Disclaimer: I am not, as much as I wish I was, J.K. Rowling. These Characters are hers, not mine.
Author's Notes: I actually got the idea for this story from a very good friend of mine; Plucky. Please don't mind the first chapter, it's just setting things up for the rest of the fic. Any suggestions will be totally welcome as I'm not 100% sure what'll happen in future chapters, you can email them to me at Oh, and please, if you read, leave a review!! Reviews feed my urge to keep writing!
Rating and warnings: I'm going to rate this PG-13 just to be safe. My guess is some swearing may occur and perhaps a few sirious subjects. If not, I'll change it.
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The Matchmaker.
One: The not-so beginning.
"James, go dry Harry off!"
"Ah, he's just a kid. Let him have his fun!"
"Fun isn't tracking water all over my clean house."
A small child crawled aimlessly down the hall, wearing nothing at all. He was overjoyed at the freedom, and let out shrills of high pitched infant laughter.
"Come here squirt!" James laughed, picking up the child and wrapping him in a furry blue towel. Harry looked up at his father, his green eyes twinkling. With a swift arm, and a giggling shriek, he grabbed James's oval glasses in an attempt to toss them onto the ground.
"Now, ta-ta to mommy!" his mother cooed, in a soft, earthly tone. She gently worked the spectacles from Harry's tight grip and placed them on her loving husband's face. He smiled gratefully, handing their first born child to her, and kissed her cheek.
"That's why I married you. So much patience and so tolerant."
"Yeah, yeah that's why." She laughed, tickling her son's soft, rounded chin.
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"You suppose he's asleep?" asked Remus Lupin, a bold seventh year. He peeked around the corner and through the compartment door window.
"He seems to be anyways," replied the thin, scruffy, dark haired boy beside him. His oval shaped frames sat low on his nose and he eyed his companions with his deep brown eyes. Squatting down, he beckoned down the troops.
Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. They were a legend among their fellow students at Hogwarts, known for their mischievous behaviour. They were constantly in trouble and had no ambition in life other than wreaking havoc and mayhem."So we're going to set off these fireworks in the compartment?" Peter asked, in his slightly high-pitched voice. "No? You think? Of course you sniveling prat!" Sirius snickered, not meaning any insult. His suave black hair was tucked behind his ear, and he waited for further instructions. "Well, I just thought I'd make sure, that's all!" Peter hissed under his breath. He was used to being put down, all of them were. Constant insults weren't abnormal. "Alright . . . and what about afterwards?" asked Remus, sitting next to James. He blew his thin blonde hair out of his face, exposing his deep hazel eyes. "We run." James's voice was daring and his smile, cunning. He slipped a handful of fireworks out of his pocket and showed them to the boys. Peter took a second, looked down the hall, and nodded. With a quick flick of the wrist, Sirius tossed the fireworks in through a small crack in the door, and they took off. All four of them managed to slip into the nearest compartment.
"Get out!" shrieked two girls, who accompanied two more in the small space. "Get out!" "Shush!" Sirius hissed, waiting for the expected blasts. They sat still. A loud explosion echoed the train, followed by a boy's yelps. "James Potter! You didn't!" A girl's voice cried.
James turned around to come face to face with Lily Evans. He quite liked Lily, for a good three years actually. She was smart, sweet and caring. She was also a bit of a goodie-two-shoes. Her emerald green eyes scolded him on their own, and her angry voice sent chills down his back.
"It was just once . . . he . . . we couldn't resist!" his brown eyes begged for mercy, but her stare was relentless. "James, you disgust me, you really do." "It wasn't just me!" He protested, wanting to remain on her good side. "Ah Lily, lighten up! Snape brings it on himself!" Sirius butt in, trying to smooth things out. Lily got to her feet and jabbed her wand into his chest. "Listen here Sirius Black. Severus Snape has merely attended school, ate, studied and tried to stay unnoticed! If you call that bringing tricks and torture onto yourself, you've got issues.""Perhaps I do, but threatening me won't help," He insisted with a cheeky grin. Remus and Peter watched in amusement. For the last six years, James has filled all the marauders ears with nonsense about Lily Evans. Though her beauty was undeniable, the boys didn't see the big deal.
"You know Lily, if you and James are Head Boy and Head Girl this year, you might want to think about getting along . . ." Remus stated bluntly, as Severus was escorted to another compartment behind him.
"How in hell did he make head boy, anyways!?" Lily shrieked, staring down her opponent viciously. "He merely jumps through his classes like a game, and prefers to fool around with you hooligans!" "That may be true," Remus admitted, turning his attention briefly to his shoes, "but, that doesn't seem to make good old Dumbledore think any less of him. Perhaps he too sees your feelings and decided to act on them if you wouldn't." "My feelings!? What feelings? Feelings for what?!" she snapped, daring him to continue. "Your feelings for James, of course," he replied as cool and calm as ever. This sent Lily on a rampage. She complained about everything she could think of that she despised about James, quickly and loudly. With a cold glare, and a grunt of frustration, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Remus shrugged, thanked the ladies for being patient, and the marauders left and coolly returned to their own compartment."Wow, she really hates me doesn't she...?" James asked, hurt. His expression quickly changed from a frown to a clever grin. "She doesn't think I'm ugly though!"
Peter's faced was a bit scrambled in confusion.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" he asked, not hearing her admit his handsomeness."When she sputtered about everything that could possibly be wrong with me, she never said anything about my physical appearance!"
Sirius and Remus passed glances. Remus opened his mouth to say, "You know, that doesn't means she thinks you're fit," but decided against it. James was satisfied, even after being called a stupid lazy bloke and that was that. Time passed quickly as the Marauders discussed their plot to "spice up" their last year at Hogwarts, as if the others weren't exciting enough.The trolley woman passed, and James treated everyone to a cauldron cake.
During the sorting ceremony, the boys continued to discuss their plans, and after the scruffy antique was put away, the headmaster made his speech, and the plates had filled themselves, Sirius cleared his throat.
"Boys, seventh year brings a very special event to our hands, the graduation ceremony. This ceremony also grants us the ball of a lifetime. This year boys, we will be taking on several responsibilities. One of which will be causing enough havoc to make Hogwarts history, and second of which, will be getting James his desired date for the ball!" He raised his cup of pumpkin juice and ginned. "To the marauders!"
"To the marauders!" They chanted, and made a toast.
0 0 0 0
As the boys nested in their four poster beds, James found himself once again fantasizing about Lily. He was a good looking boy surely, smart, funny, active and rich. What was there that Lily didn't find appealing? It didn't make sense to him. After at least 30 attempts to ask her out, he was still determined. He had tried everything to woo her. He had charmingly asked her several times, bought her gifts (flowers, sweets, books), sent her notes . . . all of which had failed miserably. He laid his oval glasses onto his night stand, and shut his eyes.
The wind whipped through his already untidy hair as he raced across the quidditch pitch, quaffle under one arm. Two blue robed chasers sped after him in hopes of stealing the ball back. Swiftly maneuvering around his obstacles, he shot the red orb through the golden hoops, around the nervous keeper. A bell rang out into the atmosphere and James took an early victory lap, searching desperately for Lily's beaming face.
"That's one sixty to ten for Gryffindor and twelves goals for Potter this morning!" Boomed the announcer, Gillian Beattermen.
James snatched the quaffle back up from Jill Pentella of the rival team and made a bee line for the Opposite end. The Ravenclaw seeker went into a dive in the corner of his hazel eyes, so he sped up. 'One more goal...just one more...' He muttered. As the quaffle made it through the rim, The tiny spot of gold was crushed in the blue robed boy's hand. He won, he won the game for Gryffindor. The stands erupted in applause and James soaked up the attention he was now receiving from his team mates. Lily's face came back into view. She was indeed impressed. He flew towards her seat before stopping.
"Lily Evans, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" he yelled down to her.
The crowd hushed, waiting for an answer. Her beautiful, yet pale face, turned from a glowing smile to a look of disgust
"No! You stupid brute! How many times does it take to get it through your thick head?!" Her harsh words echoed around the pitch.
"Hey shit for brains...wake up!" a familiar voice called faintly behind his love's haunting words.
"Wake up!" James opened his eyes to find Remus, Sirius and Peter; Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail, leering over him."It's breakfast Prongs, we have mayhem to accomplish!" Sirius complained, stripping his friend of his warm blankets.
"Alright, fine. You know, you ruined an amazing dream," he muttered, rising up. "Really? What about? Do tell my hoofed friend," Remus said sarcastically, sitting on the foot of his bed."Well . . . I won a quidditch game for Gryffindor, and made Lily proud. Then, I asked her out and she said . . . uh . . . 'You're stupid, hell no!' or something along those lines . . ." his cheeks went pink as he slipped his robes over top of his boxer shorts and muscle tee.
"Well, that's a happy ending, huh?" Padfoot joked, the sarcasm flowing out like a river. James slipped his glasses onto his nose and tried not to drown.
0 0 0 0
James had been levitating everyone's least favourite book (The monster book of monsters) over Peters head. Slowly, the belt that held it shut was being undone. Peter fidgeted, getting a gut feeling he was in danger. James let the book slowly down, to where it could get a good hold of his robes.
With a large SNAP, Pettigrew leapt up with a shrill shriek. Prongs and Padfoot giggled, watching their friend dance around, trying to stay out of the way of the snapping book. Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head. Bending over, he lightly brushed his finger against the spine, and it fall limp. Wormtail scowled at the two who were howling in laughter as Madame Pince, the librarian, marched over. James and Sirius swallowed their ongoing giggles and kept a straight face. "I told you boys no mischief!" she hollered, staring down at the book. Peter's eyes darted from Sirius to James. "Sorry Madame," he squeaked, picking it up, "It's mine . . . lost control . . . never happen again!" "Madame," Remus piped up, "Can I ask why it's so cold?""Oh yes! A mould's been eating at the forbidden books, and it dies at temperatures under 0°C." She smiled at Remus. He was always so well behaved as far as she was concerned; his friends were a different story. She marched away, across the room and behind a wooden shelf, filled with the latest additions.
Remus scowled at the dark haired boys across from him. "Ah come on, save it for something impressive!" he laughed, shaking his head. Peter took a seat, buckling the belt that bound the book. "Like Sevvie?" Sirius whispered, pointing to the same greasy haired boy from the train. "No, you don't want James to get in anymore trouble, do you?" Remus retorted. "Fine, we'll save it then." A few minutes went by, and Peter's skin started to turn a light blue. Remus insisted they leave before they caught the flu. The quartet strolled proudly through the halls, engaging in a private conversation. "Look, Friday's a full moon," stated Remus, only loud enough for James and Sirius on either side to hear. Peter scampered close behind, trying desperately to overhear something. "Alright, we won't plan anything then," James laughed waving to a few girls that gawked at them, or Sirius, as they walked. Sirius's face screwed up in guilt."I can't go too early, I er, have detention with Binns."
"Can't you arrange it for earlier?" Suggested Remus.
"No, I'm all booked up."
"What? Two days into the last year of school and your booked!?" He retorted in a hiss. Sirius shrugged.
"Well, I thought I'd start the year off with a big boom."