"So, did she agree to come to the party?" James asked his best friend a little too eagerly. Sirius just smiled cooly and flopped down on his four-poster bed.

"What do you think, mate?" Siruis asked, his cocky voice filling the sixth year dorms.

"Well. . . ."

"Since when has a girl been known to be able to turn down The Sirius Black. I mean really, James. Was your faith in me really that lacking?"

"I can't believe I got stuck babysitting a drunken nerd," Sirius complained to himself. Harmony was too busy dancing around the room of requirement gayily.

A bottle of fire whiskey appeared beside Sirius who promptly removed the cap and began chugging it.
"Slirius, cans I has a sip 'o your 'iskey?" Harmony asked as she stumbeled over to him.

"Why not?"

"Are you sure about this?" Harmony asked as they approached the Hospital Wing, Harmony had been nervouis the entire walk. If Lily han't been there pushing her, she would have been back in her bed hiding beneath the covers.

"Is that a . . ." Lily started.

"A seating chart? What's going on Professor Slughorn?"

"Yeah. You've always let us pick our own seats."

"When do you find out?"

"Sometime next week."

"And what exactly are you planing on doing if you are?"

"Wing it, I guess."

“I still don’t understand Professor. I mean, I’m sixteen years old. How can I be a father to anyone? I can barely take care of myself as it is. How am I supposed to be there like that for someone?”

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out in time. I can’t tell you how to be a good father. You have to search deep inside yourself and find it. I’m sure you’ll figure it out once you’re holding your child in your arms. Parenthood is just one of those mysteries in life. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Down in the common room, she was surprised to see Lily and James snuggled up cutely on the couch. She quickly formulated a diabolical plan, laughing silently to herself.

“Oh my god! Fire!” she yelled, getting as close to James ear as she humanlu possible. The loud noise jarred him awake, causing him to dump a very sleepy Lily onto the cold common room floor.

“Fire? Where? Oh no!” James yelled frantically as he looked around the room.

“I have this plan, right, if you’ll go along with it. I want to give Sirius a dose of his own medicine.”

“What exactly do you plan on doing?” he whispered back.

“Flirting shamelessly with you.”

“And why are you doing it? I get that you want to upset him, but why?”

“Because he tries to control my life. Then flounces in her with a little trollop on his arm.”

"Did something happen between you and Remus?"

"Yeah. . . "


"D'you guys get in a fight or something, because I'm sure the two of you can work it out."

"No, we didn't get in a fight Lily. It was kinda the opposite, in fact." A guilty look crossed Harmony's face, telling Lily everything she needed to know.

"In the two months that we've been back at Hogwarts, I've completely broken every moral that I had. Today was my absolute breaking point. I just can't be here any longer."

"Are you leaving because of the thing today with me and Ali this morning? Because she meant nothing to me, I swear. I was just angry and upset because you were flirting with Remus, and . . . "

                "You're gonna be okay, Harmony Jane. I promise you. I'm going to be with you every step of the way, holding your hand. You're so strong, sweetie. Everything is going to work out."

"Lily finally gave into my charms and decided that she wanted to be my girl. We've been dating for almost two and a half months now. Isn't it great?" James said with a mile-wide smile as he wrapped his arms around Lily and rested his chin on the top of her head. His face was practically glowing.

"I can't, Sirius. That is exactly what I said, and I am not taking it back. I can't help the way I feel. Denying it doesn't change the facts," she told him as she got up off the bed and walked over to the window to look out it, trying her best to avoid his eyes.

"I came to apologize, Sirius. I want you and only you. . for real this time," she said softly. Harmony sat down at his feet and looked up at him with her soft, blue eyes.
"Whatever," Sirius said as he turned his face and picked up his firewhiskey, tossing back the rest of the glass quickly. Raising his hand, he signaled the barman that he wanted another one.

"I'll try, Lily. I can't do much more than that right now. I'm still so. . torn apart about the whole thing, and I'm scared that I won't be able to give my son the life he'll need. . I'm so lost," she said softly, holding the tears back because she didn't want to cry any more that day.

"You've got us, all of us. Me, your parents, your brother, James. We'll all be behind you every step of the way."

"Damn it, James! You know that I care about her. I think about her every damn day and every night. I can't get her out of my head. I can't even touch another girl without feeling guilty afterwards. She's got my head so messed up that I can't even function properly anymore," he said as he pushed the plate of food from in front of him. Talking about her always made it hard for him to eat.

  Sirius tried to reply, but he couldn't form any sentences. He could barely breathe because of how hard he was laughing. His face was almost the color of the Gryffindor tapestries hanging all over the room.

 

                "Oh come on, Prongs. It's not that bad," Sirius called as he watched James jerk his towel from his trunk and run into the bathroom.