After All These Years

*****

"Lily! WAKE UP!" 20-year-old Arabella Figg bellowed into her best friend, Lily Evans' ear.

Lily stirred a bit in her sleep and started to snore quite loudly.

"Oh god..." Arabella said, heaving a sigh. Not only was her roommate/best friend a lazy git, she was also a pig.

"This calls for extreme measures," Arabella muttered. She got out her wand and magicked out a bucket of water. Arabella smiled and poured it on Lily. Still nothing.

"GOD, LILY!!" Arabella screamed in frustration.

"Huh, wha--? Oh, hey, Bell..." Lily said sleepily. Her eyes were half closed, her red hair was in ringlets, and it was tousled and wet from the bucket of water. She had dried spit on the side of her mouth.

"Did you know you are the biggest pig I have ever met?" Arabella asked, annoyed.

"Yes, you remind me, what, 20 times a day?" Lily mumbled, dragging the covers over her head and turning over sleepily, mumbling, "Bell, sometimes you're worse than my own mother for god's sake."

"Now get up before I get out my broom and whack you with it," Arabella said devilishly.

Lily grinned. "Fine. But why am I all wet?" Lily asked, eyeing herself. Her black shorts and T-shirts were soaking with water.

"I was trying to wake you up with a bucket of water, but it didn't work, did it?"

"Oh, use hot water next time," Lily yawned.

Arabella rolled her eyes and said through gritted teeth, "I'll keep that in mind for next time, which there better not be one."

Every morning, something like this happened. Lily always overslept and Arabella had to think of ideas to wake her up, which, frankly, never quite worked. She and Lily had been best friends for a few years now. Both girls were reporters for the Daily Prophet and that was basically how they met - through work. Arabella had attended Hogwarts, too, like Lily, but Arabella had been in Gryffindor, while Lily had been in Ravenclaw, and they never noticed each other.

A sickly, pale green owl swooped down and tapped the window of Lily's room. She sleepily stood up to let the owl in, which was clutching a letter in it's foot, and revived it with some water from her owl's cage. Lily sat down on her bed and read the letter aloud for her and Arabella to listen.

Arabella-

Darling! I haven't seen you in ages! I can't bear not seeing you! (At this point, Lily snorted and Arabella shot Lily a glare.) Meet me at Diagon Alley in the Leaky Cauldron today at 12 o'clock [noon], if you can. I want to have lunch with you. Oh, and James and Sirius want to come to. You know they love following me. Peter's busy visiting his mother, so he can't come. Reply soon!

All my love,

Remus

Lily groaned. It was Arabella's "Lover Boy" - Remus Lupin. He was part of a little gang called 'the Marauders'. They had been the most popular boys Hogwarts has ever seen. Girls fell to their feet. James Potter and Sirius Black were the leaders of this group. They pulled pranks on teachers and they were considered "every girl's dream of a man."

"Arabella!" Lily yelled. "You have a letter from Lover Boy!"

Arabella dashed into the room and said, "Remus? Where? Give me!!"

Lily smiled and handed the letter over to Arabella and when she finished, she had a dreamy look on her face.

"Aww...isn't Remus the sweetest?" Arabella sighed.

"Yeah! He is, like, oh, so, like, HOT!" Lily said, twirling her hair, voice thick with sarcasm.

"Shut up. You're ruining 'the moment'," Arabella snapped. Lily snorted with laughter.

Arabella grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a note. She fastened it to the owl's leg and he flew off.

They walked into the kitchen, prepared to eat breakfast.

"Accio..." Lily muttered, and her cup of milk and her bowl of Cheerios came flying toward her. Arabella summoned some vegetables with ranch sauce and started to eat. As she was eating, she was going on about Remus, what he did, how good-looking he was, and how sweet he was. Gosh, someone's in love. Lily thought sarcastically.

"Arabella do me a favor and shut up," Lily yawned.

Arabella glared and pulled Lily upstairs by the arm. "Help me! What should I wear??!!"

*****

"I think I did a great job," Lily said, commenting to herself. She helped Arabella picked out the "plain-but-cute-and-sexy" outfit. Her long blonde curls were in a tight bun and she was wearing a lavender halter top, which showed off her purple irises, along with a white miniskirt which fell about a few inches above her knee cap, which were muggle clothes, borrowed from Lily.

"So what are you wearing?" Arabella asked curiously.

"Jeans, white shirt, hair up. You know, just - blah." Lily smiled.

"Okay, I'll Apparate there first. Meet you in the Leaky Cauldron, okay?" Arabella grinned and Lily nodded. Arabella apparated with a Poof!

*****

Lily got dressed and stared into the mirror. She fingered her long, fire red curls that were just naturally curly and matched her bitchy temper. She stared into her green eyes, which resembled lily pads floating on a big pool of water. Maybe that's why she was named Lily. She touched her milky white skin and wondered why she was so pale. She looked at her pearly-white, even teeth which were once covered with silver metal. She ran her fingers over her face, a face once filled with pimples, oil, grease, and loads of acne. She looked at the whole outline of her body, which was once a load of fat.

This is my chance. A chance to show how much I've changed. I'm not a fat, geeky, pimple-faced, braces-wearing girl anymore. I'm the opposite of that. It's time for... revenge. Lily smiled sweetly at her reflection and Apparated to Diagon Alley.

*****

"Well, well, well...If it isn't the Marauders. Well-known pranksters at Hogwarts?" Lily asked mysteriously.

"Why, yes we are."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Lily Evans."

"L-Lily Ev-Evans?"

"What did I just say? I am Lily Evans!"

"But you look so...different," the one with glasses stuttered.

"I know, you look really... well, different," Sirius finished lamely. Everyone snorted.

Lily smiled. "I know I've changed. I don't know why. I mean, I feel the same. Still unwanted, and blah. I guess I've grown up now, haven't I? I'm a big girl now. Sirius? James? Remus? Still the same, as I remember you."

"James dear, stop gawking at poor Lily. If you want flies in your mouth, you're doing the right thing. If you want something to stare at, stare at me. I am, after all, oh so sexy ," Sirius teased, motioning to himself. A tinge of pink colored in James' cheeks while he muttered something like 'shut up'.

"So, have you heard? The Wimbourne Wasps ditched their beater, Ludo Bagman," Sirius said solemnly.

"No way!" James exclaimed. "He was the best beater, ever!"

"No he wasn't. Archie Davis was!" Remus argued.

The three boys then got into a heated argument over who was the best beater!

"Boys," Lily and Arabella muttered darkly.

A short man came, looking expectant and asked, "May I have your orders?"

"Pasta."

"Chicken."

"Beef."

"Spaghetti."

"Fried Noodles."

*****

After lunch in the Leaky Cauldron, Arabella suggested that everyone go to Diagon Alley to just stroll through, or buy a few things, since they hadn't been there in ages. The boys reluctantly agreed, as they thought to go to "Quality Quidditch Supplies". Lily got paired up with James and Sirius, since Arabella wanted to go with Remus. Alone.

"Can we puh-leeze go to Quality Quidditch Supplies? I've been absolutely dying to see the new broom - The Silver Arrow 5000," Sirius begged.

Lily sighed. This was going to be a long day...

*****