Chapter Text
If one was to ask Professor Minerva McGonagall who was her favourite Gryffindor student, she would tell them that she saw all students equally. But secretly she reminisces of the 70s when the most boisterous group of boys roamed the halls. They were James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. That group of boys were unforgettable and had a talent for finding trouble but also friends in the most unlikely of places.
Remus Lupin was a strange boy who took a while to grow into his own skin, as well as his height. He may have seemed standoffish at first but was instead engrossed in a book which he was finally allowed to read in the small pockets of quiet he had in his day-to-day life.
Sirius Black was a name known by everyone, whether it was on good or bad terms, it changed by day or by the person. He was a social butterfly that used his charms and wit to escape his parents as well as his own thoughts. Sirius Black was an enigma to all those who met him.
Peter Pettigrew was a boy who was on the slightly larger side with a sense of humor nobody could ever dare to match. His green eyes were so unassuming to teachers but were there to see the most outrageous of pranks come to fruition. He was a boy who could get out of the most nitty-gritty situations.
James Potter had the unruliest head of dark brown hair that you’d have ever seen and the same pair of prescription glasses that seemed to break on the daily. Some may have called him the ring leader of this little gang of misfits, but he would have told them they all stood on equal footing. He loved Quidditch and his friends but most of all he loved Lily Evans.
Ah, Lily Evans. One of the many female Gryffindor students to enter Hogwarts in 1971. A girl who was rarely matched for turn of phrase, she was fierce and never backed down from a fight. Maybe that’s why James liked her, or maybe he just fancied Gingers.
Now, Lily may have been one of the female Gryffindors in the boy's year (and the cause of a young Potter's infatuation) but that didn’t mean the others weren’t any less interesting. This is where Marlene McKinnon and Mary Macdonald enter the picture, Lily’s roommates. Mary was a ball of sunshine, well known for her smile which lit up any room she entered, it was a smile which drew in any and all photographers. Marlene on the other hand was better known for having a tendency for ignoring the rules. They existed for her to ignore, what was she to do about a bunch of forty-somethings telling her what to do and what she could wear? Bollocks is what she would call it, utter bollocks.
Now, this lot may seem like a handful for Professor McGonagall but don’t worry, in these troublemaker’s early years she had help. This help took the form of Frank Longbottom, prefect and later known to be Head boy. Frank tried to round up this rag-tag bunch of witches and wizards but somehow always ended up falling into their charming trap, whether it was telling them where McGonagall hid the keys to the kitchens or turning a blind eye to them being out past lights out.
McGonagall knew of the trouble caused by this group of marauders but couldn’t help but look upon this young group of Gryffindors fondly. She knew one day they would make her proud and become legends. If she looked back on those days in the 70s, she would smile, because no she didn’t have a favourite Gryffindor student she had a favourite group, she just wished they lived a little longer.