Love is like fireworks.
That was what Dorcas Meadowes decided as she saw her boyfriend from last year for the first time as a seventh year Hogwarts student. She'd been looking for her best friend, Lily Evans, but found Dedalus Diggle instead. He was brightly clad in his trademark purple scarf. Not really any house had claim to the color purple. The Gryffindors had red and gold, the Slytherins had silver and green, the Hufflepuffs had black and yellow, and the Ravenclaws had blue and bronze.
Purple was unclaimed territory. So, she supposed that placed him in neutral. But honestly, he could at least show a little respect for the fellow Hufflepuffians! But, as Dorcas stood before him, she decided love was like fireworks.
His brown hair was mussed, she assumed from a hat, since she knew he liked them so much, but wasn't allowed to wear them at school, well, at least not during class. Instead, he kept a collection in his trunk, somewhere. However, Dorcas wasn't allowed to see said collection, for fear of her soiling one of the hats, which wasn't the kindest reason to refuse you girlfriend the privilege to see whatever that other thing he was obsessed about was. Anyway, as Dorcas looked at him, she realized that his nose was too big. His eyes were too brown. His teeth were too large. His hair was too messy.
And so, love was like fireworks, she reasoned. Just when it starts getting exciting, it fizzles out.
Last year she'd been hopelessly in love with him. He'd been funny, and interesting, and rather handsome. She'd been convinced that he was her true love. That she'd spend the rest of her days as Mrs. Dorcas Diggle, it had a nice ring, didn't it? Well, nothing lasts forever.
"Hey, Dory!" Dedalus greeted cheerfully, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
Dorcas frowned. She gently pulled from his grasp and looked him over once more. Nothing. She didn't feel anything. Zip. Nada. The time had come. It was like any other poorly written love fluff crap that somehow passed off as a book.
"Dedalus, can we talk?"
Dedalus's smile faltered, but he nodded uncertainly. "Uh, sure." He replied.
Dorcas smiled and took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to break up with Dedalus.
"Dedalus, it's great seeing you again, but things have changed over the summer, and…" Dorcas cast about for the right words, and Dedalus's shoulders were already slumping. "I think it's time we went our separate ways. It's a new year, and we'll meet new people." She finished with the most clichéd line ever. Well, at least she didn't say the "let's just be friends" line.
Dedalus sighed, shuffling his feet and looking at the ground. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Yeah. Alright." He muttered, shuffling away like a wounded animal.
Dorcas sighed and picked up her trunk. Well, at least now he wouldn't bother her anymore. It was freakishly annoying how much he'd pop out of nowhere to walk her to class, or sit next to her. Dorcas felt a twinge of sadness. After all, she'd just broken off with her favorite boyfriend, by far. But, life goes on. She'd find the right guy someday. She'd only had three boyfriends so far, anyway.
"Dory!" Someone called.
Dorcas turned towards the voice and smiled as she recognized a redhead bobbing among the sea of students.
"Lily!" Dorcas called, as her friend came into sight.
They hugged and jumped up and down like small children before releasing each other and grinning.
Dorcas looked at Lily. She was the perfect height for attracting boys. She wasn't too tall, to make them feel small, as men liked to feel like they had power, but she was just tall enough so they wouldn't have to bend over to kiss her. Her hair was a bright, shiny red, and was amazingly strait. She had let it grow out a bit since last year. Now it went to a little past her shoulders. She was one of the prettier girls in school, but would more often be found buried in books, rather then messing with her hair or face.
Dorcas, on the other hand, was not that pretty at all. Especially next to Lily, Dorcas seemed to pale in comparison. Dorcas had plain dark brown hair, which had annoying wave to it, and always seemed to make lumps in her ponytails. She had it cut to her shoulders, but it would puff out and become irritatingly frizzy and ugly if she didn't let it air dry. She was slightly more tanned then Lily, simply because Lily burned so easily. Dorcas was a plain girl. She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't pretty either. She never got much attention, because face it, pretty people were admired at, ugly people were gawked at. But plain people were in between. Like a movie extra in life, the kind no one notices unless they're talking to the movie star.
But she liked to think she had a winning personality.
"How was your summer?" Lily asked brightly. Example of the movie star scenario, while talking with Lily, several boys glanced their way.
"Oh, fine, I suppose." Dorcas replied, shrugging. "It was the same as usual. Trapped at home all day."
Lily sighed. "I'm sorry. If it helps, Petunia was a complete pain all summer. Though, she wouldn't speak to me for half of it. It was still horrible with all the little things she did to show she hated me. Oh, and she brought home some dreadful man, who has somehow become her boyfriend. I think she can do better."
"If you think she can do better, then he must not be much of a man."
"Oh, no, he's quiet a bit of man." Lily replied, somehow finding this incredibly amusing.
Dorcas smiled in confusion. Then she glanced at the train. "Come on, let's go get a compartment. We can talk more inside."
Lily nodded, picking up her trunk. Dorcas picked up hers and they headed towards the train. Once inside, they searched around for a while before finding an empty compartment. They put their trunks under their seats and Lily whipped out a huge parchment.
"What's that?" Dorcas asked curiously.
"It's my letter, telling me my Head Girl Duties." Lily replied, emerald eyes darting rapidly down the page.
"Head Girl?" Dorcas, repeated, wide-eyed. She glanced over to where Lily's badge shone in the magic light. Dorcas gasped. "Oh my gosh! Why didn't you tell me? Congratulations!" Dorcas cried, hopping forward to hug Lily again.
Lily let out a muffled protest and Dorcas released her. Lily smiled rather embarrassed and quickly finished reading her letter. Then she stood.
"Sorry, Dory, I have to go to the meeting." Lily informed her. Then she glanced at her watch. "But it's not for a while." Lily sat back down again.
"It's alright. I'm used to it from you being a Prefect." Dorcas replied cheerfully. In truth, she was a bit lonely when Lily left to go to her meetings. After all, Dorcas wasn't captain of anything, nor was she in any clubs. She was rather good at all her classes, but again Lily outshined her.
Lily smiled and suddenly, the compartment door opened. A rather nervous looking Marlene MicKinnon peered in at them. Her blonde hair was long, and perfectly strait, like Liliy's. It formed a curtain around her face until she pushed it behind her ears impatiently. Her face was long and elegant, the kind of face that would look sweet on a young girl, and refined on an old woman's.
Pinned proudly on her chest was a Prefect's badge with a black Raven in mid flight. She smiled at the two girls inside.
"Can I- er- sit with you guys?" She asked timidly.
"Of course." Lily replied, smiling. "I'm glad to see you got made Prefect." Marlene puffed out her chest a bit too proudly for Dorcas's liking. "The meeting-"
"Lily got Head Girl." Dorcas interrupted, jstu t osee Marlene's head deflate a bit. Unfortunately, her head remained the same size, but she expelled her breath.
Marlene's dark blue eyes widened. She peered at the badge pinned to Lily's robes and gasped.
"Congratulations!" She exclaimed. "I wish I'd gotten it! No offense, meant of course. I think you'll be great, though." She added.
"It's alright." Lily replied, smiling, before shooting a glare at Dorcas, who was conveniently looking the other way. "As I was saying," she continued. "The meeting will start soon, so get your stuff ready and we'll go to the Prefects compartment, okay?"
"Oh, oh, yes!" Marlene replied hastily, dragging a large black trunk in, and shoving it under the seat. She flopped down beside Dorcas, who grinned at her.
Marlene looked at Dorcas curiously for a moment before speaking. "I'd have thought you'd have been the Prefect for Gryffindor, with Lily out of the way and all." She informed Dorcas, looking puzzled.
Dorcas felt heat rise to her cheeks with embarrassment. She obviously wasn't smart enough to make the cut. Or maybe Dumbledore had figured that she was only good at her work because Lily helped. But that obviously wasn't true, considering how well she'd done on her O.W.L.s.
"Yeah, well, I guess I just wasn't smart enough." Dorcas mumbled.
"Don't be so insecure. I've told you a million times that you're fabulous!" Lily scolded. "You're brilliant! I'm sure could be a Prefect if you really wanted."
Dorcas rolled her eyes and began to tune out as Lily gathered her breath to deliver her 'you're a perfectly wonderful person and you should stop always putting yourself down' speech. But instead, Marlene spoke, cutting off a rather annoyed Lily.
"The meeting is starting soon." She informed them, peering at her watch. She glanced up at Dorcas, then Lily. After a moment of thought, she spoke again. "I wonder who Head Boy is…" She muttered distractedly.
"I bet its Gideon or Fabian Prewett." Dorcas replied, after a couple seconds of thought. "I heard there was a rumor Dumbledore was choosing someone who wasn't a Prefect. But I heard their older sister, Molly, was a Prefect, she didn't make Head Girl, unfortunately, but it makes it even more likely for them. I heard she got married to some Weasely person. The funny thing is they both have red hair! They're having another kid."
Marlene's face scrunched up in thought. "Why would she want to marry a weasely person? Doesn't that mean they're nasty and sneaky? Or is that ferrety? Oh, I'm so confused now." Marlene sighed.
"No, no!" Dorcas replied hastily. "His last name was weasel or something."
"Ooooh." Marlene replied, nodding. Dorcas doubted her qualifications for Ravenclaw Prefect. Not the sharpest spoon in the knife drawer, eh?
"I suppose Gideon or Fabian might be pretty good," Lily interrupted. "But they kind of come in a package, you know what I mean? Not one without the other. And I hadn't heard about Molly… Wasn't she in seventh year in out first? Anyway, I bet the Head Boy is going to be Remus Lupin." Lily replied instead.
"But we heard that it wasn't going to be a Prefect..." Dorcas replied, frowning.
"You can't believe everything you hear from the grapevine." Lily said smartly.
"Ooh!" Marlene squealed, looking bug-eyed. "Do you really think that it might be Remus? I wouldn't mind having a Head Boy as cute as him!"
Dorcas and Marlene giggled. Lily, on the other hand, looked a bit annoyed.
"Honestly, can you two get any shallower?"
"Oh, Lily, admit it!" Dorcas squealed. "Remus is cute! Or maybe, dreamy! And it certainly helps that he's best friends with James and Sirius! How can you not like him, Lily?"
For some reason Lily started to blush slightly.
"Actually, I think it'd be better if they weren't friends." Marlene objected.
"Why?" Dorcas asked, puzzled.
"Well, since the three best looking guys in Hogwarts are friends, if you happen to be lucky enough to snag a date with them, you'd have to hang out with their devilishly handsome friends! You might be tempted to... You know, cheat. Besides, what if you found out you liked one more then the one you were dating?" Marlene replied, with the air of someone who had thought this out long ago, but never had time to tell anyone.
Dorcas's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "No wonder you're in Ravenclaw! I'd never thought of that!" She cried, though she still doubted Marlene's intelligence a bit. Then again, boys were rather important.
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. Sometimes Dorcas's brain seemed to melt and leak out her ears or something whenever she 'smelled romance in the air' or something of the sort. While Dorcas and Marlene chattered on about something, Lily glanced at her watch.
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "We have to get to the meeting! There are only a few more minutes left!"
Marlene glanced at her own watched before hurrying after Lily out the compartment door. It slammed shut with the force of Lily's shove as she scurried away down the hall.
Inside the compartment, Dorcas was left looking at the closed door, feeling a bit lonely. She sighed and pulled out a book to read. It was one of her favorite kinds, sappy love novels. Currently, Julia was passionately kissing a man she met in the pub a few minutes ago. They'd felt fiery passion the moment their eyes met, and they seemed to fit perfectly in each other's embrace. But suddenly, Ricardo, Julia's over protective boyfriend burst onto the scene. A fistfight commenced.
Dorcas snorted, imagining the delicious guys in deep battle, while stunning Julia stood on the sidelines, looking petrified. Of course, she would not stop the fight by choosing whom she loved more. Neither would she do anything to stop it.
'Maybe she's just hoping one of them will die so she won't have to choose.' Dorcas thought, turning the page to find out the answer. 'And I bet she's related to the one she chooses.'
The random man she'd found in the pub won, and carried her off, leaving Ricardo bleeding in the alleyway. Dorcas's eyes flew across the page, and soon she finished three chapters. Meanwhile, Marlene and Lily hadn't returned yet. Dorcas was starting to get bored, as her predication came true. It turned out the man in the pub was Julia's long lost cousin. Oh, the drama. Yeah. Whatever.
Dorcas could see the fireworks going off, as they shared one, last, forbidden kiss. Of course, every knows they had to fizzle out sometime (like fireworks)… Right? Still, in the world of sappy romance novels, love lasted forever. But in the real world, it lasted a few wonderful moments.
At least for her. Lily seemed to be having better luck. Ever since fifth year, James Potter had been chasing her around like a lost puppy. At every opportunity, he asked her for a date. Around every turn, there he was, waiting to pounce. Dorcas wondered if Lily had a stalker.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a horribly flustered Lily, and a rather confused Marlene entered the compartment. Lily's face was steadily getting redder as she shook her head angrily. Her red hair was flying all over as she ground her teeth.
"I can't believe Dumbledore chose him. I mean, what was he thinking, choosing an arrogant, rude, annoying, git like him? He doesn't even take anything seriously! I bet he's going to goof off and flash his badge around while I do all the work!" Lily ranted, stomping back and forth before collapsing on her seat. Marlene sat beside Lily on her seat, patting her awkwardly on the back.
Dorcas stood and folded the corner of her page before tossing her book onto the seat. She wandered over to sit on Lily's other side. She shot a look at Marlene saying 'I'm her best friend, back off, I can handle this' but Marlene didn't quite catch the vibe, since she smiled faintly before looking a bit frightened for Lily.
"What happened?" Dorcas asked, cocking her head at Lily. "Honestly, Lily, if you think it's too much responsibility, I'd be happy to be Head Girl for you." Dorcas joked, but it had no effect to lighten the mood.
"Bloody. James. Potter." Lily gasped as last.
"James?" Dorcas repeated, furrowing her brow, ignoring that Lily had just uttered the first profanity she'd ever heard come from her mouth. She looked at Marlene, who looked a bit frightened.
"Well, when we got there, everyone else was there… And… James was there… You know, as… As Head Boy." She hissed, dropping her voice on the last word.
"HEAD BOY!" Dorcas screeched.
Marlene shushed her.
"I don't know what Dumbledore could have been thinking!" Lily exclaimed. "Was he high or something?"
Dorcas cast an amused look to Marlene, who returned it with a confused stare. "Uh, 'high'?" Marlene repeated tentatively, so Lily wouldn't explode on them.
Lily glanced between them and sighed. "It's a muggle thing. It messes you up; some make you see things that aren't real. You know? Drugs?"
Dorcas nodded slightly. Her parents were both muggle-born, but they never talked about drugs very much, well, not true, they'd tell her all sorts of things she she'd forget them. They were very big in the muggle-world at the moment, but wizards found… Other ways to please themselves. Marlene, on the other hand came from a large wizarding family, and was too much of a goodie-goodie to do drugs, anyway. Or maybe she was rather scatter-brained, as it appeared, and had just forgotten what the slang meant.
Dorcas doubted how she could forget. One could walk down the halls and hear students whispering about going off to get high, or something of that nature.
"Uhhh…" Marlene replied, looking around rather nervously. "I don't take muggle studies…"
Lily sighed. "Never mind." She said, ignoring the fact that it was taught to them at assembly they'd been required to attend.
"Don't worry, Lily," Dorcas consoled. "I'm sure you can handle him. He'd probably do whatever you wanted if you said you'd go on a date with him."
Dorcas and Marlene broke into muffled giggles as Lily only became impossibly angrier. Suddenly, she sighed, blowing out all her frustrations with a long breath. She flopped back and Marlene barely snatched her hand out of the way in time. Lily closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, scowling slightly.
"Ugh. He's just so… I don't know. He thinks he has to show off and be the biggest prick Hogwrats for me to notice him or something! How would that make me like him?" Lily groaned.
"It works on all the other girls, why should he think it wouldn't work on you?" Marlene chirped, offering what was probably a rare intelligent insight.
"Well, I'm not 'all the other girls'!" Lily snapped. "He should know that by now."
"Maybe he does." Dorcas replied. "He wasn't such a big prick last year as the year before."
The other girls stared at her, and she began to fidget. She pressed her lips together nervously before scuttling as casually as she could back to her seat. She picked up her book again.
"Well, then," She began, trying to look annoyed instead of embarrassed. "I know my stunning beauty and witty remarks have captured you attention, but I would prefer if you wouldn't stare."
They broke from their revive and laughed. Lily grinned at her friend.
"See? You are smart and pretty!"
Dorcas laughed a bit hollowly and scoffed before burrowing herself into her book. Lily talked a bit with Marlene before the pair of girls began having a heated debate about the dangers of having Thestrals on school grounds. Dorcas was listening for a while, but soon they fell into a discussion using words Dorcas had never even heard before.
-------
Dorcas waited with Lily as she supervised the Houses splitting off to their dormitories. Dorcas shifted impatiently from foot to foot. Why were they walking so slowly? Couldn't they speed it up? Lily, on the other hand, did not look bothered in the least by the children's slow pace. Lily smiled widely at them, not hurrying them along, as she should have been. Or at least, what Dorcas would have been doing.
"Who's our Prefect?" Dorcas asked, wondering who had been appointed seventh year Prefect instead of her. It'd bothered her for quite a while, but she didn't want to admit it in front of Marlene.
"Hmm?" Lily asked, smiling at a third year that looked at her nervously before scurrying off with her friends.
"Seventh year. Prefect. Who?" Dorcas repeated loudly.
"That'd be Alice Hanser." Replied a deep, mischievous voice, very close to Dorcas's ear.
Dorcas jumped, whirling to face Sirius Black, in all his glory. He grinned at her, and Dorcas looked at Lily, who was already wandered off a bit to talk to a fifth year Prefect in Hufflepuff. Dorcas's dark eyes darted back to Sirius. She gathered herself together.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded. "Shouldn't you be in your dorm or something?"
Dorcas briefly remembered her deeply romantic passions and fantasies. Many of the guys had been as handsome as Sirius; however, they were not horrendously annoying, and best friends with someone she suspected was stalking her best friend.
"Or something." He replied, grinning. Dorcas briefly wondered if he had any Veela blood in him somewhere, because she felt like he was turning on magical charm, when he smiled. It usually sent any girl it was directed at into a full-scale blush, or giggles. Dorcas, however, managed to maintain her glare, even through her reddening cheeks.
"What do you want?"
"To talk."
"Talk?" Dorcas repeated suspiciously.
"Yep." He replied innocently. "You'll be back in a minute. Lily won't miss you, I just want a chat." He grinned at her again.
She managed to glance at Lily; silently hoping she would look over and save her. Alas, no avail. Lily was now talking animatedly with pair of Prefects from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.
"Fine." She muttered, and followed a grinning Sirius out of the Great Hall. There, they were ambushed by the last three Marauders. Remus looked rather uncomfortable, Peter looked, well, Peter always look nervous, but he looked a wee bit more nervous then usual. James, on the other hand, was grinning flamboyantly, and high-fived Sirius.
"What do you want to talk about?" Dorcas demanded, ignoring the other boys for the moment and glaring at Sirius.
"We have a proposition for you." Sirius began. "Considering your relationship to Lily, and considering our poor Prongs's lack of relationship, we would like to enlist your services."
"For what?" Dorcas replied, sighing.
"To help Lily fall hopelessly in love with my stunning good looks and charm." James replied, his huge grin still plastered on his face.
"What?" Dorcas replied incredulously.
Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. "They want you to teach James how to be decent so Lily will like him." He informed her patiently.
"No way!" Dorcas snapped.
"Why not?" Peter asked.
"Because! If you were really meant for Lily, then you wouldn't have to have me help you to make her fall in love." Dorcas replied, thinking back on all her years of reading romance novels.
"Sure we do!" James replied.
"James needs all the help he can get." Remus added.
"So, will you help?" Sirius demanded.
Dorcas frowned. There wasn't really anything bad that could happen if she did do this. Maybe James really did like Lily, and Lily refused to see it. It was just like Dorcas's romance novels, but this time, it was real. And reality was scarier.
"Alright. But it'll cost fifty galleons." Dorcas replied hesitantly. Maybe if she made them pay too much, they'd go away. But then again, she seriously needed the money. They'd be awfully boring trips to Hogsmead if she didn't have any. Then again, it would be fun to put years of reading sappy romance novels to the test…
"Fifty!" James exclaimed, looking astounded that she would ask so much.
"I can't make my best friend fall in love with her soul mate without getting something out of it." She added, finally deciding on having a little fun.
"That's a lot." Peter complained. "Maybe we should ask someone else?"
"Dory is Lily's best friend, we can't get anyone better then her. Besides, who else would we ask?" Sirius snapped. Sirius turned to Dorcas again. He turned on the charm and was satisfied to see her face flushed a bit. "Well? Wouldn't it be enough to just help me?"
"What?"
"It's a treat to be in my presence, let alone have the honor of assisting Prongs and I, Dory. Be grateful."
"I don't have much free time, to help you. And believe me, you need lots of help. Also, don't call me Dory. Only my friends can call me that. Fifty galleons."
"Thirty." James argued.
"Fifty."
"Forty."
"Fifty."
"Forty-five."
"Fifty."
"Forty-eight."
"Fifty."
"Forty-nine."
"Fifty."
"Fifty."
"Deal."
"Damn!"
"Excellent bargaining skills, Prongs." Remus remarked dryly.
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Alright. I expect to be paid before the first Hogsmead visit, you know. Whether Lily likes you or not, you will pay me. It's not my fault if you're a prick to the core." She informed him.
"Dory!" She heard Lily call from inside the Great Hall. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
Dorcas turned to the doors of the Great Hall, then back to the Marauders. "Well? Do we have a deal?"
They whispered amongst themselves for a couple minutes. Then James turned to her, grinning. He stuck out his hand.
"Deal."
Dorcas grasped his hand and they shook.
"DORY!"
"See you boys later." Dorcas said, smiling sweetly at them before starting towards the doors. Then she paused and turned back to them. "And James? Lesson one: Boys who date Lily don't say profanities. At least not in front of her." That said, she skipped cheerfully into the Great Hall.
"Where were you?" Lily asked when Dorcas reappeared.
"Earning a few galleons."
AN: Okay, this is the first chapter! WHOOT! Okay, so I don't think anyone else has done this plot, but I'm sure someone has at sometime or another. But I give myself Brownie Points for originality! Anyway, this is mostly through Dorcas's prospective, however, we will get a few others in.
