#which involves texting a code to your phone but my phone broke and although a replacement showed up I now need to wait for my network to

[nerdie-faerie]

Hate hate hate when university platforms - that you can only access with uni logins anyway - have a ton of additional security. Like why can't you just let me access the resources I'm paying thousands for

[keepmeinthedark]

To The Top || A Marauders Band AU

Chapter Three: This Side of Paradise 

Read here on AO3

How did James and Lily go from disliking each other to falling in love?

They spent time together didn't they? That's how most people do it.

In past interviews, James had described his relationship with Lily Evans as "love at first sight."

That's because it was. Just because it started with love doesn't mean that they didn't have their problems in the middle.

Were any of the other boys in relationships at the time?

No, unless you count Frank who at the point was dating Alice, but they hadn't made it official at this point.

And according to Emmeline Vance herself, she was involved in the band during the early days. How did she meet them?

She lived with them. At Maxwells house. She shared a room with James.

//

Emmeline hated sharing a room with James.

He was messy, he was loud, and above all, he was a complete inconvenience whenever she wanted to bring someone home with her.

She always texted him, a quick and simple rabbit emoji, a quick way of saying "I'm about to bring someone into our room who I intend to have sex with. Please clear all of your shit to the side and go sleep on Sirius and Franks floor please."

But did he ever do it? Nope. Never. Not once.

One time he left a framed photo of himself with rose petals and candles on her bed.

Another time he had Sirius and Frank play the loudest least sexy music ever from their room once they had heard Emmeline and their date come in.

Another time James had replaced all of the photos of her friends and family with photos of the Backyardigans with James photoshopped into them. (They don't even know where he found the time for that one.)

And this time James hadn't even bothered to check his phone.

"Jesus Christ James what are you doing?" she asked the lump of blankets on his bed. She turned to her companion, a tall blonde girl with blue eyes, "Im so sorry, I told him to leave."

Her date just shrugged and started to gently kiss Emmeline's neck, "I don't mind so long as he's quiet," she said.

"Please don't," James squeaked from his bed.

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Could you give us a second please?" She asked the blonde.

After the girl (she couldn't remember her name) left the room, Emmeline stormed over to where James lay. She pulled the sheets from on top of him and folded their arms. "What are you playing at?" she hissed.

James didn't answer, just mumbled a bit and waved his arms about.

"Are you drunk?"

"Nurr."

"Are you sure?"

"Nurr."

Emmeline uncrossed her arms, "What's this about, James?" she asked, their voice much softer than it was before.

James sat up, "It's nothing it's just... nothing. I'm sorry I didn't see your text I'll leave." He began to get out of bed.

"Hang on a sec. Wait up," Emmeline held their hand out and James sat back. "What's going on?"

James sighed and opened his mouth to answer when Sirius and Frank entered the room. "Why is there a lesbian in the hallway?" Sirius asked.

Emmeline gave him a look, "Nevermind about her, why is Potter depressed."

"I'm not depressed."

Emmeline's look was pleading.

Sirius sighed, "You remember that girl that he met at Christmas?"

"Dark red hair that reached her chest, emerald green eyes, plus size, has a smile that glows, exactly a head smaller, three piercings, a tattoo of a wolf behind her ear and wearing white Doc Martens?" She nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"She was at the gig we played today and she rejected him."

"Well bloody hell is that all?" Emmeline sounded offended. "I thought someone had died or something but you're cockblocking me just because you couldn't get laid yourself. That is low Potter."

Emmeline could hear Frank trying to hold in his laughter and James looked up at her with a shocked expression.

"I didn't see your text!"

"I sent you fifteen rabbits! Fifteen! If that wasn't enough indication that the girl I was bringing back was important-"

"I DIDN'T SEE IT!"

"YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO NOT CHECK!"

"Alright! Alright, inside voices both of you," Sirius got between them. He turned to Emmeline. "Emme. What's so important about the lesbian in the hallway?"

They shrugged, "First fuck of the year ain't it?"

Behind her, Frank started laughing. In front of her, James looked like he was about to kill them.

"All of this for some random lesbian you found off the street?" Frank wheezed.

Emmeline's face scrunched up in disgust. "Alright let's get some things straight," she said, wagging her figure at each of them. "Firstly, it's the first day of the year I need a good start. Secondly, she's bisexual, and thirdly I didn't find her on the street she was at a house party that I just came from."

"So all of this for some random bisexual that you found at a house party?"

"To start this new fucking year off right! Can't forget about that!" Sirius chimed in.

Emmeline had never wanted to hit them more.

"Are we done?" James asked. "I'm a bit over talking about this."

"Oh, I'm sorry your highness are we bothering your coming of age moment?" Frank asked sarcastically.

"Yes, you are ruining my coming of age moment." James hissed. "Now if you don't mind, I prefer to be depressed alone, not with you lot and a bisexual from a house party!" He pulled his covers back over himself.

"Aww come on mate don't be like that. So you don't reject for once in your life it happens to everyone. Doesn't it guys?" Frank said turning to Sirius and Emmeline for support.

"Yeah, the amount of times I've flirted with straight dudes is embarrassing," Sirius said the same time Emmeline said, "Ah not really I'm a catch."

This got a smile from James.

"Ay, there's a smile!" Frank beamed. "C'mon, well go to the pub. Turn that frown upside down."

James' smiled grew and he nodded, finally getting out of bed. Emmeline, Sirius, and Frank cheered.

"Wait!" Emmeline said, "What are we going to do about the bisexual?" she whispered as if she could hear them from the other side of the door.

Frank shrugged, "Bring her along!"

They cheered again and made their way out of the bedroom door. Only to find that the girl Emmeline had brought back was no longer there.

"Ahh fuck her," James said when he noticed Emmelines disappointed face. "She would've brought the mood down anyway."

The Leaky Caldron was the quietest any of them had seen it. It was past 1 am by the time they had gotten there and most of their company were about to do their last rounds.

Sirius preferred it like this. It was easier to get a drink, it was easier to hear your friends and it was easier to actually move around. He was never fond of really crowded places like that.

Emmeline had gotten them all the first round and James got the second, by the time they were on the third Sirius noticed three guys walk into the pub. He immediately recognized one of them as Lily Evans' friend.

He opened his mouth to tell the others but Frank jumped in before he could. "Hey, those guys were at the gig today," he said subtly pointing at them.

James went pale, "Yeah, and one of them was talking to Lily when I went up to talk to her," he muttered.

Emmeline hit Frank's arm, "See what you've done," she hissed. "Don't worry Potter, Ill go throw my drink over him. Now, which one was it?"

"Emme, we've talked about this you cant just throw drinks over anyone you like," Sirius told her and slapped her hand away from her drink.

Sirius expected them to make some snarky come back, but instead they just stared at him and raised an eyebrow. Sirius was about to ask her what the hell she was doing when she threw her arms up and gave him a disapproving look.

"Really Sirius?" she asked. "Out of all the people for you to fancy it has to be one of them?"

Sirius went bright red, "I haven't got a clue what you're talking about," he lied.

"Don't lie to me."

"Well, I can't help it can I?"

"Oh my god, Sirius. Right, which one is it? I'll throw my drink over him instead."

Sirius nearly jumped out of his seat, "Why do you have to throw your drink on anyone?"

Emmeline gave him a judging look. "You can't date the friend of the girl who broke your poor mate's heart, Sirius."

"Yeah Sirius," Frank said in a mocking tone. "You can't break girl code."

Emmeline side-eyed him but ignored his comment. "Let's say you two date, and you falling love and get married and James is your best man while whats her name-"

"Lily Evans"

"- Lily Evans, is his best woman. And those two have to help plan your wedding, but they can't agree on anything because James holds grudges and your wedding is ruined. Do you really want your wedding to be ruined?"

James raised his eyebrows. "That's why this is bad? Not because of my feelings or anything?"

"I was getting to that."

"No, you weren't!"

"It was implied!"

Sirius downed what remained of his drink. "Alright, alright," he intervened before they could get any more annoying. "I just won't date him, you don't have to throw your drink over someone every time we go drinking Emme. We'll just continue our lives and never see each other ever again." Although if Sirius was being honest, he didn't really like the idea of never seeing his mystery boy again. "It's not like we talked or he took any notice of me anyway."

"Emme, get your drink ready," Frank said suddenly. "One of thems coming over here."

Sirius" head shot into the direction where Frank was looking. Unfortunately, it was not the scarred boy but rather the oldest of the group. Sirius wouldn't be surprised if he was the other three boys' father, as it was obvious that they were all related somehow.

Meanwhile, James had to steal Emmeline's drink before she could get her hands on it.

The man noticed that he was being watched and gave the group a small smile. "So sorry to bother you," he said as he got closer, "But were you by any chance the band that played at the fate earlier today?"

Nobody answered for a moment, each one of them was waiting for someone else to take one for the team and talk, in the end, it was Frank.

"Yeah, we were," he told him. "Were you there?"

The man shook his head but smiled. "No, but my sons were," he said pointing to the table where the three boys sat. Upon realizing that the group was now looking at them, each boy quickly turned their head to make it look like they weren't watching. All of them seemed embarrassed. The man laughed.

"They seem to have this problem when they see someone they know and their first reaction is to hide rather than say hello."

The four of them laughed awkwardly as if they weren't the exact same.

"Anyways, I just wanted to come here to prove a point," he said with a friendly smile. He turned to leave but backtracked on himself and pulled a card from his pocket. "Actually, if you guys ever need somewhere to play there is this club that likes to play small bands. Give them a call if you like."

Emmeline immediately reached for the card and took it from him, before any of the boys could tell him that "they're not a small band."

"Thank you, much appreciated," she said with a smile and the four of them watched as the man walked away.

Frank took the card from Emmeline and read it over a few times, then he and Emmeline began talking about if it would be worth giving them a call. James stayed silent and finished his drink, only giving his thoughts every now and then. Sirius on the other hand hadn't taken his eyes off the scarred boy, who was now interrogating his dad, along with his brothers. For a split second his eyes shifted and locked with Sirius'. He gave him a smile - that one that you give to random people on the street - and looked down at his drink.

Shit, Sirius thought. There is no way that I'm never seeing him again.

[a-dorin]

youth | the zabrak brothers

a/n: i recently got an anon asking about the zabrak brothers in high school and college! so i am going to be answering their question! sorry if i got carried away with the headcanons! enjoy :))

high school 

all three boys weren’t together in high school until maul & feral were freshman, while savage was a sophomore 

they attended an elite private school on dathomir, a costly institution that prepared students for higher education

it was run by the nightsisters, a religious group of women  

so, the boys all had to wear uniforms that consisted of:

grey or black slacks 

polished dress shoes

a black, navy, or burgundy blazer with the school’s logo stitched on the pocket 

a freshly pressed tie 

sometimes, there were “casual” days 

where the boys could wear khakis with a black, navy, or burgundy polo

maul was the one who broke dress code the most

he either refused to wear the tie, always left the top buttons undone, wore his silver chain (”no visible jewelry allowed”), and painted his nails black (”no nail polish allowed on boys”)

as predicted, the brothers got into trouble constantly 

whether it was arriving late to class, cursing, or brawling with one another, the brothers were sent to the dean’s office often 

one time, maul prepared a speech discussing the importance of “knotting in the male zabraki species” (this was a speech performed in chemistry class) and when the teacher suggested he go to the dean’s office, a devilish smirk painted his features

“perhaps you would like to see the knot yourself, mrs. zula?” (mrs. zula was a strict, older, batty nightsister) 

needless to say, maul was the troublemaker of the group, with his main talent consisting of his sharp tongue and quick wit 

savage was your typical athletic type: involved in more than one sport, it was his only extracurricular, he would weight lift in the morning before class started, then practice for hours after school 

savage’s favorite sport was wrestling, and he was quite good at it. he tried saber wielding, but the sport was too technical, too strategic. wrestling is similar, but savage excelled at it due to his perseverance and brute strength

feral was involved in a variety of athletic activities: student council, debate team, scholastic bowl, baking club, peer mentoring, as well as the theatre troupe. he was also an active participant in art club

on the other hand, the only activity maul tended to really enjoy was saber wielding, as he had started the sport at a young age

although all of the boys were involved in different activities, they all actively supported one another

even if savage was sweaty and exhausted from wrestling or track practice, he would swing by the school’s auditorium, making it just in time for the latest fall play or spring musical 

maul always saved a seat for savage 

and the boys always brought a bouquet of flowers for every performance, just for feral

at home wrestling meets, maul would buy a decently sized portion of the bake sale table (which always earned a wide, bright, grin from feral)

savage and feral had a tendency to be the loudest at saber competitions. feral typically brought a freshly painted/drawn sign with a cheesy slogan (maul is number one! or maul will make you bawl!) 

savage and maul were exceptional athletes, earning championship titles

yes, their plaques and photos are still on the walls to this day 

since maul was a saber wielder, he was quite popular with girls. it is such a competitive and grueling sport, so many girls crushed on him 

however, he paid no mind, either just entertaining the flirting or paying no mind to it

which, savage often gave maul shit for 

“the ladies are practically drooling over you”

“i’m not interested in any of them. they just want me for my saber”

even though they were all apart of diverse friend groups, the brothers would always sit by one another at lunch, chatting about their days 

and no matter how horrible of a day they were having, the laughter and smiles couldn’t be contained at the lunch table

there were other little moments too

like all three piling into savage’s beat up honda civic to carpool, early in the morning 

feral and maul would snooze in the car while savage lifted weights before class

or helping one another get ready for homecoming and prom, straightening ties or smoothing out wrinkles in suits (cue feral frantically running around the house in his boxers the morning of prom, steamer in his hand)

the boys never really had girlfriends or boyfriends in high school, they had one another, and that was enough

at savage’s graduation, the twins were emotional, gazing at their older brother with nothing but adoration, eyes glossy with tears

savage was the class of 2005, on his way to mustafar central on a wresting scholarship 

their last summer together as a trio was bittersweet. 

even if maul and savage bickered, feral knew in his heart that it pained maul to see savage go 

when maul received his scholarship offer his senior year, feral engulfed him in a massive hug, while savage hollered on the phone 

at his signing, they were the proudest donning their “mustafar central” gear with pride (savage even came home from the midst of his freshman year to show his support)

feral brought a cookie cake, while savage brought the balloons

tears brimmed maul’s eyes when feral opened the admission letter, and savage was on the phone, eagerly anticipating the news

the whole house shook as yells of joy echoed through it 

even though feral believed that savage wouldn’t be able to make it to his last spring musical (it was beauty and a beast that year) savage was able to make it 

needless to say, feral was very surprised when he emerged from the dressing room, his older brother standing there with a bouquet of flowers

“what can i say? i couldn’t miss it.” 

at the twins’ graduation, savage sat in the bleachers, the camcorder shaky as he bawled (savage was a crybaby that day) 

maul and feral were apart of the class of 2006

 feral on his way to a culinary school in coruscant (his dream school!)

while maul had his scholarship with mustafar central, training to be a professional athlete with a major in exercise science 

college

college was a completely different ballgame for the brothers 

even though they were separated, they messaged one another constantly, whether it was texting (texting was starting to become extremely popular) or through myspace

mustafar central was not a large university, the enrollment about 6,500 students

meanwhile, feral was at a well-known culinary school in the heart of coruscant, where there were about 1,000 students at his college 

often, feral joked that maul and savage were the “country mice” while he was the “city mouse” 

from the beginning, maul was beyond elated by the sheer amount of freedom he was given

he was able to expand his style, go out and party, and the best of all, maul grew as a person

he socialized more, gaining a large social circle 

since savage was a wrestler and maul was a saber wielder, they had completely different schedules

yet, they carpooled together for target or walmart runs 

they ate together in the dining hall when they could 

however, there were mandatory dorm visits, where savage would help maul with the science classes he was struggling with, while maul helped savage with english and social science courses

“how are you a stem major yet cannot use grammar”

“before you go and chastise me, how about we discuss your organic chemistry grade?”

when he could, feral would travel to mustafar, surprising maul or savage at their meets 

maul and savage did the same, popping in at feral’s apartment unannounced, bringing pick-me-ups and other odds and ends

savage would have maul tag along to parties, as savage was actively involved in a frat 

maul had a knack for strategy, so he often was the champion of beer pong, calculating who would be his best partner, along with what angle would give him the best shot 

the best part of college for the brothers though, was the reunion during breaks 

they loved catching up with one another, sneaking in alcohol and sharing all of the stories that came to mind 

their favorite spot was on the rooftop, gazing at the stars 

life in college was good for the zabrak brothers

it was healthy for them, as they all got to explore their individuality even more, but give one another support and love while they found themselves

when feral came out to his brothers at the end of freshman year, maul and savage said nothing, but rather scooped him into their arms, in a massive cuddle pile 

his junior year, maul was gaining traction as a saber wielder, becoming well known across the galaxy 

he was undefeated, reigning victorious over not only obi-wan kenobi, an infamous saber wielder from university of corsucant, but countless others as well 

savage was winning world championships, beginning to train for the galaxy title 

feral was content at his college, earning all sorts of praise, his dream of a bakery becoming more and more of a reality 

although, one fateful evening, their lives were forever changed

*****

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