Julia braided Annie's hair intricately as if she were pinning it to her head, they couldn't have it flying into her field of vision.

They had decided it would be a calming activity after Annie had almost gone into panic mode over her first quidditch game. Julia came to the rescue as Graham and Hunter had no idea what to do about it, she just sent them on their merry way to breakfast.

"Thanks, Jules!" Annie said cheerfully as she stood up off the ground.

"Breakfast?" Julia asked as they walked out of the portrait hole.

"I'm not very hungry actually," Annie tried to head in the direction of the pitch, but Julia dragged her towards the Great Hall.

"Nice try, buddy! 'Lene said that you need to eat no matter what."

Annie hummed to herself as they walked into the Great Hall and James flagged them down, who was quickly gaining the attention of many people around him, until Remus pulled him back in his seat.

"I see you took the tip of getting your hair braided," Marlene remarked as she had gotten her hair French braided, courtesy of Lily.

"Believe it or not, I actually do listen to what you say," Annie replied putting a single fried egg onto her plate.

"That makes one of you," Marlene spoke as she looked pointedly at James and Sirius.

Julia and Annie raised their eyebrows at them, which promptly made Sirius roll his eyes.

"All we did was prank the Slytherins-"

"After we specifically told you not to and better yet, you got in trouble because McGonagall was in a bad mood!" Lily responded.

"I would love to stay and chat, but we have a quidditch match to win," James kissed Lily on the cheek and got up from the table.

"Good luck!" Lily yelled after the four quidditch players.

...

Despite never playing the game, Lily found quidditch quite fascinating. Whether it was talking about different strategies with Marlene or cheering Gryffindor on at the matches, she found her happiness levels surge.

Yet, dressing up to go to the matches was never her forte, which is why Mary and Alice always helped her pick out her outfits. However, she now had a separate dorm from the girls, so she was on her own.

"Why would I wear a red jumper when I'm going to wear a coat over top of it?" She asked herself out loud.

Her Fleetwood Mac record spun filling in the silence as she contemplated what the hell she was going to wear.

If I could
Maybe I'd give you my world

"I still need some Gryffindor pride though," she remarked as she looked over her chosen outfit.

Ultimately, she had decided to wear a raven black jumper (the color had reminded her of James's hair), a cream-colored overcoat, and denim wide-leg jeans. She was really lacking in the color department, which she noticed after she laced her black high top Converse up.

How can I
When you won't take it from me

"I'll just steal James's scarf!" She practically yelled in realization.

Surprisingly, James's room was clean to the point where there was nothing on the ground except the furniture, but the walls were an entirely different story.

In the span of three months, starting the fourth, of being at Hogwarts, James had stuck up everything he and the rest of the Marauders had deemed important. There were future prank plans, polaroid pictures, essays, passed notes, and candy wrappers. Merlin only knew why those were up there.

She quickly grabbed the gold and red scarf off of his desk and fled the room, so she wouldn't be accused of snooping. Even though she was very clearly the only one there.

You can go your own way
Go your own way

Lily reckoned that her bright red lipstick, red hair, and James's scarf ought to be enough Gryffindor pride for the game. If it was against Slytherin, the story would have played out differently, but it was the first game of the season and it was against Ravenclaw.

Before leaving her dorm, she turned off the record, removing any extra sound from the room that had comforted her. Walking out of the portrait, she found Remus on his way towards her with his hands shoved in his pockets, who wore around the same amount of red as her.

"One would think that as the Captain's boyfriend you would be more enthusiastic about this whole match thing."

Lily narrowed her eyes at Remus before firing back at his remark.

"One would think that as the Captain's best friend you would be more enthusiastic about this whole match thing," she replied a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Touché."

"For the record, I am actually very excited for this match-"

She cut herself off as Mary and Alice came into view with face paint covering their faces.

"Holy shit, what did you do to your face?" Lily asked with wide eyes.

"It's called house pride, not that you would know about it," Mary responded promptly getting a streak of gold and a streak of red smudged onto Lily's face.

"Urgh! What the-"

"Alright, let's go to the pitch before it starts without us!" Remus said to change the subject before Lily could escalate the situation further.

...

"Potter passes to Potter- holy hell this is confusing!" Craig's voice shouted into the microphone making Minnie cringe at his choice of words.

"Please refrain from commenting on anything except the match, Mr. Geyer!" She reminded him for what would be the fifth time.

"Sorry..."

Annie whirred around a bludger that headed straight for her chest and swiftly passed the quaffle to Thomas, who had flown an overlapping route.

"Longg with the quaffle, flying to the right-HE FAKES AND SENDS IT TO THE BIGGER POTTER! BIGGER POTTER SHOOTS AND SCORES!"

The chasers took a moment to revel in another goal making the score favor Gryffindor even more, 50-10. Dahlia Anderson, the Ravenclaw keeper, was having trouble defending because of how fluid the passing was between the opposing chasers.

"Erwin with the quaffle, Erwin to- never mind, Little Potter comes from behind and steals the quaffle! Gryffindor back in possession."

Lily let out a loud cheer, long abandoning her coat as she had worked up a sweat just from screaming. Remus had decided his eardrums were blown out ten minutes into the game and running out of the film for his camera hadn't mattered long before that.

He had captured several shots of Mary, Alice, and Lily group hugging, which were by far his favorite. Yet, he had also gotten one of James blowing a kiss to Lily in the stands, which was a close second.

Annie tried for another pass to Thomas, but Erwin, a Ravenclaw chaser, had intercepted it and began the journey towards the Gryffindor hoops. He swerved past a swiftly aimed bludger from Sirius on the way.

"50-20! Mayfield unable to keep Erwin from scoring," Craig's American accent drawled unenthusiastically.

Mary saw it long before everyone else had, Freed was diving to catch the snitch.

"LILY SHE SEES THE SNITCH!" Mary yelled for the entire school to hear, which Lily just screamed in response to.

"Macdonald is quite right! Freed of Gryffindor pulls into a steep dive in hot pursuit of the snitch!" Craig yelled, this time enthusiastically.

Alyssa could feel all the eyes on her as the wind bit back at her face, yet she kept her eyes on the snitch inches in front of her grasp as she could feel the Ravenclaw seeker on her tail.

"Gryffindor has won! 200-20! Which is a proper defeat-"

Craig's voice became cut off as McGonagall had silenced the mic he was using, causing him to scowl.

James did a victory lap with the rest of his team, a huge grin plastered onto his face as winning in quidditch was one of the top things that made him happy.

"That's your boyfriend," Mary said with a knowing look towards Alice as Lily watched him fly by with adoration sparkling in her eyes.

"That's my boyfriend."

...

A crackling fire, quiet music, and a content Lily to cuddle with was all James ever needed or wanted in life. The victory party had long since passed as they sat on the couch cuddled up close together in the early hours of the morning, just enjoying each other's company.

"Watching you play quidditch is now one of my favorite past times," she spoke quietly, barely more than a whisper even though they were alone.

"Seeing you cheer for me is one of my favorite past times," he replied just as quietly.

For a long time, too long in both of their opinions, Lily had not known about James's soft, gentle side. She had seen glimpses of it, but the chaotic, boisterous side was far louder for her to pay any attention to it.

"How do you know I was cheering for you?" She asked in a cheeky tone.

"Maybe it was the fact you said go James and as far as I know I was the only James on the pitch," she just chuckled at this.

"Fair point."

"What do you mean fair point? I've won this argument and you know it!" He said making her laugh further.

"Fine! I concede!"

"As you should."

...

Criticism is something one has to accept in most aspects of their life, but only if it's constructive. The purpose of criticism is to build you up with small positive tweaks here and there, not negative statements that could ruin one's outlook of things. Often, people feel the need to voice their opinions on topics that do not need their input, such as one's private relationships.

One of the reasons Lily had refrained from dating James for so long was her need to please other people and stay out of gossip. Being in a relationship with him had surely gotten her on to the front lines of every invisible gossip tabloid there was.

She had never had any direct problems with the Potter-Black Fan Club, until a drafty December morning in the loo with Mary.

"Ah, it's Potter's boyfriend. How's that going, Evans?"

Lily had quickly noticed that the entire fan club only referred to her by her last name, which caused her to grow a bit uncomfortable while talking to them, among other reasons.

"Fine thanks for asking," she replied wishing Mary would hurry up.

"James wishing he hadn't gotten into a relationship with you yet?" The girl snakily asked.

"Would you just fuck off already? James and Lily are doing just fine, thanks for your concern!" Mary glared at them exiting her stall.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Another girl asked rolling her eyes.

"Now, is that any of your damn business?" Mary said purposely avoiding the question as she blushed, which Lily noticed.

They left the loo quickly after Mary had washed her hands and with haste made their way to the Great Hall where the rest of their friends sat.

"Why did you blush when she asked if you had a boyfriend?" Lily asked with a pointed look at her friend.

"No reason!"

"I'm calling bullshit," Lily responded as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Filling her plate with an assortment of foods, varying in size, shape, and color, Lily also filled her head with possible reasons as to why Mary was acting so strangely.

"What did you want to do for your birthday, Mary?" Lily asked deciding on changing the subject, but not forgetting the last one.

"I didn't really feel the need to do anything over the top this year actually. Besides, I have patrols with Remus."

Mary spoke knowing full well Lily would try to convince her to let her reschedule the patrol or swap her place with someone else's. She declined both of those ideas, which caused Lily to turn to Remus in suspicion.

"Make sure to keep your eye on Mary, I think she might have a secret boyfriend or something," Lily finally said to Remus, who promptly choked on his drink.

I'm the secret boyfriend

"O-ok," he stuttered out instead of what he was thinking.

...

Doodledorf wanted to spice things up for the holidays. It may be two days before everyone leaves Hogwarts, but that did not mean he couldn't give both head students heart attacks by asking them to plan a ball in one day. So, he called them both up to his office.

"You asked to see us?" Lily asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I swear I wasn't involved in the last prank," James added trying to clear up something Dumbledore did not even plan to address, however, the headmaster still chuckled at the boy.

"I would like you two and the prefects to plan a ball to take place tomorrow."

Lily's eyes went as wide as galleons and she immediately went into panic mode. She had planned on spending the next two days soaking in interactions with her friends as she had to spend time with her family for too long in her opinion.

James watched as his girlfriend freaked out in Dumbledore's office, but he kept up his cool facade all the same. He tried to use logic as Lily would have done if she was not freaking out, and he started to ask the headmaster some questions.

"What all does that entail, sir?" James finally asked putting his hand on Lily's knee, a gesture of reassurance.

"Well, I already have booked a band and I have prepped the house-elves, so music and food are covered. That leaves you with decorations and getting the word out to the students."

After going over what was strictly prohibited and what they could include in regards to the ball, they exited his office, Lily being slightly less worried than she was before.

"How are we going to get the word out to everyone?" Lily asked James with a worried look on her face as they sped towards the Gryffindor common room.

"You are talking to a Marauder, Lils, I bet the moment we tell Sirius half the school will know."

...

After informing the Marauders, who promised to inform the entire school with the help of the girls, James convinced Lily it was possible for them to call a prefect meeting before classes started. She did not ask questions as to how he was planning on getting all the prefects in the same place, instead, she ran to the empty classroom designated for the prefect meetings with Mary.

"You ever wonder how the Marauders manage to do stuff like this?" Mary asked curiously.

"All the time, but I've learned not to ask questions," Lily responded swinging open the door of the classroom.

"What would you guess is their method?" Mary said as Lily pulled parchment, some ink, and a quill out of a desk drawer.

"Well, they have the map and James's cloak, which both probably help a lot. Oh, and they have the ability to turn into animals!" Lily said scribbling what looked like a schedule on the said parchment.

"Not to mention their certain affinity for breaking rules," Mary added as she walked aimlessly around the room.

"Sirius doesn't care, James loves the thrill, Remus is the secret mastermind behind it all, and Peter cheers them on while eating chocolate," Lily spoke nonchalantly as prefects entered the room.

The room filled quickly with chattering prefects, all of who wore worried or frantic looks upon their faces as James had ushered them there quickly with the help of Remus.

"I heard my name!" James said bounding into the room with Remus.

"You never fail to surprise me," she smiled in his direction as Remus and Mary took the last two seats in the classroom.

James went on to explain their rather large predicament and after everyone's eyes were as wide as galleons, Lily scheduled people's decorating times. They truly were the perfect team.

...

James and Lily spent their study period lounging around on the couches of their common room when they both could have been doing homework that was assigned over the holidays. Yet, they had decided together to boycott their education for the time being as if they were trying not to stress themselves out further.

"Do you think you'll be able to come to the Potter Ball?" James asked crossing his eyes.

"Am I invited?" Lily smirked as James scoffed.

"Am I invited she asks? Well, let's review the evidence. You, Lily Evans, are my girlfriend! You have gone to the ball in the past. Oh! And Marlene was discussing dress colors with you a few days ago!" James rattled off.

"Okay! Okay! Yes, I think I should be able to come. My mum just wants me at the house for Christmas."

"If you said no I was going to write a letter to your mother and request your presence."

"I don't doubt that."

...

The sweet smell of the cauldrons wafted through the dungeons. Mary rolled her eyes as she watched Sirius and Marlene neglect to finish the assignment, preferring to eat candy canes Lily's mum had sent the group. Remus chuckled lowly as he saw Lily throw a newt egg at James from the corner of his eye.

Holiday cheer had swallowed Hogwarts whole as only light-hearted banter, Christmas music, and plans for their break could be heard as far as the grounds stretched.

"At Potter Ball, if our friends haven't figured it out yet, we should probably tell them," Remus began.

"Tell them what?" Mary hummed a Christmas tune Marlene had been blasting earlier in the girls' dorm.

"About us?" Remus stated bluntly yet phrased it like a question, causing his cheeks to flush red.

Mary stopped stirring the potion for a moment, looking up at her boyfriend that had averted his eyes. She laughed at his awkwardness.

"That sounds good. I think Alice and Lily are the closest to figuring it out," she said enjoying the atmosphere around them.

"The three dumbos I call my best friends are the most oblivious people I have ever met," Mary laughed at his remark.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"Both."

...

Tutoring was not the correct word for Craig and Regulus's meetings in the library once every week. It was more like pretend tutoring with textbooks, parchment, and quills covering their chosen table, while they actually just reminisced telling stories, pranked unsuspecting peers, or spoke just about themselves.

So, as Regulus arrived at the library, quickly dodging mistletoe and expectant girls in the corridors, he made his way to the table with a chair already filled.

"Bloody mistletoe is everywhere! I swear to Merlin I had to run away from ten different girls!" Regulus complained as he placed a rather hefty herbology book onto the table.

"Whenever girls ask me out, after saying no, if they don't take the hint, then I tell them I'm gay," Craig replied not taking his eyes from the letter he was writing out to his aunt.

I managed not to cause too much trouble this term, much to your delight, but I've joined multiple clubs? I'm really not sure what to call them.

"Are you?" Regulus asked with a light blush.

Which includes helping out in the hospital wing, quidditch commentating, and "tutoring." I'll explain why that's in quotes at home.

"Am I what?" Craig responded creasing his eyebrows and looking up at the boy in front of him.

"Gay," Regulus responded, distracting himself with a spare bit of parchment.

"I don't know the answer to that question. It's quite confusing."

"I know what you mean," Regulus muttered under his breath just so he could hear.

They resolved into a somewhat comfortable silence, only interrupted by Craig's quill scratching against the parchment and Regulus's quiet humming.

"Are you happy to go home for the holidays?" Craig

Being a member of the Black family was not an easy task, especially if you didn't share their views. Regulus had found himself disagreeing with what his parents preached, but not strong enough to leave as Sirius had. So, he was stuck there for the time being in quiet, painful silence, watching as they badmouthed his brother, the boy that Regulus was sure was the only person who had ever loved him.

"Not exactly, how about you?" Regulus said in return avoiding his eyes.

Craig felt incredibly stupid about asking anything relatively near the younger Black's home life. He didn't have any clue about how difficult going home for him actually was, but people often talked about the secrets that surrounded the family.

"I'm excited to see my aunt, for sure, but I'll miss Hogwarts."

"Are you going all the way back to America?" Regulus asked out of pure curiosity and relief that Craig hadn't questioned why he didn't want to go home.

"My aunt is actually staying in downtown London in a flat I'm going to move into after Hogwarts. She's a muggle," Craig said trying to tell where Regulus stood with his beliefs.

"That's cool, make sure you check out the book shop down 32nd Street. It's really neat."

Craig's watch clicked, reminding him of a party that the Hufflepuffs had planned in anticipation of going home for the holidays. That ended his short time spent with Regulus, for the time being, something he was dreading.

"I have to go to a party in the Hufflepuff common room. Wanna come with?" Craig offered hopefully.

"Party?" Regulus blurted out, stunned Craig would invite him anywhere.

Why would he want to hang out with me?

"Please tell me Slytherins throw parties!" Craig's eyes widened.

Vivid mental images of explicit Wizard music and drinking games fill his head and Regulus shuddered at the thought of attending another one of the so-called parties.

"Of course we do, but that doesn't mean I attend them!"

"I'm sure Hufflepuff parties are nothing like Slytherin parties. Let's go!"

Craig was right, like usual, but Regulus was having the time of his life. There was karaoke, muggle board games, a dance floor, the most desirable sweets one could think of, and, instead of people filled with prejudices, they were filled with love.

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk

"What is this song?" Regulus shouted over the loud singing going on around him.

"It's by the Bee Gees," Regulus made a weird face at his words, "a muggle band."

"Now, that would be why I don't know it."

Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around
Since I was born

A younger girl with mischief alight in her hazel eyes happened to bump into them after a friend beat her in a muggle card game called War.

"Oof- Sirius? What're you doing here?" Annie's eyes widened at her mistake. "You're not Sirius."

And now it's alright, it's okay
And you may look the other way

"Regulus this is Annie, Annie this is Regulus," Craig introduced the two and they awkwardly shook hands.

"So, you're Sirius's brother?" She asked with furrowed brows.

Regulus could clearly see that the young girl had picked up on some of Sirius's mannerisms, such as blunt questions and nervous laughter. It hurt that the girl had probably spent more time with Sirius than Regulus had in years.

We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on a man

"Yes, that's me," he admitted a little stiffly.

"Well, I expect you take up his role as executive pranked once he graduates," with a wink the girl ran over to who Regulus assumed were her friends.

"So, that's little Potter," Regulus spoke to Craig as he sat down on the couch of the common room, Craig just nodded in response.

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

"She acts just like him. Y'know, Sirius used to come home and tell stories about him and his wonderful friends with their wonderful pranks and that's all I ever wanted."

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

"Yet, I was never able to find it. Slytherins are driven by ambition and won't stop at anything go get to the tippity-top. No one has time for true friends."

He wasn't sure why he was telling his "tutor" everything that had been bottled up in him for years, but Craig looked willing to listen, which was also something Regulus had always wanted.

He wanted someone to stick by his side through anything, to pick him up when he's bleeding, and to understand how hard it is to deal with his family.

He felt a warmth on his hand as his eyes welled up with tears as he relived ghosts from his past in preparation for the holidays that he was due to spend with extended family. Family that hated people like Craig.

"I'll always be here for you."

Regulus needed Craig because the truth was, he was just barely stayin' alive.

...

Author's Note:

I'm back bitches! 💵

First things first, the first song was Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac and the second song was Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.

Secondly, Bertie_Botts made me two covers! One for All the Stars and one for Ladder of Life!

Third, I am so happy to be back and my mental health has improved greatly since the last time I updated! Thank you for understanding.

Annie was at the party because her one friend, Lincoln Ferrew, is a Hufflepuff and he invited their friend group. Just wanted to clear things up in case of confusion.

Also, I just realized that I have been writing the commentary as if they were speaking into microphones. I was going to change this, but I have been writing it this way since All the Stars, so I just continued using mics.

I always have to remind myself to use the word loo instead of a bathroom when referring to it. 😂 It takes me a few tries.

What do my most frequently used emojis say about me? 😂🥰👑💚✨🏳️‍🌈🤠👀 That was random lol whatever.

I was planning on updating later today/tomorrow, but I'm bored in a studyhall and wanted to add some ✨spice✨ to my day in the form of your comments.

Have a wonderful day lovelies!

Lmao anyways thanks for reading
-teddy💐