Sirius Black pulled himself up off his quilt-clad bed regretfully as the rest of his dorm mates whined and complained like babies from the doorway.
"I'm bloody starving, Padfoot. Let's go!" Remus Lupin, a quiet, sandy haired werewolf called from the door.
"Yeah, I second that! I'm starving too!" Peter Pettigrew, a short, chubby boy piped up from his spot leaning against the wall outside of the door.
"You're always hungry, so it doesn't count, Wormtail." Sirius grumbled while throwing a jumper on over his head and walking to the mirror.
"You're so selfish. Checking your hair while your best mates are wasting away." James Potter exclaimed, while leaning on Remus dramatically.
"Oi, get off me, Prongs."
"But Mooooooooony!" James, a messy haired, lanky teenager with deep hazel eyes framed by glasses whined loudly, causing Sirius to whop him upside the head as he passed through the doorway and out into the stairwell.
"OW!"
"Man up, Prongs!" Sirius called as he used his long legs to his advantage and galloped down the stairs three at a time.
"Bloody prick." James mumbled, rubbing his head where it had been hit by Sirius. Peter giggled.
The boys, or the Marauders, as they called themselves, made their way to the portrait hole, exiting the Gryffindor common room. Well, after Remus had to go back and retrieve Sirius who stopped to hit on some fifth years near the red couches.
"Do you have to hit on every living thing that breathes?" Remus asked, one hand grabbing the collar of Sirius' shirt as he dragged the womanizer out the portrait hole.
"All living things breathe, Moony." Peter piped up.
"And to answer your question, no, I don't have nor do I want to hit on any living thing. Breathing or not."
"Oh? Is that so?" Remus asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, I would never hit on Pete." Sirius said seriously, eyes wide.
"How kind." Remus mumbled, rolling his eyes.
Sirius' serious expression broke and he ginned at little Peter, "Just kidding, Wormtail. You're drop dead gorgeous." Sirius wiggled his fingers at the blonde-haired boy as he performed his famous wink and grin, which caused Peter to giggle.
"So, you remembered everything, Moony? The house elves let you in?" James asked, forcing the previous conversation to come to a halt. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about what the marauders were about to do. They made their way down to the Great Hall for a much awaited feast.
"Yeah, it took a little convincing, but who can say no to the charming Padfoot?" Remus said the last part sarcastically.
"I know, even the house elves are attracted to me!" Sirius interjected, smirking cockily.
"Yeah, yeah. You're gorgeous, we know." Peter said under his breath from next to Sirius.
Remus snorted, but when Sirius turned around, Remus quickly composed his facial expression into something more innocent-looking.
As James wasn't paying attention to the conversation yet again, this caused James to question Remus and unknowingly put a stop to Sirius' remark. "Are you sure everything's ready? Did you have enough for everyone?"
"Yes, Prongs. Calm down." Remus said in a calm voice as they entered the Great Hall.
"You're right," James shook himself slightly then grinned. "This prank will be wicked."
"When are they not?" Sirius grinned too.
James didn't hear his words, however, because as they made their way along the Gryffindor table, a certain red-haired, green-eyed Lily Evans immediately stole his attention.
Talking and laughing with her friends, James automatically steered his body in her direction to go sit down in the seat beside her. The boys rolled their eyes but followed suit.
The two groups of friends (besides James and even Lily) knew that Lily had, on some level, been attracted to James since around fourth year. They were sure that she still was deep down. She was just in total denial, for she had hated him (or so it seems) for so many years that she didn't even recognize the fact that she fancied him. Hating him became a habit, a tradition, for her and she wasn't ready to let go of it yet.
James almost ruined her chances of full out fancying him though, because James just couldn't leave Lily's ex-best friend, a Slytherin named Severus Snape, alone for two seconds. One sunny afternoon after their OWLs, curses flew, words were screeched, and laughter echoed around the grounds.
Severus called Lily a mudblood when she had tried to defend him, and James just had to stick his arse right up in the fight too. The friendship ended there and so did (most of) Lily's attraction to James because, even Sirius admitted it, James was being a prick.
James had matured somewhat over the summer, though. Her words hit him hard. He acted like she didn't affect him at all, but Sirius, Remus and Peter saw through it. Starting with when he supposedly went right to 'sleep' when they got back to the dorm room that eventful afternoon.
"Evans! Your summer was good, I hope?" James asked, a bright smile on his face as he flat out ignored the third year girl sitting beside Lily. He wriggled his hips between their shoulders until the third year moved over, throwing a glare in his direction. It melted off her face quickly though and was replaced by a smile and a batt of her mascaraed eyelashes because she looked up to the handsome face of James Potter. Even if he was looking in the opposite direction, at another girl.
"It was fine, Potter." Lily replied cooly, sparing him the shortest of glances.
Everyone knew her summer wasn't, though.
The whole Petunia Evans (Lily's sister) issue was not something that was often discussed, because it made Lily so sad, but was always the first to pop up in their heads when Lily's home life was mentioned.
When Lily got her Hogwarts letter, being a witch, her sister was insanely jealous because she was a muggle. Wanting powers like her beautiful and special sister, she resorted to jealously, snide and hurtful comments, the silent treatment, cold stares, and even fury towards Lily. The sisters haven't had a proper conversation in years because of it.
And now, just this past summer, Petunia came home one night with her awful, whale-like boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, and a big clunky diamond ring on her fourth finger.
Lily's mum had cried, her dad smiled, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. When Lily herself tried to congratulate Petunia on the engagement, Petunia had said that 'freaks' weren't allowed at her wedding and this would be the last time they would speak.
To say Lily was crushed was the understatement of the century.
Sirius glanced around the surrounding area for a seat, the last of the first years' names being called for sorting echoing around the hall. He finally decided to sit down at the table next to Harmony Sea, a fellow Gryffindor. He started to say hello to her, as she was often around him because of her friendship with Remus and the fact that they'd sort of known each other for years. When he turned to Harmony, he was taken completely aback.
This wasn't the Harmony he remembered.
Well, look-wise, anyway.
Her hair had grown long and very curly, just touching her waist, it was a shiny golden brown that glowed in the candlelit Great Hall. Her skin was tan and smooth, not a blemish in sight. Her cheekbones stood out remarkably as she smiled and contributed to the conversation with her friends, her straight teeth glinting, the homemade string and leather friendship-like bracelets around her wrists sliding back and forth as Harmony gestured wildly as she spoke.
Sirius had never really looked at her before; he didn't notice the little things that he was noticing now. She definitely changed over the summer. He only stopped staring at her when she turned abruptly to the side to see who was suddenly next to her.
"Black." Harmony nodded solemnly, like they were at a funeral.
"Sea, why so cold?" Sirius asked, shooting the dazzling smile that was only reserved for girls at her.
Surprise took over her facial features for a moment or two when Sirius greeted her with such a friendly attitude. It passed quickly as she replied, "I guess I didn't really have a reason to be warm." Harmony's words might have stuck with him if she hadn't smiled at the last part.
"What better reason to be warm if you could make a new friend?" Sirius asked as the platters in front of them filled suddenly and Sirius started piling food onto his plate.
"A potential new friend isn't that great of a reason." Harmony contemplated as she took a bite of pasta.
"Sure it is. You never know who could be your soulmate." Sirius said as he shoved half of a chicken cutlet into his mouth.
"But there's also the chance that they could be a total git-faced arsehole." Harmony countered, while sipping pumpkin juice from her goblet.
"Only if they're Slytherin." Sirius said with a mouthful of potato, spewing the half chewed food all over the table.
Remus stopped in mid-sentence and looked over at Sirius in disgust. "Sorry, Harmony. Sirius here is part dog."
Sirius and James snorted loudly at Remus' comment, evidently recalling some inside joke while Remus grabbed a napkin and pushed the potato chunks into a little pile under Sirius' dish.
Harmony chuckled lightly before turning back to her friends.
"Sirius Black, eh?" Liven asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Good catch."
"Can I not have one conversation with someone of the male gender without being questioned? For the love of Merlin's saggy left test-" Harmony stopped talking and look around at everyone.
She might have said the last part rather loudly because the marauders stopped their conversation, James in mid-sentence, and burst out laughing. Harmony blushed and sent a glare to Liven who was also snorting with laughter.
"Carry on, carry on." Harmony mumbled to everyone who was watching her while throwing a noodle at Liven angrily.
"Merlin's-" Sirius started but broke off laughing.
"Saggy-" James tried to continue.
"Well, that's a new one." Remus stated while a smile twitched at his lips.
Peter calmed down enough to start eating again, and the others soon broke off into conversation.
"Well, boys? You ready?" Sirius asked his mates as the dinner plates emptied a little while later.
"As we'll ever be, I reckon." Peter replied.
As the desserts began to appear, screeches and cries of surprise and disgust echoed around the hall. The sixth year Gryffindor girls jumped back in shock and Becca almost fell off her chair, grabbing onto Remus' shirt before she could land on the stone floor.
Crawling on every chocolate, cake, muffin, biscuit, and even jello cube were big, black cockroaches. Not real, of course, but bewitched gummies bought from Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade. A great buy, on the marauder's part.
"SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS OFF!" the third year girl beside James screeched loudly, clearly wanting James to come to her rescue because a rather large cockroach was crawling across her plate.
The hall was in an uproar, some first years burst into tears, they were mainly girls, and the older students just laughed.
Dumbledore was smiling merrily from the staff table as he popped one into his mouth chewing then licking his lips as he reached for another. Professor McGonagall was staring at him like he just grew another head...or ate a live cockroach.
The Slytherins looked furious, most of them, and Narcissa Black was making a random fifth-year pull them off her plate, as if they were pieces of hair in her salad.
Harmony spun on Sirius and grinned, "'Cockroach gummies, as they crawl, so does your skin!'" Harmony quoted, as if she had read the display at Zonko's a hundred times.
"How did you know?" Sirius asked, impressed.
"Let's just say that I've probably given that store enough money to support them for a year. Or two." Harmony smiled, her eyes twinkling, cheeks glowing.
"Oh right, you and your pyromaniac tendencies." Sirius teased, nudging her shoulder with his arm.
"Always." Harmony grinned like a maniac.
After the hall had calmed down, which took a while, Dumbledore stood up to give his yearly start-of-term-speech.
"Thank you, to that kind person, or kind people-" he looked directly at the marauders seated at the Gryffindor table- "-for that wonderful and tasty start to our term. Now, our caretaker, Mr Filch would like to remind all students..."
Dumbledore's voice faded into the background as (having heard this speech five times before, now six) Harmony pondered her new-connection? realization? interaction? -with Sirius Black.
Never being particularly close to the marauders, spare Remus, and pretty much just on speaking terms and last-name-basis, Harmony shocked even herself when she realized she quite liked them. And Sirius. He was arrogant and insensitive sometimes, but everyone has their good sides. Little did she realize, she was just beginning to find his.
A/N- Thanks for reading!