James Potter and the Eight Marauders
Chapter 3
Three years later...
"AAHHHH!" Lily shrieked as the towering pile of baggage threatened to topple over. She ran and did a somersault to get out of harm's way.
"I never knew you took gymnastics," someone commented as they entered the cabin in which Lily Oberlin was in. She turned around too fast and fell over, but not before realizing who it was.
"KAT!" Lily cried as she got herself up and crushed Kat with a bear hug. Kat's face turned a weird shade of green while she tried to push Lily off.
The door opened and Alexia appeared with Lindsay at her heels. "Trying out the Heimlich Maneuver on Kat, eh?" Alexia said amusingly.
"ALEX! LINDY!" Lily cried as she started in towards them.
Lindsay quickly put up her hands in self-defense. "Er, not that your hugs are bad or anything, Lily, but...eh..."
"Your hugs are bad," Kat finished for her, rubbing her arms which had Lily fingerprints pressed into.
Alexia frowned at Lily. "And what is with the nicknames? I prefer not to be called Alex, thank you very much."
Lily smiled. "Alright. I just thought it would be cute."
"Oh, it is cute," Lindsay said reassuringly.
BANG!
The door slammed open, making them all turn toward the entrance, where James stood with his baggage in his hands and a gigantic smile plastered on.
Kat stood up and slammed the door on his face.
"Oooh," Lindsay said, clucking her tongue. "That wasn't very nice, Kat." She walked over and opened the door graciously for James. "I'm sorry," she apologized.
James shook his head. "It's fine." He looked at Kat. "Is it okay with you if I sit here with you guys?"
All faces turned to Kat for the final decision. She stared in silence for a few moments, then managed a small smile. "Fine, as long as-"
Before she got to finish, Sirius appeared in the doorway...upside down.
"Sirius is about to enter the building!" he cried.
Kat's honey colored eyes flamed up. "Not if I can help it," she spat as she started for Sirius with a bulky duffel bag in her hands.
Sirius gave a little shriek and righted himself up. "Ah! It's the evil kitten! Oooh, evil Kitty!"
Lily and Lindsay grabbed Kat before she had a chance to cream Sirius. He smiled and dropped his baggage on the floor, threw himself onto one of the seats, and reclined to his leisure.
"...as long as Sirius doesn't come in," Kat muttered, finishing her sentence.
Suddenly, the door banged open once more, and Remus and Peter got in the compartment.
"Oh, look," Alexia said sarcastically. "It's a party."
Sirius' closed eyes shot open as he sat up. "Did someone say the 'P' word?"
Kat gave Sirius a huge, fake smile. "Yeah, Sirius. We were just talking about our periods."
Lily and Alexia sniggered.
"Oh."
For once, Sirius was speechless, as he usually was when it came to girl stuff. Blushing, he reclined once again and placed a book over his eyes, and drifted back to sleep.
*****
"Why are you always so mean to Sirius?" Lindsay questioned Kat when they were in the carriage.
Alexia smiled. "Is it because of that whole Marauder thing? 'Cause it's not that big of a deal when you really think about it."
"It is a big deal!" Kat exclaimed. "It was a good name." She glared at the walls of the carriage. "But they took it."
Lindsay shrugged. "It wasn't my fault. I stood my ground 'til the end, even when James broke my telescope and the time when Remus unleashed that swarm of Red Caps on me."
"Well, I'm sorry if I gave up for the entire House, you guys," Lily sniffed. "But I just couldn't stand the pink hair that James said wouldn't go away until the bet was done."
Kat gave her a friendly pat on the shoulders, and looked out the window. "Which is why we got him back, didn't we?"
"We?" Lindsay laughed. "It was you who wanted to turn his hair green."
Alexia smiled. "Only you 'accidently' pointed your wand towards Remus."
The carriage filled with laughter all the way to Hogwarts.
*****
Ever since the bet was taken off, the newly named FaerieKall House chose to ignore the also newly named Marauders. That plan worked extremely well, for the Marauders seemed to have something very peculiar on their minds. The FaerieKall House (KALL stood for Kat, Alexia, Lily, Lindsay) had important things on their minds as well. Therefore, the silent treatment lasted for three years, all through which none of the Faeries had anything to say to the Marauders.
During the Sorting, the Faeries decided to sit with the Hufflepuffs, who were always the nicest of all the Houses. They adored Lindsay, who was, in their mind, the nicest person in the world. They loved Alexia for her coolness, Kat for her wild personality, and Lily for her bubbly self.
The Hufflepuffs were also the best gossipers in the school.
"Did you know," a pretty girl named Jane Keller, who was close to Lindsay, said. "That Molly Fairchild and Arthur Weasley are going out?"
"That lucky bi-" another girl named Suzan Prewett started to say, but stopped when she looked at Lindsay.
"Anyways," Jane said, trying to divert Lindsay's attention. "I think that Arthur's cute, but that Tom Riddle's hot."
Lily almost choked. "But Jane," she gasped. "He's two years older than you!"
"And he's evil!" Kat added.
Jane shrugged. "So?"
"Jane's right," Lindsay said. "All loves are equal in the eyes of the Lord."
Alexia shot Kat a look, and she returned it.
"I think that James Potter is quite cute himself," Glory Lowell said, her rich blonde curls flying.
"Really?" Jane questioned. "I think I have a crush on his best friend."
Kat fell off her chair, causing the Sorting to stop for a moment. Silence filled the Hall, and everybody's eyes stood fixed upon her.
Kat's head peeked out from under the table. "Sirius?!" she exclaimed loudly. "You have a crush on Sirius Black?!" Too late did she realize that the room was silent, and everybody had heard her. Jane's face went cherry red.
The Gryffindor table, however, was a riot. Peter was looking at Sirius with envy, and the rest were giving him cat-calls. Sirius flashed a smile at Jane, and winked at her.
Jane blushed.
Lily snorted.
*****
The excessive homework kept everybody busy, especially James Potter, who not only had to figure out how to work up a Animagi potion, but also work up enough courage to ask a girl to the Yule Ball.
He sighed. It was two weeks before the Yule Ball, and he didn't have a date. A lot of girls had asked him, but he declined every single one. James wanted a date, but none of the girls who had asked him was especially nice.
James slammed the book closed, causing Sirius and Remus to look up from their chess game.
"Do you guys have any dates?" James asked, exasperated.
Sirius smiled. "I'm going with Jane Keller."
James sighed, and looked at Remus, who shrugged. "I'm thinking about asking Lindsay."
"Argh!" James growled. He threw his pen into the fire, which exploded. "Peter," he shot. "Are you going with anyone?"
"Yeah," Peter said.
James, Remus, and Sirius looked surprised, and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, Sirius asked, "Well, who is it?"
Peter blushed. "Umm...I'd rather not say."
Sirius dove for Peter, crashed into the floor in the process, picked himself up and sat in Peter's lap. "Aww, c'mon Peter, who is it?"
"You'll find out at the dance," Peter mumbled, then picked up his book and sat up, causing Sirius to land on the floor with a thump. Peter left the room.
"I wonder who it is," James pondered.
The portrait swung open, and Julia Potter with some friends came in. "Hey, James!"
James waved her over, and asked, "Julia, do you have any idea who Peter Pettigrew is taking to the dance?"
Her face twisted up into laughter, until she burst out laughing. "Yeah," she managed through giggles. "I know who he's going with." She couldn't go on anymore, her laughter was too much.
A really sick idea came into James' mind, and he prayed it wasn't true.
"Julia," he said cautiously. "Are you going with Peter to the dance?"
Julia's laughter stopped for a moment, then started up again louder than ever. James waited until she stopped. "No," she rasped. "I'm not going with Peter. But you're on the right track." Julia turned to leave, but looked at Sirius pointedly before exiting the room.
James thought about the look she gave Sirius, and turned to Sirius. "Are you going with Peter to the dance?"
Grimacing, Sirius said, "No, James. I'm sorry, but my mind doesn't work that way." He shuddered at the thought.
Remus and Sirius continued on their chess game while James opened his book up once more.
*****
Their last visit to Hogsmeade before the Yule Ball was a blast. Everybody was there, and the dress shops were packed full. The Marauders were having the best time ever, and decided to go get some butterbeers after stopping by Zonko's.
When they entered the Three Broomsticks, however, they found the entire inn packed full, and very crowded.
"Aww, great," Sirius complained. "We have to find a place to sit, but where?" Since he was one of the tallest people in the year, he craned his neck and gave a whoop. "There's a table over there...and, *gasp* oh my goodness, there's Lindsay. Maybe we should *another gasp* talk to her. Hint, hint, Remus." Sirius nudged Remus in the side.
"Onward to the Faery Table!" James shouted into the air, causing many customers to stop and turn. He marched over to the table with Sirius in tow where Lindsay and Lily were staring with horror. Kat had her head in her hands, muttering about lunatics. Alexia thought they should be locked up.
Remus gave them each a dazzling smile. "Hello, ladies."
"Hi, Remus," Lindsay chirped.
Sirius nudged Remus again. "That's a good sign," he muttered. He plopped down next to Alexia, and draped his arm around her shoulder. "Hey, babe." He was promptly slapped.
Remus sat down next to Lindsay, and was rather nervous looking. "Umm...Lindsay?" he squeaked, then cleared his throat.
"Yeah?" She looked completely oblivious to what's about to happen, James noted. Not a good sign.
Sirius's eyes were rolling up and down, darting this way and that, trying to tell Remus to hurry up. Kat, however, frowned. "Sirius, what the hell are you doing?"
Sirius stared at her with a completely neutral face. "I'm exercising my eyes." His eyes suddenly got wide as he stared at Kat.
"Remus, hello?" Lindsay asked. "Are you there?"
Remus was too busy collecting his courage to hear her.
"Let me," Kat said reassuringly at Lindsay, who was apparently worried. "EARTH TO REMUS!" she screamed into his ears.
Remus jumped and turned his attention to Kat. So did the rest of the shop. Silence filled the air. Kat jumped on the table. "Hello!" Kat said pompously, waving to the entire crowd. Remus and Lily quickly pulled her down.
"So," Lindsay said again. "What were you trying to say, Remus?"
"Erm...I was just wondering if you woolitgutdadanwitme."
"What?" Lindsay asked, confused. "Can you say that again?"
Remus took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me." He suddenly cringed.
Lindsay instantly blushed. "Um, Remus," she said, embarrassed. "I would, but..."
At this point, everybody but Remus started to utter complaints, but Lindsay raised her hand. "...but...I'm already going with somebody else." She smiled at Remus. "I'm sorry."
"But you aren't going with anybody!" Lily cried while Kat and Alexia both asked, "Who are you going with?"
Lindsay got more red, if that was possible. "You'll see at the dance." She looked at Kat especially when she said, "You'll get mad at me, or you'll be disgusted."
With his mind going a hundred miles per hour, James blurted, "Are you going with Peter, Lindsay?"
Smiling at Peter, Lindsay said, "No, I'm not."
James sighed. "Everybody has a date but me."
Kat coughed inconscpicuously. "I beg to differ. I don't have a date."
"I don't either," Alexia added.
James was surprised. He would have expected them to have dates. "Nobody asked you guys?" he asked incredulously.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "Let us put it this way, James..."
"We got a dozen offers the first day it was announced," Kat finished for her.
"Which we turned down," Alexia added.
Lily stared at Kat. "You got a dozen? Geez. I only got two the first day."
"Well," Kat replied, exasperated. "It might be an exageration, Lily. It's not like we were actually counting." She turned to James. "I'm planning on going alone."
Sirius coughed something that sounded remarkably like, "Loner!"
Kat reached over and smacked him on his head.
Looking at Alexia, Remus suddenly asked, "Would you like to go to the dance?"
Alexia shrugged. "Sure. Whatever."
"Uh oh," Lily muttered. "Here comes the Pops."
"Pops?" Peter inquired.
"It's the term we use for the group of snobby girls that's heading our way right now," Alexia explained.
James turned to see Jane, Glory, Suzan and a couple other girls headed their way. Jane smiled at Sirius, who smiled back. Lily stuck her finger in her mouth and pretended to throw up.
"Hey, James," Glory said seductively. James's eyebrows shot up into his messy hair. She said in a stern voice, "Take me to the Yule Ball."
"Aye, aye, captain," Kat mumbled. Remus and Lily cracked up, and even Alexia and Lindsay smiled.
Paying no attention to Kat, Glory went on. "I've always wanted to ask you James. Would you go with me?" Glory breathed heavily, trying desperately to seem sexy.
Kat scrunched her face up. "Get a Breathmint."
Glory whirled around to face her.
"Uh oh," Lily said.
"Just because you don't have a date to the Yule Ball," Glory hissed. "Doesn't mean that you have to ruin everybody else's."
"Well, at least I'm not breathing on guys and ordering them to be my date," Kat shot back.
Glory stepped up. "I'm not the one who blabbles inconherantly when I get dizzy."
The table went silent, and James knew that Glory had gone too far. He glanced at Kat, whose yellow eyes flared up.
"You can't talk to my friends like that!" Lily suddenly yelled, causing everybody's attention to turn to her.
That was all Kat needed. In one leap, she tackled Glory to the ground and started to punch her with much enthusiasm. It took the better part of Alexia, Lindsay, and Lily to stop her. In the end, Kat's looked like she did before the fight, but Glory's hair was ruffled, her clothes were torn, and her makeup smeared.
"I'll get you back for this, bitch," Glory hissed while Jane and Suzan helped her up.
"Try it and I'll break your arms off," Kat threatened. "I swear to God."
Glory paled, and turned to James. "Seven thirty sharp in front of the Great Hall." She spun on one heel and managed to walk away with some dignity.
"Wowie," was all that Sirius could say. James and Remus nodded in agreement.
*****
"Can you make the hemline a little shorter?" Alexia asked.
Lily laughed. "Any shorter and he'll be able to see everything!"
The FaeryKall House was a complete mess. Sewing needles, tinsle, extra food from the kitchens, and pieces of cloth and accessories littered the floor. It was five minutes to seven-twenty, the time in which the Marauders had decided to meet at the FaeryKall common room, which was also the dorm.
"You know, Lindsay," Lily said sweetly. "It'll be a lot easier for you to tell us who you are going with."
Lindsay, in her stunning white robes with peach linings and her hair in a long French braid, smiled while putting on a gold necklace with a cross. "You'll just have to find out at the dance."
Lily blew raspberries at Lindsay, then looked at Alexia. "Man, you have got to let me borrow that dress someday," she said in wonder.
The thigh-high sky blue dress fitted Alexia to perfection, and the silver dreamcatcher earrings tinkled every time she moved her head. Her feet held silver strappy heels. A tiara hung on her head where her black hair was set in a bun. Alexia scoffed. "Take a look at yourself in the mirror, Lily, and tell me that the girl you see isn't pretty."
Turning to the mirror, Lily stared at her reflection. She saw a girl with her auburn hair set in a bun with two green chopsticks wearing a long spaghetti strap emerald dress. On her feet were straw sandals. Lily made a face in the mirror. "The only reason why I look halfway decent is because of all the charms you guys put on me."
Alexia paused for a second. "Yeah, true."
Lily threw a shoe at her.
Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open, and there stood Kat. She had a blood red square neck, sleeveless dress. The hemline was up to her thighs in the front, then descended to the ground in the back. On her arm was a golden band made from a line of lions. She was wearing black boots.
"Talk about Gryffindor pride," Alexia noted.
Placing her hands on her hips, Kat mock glared at Alexia. "Well, excuse me, Miss Salazar."
A knock came from the portrait. "Guys?" a muffled voice said. "What's the password?"
"Jubilee!" Alexia shouted as Lily and Lindsay squealed and ran into the bathroom, pulling Kat with them.
In a moment, four guys came tumbling from the portrait hole.
"Hi ho," Sirius chirped from under Peter.
Remus was staring at Alexia with appreciation in his eyes. He held out his hand, which Alexia took with a small smile.
"Where's everybody else?" James asked Alexia with confusion.
Alexia smiled. "They're in the bathroom."
"But we're coming out!" Kat's voice said. The bathroom door opened and Lindsay walked gracefully from the doorway. The Marauders gaped at her.
Lindsay laughed nervously. "I'm guessing that's a good sign?"
Next out came Kat. The Marauders jaws dropped some more. Then, lastly, came Lily, and they're jaws went as far down as it could possibly go.
Kat shook her head. "Pervs," she muttered.
When they got to the Great Hall, they saw Glory all fixed up with a periwinkle blue showy dress and her blonde locks perfect. "Hi, James," she cooed as she ran her fingers up his arm. Lily rolled her eyes as Kat looked on with disgust.
Suddenly, Tom Riddle ran up and tapped Lindsay on the shoulder. When she turned around, Tom stepped back in shock, then smiled, unsure. "You look...beautiful," he breathed. Lindsay blushed as she took his hand.
"Tom Riddle's your date?!" Alexia said in disbelief.
Lindsay blushed. "Yeah..." she said quietly as Alexia and Tom gave each other death stares.
"That hemline's a little short, isn't it, Alexia?" Tom asked despitefully.
Alexia glared back and smiled. "Remus doesn't seem to mind." Remus blushed a deep red. "Besides, who do you think you are?" She stepped up to him. "My big brother?" Alexia turned sharply and tugged at Remus's arms. "Let's go, Remus." They walked into the Great Hall.
Kat went up to Tom and got up her courage to stare into those green eyes. She patted his chest. "It's alright, Tom. No matter what anybody says, remember that you will always be a big brother to someone out there in the world," she said dramatically and then she turned and cruised into the Great Hall, where she was immediately bombarded by Luke Noggle, a fifth-year who had the biggest crush on her.
Peter suddenly squeaked. "Here she comes," he said in excitement. James turned to see who it was. A pretty little girl with straight black hair and dark blue eyes walked up.
"Hey, Siren," Sirius said as he went over and ruffled the girl's hair, who protested. "Whatcha doing here, 'lil sis?"
Siren looked at Sirius with confusion. "Didn't he tell you? I'm going to the Yule Ball with Peter."
Silence filled the air. Sirius turned toward Peter slowly. "Excuse me?" he growled.
In the corner of his eye, James saw Kat frantically whispering something in Jane Keller's ear, and Jane was nodding. She sprinted for Sirius, who was about to kill Peter, literally. "Sirius!" Jane yelled. As he turned, Jane grabbed his face and planted a long, passionate kiss on his lips. Kat was smiling from the sidelines. James smiled too. It seemed to have gotten Sirius's attention from Peter and Siren, who quickly darted into the Great Hall.
"Wowie," Sirius murmured as he stared into Jane's fawn eyes.
Jane giggled and led Sirius into the Great Hall.
*****
James looked around the Hall, and saw that Lindsay and Tom were in terrible contrast. The girl had on white robes, and the Tom had on black ones. He sat alone, for Glory had been getting on his nerves, and she had left in a huff when James told her to scram. When he saw Lily dancing with Amos Diggory, who was in the seventh year, he felt a pang. Alexia and Remus were slow dancing, while Sirius was dancing with Jane.
A slight movement to his left caused James to look up from his untouched cookie. Kat smiled at him.
"Having fun, James?" she asked as she sat herself down.
"The best," he said grumpily.
Kat patted him on the shoulder, then looked around in confusion. "Where's Gory Glory?"
"I told her to scram, so she left," James explained. "She wouldn't stop talking about how lucky I was to have her."
"Eck," Kat said disgustingly. She glanced over at Glory, who was glaring at them. "Well, she seems to be quite mad. She's shooting evil glares at you." Kat smiled widely.
James glanced at her. "Did someone spike the punch, or are you just really happy?"
"I'm always like this," Kat said, smiling.
James smiled too. Kat's smiles were too contagious. "Wanna make Glory more jealous?" he asked wickedly, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. He knew that Kat hated Glory with a passion.
Smiling back, Kat replied, "Okay."
James hugged Kat, and whispered, "Get ready," into her ear. Pushing Kat off her chair, he lowered himself and her to the ground, where the table cloth covered them from the people. He could hear the gasp from onlookers as the music stopped. He was pretty sure everybody was staring. Especially Glory.
Kat was shocked at first, but started to get into the act as well. She started to moan extremely loud. "Oh, James," she breathed. Her face remained with a smile on it. James smiled.
"Kat, My Kat," he groaned.
Kat shook her head and mouthed, "My cat? What the hell?" at James.
James, however, was getting into it. "Kitty, ohh, little Kitty," moaned James.
Kat slapped his head, which resounded into the Hall.
"Erm...that slap is going to sound rather weird, isn't it?" whispered James softly.
Kat quickly placed one hand over her mouth to keep herself from cracking up. James started to smack his lips, which made it seem like they were kissing deeply. Kat took two handfuls of her dress and started to rub them together, making it seem like they were having a wonderful time. They were both sitting up at this time, and were at least a foot apart.
"Miss Blade and Mr. Potter, please get up."
Kat and James looked up to find Dumbledore standing over them, smiling with a twinkle in his eyes. They immediately stood up, and a gasp came from the crowd. Glory looked so mad, James noted, and Kat seemed to have noticed, for her wicked smile got wider.
"Please come with me," Dumbledore said. Kat and James followed him down the hall and toward his office. "Hot goobers," Dumbledore said, and the gargoyle stepped aside.
"Hot goobers?" Kat mumbled quietly with a mixture of amusement and horror on her face.
Dumbledore motioned towards the seats. "Please sit." He sat down at his desk, and looked at Kat and James. "Now, as I am sure we all enjoyed your little show, I won't be expecting this to happen again, alright?" Kat and James both nodded. "Alright," Dumbledore sighed. "I also need to talk to you two about separate matters as well. James, can you go get the other Faeries?" James nodded, and left the room.
Kat shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Her smile had disappeared. "Kat," Dumbledore began. "I know about your gift."
Her head snapped up, and her yellow eyes blazed. "What gift?"
"Your gift of seeing the future, of course," Dumbledore said softly.
Shaking her head, Kat said, "I don't know any gift. I don't have a gift. I only have a curse."
Dumbledore smiled. "It's a curse that's traveled throughout your entire family lineage, isn't it? All of your sisters and brothers have it, don't they?" Kat nodded. "How is your family anyway?" Dumbledore asked.
Kat looked at the ceiling in thought. "Jayce and Pearl are doing fine. They're doing good in their studies at Salem Academy. April wasn't accepted into any wizarding school, although her magic skills are quite extraordinary. I don't understand that part. But Xavier and Sean are being natural trouble-makers. Harmony got sick, but she's better now."
Frowning, Dumbledore asked, "But what about the oldest, what was his name...Isaac?"
Kat looked away at this point. "He...died. Was killed when there was a raid when he went to the local store." Tears threatened to fill her eyes, but she blinked them away. Kat refused to cry.
Dumbledore nodded. "It was Grindelwald, wasn't it?"
"Probably," Kat said.
"We'll talk later," Dumbledore said, suddenly rising from the desk. "Your friends are coming right now."
Sure enough, a second later, Lindsay, Lily, and Alexia rushed through the door.
"What's wrong, Dumbledore Sir?" Lindsay asked. She looked at Kat with worried eyes.
"I need to talk to all of you," Dumbledore said quietly. James shifted his weight uncomfortably. Certainly he didn't belong here, he thought to himself. "It's okay, James," Dumbledore said. "You can stay and listen."
He sat down, and motioned for everybody else to sit down as well.
"I think it's time to talk about why we made another House, and why you four girls were chosen."
*****
