A.N.: A really short chapter just so you all don't start to think I'm MIA. More to come for sure! I really hope you enjoy the Marauders getting into band-mode ;) I would love some reviews! xx

Chapter Ten

"Daytrip"

"Okay, so what's the plan for this, then?" Lily looked expectantly around at the four boys seated around her. She felt self-conscious, sticking out in their dishevelled hair, ironic black t-shirt and cigarette universe (the latter she had demanded to be put out immediately). Ever since she had stepped over the Potter house's threshold twenty minutes ago, it was like she had entered a madhouse. The dim basement was cluttered with empty pizza cartons and packs of Bertie Botts' every flavour beans. (They hadn't cleaned up the room after all.) The walls were hung with overlapping posters and a Gryffindor banner, with light streaming through one tiny window. The only – and distinctly mouldy – seat in the basement was occupied by James.

Sirius barked his usual laugh. "We didn't make a list of bullet points, Evans," he said. "It's simple – by September, we're going to be right up there." He pointed to a poster on the opposite wall.

Lily squinted at it. "Crashing Ravens? It's that rock band, isn't it? What do they have to do with this?"

James rolled his eyes. "For someone who wants to play in our band, you're woefully uneducated about music. Crashing Ravens are not just any rock band, they're –"

"Here," Remus interrupted him before Lily could take offense. He tossed her the copy of the Lightning Bolt they had been poring over for the last few days. "The article's on page 12."

Lily flipped through the magazine to the page in question. "Wow," she said after a few moments. "London. This sounds pretty big."

"Yeah, right?" said James, pushing back his black hair from his eyes as he leaned forward. "It'll be brilliant – the five of us, on stage with Crashing-effing-Ravens. And thousands of screaming groupies."

He swapped a grin with Sirius.

Lily scowled at them. "You do realise there will be actual work involved? For starters, do any of you even play a musical instrument? I mean, apart from Remus." Her fellow was known to practice on the common room's piano several nights a week and had even accompanied the school choir at the Christmas concert last year.

"We do, actually," said James smugly. "Sirius plays the drums –"

"Lifetime of practice from annoying my parents back home," said Sirius. "Hardly anything more teenage Muggle-boy than motorcycles and drumming. I mean, apart from listening to football and smoking weed in the park."

"Peter will be our base player –," James went on.

"I'm really not that good though," interjected a blushing Peter (having a girl in the room made him even more nervous than usual).

"- and I," James threw himself down in the armchair with a satisfied grin, "shall be our scandalously sexy lead singer. E voilá – with you as our guitarist we are officially The Mischief Makers."

"You can sing?" asked Lily incredulously.

"Any girl that has ever been romanced by me can attest to that."

Lily only raised her eyebrows, deciding not to point out that she had been the subject of those attempts at romance for almost two years and had never heard a single note come from James's mouth.

"Getting back to the subject," said Remus in a gentle voice, trying to diffuse the tension. "We have all our musicians. Now we need to take care of the music. Last time we were working on 'Resurrection' by Crashing Ravens …"

"But isn't that a bit brash?" interrupted Lily. "I mean, auditioning with a song by the band you want to be performing with? They're bound to be extra critical. And it says here original songs get you more points." She pointed to the article.

"Give me that," demanded Sirius, then: "Blimey, she's right. I completely overlooked that."

"We still have a more than a month to go, though," Peter pointed out. "So there's plenty of time to get into song writing. Maybe we should just start practicing together for starters."

"Right on, Wormtail," James agreed, getting to his feet. "Let's postpone lyrics for later. 'Resurrection' it is."

On cue, the others all got to their feet. Remus looked a little annoyed, as though he would have wanted to discuss the matter further. As James began setting up the microphone and Sirius clattered around his drum set, looking for the drumsticks, Lily leaned down to Remus.

"Is it always like this?" she asked in a low voice. "James just decides and you all go along with it?"

Remus sighed, then a crooked smile appeared on his lips. "Mostly. And there are the times when Sirius decides. Come on." He led her over to their practice area, plugging in his keyboard.

Lily stood a little to the side, her hands twisting nervously in her light blue sweater as she watched them. They looked so at home in this basement and amongst each other, joking and throwing bundles of cables to each other. James was testing the microphone with a series of made-up swear words and Sirius was laughing. He had put on a moth-eaten red fedora hat which he referred to as his "stage outfit" and James called "his attention-seeking sign". Peter was watching them with the look of incredulity and awe in his eyes that he had been chosen to be a part of this. Remus, meanwhile, was testing out chord progressions on his keyboard, smiling to himself, retreating to his own world the way he sometimes did.

And where did she, Lily, fit in here? She wasn't the kind of girl who craved a stage, to throw her hair around to crashing cymbals and showing the world how great she was. She was the kind of girl whose sister hated her and who had just run off from home to hide in the basement of a boy she despised. What was she doing here?

"Come on, Evans, stop dreaming," James prompted her. "Get out your guitar so we can get going."

She blinked. "My guitar?"

He tapped the microphone with one finger so there was a strange rushing noise from the speakers. "Didn't you bring it?"

"Er, James," she gave a nervous laugh, "I only have an acoustic guitar. Which is sort of completely wrong for a rock band."

James stared at her for a moment. She half-expected him to start yelling at her, but then he surprised her by laughing. "Well, that's just great." He pushed a hand through his hair, rumpling it again. "Ha. I really didn't think about that."

The others had all paused to stare at him. Uh-uh, thought Lily. Major crisis.

"Damn, Evans, that's right," said Sirius, looking downtrodden. "You play acoustic."

An image of herself on stage with the Marauders in a floral summer dress and clutching her good old acoustic guitar floated up before her inner eye and she felt the corners of her mouth twitch despite herself. "I bet that would have been original," she said. "Crashing Ravens would have definitely had a nice surprise."

"Yeah, we could have played The Beatles or something," added Sirius. "Maybe Peter could have thrown some flowers?"

"But seriously, Potter," said Lily, "I thought you were supposed to be rich. I get the whole grunginess of this basement and all, but don't you just have an electric guitar just lying around somewhere? Made of gold? Signed by Corico?"

Sirius und Peter both laughed. "There she goes again," said Sirius. "'I thought you were supposed to be rich.' I swear, I've never met anyone this honest; it's refreshing. Hats off to you, Evans." Since he was actually wearing a hat, he swept it off dramatically as he made a bow to her.

"Okay, guys, shut it," said James, putting up his hands in mock defeat. "I'll take care of this. One moment."

He climbed out from behind his microphone and slipped out of the basement. Lily stared after him. "Where's he going now?"

"Daddy-o," replied Sirius, twirling one of the drumsticks between his fingers. "Gringotts to the rescue."

And indeed, five minutes later, James had re-appeared with a big grin on his face and what looked like a bag of golden galleons in his hand. "So Evans," he said, "how about a spot of shopping?"