The talk with Slughorn didn't last long, but James and Sirius still felt it was a huge waste of time.

"He didn't even give us detention!" complained Sirius, waving the note he gave to the pair them, for they were late for their next class.

"I know," James replied. "So we're late for Transfiguration for nothing."

"God… I hate teachers, ya know?" Sirius continued, as they walked down the hall. "Warnings do absolutely nothing. It's like, you might as well tell a wall that if it continues to stay absolutely still and hard, you're going to tap it with a stick."

James snorted. "Exactly! Teachers are dumb."

Sirius chuckled. "We could just skive off Transfiguration today if you wanted."

"Nah, we're not that late. Plus, ickle Remus would be all over us if we did," James explained.

"I find it very interesting that we get more annoyed with ickle Remus' nagging than our own parents," Sirius observed, earning a lip curl from James.

"Yeah, or Mary, for you," James pointed out.

"Please, Mary is so in love with me. She doesn't nag me about anything," Sirius replied confidently. "Naggy girls don't get to date Sirius."

"That eliminates almost the entire female population. It'd be hard to find a girl that doesn't nag to date," James challenged.

"That's why I date only very rarely. The rest of them you just shag and bag," Sirius replied, laughing.

James laughed too. "That's new. Where did you come up with that?"

"Just now, in my head, mate!" Sirius cried. "I'm such a genius!"

"Whatever…" James trailed off as they stopped in front of their classroom door. "Ready to face McGonagall?"

"Ugh, murder me, James."

That night, in the common room, James saw Lily reading on the couch. He stared at her for quite some time before he decided he would "ask for help on his homework". He grabbed a random book, and glided over to her.

"Hey, Evans," he greeted, leaning over the back of the couch almost on to her shoulder. She ignored him. "C'mon Evans, please. I actually need your help this time."

She huffed and shut the book. "Fine," she said curtly. "What is it?"

"Well, it's this potions essay we've got to write on all the functions of aconite and I was wondering if you could at least point out to me where I could find it in this book?" he asked, swinging the book under her nose.

She swatted it away. "Potter, that's a question you can take to Remus. Leave me alone."

And she reopened her book.

"But- Evans, ickle Remus isn't as good at Potions as you are, and plus, I can't find him… Just, please?" She looked up at him, and a smirk danced across her lips when she saw his "please help me" smile. She closed the book once more, and took the book James handed her. He grinned widely ad jumped over the back of the couch to sit beside her.

"James, this is a Defense Against the Dark Arts book, you idiot!" she cried, but she was smiling.

"Oh…whoops…"

She shoved the book into his chest, and he let out an "oof!" as she rose. "Next time you need an excuse to talk to me, make sure all your props are right." And with that, she swept upstairs to her dormitory, leaving James with a very stupid-looking expression on his face.