Disclaimer: I don't have my name on Harry Potter or any part of the wizarding world. ^_^ I'm just a mere muggle trying to create an alternative world for this brainchild, which is owned by none other than Joanne Kathleen Rowling. :^) And I don't own Meteor Garden, either, from which some of the characters' personalities are based.
Author's notes: This fanfic was inspired by the television series Meteor Garden, and the animated film Spirited Away. ^_^.
"See? See? I told you guys there was something wrong with Peter!" Mundungus exclaimed after the Sorting had ended.
Lily pierced a piece of chopped squid with her fork and held it midway to her mouth. "Okay, Gus, you were right already. But don't be so caught up about it; he probably just forgot to eat breakfast or has a very weak immune system. Nothing serious."
And she was telling it as it was. Just seconds after Peter had fainted, he had fluttered his eyes back open and reassured Professor McGonagall that he was okay. He just missed a few hours of sleep, he had said, and accidentally drowsed off on the table. As odd though as it was, he looked perfectly fine, and so nobody else but the school nurse had bothered to do anything else. After a quick, but frantic check-up from Madame Pomfrey, he had gone back just in time for the start-of-the-term banquet.
"Yeah, right, nothing serious except for his appetite," Edith remarked, scrolling her eyes back over to the where the Marauders sat. "Can you see how much food he's taking in per second? It's like he hasn't bloody eaten in weeks!"
"Not that it wouldn't be good for him not to do so," Mundungus commented, noticing how much Peter had horizontally grown over the summer. Truth be told, Mundungus, who was already slightly on the chubby side, looked quite slim standing next to Peter. "He's like a storage room of carbohydrates."
Edith snickered.
"You guys, that is just downright mean," Lily reprimanded lightly, although she herself was clearly stifling a grin.
Edith shook her head. "Stop being such a goody-goody, Lils. I know you're just dying to insult him as well."
"I am not a goody-goody!"
"Yes you are," Mundungus piped in. "You're like Little Mary Sunshine in a Field of Daisies. Or Mary-Sue. Or Mary Had A Little Lamb Its Fleece Was---"
"Oh, shut up," said Lily. "I'm just a firm believer in karma, alright?"
"You know what really intrigues me?" a little voice piped up amidst the chatter. Looking to her left, Lily saw that it had been the tiny second-year sitting beside Peter. At first she had thought she was trying to join in on their conversation, but then her eyes widened to see her head directed towards the Marauders.
Edith almost choked on her Yorkshire pudding. "Really, does that kid even know who she's trying to talk to? The Marauders are going to kill her!" she whispered quite frantically. "Oh, gross... I can already imagine the possibilities of her death..."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it's not like they're evil overlords or anything! She's the first student I've seen to talk to the four of them so casually---"
"You mean besides you," Mundungus inserted quickly, in the same tone as Edith. "It's really a wonder that they haven't done anything life-threatening to you yet... except of course during that time in our third year--"
"Don't start, Mundungus."
The twelve-year-old girl didn't seem to have noticed the glares she was receiving from the four boys. "I just find it so odd how your friend fainted so abruptly. He's just too... I don't know, oversized for that. You know, he's majorly obese and with all that food stored in his body, it looks so weird how he could have been knocked out so quic---"
Before she knew it, James had grabbed the tiny girl's neck with a single hand, and pressed his face so closely to hers that the girl's eyes widened in fear. There were frightened gasps coming from around the table, and almost everyone had their eyes stuck to the scene. Even Peter had a look of fear in his eyes; Remus had a very mildly surprised and disapproving look on his face as Sirius tried to snatch the girl away from him.
"Take those nasty little words back into your bloody pothole," James muttered in a threatening whisper.
"Potter! Let go of her!" Lily cried out, standing up to force James' hands off the girl's neck. The girl was turning a nasty, pale-ish blue, and was on the very verge of tears. "You're hurting the girl!"
But James merely slapped a free hand to Lily's face. "I said," he repeated, eyes narrowed dangerously at the girl, "take it all back."
"Professor!" Lily screamed, getting the attention of Professor McGonagall at once. Peering over from the staff table, she sensed trouble brewing and walked off to the Gryffindor table at a quickened pace.
Seeing the Deputy Headmistress abruptly making her way towards them, James dropped the girl immediately back to her seat and found enough time to shoot Lily a very incensed glare. The girl held back her tears as she belted out a single choke, stifling the other coughing chokes that dared to follow as Professor McGonagall reached their place. She didn't dare anger James by furthering the evidence from the riot he had caused.
"What is the matter here?" she asked, looking particularly at the Marauders. Everyone seemed to have lost their voices as many of the students looked back down on their food.
Lily was about to speak when Sirius, who was still standing up, threw a hand over Lily's mouth behind McGonagall's back. "We were just having an arm-wrestling session, Professor," he said with a straight face. His black, currently serious eyes and expressionless mouth seemed realistic enough to be believable.
McGonagall studied him for a while, and tried to study the faces of the other students surrounding them. She paused, causing a rather heart-stopping tension within the Gryffindor area, until she finally pursed her lips into a tight line and came to her decision. "Rather cynical, Mr. Black. But if I hear any more about the four of you, you can be sure that the consequences won't be light."
With a last skeptical look at Sirius, Professor McGonagall broke the tension by walking away. The noisy chatter resumed with several murmurs until a voice spoke up just before McGonagall reached the staff table.
"Professor McGonagall!" Lily shouted, catching the attention of several students once more.
McGonagall turned around abruptly to face her. "What is it, Miss Evans?"
Lily took in a breath. "Pott-- J-- James Potter just tried to-- to choke a girl," she said quietly, not being able to believe her own self for saying it outright.
Several people gasped. Professor Dumbledore stopped halfway through a light conversation with the DADA teacher, Professor Ogden, before the usual twinkle in his eyes went out as his attention went back to the Gryffindor table.
For a few fleeting seconds, Lily felt quite scared, more of what the Marauders could to her than the teachers' reactions. She knew how far James could go when he was angry, even though she had noticed an extremely slight difference in his temper ever since she became the first person to stand up to him in their first year. But she couldn't just leave things unsaid that way! The girl could have died if James had been allowed to proceed with it!
McGonagall stopped with slightly abashed eyes as she looked back at the group of intelligent, but trouble-making boys. "Is this true?"
"It is! It really is! It's this little girl!" Mundungus chirped out, pointing shortly at the nearly-choked girl beside him before hiding his face behind Lily.
The line between McGonagall's eyebrows deepened. "Well, honestly, Potter, I thought you had more of that badge in you," said McGonagall, referring to the prefect badge on his chest. "In my office, please. Now."
The day that followed seemed to last forever for Lily. From the moment she had waken up, the tension of what she had done against James last night constricted tightly inside her. Although she was practically the only one who had managed to stand up to James Potter and his friends for more than four years running without getting cursed too badly, the fear of being hexed or physically distorted by the Marauders still remained.
This tension seemed to have spread across the school; Lily had waken up to Edith's poorly-hidden panicking as she showed Lily a pile of tiny papers with notes of completely uncomforting taunts and predictions of how the Marauders were going to kill Lily, written by some Slytherins, as well as notes of good luck from the other houses. Everyone knew the Marauders and the heart-stopping tempers that came along with them, especially with James. The fact that they could curse or beat up anybody when they thought it needed was simply trivial. Even Slytherins feared them almost as much as they hated them.
"Erm, maybe... maybe James hadn't gotten punished at all," Edith said, trying to remove the hint of uncertainty in her voice during breakfast. Fortunately, the Marauders weren't there yet. Lily wanted to avoid them at all costs that day. "Who knows? Perhaps he's changed his mind on getting back at you."
"Morning, people," Mundungus greeted, stretching his arms as he sat down at the table. "Actually, Edith, James was punished. Turns out that he got a week-long detention, lost Gryffindor forty points and was suspended from his Prefect duties for twenty days. Serves him right, doesn't it?"
"You're not helping!" Edith whispered through clenched teeth, elbowing him in the ribs.
Mundungus looked at her oddly. "What? It's true! I overheard the Marauders talking about it and all last night... and I think they mentioned something about 'giving the redhead a good scare' or something. I think they were talking about you, Lils."
Edith snorted. "No duh, Gus."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Lily grumbled, swirling her fork on her plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. "Now help me make my last will and testament and help me find a priest to get me through the last sacrament."
"Come on, Lils, don't be such a pessimist," said Edith, finally giving up on trying to cheer her up with improbable guesses. "We'll be there to support you all the way, alright?"
"Hey Evans," a voice from the Slytherin table called out mockingly. "Feeling brave today? Hope you find somebody rich enough to pay for your funeral! Haha!"
"That mouth clearly isn't one to be used for a girl, Zabini," another Slytherin-hailing voice said. If Lily hadn't been too downtrodden from anticipating her possible death, she would have been surprised to see that it was Severus Snape that defended her. "Good luck, Lily Evans."
Edith tried not to laugh. Mundungus, on the other hand, looked completely surprised. "You know what, Lily? I think the hook-nosed bogey actually likes you! What a stupid git! Imagine, even thinking of liking someone from the Gryffindor side? Nasty little flirt of a blighter!"
"Ugh, I'm going to die.. I'm going to die..." Lily muttered to herself, ignoring Snape as she continued to feel restricted to her own worried thoughts.
"Good thing you know that, Evans," an uninvited voice said from behind her.
But Lily seemed to absorbed in her thoughts to listen to anyone. "Oh, I sure do, alright." Her eyes rested on Mundungus and Edith, who were now looking uncertain and nervous. "What?" Lily asked, seeing their oddly widened eyes looking past her.
Lily turned around, only to see one of the last people she would want to. "Oh! Sheesh, Sirius! What are you doing here?" she demanded, unable to avoid feeling nervous at the same time.
Sirius smirked. "Or, would you like to change it to, 'What are we doing here'?" He paved out of view to reveal two other Marauders walking just behind him towards their usual spot at the Gryffindor table. Only Peter and James were here this time, but it didn't really come as a surprise. Remus, aside from being an introvert towards taking pranks seriously, made it a point to sleep at least ten hours each day.
Unable to tear her eyes away from the three of them, Lily caught James' eyes in a flash. She tried to look away from the smirk on James' face, but before she could even do so, James had grabbed her by the scruff of her tee shirt and lifted her up slowly.
"Evans," he said, still lifting her up in the same way until he found a wall to push Lily into. "Brave little Evans."
Mundungus stood up abruptly. "G-get your hands off her!" And then he sank back down into his seat seeing Sirius sneer at him.
"Get your nasty hands off my clothes, Potter," Lily spat, hoping her heart didn't beat too loudly for him to hear. The wall behind her was rather rough, and she could actually feel the unequal layers of cement pushing into her back.
James sneered at her. "I could tear you apart right now without even using any magic, Evans. I could tear you apart with my bare hands. But you know what? Before I do so, I'd like to drown you in humiliation first. Let's just hope you're a good swimmer."
Smirking at her one last time, James dropped Lily onto the ground, and went off to the dormitory with his friends.
"Lily! Oh, God, Lily, are you okay?" Edith cried, rushing towards her friend immediately. "I'm sorry that James had to be such a bas--"
"We'll get him, Lils, don't worry," Mundungus added. "We'll get him before he can even cast a hex on you!"
Edith suddenly buried her face in her hands and shook her head. "Oh no," she mumbled. "Too late, Gus. Look up."
Simultaneously, Lily and Mundungus rolled their eyes towards the sky, and sure enough, they found a red, blinking arrow floating right above Lily's head, pointed in the direction of her hair. But that wasn't enough. Just above the other end of the arrow was an identical, blinking, bright red light, except this time, it was a word: Hermaphrodite.
Snickers erupted from the different tables, regardless of which house they belonged to. Lily felt herself blush in humiliation as she shook her head in hopes of taking the sign away from above her. But it didn't work.
"Erm, what's a Hermaphrodite?" Mundungus asked innocently, in a way that completely annoyed Edith.
Edith heaved a disgruntled sigh. "Don't ask."
Later that day, after a load of classes, Lily hung her head helplessly from her neck. She was getting very tired of this whole humiliation thing even though she had, so far, only gone through three pranks:
First, there had been the Hermaphrodite sign, which Professor Flitwick had been glad to remove before anyone else in the school could see it.
Next, they had conducted a Burping Charm on Lily, which got her a detention for burping instead of speaking to their completely biased and unfair Potions Master, Professor Carrasco. The Marauders had her burping until she found a counter charm to take it off again after an hour.
The last prank had been simple and so devoid of magic, it ran into Lily with an unexpected crash. Those tactless boys had posted an announcement in the Great Hall, containing a single sentence written so plainly in black ink: Lily Evans to Undergo Abortion. It had caused quite a riot with some teachers, especially since Lily was known to be one of their model students. Unfortunately for Lily, it took her several hours to finally convince everyone how completely untrue the statement had been.
Lily thought it would be the last trick of the day; but that was only before she walked into the Quidditch Field prior to dinner.
Edith Johnson, who was part of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team as one of its beaters, had Quidditch practice that night. Lily had gone with her to watch her play, even though it meant having to endure the unnerving smirks and sneers of James Potter, who was also unfortunately playing in the team as a Chaser.
"Now, listen, Lils," Edith had told her earlier that afternoon. "Don't look at James at all costs. If he ever tries to wink at you or tries to do something to irritate you, just ignore him. He hopefully won't do any funny stuff to you under Allan's nose."
Allan Abbott, a tall, well-framed 6th year with golden-brown hair, was the team's seeker and Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Although he was completely serious about his Quidditch matches, he took care of his players well and would always be there to clear up any squabbles between the players. It was fortunate for him, however, that he hadn't come across James' temper yet in his years of knowing him.
Lily sat at the bleachers quietly, watching as her house's Quidditch team gathered up to listen to Allan give out team strategies. Eventually, some action began taking place as they held a mock Quidditch match for the day's practice.
Hmm... Things seem peaceful enough, Lily thought, glad to have a piece of her time untainted by another Marauder prank. It looks as though James Potter has something else to keep his hands on, for once.
Lily grinned, feeling finally at ease with her surroundings knowing that she wouldn't have to endure another fit of humiliation for the next hour. It was only until she saw someone sleeping just a few feet from her that the ease began to vanish. The boy to her left was lying so peacefully on the same bleacher that he seemed almost...lifeless. Dead.
"Er, excuse me?" Lily called, moving toward the sleeping boy and ignoring the sound of several clicks from the sky, which might have come from the constant swooping of brooms from her Quidditch-playing housemates. "Excuse me, why are you sleeping he--- Oh my God!"
Lily's heart made a dangerous somersault inside her chest. Her breathing turned heavy as she recognized the supposedly sleeping boy. "Gus!"
It was Mundungus Fletcher, and he was lying motionless on the bleachers, blood trickling down the side of his face.
A/N: Ooh... cliffhanger! Whee... ^_^ And there's a lot more to come, so don't forget to check by from time to time! For the future chapters (not necessarily the next one), expect a sort of love triangle (or even square!), more Severus Snape, a bit of confusion, more card victims and several hurdles in Lily and James upcoming relationship. ^_^ Okay, so that may have sounded a bit obvious but I'm working on the plot alright? ^_^ Thanks to all those who read and reviewed, particularly to:
Lacey Evans (Thanks! It's a huge relief to know that. ^_^), Sabriel4 (I'm really glad you liked the song. :) Thanks for the nice remarks on the foreshadowing and humor! That was very observant of you. ^_~ I'm glad it had a better flow than the last. ^_^ Thanks!), Andufeniel() (Hehe... thanks!), smartikiss (Thank you!), fae (Hey, thanks a bunch! ^_^ I'm glad it made you laugh that much! Hehe... James will most likely be the last victim, but I can't tell which one yet. ^_^ Thanks so much!), citrus scented (Are you one of my favorite reviewers or what?? Hehe... ^_~ I'm really happy it did, and I hope the future chapters will be worthy enough to cheer you up again. Glad the you liked the song as well! ^_^ Oh, and thanks for the get-well review, I think your review helped me recover! And thrice? Wow... good thing you're completely immune now, at least! Hehe... thanks so much again!! ^_^), DaRkAnGel143 (Hey, Ramona! Thanks a load for reviewing! Glad you liked the name... hehe... ^_^ Thanks! ^_^), K. Ashley (Thank you! I'm completely glad you are, too! ^_^ And thanks for the great suggestions... don't worry, I'll really try to take each one of them seriously, as I do with my reviews. ^_^ Thanks again!), Lucy in the sky with DIAMONDS (Thanks! I'm happy you're loving it... ^_^ I already reviewed your story again, by the way, and it was great. ^_^ Thanks!), hEaRtBrEakEr() (Hey! I'm Filipino... it's also really famous here. ^_^ Thanks for the review!), leftwriter (Thank you! ^_^ Those simple adjectives actually made me smile...hehe...thanks again! ^_^), Ice Bear (Hehe! Oh, cute nickname by the way! Thanks! ^_^), Angelxd14 (Aw, thanks ;) You deserved one for cheering me up with your review. ^_^ Thanks for the wonderful comments... and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. Thanks a whole lot again! ^_^), ashley() (Hehe...I'm really glad you do! Thanks!), ..::SelMa-MeCkAnZiE::.. (Hey! Glad to see you know a bit of Filipino. ^_^ It's supposedly "Kumusta ka?" meaning "How are you?" and "Mabuti naman" is the equivalent of "I'm fine". ^_^ I'd like a picture of Cho, could you e-mail it to me? It's on my bio. ^_^ Thanks!), Princess Jasmine (Thanks! ^_^ I will, so please keep on reading! Thanks so much for the review! ^_^)
Comments and Suggestions? Don't forget to leave a review!
