Chapter 2

James had a hard night. He couldn't stop thinking about her kissing Mark. His friends had a hard time accepting his choice because they wanted to see him happy- with her. They knew he was serious about backing off and changing his act for her. James didn't know too much about Mark, except that he was on Ravenclaw's Quidditch team. He woke up groggily as he spotted Remus exiting their bathroom.

"You look like crap." Remus chuckled at his disheveled friend.

"Thanks Moony." James muttered as he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. "It'll be alright." Remus patted him on the shoulder and with that, James closed the door behind him.

Lily woke up and was quite cheerful. She couldn't wait to start her first day back at Hogwarts. She woke up her friends and they groaned loudly.

"Let us sleep!" Marlene shouted. Alice Stewart, their other friend chuckled.

"Mar isn't a morning person, huh?" Alice asked.

Lily shook her head before saying "Flitwick will be furious if we'll be late!" Their first N.E.W.T.s course was Charms.

"Crap. You're right, Lily." Dorcas muttered as she and Marlene got up and got ready quickly.

The girls were eating breakfast in the Great Hall when a boil- free Mark came by their table. "Good morning, ladies." Dorcas and Marlene smiled at him and resumed eating.

"Morning!" He and Lily shared a kiss.

"How did you sleep?" He asked her.

Lily took a sip from her pumpkin juice and answered "Very well, and you?"

Mark smiled and answered "Fantastic. So we have Charms together." Lily nodded. "I'll wait for you near the door, we'll walk to class together. How about it?"

"Sure." Lily replied while looking at her friends. He kissed her on the top of her head and went back to his table. "You don't mind, right?" She addressed her friends.

"No, of course not!" Dorcas exclaimed.

"Mar?" Lily asked, asking for approval. Marlene looked at her and shook her head. Lily smiled at them gratefully "You're the greatest!"

The Marauders sat down near the girls. "Morning, Evans." James greeted Lily coolly. Lily greeted him back and added "Call me 'Lily'." A blush crept up her cheeks as she said this. 'Why was she blushing?', It took him by surprise; he was used to call her 'Evans'. He had no idea why she wanted him to refer to her by her first name.

Lily felt uncomfortable and said hastily while playing with her hair "It's just that we're going to work close this year. I'd feel awkward if you kept calling me by my last name."

James chuckled and nodded "You're right." As they were eating, Lily remembered something. "We have our rounds tonight."

James turned to her "Huh?"

Lily went on and said "You remember what Dumbledore told us; we have to walk around the castle to make sure everything's alright."

"Oh, right! At 8, right?"

Lily nodded and said "Yes, after dinner."

"Alright." They shared a quick smile.

Lily met up with Mark and her friends were walking beside them. "So, how long have you been friends?" He asked Lily.

"Since I can remember." She shared a smiled with them as they were walking.

"How about we take a walk near the lake after dinner?" He suggested.

To her and his disappointment, she had to decline "I'm sorry, I have to patrol, you know."

Mark said "Oh, right. Okay then some other time." Lily nodded.

Mark and Lily sat next to each other during the lesson, as James and Sirius were at a seat nearby. Every once in a while, James would glance at Lily's table and resume working on their charm. Little did he know, she too glanced at him; she noticed that this morning he toned down his behavior and was surprised that he hadn't pulled a prank yet. But still, these were only the first days of the school year.

After a long day of lessons, they sat down and ate dinner. "Man, I'm famished!" Sirius quickly filled up his plate with chicken and rice.

Marlene shook her head and said clearly "You're such a pig, Black." Sirius stopped eating and gave her a look. There was a deafening silence between the two groups of friends. Marlene resumed eating when a piece of chicken was thrown at her. She glared when she saw him smirking at her.

"What?" He asked innocently. She grabbed a handful of rice as she threw it at him, but instead it hit Remus; Sirius used him as a shield. Marlene quickly apologized. Remus was soon involved in the food fight, and thus a bigger food fight was happening at the Gryffindor table. James took this chance to get Lily's attention and threw some lettuce at her. She pursed her lips as James grinned at her. When James was busy throwing food at Dorcas, Lily crept up behind him and poured BBQ sauce on him. The others Marauders saw this and roared with laughter. As soon as Dumbledore and the other professors entered the Great Hall, the Gryffindors pulled out their wands and muttered quickly cleaning spells before they would even notice. "That was fun!" James admitted.

"Yeah mate, especially when Evans poured the sauce on you." Sirius smirked at Lily. Lily shrugged apologetically.

Mark watched the whole scene and didn't like what he saw; Potter clearly had feelings for his girl. 'He always fancied her, and he still does even though she's with me. I think I should have a chat with him', he thought. Luckily, James finished his dinner earlier and was about to exit the Hall. Mark followed him.

"Potter!" James turned around to see Mark.

"Hey, Valentine." James wondered what would Mark want from him.

"Listen, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay away from Lily."

James let out a scoff "What's that-?"

"I saw the way you looked at her, I'm not stupid." He cut James off.

"I can't do that. You see, we're Heads- we have duties together." Mark didn't think about that, he knew James was right.

Mark sneered at him and said "Watch yourself." And with that, he walked away from there. Lily walked out from the Hall, only to see her boyfriend walking away from James.

"What was that about?" Lily inquired.

James shook his head "Never mind. Let's get this over with."

During their patrol, Lily's thoughts turned to her boyfriend. 'What did he say to James? What did he say to Mark?'

"James? What happened?"

"You're not going to let this go, huh?" He asked, amused. Her silence was a cue for him to go on.

"He wanted me to stay away from you." Lily's eyebrows furrowed "That's ridiculous. We're Heads! He's jealous; he probably thinks you'll make a move on me."

James stopped in his tracks. "I wouldn't do that. I told you yesterday that I would stop badgering you, so this is me keeping my word." Lily nodded when he finished what he had to say. As they were walking, they heard a girl giggle.

"Where's that coming from?" Lily asked curiously.

James smirked; he knew who it was. "It's coming from the broom closet." He opened a door to reveal Sirius and a Hufflepuff snogging. Lily groaned. They broke apart when they noticed who opened the door.

"Hey, Pads. It's time you get up to the dorms." He said nonchalantly.

"You're right, mate. Jessica, great seeing you." He grinned at the blonde as she sneaked off to her dorms. The three of them walked back to their house.

As they entered, they saw their friends sitting together in the common room. Marlene looked up from her newspaper and snickered "Where did you find him? In one of the classes?"

Lily laughed and replied "No, in the broom closet."

They shared a laugh when Sirius interjected "Jealous, McKinnon?"

Marlene went back to reading the newspaper. "Don't be ridiculous, Black. Why should I be jealous of your whores?" Dorcas stifled a laugh. Remus cleared this throat awkwardly.

"You're definitely jealous because I'm the one person you want and can't have." Sirius said, haughty.

Marlene threw the newspaper aside in anger and stood up to face him "Listen to me. I don't want you, never wanted and never will. Here's the thing; anyone can have you. You're easy to get, Black. You don't appreciate women, but instead you take advantage of them so you can fill the hole in your damn heart. So have fun with your little sluts." She glared at him and went up the staircase to her room, with Lily following her.

"What was that?!" Dorcas shouted. Sirius clenched his jaw. He was silent; he was livid because she hit a nerve. He never had a proper mother figure and this was his way to seek female affection. He always saw Marlene as a target instead of really getting to know her. During the end of their sixth year, he tried to get to know her better and they surprisingly got along. He didn't understand why it bothered her; she never said that she liked him in that manner. To him, she was the only person he couldn't have.

As soon as Sirius stomped off to his room, Peter said "That was insane! Do you think we should go talk to him?"

Remus replied "Not yet, he's furious. We'll let him cool off for a while."

James nodded. "He likes her but won't admit it. Not even to himself." James said.

"I'll go see Marlene. Good night." Dorcas bade them goodnight. They muttered a "Good night" to her.

"Conceited, arrogant prat! He thinks he's the king of his school!" Marlene's face was red with anger.

"That's how I felt about James." Lily said quietly.

"Since when do you call him by his name?" Dorcas' eyes had a glint of curiosity in them. Marlene's blue eyes looked at Lily. Lily told Dorcas about her and James' conversation.

"He won't give up that easily. He'll work up another angle to make you go out with him." Dorcas expressed her opinion.

Lily shook her head "Let's talk about something else. Mar, don't pay attention to him. Black will never change, that's the way he is."

"You're right, Lily." Marlene said. The girls brushed their teeth and went to bed.

"She has a lot of nerve, and to think we actually got along!" Sirius angrily fluffed up his pillow. Remus and Peter snorted. "What's so funny?" Sirius asked, still mad. James saw his friends laugh and grinned "It seems that someone has a crush on Marlene."

Sirius stopped attending his pillow and said "Like hell I do! She's annoying, obnoxious, and-"

"Extremely hot?" Peter cut him off. Sirius glared at him and threw his pillow at him. Peter threw the pillow back to him.

James stopped laughing and said "Wormtail, leave him alone. He's mad enough as it is." Sirius's face softened when he looked at James. He thanked him and entered his bed.