DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story except for the unfamiliar
characters and most of the plot. The rest belongs to the brilliant J.K.
Rowling. Oh, how jealous I am. I wont repeat this every chapter, so here it
is now.
***Also, special thanks to Katia for her wonderful constructive criticism and to JennyElf for giving me such great plot ideas.
Please don't be discouraged by the story. I like to take my time. The romance takes a bit to warm up. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: "Same ol' Same ol'"
It was the night before the first day of their 7th year at Hogwarts. They had decided to take a nostalgiac walk through the magnificant school in which they had spent a good portion of the last six years of their lives. Running their hands like five-year-olds along the rough, ornately embroidered tapestries that lined the halls, they revelled in the castle's mystic beauty. After their hands began to sting, they went on greeting each detailed portrait that lined each hall by name, receiving friendly winks and 'hellos' in return. They raced along corriders that they knew so well and laughed as the memories bubbled out and then faded away, only to replaced by others. This castle that they called home had served its purpose to them those last six years.
Six years in which four boys had bonded into a tight brotherhood. Six years in which they had become an inseperable unit which the rest of the school revered and loved (save a select few plus the Slytherin house.) Six years of discoveries, secrets, pranks, detentions, and girl problems.
They were the Marauders, are the Marauders, and always would be the Marauders.
"Til death do us apart." They had sworn it in blood.
-
"Ahhh... fellas, do you smell that? That smell- so distinct, so sweet, so... mesmerizing. I love it. Don't you love it?" inquired James Potter almost rhetorically as he inhaled deeply and continued strolling down the halls with his friends. Their nostalgiac walk had turned into something a little different. He ran a hand through his hair, making Remus Lupin cast a wary eye upon him.
He seemed to be waiting for a response to his question, raising his dark eyebrows at his friends' hesitation until Peter Pettigrew spewed out a "huh?"
James closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. He sighed. "Wormtail, you are an absolute failure." Then he quickly looked at his other best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius cocked a dark, shapely eyebrow inquisitively, while Remus just stared.
"Come on, men! I'm talking about... girls." He exhaled the last word slowly.
"But girls don't smell, James." James ignored Peter.
"Haha, I knew what you were talking about, mate. I knew all along. I-"
"No, you didn't, Padfoot," James said, cutting off Sirius quickly.
"Er, right."
"Wormtail, let me enlighten you. Girls do smell. They smell good. They smell beautiful. Hell, they ARE beautiful. One can get overwhelmed, which is why its a good idea to pick one and then concentrate on her. " James said, a hint of a smile forming on his face before he began again. "Now, there's what I was smelling before." He nodded to his left where a very pretty blond haired girl from Ravenclaw stepped around a corner, flanked by two less-radiant girls.
"Why, hello there, Miss Wellings. Did I mention that you look quite magnificent today?" James said, flashing her a brilliant, toothy grin. The girls erupted into giggles, while the blond haired girl blushed profusely. She managed to thrust out a "hello" and then practically sprinted off down the hall madly with her friends.
After watching them for a few seconds, Sirius commented matter-of-factly, "Now that is one fine specimen."
"Understatement," Remus said instantly, "Name's Alicia if I recall correctly...correct?"
"Take five points, Mr. Lupin. I hope you all got a good whiff of that, because that is as good as it gets, my friends. Note the affect that we, er, I had on her, " James said a bit idly.
Sirius punched him in the arm, "Aw, come on, Prongs, we all know that I'm the best looking one in this group." They tussled with each other as only great friends do, grinning madly in the process, with both managing to mess up the other's hair completely.
"Ah yes, mission accomplished," they both said simultaneously.
"Gah! My hair!" cried Sirius as James said, "Yes! I love when it's messy!"
"Actually, James, you look like you've been through a windstorm. Sirius, you're hair is perfectly fine," interjected Remus. Masses of James's dark hair stood up in every direction all over his head, especially in the back and on the side. Sirius's hair, on the other hand, had just magically fallen back into place with a few chunks hanging over his forehead into his eyes, causing Peter to stare at it in awe as he rubbed a hand over his short, dull, mousy brown hair.
They had been wandering the halls for couple of hours, mostly checking out any new developments in the girl department, but also occasionally pausing to point out a secret passageway here or there. Then they had proceeded to name exactly when and which Marauder had discovered each one, laughing over the old memories. The highlight of their night was when Peter had tripped over a stray shoelace and knocked his arm into a lance held by a suit of armor, making the lance prod some sort of switch in the wall, making the suit of armor step forward and reveal an opening in the stone that they had never seen before. They quickly noted "the coordinates" of the location and decided to update the Marauder's Map as soon as possible.
Finally, they began to head back to the Gryffindor common room and started to chat excitedly about the upcoming year.
"Marianna Sander's new haircut has me re-thinking her. I might just have to update My List." Sirius stated, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"And Rebecca Crawling! Something's different about her. I can't figure out what it is..."
"Hair?-"
"Make-up?-"
"Body?-"
They finally realized that she had simply gotten rid of her glasses.
James subconsciously ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair. "Our last year, mates, we better make the very best of it." He ran a finger rather affectionately along the banister of a stone stairwell as they ascended.
The corners of Sirius's mouth twitched upwards, "Oy, James, now what exactly does that mean?" Remus grinned and Peter giggled.
"Why, that I will get Evans, of course," he stated quite pompously. The loud laughter following this comment echoed far down the empty hallway, scaring the wits out of a small group of first-year Muggle-Borns just around the corner who then promptly ran off to find their Common Room and tell their friends that the castle was haunted.
***Also, special thanks to Katia for her wonderful constructive criticism and to JennyElf for giving me such great plot ideas.
Please don't be discouraged by the story. I like to take my time. The romance takes a bit to warm up. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: "Same ol' Same ol'"
It was the night before the first day of their 7th year at Hogwarts. They had decided to take a nostalgiac walk through the magnificant school in which they had spent a good portion of the last six years of their lives. Running their hands like five-year-olds along the rough, ornately embroidered tapestries that lined the halls, they revelled in the castle's mystic beauty. After their hands began to sting, they went on greeting each detailed portrait that lined each hall by name, receiving friendly winks and 'hellos' in return. They raced along corriders that they knew so well and laughed as the memories bubbled out and then faded away, only to replaced by others. This castle that they called home had served its purpose to them those last six years.
Six years in which four boys had bonded into a tight brotherhood. Six years in which they had become an inseperable unit which the rest of the school revered and loved (save a select few plus the Slytherin house.) Six years of discoveries, secrets, pranks, detentions, and girl problems.
They were the Marauders, are the Marauders, and always would be the Marauders.
"Til death do us apart." They had sworn it in blood.
-
"Ahhh... fellas, do you smell that? That smell- so distinct, so sweet, so... mesmerizing. I love it. Don't you love it?" inquired James Potter almost rhetorically as he inhaled deeply and continued strolling down the halls with his friends. Their nostalgiac walk had turned into something a little different. He ran a hand through his hair, making Remus Lupin cast a wary eye upon him.
He seemed to be waiting for a response to his question, raising his dark eyebrows at his friends' hesitation until Peter Pettigrew spewed out a "huh?"
James closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. He sighed. "Wormtail, you are an absolute failure." Then he quickly looked at his other best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Sirius cocked a dark, shapely eyebrow inquisitively, while Remus just stared.
"Come on, men! I'm talking about... girls." He exhaled the last word slowly.
"But girls don't smell, James." James ignored Peter.
"Haha, I knew what you were talking about, mate. I knew all along. I-"
"No, you didn't, Padfoot," James said, cutting off Sirius quickly.
"Er, right."
"Wormtail, let me enlighten you. Girls do smell. They smell good. They smell beautiful. Hell, they ARE beautiful. One can get overwhelmed, which is why its a good idea to pick one and then concentrate on her. " James said, a hint of a smile forming on his face before he began again. "Now, there's what I was smelling before." He nodded to his left where a very pretty blond haired girl from Ravenclaw stepped around a corner, flanked by two less-radiant girls.
"Why, hello there, Miss Wellings. Did I mention that you look quite magnificent today?" James said, flashing her a brilliant, toothy grin. The girls erupted into giggles, while the blond haired girl blushed profusely. She managed to thrust out a "hello" and then practically sprinted off down the hall madly with her friends.
After watching them for a few seconds, Sirius commented matter-of-factly, "Now that is one fine specimen."
"Understatement," Remus said instantly, "Name's Alicia if I recall correctly...correct?"
"Take five points, Mr. Lupin. I hope you all got a good whiff of that, because that is as good as it gets, my friends. Note the affect that we, er, I had on her, " James said a bit idly.
Sirius punched him in the arm, "Aw, come on, Prongs, we all know that I'm the best looking one in this group." They tussled with each other as only great friends do, grinning madly in the process, with both managing to mess up the other's hair completely.
"Ah yes, mission accomplished," they both said simultaneously.
"Gah! My hair!" cried Sirius as James said, "Yes! I love when it's messy!"
"Actually, James, you look like you've been through a windstorm. Sirius, you're hair is perfectly fine," interjected Remus. Masses of James's dark hair stood up in every direction all over his head, especially in the back and on the side. Sirius's hair, on the other hand, had just magically fallen back into place with a few chunks hanging over his forehead into his eyes, causing Peter to stare at it in awe as he rubbed a hand over his short, dull, mousy brown hair.
They had been wandering the halls for couple of hours, mostly checking out any new developments in the girl department, but also occasionally pausing to point out a secret passageway here or there. Then they had proceeded to name exactly when and which Marauder had discovered each one, laughing over the old memories. The highlight of their night was when Peter had tripped over a stray shoelace and knocked his arm into a lance held by a suit of armor, making the lance prod some sort of switch in the wall, making the suit of armor step forward and reveal an opening in the stone that they had never seen before. They quickly noted "the coordinates" of the location and decided to update the Marauder's Map as soon as possible.
Finally, they began to head back to the Gryffindor common room and started to chat excitedly about the upcoming year.
"Marianna Sander's new haircut has me re-thinking her. I might just have to update My List." Sirius stated, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"And Rebecca Crawling! Something's different about her. I can't figure out what it is..."
"Hair?-"
"Make-up?-"
"Body?-"
They finally realized that she had simply gotten rid of her glasses.
James subconsciously ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair. "Our last year, mates, we better make the very best of it." He ran a finger rather affectionately along the banister of a stone stairwell as they ascended.
The corners of Sirius's mouth twitched upwards, "Oy, James, now what exactly does that mean?" Remus grinned and Peter giggled.
"Why, that I will get Evans, of course," he stated quite pompously. The loud laughter following this comment echoed far down the empty hallway, scaring the wits out of a small group of first-year Muggle-Borns just around the corner who then promptly ran off to find their Common Room and tell their friends that the castle was haunted.