Chapter One: Growing Up Isn't Always Easy
The lightning skated across the ominously dark sky, it's following, thunderous, tempo tap, tap, tapping outside her window. Her young, electrifying green eyes reflected the intensifying storm brewing. She sat, huddled in her mother's protective embrace, safe from the storm raging around her. The rain, pat, pat, pattered on the slick glass of her window, and the lightning zoomed down, jumping and dancing exotically. The long stems of grass and flowers swished back and forth in the torrential storm.
The ancient house seemed to creak and sway on its foundation as the wind huffed and blew dangerously on all sides. The girl was sure the house would collapse right on top of her mother and herself, and the story would never get finished, though she knew it by heart. It was the only story that calmed her on wild nights such as this. She glanced out her window, her eyes widening as she saw some small, brave soul actually standing outside, embracing the storm. The weather hadn't been this bad where she'd once lived; it seemed that moving across town made the sky mad, and it ripped open, unleashing every bit of power it possessed. This scared the girl, but she could not take her eyes off the figure dancing in the rain. Her mother's words pulled her back into reality slowly, as if a string was tugging round her waist gently, lifting her from her puzzlement and the hypnotic power of the storm.
"... and the Prince and Princess lived happily ever after. The End."
Five year old Lily Evans smiled her cute, dimplish smile as her mother finished the bedtime story and closed the worn, leather-bound book with a thud. It was Lily's favorite. She sighed contentedly and wriggled down underneath the covers while her mother moved to turn off the lights. Lily stared out her vanilla-surrounded window, as she thought about the story that had always been dear to her heart. The same boy, who couldn't have been no older than herself, was still standing out in the rain, arms outstretched as if loving every minute of it.
"Mum, that Potter boy next door certainly is strange," Lily stated maturely; her vocabulary was far more advanced than most young children her age. Her mother smiled as she too looked out the window at their new neighbor.
"Yes, he does seem to be. Maybe we should go tomorrow and introduce ourselves. We are new in town, and you two could be friends," her mother's lips twitched in a girlie, giggling smile as Lily's eyes narrowed.
"Boys are gross, Mum. They've got germs," Lily argued defiantly, making her obsession for perfection and cleanliness, even at such a young age, known once again. Her mother clucked her tongue and shook her head slightly.
"We shall see, Lily-Lee," her mother spoke, closing the door and cutting out all light.
"Yes," Lily whispered to no one in particular, "we'll see." A fork of orange lightning sprinted down and struck the earth sharply, then was gone.
Ten years later, Lily Evans woke up with a start as her alarm clock went off loudly. She shot out of bed, knocking the thick book of stories she was reading off of her nightstand. The last words replayed in her mind as she bent to pick it up hastily. And the Prince and Princess lived happily ever after. The End.
Painful memories tried to seep their way into her groggy, early-morning thoughts, but she tried her best to flit them away with an awkward swat of her hand at the air. The book was heavy in her hands and she stared at the cover, every crack becoming more defined as the years passed. She remembered so long ago, it seemed, sitting in her mother's lap on the same bed, in the same room, on a night almost exact to the one she had just slept through. Though, she couldn't call it sleep, really. Not with the dreams.
Shuddering, she pushed the thoughts away. Life was safer that way; it was easier to just forget everything but what she absolutely had to know. She glanced at her clock that had buzzed so loudly, pulling her from her fitful slumber. It was already nine o'clock, and today, Lily was going back to Hogwarts to begin her sixth year. That thought brought happiness, to say the least. Lily was definitely happy to go back to Hogwarts, where she could meet up with her friends whom she'd been unable to see over the holidays, and she'd be away from certain older sisters that were a pain in the royal arse. Not to mention several dreamy male wizards that she and her friends would be able to drool over once again. And, it was only a breath away… just a moment or two.
Lily Marie Evans was a witch in attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the house of Gryffindor. At the start of her fifth, or the previous, year, she remembered with crystalline accuracy how she'd found out she was a Prefect. She had ran her nimble fingers under the heavy paper, opening the traditional letter which listed supplies and the such she'd need for her fifth year. She could also remember the insurmountable joy when she saw the golden badge fall out of the letter. It resembled a large 'P' and had a metal 'ribbon' around its base that was the color of red and read 'Gryffindor.'
Lily slowly sauntered over to her dresser, perhaps the most lavishly designed object in her simply decored room. The dresser and mirror were magically enhanced, something her father had given her muggle money (in which she'd exchanged for wizarding galleons, sickles, and knutts) to buy it with. Lily did love it, and on most mornings found it a nice companion and quite funny, but the night before had been puzzling and fearful, and left Lily more confused than most other dreams that had haunted her young mind from her youth. She paused by her window and looked at the Potter's residence, scoffing slightly.
The window leading into James Potter's room was open, the shade up in its entirety, giving Lily a full view of James lying in his bed. She could practically hear the snores, as she watched one arm slowly, slowly teeter on the edge of his bed, then fall off, dangling nonchalantly. She snorted. But, something about seeing James struck yet another memory from within her. It was from the same dream of her mother and herself. Right before Lily had went to sleep, she had commented on the strangeness of 'that Potter boy' to her mother as he'd stood, embracing the stormy night.
Lily, forgetting her urgency to get ready, moved over to the window, sitting on the soft, cushioned seat and ran her fingers over the windowpanes idly. James was most certainly strange, plus a number of other things that could definitely make Lily's blood boil as hot as the color of her hair. That previous night, Lily, feigning sleep, had peered out her window, and had once again saw James out in the rain, soaked almost beyond recognition, and in fact, if his spectacles hadn't flashed in the bolts of lightning, she'd never have known it was him. but, it was. He had been out there in his yard, arms outstretched, enjoying the torrent of rain that cascaded down around him. Lily shook her head.
'Strange' doesn't even seem to justify James Potter, she thought, getting up and relieving herself of the momentary trance, finally making her way to the mirror.
"Tidy up, M'dear, today is the first day of schoo-ool!" The mirror chirruped at Lily in a singsong voice. She shrugged at the mirror and ran her ivory brush through her waist length, thick hair. She took the necessary ten minutes she always only needed to get ready, and dabbed some blush on her cheeks and gleaned her lips with lip gloss. Lily stared at her reflection for a while, after having pulled on some black slacks and a light, green, summer jumper. Her fingers gripped the edge of the dresser tightly as she let herself sink back into memories and dreams…
"Easy up, de-eear-rr, or I shant have any edging le-eeft," the mirror spoke loudly. Lily shook her head and mumbled an apology to the mirror, who merely replied with a "not a problem, deary."
Lily blinked, glancing at her reflection once more, and her eyes caught the light for one brief moment. In that moment, she thought she saw her mother staring back at her. This had happened on more than one occasion, to be sure, but she had seen her mother, her chocolate brown hair and lightly tanned skin. The one thing she did have in common with the beautiful woman in the mirror was her eyes. She most certainly had her mother's eyes. Lily couldn't think of that. She dared not let herself think of her mother.
A young boy, no older than five, stood atop a high rock in the back of his house, a wooden sword regally pointed in the air. His other hand was perched on his hip, and his bed-sheet cape blew in the breeze. His unruly black hair ruffled on his head hither and thither with the wind.
"Sirius," James Potter began, "I'm going to be king of the whole wide Earth!" He exclaimed, sword still pointed at the heavens.
"Oh-ho-ho! For real, mate?" Sirius Black challenged with a mischievous glint in his eye as he jumped forward and stuck his sword in the crook of James's arm, pretending to stab him. James clutched Sirius's sword, imagined pain swimming across his face as he drew out his untimely death, spinning around on the rock and falling dramatically at Sirius's feet. He sat up, broadly grinning while adjusting his black-rimmed glasses, sliding them up his long, thin nose leisurely.
"Mmm-hmm. Totally for real, Sirius. I'm gonna be King, and nobody's gonna stop me!" James proclaimed, standing up and staring his best friend right in the face. Sirius arched his eyebrow, a smirk tickling his lips as he crossed his short arms over his chest. His whippy, shaggy brown hair mimicked James's and moved haphazardly in the wind, falling into his chocolate brown eyes occasionally. Sirius narrowed his eyes daringly and leaned closer to James.
"Not if I get to be King first!" He practically screamed at James, who jumped unaware, but quickly recovered and pointed his toy sword at Sirius's heart.
"No way! Race you!" James shouted, clutching his sword as he dashed off down the hill towards the back of his house, not giving Sirius a chance to get ready.
"Oi! James! No fair!" Sirius called out as he sped up his pace to catch up with the young James, who had reached the side of the house and smacked his chubby hand on the brick with a satisfactory thwack.
"I win," James exclaimed jubilantly, "I win! I win! I win!" Sirius rolled his eyes as both boys struggled for breath, gasping at the brisk air filling their aching lungs.
"That's… 'cause… I let… you win," Sirius said between each deep breath. The two boys calmed down somewhat and plopped down tiredly on the ground. James looked off into the distance for a moment, his hand idly stroking the sword in his lap, before turning back to Sirius, who was still struggling for breath.
"Whatcha think it'd be like to be a King?" He asked, out of the blue.
"I dunno," Sirius answered cautiously, raising an eyebrow and giving James a very questioning look. James shrugged as he stared at the house next door where he'd saw a young, redheaded girl carrying a box into just the day prior.
"It'd be so cool, huh?" Sirius regarded James for a moment, wondering what he was getting at, as James seldom was serious about anything while they were playing, which was nearly all the time.
"I guess so," he answered, raising his shoulders slightly, his eyes beginning to droop.
"Well, I mean, wouldn't it be groovy? I mean, you'd get to have real big swords, and you could go and bloody up dragons! You could probably even get the newest broom! That'd be so cool! You could even get a-a... bootiful princess!" James ended, the last bit of his statement making his cheeks tinge pink.
Sirius snorted. "James! A Princess? You're weird! Girls are, like… nasty. They're always so… clean, and… and bossy! And, I heard that if a girl touches you, you break out in spots!" He paused, staring at James," Why? Do you fancy a girl?" he teased, wrinkling his nose and laughing harder, clutching his stomach tightly as James rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.
"I don't fancy a girl!" James retorted indignantly, crossing his chubby arms across his chest. "I'd just like to be King. That's all."
James Potter's eyes slowly opened as his alarm went off for the tenth time that morning after he'd successfully managed to hit the snooze button nine times on the first slap each. He sighed, rubbing his drowsy eyelids and scratched his side lazily as he slowly sat up, yawning.
His vision was blurred. He blinked several times before groping around on his nightstand to find his glasses. He then reached down on the floor to retrieve his black-rimmed spectacles once remembering where he'd haphazardly thrown them after coming in from the storm. He felt his hair, which was still damp, then yawned again. A loud, impatient, motherly voice sounded up the staircase.
"James! James Anthony Potter! Wake up! You've got fifteen minutes to get ready for Hogwarts, now get your sorry bum awake!" Her voice was full of laughter, and James's mouth forced a lazy grin. He stretched leisurely and then fell back across his bed once more, almost dozing off.
"James! Did you hear me? Wake up!" His mother's voice was louder and James jumped up, startled, when he saw his mum in the doorway of his room.
"I'm up… I'm up," James said between yawns.
His mother rolled her eyes as she closed the door behind her, yelling back, "Fifteen minutes!"
James shook his head, forcing himself to fully wake up then toddled over to the loo for a quick shower. His room was a disaster. He hadn't packed the night before, so he rushed around, throwing things into his Hogwarts trunk, darting glances at his clock incessantly.
Five minutes… gotta hurry… gotta remember to put on actual clothes, James thought hurriedly as he ran around frantically, fumbling with his wand as he threw it onto his bed. He jerked on some pants while trying to simultaneously yank his shirt over his head, tie his shoes, and throw more books into his trunk with his mouth.
He snapped his trunk closed and tucked his wand into his back pocket while attempting to comb his unruly hair. He caught a glimpse of red in the window next door and froze. Lily.
We're getting over Lily, aren't we? Lily doesn't like us, so we're getting over her. Stop talking to yourself, man," he continued thinking while smacking his forehead in agitation. He looked back at Lily again, feeling lucky that their bedroom windows ended up facing each other exactly. It was coincidence really, that he could go to sleep on some nights, when she forgot to pull her curtains, and watch her sleep. He shook his head, relieving himself of his reverie.
He dashed around last minute to make sure he had everything, took one last look at Lily, and bounded down the stairs, his mum clucking her tongue and shooing him on. He swiftly pecked her cheek and ran outside, clanging his trunk on the walk behind him noisily. Pushing his trunk into the car, he jumped in beside his father, panting and willing his father to hurry up already. He glanced once more at Lily's house, at the precise moment that the aforementioned redhead was walking out the door smoothly, sliding her hands down her jumper to eliminate the wrinkles and creases. He smiled to himself.
"You've not still got a little crush on the Evans's girl, have you?" his father asked teasingly. James swiftly turned to his father, put on his most convincing smile, and shook his head determinedly.
"No, no, of course not," he insisted, but a voice from inside his jacket pocket hissed liar. James jumped before remembering he'd jammed his mirror into his pocket just before running out of the house. He took it out quickly, pressed a small emerald that was located in the center of the silver handle, and grinned as the face of his best friend, fellow marauder, and fellow troublemaker Sirius Black appeared.
"Hey, Padfoot," James greeted before swinging the mirror to face his father. Sirius smiled charmingly at the man he considered more of a father than his own that delved in the Dark Arts. He'd spent every summer at the Potter's house for practically as long as he could remember.
"Hey, Mr. P!" Sirius said enthusiastically. Mr. Potter chuckled softly, always getting a kick at Sirius, and tipped his head.
"Hullo, Sirius," he responded. James swiveled the mirror back in his direction.
"So, Prongs, what were you saying about Evans, eh?" Sirius pressed his face against the glass eagerly and James rolled his eyes, sighing.
"Nothing! Really," he persisted. James's father decided to get in on the conversation.
"Actually, Sirius, he was just telling me how he no longer was smitten by Miss Evans," his father smirked while James made a face that clearly said shut it.
"Oh really, Prongs? After all these years? What is it now - ten?" Sirius asked innocently.
"Eleven," James said before realizing that he should've kept quiet. He glared at his best friend.
"Look, mate, are you almost at the platform yet? It's getting really boring here and Moony and Wormtail haven't dragged their arses in yet," Sirius stated blandly. James mockingly frowned.
"Awww, is poor wittle Sirius lonely?" James teased. Sirius thumped the glass on his mirror from his end on Platform 9 ¾ (the station where all the students awaiting to go to Hogwarts gathered before boarding the Hogwarts Express).
"Shut it," Sirius growled. James lightheartedly shrugged.
"We're here, Padfoot. D'you think you can manage for just a few more minutes while I get a trolley and go through the platform, or would you rather me just come straight through and protect you from the big, bad first years?" James continued. Sirius's scowl worsened.
"Ha. Ha. You're a right riot, I'm telling you. Anyway, I see Moony now. Wait, what's wrong with Wormtail? Oi, Prongs, you've gotta see this. Moony's got him by the collar and holding his nose. This can't be pretty. See you, Prongs," Sirius said before disappearing. James laughed, wondering what muck Peter Pettigrew had gotten himself in this time. He was a short boy, a clumsy boy, with watery eyes and mousy hair. He always managed to create havoc wherever they went.
Lily rushed around the train station lugging her heavy trunk behind her as she didn't have time to get a cart. She panted as her parents raced behind her, shouting out farewells. Lily looked over her shoulder, smiling, even though she was panicking at her tardiness, and waved jovially while continuing to crabwalk her trunk to Platform 9 ¾.
"Bye, Mum! Da! I'll send you an owl after I arrive at Hogwarts!" she shouted as she lost her father and step-mother in the crowd of muggles and wizards alike. She sighed and continued jogging across the train station. She could see the brick wall between Platform's 9 and 10. She glanced at her watch as several muggle train whistles blew shrilly, shrieking in her ears and causing them to ring. She was jostled along in the crowd by several people rushing by to catch trains or obtain tickets. She finally managed to swivel her watch around her wrist and glance at the time. It was thirty seconds until the Hogwarts Express started off. She'd never make it.
A moan of despair uttered from her parched mouth and she ran faster, her trunk painfully twisting her arm behind her as it bumped and bounced on the hard cement floor. Suddenly, her load became quite lighter and she sprinted towards the Platform, nearly falling through it just as the Hogwarts Express whistle began signaling the students to climb aboard. She glanced behind her and nearly dropped her trunk.
James was behind her, carrying the other end nonchalantly and grinning at her innocently. His hazel eyes played a mischievous tune behind his black-rimmed glasses. Lily pursed her lips. She had two options: miss the train and be stuck with James, or be stuck with James while she got on the train. She shook her head and picked her end of the trunk back up and stepped into the train and walked down the corridor to find an empty compartment.
A light, carefree voice called her name, and a fair arm stuck out of a compartment on Lily's left. The arm had assorted colors and sizes of bangles and bracelets dancing up and down its length. Lily paused, then shrieked and bounced on the tips of her toes. James raised an eyebrow behind her and shrugged. Lily dropped her end of her trunk hastily and ran pell-mell into the compartment, encircling another, very tall girl in her arms. The girl had white-blonde hair and baby blue eyes. Her pale skin deftly reminded James of the moonlight, but the simplicity of the moonlight was shadowed by the exotic taste in jewelry the girl seemed to have. Four, large, golden hoops dangled from each ear, and she had two necklaces on, not to mention the many bracelets lining her arms. Her hair had four tiny braids in it, with each braid entwined around a piece of ribbon. She was already in her Hogwarts robes, which was the only thing, as far as James could see, that was normally dressed for her. Lily stepped back, examining her friend.
"Crys! It's so good to see you! Where've you been all summer?" Lily shrieked, talking quickly. James leaned against the corridor wall, placing his foot on top of Lily's trunk listlessly. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. This could be awhile. Women, he thought with disdain. Crystalin, or Crys as she was to her friends, Ann Sanders was doing just the same as Lily had been. She inspected Lily from head to toe.
"You know, Lils, you need more jewelry," the girl stated jokingly. Lily mock-glared at her and stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, girl, my parents thought it'd be a treat for my sixteenth, if I went to Africa! I mean, c'mon girl, you know how I've always wanted to go there and never could; it was so exciting!" she bounced in front of Lily, clapping her hands. Lily laughed loudly at her friends excitement, then put on a faux seriousness and clucked her tongue disapprovingly.
"You mean to tell me that with all that sun, you still look like as if you've lived under a rock?" Lily teased. Crys threw her long locks of blonde hair over her shoulder haughtily.
"A girl must maintain her popularity as having perfect skin, doesn't she? Oh, and it's called a sun visor," she smirked, not waiting for Lily to respond, "Anyway, c'mon, you've got to tell me all about your summer," she announced loudly, lacing Lily's arm with her own and dragging Lily behind her. Lily barely had time to grab the handle of her trunk (causing James to stumble and fall flat on his face) before Crys had dragged her all the way in the compartment. "Now, spill," Crys demanded, whirling in front of Lily and crossing her arms in front of her chest determinedly.
"Nothing happened," Lily insisted, "You know, a regular, dull summer in Surrey, welcome to my life, and yade yada," she shrugged nonchalantly. Crys arched her eyebrow suspiciously and mimed peeping out into the corridor.
"Oh really? Then why was Monsieur James Potter helping you carry your trunk?" Lily looked around, trying to see if anyone was listening in.
"Him. Oh, well, you know -- he still has that thing for me, and I was running late, and... he offered." She paused, noticing Crys's calculating grin. "That's it -- honestly!" she added upon seeing her friends disbelieving face.
"So, you didn't have a snoggerific time with Potter over the summer holidays? I mean, he is your neighbor, and you both share that hill in the back of your houses. He's hot; you're hot. It's what people do!" Crys suggestively teased. Lily harrumphed and crossed her arms defensively.
"Crys! Be quiet. Do you want James to hear you? That's all I need right now! 'Oh, Lily, were you talking about me? Do you fancy me? Oh, Lily, be mine.' " Lily said in a faux deep, male's voice as she mimicked James. Crys burst out laughing.
"You know, Lils, you actually sound a lot like him," Crys teased.
"Love you too, witch," Lily said, trying to glare at her best friend. She glanced at her watch as she jerked her robes on over her head and smoothed her hair.
"Sorry, Crys. Prefect duties call. I'll be back soon," Lily said, darting out the compartment. Crys leaned out behind her.
"Watch out for the ickle first years, Miss Lily!" She laughed, turning back into the compartment and rummaging through Lily's trunk. "Well, so much for packing anything interesting," Crys grumbled. The fact being that the only thing remotely interesting that Crys could see in Lily's trunk was Lily's diary, but that was off-limits, naturally.
James picked himself up off the floor slowly, groaning as he adjusted his glasses.
"Smooth, Prongs," Sirius taunted, appearing above him.
"Shut it," James growled standing up. He stared wistfully at the compartment door. "Ah, Padfoot, she loves me." Sirius cocked his head to the side, thinking how Lily hadn't even turned around when James had ungracefully fallen.
"Oh yeah, mate, she definitely loves you," Sirius sarcastically agreed James threw a glare at Sirius and put his finger over his lips. He and Sirius pressed their ears to the door of the girl's compartment. They heard Lily mock James, and Sirius looked over at his best mate. James was flushing. Sirius smirked.
"You know, mate, she actually sounded a lot like you."
James and Sirius headed to their compartment, stopping only momentarily to laden their arms with sweets and flasks of pumpkin juice from the elderly lady who always pushed the food trolley up and down the corridor during the ride to Hogwarts.
"Oo nog, Sirgus, I think I sckand ah right gance with Willy… this year," James said while stuffing a rather large chocolate frog into his mouth, followed by a pumpkin pasty. He blindly licked his thumb as Sirius stared at him.
"I caught Sirius, Willy, and this year out of that whole statement, Prongs, and those three words could really make a man confused," Sirius professed. James shrugged, grinning slightly at Sirius's snide comment on his misinterpretation of Lily's name.
"Four words, and... good thing you're not a man, Padfoot, or else I'd be worried. I merely said I think I stand a good chance of getting with Lily this year," he clarified nonchalantly. Sirius raised an eyebrow and nodded his head.
"Ahh, uh-huh, so, when this master plan of yours that I know you've got cooking in the old noggin fails, come to me, and I'll find you a right easy girl - if you know what I mean," Sirius whispered mischievously, winking and nudging James in the side.
"Yeah, and after you've been slapped by a couple hundred women, come to me, and I'll show you how to meet the girl of your dreams," James retorted, just as two hands wrapped around Sirius's head, causing him to stumble backwards and choke on the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean he had just thrown into his mouth.
"Talking about me, were you?" a fairly pretty girl teased, uncovering Sirius's eyes and watching as he clutched his throat and gasped for breath. She had bark-brown hair that flowed onto her shoulders, resting there nicely, her eyes matching the intense brown of her hair. She was rather short, however, barely coming to Sirius's chin -- on tip toe. James tried to stifle a laugh as she jumped up to peck Sirius on the lips, causing a very comical scene to unfold as Sirius, still recovering from nearly choking to death, fell backwards, causing Felicia to plummet down on top of him.
James clucked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Mr. Black. You know the strict policies of shagging on a moving train. He paused for a dramatic effect whilst Sirius and Felicia rose and tried to dust themselves off. You need to at least find a compartment first," James whispered innocently, glancing in Felicia's direction. She fixed a deathly glare on him and stuck out her tongue mockingly. Sirius shrugged innocently and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Wasn't me. You're a witness; she practically threw me onto the ground, only to have her wily way with me. I could've died," Sirius placed a hand over his heart and pretended to wipe away a tear.
A boy with short, light brown hair and silver-rimmed spectacles stepped forward, pinning his Prefect badge onto his chest. His honey-colored eyes were alight with excitement.
"Now, we all clearly saw that the poor lady was not at fault here. It was plain as day that she was merely trying to dislodge the candy you had so frivolously catapulted down your throat, when she stumbled, causing you to fall. You, on the other hand, pulled her right down with yourself, and if Mr. Potter here hadn't spoken up, I have great feeling you would've done whatever you could right then and there," he accused teasingly. Sirius glared at his other friend.
"Very funny, Mr. Dictionary. 'Preciate the loyal respect and support from such loving friends, I tell you," he came back, before wrapping his arm around Felicia's waist, interrupting her dramatic shows of thanks towards Remus. Sirius suddenly put a hand over his face. "What the hell is that?" he asked under his muffling hand.
Remus hitched a thumb in the direction of the nearest compartment. "That would be Peter. He got himself in a bit of a mess before coming on the Platform," Remus explained. James walked closer, and he too quickly covered his nose. Felicia buried her face in Sirius's shoulder.
"What on earth did he do this time that stinks that bad?" she asked curiously. Remus puffed out his cheeks, annoyance with the clumsy fourth Marauder evident.
"Oh, well, you see, there was a mother and her first year son going through the Platform. Peter here was worried that he'd miss the train, so he starts running full on with his trolley to beat the mother and son through the platform. Only, his timing was a tad off, and he practically ran over the mother. Naturally, she dropped everything she was holding, including bags of her groceries, and a huge bucket of Stinksap flew into the air only to land... onto Peter's head. Thus, explaining the lingering odor," Remus drawled, frowning as they all looked at Peter, who was, at the time, skulking in a corner of the train, literally twiddling his thumbs.
"Wormtail, praytell us why you at least didn't attempt to wash the gunk off your face before planting yourself in our perfectly clean compartment?" Sirius questioned, furrowing his eyebrows as he continued to hold his nose. Peter sighed.
"B-because I was already… already late, you see, and I've no clue how to do a cleaning charm, and Moony said he had to get on the train and dressed and find you two before going on his Prefect duties, and -" Remus interrupted his groveling.
"I was hoping one of you could clean him up a bit. I know you two know the spell. I mean, how many times have you had to use it after detentions with Stimoon, eh? But, really, I'm probably right in assuming that Lily already has started her rounds; I'd better go join her," he explained, stuffing his wand into his pocket. James and Sirius nodded then whirled back into the compartment, wands out, and smug grins plastered on their faces. Felicia stood in the background, wanting no part of their apparent scheme.
Sirius leaned closely to James and whispered, "This should be fun. On the count of three…"
Lily shoveled down the corridors, occasionally breaking up a fight amongst second years, or calming the fears of a nervous first year, pushing shoulders back into compartments and making her appearance known to the couples who had decided the compartments should be used for more than just mere chatter.
"Hullo, Lily," she heard from behind her. She twirled around and smiled at the fellow Gryffindor Prefect.
"Remus! Hi!" she exclaimed. Remus grinned sheepishly in return. "How was your summer?" Lily asked, continuing on their rounds. Remus followed, tapping a third year named Gilderoy Lockhart on his head with his wand. Gilderoy had been standing on his trunk and professing that he'd slain two dragons over his summer but scowled as Remus ruined his gallant tales.
"It was alright, I guess," Remus answered vaguely, running his hand on the two rather recent cuts etching down the side of his neck. Lily nodded in agreement, not noticing the gesture.
"Yeah, that's about how mine was too -- alright, nothing much happened really this summer, did it?" She asked innocently. Remus thought back to the full moon and shuddered.
"Nope, nothing of interest happened on my end either," he answered falsely, swallowing. Lily, looking at him slightly puzzled, fished around for something else to ask, having not talked to Remus since the end of fifth year when they'd both been prefects before.
"Well, how are things with Ming and yourself? Lily asked, remembering Remus's steady girlfriend for two years. Remus gulped, a rock of guilt jetting down into the pit of his stomach. He still hadn't told Ming. He needed to tell her. He really did, but he just couldn't. She'd be gone in a heartbeat. He glanced over at Lily.
"Great, we're still together and all, you know," he said, plastering on a fake smile. Lily raised an eyebrow suspiciously but otherwise pretended as if she didn't notice. She shrugged.
"So, what are the famous Marauders up to nowadays?" Lily asked teasingly. Remus's eyes crinkled at the corners and he winked mischievously.
"Now, why would I tell you, Miss Evans? You are a Prefect after all," Remus reminded her. Lily smirked and snorted in her throat.
"Last I checked, Monsieur Lupin, you were as well," she retorted. Remus flashed an innocent grin.
"Oh, right. That. But, seriously, we're up to nothing - honest!" he said angelically before adding, "Yet." Lily laughed. Of all the Marauders, she could actually say she was somewhat friends with Remus. He wasn't arrogant like the others. He actually acted human and sane -- two qualities which gave her some hope for the other Marauders. Slim hope, but hope nonetheless. Maybe they'd grow up. Lily rolled her eyes silently at her thoughts.
Pfft. Yeah, right.