Disclaimer: I own the few characters you don't recongnize and the idea of this story but that's it the rest belongs to J K ROWLING!

BTW I'm sry this took sooooooooooo long but school, gymnastics, and my other fics have gotten in the way lately...

Mischievous Angel

Chapter 2

The Opposite End of the Spectrum

"Jamsie-poo! Rise and shine!" said an all too bubbly voice.

"Shawd up." Mumbled James rolling over.

"Come on! You'll see your lovely Lily soon, so you can stop dreaming about her." Said Sirius Black grinning mischievously.

"That's right!" exclaimed James sitting up quickly. "Today we go back to Hogwarts!"

Sirius' grin got wider if it were at all possible. Any statement about Lily usually got hum up, especially Sirius' favorite, "Lily wants to snog you silly." His friend was totally smitten by Lily. Lily however wanted nothing to do with him. Sirius could remember Lily yelling at him that she would rather go out with the Giant Squid or that hell would freeze over before she went out with him. That never stopped James however, as every Valentine's day, James would come up with an 'ingenious' plan to get Lily to go out with him. Of course, Lily had not hated him any less (much less said yes) after any of these attempts. In fact, after some of James' attempts, she might have hated him more after than she had before…

FLASHBACK

"So, what are you doing this year, Prongs?" asked Sirius grinning expectantly.

"Maybe just some roses with a card that sings… or… maybe…" at this James got a glint in his eye. "Maybe I could charm the statues and suits of armor to sing to her as well as a gift."

"I like that idea. What gift?" asked Sirius.

"Padfoot, I know you like it, but Prongs, would Lily like it?" asked Remus looking up from his book.

"Then what Moony? I have to do something!" whined James.

"I think that if you leave Lily alone and do what she's been telling you to do for the past four years then maybe she'll not hate you." Said Remus calmly picking up his book again

"Sure, Remus." Said James. James had heard this speech before. James did not think that it would really work. Leaving some one alone so they could like you? Nope, definite lunacy to James. James turned to Sirius. "Want to help?"

Sirius nodded enthusiastically and bounded out the door.

"Do you think she'll like it?" asked James for the tenth time.

"Prongs! That's the tenth time you've asked!" Sirius was starting to get exasperated with him. "Of course she'll like it! I mean it comes from us, the two sexiest guys in Hogwarts, how could she not like it?"

James walked back up the stairs to the boy's dorms. Lily would be up soon. James smiled. Soon, he thought, soon, I will be able to ask her out without being slapped.

"Did you hear my song for you, Lilykins?"

"Oh, was that what that was?"

"Yes." Said James grinning.

Lily rolled her eyes and walked off.

"Lily! Wait!" said James running after her into the Great Hall. Lily was in the middle of the Great Hall, but she stopped and turned with a frown on her face.

"Lily?"

"That's my name." James took her hand and got down on one knee. He looked in her emerald green eyes and was startled to see amusement there.

"Go out with me Evans." It was more of a statement than a question, but James knew that Lily and everyone else in the room understood what he meant.

Lily pulled his hand in a motion for him to stand up. James stood expectantly, his heart beating fast. Maybe, just maybe, she would say yes. She was close to him, but James did not mind. She was the one who usually minded, but maybe she was finally coming to her senses and seeing what a "dashingly handsome young man" he was (quoted from James Potter himself some other time in the story).

"Potter, we all know what I'm going to say, so let's get this over with." Said Lily in a voice barely above a whisper, but still a voice that carried in the eerily silent hall. "There. Is. No. Way. In. Hell. That. I. Will. Go. Out. With. You. Ever." With those last words, Lily pushed past a stunned James and strode out of the Hall. Embarrassment warmed James' face, but he still whispered four last words as she pushed past him. "But I love you."

Lily's step faltered slightly, but only slightly and she kept walking, never once looking back.

END FLASH BACK

That had ended in Lily completely ignoring James for two months. Of course, she normally ignored him, unless they were arguing, but for those two months, she did not even respond when he tried to provoke her into arguing with him. She just acted as if he did not exist. He had grown depressed with her actions until Sirius suggested that he go out with another girl for a while. No matter how hard James tried to forget her, Lily Evans was always on his mind and he had asked her out again after she would quit ignoring him so completely. This time it had earned him pink hair for a week and a jinx that forced him to say nice things to everyone, including the Slytherins.

James frowned as he attempted to tame his hair. It never seemed to lie flat but then again, he liked it messy.

James dashed downstairs to the hall where Sirius and his parents where waiting Sirius and his trunks and James' owl, Theron.

"About bloody time!" exclaimed Sirius grabbing his trunk and starting out the door. James laughed as his parents tried to scold Sirius for his choice of words with smiles on their faces.

Soon, the trunks were stowed in the car and all four were on their way to King's Cross Station.

James stared out of the window allowing his thoughts to wander.

Of course, Lily was his first thought. He loved how her emerald eyes sparkled when she laughed, how she seemed to dance when she was happy and how her eyes seemed to burn with a mysterious green fire when she was determined to do something. He loved how her eyes sparked when she was mad and how her dazzling red hair seemed to glow in the sunlight. He wished he were the one that made her laugh, made her smile that dazzling smile. James sighed as he felt that all too familiar stab of sadness he felt when he thought of Lily. It was strange how the mention of her name could bring such happiness but such sadness all at one time. Love is bittersweet, mused James thoughtfully. Bloody hell, I sound like Moony. I really need to stop this. James shook his head trying to rid his mind of philosophical thoughts and Lily.

After a bit, James' thoughts finally rested on the strange 'occurrences' that he, Sirius, Remus and Peter had experienced over the years.

One Christmas, the four friends had awoke (or rather James had awoken them) duct taped to their beds…

FLASHBACK

James was in the middle of a quite lovely dream about a Christmas present he was sure he would get one day, Lily. One day, Lily would be his, or so he hoped. James tried to brush his hand by his nose to get rid of a tickling sensation that had been bugging him. Not more than three seconds later, James was hit with a jet of ice cold water, soaking him to the bone. James yelled, he would have sat up too, but he could not as something was holding him down. Remus, Sirius and Peter also awoke but were unable to help their friend as they too were taped down. Their roommate, Frank, was too busy laughing his head off and searching for a camera to be too much of a help. Four voices were yelling in the room all at the same time.

"Sirius! Who'd you piss off?"

"Frank! Could you please help us!"

"Who the hell would do this to us? I mean, we're the Marauders!"

"WHOEVER DID THIS IS GOING TO PAY!"

"WHO DID THIS!"

"WHY AREN"T YOU HELPING FRANK?"

James looked at his friends all were struggling but were still unable to loosen their bonds at all. Suddenly giggles were added to the din. James glanced towards the door and groaned. Lily and her friends had arrived. Lily would see him helpless, not exactly what he wanted…. And they were armed with cameras… now the whole school was sure to know about this…

After a few flashes of cameras and a couple snide remarks from Lily to James, the girls left and Remus finally broke free of the duct tap due to his 'furry little problem.' Remus, being the kind person he was, quickly set his friends free.

ENDFLASHBACK

Of course there was also the time that he and Sirius had come down to breakfast in their robes and left wearing only their boxers and shoes, although they felt as though they still had their robes on. The only effects of that were teasing from all the male students at Hogwarts and increased popularity with the ladies minus three…

James frowned at the memory. He could care less that all of Hogwart's had seen him in his boxers (maybe Lily had seen how "hot" he was), he just wanted to know who had pranked him.

There had also been the old, but still great, Muggle pranks of "Kick me!" signs that were updated with "Hex me!" or "I'm a git!" taped to their backs. Of course in each of thoses pranks no one had a) given the object of the prank (normally James) a hug, b) slapped him on the back or c) pointed a wand his way. Another prank that had happened several times were the random "wake-up calls" in the middle of the night. These varied from water or a nose tickling quill to intense heat or extreme cold. Miniature snow or rain storms were also localized around the four, sometimes three. Remus wasn't always included in the pranks, especially most of the embarassing ones like the boxers incident. At first the pranks were done anonymously but one day that changed. No names were ever metioned, but the same intricate symbol appeared on or near each prank. The symbol intriqued the Marauders along with the rest of the school but Remus didn't seem to enthusiastic to James when they discussed who might be behind the pranks. Sirius, however, insisted that he knew exactly who kept pranking the unprankable Marauders, Snape.

The symbol never changed except in color. It was always a sparkling sketch of an owl in flight clutching a flower in it's talons with a lighting bolt in the background. Sometimes the symbol was mgicked into the air while others it appeared on the pranked people's foreheads.

No matter where it appeared or what color it was, that symbol was taboo among James, Sirius and Peter (Remus, being the easygoing person he was, didn't really care either way). The rest of the student's thought of the symbol as an excitingly mysterious phenomenon and was referred to as "The Symbol". Meanwhile, the Marauders resentfully referred to it as "It".

"Prongsy-Wongsie!" sang out Sirius in an annoying sing song voice. "We're here!"

James reached over to hit Sirius upside the head but Sirius, after years of practice, anticipated the move and quickly exited the car. James grumbled as he got out of the car and grabbed the trolley that his dad had put his bags on for him.

Sirius and James approached the barrier first and casually started moving towards it as a crowd of muggles passed by. If one had been watching and did not know what was going on, they'd have thought that James and Sirius had disappeared into thin air.

On the other side of the barrier, Sirius was taken swiftly away by a blonde Ravenclaw to "catch-up" or rather make out added James amusedly. James scanned the platform for his other friends Remus and Peter.

Suddenly hands were clasped over James' eyes from behind.

"Guess who!" exclaimed an awkward sounding, high pitched voice.

"Let's see here." Said James pretending to be thoughtful. "There are only two people I haven't seen yet. Peter? No… hands are to dry." There was a protesting squeaklike noise from his right. "Sorry, Wormtail, but it's true." James paused again and the hands shifted a bit impatiently. "It couldn't be… or could it?"

"Just get it over with Prongs." Said Peter. (A/N: This idiot is disappearing ASAP!)

"Hold your horses Pete! I'm getting to it… Remus wouldn't do this. Would he?" James pretended to ponder this again.

"Come –" started the voice deeper this time before it abruptly cut off and was replaced by the awkwardly high voice. "Come on, Prongsey! The trainy – wainey is about to leave!"

"Fine! Remus get your bloody hands off my glasses!"

"Finally!" exclaimed Remus in his normal voice as James turned around. "That voice was starting to annoy me." Remus grimaced.

"Bye, boys. Have a good time at Hogwart's!" called James' mum from behind the boys nearly startling James who hadn't seen them enter the platform.

"Don't cause too much mischeif!" said his dad winking at the boys causing them to grin as they headed off for the train. James' dad didn't mind their pranks so much as longs as the pranks didn't really hurt anyone, but couldn't outright support the boys in front of his wife.

The three soon found Sirius in a compartment that he'd saved for them and stowed their trunks in the overhead bin.

"Okay, now, I have got to get to the Head's compartment." Said James pinning a badge to his robes. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't want to be late for your meeting with the wonderful Lily-flower now would you?"

James glared at Sirius but left in the direction of the Head's compartment.

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