55 Factoids about The Marauders

Oneshot

1. Lily Evans was six when she decided that she wanted to marry a girl; her father had just left, and she saw the pain in her mother's eyes, and that had caused her to hate men unconditionally. (Of course, it wasn't until puberty hit that she realized she was completely and totally heterosexual, so that complicated matters a bit.)

2. James Potter, on the other hand, knew he was going to get married when he was only seven. He had seen the happiness in his mother's eyes and he could only strive to get someone who would look at him the same way.( He was fourteen when he decided women were impossible and he wanted to stay a bachelor forever….But that's only after he asked Lily Evans and she said no.)

3. On his ninth Christmas, Sirius Black's mother threatened to beat him with a broom if he didn't clean his room. Two hours later, when his room was still dirty, she completed her promise. Sirius never told anyone. No one ever asked.

4. Remus Lupin loved butterflies when he was younger. He loved to chase them around. One day a beautiful orange and black butterfly flew right up to his window. In a hurry, he left his room, slipping past his tired mother, and followed the little thing deep into the dangerous woods. He was five.

5. Peter Pettigrew's father bought him a puppy called Max when he was a kid. The two of them took of it together, until one day his father died, and Peter stopped caring about the dog. Max died on his tenth birthday.

6. By his first day of school, Sirius had heard all about those blood-traitors. He was told to not speak to their son at school or to even look in his direction. Sirius was a higher class than those disgusting people. As luck would have it, Sirius walked straight into James Potter's train compartment anyways.

7. Lily Evans was disappointed that she didn't get into Slytherin. Truly. She couldn't believe that she had been put in a House that apparently housed bullies and tolerated reckless behavior. Even if it was a bit funny. And even if Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Meadows and Mary McDonald were pretty darn funny. She stilled wanted Sev.

8. James Potter knew there was something weird about Remus Lupin, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He hated the way that Sirius sometimes made fun of the state of the kid's robes, but didn't say anything. Until one day he almost punched him in the face. Sirius stopped after that.

9. Getting beat up by the Slytherin jerks grew pretty old pretty fast, according to Peter. He thought that that might be his whole Hogwarts career, but then for some reason, he suddenly had a friend, and even though James Potter wasn't much bigger than him, his last name apparently saved Peter from any more fights. He was pleasantly surprised when Remus Lupin soon followed after James, and even more surprised when Sirius Black did as well.

10. Sirius dreaded going back home, especially after getting no less than seventeen Howlers that year and after skipping both Christmas and Easter hols, spending them instead with his new friends. He didn't mean to be sorted into Gryffindor. Honest.

11. Summer treated Remus horribly. Transformations were worse than ever, and he was surprised when he got a letter from Hogwarts, reminding him and informing him of the things he had to buy. He thought for sure Dumbledore would have reconsidered by now.

12. Peter was so happy the first day back. They had saved him a seat.

13. Sirius thought of his first prank on the second week back. He told James, who immediately loved it, and turned and told Peter and Remus. Suddenly, the four were sneaking into McGonagall's office to steal her biscuit container. When they were caught, they were admonished for "marauding". And thus, they became the Marauders. It was a joke at first, but for some reason, it more than stuck.

14. Lily loved magic so much. Everything from the red sparks that would sometimes come out of her want all the way to the insane magic Dumbledore would perform. She wished sometimes that she could be as powerful as he was, but she doubted she would ever be as great. (But still, sometimes, she just wanted her telly and record player. Even magic couldn't make her forget those.)

15. It hit James one day towards the middle of the year. Ironically, Sirius knew as soon as James walked in. Peter was lost for at least ten minutes, until James turned to him and said, "Don't you get it Pete? Remus is always gone once a month. He's always sick. Don't you see?" Peter was annoyed at himself for not getting something that apparently seem so obvious to James, and when James finally spelled it out, he just felt stupid.

16. Sirius spent the whole summer trying to talk to his little brother. He gave him candy and played with him and did everything with him. He reminded him that he was named after one of the brightest stars in the sky, and if he really wanted, he could be just as bright in the real world. It didn't work. On September 1, 1972, Regulus was still sorted into Slytherin.

17. James didn't know when he started noticing girls, but suddenly they were just there. He could successfully charm Marlene and Mary and Dory and hell, sometimes, he even got a laugh from some older girls. But then, when he tried to say hi to Lily Evans, he turned her hair blue instead. Whoops.

18. Peter hated when his teacher would yell at him, but he just couldn't understand the material. So, when James and Sirius came up to him about turning into animagi, he just stared at him. But they helped him anyways.

19. Lily felt weird sitting with Sev sometimes. His friends were meaner than usual. But she never expected Potter to turn his wand at them one random day, eyes flashing with something or another. It was all very strange. After that day, she told herself she hated James Potter.

20. Remus could not believe the friends he has gotten. He felt like it was too good to be true and it was killing him inside, so one day towards the end of the year, he went straight up to Dumbledore's office, looked the man straight into his blue eyes and asked him, "When are you going to throw me out? Because I'm starting to get friends and I would rather know ahead of time if I'm not allowed in next year." He was embarrassingly horrified after his outburst, especially when Dumbledore promised him that he hadn't done anything to get himself expelled.

21. James asked Lily out thirty two times their fourth year. She said no each time. It started out as a joke, but just like their nickname, this stuck as well.

22. Sirius used to laugh with James as Evans went off harried and bothered, until he realized it was hurting James. After that, he tried to convince him to date another girl. So the two of them went on a double date. James fumbled and gave his date, Shelbi Coldwell a small kiss, and Sirius lost his virginity to Mary McDonald. Because why the hell not?

23. Peter hated Christmas that year. James went home, and so did Remus. Sirius spent the whole time with older birds, shagging them. Peter hadn't even had his first kiss yet.

24. Remus found out that his friends were studying to become animagi and almost broke into tears. Sirius made fun of him for that for months.

25. That Easter, Lily lost her faith in God. Maybe it was because she was a witch now and they don't believe in a higher being, or maybe it was because her sister hated her, or maybe it was because her father, the same one she hadn't seen in almost a decade, had died in a car accident. She wasn't even listed on his will.

26. When they started their fifth year, Sirius had a feeling things were changing. His beatings at home were getting worse and worse, but he didn't tell anyone. And when he got back at Hogwarts, that didn't feel like home either. By the middle of the year, he knew that he was completely depressed. He also knew he hid it very, very well.

27. One day, James just became really fit. Like, really, really fit. All the girls fell in love with him. All of them. But for a while he didn't care. All he cared about was the fact that Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were born. Now if only there was a way to create a map of the school…

28. Lily buried herself into Sev, ignoring the words from his friends and focus instead on how amazing they were together. She figured this boy would be the one she would end up with. He seemed to love her, and he wasn't even that bad. They could talk for hours. Isn't that the bases of a good relationship? Who cares what his friends thought.

29. Remus had studied for all his OWL's constantly, more than Lily probably did. He didn't know why. He knew he would never get a job in the real world.

30. She was gorgeous, Peter thought. With her red hair and intense green eyes, she looked exactly like the kind of girl that would never go for him. Not that he wanted her like that. She was after all a muggleborn, and his parents would never forgive him. Besides, she was James's. Also, he never quite understood why exactly any of his friends, in particular James, thought mudblood was such a terrible insult. (He did however understand hexing Snape. He always understood that.) Not that he didn't like Lily. He did. She was nice. She gave him biscuits that one time.

31. Sirius wondered into Lily's compartment on the way back to Hogwarts in their sixth year. She was alone, and he felt terrible and happy at the same time. She looked at him with such hatred that he literally took a step back. "He used to say it to my brother all the time. You should be glad you got rid of him. If you actually open your eyes and see, then maybe you'll never have a back stabbing friend ever again." He told her before leaving and joining his friends. Lily rolled her eyes, and didn't think much about what he said. She learnt later that he ran away that summer and was now living with the Potters. She didn't know why that bothered her so much.

32. James snogged Helen Drempleton. James snogged Janis Something-Or-Another . James snogged Mary McDonald. James snogged Marlene McKinnon. James snogged Christine Dowry. James shagged Helen Drempleton. James shagged Janis Something-Or-Another. James did not shagged Mary McDonald. James shagged Marlene McKinnon. James shagged Christine Dowry.

33. Remus woke up two weeks before school ended with such a heavy heart he thought he might explode. He knew he was expelled. He knew he hurt someone. And Oh God! Snape. James. What the fuck happened? How could that have happened? And then the answer became so clear that it made him cry: Sirius.

34. Slughorn told them as a treat, they were allowed to choose their own partners. Now, they usually did this, but Slughorn thought he was being clever and nice. Unfortunately, only three days prior, Sirius told Severus Snape a horrible lie, so James paired up with Remus. Because of this, and also because of the lie, Sirius was partner-less. (And because he was supposed to side with James and Remus, Peter did not have a partner either.)

35. That summer before seventh year, Lily electrocuted herself while unplugging her hair blower. Her sister, Petunia, rolled her eyes, but she still gave her a Band-Aid, even put cream on it for her. Even though she was of age and could magic it gone, Lily kept the scar and occasionally looked back at it with a weird sense of longing.

36. He didn't know what the hell Dumbledore was on making him Head Boy. He wasn't Head Boy. He was James Potter, Prongs, rule-breaker extraordinaire. He wasn't Head Boy.

37. Sirius moved out from the Potters before summer even officially began, not that James minded. Sirius really wished that James minded.

38. Remus forgave Sirius first. Peter right afterwards. James held strong until July, when he got a surprise letter from Evans. He felt even more betrayed at first at learning that Sirius and Lily became friends that summer, but then he just felt sad. Really sad, and he just wanted his best friend back.

39. Peter never had such an exciting summer before. It wasn't just with the boys either. After James and Sirius made up, Sirius brought Evans, his new best friend – apparently they bonded over after horrible families and a rather odd commonality – James.

40. When Remus found Lily and James talking quietly in the upstairs library, instead of drinking with the rest of their friends downstairs while at the Potter's Manor, he smiled widely. Later he asked James what was going on, and James gave him a rather surprising answer, "I'm worried about her." He said, quite seriously. "More and more muggleborns are being attacked."

41. Seventh year turned out to be very scary. The first day back, they got lectured and reminded that this year will be their last at school, and that this time next year, they would be out in the real world. It made Remus sick to his stomach.

42. James could have hexed Snape. James could have hexed Snape. But he didn't, and it wasn't because there were teachers were around or because Snape would tell on him or even because he couldn't get away with it. There weren't teachers around, Snape would never get such a hit on his pride and tell, and James could have completely gotten away with it. (Lily knows that she shouldn't have been spying on James, but he left that damn map of his open rather carelessly, and when she saw that James Potter and Severus Snape were about to collide, she ran to the third floor, preparing herself to come between them…But James did not hex Snape.)

43. Sirius and James were somehow closer than they ever were before, so it came as quite a surprise when James punched him in the face. "What the fuck, Prongs?" James seethed. "Grace Francis said that you and Lily are dating. I knew you were lying." It took James about two seconds after he said that sentence to apologize to Sirius and fall onto his bed, hands dug deep into his hair. (Sirius made him buy him a new packet of quills the next time they went to Hogsmead because of the whole ordeal. And just as a side-note, he would like to remind everyone that he and Lily are just friends and they will continue to be just friends. They are just very, very dramatic and into making everyone else believe they are dating just to laugh. Sirius just forgot to tell James that it was all a joke. Whoops.)

44. Peter saw less and less of James because James saw more and more of Lily.

45. Remus was proud of James when he came back from his first date with Lily and didn't immediately spill every last detail about what happened. At least, he waited a full hour before telling everyone in the vicinity that he "finally got her and could die happy." (Remus later went to Lily to ask her how it went and he couldn't help but notice how bright and happy she looked.)

46. By the end of the year, Lily could not stand Snape's insistent apologizing, insistent yelling, insistent hatred of her boyfriend, insistent everything. She was rather glad they would never see each other ever again. Hopefully.

47. The summer after Hogwarts, Sirius allowed James to move into the flat he got last summer. Remus moved in as well. Peter was told that if he wanted, he could have the couch. Peter thanked them, but stayed at home, in his rather large bed.

48. By July, Lily and James had internships at the Auror's office. Sirius found a job at as a bartender and Remus had a part-time job as a cashier at a muggle bookstore. Sirius never asked any of them for rent, although James would leave galleons in Sirius bedroom every so often. So would Remus, but Sirius would always return that. (None of that was ever really spoken about though.)

49. In November, Sirius woke up at four am to a drunken James and a drunken Lily. He put them in James's bedroom, and from that moment on, Lily started slipping into James's bed more and more often. By the end of the year, the apartment was rather crowded, and with a rather apologetic smile, James moved out, opting to go into the little house his family owned at Godric's Hollow, and taking his girlfriend with him.

50. They got married six months later. Remus didn't expect it to be so soon, but at the same time, he never seen two people love each other more.

51. When Peter joined the Death Eaters, he was just doing it because he wanted to be a spy. He wanted to do something. Lily and James were out there fighting and still believed in love. Remus was trying so hard to get a job, and Sirius was listening in at a bar, trying to find out what's going on rather sneakily. Peter just wanted to help. But eventually he forgot that he was on another team, and just focused on the Death Eaters. (Lily was still nice though. And James was so great. But, Peter had to survive. He had to.)

52. In 1975, Lily used to dance around her room without a care. In 1978, she could barely stand any music, much less dance to it. It made James very sad, but he still went out to fight. When she got pregnant, he stopped leaving the house, and started playing all kinds of albums, trying to get her to smile again. It worked somewhat.

53. His name was Harry, and he was so glad to be made Godfather. Sirius knew that he would never let anything happen to the little guy, ever.

54. Remus missed Lily and James a lot. He really wished that he knew why they stopped speaking to him.

55. Peter was sorry. He was. He truly was.

+1 Fact:

56. James and Lily, although had rather short lives, lived very happy lives. Even though they wish they could have been there for their son, they were still happy they got to know him, hug him, hold him, kiss him, protect him, save him. Lily would give her life all over again just for him. And they were so proud of him.