CHAPTER 01

She didn't have to see their feet poking out from the bottom of the Cloak to know that the Marauders were up to it again—their wayward whisperings attached to seemingly nobody in particular already gave them away.

But exactly what 'it' was that the four Gryffindor were up to—that was for the boys camouflaged beneath a too-small Cloak of Invisibility to know and for the rest of the school to find out. Usually in an unappetizing sort of way, and all at once, and with either great disapproval or great humour. It was all a gamble to the Marauders, but Piper knew that was what they enjoyed most: The variation.

The Great Hall was—usually, at least—rather a refuge for Piper, come nightfall. Many people spent their nights in the customary rotation of places: Their dormitories, their common rooms, their beds. Nobody thought to venture any further from the entrance to their Houses and explore the rest of the castle in the mystifying glow of the stars over Hogwarts. Piper had thought up the idea long ago and lorded it over her friends's heads as the best thought she had ever had, but usually none of them would sneak out with her. The Great Hall's open ceiling may have been an unearthly beautiful sight, but it did warrant having to sneak out past curfew and perhaps endure a lecture from a staff member if caught.

Thankfully, Piper hadn't been caught yet. However, at first, the hastened whisperings did give her pause.

"My foot," hissed an angry sort of voice. There was a moment of curious shuffling, then followed another furious grunt, the kind that was usually accompanied by a harsh glare. "My other foot!"

Piper smiled to herself, her attention on her book long ago lost to trying to place where the Marauders' shoes could be spotted.

"Apologies, there, Wormy," said a blithe tone, louder than the first voice. Clearly, this Marauder wasn't as frightened of being caught by an authority figure as any of his companions. Already, Piper placed her finger on this one: Sirius. "Hope I didn't bruise you up too horribly."

"Both of you, shut it." That was James—Piper would recognise his voice anywhere. She could practically envision the self-satisfied grin probably wrought on his face, even in the pitch black that was the Great Hall at well-past midnight. "If we get caught, there's nothing much for us to do besides accept it."

"We're not going to get caught," insisted another voice—Remus, Piper knew, was the only one of them that could manage a tone dripping in such true sarcasm. "What makes you think we'll be caught, Prongs? The fact that our toes stick out every time we walk? Or maybe it'll be Sirius's loud mouth that draws the attention of every Hogwarts staff member on night duty—"

"And me," Piper added, looking up from her book. "Don't forget me."

It was laughable to her because she didn't have to see the faces of the Marauders in order to know their reactions. Peter would have been the one to gasp, looking all about himself just the same as he would if he had seen a ghost. Sirius's shoes, visible beneath the hem of the Cloak, squeaked against the floor of the Great Hall as they turned with a start toward where Piper's voice had come from. Remus did nothing Piper could snuff out, but she knew he likely threw his head back and shut his eyes in nothing else but disappointment.

And James... well, Piper didn't have to guess his response, because the moment the words left Piper's lips, he'd thrown off the Cloak, and his grinning, detached head found Piper in the darkness.

"You look like Nearly Headless Nick's superior," she observed, spanning her fingers across the pages of her book and sitting up to give the Marauders her full attention. "Just-about Bodyless James."

He laughed, tipping his chin down to take in the appearance he was giving Piper. At his behest, the three others popped their heads out to greet Piper, though rather begrudgingly.

"What're you doing out here?" Peter asked of her, giving her a bewildered sort of look. "It's midnight, you know!"

"Really? I thought the chiming of the clock was just for interpretation," Piper said, resting her chin in her hand and giving Peter an expression of mystification.

"What is it you're reading?" Remus asked, his head—almost five inches higher than any of the other Marauders—peering around to get a glance at the book cover.

Piper glanced down to her own reading and then shook her head. "It's only Charms. Can't get this daft Anti-Alohomora spell down."

"Really?" Sirius looked impressed. "You're that far ahead already?"

"Yeah, you know you don't have to get any specific charms down if we haven't even begun learning them in class yet," James said, matter-of-factly. "That's what they call a try-hard."

"Try-hard? Or just someone who actually cares about their academics instead of what prank to pull the next night?"

James beamed at her. "You know us too well. Interested in what's got us traversing out here at such an ungodly hour of day?"

"No," said Piper, glancing back down to the book before her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she gave a carefully curated sideways tip of her head. "All I care about is this Charms assignment. I'm in dastard need of tutoring, but I'm afraid I don't know anyone that's good enough at Charms—"

"Excuse me!" James exclaimed, looking rather affronted. "Er, I think you mean you don't know anyone better at Charms than your best mate James?"

Piper smiled.

Unfailing fact about James Potter, bullet point number seven: his ego would always come before anything else.

"Well, of course!" Piper said flippantly, as if she'd only just been struck with the idea and not had it sitting in the back of her mind like a simmering tea kettle for the past day or so. "You can tutor me, then, James? Between Quidditch practices and such, I'm sure we can find a time—"

"Er, actually," said Sirius, in a tone that made Piper's stomach drop to her feet in desperate fear of her foolproof plan giving out. He slipped the Invisibility Cloak further off the four boys' chests to show off each of their shoulders, then nodded quite pointedly toward a glistening silver badge clipped to James's jumper. "The both of you have quite a few extra helpings on your plate already, if you know what I mean."

"If you're referring to James and I's Head student responsibilities," Piper said dryly, "I think James and I have got it under control. Thank you, though, Sirius, really."

"You know, I actually think Padfoot's got a point," interjected Remus thoughtfully. "It's still the beginning of term, so you two surely have got a lot of whinging first-years at your doorstep, haven't you? You're already ahead in Charms, anyhow; maybe it's better for you to—"

"Oh.. you don't know what's better for me," interrupted Piper with a disappointed sort of sound, settling her chin back into her palm, scowling into the dark distance of the Great Hall. "Fine, then. Go on with your prank. I'll be here, not being tutored by James."

Three of the four boys cast in the moonlight gave dismissive shrugs and made to go, just as Piper had told them to; except for one, whose unmoving feet caused the rest of his friends to scuffle their shoes and not make it so much as one step away.

"No, wait," said Peter, using the fact that he had a captive audience to his advantage. "Pippa's got a point. James is the best at Charms out of any of us, and if she needs help... Well, isn't it the gentlemanly thing to do, Prongs?"

Sirius tapped his chin. He mused, "That is true, I suppose..."

While the other three Marauders shared thoughtful glances, Peter caught Piper's eye, and her lips tightened as she attempted to hide a willful smile.

Thank you, she mouthed.

He beamed at her in response.

"This entire conversation is silly," James declared. "Of course I'll help you, Finnegan. Just... not right now."

Piper arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

James gave her a grin, his eyes glinting. "We're kind of in the middle of something, doll."

"Yeah," said Sirius, "and the longer we stand out here uncovered is a higher chance for us to get caught by Mcgonagall on her rounds. So, if you'll excuse us—"

"Go on," said Piper. She shifted in her seat, lowering her eyes back to her Charms book to hide a satisfied smile from her plan's success. "Don't do anything too cruel."

"Oh, but you know us," Remus muttered dryly as the four Marauders covered themselves back up with James's Cloak.

They scuffled off toward the staff's table at the end of the hall; though, to their credit, did not murmur or whisper-yell once that Piper could discern. Perhaps they were getting better at their espionage skills, and they could finally commit a prank without—

There came a bang so great from the other end of the hall that it jerked the table where Piper was seated. She heard a chorus of hushes, but it was too late—whosoever had whacked his shin against the end of the Gryffindor table let out a ferocious yell of pain.

"SIRIUS!" bellowed James, his head popping out from the Cloak to reveal the Marauders' location at the other end of the Great Hall.

"Should you think they heard me?" Sirius asked, throwing the Cloak off himself, rubbing his shin in pain.

"I think Ireland heard you," Peter said. "We should get out of here before they arrive."

Remus splayed the Cloak back over his friends. "Before the teachers arrive, or the Irish?"

"Either," said James, his voice sounding closer to Piper now. "Let's bloody go, Padfoot!"

"I'm dying, Prongs!"

"Pete, that is not your wand—"

"Have a good night," Piper called dolefully after the boys, raising a hand and waving her fingers.

"You, too!" James's head appeared at the entrance to the Great Hall, smiling over at Piper breathlessly. "I'll meet you in the library tomorrow morning to get started on Charms. Don't forget!"

"I don't think I could," Piper said—to herself, because the boys had rounded the corner out of the hall and were long gone.

Still, Piper couldn't wipe a smile from her face.

For years she had been trying to employ reasons to spend time alone with James. Years. But he was always with Sirius, or Remus, or Peter, or even Marlene; and, even if she had known him the longest, Piper was not any of those people. You didn't need to tell her that, though; she was well aware.

Once upon a time, she would have been James's absolute favourite person to hang out with. He would have sought her out in every crowd. In a room full of everybody James Potter had ever known and loved, Piper was positive that—at least, after his parents—she would have been the first person he looked for. And it had always been the same for her; in fact, she would have scoured the room for him before any of the rest of her family. He was her family, and she was a part of his, too.

But as the years grew longer and the Marauders grew fonder, the list of people James would turn to before his oldest friend became longer and longer.

After all, Piper supposed that was just what happened in life. She'd never had such a long term friend as she considered James, so perhaps it was commonplace for one to grow bored of their supposed 'best friend' after a few years and move on to the next. If that was the case, she figured, then James was miles ahead of her—she didn't have anyone lined up to be 'the next' after James.

But that was just the thing. She didn't want anyone to be James besides James. He was still her best friend, even after all the years and tears and times his new friends brought up how in love James was with Lily Evans.

That had been the worst of it, that first time when Sirius had poked fun at James in front of Lily and Piper watched as both their cheeks stained pink.

By now, though, seventh year, Piper was done with the immaturity of it all. She didn't so much as care about her little fancy for James anymore. She just missed her best friend horribly. And she hated everyone that had taken him from her.

Well... hate was a strong word. She loved her Gryffindor friends, actually very much. But she had learned she could never be truly happy with where she was with the knowledge that her one best friend had given up on her the moment a better option came around.

So she kept trying. She swept every chance she could to get time alone with James, not even for any reasons of romantic perspective—just because she missed him. She missed growing up with him and playing jokes and laughing with each other, so she kept trying to find reasons to spend time with him again.

But James was always busy. Busy with friends, busy with the Marauders (they were a different level than plain old friends), busy with Quidditch Captaincy, busy with prank planning. He was Head Boy, as well, but Piper had assumed that would be good cause for time together as she'd gotten Head Girl alongside him, but the fact of the matter was the two roles never much coincided. It was just a whole bunch of stopping fifth years from snogging in broom cupboards and telling first years where their classes were.

Piper had become resigned to the fact that James Potter and she were not meant to be friends anymore. It just wasn't in the stars for them.

Then Peter Pettigrew came around, wondering too outwardly why Piper kept trying to get James alone and pointing all sorts of dangerous fingers. He, for all he was worth, had snuffed it out before any of his friends could, surprisingly. But he never used the leverage in a malicious way toward Piper—in fact, having grown up down the road from James and Piper's adjacent childhood homes, he thought the idea of the two of them in a relationship was the cutest thing since the inception of a Bowtruckle.

Over the years, he'd become a wingman to Piper, helpfully nudging James towards the light and finding reasons to leave the pair of them alone all the time. And James—oblivious, sweet James—never once caught on.

But now Piper had another moment with James. She'd been able to count on one hand the amount of times she had spent a morning alone with James in the last year.

She had just two catches, two things she had to remember:

One, she would have to pretend not to know a lick of Charms. James was about the best in their year at the subject, but his ego was gentle, and if Piper even once showed that she knew anything about the class that he didn't, it would be the end of their little study date.

And two (perhaps the most pressurizing thing that had struck her), she could not bring up Lily Evans. Lily Evans was a variable in the equation of Piper plus James that Piper not counted on—she was a topic that was unstable and untested. If Piper accidentally brought her up, so much as said her name, there could have been a chance that the conversation wouldn't steer back to Charms.

So... two things. Two tiny facts to remember that would prove detrimental if Piper forgot them.

(Of course, she forgot them. What kind of a story would hers and James be if she hadn't forgotten them?)

"You do know," said Piper, and she cut herself off to stifle a yawn as she slid a stack of books onto the library table next to James, "that you don't have to wake up before the sun every possible day, don't you, Potter?"

He shot her a smile, undeterred by the early hour of which he'd called Piper down from the girls' dormitory and drug her to the library for study hour. "Do you know the early bird gets the Flobberworm?"

Piper stuck out her tongue. "Please don't talk of Flobberworms to me at such an ungodly time of morning."

James laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Can I talk of Lumos Solem?"

"Please don't," she said in a low voice, letting her head fall against the stack of books before her. She yawned. "In fact, maybe don't say anything for a few minutes or so. I'm going to go ahead and catch up on the sleep you forced me to miss."

"Ah.. no," said James, and he reached over to her, pressing his finger against her forehead and tipping her face back up towards him. He tapped the pad of his finger against her head. "This mind of yours needs to be illuminated. Now wake yourself up, and let's—"

"Lumos Solem," Piper said, then yawned, giving her wand a wave. A faint blast of white light burst from the tip and just barely grazed the top of James's unruly black hair. Piper set her wand down on the table and lowered her head, shutting her eyes, content. "Was that illuminating enough for you?"

Patting the top of his head to make sure Piper hadn't singed any of his hair off, James rolled his eyes. "You're feeling rather bright today, aren't you? Come on, Finnegan. You're already awake. Why not make some use of it?"

"James." Piper lifted her head and gave him an unimpressed glare. "I'm already rather good at Charms. Why not go back to sleep?"

"You're the one who asked for my help," he reminded in a singsong sort of voice. "I'm just doing what was requested of me. Because I am a gentleman."

Piper scoffed, flipping open the first textbook she'd picked up and fingering through it like she'd read it a hundred times before. "This is nonsense, James. I'm grateful you're helping me—very grateful, in fact—but it is barely six in the morning. The sun isn't even up. And you, of all people, should know—"

"Yeah, that you're not a morning person?" James finished, arching a mischievous eyebrow. "I'm aware. How could I ever forget when I've got the burn mark on my bum to prove it?"

"You do not," Piper insisted, affronted. "It was hardly a burn, and it faded off into nothing after a day or two. And anyway you really should have known better than to wake a witch when she's sleeping. It's bad luck."

"Bad luck is not knowing your Charms assignment."

"I know the Charms assignment. I've already finished it."

James paused. He furrowed his brow, curious. "Well.. then why do you need my help?"

Piper's cheeks burned. She cleared her throat, trying to prolong a silence long enough to come up with an excuse or something to say to change the subject.

She lifted her shoulders in a short shrug. "I... just—needed your help, is all..."

Inwardly, she cringed. A bad liar was a horrible thing to be when the only way to get alone time with James was for Piper to lie about her academics.

"Right," said James, not looking nor sounding very convinced. He narrowed his eyes. "I think I know what's going on here."

Piper's stomach just about dropped to her feet. She was positive she was as pale as the pages of the book before her. "You do?"

James broke into a grin, shaking his head. "You're just trying to get us out of Quidditch practices today, aren't you? Well, shame on you, miss rule-follower. I'm the Captain. That means I've got to be there. But, hey," he said, lowering his voice and leaning in until Piper could practically taste his cologne, "if you ended up feeling too poorly for practice today, I'll... look the other way. Just this once. Just for you."

Just for you. Piper pretended the breath in her throat didn't catch at the exception.

"Well..." She managed a smile, feigning a look of flattery. "That's very kind of you, James. I can't believe you found me out so quickly. But of course I'll be at practice—what's a team without their Seeker, hm?"

He grinned, leaning back in his chair, looking proud of Piper's decision. "Good, good. Oh, that's fantastic, actually," he said, almost as an afterthought. "Yeah, really. 'Cause there's going to be a big bash tonight after practice. Sirius is throwing. Seventh years only. And if you were too sickly for practice, well, then, what a shame it'd be if you missed out on the first party of the year, yeah?"

Piper's lips tightened in a sad smile, though she hoped it looked sincere enough to James. Parties were fun for everyone except her. They were excuses for James to flirt with Lily and for Sirius to dare James to kiss her in front of everyone and for Piper to pretend she hadn't just gotten sick in the common room loo. Even the truth or dare games, the ones Piper never participated in—they were all just ploys for Remus to bribe people with his cigarettes and for Peter to take a bunch of Muggle shots to catch up to how sloshed the rest of his friends were.

So, sure. Parties were plenty fun, if you weren't Piper Baird.

But James didn't have to know that. So she nodded her head as if his invitation was the best in the world.

"Sounds great," she said, lying through her teeth. "I'll be there."

Via Chatter :D

meringuedoll I love you so much baby thanks for telling me to write this fic

Big fan of Piper she is so innocent and small and I can fit her in my pocket cause she is only three apples tall. Her little pride when the conversation she scripted out in her head with James about her needing Charms homework came into fruition just means everything to me I love her so much

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed as always remember that I love flayedcrank like it's breathing