Thanks for returning. Here is the first chapter in my story, A Rose among
Thorns. By the way, I did describe my original character, Anthy, like that
but she doesn't have anything to do with the title. Oh yeah, and because I
am just so mean, I refuse to say who was eavesdropped Voldemort and
Bellatrix until the revelation chapter, which is many a chapter away. I
will give you hints along the way, and if you have any ideas, who it may
be, let me know. I will tell you if you are correct or not. By the way,
Dorcas is not an original character. She is briefly mentioned in the Order
of the Pheonix. In the chapter, The Woes of Mrs. Weasley, Moody is showing
Harry the picture of the original order and Dorcas is one of the witches he
mentioned. According to Moody she was murdered by Voldemort personally, so
that implies that she was a major member of the Order and this is my own
version of what happened. Sorry this is a little late coming out; life is
once again getting in the way. Stupid Colorado Springs. I don't want to go,
but out of love for my brother I am forcing myself to go. Ughh.
By the way Malfoy is six years older than the Marauders. Rowling said that Snape is 35 and that Malfoy Sr. is 41. Malfoy will not make an appearance in the first part of this fic, due to the fact that he has already graduated Hogwarts. And one other thing, James is CHASER. I know that the movie had James as a Seeker, but James is a CHASER. Rowling said in an interview that he was not a seeker but a Chaser.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I own nothing. If you accuse of owning it I will curse you with images of Filch in a thong that will never leave your head. MWUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, l loves that world.
Since I made no appearance of the Marauders in the last chapter, they will be very involved with this one. Enjoy...
The sun was shining at Kings Cross Station in London. Students from all around England and Britain were crowding around platforms nine and ten, and more waiting for their chance to make it to Platform 9 ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express before eleven-o-clock. Flocks of students quickly passed between the barriers without any attention. It wasn't a difficult task, really. Muggles were so caught up in their own problems about not being late they wouldn't notice anything besides the large hand on their watches. But that was a good thing; it made getting through the barrier all the easier. James Potter and Sirius Black were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Remus Lupin. They had less than fifteen minutes until the train left, and Remus was more than a little late. They normally were seated on the trait and complaining that it didn't leave early enough, but now the pair of troublemakers were great full that the train didn't even sound its whistle until eleven-o-clock. "What is taking Moony so long," James said.
"Dunno. Maybe he got caught up in checking out the girls like you always do, Prongs," Sirius said.
"Oh shut up. And besides I don't check out all the girls. As a matter of fact I was only looking for one girl in particular, Padfoot," James responded with a fake look of insult on his face.
"Gee, I wonder which one you were looking for. The tall one with legs so long they would make a sailor blush, with hair that is deep red, long, thick and rich. And I reckon this girl also has green eyes that could knock a guy out cold if she looked at them the right way," Sirius said.
"How could I be that obvious?"
"Well, when your best mate has been having dreams, wet dreams I may add, of snogging this particular girl it isn't that hard to tell. Especially after the Snivellus incident back in fifth year," Sirius said matter-of-factly.
"I have NOT been having wet dreams about Evans," James said. Truth be told, he had been having dreams about her but Sirius didn't need to know that. Actually, James had been infatuated with Lily Evans since his second year, but every time he asked her out it usually ended up with Lily calling him a dog, cursing his existence, and another all out war of name calling. But that was what he loved about his Lily Flower. The fire she had in her soul was intoxicating. It was enough to make any man swoon for her affection, even when he was pre-puberty back in his second year. What was more was the fact that her eyes reflected every single emotion going through her head, and there was a constant flame dancing in them. Though it was true that her temper was the same color as her hair.
"Right mate. And pigs fly," Sirius said.
"When we get back to Hogwarts shall I demonstrate? I am sure that Hagrid will be more than likely to let me borrow one, and with a simple swish and flick of the wrist and the phrase 'Wingardium Leviosa' that pig will be ten feet off the ground," James said.
"Then how about this; the day that pigs fly WITHOUT magic is the day that you haven't been having wet dreams about our little flower," Sirius retaliated. True James was his best friend in the existence of the world, but after six years of having his best friend drool whenever the mere name of Lily Evans was mentioned Sirius was ready for the two to just get together and he wouldn't have to ever hear about it again.
"And which little flower are you two talking about," came a voice from behind James and Sirius.
"Moony old chap, where have you been? The train leaves in seven minutes," Sirius said in an almost gentlemanly fashion.
"Having to travel the muggle way is slow and not fun at all. Plus I forgot to pack my trunk last night," Lupin said. "Where is Wormtail?"
"We suspect that Wormtail is saving our back compartment like he dose every year. Poor peter, he really needs to get out more," James said with fake sympathy. (A/N: I hate Peter, and I show the little betraying, evil, conniving, sick, short, fat, ugly, moronic, Son of a bitch no sympathy. So I may slip in some crude comments here and there, sorry out there to all of you Peter fans. I just really don't like him. And for the record, there is some Peter bashing later on, but is much much later on and I will warn you when it comes up)
The trio hurriedly ran through the barrier to platform 9 ¾ and quickly found their usual compartment empty except for little Peter Pettigrew. Peter, as usual, had a Chocolate Frog card in one hand, and melted chocolate covered the other and his mouth. "No offence Wormtail, but you really need to work on your eating skills," Remus remarked. James and Sirius just laughed.
For the next half an hour, the Marauders talked in peace and caught up with each other the events over the summer. Peter hadn't really partaken of anything during his vacation, so he had the least to say. Remus of course spent a good bit of it studying, but he managed to go out with a fellow witch for two weeks before she found out about his secret and dumped him. Remus wasn't too fussed about it because she had a good heart and promised that she wouldn't tell anyone about the fact of him being a Werewolf. Sirius moved out of number 12 Grimwauld and hade made a temporary home at Mr. and Mrs. Potters. According to Sirius he couldn't take his parents, and his whole family for that matter, with all their 'pureblood' mania. He also made mention that his cousin, Bellatrix was up to something and he didn't really want to know what. James of course had more stories to tell than anyone. His family was wealthy, and often they would take trips around Britain, and at one point they visited America. That year his family traveled to Transylvania and, according to James, he had fed off fifteen blood thirsty vampires with only his wand! Sirius, Remus, and Peter knew it was a lie but they followed along with James' 'story of adventure' and they made a few jokes along the way. The jubilant mood however was short-lived because a group of Slytherins who worshiped Voldemort and his cause came into the Marauder's compartment.
It was Rodulphos Lestrange, Bellatrix Black, two blokes by the name of Crabbe and Goyle (a/n: anyone know what their names were?), Theodore Nott (or Theodore Nott Senior as he would be when his son was born), and of course Severus Snape. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that the group of them was nothing but bad news, and if you messed with them you would always have to pay the piper. Rodulphos and Bellatrix were considered the ringleaders, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle were just the middle guys, and Snape was the so- called loner with a deadly look in his cold black eyes. Bellatrix was the one who spoke first, "so dear cousin, I see this is where you have been hiding. You disgrace the name of Black," she insulted his cousin. Bellatrix considered, along with the rest of the Blacks, Sirius a traitor; a loathsome mudblood lover and a shame of his mother's flesh. It was that which sent Sirius over the edge and forced him to leave. Throughout the summer, Bellatrix had been haunting Sirius for information to convey to the Dark Lord. Naturally she didn't get much with Sirius leaving, luckily for them, so she resorted to taunting him hoping to bring out his temper and he would unknowingly say something that seal his fate.
"I never wanted the name of Black in the first place. Now GET OUT!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs, with rage and venom in his voice.
"Yes we would but we find taunting you four idiots more fun," Rodulphos said.
"Listen, unless you want me to hex you guys straight to Hell I suggest you get out," James threatened. Dark magic was one of the few things in life that he hated with a blazing passion, and those six people where the very embodiment of dark magic.
"Come on Potter. If you want to hex us than by all means, do so," Bellatrix mocked.
"Bring it on bitch! You are the true disgrace, not me," Sirius exclaimed rising to his feet.
"James, Sirius calm down. Lestrange, Black, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Snape please leave. I don't want to fight with you. Please go," Remus said. Everyone looked at Remus. It was not in his calm nature to speak up when his two best friends were arguing with future Death Eaters. The overall politeness of his voice seemed to get through to Bellatrix and her gang more than James and his threats ever did. Then, without a word the six of them disappeared into the adjacent cart.
The beautiful English countryside sped away as the train traveled further and further north. Soon the weather became colder and wet. A slight drizzle began, and the rain drops tapped the glass windows of the Hogwarts express. The Marauders become suddenly silent, which for them was an unusual occurrence. But the rain broke the silence, and Peter was the first one to speak up, "Anyone for a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"Sure, I'll have a go at it," Sirius said.
"Only because you know that you'll beat Wormtail. He hasn't won a single game of Chess against you in all his years at Hogwarts," Remus remarked playfully (a/n: not THAT way all you PERVERTS)
"Who knows, maybe the millionth game is the charm," Peter said.
As Sirius and Peter began to play Chess, James unraveled a clipping of the Daily Prophet that his father had sent to him. Dominic Potter was an Auror and an elite one at that. He was one of the Minister's top men, and he was often kept busy with work, and his work often took him overseas. The only real way that he had to communicate with his family was by sending them clippings of his recent events. He couldn't send an Owl, because his work was so secret that the risk of the Owl being intercepted was very great. He very rarely returned to Britain to see his family, so it was the best thing he could do.
James looked at the article and began to read...
MAJOR BREAKOUT OF DARK WIZARDS IN IERLAND AND GREENLAND
As reports Daily Prophet reporter, Rita Skeeter. Lately in the goings on of Ireland and Greenland it is suspect that the Dark Wizard, He-who-must-not- be-named has taken it upon himself to recruit more fellow members (commonly called Death Eaters) to his aid. The Aurors of Britain, Ireland, and Greenland had come together to defeat this evil tyrants, among them the top notch Auror Dominic James Potter. Recent events have suggested...
James stopped reading the article. It was just as all of the others had been, blank and didn't really tell him of his father's situation. James sighed and went back to day dreaming about a certain red haired witch with amazingly green eyes.
About half an hour later, Peter had lost almost all of his pieces and all that remained was two pawns, one useless bishop and his king. "Maybe the millionth time isn't the charm," Peter whined.
"Oh come on Wormtail. It could be worse. Last time I had you in check in three moves," Sirius said grinning. He looked over at his best friend and found him asleep. "Oi Prongs, wake up," he yelled at the top of his lungs
James did nothing but let out a groan and rolled his head facing away from Sirius.
"Either he has died, or is dreaming about Lily," Sirius said.
"This calls from a drastic measure," said Remus.
"What exactly do you have in mind?" said Sirius
"You'll see," Remus said with a smirk. He went over to James and yelled directly in his ear, "PRONGS WAKE UP! LILY EVANS IS NAKED AND SHE WANTS TO SEE YOU!" Sirius, Remus and Peter went into a fit of hysterics because at that James' hazel eyes shot up and we was as alert as anyone had seen him.
"Lily? Where?" but then it hit him almost as hard as the visual Remus gave him. "You guys...," he grumbled. With that he sprang on Remus in an attempt to cause him as much pain as humanly possible without earning a life sentence to Azkaban.
"Okay, okay, your point was made and it has been taken," Remus said. James got off of him and gave a big goofy smile.
The remainder of the trip went on without much incident. When looking for the food cart James ran across Lily and asked her out again, this only resulted in a rather painful smack across his face. On his way back to his compartment he came across Severus Snape who was looking greasy as usual. James did nothing but give him the 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' look. True that James didn't hate Snape to the degree that he hated the others in the group, but the malcontent between the two was unmistakable. When it came down to the bone, Sirius was the one who hated Snape more than any other living being on earth. Often it was Sirius who came up with the often cruel tricks to keep Snape down. James too took pride in them, but his dislike for Snape didn't come anywhere near the level that Sirius felt for him.
"After your mudblood again Potter," Severus snarled. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Don't call her that you bastard," James said with even more venom in his voice.
"Mudbloods are nothing but a weakness, as you will soon know," said the hook nosed teenager.
James was about to spring himself upon Snape, but as Bellatrix and Rodulphos came into view he decided against his gut instinct to leave the greasy bastard alone.
Slowly the Hogwarts Express pulled up at the Hogsmead station. The rain had stopped but it was still cold and sticky outside from the lingering humidity. Lily looked outside of her compartment window and excitement filled the pit of her belly at seeing the magnificent castle again. It was like seeing a long missed friend after years of separation. At the same time Lily also felt some sadness at never seeing the castle again after that year unless she perused a teaching career, which was not what she wanted to do with her life. Like Dorcas, Lily wanted to become an Auror. Already changed into her school uniform, she let out a large sigh and grabbed her large cat and stuffed him into him.
Lily's friends often made fun of her because of the cat's name, Nenya. It was a female sounding name but she gave it to a male calico cat. Nenya seemed to fit her cat, because he was swift and his eyes were pure white which gave off an almost elvish aurora. So Nenya it was, and Lily never thought of changing it, though it was mainly because she was too stubborn to change it. Lily's train of thought came to an abrupt stop because Dorcas and Anthy had burst into the compartment. A wave of happiness hit Lily and a smile from ear to ear was showing. With Nenya in hand Lily, Dorcas, and Anthy want outside to hurry up and get a carriage.
Once out of the stuffy train Lily took in a refreshing breath of air. Over the bustling of other Hogwarts students they could hear the booming voice of the gamekeeper, Hagrid. "Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years, come on now don't be shy". Lily waved hi to Hagrid but he was so preoccupied with the terrified looking group of first years that she didn't get a response. Lily just muttered 'oh well' to herself and went on with Dorcas and Anthy to get a carriage. Despite the humid weather outside Anthy wore a long sleeved shirt under her uniform, no one really understood why she always wore long sleeves except for Lily and Dorcas. Anthy, as a child had gotten a large scar across her arm and she never showed it off, or that was what Anthy said.
As always a large group of comfy carriages, each with the Hogwarts Coat of Arms painted on, awaited the students. "I wonder what those strange horses are?" said Anthy. Lily and Dorcas looked at her in confusion. There were no horses to be seen.
"Anthy, what do you mean? There are no horses," Dorcas said.
"You mean you don't see them?" Anthy exclaimed.
"I don't see anything besides the carriages and the Marauders scarring the wits out of some second years to get a carriage. Nothing out of the ordinary with that," Dorcas said again.
Lily had an idea, but she wasn't sure. "What do they look like," she said. Lily knew from Hagrid that a type of flying horse called a Thestral that pulled the carriages, but they could only be seen by one who saw death. Surely if Anthy had seen anything like that she would tell her [Lily] and Dorcas about it. It was true that her friend had a lot of secrets but surely nothing that bad.
"They are black, and it looks like they have no flesh, just bones covered with thick black hair. And they have white eyes with no pupils, and leathery wings," Anthy said.
"Well that explains it! Hagrid said that Threstrals pull the school carriages and...," Lily said, but she was cut off because Anthy had already went into the nearest carriage with Dorcas following, and the two were yelling at Lily to hurry up and get inside.
The Great Hall was decked out in its usual splendor. The ceiling was glistening with stars and the occasional rain cloud, and the House Banners were hung. A Golden banner with a scarlet lion for Gryffindor, Green with a silver serpent for Slytherin, Bronze with a blue eagle for Ravenclaw, and Yellow with a black badger from Hufflepuff hung above the house tables. Lily, Dorcas and Anthy all went to the table on the far left, the Gryffindor table. All of them were extremely hungry because the only source of food they had on the long trip were some Chocolate Frogs. Lily sat next to Dorcas, who was sitting across from Anthy. They chatted excitedly about the coming year.
Lily was in all N.E.W.T classes, and she surprised even herself when she passed her O.W.L for Transfiguration with an E (Exceeds Expectations). True she had studied her ass off to get the high grade, but she remained surprised none-the-less. With her career ambition as high as to be an Auror she had to keep top grades, and good conduct. That year Lily had been rewarded with the status as a Head Girl. Naturally Lily was ecstatic about the position, but upon reading the rest of her letter she found out that James was the Head Boy. Lily had vowed not to let that prat get in the way of her duties and grades, but she knew truthfully that she was in for one hell of a ride for her seventh and final year at Hogwarts.
Dorcas took N.E.W.T courses for all but two of her subjects; Potions and Charms. She too wanted to be an Auror was hell bent on becoming one. Though she didn't take N.E.W.T courses, she still had a good chance of fulfilling her dream because all she needed was to score an E on all of her N.E.W.T exams. Anthy didn't really know what to do with her life, so what her class scores were didn't matter a rat's ass. She took only four N.E.W.T classes, and that alone was an extraordinary feat, but she paid no attention to it really.
All of them were engulfed in friendly chatter until the infamous Marauders took their seat which happened to be right next to Lily and her friends. All three girls threw them cold looks, but they only received goofy grins in return, and Lily in particular got the most charming grin she had ever seen in her life, and it was almost cute enough to crack the first layer of ice she felt for James Potter. But all she had to do was remind herself of all the pranks he had played on her during the previous years and two more layers of ice grew. On the other hand, Lily did have to admit that James was the most attractive guy she had met during her 17 years of life. He had perfect tan skin and messy jet-black hair that gave him a charming boyish look. Glasses framed his hazel eyes that any girl could lose themselves in. Even Lily had caught herself staring into his eyes, the beautiful mixture of honey, cinnamon, and the evening sunset gave them a captivating look.
The entire Great Hall was busy with talkative students, but the chatter died down as soon as headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up to give his annual speech. "Students, old and new welcome to yet another busy year at Hogwarts. I have some start-of-term announcements to make. First off, to our new young students the Forbidden Forest will always be just that, Forbidden, but I disarray that I must remind some of the older students," his twinkling blue eyes fell on James and Sirius, "and that the village of Hogsmead is banned to all students below the third year. I must also say that due to the dark events of recent times certain...precautions will be taken at Hogwarts. On one final note I am happy to say that the new Head Boy and Girl for the year are none other than Mister James Potter and Miss Lily Evans, lets give them both a round of applause,"
Lily stood up with a red face, embarrassed at the sudden mention of her name. She usually kept to herself and for her name to be mentioned like that in front of everyone was pure torture. James on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the attention. He was waving to the crowd like it was no big deal. All of the girls at the school openly gawked at James, and Lily received a few cat-calls. The school had burst into applause, but within two minutes it died down again when Dumbledore cleared his throat, "with all that said, let the sorting being".
Professor McGonagall appeared and she carried with her a ragged torn wizarding hat, and a stool. She placed the hat on top of the stool and a seam had split and the hat began singing its song before all of the students.
When Hogwarts School was born And I was newly sewn... (A/n: I am in no mood to write an entire school song, because as much as I love to write I HATE poetry. I am good at it, but I HATE it).
Several minutes later the song ended and the school broke into applause again. Professor McGonagall pulled out a bit of parchment that seemed to come out of nowhere and she began reading names...
"Adams, Evetta" slowly stepped forward with fright clearly on the little blonde girl's face. She nervously went onto the stool and the hat was placed on her head. The hat had barely touched her head before it screamed out "RAVENCLAW". The table to the right of the Gryffindor broke out in cheers as the welcomed their newest member.
James laughed to himself with the look on Adams, Evetta's face as she walked up. It reminded him so much of what Lily looked life. She was a muggle born and so was crippled with fear when she first stepped up. However then, he had only been eleven and was not capable to appreciate the full value of the female sex, but he could not help notice that she was really cute and had pretty eyes. Now when he looked at his flower she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Since the previous year, he and Lily had been on somewhat better terms than they had been. It was dawn and Lily happened to wake up early in the common room when James and the others had burst in with Remus. By that time Lily had already known for two years that Remus was a werewolf, but what she didn't know was that James, Sirius, and Peter would sneak out with him. Ever since then, Lily looked at him differently, almost admiring the risk he was going through for his best friend, or rather his other best friend. James' admiration and feelings for Lily had only grown since then, but she still wouldn't go out with him and he couldn't understand why. For the past four months he hadn't cured Snape or her, and for James that was a big improvement over how things had been. But this year would be different he vowed to himself as he sat watching Black, Nymphadora being sorted into Gryffindor.
James threw a quick glance at Sirius, but he warmly welcomed his cousin. Apparently she was the only other member of the Black Family that Sirius could get along with and only the second in the Black History to ever be sorted into a house other than Slytherin. James gave his Lily-flower another grin but she only glared at him with an un-readable look and James decided to give her a hurt expression. 'Oh yes, this is going to be quite the year,' James thought silently to himself.
End Chapter. Not the best. For the record, I started this two hours before I had to leave for Colorado Springs, I was gone to Colorado Springs for four days and I only got back two days ago, so this isn't half bad. I couldn't use the computer the first day I was back because there was a storm which blew the power, the second day I was celebrating my brother's collage graduation, and unpacking. Today I saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (pretty good, but Gary Oldman just isn't my choice as Sirius and the movie didn't even make the Patronus of a wizard in ANY animal form. It is just a silver shield, and it didn't take the form of an animal like it should in the books. That pissed me off. And the didn't say who wrote the Marauder's Map either), then I watched the Return of the King with my family, so I spent the rest of the night working on my story just like I promised.
I also gave you two MAJOR clues to something in this chapter. If you have any ideas let me know, and I will lead you on the right path. I still haven't got anyone who has guessed who is overhearing Voldemort and Bellatrix. It isn't that hard, and I will tell you that it is NOT Snape, Peter, Malfoy or any other Death Eater. Come on people, think about it. It isn't that hard. Remember, reviews give me oomph to write faster. Any and all flames will be read, laughed at and deleted. 0.
Review please, and you can also e-mail at geishaofrohanyahoo.com AND elvenyoukaiyahoo.com
By the way Malfoy is six years older than the Marauders. Rowling said that Snape is 35 and that Malfoy Sr. is 41. Malfoy will not make an appearance in the first part of this fic, due to the fact that he has already graduated Hogwarts. And one other thing, James is CHASER. I know that the movie had James as a Seeker, but James is a CHASER. Rowling said in an interview that he was not a seeker but a Chaser.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I own nothing. If you accuse of owning it I will curse you with images of Filch in a thong that will never leave your head. MWUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, l loves that world.
Since I made no appearance of the Marauders in the last chapter, they will be very involved with this one. Enjoy...
The sun was shining at Kings Cross Station in London. Students from all around England and Britain were crowding around platforms nine and ten, and more waiting for their chance to make it to Platform 9 ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express before eleven-o-clock. Flocks of students quickly passed between the barriers without any attention. It wasn't a difficult task, really. Muggles were so caught up in their own problems about not being late they wouldn't notice anything besides the large hand on their watches. But that was a good thing; it made getting through the barrier all the easier. James Potter and Sirius Black were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Remus Lupin. They had less than fifteen minutes until the train left, and Remus was more than a little late. They normally were seated on the trait and complaining that it didn't leave early enough, but now the pair of troublemakers were great full that the train didn't even sound its whistle until eleven-o-clock. "What is taking Moony so long," James said.
"Dunno. Maybe he got caught up in checking out the girls like you always do, Prongs," Sirius said.
"Oh shut up. And besides I don't check out all the girls. As a matter of fact I was only looking for one girl in particular, Padfoot," James responded with a fake look of insult on his face.
"Gee, I wonder which one you were looking for. The tall one with legs so long they would make a sailor blush, with hair that is deep red, long, thick and rich. And I reckon this girl also has green eyes that could knock a guy out cold if she looked at them the right way," Sirius said.
"How could I be that obvious?"
"Well, when your best mate has been having dreams, wet dreams I may add, of snogging this particular girl it isn't that hard to tell. Especially after the Snivellus incident back in fifth year," Sirius said matter-of-factly.
"I have NOT been having wet dreams about Evans," James said. Truth be told, he had been having dreams about her but Sirius didn't need to know that. Actually, James had been infatuated with Lily Evans since his second year, but every time he asked her out it usually ended up with Lily calling him a dog, cursing his existence, and another all out war of name calling. But that was what he loved about his Lily Flower. The fire she had in her soul was intoxicating. It was enough to make any man swoon for her affection, even when he was pre-puberty back in his second year. What was more was the fact that her eyes reflected every single emotion going through her head, and there was a constant flame dancing in them. Though it was true that her temper was the same color as her hair.
"Right mate. And pigs fly," Sirius said.
"When we get back to Hogwarts shall I demonstrate? I am sure that Hagrid will be more than likely to let me borrow one, and with a simple swish and flick of the wrist and the phrase 'Wingardium Leviosa' that pig will be ten feet off the ground," James said.
"Then how about this; the day that pigs fly WITHOUT magic is the day that you haven't been having wet dreams about our little flower," Sirius retaliated. True James was his best friend in the existence of the world, but after six years of having his best friend drool whenever the mere name of Lily Evans was mentioned Sirius was ready for the two to just get together and he wouldn't have to ever hear about it again.
"And which little flower are you two talking about," came a voice from behind James and Sirius.
"Moony old chap, where have you been? The train leaves in seven minutes," Sirius said in an almost gentlemanly fashion.
"Having to travel the muggle way is slow and not fun at all. Plus I forgot to pack my trunk last night," Lupin said. "Where is Wormtail?"
"We suspect that Wormtail is saving our back compartment like he dose every year. Poor peter, he really needs to get out more," James said with fake sympathy. (A/N: I hate Peter, and I show the little betraying, evil, conniving, sick, short, fat, ugly, moronic, Son of a bitch no sympathy. So I may slip in some crude comments here and there, sorry out there to all of you Peter fans. I just really don't like him. And for the record, there is some Peter bashing later on, but is much much later on and I will warn you when it comes up)
The trio hurriedly ran through the barrier to platform 9 ¾ and quickly found their usual compartment empty except for little Peter Pettigrew. Peter, as usual, had a Chocolate Frog card in one hand, and melted chocolate covered the other and his mouth. "No offence Wormtail, but you really need to work on your eating skills," Remus remarked. James and Sirius just laughed.
For the next half an hour, the Marauders talked in peace and caught up with each other the events over the summer. Peter hadn't really partaken of anything during his vacation, so he had the least to say. Remus of course spent a good bit of it studying, but he managed to go out with a fellow witch for two weeks before she found out about his secret and dumped him. Remus wasn't too fussed about it because she had a good heart and promised that she wouldn't tell anyone about the fact of him being a Werewolf. Sirius moved out of number 12 Grimwauld and hade made a temporary home at Mr. and Mrs. Potters. According to Sirius he couldn't take his parents, and his whole family for that matter, with all their 'pureblood' mania. He also made mention that his cousin, Bellatrix was up to something and he didn't really want to know what. James of course had more stories to tell than anyone. His family was wealthy, and often they would take trips around Britain, and at one point they visited America. That year his family traveled to Transylvania and, according to James, he had fed off fifteen blood thirsty vampires with only his wand! Sirius, Remus, and Peter knew it was a lie but they followed along with James' 'story of adventure' and they made a few jokes along the way. The jubilant mood however was short-lived because a group of Slytherins who worshiped Voldemort and his cause came into the Marauder's compartment.
It was Rodulphos Lestrange, Bellatrix Black, two blokes by the name of Crabbe and Goyle (a/n: anyone know what their names were?), Theodore Nott (or Theodore Nott Senior as he would be when his son was born), and of course Severus Snape. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that the group of them was nothing but bad news, and if you messed with them you would always have to pay the piper. Rodulphos and Bellatrix were considered the ringleaders, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle were just the middle guys, and Snape was the so- called loner with a deadly look in his cold black eyes. Bellatrix was the one who spoke first, "so dear cousin, I see this is where you have been hiding. You disgrace the name of Black," she insulted his cousin. Bellatrix considered, along with the rest of the Blacks, Sirius a traitor; a loathsome mudblood lover and a shame of his mother's flesh. It was that which sent Sirius over the edge and forced him to leave. Throughout the summer, Bellatrix had been haunting Sirius for information to convey to the Dark Lord. Naturally she didn't get much with Sirius leaving, luckily for them, so she resorted to taunting him hoping to bring out his temper and he would unknowingly say something that seal his fate.
"I never wanted the name of Black in the first place. Now GET OUT!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs, with rage and venom in his voice.
"Yes we would but we find taunting you four idiots more fun," Rodulphos said.
"Listen, unless you want me to hex you guys straight to Hell I suggest you get out," James threatened. Dark magic was one of the few things in life that he hated with a blazing passion, and those six people where the very embodiment of dark magic.
"Come on Potter. If you want to hex us than by all means, do so," Bellatrix mocked.
"Bring it on bitch! You are the true disgrace, not me," Sirius exclaimed rising to his feet.
"James, Sirius calm down. Lestrange, Black, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Snape please leave. I don't want to fight with you. Please go," Remus said. Everyone looked at Remus. It was not in his calm nature to speak up when his two best friends were arguing with future Death Eaters. The overall politeness of his voice seemed to get through to Bellatrix and her gang more than James and his threats ever did. Then, without a word the six of them disappeared into the adjacent cart.
The beautiful English countryside sped away as the train traveled further and further north. Soon the weather became colder and wet. A slight drizzle began, and the rain drops tapped the glass windows of the Hogwarts express. The Marauders become suddenly silent, which for them was an unusual occurrence. But the rain broke the silence, and Peter was the first one to speak up, "Anyone for a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"Sure, I'll have a go at it," Sirius said.
"Only because you know that you'll beat Wormtail. He hasn't won a single game of Chess against you in all his years at Hogwarts," Remus remarked playfully (a/n: not THAT way all you PERVERTS)
"Who knows, maybe the millionth game is the charm," Peter said.
As Sirius and Peter began to play Chess, James unraveled a clipping of the Daily Prophet that his father had sent to him. Dominic Potter was an Auror and an elite one at that. He was one of the Minister's top men, and he was often kept busy with work, and his work often took him overseas. The only real way that he had to communicate with his family was by sending them clippings of his recent events. He couldn't send an Owl, because his work was so secret that the risk of the Owl being intercepted was very great. He very rarely returned to Britain to see his family, so it was the best thing he could do.
James looked at the article and began to read...
MAJOR BREAKOUT OF DARK WIZARDS IN IERLAND AND GREENLAND
As reports Daily Prophet reporter, Rita Skeeter. Lately in the goings on of Ireland and Greenland it is suspect that the Dark Wizard, He-who-must-not- be-named has taken it upon himself to recruit more fellow members (commonly called Death Eaters) to his aid. The Aurors of Britain, Ireland, and Greenland had come together to defeat this evil tyrants, among them the top notch Auror Dominic James Potter. Recent events have suggested...
James stopped reading the article. It was just as all of the others had been, blank and didn't really tell him of his father's situation. James sighed and went back to day dreaming about a certain red haired witch with amazingly green eyes.
About half an hour later, Peter had lost almost all of his pieces and all that remained was two pawns, one useless bishop and his king. "Maybe the millionth time isn't the charm," Peter whined.
"Oh come on Wormtail. It could be worse. Last time I had you in check in three moves," Sirius said grinning. He looked over at his best friend and found him asleep. "Oi Prongs, wake up," he yelled at the top of his lungs
James did nothing but let out a groan and rolled his head facing away from Sirius.
"Either he has died, or is dreaming about Lily," Sirius said.
"This calls from a drastic measure," said Remus.
"What exactly do you have in mind?" said Sirius
"You'll see," Remus said with a smirk. He went over to James and yelled directly in his ear, "PRONGS WAKE UP! LILY EVANS IS NAKED AND SHE WANTS TO SEE YOU!" Sirius, Remus and Peter went into a fit of hysterics because at that James' hazel eyes shot up and we was as alert as anyone had seen him.
"Lily? Where?" but then it hit him almost as hard as the visual Remus gave him. "You guys...," he grumbled. With that he sprang on Remus in an attempt to cause him as much pain as humanly possible without earning a life sentence to Azkaban.
"Okay, okay, your point was made and it has been taken," Remus said. James got off of him and gave a big goofy smile.
The remainder of the trip went on without much incident. When looking for the food cart James ran across Lily and asked her out again, this only resulted in a rather painful smack across his face. On his way back to his compartment he came across Severus Snape who was looking greasy as usual. James did nothing but give him the 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' look. True that James didn't hate Snape to the degree that he hated the others in the group, but the malcontent between the two was unmistakable. When it came down to the bone, Sirius was the one who hated Snape more than any other living being on earth. Often it was Sirius who came up with the often cruel tricks to keep Snape down. James too took pride in them, but his dislike for Snape didn't come anywhere near the level that Sirius felt for him.
"After your mudblood again Potter," Severus snarled. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Don't call her that you bastard," James said with even more venom in his voice.
"Mudbloods are nothing but a weakness, as you will soon know," said the hook nosed teenager.
James was about to spring himself upon Snape, but as Bellatrix and Rodulphos came into view he decided against his gut instinct to leave the greasy bastard alone.
Slowly the Hogwarts Express pulled up at the Hogsmead station. The rain had stopped but it was still cold and sticky outside from the lingering humidity. Lily looked outside of her compartment window and excitement filled the pit of her belly at seeing the magnificent castle again. It was like seeing a long missed friend after years of separation. At the same time Lily also felt some sadness at never seeing the castle again after that year unless she perused a teaching career, which was not what she wanted to do with her life. Like Dorcas, Lily wanted to become an Auror. Already changed into her school uniform, she let out a large sigh and grabbed her large cat and stuffed him into him.
Lily's friends often made fun of her because of the cat's name, Nenya. It was a female sounding name but she gave it to a male calico cat. Nenya seemed to fit her cat, because he was swift and his eyes were pure white which gave off an almost elvish aurora. So Nenya it was, and Lily never thought of changing it, though it was mainly because she was too stubborn to change it. Lily's train of thought came to an abrupt stop because Dorcas and Anthy had burst into the compartment. A wave of happiness hit Lily and a smile from ear to ear was showing. With Nenya in hand Lily, Dorcas, and Anthy want outside to hurry up and get a carriage.
Once out of the stuffy train Lily took in a refreshing breath of air. Over the bustling of other Hogwarts students they could hear the booming voice of the gamekeeper, Hagrid. "Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years, come on now don't be shy". Lily waved hi to Hagrid but he was so preoccupied with the terrified looking group of first years that she didn't get a response. Lily just muttered 'oh well' to herself and went on with Dorcas and Anthy to get a carriage. Despite the humid weather outside Anthy wore a long sleeved shirt under her uniform, no one really understood why she always wore long sleeves except for Lily and Dorcas. Anthy, as a child had gotten a large scar across her arm and she never showed it off, or that was what Anthy said.
As always a large group of comfy carriages, each with the Hogwarts Coat of Arms painted on, awaited the students. "I wonder what those strange horses are?" said Anthy. Lily and Dorcas looked at her in confusion. There were no horses to be seen.
"Anthy, what do you mean? There are no horses," Dorcas said.
"You mean you don't see them?" Anthy exclaimed.
"I don't see anything besides the carriages and the Marauders scarring the wits out of some second years to get a carriage. Nothing out of the ordinary with that," Dorcas said again.
Lily had an idea, but she wasn't sure. "What do they look like," she said. Lily knew from Hagrid that a type of flying horse called a Thestral that pulled the carriages, but they could only be seen by one who saw death. Surely if Anthy had seen anything like that she would tell her [Lily] and Dorcas about it. It was true that her friend had a lot of secrets but surely nothing that bad.
"They are black, and it looks like they have no flesh, just bones covered with thick black hair. And they have white eyes with no pupils, and leathery wings," Anthy said.
"Well that explains it! Hagrid said that Threstrals pull the school carriages and...," Lily said, but she was cut off because Anthy had already went into the nearest carriage with Dorcas following, and the two were yelling at Lily to hurry up and get inside.
The Great Hall was decked out in its usual splendor. The ceiling was glistening with stars and the occasional rain cloud, and the House Banners were hung. A Golden banner with a scarlet lion for Gryffindor, Green with a silver serpent for Slytherin, Bronze with a blue eagle for Ravenclaw, and Yellow with a black badger from Hufflepuff hung above the house tables. Lily, Dorcas and Anthy all went to the table on the far left, the Gryffindor table. All of them were extremely hungry because the only source of food they had on the long trip were some Chocolate Frogs. Lily sat next to Dorcas, who was sitting across from Anthy. They chatted excitedly about the coming year.
Lily was in all N.E.W.T classes, and she surprised even herself when she passed her O.W.L for Transfiguration with an E (Exceeds Expectations). True she had studied her ass off to get the high grade, but she remained surprised none-the-less. With her career ambition as high as to be an Auror she had to keep top grades, and good conduct. That year Lily had been rewarded with the status as a Head Girl. Naturally Lily was ecstatic about the position, but upon reading the rest of her letter she found out that James was the Head Boy. Lily had vowed not to let that prat get in the way of her duties and grades, but she knew truthfully that she was in for one hell of a ride for her seventh and final year at Hogwarts.
Dorcas took N.E.W.T courses for all but two of her subjects; Potions and Charms. She too wanted to be an Auror was hell bent on becoming one. Though she didn't take N.E.W.T courses, she still had a good chance of fulfilling her dream because all she needed was to score an E on all of her N.E.W.T exams. Anthy didn't really know what to do with her life, so what her class scores were didn't matter a rat's ass. She took only four N.E.W.T classes, and that alone was an extraordinary feat, but she paid no attention to it really.
All of them were engulfed in friendly chatter until the infamous Marauders took their seat which happened to be right next to Lily and her friends. All three girls threw them cold looks, but they only received goofy grins in return, and Lily in particular got the most charming grin she had ever seen in her life, and it was almost cute enough to crack the first layer of ice she felt for James Potter. But all she had to do was remind herself of all the pranks he had played on her during the previous years and two more layers of ice grew. On the other hand, Lily did have to admit that James was the most attractive guy she had met during her 17 years of life. He had perfect tan skin and messy jet-black hair that gave him a charming boyish look. Glasses framed his hazel eyes that any girl could lose themselves in. Even Lily had caught herself staring into his eyes, the beautiful mixture of honey, cinnamon, and the evening sunset gave them a captivating look.
The entire Great Hall was busy with talkative students, but the chatter died down as soon as headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up to give his annual speech. "Students, old and new welcome to yet another busy year at Hogwarts. I have some start-of-term announcements to make. First off, to our new young students the Forbidden Forest will always be just that, Forbidden, but I disarray that I must remind some of the older students," his twinkling blue eyes fell on James and Sirius, "and that the village of Hogsmead is banned to all students below the third year. I must also say that due to the dark events of recent times certain...precautions will be taken at Hogwarts. On one final note I am happy to say that the new Head Boy and Girl for the year are none other than Mister James Potter and Miss Lily Evans, lets give them both a round of applause,"
Lily stood up with a red face, embarrassed at the sudden mention of her name. She usually kept to herself and for her name to be mentioned like that in front of everyone was pure torture. James on the other hand seemed to be enjoying the attention. He was waving to the crowd like it was no big deal. All of the girls at the school openly gawked at James, and Lily received a few cat-calls. The school had burst into applause, but within two minutes it died down again when Dumbledore cleared his throat, "with all that said, let the sorting being".
Professor McGonagall appeared and she carried with her a ragged torn wizarding hat, and a stool. She placed the hat on top of the stool and a seam had split and the hat began singing its song before all of the students.
When Hogwarts School was born And I was newly sewn... (A/n: I am in no mood to write an entire school song, because as much as I love to write I HATE poetry. I am good at it, but I HATE it).
Several minutes later the song ended and the school broke into applause again. Professor McGonagall pulled out a bit of parchment that seemed to come out of nowhere and she began reading names...
"Adams, Evetta" slowly stepped forward with fright clearly on the little blonde girl's face. She nervously went onto the stool and the hat was placed on her head. The hat had barely touched her head before it screamed out "RAVENCLAW". The table to the right of the Gryffindor broke out in cheers as the welcomed their newest member.
James laughed to himself with the look on Adams, Evetta's face as she walked up. It reminded him so much of what Lily looked life. She was a muggle born and so was crippled with fear when she first stepped up. However then, he had only been eleven and was not capable to appreciate the full value of the female sex, but he could not help notice that she was really cute and had pretty eyes. Now when he looked at his flower she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Since the previous year, he and Lily had been on somewhat better terms than they had been. It was dawn and Lily happened to wake up early in the common room when James and the others had burst in with Remus. By that time Lily had already known for two years that Remus was a werewolf, but what she didn't know was that James, Sirius, and Peter would sneak out with him. Ever since then, Lily looked at him differently, almost admiring the risk he was going through for his best friend, or rather his other best friend. James' admiration and feelings for Lily had only grown since then, but she still wouldn't go out with him and he couldn't understand why. For the past four months he hadn't cured Snape or her, and for James that was a big improvement over how things had been. But this year would be different he vowed to himself as he sat watching Black, Nymphadora being sorted into Gryffindor.
James threw a quick glance at Sirius, but he warmly welcomed his cousin. Apparently she was the only other member of the Black Family that Sirius could get along with and only the second in the Black History to ever be sorted into a house other than Slytherin. James gave his Lily-flower another grin but she only glared at him with an un-readable look and James decided to give her a hurt expression. 'Oh yes, this is going to be quite the year,' James thought silently to himself.
End Chapter. Not the best. For the record, I started this two hours before I had to leave for Colorado Springs, I was gone to Colorado Springs for four days and I only got back two days ago, so this isn't half bad. I couldn't use the computer the first day I was back because there was a storm which blew the power, the second day I was celebrating my brother's collage graduation, and unpacking. Today I saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (pretty good, but Gary Oldman just isn't my choice as Sirius and the movie didn't even make the Patronus of a wizard in ANY animal form. It is just a silver shield, and it didn't take the form of an animal like it should in the books. That pissed me off. And the didn't say who wrote the Marauder's Map either), then I watched the Return of the King with my family, so I spent the rest of the night working on my story just like I promised.
I also gave you two MAJOR clues to something in this chapter. If you have any ideas let me know, and I will lead you on the right path. I still haven't got anyone who has guessed who is overhearing Voldemort and Bellatrix. It isn't that hard, and I will tell you that it is NOT Snape, Peter, Malfoy or any other Death Eater. Come on people, think about it. It isn't that hard. Remember, reviews give me oomph to write faster. Any and all flames will be read, laughed at and deleted. 0.
Review please, and you can also e-mail at geishaofrohanyahoo.com AND elvenyoukaiyahoo.com