"Yes."

The word escaped her lips alongside a small smile. Her abrupt answer took everyone in the room by complete surprise.

"Wh-what?" James stuttered, his usually confident, cocky facade momentarily shattered.

"I said yes, James I would love to go to Hogsmeade with you."

James didn't know what to say. Since the beginning of the term he'd been badgering Lily to go out with him. Usually she replied with a snort of disgust and an insult, ("dung-muncher" and "toerag" were two of her favorites) before sweeping away with Snivellus Snape hot on her heels.

Elated, though he was, James had not expected Lily to answer him at all, (ignorance was another common response to his pleas for Lily's hand) and at a loss for words, quickly decided that staring romantically into her eyes was the best route to take. He stood rooted firmly to the spot as the silence stretched on.

James was overcome with what could almost be described as pure giddiness. Until he saw Lily's form begin to bubble and shift. Her fiery red hair darkened and shot back into her skull. She grew taller and broader. Her emerald green eyes were replaced by Sirius's laughing grey ones.

Still at a loss for words, James stared at the spot where "Lily" had been standing just a moment before. Now it was just Sirius looking ridiculous wearing robes much too small, and a Prefect badge gleaming on his chest.

James turned and saw Moony and Wormtail standing behind him, cheeky grins etched across their faces. As Remus and Peter exchanged a fist bump James peered around the common room to see who had witnessed the whole embarrassing ordeal. At least half of the Gryffindors stood around the common room getting ready for Hogsmeade or waiting for their friends and dates. Some were laughing but others, girls mostly, were sending pitiful glances his way.

"So where'd you get the polyjuice?" he finally asked in voice conveyed frustration and humor at the same time. A smirk broke out across Sirius' face as he replied,

"I had Moony nick it from Slughorn. Yesterday while you two had potions."

James saw the slightly guilty look on the werewolf's face. He wasn't surprised. Sirius often managed to bribe Remus into doing his dirty work, the promise of a slab of Honeydukes best chocolate (of which Sirius and James kept a stash for precisely this reason) could convince him to do many things.

As an afterthought Sirius added, "That's where I got the badge as well, from Remus, I mean.

Remus then decided to cut in, "And I'll be needing that back now, please and thank you."

Sirius unpinned the sparkling "P" from his very tight robe gasping in pain when he accidentally poked himself, and tossed it through the air into Moony's waiting hand. James followed its arc across the room before speaking again. Now curious as to how Padfoot had pulled it off.

"and the hair?"

"ah, that was the tricky part. We couldn't just use a summoning charm because that could go horribly wrong. We might accidentally remove all of her hair, and not only would that make this whole operation exceedingly obvious, but we figured you wouldn't find a bald Lily nearly as desirable as Lily with a full head of hair."

Sirius continued on, making sure to add in every detail of the plan. James only half listened. His mind making its way back to Lily. How stupid he'd been to think that Evans would actually go on a date with him. He should have suspected The Marauders all along.