Five years.
Five years ago Lady Lily Evans had put away her dresses and switched them for breeches.
She'd never thought they'd be so comfortable.
Now?
Many things had changed.
The Ministry, previously under the control of Cornelius Fudge, was now bound with Rufus Scrimgeour.
Lily was 22 years old.
She had also moved up in the ranks. She now spent most of her days in the crows nest playing lookout. It was a job that suited Lily perfectly. She didn't have to lug around much of the heavy cargo and not many people got a good look at her face, which had angled out over the years into one of a woman.
Mad-Eye had mysteriously retired two years ago, after what was a supposed row with the old captain, Fudge.
Arthur Weasley had also said his goodbyes three years ago after stopping at a port, he met a vibrant woman named Molly Prewett. In a recent letter, Lily knew they already had their first two children, William and Charlie (Lily was also flattered that they had named their second child after her, whether the name be false or not.).
Mary, her former maid back at home, had gotten married to Ethan, a manservant six months after Lily left. They had one baby girl, Claire, who was five in April.
Oh, and Benny and Arthur also knew about her... womanly features.
Lily couldn't help but smile at the memory, and she shifted a little so the top of her head was just poking out of the crowsnest.
She had known both Arthur and Benny for almost a year at that point. It was a Friday night, and for some reason, had decided to play tag in their cabin. Arthur really had no excuse, Lily thought wryly, he was nearing his twentieth birthday then.
"Come on, Charlie, take off the bandana!" Benny had shouted as he ran after her.
He and Arthur (just a little bit drunk) had been plowing through the endeavor of seeing Lily's -or Charlie's- hair free.
"No!" Lily had yelled back. One fatal mistake, and her world could come toppling down, "Just leave it Benny!"
But Arthur tackled her from behind and together, the three of them had fallen in a heap on the floor.
"Aha!" Benny yelled, pumping a fist in the air as Arthur cheered.
"Please don't," Lily begged, "Leave me alone!"
"Sorry, Char," Benny said mock somberly, "No can do."
"As part of the pact we made six months ago, we must reveal all identities. That includes the hair," Arthur stated robotically, chuckling at the end, "He made me say that," he jerked his head towards Benny.
"We made a pact?" Lily asked. This she did not remember. Then again, that was Benny for you. They probably didn't do it at all.
"Yes." Benny said at the said time Arthur said, "Apparently."
Lily shrugged and made to get up. Benny, however, noticed and pulled her back down so that she landed with an 'oophf'.
"Not so fast," he grinned, "Arthur, would you like to do the honors?"
"I most certainly would." Arthur placed a hand on Charlie's neck, and another on the top of his head.
"Ready?" he asked Benny.
Benny nodded, "On the count of three. One, two, THREE!"
The bandana came off with a flourish. Both boys stared in shock as the boy they formerly knew as Charlie had suddenly become very feminine, what with the longauburn locks that flowed down his- or her, now- back.
"Charlie?" Arthur managed to choke out.
"Yeah." Benny flinched at the high voice that Lily thought useless to hide now.
"You're a... girl," Benny said, disgusted, but then his expression suddenly cleared, "HA! I win the bet?"
Lily rolled her eyes. Three months ago, Lily had dared him to stop making moves on every girl they crossed at the ports they stopped at. Benny, cockily, had risen to the challenge, but found the habit very hard to break. It looked like Benny had finally found a girl he could not bear to flirt with.
"As lovely as that is," Arthur broke in, "I'd like to know why Charlie- if that's her name- got aboard this ship."
Lily looked at them fearfully, "My name isn't Charlie. It's Lily."
And then she spilled out everything that had been plaguing her for two years.
Lily once again grinned as she remembered how Benny had been horrified that LIly hadn't told them the truth from the beginning.
Arthur, however, understood the need to keep it a secret, something that Lily had, many times, pointed out to Benny.
"Charlie!" she heard Benny call her "name" from the deck.
Even though Benny had long since accepted her secret, it was still necessary that he call her "Charlie" when they didn't have the privacy of their cabin.
Lily swung on the rope draped lazily over the side of the crowsnest and held onto it tightly as she jumped over the edge.
She grinned. Ever since finally getting the hang of rope-swinging, Lily never missed an opportunity to take advantage of it.
She landed lightly beside Benny who gave her a mild scolding.
"I don't like it when you do that, Lils," he whispered, "You look like you're going to fall."
Lily rolled her eyes, "Shove off and get used to it."
"That's not ladylike," Benny sung.
"My previous comment is repeated," Lily said dryly.
Benny flicked her on the arm, "The captain said to tell you to stay up in the crowsnest for the rest of today and tomorrow," benny lowered his voice, "He says there's been a pirate ship spotted around these areas. It hasn't been comfirmed whether or not it's himthough."
Though Lily knew "him" was the notorious pirate captain, Tom Riddle, and that he was a matter not to be joked with, she tried to keep the atmosphere light anyway.
"You dragged me all the way down here to tell me to go back up?" she wacked him, "Thanks a lot."
Benny's concerned expression was wiped off his face, "Just being a good friend!" he said cheerfully, "Keep a sharp eye on the horizon." Winking at her, he skipped back to his job as a senior ship hand.
Lily shook her head, but climbed back up to her position.
The rest of the day was relatively boring, except when Benny had swung up around sunset for his hour off.
He had also brought some bread and jam for a late lunch, for which Lily had been thankful for.
"Thank you," she said gratefully, as she took her share from him, "I'm starving."
"No problem," he replied, taking a bite out of his sandwich, "Thought you might need it."
"I wonder how Arthur is doing," Benny said aloud after a few moments of silents.
"He has another one on the way, doesn't he?" Lily answered.
"Yeah. We're seeing him around OCtober again. Captain said we'll be stopping at the Burrow for some grain and rice."
"That'll be fun," Lily said enthusiastically, "I can't..."
She trailed off and stood up as a black dot was highlighted against the setting sun.
It was unmistakeably another ship.
Benny stood next to her and squinted, confused as to her pause.
"Ah," Benny said softly.
"Get the captain," Lily ordered, "Quickly."
Normally, Benny would have made a jab about her ordering him around, but now he just nodded and hurried down.
Lily, leaned forward, straining her eyes to catch sight of the flag.
She frowned as she realized she could not get sight of the colours because of the light the sun cast on them.
It seemed they would just have to wait.
Captain James Potter stood by the bow of his ship, The Marauder.
His first mate, Sirius Black leaned on the railing in front of him, grinning excitedly.
"That's a merchant ship, " Sirius pointed out unnecessarily, "I bet there's loads of loot on that."
"You don't say," James replied sarcastically.
"Don't get lippy with me, Jimmy," Sirius sung.
"I'm the captain," James stated, "i can do whatever I want."
"Ah, yes, but I"m the best mate of our esteemed captain," Sirius nudged him, "So can I."
"If you want to raid this ship, I'd suggest you two stop getting distracted," the dry, friendly voice of Remus Lupin, second mate appeared behind them and James and Sirius turned around quickly as if they were small children being caught in an act of mischief.
"Us?" James questioned innocently, spreading out his fingers in front of him, "Distracted? Never."
"Right," Remus dragged out the word sarcastically.
"He's right though," Sirius interrupted, bouncing on his heels, "We do need to get going."
James and Remus stared at him, "When did you grow up?" James asked disgustedly.
"By growing up, I'm assuming you mean the maturity of a five year old. He's never going to grow up." Remus put in.
"True," James conceded.
"Yes, yes, we can discuss this later," Sirius pushed past them hurriedly, "Get on with captain-y stuff, James.
Rolling his eyes, James readied himself to give the order that would possibly change lives.
"Alright you dogs!" he yelled at his crew, "Get to work! Hoist the colours! Get the cannons ready!"
His crew sped around, Remus deserted him as he strode forwards to do his own job.
James walked back towards the wheel where he tried to get a good look at the ship.
It must have been easier to look through his way, as the sun was not as blinding. He doubted the other ship could tell if they were pirates or not.
Taking out his telescope, he peered through the hole, managing to spot two lone figures sitting on the edge of the crowsnest. They were both laughing and eating something that James couldn't discern.
Suddenly, the smaller figure stood stock still and James could tell he had seen them. He chuckled as the taller figure hurried down the ropes clumsily. James blindly reached out to turn the wheel so they would approach the ship faster.
Soon, there would be war
Lily watched from her post as the ship got closer, suddenly taking on a more urgent speed.
"Jones!" The captain was shouting from below, "How far 'till they reach us?"
Lily bit her lip, "About twenty minutes, sir. Maybe less," she called down.
The captain nodded and turned to give an order to the men, "Be ready for defense, but don't set anything up." He turned back to look up at Lily, "When you see their flag, shout down to us immediately."
"Will do, sir," she scanned the ship. Faintly, she could see one tall silhouette, obviously a male. It seemed like he was the only one standing still, so he must have some standing in authority.
Suddenly, there was a dimming of the sun and Lily caught sight of their flag.
"Sir!" she shouted down, "Their flag… they're pirates!"
I fixed the spacing issues!
Also, if any of you have read How it all Began, my other L/J HP fic, you'll know that there is a contest going on for my reviewers.
So, whoever can enter the funniest review, whether it be a cheesy pickup line, or an old joke, or something plain funny, gets a one-shot about whatever they like.
So,
REVIEW