Sirius Black flopped down onto his mattress, sighing at the recognizable feel of it. He had not been to

his house since last summer, and though James' house had been a brilliant place to stay, Sirius

missed the familiarity of his own bed. Hogwarts was the nearest thing he had to a home, now.

The thought of being a nomad was alien and exciting to Sirius, but was tinged with dread that he was

quick to push away.

Instead, he gazed about his same dormitory, taking in the same Gryffindor banner strewn on the

wall, the same muggle posters he had brought from Grimmauld Place. ("But they don't move!" James

had protested, aghast.) And...the same friends.

Wormtail was already unpacking, clumsily using his wand to move items from his trunk.

Moony was across the room, sitting on his bed and reading, as always. And there was Prongs, messing

around with the Snitch he had taken from the final Quidditch match last year. James looked up and

placed the Snitch in his pocket, walking over to Sirius' bed. "Fancy a walk in the Forbidden Forest?"

he asked, grinning. He knew Sirius would agree. "Course." Sirius said, laughing. James offered a hand

to pull him up, before going to his trunk to retrieve his jacket.

Sirius did the same, eyeing Remus. "Coming, Moony?" He buttoned up his coat, grabbed the

Marauder's Map from his pocket, then waited for a response. Remus considered it. "Actually, quite

tired." Moony remarked, returning to his book. Sirius waved him off, turning to Peter.

"Wormtail?"

Peter jerked his head up to quickly shake it 'no', and continued his unpacking.

"Just us, then." James said, grabbing the invisibilty cloak before looking to Sirius. The two nodded

and called goodbyes over their shoulders as they left.

"Ah," James exhaled once they had passed the entrance into Hogwarts. "Good to be back."

Sirius chuckled, then noticed the bottom of the invisibilty cloak. With both himself and James

beneath it, the cloak barely reached their feet. "I daresay we're getting too old for this, Prongs."

"Too tall, perhaps. But never too old for mischief, Padfoot." James countered, hunching a bit. "Now

we fit perfectly."

Sirius didn't respond, seeing that they had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He whipped

the cloak off, not missing a beat as he stepped into the woods. James was beside him, wrapping up

the cloak. "Where to, Prongs?"

James looked up, considered the trails before them.

"I say we go left. Haven't been to this side of the forest in a while." Sirius nodded, following as James

led the way down the path. The two stooped under a low-hanging branch. Sirius moved so as to be

adjacent to James again. "Well," James began, eyeing his friend. "care to share what you were so

pensive about back in the dorm?"

Sirius held back a surprised expression. "Noticed that, then?" Leave it to Prongs, he thought.

James laughed. "It is you we're talking about, Padfoot. When Sirius Black is quiet, you know

something's off. " He slugged Sirius in the arm. "Now, what ever were you so deep in thought about?"

Sirius pushed James in return. "Just recounting our tales from this summer, mate."

"Bullocks." James laughed. "Come now, Padfoot."

"Fine then." Sirius grumbled. "I was just thinking- well, I'm essentially homeless now." he laughed at

himself. "I don't fancy the way that sounds. Sirius Black, Hobo."

James was quick on the uptake. "Sirius Black, Wanderer." he suggested.

"Sirius Black, Nomad." Sirius added.

James and Sirius continued to trade titles, walking about the forest. James knew there was

something more to what Padfoot had told him, something that was bothering him. But James

remained quiet about it, allowing his friend his ignorance. Padfoot never was one for talking about

his feelings.

Classes began the next day, with the usual start-of-term chaos. Their days filled with classes and

evenings filled with assignments, the Marauders found no time for planning mischief. The first two

weeks passed achingly slow until they were able to find time for anything other than work.

"Now the year can begin!" Sirius proclaimed one night in the Head's Common Room. He approached

the sofas where his friends were seated, tossing a folded piece of paper onto the table.

James looked up, reaching for the page. He unfurled it, expectant. "Padfoot..." he said, confused.

"This sheet is blank." Remus and Peter peered over, verifying this. All three of them looked to Sirius.

"Exactly." Sirius agreed, his tone implying he was ready to give a speil. "Keen observation, Prongsie.

The paper is indeed blank-" he paused for effect. "because we have yet to construct the

greatest prank in the history of Hogwarts on it." Sirius now threw himself onto the couch, squeezing

inbetween James and Remus. "Gentlemen," he continued, placing his arms around the two. "this

shall be the shenanigan to end all shenanigans! I'm talking big. For decades to come, people will

speak of the Marauders, the Great Mischief Managers."

James leaned forward to share a look with Remus. "People can say a lot about Sirius Black," he began.

"But they can't say he's not realistic." Remus finished, the two rolling their eyes.

"Oi, I'm being realistic. This is going to be brilliant, you'll see!"

James and Remus pushed Sirius off of the couch. "And we believe you, Padfoot." Remus said. "We

can't wait to hear all about your 'brilliant' prank."

"Our brillaint prank, Moony. Just you wait."

The subject was dropped, the four instead opening some Firewhiskey and discussing random things

that came to mind. This went on for a while, the boys getting progressively louder, before they heard

stomps coming down the stairs.

Lily Evans entered the room, annoyance clear on her face. "All right, Evans?" James asked, all

bravado. Lily tossed a pillow from the armchair at him. "Oh, shut it, James." She turned to address all

of them. "Do you know what time it is? Some of us would like to get studying done."

Sirius stood, bowing to Lily. "Our most sincere apologies, your majesty."

Lily flicked his ear, but grinned despite herself. She recovered immediately, rolling her eyes. "Just

keep it quiet- please." she added quickly, before turning for the stairs. "Oh, why don't you join us?"

James suggested. Sensing Lily was about to decline, he added, "Come now, it's a Friday night, there

aren't any classes to wake up for tomorrow." James winked, finishing with, "Just let loose a bit,

Evans."

Lily thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. But I'm not going to be the only girl. I'll be right

back." she stated, heading for the portrait hole.

"Merlin, does that girl want me." James commented after Lily had left.

Sirius began to make a remark, but Remus cut him off. "Just let him have this one." he laughed.

Lily soon returned, her friends in tow. Rosalind, Eleanor, and Scarlett entered and greeted the boys,

all smiles.

Scarlett was naturally tanned, with dark hair and eyes, easily the most beautiful of the group. She

walked with grace, confidence. The boys found it hard not to stare.

They recognized Eleanor as well, the shortest and most petite girl. She had light blonde hair

and blue eyes, with fair skin.

Rosalind was the last of them to enter. She was the girl the boys knew best, as she was almost always

with Lily. Rosalind had a head of blonde with brown strands mixed in, and greenish blue eyes. She

was the taller of the four, with long legs, Sirius noted with a smirk.

The girls joined the Marauders by the fireplace. James made room for Lily on the couch, while

Scarlett and Eleanor sat beside each other on the table. Sirius made eye contact with Rosalind,

quirking an eyebrow. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing to his lap. She laughed. "In your dreams,

Black." she remarked, before taking a seat next to Eleanor.

After a bit of conversation and more Firewhiskey, Scarlett suggested they play a game. "Truth or

Dare?" After explaining to James the rules of the "Muggle game", they began. "Lily, truth or dare?"

Scarlett questioned.

Lily was quick to say truth. "What's the weirdest dream you've ever had?" Scarlett wondered. After

Lily had explained the time she dreamt of her marrying an owl, she asked "James, truth or dare?"

James grinned."Is this a question? Dare." Lily laughed wickedly. "You have to let the girls do your

makeup."

James took a swig of Firewhiskey for courage. "Fine, go ahead." Lily scampered up to her

room and returned with her makeup bag. She distributed mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow to the

girls and they went to work. After a few moments, they stepped away and went back to their seats.

Peter howled with laughter at James' appearance. Sirius and Remus snickered as well, calling him

'Jamie'. "You're quite wicked, you are." James told Lily. She pinched his blush-covered cheek. "How

sweet of you to say, Jamie."

The truths and dares continued, each becoming more ridiculous with the more Firewhiskey they

drank. Eventually, though, the game ended without anyone really stopping it.

Peter had shifted to sit on the ground in front of the fire, having a conversation with Scarlett until the

both of them began to doze off. Remus sat in one of the chairs, Eleanor perched on the arm of it as

they talked to each other in whispers. Close-by were Sirius and Rosalind, bickering in a flirty sort-of

way. Sirius just kept thinking about how blue her greenish eyes were tonight, and then he would

think of how smashed he was but that maybe that didn't matter because Rosalind was so pretty and

smelled so nice and oh Merlin, did he feel sick.

And laying together on the couch were James and Lily. Lily, through her hazy state, murmured, "You

look so pretty," to the still-in-makeup James. "Whatever you say, Evans." he responded, chuckling at

her. James was somewhat sober, having not drank quite as much. "No, James." Lily said sleepily.

"You're pretty. And so sweet. When did that happen? You were such an arse, did you magically

deflate your head? Haha, deflate is a funny word. James, I fancy you."

James held back a laugh again. Shit-faced Lily was adorably stupid. Such a change from the real Lily.

"Sure, Lily, if you say so." he said again. That was his mantra tonight.

"Nonono, listen. I fancy you." Lily hiccuped. "I might kiss you." James sighed, wishing she could be

sober. Why couldn't she like him when she was sober?

"Whatever you s-" Lily leaned into James, closing her eyes. In her haziness, she more threw herself

onto him, causing James to catch her. Lily opened her eyes, pouting. "Why won't you kiss me,

Jamie? Isn't this what you've wanted since forever?"

James scoffed. "Course it is, Lily. But not like this, with you barely aware of what you're doing."

Lily crossed her arms, huffy. "Fine, don't snog me." James just shook his head and laughed again,

feeling as tired as Lily looked. He stood and pulled her up with him. "Let's put you to bed, Evans."

Lily called out, "James and I are gunn' snog in my room!" Remus and Eleanor glanced over, concerned.

Sirius whooped, "Nice one, mate!"

"Do you need help, er, putting her to bed?" Eleanor asked. James shook his head. "No, it's fine,

thanks." Eleanor smiled in return, looking back to Remus.

James lifted Lily bridal-style and made his way to the stairs. As he passed, Sirius slapped his back.

"Happy snogging!" he caroled. Rosalind punched his arm.

Upstairs, James laid Lily onto the bed. She was still awake, though, mumbling nonsense things. James

eyed her warily. "Lily, focus. Here's what you need to do. Take off your shoes and put on something

to sleep in, alright?" Lily sighed. "But I'm so sleepy. Can you help me, Jamie?"

James rubbed his forehead, removing Lily's shoes. He went to her wardrobe and brought out a baggy

nightshirt and a pair of shorts. "Surely you can dress yourself?" James said, slightly embarrassed. Lily

shook her head, grumbled that she was too tired. James paused, then sat Lily up on the bed. He

undid the tie around her neck and lifted off her top. He felt guilty as Lily sat in her bra, knowing

she'd hex him, were she sober. James quickly pulled the other shirt on over her head and stood Lily

up. He hesitated before moving to take off her skirt, but did so, rushing to help her into her shorts.

James felt his face redden at seeing her undergarments. Lily didn't notice, however, seeming to be

half-asleep. At last, James pulled back the covers and tucked Lily into bed. She reached up to give

him a peck on the cheek before falling back onto the bed. James sighed. "Sweet dreams, Evans."

Downstairs, James continued to feel a sense of guilt, mingled with disappointment. He'd gotten want

he'd wanted for so long, Lily begging for him to kiss her. If only she'd been sober, he kept thinking.

"Oh Merlin, my head." was the first thing Sirius said when he awoke the next morning.

"We told you not to drink so much." Remus rebuked. Sirius gave him a dirty look and sat up from his

position on the floor. "My back feels bloody wonderful after sleeping on the floor, as well." He

looked around. "Where's Peter?"

Remus looked up from his book. "He said something vague about needing some air."

Sirius furrowed his brows and glanced at James. "Care to explain what happened last night, Prongs?

The last thing I remember is talking to Rosalind- are you all right, mate?" Sirius wondered, as James

looked over. "Yeah, never better. Just thinking." Remus peered over the top of his book. "About

Lily?"

Sirius snorted. "He's always thinking about Lily, Moony."

"Well, I just thought he'd have more reason to after...what exactly happened after you two went upstairs?"

"You and Lily Evans? Atta boy, Prongsie!" Sirius crowed. James shook his head. "No, nothing

happened. I'm not lying." he insisted, seeing Sirius and Remus' shared look. "I borught her to her

room to put her to bed, and that was it. I was just thinking about what she said before that."

"Which was?" Sirius pestered.

James ran his hand through his hair. "Lily was really smashed. She was saying something

about me 'deflating my head' just before she tried to snog me."

Sirius was bewildered. "Tried to snog you? Meanign you stopped her? Blimey, mate, that's all you've

ever wanted- and you stopped her?"

James sighed. "That's basically what Lily said. As I told her, I don't want drunken, ditzy Lily. Maybe it's

all I've ever wanted, but I'd rather have my first kiss with her be one that she'll be able to remember

the next day. "

Remus grasped James' shoulder. "Sorry, Prongs."

James shrugged, just as there was a clamor from the staircase. Lily came running down, still in her

night clothes. "J- oh." she said, surprised to see Remus and Sirius there. "James, can I talk to you-

upstairs?" She looked uncomfortable, and James nodded, walking over to her. They entered her

room, and Lily immediately sat down. "I'm not...entirely sure about everything that happened last

night." she began, seeming to struggle with her words.

James didn't say anything, just stared, giving Lily a chance to find her composure.

"We didn't kiss?" Lily checked. James nodded. "Okay. Could you just explain what happened, then?"

"We were on the couch, talking." James recounted. "You were saying something about how I was

pretty with the makeup you put on me." he smirked a little, but Lily just listened intently. "And you

were going on about how I used to be an arse, but I'd deflated my head. And you said that you

fancied me-"

"I said that?" Lily demanded. James nodded, wary, before continuing. "Yeah, and you said how you

might kiss me." Lily looked mortified. "So I brought you up here to bed, but you were 'too tired' to

change out of your clothes...I didn't take advantage, though!" James protested quickly, seeing Lily's

suspicision. "Then you fell asleep, so I went back to my room. That's all."

Lily sighed, deep in thought for a moment. "I'm so sorry, James."

"It wasn't really your fault, you were drunk-"

Lily gazed at him, a fiery look in her eyes. "No, not for that. I'm sorry because," she took a breath.

"Because I've been lying to both you and myself for a little while now." Lily stood up as James s

tarted to ask, "Wha-?"

She took a step towards him, and they were inches apart. "James, I do fancy you. I have since, maybe,

sixth year. It's that you've changed so much- you became so sweet and..." Lily trailed off, looking

up at James. He thought her eyes were ablaze, green flames. Before he could speak, she leaped on

him. And there it was, all he'd wanted, right in his arms. He kissed her back.

When they broke apart for a moment, James murmured, "Evans."

Lily laughed and took his hand to lead him to the door. As she opened it, Sirius, Remus, and Rosalind

all fell half-into the room. "And how long were you lot listening?" Lily demanded.

"Oi, that's not important. What is important...is that they're together at last!" Sirius cried, group-

hugging everyone. He was still a bit drunk, James thought. But Lily looked up and smiled, and James

couldn't have cared less about their meddling friends.

I don't like this ending, but I'm also too lazy to rewrite it, so sorry guys.

But, what did you think? Let me know in a review!

(This chapter was way more James/Lily then I originally intended, but I wanted to just get them together asap, so I guess that's okay...Anyway, more of Sirius and Rosalind in the next chapter.)

Thanks for reading! x