Disclaimer: We don't own Harry Potter, or any of the cannon characters. That would be the lucky J.K. Rowling.
Chikus: Hello our beloved readers (if any). We are almost done with the exposition now. Please let us know how we are doing. This is the third chapter and no reviews.
"Anna!" Lily squealed, then forgetting the argument that had just occurred, weaved in and out of other witches and wizards, and embraced her best friend in a tight hug. "Anna it is so good to see you again!" Lily gave her another hug.
Anna smiled warmly, breaking the embrace. Lily had always been with her, supporting her, making sure she was keeping up with homework, and just being a great friend. Two peas in a pod, they were inseparable. "I know Lily. It has been way too long. What was it? The last time I heard from you was about 2 hours ago." Both of the girls laughed. "So," Anna stated cautiously, "Looked as if World War Three just went down. You ok?" Lily had continually been owling her, writing about the confrontations that she had been having with her sister. Anna knew exactly how she felt. She had another younger sister, Erica, which she never seemed to get along with.
Lily frowned slightly. "Were we that loud?" She sighed deeply. "Well, its just getting worse. Enough about my sob fest though." Her voice changed to a more cheerful tone. The Head Girl surveyed her friend. "Anna, you look great! You are going to have to be beating the boys away with a stick now." Lily suddenly became self-conscious of the fact that she was now having to look up to her best friend just to meet her gaze. She was only 5'3, on a good day. "And who gave you permission to be taller than me? The end of last year, we were the same height!"
Anna laughed. Lily always seemed to get prettier every single year, and this year was no exception. "Look who's talking! And it's not exactly my choice when my legs decide to elongate. Its been horrible though. I have been tripping and falling everywhere in the house, making a total and complete fool of myself. My brothers have found it quite amusing."
Lily chuckled. "Well Anna, you never exactly where twinkle toes." She rubbed the temple of her chin, as if in pensive thought. "I seem to recall a certain incident last year in the dorm, when you tripped on the sheets, taking everything within a 50 foot radius down to the floor with you."
Anna shoved her friend playfully. "Lily! You promised not to bring that up again!" Both of the girls laughed in unison. Melissa came up behind her sister shortly after, smiling widely at Lily.
"What! Anna, in an extremely embarrassing moment. How in the world did I miss, or not hear about that?" It seemed as if James Potter had finally caught up to the two girls. "Hello Lily." James stated coyly walking up beside her, flashing a dazzling smile. Wow Lily looked even more amazing than he remembered. Her hair was perfect, her eyes were captivating, and her body, well that was self-explanatory.
Lily didn't even need to look to recognize who's voice that was. It could only belong to a person who had been trying to go out with her every second he could ask. He did as regularly as he breathed. Lily rolled her eyes. "Anna, what pestilence have you brought over?"
Anna looked over at James, circling him. "Hmm. It is male...I think." James scowled slightly at Anna. "Rather tall." Anna patted the top of James' head. "Excellent Quidditch player, not too dull of a mind either." She poked him with the side with her wand, causing James to bound back in the other direction, rubbing the spot in which he had been jabbed. "And I seem to recall you calling him a bullying toerag in 5th year."
James grinned widely. "Anna, please, your flattering me." He pretended to blush.
Lily turned to look at James, flabbergasted. Was he actually being modest? Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell onto the Head Boy, and she was liking what she was seeing. "But you forgot to add sexy beast." James stated cockily. Lily rolled her eyes. 'There's the James we all know and love,' Lily thought annoyed to herself. Just when she thought James, had matured. He was even calling her by her first name! That had definitely surprised her. Well, he had matured, his voice was deeper, he was taller, he was handsome. Lily mentally kicked herself. 'What am I thinking! This is the bullying James Big Head Potter. No, just Potter.'
Lily smiled devilishly, regaining her tongue. "Well I see someone has not changed over the summer Potter. Still a big enough ego to fill up an entire room and then some. Have you seen Remus? He was bound to get Head Boy, so we have some things we need to discuss." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring directly into James' hazel eyes, trying vainly to deny how cute they looked, framed by those glasses of his.
James hated to admit it, but Lily's words had stung. Ok, so he was still a little egotistical, but that was his personality, he wasn't going to change overnight. And how was he going to tell her that Dumbledore had chosen him to be Head Boy? 'Later James, not now.' He thought to himself. "You know Evans," referring back to her surname, "that's a good question."
Peter trudged up, panting and breathing hard. He gave a small wave to Lily, blushed, then began regaining his breath. He never was one to be fit and in good shape.
Lily smiled softly to Peter. "Hello Peter, did you have a pleasant break?"
Peter nodded. "Yes. It was," he paused searching for the right words, "eventful."
Lily nodded. "Well that's good." She looked down at Melissa and gasped. "Annais that Melissa? She has gotten so much bigger." Lissa beamed.
"Yep, it's me Lily. I can now reach the sink without having to go on my toes anymore," she stated triumphantly. Anna smiled.
Lily laughed slightly. "Really! All by yourself! That is great." She stopped talking to youngest Walden when a familiar, mischievious grin on James' face caught her eye. She heard a familiar voice a moment later.
Remus paused briefly at the doorway to retrieve a dilapidated piece of parchment that contained the list of books that he would need for his upcoming year of school. Remus sighed to himself as he saw that he would need extra books this year in order to fully prepare himself for his NEWTS. Money was not a luxury Remus had. He had worked hard all summer managing to hired by an elderly couple that knew his family. He would use to money in order to raise the funds he would need for all his school supplies. Carefully selecting the required books and paying for them cost Remus almost three quarters of his currency.
"All that work over the summer and I spend almost all my money in less than a day." Remus couldn't help laughing finding the situation oddly ironic. After all, books were one of Remus' favorite things, but money on the other hand, was harder and more rare to come by, especially for a werewolf.
The sound of his own melodious laughter was quickly interrupted by the familiar cacophony of voices coming from outside the shop. One look out of the window told Remus everything he needed to know. The jovial, deeper voice that had first caught Remus' attention belonged to none other than the infamous James Potter.
"There he is, so where is she?" Remus was referring to the love of James' life, Lily Evans. He had found it useful in previous years to use her location in order to find James more quickly. Spotting the distinctive long, red hair Remus laughed even harder.
"Never fails."
He gathered up his things and made his way out of the shop only to be greeted by James' broad grin.
"So Prongs, already after Lily I see." He chuckled deeply and embraced James briefly before turning around to face the rest of the familiar faces.
"Hey Anna, Lily, Wormtail."
Lily smiled widely seeing the most sensible of the Marauders, Remus J. Lupin. "Remus." Lily exclaimed, giving him a friendly embrace.
James looked at Remus enviously. He would do anything to get a hug from Lillian Evans. "Well Remus. Just going after someone who's worth it." He flashed Lily, a dazzling smile, hoping that his words would flatter Lily.
Anna smiled warmly at Remus, and also gave him a hug. "Hello Remus. Did you have a nice summer?"
Lily chose to not show any indication that she had heard James, but inside she could feel herself blushing. "So Remus, did you get Head Bo..." Her words were cut short as the low rumbling of a motorbike reached her ears...
A/N: So we have only one marauder left to intoduce into the story. Drumroll please...You got it, Sirius Black. All you ladies who have be eagerly awaiting, the time has almost arrived. Please review!
