Well, here it is!! The next chappie!! Lately, I've been writing a lot of my other story (probably because I can relate to it more) but I figured that because everyone seems anxious for me to continue this one, I should listen to what people are telling me and WRITE!!!
Disclaimer: Yes, I would LOVE to own Harry, but sadly, I don't....*sniff* I don't even own this computer I'm using!!!
Chapter 2-New Faces
"Hey Sirius! C'mon, we're late!" called James Potter to his best friend Sirius Black as he rushed through the barrier to platform 9 ¾. The train was scheduled to leave in 5 minutes, and they still hadn't found their other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, yet.
"Keep your hair on, James!" Sirius called back as they hurriedly flung their trunks into the luggage compartments and raced onto the train.
"Oops, sorry...sorry, wrong compartment...sorry..." James said, flinging open compartment doors and shutting them quickly before their occupants complained. Sirius sighed, tapped his friend on the shoulder and pointed.
"James, they're right over there, in our usual compartment! Honestly, did you have anorexia or something over the summer?" Remus, who had approached them, snorted with laughter.
"Amnesia, Siri." he replied. Sirius shrugged.
"Who cares? It's time for the start of another fantastic year with all our favorite people!" he said, and giggled in a high-pitched tone. Peter, who had come to greet them as well, looked at him oddly. James sighed.
"He always has too much sugar before getting on the train." he explained, as Sirius raced down the narrow hallway, banging on doors and yelling hello to people he had never met before. The remaining three approached the compartment in a more leisurely fashion, and, upon arrival, sprawled out on the soft seats.
"So, boys, what's our beginning of school prank?" Sirius drawled, one leg propped upon the window. James' brown eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. He loved pranks.
Peter spoke up. "I thought that we could color the Slytherins Gryffindor colors..." he trailed off.
"Like we did last year." finished Remus, in a slightly bored tone. Peter blushed and James shook his head dramatically.
"No, it has to be new, fantastic, a real impression on the poor little first years." he said, gesturing wildly with one hand. Sirius had to duck to avoid being hit. He then straightened, an expression of pure glee on his face.
"I've got it!" he exclaimed. The other three boys crowded close, and burst out laughing when they heard his brilliant plot.
"We'll give them a Feast they'll never forget!" James said wickedly, as they began to plan excitedly on which spells they would need.
* * *
"Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" announced Headmaster Dumbledore at the beginning of Start-of-term Feast. "Now, I must remind you that the Forbidden Forest is exactly as the name implies-forbidden. Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, wishes to remind you that all magic is not allowed in the corridor. As well, the Astronomy Tower is also off-limits unless during class time and should you be found there, with or without someone else..." A few of the more sensitive students blushed as everyone caught the implication. Dumbledore continued. "Points will be removed from your respective Houses. Now, it is time for the Sorting!" James shot a quick look at the rest of the Marauders, and gave a small nod. Each focused their attentions on the raggedy brown hat and, murmuring the same complicated incantation(although each with a few small differences), began to wave their wands in a difficult pattern. The hat was placed on the stool and, none too soon, each boy stopped and waited for the fun to begin. The hat opened it's brim, paused for a moment, and launched into song.
Oh, you lucky little girls and boys,
you're in good hands, you know.
It's time to really have some fun,
and put on quite a show.
Though it may seem that it is the hat,
who speaks in rhyme just so.
But no, 'tis us, the Marauders,
and you'll soon be in the know!
Now, the hat is here to sort you,
into the proper house.
It'll take a look inside your head,
and maybe find a louse.
There are four noble houses here,
but only one will suit.
Gryffindor, the first of course,
and all the rest to boot.
All Gryffindors are lions,
that much we all do know.
We're brave, funny, courageous too,
McGonagall loves us so!
There's also ruddy Ravenclaw,
the brainy ones do best.
They're smart, nice and chatty,
and pretty cool next to the rest.
Hufflepuffs are loyal,
That's really about it.
They do work hard, they're patient too,
and who knows? Maybe you'll fit.
Last of all is Slytherin,
last is where they deserve to be.
These slimy snakes will do anything,
to achieve what they aim to be.
These four houses, each with merit,
Can hold something just for you.
They will become your family,
and you will be theirs too.
But now, on to buisness,
Explaining who we are.
As we said, we are the Marauders,
watch and learn from afar!
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,
such noble men, so true,
but most definitely not afraid,
to give some their proper due.
We are pranksters extraordinaire,
and Quidditch masters too.
We like chess, Snap, candy and girls,
but mostly the last two!
Come to us if you need a Dungbomb,
or some help to fly your broom.
'Cause yes, we are the Marauders,
and we are the teachers' doom!
The entire room was stunned for a moment, then broke into raucous laughter and applause, especially from the Gryffindor table. McGonagall looked as though she was about to have a coronary. Dumbledore stood up. "Thank you very much, Misters Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew, for that lovely introduction." His blue eyes twinkled merrily. "You know, of course, that you will all receive detentions. Please meet me after the Feast. Now, if the Sorting may proceed..." McGonagall nodded curtly and stepped up to the stool.
"When I read your name, you will step forth and be seated on the stool. I will place the Hat on your head and it will decide where you should go." She took a quick look down at the list. "Anthony, Mark?"
A small boy walked nervously up to the hat and sat down. McGonagall placed the hat over his head and waited. A few moments later, the hat shouted "Ravenclaw!" and they clapped politely. Smiling shyly, the boy walked over to the table and sat. Sirius rubbed his stomach.
"Argh, I need food!" he moaned to the other boys. James just thwacked him over the head, though not very gently.
"Shut up, we'll miss the Sorting! Besides, the teachers think it's over, but it isn't..." the four boys shared an identical evil grin, then turned back as "Danahurst, Emily" was made a Hufflepuff.
"Edwards, Samuel!" called McGonagall. A dark-skinned boy walked up, sat on the stool, and was promptly made a Gryffindor. James clapped heartily as the boy sat, the first Gryffindor of the evening. 'Eggerd, Madeleine' was made a Slytherin, and then...
"Evans, Lily!" called McGonagall, and the stunningly pretty redhead approached the stool, hips swaying with every step. James' jaw dropped and Sirius whistled softly.
"Damn! She's fiiine." said Peter dazedly, as Remus nodded dumbly. All eyes were fixed on the girl as she sat on the stool, crossing her legs daintily. The Hat rested on her hair for a moment, and then yelled out a choice.
"Gryffindor!" came the brusque reply, as some sighs could be heard across the Hall, and Gryffindors whistled and clapped.
"Quick, budge up!" hissed Sirius, and the boys obligingly made room. Lily walked casually across the floor, heading towards the table.
* * *
'Gryffindor...' thought Lily as she walked across the hall towards the appropriate table, hardly aware of the many eyes on her. 'I wonder why it thought I was brave...' She stopped, realizing she had arrived, and met the eyes of four boys, each staring at her. "Um, hey. Can I sit here?" she asked, gesturing towards a spot next to the boy with the long black hair.
"Sure, beautiful Lily, come right over!" he said cheerfully. Lily smiled and sat down next to him. "I'm Sirius Black, resident Marauder." Lily laughed a tinkly little laugh.
"So you're the one of the ones who thought up the prank? Brilliant!" she exclaimed, as the Marauders blushed to a man. Noticing their discomfort, Lily continued. "Why not introduce me to the other Marauders?" Sirius snapped out of his daze.
"Sure, that's James next to me, Remus across from me, and Peter next to Remus." She smiled at each one, before turning back to the Sorting, as 'Henderson, Jimmy' was made a Gryffindor. She heard the boys whispering behind her, and smiled slightly. 'I guess boys will be boys.' she thought wryly, as she felt an unfamiliar arm slip around her shoulders. She stiffened immediately, green eyes flashing.
Trapped, please, let me go, no, don't, please no, don't hurt me, save me, prying fingers, iron grip, let me go, pain, rage, fear, anger, LET ME GO...
She shook her head slightly, clearing it of old memories, and turned it, seeing only a charmingly smiling Sirius behind her, his arm around her. Lily sighed a little bit and smiled as well, turning back to the Sorting. She saw Sirius give the boys a thumbs-up out of the corner of her eye and shook her head slightly. As 'Xiangho, Hai-yen' was made a Ravenclaw, Dumbledore stood up once more.
"After the Feast, the first years will be led to their appropriate dorms. Lily Evans is a third-year, however she will also need to find her way around. I hope all the students will be welcoming to them all. Daffodil! Erumpent! Squiggle! Cream!" He clapped his hands, and the food miraculously appeared. Feeling the arm being removed from her shoulders, Lily looked over at the Marauders and saw them concentrating very hard at the Slytherin table. Looking over, she saw things moving slightly at the very same table. Trying to stifle her laughter, she watched as all hell broke loose.
As a greasy-haired boy reached for a bowl of mashed potatoes, it seemed to keep moving itself out of reach. Frowning, he reached harder, and before he knew it, the bowl had levitated and promptly emptied it's contents over his head. Similar events were happening with bowls of turnips, tripe and anything currently being reached for. Spoons were mysteriously reaching into dishes and flinging whatever they had scooped up at random Slytherins. Pitchers of pumpkin juice overturned, staining whatever it touched a bright orange. And last but most definitely not least, food spilled on the tablecloth rearranged itself to form the words 'Finally! An excuse for Snape and Malfoy to wash their hair!'.
The Hall was in an uproar once more as the boys rearranged their faces into expressions of casual surprise and turned around. Lily grinned widely, as others at the table snickered among the angry shrieks heard from the Slytherin table. McGonagall looked ready to explode.
"Potter! Black! Lupin! Pettigrew! That is ENOUGH!" she yelled angrily. James spoke, a hurt expression on his face.
"But Professor, why do you automatically assume that it was us?" he asked in a self-deprecating tone. McGonagall's face resembled a comic study- she was torn between anger and shock.
"Well....was it you?" she asked, slightly more softly. James shrugged, his trademark grin making his appearance.
"Of course. Who else could it be?" he said loudly, his brown eyes twinkling. McGonagall was silent. A vein was pulsing in her left temple.
"You will all see me after speaking with Dumbledore." she said finally, her voice a deadly whisper. Her eyes popped dangerously as all the Hufflepuffs and quite a few others cringed inwardly. "You may now continue with the Feast." she finished with one final glare at the Marauders and happy chatter resumed.
"Good work, boys." drawled Sirius lazily as he helped himself to some chicken. "Maybe we'll break the records for detention this year." Lily turned to look at him.
"Now why is that something to be proud of?" she questioned, delicately taking a bite of her salad. 'Mmm, carrots, red peppers, tomatoes...heaven!' she thought as she chewed thoughtfully, still looking quizzically at Sirius who looked shocked.
"Lily, Lily, Lily...how could you say such a thing?" he said dramatically. Lily giggled. "We MUST leave our legacy behind. How else will we keep Hogwarts entertaining after we leave?" James smirked.
"We could always enchant the portraits to be us." Sirius' eyes lit up at his suggestion
"Ah, Prongsie, that can be NEXT year." said Remus cautiously. Peter nodded, looking almost like a bobble-head doll.
Sirius sighed. "Fine, boys, but now it is time for FOOD!!!" And with that, a hungry glint in his eyes, he launched himself at the massive spread.
* * *
"Oh my god...I don't think I'll be able to move..." groaned James as Peter and Remus hauled him to his feet after the Feast. Lily smirked as Sirius moaned and rubbed his stomach.
"Well, you didn't have to eat that much, did you..." said Peter, wagging a finger in their faces. Remus sighed and turned to Lily.
"They always stuff themselves, the greedy pigs. We'll see you back at the dorms once we get our punishments." he explained, and before she could say another word, the four of them were gone, leaving Lily to try and figure out how to get to the dorms on her own.
'How nice of them.' she thought ironically, and as she turned to leave the Great Hall, she was stopped by a boy with blonde hair and steel-gray eyes. Before she could move, he swooped down and kissed her hand.
"Hello, Lily," he said in a tone that she supposed should be seductive. "My name is Lucius Malfoy." He looked at her almost imperiously. 'My, what a slimeball...' she thought, listening to him prattle on about his family. 'Now, Lily!' she chided herself, 'you've hardly met the guy, get to know him a bit better before you pass judgement!'. She turned her attention back to him.
"...And the Malfoys have been one of the purest-blooded wizarding families to date. But now, the real reason I came to speak with you, miss Lily." Lily arched a delicate eyebrow.
"Oh?"
* * *
Dumbledore looked sadly at the girl speaking to Mr. Malfoy at this moment. 'I shall have to tell her tomorrow, so she will be forewarned...' he thought, but was distracted from his thoughts by the arrival of a dark-skinned woman who seemed to flow silently to his side. His face brightened as he turned to her.
"Will you be so kind as to join me in my office tommorow, say, after breakfast?" The mysterious woman nodded silently and, turning, walked off, making no more noise than a panther on the prowl. Dumbledore looked at her as she walked away: the dangerous stance, the perfectly balanced way of moving, the silence...she was the perfect woman for the job.
* * *
"You see, being quite adrift at the moment, I was wondering if you wished to accompany me for a walk around the lake tommorrow evening." His eyes looked like cold steel, and his tone made it quite clear that he would not accept a refusal. Lily blinked, slightly stunned. 'Geez, that was fast.' she thought, as Lucius shifted impatiently from foot to foot. She shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sure, why not Lucius." He nodded curtly, and with yet another kiss to her hand, promptly left. Lily found herself once more lost in the vastness of the Great Hall.
"I can't believe that, all the time I was here at Hogwarts, I never found out where the common rooms were!" she exclaimed loudly to the empty room and, finally noticing she was completely alone, hurried from the Great Hall.
As she hurried through deserted halls, she finally came upon a painting she recognized.
"Hello, Violet!" she exclaimed pleasantly to the elegant woman dressed in purple velvet. The paintings' expression brightened when she saw Lily.
"Why, greetings, Lillian!" the woman said, and Lily winced. She hated being called Lillian.
"Do you think you could do me a favour, Violet?" she asked cautiously, and the painting smiled warmly.
"Of course dear. What is it?"
"Well, I never quite found out the way to the common room..." she started, but the woman in the painting cut her off.
"Ahh, I thought so. Let me see....Gryffindor, probably?" Lily, stunned, nodded slightly. The woman trilled her appreciation.
"Oh, wonderful, my friend the Fat Lady guards it! Come, I'll lead you there!" And with that, Violet was off like a shot, and Lily was hard pressed to keep up with her. Past sleeping paintings, through the moving stairwell, around darkened corridors, she finally arrived at the famous portrait of a woman in a pink silk dress. The woman looked at her imperiously.
"Password?" she said, and Lily looked helplessly at Violet. The woman in purple winked, and with a few whispered words to the Fat Lady, she nodded and the portrait swung open to reveal a cosy, crimson common room.
"Wow..." said Lily, speechless, and with a smile of thanks to Violet, entered the room where she saw three other girls about her age, who immediately rushed over to her.
"Oh my god, are you Lily Evans? We've been looking all over for you, we heard you were supposed to room with us!" said the blonde-haired girl with big blue eyes.
"You're so pretty! You have to tell us ALL your beauty secrets!" gushed the second, a cute black-haired girl with brown eyes.
"Yeah! We can stay up late, have makeovers and do all sorts of fun stuff!" exclaimed the third, a light brunette with bouncy curls. Lily smiled cautiously.
"Hey! I'm Lily, and you guys are?" she said, and the girls giggled in a high-pitched tone.
"Oops, sorry, I'm Ally." said the blonde once they had finished giggling.
"I'm Michelle." said the raven-haired girl.
"And I'm Alicia." said the brunette. They began to giggle once more.
"So Lily, why were you late?" inquired Ally delicately, as the other two tried to stifle their giggles. Lily grinned mischievously.
"Oh, Lucius Malfoy was just asking me out." she said nonchalantly.
"LUCIUS MALFOY!?!?!?" the trio screamed in unison, and disolved into giggles even more loud and raucous than before. Lily shrugged.
"So? Yeah, he's cute and all, but still..." Michelle put her arm around her, and the three of them forcefully pushed Lily up to the dorm that she assume dwas theirs.
"Honey," began Michelle once they had all sat down. "Lucius Malfoy is ONLY one of the hottest guys in the school! He's so dreamy, handsome, rich..." she sighed and Alicia poked her sharply in the side.
"Anyways," Alicia continued, "He's a real gentleman. Word says that he only goes out with people he really admires-even considers for marriage!" Ally shook her head.
"Darling, you know that's not true," she said, flicking a speck of dust off an immaculately manicured red nail. "Only because he doesn't scoop up every available whore in the school doesn't mean he has those kind of morals." The three of them turned to Lily.
"So, honey, have fun with him! Now, it's time for girl talk-tell us everything!" exclaimed Michelle. Lily sighed inwardly, and the four girls began to talk animatedly.
* * *
"MALFOY?!?" hissed Sirius angrily once all four boys were firmly ensconced in their own dorm. They had been passing by the girls dorms and had overheard that particular piece of information. The expression of betrayal was evident on each face.
"How could she pick that piece of slime?" asked James angrily. The enmity between those two was especially strong.
Even Remus was angry, having been the victim of Malfoy's taunts before he met the rest of the Marauders. "He's gonna pay for stealing our girl before any of us even had a chance with her." he said quietly, but angrily. Peter grinned evilly.
"It's time for a prank war." he said simply, but with menace, and agreement showed on the other three faces.
"Malfoy's gonna wish he'd never been born." growled James. Sirius sat up suddenly.
"Should we prank Lily too?" he asked, and Remus shook his head.
"Well, she probably doesn't know what he's like..." he said, but Peter shook his head stubbornly.
"She picked him. She deserves it, too." he said firmly. Sirius frowned, then shook his head too.
"Nah. Let's just focus on Malfoy, eh Jamesy?" he punched James on the shoulder, who seemed to be deep in thought. Finally brought back to the present, he nodded as the famous grin spread across his face, and the four of them put their heads together to decide exactly what embarassing prank they would play on Malfoy the next day.
Whew, this chappie is FINALLY done! And no, this will definitely not be a Lucius/Lily fic! I hope you like; if you have any suggestions, comments, flames, or just plain praise in awe of my brilliance (yeah, right), please, please, please review! They help SOOO much with writing, especially this fic.
Luv you guys, especially Stefanorkle, katelyn, Atlantis Forester, Lavinia(yep, here are the Marauders for you!), kate, Lizmarauder4eva(Well, this won't exactly be a love/hate fic, no screaming fits, but they're not going to be friends for a while yet), OriginalProxy(That will be next chappie!), Kguukrlleyr(hope this chappie answers that question!)SummerRain and shrimpy shorts!!!