7

James and Sirius did not go back to sleep that night, but rather gathered their robes and school supplies and sat in the common room to wait for everyone else to wake up. Remus was the first, arriving shortly before the sun rose, and Peter managed to haul himself down the staircase to their dormitory a few minutes before class was to begin.

'Who do we have first today?' Peter yawned.

'McGonagall,' Remus replied as they made their way to Transfiguration class. As part of the swap that saw them now sharing Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs, they now shared Transfiguration with the Slytherins. James fought off a grimace as he saw Snape and Lily sitting together, with Snape telling her something that was making her laugh.

Sirius snorted. 'I'm sensing a double standard here, mate,' he muttered darkly. 'He's allowed to hex you and she laughs it off the next day? You might be wasting your time.'

Remus pursed his lips. 'It's more complicated than that,' he said.

'Oh come off it, Moony,' Sirius snapped. 'You were part of that too. You can't tell me he didn't start it all.'

'No, I suppose not,' Remus sighed. 'Would it be too much to hope, however, that we could focus on class?'

It proved an arduous task for James, who had to put up with Snape sneaking him malevolently smug looks as he sat next to Lily. James sighed and tried to focus on the task at hand—turning a small statue of a dragon into an actual living dragon.

'Just put your mind to it and you'll do fine,' Remus muttered quietly.

'Yeah, James, don't let Snivelly get to you,' Peter whispered bracingly, although James harbored a suspicion that Peter wanted him to succeed so he could figure out how to copy the spell work correctly.

James sighed, twirled his wand and prodded the statue. 'Draconifors,' he said firmly and it turned into a small dragon.

'Well done, Potter,' said an obviously impressed McGonagall. James cast a glance back along the room at Lily and Snape—Lily was looking at him in amazement and Snape was scowling. James prodded the dragon and it spat a small fireball across the table which quickly dissipated into the air. 'Take twenty points for Gryffindor. Have you been practicing your Transfiguration skills, Potter?' she asked.

James could feel Sirius, Remus and Peter all staring at him. 'Er—yes, at every opportunity,' he said.

McGonagall's eyebrows nearly receded into her hair line. 'I had heard,' she said in a quieter voice. 'That you approached Madam Bones for extra lessons in Defense?'

'Yes,' James said.

'Well,' McGonagall said and she suddenly had a very funny facial expression. 'Take another five points for Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. It is nice to see you taking your studies seriously.' She began to move away when she stopped and looked back. 'And my door is always open should you wish to have extra Transfiguration lessons.'

'Think she's jealous?' Sirius chortled as they left the classroom what seemed like an eternity later. 'Maybe she thinks she's being shown up by the new teacher.'

'I doubt that,' Remus said. 'She seemed...well, proud of you,' he said in amazement.

James shrugged. 'Transfiguration is too easy. I only wish we were able to study Animagi in class,' he muttered.

'Keep your voice down,' Remus implored.

'We're off to Potions now,' Sirius said in a meaningful voice. James caught his eye and nodded; this did not go unnoticed by Remus, whose eyes narrowed.

'What are you two doing?' he said slowly.

Sirius shrugged. 'Nothing, just a little bit of Marauder business. Are you game?'

'Marauders always have each other's backs,' Peter reminded Remus who ran a hand through his hair in irritation.

'What exactly am I signing up for?' he said in a resigned voice.

James laughed. 'Relax, Moony—the less you know the better. Nothing's going to happen for a while, anyway…we have a lot of planning to do.'

They entered the dungeons and Professor Horace Slughorn's rotund form greeted them. 'Ah, if it isn't the suddenly academically adept James Potter,' he said with a heaving grin. 'I wonder if your skill will translate to potionery?'

James looked confused. 'I thought I was doing alright in Potions?'

'Certainly alright, m'boy,' Slughorn said cheerily. 'But no one has been able to hold a candle to our two master potioneers, Ms. Evans and Mr. Snape,' he said with a nod as the two entered the room behind him. 'Perhaps some competition will be good for the spirit, here.'

The other students came in and sat down, listening with rapt attention as Slughorn beamed out over them all. 'I have a challenge for you all today. Are any of you aware of the properties of a little devil called Felix Felicis?'

Lily gasped audibly and Snape sat up stiffly in his chair. James observed this and then looked back at Slughorn who had evidently noticed the same thing. 'Ms. Evans?'

'It's liquid luck,' she said quickly.

The class murmured as Slughorn bounced on his heels. 'Five points to Gryffindor, and there's some points in it for Slytherin if Mr. Snape can tell me the drawbacks?'

'It can cause giddiness, recklessness and overconfidence if used in excess,' Snape said quickly. 'But it virtually guarantees that you will succeed in all of your endeavors for the duration of the dosage you take.'

'Excellent, excellent, take ten points for Slytherin,' Slughorn beamed. 'I have here a small vial of Felix Felicis,' he said, producing a small, tear drop-shaped glass filled with golden liquid. 'I usually save this for my seventh years, but I have been inspired today,' he said with a smile at James, 'to let you lot have a try. This is to be a creative day—divide yourself into pairs, and then whip me up your most creative potions. The winners shall receive little Felix here. Begin!'

Snape and Lily bolted immediately bolted to the supplies cupboard. James and Sirius exchanged a glance, silently acknowledged that they would be partners and tore into their book to look for a suitable potion to brew. James flicked to a page that caught his eye and pointed it out to Sirius who nodded at once and flew off to the cupboards with the book as James hauled his cauldron onto the table. He cast a quick glance at Lily and Snape to see they were already adding ingredients to their own.

Sirius came back in an awful hurry, surprising Remus and Peter who had not even selected a potion yet.

'What's first?' Sirius demanded.

'Three ounces of dragon's blood and two strands of unicorn hair, stewed to a low boil,' James ready quietly. Sirius opened the small vial of dragon's blood he had procured from the cupboard and poured three ounces carefully as James lit a fire beneath the cauldron. Sirius then carefully plucked two strands of unicorn hair and added them to the mix.

James stirred it carefully as it began to bubble slowly. 'Now two crushed shards of goblin-made-metal,' he said. 'Crushed into as many small pieces as you can, and then we need to turn up the heat,' he said.

'How the hell am I supposed to crush goblin-made metal? Isn't it supposed to be indestructible?' he asked.

James hadn't considered that. He chewed his lip. He highly doubted that Slughorn would be willing to give advice as this was a competition to be won on merit. James quickly whipped through the pages of the book. 'Are you sure it's not the amour that's indestructible, and not the metal?'

Sirius slapped his forehead. 'Right,' he muttered and he took out his flat knife, crushing the metal into shards and adding it. James muttered with his wand and the flames danced beneath their cauldron, heating their potion to a high degree. James cast a glance over at Snape and Lily who clearly had their game faces on—Lily had used what appeared to be a lock of her own hair, and Snape was rapidly stirring their cauldron in clockwise and counter clockwise motions.

'Now what?' Sirius asked.

'One fifth of a bezoar,' James asked. Sirius used his flat knife again to chip off a section of bezoar which he then beat into powder with the blade of his knife. He swept it into his palm and dumped it into the potion, which James stirred. 'Now we settle it back to a simmer,' he muttered, reducing the height of the flames so the potion tempered.

'Are you sure this is going to work?' Sirius hissed.

'We'll do better than most of the class, I reckon,' James whispered back. 'It's Snape and Lily I'm worried about.'

Sirius pursed his lips. He cast a glance at Slughorn, then around the room, and then back over at Lily and Snape. He pointed his wand at their cauldron and muttered something quickly. Nothing seemed to happen, and Sirius went instantly back to work.

James fought off an urge to smack him. 'What are you doing?' he hissed.

Sirius shrugged. 'Did you see anything happen?' he asked.

James cast a glance back at their cauldron and shook his head, returning to their work. A few moments later, however, it became evident what Sirius had done.

'Sev! The cauldron's cracked!' Lily's voice suddenly called shrilly.

James looked up to see Snape trying to repair the cauldron but it suddenly broke apart, spilling the contents of their boiling hot potion all over the desk. It might have been salvageable were it not for the fact that it rolled overtop of many of their raw ingredients. Lily groaned as Snape quickly re-sealed their cauldron and levitated their potion's contents into the air and back into it.

'Bad luck, bad luck,' Slughorn was saying. 'Careful maintenance of one's cauldron is of the utmost importance for a good potioneer,' he said.

Lily looked distraught as Snape furiously worked on their potion. James looked at Sirius who was smirking as he madly added ingredients to their list.

Finally, Slughorn waved a wand and all the fires died. 'Alright, let's have a look,' he said. He went from cauldron to cauldron, sniffing admirably in some cases and in others looking like he was resisting a distinct urge to vomit. He performed the latter when coming over Remus and Peter's cauldron—whatever potion they had made more or less resembled a human brain sitting at the bottom of their cauldron.

He passed over Snape and Lily's and gave a strong look of approval. 'Especially in light of your cauldron failure, this Despair Potion looks almost perfect. A very advanced potion, you two, well done,' he said.

James bit his lip. He had a feeling it would come down to him against Lily. Slughorn walked over to their potion and raised his eyes in amazement. 'Black Fire potion? It certainly looks good, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black…but let's up the wager to win the prize,' he said, flicking his wand back towards his desk. A wall of black flames appeared in front of it, causing most of the class to gasp. 'If one of you is willing to try your potion and walk through the fire—successfully—then Felix is yours.'

James and Sirius looked at each other nervously. James nodded and stood. 'I'll give it a go,' he said.

Slughorn summoned a vial over and Sirius ladled a bit of their potion into it. 'Are you sure? I don't know if I got enough of the bezoar in—' he hissed.

'I trust you,' James said firmly and he took a long swig of the potion. Without looking at anyone he walked determinedly towards the black fire, having a fleeting thought of the Cruciatus Curse and wondering if this would hurt any worse if their potion did not work.

But James walked through it suddenly, an icy feeling of calm all over his body as he did so, and he emerged unscathed on the other side. He then walked back through to see Slughorn beaming at him, and the rest of the class looking envious. Snape looked like the vein in his forehead was about to burst.

'Well done!' Slughorn cried. 'Your winners, ladies and gentlemen—James Potter and Sirius Black!' He clapped enthusiastically, and was joined somewhat half heartedly by Remus and Peter. The rest of the class looked distinctly put out. 'And here you two go—one vial, as promised. Split between the two of you, it is good for half a day each of perfect luck,' he said with a grin.

James motioned for Sirius to accept it which he did with an awestruck look on his face. Class ended and Snape stormed out, leaving Lily to gather their supplies. James moved over to help her.

'Impressive,' she said curtly as she tried to clean.

James waved his wand, sending their discarded supplies into a garbage bin. 'We got lucky,' he said. 'How did you crack your cauldron?'

'It was Sev's. He's always chastising me for not caring for mine enough, and I think he's scared I'm going to say I told you so,' she muttered.

James laughed. 'Aren't you?'

'Now that he's left me to clean up this mess, I'm sorely tempted,' she muttered. 'Congratulations, Potter,' she said again and she gathered her things to leave the classroom. James turned to Sirius who nodded with a meaningful glare towards Slughorn. James nodded and walked over.

'Professor,' James asked.

'Ah, James, my dear boy—just the man I wanted to see. I'm not sure if you are aware that I host a monthly party in honor of some of my more distinguished students,' he said with a grin. 'I was hoping you and Mr. Black would join me next time?'

James blinked. 'Oh—certainly,' he said with an unsure glance at Sirius who shrugged. 'But I also wanted to ask…we're practicing some potion work outside of class, and we were wondering if we could have access to some of your ingredients?'

'Of course, my boy, of course,' Slughorn said easily, handing James a small key. 'You are welcome to take anything at your leisure.'

James was astounded—he had not expected this to be this easy. 'Are you sure?' he stammered to an incredulous look from Sirius.

'But of course! This is all purely academic, isn't it?' Slughorn asked.

'Right. Yes. Of course. Well. I need to be off now—classes,' James said excitedly. Slughorn nodded and waved and James took off out of the classroom at a near run. He and Sirius jumped up and high fived each other in the corridor as Remus and Peter watched with grins.

'That was quite ironic,' Remus observed as they walked along.

'What was?' Sirius asked innocently.

'Snape's cauldron splitting in two was a stroke of luck for you,' Remus said with a penetrating stare at Sirius who didn't blink. 'One might say it was a bit too much of a coincidence,' he added.

'Are you accusing me of something?' Sirius asked.

'Come off it, you two, we won the potion, let's move on,' James said.

Remus folded his arms. 'You forgot the 'fair and square' part,' he said.

Sirius shrugged. 'Maybe it's just Snape being a git and it catching up with him,' he said in a somewhat irritable tone. 'Just forget about it, Moony.'

'If you cheated, you should give it to Lily and Severus,' Remus said hotly.

'And who says we cheated?' Sirius retorted.

'No secrets amongst friends,' James chided. 'Yes, Remus,' he added with a look around. 'We cheated. We cracked Snape's cauldron. He deserved it, end of story.'

Remus looked scandalized, but Peter was impressed. 'Nice trickery,' he said in a flattering tone.

'No it isn't! It's underhanded!' Remus said.

'And him ganging up and attacking us wasn't?' James demanded.

Remus threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. 'Are you going to rat us out?' Sirius asked.

'Don't be thick, of course I'm not,' Remus said angrily. 'But you two could easily do with a little understanding of why rules exist in the first place.'

'To be broken, of course,' Sirius said with a grin. At a deathly glare from Remus, Sirius laughed. 'Come on, Moony. What if I shared some of my bit with you? Hm? We'll each have a little bit of luck together.'

Remus sighed but looked somewhat mollified. 'When do you plan to take it?'

James and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged. 'Guess we'll have to think about it,' James said.

'You should save it for something really important,' Remus said. 'I wouldn't let that bottle out of your sight…it could be even handier than you realize.'

'What do you mean?' Sirius asked.

'Well,' Remus said darkly. 'If Rochefort and his gang come after you again, it could be a very useful tool to have.'

James grimaced. 'Good point, well made,' he muttered.

'See? Aren't you glad we cheated?' Sirius said with a slap to Remus' back as they headed for their next class.