"Tell me again what she said, Remus?"
"I've told you a thousand times, James. She said, 'I don't hate him, I just don't particularly enjoy his company.'"
Remus Lupin, who was both a fellow Prefect and friend of Lily Evans, had asked Lily her opinion of James Potter earlier that day, and her response excited James.
"See? She doesn't hate me!" James exclaimed excitedly.
"Oh, yes, we should start planning the wedding," Sirius said sarcastically from his perch on the floor where he was lounging in front of the fire, arms behind his head.
"Shut up, Padfoot," James said, chucking a pen at him.
Sirius neatly caught it and threw it to Remus. This, of course, led to a free for all in which books were knocked over, papers spilled, and James's glasses nearly broken. Finally, James emerged triumphant from the fray, holding the pen.
"Nice one, Prongs!" Peter Pettigrew cried from his perch of safety standing on a chair.
"Thanks, Wormtail," James replied with a smirk, glancing over to where some girls, including Lily Evans, were studying. She caught his eye and then rolled her own, muttering something about insufferable showoffs before returning to her work.
James heard some giggling coming from Lily's group, which included Mary Macdonald, Marlene McKinnon, and Emmeline Vance. He noticed Marlene was looking at Sirius while the other girls, except for Lily, giggled and nudged her. Marlene was giving her friends death glares and trying to pretend she hadn't been looking at Sirius. Sirius, noticing the attention, shot her a wink and returned to his lounging.
Sirius was, to put it bluntly, a player. His elegant good looks had gained him many admirers, but he didn't care about any of them. It wasn't that he didn't acknowledge girls: He'd kissed more than the other Maruaders combined. But he didn't take them seriously, and he never had more than a fling with anyone.
Lily slammed her books shut, fed up with the giggling. "I'm going to bed."
"Night, Lily!" the other girls replied absentmindedly, still obsessing over the wink Sirius had given Marlene. Marlene, of course, was still looking like giving her friends a good hex wouldn't be a bad idea.
As Lily walked past James, he said, "Night, Evans!"
"Night, Potter," she said wearily, not even looking at him.
She marched out of the room and went to her dormitory, trying not to think about that annoying git James Potter.
Meanwhile, James was still talking about it. "She talked to me, actually talked to me! She usually ignores me! I think we're getting somewhere, Moony."
"Mhm hmm," he said absentmindedly, because he was actually doing homework. Remus was the studious, responsible one. He kept the others in line.
Sirius, meanwhile, was still looking at Marlene as if sizing her up. "Marlene McKinnon, huh? She's kind of cute…"
"You'd better not get involved, Sirius. She's one of Lily's best friends," said Remus practically.
"Yeah, stop messing around with girls, Padfoot."
"You're one to talk. Eyeing Evans every chance you get and acting like a fool so she'll notice -Hello, ladies," he finished because Marlene and her friends were walking by.
"Hello, Black," Marlene replied with a half-smile, ignoring her still-giggling friends.
"Sirius Black: heartbreaker extraordinaire," Sirius commented quietly as they left, causing Peter to laugh and James to throw yet another pen at him. Sirius didn't rise to the bait this time; instead, he lazily watched the pen fall with mild interest. "Don't worry, Prongs. I won't go messing around with her. Now, there's nothing wrong with a little winking, so I think I'll keep that up."
James glared at him. "You'd better not."
Sirius laughed his careless laugh. "Right, Prongs. Just messing with you."
"I'm off to bed guys; prefect duties tomorrow," Remus said, standing up.
James groaned. "While you're off talking to Lily, I'll be stuck -"
"Stuck sound asleep in your warm bed," Sirius finished smoothly.
"Right. Now don't stay up too late," Remus warned, even though he knew it was futile. James and Sirius always stayed up half the night and inevitably complained about tiredness the next day.
Remus went to bed, and Peter soon followed. James and Sirius remained by the fire, James on the couch and Sirius on the floor.
"Do you really think I have a chance?" James asked seriously as soon as the others left.
Sirius grinned, and then turned serious as well as he realized his friend was voicing a real insecurity. "I dunno, Prongs. I'd say you do. I mean, you've come a long way. Now you actually talk to each other; that's real improvement.
James nodded. "Yeah." He paused. "I really like her, Sirius."
Sirius had never heard James speak this sincerely about it before. He was glad James felt comfortable enough to talk to him about it.
Sirius sighed. "Listen, James. I can't tell you what she feels for you…but I do know that she's got to at least be slightly interested in you."
James looked at him skeptically. "Really?"
"Yeah, for sure. I mean, she's a girl, right? Girls love attention, and she's no exception. So just give it time."
James stared at his friend in a new light. "How do you know so much about girls?"
"I'm a heartbreaker, remember?" Sirius laughed.
"Whatever, Padfoot," James said, laughing too.
"But seriously, Prongs. Girls are simple creatures. They like attention, so just keep doing what you're doing; she'll come around sooner or later."
James nodded. "Okay." Then he chuckled. "I should ask you for advice more often, Padfoot."
He grinned back. "You really should."
And with that, the two prepared to disobey Remus and stay up all night playing intense games of wizard's chess and arguing like they did every night.
