Title: Understand Me (1/?)
Author: Eleret
Author E-mail:Eleret@aol.com
Category: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG-13 (For some kissing, depressing stuff, and adult themes)
Spoilers: PoA GoF (maybe) (Knowledge in all of the books is recommended but not necessary.)
Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter have been on the same Quiditch team for a while, yet they know almost nothing about each other. Narcissa Claude and Sirius Black are completely different and they don't even know each other yet. Remus Lupin can't figure Nancy Bode out. Sybil Trelawney and Peter Petigrew form a club for unappreciated people. And no matter how much they deny it, what all of these eight teens want most is someone to understand them. N/S, L/J, R/OC (not a Mary Sue), and P/Sybil.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I own only Nancy Bode's first name and Narcissa Claude's last name. There are also references to the Fellowship of the Ring in this story, which I do not own either. It is created and owned by JRR Tolkien, various publishers, and whoever it is that did the movie.
A/N: Yes, I do know that I have other stories started! I have not given up on them, but I've had horrible writers block in both of them, so I'm taking a break and starting something new. I have a sequel kind of planned out, and, if I actually go through with this, it will become a trilogy. I will need lots of encouragement, though. I'll confess that one of the reasons that Angelina has not been updated is that I feel it isn't appreciated enough. I have finally figured out an idea for a *good* Marauders fic! Yes! And if you're wondering, the name Bode is that of a ministry worker in the Department of Mysteries. Nancy is his little sister. Narcissa is Draco Malfoy's mother, but I made up her maiden name. Thanx to the people at FictionAlley.org for writing such wonderful stuff that inspired me. Especially Doodle, DragonFlight, Kazaera, Saff83, LilyAyl, and Grindylow (did I spell that right?). Oh, and it takes place in their sixth year. That's about it. Please enjoy.
Chapter One: Meetings and Wonderings
Sirius Black was a Griffindor known throughout the school of Hogwarts as a prankster, a Beater on the Griffindor team, and a generally humorous person to be around if you didn't mind being followed around by his bunch of fourth and fifth year admirers. At the moment he was strolling around Hogsmead on the first Hogsmead weekend of the school year, on Halloween. He sauntered past Zonco's (with a great deal of self-restraint) and on to the post office. He had promised to send his little sister a Halloween letter from Hogsmead with a few sweets from Honeydukes.
He quickly attached the note and candy to the nearest owl and was about to exit when the door came swinging open and a girl with a sheet of silver-blond hair came running headlong into him, knocking him to the ground. Sirius lay there for a second, his head spinning from the headlong crash. The girl, after a couple seconds, slowly got up off of him and began to coax her flustered expression into one of cool dignity. After she was looking like a calm ice queen again, she offered him a hand up.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience I may have caused you," she said in a light, cool voice. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
Sirius took the hand with a nod and let her help him up off the floor, "Oh, it's alright," he said in his usually airy tone and then, in a softer voice, "Perhaps we should talk outside as we are attracting quite a bit of attention." In truth, Sirius had never seen this girl before and he wanted to know more about her.
She nodded and pushed him out the door first.
Sirius stumbled out the door and turned to face the girl coming out after him. She had pulled her cloak up over her head, covering her hair and features.
Sirius blinked, "You are the person who just rammed into me a few minutes ago, aren't you?"
"Yes," she said and offered no explanation for her disguise. Sirius wisely chose not to ask.
"Alright then. I'm Sirius Black, and who are you?" Sirius asked the cloaked figure.
"I'm- wait, I've got to go. Goodbye and happy Halloween to you," and with that the girl had disappeared back into the maze of shops and streets, making Sirius wonder if he had actually met her at all.
***
James Potter was a relatively down to earth and sensible person. He was together and he always seemed to have the perfect life. He had good friends, a stream of admirers almost as large as his best friend, Sirius's, and had perfected the perfect recipe for fun. At the moment he was walking towards the Three Broomsticks where he was going to meet his three best friends, Peter Petigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. He was early, but he could always hang around until they arrived.
He got their favorite table; one dubbed the Marauding Table by Madam Rosmerta, and took out a Muggle book given to him by Peter, who had an interest in Muggle things, called "The Fellowship of the Ring". He was just starting to be confused by the book when he was interrupted by someone bumping into the back of his chair.
Turning around, James saw a rather small girl with a lot of wavy red locks, pretty green eyes, and a cheery smile.
James grinned, "Hello Evans! Been working on your blocks?"
Lily Evans, keeper for the Griffindor Quiditch team that James was captain of, nodded, "I practice everyday before lessons," she assured him.
"Good. Getting better with the left side ones?" James had taken Lily on last year when she had almost no Quiditch experience and no coordination. Yet, he had seen her riding her broomstick by herself and known she had natural talent. He hoped that his decision was finally paying off.
Lily nodded vigorously again, "Yes! I hardly miss a shoot thanks to that spell I found to have Quaffles thrown from every angle. When's our next practice?" Lily had always loved to fly, but without any knowledge of how to play Quiditch and very little coordination, she had never dreamed of making the team. Last year, however, James had asked her to train as a keeper since their old one was leaving and she had jumped at the chance. Now she woke up at five every morning to get in two hours of practice before breakfast. It might mean that she had a very full schedule, but Lily had always loved to work and she hated being idle. This way, she was always doing something, and she was too tired at night to stay up late thinking the way she would if she were bored with school.
James grinned, "Tomorrow morning at six o'clock, officially. However, I think that I'll be getting everyone up half an hour early to get ready and discuss tactics. I trust you'll be down at the field at five fifteen as usual? Here, sit down," he gestured towards the empty seat beside him.
Lily sat down, "I will be down at five fifteen. Do you want me to wake up the girls?"
James nodded, "Sure. Just wake them up on your way down at tell them that they've got to be down at five thirty or I'll let Sirius go find them," he gave Lily one of his mischievous grins that he rarely used on the Quiditch pitch. When Quiditch was involved, James was all business.
Lily giggled, "I'll do that."
***
Remus Lupin sighed in frustration as he ducked into a side alley. He had been trying to avoid Lavender Sinistra all day. He shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time she got a hold of him. It is sufficient to say it involved a very badly worded love poem and a lot of grabbing onto his clothes. James and Sirius still teased him about that one.
Hurrying down another alley, he looked over his shoulder and bowled over a girl who had been standing right in front of him. Blushing slightly, Remus looked down at the slight girl now glaring up at him.
"Watch where you're going!" she snapped, ignoring his hand and standing up by herself.
Remus' blush darkened, "I'm very sorry. Are you alright? Can I get you something in the Three Broomsticks?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "I doubt you're sorry. People just say they are to be polite. They never mean it. And I'm fine, by the way. Don't try to buy my silence, either. It never works. You must be a Hufflepuff. Only one of those could be so stupid!"
Remus blinked. What was this girl talking about? Why would he want to buy her silence? And what would the silence be about, anyway? About to voice his questions, he opened his mouth; "I'm not a Hufflepuff!" was the emphatic statement that came out.
"Then you're a Griffindor, they're nearly as stupid." And with that she turned around and left.
Remus stood there for a long time, glaring at the place where she had been. About ten minutes after she left, he mumbled, "I'm not stupid," and went to join his friends at the Three Broomsticks, resolving to figure out just who this girl was so he could ask her what on earth she had been talking about.
***
Peter Petigrew had always been the bumbling one. He knew and accepted it, too-most of the time, at least. But every once and a while, he had to wonder why. Was it because he was shorter and plumper than the rest of them? Or because the other positions were already taken? And if so, why hadn't he gotten a fair chance? He knew that they didn't mean to have him be a tag-along, but sometimes it seemed to him that he was just slowing them down. He knew they would deny it, but, while he knew they weren't aware of it, he also knew that they did ignore him, though only by mistake.
Sirius was the dashing, cool one. James was the Quiditch player and the one who always lead pranks. Remus was less outgoing and more sensible, but he still got a kick out of playing pranks and he was the one who went through them to make sure they didn't have glitches. But who was Peter? Peter was the one who followed them and got protected by them. He was the one who made silly comments and got laughed at and teased by most people. Peter was the unappreciated one.
At the moment Peter was sitting in an alley, mulling over all of these thoughts. Peter had been made to be a follower, and he knew he would never have the courage to stand up to James, Sirius, and Remus. He snorted, some Griffindor he was, afraid to stand up to his friends.
At that moment a girl sat a few feet away from him. She had her long brown hair pulled back into a long braid and large round glasses were perched on her small nose. Her cheeks were slightly freckled and she appeared to be mumbling to herself.
"….And it is too true! I really did see it! They just won't believe it because they don't want to think that a little Hufflepuff could be more talented than them. I just wish they would believe me for once! Just once, that's all…" she appeared to be saying as she sat down.
Peter blinked at her, "Erm, are you alright?" he asked, a bit worried about this girl who seemed to be babbling quite incoherently to herself.
The girl looked up at him and blinked, as if seeing him for the first time, "Oh, I didn't notice you there. Sorry. And yes, I'm just fine, thank you. It's just, sometimes I really wish that people would believe me!" and with that she was back to babbling. "I really do get predictions right sometimes, you see, but no one ever believes me! They think that I'm just trying to get attention, but I'm not!" she leaned close to him and looked him in the eye, "Do I look like someone who tries to get attention?" she asked earnestly.
Peter blinked and leaned away from this obviously unstable girl, "Erm, no?" he said uncertainly.
"Good," she leaned back, "then they are wrong. I really am telling the truth!
Peter nodded, and wondered how he could make a somewhat tactful exit.
"…And I wish that they would realize my worth!" the girl had finished another long rant, and that last statement cut Peter. Hadn't he just been thinking along the same things? Perhaps this girl wasn't unstable, just mistreated and unappreciated.
Peter sighed, "Do people over look you, too?" he asked, somewhat hopefully. Things would be easier if he could share them.
"Oh, yes, all the time!" she said, dramatically enough to make Peter wince, except he was too happy to have found someone who felt the same way as he did.
"Well," he said happily, "perhaps we could, I dunno, be friends or something. Would you like that?" he looked at her hopefully.
She nodded her head vigorously, "Oh yes, very much! Let's be friends. I'm Sybil Trelawney. And you are?" she asked, sticking out a hand.
Peter took her hand and shook it in his own, "I'm Peter Petigrew. Pleased to meet you!"
Sybil smiled; "Same here!" was her emphatic reply.
It was the beginning of a long and faithful friendship.
***