DISCLAIMER: None of these are mine, except for the characters that have never been mentioned in any of the Harry Potter books. Plot inspired by Meteor Garden/Hana Yori Dango. The former I didn't finish watching, the latter I've only heard about.
A/N: The Marauders are in their seventh year.
"Which ones are the Marauders?"
"Find two idiots who are either having a food fight or showing off. There'll be two other idiots egging them on. Those four are the Marauders."
—On the Marauders (at the great hall for dinner)
CHAPTER ONE
(black envelope)
"…. those four fine founders may be dead, but it never takes me long, to think about what's in your head, and find where you belong." The Sorting Hat, a tattered object in the midst of the gleaming furnishings of the Great Hall, finished its song. It gave a deep bow, and the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, smiled benignly. Next to him, Professor McGonagall stood up, the familiar stern look on her face. The students clapped loudly.
The Great Hall was ablaze with torchlight. The line of pale first-years joined the applause, but looked more worried about the Sorting than impressed with the song of the hat. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat until everyone was quiet, then she unrolled the parchment she was holding and began.
"Adams, Helen," she called out. Helen was sorted into Ravenclaw, and obligingly, the Ravenclaws cheered.
"Allen, Diana." A first year with huge blue eyes walked nervously to the Sorting Hat and put it on. A moment of silence, then, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Lily Evans cheered. Next to her, the relief was obvious in Mara Allen's wide blue eyes as she pulled up a chair for her sister.
When Diana was seated, she turned to Mara and whispered, "I hope Terri gets into Gryffindor."
"Who's Terri?" Mara asked. "By the way, Lily – you remember my sister? Di?"
"Hi, Diana," Lily said, smiling.
Terri turned out to be a thin first-year girl who, to Diana's delight, ended up in Gryffindor. The two of them had hit it off immediately after sitting next to each other in the Hogwarts Express, and later on, during the feast, they continued what seemed to be a rather interesting conversation, which had begun on the train when Terri asked Diana what tidbits of useful gossip she had gotten from her elder sister.
"Which ones are the Marauders?" Terri asked. By then it was the feast, and she had been introduced to some other Gryffindors, and felt more at ease. She sipped on pumpkin juice.
Diana shrugged. "I don't know. Everything I've been telling you is only based on what my sister told me."
"Ask her," Terri prodded.
Diana put down a tart she was eating and tapped Mara on the shoulder. "Which ones are the Marauders?"
Before Mara could answer, Lily said, "Find two idiots who are either having a food fight or showing off. There'll be two other idiots egging them on. Those four are the Marauders."
"Why do you hate the Marauders so much?" Mara asked, wrinkling her nose.
"They're bullies," Lily said matter-of-factly. "Don't tell me you don't see that."
"I do, but they're so -- well -- cool about it. And usually the people they bully deserve it."
Lily's look was more eloquent than words in expressing what she thought of that statement. Her emerald eyes darkened and flashed, seeming to spill incredulity, and something more threatening, into the rest of her features. Diana and Terri didn't notice, but Mara took one glance at her friend's expression and hastily decided to change the subject.
"Did you hear about this new thing they're planning?" she asked quickly. "Everyone's talking about it. If you annoy the Marauders, they'll mail you a pure black envelope, and inside will be a blood-red note with a silver claw emblazoned on it. Then they'll make your life miserable."
To Mara's relief, Lily burst out laughing. "What? Even they wouldn't be that pathetic!"
"It's not pathetic," Mara protested. "It's –"
"I know, I know. Cool." Lily made a face.
Beside them, the first years were no longer listening. Following Lily's instructions, they had located the Marauders – four guys basking in being the center of attention at the other end of the Gryffindor table.
The first one had messy black hair, eyes that glittered with sharp intelligence, and a physique that bespoke of many hours spent training for Quidditch. The second one, sitting next to him, was more quiet than his friends, but something in his calm, cool stillness was oddly alluring. The third was nondescript; chatty and nervous-looking, shorter and pudgier than his companions. The last had black hair and black eyes; a lithe, lean figure; and a way of smiling that could instantly charm anyone, from pretty girls to angry professors.
James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black, respectively. Although Diana and Terri didn't know that yet.
Diana tried to be discreet with her darting glances, but Terri stared openly and directly at the one she considered most handsome. He noticed her staring, and winked. A flush swept up Terri's cheeks, and she looked down, embarrassed.
Mara observed the exchange and said, "That's Sirius Black. I warn you, he's an incredible flirt." Terri turned even redder, and stole another glance at Sirius.
On the other side of the table, James Potter followed his friend's stare to a blushing first year and snickered. "You like her?"
"Not really," Sirius admitted, giving the girl his best smile.
"I figured as much." James absently tried to pat down his unruly black hair as his gaze wandered to Lily, whose was deep in conversation with Mara.
Sirius laughed. "No need to ask if you like her."
James shrugged and grinned, then turned away.
Lily, unaware of the thorough once-over she had been given, was saying to Mara, "If the Marauders ever try that black envelope stunt on me, I will hex them all into oblivion. Starting with Remus."
"Remus? But he's the nicest of the lot."
"I know. And because of that, he should know better."
Mara shook her head, not bothering to argue with that bit of twisted logic. "What about the rest of them?"
Lily, preoccupied with stuffing food into her mouth, didn't answer.
--- --- ---
A night later, some time past midnight, the Marauders – as they were proud to call themselves – decided to hold a conference. Typically, the Gryffindor common room was too mundane a meeting place for them. And so...
Cold air whizzed past James Potter's ears as he held on to his broomstick and zoomed straight forward. Then, carefully, he loosened his grip and stood up, bracing his feet on the slender wooden handle of his broomstick as it shot forward into the night.
"You're too close to the wall," Remus Lupin hollered from the ground. James waited until he was dangerously close to the curved gray surface of the hard tower wall, then he made his move. A slight nudge of his foot sent the broomstick careening sideways, and James remained standing, his arms outstretched to keep balance, as he spiraled away from the wall at the last second. Safe and sound as ever.
Peter Pettigrew cheered. Remus sighed.
"Nice, Prongs!" Sirius Black exulted as James, flushed and exuberant, sat back down on his broomstick and dived towards the ground, only to pull up and halt to a stop at the last moment.
Remus snorted. "Are we done showing off? Because I want to ask you about something."
The Marauders were in the Quidditch area. It was past curfew, but then, they had violated curfew so many times that they no longer cared. They had mainly sneaked out just for the sake of sneaking out, but James, in particular, was happy to have a chance to fly his broomstick again. Conference or no conference.
Peter's eyes widened in response to Remus' query. "I know, I know! It's Snape, isn't it?"
Sirius and James exchanged contemptuous glances. In the moonlight, as they stood near their broomsticks, their dark hair and eyes had a silvery cast, and their robes billowed about them in the cold wind, blending with the night. Facing them, Remus was sprawled on a rock, so still and unmoving it was easy to think him a part of the shadows draped across the darkness. But his eyes were alive and bright, gleaming with quiet intelligence. An intruder stumbling upon them at that moment would have been intimidated. Understandably so.
Only Peter, who was shivering with the cold and breathing into his trembling hands to warm them, spoiled the effect. In contrast to the lean fitness of the other three, his frame was pale and pudgy, so he looked more like a lost little boy than a specter of the night.
Sirius decided to share his opinion of the matter.
"Remember how we talked about sending black envelopes to people who offended us? Well, Snape offends us by being alive. And he offended us by trying out that little bit of dark arts against us this morning. I say we make him the first to receive the honor of being despised by the Marauders." Sirius nodded impressively, agreeing with himself. "What do you think?"
"The Marauders. I really like the name," Peter mused.
Remus shrugged and grinned; he had thought up the name. "Arabian Nights. I read Muggle books." His expression changed. "Are you serious about those envelopes?"
James looked affronted. That had been his idea. "Of course, why?"
Remus shrugged again. "It's like we're announcing, 'We're arrogant! Hate us!'"
Sirius snickered. "Everyone loves us! We're entertainment. We're cool. And anyway, we make it a point never to bully anyone who doesn't deserve it."
Remus pounced. "Key word -- bully."
"Key word -- entertainment," James said. "Come on, Moony. It's been dull around here, and the school year's just beginning. Let's try out the black envelope on Snape, and if it doesn't work out, we'll stop."
Peter glanced from Remus to Sirius to James, then said uncertainly, "Snape did try to use the dark arts against us this morning, when Professor Binns wasn't looking."
"Snape has detention with Professor McGonagall; it's not our job to punish him." But Remus was ready to give in. The memory of the greasy-haired Slytherin trying to turn them into foul-smelling mists was provoking.
"Let's do it," Sirius said.
"Okay," said Peter readily. He shifted uncomfortably."Can we go back inside? It's really cold."
James pulled off his cloak and tossed it to Peter, who scrambled to catch it and slip it on. "Okay, okay. I'll just fly one more time around –"
"I'll stay with you," Sirius interrupted, already mounting his broomstick.
A faint wistfulness flashed in Remus' eyes as he glanced at James and Sirius eagerly mounting their broomsticks, but he turned back to the castle, saying only, "I'll go with Peter back inside. We'll get started on an envelope for Snape."
James and Sirius didn't answer. They were already racing each other in the air.
--- --- ---
The next morning, every Hogwarts student in the Great Hall stopped eating breakfast at the sight of Sirius Black's magnificent silvery gray owl with a black envelope in its golden beak, circling the tables three times before it finally soared down.
While the owl glided, the students, except for four smug-looking Gryffindors, anxiously examined their every encounter with the Marauders, and wondered if they had done anything to offend them.
Their fears were put to rest when the owl landed in front of a Slytherin with a hooked nose and greasy hair.
The students abandoned their breakfast, relieved,and stood up to watch as Severus Snape, his hands trembling almost imperceptibly, reached out to take the envelope. He opened it, and a blood-red note fell out. Emblazoned on it was a silver claw.
For a moment, silence descended on the Great Hall. It was interesting to see which students continued to watch Severus as he clenched his fists and stared at the note, and which students turned to look at the Marauders as they leaned back in their chairs and grinned snidely at Severus.
In the Gryffindor table, too quietly to be noticed, Diana whispered to Mara, "And now they're going to make his life miserable?"
Then, abruptly, Severus' fingers turned into sausages, courtesy of a hex on the note by James. Everybody burst into mocking laughter as Severus cried out and fell off his chair, the owl darting forward to nip at the delicious sausages.
But someone wasn't laughing.
"Those pathetic jerks." Lily, upset, stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, but not before shooting a cold glance at the Marauders.
James Potter was the only one who looked back at her. His smile vanished.
It was easy to see why the Marauders were so arrogant. They were golden. All of them, even Peter, were smarter than it seemed from their devil-may-care attitude -- they all had enough O.W.L.s to get into the N.E.W.T.s of their choice. Between them they had managed to corner the market on some impressive titles. Head Boy, Prefect, Quidditch Team Captain... and they were generally known as the coolest, most intellient people in the school. But though they all had more than their share of ego, they also had consciences.
And no one was more adept at pricking James' conscience than Lily Evans.
The pretty redhead strode out of the Great Hall. Mara grabbed some toast, glanced with a sigh at the sight of Severus protecting his sausage fingers from the owl, and hurried after her friend.
A/N: Well? What do you think? Please, review...