The Marauders Abroad

The Marauders Abroad

Chapter One: The Marauders Strike!

Lily Evans stared at the Great Hall. Her jaw dropped as one of her friends stepped up to her. Green eyes widening, she stared in horror at the scene unfolding before her.

"Rather inventive, isn't it?" the other girl asked Lily. Lily tried to answer, but all that came out was a half-whistle, half-scream. Her friend patted the red head on the shoulder encouragingly. "Well, Lil. It might be easier to say something once you've picked your jaw up off of the floor!"

Lily couldn't even get over her shock long enough to glare at the other girl.

The entire area was covered in writing. A lot of it was trash talk about the Slytherins. Still more was jokes and riddles. There were more than a few funny ones, but Lily couldn't laugh at them. She was in total and complete shock. And she was staring right at the root of her problem.

Right in the middle of all of the writing was a giant sign reading, "Lily Elizabeth Evans, aka Lee-lee to her parents. What a flower! I wonder if she smells as good as her name suggests?" The script was big, bold, and red. Below it was the signature of the bandits,

"Courtesy of Messrs. Padfoot, Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail, The Marauders."

Gritting her teeth, Lily marched over to her friends, ignoring glances shot her way. Most of the entire Slytherin table had gone off into fits of laughter. All of them except one.

Severus Snape watched the spectacle unfolding before him. He knew who the Marauders were, but he was enjoying Lily's discomfort. It was good to know that something could bring her down. He smirked at the thought, and at her. She returned his look with an icy glare. Snape had to look away first.

'She'll never know what I really think,' he thought somewhat sadly to himself. 'I'm just that sniveling little Slytherin to her.'

A couple of minutes later, the Marauders themselves came into breakfast. However, only they and Snape knew their little secret. To the rest of the school, they were just a bunch of friends who enjoyed goofing off. That's the image they hoped to project anyway. Not everybody was fooled, though.

James Potter surveyed the room, nodding slightly. He snorted when he saw the banner with Lily's name on it. His black hair was, as usual, unruly and sticking up. It didn't help that he raked his hand through it every time he yawned. Which, trust me, was quite often throughout the day. His hazel eyes usually gleamed with laughter and merriment, but today they were slightly duller.

'I wonder which girl he stayed up with last night?' Lily thought coldly. Her gaze raked the rest of them.

Sirius Black, the unofficial bad boy of the group, said something to the others. They all snickered and glanced at Snape. Lily distinctly heard the word 'Snivellus' in there somewhere.

Sirius brushed his hair out of his eyes. He, like Potter, had thick black hair. However, his was a little more tamed. His eyes were also much darker and deeper. Taller than the others, he had a distinct air of elegance and arrogance. All of them did, but his came from the sort of wealth and privilege that most of them could only dream of.

This brought her to the next member of their little group. Remus Lupin glanced around before meeting Lily's eyes. He was paler than all of the others, with a more mysterious look about him. Light brown, almost blonde, hair was combed neatly but still fell a little into his face. It was longer than the others hair. Golden eyes gleamed in his pale face. Those eyes were older than his size and obvious age might suggest. Sharp edged cheekbones made him look like the Celtics that the land was so famous for. He too was tall, but slimmer than Sirius. His was a mysterious elegance, not Potter's easy going one, nor Sirius' arrogant air. More than a few girls sighed when they saw these three.

However, the last person there, Peter Pettigrew, didn't fit in at all. He was very short, shorter than James, but much chubbier. He had small, beady eyes that reminded Lily of a rat. His dark hair was cropped close, and didn't help appearances at all. Chubby hands constantly twitched, as did his long pointed nose. No, he didn't fit in, and Lily didn't like him.

"Well, well Evans. Or maybe I should say...Lee-lee." Lily recognized the voice as belonging to Sirius. She turned to him and replied.

"For your information, Sirius, only my family calls me Lee-lee. And as for nicknames-" her voice dropped "-how about Padfoot?" Sirius just stared, then scowled at her. He walked off, with the others following him. Potter stayed. Whirling around she would have stridden off if he hadn't stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Just so you know, Evans. You're right. Sirius did that when the rest of us were gone. Believe me on this." His voice was low enough that only she could hear. She shook off his hand and hissed at him, "If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it." Potter simply smiled.

"It isn't my opinion, Evans. It's the truth." Surprising her, he dropped her arm and walked off after his friends. Lily sat there, staring at his back. A couple of girls walked up and started asking her all types of questions about him. In the middle of one, she got up, grabbed the books she had with her and walked out of the hall, leaving the girls staring at her empty seat.