Lily had been home for the summer for six weeks already. In that time, several things had happened.

One, was that Petunia had moved out of the family home and into a rental property with her fiancé; Lily nearly gagged at the thought. It was bittersweet news to come home to, as she still clung to the hope that she might one day rekindle her relationship with her sister. Her moving out put more distance between them, but it also put more distance between her and the beefcake that was Vernon, a welcome compromise.

Two, was that she missed James more than she had thought she would since saying goodbye to him at King's Cross Station at the beginning of July. Ever since the kiss in the back of the library, Lily had been consumed by thoughts of James. Of course if she was being honest with herself, she would admit that she had been consumed by thoughts of him for much longer. She wasn't quite clear where they stood, except for the fact that neither of them were seeing anyone else. They hadn't made their… relationship known to anyone else, not even their friends. She had to admit, the secrecy was thrilling. Their friends of course could see they were no longer at each other's throats, but other than that Lily was sure they were none-the-wiser.

Three, happened on a Thursday afternoon. Lily was dozing off on the grass in the back garden of her parent's house. Her book was splayed open on her chest to mark the page and a large hat covered most of her face from the sweltering heat of the mid-August sun. A shadow swooped over her body and landed nearby, but she didn't notice. What she did notice, was the soft thud of a weighted piece of parchment landing on her stomach. She jumped awake, hand moving instinctively to where her wand was hidden in the back of her shorts. When she realised she was alone, she found the envelope on her stomach.

The front of the envelope showed a familiar loopy scrawl that addressed the envelope to her (oddly specific as always) and the back was sealed with the Hogwarts insignia. She tore open the letter to find several pieces of parchment. Something hard and cool fell onto her stomach, and she squealed in excitement. A Head Girl badge! She didn't even read the parchment enclosed, instead she ran inside looking for her parents to share the excitement.

She found her father in the living room watching the news, sitting as close to the pedestal fan as he could get. His glasses still managed to slide down his face from sweat. Lily bounded into the living room and disrupted the serenity, but her father smiled at her in spite of it.

"Dad, you'll never guess," Lily began.

She sat next to him on the lounge, her letter still scrunched up in one hand and the badge poking through the other. She thrust the badge into his face, like a small child proudly bringing home artwork for the first time. His eyes lit up as he inspected the badge and realised what it was.

"Lily, I'm so proud of you! So incredibly proud of you," Her father beamed.

Her father enveloped her in a hug, his greying moustache tickling the top of her head. The sound of the front door opening signalled her mother's return, and Lily ran into the entryway to show off her badge again. She pinned it to the shirt she was wearing and stood in the arch between the entryway and the lounge, puffing out her chest.

"Notice anything different?"

Her mother studied her for a split second, but with Lily's stance it only took her that long to figure out the answer to the question she posed.

"Darling, I'm so proud of you! My darling Head Girl, I can't believe it!" Her mother enthused, and Lily was wrapped in another tight hug.

Lily followed her mother into the kitchen and sat on the bench as her mother put the groceries away. Her mother tutted her disapproval at Lily's choice of seat, but didn't ask her to move. Lily finally remembered the letters clutched in her hand, and skimmed through them briefly. There was the usual list of books for the school year, as well as anything else she might need for her classes. A second letter that went through her grades for the end of year exams, which she had completely forgotten about. She read through it quickly, and was exceedingly happy with her results (Outstandings for every class - she was gobsmacked!).

The third sheet was a letter personally written by Professor Dumbledore, congratulating her on her position.

Miss Evans,

It is with great pride that I bestow upon you the position of Head Girl for the graduating class of 1978. After discussing with your Professors, it was a unanimous decision that this title belonged to you. You have repeatedly shown that you have the patience, wit and kindness to undertake this task. Your leadership skills have only improved since becoming a prefect, and I trust that you will carry out your Headship to the best of your abilities. No doubt, your abilities will exceed the expectations of us all.

Over the course of the next year you will be working closely with the Head Boy, a position I have appointed to Mister James Potter.

Lily's mouth dropped to the floor. He hadn't even been a prefect, let alone Head Boy. Not that Lily was really complaining, but she wasn't sure how she was supposed to get anything done when he was around to distract her. Thankfully her mother's back was to her this whole time, and she wouldn't have to answer a hundred and one questions about her reaction. She could save the James conversation for another day.

Lily turned her attention back to the rest of the letter to read through the rest of its contents.

As I am sure you are aware, there are segregated Head Student's dormitories to ensure you have the space to not only work together, but complete all your other responsibilities as well. You are expected to uphold the same standard in all of your classes, and you'll find the quiet of the Head Common Room a welcome change in this time I am sure.

Your first obligation as Head Girl is to conduct the Welcome Meeting for the year's prefects. I encourage you to work with Mister Potter beforehand and discuss how you will be approaching the year ahead together. You will find a list of the year's prefects at the bottom of this letter to assist with your planning.

Good luck Miss Evans, though I believe luck isn't necessary for you to be successful in your position.

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards

Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot

The list of prefects attached to the end were more or less names she was expecting; Emmeline was the seventh year prefect for Ravenclaw, and several of the other names she recognised as well. Her head was still reeling from the news that James was her co-Head.

She decided to be proactive on Dumbledore's advice, and get in contact with him straight away. She took the steps up to her bedroom two at a time, and strode across the landing to the small desk in her room. She tore off a piece of spare parchment and dipped her quill in the ink pot she kept handy. She was nervous, suddenly. Her mind had gone blank and she couldn't think of anything to write. She scribbled 'CONGRATULATIONS!?' on the piece of parchment and tied it around Agathe's ankle whilst she was perched on the window sill. Lily gave her a treat and she took off to deliver her note.

Hours passed, and Lily struggled to entertain herself whilst she waited for his response. It would probably be days, she thought; she had no idea where he actually lived, and had never sent anything to him before to have any idea how long it might take for her note to even arrive. She tried reading her book again, but ended up reading the same sentence for an hour before giving up. She joined her father down in the living room, but was kicked out for fidgeting so much (to be fair - he did seem extremely invested in the match of whatever he was watching, and she could admit she was annoying). She wandered back into the kitchen to help with dinner but was immediately shooed out with excuses of a surprise celebratory dinner following her back out into the entryway.

Lily resigned herself back up to her bedroom. She laid down on her bed, and as soon as her head hit her pillow again Agathe swooped back through her window. Lily had never jumped up so quickly in her life, and the speed caused her to become slightly dizzy. Nevertheless, she persisted to where Agathe had landed and was pleased to find that James had written a full letter in response to her one-worded note. Her heart fluttered involuntarily as she tore open the letter.

Dearest Lily,

Thank you! And I believe a congratulations are in order for yourself as well, though I think we all knew it would obviously be you. What a shocker about myself, eh? Dumbledore must be off his rocker. Few cards short of a deck Sirius thinks, I'm definitely inclined to agree. My apologies in advance for my inadequacies as Head Boy, though I will do my best to keep up with your impeccable standards.

Mum and Dad are dead proud, but I think we're all in a bit of shock. Almost certain Dad wrote to Dumbledore to make sure he hadn't made a mistake. He denies it of course, but I saw the a letter from him in Dad's den and what else could they be talking about?

Have no idea what Dumbledore is talking about when he mentioned the Prefects meeting, though I do rather agree with his suggestion that we meet up before the start of term. You'll have to teach me how to be responsible and whatnot. Not sure how much Head-Talk we would get done seeing as we haven't seen each other in 6 weeks.

Missed you immensely, of course. No one at home smells as sweet as you do. Actually Padfoot smells like a wet dog more often than not, dead insulting to the senses. He thinks he's hilarious. Can't wait to see you again, I could use a good snog. Obviously that's not all I see you as, though you are rather good and I do think about that quite often.

If you're not busy next Tuesday, I was thinking we could meet. I could come pick you up of course (I aced my Apparition test - don't know if you heard me the first thousand times), and there's a nice little cafe by my house. It could be a da We could use it to discuss Official Headship Matters.

I await your response with bated breath.

Yours,

James x

Lily could not respond quick enough. She scribbled out her address on another piece of parchment and a time. Reading over her response, she added an apology that she couldn't reciprocate the level of detail James had given in his own letter, but promised she would more than make up for it when she saw him next week. She would let him interpret that how he pleased.


It was ten minutes before noon on Tuesday, and Lily was in the living room tapping her foot with both impatient and nervous energy. She glanced at her watch every 30 seconds, hoping that if she looked at it enough times time might move a bit faster.

"I thought it wasn't a date," her Mum teased from the other lounge.

Lily opened her mouth to reply and closed it again when she couldn't think of anything to say. She opened it again, but before she could say anything there was a knock at the front door and she froze.

"I'll get it," her Dad called from the kitchen.

Lily yelped and her traitor mother laughed at her. She closed her eyes and listened as her father walked down the hallway to the front door to open it. Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard James's voice.

"Hi Mr. Evans, my name is James Potter. I'm not sure if she's told you, but I'll be her co-Head Student next year and we were planning to meet up today and discuss our plans," Lily heard him explain.

She was amazed at how composed he managed to sound. Even though she had never known him to be nervous, she thought that surely meeting her father might make him tremble even if only a little. Her father welcomed him inside, and all too slowly Lily realised that meant James was making his way down the hall and would see her any minute. She tried to get her mother's attention, waving her hands about her face, but she didn't raise her eyes from the book she was focused on. Lily had a suspicion she was being purposely obtuse. Lily hurriedly tucked the strands that had broken free of her ponytail behind her ears. Her mother coughed to cover a laugh, and again Lily had no chance to respond.

Her father walked into the room and was followed by James. Lily didn't think her heart could beat any faster than it already was, but when she laid eyes on James she was sure it was trying to fly away. He didn't really look any different, same messy hair and bespectacled face, maybe a little less lanky; Lily could only put her reaction down to not having seen him for several weeks. James grinned as soon as he saw her, and she felt her own face split in two with a matching smile.

"Hi Mrs. Evans, I'm James Potter," he said, extending his hand to shake hers.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the name," Mrs. Evans replied.

James turned to her and raised his eyebrows, grin never leaving his face, and Lily felt her cheeks turn scarlet.

"Right well, I think we ought to get going then, James," Lily interrupted, before further embarrassing conversation would ensue.

She grabbed James's hand and lead him back out the front door. She called a farewell over her shoulder quickly and then the front door was shut behind them. Silence for a second, and then:

"So you talk about me a bit, do you?" James was smirking.

"Leave it to my Mum to give you a bigger head than usual. And Just when I was beginning to enjoy your company…" Lily teased.

She ran off down the street with her laughter streaming behind her, and James jogging to catch up. She turned down a deserted alleyway, the one she had told James to apparate to in order to pick her up. She grabbed his hand again when he reached her.

"Ready?" He asked her.

She nodded her head, though she wasn't sure she was truly ever ready for the sensation that apparition brought. James began to turn on the spot, and she felt her stomach lurch as she was sucked with him into a completely different street. Lily quickly realised James must live in an all wizarding town, for they landed in the middle of a cobblestoned street and no one bat an eyelid at their sudden appearance. Still holding her hand, James lead her down the road towards what she assumed was the cafe in question. She had been in muggle-less towns before, of course, but she still marveled at the shopfronts and the people in their wizard's robes as they walked down the street. Lily felt out of place in her Queen t-shirt and shorts.

James held the door open for her, and a bell chimed above their heads as they walked in. He lead her to a table over by a window, waving to a few familiar faces as they weaved through the tables. Lily sat in the booth across from James with a shy smile on her face. Her heart was still beating a million miles a minute.

"Welcome to Godric's Hollow," James said.

"No way!" Lily said in amazement.

Her eyes lit up and she looked out the window again, as if knowing that the founding father of her House once lived here would somehow change the way everything looked. James chuckled and passed her a menu, and she poked her tongue at his mirth.

"So, Dumbledore must really be off his rocker, eh?" James joked.

Lily had had time to think about it since she had received her letter, and she had come to the conclusion that Dumbledore was possibly the most brilliant man to ever exist. Obviously James as Head Boy was a decision a bit left of centre, but Lily was sure he was the perfect decision.

"I think you'll be a brilliant Head Boy, James," Lily admitted.

She saw a faint blush tinge his cheeks, and she thought it wasn't fair that his skin was so dark and she couldn't really tell.

"Only because I've got you as a Head Girl," he said eventually.

Lily rolled her eyes at his deflection. It was unlike him to do so, and she wanted him to know that she meant it. She reached out and grabbed his hand across the table. He looked up at her, surprised. She gave him a gentle smiled as she squeezed his hand.

"Are you nervous?" she asked him.

"Of course I'm nervous, I don't know the first thing about being Head Boy. I wasn't even a Prefect," he explained.

"I've been thinking about this a lot actually, and I think what you've got to do is treat it a bit like being a quidditch captain," Lily said, thinking out loud.

James looked at her with confusion for a second, until realisation dawned on him.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," he agreed.

"It's been known to happen."

A waiter came over and took their orders then, and Lily panicked for a moment because she hadn't looked at the menu at all. James, who had clearly been here several times, ordered a steak and kidney pie. She figured she liked them well enough and so ordered the same. The waiter took their menus, and brought back a couple of goblets and a jug of water for the table. Lily was still holding James's hand when he let go to pour them both a drink, but grabbed a hold of it as soon as he was finished. He smiled at her over the top of his goblet as he took a sip.

"I've missed you," she admitted.

James had a way of making her blurt out every thought in her head, she'd realised. But she never felt like he would make fun of her for it; rather that he made her feel safe enough to share it all and nothing was too crazy, or too stupid, or too anything. At her latest admission, his face broke into the smile that made her heart speed up again.

"I don't blame you, being forced to see - what was his name, Vincent? - ugly beefhead on the regular. I must be a welcome change. I've been told I'm quite handsome," he joked.

"Your mother calling you handsome doesn't count. And actually, Petunia moved out over the summer so I haven't seen him at all," Lily trailed off.

James seemed to sense that she wasn't as thrilled about the news as she thought she'd be. He maneuvered himself around the booth so that he was seated next to her instead, and cupped a hand around her cheek. His thumb rubbed soothing circles into her skin.

"Hey," he said to her softly.

"I'm just as surprised as you are that I'm upset about this but I guess - I guess I had always hoped we'd be able to patch up the rift that had come between us. We used to be so close, until I got my Hogwarts letter and then…"

A single tear slipped out, and James stopped it with his thumb.

"It was never your fault," he said, giving her a soft kiss on her temple.

"I didn't help, though," Lily said. "Anyway, I didn't mean to ruin our first date by crying over my sister."

"First date? I was under the illusion this was a meeting for Official Head Student Business."

Lily turned his head to face her, and leaned in with a wicked grin. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was the look of complete and utter surprise on his face as her lips met his own. Her left hand was still caressing his jaw, and she used her right to trail down his body suggestively. He yelped, and she took the opportunity to slide her tongue to meet his and deepen the kiss. The only reason they stopped, was the sound of a cough behind them alerting them the waiter was back with their meals. Both faces turned beetroot red, and Lily thanked their waiter in a mousy voice for their meals. She turned back to James and laughed at his glasses slightly askew on his face.

"I think I'll enjoy being Head Boy quite a bit if this is what it entails."


It neared the end of their first month of their seventh year. Sirius was exhausted already, though that may have been due in part to it being the day after a full moon. His Charms class had just finished, and Sirius was thankful it was the last of his day. He packed up his things and thrust them into his bag haphazardly, not caring if he crushed his notes in the process. He'd barely been able to keep his eyes open, let alone pay attention to his lesson and take legible notes. He'd ask Lily for a run down later.

He trudged up to the the stairs to Gryffindor tower, following Peter. James had moved this year from his bed in the Gryffindor Dorms to the Head's Quarters a couple of floors down. It had taken some time to get used to, and they were slowly starting to find a new rhythm together, even if they weren't as inseparable as they had once been. Sirius sat across a table from Peter close by the fire. It was early enough in the afternoon that majority of their housemates had not yet finished their classes, and they had their choice of lounge chairs.

Peter pulled his Charms notes from his bag, as well as a ham sandwich and set to work on the 12 inches of parchment Professor Flitwick had set, revising on the proper procedure to performing non-verbal spells. Sirius followed suit, but was having a hard time trying to focus on the task at hand. It wasn't so much the content with which he was to write about, but rather there was something on his mind that he'd been meaning to talk to James about since they had made up at the end of last year. Yes, he had had all summer to discuss it, but summer hadn't felt like the right time to bring it up. Or maybe he hadn't known how to put the words together. Whatever the case, now felt like the right time.

Sirius dug around in his bag for the map, having been the last one to use it this morning as he had been running late after the previous evening's gallivanting. A simple summoning charm wouldn't work to find it, as they decided as a group it would be safer to protect the map from such magic. The only solution he could think of was to turn his bag upside down, and dump the entire contents on the floor of the common room. Sirius had forgotten about the enlarging spell he had performed on the bag, and the amount of things that tumbled out of it reminded him. At last, amidst the pile of parchment and textbooks and the occasional mouldy sandwich, the map was revealed.

Sirius scanned it quickly for the small dot labelled James Potter. Sirius wasn't certain on the location of the Head's Quarters, only that it was below the Gryffindor Tower, as James never followed them past the fourth floor anymore. After looking along the fifth and sixth floors, Sirius found James in a room with a similar set-up as the Gryffindor common room seemed to have, only on a much smaller scale. He then noticed it was only a short walk from there to the fourth floor secret passage way through to Hogsmeade, and knew exactly what the entrance to the Head's Quarters was concealed by. Sirius levitated his belongings back into his bag, and stood to leave.

"I'll be back Pete," he mumbled.

"Where you goin'?" he asked.

"Just need to chat with James about something."

"I'll come then, I haven't seen the Head's Quarters yet-"

"No! Er, I mean - it's a surprise thing. Just, ah, stay here, yeah?"

Peter looked slightly hurt at Sirius's words, and Sirius only just caught the slight downturn in the corner of his mouth that gave it away. He didn't ponder it for long because Pete turned back to his homework and the remainder of his ham sandwich, and Sirius was free to find James. He walked through the open Portrait of the Fat Lady and down the set of stairs to his right.

It occurred to him on his way down the first flight that he had no idea how was supposed to get into the Head's Quarters. He thought about it as he continued down the stairs, and he arrived at the hidden entrance before he was able to come up with a solution. He stood outside, staring dumbly at the blank section of wall. After a second, a door appeared. Sirius thought it must be similar to entering the Room of Requirement, until the door was opened from the other side and Lily walked out. She was half turned back into the room, giggling (giggling!) at something James had said. Sirius examined closely and noted that her hair was suspiciously dishevelled. She turned to leave and nearly walked straight into Sirius, and her face turned suspicious shade of red.

"Sirius!" Lily said in surprise.

Sirius raised his eyebrow in response. Lily slinked past him, and he caught the open door on his foot as she scurried towards the stairs.

"You can't hide forever, Lily!" he called out after her.

He briefly saw the rude gesture she made with her hand before she disappeared downstairs.

"Oi!" he yelled after her, and he heard her cackle in response.

Sirius turned to James, who was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. To the untrained eye, it was a completely natural setting. But to Sirius, he could see the smirk behind the Transfiguration textbook James was holding.

"Prongs, you sly little minx," Sirius chastised.

"Haven't the foggiest what you're on about Padfoot," James said, still hiding behind the textbook.

Sirius plonked himself on the sofa, his feet facing the fire and an arm behind his head to prop up the cushion he was leaning on. He sighed; loudly, dramatically.

"Enough about you, I'm here to talk about me."

"Can't say I'm surprised," James said, finally putting down the textbook. "Spit it out then."

"Well don't sound too concerned," Sirius said.

He sensed rather than saw James rolling his eyes from behind him. Sirius subtly pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes and flicked in James direction, narrowly missing him with a tickling jinx. James got the hint and made himself comfortable in the arm chair that faced him, and Sirius sat up on the lounge.

"I think - well, I know actually - that I… Remus, erm. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" Sirius stuttered.

"Not in the slightest," James said, but he was smiling at Sirius like he knew exactly.

"James. I love - Merlin, I can't believe I sound like a daft bint. You're really going to make me say it?" Sirius complained.

James was grinning gleefully across at him, more smug than Sirius had ever seen.

"I'm serious!"

It pushed James over the edge of gleeful and into the pits of hysteric, wheezing laughter.

"Mate, I've known your name since we met 6 years ago," James said between gasps.

Sirius could feel his face turning a shade of red darker than Lily had when he ran into her earlier. He wasn't sure if it was due to the conversation or frustration at James, or maybe it was a combination. He felt like smoke might pour out his ears at any moment.

"ITHINKILOVEREMUS," he yelled.

James's hysterics stopped immediately, but he didn't look surprised as Sirius thought he might. Instead, he was smiling that knowing smile again up at him from where he had fallen on the floor.

"Stop looking at me like you've gone barmy," Sirius grumbled.

"Didn't you tell me this a year ago?"

"No I only liked him then." Sirius explained. James looked at him like now he was being a daft bint.

"You still haven't made a move?" James asked.

"When would I have made a move?" Sirius said, flustered.

James snorted.

"Do you think Moony knows?" Sirius asked quietly, almost self consciously.

"I highly doubt it," James assuaged. "So what are you going to do?"

"I - er, I hadn't really thought much further than talking to you about it. You think I should be doing something?"

"Merlin, Padfoot, and you think I'm a daft bint. After being the brunt of all your jokes for the last five years, Lily is my girlfriend now so I think I know what I'm doing. At least, I think she is. We haven't er - really discussed labels as such, but. But she's as good as!"

Sirius had started to snigger at James's backtracking.

"Fuck you, Padfoot," James said, and Sirius laughed harder when James gave him the bird to match.

"You're a bad influence on Evans, she did the same to me when she left earlier."

"She amazes me more and more, every single day. I am the luckiest man alive, Padfoot," James said, and Sirius knew he was being sincere.

"So how do I… get the girl? So to speak."

"Speaking as a successful wooer of Lily Evans, I think the best tactic is to be completely obvious," James suggested.

"You're kidding, surely?"

"Sirius, Remus is never going to believe anyone is in love with him. Remember when Hestia tried to ask him to Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day in fourth year and they went to Zonko's? He had no clue it was a date," James pointed out.

Sirius remembered; it was one of the funniest days of his life following them around and watching her fawn all over him. But remembering that Remus was oblivious left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He couldn't very well blurt out exactly how he was feeling. Could he?


It was approximately nine o'clock in the evening on Saturday the 5th of November 1977. Sirius had his eye to the mouthpiece of an empty bottle of elves mead, checking he had emptied it of every last drop. He tipped his head right back to make sure he got the last dregs of the drink, and nearly fell off the arm of the chair he was seated on. He vaguely remembered the face of the person who caught him.

"Black! Wicked party mate, happy birthday," they said.

Sirius thanked them, still not having any idea who they were. He looked around at said party, and marvelling at his own brilliance. Of course, he couldn't take all the credit; Sirius had thought that James being Head Boy would mean they'd have to tone down the festivities, but James had seemed determined to prove that would not be the case. All four of them had been labouring all afternoon to turn the Gryffindor common room into something unrecognisable.

There was a proper buffet that they had managed to convince the house elves in the kitchen to continuously stock like they did in the Great Hall, and complete with a large dining area and several different tables. On each table, the centrepiece showcased a large statue of a lion that, if you looked close enough, vaguely resembled Sirius. A large gramophone was set up in the corner of the room, and was playing all of the records Sirius owned - including the one he had just received from Remus for his birthday, the Ramones latest release.

As his eyes roamed over to the bar (complete with house elf servers), he remembered the emptiness of the bottle in his hand, and set out to the other side of the room. It seemed he had been sitting down and drinking a lot longer than he remembered, because the room was spinning at a slight angle and he was finding it hard to put one foot in front of the other to get there. The thought of water crossed his mind, but before he could put his plan into action there was someone by his side helping him stay vertical.

"Evans! Where have you been all night?" Sirius said, leaning his whole body on Lily for support.

Lily's laughter sounded in his ear as she helped him to one of the tables closest to the bar. She sat across from him and used her wand to bring over a jug of water and a goblet, filled it to the brim and pushed it towards him. When he started to drink she began to talk, although it wasn't to answer his question.

"I could ask you the same question. I never thought I'd see the day where Sirius Black is hiding from his own party," Lily teased him.

"I'm not hiding from the whole party," he explained.

"I know. And you shouldn't be hiding from him either," Lily added.

"You know?" Sirius said in shock.

"I had my suspicions, and you just confirmed them," Lily said with a smirk.

She laughed at the look on his face and took a sip from the neck of the butterbeer she was holding. Sirius went to grab one from the bar but she stopped him and pushed the water back in his face.

"How come you're allowed to drink and I'm being punished with water?" Sirius whined.

"You need to sober up so Remus actually believes you when you're talking to him. I'm trying to catch up because I just finished my rounds."

"Lily! Light of my life, I'm so happy you're here," called a voice from the dancefloor.

Sirius laughed loudly at James's terrible dance moves as he made his way over to where he was seated. When James eventually joined them, he kissed Lily on her temple and wrapped his arms around her from behind her chair. Sirius felt a jolt of envy run through him, and it sobered him slightly. He wanted to have that as well, and what if he could? He gulped down the rest of his water and stood from his chair. James and Lily looked back at him with identical encouraging expressions. Lily gave him a thumbs up and James clapped him on the back as he walked off in search of Remus.

The search didn't take long, even in his inebriated state. He found Remus closeby the fire deep in conversation with Dorian Diggle, a Hufflepuff in their year, and that spark of envy he felt before was back with a vengeance. From his position on the other side of the room, he stomped over to where Remus was seated in an armchair and draped himself over Remus, essentially marking his territory.

"Struggling to handle your liquor, Black?" Dorian joked.

Sirius glared at him in a way that could rival even McGonagall, and he watched as Dorian was first confused and then fearful. He made an excuse about needing another drink and headed in the direction of the bar, shaking his head in bewilderment. Sirius grunted in contentment.

"What was all that about?" Remus asked him.

Sirius opened and closed his mouth several times in an attempt to figure out what he was going to say.

"Has someone put a tongue-tying jinx on you? What's going on Padfoot?" Remus asked him with concern.

Sirius had to laugh at the stupidity of the whole situation. He had never been good at expressing himself with words; he'd always resorted to actions, using his fists or his wand, but with Remus he wanted to do neither. With Remus he wanted - he needed - a more obvious approach. He sat up slightly, so that he was at eye level with him. Remus was still looking at him with concern on his face, but there was a hint of confusion mixed in as well. Sirius leaned closer, unusually unsure of himself. He was so close he could feel the warmth of Remus's breath fanning across his face. James's words were circling around in his head: be completely obvious. He pushed away all his self doubt for a split second and leaned all the way in, pressing his lips against Remus's just barely.

It was just a peck, that's all he could push himself to do before the realisation of what he'd done set in and he pulled back out of shock. He moved his hand to touch his own mouth, his lips were burning. His eyes found Remus's again, and the look on it turned Sirius's insides into lead. He was suddenly hyper-aware of just how many drinks he had downed over the course of the evening, and it felt like they were all coming back up right now. Then he realised that wasn't metaphorical and they were all coming back up right at that very moment. He jumped off Remus's lap and ran upstairs to the bathroom attached to their dormitory, arriving just in time to stick his head in the toilet. Sirius didn't realise anyone had followed him until he heard their voice.

"Are you okay?"

It was Remus. Sirius groaned, whether out of pain or frustration he couldn't be sure. He heard Remus moving around the bathroom, and then he was crouched next to him, holding a cool washcloth to his forehead. Sirius sighed with content.

"Yeah," he croaked in response. "Sorry about… erm -"

"It's fine, I should be apologising for making you sick," Remus joked.

"You didn't - that wasn't your fault. I quite enjoyed that moment actually. Did er - did you?" Sirius asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh. Well, yeah as far as drunken kisses between friends go sure, Padfoot," Remus answered.

"Right, friends," Sirius mumbled.

"Merlin, Remus, I thought you were smart," a third voice said.

"James?" Sirius and Remus both asked in unison.

"What are you doing up here?" Sirius questioned.

"I just came to check on my best mate, because even though my eyesight is terrible I'm not blind enough to miss you running across the room up here to be sick. And you're lucky I'm so considerate, you were making a right mess," James said matter-of-a-factly.

"He hasn't missed the toilet bowl this time," Remus said dumbly.

"What are you - for fuck sake Remus you blithering idiot," James cussed under his breath.

He moved from his spot in the doorway to crouch down beside the two of them, slightly closer than a sober person would be, but thankfully all three of them were not.

"He," James pointed to Sirius, "is in love with you. And he," James pointed to Remus, "is in love with you."

Sirius turned to look at Remus and found he was looking back at him sheepishly. James stood and left the bathroom, and Sirius thought he heard him mumble something along the lines of 'my work here is done'. Sirius made a mental note to knock him off his high hippogriff later.

"So you looove me, do you?" he asked Remus.

"Shove off, you prat," Remus said, standing and leaving the bathroom for his bed his bed.

"But you love this prat!" Sirius called out.

"Doesn't mean I won't send a tongue-tying jinx your way!"