Chapter Two: All Goodness Hidden

*“James, we’re sixth years. Took us long enough, didn’t it?” Sirius joked.

“Yeah Sirius. It took us six years, imagine!” Remus joked.

“You two idiots ready for another year at our favorite school with our favorite teachers?” James asked sarcastically.

“Naturally! I can’t wait to see McGonagall! I have a few new tricks up my sleeve that she’ll just love!” Sirius laughed evilly. James and Remus joined him.

“Hello everyone. What are we laughing at?” A new boy joined them.

“Hello Peter.” Remus answered the semi-pudgy boy before them. The conversation abruptly came to a halt. Together the four boys stood huddled in a group on the train platform nine and three quarters, ready for another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Around them milled bunches of different people, older and younger, kids with parents, kids with owls and cats and frogs, men pushing trunks to load into the train.

“Come on then.” Remus broke their silence. “Let’s go get a room on the train.”

“Good idea. And then I can show Jamesie here my new spell for enchanting someone’s seat!” Sirius grinned.

The four of them made their way into the train, past all of the other rowdy students who were eager to return to school, and found themselves an empty compartment. Sirius, Remus, and Peter sat, while James stood blocking the door. Soon he had their attention, and he began to take full advantage of it.

“So we’ve everything then? Marauder’s Map, and I have the invisibility cloak packed away in my trunk, and what else?”

“I hope you remembered your wand.” Remus joked slightly.

“My wand!” James cried looking horrified.

“Don’t tell me you actually left your wand at home James! You really are an idiot!” Remus laughed.

“Damn. Where did I put that thing?” James frantically searched his memory for the last place he put his wand. He had had it when he had gotten to the station…

“I believe you shoved it up….” James jumped for Sirius, shutting him up instantly as a fight ensued between the two. But it didn’t last long. James easily grappled Sirius into a headlock.

“You were saying something Sirius?” Remus and Peter just laughed at the two idiots before them.

“Only that you put your wand in your back pocket!” Sirius choked out. James immediately dropped him and felt his back pocket for his wand. Sighing in relief, he laughed.

“Not funny.” Sirius grumbled.

“But it is!” James laughed harder. “Now show me that seat trick of yours? We’ve been looking for something original to do to Snape…”

“Well, first you…” As the two became engrossed with their newest idea for torturing the Slytherins, they didn’t notice a light tapping on the door. However, when the door opened, they stopped everything.

Lily had been having a horrible time trying to find a place to sit. It just was not her day. First she hadn’t been able to find her muggle studies book for school. Then she hadn’t been able to find her favorite pair of earrings, and then she was late getting to the train station. She nearly didn’t make the train because of it. And just when she thought that everything would start getting better, she couldn’t find anywhere to sit.

It appeared there were no blank spaces anywhere on the train. And when she did find one, the people that were already in the compartment took one look at her and turned her away. Were appearances really all that mattered to people these days? Perhaps she really should stop her rather Gothic style of dressing, but she had been doing it so long she didn’t know how to do anything else. No matter.

Lily finally came across the last compartment in the train. When knocking did little good, se tried harder. But still that produced nothing, so she finally got up the courage to simply open the door and peek in to see who was inside.

She stopped did still, unable to believe who she had stumbled upon. Before her stood, or rather sat, the four most popular boys in the entire school. The Marauders, as they called themselves, consisted of Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and their leader, James Potter.

Peter was a short, rather chunky boy who was really only popular because of his friendship with the other three boys. Remus Lupin was on the quieter side, but he had a great sense of humor and was caught just as often as Sirius and James. Sirius Black was the ‘ladies man’ of the school. He had a new girl for every week of the school year. None of them really seemed to mind, in fact, they rather expected to be dumped after the first week, so most of them dumped Sirius first- to save face they told themselves.

Last but in no regards least was James Potter, the unofficial leader of the gang. If Sirius was the ladies man at the school, then James was considered the school’s only living heart donor. Black messy hair framed his face, and his soft brown eyes poked through thin, wire-framed glasses. James not only did decently in classes, but was the seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team, had a great sense of humor, and above all, was nice in general towards most everyone- save maybe the Slytherins. It was a pity he and Sirius shared the record for most detentions in the school, it was the only thing that marred his perfect record.

“Who are you?” Peter stood to attention at once. Lily said nothing.

“Peter, that’s Lily Evans.” Remus whispered to the boy beside him, then smacked him on the shoulder for his stupidity. It wasn’t smart to mess with Lily Evans, or so the rumor went. It was said that she had transfigured a boy into a frog for a full hour because he laughed at her. And even then, she hadn’t wanted to release him, McGonagall had made her.

“Lily Evans!” Peter breathed under his breath. He too, had heard the rumors.

“Can we help you Miss Evans?” Remus asked the girl politely. Lily glared at him, but said nothing. Why was he calling her miss? Why did everyone always call her that? Her name was Lily, not Miss Evans.

“Yes. There are no other compartments with space left in them. Would it be possible for me to please stay here for the remainder of the train ride?” She asked politely.

“You? Stay here?” Sirius gulped.

“Yes. Me, here. Is there a problem with that?”

“No, not with you Miss Evans, never with you. In fact, you can have my seat here by the window.” Sirius stood and offered Lily his seat. She looked at him oddly, but nodded in thanks and sat.

“Don’t mind me.” She told them softly. The boys all nodded.

“Hallway?” James whispered to them. They nodded, and stood. “We’ll be right back Miss Evans.” She nodded, and turned to look out the window again. In the hall, the four boys scrunched in tightly to a huddle.

“Anyone want to start?” James asked.

“Evans is in our compartment!” Sirius said bluntly.

“Well what do you want to do, kick her out? She’ll curse us if we do! You know the rumors as well as we all do.” James answered back.

“James, you and Remus do pretty well in charms. Can’t you two just figure out a way to block her curses?” Sirius thought aloud.

“Pretty well isn’t good enough to go up against Lily Evans Sirius! She’s gotten perfect scores in every class since she was a first year! James and I together couldn’t match wits with that girl, she’s a menace!” Remus spat.

“And her eyes are just creepy. They’re so black!”

“Peter, that’s makeup she’s wearing, it isn’t natural!” James sighed.

“Oh. Still… with those eyes and that hair… it’s just creepy!”

“I’ll give him that Jamesie! I’m telling you man. She’s what give witches a bad wrap!” Sirius added.

“The fact remains that she’s in our compartment and we can’t kick her out. So I guess we’ll just have to deal with her. Just don’t make any sudden movements or any unnecessary noise.” James finished. “Keep her happy.”

“I hear that!” Sirius nodded in agreement. With the plan made between the four boys, they went back into the tiny room and took their seats.

As the four boys walked back into the compartment, Lily wondered what they had been discussing. No doubt her creepiness. Well, it didn’t matter. They were the four most popular boys in school, if they wanted to make fun of her, what could she do to stop them? She blushed as they each stared at her.

“What?” She asked roughly. James, Sirius and Remus and turned around and diverted their eyes, but Peter didn’t.

“Why do you wear so much makeup around your eyes?” He asked. Remus smacked him for his question, but Lilly actually answered it.

“I wear the makeup because I’m used to it. Have a problem? Or would you like to know why I have a nose ring too?” The only subject Lily was touchy over was her looks. She had taken enough abuse from her sister over the years, and now that she was at Hogwarts, she wasn’t going to put up with it.

“No, he’s sorry he bothered you! Please don’t turn him into a toad!” Sirius begged. Lily’s eyes went wide and she gasped.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you did it to some other poor sap for laughing at you! Please don’t turn us into anything!” Sirius pleaded.

“I never did anything of the sort! Is that why you’re acting so odd around me? Because you think I transfigured someone into a toad?”

“That would be the reason they’re begging alright.” Remus muttered. Then he blushed. “Sorry.”

“For what? Look here. I’ve never transfigured anyone into anything, and I’m not going to… though I wonder if I could…. Human transfiguration is reserved for strictly for seventh years, but I have been reading up on the subject lately…” And Lily went off into her own world of thoughts, leaving the four boys far behind.

James sat and watched his friends look at each other incredulously. They really didn’t believe Lily wasn’t going to turn them into toads. But as James studied Lily, he realized she really wasn’t. She had let her thoughts carry her away from whatever was going on around her and was now pouring through a spell book look for human transfiguration. Maybe Miss Lily Evans wasn’t quite as bad as she was made out to be. But then again, James thought as he looked over her heavy makeup, nose ring, clothes, and hair, you never could tell. After all, appearances were important, regardless of the old saying that they didn’t matter.

Just then the train pulled to a halt, and the students stood and stretched. The boys let Lily out of the compartment first, and as they watched her petit, dark from walk away from them through the crowd, they sighed with relief.

“Well, that’s one train ride I’m glad is over.” Peter breathed.

“Me too.”

“I third that motion!” Sirius yelled, happy they were finally at their destination.

“I don’t think she’s as bad as people make her out to be.” James brooded.

“James, are you nuts? That Lilly Evans we’re talking about!” Sirius cried out.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, come on then, can’t be late to the feast, now can we boys?”*