1 The Basics: Rules of Being in Gryffindor

"POTTER!" I couldn't help it. Ok, I probably could, but that doesn't mean I was going to.

"EVANS!" He yelled back, with a smirk plastered on his stupid, annoying, disgusting, handsome face.

"Give. It. Back. NOW" I yelled across the common room, as James Potter ran away from me, my textbook in one hand, and my homework in the other. He glanced back, and I suppressed a smile when I saw an actual look of panic cross his face.

"Sirius, help!" He all but squealed, as I began walking towards him, a look of murder in my eyes. He passed my homework over to Sirius, while he ran far away. Great, now two of the most annoying Gryffindors had my stuff, and they were on opposite sides of the room.

"Sirius Black, give me my homework now" I said, in what I hoped was a threatening tone, but it clearly wasn't judging by the cold laugh that escaped Sirius' mouth.

Now, for those of you who don't attend Hogwarts, and for those of you who don't know the Marauders, here are some rules you learn within days of being here:

1) Don't ever date Sirius Black, and expect an actual relationship. You will only receive hurt feelings.

2) Don't ever say that you are better at Quidditch than James Potter. Your life may be at stake.

3) Don't ever steal chocolate from Remus Lupin. He may or may not hit you with his latest textbook.

4) Don't ever insult any of Peter Pettigrew's friends. He will try (and fail) at threatening you.

These rules are pinned up in our common room for all to see, and within days of being up, Sirius Black had jokingly added a fifth rule, which he called the 'most important'.

5)Don't ever try and date Lily Evans. That is for James only!!

When I saw this I had simply rolled my eyes, and ignored it. Well, that was after the fifth time of seeing it. I had torn it down after the first time, but Sirius had made another which was pinned up. Then Marlene had torn it down, another was pinned up. Then Alice and Mary, and Marlene again, had each torn it down in turn, but it just kept coming back, so we had decided to leave it. Well, we had no other choice.

"James Potter, my textbook. Now" I said, turning instead to James, who I knew would be easier to control. How did I know this? Well, another thing you would know if you knew the Marauders, is that James Potter has had the biggest crush on me ever since he saw me, and he makes it obvious at any random time that he likes me.

"Lilypad, don't be mad... Hey that rhymed!" He said, with a small laugh. I didn't even have to turn around to know that Sirius would be laughing too. I was just about to give up, and let them keep my stuff, when the portrait swung open, and in came my friends. Alice Fortesque, Mary McDonald, and Marlene Mckinnon. Of course, we were missing Dorcas Meadowes, but she was in Ravenclaw, so of course couldn't be in the Gryffindor common room.

"Everything ok Lily?" Marlene asked as the three of them walked past the obvious battle going on.

"No. They're being mean" I said. Ok, it was a pathetic move, but I was down for anything to get my homework back.

"Not true, we're being fun" Sirius said, still stood in his corner by the five rules of Gryffindor. I scoffed. This was hardly their idea of fun. Their idea of fun was sneaking out at night purely because they were told they couldn't, not stealing a sixth year's homework. This was not fun, this was their cure for boredom.

"Sirius, is that Lily's homework?" Alice asked, tilting her head sideways to read my recognizable, loopy handwriting. Sirius smiled and nodded, obviously proud of what he'd done.

"Her homework that she's spent 6 days on, every night this week?" Mary added, and Sirius' smiled wavered.

"Her homework that she will get a detention for if she doesn't hand in, thus ruining her perfect run of her current six years at Hogwarts" Alice finished. By this point, Sirius' smile had completely dissapeared as he looked up towards James.

"Why did you steal this again?" James just shrugged his shoulders, and with a guilty look, him and Sirius returned my stuff, and sat down on the sofas next to my friends. I mouthed a quick thank you to my friends, before sitting at the desk, and finishing off my homework.

"Hey Moony" I heard one of the two boys say, and looked up from my work to wave at Remus Lupin, who had just walked in with Peter Pettigrew, completing the Marauders. They were a group of four boys who instantly became friends in first year, and would be quite smart, if they actually tried. They had each given each other nicknames, which me and Marlene were still working out where the names had come from.  

Peter Pettigrew was the smallest, and most uninteresting of the four. His nickname was Wormtail. He had dusty blond hair, and a pudgy round face. He was normally quiet, and I never saw him anywhere without the other three.

Remus Lupin was my favourite of the four. He was the most sensible, and was a fellow prefect (like me). I got on alright with him, and we had some interesting chats on our prefect duty walks. He had sandy brown hair, and a long scar across the bridge of his nose, but no matter how much I asked him about it, he always avoided giving an answer. His nickname was Moony.

Sirius Black was the most punk out of all of them. He left his home a while ago, common knowledge in Gryffindor house. He moved in with James, who's like a brother to him. His real brother, Regulus Black is in Slytherin. Sirius has shoulder length black hair, and an attitude made purely of sarcasm. His nickname is Padfoot, and him and James are practically inspeperable.

James Potter is the ringleader of the group, and the only person alive who can control Sirius, although Marlene came close once. James goes by the nickname Prongs, and no one in his Marauders group will do anything without his permission. He has messy black hair, hazel eyes, and sqaure glasses. He's also captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And he has the biggest crush on me, have I mentioned?

The Marauders are in detention almost every other week for one prank or another. But, no matter how tight knit they seem, they are nothing compared to my friends. 

Dorcas Meadowes has light blonde hair, electric blue eyes, a snarky attitude, and the dirtiest mind ever. She's a Ravenclaw, and is on the Quidditch team, meaning she always tries to knock James off his broom whenever its a Gryffindor v Ravenclaw match.

Mary McDonald has shoulder length brown hair and brown, chocolate eyes. She's always willing to help with any problems, unless its five in the morning (trust me, I know from experience).

Alice Fortesque is the kindest friend I have, and has an even kinder boyfriend, Frank Longbottom. Alice has short blonde hair, even lighter than Dorcas', and warm, brown eyes. Plus, the kindest smile on earth.

Marlene Mckinnon. Where do I start? She's been there for me though everything. She has long, glossy black hair, and her lips are always the same blood red colour. She could kill you with her sass, but save you with her smile. She is the best friend. Ever.

And me. Lily Evans. I have green eyes, which James always refers to as green like grass, and hair as red as a phoenix feather (again, thanks for the poetry James). I'm always known for being smart. Always top of the class, prefect, and in line for being head girl next year.

I finished my homework, and sat down next to Marlene, who linked her arm through mine. At this point, we were basically sisters, as close as James and Sirius. Well, maybe not that close.

"Hey Lilypad, you done with your homework now?" James asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Potter, I'm done with my homework" I replied quickly.

"Good. Hey Evans?"

"What?"

"Wanna go on a date this weekend"

"For the 500th time Potter, no!" I almost shouted back at him.

"Worth the try" Sirius said, walking up to the boys dorm with Remus and Peter.

"No regrets" James replied, winking at me, before following them all up. I sighed, and tried my hardest to ignore the fact that I was getting less and less annoyed at every attempt James made.

'I would still rather kiss the giant squid' I thought to myself, but realized that it would only be a matter of time until that was no longer true.