loves gherkins).
Lily ate the gherkin gratefully and turned to her friend, who looked suddenly nervous.
"Well, do you?" Lily asked.
Alice shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip from her Irn Bru to avoid Lily's gaze.
"Dunno. He seems very keen though."
"How keen?" Lily asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. She didn't like Alice's boyfriend. He was twenty years old and seemed like a proper creep, but she couldn't mention any of this to Alice of course. She thought Spencer was the best thing since sliced bread.
"Keen enough to keep a whole strip of condoms in his wallet," Alice said huffily. Lily nodded, thinking back to a couple of months ago when she'd slept with Snape.
"Oh honey, please tell me you didn't go hunting through his wallet," Lily asked with a laugh.
"Maybe. But to be fair, he had just asked me to shag him. Then I said no, because it was 6pm and my mum was about to come home with the shopping!"
Lily couldn't help but laugh, which made Alice give her a light smack on the arm, "It isn't funny Lils! So, he then went to the bathroom to… Ya know, sort himself out."
This made Lily burst out into a fresh set of laughter, which made Alice roll her eyes embarrassingly.
"Lily!"
"I'm sorry but it's—" Lily leant her head against the car door, feeling her sides ache as she giggled, "—it's brilliant, you made him have a wank in your bathroom!"
"Well he wasn't gonna help my mum with the Asda shopping with a raging stiffy!" Alice screamed, which prompted her to join in with Lily's hysterics.
The two had a hearty giggle, eventually calming down. Lily threw her arms around Alice,
"Don't sleep with him if you don't want to, and if you do, for the love of jesus. Don't get pregnant. I need you at uni," Lily comforted, and Alice breathed out a laugh, hugging Lily back.
"Promise. Imagine me as a parent! Truly tragic," Alice joked and Lily giggled, letting go and grabbing the rest of her burger.
"Good, now finish your burger."
"Yes Mum," Alice snarked.
2021, Mary's flat
"So now you have a meeting with the big boys?" Mary asks, busy sticking a poster of the Marauders to her bedroom wall, (all in the name of bullying Lily).
"Yes, and I've got to sign a contract and then James says that they're probably gonna ship us off to a proper recording studio in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere. Because when it gets out that a new female songwriter is working with the Marauders then the pitchforks are coming out."
Mary nods, sticking the last corner up and stepping away, looking immensely proud of herself. "Doesn't it look fab?"
"Is that my face?" Lily asks, getting off of Mary's bed to inspect the cursed poster. Mary had clearly gotten a picture of the Marauders and had photoshopped Lily to be beside them, it looked completely ridiculous.
"Yes my love, that's your face," Mary grinned wickedly, and Lily groaned, holding her face in her hands.
"Jesus christ, how much did it cost you to make and print that thing?"
Mary giggled, turning around to put away the Blu Tack. "£15.99, and it was worth every penny."
"For the love of god don't let your roommates see it!" Lily shrieked, flopping on Mary's bed as her best friend laughed at her.
"Too late…"
Lily emerged from the pit inside of Mary's bed to stand up, giving a stare of pure resent towards the girl.
"I'm going to kill you!" Lily said, running towards Mary, who had already started to sprint out of the room. Lily knew that was going to miss her a lot if she had to go away.
2021, The waiting room outside of Marlene's office
Lily was overdressed. She was overdressed and ready to kill James Potter and the rest of the Marauders.
"I think it's sweet Lils," Remus comforted, a sweet smile on his scarred face. Lily gave him a nervous smile. She felt like a total tit in her work skirt and fancy blouse, where the rest of the band were casual in their jeans and hoodies, (Sirius had his leather jacket on, of course).
"Don't worry Red, Marlene will love you. You're fit," Sirius said, flashing Lily a wink that made her groan. Remus rolled his eyes at his bandmate.
"Pads, just cause she's a lesbian doesn't mean she wants to sleep with every single girl she sees!" Remus defended before giving Lily a glance, "But yeah, she'd totally fancy you."
"Well, when all else fails…" Lily grins, pretending to hike up her skirt. James let out a spluttering cough, and Pete took it upon himself to thump him on the back.
"Ya alright Prongsie?" Peter asked, a sly grin on his face as James sat up.
"Fine. Fine," James said with a small cough, "Just went down the wrong pipe."
"Oh you'd know about pipes—" Sirius began, before Remus interrupted.
"—how can that be sexual?" Remus asked, and Sirius leaned forward in his stiff chair, face close to Remus, causing the bassist to blush a harsh red.
"Oh Moony, everything can be sexual," Sirius blatantly flirted.
"Even kids?" Pete interrupted, looking immensely proud of himself as the entire group burst into laughter, even the nervous Lily.
"Marauders, and… Miss Evans," The stern receptionist said, standing above the group with an unamused demeanour. "Mrs Mckinnon is ready to see you."
Lily was the first to stand up, darting up and smoothing down her skirt, stomach in her throat. The boys proceeded to follow, politely following behind the receptionist as she led the five into Marlene's office.
Lily didn't know what she was expecting Marlene to look like, but she certainly didn't expect to see a woman who was around their age, who was donned in a full power suit. She was both exactly what Lily wanted to be when she grew up, and who Lily was most terrified of in life.
"Hello boys, and Lily," Marlene greeted, sitting on her desk cross-legged, no shoes on. Lily liked that she wore odd socks. Made her seem a bit more human.
"It's lovely to meet you," Lily said nervously, and she seriously considered trying to shake her hand before determining that it would, in fact, be weird.
Marlene gave her a long stare, almost like she was evaluating and determining her opinion of her. Lily stood awkwardly, feeling way too chubby and ginger for this.
"Favourite Bowie song?" Marlene asked, a perfectly manicured brow raised. Lily shuffled awkwardly and spared a look to the Marauders, who all nodded at her enthusiastically.
"Um, well… John, I'm Only Dancing?" Lily answered nervously, terrified of somehow getting this obscure question wrong.
Apparently, she had passed whatever test Marlene had set for her as the manager burst into a smile, sticking her hand out for Lily to shake—which she took gratefully.
"I like you Lily. You've dressed up, which means that A), you care. And B), the boys like you enough to let you embarrass yourself," Marlene said with a dirty glare towards the boys.
"Plus you picked one of the gayest David Bowie songs. And you're really pretty," Marlene said, like it was a definite fact. Which made Lily flush bashfully.
"Thanks," Lily said, turning to the boys who were all grinning, throwing Lily some cheesy thumbs-ups. Marlene raked around in her drawers, now standing on her feet Lily realised that she was pretty tall, taller than Peter and around the same height as Sirius.
No wonder the boys were terrified of her. She was 5'10 feet of pure Irish scariness, Lily was in awe.
"Shitting balls, I'm gonna have to ask Mandy for another copy of this contract. She's gonna kill me, one minute guys," Marlene said, walking out of the office and leaving the five alone.
"You're in kiddo!" Sirius said as soon as she was out, running forward and giving Lily an aggressive hug, which she reciprocated happily, laughing easily.
"I knew she'd like you," Remus said from behind Sirius, smiling happily.
"I thought she was gonna turn you into stone for a sec, that stare," Peter said, faking a shiver.
Lily laughed and agreed, feeling her anxiety melt away slightly. She looked over to see James, who was looking at her so softly it made her heart skip slightly.
"Well done Evans," James said, a soft smile playing on his lips. Lily smiled and thanked him. His brown eyes never leaving her green ones.
May 2018, The only café in Cokeworth.
"Lils, would you just open it already!" Alice practically screamed. Lily felt sick as she looked at the thick letter in front of her. She needed to know if she had been accepted to King's College. But then again she couldn't open the letter. She just couldn't.
"I can't! Alice you need to do it for me," Lily said, pushing the letter towards Alice. It had been just like this two weeks ago, when Alice had gotten her acceptance letter to King's College for photography.
"Fine." Alice leant forward and grabbed the letter, ripping it open quickly with her thumb, Lily covered her eyes with her hands, she couldn't bear to look at Alice's face.
She heard the shuffling of paper and the hitch in Alice's breathing. Lily opened her eyes to see Alice looking at the paper, a mournful look on her face.
Lily's heart dropped.
"I didn't get in, did I?" Lily said, her voice slightly shaky. She looked at Alice, who met her gaze and turned the paper around, letting Lily read the print.
Congratulations Miss Evans, King's College Welcome's yo—
Lily looked up, meeting the eyes of the now beaming Alice. "I got in?"
"YOU GOT IN!" Alice shrieked, standing up, letting the whole of the café look at her as she excitedly shrieked.
"I GOT IN! HOLY SHIT! WE'RE GOING TO UNI!"
"WE'RE GOING TO UNI!"
The two best friends met in the middle of the table to hug the living daylights out of each other.
2021, Marlene's office
"Just sign here, here and here," Marlene instructed, pointing to the dotted lines. Lily nodded, grabbing the contract and giving it a thorough read. She wasn't able to sell her soul or her kidneys. Marlene gave her a respectful nod.
"Clever girl."
"Quit flirting Marley," James laughed, and Marlene stuck a tongue out at him, giving Lily a cheeky smile.
"It's what I'm best at Potter, don't get jealous," Marlene said with a friendly wink towards Lily.
Lily laughed at this, finishing her second read and giving the contract a sign, Turns out it was basically so she wouldn't tell anyone anything about the band. She wondered if Mary counted. She chose not to bring it up.
"Perfect!" Marlene exclaimed as Lily passed her the contract, "Welcome to the Marauder family, Lily Evans."
"Welcome Evans!" Sirius said, and Lily flashed him a rare smile.
"Mandy! Grab the champagne!" Marlene shouted from her office, and the stern voice shouted back, "We only have prosecco!"
"Fine then, whatever we have that's alcoholic!" Marlene rolled her eyes at the group, and Lily let out a giggle. Slightly star-struck by it all.
"Want me to pinch you?" James whispered, suddenly sitting on the arm of her chair.
"Is that a threat?" Lily smiled, looking up at the goofy smile Potter was sporting.
"Nah. It's a promise," He said with a wink, and Lily swatted him on the arm, feeling the happiest she has since Alice died.