A.N.: Hey! So, this is Third Year! Bring it! I'm sorry this has taken me so long to update, please forgive me, and review?
Platform 9 ¾ looked the same as ever, a gorgeous scarlet train was sitting in the station, waiting for all the passengers to board. A group of four teenagers, three boys and a girl, walked laughing toward the train. The boys were all tall for their ages, at least five foot seven, James, Sirius and Remus. The girl was shorter, five foot three at most, with fire-y red hair, she was Lily Evans.
"Lily, why won't you go out with me?" James whined.
"Because I don't want to, obviously." Lily said, still smiling.
"But I love you!"
"James, you most certainly do NOT love me, you're being a prat, now shut up!"
"Lily, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaseee?!"
"James. Noooooooooooooooooo!"
"Okay, lovebirds, enough, please, thank you?" Sirius interrupted with a grin.
"I second that, let's just find a compartment, and not talk about James's creepy love for Lily."
"My love for Lily is not creepy!" James cried indignantly.
"Yes it is!" chorused three other voices. James rolled his eyes, but followed his friends onto the train anyway. They sat in the same compartment where they met. To the next generation, this compartment would be known as "the Marauders cabin."
"So, who wants to play questions?" James sing-songed after five minutes of silence.
"Ooooooh! I do!" Sirius shrieked.
"I'll play." Remus smiled thoughtfully. After a moment James ventured:
"Lily?
"I hate you. But, yes, I'll play." She smiled, and watched James fidget fondly.
"You…hate me?"
"No." She thought for a moment. "That counts as your question, though! My turn! Hmmmmm, Sirius?"
"Yes, Flower?" Sirius smiled at the nick-name Lily hated so much.
"Have you ever snogged a girl?" Her eyes glittered, he would be embarrassed shortly.
"N-no."
"Remus, did you cast the truth spell?"
"Why, Lily," Remus said in mock surprise. "No, I didn't, I must have forgotten." He smiled, waving his wand and muttering a spell under his breath.
"Now, Sirius," Lily asked again, her tone playful, "have you ever snogged a girl?"
"Yes!"
"And who was it?"
"Bella's friend, Jessica," he blushed again.
"She's in Slytherin!" James cried. "Ewww," he made a face. "Anyway, though Sirius, your question."
"Alright!" Sirius clapped his hands together and smirked. "Remmy?"
"Mmmmmm?" Remus gulped visibly.
"If you could snog one girl for the rest of your life, who would it be?"
"Nymphadora."
"Who?"
"I-I don't know, that was the name that came to mind, I don't think I know anyone by that name. Maybe my spell was off…"
"That's odd, but it's your question anyway, Remmy."
"Right…James!"
"Bring it on!"
"Oooooh, I really shouldn't." Remus laughed.
"No! Remmy! You HAVE to!" Sirius whined.
"Well, all right then, James, have you ever snogged anyone?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I'm waiting for Lily to realize she loves me." James threw his hands over his mouth. "Lily, I'm sorry."
"Th-that's okay." She smiled. "Can we not play this anymore?"
(Common Room, really late the first night)
"Lily?" James whisper shouted.
"What?" Lily said in her normal speaking voice.
"Do you love me yet?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you ask me stupid questions."
"Hey, guys?" Sirius, Remus and Lily looked at him. "Quidditch? Night Quidditch? Right now?"
"I will, but Lily and Remus most certainly won't." Sirius smirked at James.
"I will!" Remus said indignantly.
"Lily?" James teased, "will you come too, or are you too scared of being caught?"
"I-well, can't we just wait until morning?" Her voice shook a bit. Sirius barked out a laugh.
"Told you."
"Oh, sod off Sirius, fine, I'll go."
"Good, Lily, get your broom, meet us in our dorm in five minutes." James said.
"Done."
(Five minutes later)
"Hey guys!" Lily whisper-yelled.
"Okay," James started, "here's the plan: Lily and I are a team. We're flying out of this window, and we play to ten. Any questions?" Remus had a mocking tone to his voice.
"And, why, oh why, are you partnered with Lily?" Remus smirked.
"I'm the tallest and she's the shortest, it's to even out the game." They all laughed.
"Mate, I'm an inch taller than you are, maybe I should be on Lily's team." Sirius said seriously.
"Oi! Boys! Can we play, or are we all going to tease James for another year?" She smiled at James, and holding her broomstick in her right hand, jumped out the window, the boys rushed over to see what happened, and she waved to them, hovering few inches below the window sill, sitting, completely relaxed, on her broom. As Sirius, Remus and James followed her out the window, the game started immediately, James and Lily coming out victorious.
"Yes!" Lily said, punching the air with her fist, and slapping James a high- five.
"Potter, Evans, Black, Lupin. My office, if you please." Professor McGonagall said, foot tapping.
"Yes Professor," mumbled the four students in unison. Behind the professor, James, Sirius, Remus and Lily were smiling at each other, nudging each other in the ribs. When the five reached the Professor's office, she turned to face them, unsmiling.
"What is the meaning of this? Do you four know how dangerous it is to be outside the castle at night?" Not receiving an answer, she asked more loudly, "Well? Do you?"
"Yes professor," chorused the four voices.
"Well, then," Professor McGonagall said, a glint of happiness in her eyes, "I think you've learned your lesson, off to bed, all of you."
"Yes, Professor." As they hurried down the corridor, Sirius was the first to speak.
"That was bloody brilliant."
"Wicked." James and Lily both said. They looked at each other and laughed. Sirius and Remus rolled their eyes, they were SO meant to be together, and Lily was the only one who didn't know it. As they reached the common room they all mumbled their good nights, suddenly exhausted.
"G'night James," Lily said, waving to the other two.
"Good night Lily, "James whispered after she had already disappeared up the girl's stair case.
"James, mate, are you coming?" Sirius asked. Startled from his trance, James shook himself briefly.
"Y-yeah, I'm coming." The three boys walked up the stairs, and James lay in his bed, dreaming of Lily.
(James's dream)
The scene was a pretty little house, yellow, with white shutters, and a beautiful mahogany door. The house was even more beautiful because Lily stood outside, dressed in a green sundress and a white apron. She smiled happily from the doorway holding a baby in her arms. As he walked closer, he could see the emerald shininess of Lily's eyes, and the glorious shimmer of her gently waving red hair. He leaned toward her, kissing her perfect pink lips. He took the baby from her arms, spinning him round in a circle, cooing to him. Lily leaned against the door frame, her eyes gentle, fondness for the two people in front of her emanating from her skin.
"James," she said, her voice like melting honey, "dinner's on the table, and Harry needs a nap."
"Oh, fine! Spoil sport!"
"Oh, hush up, you," she replied laughing, smacking him in the head and taking Harry from his arms. She too spun the boy in a circle before attacking him with kisses, tickling him, and laughing at his delighted little giggles. She walked down a hallway, but shortly reappeared, shutting the door noiselessly. She nearly skipped to the table to sit across from James, she smiled, waving her wand causing trays to fly into the dining room and set themselves on the table.
"Mmmmmmm," James said, "that smells amazing."
"Thank you, sweetheart, it was my mother's recipe." She smiled that smile again, and then, with crack, Sirius apparated into the room.
"Ooops! Sorry to interrupt, should I have called first?" He looked sheepish, but Lily jumped up and hugged him.
"Don't be silly! Come in, let me grab you a plate!" She bustled into the kitchen. Returning with a plate, which she handed it to him.
"Thank you Lily, wow, this smells good."
"Thank you Sirius, I made it from scratch!"
"Wow! I forget how talented you are in the kitchen, Lily! Oh! Speaking of talent, where is my brilliant, handsome godson?" Lily frowned at him.
"He's napping! Sirius, I know you can't see him as often as you'd like, what with work, and everything, but, you can't just come in and disrupt his nap! I mean it Sirius!" Sirius smirked.
"Maybe after dinner?" He gave her puppy-dog eyes.
"No!"
"Please?"
"No!" Sirius looked at James, and they said together:
"Please?"
"Oh, fine!" She smiled at the two of them, shaking her head.
"Wicked!"
While James was dreaming, so was a certain redhead.
(Lily's dream)
Lily's dream scene consisted of a large gray house, with a large yard. There were children running through this yard, playing a sort of tag where someone became "it" if they were hit with a snowball. A small boy with black, untidy hair ran around happily laughing and giggling. Following him like a puppy was a smaller version of the boy, and a smaller girl. The girl did not look at all like either of the two boys, but instead she had beautiful, red hair, waving down her back, and her cheeks were flushed a pretty, rosy, pink, her mouth was open as she shouted for her brothers to play fair. The taller, older boy, ran to her, apologizing, and lifting her into the air, he spun her around, and then collapsed into the snow. The three children laughed and laughed, and were soon joined by seven red-headed children, all wearing sweaters with their initials on them.
Inside the beautiful gray house, there was a small gathering of adults going on. The Marauders sat, Lily and James occupying one chair, and Remus and Sirius sitting on the couch. Molly and Arthur Weasley, who Lily consciously recognized them from Prefect's meetings, were sitting, smiling on two chairs near the couch. Arthur was telling an amusing story about his job at the ministry, working with muggle items. Lily understood perfectly, but James and Sirius were confounded, this made them all laugh harder. The home looked warm, and open, this Christmas eve delightful. Lily stopped laughing long enough to get a quick word to James.
"James, sweetheart?" Lily said into James's ear.
"Yes, Lily, love?" he asked.
"Could you come into the kitchen for a minute?" She smiled.
"Why, Lily, whatever for?" He asked her in a tone of mock concern.
"I-uhm, need help finishing dessert? " She smiled weakly.
"Uh-huh. I'm so sure." They got up and walked into the kitchen, Lily closed the door. She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him with a passion too hot for young children see.
"I love you so much, James Potter."
"I love you too, Lily." And then, a small boy ran into the kitchen, the older of the two black haired boys who had been running around outside.
"Mommy! Daddy!" His parents smiled down at him, "Uncle Sirius said that I should come say hi to you. So, hi!" His father chuckled, detaching himself from his beautiful wife.
"Oh, did he now?" The small boy nodded fervently. "Well, you should go tell him ALL about how you learned to fly the other day, okay?" The two slapped five, and James walked back to Lily, pinning her against the kitchen counter. His hands moved over her body, heating the skin, and then, just as he was about to kiss the spot below Lily's ear that made her squirm, she woke up.
"God! How am I going to look him in the eye tomorrow?" She said quietly.
(Next morning, Great Hall)
Lily and James sat across from each other, Remus next to James, Sirius next to Lily.
"So," James was saying animatedly, looking up now and again from a letter from his father, "apparently, there's a game at the end of August, and my Dad got four tickets! We can all go see the Chuddley Cannons play! And because it's at the very end of August, the twenty-seventh, you lot can stay at my house and we can all go to King's Cross Station together!"
Sirius and Remus were excited, the three boys were smiling, exchanging high-fives, and all Lily could think of was James, and the dream she'd had about him last night. She realized with a shock that the picture he'd sent her over the summer was of him and Sirius and Remus, outside his house, which was gray, and she's dreamed about it last night. She was afraid that sleeping in that house, being in such close proximity to James, she might just explode.
"Lily? Lily!" James's voice snapped her out of her trance.
"Yes?" she asked, fake smile on her face.
"What do you think?"
"About….?"
"The Quidditch match…in August, four day sleepover?"
"I-I have to go study for…potions, big test next hour, going to the library, bye!" She leaped up from her chair, hurrying to the exit, behind her, she heard James call after her:
"We don't even have potions today!"
(Library)
Lily Evans sat, chewing her finger nails, and twisting her hair. She was looking at a book, but her eyes weren't moving, to any random person, it may have looked like Lily was studying for a very difficult exam that she was nervous about, to James Potter, Lily's best friend, it looked like she was going to cry, and it looked like she needed to talk, and it looked like she would make an excuse as soon as he sat down for needing to leave. He took a deep breath, and walked toward her.
"Lily." His tone said everything, one word that escaped his perfect lips told Lily everything that he would say during this conversation. 'Lily' in that tone, meant 'Lily, we're going to talk about my creepy love for you again.' She shivered with a feeling she didn't understand, was it, happiness? Did she want to talk about this, with James, right now?
"James." Her tone said nothing, his face fell a little, he was hoping for some kind of sign that she wanted to talk, but she wasn't giving him anything.
"You ran away from me."
"I didn't!"
"You did," he snatched the book she wasn't really reading from her. "Lily, we don't have potions today, we don't have a test in potions for a week, and the test we do have, is a quiz, on amortentia, you've already made that! And this," he waved the book at her, "isn't even your potions book!" his tone became soft, gentle, reassuring," Why did you run away from me?"
"I freaked out about" she stopped short, she couldn't tell James about her dream, "something." She finished lamely.
"Something?" He raised his eyebrows. "Lily, we're best friends, talk to me!" She gulped.
"I had a dream about you-us, last night, and I was freaking out, and it was in your house, which I realized after you mentioned staying at your house for four days, and that freaked me out, and I panicked and I needed time to think, and studying was the best excuse I had!"
"Oh, I understand, you love me!" He smiled, reaching across the table to grab her hand. She pulled away as if his hand had burned hers, which it did, the electricity flowing between them was tangible, but she wouldn't say that out loud.
"I don't love you! Why do you tell me we can talk if you're just going to make fun of me?"
"Lily," James's voice was soft, "I'm sorry, we can talk, I got excited, please stay?"
"Fine."
"So, do you still want to come to the match? I mean, you love watching the Cannons lose…and I'll keep away from you, if you stay over."
"James, you don't have to 'keep away from me,' I just don't want t feel weird."
"It won't be weird, I promise!"
"Well, okay, I guess," she giggled nervously, "Go Cannons!"
"Wooh!" James yelled.
"Shhhhh!" Madame Pince whisper-screamed from her post at her desk, James and Lily giggled, packing up Lily's books and leaving.
(August 27th)
The Marauders sat in box-seats at the Chuddley Cannons game, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, from left to right.
Nothing incredibly interesting happened during the match, although James did try to flirt with Lily, and to Sirius and Remus's amusement, he was denied.
After the first goal, James put his arm around Lily's shoulders, she shrugged him off with a simple: "James, please."
Right before the snitch was caught, he grabbed her hand and squeezed, she detached herself with a quiet: "Leave me be, James."
(Sleepover)
"Lily, wanna play spin the bottle?"
"No, James, I'm the only girl, and as much as I want to see you and Sirius make out, no thanks." She giggled.
"Do you want to see us make out? Because we'll do it." Sirius chimed in from his sleeping bag.
"We most certainly will not!" James shouted.
A.N.: Thanks for reading.