Chapter 1

Lily's P.O.V.

It took weeks of persuasion, but Petunia actually convinced Mum and Dad to let her stay behind and take care of the house. I don't know how she did it! She can't even take care of herself, so how on earth is she going to manage taking care of the house? Not that I'm complaining, of course. I don't want to have to endure weeks of listening to her moan about all the freaks surrounding her. By freaks, she means wizards and witches.

You see, I am a Muggleborn witch. Mum, Dad and Petunia are all Muggles. However, Dad works as a Muggle representative for Gringotts, which is the Wizarding bank. That's how we came to know of the Wizarding world, seeing as most Muggles are blissfully unaware of it, and its goings-on.

Hugh and Amerie Potter are good friends of Mum and Dad. Dad and Mr. Potter met in Gringotts, because Mr. Potter also works there. They are the ones who invited us to their beach house in Merlin-knows-where. We're all staying there as guests for a month. That excludes Whine Queen Petunia, of course, since as I mentioned earlier, she convinced Mum and Dad to let her stay home.

I think my parents are crazy people.

As I pack my belongings – one month's worth of clothes, my Discman, and some CDs – my eyes linger and then rest on a picture. It's a picture of me, splashing and wading in a pool, with the Potters' son, James.

James Potter. We used to be close, though at times it seems as though we never knew each other. We talk when we need to, but we aren't even close to being as close as we were more than ten years ago. I guess it's because we're so different now; though I can say I'm popular enough, James is the most sought-after bachelor in school – second to his best friend, Sirius Black, of course. Mum told me we were once inseparable. I sometimes remember those days, but I don't want to talk to James about it. Don't ask me why; I simply don't.

I don't know, however, how I am going to survive one month with him without talking to him. Our parents will most probably be spending most of their time together, leaving James and I behind, alone with one another, and feeling a bit awkward.

Perhaps I should invite Whine Queen to come along.

Nah.

James' P.O.V.

I am currently packing my stuff for our month-long vacation in Paraiso Island, an island somewhere in Asia. I am also doing this with two deaf ears; Mum got all shirty with me because we're leaving in about an hour and I just started packing my stuff. No, shirty is an understatement; she yelled herself hoarse.

I spent the day sleeping; in fact, I just woke up and it's past lunch time. I was out yesterday and got home early this morning, around three o'clock, which is precisely why I woke up so late. However, let me tell you that it was for a good cause. Yesterday was Remus' birthday. It was also the full moon. You could only imagine how difficult – not to mention tiring – it is to "entertain" Moony when he goes through one of the episodes that come with his "furry little problem". Not that I'm complaining, though. I'd eat my own hand if it would help Moony, or any of the other Marauders.

Ah, the Marauders. Let me tell you about us before I continue.

Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and I are known as the Marauders. With a name like that, you could only imagine what we do around school. Let's just say that we have had so many detentions that we have our own box in the caretaker's office. We are also, er, rather accident prone, so we have our own corner in the Hospital Wing, as well as a corner for the victims of our pranks.

Sirius is my partner-in-crime. Half of the detention slip things in our box is ours. Basically, you rarely see me without Sirius, and vice-versa. He's the brother I never had, and I am more like a brother to him than his git of a brother, Regulus. He even came to live here when he ran away from home, but he moved out because his Uncle Alphard (may his soul rest in peace) left him a house. One more thing about Sirius: We call him Padfoot, because he, like Peter and I, is an unregistered Animagus, and his Animagus form is a dog.

Remus is our resident Prefect. He abides by the rules MOST OF THE TIME, I repeat, MOST of the time. There are times when he zaps out of "prefect-mode", as we call it, and helps us come up with pranks, In fact, it was he who came up with some of the greatest pranks we ever did. There are two things you need to know about Remus; one, never ever take his chocolate away from him unless you want him to inflict bodily harm on you, and two, he is a werewolf. That's why we call him Moony. We became Animagi in our fifth year so that we could keep him company during full moons and make his transformations more bearable.

Peter loves chocolate almost as much as Remus does. The only difference between him and Moony, however, is that Peter loves all the other kinds of food as much as he loves chocolate. And believe me, it is starting to show. Not that he cares, or anything. He's always lived by the saying "Better to be fat and happy than thin and miserable". Though he has difficulty in most subjects, he's the best amongst us in Potions. His Animagus form is a rat. Don't ask my why, because I have no idea either. Perhaps it has something to do with his love for cheese…

If you're wondering about my Animagus form, it's a stag. That's why the other Marauders call me Prongs.

My room is filled with pictures of the four of us. There's one picture of us in our first year, under a tree near the lake, which soon came to be our favorite resting spot during break. There's another one in the Yule Ball in our fifth year, when the Triwizard Tournament was held. There are numerous pictures that were taken during the afterparties when we'd win the Quidditch Cup. There's also one that we took during the last day of the term.

As I scan these pictures, pausing to wipe dust off of some and laughing at others, I rest my gaze on one that doesn't include the Marauders. It is a Muggle photo, a bit faded with age, of me with Lily Evans when we were both six.

Lily and I used to be best friends. That was until she left for Barcelona. I suppose we aren't close anymore because of all those years in Spain. Our parents are still really close, however. They have been close for at the very least twenty years. In fact, Mum and Dad invited the Evanses to Paraiso. They're staying with us for a month. They're supposed to be here in about half an hour.

To tell you the truth, I've sort of fancied Lily for quite some time now. I could ask her out, but… I don't know… Lily just seems like the type of person you'd rather admire from a distance. Not to mention the fact that our parents are really close, and I'd never hear the end of my father's teasing. I'm not really crazy over her, though. I just find her cute.

I'm going to be spending an entire month with her. I wonder what we can do. Maybe I can show her around Paraiso… y'know, get to know her as well as I did before. I mean, we used to be close. Talking to her won't be that hard or awkward.

I hope.

Lily's P.O.V.

I'm almost done packing. Selene and Rhea sent me letters, wishing me a safe trip, and reminding – nagging, rather – me to send pictures. Selene and Rhea are my two closest friends, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

Selena Katherine White – a.k.a. Selene – is, like me, a Muggleborn. She was my first friend in Hogwarts, with the exception of James. She lives with her father, who is extremely rich. She hates him to death, though. When he found out she was a witch, he practically disowned her. He shares with Petunia the same sentiments when it comes to magic; wizards and witches are freaks, and anything magical is considered abnormal. Selene is very pretty; she has tanned skin and dirty-blonde hair. Many boys find her attractive, but she thinks nothing of them.

Rhea Josephine Ciardi – a.k.a. Rhea – is an old soul. I run to her when I have serious problems. She's a Pureblood witch (meaning there's no Muggle blood anywhere in her family's bloodline), but her family doesn't share the same sentiments of other families, like the Blacks. In fact, the Dark Side is against them; Rhea has a birth defect because one of Grindelwald's old supporters hit her mum with the Cruciatus Curse two days before she was due to give birth. I have no idea what this defect is; even Rhea knows nothing of it. She's just freakishly pale, but her complexion makes a very flattering contrast with her jet-black hair.

To finish off our little group of three, there's me, Lily Evans. I don't think there is anything special about me, but that's alright. I don't mind, because I don't like standing out.

Uh oh. Mum's calling me. I think we're leaving. I wonder how the beach house in Merlin-knows where looks like.