Alexis hated to admit it but she had taken a liking to the Marauders. They always went out of their way to say hi to her. She would try to take care of them as best she could. If she didn't, nobody would. When Remus fell asleep in the common room while studying, Alexis made sure he had a blanket and put his homework in his bag. When she caught Sirius crying she comforted him and pretended nothing had happened the next day as he asked. When she found out Lily had rejected James again she was there to listen to him, nobody realized that it broke his heart every time. When Peter needed someone to study with and Remus was too busy Alexis was there. She finally felt like someone needed her. Like she had a purpose in life. Maybe she wasn't useless after all.
***
The marauders sat at the Gryffindor table laughing about some stupid prank they had pulled. Alexis walked into the great hall and sat down as close to the door as she could. People still bullied her and she wanted to be able to leave quickly if she needed to.
"Hey nerd." That same Gryffindor boy from last time sat across from her. "Are you enjoying your eggs?" Alexis ignored him. He grabbed her plate and dumped it into her lap.
"What is wrong with you?" She finally snapped. The great hall went silent as they watched the two. "Why can't you just let me be?"
"Because you don't belong here." He whispered.
"Get out of here." Remus' voice said from behind Alexis.
"You messed up." James said.
"You'll regret ever even speaking to her after we're done with you." Sirius joined.
"We won't let you bully her anymore." Peter squeaked.
The boy walked away angrily. Alexis had tears in her eyes. It wasn't because of what the boy did, it was because she finally had friends.
"Hey, are you okay?" Remus' voice softened.
"I'm fine. Thank you for standing up for me." She wiped her tears away and smiled.
"What are friends for?" Remus breathed, blushing a little. Her tears returned.
"Thank you." She said, giving each of them a hug. "I need to change." Alexis left the great hall with the biggest smile.
***
Alexis had become closer with the Marauders. She finally felt like she fit in somewhere. They were all sitting together at lunch when the mail arrived.
"Hey, my mum and dad just said that you should all come over for Christmas. We're going to a cabin up in the mountains. It'll be super fun."
"I'll ask my parents," Remus and Peter said.
"Yeah I'll come." Sirius said with a smile.
Alexis had been ignoring the boys as she read the letter from her parents.
"What about you Alexis?"
"Huh?"
"Wanna come over for Christmas?" James repeated.
"Oh I can't. My parents just wrote that they want me to come home."
"Oh. It would've been way better if you could."
The next week Alexis was a lot quieter. She wasn't excited to go home but if she didn't she would be in even more trouble. The boys couldn't stop talking about how fun it would be to spend Christmas together.