Sweet Misery
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After hailing two taxis, cramming luggage into one and themselves into the other, they headed down to Lily's. Upon arriving, Lily paid the drivers with some money her mother had sent, just incase, while the others unloaded the trunks. The guys went with Remus to his house while the girls followed Lily to hers. Lily led them up to her house and dug a key out of her pockets. As she was about to put the key into the lock, the door flung open. There, in the doorway, was Lily's Aunt Kathleen. She scooped Lily up into a tight hug, catching her completely off guard.
"Hello Lillian!" she said. "It's been a long time!"
"Hi Aunt Kathleen," replied Lily in a breathless voice. Please let me go! Lily thought. Gwynn, the only one who hadn't changed out of her uniform was quickly pulling off her robe to hide the Gryffindor House emblem embroidered on it. Kathleen let released Lily, who immediately gasped for breath.
"Lillian, dear, who are your friends?" Kathleen asked looking over the group. Gwynn and Lauren were stuffing Gwynn's robe into her trunk.
"This," Lily said, catching her breath, "Gwynn and Lauren."
"Hi," they said taking a small step back, very scared that she was going to hug them, too.
"I would love to stay and chat," said Kathleen, "but I must be going, tell your mother I'm sorry I have to leave, but I simply must go and pick up your cousin Angela from the train station. It was wonderful to finally meet some of Lillian's friends."
"Bye Aunt Kathleen," replied Lily, forcing a smile.
"You're so cute when you smile," Kathleen said, pinching one of Lily's cheeks. Once Kathleen was gone, Lily's 'smile' was replaced with a look of disgust.
"I hate that woman," she said, leading the way inside.
"Lillian, dear, how about a hug?" Gwynn said, stretching her arms out.
"You're so cute when you smile, Lillian!" cried Lauren, reaching out to pinch her cheeks.
"Quit it," snapped Lily.
"Touchy," said Lauren.
"Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn were all staying in Lily's room. They all dropped off their stuff in the rooms before heading back down to grab something to eat.
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The summer was pretty much their average summer, except for James and Sirius who normally spent this time working on their quidditch skills. This summer was rather enjoyable for the ones who hadn't grown up around muggle appliances. Lily and Remus both found this quiet amusing watching them get excited over a simple thing like the microwave.
"Amazing how muggles cope without magic…" Lauren said, after they had discovered the television.
"Kind of makes me wish I stayed awake during Muggle Studies," commented James. Sirius and Peter agreed.
"How you three pass the finals is beyond me," said Gwynn, shaking her head.
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Sirius and James were walking around Remus's house looking for him, curious if he had anything that he could use to pull a prank on the girls.
"We should've found him by now," James said.
"You looking for Remus?" Chase, who seemed to pop up out of nowhere, said from behind them.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are," replied Sirius.
"He's out back with Gwynn," said Chase before walking off do begin a round of teasing Peter, which had become his favorite past time. Sirius looked out one of the back windows and saw the two of them sitting under the shade of a tree in the backyard. Gwynn was fast asleep in Remus's arms with a small smile on her face. Remus gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head. Gwynn stirred a little and moved closer to Remus.
"This is perfect," Gwynn whispered, her eyes still closed. "I don't want it to end."
"Neither do I," replied Remus, holding her a little tighter.
"Do you think they're breaking up?" Sirius asked glaring out the window.
"If they are, they're both taking it very well," said James. "Why are you so upset about Remus dating Gwynn? They're happy together."
"They may seem happy now, but soon he'll find someone he thinks is better and he'll break her heart."
"You don't know that."
"It's standard teenage behavior."
"Right…"
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"Come on in," Remus said opening the front door one night. He took Gwynn's hand and led her in.
"Wait, where are you two going?" Sirius asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
"We're just running down to a motel not too far away so no one can disturb us while we go have a quick shag," Gwynn said. Sirius's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Oh honestly! We're just heading down to the basement so none of you are bitten."
"Why can't you use Lily's basement?" inquired Sirius.
"One, she doesn't have a basement," replied Gwynn. "And two, if she did, it wouldn't be properly reinforced, putting all of you in danger."
"Wonderfully explained," said Remus.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
"We'll see you all tomorrow," Gwynn said waving to all of them, then Remus added: "If we're not shagging each other senseless then."
Sirius nearly leapt out of his chair at them, but James stopped him, letting Remus and Gwynn run down to the basement locking the door quickly.
"Easy, Sir," James said pulling him back into his seat.
"They just sound so serious," Sirius said, still glaring at the door.
"I-it's all-l ap-part of th-the act-t," stuttered Peter.
"Come on, we've got work to do," Sirius said getting up and heading towards the stairs. James and Peter followed.
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James, Sirius, and Peter spent a lot of time huddled around a book, which frightened the others beyond belief. They were never known to sit quietly for over an hour.
"You three okay?" Gwynn asked one day.
"Yes, we're fine, let us get back to our work," Sirius said.
"What are you guys working on?" Lauren asked them.
"Plans for world domination," replied James.
Lily, Lauren, Gwynn, and Remus rolled their eyes.
"I wonder what they're really doing," said Lily.
"I don't know… I wouldn't put world domination against them, they are rather ambitious boys," stated Lauren.
"So put them in Slytherin, they still won't take over the world," Gwynn said.
"Too true," agreed Remus. "But just incase… prepare the fallout shelter. You never know…"
"We'll get it out of them," said Lauren. She called over to the boys, "OY! Siri, Jamsie, Pete, what are you working on?" They didn't answer.
"That's odd," commented Lily.
"Sirius," Remus said. He didn't reply, he looked deeply intrigued by something in the book. "Sirius." Still he said nothing. He looked at the girls and shrugged.
"Sirius," Gwynn said giving it a shot. "Sirius!" Even James and Peter were confused by his sudden interest in the book. Gwynn sighed. "Sirius, I'm pregnant."
"Yeah okay." Sirius mumbled, not quite taking in what she had said till a second later. "WHAT?!"
"Oh good you're okay!" Gwynn cheered. "By the way, I was kidding."
"I sure hope so…" said Lily. She and Lauren were both wide eyed.
"Honestly! You guys think I would do something so stupid?"
"You are quite unpredictable," Remus replied, kind of pale.
"You're taking their side?" Gwynn asked.
"No, I was just saying."
"Why are you so pale?" Gwynn was right in his face now. "You don't honestly think that!"
"Well, half the time I can't remember what I did during my transformations…"
"Well, we didn't."
"Oh good."
Sirius looked about ready to kill. Gwynn and Remus backed away from the table where he was.
"I'll be right back," announced Lauren. She returned a moment later with a large punch bowl filled with water. She walked behind Sirius and dumped it on his head.
"What was that for?" Sirius shouted, jumping up. He was drenched with ice cold water.
"I thought that'd cool you down," she replied. "And it also gave Gwynn and Remus to get a good head start before you go chasing after them." Sirius looked up. Remus and Gwynn were already out the back door.
"Come back here!" he shouted running after them. Lily sighed.
"I-I kn-know, wh-why c-can't Sirius j-just accept-t th-the fact-t th-that G-Gwynn and-d Remus a-are g-going out-t," asked Peter.
"No, my mum's not going to be too happy about all this water in the carpet," replied Lily.
"Oh, sorry," Lauren said, still holding the punch bowl.
"Come on, let's go get some towels before my mum gets home," said Lily, walking up to the linen closet. Lauren followed, setting the bowl on the counter as she passed it.
Sirius's shouts could be heard as he chased Remus and Gwynn around the block.
"Fifteen sickles says that Gwynn and Remus think they escaped but Sirius proves too clever for them," Lauren said, returning with Lily and a bunch of towels.
"No way, that wouldn't happen," replied James.
"I'm going with Lauren on this one," said Lily.
"S-so, G-Gwynn and R-Remus esc-cape, y-you owe us-s f-fifteen s-sickles," stuttered Peter.
"But if Sirius catches them, you owe us fifteen sickles," added Lauren. They all shook and ran to the front window to watch. They were no where to be seen.
"Where are they?" Lily asked. As if summoned by her question, Remus and Gwynn came jumping over the fence of Lily's neighbors across the street. They ran across the street and to the side of Lily's house. Hurried footsteps were soon heard from above them. None of the group noticed Sirius running across the street.
"They took the ladder," stated Lily.
"The ladder?" the others asked.
"Yeah, there's this ladder that's always kept on the side of the house," explained Lily. "Remus and I use it to enter each other's houses."
Before they could inquire further, Remus and Gwynn came down the stairs and found the others by the front window.
"Did he come?" Gwynn asked looking out the window.
"W-we h-haven't s-seen h-him y-yet," replied Peter. They all looked back out the window while Lauren counted down, "Three… two… one…"
"Gotcha," a voice said from behind them causing them all (with the exception of Lauren) to jump.
"How'd you get in?" Gwynn asked, curious to the lack of footsteps.
"I used the back door," Sirius said, arms crossed across his chest.
"Pay up, boys!" Lauren said.
Peter and James both handed over fifteen sickles.
"It always helps to be on the seer's side," Lily said, both her and Lauren grinning wickedly.
"Seer?" James said, his jaw dropping.
"Th-that's n-no f-fair!" stammered Peter.
"Too bad, you agreed to the bet," said Lauren.
"But we didn't know!" complained James.
"Does it look like we care?" Lily asked, sticking the sickles into her pocket.
"Y-you ch-cheated!" shouted Peter. "I-it w-wasn't-t f-f-fair odd-ds!"
"Give us our sickles back!" James said holding out his hand.
"Time to hide?" Lauren asked.
"Yes, I do believe so," replied Lily. The two of them ran up the stairs and into Lily's room, barricading the door, keeping James and Peter out. Gwynn, Sirius, and Remus stood confused in the front hall. They forgot about what they were fighting about and went to find out more about what was going on between the others.
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"Hey, what's this?" James asked when Remus, Sirius, Peter, and him were going through the garage looking for anything to cause trouble with.
"That is a squirt gun," said Remus.
"What does it do?" Sirius asked.
"Here, give it," Remus said. James handed over the squirt gun and Remus took it inside to the kitchen followed by the others. He unscrewed a cap on top of the gun and filled it with water. He quickly pumps it up and aims it at Sirius. He pulls the trigger and nails Sirius. "That's what it does."
"You know, I've just gotten an idea," said Sirius. "Do you have any more of those?"
"Most likely," replied Remus. Remus went out to the garage and returned a minute or two later with three more squirt guns. Sirius told his idea to them all and they agreed that it was a great plan.
They had all taken their positions and waited patiently. Sirius was up in a tree, James in another tree, Remus behind a bush, and Peter behind a fence. They hadn't been waiting long when their targets came out. Lily, Lauren, and Gwynn all came out the back door of Lily's home wearing bathing suits and carrying towels. The guys figured they had just come out to go tanning. Watching the girls walk across the lawn, Remus spotted something and tried to point it out to the other marauders without being seen. He pointed to the girls then to his squirt gun. The others didn't seem to get it. Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius was about to give the call to fire when Lily shouted, "NOW!" Hidden beneath their towels were their own squirt guns and they began shooting at the Marauders. They quickly returned fire. Remus jumped from his hiding place and her and Gwynn aimed at each other. Gwynn gave a quick nod and she turned on Lily and Lauren while Remus began shooting at the other Marauders.
"You double-crosser!" Sirius shouted.
"Who do you think tipped of the girls about you guys getting a hold of squirt guns?" Remus shouted back. While attacking Peter, Remus ran out of water. He dodged fire and made it to the garden hose on the side of the house. As he was refilling, he felt a squirt gun being held to the back of his head. He turned around and saw Gwynn standing there with her gun, grinning wickedly.
"The tips are greatly appreciated Remus," she said. "Just make sure you can trust your allies." She pulled the trigger, hitting him square between the eyes.
"And you should make sure your enemy is unarmed!" Remus pulled out an egg from his pocket.
"You wouldn't!"
"You betrayed me and now, you must suffer the consequences!" He smashed the egg on her head much to her surprised. Egg dripped down her face as she shook her head.
"I should've seen that coming," she said.
"Not as much as you should've seen this," said Lauren. She snatched the garden hose from Remus and began to spray them with it.
The fight continued for an hour and only ended when Lily's mother told them to stop wasting water.
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Summer quickly passed by. Nearly too fast for them. Before they knew it, they all had gotten their supply lists for their fourth year at Hogwarts.
"Oh great, the summer's over!" Lauren said, slamming her letter down.
"I know," said James. "Sirius only tried to kill Gwynn and Remus only four times!"
"Just four?" Sirius asked.
"Seems like so much more," said Gwynn. Remus agreed.
"That's because you were the ones he was trying to kill," explained Lily. "When do you guys want to head down to Diagon Alley?"
"H-how ab-bout t-tomorrow?" Peter asked.
"Fine with me," said Lauren.
"Same here," replied James.
"No problem with us," Gwynn and Remus said.
"Same here," said Sirius.
"Okay," Lily said. "We'll go tomorrow."
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That next day, Lily's mother took them to London. They went to Diagon Alley, while her mother went shopping in London.
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In about a week, they found themselves back in London at Kings Cross Station passing through the barrier to platform 9 3/4. The platform was filled with returning students and excited first years. The Marauders and the girls made their way through the crowds, narrowly avoiding rowdy kids, who thought it was a brilliant idea to play tag in the huge crowd. They loaded their luggage on to the train and went inside to find a compartment. A few minutes later, the train departed for Hogwarts, thus beginning their fourth year, but the final year for one of them.
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A/n: Sigh… I wish I had a scanner. I drew this fantastic picture of the part where Remus and Gwynn are sitting under the tree. That pic actually gave me the idea to include that part. The picture is complete and utter fluff and the best drawing I've done yet. I love it. ^_^
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