The hallway outside the Great Hall was alive with nervous energy, as the fifth year students lined up awaiting entry.
At the end of the lines, three boys were listening to a fourth.
' …. And then Prongs slips on the water, goes sliding into MacDonald, who very nearly falls, but fortunately, a brave knight in shining armour was there to catch her.'
Peter, James and Remus couldn't help but roll their eyes.
'Almost as if it was intricately planned …..' said Remus, eyeing Sirius warily.
'What can I say?' shrugged Sirius. 'I have a talent for ruption.'
'That doesn't mean what you think it does.'
'What do I think it means?'
'I have absolutely no idea,' said Remus. 'But I know you. What you think you think is right, is more often than not wrong.'
'Well, if disruption is wrecking everything to stop something, then ruption must be wrecking everything to start something.
Remus opened his mouth to speak, but caught himself.
'It's times like these I wonder if you're actually intelligent or just plain lucky.'
'Can't it be both?' whined Sirius. 'I'm lucky to be so handsome, have such amazing friends, and I'm also exceptionally intelligent.'
A scoff from behind them, cause all four boys to whip round to see Snape slowly approaching.
'What's the matter Snape, worried about me beating you on your favourite subject, The Darky Warky Arts again?' smirked Sirius, causing a few students to laugh.
'I was in hospital.'
'So?'
'You put me there.'
'I'm sure whatever I did was perfectly justified.'
'You locked my legs and pushed me downstairs.'
'I refer you to my previous statement.'
The students laughed again.
Snape smirked.
'Besides, the only way you'll beat me this time, is if this test is on werewolves.'
The four boys went quiet, Remus in particular, looked pale and rigid.
'I don't seem to know as much as you four on that subject.'
James' face began to redden and he reached for his wand -
'What's going on here?'
James froze with his hand in his robes and turned to see Lily Evans.
'Nothing, Evans,' said James. 'I was just reaching for a handkerchief to wipe up all the grease Snivellus is dripping all over the floor.'
The students laughed, including Lily friends by her side, but Lily herself, just pursed her lips.
'Grow up, Potter. The exam's starting.'
With that, she brushed past them towards the now opening doors.
Snape smirked and followed the crowd in.
CANON: ***SNAPE CALLS LILY A MUDBLOOD***
Later that evening, James was moodily staring out the window at the sunset, whilst Sirius and Peter played an over exuberant game of Exploding Snap that was destined to irritate Remus as he read on the couch next to them.
James' head whipped around to the sound of the portrait opening, but he was disappointed to see a gaggle of second year's traipse through it.
'For God's sake,' exclaimed Sirius. 'You're giving me heart palpitations with this, just go and get the bloody map from upstairs and find her.'
James considered this for a moment.
'I can't. What happens if she comes in when I'm upstairs, then I'll have to wait until morning. You go and get it.'
'I'm not even going to dignify that suggestion with a response,' said Sirius, turning up his nose.
'Peter, you go.'
'I'm not a slave.'
'Silence slave!' shouted Sirius, in an over-the-top pompous voice. 'How dare you speak to your Master like that. I'll have you whipped for insubordination'
'That's not the word you're looking for,' said Remus, exasperatedly from behind his book.
'Then what I am thinking about?'
'That's a question I truly never want to know the answer to.'
Peter and James laughed as Sirius frowned.
James laughter died as Lily stormed through the portrait hole. He jumped up and shouted after her, but she was already away up the stairs.
'Oh, cheers Padfoot.'
'How was that my fault?'
'Because,' stalled James, searching for words, 'if you were clever, like me, you'd have known the right word to use was refute.'
'I'll have you whipped for refute?' said Sirius. 'That doesn't work'.
'It's better than insubordination.'
'In what way is that better?'
'Repudiation' interjected Remus in a monotous tone.
James and Sirius paused, looking at Remus and then back at each other.
'Repudiation,' they said together, nodding.
'Mary!' shouted James, noticing her descending the stairs out of the corner of his eye and startling most of the common room in the process. ]
James bounded over to meet her at the bottom step.
'Where's Lily?'
'You know where she is. Upstairs. You chased her up.'
'I didn't chase her.'
Mary raised an eyebrow.
'Ok, but I'm trying to apologise.'
'Why?'
'Because …'
'You don't even know why you're apologising do you?'
'Well, I might have been a little harsh to her.'
'To her?' laughed Mary. 'Merlin, James. You're hopeless.'
'Well, I'd like to think I'm-'
'You don't get it, do you?' said Mary, cutting him off. 'You want to prove Lily wrong about you?'
'Yeah.'
'Then stop proving her right.'
Mary patted him on the shoulder and walked past, leaving him dumbstruck, looking up at the empty staircase.
A few moments later, he slouched up the boys staircase out of view from his friends.
