Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot of this fan fiction, and any new characters I might create. Short & sweet…lol.
Affection or Adventure?
Chapter 1: The Prank Of All Pranks
"Bye mum, bye dad!" Lily Evans yelled out of her window as the Hogwarts Express started moving slowly north. She then shifted her gaze to a group of boys screaming at the train to wait for them as they jumped on. Those Marauders! She thought, and laughed silently to herself.
"Lily…Hey, Lily!" Lily turned her head to her three best friends, Chloe Williams, Penny Payge, and Natalie Brown. Lily was the reason of the group; sure, they were all probably the most clever girls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but Lily knew where to stop when it came to getting back at the Marauders for the pranks they pulled. Lily had lovely dark-red hair that fell to the middle of her back, and stunning emerald-green eyes.
She brushed a lock of hair out of her face and said with a grin, "Yes?"
Chloe was sitting across from her, cross-legged, twirling her long, light brown hair around her fingertips out of habit. "You were day-dreaming again…" She said with a pretty smile.
"I was not! I was just watching the Marauders…they almost missed the train!" The girls giggled.
"Now, what would our last year at Hogwarts be without the Marauders?" Said Penny, the shortest of them all, curled up in the corner of the seat with her strawberry-blonde head resting on a pillow. "It would be-"
"Calm, for once?" Interrupted Natalie, looking irritably out of the window at the green trees that were flying past them.
"Calm?" Said Chloe, her hazel-green eyes flashing mischievously. "Who wants a calm year? I don't! It has to be full of adventure, excitement, and-"
"Detention?" Lily cut in.
"No! I just feel…I don't know…like I'm missing something…"
"Maybe it's love," Said Penny with a deep sigh.
Love? Lily thought to herself. Maybe she's right…maybe that's what we're all missing…
BANG! Lily was pulled from her train of thought as there was an explosion outside the door to their compartment. Seconds later, three tall boys came racing through the open door, followed by one short, and rather plump one. The last boy to enter the room, the tag-along, as one might say, slid the door shut clumsily. The boys collapsed, out of breath.
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"That…was…close!" James Potter gasped. He looked around at the inhabitants of the compartment he and his friends had just practically slid into. Hmm…look at what we have here…Chloe Williams…always a major rival…Penny Payge…for a small girl, she has a big temper…Natalie Brown…I wonder what her problem is today? And…Lily! His heart skipped a beat and his hazel eyes shined as he smiled. James had a crush on Lily since their fourth year at Hogwarts, but they had failed to show each other anything but hate.
"Excellent, though, Prongs! Excellent! Snivellus didn't stand a chance!" Said James's best friend and partner in crime, Sirius Black, using his nickname.
"Too right you are, Padfoot!" James replied, lifting up a hand to mess up his already untidy black hair, making it look windblown. He was still smiling until Lily Evans whipped around, scowling.
"Ahh, you're here, Ev-" James started, but Lily interrupted him.
"What have you done now, Potter?!" She yelled at him.
"Why don't you open the door and find out?" James tempted her.
"Alright…" Lily made to get up, but the third boy spoke for the first time.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…Prongs, why did you tell her to do that? It could be hazardous to our health, you know!" Remus Lupin said, grinning and running a hand through his light brown hair.
"Moony, I was just trying to-"
"D…D…Dungbombs…" Panted the short, plump boy who was leaning against the door, still trying to catch his breath.
"Wormtail! You spoiled the surprise!" Sirius yelled, brushing his elegant dark hair out of his blue eyes.
"Wha…Wha…What? You don't want to smell it, do you?" Peter Pettigrew stated, still attempting to calm himself.
"True…" Said Sirius thoughtfully.
"Mind if we stay with you guys…oh, I mean girls…we don't want our clothes smelling before we even get to school." James said, ever so slyly.
"Of course we don't-" Natalie started.
"OH YES WE DO!" Lily shouted. "Those are your dung bombs out there, so you can go suffer!"
"Lily, lighten up. Just because you're Head Girl doesn't mean that you can't have any fun. Just look at me! I'm a Prefect!" Said Remus. Lily gaped at him for a few seconds, but sat down and turned away from the boys.
"Isn't there any other compartment that doesn't have that awful smell in it?" Lily muttered under her breath, when she thought nobody was listening.
James thought about her statement for a moment, and glanced around at his fellow marauders. "Now?" He whispered. They all nodded back at him. "Now that you mention it, Evans, there is one compartment that we didn't bomb yet."
"Why don't you leave and stop bugging us, then?" Lily shot back at him.
"Well, maybe we just like spending time with you all. Ever think of that Evans?" James replied.
"Plus, there is the little downside that we are in that very compartment." Said Sirius with a handsome smirk at the girls.
"Well, with that said, good old Padfoot…" James pulled what looked like an ugly, brown ball out of the pocket of his robes, along with what looked like a thin, wooden rod. He placed the ball on the ground and lit it with the fiery tip of his wand. All of the Marauders immediately bolted for the door, which was now open due to Peter, and raced toward their own compartment. They had left it conveniently dung-free.
James heard a big BANG and ran a little faster, considering that he could also hear the screams and yells coming from the girls in the end compartment.
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A voice, presumably the conductors, echoed through the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in ten minutes' time. Leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately. Thank you."
"James Potter, I will get you back for this if it is the last thing I do!" Lily Evans breathed, as a small piece of parchment landed in front of her, saying "You've just been pranked by the Marauders!"
A/N: For the people who don't know (not that you're stupid or anything), 'Chloe' is pronounced 'Klo-ee.'
