The Bug Collector | marauders

Summer of 1972

"Lily there's a boy at our door!"

The ginger haired girl quickly looks over her shoulder at her sister then back outside through the glass of the front door.

"Two of them!"

Both boys had curly dark brown or black hair, it was hard to tell in the dark as it had to have been well past 1am already, one had large round glasses and his hair was a bit messier than the other's whose fell over his ears almost to his shoulders, his hair was longer than her own that was cut into a sharp bob that came down to her jaw and was currently in the smallest little pigtails to ever be seen. Her sister came running down as she got a better look at the boys. She could only see the eyes of the one without glasses and noticed his eyes were an odd color, like there was no color in them at all. That boy waved at her coolly as Lily looked out the kitchen window. The one with glasses knocked again. Rose opened the door this time afraid the noise might wake someone as they had all already been rather loud. Lily finally joined her at the door, shut it gently behind her and whisper yelled

"Potter! What are you doing here?!"

Potter...that same name had passed her sister's lips half a hundred times...when she was complaining. Her sister whispered the next part even quieter

"In a Muggle village no less..." "Nice to see you too, Evans" The grey-eyed one did not seem to be this "Potter" said.

"No it is not nice, it's far too late!" She paused "Too early...and how did you find my house? How did you get—"

The boy interjected playfully, "So many questions! They can all be answered if you come with us." He said with a smile.

His smile was unnerving.

"Come with you? Why the bloody hell would I come with you?" "To have fun of course! What else are you going to do until morning? That's all we ask, when the sun comes up we'll take you home!" Potter finally spoke, he had been standing there looking half afraid of Lily up till then.

The other finished speaking for him. "The sun will be up in a few hours, but if you're too scared to walk around your own neighborhood at night—" "Black, what would your mum say about this?!" "You don't know my mother." "I know she must be proper!" "He's staying with me for the night and MY mum is just fine." Potter said proudly. "By that I'm sure you mean she doesn't know where you are- and think's you're sleeping" Lily grumbled.

Sleeping...sleeping like the elderly woman upstairs who is babysitting them for the night as their mother is out of town. Rose finally speaks up.

"Oh come on Lily let's just go!" "Let's- even if I went I can't just let you come along!" "No! If you're going I'm going or I will tell Mum!"

The black haired boy- who now had a name, which was Black(seemed fitting) whispered to the other just loud enough that Rose could still hear it. "It's what Regulus would say, are all little siblings the same?"

Rose spoke again, louder and with more confidence. "I'm going. I'm going to get dad's jacket."

And with that she hurriedly(but still quietly) made her way up the stairs to get the worn and oversized black leather jacket her father had left her, when he left, or died, or disappeared, they couldn't be sure. She put on the jacket that fit her more like a oversized coat and hurried back down the stairs to find Lily slipping on shoes and choosing to go without a coat of her own. Rose followed her lead and they gently shut the door behind them.

"Now-" Black, spoke as the group began their walk. "I believe we should have a proper introduction, yeah?"

He turned to Rose and held out his hand for her to take. "Sirius Black."

Before she could however the other boy took her hand to shake it wildly. "And I'm James! James Potter."

Sirius made a tsk sound as Rose spoke. "I'm Rose, Evans obviously." "Lily, Rose, and your other sister is Petunia, you all have flower names, how...cute" Sirius said, but the word cute did not seem to have been spoken as a compliment. "And you're named after a star right?" Rose spoke sweetly. "Yes I am." He responded proudly. "How...pretentious."

His proud look faltered and James burst into stifled laughter. With that the two girls followed them out into the darkness, walking along the road with the neighborhood street lights shining down on them causing their shadows to dance across the pavement.

"I must ask, Potter, what is exactly your plan for this adventure?" "Well! So good of you to ask Lily! We are going to watch the sunrise"
James said looking proud of the idea. How romantic. Gross. Sirius spoke up then. "Maybe from a cliff or hill somewhere. If you two would lead the way. You are from here."

And lead the way they did, not that James didn't speed up each time Lily did in an attempt to be next to her, which eventually did work as Lily got bored of out-walking him. Leaving the two of them in front having their own conversation.

"What did Lily mean when she said your mum was proper? Are you a pureblood?"

The line of questioning seemed to sour the boy's mood. "James and I are from purebred families, yes, I don't think that matters though." There was a pause, and he spoke again.

"I like your jacket" She brightened up at the mention of it. "Thanks! It's too big but it was my dad's, I ca— oh!" She exclaimed pointing, "Look! I didn't even realize we'd gotten so close to that park, it has a field nearby that should have a great view of the sunrise!"

James and Lily had seemingly made the same realization moments before as he had her hand in his practically dragging the girl to take the two swings that were available.

"Hey! No fair Potter, I want to swing too!" Rose yelled at the boy and he hopped up not a second later. "That's alright! I'll push Lily!"
Lily groaned but didn't verbally complain as he pushed her on the swing. As the girls swung Sirius leaned against one of the poles of the swing set, watching as James Potter beamed at Lily.

Some time had passed when Sirius spoke up and said something the girls didn't quiet understand through the sound of wind and the creaking swing set.

"What?!" "I said! The suns coming up!"

Lily jumped right out of her swing and Rose waited for hers to come to a stop before stepping out. James was already running towards the fore mentioned field. "Oi! Hurry up!"

They each join him in running, and once the sun was just peeking out of the horizon Sirius grabbed the lot of them and pulled all of them down to the ground, causing a few giggles to escape Lily as they all plopped down. Each laying there in the grass and taller, drier plants to watch the sun come up, mere days before they would return to Hogwarts and Rose would attend for the first time. Lily hoped she had prepared her little sister for the journey ahead.

The walk back was different, there was a new level of camaraderie and the pink sky shined down on the group hazily. Like an almost translucent pink fog was engulfing them as they walked back to the Evans residence. They almost never woke this early but a pit began to grow in Rose's stomach as they neared the resistance. A pit that was set aflame when they were greeted by their sister Petunia's disapproving gaze. She was waiting on them at the door and that seemed to alert the boys as they made quick of their goodbyes and took off running in the opposite direction. Rose yelled a simple reply back to them

"I won't snitch! I promise! I promise I won't tell! No matter what!"

It's said with a happy look on her face, a laugh almost burst from her as she moved towards the door. Suddenly less afraid.

Sirius smiled and James pulled the boy to his side, pulling something out of a bag Rose had only just now noticed, he slipped it over them and they seemed to instantly disappear into thin air. Petunia had already begun berating her younger sisters but Rose was not really listening, she was just looking back at the empty spot where the boys had been as the door came to a close behind her.

**I do not own Harry Potter or the character, I only own the original character