Ahoy there! This is going to be a short story about Lily finding the Marauders cooking, and different moments she shares with them. There will be five chapters, and while it will be a Jily James/Lily fic, the first few chapters will feature Lily's relationships with the other boys. I'm saving the best until last. It will be worth the wait, I promise!

It had been a few weeks since what Lily had dubbed 'The Incident', happened with Remus. O.W.L.S were over, and the end of year feast was tomorrow night, which is why Lily found herself skulking around the kitchens late that night. The Marauders, as they so fondly called themselves, were missing, and Lily just knew in her gut that they were planning a prank for the feast, just like she knew in her gut that Peter would be in the kitchens preparing snacks for a full night of prank planning. And like any good detective, Lily knew that if she wanted any information, she would have the most luck with the weakest link, Peter.

She felt bad for exploiting Peter's trusting and gentle nature, but Lily had to know what the prank was going to be. Last year she had gotten caught up in the after math of it; she had spent her last few hours of year five tending to burns and catching rogue teapots (apparently it didn't occur to the boys when they charmed the teapots to dance to Sirius's rendition of 'Mamma Mia', they would be filled with boiling water.) Lily did not want a repeat of the past year. If the prank was going to result in more chaos than usual, Lily wanted to avoid it.

Fortunately, Lily knew exactly how to approach Peter to get what she wanted; stroke his ego. Peter was best friends with three guys who were almost treated like Gryffindor royalty. Everyone loved the Marauders, they were funny, smart and good looking. Unfortunately, Peter was none of this. At least not at first glance. However, Peter wasn't stupid; he knew he didn't have Sirius's looks, James wit or Remus's brains, but everyone that knew him properly, knew that he made up for this in other ways. But despite Peter knowing that he had value to add to the group, he often felt that other people didn't see it, and so this was often a sore point for the dumpy marauder. Which was perfect for Lily's plan.

"Hey Peter," Lily called as she slipped through the kitchen door. The kitchen was buzzing with movement as the house elves hurried prepared for the upcoming feast, although she could see they'd kindly given Peter a small portion of bench space to cook on.

"Hey Lily, how are you?" he asked, glancing up from his half made pumpkin pie and shooting her a friendly - if slightly confused - smile.

"I'm good, I'm good. What are you up to there Peter?" she asked, watching as he struggled to create the crust for the pie. "I didn't know you could cook."

Peter grunted in amusement. "Who did you think supplied the snacks for when we're working? Sirius?" he snorted at the thought. "We'd be dead in an hour with his cooking," Peter shook his head. "But anyway, what brings you to the kitchens on this fine night Lily? I didn't take you for a midnight snacker."

"Oh, you know…" Lily said vaguely, waving her hand dismissively for added effect. "Just, erm, came to check on the house elves? Yeah, you know, with being a prefect and everything, I thought I should just check that things were going alright."

"You came to check on the house elves?" asked Peter, disbelief colouring his tone.

"Uh huh. Yep."

"You came to check if they knew how to do the job that they've been doing all year?"

"Yep."

"The job that they've been doing probably since before we were born?"

"…yes?"

"You want to know what tomorrow's prank is don't you?"

"Yep. Wait! No," Lily laughed nervously, "even if I did I know you wouldn't tell me, I know the end of year prank is top secret."

"You're right," said Peter, "I can't tell you, and I'm more scared of Remus than I am of you."

"Hmm," hummed Lily, unsurprised by his answer. He was unwaveringly loyal to the boys, which made Lily begin to doubt her plan. However, she resolutely plonked herself down on the stool closest to the boy. So close in fact, that as he worked he would occasionally brush up against her side. He didn't say anything, only sent her a confused and shy smile that went remarkably well with his bright pink cheeks.

"So, Peter, you're like, the designated chef for the group then huh?" Lily asked, sending him a dazzling smile when he looked over at her.

"Oh, um, yes. I suppose so. Although James is also a pretty good cook."

"So I've heard," she said dismissively, not wanting to dwell on Potter at the moment. "So, Peter," she started, placing her chin in her hand she leaned forward towards him, watching him fumble with a spoon. "How did you learn to cook?"

"Oh, well, erm, my Dad taught me. He loves to cook, spends hours in the kitchen. He used to make loads and loads of food, Mum would complain that we couldn't eat it all, so he would invite practically the whole neighbourhood around for dinner." Lily watched as his face lit up at the memory, his cooking momentarily forgotten. "We'd have so many people crammed into our tiny house, with their plates chockers with whatever creation Dad had made. My Dad doesn't just love making food, he loves how it brings people together. Or at least he used too."

"He doesn't anymore?"

"He doesn't cook anymore, not since my Mum died. I don't think he sees the point anymore, since it's just him at home most of the time. However, his is a genius at beans on toast now. I don't know how he can make something simple taste so good, I make it exactly the same way and it's never as good." He sent Lily a light-hearted grin, but Lily could see the sadness he was trying to hide.

"I'm sorry Peter, about your Mum. I had no idea," she said sincerely, giving his arm a quick squeeze.

"It's alright, it was a while ago now, and I don't exactly go broadcasting it," he said softly, starring down at the spoon he was still fiddling with. A loud bang from one of the busy house elves seemed to break him out of his memories. "Right," he said, looking up, "enough with the sadness, if you're going to sit here and bother me, you might as well be useful. Try this," he commanded, holding a small chocolate chip muffin out to her, something he had made earlier.

Lily was once again reminded of her plan and considered eating the muffin straight out of his hand, but she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. Instead she gingerly picked it up, and took a small bite. It was delicious. The chocolate muffin was infused with cinnamon, giving a delightful twist to what she had anticipated. Lily looked up to find Peter watching her eagerly.

"Oh, Peter this is wonderful!" exclaimed Lily, and she meant it. "You are a fantastic cook. Honestly, I think this might be the best muffin I've ever had," she said, laying it on just a tad bit thick.

"Really, you think so?"

"Oh absolutely. No wonder you boys are able to do such clever things, when you've got amazing food like this keeping you company," continued Lily, placing her hand once again on Peter's arm. He looked down at it nervously, his eyes flickering between it and her face.

"Yes, well," swallowed Peter, "we do some pretty marvellous things."

Lily leaned slightly closer, drawing Peter in. "And what," she whispered, as if she were about to tell some great secret. "What marvellous things are planned for the feast tomorrow night?"

"I-ugh…"

It happened in a series of moments. One moment Peter was leaning towards her, the next he was hurtling forward to clash painfully with Lily in his haste. In that moment, his lips found hers, wet and sloppy as he attempted to kiss her. The next moment Lily had flung herself away from Peter, toppling backwards off the stool and landing ungracefully onto the floor with a loud bang. Peter stood above her, looking shocked and confused as she scrambled on the floor to her feet with as much dignity as possible, before turning for the door, not daring to meet his eye.

"I, um, s-sorry," she stuttered out over her shoulder as she all but ran to the door, dodging confused house elves as she went. As she whirled through the door she caught a glimpse of Peter standing next to her fallen stool, looking red-faced and horrified.

Lily ran, flights of stairs a blur. She didn't even spare a thankful thought that the corridors were empty until she collapsed in a heap on the fifth floor next to a suit of armour.

Oh Merlin, she thought, Peter Pettigrew kissed me. He actually kissed me. Oh, Merlin, I think I need some mouth washed. Or a bath.

Lily knew she was being dramatic, and possible mean. But as she remembered his slobbering mouth on hers, she couldn't bring herself to care. She shuddered as she remembered the sensation. Now there was a memory that she would be happy to erase. She liked Peter, but she had never ever had the desire to kiss him, even if she had essentially blown up his pride and flirted with him. Well she guessed it was her own fault, however she was resolved that no one would ever find out. Ever.

Right, thought Lily resolutely. It's not that bad. I just need to forget it happened, forget that horrible, slimy kiss ever happened and I'll be fine. But first I need to see if Marlene has any of that mouthwash she brought in Hogsmeade left. She got off the ground and started walking back to the Gryffindor common room. It wasn't until much later that night, when Lily had used almost all of Marlene's mouthwash and was lying in bed trying desperately not to think about the events of the evening, that she realised that she didn't even find out the marauder's plan.

I knoooow, I felt sooo gross writing this. I think I need to go was my mouth out too! Please leave any reviews or comments, they're greatly appreciated! Next up: Sirius!