A/N: Hello! Yes it is me with another chapter! Sorry this one is so short but I promise, I have them planned to start getting longer. :) So please enjoy & if you like it, review! Love, Lia

It was only the second weekend of school, but all of the seventh years at Hogwarts were already bogged down with mountains of homework. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all sitting in their dormitory reading and writing on their beds. The floor was littered by balls of rejected, crumpled up pieces of parchment and broken quills.

"This is ridiculous!" shouted Sirius, "I can't do this anymore. It's a Saturday night, we should be out having fun instead of cooped up in here doing homework."

Remus rolled his tired eyes at this statement. "We're supposed to be preparing for our future careers," he said in a raspy voice.

Sirius looked over at Remus and shrugged. "I guess," he replied, "But we need at least a little time for fun! It's a Saturday night, for Merlin's sake."

"Moony," said James, changing the subject, "Are you alright? You're looking a little rough, man."

Immediately, they all checked the calendar hanging on the back of their door. It was almost time for the full moon. Remus let out a heavy sigh. "It falls on a weekday, how wonderful is that?" he said.

"It's alright," said Sirius, "We'll be there for you. We always are!" Peter, who had been absorbed in his Herbology homework, sat up and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Remus smiled. His great appreciation for his closest friends blossomed out of his chest. It was impossible to imagine life without the Marauders. He reflected on their fifth year, when his friends were able to successfully transform into illegal Animagi and accompany him on his monthly trips to the shack in Hogsmeade. They made his transformations far less painful and maybe even a little enjoyable.

Just a few moments later, before any other words could be spoken, their fifth roommate Frank Longbottom swaggered in. Though he was slightly short, thin, and an overall a small person, his attitude was very jaunty. It had been that way since he started dating his girlfriend, Alice, but no one minded since he was still probably the most kind person that anyone had ever met. "Hey guys, what's – wait, are you all doing homework? On a Saturday night?" Frank's eyes were practically the size of the upcoming full moon.

The boys looked at each other and nodded guiltily. James couldn't help but think of how Lily would be proud. And thinking of Lily brought his attention to the kiss she gave him the previous Monday night. Granted, it was only on the cheek, but the following days were pure bliss for him. Lily was much warmer and even friendly to James. His desire for her filled his whole body and he forgot all about what awaited him in the summer. James found himself wanting to spend every minute of the day with Lily, and his feelings now were stronger than they ever were in previous years. But the idea of an arranged marriage was always haunting him, hanging over him like a rain cloud that wouldn't leave. The thought was paining him, because all he wanted was the redhead in the dormitory just across the tower.

"Well," said Frank, "Some seventh year Ravenclaws are having a 'small' party in the Room of Requirement and since they're, ya know, Ravenclaws, there's no way it'll get busted."

The Marauders looked back and forth at each other. James glanced at the Head Boy badge that sat on his bedside table. Then, he decided to disregard it, "Let's do it!"

Remus shook his head, "I think I'll stay in tonight. I have to ask Lily about our Potions essay, anyway."

"Suit yourself, Moony," said Sirius.

They all dressed quickly, as it was already almost midnight, and headed down the stairs to the common room. There were only a few people by the fire and a few first years in the corner playing wizard chess. As they exited the portrait hole and began walking the corridor, a sudden thought occurred to Peter.

"Prongs, are you sure you should be going to this party? You're Head Boy, after all," he said.

James clapped an arm around his short, chubby friend. "Wormtail, my man," he said jovially, "I'm just trying to forget for a little, that's all. Lily doesn't even have to know."

"Okay…" replied Peter, unconvinced.

The four soon found themselves in the seventh floor corridor and pacing back and forth. "What should we be thinking of?" asked Peter.

Frank stopped, puzzled. "I guess a place to have fun on a Saturday night?"

Sirius, who was still walking around, said, "That's a little vague, isn't it?"

"Well what else would it be?" said Frank, exasperated. "I'm supposed to be meeting Alice in there. What if she thinks I've stood her up?"

James laughed, "You've been dating for over a year now, I don't think she'll think you stood her up."

Suddenly, a door with a slat about eye level appeared. Sirius smirked and knocked loudly on it. The eye slat slid open and a mouth appeared. The boys all grinned at each other as the mouth said, "Password?"

Frank took the opportunity to actually know something, "It's not over 'till the Fat Lady sings." Their smiled broadened, thinking of how classy it was for the Ravenclaws to choose such a password.

The large metal door swung open and the boys were sucked in with a blink of the eye. The Room of Requirement had really outdone itself this time. It was dark and hard to see anything; only the different-colored flashing lights provided any help. The music was loud and vibrated everything, courtesy of a band of Hufflepuff boys on stage. Students everywhere, out of their school robes, were holding cups filled with alcohol from a table along one of the walls. James whistled to himself and wondered how it was they were even able to get away with such things. How did the Ravenclaws even smuggle this much alcohol into the school? It was truly an amazing feat.

"This is awesome," said Sirius, shouting over the music. "Frank, you rule!" With those as his final words, Sirius was whisked away by a cute Hufflepuff to dance in the middle of the floor. James and Peter walked together to the alcohol, where a Slytherin boy was lining up shots for a large group of people. James signaled to have one himself, and they downed the vodka all together. Peter simply threw his over his shoulder, as alcohol made him nervous. Then again, everything made him nervous.

James poured himself a cup of whiskey and drank it much too fast. He joined another group taking shots, and then another. He was about four drinks and five shots in of hard liquor when Peter attempted to warn him. "Maybe you should slow down, Prongs," he said feebly.

James simply shrugged off his friend and continued to drink. Eventually, he stumbled into the middle of the floor and joined Sirius and Frank. Frank was staring at his girlfriend in shock as her curvy body moved around him in a blatantly sexual way. A pretty blond approached James and asked him to dance. He agreed, though he couldn't remember which house she was in. It must be all the alcohol clouding his brain. The edges of everything were slightly burred and covered in a euphoric blanket. The girl James was dancing with was beautiful, but his mind kept wandering to a redheaded girl who must be in the common room studying with Remus. Soon, she consumed all of his thoughts and the girl that he was dancing with disgusted him. The whole party disgusted him.

"Hey, Pads," he shouted to his friend a few people over. "I'm gonna head out."

"Alright, see you later then," replied Sirius. He seemed much too preoccupied to care.

James waded his clumsy way through the sea of people and stumbled through the heavy metal door. The seventh floor corridor was silent, and it was hard to believe that there were masses of people just behind the wall. James checked his watch and saw that it was only one-thirty in the morning, and he was shocked that he didn't spend longer at the party. He hoped it was still too late enough for any professor, cat (Mrs. Norris), or ghost to be wandering the hallway.

By some miracle, James had made his silent way to the portrait of the Fat Lady without being spotted. Though he was still heavily intoxicated, James managed to slur the password and enter the common room. A vision of Lily Evans entered his mind, and he realized very suddenly that he needed to see her. The common room was quite empty, except for two small first years sharing a large armchair by the fire. He approached them, turning on his megawatt charm and ruffling his hair.

As soon as they recognized him, the two girls blushed and one of them giggled. "Hi James," the one to his left said.

"Hi, can you two do me a favor?" he purred, attempting to dazzle them despite his state. It worked, however, and he managed to convince the two first years to bring Lily down to him.

A few minutes later, Lily approached him sitting on the couch. "James?" she said, her eyes wide with shock. "What are you doing?"

James jumped him and smiled, though he swayed on his feet slightly. "Hi," he said, "I wanted to see you."

Lily was appalled at his smelly breath and disheveled state. "What in Merlin's name have you been up to!?" she said in a whisper-shout. Her eyes were livid. "You reek of alcohol! You do realize that, as Head Boy, you can't be participating in such blatant rule breaking. You can't act like this! Or you should at least try to cover it up better and not bother poor little first years while you're drunk." She couldn't believe that she had actually thought James Potter changed and was more mature. Lily guessed she should have known better.

James was ignoring her tirade, however. In his drunken haze, all he could pay attention to was how beautiful she was, even when angry. Her words, despite their aggressive nature, were like honey in his ears. "I like when you talk," he slurred randomly.

Lily paused, "– What?"

"I also like when you don't talk." Suddenly, James found himself leaning in close to Lily. He rested a hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him. Lily didn't dare to resist, because James had an intoxicating effect to him, even when he himself was drunk off his arse.

"James," began Lily, "what are y–"

And then it happened. The moment James had been waiting for since practically their first year at Hogwarts, and the moment Lily didn't know she secretly desired, too. As soon as their lips touched, bolts of electricity zinged through both of their bodies. Lily gasped as she felt the need in the movement of James' lips. She felt as if the floor had slipped away from her and she was falling, except… She was enjoying the sensation.

James was breathless when Lily finally broke them apart. Her eyes were wide and her lips were swollen. Her red hair was mussed up, as was the rest of her. The two shared a tense moment of silence while James waited for Lily's reaction. The room shifted around him through his inebriated fog. Did that really just happen? he thought to himself.

Finally, Lily said shakily, "I have to go to bed now, and I think you should, too, Potter." With that, she marched up the stairs, tears beginning to pool on her lower eyelid.

Those words stung James, because they were not what he was expecting. She called him Potter. Lily only did that when she was mad at him. But the way she physically responded to his kiss showed no indication of anger. In fact, James thought it to be quite the opposite. He sat on the plush couch in front of the fire, rejection burning through his brain. The fire crackled as it began to sputter out slowly. James sat, thinking about Lily. He wouldn't be able to get some alone time with her until their next tutoring session, but he wasn't sure he could wait that long for some answers from her. What kind of response was, "I have to go to bed?" His thoughts whirled around in his head until he was completely sober and what remained of the fire was only embers.

The next morning James spoke to Sirius at breakfast about the previous night. Remus was still in bed, and only Merlin knew what Peter did when he was off alone. So James swallowed his eggs and turned to his best friend with a look of guilt. "I kissed Lily," he said simply.

Sirius looked at him with a slightly bemused expression. Then, it gained a small trace of amusement. "Nice one, Prongs," he replied, "How'd she like it?"

"Not sure, she just said that she was going to bed."

The tone of the conversation quickly lost all hints of playfulness as Sirius set down his fork. He looked at James with an expression that would give Professor McGonagall a run for her money. "James" – Sirius almost never used his real name – "you know I want you to be happy. I've been rooting for you and Evans all along. But I don't think you should do this."

James looked offended. "Do what?" he inquired.

"I think it's best if you just leave Evans alone. You know what's coming for you when June comes around."

Sirius patted his friend on the shoulder as he continued to devour his waffle. James shrugged, "I guess you're right." But he was only agreeing on the surface. James' resolve to win Lily over had just become stronger than ever.