Chapter 3

James Potter stretched out – arms above his head, leaning back – and observed the festivities. The Potter Estate was bustling with activity in preparation for the upcoming summer party that his parents had agreed to throw him upon his letter from Headmaster Dumbledore, which had stated that he – James Potter – had been selected as this year's Head Boy. Now, how in the hell that was even remotely possible continued to perplex him, his friends, and probably anyone who had heard the news, but his parents could not have been happier. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, may have been older in age, but they were truly young at heart; their son was the source of their great pride and joy, and while they knew full well that James Potter was a trouble maker, his wayward ways were never a source of discontent for the older couple. Instead they found great joy in giving him the best that life could offer, while still imparting the values of hard work, bravery, and decency.

In fact, when James' parents discovered the letter which had lain discarded next to a heap of book supply lists for his seventh year, Mr. and Mrs. Potter could not fathom why their son would hide such an accomplishment. The truth was, James had been certain that the letter was a forgery from none other than his best mate, Sirius Black, with spelling and other such grammatical help courtesy of Remus Lupin. Of course, the genuine shock on Sirius' face when James confronted him over the letter was enough to convince James of its legitimacy… Thus leading to the party.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in late August; the weather had held out and stayed wonderfully warm without the slightest chance of rain. The hired staff for the party were running to and fro in preparation whilst Mrs. Potter stood in the middle of the expansive lawn directing flower arrangements with her wand, and waiters and waitresses with patient, motherly nods and words of advice on where she thought fruit bowls, sandwiches, and dessert trays would be best placed. Meanwhile, Mr. Potter was unlocking the broom shed pulling out various broomsticks knowing full well that a pick-up game of Quidditch was absolutely going to start up that evening; with James and Sirius Black at a party it was only a matter of time, after all.

"Well, well, well… If I didn't know any better I'd say your mum is preparing for an all-out gala," said a cool voice coming from James' right side. Spinning around James found his best friend, brother-in-arms, and fellow Marauder, Sirius Black striding up toward him from the back patio. "Your mum has really gone all out for this party – it's going to be a smash." Sirius said as he clapped James on the back and dropped his rucksack on the ground beside him. "Hope Euphemia doesn't mind, but I've got a bit of a housing dilemma for the rest of summer courtesy of dear ol' mum…" the dark haired boy trailed off, casting a quick, sheepish glance at James.

"You know you're as good as another son – she'll be happy to have the company." James responded without missing a beat. "Honestly, it's really just great for me… It gives her someone else to focus on fattening up before the start of term."

"You say that like it's a bad thing!"

"Yea, well just wait till your mouth is full of bread or whatever and she starts asking pointed questions about your love life. She incapacitates her victim with food then goes in for the kill."

Sirius laughed loudly, throwing his head back, skillfully dodging the shove coming at him from James.

"Is that Sirius with you Jamie?" called Mrs. Potter from the lawn; she had turned and was holding a hand to her forehead in an attempt to shield her eyes from the bright morning sunlight.

"Sure is Mrs. Potter!" called Sirius, waving emphatically.

"And is that a bag I see with you, darling?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Sirius responded, casting a quick side glance towards his friend, worry etched across his handsome features.

"Well don't you think you should go put it in your old room? Get it away from the insects, darling! You're 17 years old – even you should know better!" And with that Euphemia turned back to directing her help as she created what James knew would be a picturesque party that his classmates would enjoy.

"And there you have it – 'your old room' – honestly mate, why'd you even bother going back to Grimmauld Place for the summer? You've already got a room here with a woman who adores you, and a best mate ready to go… See. It's stupidity like that that kept you from snagging the Head Boy badge." James smirked as he reached around Sirius to grab his bag and walk him inside.

"Yes, that's what kept me from becoming Head Boy. Dumbledore's exceedingly high standards… Sure." Sirius mocked, shaking his head as he followed behind James.

The pair entered the Potter's home and began making their way through the expansive kitchen, up the winding entryway staircase, down the long second floor corridor to an old spare room that had been dubbed – ages ago – Sirius' Room. Adorned with Quidditch posters, rock band emblems, red and gold sheets, the room screamed GRYFFINDOR PRIDE from a mile away.

"Welcome home, mate," James grinned as he dropped Sirius' bag inside the room and watched his friend walk over to the bed, leaning against the old wooden bed frame.

"So, you excited for the party?" Sirius asked, eyeing James skeptically. "Because you look a bit peak-ish mate, kinda like Moony before a full moon…"

"Yea… I don't know. It's a bit much," James sighed, "Mum really shouldn't have gone all out like she did – she invited our entire class from each house except Slytherin." James began.

"Good to see the lady of the house still has her standards!" Sirius chimed in jovially as he flopped onto the bed.

"But, I'm worried it's too much." James finished lamely, gazing at the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you know about the talk Evans and I had before the end of term."

Sirius nodded his head sagely as he stroked his nonexistent beard, "Of course! The 'talk'! How could one forget it when you literally wouldn't shut up about it?" Dodging a toe-growth jinx Sirius began barking with laughter at the sight James' blushing cheeks.

Walking through the dimly lit corridor James couldn't have been more aware of Lily's presence – she smelled of flowers and shampoo – all while looking pissed off, exhausted, and yet unbelievably beautiful. It had been a long day of classes, made even longer by the evening detention they'd received from Professor McGonagall who'd caught the pair arguing during her lecture. Two hours of mopping the dungeons – painstakingly without magic – had taken a lot out of the pair, including the effort needed to continue their earlier argument.

"I just can't get over the fact that she gave us lunch detention for arguing over something so unimportant!" Lily erupted, emphatically gesturing with her arms in an attempt to showcase how wildly appalled she was by the days turn of events. "I mean, Potter, we've argued hundreds of times in her class over things actually worthy of a detention!"

"True!" James cried, enjoying this heated side of Lily. "Like the time you proclaimed at the start of class that you couldn't be my practice partner because I was a lecherous pervert – thanks for that by the way." He laughed at Lily's reddening cheeks.

"Or the time you spent class transfiguring my textbook into random chocolates…"

"In my defense it was Valentine's Day! A young man should not be held accountable for his actions on a day when he's simply trying to get a girl to notice him!"

"What about the time you shoved me into the lake between Herbology and Transfiguration? And we didn't know a drying spell yet so I showed up to class sopping wet! Honestly, so mortifying."

"Hindsight does indicate that a gentleman should've been prepared with a towel or something," James began before Lily cut him off laughing.

"A gentleman wouldn't have pushed me in with all my books and essays!"

"As a true, noble, heroic gentleman I must agree with you… Now… Five years later when such an event hardly matters anymore." James laughed, turning down yet another hall on their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"We've gotten into so many fights in front of McGonagall, that I'm not sure I understand what made this argument stand out as detention-worthy," Lily began to wonder aloud, quirking her eyebrow as James saluted one of the armored statues that lined this particular corridor.

"Yes… Arguing over professional Quidditch teams does seem rather inoffensive in the grand scheme of things," James began as he did his best to hide his smile. "But all in all it wasn't that bad of an evening, right?"

"Sure, every girl enjoys scrubbing stone floors." Lily sighed as the pair began to climb a flight of steps.

"But we managed to have a good time!"

"I'm not saying we didn't!" Lily laughed, "Although you'd better hope McGonagall doesn't find out about that mop-sword fight you started because I am not doing another night of mopping floors for a detention."

James swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat; the end of term was rapidly approaching and there was one Hogsmead weekend trip left before the students would head home for their summer recess. The pair had, for all intents and purposes, had a fantastic year; after their blowout fight at the end of fifth year he'd been sure Lily Evans would never speak to him again. Instead, upon arrival to school at the start of sixth year he'd been shocked when she'd discreetly pulled him aside to thank him for standing up for her when Snivellus had called her a mudblood, while reminding him that she hated fighting as a means to solve a problem. Over the course of the school year the pair had grown increasingly more cordial, even beginning to refer to one another as 'friends' when they returned from Christmas Break. Their Gryffindor year had often been separated into rather distinct groups of friends –quite literally boys versus girls- but as the pair had begun to bury the hatchet a comradery had developed between the young men and women of Gryffindor tower, which is likely why Gryffindor was favored to take the house cup this year.

But being friends with Lily, although amazing, was not enough – he'd known it for a while, that his feelings for Lily Evans were no passing fancy, and had been happy when he realized that he'd built a friendship with the sassy redhead. His fellow Marauders were quick to remind him that things were going well… "Why mess with a good thing, mate?" "Take it slow – don't scare her off." "I have rounds with her, and she seems really happy with how things are right now…"

With the end of semester approaching James was developing that familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach – he considered it equal parts terror at being rejected, nerves that he wouldn't see Lily over the summer holidays, and panic at the thought of ruining what he and Lily had managed to create over the course of the year.

"So, there's a Hogsmead weekend coming up…" James began slowly, nervously watching Lily out of the corner of his eyes for any sign of how she was reading their change of conversation.

"Yea, two weeks from now." Lily added, coming to a halt in her climb of the staircase – which was very fortuitous timing as the staircase jolted quite suddenly causing Lily to stumble into James, whose chaser reflexes helped him in catching her and thus prevent her untimely death by moving staircase.

James gulped in as much air as he could fill his lungs with; this exceedingly close proximity to Lily was making it harder for him to find his words.

"Exactly, and I was wondering," gulp, "if maybe you were free… and would like to…" James started, taking his time to choose his words as carefully as possible; sweat began beading along his brow and the nervous feeling in his stomach left him unsure of how to continue.

"Don't." Lily said quietly, as she detached herself from his arms.

His draw dropped open, stunned by Lily's bluntness.

"It's been a wonderful school year, and I'm so glad that you and I were able to become friends." Lily looked unsure of how to continue, but James could see her hands begin nervously clenching and unclenching – a trait he'd picked up on sometime in the last six years that he'd learned was a dead giveaway that she was struggling to find the right words. "And when I say friends, I mean it." Lily's voice was growing a bit stronger, seemingly more confident with her wording. "This year you've become one of my closest friends, and that's really important to me. But I'm not ready yet… We've got a whole summer ahead of us, so if this is going to become a thing," Lily gestured between herself and the handsome boy beside her, "then I want to do it right."

James' face lit up like a Christmas tree as the staircase came to a halt. "So, we'll revisit this when we see each other at the beginning of next term?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Lily smiled reassuringly at James as they continued their ascent to the tower.

"I'm just worried that Lily's going to show up and see how over-the-top this end of summer party has become, and feel uncomfortable." James said lamely, walking to lay across Sirius' bed. "Last year was amazing, and if I can play my cards right I'm finally going to…"

"Win the affections of the miraculously amazing, indescribably vivacious, wonderfully talented, Lily Evans?" Sirius finished. "Grow a pair mate. You ended term on a good note; just don't screw up in front of her and I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say; you wink at a girl and she's all over you. Some of us poor blokes have had to put in time and effort!"

James and Sirius sat up as they heard the door creak open and a rather skinny, pale, tired looking young man entered.

"More like blood, sweat, and tears on your part Prongs." Remus Lupin stated as made his way into the room, dropping a small suitcase at the foot of the bed, before finding a seat on an old desk chair.

"Remus!"

"Mate!"

"Yea, I took your advice James and decided to a bit early. My parents are leaving this evening for their weekend trip to the seaside – I thought it'd be easier on my mum if she wasn't worried about getting me here, and leaving for her own trip all in the same hour." Remus added before flicking his wand so that the curtains, which had been shrouding the room in darkness, flung open letting in a brilliant sunlight which made the old wooden floors shine with a new life. "And I wanted to make sure that I had time to talk to you before your party this afternoon."

James sat up straight on the bed, "About what Moony? Something to do with your furry little problem?"

"Nah," Remus laughed tiredly, "but I've been keeping in touch with Lils over the summer," Remus began sheepishly. His close friendship with Lily Evans had always been a sore point for James who had tried for many years to cultivate a friendship, but had failed miserably until this past year. "And you were right. She got the Head Girl position."

Jumping off the bed James began pacing across the room.

"What the bloody hell is the issue here?" Sirius asked confusedly. "Isn't this a good thing? You'll have plenty of time to be alone together…"

"But does she know I'm Head Boy yet?" James cut in, eyeing Moony.

"No, I didn't feel like it was my place to tell her."

"Was she upset it wasn't you?" James asked.

"Merlin's beard mate. Get a grip." Sirius stood abruptly from the bed, walking over to his bag which lay discarded by the doorway.

"No." Remus replied a bit forcefully. "She seemed surprised, but I wouldn't say she was distraught."

James nodded as he reconvened his pacing. "Alright, so now I just have to figure out how to casually mention it to her… You don't think she'll flip a lid? Do you?"

Sirius, who was beginning to empty the contents of his rucksack into various dresser drawers, sighed dramatically. "Lily isn't a nut case James. You're friends. Honestly, after some sort of Hail-Merlin miracle, last year managed to become good friends with the girl. She's kind and sweet; she wouldn't say anything nasty to your face unless you deserved it. She's not going to lose her cool over your questionable appointment as Head Boy."

"True." Remus jumped in. "Just don't brag about it. That's what she hates – arrogance. Explain that you were surprised too and end with the fact that you're excited to have the position and that you'll get to work with her."

"Right…" James sighed as he continued his path across the room. "It's just… this is the first time I'm seeing her all summer and I want it to go well."

Remus and Sirius shot each other a glance that went unnoticed by James who had his back to his friends as he walked past a window overlooking the busy backyard.

"You mean, you haven't seen her since the train ride home?" Sirius asked, the tone of surprise in his voice causing James to turn on his heel quickly.

"No. Why? Is that strange?"

"Uh…" was Sirius' response as he jumped back into unpacking, clearly at a loss for words. "Maybe? I've seen Rowan and Ollie around quite a bit. Ollie and I actually met up a few times over the summer at Fortescue's Ice Cream to catch up – she brought Lily and Rowan along once or twice."

James' eyes widened in sheer panic as the realization set in that he may have dropped a very important ball that was seemingly left in his court.

"And how many times have you seen Evans?" James all but cried out at Remus who was busy, pointedly, looking out the nearest window.

"Oh… you know… Maybe five or six times?"

Sirius began to laugh hysterically as James shouted "WHAT? AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO INVITE ME?"

"We just meet up for lunch sometimes and go hunting around muggle London for books and music… We've been doing it for ages! We're good friends! YOU KNEW THAT." Remus finished standing up and walking towards James. He leaned in, his face etched with exhaustion from the oncoming full moon, and put his hands on James' shoulders. "Get your shit together mate. She's had a busy summer helping out with her mum's store and visiting Ollie and Rowan every other weekend. Lily doesn't sit around and pine; now, pull yourself together and let's figure out how you're going to tell her you're Head Boy."

And with that the three mates settled back into their friendly banter, trying to plot out how exactly James could tell Lily that he'd been chosen to help lead the school as Head Boy, debating the merits of word choice, and wondering whether a close proximity to the pool was a bad idea.

-Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to review =)