Hello everyone. Sorry I haven't been able to update in a while. Caught up it various what nots and all that =) Nothing particularly interesting =)

*****

Even the most avid fan of intense subjects like arithmancy and ancient runes would be dying to escape from the torture that most students would call learning if such acts were situated on one's birthday. As such, while the professor droned on, Remus was itching to stand up from his seat, his fingers twitching in anticipation of the end of the class. In fact, the werewolf was so fidgety in excitement that Lily, his only friend who took the same arithmancy subject, had to hiss at him to calm him down. Remus gave her an apologetic smile before mentally counting down from ten.

...three...

...two...

...one...

"Thank you everyone and do not forget to read the last entry in the fourth chapter of your books!" the professor called out to uncaring students' backs, Remus and Lily included. With a deep breath, Remus savored the surprisingly different air of the corridor. He figured that the mixture of boredom, wonderment and learning created the stuffy atmosphere of the classroom, a great contrast to the freshness of the air coming in through the corridor windows.

"Oh" Lily suddenly remarked beside him. "James." Her tone sounded confused and so Remus followed her gaze toward the opposite wall of the corridor, directly in front of the door to the classroom.

"Oh" he mimicked. He couldn't figure out why he hadn't noticed the stag before, when, in fact, he stood out from the crowd quite spectacularly. James leaned against the wall casually, dressed in muggle attire: a tailored black blazer and blue jeans. They both made him look quite dashing. On his shoulder, he slung a bouquet of flowers equally casually, as a beater would do to his bat. He was missing his trademark round-rimmed glasses and his hair was... it was...

How the hell did he manage to slick it back?!

True enough, the naturally unruly, impossible-to-tame (well, almost) messy black hair of James Potter was flattened neatly and gelled back away from his face. This gave everyone a very different and surprisingly pleasant new perspective on his features. A smirk played upon his lips as he pushed himself off the wall and walked toward the stunned werewolf. All movement in the corridor, except those of the attentive and curious eyes of the students, had stilled. James neared Remus and pulled him close, pressing their bodies together rather closely. A soft blush spread over Remus's cheeks as his best friend dipped his head to whisper quietly in his ear:

"Do you have any idea how utterly and deliciously fuckable you look right now?" Remus's blush deepened. He was glad no one else was able to hear the message, despite the stillness in the area. To everyone else, it seemed as the taller boy was whispering sweet nothings in his ear. James continued, his lips deliberately brushing against the shell of the prefect's ear as he spoke. "Merlin knows how much willpower it's taking me just to keep myself from slamming you against that wall over there and taking you right here right now. Everyone be damned." Remus opened his mouth to speak but James cut him off. "In fact, the only thing standing in the way of you, me and that wall is a bottle of chocolate syrup and a can of whipped cream up in the dormitory and the image of you slathered in both." To that, Remus chuckled.

"I'm very sure I'm not the one you'd want to lick those off" he murmured in a seductively sweet whisper. James's laugh took on an oddly debonair quality that Remus had not been quite sure he was able to possess.

"Oh, you are, you are" he assured, "just not the only one." Then he stepped back. "I got you these." He handed Remus the large bouquet of 24 yellow roses, charmed so that they took on a glassy and glittery quality. "They match your eyes perfectly" he pointed out. Remus blushed yet again. "Don't I get anything in return?"

"I know what you want, Prongs, and it's not mine to give" the werewolf pointed out amusedly. James shook his head and, in one quick move, drew Remus in closer and enveloped the smaller boy's lips in his own. Around him, dreamy sighs came from the girls watching the exchange jealously.

"Get a bleeding room!" came an irritable yell, then a softer, but still highly audible "Fucking exhibitionists..." James burst out laughing yet again and released Remus before clapping Sirius on the back.

"Don't get mad at us man, it's not our fault you haven't been able to get some lately" he sniggered, then leered, "or maybe you're holding out for someone?" Sirius pushed his best friend's arm off his shoulder.

"Piss off. Come on, Remmie, I'm half-starved to death" the dog tugged the blushing boy's arm while heading in the general direction of the Great Hall.

"Sir, wait. I need to speak with you about something" James quickly grabbed his best friend's elbow and steered him in the opposite direction before the pair could get any further away from him. As they neared the corridor, nearly out of earshot, he yelled back to Remus "we'll catch up in a sec, luv," prompting the boy to hurry after a departing redhead, his bouquet of roses in a tow. Heading into an empty hallway, James turned to Sirius and started with "ask Lily to be your date tonight." Sirius's frowned.

"She's not my type" he muttered uncooperatively. His slitted gray eyes scanned his best friend warily as he spoke "If this is some strange plan you have for me to help you court Moony, you're not getting it. My help, I mean."

"No, no. I'm not asking for your help with anything. I just want you to bring Lily to the dinner I'm planning for tonight." Sirius's eyes widened in comprehension then abruptly narrowed. James was about to explain but he was stopped.

By Sirius's fist.

"Ow! Shit! What they fuck?!" the stag cried, staggering back and clutching his right eye as he howled in pain. Sirius stormed over to him and drew him up by the collar of his jacket until they were nose to nose. Their faces were so close together that, if the silver eyes weren't flashing so dangerously, James would have vaguely wondered if Sirius was going to kiss him.

"I warned you that you better not be screwing around with Moony in order to get into Lily's knickers!" he snarled, drawing his fist back again. James, however, was not a pushover. Before Sirius could swing his fist, the stag shoved him back quite roughly and got in a shot of his own.

"You stupid sod!" he yelled, "You didn't even hear what I was going to say!" Sirius growled in a feral fashion, reminiscent of the way Padfoot's wolf ancestors would, and pounced on the stag. Between trading punches, James managed to belt out "She's Remus's..." a grunt "other best friend!" A slap of flesh meeting flesh. "Don't you think--" a war cry "--Moony would want her--" James grunted again. With surprising strength, he flung Sirius across the hall again and drew his wand out, casting a full body-bind curse before the other could react. "--there" he finished, panting heavily. Sirius fell onto the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut. James sighed and plopped down beside Sirius who was busy glaring murderously at him.

"Look, Sir" the messy-haired boy wiped his nose free from blood, "Despite what you, and everybody else may think, my world does not revolve around Lily Evans. I honestly want Moony to be happy. I want him to be surrounded by the people he loves and the people who love him. Like it or not, Lily is one of those people and so she has to be there. Now, with me and Remus going together and Peter bringing his own lass, don't you think it would be gentlemanly and far more appealing to her to invite Lily along with us as your date rather than asking her to tag along with us, dateless?" Sirius moved his eyes around madly, trying to convey to James that, if he was expecting a reply, the Black heir could not very well give one. "Oh sorry."

"She could bring her own date, you know. And what makes you think I don't have my own date?" he asked after the curse was lifted.

"I want to keep it as intimate as possible" the stag shrugged. "I only allowed Wormy to bring his own date since I can't think of any more girls who are friends with Remus."

"Then why not get Wormy to date Lily?"

"Who are you so adamant about bringing anyway?"

"I--" Sirius's reply died on his lips, seeing as he was not planning on bringing any date. He simply shrugged instead and they sat together in silence. "This isn't a ruse to get me and Lily together, is it?" he asked after a long while. James's laughter was infectious and he soon found himself joining his best friend. "Okay fine" he conceded, "I will." James nodded and stood up. Sirius's afterthought halted him, though. "James?"

"Hmm?"

"Take care of him" Sirius murmured softly, but James caught the warning in the undertone. He stared squarely into Sirius's eyes.

"As if I could do a better job than you." Sirius frowned in confusion at the answer but nodded nevertheless.

*****

I'm hoping that truly didn't suck =) Reviews will be very much appreciated! =)