A Love Unknown

Summary: A story about the Marauder's era. Beginning with their O.W.L.S from fifth year... I'm trying to follow Rowling's books as closely as possible. Please Read! revised the first chapter

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Absolutely nothing. I don't even own this disclaimer… a friend wrote it for me.

SLIGHT REVISION DUE TO HBP! PLEASE REREAD…THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN UPCOMING CHAPTERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

a/n: Hello, lovely, lovely readers. This is my first L/J fic that I have posted on I have attempted others, but lost interest and just never continued. I am trying to follow Rowling's books as closely as possible in this fic. Most of my original characters aren't even very original. In fact, for most OC's, I'm using the names of random characters she uses. (e.g. Emmeline Vance, from the Advance Guard in OotP and was refered to in HBP)

Please, if you find any mistakes, whether with grammar & usage, or truthfulness to the book, please tell me in a review so I can fix it. I revised the story a bit, so you may want to skim through it again if you have already read it.

Sorry for the incredibly long author's note, but I just wanted to state my thoughts. Now my story begins a bit before they took their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.S (from Snape's Worst Memory)

This chapter just describes a few of the main characters, sorry if it's boring; I promise it will get more action-packed as the story progresses.

Chapter One: Meet n Greet

The library was filled with fifth years cramming their brains with every ounce of information on the Defense against the Dark Arts as they possibly could fit. They were to report to the Great Hall in an hour to take their DADA O.W.L.S.

You could hear nothing, apart for the sound of a page turning, parchment rattling, or a quill scratching, and the occasional groan of a student who couldn't find the spell to get rid of a Cornish Pixie.

Lily Evans sighed as she turned her text book, page after page, finding that she could practically recite the whole bloody book. She realized that she had done plenty of studying, and was confident she'd do well on her exam.

She caught on to most everything she was taught at Hogwarts, because as a Muggleborn, she was still fascinated by nearly everything at her school. She really didn't need to study much, but did occasionally, simply because she enjoyed learning the wonders of the wizarding world.

The talented witch was definitely worn-out by now, though. Closing her book, she left the library and headed out for a walk to relax, and enjoy herself before having to take her exam.

Strolling through the corridors, down the hall appeared the familiar face of James Potter. The two were quite alike. They were good looking, quite well known throughout the school, lusted after by the opposite sex (and probably the same sex if they chose to swing that way) and possessed a charming sense of humour. They also got high marks and competed for the top of their class. (although James seemed to achieve this without ever cracking open a book.)

Lily admired him for that. She admired a lot of things about him. He was an exceptional Quidditch player, and pulled pretty amusing pranks. (Which she didn't mind if they weren't harming anyone).

What she did not admire, however, was the fact that he knew he was great, and it got to his head. Lily liked boys to be confident, but James was downright arrogant, and it got very annoying.

The pair of them were actually pretty good friends in their early years at Hogwarts. James' group, "The Marauders," as they were often times called, and Lily's friends enjoyed amusing the school with pranks and jokes, but the girls grew out of it whilst the Marauders seemed they would never tire of the sport.

As a prefect, and he a childish mischief maker, Lily had to get on him about a lot of things. He would then ask her out, and she would get mad at him for changing the subject, so would always refuse him. They rarely ever had any real conversation any more. However, the truth was, Lily did have feelings for him, but as soon as her heart would tell her that, she pushed those thoughts away, and focused on why she would never go out with him.

He was the type of person who never had a real relationship, but snogged random girls. Lily would not let herself get used and hurt by James Potter.

What Lily did not know, is that James didn't have relationships with those girls, because he had no real feelings for any of them. The one girl he could truly see himself with was the one girl who turned him down. Every. Bloody. Time. She also happened to be approaching. His heart leapt.

She looks stunning, he thought to himself.

"Alright, Evans?" called James.

The sound of his voice made her stomach squirm. She assumed she was hungry.

"Fantastic," she replied, "and you?"

"Much better, once I saw your dazzling beauty," James said, flirtatiously.

Lily felt her cheeks blush slightly.

Don't be such a ninny, Lily, I bet he uses that line on every girl he wishes to snog, she thought to herself.

"Where you headed?" asked James.

"No where in particular. Just releasing some pre-O.W.L.S stress. Please, join if you aren't going anywhere," Lily offered. She was a bit bored, and fancied some company. Also, a tiny part of her missed the James she had known just last year, and thought it might be nice to catch up a bit.

"I'd love to," James accepted.

Wow. She actually offered to spend time with me! Why all the sudden so nice? She was just yelling at me earlier today for hexing a first year.

Of course, Lily was just nice to everyone, it was simply her nature. Everyone held Lily in high esteem. (Except for perhaps the Slytherins, whose opinions don't matter anyway, so they can sod off.)

Lily was a genuinely good person. She was beautiful (yet modest and humble), smart, funny, kind, unselfish, and always smiled, regardless what was going on in the inside. True, she could get quite a temper, but she was only fair. The only thing that set her off was when people were treated unjustly. She believed there was good in all people, and never declined the chance to stand up for the underdog.

The two were chatting about their upcoming test.

"I hope I do well! I studied till the crack of dawn, and when I went to bed, I got not a wink of sleep, what with some girl in the sixth year dorm snoring loudly enough to wake all of England!" Lily stated.

James laughed. "Psh…study! I don't ever study! I'll ace it though. My secret is extra beauty sleep and a nice visit to the kitchens.

"Yes, do tell me how that works out for you,"

"Well it has put me first in our year at DADA," he bragged.

"Has it? If I am not mistaken, I believe last time I check, Severus Snape held that record, and I am second…which makes you…third?"

That ought to put the conceited tosser in his place! she thought

"Go figure he's number one," said James, "the bloody bastard is a dark art and deserves to be thrown into the lake and drown."

Lily forced a smile, hoping he was only joking, and didn't really wish such harm on a fellow student, whom Lily didn't necessarily enjoy being in the company of, but certainly considered worthy of life. James appeared to be serious, though. Lily decided to change the subject to Quidditch.

This turned out to also be a disastrous route, for James had taken out a snitch (obviously stolen from Hogwarts quidditch supplies). He began to release and catch the snitch, and brag that he could easily play Seeker just as well as he could play Chaser.

Lily knew he was a talented athlete, but it bothered her that he felt the need to show-off. He was way too proud of himself. She could hardly stand him at the moment.

"Err… it seems to be about time we head to the Great Hall, Potter."

"You're right," James said, putting the snitch away.

They walked in silence. Lily felt it peaceful, not wanting to listen to anymore of James' self-praise. James, on the other hand, was anxious to know if he had impressed Lily at all. He decided to try his luck.

"Will you go out with me, Evans?" he asked.

"What!" Lily interjected, not as a question but it was the first thing that came to mind since she had been completely caught off guard.

Of course I should have expected this! The ruddy bloke just wants someone to snog! Lily thought to herself.

"Will you go out with me?" he repeated. His voice didn't show it, but her outburst hurt him a little bit, as though she was appalled that he had asked.

"No! I just spent the past hour listening to you ramble on and on about yourself! No way am I going through that again."

James was now very hurt. She had rejected him many a time before, but never this harshly. The other times he had asked her, she had already been yelling at him for some reason or another, but this time he actually thought he had something going with her.

He didn't know how to respond. Lucky for him, his best friends, the Marauders, had approached, and he didn't have to respond.

"Prongs!" called Sirius Black.

Sirius was the Heartthrob of Hogwarts. He, like James, was sexy, smart, and a player. Sirius was easily the most attractive person at the whole school. His looks and charm had girls throwing themselves at him, which he used to his advantage. He was a god.

"Ready to ace the O.W.L.S?" he asked James.

"I'm always ready to strut my stuff," he replied, Lily rolling her eyes.

And with that, the five of them entered the Great Hall.

Getting to know Remus…

A peaky-looking, sandy haired boy by the name of Remus Lupin gently nibbled the end of his quill as he read question number ten.

10. Give five signs that identify the werewolf.

Yes! He thought, another easy one.

Remus answered the question with ease, being a werewolf himself. Not that he liked being one. It was very painful for him, and a hard secret to keep. The faculty knew, of course. They built him a place to stay, students referred to as the Shrieking Shack, believing it to be haunted. There was also a tree plated there, as an entrance to his monthly home. This tree was called the Whomping Willow. Anyone who wanted to keep their limbs fully attached to their body stayed away form this tree.

He didn't even tell his best friends, the Marauders. They put two and two together to figure it out by themselves. He was afraid they wouldn't like him anymore if they knew the truth. When in fact, the other three Marauders sacrificed their time (and maybe even their lives, if they had screwed up), to become animagi, so they could go with him during his transformations without getting harmed. He was so lucky to have such incredible friends.

Girls liked Remus. Out of all the Marauders, he was the most sensitive and sweet towards the ladies. He preferred relationships over meaningless snogs. The problem was, he was a werewolf, and he felt no girl could possibly love a monster. For that reason, he, like his friends, didn't have relationships, but got action from shallow girls seeking popularity.

A fling with a Marauder got any girl fifteen minutes of fame.

Getting to know Peter…

(a/n: I know in most fics, Peter is barely mentioned, but he is key in mine. As my story progresses, you will see what turned him evil. If Lily and James trusted him enough to be their secret keeper, he had to have been a good friend, right?)

Peter Pettigrew was on question number four, his parchment was nearly blank, and so was his mind.

He nervously tried to sneak a glance at his neighbour's parchment. Beside him was Emmeline Vance, and fellow Gryffindor, and Lily Evans' best friend. She was on question number fifteen, but her writing was so small and loopy that he couldn't make it out.

He was the least brilliant among the Marauders. He was also the least handsome, least liked, and least confident. He was sort of a suck up to his friends, but he admired them with his all. They had all the power and the social status at Hogwarts, and he was a part of it. He owed them everything.

He even had girls. Although some only used him to get to his gorgeous friends or because of his status as a Marauder, some girls actually thought his rat-like qualities were cute, in a little boy way, and fancied him.

He was a Marauder. What every girl wanted, and what every boy wanted to be. (a/n: got that from Austin Powers…told you I didn't own anything). He was truly grateful for that, but a part of him was… well… jealous.

The others had something special about them. Sirius was sought after by the ladies for his good looks, Remus was kind and considerate, and James… well James was just the height of perfection.

Amazing at Quidditch, in his studies, and the mastermind behind most of their ingenious pranks: James was everything Peter wanted to be. James also got any girl he wanted at the snap of his fingers.

A girl once used Peter only because she wanted to get closer to James. It hurt Peter a lot. James even hexed the girl for hurting Peter, but that just made Peter more jealous of Potter, because he had the power to do such things.

But there was one girl who put James in his place. Her name was Lily Evans.

Peter knew James was in love with her, which is why he never admitted, or pursued his feelings for her. But he couldn't help but admire her beauty, intelligence, and compassionate heart.

Lily was the type of person that every boy at Hogwarts wanted. Not to take advantage of… no. She wasn't the type of person you just snog and forget about the next day. She was someone you wrote poems for on Valentines Day.

Only the brave actually expressed their feelings for her. Everyone knew of James Potter's infatuation with her. They also knew his ability to throw every hex he could think of at anyone who tried to have her.

Peter had already gotten popularity, status, and help with his homework from James. He wasn't about to steal the one girl that really mattered to him. Not that Peter could have her anyway. She was something too precious.

Peter guessed most of the answers. He couldn't think very well; Lily Evans was a few seats behind James, and he could see her eyeing him. His heart hurt.

(a/n): Please please please review! Tell me what you honestly think, even if you hate it. Next chapter should be up soon if you guys want me to continue. Otherwise, I'll just write for myself. Thanks for reading it… I hope it wasn't too boring but I promise I have plans for this story.

XoxO

Next Chapter: Snape's Worst Memory… along with the thoughts of the characters, but only if I get reviews