The Marauders and the Year of Dark Uprising

Summary: We all know Lily and James are destined for each other. But just how does James convince Lily that he really has changed in order for her to give him a chance? Follow the Marauders, Lily, and her friends as their sixth year begins. How do nine teenagers cope with the strange things happening with the rise of a Dark Lord, and the pranking chaos that ensues, and the dramatic twists of their love lives? Read (and review, of course) to find out. Title subject to change. Rating (for language mostly) just to be safe. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hey, guys! JKR here, writing this fanfic while I neglect my duty of finishing the actual HP series! Totally joking. But you were convinced, right? I'm touched. I can assure you, I am not the genius known as J. K. Rowling, and if I were, I wouldn't be writing on a fan site. I'm not her, so don't sue.

A/N: Hey guys! This will probably be the last post for awhile, due to HBP coming out and all. Sigh Then my fic will be somewhat AU. Hopefully you guys stick with me! Alrighty, on with the chapter!

By the way, please forgive and spelling/grammatical errors you encounter, I'm sure there are some in there. That's what I get for editting at 4:00 in the morning...

Chapter 3: Mischief and Merriment

"Get up, you great prat!" Remus yelled exasperatedly, whacking his pillow forcefully down on James' head for the third time that morning, all to no avail whatsoever; James remained as immobile as ever, attempting to ignore what felt like the drowsy symptoms of a vengeful hangover . . . and Remus's incessant nagging. "Pillock, have you completely forgotten what today is?"

I don't care if it's bloody Christmas morning, just leave me to sleep in peace, James begged silently. He gave an impressive groan in protest and promptly rolled onto his stomach, further shielding his face from in his fluffy white pillow.

Smiling, he recalled the wonderful dream he'd been having, until a certain impatient boy stirred him awake. He had been talking with Lily about something . . . he couldn't remember what. That wasn't what was important anyway. All that mattered was that she was looking at him . . . directly into his eyes . . . and she was smiling. That had been the best part—her smile. It made him feel as if he had just drunken a Butterbeer—he had gotten that warm and soothing feeling just by seeing it and knowing that she had smiled for him, James Potter, the guy who'd been watching her since fourth year and would never go out with. Merlin, it was amazing . . . too bad she won't smile like that at me in real life, eh? he asked no one in particular.

Remus sighed, frustrated. "Oh, no you don't, Prongs. Up you get." And with that, he brandished his feathery weapon once more, wielding it more powerfully than ever on the back of James' disheveled head. He remained still.

Although James' only produced a string of incoherent muttering muffled through his "shield," Remus could have sworn it sounded distinctly like "bugger off." He had no intentions of complying, of course.

"The first prank of the year is this morning! We have to get down to the Great Hall just as breakfast starts. . . . Ringing any bells, Prongs?" Sirius asked as if speaking to a five year old.

Ignoring him, James whined from the comfort of his pillow, "Why am I so tired?"

"Given the fact that we've had around two hours of sleep," interjected Sirius, grimacing slightly due to James' irritating tone, "I'd say there's a high possibility we're completely knackered because we stayed up all night whilst planning this day out to every last detail."

Utterly whipped, James disregarded Sirius's mockery and simply gave a grunt in response.

"Prongs, if you don't get up now, I'm afraid I'll have to resort to . . . drastic measures," warned Sirius. James couldn't see, but he was dead certain Sirius had been grinning evilly as he said that. Oh crap.

And sure enough, before James could even respond (grunt or otherwise), Sirius decisively marched to the dormitory window and gave a forceful yank to draw the curtains open, allowing the morning beams of sunlight to flood into their bedroom. James, his head currently taking refuge into his pillow, could scarcely make out what had just happened and therefore remained quite still again.

But Sirius wasn't finished.

Taking James completely by surprise, Sirius furtively grabbed the bed sheets from James' four-poster and gave them a mighty tug before they flew clear off the bed, leaving a very cold, very pissed James Potter buried in his pillow. Damn it, Sirius!

"I'll give you five seconds before I hex you . . . and I'm warning you, Evans will find it highly amusing," said Sirius. He sounded suspiciously as if either choice James picked would suit Sirius just fine.

Damn, thought James. Too bad my wand's so far away . . . .

He reluctantly sighed, admitting defeat.

"Alright. Alright! I'm up, guys."

Exhausting a series of profanity, James, his face still consumed by his pillow, blindly reached out in search of his glasses. After sitting up and rubbing his eyes thoroughly, he jammed them onto his face groggily. He took a moment to try and flatten his scraggly hair, but he needn't have bothered; his morning bed-hair looked messier than ever, though his attempts to get it to do otherwise—whether combed or not—were always futile.

"Nice of you to join us, Sleeping Beauty. You're looking quite lovely this morning," commented Remus brightly in a voice that was far too chipper at such an ungodly hour. James winced.

"Moony, will you quick talking like that? Your excessive perkiness is positively killing my very sensitive ears."

"But Prongs, today is such a happy day! Today we make pranking history!" Remus cried cheerfully, throwing his arms enthusiastically in the air.

"Not if I kill you before the time arrives."

"Then I shall continue with my normal perkiness, thank you, in the hopes that it will kill you first."

"You better duck, Lupin," warned James as he quickly aimed and pelted a pillowed straight at Remus's head; it was a direct hit.

"You're gonna pay for that, Potter," he warned, vanishing James' victorious grin.

Remus decisively grabbed James' discarded pillow and prepared for retaliation. He targeted it at James, who narrowly avoiding being hit as he ducked (thanks to his quick Quidditch reflexes). James' next throw, however, inadvertently hit Sirius smack in the face when Remus dodged a particularly fast throw diving behind his four-poster. Remus—when opportune—rapidly returned fire.

Soon, an all out pillow fight had commenced between the two Marauders as they continually armed themselves with more and more pillows, beating each other senseless with them. The floor was littered with stray feathers from the busted pillows and even more joined them as the pandemonium increased with the addition of the other two boys whom had been carefully observing from the sidelines.

"Padfoot, give me a hand here, would you?" Remus yelled amidst the amounting chaos in the room. James had just hit him squarely in the face with three pillows at once after he finally remembered the use of his wand and the convenient Banishing Charm. "I need backup! He's—too—much—for—me—alone. . . ." he finished melodramatically, feigning a painful wound as he placed a hand over his heart.

"Aye, aye, Cap'n!" Sirius cried enthusiastically as he seized the pillow next to him.

Remus eyed him uncertainly. "What are you talking about? You sound like a damn pirate!"

"What? Do you think an eye patch would add to my already sexy-self?" asked Sirius earnestly. "Or maybe—"

Remus would have doubled over in laughter at the expense of his second-in-command, but another pillow from James—which hit Remus in the back of the head—caught him off guard. Scowling good-naturedly, Remus whipped around to face him, Sirius following suit.

"No fair, you cheaters!" James shouted from across the dormitory. "Wormtail! Come help me!"

Eager to be of use, Peter quickly complied as he scampered over to join James, launching a pillow at Sirius; however, he simply caught it in midair and began chasing a frantic Peter around the room while repeatedly beating him very enthusiastically with it.

Caught unawares by flying ammunition from Remus, Peter eventually managed to trip over James while trying to avoid it, causing them to both topple over in a defeated heap, each groaning in exhaustion; Sirius landed painfully on top as he stumbled over the tangled pair. Remus walked over, eyeing them all curiously as he triumphantly held up his own pillow high in the air.

"Looks like we have a winner here, mates!" Remus declared victoriously.

Sirius interrupted his celebratory dance as he reached out a hand to pull him on top of the straggling pile of fatigued wizards.

"Not so victorious now, eh, Moony?"

"As fun as this is," interrupted Peter breathlessly, "James has his hand in a very unwanted area, so if you lot don't mind. . . ."

"Well," said James, trying to smooth down his disheveled hair as they all finished disentangling themselves, "that's one way to start the new school year."

"Yes, quite unexpected," agreed Remus, grinning.

"Shall we go to breakfast, mates?"

"I think we shall," said Sirius brightly, his face twisted into a mischievous grin. "Wouldn't want to keep Snivellus waiting. . . ."

After Lily agreed to meet her friends in the Great Hall once she'd gotten ready, she eagerly pulled on her best set of school robes—freshly pressed by her mother before she left for her sixth year away at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Smoothing out the last trace of a wrinkle, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror; a smiling redhead stared back into her dazzling almond-shaped eyes.

"Not too shabby," she mused to herself out loud, striking a small pose.

"I quite agree, dear, you look positively lovely this morning!" confirmed the mirror in a sincere voice.

Smiling bashfully, Lily returned to examining her physique critically. She frowned; sighing exasperatedly, she paused to give her crooked tie a satisfying adjustment.

Lily knew she was being silly to obsess over such trivial details, but she couldn't help it; she wanted her first day back to be absolutely perfect, and somehow looking her best just made her feel successful. Perhaps she simply wanted her outward appearance to reflect her inner confidence. Perhaps it was the perfectionist within her. Perhaps she was just crazy.

She shook the thought off, proceeding to get ready. Her thoughts drifting, they naturally landed on what her day would hold for her—what the first lesson would be, what her schedule was, whether or not she'd see Hagrid that day, and so on. She immediately made a mental note to visit Hagrid's hut as soon as her busy schedule allowed; his latest letter over the summer had invited her to do just that.

After hastily securing her long red curls into a neat ponytail, she was ready. She promptly hoisted her book bag over her shoulder and set out for the Great Hall to join her fellow Gryffindor room mates for a spot of breakfast before heading to her first lesson of the term.

Passing through the porthole, Lily strolled at a leisurely pace, unable to keep the bounce out of her stride, beaming with happiness. Everything surrounding her suddenly seamed a joyous gift that she'd been blessed with, almost as if Lily's Christmas came on September the second—the first day of school.

Finally, thought Lily, it's the first day back. I've been waiting for this day for two months. . . . No Petunia annoying me . . . reunited with all my friends . . . classes begin right after breakfast. Why wouldn't I be happy?

Lily's cheery aura seemed to radiate from her with an infectious nature. As she politely greeted a sixth year Ravenclaw that she talked to and studied with occasionally, the smile Lily received from her lightened her heart all the more. When she caught two heated third years—a Gryffindor and a Slytherin—dueling in a corridor, she simply told them off and left them with a warning; she had mercifully decided to take points from neither house. And even when Narcissa Black shouting "Hey, Mudblood!" in passing, Lily merely turned a deaf ear, denying the Slytherin the satisfying knowledge that her taunts had nettled Lily in the least. Lily knew better than to let such a thing happen—it was simply in her nature to let no one, especially a bullying Slytherin, get the best of Lily Evans.

So she continued walking, holding her head up proudly as she approached her destination. It seemed nothing—not even hearing the 'M' word—could extinguish Lily's positive disposition.

She entered the Great Hall, the familiar sound of chattering and laughter making her feel right at home—for the castle made a much more endearing home than the suburban one she shared with her unbearable sister, especially when you had true friends to share it with for the whole school year.

Spotting them, she strode over to the Gryffindor table and took a seat across from Natalie, Beatrice, and Cassandra. From the looks of it, they had just arrived perhaps a few moments earlier, as breakfast had just begun to appear on the tables.

"Good morning, Lily. Ready for c—c—classes?" greeted Natalie, stifling a yawn.

"Of course she is," interrupted Cassandra. "This is Lily Evans you're talking to, as in the epitome of preparedness, being our future Head Girl and all."

Lily simply smiled at the compliment as she helped herself to some porridge and grabbed herself a sixth year class schedule to peruse.

"I see we've got Charms first this morning," said Natalie.

Cassandra sighed. "Yes . . . should be a blast," she remarked dryly.

Lily opened her mouth to join in, when a recognizable voice cut her off.

"Morning, Evans!" James Potter had just appeared at her side, grinning cheekily at her.

"Potter," addressed Lily curtly, resuming conversation with her friends. And just when I thought nothing could ruin this perfect day for me, he has to go and contradict me. Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away. . . .

James didn't seem fazed. He continued, "I trust you're doing well, as usual, yes?"

Lily was about to snap, "I was," until she whirled back around and made the mistake of meeting his gaze; for the first time since she could remember, his face seemed to be filled with—was it genuine interest? Is James Potter actually trying to make small talk with me? Lily resisted a scoff at the absurd though. James Potter is only interested in himself, after all, so why would he actually care?

Lily wasn't quite sure how to reply; was he being sincere or just badgering her as usual? Only one way to find out, I s'pose.

"Quite well, actually," she offered skeptically, as if afraid she were answering a trick question from one of McGonagall's tough exams. His hazel eyes seemed expectant; she supposed he wanted the same question in return. It seems he actually is trying to make conversation. . . . Oh well, maybe if I oblige him, he'll be satisfied and finally leave me in peace! Reluctantly, she continued after sampling her porridge, "And you—urgh!"

She immediately spat out her morning porridge—only, it wasn't porridge at all.

The remains of a Cockroach Cluster lay before a pair of flashing emerald eyes.

Once the rest of the Great Hall cottoned on, they either looked disgusted or very amused at Lily's expense. Beatrice and Natalie looked revolted at Lily's sudden and grotesque outburst while Cassandra tried to muffle her giggling.

James doubled over in laughter and then turned around once able and yelled, "Sirius! Peter, Remus! It was in Evans' bowl! She ate it!"

"Third time's a charm, isn't that right, Evans?" Sirius asked mockingly, appearing at James' side.

Lily glowered at the duo, silently fuming more at her own forgetfulness than her current embarrassment. Of course, Lily berated herself, I should have known—the first day back is always full of their usual troublemaking antics. How could I possibly forget?

Starting with the second year, things had gotten progressively worse with the escalating tradition; Lily distinctly recalled the first day of school one year where the four troublemakers enchanted all the Library books to scream when opened, soar into an unsuspecting victim's head, and even viciously snap at students' fingers when jostled. It had been one of the first days that Lily blatantly avoided the favorite place to catch up on homework.

And the worst part in Lily's opinion, is though the identity of the guilty party was widely known, no authority figures could prove their tie to the pranks. They always get away with it, and instead of punishment they were rewarded with an enhanced reputation to follow them; being a stickler for abiding rules, this irked Lily almost as much as the prank itself.

However, something puzzled Lily this year: she was rather expecting more than a simple prank such as this.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Should have realized—first-day-back prank, of course. Although, I'm beginning to question your creativity if you have to resort to tricks you've pulled before," she smirked. "Have you already run out of new ideas this early in the year, gentlemen?"

Sirius and James exchanged identical looks of mischief. Lily suddenly felt a feeling of foreboding, realizing she hadn't quite gotten the full extent of their plan. She fixed them with her best authoritative glare, her eyes narrowing accusingly.

"Just what exactly are you—"

Someone screamed. Lily whipped around to see what had caused such an outburst, her eyes immediately landing on the source; many Slytherins were creating quite a scene—several had begun shouting hysterically, but as to what they were so upset about, Lily couldn't comprehend what it was from where she sat. Then she saw.

Several unfortunate Slytherins—including Snape, Jillian, a seventh year named Anthony Travers, and several other third and fourth years—were clutching various parts of their face that appeared to be—swelling, and getting larger by the second, Lily observed. She gaped as Jillian frantically tried to force her left ear back to its normal, as it had enlarged to three times its regular size. However, Snape looked the worse of the lot trying to cover his humongous nose that covered half his face.

All of the afflicted darted hastily out of the Great Hall in a blur of green and silver—presumable to the Hospital Wing—amidst the roaring laughter of the spectators of the remaining three houses.

None laughed louder than four fifth year boys sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Did you see Snivellus's face?"

"What face? All I saw was his huge greasy nose in the way! Although, I'd say it's a massive improvement."

"And that girl with the lips? They looked so big—I don't think she could even talk!"

"A few simple Engorgement Charms specially applied certainly held to our expectations, I believe."

"Reckon they won't try the porridge again so soon, will they? Not while a Marauder still attends Hogwarts, that is."

James laughed his assent, especially after noticing several Gryffindors hastily push their own breakfast aside. "Those slimy Slytherin gits got what they deserve."

Lily whirled on the guilty quartet, her eyes flashing threateningly. However, before she could even begin her predicable scolding, someone beat her to it.

SMACK!

James, completely flabbergasted, lightly touched his reddening cheek in shock, gaping at the sight before him. Evelyn Wood had just entered the Great Hall, and from the looks of her dangerous brown eyes and clenched fists, she was absolutely furious. Apparently, in the midst of her anger she had completely forgotten the use of her wand.

"How dare you!" she demanded. Her voice was deathly quiet and she was breathing heavily, as if each breath was costing extra effort to prolong her enraged stamina.

James blinked, still clutching his stinging cheek, wondering how on earth to respond to such a venomous accusation, let alone one where he had no idea what he'd done to earn it. He opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out.

She angrily gestured towards the Slytherin table. "My sister's one of them! How dare you call her that!" she shouted, no longer bothering to hide the fury in her voice. "And as if insulting her wasn't enough—you knew she was upset after—after last night! What the hell did you have to go and make it worse for?"

People were beginning to stare at the two Gryffindors with interest, snickering to themselves at the tense scene. Finally regaining some of his composure, James attempted to calm her, fearing that her noisy shrieking would carry to the staff table and land them both in McGonagall's office. "Look," he muttered calmly, "I shouldn't've said that, but it's not like we hurt her or anything, just slightly enlarged her ear, that's all. . . ."

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.

"Didn't hurt her?" she screeched, causing James to wince at her harsh tone. "I don't think I've ever seen her look more upset, and if you knew her at all, you'd realize how out of character that is! You treated her like some outcast—some criminal you see fit to punish just because she was sorted differently than you! She's a person too and the way you humiliated her—it's despicable, that's what it is!"

She raised her hand to strike him again, but suddenly found she couldn't. McGonagall had rushed over to the quarreling pair to hold back the furious girl, her lips pursed and her hat slightly askew. She appeared livid.

"Miss Wood, restrain yourself at once!" she ordered crossly. After the girl reluctantly complied, McGonagall continued her vehement reprimand. "Fighting with your fellow housemates—I certainly wouldn't have expected this from a Gryffindor student. Explain yourself!"

If McGonagall was expecting Evelyn to look ashamed at her outburst, she expected wrong. She held her head high, still seething with anger as she stared at James defiantly. She grudgingly replied, her eyes still fixed on James, "He insulted my sister, Professor."

"Nonetheless, that does not give a student the right to condone such appalling behavior. I should hope, Miss Wood, you will remember next time to exercise some self-restraint. However, this time your serious lack of judgment has just cost Gryffindor twenty points, and you have detention Friday evening."

Evelyn looked even more outraged, her brown eyes reeling on the Deputy Headmistress. "Professor, please be reasonable, there's no need to take points—"

"Do not tell me what I should and should not do, Miss Wood. You are already in enough trouble as it is without undermining my authority. The punishment stands." And with that, McGonagall strode back to the staff table leaving Evelyn spluttering in fury, unable to even set eyes on the boy she had before been so angered with.

Mercifully, the enraged girl spared the rest of her table from her temper as she stalked from the Great Hall, muttering a terse "See you in Charms" to her sixth year friends.

The attention on the Gryffindor skirmish began to dissipate with Evelyn's sudden departure, leaving the rest of the onlookers to invent their own concluding version of the story, even though only the few close enough knew what the fight had actually been about to begin with. The Slytherin table, still seething over the slight to their house pride, began snickering at the Gryffindor's own insult.

"You're idiots—all of you. You do realize that, right?" asked Cassandra with a trace of annoyance.

"The slap I got kinda clued me in, thanks," said James sarcastically.

"Well I thought it was funny," chimed Sirius. "Bloody hilarious, actually. That is, the part of our brilliantly planned prank that did not consist of Wood's violent reaction. She shouldn't take it so personally, anyway. . . . It's not like we specifically targeted her sister. She just—er—happened to eat this morning's special porridge."

"You shouldn't have done it at all!" snapped Lily. "Not only was it completely against school rules, but it was cruel trick to pull. You're just trying to make a name for yourself while hurting others in the process. When are you ever going to grow up?"

Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise, not quite expecting such a rebuke from her (although he had expected some sort of scolding from Lily). "Lily, I think you may be blowing this entirely out of proportion. And while certain comments—" his eyes narrowed at James "—were rather unnecessary, it was all in good fun. Plus, it's tradition, and traditions have to be upheld."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Remus. You're a prefect, and you know that was totally irresponsible! Can't you keep your fellow troublemaking cohorts in line?"

James managed to shout "I resent that!" before Remus answered. "That is a power that not even I possess, Lily. Especially not when I'm a part of that trouble myself, you know," he added, a hint of pride in his voice. The four boys exchanged high fives, reveling in their success at upholding such a reputation. Lily sighed, figuring any further reprimands would prove pointless.

"I would at least advise you to at least stay away from Evelyn for awhile. She certainly knows how to hold a grudge. . . ." warned Beatrice, appearing as if she were reminiscing on a particularly noteworthy event.

Remus looked slightly abashed. "Yes, will do, of course . . ."

With that, the eight sixth years continued with their usual breakfast as if the situation hadn't even taken place. Lily and Natalie began to discuss their first Charms lesson that morning in excited whispers, wondering what would come in useful on next year's N.E.W.T.s; Beatrice and Remus exchanged polite conversation on each of their latest reads, laughing occasionally when they found they had a common interest in Muggle authors; Cassandra had seated herself closer to Peter, Sirius, and James, who began to furtively tell her of their afternoon 'plans' while she tried to muffle her laugher (Lily was eyeing them all in suspicion).

Once the owls had been relieved of their burdens, the Gryffindors dispersed and began heading for their first lesson of the term. The sixth years, along with Ravenclaw's, headed to the third floor and down the Charms corridor before finding Flitwick's classroom. They filed in and took their seats.

James dropped lazily into the seat in the last row, next to Sirius. He saw Lily slip into the seat next to Natalie, still chatting away, while Cassandra and Beatrice chose the seats behind them. Just as the bell rang, Evelyn hurriedly strode in (still appearing quite distraught) and—seeing no other vacant seat—sat next to a curly-haired Ravenclaw boy.

The hushed whispers began to die down; the tiny Professor Flitwick entered the classroom, propping himself on several thick textbooks in order to see over his desk.

Daintily clearing his throat, Flitwick began to squeak out his first instructions.

"Welcome back, sixth years! Well, let's dive right into it, shall we? We'll be discussing the various forms of Communication Concealment, so if you'd all take out your quills and copy . . ."

But James wasn't listening.

He had, however, taken out his quill, ink bottle, and parchment with which to write as instructed, but it was just for show; instead, he allowed his attention to wander freely as he pretended to be riveted by Flitwick's lecture, frequently scribbling down random phrases he caught every now and then. He wasn't the least bit interested in whatever he was supposed to be listening to.

Rather, he took to occupying himself with sketching a rough doodle depicting himself on his broomstick. He appeared to be flying fast, the Quaffle clutched tightly under his left arm, and the tiny Golden Snitch was hovering near his right ear, bearing the initials L. E. He was repeatedly retracing the lines of the Snitch, unaware of his other surroundings. He found himself reminiscing upon what Cassandra and Remus had said to him concerning a certain object of his pursuit: If you're seriously determined to be with her, you'll have to do some growing up this year. . . . You're going to have to prove to her that your affections are real. . . . Make her see that you're worth it . . . But what in the world did that entail?

Without warning Sirius prodded him—quite hard—in the shoulder. James' head snapped up to see the whole class staring at him as well as Flitwick, whose white eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. Oh goodie.

"Er . . . yes?"

"I had asked," said Flitwick, his usually high voice replaced with exasperation, "which incantation would one normally use to recover a message coded in invisible ink?"

"Oh!—Aparecium, Professor," James answered smugly, vaguely aware that Lily was glowering at him from the front for not paying attention and nearly losing Gryffindor house points. Oh why did I have to pick the one who's such a stickler for the rules? They're just asking to be broken, anyway. . . . She shot her a cheesy grin before he realized that that probably wouldn't win him any favors with Lily. Damn, I can't seem to do anything right with her!

Flitwick's temper seemed to alleviate immediately following James' correct answer. He launched back into his lecture as if there had been no disturbance at all, quills flying like mad across the students' parchment. James quickly lost interest once more.

He refocused on what he'd been daydreaming about, the target of his obsession: the fiery tempered redhead who wouldn't go out with him to save his life.

Why not, though? he asked himself for the millionth time since she'd first refused his advances. Okay . . . so maybe I do ask her out twenty times a day, and pull pranks, and maybe sometimes I'm a tad conceited. . . . But c'mon, no one's perfect! If she'd just give me one chance, she'd see that I'm a decent bloke. I mean, come on. I'm James Potter. The James 'devilishly handsome' Potter! I'm good-looking, good at Quidditch, I make top marks just like she does, I'm rich . . . Most girls would kill for that kind of chance! What's she waiting for, an effing celebrity? She should be happy for the chance to go out with me, right? Right? He sighed.

I don't understand her! He paused, contemplating what he'd just thought. Maybe that's what my problem is—I don't know her well enough to know what she's looking for. Hmm . . . Could it really be that easy? Maybe if I just . . . well, it certainly couldn't hurt to try. . . .

James shook his head, turning to stare at the back of Lily's head which was covered in dark-red curls. He never quite noticed before the way she casually leaned her chin on her left hand lazily, as she scribbled notes across her parchment furiously with the other. Her hair fell in long tendrils that delicately framed her back, and shimmered bright orange from the window's beams of light. James was sure that if he could see her eyes from his seat, they would be captivated with curiosity as she hung on Flitwick's every word. In James opinion, she looked absolutely exquisite.

Yes, James thought, this was exactly what I need to do—to get to know her. Find out what she likes, what she doesn't like, what she values, who her family is, and even her weirdest quirks. . . . If I know that, I can finally figure out how to get her to like me! Why didn't I see this before? But how do I go about observing her without—

BOOM!

Cringing, James hesitantly raised his eyes to meet an irate Ravenclaw, whose textbook had apparently exploded—or what he had thought was his textbook, that is (James knew, of course, that it had been switched with a identical copy). His face was scorched with black soot, his hair full of charred parchment bits. He seemed pretty aware of who the culprits were, as he was throwing Sirius and James a look a deepest annoyance. His fury, however, was nothing compared to the scowl Lily was throwing James, as if her green eyes could burn holes straight through his face like burning acid. Far from the angelic figure he'd just been observing, she looked livid.

Well, thought James, beginning to quail under her intensity, this is going to be harder than I thought.

He attempted a weak, apologetic smile. Too bad that's not all we've got planned for the day. . . .

The rest of the day passed slowly for the more cautious ones keen to avoid further havoc. The chaos only escalated, however—if it's possible—since the shaky morning experienced at breakfast. Everyone, especially the Slytherins, were kept on their toes all day, always wary of the next unsuspecting prank that would leap out to surprise them.

For starters, everyone soon learned to avoid Filch's office for the rest of the afternoon, as several dungbombs had been set off in this site after lunch. It might have been, actually, that students were avoiding the fury of Filch rather than the actual dungbombs. He had, of course, been quite furious about the stench, and had been even more furious when he didn't have a perpetrator to punish, lashing out and interrogating random students that appeared "suspiciously happy."

The fun didn't stop there, of course. The four boys returned to their afternoon class in bright spirits, although it had nothing to do with the learning material. The simple-minded Potions Mistress, Professor Fflout, had an especially hard time keeping track of the objects in her room. When she needed her hideous reading glasses to read off potion ingredients, or when she needed to add boomslang skin and knotgrass to the simmering Polyjuice Potion she was preparing, the troublemakers took turns levitating the objects behind her back to a new location. Completely oblivious, she had believed every time she had misplaced it even after an object would change places four or five times. Apparently she heard none of the muffled sniggering from her whole class. And to make things perfect, James was certain he saw Lily concealing a smile as Professor Fflout's cauldron change positions.

To many Ravenclaw's dismay, the Library had once again been bewitched in the way that it had a few years ago to the date. The books constantly terrorized the students, and it wasn't until a second year ended up in the Hospital Wing with a bite he claimed a Library book caused that everyone gave up and fled to the safety of their Common Rooms. Of course, Lily most annoyed that her afternoon studying had been interrupted, and she made it a point to inform the culprits that their pranks had better not effect her schoolwork (James grudgingly promised he'd have the Library back to normal by tomorrow).

But the Marauders' favorite part of the day was the time the spent dedicated to taunting Snape anonymously between classes. Occasionally, he would trip a few more times than usual thanks to a handy Trip Jinx; his bag would fall apart repeatedly with a simple "Diffindo" (even after Snape had just repaired it); and, of course, surprises just 'happened' to keep turning up in his meals. Rather than looking confused at the occurrences, he threw the four boys a look of utmost loathing whenever possible. He seemed still determined to prove their responsibility for these and the other pranks throughout the day, hoping it would be enough for expulsion. He just couldn't catch them in the act, and that vexed him more than anything else.

No one could quite remember a day with so many pranks in the History of Hogwarts (those that bothered to read Hogwarts, A History can attest to that fact). The Marauders, true to their word, did not disappoint everyone's expectations and lived up to their troublemaking reputations as they filled the afternoon with the usual rule-breaking antics. It seemed indeed that Dumbledore, knowing full well who was behind it, had simply—his eyes twinkling—turned a deaf ear.

Of course, everyone knew exactly who was behind all of the bedlam—but no one could prove it. The Marauders operated in such secrecy that, if they're reputation weren't widely know, most couldn't trace the prank back to its source. Always thorough, they never left a trace of their identification—the consequences would be most incriminating.

So, it was with great trepidation for the younger and older students alike that they made their way to dinner that evening. Some felt that it was safer to remain in their own Common Rooms (the non-Gryffindors, that is) and thus skipped dinner to avoid any likely mealtime catastrophes such as they'd witnessed that morning. Most, however, braved the Great Hall despite their better judgment. Some were simply too hungry to skip dinner. Nonetheless, there were far less students present that evening than usual—both Jillian and Evelyn included.

When James hesitantly pointed this out to Ian, he didn't seem as angry as expected over the incident during breakfast (which, for a Wood, is a unique occurrence) as Evelyn obviously had been.

"I'm not upset," he assured James, noticing his surprised expression. "Really, I know you didn't target her on purpose." He smiled and gave a hearty laugh. "If it weren't for that, and, of course, my sister throwing a hissy fit at you, it would have been quite hilarious. No, I'm just worried about how Jillian's adjusting to her house and all."

"Not well?" asked James, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"Not yet, no. Maybe it's just the initial shock, you know? At least, that's what I expect it is. I'm hoping it'll grow on her in time. . . . You never know, she may end up liking Slytherin," said Ian unconvincingly.

"Yeah, maybe," replied James lightly, unable to make up his mind on whether Jillian liking or detesting Slytherin would be worse.

Well, even if they are a rotten lot, I s'pose it's better if she copes with it, James reasoned. He tried to imagine himself in Slytherin house, and when he imagined sleeping in the same room as Snape, he immediately disregarded that thought. Definitely glad I don't see that happening.

"Say, your sister's not still pissed, is she? The other sister, that is. I'm assuming that's why she's not here? You'd think she'd have already extracted all her excess anger on me, anyway," said James, pointing to his recovering cheek, which was still a light tinge of pink.

"Ah, now you've fully experienced the Beater-strength fury behind the legendary Evelyn Wood, who I'd already warned you is quite vicious," commented Sirius, apparently having overheard their conversation.

"Actually, I believe she's in the Owlery, sending a letter to our parents," replied Ian darkly. He seemed to be thinking of his mum and dad's reaction to their youngest daughter's sorting. "And I have no idea whether or not she's still upset, but knowing her, I'd say that's likely. You know how she is—never takes anything lightly, that one. She may be a bit—emotional, but she's dead loyal, and I guess that's where all the rage came from when she felt that her family was being threatened. Even though it wasn't," he added hastily, seeing James and Sirius about to protest. "Still . . . I'd stay away for awhile, if I were you. I think she's still sulking about losing points and whatnot."

Sirius and James exchanged looks. It was clear that neither of them were willing to tickle a sleeping dragon anyhow, so to speak. They both thought it best to follow Ian's advice and give Evelyn some much-needed space.

Before asking Ian whether or not the Gryffindor Quidditch team had found itself a new seeker, James spotted Lily approaching the table about to take a seat beside Beatrice and Remus. He figured he might as well try to engage her in a friendly conversation, although the odds of that actually happening were looking pretty slim for James. Despite that, he remained as confident as always.

"There's Lily, gotta run!" whispered James before dashing over to meet her. Sirius muttered "whipped" as James rushed past him.

James quickly slid into the seat next to Lily before she could object. He ignored the scowl that she had plainly sent him.

"Come to put something else in my food, Potter?" she asked coldly. Her eyes were sparkling with their familiar frustration that she reserved only for James Potter. Although, I must say, I'm quite proud of crediting that expression.

"That one never really gets old, you must admit," said James. "But, lucky for you, I didn't come over for that at all. I did, however, decide to generously grace you with my presence to merely ask you, Lily Evans, how your first day back at school was."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was already cottoning on to his sugar-coated words, understanding that it as another new tactic to get into her good graces. All previous attempts had, obviously, been unsuccessful. Nonetheless, she decided it was better if he found out on his own that his attempts were pointless.

"Between all the explosions and screaming disruptions during the day, Potter, it was hard to fit in any learning at all," she replied wryly. And now to commence the beginning of the Lily Evans observation. Note to self: she takes school seriously.

He grinned. "Then my life as a Marauder has not been in vain."

"For you information, some people actually like to be here and want to learn. Even though someone like you couldn't possibly understand, some of us don't live in a picture-perfect world where magic was force-fed them all their lives. Some of actually have to work for our own recognition and acceptance if we want to excel in the Wizarding world."

He immediately knew what 'us' she was referring to: Muggleborns. In his ignorance, James often forgot that she had to work twice as hard in their society when he had the luxury of automatic acceptance simply because his parents were wizards. He didn't have to face the unjust prejudice that she faced on a daily basis because of her non-magic parents. It didn't seem fair, and James had unknowingly made the burden for her harder than it already was with his classroom disturbances. Note to self: she strongly opposes intolerance. Can't say I blame her.

He noticed Remus had the decency to look a little ashamed when he heard Lily's comment, but quickly began conversing with Beatrice again to hide it. James, on the other hand, feigned ignorance.

"Don't be so dramatic, Lily! You're the brightest witch in our year, which includes me too, and that's saying something."

Lily blinked. She was utterly torn between the blatant use of her forename, the bit of flattery he gave her, and his display of a complete lack of modesty. Only James Potter could possess that kind of egotistic talent, she mused.

"How is it that you manage to compliment someone and boost your ego in one sentence, Potter?" she asked, clearly annoyed with what she believed was his flirting.

"You'll find that's one of my many gifts, Lily dear. At least . . . you would find that out if you'd give me a chance," he said earnestly. Damn it, me and my big stupid mouth. I'm not supposed to ask her out, and here I am, doing it! Bugger me.

Lily snorted. Shameless self-promotion as a dating campaign. . . . "If that 'gift'—if it can be called that—is a preview of what would follow, you can rest assured, Potter, that I want absolutely nothing to do with it. You'll forgive me if I don't find your offer the least bit tempting," she finished.

Note to self: does not appreciate flirting or complimenting myself. That's very good to know.

James wasn't discouraged, however. Rather, he silently congratulated himself on his success at keeping up the conversation for so long and finding out several things about Lily Evans that could be used to his advantage. He kept reminding himself—through all the rejections and insults—that observing her was the key to getting on her good side.

She had ended with a tone of finality, and, figuring that the conversation had been terminated, turned to talk to a seventh year sitting next to her, Gideon Prewett. He decided to change tactics and catch her off-guard. "Lily, do you even know my name?"

She turned back around, clearly vexed again. "Of course I do, Potter," she replied shortly, as if it were completely obvious.

Before she could resume small talk with Gideon once more, he continued, "Then why do you insist on calling me 'Potter'?" I happen to think 'James' suits me much better, don't you?" Perhaps I shouldn't've added my tedious opinion. . . .

"Whatever, Potter. This may be a foreign concept to you, but I really don't care what you think."

Ouch. Ah well, I worry not. She'll come around. Good thing I'm so persistent. . . . Well, maybe not for her.

He ignored her comment. "Well, since you don't care, d'you think you could—"

"Fine! James, now would you please leave me alone?" She was speaking in a kind of desperate whisper rather than her usual biting retorts, and he didn't understand why her tone had changed so suddenly. Okay, the mystery is just killing me, now I have to know. . . .

He smiled victoriously. "Now was that really so hard?"

"Yes," she spat, still whispering. "Would it kill you, for once in you life, to just leave me alone?" Oh yes, she was definitely trying to get rid of me—more than usual, that is, if that's even possible in the historical archive of 'Lily Evans encounters'. . . . Hmm . . . how strange. . . .

Now he was positively grinning, mischief sparkling in his hazel eyes. "Well, actually, I think it would—"

"GO!" She definitely sounded pissed now, and, not wanting to be responsible for yet another angry female, he finally complied.

Conclusion: Lily Evans is hiding something, wants absolutely nothing to do with me, and should under no circumstances be provoked into slapping me for the second occurrence in one day—Sirius would never let me live it down.

As he left to retake his seat next to Sirius, he glanced back and saw that Lily had reinstated conversation with Gideon Prewett. What could she possibly want to talk to him so badly for? Stupid git, just because he's Head Boy and all, he thinks he's so special. Why would Lily want to talk to Pretty-boy Prewett?

His heart sank a little as he saw Lily smile and laugh casually with him, her beautiful emerald eyes dancing with happiness. How come she never smiles and laughs like that with me? I can be charming too! You just don't let me.

He became distracted, however, when a large screech owl swiftly flew across the Gryffindor table, landing in front of Sirius. He took the letter from the owl uncertainly.

"Wonder what this is? Owls came this morning at breakfast. Probably some cursed object my folks are trying to send me but forgot to sneak it in my luggage. . . ." said Sirius curiously as he tore open the envelope.

His guess was only half off.

Sirius carefully removed the letter, only to find that there was nothing written on either side. Puzzled, he pulled out his wand and uttered "Aparecium!" as he jabbed the parchment with it. And to his shock, invisible ink appeared, just not in the form of a letter he had expected.

Ink, projected from its source, covered every bit Sirius's bewildered face. For a moment he was utterly nonplussed.

Sirius blinked, becoming vaguely aware of what had just happened. The Great Hall erupted into peals of laughter, the Slytherins being the loudest. Many were pleased to see that the prankster had in fact been pranked himself. And Sirius, being a good sport, joined in the merriment. He inadvertently caught someone's eye as he glanced further down the Gryffindor table.

Beatrice Regnet was laughing herself hoarse, her eyes dancing with mischief as they met Sirius's. Comprehension dawned on him. He smirked back in response, unable to keep the mischievous glint out of his eye as well, for a Marauder is always ready to accept a challenge, and they had the rest of the year before them to see it through.

A/N: Finito! Hopefully that sustains you until HBP, because that was over 8,000 words long! Like I said, it may be awhile before my next update, at least 10 days, I'm guessing. Try not to lose too much sleep over HBP!

Thank-yous:

Brianna: Glad you liked it, thanks for being my first reviewer!

ShadowlessBardess: I can't you belive you like it that much already! Please stick around, and thanks for reviewing!

Lucy Knight: Well I'm certainly glad that you decided to read my fic, hopefully you'll continue to read more HP fanfiction, there's a ton of great writers out there! Thanks for reviewing!

Joe: Hope you stick around, thanks!

Oni-Gil: More is on the way, thanks for your review!

lezerly: Creating different personalities for each character is exactly what I was going far, and I'm so glad that you liked it. It's hard to tell from my perspective if the desired effect is actually reached, so I'm very happy that you let me know. I hope you definitely stick around as well, thanks for your reviews!

MistressBill: Thanks for your long review! I'm really pleased that you like my different characters too, because you're right, there are too many stories out there with 2D characters with the same personality. And completely agree--sarcasm is a language in itself. My friends are always telling me that I'm overly sarcastic. What can a girl do though, right? Haha... and I found it really funny about the pirate comment you made concerning Sirius, because he says something in the beginning of this chapter that I wrote before you reviewed me. Very coincidental, I must say. I'm so happy you think I'm a talented writer! Wow that made my day when I read that. Hope I don't disappoint a loyal fan!

SBlack4Life: That good, eh? Thanks for your review!

And of course . . . . please review! Feel free to ask me questions!