AAAAAND it's another chapter. . . . I feel like one of those people who doesn't do any work until THE LAST MINUTE possible. Like you'd have to light a fire under my a** for me to start writing. Why wasn't I doing this all back in February? How many more chapters until the big one, you may ask? Well, the BIG ONE, is the one after this, so . . . just hold on to your seats and try to not be blown away by my creativeness as an author (I got all cocky there, didn't I?)

Please Read and Review if you like this. And if you don't, do it anyway :)

September came and went in a hail of homework and review, and the month of October was passing just as quickly. The only thing that was dragging was constant talk of how the sixth years were facing their NEWTs the following year.

"This is bloody ridiculous," Sirius said, outraged as they left Charms. "We just did our OWLs, and now they're telling us 'don't get to cozy yet!'" Flitwick had just spent the last half an hour telling the class that while some had managed to obtain an Exceeds Expectations in their OWLs, they should not be fooled into thinking that they will pass once more with their NEWTs, unless they put in the effort.

"That's school for you Padfoot," said James wearily. He, Sirius, Kiaira, and Demi had a late night, having to schedule their Quidditch practice around the amount of work they had. This meant that they were up till two or three in the morning finishing their homework in the deserted common room. And judging by the puffiness in Kiaria's eyes, she'd had a few breakdowns during that time.

The Quidditch tryouts were quite uneventful, as Wood had decided against changing the team, ignoring Sherrie's remark that perhaps they ought to get some 'fresh blood,' rather than playing the same faces.

"They are the best players out there!" Wood had retorted, is face red with rage as he spat. "If you don't think so, just look at the past four years on the Quidditch Cup!" Wood wasn't wrong, as a majority of the Gryffindors that tried out fell of their brooms. The ones that didn't had no aim or coordination once airborne.

The only person who showed no sign of sleep deprivation was Demi. On the contrary, she was wandering down the hall, beaming, while the others sloped behind her. "It's a nice day, isn't it?" she said as she dragged them all out into the sun filled grounds.

Lily merely grunted in response. She was getting tired of having to deal with James' constant attempts to flirt with, or ask her out. But she knew that the Gryffindors were the only people she could hang out with. While she could never forgive Severus for what he'd done, she often found herself remembering the days that the pair would sit in the library four hours and talk about absolutely nothing. Severus was one of the only people that truly understood what it was like not to fit in at home. At least, that's the way she thought it was until she began talking to Sirius.

For five years, Lily had been tricked (the same as all the other students in the school) in to thinking that Sirius Black was merely a good looking prankster and nothing more. She didn't realize how clouded her judgement was until she'd overheard the Marauders talking one night as she worked away with Demi at one of the tables in the common room.

"-OWLs, but at least the Auror option is still there," Sirius said, as he reread his essay on Dementors.

James snickered, "Padfoot, you got all OWLs, same as Demi, Remus, and myself. Believe me, you don't have anything to worry about. Hey- Moony, can I borrow your conclusion?"

A few days later, Lily and Demi were studying for Arithmancy in the library. Sirius (who Demi had insisted on bringing along, so as to help him in Muggle Studies) was sitting with them, flicking through a textbook filled with pictures of ordinary things like planes, guns, and clothing.

"Sirius, have you even started Beckensly's assignment?" Demi asked him as she read over her number chart.

Sirius reddened slightly. "No" he said in a soft tone that Lily had never heard him use before.

Demi looked up at him, unamused. "Well you know what that means then," she replied cryptically.

Sirius' eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in a comical 'o.' "You wouldn't," he stated.

Demi smirked as she consulted her textbook, "I would."

Sirius groaned, earning himself a whack on the head from the passing librarian, as he pulled out some parchment and a quill. He picked up Demi's ink and moved it between them. She gave him an annoyed look, "Do you not have ink?" she asked.

Sirius smirked, "I do, love, but it's all the way at the bottom of my bag. Can you believe it?" he said.

Demi sighed before shaking her head and saying, "laziest person I have ever met." She stood up and headed towards the washrooms, leaving Lily and Sirius on their own.

They sat in silence, before Sirius decided to take the plunge. "So . . . what exactly is the function of a motorbike?" Sirius asked her, as he attempted to complete his essay on muggle transportation.

Lily looked up at him, her green eyes piercing into his grey. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Sirius groaned before saying, "Well, you're a muggle born, so I thought it would be safe to ask you about muggle forms of transportation," he reasoned.

Lily put down her quill before saying, "Look Black. While you and Demi are friends and she insisted that you should come with us to study, I really am not overtly fond of you. And it has nothing to do with the fact that you're friends with Potter and spend parts of the summer at his place."

"I'm not 'friends' with Prongs." Sirius replied, confused. "He's practically my brother. I live with the man."

Lily was startled by this new piece of information. "Wait, what?" she asked.

Sirius placed his book down before saying, "I don't 'spend summers' with James. I live with him. Atleast, now I do" he added as an afterthought. He looked up at Lily and said, "Prongs is not as bad as you think he is. On the contrary, he's actually a nice guy."

"Why do you live with Potter?" Lily asked interestedly. She wasn't going to admit it, but she was interested by the relationship between the Marauders. They'd grown a lot closer than she'd expect a group of boys to. They had their own nicknames, their own world, and to Lily, that was something she'd never understand. On some level, she was jealous of the fact that Potter who was obnoxious and rude, managed to have such close friends. Something that Lily had never had the luxury of having. "Why don't you like with your family?"

Sirius covered his face with his hands, before removing them. "My family disowned me because I associate with muggleborns and muggles, as well as believing that they are at the same level as purebloods," he said, looking quite disgusted as he said the last word.

"They disowned you?" Lily repeated softly. Sirius nodded, fidgeting in his seat. Lily noted that for once, Black was the uncomfortable one. "I'm sorry," she said, looking up at him, "I didn't know." Sirius laughed loudly, almost "like a dog," Lily noted.

"I don't really fancy having the entire school know about my personal life," he said, smiling at Lily. For once, he actually didn't mind the redhead. Usually he only tolerated her presence for the sake of the other Gryffindors. In Sirius' mind, she'd always seemed bossy and snobbish. He knew at once, that he was completely wrong.

Lily smiled back, "Oh come on. The dashing Sirius Black doesn't want people to know everything about him?" she joked.

Sirius grinned, "Oh, so you're making jokes now?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah I am. I can be quite funny and interesting when I want to be," Lily said indignantly.

Sirius was close to bursting into another round laughter. "You're interesting?" he caught the look Lily was giving him and began to correct himself, "Sorry, but every time I see you, I think of that time in first year, when you waved the calendar around in my face."

Lily blushed, "Hey, I didn't know what to expect for exams. I didn't know what to expect at all, coming here."

"Ah, well you're one of the top students. That should count for something. I bet your parents are really proud of you," Sirius stated.

Lily's smiled faltered. "You'd think," she said, "but I don't really tell my parents I'm the top of everything. I just say I'm average. The last thing Petunia needs to know is that I'm one of the top students."

"Why are you so worried about your sister?" Sirius asked her. He'd dropped the act and was now beginning to want to understand the fiery personality that was Lily Evans. "Isn't she even the slightest bit happy for you?"

Lily shook her head, "No, no, she hates me."

"Oh, come on. Really?" he asked, noting her serious look.

"Yeah. Ever since I got into Hogwarts and found out I was a witch. She hated the fact that my parents were proud of having a witch in the family," she said monotonously, looking down at her book. "She thinks I'm a freak."

Sirius gave her a reassuring look, "Your sister doesn't know what an amazing sibling she has. Neither of our siblings do. At least, I think there's still hope for Reg," he said.

Lily looked up, "I'd forgotten that you had a brother."

"Believe me, sometimes I forget myself," he said. He looked past Lily's head and saw Demi heading back their way.

Sirius moved slightly, as Demi sat back down. He resumed, reading his book, while Lily looked at Demi and asked, "What took you so long?"

"Ran into Jeremiah," Demi said dully.

Sirius slammed his book shut, earning a glare from Madam Pince. He turned to Demi, agitatedly, "Did he say anything to you, love?" he asked, his voice unusually strained.

Demi shook her head. "Eh, just a bit of glaring. And he went for his wand. He was too busy snogging Rachel Schullman, but decided now was the best time to give me the finger, seeing as I was alone."

Sirius jerked up and quickly drew his wand, "Do you want me to use magic, or rip off his balls with my bare hands?" he asked angrily.

"Sirius calm down," Demi said, stealing his wand from his hand, and placing it on the table. "The last thing we need to do is start a fistfight, and have you both in the Wing." She picked up her book and began to read.

Sirius snatched her book from her and hid it behind his back. "Love, I can take him. I did it in fourth year, I did it last year, and I can do it again this year," he said slowly.

Demi smiled, "I know you can, Sirius. But please, try to behave. Last year it was me who was banned from Hogsmeade, I don't need you to get the short end of the stick this year. Not for my sake."

Sirius considered her words, which gave Demi a chance to get her book back. "Just tell me if you need me to beat the shit out of him, okay?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Mmhmm, I'll keep the offer in mind. Besides, I feel like I ought to be allowed a few free swings at him as well," she added, smiling.

Lily shook her head at the pair, "Honestly, as a prefect, I can't believe the pair of you are threatening to beat up another student. But on the other hand," Lily added with a smile, "I kinda enjoyed dueling him last year."

Sirius slapped his forehead, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," he said, looking at Demi. "Evans has a sense of humor!"

Demi smiled at him, it was nice to see that for once, he was getting along with her. "Yeah, I know" Demi said, "She's also really good with muggle magic."

Lily opened her mouth, "I told you to keep that a secret!" she whispered angrily, ignoring Sirius who was currently rolling around in his seat laughing.

"What- what's 'muggle magic'?" he asked, wiping a tear from his eye as he calmed down.

Lily glared at Demi, who merely smiled and shrugged before delving into her bag and pulling out a two pence. "This is muggle magic," she said. She held out the coin between her index and forefinger, and quickly waved her other hand in front of it, leaving behind an empty space.

Sirius' eyes widened, "You just- how?" he asked. "Is it a vanishing spell?"

Lily shook her head no, before holding out her empty hands, back and front. Then she proceeded to hold out her forefinger and thumb once more, and with another wave, the coin reappeared. She gave the two pence to Sirius and said, "It's a sleight of hand trick," she explained. "Basically, you just keep switching the coin from hand to hand, and hide it away from the audience."

Sirius nodded, clearly impressed. "Lily's amazing with these kind of things," Demi said, looking at her friend with pride, "She's tried to teach me, but I'm not that great."

Lily cocked her head, "You're getting there. I used to practice this kind of stuff a lot as a kid. I thought that this was the only type of magic there was. And when I found out I was going to Hogwarts, I practiced them a lot more. I thought this was what we'd be learning. Well, that was until I got my books and realized there was more to it."

Sirius was still examining the coin with interest. "Amazing," he murmured. "I bet this makes for excellent conversation. You could get a lot of phone numbers by doing this."

Demi nodded, "Maybe it'll get James off your back," she added.

Sirius nearly dropped the coin, but recovered quickly, turning to Demi. "Hey- Prongs is never going to give up on Lily. He told me so himself."

Lily groaned before looking at the pair, "I really thought that after six years he'd get the point," she grumbled.

Demi smirked, "This is James we're talking about. He can be quite stubborn when he wants to be."

"Not to mention he's been reading up on ways to charm witches," Sirius said, trying not to laugh at the expression on Lily's face. Demi gave him a questioning look, before he said "He gave me this book for my birthday, and it's all about how to impress a witch and make them fall in love with you. It's pretty useful," he added as an afterthought. "He thinks it might help me find someone that I like, and you know, not break up with them after a few weeks," he began to blush, as Demi and Lily looked at him.

"So, who exactly are you going to impress with these skills?" Demi asked interestedly, "Or is it just for the entire female population of Hogwarts?"

Sirius reddened even more. "Love, I'm trying not to be such an asshat."

"Yeah, I've noticed you haven't been going round breaking hearts open so far," Lily said in an amused tone.

Sirius' blush became more pronounced. "I-uh am trying to be a better person," he said slowly.

"Can you teach Potter to do the same?" Lily asked hopefully.

Sirius shook his head, "Couldn't even teach him to tie his shoelaces. It's an expression" he added, seeing Lily's shocked face. "Prongs is set in his ways, and I believe that he's a good bloke. But that's just his best friend's opinion."

The trio continued to talk, as they whittled their way through their homework. They were heading up to the common room to drop off their belongings before dinner, and Demi noticed Sirius and Lily having a conversation of their own. "Finally," she thought as they approached the Fat Lady. "Maybe if this continues, Lily and Sirius will become friends, and she won't think I'm crazy for dating him. And perhaps having Sirius chat James up to Lily might just make her come around."

They pushed open the portrait and were shocked by the blazing row taking place. Everyone was backed away from them, pressed against the wall of the common room watching, their eyes wide. Remus was furious with Peter and James, who were trying to back away from the sandy-haired man. Remus' face was contorted with anger as he yelled at them. It was one of those moments where Remus' temper was uncontrollable, and the wolfish side of him was apparent on his face. "-Won't have it!" he shouted at the pair. "That is the stupidest thing you could ever come up with Wormtail, and I cannot believe that you and Prongs would have the audacity to even propose such a thought." He turned round, and quickly barreled past Sirius, Lily, and Demi, who were still standing in front of the open portrait door.

They clambered in quickly, Sirius taking a glance back at Remus, who'd already left the corridor. "What happened?" he asked James, who shook his head.

"Tell you later," he muttered, casting a dark look at the rest of the Gryffindors.

Lily whispered into Demi's ear; "He's transforming tomorrow, isn't he?" to which the blue-haired girl simply nodded. "I'll be right back," she said dropping her things on an empty seat. Demi gave her a look that said be careful, and with another nod, Lily'd left the common room as well.

James and Peter had gone upstairs into their dormitory, dragging Sirius along with them. "Peter had a . . . idea, for the Hallowe'en prank. And I guess it's safe to say that Remus wasn't really feeling it."

Sirius sighed before looking over at Peter, "What did you say?" he asked, not even wanting to hear the answer.

Peter replied after a moment of silence, "I thought that we could dress up as werewolves and scare-"

"Oh, you bloody idiot!" cried Sirius, as James grimaced. "Don't you understand how Moony would feel about such an idea? You'd be feeding right in to the stereotype. Next you're going to tell us to dress up as Voldemort," he hissed.

Peter and James flinched, "Why are you using the name?" Peter asked.

"Because, it's about time we started to. 'Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself'," Sirius replied, quoting Dumbledore.

"Oh, you're spewing quotes now too?" James asked, "You're turning into Demi."

Peter laughed as Sirius' eyes widened, "Oh come off it Prongs- shut up Wormtail!" he added, effectively silencing the plump boy. "If we ever want to be taken seriously about becoming Aurors and fighting him, then we ought to say the name."

"Fat lot of good it did the ones who have said it," Peter murmured under his breath, earning glares from both boys. "But by all means, go ahead," he added sarcastically.

They were quiet and through the silence heard the sounds of everyone heading down to dinner, "Let's go," James said, making his way to the door.

Lily managed to find Remus after being swept down a few corridors by the hungry herd of Hufflepuffs. He was sitting in an alcove off of the first floor corridor, hidden partially by a suit of armour, and munching on a bar of chocolate. Lily came and sat down next to him. "So, how're you feeling?" she asked.

Remus indicated to the bar of chocolate, "Much better."

Lily smiled, "Is it painful?" she asked tentatively.

Remus considered her question, "Eh, not too much now, but my muscles and bones were aching before Wormtail spoke. Now it's all kind of numb."

Frowning, she asked "What did Peter say?"

Remus shook his head, "Don't worry about it. He was just being stupid as usual. Sometimes he forgets where the line is."

Lily nodded, "He's not the only one."

Remus looked at her, "James?" he asked instinctively, to which Lily nodded. "I'm going to go with Sirius and Demi's stance with this one; he isn't as bad as you might think. He's grown up quite a bit over the summer, if Demi's telling the truth, and she always is."

"I don't think so," Lily said under her breath, but Remus had heard her, and gave her one of his inquisitive looks. She sighed before saying, "There's something going on with her. Nothing bad . . . at least, I don't think it is but . . . she seems slightly off. Like she's hiding something big. Really big." Lily looked at Remus who nodded, "Have any idea what it might be?" she asked him.

Remus wrapped up the rest of the chocolate and tucked it in his pocket, scratching his chin. "Well, she's always been a little secretive. But I can't say anything," he added. "However . . . . there's something similar going on with Sirius as well."

The Marauders forgave each other silently, and soon were huddled in a small group by the fire, a large piece of parchment in the centre of their table. Remus was muttering, as the other three laughed. They were all passing around a quill, and scratching the parchment with the occasional sentence. Eventually, by the time Marlene, Kiaria, Alice, and Frank had gone to bed, the quill was long gone and the boys were beginning their Hallowe'en prank.

"What if we dressed up as-" Peter began.

"NO!" cried the other three, their arms outstretched, eyes wide open.

"No dressing up," said James, taking deep breaths, as he tried to calm himself down.

"Yeah, we've had enough of that," Remus added under his breath, moving over so Demi and Lily could sit down.

Lily looked quite annoyed that Demi wasn't as tired as the others, and had chosen to sit with the guys. Currently, Demi and Sirius were occupying the armchair they normally did, as Sirius' head was resting on her shoulder.

"What if we bewitched the ceiling, but with something else?" Sirius suggested.

"Why do you have to pull pranks every single time there's a holiday?" Lily asked.

The four boys shrugged, "It's a tradition. Like how you brush your hair seventy seven times on each side" James explained.

Lily looked at him outraged, "How could you possibly- Demi!" she said, turning to face the blue haired girl, and cricking her neck in the process.

"He could weasel information from anyone if he tries hard enough. And it's not my fault that you're, like, OCD or something," she added, giving Lily a wink.

Lily scowled, "You're as bad as Potter," she said.

"Why thank you," replied the pair, knowing it would enrage Lily even further.

"I'm going to head off, I think I've had enough," she said, before standing up and climbing up the stairs.

Demi watched her go, and resumed the conversation once she'd gone. "So, what about the ceiling Sirius?"

Sirius, who'd just begun dozing off on her shoulder jerked awake, "Wha- Oh!" he sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. "What if we bewitched the ceiling and had stuff fall from it?"

"I swear we've already done that Padfoot," James replied dully.

"We could mess around with the Slytherins?" Peter suggested.

No one bothered to respond.

Remus quickly jumped forward, a huge smile on his face, "How about we do nothing?" The other four looked at him, uncomprehendingly. Remus used their silence to his advantage and began to explain. "Every year we do something. Every single year. All the students and staff are bound to be on edge, and they're going to be waiting for something. We'll be keeping them on their toes for the entire feast!"

Demi smiled, "That's genius Remus! I don't know why we never thought of this before!"

"You said it, 'I'm a genius,'" Remus said, basking in the glory of his ingenious idea.

James sat up as well, "If we have them on their toes, then I think we could do one little thing . . . how about we do the most stupid, most ridiculous prank, and everyone would overreact, because they'd expect something big."

"So what, have them jump at the blast of a horn?" Remus asked, interestedly.

"Yeah," said James. "Just plant a huge horn in the room somewhere, and have it get set off, and watch everyone go crazy."

"'Have everyone go crazy' . . . I like the sound of that," said Peter. "I'm in," he added.

"I bet you we could find a large enough siren in the Room of Requirement," Demi said thoughtfully.

Sirius looked around at the rest of them, beaming, "So that's settled then . . . that's what we'll do!" He stood up, rubbing his hands together and bouncing on the balls of his feet, before stopping and saying. "Well, to quote Evans 'I'll be off to bed' as well." He turned round and headed up the stairs, two at a time.

Remus raised an eyebrow, while James looked at the staircase questioningly, "Since when did he start quoting Evans?" he asked.

Demi laughed, "The pair of them really hit it off in the library today. Lily was showing him some sleight of hand tricks, and the two were chatting for hours afterwards."

Remus smirked, "Lily's tricks are amazing, though, aren't they?" Demi nodded furiously.

James looked outraged, "Hold on, hold on." He looked at Demi, clearly annoyed. "Are you telling me that my best mate, my brother even, is on good terms with my Lilyflower?" he asked.

Demi looked at James in disbelief, "Lilyflower?"

"Best mate? I thought I was your best mate," Remus asked.

James looked at Remus, "A man can have more than one best friend Moony, okay! And back to the breaking news of the day, Padfoot is friends with Lilyflower- I mean Lily- Evans, Evans!" he stuttered.

Demi looked at her deranged brother before saying, "Yes, and you should be excited about this. Don't you know what this means?" James shook his head no, and Demi sighed before explaining. "If Sirius and Lily become friends, then that would mean that they'd be hanging out together. And if they're hanging out together, then Sirius is bound to drag you along with him, which means you'd be friends with her to. Not to mention Sirius could be your wingman." She paused, "He was chatting you up to her all afternoon now that I think about it," she added as an afterthought.

James looked at her with excitement, "So Lily might go out with me?" he asked.

"I'm not making any prom-," she was cut off as James jumped off his seat and began to do a little dance.

"She might go out with me! She might go out with me!" he sang.

Remus leaned over, "He's rarely ever this excited. Just let him enjoy this," he whispered.

Demi nodded before saying "Goodnight," and heading off to sleep. James' song echoed all the way up the staircase, and Demi wasn't surprised when she opened the dormitory door to the wide eyes of her friends.

"Why the bloody hell is Potter singing?" Lily hissed from her bed.

"Tell him to shut up," Alice groaned from behind her curtains.

Suddenly Marlene got out of her bed and walked over to the door, "James if you value your life then you will shut up now!" she yelled.

The singing stopped immediately and Marlene, with a triumphant smile walked back to her bed and laid down once more. Demi sighed before getting changed and clambered into her own bed as well. Just as she and the others were beginning to fall asleep, they were jerked wide awake.

"She might go out with me! She might go out with me . . ."

Kiaira moaned loudly, "Oh f*** off!"

"I'm going to murder him in his sleep," Lily hissed vehemently under her breath.

The next chapter should be up by Sunday at the latest!