"Evans…"

The first thing Lily was aware of as she was unwillingly pulled from the murky depths of unconsciousness, was not the breath that tickled her ear or the feather-light touches tracing up and down her arm. No, the first thing she was conscious of was that she was not, to her dismay, currently curled up in her own bed. Rather, she was laying on something incredibly lumpy and not altogether comfortable.

She stretched and groaned at the pain that zinged down her spine. Rolling her neck, she worked out the crick that had formed in her slumber.

"Morning Princess."

Her eyes snapped open and focused on the face looming above hers, dark hair forming a curtain around their heads.

"Sirius! What-"

He grinned and planted a kiss on her forehead, pulling back before she could push his face away from hers.

"What the bloody hell are you doing in the girl's dormitories?" she demanded, spinning around to face him.

As she turned, she realized that her indignation was not completely warranted. They were sitting before the large fireplace in the common room, Sirius perched on the arm of the couch with one of her quills twirling between his fingers and a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"I think the real question is, what are you doing drooling on the common room throw pillows? You'll ruin the satin."

Lily glared up at him as she jerked herself upright, causing a couple of books and rolls of parchment to tumble from her lap onto the rug.

He sniggered lightly and dropped from the arm of the couch to help her gather her belongings.

"It's not like perfect Prefect Evans to be sleeping in on a Tuesday, much less being late for our Care of Mag-"

"You're lying. I'd know if I'd slept past breakfast," Lily snapped, grabbing her things from his arms and shoving them into her rucksack that lay at the end of the couch. Even as she said it, she was conscious that the common room was empty apart from them and that the sun was shining just a little too brightly through the high windows.

Ignoring the smug smile tilting Sirius's lips, she pulled his arm toward her and blinked at the gleaming face of his wristwatch.

"Shite."

His grin grew more pronounced as she bolted up from the couch, slung her bag over her shoulder and started marching toward the portrait hole.

She heard him crawl through the entrance behind her; the berk didn't even bother to muffle his chuckles as he followed her down the corridor.

"You know," she huffed as she trotted down the first flight of stairs, "The polite and noble thing to do in this situation would have been to wake me up more than five minutes before we have to take our O.W.L!"

"Since when have you known me to take the polite and noble route?" Sirius asked jovially, not seeming at all concerned that they might be late. "If that's what you had wanted, you could've asked Remus to be your alarm clock."

"Well I certainly didn't ask you-"

"You're right, I did it out of the kindness of my heart. Shouldn't you be on your knees kissing my feet in gratitude or something?"

"Or something."

"Clever."

"Why were you even in the Common Room to begin with?" she asked as she jumped the last step on the third-floor landing, skidding around a corner before taking another flight of stairs. "You're never one to miss out on breakfast."

Sirius was right on her tail, though she had a feeling he wouldn't be in such a hurry if she wasn't there for him to antagonize. "Such an astute observation Ms. Evans. Would you believe I slept in myself?"

Lily faked a gasp, which came out more like a wheeze from all of their running. She noticed begrudgingly that his breathing was incredibly even as they rounded a corner on the first floor, the doors of the Great Hall in sight.

She slowed her run to a brisk walk in hopes that the red in her cheeks would at least dim to a light pink by the time she walked into the hall.

"You? Sleep in on an examination day? I would never have believed it."

"So much cheek. You'd think you'd be a little less hypocritical as you run into the exam when the doors are closing. Evans," he pulled her to a stop just shy of the large wooden doors. Lily could see the rows of desks filled with students. She caught Sirius's eye as he looked her up and down, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Peering down the length of her body, Lily took her appearance into consideration for the first time that morning. She was, thankfully, still wearing her uniform from the day before. However, she wasn't sure if she had ever looked more disheveled in her life. Her shirt was untucked and ridiculously rumpled from her night spent on the couch, and she just knew her hair resembled a fiery bird's nest. She buttoned up her top buttons, tightened her tie around her neck and brushed out the wrinkles in her shirt before tucking it into her skirt.

Dragging her fingers through her knotted hair, she looked up again at Sirius.

"Better?" she asked with only slight sarcasm.

Sirius brought his hand up to his chin and gave her another appraising up-and-down. "Well," he started, walking around her in a tight circle. Lily rolled her eyes. "You've forgotten your cloak, you have a serious case of bedhead and there's some mascara smudged under your left eye. Just there…"

She batted away his hand as he reached to wipe leftover makeup off of her face and glared at him for what felt like the millionth time that morning.

He grinned widely at her, "In other words, I'd say you've never looked more shaggable."

Lily balled up her fist and punched his shoulder - to which he responded with a very gracious flinch - but had a hard time keeping the smile off of her face. Neither of them noticed the professor standing just under the archway to the hall.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Black," announced the stern voice of Professor McGonagall. They both spun to face her, though only Sirius had the audacity to look unashamed. "Are you planning on joining us this morning?"

Neither student spoke as they marched past her into the Great Hall. The professor stopped Lily with an outstretched arm. "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your and Mr. Black's tardiness. I would expect you to know to dress properly before arriving at your next examination, Ms. Evans.

Lily ducked her head and noticed at least a third of the student body was turned toward her at the entrance of the hall. Sirius had already made his way to the front of the room without a spare glance back. A group of girls near her started tittering annoyingly as they took in her state of dress when she passed them. Lily ignored them and seated herself between Enns, Adrian and Fletcher, Mary Ann.

Mary Ann, a Hufflepuff, slid a side glance at her before turning away and sniffing her nose in distaste. Lily shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. Looking to her left, she caught Adrian Enns' eye. He smiled at her shyly. McGonagall cleared her throat and he looked back down to his desk and rolls of parchment. The corners of Lily's lips lifted slightly as McGonagall called out "You may begin," and she turned to her own exam.