The group infamously known as the Marauders were known well for their ruthless pranks toward unsuspecting victims, and their egos. There were four of them; The leader, James Potter who had an infatuation for Lily Evans, Sirius Black, the ladies man who had girls fawning over him left and right, The nice one, Remus Lupin, who took on the role of the group mother, and Peter Pettigrew, the follower.
They approached the tree overlooking the black lake looking at the group of girls in front of them. There sat Lily Evans, a beautiful young woman with striking red hair, vibrant green eyes, and light freckles dusting her cheeks, Marlene McKinnon, a rebellious girl with wavy blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and sharp cheekbones, Alice Fortescue a cute girl with brown hair and bangs, dark blue eyes, and rosy cheeks, and Cassie Cunningham, she was the Ugly duckling of the group, she wasn’t unattractive by any means, but she was going through the typical alward phase people always come out of with acne covering her face, frizzy curly hair that was always kept in a tight ponytail, and a tendency to always wear oversized clothing, making her appear bigger in size than she actually was. The only thing that stood out about her was her striking blue eyes.
“Evans, McKinnon, Fortescue, and Cunningham.” James greeted, his eyes never straying from Lily.
“Potter,” Lily muttered, staring down at her book.
“Did you change your hair, McKinnon?” Sirius smirked.
“Nope,” Marlene looked up at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. They all conversed with one another while Cassie sat facing the water, feeling a presence beside her, she looked over.
“Its a nice day out.” Remus said quietly.
“Mhm, the waters nice.” She responded. They sat in silence for a minute before Sirius called out.
“Remus, Come here.” Remus looked over at Cassie before getting up and walking over to the others. Cassie stood up, glancing over at Lily, who was already looking at her.
“I’m going to study.” Cassie smiled, turning away before Lily could respond. Cassie spent the rest of the day in her room, Lily came to check on her a couple of times and brought her some dinner before leaving her alone. Around Nine O’clock she opened the dorm door, about to head to the common room, but she stopped when she heard a heated argument.
“You treat her like an outcast, it's ridiculous! You come to hang out with us and don’t even talk to her.” Lily’s voice sounded.
“Remus talks to her,” Peter defended, his mouth full of food.
“Until you call him over, every time he goes to talk to her, you call him back to you, like a dog who ran away.” Marlene huffed.
“Face it Lils, she's the Ugly Duckling among a group of Swans. You can’t blame us for picking the swans.” James placed his hand on Lily’s shoulder before she pulled away.
“You guys need to understand that shes the Duff,” Sirius laughed.
“The duff?” Alice asked.
“Designated Ugly Fat Friend.” James joined in the laughter.
“Come on, guys.” Remus said quietly, though he was ignored.
“Theres no us without her,” Lily growled, walking to the staircase. Stopping once she saw Cassie at the top of the staircase, hot tears falling down her face.
“...Cassie.” Lily whispered.
“How much did you hear?” Alice asked sympathetically.
“Enough.” Cassie spat, slamming the door to the dorm as she retreated back inside. She heard more yelling and a small knock before Alice walked inside.
“Hey, Cass.” She smiled, sitting on the edge of her bed.
“Don’t listen to them, they’re douche bags.” Marlene joined in.
“Seriously, you’re beautiful, don’t let what a couple of guys have to say. They’re stupid anyway.” Alice growled, making Cassie giggle.
“There’s that smile.” Marlene grinned.
“I don’t want to be the ugly duckling.” Cass whispered.
“You’re not, you’re in an awkward phase, we all had one.” Alice pulled out her second year picture.
“Look, you’re way better than I was!” Alice laughed.
“C’mon lets go to bed.” Lily smiled.
The next morning on her way to breakfast she ran into the Marauders.
“Cunningham-” James started.
“It’s fine.” She muttered before pushing past them, she took a few steps before turning back.
"And I'm not ugly or fat so shove it up your arse. Bye." She smiled before turning around again.
"She told you-" Sirius started but was hit upside the head by Remus.
"You're unbearable." He muttered.