Much Ado About...something?

Chapter 1: My Dear Lady Disdain

"Lizzie, you didn't!"

"I did," the aforementioned girl whined. "But I didn't know what else to do! You know how I hate silences!"

Lily Evans, Elizabeth Fox, and Ananda Rose sat in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, heading toward their seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"So you just didn't call him?" Lily stared at her brown-haired friend, her fierce green eyes filled with disbelief. "Poor Owen's probably still sitting by his phone waiting for it to ring!"

Lizzie shook her head, her bright blue eyes slightly apprehensive, cowering away from her fervent friend.

"Seriously, Liz," Nandi spoke up, shaking her short, dark brown locks out of her face. The Indian girl was always the voice of reason. "When you've only gone on two dates with a guy, and it's obvious he is falling madly in love with you (and let's be serious, who wouldn't fall in love with you?), there's sure to be awkward silences while he just stares at you longingly and you coyly blush and look away!" She and Lily both laughed as Lizzie did just that.

Lizzie was the youngest of the group, so Lily and Nandi always knew they had to look after her. The three girls were as close as sisters, and Lizzie was the baby.

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this," Lily said, confused. "So you stopped seeing a guy because there were awkward silences? That's why you keep seeing him, so you can get to know each other and get rid of them! Oh, Lizzie!" In her typical dramatic fashion, she gave a distraught sigh and fell sideways onto Nandi's lap, her fiery red hair draping ungracefully onto the seat.

Lizzie also sighed, but this one was small and resigned. "I know it wasn't the best idea, guys, but he's a Muggle and it would never have worked out."

The two other girls exchanged exasperated glances. "Lizzie!" Nandi's eyes grew wide. "You're a half-blood! Your father is a Muggle and your mother is a witch! Come on, now!"

Lily's temper was beginning to rise. "You couldn't even give him a chance? Good Lord." She frowned and looked at her watch. "This isn't over!" She said, pointing an angry finger at Lizzie. "Liz, we have to go to the Heads' compartment. You know, I have to give all you little Prefects instructions." She jokingly pinched Lizzie's right cheek. Lizzie laughed, swatting her hand away.

She grabbed Lizzie's arm tightly, meriting an "ow! Lilyyy," and with a "bye, Nand" they were off.

The two girls reached the compartment, and before they opened the door, Lily reached up and adjusted her Head Girl badge that was pinned to her Muggle top. Lily took a deep breath, and with a comforting squeeze of the hand from Lizzie, opened the compartment door.

Two boys lounged in the compartment: one Lily expected, and the other she dreaded.

Remus Lupin, the other seventh year prefect, looked up through his light brown bangs and smiled pleasantly, but with a slight air of apprehension about him.

Lily only understood his apprehension when the other boy turned around from the papers he was reading.

"Look what the cat dragged in," the boy said with his trademark smirk, quickly glancing Lily up and down, his hazel eyes sparkling behind wire-rimmed glasses.

"James Potter!" Lily fumed. "The appertaining rage at such a greeting is completely overshadowed by the fact that you are not supposed to be here! This is the Heads' compartment, only for Heads and Prefects!"

"Well, my dear Lady Disdain," James just laughed, running a casual hand through his perpetually messy black hair. Lily frowned at this gesture. "That is exactly why I am here."

"But you are not a Prefect!" Lily cried, frustrated. Her eyes grew wide and even fiercer (if possible) when realization dawned on her. "No. No no no no no no no..."

"Oh yes. I am the Head Boy."

Lily was so worn out by now–from her argument with Lizzie, followed by her anger at James, and now this dreadful news–that she just sunk into a plush seat on the side and repeated "no no no" to herself, covering her eyes with her hands and shaking her head side to side. James watched her, amused.

"Congratulations, James!" Lily heard Lizzie say pleasantly.

"Why, thank you, Miss Lizzie," James's charm was turned on immediately, and he kissed her hand, but Lizzie was well aware that best friend's ex-boyfriends were way off-limits.

Lily and James had been Hogwarts' "it couple" for a whole year. James chased after Lily for the first three years of school, then finally in the middle of their fourth year, she gave in and the two fell head-over-heels in love with each other. But James ruined it. He cheated on Lily with a girl named Caroline Payne. Lily was devastated and broke it off immediately, but it also broke her heart. She hadn't had a boyfriend since. For a while James tried to get her back, but her disdain and scorn drove him to grow just as contemptuous as she became. Now, the two could not be in a room together without an argument breaking out.

Lizzie gave a small smile to Remus, who she thought had a funny expression on his face as he looked at her. She shook it off, took the seat next to Lily, and began to comfort her. A few seconds later, Lizzie glanced back up to find Remus still staring. She did her trademark move: she blushed and looked away coyly.

Lily had calmed down enough at this point to notice this interaction, and she made a mental note to pester Lizzie about it later. Lily was jealous, of course. Lizzie had just stopped seeing one guy when she caught the attention of another. Them are the breaks, Lily figured, in having perfect friends.

Soon, the other prefects began to trickle in, and Lily was forced to pull herself together. Before Lily could even take a breath and begin her spiel, James had jumped in.

"Alright, people, settle down. Let's get this meeting started, shall we?"

Lily's head snapped to him, but she just rolled her eyes and gave the speech. Apparently James had done his research, he jumped in multiple times with surprisingly helpful additions. The two passed out the passwords to the common rooms, and the compartment emptied back out.

Lily grabbed Lizzie, this time meriting a, "not againnn!" and dragged her out of the compartment, not without a "bye, Remus! Oh, and James..." also from Lizzie, which, in turn, caused a giggle from Lily.

Remus held James back in the compartment.

"Prongs, did you notice Lizzie Fox?" Remus asked anxiously, his grey eyes wide.

"I didn't notice her, but I looked at her." James chuckled at his own (weak) wit. "Merlin, Moony, let go!"

"Oh sorry," Remus let go of his death grip on James' arm. "Seriously, though, James," James could tell that Remus was earnest, so he gave him his attention. "She's gotten really beautiful."

"Good god, Moony, she looks the same as she always did."

"No! I mean, she's always been pretty, but now...And she's kind and sweet," he insisted. "And she's immune to your charm!"

"And that makes her good, how...?"

"Come on, Prongs, give me a break!"

"Alright, alright. I'll admit, she's pretty good-looking," he conceded. "If Lily wasn't possessed with a rage at all times, she'd be much hotter, like...hm...like May to December. Ow!" James grinned, holding his arm where Remus had punched it. "Alright, fine, let's go find the others."

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When the girls returned to the compartment they were in before, Lily was expecting to be able to grill Lizzie about Remus in private. But, no such luck.

Sitting too close to an extremely annoyed looking Nandi was none other than Sirius Black, while Peter Pettigrew was sitting across from them, looking thoroughly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Nandi was having none of this.

She looked up, grateful, when we walked in. "Oh my god, you guys. Took you long enough!"

"Sorry Nand," Lily apologized. "But you'll never guess who's Head Boy!"

"James Potter, yeah, I know, this bloke over here told me." Nandi told them, jerking her thumb toward the "bloke."

"Well fine, Sirius, steal my thunder, why don't you!" Lily laughed.

Sirius jumped up and, in true Marauder form, kissed Lily's hand. She just laughed and swatted his arm. Lily and Sirius, somehow, were extremely close friends, even with the tension between their groups. For the two of them, dating never came to mind. Though their personalities were complete opposites, they managed to get along very well.

"Hello, Peter," Lily greeted the fourth marauder amicably. "Did you have a good summer?"

"It was alright," He smiled, "thanks, Lily. Congratulations on Head Girl."

When Lizzie walked in after Lily, Sirius comically bowed so that his nose was almost reaching the floor. The two new arrivals laughed, but all Sirius's antics got out of Nandi were an eye-roll and a frustrated huff.

Lily sat down next to Peter, then shot right back up, her eyes narrowed and annoyed. "Wait! If you two are here, that means that..."

With impeccable timing, the compartment door slid open to reveal Remus and James.

"Oh, brother." She sank down into her seat.

"Well, if it isn't the Head Girl," James feigned elation, then quickly dropped the act. "Sirius, let's go find a different compartment." He looked over at Sirius to find him attempting—with no luck—to wrap his arm around Nandi's waist.

"What? Oh, Prongs, it's you..." Sirius said, distracted. "How about, hm...not? Let's stay here." He didn't stop staring at Nandi, who groaned.

"Yeah, let's stay." Remus agreed, sitting across from Lizzie, who, you guess it, blushed.

James just slammed the compartment door closed and flopped down onto a seat, which happened to be right across from Lily.

Lily glared at him, then glanced about the compartment, taking in her two best friends sitting with Marauders. "Well, this is going to be fun!" she cried, her voice dripping with sarcasm, before slumping down into her seat.

A/N: So I wrote this story a while ago. Like, a LONG while ago. And just recently I've kind of realized that it sucked. So I am redoing it. It'll pretty much be the same but hopefully better. Let me know what you think!