"Oh no," Lily whispered. She'd seen as Robert was Sorted into Slytherin, and as his siblings hung their heads in sadness. She saw Tina talking to Robert and her outlook on the situation changed immediately. She tried to console Michelle and her brother. "Look," she said. "See that girl your brother is talking to?" They nodded. "That's our friend Tina. She'll bring Robert over here with her when dinner starts." The two brightened up considerably at the prospect of seeing and speaking with their brother again so soon.
Zacherly, Jessica became a Ravenclaw, and Dumbledore stood up once again. "There comes a time to be careful and guarded. There is a time to live and let live. But now, it is time to eat!"
Lily looked across the table towards the boys, two of which were looking back at her. James saw her looking at him, blushed, and then looked away. Lily locked eyes with Remus, who mouthed 'Off his rocker' at Lily. She smiled back at him, successfully stifling a giggle.
Dumbledore spread his arms wide, food appeared on all the tables, and the feast began. "C'mon," Tina whispered to Robert, and they sprinted across the Hall to the Gryffindor table.
Dumbledore watched them, his blue eyes twinkling as Robert sat next to his sister and Tina slid in next to Arabella.
"Hey, when are we going to retaliate?" Tina was anxious to know.
"Desert," Arabella answered. "Keep your voice down. I'll pinch you and you'll kick Peter. I'll kick Remus, Alice'll get Black, and Lily'll handle Potter."
"Very nice plan, I must say," Tina whispered half mischievously, half sarcastically. Was that the best they could come up with? 'Good thing they've got a Slytherin to formulate the other schemes.' Tina thought to herself.
"Did you catch the name of the boy next to Lils?"
"Yeah, it's Daniel."
Arabella told Alice and Lily. Lily turned towards Daniel and asked, "How old are you three?"
They looked at her, surprised. "Thirteen," Michelle answered. "How did you know that we weren't First-Years?"
Her American accent took them aback. That is, everyone except for Tina. Aside from speaking with Robert earlier, Tina had spent time in America over the summer, and the American accent wasn't foreign to her anymore.
"You're American?" James asked unintelligently.
"Ignore him," said Lily quickly, kicking James under the table.
"You just don't look that young," Alice recovered next. Everyone else nodded in their assessment.
Meanwhile, an argument was forming between Lily and James. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?"
Lily glared at him. "I have two reasons," she said loftily. "One, your stupidity is getting on my nerves, and two, I felt like it."
"Oh, I see," said James. So does that mean that I can do anything I feel like doing?"
Lily locked gazes with him. "Not in your bloody dreams Potter."
Desert came about twenty minutes later. Just as the Marauders were bout to start their second helpings, Tina sneezed. Peter squeaked indignantly. Arabella, Alice, and Lily all sneezed as one and each kicked the boy across from her. James, who was already nursing a bruised shin, let out a yell, and fell backwards off of his bench. The other boys looked down at their legs and crowded around James checking to make sure he was alright and laughing at him in random intervals.
The four girls leaned forward and sprinkled shimmering substances into the boys' food. James' blue, Sirius' lilac (A/N: Yes, lilac, this isn't the time to be MANLY), Remus's green and Peter's yellow. The girls sat back, satisfied, as the Gardiners looked on interestedly.
Sirius looked up at Lily, his hair a mess and his eyes aglow from laughter. "Evans, you really should stop touching Prongs here. People might begin to get the wrong idea." Lily began to blush.
"Black," Arabella started. "You need a comb. Badly."
"Padfoot my friend, you hair is the sorriest sight I have yet to behold." Remus got up and made his way over to his spot on the bench.
That was enough for Sirius. He conjured up a mirror and looked at his hair as James and Peter took back their spots on the bench. His eyes grew wide at what he saw. He looked around and, exercising great self-restraint, banished the mirror. As he finally reclaimed her spot, he noted that James was now sitting in a manner similar to Lily's. 'Smart move, mate' he thought.
James opened his mouth, no doubt in an attempt to chew Lily out, or at least tell her that she'd earned her merit as a witch, when she smiled and winked at him. James just sat there, gaping at Lily until Sirius nudged him. "Padfoot," Lily heard him whisper. "Mate, I think she just winked atme." Sirius looked at Lily, who caught his eye and gave him a death glare.
"You're off you rocker, mate."
The girls linked their fingertips and, as one muttered "Femminus". The four boys tossed their heads at the same time. They looked at each other, shrugged, and started on their fourth helpings. The girls and the Gardiners muffled their laughter.
Two minutes later, all the food in the Great Hall disappeared. Sirius and James looked sadly at the plates that once held half-finished treacle tart. Remus and Peter turned towards Dumbledore with everyone else.
The Hall was silent as Dumbledore began to speak. Even James and Sirius quit their idiocy. (A/N: Not for very long.) "My dear students," he began. "This year holds many promises. Some are good. But others, seemingly most, are promises of a world that will self destruct. Take time and take care in what you do and who you're with. Be secure in yourself, your surroundings, and most importantly, the company you keep." He sat down. "Good night, Hogwarts," Lily heard him say. She felt a lump rise in her throat and swallowed hard in an attempt to get rid of it.
"First Years!" Remus called. "First Years over here please!" Lily snapped back.
"Yes. First Years follow us!" She and Remus walked out of the Great Hall, a line of sleepy First Years followed them up the many moving staircases and up to the Fat Lady's portrait. Remus turned to Lily and said something, but all Lily heard was a screech similar to the ones Tina occasionally let loose. Lily giggled as a slight flush crept up Remus' cheeks. He cleared his throat.
"Lily, I need your help. I mean I really need your help. My sanity throughout this term depends on it." Lily looked up at him, clearly curious. "See, I have this friend," he began slowly.
"A friend, huh?" Lily smiled.
"No, not me," he said, his hands waving frantically.
"Okay," said Lily.
"My friend, he, uh…he has a crush on this girl." Remus, voice went up several octaves on the word 'girl'. He cleared his throat quietly. "This girl my friend likes, well, she doesn't like him too much." (A/N: And that's putting it mildly.) "He stands no chance with her. She's not only out of his league, but out of this world. He goes on about her, day and night, in person, in letters, through the Floo Network. Everything to him is somehow related to her. The other guys and I like her too, even though I'm the only one that she'll talk to without having to resist the urge to throw a hex. My friend is head over bloody heels for her, and he won't leave me alone until she knows. As if she didn't already. What should I do?"
They turned around to face the ten half asleep First Years. "This is the only way to access Gryffindor Tower. The portrait of the Fat Lady is the only portrait that can let you into the dorms."
Remus took over. "In order for the Fat Lady to let you in, you would have to have the password. The password is changed every two weeks, or whenever necessary."
"The password is 'Lunarious'. Be careful who you tell the password to, because anyone with the password can gain access to the Tower. Likewise, if you forget the password or don't find out when it is changed, you'll be locked out until someone lets you in, or you get caught by Filch the caretaker." Behind Lily, Remus was confirming the password with the Fat Lady.
"Don't stay out past curfew, because the Lady is known to go on nighttime strolls and not return for hours." She turned to the painting. "Lunarious," the Fat Lady inclined her head slightly and the portrait swung open.
Everyone walked through and crowded around Lily and Remus. "This is the Gryffindor Common Room. The girl's staircase is upstairs to the left, the boys, the same on your right. Your luggage is by your beds. Goodnight."
Remus whispered to Lily, "Shouldn't they know that the boys can't…" Lily shook her head.
"It's a lesson they'll learn on their own." Remus groaned and rubbed his stomach.
"Ugh, I feel terrible."
"Don't worry," Lily smiled as they went up their separate staircases. "It'll all be better in the morning
A/N: I just realized that I should be doing this. I want to thank my friends, Luna, Ayame, and Night. And of course my loyal reviewers: Liadan Hurricane, believe-in-yourself4ever, Fluffy Puff Marshmellow and Fairy-GYAKUTENNO-MEGAMI. I hope for your sakes that I get new glasses and will be able to update quickly. And for anyone that likes Inu Yasha or would like to hear Japanese music, e-mail me by the end of June. One more thing: PLEASE REVIEW!