A.N: PURE FLUFF!!! Well, not all… But most of it!!! So sweet it makes your
teeth hurt!!
A.A.N (Another…): Peter Pettigrew is permanently sick. With laryngitis. And a broken leg.
1st Year
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James Potter and his two best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin walked down the hallway of the Hogwarts Express. They were looking for an empty cabin. So far, all of them were full. James opened the door on his right. There were two girls sitting inside, talking. One, a red head, stood up and walked over to James.
"Sorry," he started to say. "We were just looking for an empty-" He was cut off as the red head leaned over and caught his lips with hers.
Sirius and Remus, who had walked up just in time to witness the kiss, were laughing their heads off.
"Potter's got his first kiss!" Sirius chanted. "Oh, look. He's blushing!" He punched James playfully on the shoulder.
"Not on the train more than ten minutes and he's already snogging with some girl. What a charmer!" Remus said.
"Do you guys want to sit here?" the other girl asked. Her shoulder length black hair was wound in tight curls and her blue eyes were marvelously bright.
"Sure," Sirius said. He immediately sat down next to the dark-haired girl. "I'm Sirius Black. "Who're you?"
"Arabella Figg. Are you a first year, too?"
"Yeah. These are my friends, Remus Lupin and James Potter." Sirius pulled out a pack of cards to play Exploding Snap. James had been watching them, but he slowly looked to his side, where the red head sat. She was looking at him. When their eyes met, he blushed, but she smiled.
"For your information," she said, "that was my first kiss, too. Bella dared me to kiss the first guy that came into our cabin. You just happened to be him." James smiled, too.
"That's comforting," he said. "What's your name?"
"Lily Evans. Arabella and I are best friends. Have you and the others known each other long?"
"Yeah. It seems like forever. Sirius lives next door to me and Remus is a few blocks away," James replied. Just then, a knock on the door announced the food cart. They all made a mad dash into the hall, to come back with their arms literally overflowing with candy.
"Argh, Sirius, you stepped on one of my Chocolate Frogs!"
"Oops, sorry. Wait, there goes another one."
They dropped all the candy in a large pile on the floor. They had decided to share it all. Sirius, Remus and Arabella all picked out Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and they organized a bubble-blowing contest. James reached for a Chocolate Frog, (not one of the squished ones) but his hand was met by Lily's. He offered it to her, but she smiled and shook her head.
"No, here. We can share," she said. She broke it in half and handed one piece to James. They slowly munched on their chocolate frogs, grinning.
Sirius, James and Remus were walking back from classes two weeks later. They had just come from a particularly harsh Potions lesson in which they had managed to blow up two cauldrons full of an incorrectly mixed boil-curing potion. Four kids had been sent to Madam Pomfrey.
"Man, that was way unfair!" Sirius exclaimed. "It wasn't our fault the cauldrons just happened to be in our way."
"Yeah. Detention with Filch." James shuddered. "I hate that ugly-" He was cut off from saying anything more as something knocked into Remus, sending him tumbling backwards. James and Sirius ran over to where Remus and someone else were picking themselves up.
"Woah, what was that?" Remus offered a hand to a tangle of robes which could be identified as a girl. She took his hand and hauled herself up. She had dark chestnut-colored hair and amber eyes. She brushed herself off.
"Sorry," she said. "Those ugly gits, Malfoy and Snape just yelled 'Expelliarmus!' and sent me flying. Thanks for, erm, cushioning my fall."
"Um, no problem." Remus couldn't help blushing as he stared at the pretty girl.
"I'm Eva Rowan." She stuck out her hand.
"Remus Lupin." He shook her hand and held on a moment more than necessary, earning snickers from James and Sirius.
"I gotta go," Miranda said, glancing at her watch. "See ya' 'round, 'k?" Remus nodded dumbly, and managed a lopsided grin. Miranda smiled at Sirius and James, than ran off quickly.
"And, who was that?" Lily and Arabella had slipped unnoticed between the three boys, and were walking with them.
"Uh, no one," Remus said quickly. Too quickly.
"Ah, ha!" Arabella exclaimed mischievously. "We knew you had to like someone!"
"We just didn't know who it was," Lily added. "Though Bella and I are extremely beautiful-."
"Talented, charming, intelligent, irresistible, bewitching-," Arabella interrupted.
"Yes," said Lily. "Though we are the coolest witches on the planet, we knew that you didn't like-like us."
"And, we are extremely hurt by the fact." Lily was cut off again by Bella, who wiped a fake tear from her eye.
Sirius and James, who hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, now took the pause in conversation to tease Remus relentlessly.
"Remus and Miranda, sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-." Sirius doubled over in pain as Remus' fist connected with his stomach.
"Oomph."
Lily and Arabella, having caught their breath, started in again.
"She is a nice girl, altogether. In Ravenclaw," Lily commented. "Smart, good at all the subjects."
"Don't know if she's ever pulled a prank in her life, though. That can be fixed-," Bella chimed in.
Remus smiled slightly, but quickly covered it. He walked around Lily, who had been blocking his way, staring at the ground.
"Give it up, Remus!" Arabella shouted. "You know you like her!" He didn't answer, just shook his head, without turning around. "Gawd, you make things difficult," she shrieked. And, without warning, she ran up to him and tackled him from behind. "Now, admit you like her!" she said fiercely to a groaning heap of robes on the floor.
"Okay, maybe I think she's cute. Now, geroff me." Bella stood up smugly. Remus stood up too. "But," he added quickly, "that doesn't mean I like her." And he sprinted down the hall, grinning. Arabella turned an interesting shade of purple, screamed in frustration, and took off after him.
"From the way they act, you'd think Bella fancies Remus," Sirius commented. Lily shook her head.
"No, she likes-" Lily squeaked and clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oops."
"Lily dear, you really ought to finish your sentences," Sirius said, a wicked glint appearing in his eye and a smirk playing upon his lips.
"No, no, no!" Lily turned crimson. "Um, h-how are your families?" she asked.
"Don't try to change the subject on me."
"Well, I'm not telling," Lily cried. She grinned and ran down the hall.
James and Sirius shrugged and ran off after her.
A few weeks later, in the Gryffindor common room, two hands unexpectedly covered Remus' eyes as he sat working on a Transfiguration essay.
"Guess who!" said a voice.
"Sirius," he said.
"Nope."
"James," he tried a second time.
"Wrong again," said a slightly higher voice.
"Bella."
"Close enough," she said, as she and Lily each pulled a hand away. "Bad news."
"What?" asked Remus, one eyebrow raised. "No, wait: let me guess. Snape has been made king of the world, someone is leading the house-elves on a revolt, and we're all going to take exams right now."
"Um, not quite," Lily grinned as she sat down on a footstool. "Eva Rowan has a boyfriend."
"And… Your point is?"
"Aren't you sad? Depressed, heartbroken? Anything?" Bella exclaimed, taken aback at Remus' unconcerned answer.
"Exactly what am I supposed to be?" Remus shook his head. "Oh, yeah. I see what you're getting at. I've already told you: I don't like her! She's pretty, but I'm not exactly head over heels for her."
For a moment, Arabella looked baffled. She stood up and walked away to the other side of the common room, muttering things like, "Ergh, I do not understand boys… so frustrating…"
Lily giggled as she watched Bella walk away.
"Really, though," said Lily. "Are you sure you don't like her?"
"Okay, maybe I liked her a bit," Remus confessed. "But, do you think I'm going to admit that to Bella?" He chuckled. "Seriously, it doesn't matter much to me."
"Okay." Lily smiled. "If you ever need to talk to me, I'm here." Remus smiled warmly, too.
"Thanks. By the way, who's she going out with?"
"Oh, Frank Longbottom." Lily squeezed his hand and stood up. "I'm going to work on my Charms homework. See ya'."
2nd Year
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1st Year passed into 2nd very quickly. James was made Seeker for Gryffindor, Sirius was made a Beater and Arabella was made Keeper. The beginning of second year was uneventful, except for the Marauders' usual tricks. You rarely saw James Potter without knowing Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were close behind. And then you turned and ran away, before they could decide their next prank victim.
It was the same way with Lily Evans (except for the running away part). She and her best friends, Arabella Figg and Junie McAllister were said to be inseparable. Junie (or June, formally) McAllister was Irish. She had short jagged blonde hair and light blue eyes. Her hair was streaked with electric blue. She looked like a modern-day pixie (a/n no, not the electric blue ones, (except her hair), that were in the disastrous episode with Professor Lockhart). Where we enter though, she was wearing gray sweats, a dark blue tank top with a sweatshirt, and her hair was held out of her face by black sunglasses.
Wherever you found the three girls, the Marauders were never far away.
Winter Holidays had just started when you could see our friends, the Marauders, in the Gryffindor Common Room. They were in the middle of a fierce argument as to whether to put Dungbombs in the Slytherin Common Room or plant Filibuster Fireworks in Snape's cauldron in Potions.
"But with the Dungbombs, you'd get the whole Slytherin House," Remus said pointedly.
"True," agreed James, "but if we make, say, an Inflation Potion on Monday, then maybe Snape will be sent to the Hospital Wing and we won't have to look at his big nose for a while."
At that moment, the portrait hole swung open and in climbed three very familiar girls. The Marauders' heads snapped up. The girls were flushed from being outside, and they were talking and laughing.
"Oh, but he's really cute when he plays Quidditch," Arabella giggled. The girls obviously hadn't noticed the three occupants of the sofa.
"I know, but I really like-" Junie shut her mouth with a snap and blushed severely red. Her eyes had fallen on the three boys. Lily followed her gaze and she too blushed. Arabella, who hadn't seen the Marauders, kept talking.
"We know, we know. It's quite evident that you're head over heels in love with-" She choked as Lily and Junie's hands clamped over her mouth. They directed her vision towards the chairs. "Oh," came the muffled response.
"Do continue," Sirius said, grinning. "It was just getting interesting."
"Um, I don't think I will, thanks," Junie replied quickly. "How about a game of chess, Remus?"
"Sure," he replied and went to get his chess pieces as Junie went to get hers.
Lily and Bella sat down by Sirius and James.
"So, what were you talking about earlier? Or should I say who were you talking about?" Sirius smirked mischievously.
"Um, nobody," Lily said.
"Uh-huh."
"So," said Arabella. "What are you getting me for Christmas?"
"A lump of coal and a switch." Sirius grinned and was whacked in the head with a pillow, scattering fluff (A.N: See? Told you there was fluff!).
"What do you want?" James asked Lily.
"I haven't the foggiest idea." She shrugged. "You?"
"Me neither."
Junie and Remus arrived back in the Common Room with their chess pieces. They set up the board. What followed was a heated game of chess involving an obstinate queen, an unruly bishop and a very loud pawn.
"Rematch!" cried Junie, as Remus triumphantly packed away his pieces.
"No way! I won fair and square."
"Yeah, whatever. I saw you whispering very quietly to my knight! I think my own chess pieces are plotting against me." Junie fainted dramatically, and Remus caught her.
"Okay, okay; we can take a hint," said Bella, "We'll leave you two love- birds alone."
"Bella! Shut-up!"
Junie chased Bella out of the common room onto the grounds. The four others followed. They ran around the grounds until Sirius threw a snowball at Lily and she threw one back. It missed, and hit Bella instead, resulting in an all-out snowball fight. After nearly an hour, they collapsed onto the ground, panting.
"Do you believe in angels?" Lily asked James, as she pointed up at the clouds.
"Yep. But, there are snow-angels on Earth." Lily smiled.
"They're never perfect, though. There's always a hand- or foot-print messing them up. Angels should be perfect," she said sadly.
"They can be perfect. Here, we'll make a perfect one together." Lily fluttered her arms and legs in the snow, creating the silhouette of an angel. James grabbed her hand and pulled her up. They looked down at the angel in the snow. It was perfect.
"James…" Lily looked up at him. Their faces were inches apart.
"Yes?" His breath warmed her cheek.
"It's…"
"Perfect." He finished for her. He bent his head downward and-
"JAMES!!!"
The boy and girl looked away before touching.
"James, help! They're after me!" He turned to see Sirius tearing down the slope of the lawn with Bella and Junie at his heels. They each had a snowball in their hand. Remus was sitting in the snow, doubled over with laughter. James gave Lily a small smile and ran after them.
Lily stood, looking down at the snow angel. She smiled at it, then went to join the others.
3rd Year
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"Ugh, I am so bored!" Lily exclaimed as she fell backwards onto her bed. It was the beginning of Winter Holidays again and she had already finished her homework. Arabella calmly continued applying lipstick, not startled by her friend's sudden appearance.
"What d'you think?" she asked, turning around. "It's called 'Berrylicious'."
"Simply gorgeous, dahling," Lily drawled, giggling. Arabella's lipstick was dark, dark red.
"Now it's your turn," Bella cried. She grabbed Lily's robe as Lily tried to run, and sat her down at the vanity table. "I've got you now, my pretty!" she cackled. "You'll look bee-u-ti-full when I'm done!" Lily screamed in mock-horror, but the scream ended in a fit of giggles. Bella rummaged through the drawer and found what she had been looking for. In about ten minutes, she stepped back, admiring her handiwork.
"I told you you'd look great," she said smugly. "Am I a genius or what?"
It was true: Lily looked stunning. Her emerald eyes were lined faintly in silver, her cheeks were rosy and her lips were bright in ruby red. Bella had even managed to pull her dark red hair into a half-pony- tail. It was slightly curly at the ends and was held back by a black clip. Wisps of hair framed her face.
"And, now," Arabella intoned in a fake American accent. "Ladies and gentlemen… I give you, Miss America!" She pointed her wand at Lily's head and a gaudy tiara appeared. She hummed as Lily paraded around the room, posed and mock-curtseyed. Suddenly, applause rang out from behind the two girls. They whirled around. Three boys stood in the doorway, clapping and whistling, doubled over with laughter.
"There is such a thing as knocking!!!" Lily shrieked. She lunged at James, who was nearest to her. She knocked him backwards and began tickling him. Arabella, too, shrieked, before grabbing a pillow and smacking both Sirius and Remus with it. Feathers exploded out of the pillow and covered the room. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and grinned. They grabbed Bella's arms and tied them behind her back, laughing as she struggled fiercely. Remus dragged a chair and sat her down. Sirius tickled her, and she soon was giggling madly. Remus secured her to the chair with a pink feather boa. Meanwhile, James had pulled Lily up and was tangoing with her around the room.
"Couldn't wait to get your hands on me again, could you?" James asked as he twirled her under his arm. Lily immediately strangled him into a headlock. He fell on the floor, laughing, as he laid. Lily triumphantly placed her foot on his chest. She surveyed the room. Arabella was tied to the chair with a… pink boa? She was laughing uncontrollably. Remus and Sirius stood on either side of her with their arms folded across their chests.
"What do you want for your hostage?" Sirius asked, grinning. Lily thought for a moment.
"I'll take Bella, Remus and… no, actually I think I'll keep James. "What's the ransom on Hostage Bella?"
"You can't have her back!" Sirius yelled. "I think I'll keep her for myself." At this, Lily raised an eyebrow, but she grinned.
"Okay, then. What are we going to do with our hostages?" she asked.
"Um, how about we give up Arabella if you give up James," Remus said, the mediator as usual. We'll throw in some Every Flavor Beans," he pleaded.
"Sounds hard to resist." Lily thought for a moment. "But, then again, here's a chance to get rid of Bella, no questions asked." Lily grinned evilly. "What ever shall I do?"
The aforesaid hostage shrieked at the thought of being "rid of", but, Lily noticed, she didn't look too unhappy at the prospect of staying Sirius' hostage. Lily wisely said nothing of what she saw. Instead, her grin widened, becoming almost maniacal.
"I suppose…I'll have to accept your deal," she said. "I'll be murdered brutally if I don't."
"And, of course, we wouldn't want that," James said as he shoved Lily's foot off his chest. He stood up as Sirius untied Bella.
"Where are my Every Flavor Beans? Remus dear, you know I haven't forgotten already." Lily batted her eyelashes up at Remus. He smiled and pulled a bag out of his pocket.
"Score times infinity million!" Lily cackled. She popped open the bag, showering them all with brightly colored beans Picking a light brown one off of the floor ("Five second rule!!"), she inspected it for a moment, before popping it into her mouth.
"Ew, sawdust!" she cried. Remus grabbed the bag out of her hands.
"Yum, I got watermelon!" he said. Lily glared playfully at him. She found a pale pink one.
"Oh, it's rose petals!" Lily smiled at having found a tasty Bertie Bott's Bean. Sirius sighed.
"Then they made a mistake," he said. "It should have been lily petals for the Lily." He cracked up at his own joke. Just then, the dorm door opened and Junie walked in.
"Um, do I even want to know what's going on?" Junie asked, eyeing the scattered feathers and Sirius shaking convulsively on the floor with laughter.
"No!" chorused Lily and James. (a/n: nice ring to it, ain't there? Lily and James, hmm…)
"Okay, then…" she said. Then, she burst out laughing. "Oh, yeah! I forgot what I came up here for! Guess what!"
"What?"
"Someone strung all of Lucius Malfoy's boxers across the ceiling of the Great Hall!"
"No way!" cried Remus.
"Yes way!" Junie snorted. "Oooh, and get this. One pair has pink teddy bears on 'em!" Junie broke down in a spasm of giggles as James, Remus and everyone else cracked up.
"This, I have to see!" James managed to gasp out. The group ran into the common room, still laughing, thereby earning strange looks from their fellow Gryffindors. As they reached the Great Hall, Sirius, who was in front, skidded to a stop, consequently being knocked over by everyone behind him. He pointed upwards, and, sure enough, there in all their glory, hung many pairs of boxers. Everyone doubled over again, laughing uncontrollably. Remus, who might have been the sanest person there, pulled out a camera and took no less than five pictures.
They suddenly heard someone yell to the side of them. Turning around, they saw Lucius Malfoy himself, with his henchmen. He was bellowing at Crabbe and Goyle to get the boxers down, his face was purple with rage and mortification. Remus managed to get a picture of Malfoy staring at his boxers, before Bella and Lily pulled him out into the hall. The six raced down the hall, back to the Gryffindor common room. They collapsed, panting, into the squishy chairs.
"That was absolutely hilarious," Lily gasped.
"Yeah," Sirius said. "Whoever did that is a total genius."
"Why, thank you, Sirius dear. I never knew you thought that way about me," Junie said, grinning. Sirius' mouth fell open and his eyes widened in shock.
"You mean you did that?"
"You- But- Huh?" James was at a loss for words.
Junie laughed. "Oh, did I forget to mention that that was me? So sorry."
Bella was the first to regain her senses. "Wow," she said. She clapped Junie on the back. "That was excellent!"
"Yeah, I know," she said, and took a sweeping bow. She grinned impishly. Sirius shot a glance at James and Sirius, then turned back to the three girls.
"Ladies," he said, "You have shown true pranksmanship (a/n I know that's not a word…deal). We, James, Remus and I, have decided, that you may be allowed into the Marauders." (A.N: Yeah, yeah, I know it was just Moony, Wormtail (Ahh!), Padfoot and Prongs in the Marauders, but it works, okay? Deal…)
"Cool," said Bella grinning.
"Yeah, thanks," Lily chimed in. She gave each of the boys a hug. She unconsciously hugged James a tad bit longer than the others, and when Sirius continued, James didn't let go of her waist.
"So, what this means is, you guys, or girls, rather, get to plan and carry out pranks with us, hang out with us, and basically be cool with us."
"Awesome," said Junie. She looked ecstatic at the prospect of pranks.
"And yet, my dears," Arabella said, "much as we are thrilled, delighted and overall tickled pink about being Marauders, I believe we all have a Potions essay due tomorrow and I know for a fact that none of you," she indicated the boys, "have done it."
Sirius groaned. "Why'd you have to remind me?" Bella merely grinned and skipped up the stairs to the dorm. Junie followed, as did Lily, as soon as she disengaged herself from a blushing James.
"Reckon we should do the essay," he said after Lily had gone upstairs. The three grabbed their bags and headed up to their dorm. When they got there, however, they did not start on the report. James and Remus sat on their respective beds and Sirius plopped himself on the floor.
"Think we did the right thing, ya' know? Lettin' 'em into the Marauders and all?" he asked.
"Yeah…" James answered. He wasn't really listening, Sirius could tell. He knew by James' faraway look that he was thinking of a certain red- head. Much as James liked to think that no one knew about his crush, Sirius could almost always tell what he was thinking. Wasn't it obvious? And further more, best friends were just like that. With Remus, on the other hand, Sirius couldn't be quite so sure. After all, it had taken nearly two years to get the secret out of him. Sirius looked at his two best friends and snorted. Now they both had that faraway look in their eyes. Ugh.
He waved a hand in front of Remus' face and, when that didn't work, shot a spout of cold water at him from his wand.
"What was that for?" Sirius just smirked innocently (a/n kind of an oxymoron isn't it? But, isn't Sirius an oxymoron himself? 'Ya know, Sirius, Serious? That is, if you care to pronounce it that way… ah, nevamoind) and shot more water at James.
"You people look like a bunch of love-sick girls," Sirius said. James and Remus bristled. "Just kidding," said Sirius quickly.
Remus shook his head and bent over his parchment, as James did the same. But, as he worked, Remus' thoughts kept drifting back to a certain someone.
(a/n Know who it is? I'll give you a hint if you want… If not, just plug your ears and close your eyes and sing a little song. Here's the clue: her name starts with J- and ends with -unie. Any guesses??? Hee hee hee!! Should this be done for now? Nah, I think I'll add a leetle more!)
Meanwhile, in the Girl's Dorm, Junie shrieked in delight as she walked in the dorm. "We're Marauders!!!" She and Arabella danced around the room. Lily walked in and smiled dreamily. When Junie and Bella saw her enter, they ran over and hugged her too. They bounced around the room, singing happily. Soon enough, they calmed down. As Arabella grabbed some parchment out of her bag, Lily's dreamy smile crept back.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, LILY! Wake up!"
Lily woke up to blinding winter sunlight streaming through the curtains and Arabella bouncing insanely on her bed. She could tell by looking over at a groaning Junie, that she had gotten the same wake-up treatment.
"Bella, dear, are you out of your mind? Do you know what time it is?"
"Probably to the first question and yes, 6:30 to the second one. But, look! Presents!"
There was indeed a pile of gifts sitting at the end of the bed. Lily sat up as Bella hopped back to her own bed and pile of presents. Junie had woken up fully and was arranging her presents from biggest to smallest.
"Oh my Merlin!" Bella exclaimed. "A Silver Arrow!!!" She held up a highly polished broom, the newest model on the market.
"Wow, Bella! That is so cool!" Junie cried excitedly.
"Yeah," Lily added. "Can I have a go on it?"
"Sure."
Lily picked up a note attached to a large package with holes that was shaped oddly like a cage.
Dear Lily,
Merry Christmas! How is school? We're all fine. We hope you're getting good grades and have lots of friends. We miss you. Have fun and don't forget to study a little, dear. There' s some spending money enclosed. We love you!
Much love,
Mum & Dad
P.S. Petunia says Merry Christmas!
P.P.S. The present is a female!
Inside the envelope was a small pouch filled with Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Lily snorted at the thought of Petunia saying Merry Christmas to her, the witch, the "freak". Fat chance.
She looked curiously at the package for a moment before ripping off the wrapping. She gasped. Sitting inside, was a beautiful snowy owl, asleep with it's head under it's wing.
"You guys! Look!"
The other two girls sat on Lily's bed, fawning over the pretty owl. "What should I name her?" The girls shook their heads. Just then, the owl woke up and looked around. She hooted sleepily. Lily opened the cage and stroked the owl's soft wing. "How about I call you Circe?" Lily asked. The owl turned away. "Okay, never mind. What about Zephyr?" The owl gave Lily a look of obvious contempt. "Wait, I know! Wyvern! (A/N: pronounced ee-vairn)
Lily too, finished opening her presents. She received Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Every Flavor Beans and Fizzing Whizbees from Sirius. Remus gave her her own set of chess pieces. From Bella and Junie, she got gorgeous emerald green dress robes and a necklace to match.
Under all the wrapping paper, so small that Lily almost threw it out, was a very tiny box, covered in silver paper. There was no note. As she opened the box, she gasped for the second time that morning. Inside was a small gold locket on a thin chain. Engraved on the front was Lily, in swirling script. On the back, a smaller heart was engraved, and, inside, were the letters J.P. + L.E. Forever, so small Lily could barely see them. She opened the locket to find herself, James, Junie, Remus, Arabella and Sirius smiling and waving up at her. The opposite side showed her and James smiling, waving and pointing down at something. Lily looked closer. The snow angel. She smiled down at the pictures, then shut the locket and fastened it around her neck.
She looked over to where Junie sat, munching on a Chocolate Frog. Junie had an extraordinary weakness for chocolate. She once bought a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, picked out all the Beans that had chocolate in them and threw the rest away.
Arabella was still in awe of her Silver Arrow. She sat staring at it until Junie cuffed her playfully over the head. Lily ran over to the two girls and hugged them.
"You guys are so awesome! The dress robes are gorgeous!!! Thank you so much!"
"Aw, shucks, Lily" said Arabella, jokingly abashed. "It was nothing."
"Yeah," said Junie, "We knew those robes would look great on you. I mean, come on; your eyes are the exact same color."
"Thanks!" Lily gave each of them another bone-crushing hug, but then it was her turn. Arabella jumped up and gave Lily a hug.
"Thank you so much for the totally awesome stuff," she said. Arabella, being a pure-blood, didn't get too much Muggle stuff, but she adored everything Muggle. Lily had given her a huge red teddy bear, a pair of red knee boots and a bright red hat which was perched jauntily on Bella's head.
"Yeah, Lily, the books are so cool!" Junie added. Lily had given her a few Muggle books (even though Junie was half-and-half). Junie loved to read, possibly even more than Lily, which is saying quite a lot. Included in Junie's present were Pride and Prejudice, A Walk to Remember and Emma. Also, Lily had given her a teddy bear.
"That's a really pretty necklace, Lily," Junie remarked, admiring the gold locket. "Have you always had it?"
"No," she replied. "It was in my pile of presents. Do you guys know who it's from?"
"Well, since you don't have a present from our dear friend James, I'm guessing it's from him!" Arabella ended in a shriek of delight.
"Yeah," Junie agreed. "I saw Remus with a camera, so he must have taken the picture in the snow."
All further comments were swept aside as the door swung open. Sirius, James and Remus stood in the doorway.
"Merry Christmas!!!" they chorused. Each ran to a bed and proceeded to bounce on it, imitating Bella not long before.
"Presents, presents!" shouted Sirius in a sing-song sort of voice. He looked like a four-year old after a visit from the tooth fairy. He was sitting on Arabella's bed, eating the Chocolate Frogs he had given her. Lily noticed that along with the candy, Sirius seemed to have given Arabella a small teddy-bear. She smiled evilly to Bella, after glancing pointedly at the bear. Bella blushed.
"Lily," Remus said, interrupting her thoughts. "What a lovely necklace you have there. Where ever did you get it?" One eyebrow raised, a mischievous grin spread across his face.
"A friend gave it to me," Lily replied. Her smile matched his.
"Really? How…interesting." Remus' grin was becoming wider by the second. He turned his head slightly to include James in his view. James, who had been trying to inconspicuously devour Lily's Every Flavor Beans, looked up guiltily and shoved the Beans behind him.
"Yes?"
"Oh, nothing…" Remus smirked. Just then, Sirius tapped him on the shoulder. He whispered something in Remus' ear, while shooting glances at the ceiling.
Without warning, the two pranksters lunged at Lily and James. Sirius pinned James' arms behind his back, while Remus danced Lily across the room. They both led their victims, er, friends to the door frame, where a sprig of Mistletoe just happened to be hanging. (a/n evil, I know, hee hee)
"Well, well, would you look at that?" Sirius exclaimed, pointing upwards at the Mistletoe.
"Now, how'd that get there?" Remus grinned. He and Sirius backed away quickly.
"Oh, and look who's under it!" Sirius feigned a look of innocence.
Lily had turned scarlet. She avoided James' eyes, silently pleading with Arabella and Junie for help. They shook their heads, grinning.
James' eyes shot daggers at Remus and Sirius, who just smirked. Sirius winked. Lily had turned to look upward at the Mistletoe. There was no way out. Lily voiced what James had been thinking.
"You're both mental."
"True," Sirius said. "But you have to admit, we are geniuses." He folded his arms across his chest smugly.
"That's a good one, Sirius," Lily burst out laughing. "You do realize that most geniuses were insane, right?"
"You may have a point there," Sirius replied. The infamous maniacal grin was once again widening across his face.
James looked down at Lily nervously. His eye caught a glint of gold. She was wearing the locket! He had to smile. Lily smiled back at him, not seeing the glance at the necklace.
"Jamie," Sirius whined. "Are you going to kiss her or not?" James glared at him. He turned to look back at Lily who shrugged, as if to say, "Why not? They're not letting us go until we kiss."
James nervously leaned down, closer to Lily. Her eyelids fluttered shut. He closed his eyes too, and gently pressed his lips against hers. Sirius and Remus catcalled and whistled as Junie and Bella giggled madly. Lily pulled away, blushing crimson, but not able to keep a nervous smile from her face. James grinned, but he also blushed. He pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the ceiling above Remus and Sirius' heads. As he whispered a few words under his breath, Mistletoe magically appeared, hanging from the spot. The two Marauders were laughing so hard, they didn't notice, but Lily tapped them both on their shoulders. She pointed upward. Slowly, Remus and Sirius looked up. Their eyes widened in horror, as the other four occupants of the room burst out laughing. The two boys shrieked in terror and ran from the room, down into the common room and out separate directions. Lily gasped for breath, and Arabella wiped the tears streaming from her eyes from laughing so hard. They finally caught their breath, and Junie nodded toward the door.
"Out, you," she said, cocking one eyebrow and poking a finger in James' chest. "We need to get changed for the feast."
Arabella pushed James out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He paused, waiting outside the door. He could hear squeals and giggles coming from inside the room, and he could imagine Lily's cheeks rapidly turning a bright crimson. All of a sudden, the noise stopped. James was about to press his ear to the door, when suddenly it flew open.
"That means go!"
Arabella's face retreated back into the room and the door slammed once more.
The remainder of the afternoon was uneventful, unless you count Sirius being beaten by Remus in wizard chess for the 37th time that semester.
"Padfoot, you really should actually try to win sometime," Remus said, as he sat in front of the roaring fire. "It might make the game a little more fun."
"Ah, but Moony, we know you're going to win anyway, so what's the point?"
Later, as James and Lily (the others were nowhere to be found) headed down to the Great Hall, they heard a muffled noise coming from down the corridor. As they reached the site of the sound, they were surprised to find Sirius and Arabella snogging furiously under a sprig of Mistletoe hung in an empty classroom. Lily coughed.
"Ahem."
Bella and Sirius flew apart, both turning bright red and mumbling excuses.
"The Mistletoe, you see…"
"It's traditional…"
"We just happened to…"
"Um…"
Lily smiled knowingly.
4th Year
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"Ah, my fair lady hath brought me mine breakfast!" Sirius jogged over to Lily and attempted to grab a blueberry muffin out of her hand. He was wearing his scarlet Gryffindor robes; it was morning Quidditch practice and Lily had come out to watch.
"Um, Sirius, this is my breakfast." Lily pulled her hand away, saving the muffin from Sirius. She took a big bite, staining her teeth blue. Sirius pouted, but his frown disappeared when Lily plucked another muffin from her bag and handed it to him. She also had two more muffins for Arabella and James.
"Now, go," she said. Sirius grabbed his broom and kicked off as Lily took a seat in the stands. She was joined near the end of practice by Junie who was dragging Remus onto the pitch. As they sat down, Lily nodded towards Remus and winked at Junie who blushed.
The three were waiting outside the locker room when the other Marauders came out.
"So, what'll we do today?" Sirius asked, flinging an arm around Lily's waist. James, walking on the other side of Lily, glared at Sirius. "oOo, I know!" Sirius continued, oblivious to the death stare of his best friend. "We'll give each other make-overs!" he squealed.
"Is it just me, or has Sirius gone mental?"
"No, Moony, I do believe you're correct," James answered.
"Hey, I think it's a great idea!" Arabella exclaimed. The other girls apparently agreed, because they frog-marched the boys up to their dorm.
"Wait, I was just kidding!" Sirius yelled, but it was to late. The girls had already dumped their entire supply of makeup out onto Lily's bed. In a short amount of time, Sirius was painting Lily's toenails bright red with black spots ("Like Ladybugs!," he said.) She, in turn was spiking James' hair, using ample amounts of gel (Sleakazy's Straightening Stuff) borrowed from Sirius. Arabella was giving Sirius cornrows. Remus was unsuccessfully trying to braid Junie's hair, but he gave up and let her see the effects of a butterfly tattoo on him.
"James, you really should wear your hair like this more often," Lily said.
"Sirius, if you would stop moving your head, these cornrows would be a whole lot better." Sirius had been flipping through one of Arabella's magazines, but he stopped on one page.
"Ooh, a quiz: 'Do your looks scream sexy?'" Sirius read from the page. "Tell me, Bella, do my looks scream sexy?"
"Yes, Sirius dear, your looks scream. Not necessarily sexy, but they scream. More like in pain," Arabella replied.
"I'm hurt." Sirius placed his hand over his heart.
"I'm sure."
James watched Remus and Junie. Remus and Junie. Hmm…Were they flirting? Yes, they were. How could he have not noticed it before? They didn't seem like each others' type, but then, opposites attract. And opposites definitely seemed to be attracting here. Remus was tickling Junie. Who would've thought? And yet, the thought of Remus with Junie made sense. Junie was funny, thoughtful, friendly, and outgoing. Remus seemed reserved, but he wasn't really. He was on the quiet side, compared to James and Sirius, but everybody was on the quiet side compared to Sirius. The more James thought about it, the more he liked the idea of Remus and Junie. They went well together, like peanut butter and jelly. At this thought, James' stomach rumbled.
"I'm hungry." The response from the rest of the group was the same, and they went to lunch in the Great Hall, where they would show off their new looks.
"Wow, Sirius," a girl said, "Your hair looks great like that!"
"Thanks," Sirius said. He wasn't really listening to the girl because Arabella was giving a play-by-play of a Quidditch game she had been to that summer. Sirius, not noticing a pretty girl? That was odd, Lily thought. But then, Sirius was intent on whatever Bella was saying.
Lily sprinkled sugar on her French toast while contemplating the thought. Sirius and Arabella. Hmm… Sirius and Arabella. Lily was surprised that she hadn't thought about it before. Or had she? They flirted all the time. And they did look really cute together… Lily made a mental note to herself to ask Bella about Sirius later.
The week passed quickly. Lily forgot to ask Bella about Sirius, and Bella didn't offer any info on the subject.
Soon, it was Saturday again, the day of the Quidditch game: Gryffindor against Slytherin. The team was charged and in high spirits when the time for the match came. Granted, they all were a bit queasy, (especially after seeing the large brutes on the Slytherin team). The Marauders split up, leaving three of them to head to the locker rooms and the other three to head for the stands.
In the locker room, Sirius was pacing. He couldn't sit still, as James was, so he was walking in circles, muttering, "We have to beat them… Gotta win the cup." He slammed his fist into the wall, then whimpered in pain.
"Padfoot, don't worry about it. We know we're going to win," James said, but he too was nervous. The other team members likewise were pacing or mumbling, except for Daniel Huntsford, one of the other members who was asleep. The teams were soon called out to the pitch where the game was about to begin.
"And, the Gryffindor team: Figg, Hale, McCarthy, Watson, Black, Huntsford and Potter!" An appreciative roar went up from three-quarters of the stands. The commentator was David Willis, a Gryffindor 6th Year. He was closely watched by Professor McGonagall. The Gryffindor team, in scarlet robes, mounted their brooms and took off into the air. James searched the stands for any of his friends. He found Remus and Junie, who were too busy flirting to notice what was going on in the air. He then saw Lily, waving furiously at him, wearing a red and gold scarf. She and a Gryffindor 5th year were holding up a large banner saying 'Go Gryffindors!' and by the words was a towering Gryffindor lion stomping on a green and silver snake. Lily grinned and winked and James grinned back. He and Sirius took a quick loop around a goal post and came back to hover in their positions.
"The Slytherin team, (those lousy, cheating gits): {A/N: I'm not even gonna try to write all the Slytherin names, think of them yourself.}" Willis made gagging noises as he said each name, and was quickly shushed by Professor McGonogall. "They take their positions as Madame Hooch walks onto the field. The Bludgers are up, look, there goes the Golden Snitch and the Quaffle is released to be immediately taken by Watson of Gryffindor. She swerves Beater Conrad of Slytherin and shoots- she scores! Ten-zero Gryffindor!" Cheers went up from the crowd. "The Quaffle is regained by Chaser Watson of Gryffindor. She heads toward the goal and- oh! That was CHEAP!" Willis yelled in anger as a Slytherin Beater hit a Bludger at Eliza Watson, the Gryffindor Chaser, nearly knocking her off her broom. Madame Hooch blew a short blast on her whistle.
"Penalty to Gryffindor for deliberate attempts at de-seating their Chaser."
"The Quaffle is taken by Chaser McCarthy who shoots, and- she scores! Twenty-nothing Gryffindor!" Willis had resumed the commentary.
The game played on. After a Slytherin Chaser had elbowed Beth Hale, a Gryffindor Chaser, Sirius sent a Bludger flying at the Slytherin, where it proceeded to smash into his nose.
"Penalty to Gryffindor for cobbing, penalty to Slytherin for intentional attack on their chaser!"
And then James saw it: the Golden Snitch. It was hovering quite close to the stands, a few metres from Lily's ear. She was sitting at the end of the box, thoroughly oblivious (as was everyone else) to the miniature ball whirring next to her. She and everyone else was concentrating on the Slytherin Chaser taking the penalty shot. James edged his broom closer to the Snitch without bringing any attention to himself. Finally he was just an arms length away from the Snitch. He reached out and-.
"I'VE GOT THE SNITCH!" James soared into the air, the Golden Snitch fluttering helplessly between his fingers. The whistle blew and James was immediately surrounded by a crowd of scarlet.
"Yes!" Sirius slapped James on the back and punched a fist into the air. "Take that, you slimy Slytherins!"
Lily ran up, attacking James with a bear hug. "You did it! It was right there and I didn't even see it, but you did and you got it!" James grinned as Lily nearly choked him with another crushing hug. She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then blushed, mumbled something and ran off into the crowd. James was still standing there staring after her when Sirius ran up and cuffed him on the head.
"You did it, Jamie-old-chap! We won! We won!" Sirius was dancing around James like a four-year-old. James rubbed his head as Sirius struck a disco pose.
***
Remus Lupin was walking along one of the many corridors of Hogwarts school one Saturday, whistling some tune to himself when he heard a popping noise coming from around the corner. Walking further, he was met with the sight of Lily Evans, her red hair in pigtails, sitting with her back against the wall, chewing furiously on a piece of gum.
"Lily, you might want to watch out before you trip someone," Remus said sitting down next to her. Lily's feet were sticking out into the middle of the hall. She turned and blew a bubble in his face.
"The better to trip Snape with," she said. Remus laughed. "Want some bubble-gum?" He nodded and she handed him a piece. Remus unwrapped it and was about to eat it when he suddenly turned to glare playfully at Lily.
"Wait just one minute, you," he said, waggling a finger annoyingly in Lily's face. "How am I supposed to know this gum won't make me smoke at the ears, or turn purple?" Lily laughed.
"It's a Muggle gum," she said, pulling a pink Bubbleicious package out of her pocket.
"Oh, okie-dokie," Remus said, and ate the gum. After chomping furiously for a few seconds, he blew a big pink bubble. He turned to Lily, pointing at it. She grinned like the Cheshire Cat and popped the bubble which smuckered all over Remus' nose.
"Double un-cool with fangs," he said, pouting. "You're not my friend anymore."
Lily stuck out her tongue at him, which was now bright pink.
Remus tugged on her braids, then asked, "Who are you supposed to be anyway? Anne of Green Gables?" Lily laughed.
"No, I'm Lily of Gryffindor Tower!"
"Hm… It has a nice ring to it," Remus said. "So, um… Why are we sitting in the hall?"
"I'm going to stick my gum in the keyhole of Professor (A/N: Insert name of teacher no one likes here.)'s classroom door."
"Ooh, good idea!" Remus clapped his hands and Lily bowed. "Filch will have trouble getting that out." Lily stuffed her gooey wad of bubble gum in the key hole and Remus added his to the glob. Lily cackled evilly, and Remus did a sort of jig, dancing around the hall until he tripped over Lily's feet and ended up sprawled up on the floor.
Lily laughed and began shouting, "Loony, Loopy Lupin! Loony, Loopy Lupin! L
A.A.N (Another…): Peter Pettigrew is permanently sick. With laryngitis. And a broken leg.
1st Year
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James Potter and his two best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin walked down the hallway of the Hogwarts Express. They were looking for an empty cabin. So far, all of them were full. James opened the door on his right. There were two girls sitting inside, talking. One, a red head, stood up and walked over to James.
"Sorry," he started to say. "We were just looking for an empty-" He was cut off as the red head leaned over and caught his lips with hers.
Sirius and Remus, who had walked up just in time to witness the kiss, were laughing their heads off.
"Potter's got his first kiss!" Sirius chanted. "Oh, look. He's blushing!" He punched James playfully on the shoulder.
"Not on the train more than ten minutes and he's already snogging with some girl. What a charmer!" Remus said.
"Do you guys want to sit here?" the other girl asked. Her shoulder length black hair was wound in tight curls and her blue eyes were marvelously bright.
"Sure," Sirius said. He immediately sat down next to the dark-haired girl. "I'm Sirius Black. "Who're you?"
"Arabella Figg. Are you a first year, too?"
"Yeah. These are my friends, Remus Lupin and James Potter." Sirius pulled out a pack of cards to play Exploding Snap. James had been watching them, but he slowly looked to his side, where the red head sat. She was looking at him. When their eyes met, he blushed, but she smiled.
"For your information," she said, "that was my first kiss, too. Bella dared me to kiss the first guy that came into our cabin. You just happened to be him." James smiled, too.
"That's comforting," he said. "What's your name?"
"Lily Evans. Arabella and I are best friends. Have you and the others known each other long?"
"Yeah. It seems like forever. Sirius lives next door to me and Remus is a few blocks away," James replied. Just then, a knock on the door announced the food cart. They all made a mad dash into the hall, to come back with their arms literally overflowing with candy.
"Argh, Sirius, you stepped on one of my Chocolate Frogs!"
"Oops, sorry. Wait, there goes another one."
They dropped all the candy in a large pile on the floor. They had decided to share it all. Sirius, Remus and Arabella all picked out Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and they organized a bubble-blowing contest. James reached for a Chocolate Frog, (not one of the squished ones) but his hand was met by Lily's. He offered it to her, but she smiled and shook her head.
"No, here. We can share," she said. She broke it in half and handed one piece to James. They slowly munched on their chocolate frogs, grinning.
Sirius, James and Remus were walking back from classes two weeks later. They had just come from a particularly harsh Potions lesson in which they had managed to blow up two cauldrons full of an incorrectly mixed boil-curing potion. Four kids had been sent to Madam Pomfrey.
"Man, that was way unfair!" Sirius exclaimed. "It wasn't our fault the cauldrons just happened to be in our way."
"Yeah. Detention with Filch." James shuddered. "I hate that ugly-" He was cut off from saying anything more as something knocked into Remus, sending him tumbling backwards. James and Sirius ran over to where Remus and someone else were picking themselves up.
"Woah, what was that?" Remus offered a hand to a tangle of robes which could be identified as a girl. She took his hand and hauled herself up. She had dark chestnut-colored hair and amber eyes. She brushed herself off.
"Sorry," she said. "Those ugly gits, Malfoy and Snape just yelled 'Expelliarmus!' and sent me flying. Thanks for, erm, cushioning my fall."
"Um, no problem." Remus couldn't help blushing as he stared at the pretty girl.
"I'm Eva Rowan." She stuck out her hand.
"Remus Lupin." He shook her hand and held on a moment more than necessary, earning snickers from James and Sirius.
"I gotta go," Miranda said, glancing at her watch. "See ya' 'round, 'k?" Remus nodded dumbly, and managed a lopsided grin. Miranda smiled at Sirius and James, than ran off quickly.
"And, who was that?" Lily and Arabella had slipped unnoticed between the three boys, and were walking with them.
"Uh, no one," Remus said quickly. Too quickly.
"Ah, ha!" Arabella exclaimed mischievously. "We knew you had to like someone!"
"We just didn't know who it was," Lily added. "Though Bella and I are extremely beautiful-."
"Talented, charming, intelligent, irresistible, bewitching-," Arabella interrupted.
"Yes," said Lily. "Though we are the coolest witches on the planet, we knew that you didn't like-like us."
"And, we are extremely hurt by the fact." Lily was cut off again by Bella, who wiped a fake tear from her eye.
Sirius and James, who hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, now took the pause in conversation to tease Remus relentlessly.
"Remus and Miranda, sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-." Sirius doubled over in pain as Remus' fist connected with his stomach.
"Oomph."
Lily and Arabella, having caught their breath, started in again.
"She is a nice girl, altogether. In Ravenclaw," Lily commented. "Smart, good at all the subjects."
"Don't know if she's ever pulled a prank in her life, though. That can be fixed-," Bella chimed in.
Remus smiled slightly, but quickly covered it. He walked around Lily, who had been blocking his way, staring at the ground.
"Give it up, Remus!" Arabella shouted. "You know you like her!" He didn't answer, just shook his head, without turning around. "Gawd, you make things difficult," she shrieked. And, without warning, she ran up to him and tackled him from behind. "Now, admit you like her!" she said fiercely to a groaning heap of robes on the floor.
"Okay, maybe I think she's cute. Now, geroff me." Bella stood up smugly. Remus stood up too. "But," he added quickly, "that doesn't mean I like her." And he sprinted down the hall, grinning. Arabella turned an interesting shade of purple, screamed in frustration, and took off after him.
"From the way they act, you'd think Bella fancies Remus," Sirius commented. Lily shook her head.
"No, she likes-" Lily squeaked and clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oops."
"Lily dear, you really ought to finish your sentences," Sirius said, a wicked glint appearing in his eye and a smirk playing upon his lips.
"No, no, no!" Lily turned crimson. "Um, h-how are your families?" she asked.
"Don't try to change the subject on me."
"Well, I'm not telling," Lily cried. She grinned and ran down the hall.
James and Sirius shrugged and ran off after her.
A few weeks later, in the Gryffindor common room, two hands unexpectedly covered Remus' eyes as he sat working on a Transfiguration essay.
"Guess who!" said a voice.
"Sirius," he said.
"Nope."
"James," he tried a second time.
"Wrong again," said a slightly higher voice.
"Bella."
"Close enough," she said, as she and Lily each pulled a hand away. "Bad news."
"What?" asked Remus, one eyebrow raised. "No, wait: let me guess. Snape has been made king of the world, someone is leading the house-elves on a revolt, and we're all going to take exams right now."
"Um, not quite," Lily grinned as she sat down on a footstool. "Eva Rowan has a boyfriend."
"And… Your point is?"
"Aren't you sad? Depressed, heartbroken? Anything?" Bella exclaimed, taken aback at Remus' unconcerned answer.
"Exactly what am I supposed to be?" Remus shook his head. "Oh, yeah. I see what you're getting at. I've already told you: I don't like her! She's pretty, but I'm not exactly head over heels for her."
For a moment, Arabella looked baffled. She stood up and walked away to the other side of the common room, muttering things like, "Ergh, I do not understand boys… so frustrating…"
Lily giggled as she watched Bella walk away.
"Really, though," said Lily. "Are you sure you don't like her?"
"Okay, maybe I liked her a bit," Remus confessed. "But, do you think I'm going to admit that to Bella?" He chuckled. "Seriously, it doesn't matter much to me."
"Okay." Lily smiled. "If you ever need to talk to me, I'm here." Remus smiled warmly, too.
"Thanks. By the way, who's she going out with?"
"Oh, Frank Longbottom." Lily squeezed his hand and stood up. "I'm going to work on my Charms homework. See ya'."
2nd Year
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1st Year passed into 2nd very quickly. James was made Seeker for Gryffindor, Sirius was made a Beater and Arabella was made Keeper. The beginning of second year was uneventful, except for the Marauders' usual tricks. You rarely saw James Potter without knowing Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were close behind. And then you turned and ran away, before they could decide their next prank victim.
It was the same way with Lily Evans (except for the running away part). She and her best friends, Arabella Figg and Junie McAllister were said to be inseparable. Junie (or June, formally) McAllister was Irish. She had short jagged blonde hair and light blue eyes. Her hair was streaked with electric blue. She looked like a modern-day pixie (a/n no, not the electric blue ones, (except her hair), that were in the disastrous episode with Professor Lockhart). Where we enter though, she was wearing gray sweats, a dark blue tank top with a sweatshirt, and her hair was held out of her face by black sunglasses.
Wherever you found the three girls, the Marauders were never far away.
Winter Holidays had just started when you could see our friends, the Marauders, in the Gryffindor Common Room. They were in the middle of a fierce argument as to whether to put Dungbombs in the Slytherin Common Room or plant Filibuster Fireworks in Snape's cauldron in Potions.
"But with the Dungbombs, you'd get the whole Slytherin House," Remus said pointedly.
"True," agreed James, "but if we make, say, an Inflation Potion on Monday, then maybe Snape will be sent to the Hospital Wing and we won't have to look at his big nose for a while."
At that moment, the portrait hole swung open and in climbed three very familiar girls. The Marauders' heads snapped up. The girls were flushed from being outside, and they were talking and laughing.
"Oh, but he's really cute when he plays Quidditch," Arabella giggled. The girls obviously hadn't noticed the three occupants of the sofa.
"I know, but I really like-" Junie shut her mouth with a snap and blushed severely red. Her eyes had fallen on the three boys. Lily followed her gaze and she too blushed. Arabella, who hadn't seen the Marauders, kept talking.
"We know, we know. It's quite evident that you're head over heels in love with-" She choked as Lily and Junie's hands clamped over her mouth. They directed her vision towards the chairs. "Oh," came the muffled response.
"Do continue," Sirius said, grinning. "It was just getting interesting."
"Um, I don't think I will, thanks," Junie replied quickly. "How about a game of chess, Remus?"
"Sure," he replied and went to get his chess pieces as Junie went to get hers.
Lily and Bella sat down by Sirius and James.
"So, what were you talking about earlier? Or should I say who were you talking about?" Sirius smirked mischievously.
"Um, nobody," Lily said.
"Uh-huh."
"So," said Arabella. "What are you getting me for Christmas?"
"A lump of coal and a switch." Sirius grinned and was whacked in the head with a pillow, scattering fluff (A.N: See? Told you there was fluff!).
"What do you want?" James asked Lily.
"I haven't the foggiest idea." She shrugged. "You?"
"Me neither."
Junie and Remus arrived back in the Common Room with their chess pieces. They set up the board. What followed was a heated game of chess involving an obstinate queen, an unruly bishop and a very loud pawn.
"Rematch!" cried Junie, as Remus triumphantly packed away his pieces.
"No way! I won fair and square."
"Yeah, whatever. I saw you whispering very quietly to my knight! I think my own chess pieces are plotting against me." Junie fainted dramatically, and Remus caught her.
"Okay, okay; we can take a hint," said Bella, "We'll leave you two love- birds alone."
"Bella! Shut-up!"
Junie chased Bella out of the common room onto the grounds. The four others followed. They ran around the grounds until Sirius threw a snowball at Lily and she threw one back. It missed, and hit Bella instead, resulting in an all-out snowball fight. After nearly an hour, they collapsed onto the ground, panting.
"Do you believe in angels?" Lily asked James, as she pointed up at the clouds.
"Yep. But, there are snow-angels on Earth." Lily smiled.
"They're never perfect, though. There's always a hand- or foot-print messing them up. Angels should be perfect," she said sadly.
"They can be perfect. Here, we'll make a perfect one together." Lily fluttered her arms and legs in the snow, creating the silhouette of an angel. James grabbed her hand and pulled her up. They looked down at the angel in the snow. It was perfect.
"James…" Lily looked up at him. Their faces were inches apart.
"Yes?" His breath warmed her cheek.
"It's…"
"Perfect." He finished for her. He bent his head downward and-
"JAMES!!!"
The boy and girl looked away before touching.
"James, help! They're after me!" He turned to see Sirius tearing down the slope of the lawn with Bella and Junie at his heels. They each had a snowball in their hand. Remus was sitting in the snow, doubled over with laughter. James gave Lily a small smile and ran after them.
Lily stood, looking down at the snow angel. She smiled at it, then went to join the others.
3rd Year
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"Ugh, I am so bored!" Lily exclaimed as she fell backwards onto her bed. It was the beginning of Winter Holidays again and she had already finished her homework. Arabella calmly continued applying lipstick, not startled by her friend's sudden appearance.
"What d'you think?" she asked, turning around. "It's called 'Berrylicious'."
"Simply gorgeous, dahling," Lily drawled, giggling. Arabella's lipstick was dark, dark red.
"Now it's your turn," Bella cried. She grabbed Lily's robe as Lily tried to run, and sat her down at the vanity table. "I've got you now, my pretty!" she cackled. "You'll look bee-u-ti-full when I'm done!" Lily screamed in mock-horror, but the scream ended in a fit of giggles. Bella rummaged through the drawer and found what she had been looking for. In about ten minutes, she stepped back, admiring her handiwork.
"I told you you'd look great," she said smugly. "Am I a genius or what?"
It was true: Lily looked stunning. Her emerald eyes were lined faintly in silver, her cheeks were rosy and her lips were bright in ruby red. Bella had even managed to pull her dark red hair into a half-pony- tail. It was slightly curly at the ends and was held back by a black clip. Wisps of hair framed her face.
"And, now," Arabella intoned in a fake American accent. "Ladies and gentlemen… I give you, Miss America!" She pointed her wand at Lily's head and a gaudy tiara appeared. She hummed as Lily paraded around the room, posed and mock-curtseyed. Suddenly, applause rang out from behind the two girls. They whirled around. Three boys stood in the doorway, clapping and whistling, doubled over with laughter.
"There is such a thing as knocking!!!" Lily shrieked. She lunged at James, who was nearest to her. She knocked him backwards and began tickling him. Arabella, too, shrieked, before grabbing a pillow and smacking both Sirius and Remus with it. Feathers exploded out of the pillow and covered the room. Sirius and Remus looked at each other and grinned. They grabbed Bella's arms and tied them behind her back, laughing as she struggled fiercely. Remus dragged a chair and sat her down. Sirius tickled her, and she soon was giggling madly. Remus secured her to the chair with a pink feather boa. Meanwhile, James had pulled Lily up and was tangoing with her around the room.
"Couldn't wait to get your hands on me again, could you?" James asked as he twirled her under his arm. Lily immediately strangled him into a headlock. He fell on the floor, laughing, as he laid. Lily triumphantly placed her foot on his chest. She surveyed the room. Arabella was tied to the chair with a… pink boa? She was laughing uncontrollably. Remus and Sirius stood on either side of her with their arms folded across their chests.
"What do you want for your hostage?" Sirius asked, grinning. Lily thought for a moment.
"I'll take Bella, Remus and… no, actually I think I'll keep James. "What's the ransom on Hostage Bella?"
"You can't have her back!" Sirius yelled. "I think I'll keep her for myself." At this, Lily raised an eyebrow, but she grinned.
"Okay, then. What are we going to do with our hostages?" she asked.
"Um, how about we give up Arabella if you give up James," Remus said, the mediator as usual. We'll throw in some Every Flavor Beans," he pleaded.
"Sounds hard to resist." Lily thought for a moment. "But, then again, here's a chance to get rid of Bella, no questions asked." Lily grinned evilly. "What ever shall I do?"
The aforesaid hostage shrieked at the thought of being "rid of", but, Lily noticed, she didn't look too unhappy at the prospect of staying Sirius' hostage. Lily wisely said nothing of what she saw. Instead, her grin widened, becoming almost maniacal.
"I suppose…I'll have to accept your deal," she said. "I'll be murdered brutally if I don't."
"And, of course, we wouldn't want that," James said as he shoved Lily's foot off his chest. He stood up as Sirius untied Bella.
"Where are my Every Flavor Beans? Remus dear, you know I haven't forgotten already." Lily batted her eyelashes up at Remus. He smiled and pulled a bag out of his pocket.
"Score times infinity million!" Lily cackled. She popped open the bag, showering them all with brightly colored beans Picking a light brown one off of the floor ("Five second rule!!"), she inspected it for a moment, before popping it into her mouth.
"Ew, sawdust!" she cried. Remus grabbed the bag out of her hands.
"Yum, I got watermelon!" he said. Lily glared playfully at him. She found a pale pink one.
"Oh, it's rose petals!" Lily smiled at having found a tasty Bertie Bott's Bean. Sirius sighed.
"Then they made a mistake," he said. "It should have been lily petals for the Lily." He cracked up at his own joke. Just then, the dorm door opened and Junie walked in.
"Um, do I even want to know what's going on?" Junie asked, eyeing the scattered feathers and Sirius shaking convulsively on the floor with laughter.
"No!" chorused Lily and James. (a/n: nice ring to it, ain't there? Lily and James, hmm…)
"Okay, then…" she said. Then, she burst out laughing. "Oh, yeah! I forgot what I came up here for! Guess what!"
"What?"
"Someone strung all of Lucius Malfoy's boxers across the ceiling of the Great Hall!"
"No way!" cried Remus.
"Yes way!" Junie snorted. "Oooh, and get this. One pair has pink teddy bears on 'em!" Junie broke down in a spasm of giggles as James, Remus and everyone else cracked up.
"This, I have to see!" James managed to gasp out. The group ran into the common room, still laughing, thereby earning strange looks from their fellow Gryffindors. As they reached the Great Hall, Sirius, who was in front, skidded to a stop, consequently being knocked over by everyone behind him. He pointed upwards, and, sure enough, there in all their glory, hung many pairs of boxers. Everyone doubled over again, laughing uncontrollably. Remus, who might have been the sanest person there, pulled out a camera and took no less than five pictures.
They suddenly heard someone yell to the side of them. Turning around, they saw Lucius Malfoy himself, with his henchmen. He was bellowing at Crabbe and Goyle to get the boxers down, his face was purple with rage and mortification. Remus managed to get a picture of Malfoy staring at his boxers, before Bella and Lily pulled him out into the hall. The six raced down the hall, back to the Gryffindor common room. They collapsed, panting, into the squishy chairs.
"That was absolutely hilarious," Lily gasped.
"Yeah," Sirius said. "Whoever did that is a total genius."
"Why, thank you, Sirius dear. I never knew you thought that way about me," Junie said, grinning. Sirius' mouth fell open and his eyes widened in shock.
"You mean you did that?"
"You- But- Huh?" James was at a loss for words.
Junie laughed. "Oh, did I forget to mention that that was me? So sorry."
Bella was the first to regain her senses. "Wow," she said. She clapped Junie on the back. "That was excellent!"
"Yeah, I know," she said, and took a sweeping bow. She grinned impishly. Sirius shot a glance at James and Sirius, then turned back to the three girls.
"Ladies," he said, "You have shown true pranksmanship (a/n I know that's not a word…deal). We, James, Remus and I, have decided, that you may be allowed into the Marauders." (A.N: Yeah, yeah, I know it was just Moony, Wormtail (Ahh!), Padfoot and Prongs in the Marauders, but it works, okay? Deal…)
"Cool," said Bella grinning.
"Yeah, thanks," Lily chimed in. She gave each of the boys a hug. She unconsciously hugged James a tad bit longer than the others, and when Sirius continued, James didn't let go of her waist.
"So, what this means is, you guys, or girls, rather, get to plan and carry out pranks with us, hang out with us, and basically be cool with us."
"Awesome," said Junie. She looked ecstatic at the prospect of pranks.
"And yet, my dears," Arabella said, "much as we are thrilled, delighted and overall tickled pink about being Marauders, I believe we all have a Potions essay due tomorrow and I know for a fact that none of you," she indicated the boys, "have done it."
Sirius groaned. "Why'd you have to remind me?" Bella merely grinned and skipped up the stairs to the dorm. Junie followed, as did Lily, as soon as she disengaged herself from a blushing James.
"Reckon we should do the essay," he said after Lily had gone upstairs. The three grabbed their bags and headed up to their dorm. When they got there, however, they did not start on the report. James and Remus sat on their respective beds and Sirius plopped himself on the floor.
"Think we did the right thing, ya' know? Lettin' 'em into the Marauders and all?" he asked.
"Yeah…" James answered. He wasn't really listening, Sirius could tell. He knew by James' faraway look that he was thinking of a certain red- head. Much as James liked to think that no one knew about his crush, Sirius could almost always tell what he was thinking. Wasn't it obvious? And further more, best friends were just like that. With Remus, on the other hand, Sirius couldn't be quite so sure. After all, it had taken nearly two years to get the secret out of him. Sirius looked at his two best friends and snorted. Now they both had that faraway look in their eyes. Ugh.
He waved a hand in front of Remus' face and, when that didn't work, shot a spout of cold water at him from his wand.
"What was that for?" Sirius just smirked innocently (a/n kind of an oxymoron isn't it? But, isn't Sirius an oxymoron himself? 'Ya know, Sirius, Serious? That is, if you care to pronounce it that way… ah, nevamoind) and shot more water at James.
"You people look like a bunch of love-sick girls," Sirius said. James and Remus bristled. "Just kidding," said Sirius quickly.
Remus shook his head and bent over his parchment, as James did the same. But, as he worked, Remus' thoughts kept drifting back to a certain someone.
(a/n Know who it is? I'll give you a hint if you want… If not, just plug your ears and close your eyes and sing a little song. Here's the clue: her name starts with J- and ends with -unie. Any guesses??? Hee hee hee!! Should this be done for now? Nah, I think I'll add a leetle more!)
Meanwhile, in the Girl's Dorm, Junie shrieked in delight as she walked in the dorm. "We're Marauders!!!" She and Arabella danced around the room. Lily walked in and smiled dreamily. When Junie and Bella saw her enter, they ran over and hugged her too. They bounced around the room, singing happily. Soon enough, they calmed down. As Arabella grabbed some parchment out of her bag, Lily's dreamy smile crept back.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS, LILY! Wake up!"
Lily woke up to blinding winter sunlight streaming through the curtains and Arabella bouncing insanely on her bed. She could tell by looking over at a groaning Junie, that she had gotten the same wake-up treatment.
"Bella, dear, are you out of your mind? Do you know what time it is?"
"Probably to the first question and yes, 6:30 to the second one. But, look! Presents!"
There was indeed a pile of gifts sitting at the end of the bed. Lily sat up as Bella hopped back to her own bed and pile of presents. Junie had woken up fully and was arranging her presents from biggest to smallest.
"Oh my Merlin!" Bella exclaimed. "A Silver Arrow!!!" She held up a highly polished broom, the newest model on the market.
"Wow, Bella! That is so cool!" Junie cried excitedly.
"Yeah," Lily added. "Can I have a go on it?"
"Sure."
Lily picked up a note attached to a large package with holes that was shaped oddly like a cage.
Dear Lily,
Merry Christmas! How is school? We're all fine. We hope you're getting good grades and have lots of friends. We miss you. Have fun and don't forget to study a little, dear. There' s some spending money enclosed. We love you!
Much love,
Mum & Dad
P.S. Petunia says Merry Christmas!
P.P.S. The present is a female!
Inside the envelope was a small pouch filled with Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Lily snorted at the thought of Petunia saying Merry Christmas to her, the witch, the "freak". Fat chance.
She looked curiously at the package for a moment before ripping off the wrapping. She gasped. Sitting inside, was a beautiful snowy owl, asleep with it's head under it's wing.
"You guys! Look!"
The other two girls sat on Lily's bed, fawning over the pretty owl. "What should I name her?" The girls shook their heads. Just then, the owl woke up and looked around. She hooted sleepily. Lily opened the cage and stroked the owl's soft wing. "How about I call you Circe?" Lily asked. The owl turned away. "Okay, never mind. What about Zephyr?" The owl gave Lily a look of obvious contempt. "Wait, I know! Wyvern! (A/N: pronounced ee-vairn)
Lily too, finished opening her presents. She received Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Every Flavor Beans and Fizzing Whizbees from Sirius. Remus gave her her own set of chess pieces. From Bella and Junie, she got gorgeous emerald green dress robes and a necklace to match.
Under all the wrapping paper, so small that Lily almost threw it out, was a very tiny box, covered in silver paper. There was no note. As she opened the box, she gasped for the second time that morning. Inside was a small gold locket on a thin chain. Engraved on the front was Lily, in swirling script. On the back, a smaller heart was engraved, and, inside, were the letters J.P. + L.E. Forever, so small Lily could barely see them. She opened the locket to find herself, James, Junie, Remus, Arabella and Sirius smiling and waving up at her. The opposite side showed her and James smiling, waving and pointing down at something. Lily looked closer. The snow angel. She smiled down at the pictures, then shut the locket and fastened it around her neck.
She looked over to where Junie sat, munching on a Chocolate Frog. Junie had an extraordinary weakness for chocolate. She once bought a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, picked out all the Beans that had chocolate in them and threw the rest away.
Arabella was still in awe of her Silver Arrow. She sat staring at it until Junie cuffed her playfully over the head. Lily ran over to the two girls and hugged them.
"You guys are so awesome! The dress robes are gorgeous!!! Thank you so much!"
"Aw, shucks, Lily" said Arabella, jokingly abashed. "It was nothing."
"Yeah," said Junie, "We knew those robes would look great on you. I mean, come on; your eyes are the exact same color."
"Thanks!" Lily gave each of them another bone-crushing hug, but then it was her turn. Arabella jumped up and gave Lily a hug.
"Thank you so much for the totally awesome stuff," she said. Arabella, being a pure-blood, didn't get too much Muggle stuff, but she adored everything Muggle. Lily had given her a huge red teddy bear, a pair of red knee boots and a bright red hat which was perched jauntily on Bella's head.
"Yeah, Lily, the books are so cool!" Junie added. Lily had given her a few Muggle books (even though Junie was half-and-half). Junie loved to read, possibly even more than Lily, which is saying quite a lot. Included in Junie's present were Pride and Prejudice, A Walk to Remember and Emma. Also, Lily had given her a teddy bear.
"That's a really pretty necklace, Lily," Junie remarked, admiring the gold locket. "Have you always had it?"
"No," she replied. "It was in my pile of presents. Do you guys know who it's from?"
"Well, since you don't have a present from our dear friend James, I'm guessing it's from him!" Arabella ended in a shriek of delight.
"Yeah," Junie agreed. "I saw Remus with a camera, so he must have taken the picture in the snow."
All further comments were swept aside as the door swung open. Sirius, James and Remus stood in the doorway.
"Merry Christmas!!!" they chorused. Each ran to a bed and proceeded to bounce on it, imitating Bella not long before.
"Presents, presents!" shouted Sirius in a sing-song sort of voice. He looked like a four-year old after a visit from the tooth fairy. He was sitting on Arabella's bed, eating the Chocolate Frogs he had given her. Lily noticed that along with the candy, Sirius seemed to have given Arabella a small teddy-bear. She smiled evilly to Bella, after glancing pointedly at the bear. Bella blushed.
"Lily," Remus said, interrupting her thoughts. "What a lovely necklace you have there. Where ever did you get it?" One eyebrow raised, a mischievous grin spread across his face.
"A friend gave it to me," Lily replied. Her smile matched his.
"Really? How…interesting." Remus' grin was becoming wider by the second. He turned his head slightly to include James in his view. James, who had been trying to inconspicuously devour Lily's Every Flavor Beans, looked up guiltily and shoved the Beans behind him.
"Yes?"
"Oh, nothing…" Remus smirked. Just then, Sirius tapped him on the shoulder. He whispered something in Remus' ear, while shooting glances at the ceiling.
Without warning, the two pranksters lunged at Lily and James. Sirius pinned James' arms behind his back, while Remus danced Lily across the room. They both led their victims, er, friends to the door frame, where a sprig of Mistletoe just happened to be hanging. (a/n evil, I know, hee hee)
"Well, well, would you look at that?" Sirius exclaimed, pointing upwards at the Mistletoe.
"Now, how'd that get there?" Remus grinned. He and Sirius backed away quickly.
"Oh, and look who's under it!" Sirius feigned a look of innocence.
Lily had turned scarlet. She avoided James' eyes, silently pleading with Arabella and Junie for help. They shook their heads, grinning.
James' eyes shot daggers at Remus and Sirius, who just smirked. Sirius winked. Lily had turned to look upward at the Mistletoe. There was no way out. Lily voiced what James had been thinking.
"You're both mental."
"True," Sirius said. "But you have to admit, we are geniuses." He folded his arms across his chest smugly.
"That's a good one, Sirius," Lily burst out laughing. "You do realize that most geniuses were insane, right?"
"You may have a point there," Sirius replied. The infamous maniacal grin was once again widening across his face.
James looked down at Lily nervously. His eye caught a glint of gold. She was wearing the locket! He had to smile. Lily smiled back at him, not seeing the glance at the necklace.
"Jamie," Sirius whined. "Are you going to kiss her or not?" James glared at him. He turned to look back at Lily who shrugged, as if to say, "Why not? They're not letting us go until we kiss."
James nervously leaned down, closer to Lily. Her eyelids fluttered shut. He closed his eyes too, and gently pressed his lips against hers. Sirius and Remus catcalled and whistled as Junie and Bella giggled madly. Lily pulled away, blushing crimson, but not able to keep a nervous smile from her face. James grinned, but he also blushed. He pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the ceiling above Remus and Sirius' heads. As he whispered a few words under his breath, Mistletoe magically appeared, hanging from the spot. The two Marauders were laughing so hard, they didn't notice, but Lily tapped them both on their shoulders. She pointed upward. Slowly, Remus and Sirius looked up. Their eyes widened in horror, as the other four occupants of the room burst out laughing. The two boys shrieked in terror and ran from the room, down into the common room and out separate directions. Lily gasped for breath, and Arabella wiped the tears streaming from her eyes from laughing so hard. They finally caught their breath, and Junie nodded toward the door.
"Out, you," she said, cocking one eyebrow and poking a finger in James' chest. "We need to get changed for the feast."
Arabella pushed James out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He paused, waiting outside the door. He could hear squeals and giggles coming from inside the room, and he could imagine Lily's cheeks rapidly turning a bright crimson. All of a sudden, the noise stopped. James was about to press his ear to the door, when suddenly it flew open.
"That means go!"
Arabella's face retreated back into the room and the door slammed once more.
The remainder of the afternoon was uneventful, unless you count Sirius being beaten by Remus in wizard chess for the 37th time that semester.
"Padfoot, you really should actually try to win sometime," Remus said, as he sat in front of the roaring fire. "It might make the game a little more fun."
"Ah, but Moony, we know you're going to win anyway, so what's the point?"
Later, as James and Lily (the others were nowhere to be found) headed down to the Great Hall, they heard a muffled noise coming from down the corridor. As they reached the site of the sound, they were surprised to find Sirius and Arabella snogging furiously under a sprig of Mistletoe hung in an empty classroom. Lily coughed.
"Ahem."
Bella and Sirius flew apart, both turning bright red and mumbling excuses.
"The Mistletoe, you see…"
"It's traditional…"
"We just happened to…"
"Um…"
Lily smiled knowingly.
4th Year
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ah, my fair lady hath brought me mine breakfast!" Sirius jogged over to Lily and attempted to grab a blueberry muffin out of her hand. He was wearing his scarlet Gryffindor robes; it was morning Quidditch practice and Lily had come out to watch.
"Um, Sirius, this is my breakfast." Lily pulled her hand away, saving the muffin from Sirius. She took a big bite, staining her teeth blue. Sirius pouted, but his frown disappeared when Lily plucked another muffin from her bag and handed it to him. She also had two more muffins for Arabella and James.
"Now, go," she said. Sirius grabbed his broom and kicked off as Lily took a seat in the stands. She was joined near the end of practice by Junie who was dragging Remus onto the pitch. As they sat down, Lily nodded towards Remus and winked at Junie who blushed.
The three were waiting outside the locker room when the other Marauders came out.
"So, what'll we do today?" Sirius asked, flinging an arm around Lily's waist. James, walking on the other side of Lily, glared at Sirius. "oOo, I know!" Sirius continued, oblivious to the death stare of his best friend. "We'll give each other make-overs!" he squealed.
"Is it just me, or has Sirius gone mental?"
"No, Moony, I do believe you're correct," James answered.
"Hey, I think it's a great idea!" Arabella exclaimed. The other girls apparently agreed, because they frog-marched the boys up to their dorm.
"Wait, I was just kidding!" Sirius yelled, but it was to late. The girls had already dumped their entire supply of makeup out onto Lily's bed. In a short amount of time, Sirius was painting Lily's toenails bright red with black spots ("Like Ladybugs!," he said.) She, in turn was spiking James' hair, using ample amounts of gel (Sleakazy's Straightening Stuff) borrowed from Sirius. Arabella was giving Sirius cornrows. Remus was unsuccessfully trying to braid Junie's hair, but he gave up and let her see the effects of a butterfly tattoo on him.
"James, you really should wear your hair like this more often," Lily said.
"Sirius, if you would stop moving your head, these cornrows would be a whole lot better." Sirius had been flipping through one of Arabella's magazines, but he stopped on one page.
"Ooh, a quiz: 'Do your looks scream sexy?'" Sirius read from the page. "Tell me, Bella, do my looks scream sexy?"
"Yes, Sirius dear, your looks scream. Not necessarily sexy, but they scream. More like in pain," Arabella replied.
"I'm hurt." Sirius placed his hand over his heart.
"I'm sure."
James watched Remus and Junie. Remus and Junie. Hmm…Were they flirting? Yes, they were. How could he have not noticed it before? They didn't seem like each others' type, but then, opposites attract. And opposites definitely seemed to be attracting here. Remus was tickling Junie. Who would've thought? And yet, the thought of Remus with Junie made sense. Junie was funny, thoughtful, friendly, and outgoing. Remus seemed reserved, but he wasn't really. He was on the quiet side, compared to James and Sirius, but everybody was on the quiet side compared to Sirius. The more James thought about it, the more he liked the idea of Remus and Junie. They went well together, like peanut butter and jelly. At this thought, James' stomach rumbled.
"I'm hungry." The response from the rest of the group was the same, and they went to lunch in the Great Hall, where they would show off their new looks.
"Wow, Sirius," a girl said, "Your hair looks great like that!"
"Thanks," Sirius said. He wasn't really listening to the girl because Arabella was giving a play-by-play of a Quidditch game she had been to that summer. Sirius, not noticing a pretty girl? That was odd, Lily thought. But then, Sirius was intent on whatever Bella was saying.
Lily sprinkled sugar on her French toast while contemplating the thought. Sirius and Arabella. Hmm… Sirius and Arabella. Lily was surprised that she hadn't thought about it before. Or had she? They flirted all the time. And they did look really cute together… Lily made a mental note to herself to ask Bella about Sirius later.
The week passed quickly. Lily forgot to ask Bella about Sirius, and Bella didn't offer any info on the subject.
Soon, it was Saturday again, the day of the Quidditch game: Gryffindor against Slytherin. The team was charged and in high spirits when the time for the match came. Granted, they all were a bit queasy, (especially after seeing the large brutes on the Slytherin team). The Marauders split up, leaving three of them to head to the locker rooms and the other three to head for the stands.
In the locker room, Sirius was pacing. He couldn't sit still, as James was, so he was walking in circles, muttering, "We have to beat them… Gotta win the cup." He slammed his fist into the wall, then whimpered in pain.
"Padfoot, don't worry about it. We know we're going to win," James said, but he too was nervous. The other team members likewise were pacing or mumbling, except for Daniel Huntsford, one of the other members who was asleep. The teams were soon called out to the pitch where the game was about to begin.
"And, the Gryffindor team: Figg, Hale, McCarthy, Watson, Black, Huntsford and Potter!" An appreciative roar went up from three-quarters of the stands. The commentator was David Willis, a Gryffindor 6th Year. He was closely watched by Professor McGonagall. The Gryffindor team, in scarlet robes, mounted their brooms and took off into the air. James searched the stands for any of his friends. He found Remus and Junie, who were too busy flirting to notice what was going on in the air. He then saw Lily, waving furiously at him, wearing a red and gold scarf. She and a Gryffindor 5th year were holding up a large banner saying 'Go Gryffindors!' and by the words was a towering Gryffindor lion stomping on a green and silver snake. Lily grinned and winked and James grinned back. He and Sirius took a quick loop around a goal post and came back to hover in their positions.
"The Slytherin team, (those lousy, cheating gits): {A/N: I'm not even gonna try to write all the Slytherin names, think of them yourself.}" Willis made gagging noises as he said each name, and was quickly shushed by Professor McGonogall. "They take their positions as Madame Hooch walks onto the field. The Bludgers are up, look, there goes the Golden Snitch and the Quaffle is released to be immediately taken by Watson of Gryffindor. She swerves Beater Conrad of Slytherin and shoots- she scores! Ten-zero Gryffindor!" Cheers went up from the crowd. "The Quaffle is regained by Chaser Watson of Gryffindor. She heads toward the goal and- oh! That was CHEAP!" Willis yelled in anger as a Slytherin Beater hit a Bludger at Eliza Watson, the Gryffindor Chaser, nearly knocking her off her broom. Madame Hooch blew a short blast on her whistle.
"Penalty to Gryffindor for deliberate attempts at de-seating their Chaser."
"The Quaffle is taken by Chaser McCarthy who shoots, and- she scores! Twenty-nothing Gryffindor!" Willis had resumed the commentary.
The game played on. After a Slytherin Chaser had elbowed Beth Hale, a Gryffindor Chaser, Sirius sent a Bludger flying at the Slytherin, where it proceeded to smash into his nose.
"Penalty to Gryffindor for cobbing, penalty to Slytherin for intentional attack on their chaser!"
And then James saw it: the Golden Snitch. It was hovering quite close to the stands, a few metres from Lily's ear. She was sitting at the end of the box, thoroughly oblivious (as was everyone else) to the miniature ball whirring next to her. She and everyone else was concentrating on the Slytherin Chaser taking the penalty shot. James edged his broom closer to the Snitch without bringing any attention to himself. Finally he was just an arms length away from the Snitch. He reached out and-.
"I'VE GOT THE SNITCH!" James soared into the air, the Golden Snitch fluttering helplessly between his fingers. The whistle blew and James was immediately surrounded by a crowd of scarlet.
"Yes!" Sirius slapped James on the back and punched a fist into the air. "Take that, you slimy Slytherins!"
Lily ran up, attacking James with a bear hug. "You did it! It was right there and I didn't even see it, but you did and you got it!" James grinned as Lily nearly choked him with another crushing hug. She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then blushed, mumbled something and ran off into the crowd. James was still standing there staring after her when Sirius ran up and cuffed him on the head.
"You did it, Jamie-old-chap! We won! We won!" Sirius was dancing around James like a four-year-old. James rubbed his head as Sirius struck a disco pose.
***
Remus Lupin was walking along one of the many corridors of Hogwarts school one Saturday, whistling some tune to himself when he heard a popping noise coming from around the corner. Walking further, he was met with the sight of Lily Evans, her red hair in pigtails, sitting with her back against the wall, chewing furiously on a piece of gum.
"Lily, you might want to watch out before you trip someone," Remus said sitting down next to her. Lily's feet were sticking out into the middle of the hall. She turned and blew a bubble in his face.
"The better to trip Snape with," she said. Remus laughed. "Want some bubble-gum?" He nodded and she handed him a piece. Remus unwrapped it and was about to eat it when he suddenly turned to glare playfully at Lily.
"Wait just one minute, you," he said, waggling a finger annoyingly in Lily's face. "How am I supposed to know this gum won't make me smoke at the ears, or turn purple?" Lily laughed.
"It's a Muggle gum," she said, pulling a pink Bubbleicious package out of her pocket.
"Oh, okie-dokie," Remus said, and ate the gum. After chomping furiously for a few seconds, he blew a big pink bubble. He turned to Lily, pointing at it. She grinned like the Cheshire Cat and popped the bubble which smuckered all over Remus' nose.
"Double un-cool with fangs," he said, pouting. "You're not my friend anymore."
Lily stuck out her tongue at him, which was now bright pink.
Remus tugged on her braids, then asked, "Who are you supposed to be anyway? Anne of Green Gables?" Lily laughed.
"No, I'm Lily of Gryffindor Tower!"
"Hm… It has a nice ring to it," Remus said. "So, um… Why are we sitting in the hall?"
"I'm going to stick my gum in the keyhole of Professor (A/N: Insert name of teacher no one likes here.)'s classroom door."
"Ooh, good idea!" Remus clapped his hands and Lily bowed. "Filch will have trouble getting that out." Lily stuffed her gooey wad of bubble gum in the key hole and Remus added his to the glob. Lily cackled evilly, and Remus did a sort of jig, dancing around the hall until he tripped over Lily's feet and ended up sprawled up on the floor.
Lily laughed and began shouting, "Loony, Loopy Lupin! Loony, Loopy Lupin! L