Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter. I suppose it's just as well, though, since I'm a terrible writer…cries
It was the last day of the Easter holidays and the Marauders—James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew—were sprawled out lazily on the grass outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Spread out across the grounds were the handfuls of people who hadn't gone home but had remained at the school over the holidays. Most of the students had preferred spending their last day of vacation taking advantage of the good weather to staying inside the castle.
James Potter made a huge show of stretching and yawning, rumpling his jet-black hair so that it stuck up even more than usual. "I'm bored," he declared, sighing and leaning back.
"Well, then we can all go to the library so you lot can finish your homework," Remus suggested. He had obviously been waiting for a chance to say this, for he looked toward each of his three best friends expectantly.
"Yes, let's go," said Peter Pettigrew, who had always been rather hopeless at his schoolwork. "You can help me on that Potions essay on Veritaserum, I haven't a clue how shredded liverwort contributes to its properties," he said, looking hopeful.
"But it's such a nice day out," James whined. Indeed, the sunny climate coupled with the sounds of laughter and amiable chatter contributed to a generally happy atmosphere.
"Oh, come off it," Remus said, looking slightly annoyed. "You're the one who said you were bored, so why don't we all go while no one's in the library? Honestly, vacation's nearly over and none of you have even started…"
Sirius Black sighed. "I s'pose you're right, Moony. I mean, we'll have to get started eventually."
"It's settled, then," Remus said with an air of finality, and the four of them headed off to the library.
later—at the library
James sat idly twirling his wand. The Marauders had all been waiting a while for Peter to finish his homework. Remus was curled up with a book and Sirius had wandered off into the shelves somewhere.
Suddenly, he heard, "OY, PRONGS! Take a look—"
But Madame Pince got there first. "What are you doing?! Yelling in the library, get out, now!" She chased all four of them out the door, muttering darkly.
"I didn't even get to finish," Peter said in a pained voice.
later—in the Gryffindor common room
"What was it you wanted to show me back in the library?" James asked curiously.
Sirius smirked. "Behold," he said, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!" He whipped out a book, seemingly out of nowhere.
James stared. "And this is impressive why?"
"My dear Jamesey-poo, I would've thought it was quite obvious. After all, not a lot of people are named Potter, are they?"
"Look at the label, Padfoot, it's from the Muggle Fiction section, so it obviously has nothing to do with me. The name 'Potter' is just a coincidence. Any dunderhead would know that but you," James said dismissively.
But to his horror, Sirius began reading the book loudly. The few people remaining in the common room stared.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."
Remus, who'd abandoned his book, elbowed Sirius in the ribs. "It's just Muggle rubbish. James is right, this obviously has nothing to do with him, so if you want to read it then quiet down, please."
Acting as if he hadn't heard, Sirius continued, "Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small boy called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere."
Remus and James both sighed impatiently, and James wondered how long this would last before one of them snapped and hexed Sirius.
"The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters."
Remus snorted in spite of himself. "No I don't think I could bear it either, if anyone were to find out about those nasty Potters." Peter, distracted from his homework, laughed until James silenced the both of them with a glare.
"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was a nother good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a boy like that."
Sirius, Remus, and Peter broke down in peals of laughter. "Wouldn't want my kids mixing with James either," Sirius joked.
"Well, go on," Remus urged. The Marauders were clustered around Sirius, and they were beginning to develop an interest in the book; if anything, it was an opportunity to tease James.
"When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.
"None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.
"At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke,' chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.
"It was on the corner of the street that he noticed anything peculiar—a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen—then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat sitting on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive—no, it looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except the large order of drill he was hoping to get that day."
"Muggles," James sighed. "They'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, won't they?"
"This book is written by a Muggle," Remus said impatiently. "Goes by the name of J.K. Rowling."
Sirius plowed on with his reading, still speaking rather loudly. The common room had emptied out, probably to give him a wide berth.
A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, so if some of the characters seem wrong or the plot is terrible, feel free to flame me so that I may improve upon it. I honestly had no idea where this fic was going when I started it, but I have to say I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter, except for the fact that the lead-in was kinda long. I'm hoping there will be more commentary from the Marauders in the later chapters, since the first one is just an introduction. I'm sorry I didn't finish the first chapter of Harry Potter, but I just wanted to publish this and get feedback first so I can scrap it if it turns out to be bad. Does anyone think this is worth continuing? Please review.
It was the last day of the Easter holidays and the Marauders—James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew—were sprawled out lazily on the grass outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Spread out across the grounds were the handfuls of people who hadn't gone home but had remained at the school over the holidays. Most of the students had preferred spending their last day of vacation taking advantage of the good weather to staying inside the castle.
James Potter made a huge show of stretching and yawning, rumpling his jet-black hair so that it stuck up even more than usual. "I'm bored," he declared, sighing and leaning back.
"Well, then we can all go to the library so you lot can finish your homework," Remus suggested. He had obviously been waiting for a chance to say this, for he looked toward each of his three best friends expectantly.
"Yes, let's go," said Peter Pettigrew, who had always been rather hopeless at his schoolwork. "You can help me on that Potions essay on Veritaserum, I haven't a clue how shredded liverwort contributes to its properties," he said, looking hopeful.
"But it's such a nice day out," James whined. Indeed, the sunny climate coupled with the sounds of laughter and amiable chatter contributed to a generally happy atmosphere.
"Oh, come off it," Remus said, looking slightly annoyed. "You're the one who said you were bored, so why don't we all go while no one's in the library? Honestly, vacation's nearly over and none of you have even started…"
Sirius Black sighed. "I s'pose you're right, Moony. I mean, we'll have to get started eventually."
"It's settled, then," Remus said with an air of finality, and the four of them headed off to the library.
later—at the library
James sat idly twirling his wand. The Marauders had all been waiting a while for Peter to finish his homework. Remus was curled up with a book and Sirius had wandered off into the shelves somewhere.
Suddenly, he heard, "OY, PRONGS! Take a look—"
But Madame Pince got there first. "What are you doing?! Yelling in the library, get out, now!" She chased all four of them out the door, muttering darkly.
"I didn't even get to finish," Peter said in a pained voice.
later—in the Gryffindor common room
"What was it you wanted to show me back in the library?" James asked curiously.
Sirius smirked. "Behold," he said, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!" He whipped out a book, seemingly out of nowhere.
James stared. "And this is impressive why?"
"My dear Jamesey-poo, I would've thought it was quite obvious. After all, not a lot of people are named Potter, are they?"
"Look at the label, Padfoot, it's from the Muggle Fiction section, so it obviously has nothing to do with me. The name 'Potter' is just a coincidence. Any dunderhead would know that but you," James said dismissively.
But to his horror, Sirius began reading the book loudly. The few people remaining in the common room stared.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."
Remus, who'd abandoned his book, elbowed Sirius in the ribs. "It's just Muggle rubbish. James is right, this obviously has nothing to do with him, so if you want to read it then quiet down, please."
Acting as if he hadn't heard, Sirius continued, "Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small boy called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere."
Remus and James both sighed impatiently, and James wondered how long this would last before one of them snapped and hexed Sirius.
"The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters."
Remus snorted in spite of himself. "No I don't think I could bear it either, if anyone were to find out about those nasty Potters." Peter, distracted from his homework, laughed until James silenced the both of them with a glare.
"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was a nother good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a boy like that."
Sirius, Remus, and Peter broke down in peals of laughter. "Wouldn't want my kids mixing with James either," Sirius joked.
"Well, go on," Remus urged. The Marauders were clustered around Sirius, and they were beginning to develop an interest in the book; if anything, it was an opportunity to tease James.
"When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.
"None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.
"At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke,' chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.
"It was on the corner of the street that he noticed anything peculiar—a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen—then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat sitting on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive—no, it looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except the large order of drill he was hoping to get that day."
"Muggles," James sighed. "They'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, won't they?"
"This book is written by a Muggle," Remus said impatiently. "Goes by the name of J.K. Rowling."
Sirius plowed on with his reading, still speaking rather loudly. The common room had emptied out, probably to give him a wide berth.
A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, so if some of the characters seem wrong or the plot is terrible, feel free to flame me so that I may improve upon it. I honestly had no idea where this fic was going when I started it, but I have to say I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter, except for the fact that the lead-in was kinda long. I'm hoping there will be more commentary from the Marauders in the later chapters, since the first one is just an introduction. I'm sorry I didn't finish the first chapter of Harry Potter, but I just wanted to publish this and get feedback first so I can scrap it if it turns out to be bad. Does anyone think this is worth continuing? Please review.
