A/N: Long time, people. My inspiration had left me for a while. I forced myself to write this and I'm pretty happy with it. Also thanks for everyone who fav'ed/reviewed my last story. Mozzarella sticks and fall romances for you all.

Also, if you have ideas you want to see written, feel free to let me know. I can use some inspiration.

Word Of Mouth

The first time Lily's friends hear it, Marlene almost shoots the messenger.

"She WHAT NOW!?"

The third year who brought the news isn't looking so chatty anymore, like she did five minutes ago. A growling Marlene will do that a person. Alice strategically places herself between her friend and the younger girl, while Mary continues to question her.

"Are you sure it was her?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I recognised her hair, because you know…"

"It lights up like a torch at night" Mary sighs. "Thank you Layla. Run along now, dear."

Layla doesn't need to be told twice and disappears.

"We-eell, looks like someone's idea to infiltrate the third year gossip mill is already paying off" Mary declares, turning around with an air of absolute contentment. "See, who knows how long it would've taken if I hadn't – oh for the love of Merlin. Will you calm down, McKinnon?"

"Calm down? No I will most definitively not calm down! Did you not hear the girl?" Marlene scoffs, crossing her arms. "What the hell is the stupid bint thinking? I thought things were going so well!"

"That stupid bint is our friend, Marlene" Alice reminds her, "let's give her some credit before we start calling her a fool."

"O yeah? And how would you interpret this titbit of news, Mother Theresa?"

"Well, if you look at - I mean if you think about this logically. This is Lily we're talking about and - yeah, I have no idea what's happening."

"See! C'mon, let's go tell James." Marlene is already moving towards the portrait hole, when Mary blocks her way.

"Are you mental?" Mary exclaims, and upon Marlene's raised eyebrows, hastily adds "more mental than usual, obviously. Why in the name of everything that is magical would you go and tell Potter? He'll have an aneurism on the spot!"

"He deserves to know! And maybe he'll be inspired to do something about this nonsense."

"Like what? Hex someone into smithereens? I'm sure that will go over well with Lily." Mary counters and Marlene grudgingly has to agree.

"How about we tell his friends? Maybe they know the best way to tell James?"

"That's actually not a bad idea, Prewett. I'm sure they are much more level-headed than Potter in all this."

The first time the Marauders hear it, Remus and Peter have to physically restrain Sirius.

"LET ME GO I NEED TO GO AND HEX HER INTO NEXT WEEK" Sirius bellows, struggling with his friends. While Peter is whimpering and hanging onto an arm for show, Remus – to the surprise of the girls - is the one controlling the raging boy.

"Padfoot, do calm down, will you? You're being ridiculous." Remus says, seemingly unfazed.

"I'm being ridiculous? I'll tell you who's being ridiculous. Her name rhymes with 'heavens' and that's where she's NOT going, because I hope she will ROT IN – yooaww Moony that hurts!"

"Am I the only who finds this side of Remus incredibly attractive?" Mary whispers to Marlene.

"I'm just basking in the level-headedness of it all." Marlene shrugs, as the girls watch Remus wrestle his friend to the ground.

"So," Remus starts a few moments later, now positioned on Sirius' back. From the looks of it, he hasn't even broken into a sweat. "Now that we're all behaving as decent human beings, let's talk about this."

"There's no need talk, you git." Sirius grumbles, still flat on the ground. "We just hit Evans with one of your books until she is her sensible, prude self again." He realises his mistake immediately. "No, no hitting! I'll behave, there will be no maiming of books."

The sarcasm is dripping from his words, but Remus - actively ignoring that - pets Sirius on the head, with very derogatory 'there's a good boy'.

"Look," Mary starts, feeling they're not getting anywhere, "Lily's a big girl and she can do what she wants. But she's not talking to us – obviously. We thought James should hear this from you, before he murders someone. And maybe, maybe, you can persuade him to do something. Confess his undying love or something equally convenient."

"He'll be glad to hear that. All those times we told him 'no Prongs, you're not going to need that poem about her freckles'." Remus mutters, earning sniggers from his friends.

"We will try and pry the truth out of Lily in the meantime. I don't know about you lads, but us girls were under the assumption James and Lily were getting somewhere." Upon the nods of agreement from the boys, she continues "We can't possibly all be wrong about this."

"Right you are Macdonald, right you are. Have fun with interrogating Evans. Or maybe 'good luck' is better suited."

"Where is she, anyway?" Alice asks, bringing everyone up short for a moment. "O wait, she said she had rounds this evenings. We'll find her after."

"I'm calling not-it on telling James" Peter yells the moment the girls have left, the nervousness rolling off him in waves.

"How can you even – ugh Moony get your fat arse off of me." Sirius' indignation would've so much more believable without Remus meditating on his back. "Wormtail, we've got to help Prongs. He'll ruin it all by himself and then we have to listen to his whining 'till the end of time. Moony, back me up here."

"He's right" Remus confirms, still not moving. "He will make a disaster out of this on his own. He needs us."

"See, that's what I'm –"

"Also: not-it."

The first time James hears it, he remains uncharacteristically silent.

"Prongs?"

"What, yeah I'm fine, thanks." James says, absentmindedly leafing through his Transfiguration book.

"That's good to hear, mate. But did you hear what I said?" Sirius asks carefully – probably for the first time in his life. He exchanges a confused glance with Remus and Peter, who are hovering behind him.

"Sure I did."

"And you're not…mad?" Sirius knows the expression about sleeping dogs better than anyone, but this isn't normal. "I mean, we can find out the blighters' name and stuff Dungbombs up his arse, if you want."

"No, that's okay Padfoot" James answers. He stands up, and stuffs his book in his bag. "I'm done chasing her."

"What?"

James turns around and looks at them for the first time. "It's true, I'm done. Now, see you later lads, I'm already late for Quidditch practise." He walks away, leaving his flabbergasted friends behind.

"Did that just happen?" Peter asks finally, after a full minute of silence.

"So it seems…but this is highly unusual." Remus muses, staring hard at their friends' retreating form.

"There's something he's not telling us" Sirius agrees, "something that suddenly would make him stop chasing Evans. Never thought that day would come."

"It didn't." The grin in Remus' voice makes Sirius raise an eyebrow. "Look at who are sitting by the fire, looking like they're not late for anything."

It takes a while for the other two to realise what they're looking at.

"But, but, that's half of the Quidditch Team!" Peter cries out.

"He lied to us? How could he lie like that? And bloody hell Moony, what are you still grinning about?"

"Padfoot, tell me something." Remus asks instead of replying. "You're a dog, aren't you? When do you stop chasing something?"

Thrown by this changed course of conversation, Sirius scratches his head. "Er, when I'm distracted. When it's no longer fun to chase it. Or when I –" He stops and stares at Remus, wide-eyed and mouth open. "No!"

"I think so. Map?"

"Yes. I'll get Lily's friends."

"What?" Peter is hopping around now, desperate for answers. "Guys, what am I missing? When else do you stop chasing something?"

Sirius is already moving, but yells one last thing over his shoulder before he disappears through the portrait hole.

"When you've caught what you were chasing!"

The first time Lily hears it, she's a little busy doing something else.

"Heard something interesting today" she hears from around her neck. "Rumour has it you're shagging someone in broom closets." Between urgent kisses and flying buttons, it takes a while before her brain catches up.

"Oh Merlin, did they found us out?"

"No," James murmurs against her skin, before lifting his head to grin at her properly. "They've found you out."

"Excuse me?" Lily sputters, knowing full well that she isn't half as intimidating with her blouse open and her hair a mess thanks to James' hands.

"You heard me." James says, very smugly. "I heard from the lads, who heard it from your friends, who heard it from the original source; Layla Barlow, that she saw you exiting a broom closet last night. And she heard a male voice, but didn't see who it was. So now the entire population of Hogwarts is speculating about the mysterious bloke you're molesting every night."

"Dear Merlin" Lily groans, not stopping her mission of ridding James of his shirt. "That explains why the girls were acting so weird today. I think Alice told me three times today that I could tell her anything."

"I had the same, the lads were walking on eggshells around me." James tells her, his hands snaking around her in search of the clasp of her bra.

"Do you think we should tell them?" She asks, now kissing her way down his neck. Deep down, she doesn't want to. She'd been enjoying this private bubble, where it's just him and her.

He stops what he's doing to look her in the eye. "I think so. And you know, I actually want to." He runs hand through his hair, a sure sign he's not entirely sure of her reaction. "I don't want to sneak around anymore. I mean, it was fun and all, and gave us some time to ourselves, but I don't want to hide that I like you anymore."

"You never hid that at all, James." She says jokingly, but she's wrapping her arms around him as she says it.

"True" he admits, narrowing his eyes at her. "So, I've got nothing to lose then. Maybe we should focus on the fact that you like me."

There are so many wrong ways to say a sentence like that, but he looks so honestly happy that Lily doesn't care.

"Okay, we'll tell them tonight" she decides, "when we're done here." She accompanies that last statement with a very suggestive body roll.

Just like that, they're kissing again. More urgent, more intense, because both of them know this is one of the last private moments they'll have in while. Soon both their shirts are lying on the ground and Lily is urging James to hurry up, when he suddenly stiffens and quickly stubs out the candle.

"James? Why are you st-?"

"Ssssht, I hear voices." James whispers into her ear, his hand clamped over her mouth. He's fully pressed up against her, listening at the door.

Lily takes a moment to take in his smell, with him hovering so close, but strains to listen as well.

"..you found them yet?" the voice Lily recognises as Marlene's, asks.

"No." A disgruntles male answers. "I can't believe they've outsmarted us this long. Quidditch practise, pah!" Ah, Sirius.

James is shaking with laughter and Lily shoots him a look even though it's dark. If they make a noise and get caught now, they will never hear the end of it.

"When did you realise what she was hiding?" A second male asks: Remus.

"Since the stupid bint left the Patrol schedule lying around in our dorm. When we realised she'd been on 'doing rounds' twice as much as scheduled, we knew this was something serious. Black, don't even." Marlene replies, sounding only mildly irritated. "In the end we knew she would only lie to us about one bloke."

Lily can feel the blush creeping up in the dark. James doesn't say anything, just presses a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm done." Mary states out of the blue. "This isn't half as much fun as I thought it would be. I say we return to the common room where it's warm. Let them have their fun, they'll tell us when they're ready."

All the other voices murmur some sort of agreement and the voices fade away.

James and Lily both exhale loudly, then chuckle at each other.

"That was close." Lily sighs.

"Yeah." James agrees, playing with a strand of her hair. "Good thing I brought the Map with me. Otherwise we'd be screwed."

"I think we're screwed either way, because they're not going to let us live this down."

"Such lovely friends we have." Lily groans, leaning against him.

"It'll be fine, they'll be happy for us." James reassures her. "Think about it: no more lying, no more meeting in shabby broom closets. We could actually use the bed!"

For a moment they both think about the possibilities.

"So, tomorrow same place, same time?"

"Of course."

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