Marauders' era 7th year

Slughorn is in a generous mood today.

"It's one of the last sunny days and I know you don't want to spent it in the dungeon. Everyone who has finished his potion may leave and enjoy the rest of the afternoon outside."

Snape is of course the first to pack and leave the classroom. He doesn't look at anyone. Since Evans went to Hogsmeade with James last weekend, he's even grumpier than usual.

Grumpy, grumpier, most grumpy... Snape.

They have started going out in summer, but since last week it's official.

Evans is close second. Slughorn's delighted and still praises the perfect colour and consistence of her potion when she is already halfway through the door. I check my cauldron for the last time. All right!

I grab my stuff and leave the phial on Slughorn's desk on my way out. He nods and continues to inspect Evan's perfect brew.

I heave a sigh when the door falls shut behind me. Enough time to go to the forest and turn into Padfoot. Enjoy the rest of this sunny afternoon. I certainly will.

Evans is standing at the foot of the stairs leading to the entrance hall. She's probably waiting for her friend. She may have to wait for a while. When I passed her desk, Mary was trying to fish the tiny parts of an ashwinder egg out of her potion. There's a reason why you crack them on a saucer and not on the rim of the cauldron.

I pass Evans without a word. The fact that James is hopelessly in love with her doesn't mean that I want to spent more time with that girl than absolutely necessary. She is pretty and quite clever, but she also is the most annoying, self-righteous Muddleborn.

"Sirius, wait."

Oh no! What is it now? We've been rather well-behaved lately. What else could we do, when James is holding hands with her every free minute?

I expect 'General Sermon #3' which is "Stop getting your friends into trouble with your mad ideas!".

I've started making a numbered list of her moral lectures in 3rd year. They can be divided into three categories: General Sermon, Specific Accusation, Mad Screaming.

'General Sermon #3' is her favourite when I am the lucky recipient. Poor Remus usually gets #2 a and b, "Why don't you say something?" and "Why do you always listen to them?".

I've promised James to behave with her, so I turn around and hope it's the short version.

She tries a half-hearted smile. "Sirius, I've been waiting for a chance to talk to you alone."

This is going to be the extended version.

"All right. I intend to follow Sluggy's advice and spend some time on the grounds, only want to get rid of my books first. We can talk on the way."

I hurry up the staircases to Gryffindor Tower, taking two or three steps at the time. Evans follows a bit out of breath. What a pity that I've never thought of that method to shut her up before. She still follows me when I leave the Common Room again. Goodbye to a rabbit chase and rolling on the grass.

"Can't you slow down a bit? We really need to talk."

I stop. "Talk, I listen. What is so important that you need to ruin my free afternoon?"

"I want to talk about James and …. us. He's not happy."

I raise my eyebrows. "I'm just his friend. Making him happy is your job."

"Sirius, stop being a prat for a minute... please. James is unhappy, because we, you and I, don't get along."

She's right, but we've been barely on speaking terms for several years. What does he expect?

"And that's my fault again, isn't it? If you think I'm trying to make him ditch you..."

"No, I don't! Goodness Sirius, you can't make it easier for me, can you? I'm trying to apologize."

"You apologize? What for? That you have done your best to convince Remus and James that I'm a bad influence on them? For telling James that you'd given in much earlier, if it wasn't for his horrible friend? …. Look, James is in love with you and that's fine with me. Just leave me out of it."

"I can't leave you out. James needs you. I've been wrong about you. I know this now. Remus always speaks highly of you, both of you. What good friends you are and how much you helped him... I thought he was making excuses. You know what he's like."

"Remus only sees the best in everyone he likes and wants others to see it too." I reply with only a slight hint of irony.

She smiles. "Now you are making excuses."

"That's what friends do. He is my friend, much more than he himself knows." I state the obvious.

Evans stares silently at her feet for a moment. Then she nods.

"Perhaps I've never had such friends. …. I couldn't understand. It took me a long time to understand. I was so angry at myself when I started falling in love with James. He was such a..."

She doesn't say the word and I smirk. Yes, he was.

"Then I wanted to believe what Remus said about him to justify my feelings. I had to blame somebody else for James' behaviour."

"The perfect man for the job was me."

"You are pretty good at pretending to be the perfect spoiled Pureblood arsehole."

"Sirius Alphard Black, at your service."

She laughs and slaps me on the hand. "Git!"

I think it's the first time we laugh about the same thing.

"Sirius, can't we try to get to know each other and become friends? For James?" She pleads. Is she really trying to solve our misunderstandings?

"Lily, you really love James, don't you? I mean, really!" I get very serious..

"Yes, of course! How can you...?"

I shrug. "It's not as if he hasn't got more to offer to a girl than good looks and a charming personality."

For a minute Lily seems speechless. I expect her to yell at me any moment.

Instead her words are very quiet, a bit flustered.

"You really think I am after his name or money?"

"The idea crossed my mind last year, after you binned Snape. But no, I didn't really believe it. If I did, I had …. done something."

"Like trying to feed me to a werewolf?" she smiles a bit.

"Perhaps... Remus is talking too much." I'm starting to feel a bit defensive. I once thought that Snape might have gone down the tunnel to find out how to protect her, but she doesn't seem to think that or she wouldn't be joking about it like this, would she?

"It wasn't Remus, it was James. He told me about your furry little secrets. I'm not accusing you. Severus should have known better than to enter that tunnel."

"It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that James loves you and he trusts you. That's good enough for me, if you feel the same for him. Don't fool around with him, Lily. He'd do anything for you. He'd die for you."

"Let's hope that won't be necessary... Sirius, do you think it's getting worse? With the Death Eaters and all that? Do you think there will be serious fighting?"

"Voldemort is recruiting, even here at Hogwarts. In a year or two they won't be contend with Muggle baiting and scaring people anymore."

"How can you be so sure?" She blanches. "They have asked you, haven't they?"

"Yes, I had a visitor in summer with a nice offer he thought I cannot refuse. They agree with you that I'm still an arrogant Pureblood worth a try. He didn't like my answer. They even attempted to talk to James. But Lily, when you get married, their next visit won't be a social one. A Pureblood from an old family like the Potters getting married to a Muggle is unforgivable in their eyes."

"I'm not a Muggle," she corrects my slip into old habits of speaking.

"No, you're worse than a Muggle to them. You're living proof that we're no better, not even really different from Muggles."

" You mean that being with me gets James in trouble with Voldemort?"

I laugh out loud. "All James needs to get in trouble with Voldemort is getting up in the morning. He will fight them when the time comes. Nothing can stop him. He hates them. Maybe having you at his side can make him think for a minute."

"And you will watch his back to get him out of it unharmed, won't you?"

"It's a full time job. I won't mind you doing your share. He can be quite …"

"Immature? Reckless? Acting without thinking?"

"That's why we like him, isn't it?"

"We make a pact then? To protect James Potter from himself!"

Lily stretches out her hand. I accept.

"We'd better return to the Common room now. Before James thinks I've been trying to seduce you. Have you thought of that? When we get along too well, James may get jealous. " It's not really a joke. James is horribly jealous, completely loses it, when he thinks someone is looking at Lily the wrong way.

"James should know that you're not my type."

"May I return the compliment?"

"Perhaps we should be more worried about Felicity or Jane or Susan?"

"Why? There's nothing between me and any of them."

"Are you sure they know that? You took them out last Hogsmeade weekend. All three of them, one after the other!"

"Yes of course, all three. Only one would have looked like we're having a date."

We're joking like that all the way back to the castle. Lily has taken my arm.

Just before we reach the entrance I feel a sudden pain at my back. Something has hit me. A pine cone. I turn around and see Regulus with a group of older Slytherins, glaring daggers at us.

Notes:

The word 'Muddleborn' Sirius uses is not nice but not a racial slur. It has absolutely nothing to do with 'Mudblood'! Sirius would never use that word!
It started as a mis-pronunciation by little Regulus and between the two brothers developed into a term to describe the cultural misunderstandings between Pureblood and Muggle-born wizards and witches. It comes from 'muddled thoughts' and 'meddlesome'.

My friend Salazar_Kat invented it for one of her fics.