~Defying All Odds~
Chapter 1:
DISCLAIMER:
A/N #1: J here! Review! I tend to read your stories if you review…so yeah…if you want more reviews, review ours! And if you like this, read my other story (soon to be stories) on my username: tenniStar514. Here's Sally now (be prepared for some weird, unexpected, random stuff)...
A/N #2: Hey everyone! This is our first fic together *runs around the room screaming her head off* ok yeah…anyway…PLEASE REVIEW! Especially if you want it continued ; ) Oh yeah, before the story starts, please read & review Sallymander's fics too. Guess who's fics they are! Ok, now on with the story (that you will review *hint hint*)
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"POTTER! TURN MY OWL BACK-NOW!" The enraged shout echoed throughout the entire Hogwarts Express train. Curious first-years flocked to the source of the noise. But the older students already knew who it was. It must be Lily Evans and James Potter at it-AGAIN. It was common knowledge that the two were sworn enemies. And sure enough, in the last compartment, were Lily and James, but they weren't fighting face to face.
Lily was huddled in the corner, shielding her eyes from view. James seemed extremely pleased with himself: he had managed to find out Lily's greatest fear by accident. He had pranked her, but without any materials, so he had simply changed her beloved owl, Merlin, into...a three-foot spider! Lily looked as if on the brink of screaming bloody murder, or else bursting into tears.
Still shielding her eyes, Lily shouted, "Change him back this instant, Potter!" She could feel hot tears start to sting the insides of her eyes and blinked rapidly; there was no way that she would cry in front of Potter.
But James had seen those unshed tears glistening in her eyes and felt a small pang of guilt; he was, after all, human. She must've be have arachnophobia. So, he reluctantly he changed Merlin back to his original form. He was rewarded with an annoyed click of Merlin's beak and sharp pain shooting through the tip of his finger from a small bite.
Lily peeked through her fingers and was relieved to see Merlin back. Then, an intense rage swept over her. It must've shown on her face, because James slowly backed away. He had seen her eyes flashing menacingly, and had spotted a dangerous gleam in her eye-a sure sign to run as fast as you possibly can in the opposite direction. Before he could escape however, she advanced upon him and slapped him on his face with all the strength she had-which was a lot.
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Holding his stinging face, James walked out of the compartment with as much dignity as he could muster. On the outside, he was calm and unruffled, even seemingly amused, but on the inside, he was boiling mad. How dare she slap him! He had only pranked her in retaliation! Well, this definitely merited the start of a new war. His mind was already whirring away, thinking up fresh, new ideas to prank her with....
*****
As soon as James left, Lily slammed the door-HARD. In fact, she slammed it so hard that the window shattered and shards of powdered glass showered down. Irritated beyond belief now, she took out her wand and muttered, Reparo! Rubbing her face tiredly, Lily pulled out an aspirin from her bag and popped it in her dry mouth, her throat hoarse from screaming at Potter. She leaned against the window and stared out at the quickly passing landscape.
Her two best friends, Ashley and Krystal walked back into the compartment, after noting that the argument had stopped, and sank into the seats opposite of Lily.
"So, another round with the 'toerag', eh?" said Krystal, slightly amused. Then, she saw Lily rubbing her forehead in frustration and immediately felt sympathetic for her friend. She went over and patted her on the back to make her feel a little better. Krystal was a really good friend. She was sympathetic and understanding at the right times, although she had a good sense of humor, she always knew what to say when, and her senses were very sharp-she never missed a hint, obvious or subtle.
"Jeez, I heard your voices on the other side of the train! We went to get our lunch. You guys are unbelievably LOUD!" said Ashley. Ashley didn't mean to be rude or insensitive, she was just a bit...blonde, and sometimes didn't know she was being insensitive. Once in a while, she would have her 'blonde moments', like when she runs into glass doors, misses obvious hints, and other such things. But she was still a great friend, very loyal and defended her friends, without caring what others thought.
These three were possibly the most popular girls in all of Hogwarts. Lily's fiery hair and temperament, intense eyes, and slim figure attracted guys from all directions, like light attracts moths. Krystal was also very popular, with her gentle nature, sense of humor, and endless patience. It also didn't hurt that she was very pretty, with chestnut curls, gray-blue eyes, and a lovely smile. Ashley was a girl who was very noticeable to guys, with her straight, blonde hair, sea-green eyes, and seductive winks. The guys didn't really care that she had a 'blonde personality'.
It would seem natural that the most popular girls and the most popular guys would be friends, right? They would be, if James hadn't been one of the most popular guys. While Lily was on friendly terms with her fellow Prefect, Remus, and she could tolerate Sirius-he was too adorable and made her laugh a lot-, she absolutely hated James, and vice versa; James could tolerate Ashley-even with her blonde moments, she wasn't too bad-and was on friendly terms with Krystal-who couldn't like such a nice girl like Krystal?-, he absolutely hated Lily.
*****
James walked back to the compartment in the way back, his pride still stinging. He took a few deep breaths to calm his sea of fury, and walked in, shutting the door behind him. His friends, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing a game of Exploding Snap. They looked up upon his entrance.
"Hey, James, where were you? I heard a few voices having a small argument down near the middle of the train, suspiciously near Lily's compartment. That couldn't have been where you were, could it?" Sirius asked, in a mock-thoughtful voice. Then, he grinned at James, who gave a reluctant grin back.
Sirius was 'one of the most eligible bachelors in the school'-a quote stated by one of the giggly Hufflepuff girls. Girls tripped all over themselves, drooling at the dark hair falling into his vivid, blue eyes. He usually had a roguish grin on his handsome features. However, Sirius wasn't all looks, no brain; he, Remus, and James were at the top of their classes, but Sirius was best in Care of Magical Creatures and Potions.
"Really, James, you should leave Lily alone. I see she slapped you-again. You really should have learned by now," Remus said, an amused smile crossing his handsome features. Remus was the mildest person of their group. He had shaggy, brown hair, with deep, amber eyes, that made girls swoon left and right. He was also a Prefect, which attracted girls who went for brains. He was high up in the class ranking of every class, although his strength was Defense Against the Dark Arts. But one thing that most girls didn't know was that he was a werewolf, which gave him extra strength and muscles-one thing girls did admire. So basically, Remus had the brains, the brawn, and the looks.
"Wanna play a game of Exploding Snap?" piped up Peter. Peter was the last Marauder, also the odd Marauder. He wasn't intelligent like the others; in fact, just to pass into the next year, he had to rely on the others to help him. The only subject he excelled in was Herbology; he got excellent marks in that class. He had watery, blue eyes that darted to and fro nervously, a pointed nose, and a pale complexion.
"Not really, Peter," responded James, ignoring the others' comments. He slumped into a seat, and watched the three play Exploding Snap on the floor until they got off Platform 9 ¾ to enter the Muggle world.
*****
James scanned quickly around for his parents. James spotted his dad's messy black hair towering over the heads of the many Muggles milling around King's Cross Station. He walked toward them, rolling his heavy trunk along. His mother greeted him with a smile and fierce hug.
"James, dear! Oh, it's so good to see you! You must have been very busy this year; you only sent us two letters!" Mrs. Potter said, smiling affectionately at her son.
"Oh yeah, Mom! I was so busy. We had a lot of work to do this year," James said, thinking of all the things the Marauders had done that year (mainly pull pranks and sneak out).
"I'm sure you did, son. Now, let's get that trunk of yours to the car. You go on ahead, Miranda. I'll help James with his trunk," Mr. Potter said, quickly changing the subject. As Mrs. Potter turned her back to go to the Muggle car the Potters owned, Mr. Potter slanted his gaze and gave James a subtle wink. James gave a broad smile of thanks in return.
*****
Lily scanned the crowd for her parents. Then, she spotted her mom's fiery hair and dad's tall frame weaving through the crowd. When they finally reached her through the throng of people milling around, Lily's mother gripped her tightly in a fierce hug while her father looked on at his oldest daughter proudly. Unfortunately for Lily, her bratty younger sister, Petunia, had come along and was filing her nails with a bored expression in the car.
"Lily, darling! How wonderful to see you again! The house just seems empty without our little muffin." Her mother fawned over her eldest daughter endlessly on the way to the car.
Her father, on the other hand, asked how she held up with all the schoolwork at Hogwarts. He was extremely interested in the magical world and wanted to know all about it. At last, he ended with the usual "Any boys at this school to your liking? I need to meet him immediately, before you start dating. I don't want my little pumpkin dating some old punk off the street," to which Lily rolled her eyes and didn't respond. Some things never changed...
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A/N (both): You like? REVIEW!!! Thanks.
