Chapter 3- Friends and Hope
I have some of the best mates you could ask for. All four of them risked Azkaban. For me, no less.
How did we meet? Everyone seems to wonder that. How did the infamous Marauders meet. We didn't all meet at the same time. James and Sirius met first, and Peter joined us last. I met James and Sirius on `Bring Your Child to Work' Day at the ministry, where all three of our dads were working at the time. I think we were five. Sirius and James had become friends the year before almost immediately after they met, but they had only gotten to talk a time or two in the past year.
Sirius is a Black and James is a Potter, which is why it was so difficult for them to talk to each other. In most cases, the Blacks and the Potters are avowed enemies. But not this time. Mr. Potter was a lot more open to the two of them being friends than Mr. Black was. Sirius' father would rather that Sirius became friends with Lucius Malfoy than with James Potter. And myself, of course (the lousy half breed, half-blood that I am). I think that's part of the reason why Sirius became such good friends with James; his father hated James, and Sirius hated his father.
I met them while they were hiding from Sirius' father. "Siri's daddy doesn't like me very much," James had told me. So, because I helped them hide, all three of us became best friends. Strange how things work out sometimes.
Sirius and I visited James a lot over the next six years. I didn't know until later how Sirius ever managed to convince his parents to let him visit James. Sirius would have his cousin Andromeda, who lived down the street from James and was about seven years older than us, sneak him out and over to James's. I always knew I liked that girl.
Ryan was James' neighbor at the time. She just seemed to appear out of nowhere one day. "Jimmy, my mummy and your mummy said you have to play with me even if you have other friends over!" James had complained that she was just a stupid girl with cooties, what did she know? Ryan kicked him hard in the shins. "I know that hurts!" she told him as he yelled out. "And girls aren't the ones with cooties! Stop being such a meanie because you don't want them-" She gave Sirius and me the coldest glare her six-year-old self could muster. The one and only time Ryan Miller's glare has been directed at me personally. "-to know that you play with a girl. I'm better at flying than you are anyway!"
Needless to say, as embarrassed as James was to have a friend that was a girl, Ryan joined our group. The four musketeers. The Marauders, as Mr. Potter called us. I didn't mind having her around, to be honest (Padfoot'll tell you it's because I fancied her; don't believe a word he says). She was just as tough as any of us, and made sure we knew it too. We always gave her the dirtiest jobs-like telling her she had to get the ball Sirius had "accidentally" kicked under the porch after it rained-but she never complained. She was smiling almost all the time. She would climb under the porch, make sure the ball was muddy before she came back out, and then give it to Sirius ("Here you go, Siri!").
When Rye's little brother Daniel was born, we all decided to adopt him as our little brother. We were eight by then and knew enough to pull pretty harmless pranks, but we were determined to Danny everything we knew as soon as he got old enough.
We were also old enough to realize that Mrs. Miller wasn't doing so well. She didn't come over as often to help Mrs. Potter watch us, and when she did, she never played with us like she used to. And happy, go-lucky Ryan was moody a lot. When we asked Mrs. Potter about it, she just said that Ryan was worried about her mum and that Mrs. Miller would be fine. Sadly, she was wrong.
The day of Mrs. Miller's funeral was the first time I ever saw Ryan in a dress. And the first and only time I've ever seen her cry. Pretty soon after that, the Millers moved away, taking our little brother and our best friend away for what felt like forever. Over the next six years, James was the only one to stay in contact with Ryan. I think it was an agreement that Ryan and her father made.
I think that's part of the reason we became Peter's friend. We needed someone to fill that hole that was there after Rye left. He was fine, but he didn't completely fill the gap. There still seemed to be something missing to me, but I'm not sure the others ever noticed it.
Then, in fifth year, in the `miracle of `75' as James calls it, Rye came back. I almost didn't recognize her. Okay, I didn't recognize her. If you walked up to two of your best friends one day, and they were talking to a pretty girl you had never seen before (at least you didn't think so), you wouldn't think it was your long-lost fourth member either. But as soon as I asked who she was, and Sirius answered with a very loud "Wheat's back!", I knew. And from there, as they say, it was history.
Ryan, being forced to be the messenger since she was, quote, `a girl' (some things never really change, as she had said), didn't exactly get along with Lily at first. I think she got along with Alice the best in the beginning, but eventually somehow she and Lily became friends. Now she and Lily are probably closer than Peter and me. Strange how those things work out sometimes.
Ryan is probably the bravest person I know. Not just because she's friends with Lily and James either. She's moved all over the world, and she still manages to smile all the time. I've only seen her mad once, and that was at James (that's a whole other story in itself; ask Prongs about it sometime). And she usually smiles unless she's talking to her dad.
She also has some powers. According to her, they are called the Power of the Phoenix. But that's her story to tell you.
-Remus Lupin
~*~*~*~*~
"I wouldn't want to be crossing the lake in this weather," Ryan said, looking up at the sky and pulling her cloak tighter around her as she jumped off the train. She looked over and saw Remus get into a carriage with Madame Pomphrey. "We might not need to do it tonight."
"Do what tonight?" Morgan asked.
"Uh… Nothing," Ryan said quickly. "We'd better hurry up and get a carriage before we end up having to ride up with Greasy."
"Ryan," Alice said, trying to sound disapproving.
"Well, would you rather me call him Snivelly? Because I can if you really want me to." Ryan started walking backwards, a pretty stupid and dangerous thing to do in a station full of people, especially when it's the first day back to school, it looks like it's about to rain, it's extremely windy, and kind of cold.
Alice watched Ryan weave her way through people without having to look where she was going. Alice shook her head before answering. "It would be best if you called him Snape, like normal people do."
"Normal people are boring," Ryan whined, making Morgan laugh.
"This coming from you of all people," Morgan said.
Ryan shrugged. "They were normal at one point. At least I think so." She frowned thoughtfully. "Or maybe I didn't used to be normal."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it."
Ryan turned back around, choosing to ignore the comment. Morgan and Alice exchanged a look as Ryan hopped up into a carriage. Ryan usually avoided talking about her powers if she had a choice. It wasn't that she had something against them exactly (or so she claimed), she just didn't want to talk about them because of what they stood for. Alice and Morgan still weren't exactly sure what it was that her powers stood for, but they knew it wasn't the best of ideas to ask her straight out.
"Lily'll catch up with us later, right?" Ryan asked after they closed the door to the carriage. The carriage jerked and started moving up the drive towards the school.
"That's what she said," Morgan answered. "Be prepared for her to be in a bad mood though."
"Why?"
"The Head Boy and Girl have to ride up to school together."
Ryan winced in sympathy for both of her friends. "Ouch."
"Ouch is right," Morgan agreed. "So, just to warn you, she might be in a ranting mood."
"Lily? In a ranting mood? After spending time alone with James?" Ryan asked, pretending to be shocked (but still with a slight grin on her face). "You have to be kidding me. Why would Lily be in a ranting mood-"
"All right, Ryan," Alice said, cutting her off. "We understand."
"Ah, but you only have to hear one side of it," Ryan said. "And it's the non-desperate side of it too. And if you want my opinion, I think that little Miss Evans better watch herself this year."
"Why?" Morgan asked.
Ryan smirked. "To quote James, she might `fall for the Potter charm.'"
"Do you honestly think Lily Evans and James Potter could ever possibly get together?" Alice asked.
"Not right now," Ryan said with an easy shrug, "but I do know if they don't start getting along, this school will fall apart. And, contrary to popular belief, both of them care too much for this school to let it fall apart. And I also know that you should always expect to unexpected. Especially when it comes to two people as stubborn as James Potter and Lily Evans."
Morgan often times wondered if Ryan really knew more than she let on.
~*~*~*~*~
Silence. It was safer and easier than trying to talk to him. Although, Lily knew, she would have to talk to him eventually if she planned to get anything done. She couldn't avoid him forever. And he had seemed better earlier, like he had finally decided to grow up.
James Potter, grow up? We'll see how long that lasts, she thought wryly.
James cleared his throat, making her look over at him. "Er… Have a nice summer?" he asked.
Lily shrugged. "It was alright. What about you?" As much as she hated polite conversation, it was better than silence. Even when she had to have polite conversation with Potter.
"Pretty good." She expected him to talk about some near death experience or some great prank he came up with, but she was a little surprised when he left it at that.
They lapsed back into silence. A sudden thought occurred to Lily as the carriage started slowing down. "Do you realize this is the longest we have ever gone without fighting?"
"That could have something to do with the fact we only said about five words to each other," James said, He shrugged. "But, hey, I'm not complaining." The carriage stopped and they jumped out. James watched Lily run up towards the castle and added quietly to himself, "Maybe there is hope for me still."
~*~*~*~*~
Lily slid into the seat next to Alice. "Not a word," Morgan said slightly threateningly.
"I don't have anything to complain about," Lily said honestly.
"That's because A, James has grown up a little, with my help," Ryan said, grinning. "And B, because you only said, what, five words to each other?"
"James said it was closer to twenty," Sirius said, sitting beside Ryan.
"He counted?" Ryan asked.
Sirius shrugged. "Probably." He leaned over and whispered, "If this clears up, meet me and Pete by the statue of Cassandra the Calm at midnight." Ryan nodded. He stood back up. "Nice talking to you lovely ladies," he said, bowing before going over and sitting with James and Peter.
"What did he want?" Morgan asked.
Ryan shrugged. "Prank stuff. You know, the usual."
"Where's Remus?" Lily asked, looking down the table. "He's not sitting with them."
"He… uh… He wasn't feeling well," Ryan said. "He went to the hospital wing."
"He gets sick a lot," Alice said.
"His family does too," Morgan said. "He was out at least five time last year."
"Do you know anyone that's getting sorted?" Ryan asked quickly, trying to change the subject. They didn't get a chance to answer as the doors opened and a long line of first years walked in, led by Professor McGongall.
Everyone turned to look at the sorting hat that sat on a stool in front of the staff table. The brim opened and the hat began.
"Though I may look old and drawn
All you need to do is put me on…"
Ryan didn't bother to listen to the rest of it. James and her father had told her about the sorting, and she had seen it twice already. Nothing ever changed anyway. The hat sang a new song, of course, but after you hear a sorting song or two, they all sound the same.
No, she was trying to figure out whether or not they would need to go out to help Remus that night. She closed her eyes and tried to close the sorting hat out of her mind. After a couple of seconds, she heard a distant howl.
Well, that's clear enough.
She reopened her eyes in time to join in the clapping for the sorting hat. During the actual sorting, she managed to get James' attention and let him know that, more than likely, the clouds would clear up enough for Remus to transform. It was better that way anyway; at least if it cleared up Remus wouldn't have to be by himself in that house the whole night.
"Ryan!"
Ryan turned to look at the other three. "What?"
"You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?" Morgan asked.
"'Course I was," Ryan said easily, noticing that the food had appeared on the table and starting to put some on her plate. "You were talking about how I couldn't go out tonight because Lily won't be there and we have to have our `Back to School Celebration' with as many of us as possible. I heard you." Lily gave her a look that said she obviously didn't believe it. Ryan grinned. "I got the gist anyway."
"So you don't have any pranks planned for tonight, right?" Morgan asked.
"No pranks," Ryan said slowly.
"But?" Alice asked.
"But… I might have to leave around midnight." The other three groaned.
"If it's not a prank, what is it?" Morgan asked.
Ryan paused, thinking. She shrugged. "The guys want to have a back to school celebration of their own."
"That sounds fair enough," Alice said reasonably. Ryan could have hugged her.
"But why does it have to be tonight?" Morgan asked. "They've never wanted to do anything before."
"It's never been our last year before either," Ryan said pointedly. "Lily, stop giving me that look!"
"What look?" Lily asked innocently. Ryan rolled her eyes. She could lie to just about anyone (powers can come in handy sometimes) except for Lily, James, and Remus. James knew her too well to not know when she was lying, Remus was naturally sensitive to those kind of things, and Lily… Lily just knew, as Ryan would put it.
"You know what I mean," Ryan said, grinning. "The one that says, `I know what you're saying is a complete load of bull shit.'"
"Ryan," Alice said warningly, but Lily just said, "Was that the look I was giving you? Hm, and I was trying so hard not to let you notice."
"Tired, Lils?" Ryan teased. Lily rarely resorted to sarcasm, and only did when she was tired. And she hated{/I] being called Lils.
Lily gave her a glare that was reserved just for the Marauders. "Very. I can't wait until this is over so that I can spend four hours with James Potter. Then, by the time I get up there, you'll be just leaving. Might I add that this is to celebrate with the afore mentioned… person."
Morgan and Ryan exchanged grins. Luckily for Lily, Dumbledore stood up, stopping them from saying anything they were planning to say.
"Welcome to a new school year," he called. "I have a few announcements before I send you up to bed. First, this year our Head Girl is Lily Evans-" He motioned for Lily to stand up and waited while everyone clapped politely. "-And our Head Boy is James Potter." There were a lot more cheers for James than there were for Lily, but that could have had something to do with the fact that James had the Marauders cheering for him, and they were louder than half the students. No, wait, correction- Sirius was loud enough for half of the students. Lily rolled her eyes, but Ryan noticed James was smiling sheepishly. She grinned to herself.
"I would like to remind you that Quidditch try-outs are next weekend," Dumbledore continued when the cheers died down. "The Gryffindor team wished for me to tell you that there are no open positions this year- " There were loud groans all along the table. "-And first years are not allowed to try out. I would also like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden. You would all do well to remember that." He looked at the Marauders at that point.
"I believe that is all. Dismissed!"
"Hey, I'll catch up with you in a sec, 'ight?" Ryan said to Morgan and Alice as Lily ran off to help the fifth year prefects.
"Okay, but you're not free until midnight, young lady!" Morgan called after her teasingly. Ryan laughed as she weaved her way through the crowd to Sirius and Peter.
"It'll clear up," she said.
"Any idea when?" Sirius asked.
She shook her head. "Could be any time. My guess is about one, judging from the moon, but I'm not sure."
"All right. Still Cassandra the Calm at midnight then?"
"I'll meet you there," Ryan said before dodging out of the Great Hall and up the stairs.
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