A/N: And now the drama begins... :)

Disclaimer: I did not suddenly become a billionaire and buy the rights to the Harry Potter series, so I still do not own this.

"No way, Black. That is not happening."

"Oh, c'mon. You have to admit it's a brilliant idea!"

"No it's not. It's completely stupid."

"Okay, it may be slightly stupid, but it just might work. You've got nothing to lose; you'll find out how he feels without having to come clean yourself."

Lily shook her head adamantly.

"Lily!" Sirius said, his eyes big and pleading. When she shook her head again, he continued, "So what are you going to do, then? Sit around for the next few months and hope that he'll ask you out again? Watch him go out with that Ravenclaw girl? Wouldn't you just love to watch him snog her at breakfast every morning, while she pressed her body up against him and -"

"All right, all right, I get it!" Lily's hands had gone cold and her stomach clenched uncomfortably. The mental picture alone was enough to make her miserable…She wavered for a moment. It was an incredibly stupid idea, and she was not the kind of girl to snog a random bloke she didn't have feelings for, but what else could she do?

She took a deep breath before saying, "Fine. I'll do it."

"Yes!" Sirius said loudly, drawing the attention of several Gryffindors throughout the common room.

"Shh," Lily hissed. "You seem awfully happy, Black. Are you sure you're not doing this for yourself?" She raised her eyebrow at him, her eyes narrowing.

"No offense Evans, but you're not really my type. Besides, you think I could betray James like that? Even if he didn't like you anymore, I would never go after you. Mates don't do that. It's against the code. I assure you, I'm doing this for James and his ultimate happiness, and for that reason alone."

"Alright, I believe you. But believe me, if you try anything, you'll be joining the ranks of the Hogwarts ghosts, and you'll have more gory injuries to show off to the new students every year than Nearly Headless Nick."

Sirius gulped and nodded. "I won't do anything more than I deem necessary for the act. Marauder's honor. Now c'mon. It's getting late. James and Remus have already been patrolling for half an hour, so we better get a move on."

"We're doing it tonight?"

"Might as well. There's no time like the present, after all. Unless, of course, you want to back out?"

Lily squared her shoulders, flipped her hair back, and stood up. "You coming, Black?" Sirius grinned.

"Follow me, Evans."

"No. Absolutely not. There is no way in bloody hell that I'm getting into a broom cupboard with you, Black," Lily said, staring at the door he was holding open and the small, dark space inside. "You failed to specify that little detail of the plan. Do you have any idea how cliché it is to snog in a broom cupboard?"

Sirius shrugged. "I figured it was the best way to make sure James would find us without making it too obvious or risking being found by someone besides James."

"No. There has to be some other way. I'd feel like a total tramp. Broom cupboards aren't exactly known for being the venue of innocent snogging. I don't want James to think I was up to anything more… inappropriate with you. And do you have any idea how scandalous it would be if the Head Girl was found in a broom cupboard after curfew? What if someone other than James did find us? I'm supposed to set a good example!"

"Well then, what do you suggest Miss Evans? Do you have a better idea?"

"Errr… not exactly. I don't have tons of experience with the pros and cons of various snogging locales, Black."

Sirius sniggered. "Well, the common room would be much too public. I don't think an abandoned classroom is any purer than a broom cupboard, and there'd be more chance that James wouldn't find us. And we'd look like bloody idiots if we just stood in the corridor."

"What about the dorms?"

Sirius quirked an eyebrow. "You want to snog in my bedroom, Evans?"

Lily blushed, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, if anyone asks we can say that I'm helping you with homework and the common room was too loud. Plus, that way we won't be stuck in a confined place with each other for an hour while we wait."

"Alright, you have a point there... I guess it's not a bad idea. What time do patrols end?"

"Midnight."

"So we have two hours. Meet me in my dorm at 11:30. That way we have a bit of a buffer in case they come back early." Lily nodded, and then turned on her heel and started back to the Gryffindor common room. Her stomach churned unpleasantly. What had she gotten herself into?

Lily, half-hoping that James would come back early and she wouldn't have to go through with the ridiculous plan, stalled in the common room for as long as possible. When she felt like she couldn't wait any longer without Sirius thinking she had chickened out, Lily slowly dragged her feet up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Her school bag was slung over her shoulder: a prop to show that she was going to study. Nobody in the common room questioned her when she went up the boys' stairs; she was Lily Evans, Head Girl, and would never do anything she shouldn't up there.

Lily had never been to the boys' dormitories before. At the very top, Lily found a closed door with a shiny brass plaque said "Seventh Year". Lily took a deep breath before knocking primly. "Come in," a voice called from inside.

Lily slowly opened the door, afraid of what she might see. It was the dwelling place of teenage boys, after all, and everyone knew that boys were notoriously filthy. What if she couldn't even find a way to walk across the floor? What would she do if they had rotting food in there? Or, heaven forbid, what if James had left a pair of knickers out? There could be things in this room that Lily did not want to see.

So, she was relatively surprised when she walked into a room that was almost as clean as her own. A few things were strewn about the place, but nothing embarrassing and not enough for it to look like a war zone. It didn't smell bad, either. A little bit musky, but not in an overwhelming or disgusting way. Actually, it was rather pleasant. The smell reminded her of James.

One of the four beds was neatly made, the covers pulled tight and folded down at the top, just how Lily herself preferred her bedding, and the pillows were plumped to perfection. Lily was certain that this bed must belong to Remus. James and Sirius couldn't be that neat to save their lives, and Peter didn't strike her as a particularly organized person either. Two of the other beds were made, though still rather rumpled and messy. The last bed looked as if someone had recently set off a bomb on top of it, leaving blankets wrinkled and scattered, twisting around the mattress. This, of course, was Sirius' bed, and he was stretched out across the top of it, a piece of parchment unfolded next to him. He was lazily flicking his wand at his bed curtains, making them change colors.

"Oh, there you are, Evans," Sirius said, not moving from his bed. "I was afraid I was going to have to get up and find you. You're late. Remus and James are already on their way back."

"How do you know that?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes at Sirius as he turned his curtain turquoise, not even looking at her.

"That, my dear, is a secret." Sirius smirked when Lily pouted. She hated not knowing things. "Now, come, sit. We have a couple minutes 'til they're here, but you might as well get comfy – and don't worry about Pete barging in. I set him up with a slightly desperate Hufflepuff fifth year to get him out of our hair." Sirius smirked.

"You think I'm going to 'get comfy'? I'm in the boys' dorms, alone with Sirius Black, who I'll soon be snogging in order to make his best mate jealous in the hopes that he'll reveal whether or not he fancies me. How on earth do you expect me to relax right now?"

"Stop being such a worrier. It'll be fine. I don't know why you're freaking out. It's not like you've never snogged a boy before." Lily paled, glancing away awkwardly. "Err…. You've never snogged a boy before, have you?"

Instantly, blood flooded Lily's pale face, coloring her cheeks as red as her hair. "Well, no. Not exactly."

"Seriously? But how? You've had boyfriends before. I know you have; James wouldn't quit whining about how you'd go out with them, but not him. And you never kissed one of them?"

"No. It just… never felt right with any of them. Amos tried to, once, but I stopped him. Now I wish I hadn't. My first kiss is going to be a fake." Lily groaned, plopping down on the bed next to Sirius'.

"Wow. The famous Lily Evans has never snogged a boy." Sirius smirked. Lily sighed, letting herself fall back to sprawl across the bed. She buried her face in her hands, trying to pretend that she was anywhere else, doing anything but having this conversation with Sirius.

"Don't worry, my dear Lily. We'll change that in just a moment." Lily groaned again, and Sirius laughed. He glanced down at the parchment beside him, making sure Lily was still hiding behind her hands before carefully folding it and slipping it onto the table by his bed. "Speaking of, you better get over here. They're about to come through the portrait hole." Lily bolted upright, suddenly looking green.

"I can't do this, Sirius. I just can't. What if James is mad? What if he doesn't care? What if he -"

"Lily? Shut up. You agreed to the plan; now you have to go through with it. It'll be fine, don't worry. I know James, and I know what I'm doing."

Lily still didn't move, her eyes locked on Sirius as her chest heaved, her breath coming short and fast in fear. "I'm not going to eat you," Sirius promised jokingly. "But seriously, they'll be coming through the door any moment. Just think about the Ravenclaw girl!"

Though Lily was still green, a fire suddenly entered her eyes as her jaw tightened. She launched herself off the bed she'd been sitting on and flew over to Sirius. For a second, he thought she was going to attack him, but next thing he knew, her lips were pressed against his.

Sirius sat, frozen in shock at the sudden assault. His eyes remained open, gaping at the girl right in front of him. Her eyes were closed, and for the first time Sirius noticed that her eyelashes were light red, almost blonde. Lily's lips were soft but insistent as they moved against his. One of her hands had woven itself into his wavy hair, the other was resting on his shoulder. For a moment, Sirius almost forgot who he was snogging; who would have thought that the studious, inexperienced, goody-two-shoes Evans could kiss like this?

Sirius managed to snap himself out of his stupor and began to kiss her back, his hand tangling in her long hair as he pulled her even closer with a hand on her waist. His tongue had just brushed against her bottom lip when he heard the door open. He kissed her for a second longer, making sure that the new entrants would have time to see what was going on, before abruptly pulling away. He quickly turned to look at the door, feigning shock at the interruption.

James was standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open. Remus, a few feet behind him, was staring at Sirius and Lily with wide eyes.

"Err… hello," Sirius said, doing his best to sound embarrassed. "You're back from patrol early, aren't you?"

"No," Remus said. James' eyes flicked repeatedly between Sirius and Lily, who was still sitting next to him. Sirius realized that his hand was still on her waist and he pulled it away. The movement seemed to wake James from his shocked reverie.

"What the bloody hell were you just doing?" he asked. James' words didn't come out in the angry shout that Sirius expected; rather, they were quiet. Flat. Dead. Sirius blanched. He'd never heard James' voice sound like that.

"Well," Sirius said, "I was snogging."

"You were snogging Lily?" Remus said.

"No, I was snogging my bedpost," Sirius said sarcastically. "Of course I was snogging Evans!"

James just stared at them in shock. Then, he turned on his heel and marched down the stairs. Lily glanced at Sirius, her eyes wide in panic. That wasn't supposed to happen, was it? He was supposed to say something, get angry, accuse Sirius of stealing his girl. Anything.

Sirius shrugged, but his eyes revealed his worry. He hadn't expected James to react like that. Lily shot off the bed, past a still-gaping Remus, and down the stairs. "James! James, wait!"

Ooh cliffhanger :) We're nearly to the end, folks.

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