"So who's NOT together again?" James asked Remus in Potions, their first class of the year, "Remind me."
"Sirius and Melissa-"
"ME AND LILY!"
"Um, James?"
"Yes Moony?"
"Lily doesn't like you."
"So?"
"Well, Sirius likes Melissa, and Melissa likes Sirius. That's why I said them; because there is a big chance they will actually get together."
"Oh."
He thought for a moment, "But there's a chance Lily and I will get together."
"When hell freezes over, Potter!" the said girl yelled from two desks away, where she had been crushing lacewing flies into a powder to put into the potion Amortentia, the most powerful love potion ever. When smelt, the potion told you the three things you loved the most. She was trying not to get the potion wrong, as she desperately wanted to know what the things she loved the most were.
And Potter was distracting her! Why was it that whenever he interfered with something she did, it totally messed up? Well it wasn't going to happen this time, she reasoned, stirring her potion 5 times counter clockwise, before stirring it clockwise 7 times.
"Lily, m'dear!" Professor Slughorn, Potions Master boomed happily, gazing at her potion with delight, "I would say that you are the only one in the class who has been able to successfully brew Amortentia! Because of this, you will be except from homework. Rest of the class, please write a 3 foot long essay on the properties of Amortentia, and how it can be extremely dangerous if spilled."
"But Professor," James protested loudly, because he had Quidditch tryouts tonight, and just knew McGonagall would dish out a mountain of homework to 'ease them into the year,' "It's our first day back! And I have Quidditch trials tonight!"
"Making excuses as usual, Potter" Lily muttered resentfully, hating to see him get out of homework as usual.
"Oh no you don't m'boy!" Slughorn replied mock-severely, "There's a Slug Club meeting tonight! You seem to always have something on whenever I schedule one!"
Which was precisely the point, James thought, rolling his eyes at his professor's stupidity, "I'm sorry professor. I just can't miss Quidditch try-outs!"
"Course not, James m'boy! You have fun now, and don't do the essay. Wouldn't want to get one of our Marauders stressed out now, would we?"
"No professor," James replied smoothly, trying not to jump for joy.
Lily groaned. Why did he always have to get out of trouble?
xXoXx
"Sirius?"
"Yes James, my fellow Marauder, Prongs, Chaser boy extraordinaire?"
"I DON'T HAVE TO DO THE HOMEWORK!!!"
"James Potter!"
"Yes McGonagall?"
Detention with me tonight, after dinner in the Trophy room for that display of insensitive behaviour and disruption of the class, thank you very much!"
"But professor, I have Quidditch try-outs! I'm sure you don't want Gryffindor to lose the cup, do you Minnie?"
"Mr Potter; how many times have I told you not to call me Minnie?!"
"Five thousand, four hundred and eighty seven to be precise, professor, "he replied cockily.
She sighed, "Alright then, Mr Potter, you have once again gotten out of detention."
"Thank you Minnie."
"Oh it's useless. I give up, Mr Potter."
"Give up what, Minnie?"
xXoXx
"Remus?"
"James."
"Why doesn't Lily like me?"
"Because you show off around her, always ask her out, and act arrogant and irritating around her."
"Yeah, but why doesn't she like me?"
"This is going to take ages."
"Please Moony!"
"Alright."
"Oh yeah! You rock my funkadelic friend!"
"Funkawhatsit?"
"Funkadelic! It's my new word!"
"Do you want to know what my new word is?"
"Sure Remmy Wemmy, go ahead."
"SHUT. UP."
"Oh ha ha, very funny. Now why doesn't Lilyflower like me?"
"Because you always ask her out, James! Can't you take a hint? She doesn't like how arrogant you act around her, and how you are always hexing Snape and the other Slytherins! Maybe if you got her to be your friend first you'd actually have a chance with her, but right now she doesn't like you! Get it in your head!" Remus yelled furiously, hoping James would get the message. The two were walking slowly towards their Herbology classroom for their next lesson.
"Oh," James said, crestfallen.
"But wait!" He said eagerly, brightening up instantly, "I have a plan!"
"Don't worry everyone, James has a plan," Remus muttered sarcastically, wondering when James would get the message through his incredibly thick skull and into his brain. "Look, James-"
"If I stop asking her out all the time, she'll ask me to the sixth year Christmas Dance!"
"James-"
"Isn't my plan perfect?"
"Well, sort of. You see, if you can get her to be friends with you, I'm sure eventually she'll get to know and like the real James inside you, rather than the mask of arrogance you usually wear."
"Wow. Moony, you are officially my relationship psychiatrist! Congratulations!"
"Okay."
xXoXx
"Ohmigosh ohmigosh! Lily, I am so nervous! I don't think I have ever been this nervous in my whole entire life!" Melissa wailed desperately, visibly shaking all over and looking slightly green.
"I can see that," Lily observed thoughtfully, "and would these nerves be because of the Quidditch tryouts tonight?"
"Yes!"
"And because of a certain Quidditch Captain?"
"Yes! she said, and then realized what she had said, "What?! I am not nervous because of Sirius Black!"
"Course not," Lily said, smiling and shaking her head.
"Why do I get the feeling you don't believe me?"
"I don't."
"But what if I muck up? What if I fall off my broom? What if I don't get in? What if-"
"What if you do great, get into the team and Sirius proclaims his love for you in front of the whole team?"
"I hadn't thought of that!" Melissa said brightly, seeming to cheer up.
"You'll do great, Mel," Lily said encouragingly, knowing it was most probably true, "I've seen you play before. You're one of the best beaters Hogwarts has ever seen! And Sirius loves you; we all know it's true. We've seen the way he looks at you!"
"Thanks, Lily," Mel said, "Will you be watching?"
"Of course I will be, Mel! Lily replied encouragingly, "Moral support, remember?"
"You rock Lils!" Mel said happily, her nerves now forgotten, "Well, I'd better go get ready, put on my Quidditch robes, that sort of thing."
"Good luck Mel. I'll be cheering for you!"
"See you Lily," Mel said as she walked to the changing rooms, steeling herself for what was to come.
xXoXx
"Alright guys!" Sirius Black, this year's Hogwarts Quidditch Captain yelled loudly, "Let's do this!"
The 463 Gryffindors trialling for this year's Quidditch team all pushed up with their feet on the ground and shot into the air.
After a successful trial in which he had found himself three excellent chasers; James, Lisa Johnston and Nathan Bell, a keeper; Daniel Wood, and a seeker; Danielle Mann, Sirius called for the beaters trial. He was already a beater, but he needed to find a partner that worked well with him and had a hard hit. He wasn't surprised to see Melissa Anderson step forward as he called forward those who were trialling for the position of beater. She was very talented, and had been beater with him for the last three years.
"Okay guys, we're going to do a simple drill to check out your hand-eye coordination, which is an important skill needed to be a beater," he said confidently, "Passing."
He heard a few laughs from the stands, and he ignored them and passed out a Quaffle. He told the people trialling to form a circle and begin passing it to each other in a pattern. Eventually, he introduced two more Quaffles into the circle and made people sit down if the dropped the Quaffle twice. Melissa and a pretty blonde girl were the last two left, and were throwing the Quaffle hard at each other, trying to make the other one drop it.
"I don't believe I've seen you before," he said conversationally with the other girl, subtly checking her out, "What's your name?"
"Tara Jackson," she said flirtatiously, "I'm new this year."
"Ah, that would explain it," Sirius said, "What year are you?"
"Seventh."
"Why didn't you just say that before?" he asked her incredulously, "Melissa's a sixth year, which gives you preference to be on the team."
She grinned at him knowingly, "Thanks, Sirius."
He loved the way she smiled. She had the perfect body. Everything about her was perfect. "Welcome to Gryffindor's Quidditch team, Tara," he said happily, "And we have our champion," he announced proudly to all those watching, "Tara Jackson!"
Melissa watched in fury. She had been just as good as Tara, if not better. She knew why Sirius wanted that blonde joke on the team and she didn't like it one bit. Neither, it seemed, did Lily.
"Sirius Black! You cheating little mongrel!" she screamed furiously from all the way back in the stands, "We all know why she's on the team! Melissa was a far better choice for the team! You're just as bad as, no, worse than Potter! How dare you treat one of my best friends in this way!"
"Yeah!" Kendra shouted, rallying support from the crowd, "I mean, why should others suffer just because you can't control your teenage hormones?"
The crowd booed loudly, backing up Kendra and Lily's cries.
Sirius looked at James for support, but James shook his head, "You're outta line, mate."
"Leave him alone!" Tara yelled, running forward and hugging Sirius, "HE'S the Captain not any of you! You're just sore 'cause he didn't pick your friend!"
"Thanks, Tara," Sirius said gratefully, "You saved my arse just then."
"Don't mention it," she whispered seductively, "You made the right choice."
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."
"And you're the hottest Quidditch player I've ever met."
And with that, she turned around and walked back inside, to her dorm.
xXoXx
"I can't believe him!" Mel ranted, pacing back and forth in the girl's dorm, "He totally chose her because she's hot!"
"I'm so sorry, Mel," Lily said comfortingly, pulling her friend into a hug and rocking her back and forth like a baby.
"And I thought he liked me!"
"Oh, Mel. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. Sirius Black is gonna get what's coming to him, and soon. I don't know WHAT Dumbledore was thinking when he made Black Quidditch Captain!" Lily said, already devising a plan to get Sirius back for how he had made one of her best friends feel. Now, all she needed was someone she could conduct a good prank with.
James Potter.
