Some could say it was a beautiful night. Everything was illuminated, the weather was just right, and the grounds seemed to have that sort of magical touch to them, as expected. Yet the only thing on seventh year James Potter's mind was his girlfriend, the sweet Lily Evans. He compared her beauty to the wonderous night, smiling weakly as he lay next to her in the courtyard.
"James?"
"Yes, Lil?"
James had that sort of caring voice about him. It made him sound so sweet and protective, like an older brother.
"I don't ever want to forget this night."
She left him speechless, as she had done when he first saw her on the Hogwarts Express. He replayed the memory of them over and over in his mind, vowing that he would never forget it. He didn't exactly understand why, but he felt like he was destined to be with her. It seemed strange when he thought of it, but now, being much older and somewhat more mature, it made sense. He had found his soul mate, and he dared not tell Sirius or Remus about his feelings. Knowing them, Remus would applaud him for finally getting his feelings out. Sirius, on the other hand, would laugh and pat him on the back, telling him to get over himself.
"Me too," he replied, using the same tone in his voice as before.
He interlaced his fingers with hers, emitting a smile that he knew no one had ever seen on him before. It was the smile that represented how she made him feel. He glanced over at her, showing off his smile, and then looked back up at the night sky. The stars flickered in the overwhelming darkness around them, and a small flicker of light illuminated in James' eyes before slowly fading away.
The rays of sunlight danced around on the floor and hit James' eyes, causing him to stir. He moved silently around in his bed, still quite unsure of the time. All he seemed to remember was being on the grounds with Lily the previous night.
Throwing his covers off of him, he made his routine trip to the bathroom. His feet make a soft pitter-patter as they hit the cold, hard floor. He yawned tiredly, covering his mouth with his hand. In the bathroom, he brushed his teeth, combed his messy hair back, and exited the bathroom hurriedly.
He took his time as he walked down to the Great Hall. He stopped to admire some of the paintings and statues on the different floors. He hadn't ever paid much attention to them before, and felt like he should've at least seen them once before he left the school.
Spotting Remus and Sirius as he finally entered the Great Hall, he wandered over to them and sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor Table. He strolled over to them casually, hiding the random bursts of happiness he got from thinking of Lily.
"Morning, fellas."
"Morning, James," replied Remus cheerfully.
Sirius grumbled softly, still half asleep. He yawned tiredly, almost jamming an entire pancake in his mouth. Not realizing that wasn't the biscuit he thought he grabbed, he tried to stuff it into his mouth. Half-opening his eyes, he sighed and put the rest of the pancake on to his plate.
His hair was messier than normal. James wasn't the only one to notice it, either. Remus stared awkwardly at Sirius for a brief moment before deciding whether or not to ask Sirius about his unusually stranger-than-normal case of bed head.
"Sirius, what's with the bed head? Rough night fighting with the sheets again?"
James chuckled softly at this, eyeing a blueberry muffin from the middle of the table. Grabbing the muffin, he turned his gaze to Sirius, waiting to hear his friend's reply. He was sure that, as usual, Sirius would come up with some creatively clever answer.
"I was," he replied, letting out another small yawn, "in the room of requirement with Serena."
James about dropped his muffin on the table, which might have broken as the muffin was as hard as a rock. Sirius had admitted to being with Sloane, something he hadn't told James or Remus about before. It was odd to finally hear him admit it, even though they had speculated it for some time now.
Serena Grello was a seventh year chaser for the Ravenclaw team. Aside from having the highest grades in the entire school, she was probably the most popular and outgoing. It seemed that every guy wanted to date her, and none of them ever had a chance. They were all entranced by her soft hazel eyes and her flowing black hair, as if she were a treasure chest, and they kept trying over and over again to find some way to catch her attention; to get her to merely look at them.
James had to admit, even he had a crush on Serena at one time. He had overheard a couple of second year Hufflepuff boys, who were now seventh years like him, reading to each other the poems they had wrote for her as he was on his way out to the grounds. He remembered laughing at them as he got past the entrance hall and out the doors, once they were closed. He had walked out to the large oak tree where he hung out with Lily, Sirius, and Remus, and was stunned to find four people there instead of three. That's when they were introduced. Lily had formally introduced him to Serena, and they had all chatted for some time.
Shaking the thought out of his head, James peered over at Remus, who still looked a little bewildered at the thought of Sirius spending time with Serena. Inside, he chuckled softly, thinking about all of the conversation this new topic of discussion would bring up.
"Did he just say what I thought he said?" Remus asked, pointing his finger at Sirius, who was obvious to Remus' question.
James nodded his head back and forth, his gaze going back and forth from Remus to Sirius for a while, waiting for something to happen. The primary shock of the announcement had worn off in his mind, and if Sirius was doing the same thing he had done with other girls in the past, then James wouldn't have been surprised.
"We actually talked," Sirius blurted out.
James and Remus jerked their heads to Sirius, who had finally finished the large pancake and finally had a biscuit in hand. He was beginning to eat it, losing some of the crumbs all down the front of his school uniform. James and Remus chuckled softly in unison.