Alright, so I really feel like I owe everyone an apology, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been absolutely swamped with exams. Thankfully, those are over, and so I'm crossing my fingers so that I might be able to get ahead of my writing before school gets busy again.

Please, please, please review, it really helps. Constructive criticism, compliments, ideas for the plot or character development are absolutely welcomed, and please feel free to PM me.

Disclaimer: While the absolutely brilliant writing is mine (mind you, I might be a bit biased) if given the choice, I would much rather be living in this world than the amazing creator of it, JK Rowling.

Chapter 10

'Mornin'. You boys hungry, or what?' Lily asked with a small smirk, seeming to come out of a daze. She had an odd sort of twinkle in her eyes that had yet to fade, and James had to pretend like he knew how to breathe properly. Damn, I love those shorts, he thought, as her short pajama shorts barely concealed anything of her thighs, leaving her long and shapely pale legs almost glowing in the moonlight. As Lily's usually quite modest, James was taken aback by how toned they were, hoping she was as fit as she looked. With those legs, she should easily be able to run the laps during quidditch practice. It's a good thing she seemed to adore flying. Bloody hell I want her on the team; but why hasn't she ever tried out before?

'It's kind of a long story.' Sirius smiled sheepishly. James had never actually heard the full story, as Sirius would claim that it was quite long and extremely boring. James knew that that was a load of bullshit, but he didn't want to press his friend into revealing something so private, especially when he could tell Padfoot felt uncomfortable whenever James brought it up. He was therefore surprised when Sirius got out all of their baking stuff, and started telling them both about how he and his cousin Andy, and then Reg, and finally James had all snuck down to the kitchen for food and pastries, and how it had evolved when they were at the Potter's to them just baking.

After a long silence where Sirius wouldn't meet neither James' nor Lily's eyes, James got out Padfoot's favorite cookbook and began looking for something that they were in the mood for.

Both boys looked up and laughed, surprised, when Lily tied her long red hair up into a quick, messy braid and went to wash her hands asking 'So, what are we making?' along the way. When she saw their incredulous looks, Lily looked at them amusedly and said 'You didn't honestly think that I would go back to bed when I know that you two are baking, did you? Whatever you're making had better have chocolate in it though.'

'Fair enough.' Laughed Sirius. 'What do you think about chocolate cheesecake, then?'

'Sounds perfect.' Said James, as he went to gather the ingredients.

'You'll love it, trust me.' Sirius said to Lily with a wink.

'You had me at chocolate.' Laughed Lily. 'Tell me what to do.'

By the time Sirius had passed her the eggs and told her they needed to crack six of them, Lily had already cracked four. Gaping, James and Sirius stared at her.

'What? I cook with eggs all the time.' She continued with her beating, until she noticed that the boys were still looking at her skeptically. 'I love making breakfast, just ask Remus. I make enough to feed an army when he comes over.' She smiled, almost shyly.

James blinked and exclaimed 'So you're the one who's relieved me from kitchen duty! Remus never told me you could cook.' He looked at her appreciatively, earning him a whack in the arm from the laughing redhead.

'Wait, so you mean that you made all of the food that was served tonight? What about your House Elf, Twitch?' Asked Lily. Sirius smiled as he saw James practically preen over the fact that Lily appreciated his cooking, and that she remembered Twitch's name- not many wizards would bother, but the Potters considered Twitch family. Smiling over his friends' stupidity, Sirius started on the cheesecake as James and Lily kept on talking, which soon turned to bantering, barely getting anything accomplished aside from launching flour at each other.

When there seemed to be a truce settled over the flour –after they were both covered head to toe in white -Sirius spoke 'So Lily, how come you've never tried out for the quidditch team before? Surely it wasn't purely because of Prongs over here?' He said, a small smile as he jerked his head in the direction of his indignant best friend.

'Hey!' Cried James. 'That wasn't it, was it Evans?' He asked worriedly, risking a glance in her direction.

'Partly,' Lily said with a slight smile, looking down at her hands. 'Only it's not the entire reason.' After pausing for a heartbeat, giving Sirius just barely enough time to shoot a warning glare to James in case he tried to interrupt her, Lily continued. 'I've never owned my own broom.' She said simply. 'In first year, I fell in love with flying, but the school has that policy of first years not being allowed on the team. So I would practice on the quidditch pitch in the mornings- before everyone else woke up, sometimes before even the sun was up, just racing the wind down to each end of the pitch. By the time second year came around, the morning before tryouts, I went down to the pitch early again, like I used to, only by then I noticed how little control the brooms give you when you need to turn, and I didn't want to use an unreliable one during games. But I refused to ask my parents to buy me a broom of my own, and I didn't want to risk braking a friend's if I were to borrow it. So I just never bothered trying out. Giving me another reason to avoid the prat over there was just a bonus.' She finished with a weak smile, shooting a mock-glare in James' direction and continued with making the dessert.

'You know the Potter's have their own private quidditch pitch, right? The boys, McKinnon and I practically spend all summer out there, but it sucks because we're a player short of even teams. I'm sure James would let you borrow one of his brooms to practice with for the summer.' Sirius said, trying to come off nonchalant, but utterly failing by stealing looks between the two.

'Absolutely.' James said without missing a beat. Smiling, he added 'And after seeing you fly today, Evans, I need to know which position to plan you in for the gryffindor quidditch team this year.'

Lily was still trying, and failing, to think up an excuse for not going- which turned out to be harder then she thought it would, if the effort it took in hiding her smile said anything- when James brandished the dessert, declaring it ready to be eaten. After a few minutes of contemplative chewing, Lily declared appreciatively 'I have to admit, you guys make a damn good cheesecake.', as she devoured her piece of cake.

Once they cleaned up the kitchen, Lily started giggling to herself.

'What's so funny, Evans?' Asked James, a confused smile gracing his mouth.

'Nothing- nothing, really.' Lily gasped, her shoulders shaking.

'Don't make me tickle it out of you.' Said Sirius, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

'Don't you dare, Black!' Lily said, glaring at him, in an attempt to regain her composure. While a few chuckles escaped her, she managed to look at them in the eyes as she said 'I was just thinking at how different things are; just earlier this week, Remus begged me-like usual- to move in with you guys during the summer because of my cooking. I told him that that would be very counter-productive, as I would smother the two of you in your sleep.' Here she pointed at the boys seated in front of her, both of whom looked equally affronted, but when Lily continued, she couldn't tell if it was directed at Remus or her for laughing. 'Remus contradicted me by adding that I'd probably get away with it even if you both were awake.' She said, chuckling to herself quietly to herself as she took another look at James' and Sirius' faces.

'Oi!' Demanded James. 'Did you hear her?' He demanded of Padfoot, who looked rather indignant himself. 'You could not take us!'

'Yeah! Jamesie over here is an extremely light sleeper, so fat chance of getting away with that!' Lily almost fell off her chair at Jamesie's look of mortification and outrage, but Sirius merely continued. 'And, I'd like to see you take us when we're awake. We've spent years doing quidditch training you know. There's a reason all the girls claim my body belong to a god!' he huffed.

Turning on his friend, James said, 'There is no way I'm a light sleeper, Paddy.' Sirius stifled what Lily suspected was a growl in his throat, and looked at Potter with a wicked gleam in his eye. James, ignorant as usual, merely continued. 'Not with the way you snore in your sleep- and at least I don't growl, either. You know you do that thing, where it looks like you're a dog who's chasing your tail? And don't even get me started on how many times you've kicked me in your sleep! Bloody annoying.'

When James finished, the gleam that Lily had seen in Sirius' eyes seemed to be reflected in James'. When Sirius and James both stood up, rather abruptly, and turned towards the door leading to the backdoor, Lily followed with a sense of foreboding, hoping that the boys were always like this and that it wasn't over something she had said.

When she made her way outside, Lily was just in time to see what looked like the end of a scuffle, with both boys on the ground panting, until she saw both boys stand up. Glancing over their shoulders at Lily, the boys smiled slightly. 'Hey Lils?' Sirius called, as he walked farther away from James, while she was directly in the middle. 'Please, for once in your life, don't interfere? Oh. You, uh, might want to stand back a bit.' He said, sounding pleading, sheepish and amused at the same time.

Lily, who was utterly confused by this point, could do nothing but back up, and opened her mouth in shock when she saw James and Sirius whip out their wands- Where did they even put them? They don't even have pockets.- and begin to launch charms and jinxes at each other.

'Alarte Ascendare!' James bellowed, as Sirius shot up into the air.

Sirius managed to cast a Cushioning Charm, and then retaliated with 'Anteoculatia!'

Sirius wasted a good minute laughing as James realized what Sirius had done, and he voiced cries of outrage as he felt the antlers that had grown on his head. 'Mine are SO much nicer, Padfoot!' Bellowed James - who was trying to look upset, but only managed to pull off amusedly annoyed- which confused Lily immensely, however it caused Sirius to double over once more in fits of laughter. In doing so, it gave James time to cry out something that Lily didn't quite catch, but caused Sirius to sprout a long, shaggy black tail which was wagging in excitement, as well as upturned-ears on the top of his head. They both started laughing at each other, as neither had removed the spells of the other so far, and paused for a brief moment. Suddenly, they both whirled on Lily with laughter and shouts of 'Augmenti!' and 'Avifors'. Lily, who had only just realized that it was all a game- and therefore perfectly normal- was only just able to put up a shield charm that blocked the jet of water and the spell that would've turned her into a bird.

'Nice reflexes, Evans!' She could hear James calling appreciatively over from the other side of her shield charm, the wide smile evident in his voice – as was the challenge. 'How about we see if you can actually turn me into a toad, as you've promised countless other times!'

'James, you should know better! It's been 76 times, since September!' Laughed Sirius.

Lily could've sworn that their voices were coming closer, and knew her shield was only blocking her line of sight. Once it fell, she would be taken by surprise, and she did not want to deal with those two gloating. Lily thought, with everything she could, 'Ascendio!' and much to her relief, and surprise – because Merlin knows she needs help with her non-verbal spells – Lily shot into the air, rising high above the heads of James and Sirius as she let her shield charm end. She was also pleased to note that they had indeed, been approaching her, and that they were surprised when they didn't see her once her shield fell.

'Since when can you pull off non-verbal spells, Evans? We haven't even covered those yet!' Sirius exclaimed, in an oddly proud voice that Lily rarely heard.

'Actually, you haven't. I read the textbooks before-hand during the summer so that I don't stress as much during the year -it also gives me something to do during the day. I'm very grateful, as I'm sure you could imagine, that I started with Transfiguration first.' Lily cackled, as she Summoned Marlene's broom up to her.

'We can fly too, Evans, you sure you want to go there? I doubt you can see much up there- the sun isn't even up yet.' James called to her.

'James, I think you're forgetting something; this is what I'm used to!' Lily called as she sped off to where she saw the Quidditch Pitch peeking over the trees.

Swearing, James and Sirius chased after her –after finally managing to get a hold of their brooms –with bright smiles adorning all three of their faces.

James Potter was having the best night of his life. First, he stands a decent chance of convincing Evans to try out for the quidditch team, as long as she gets a broom –which he doesn't think will be a problem, as long as it was anonymously given; then, it seems as if she can be in a room with him and Padfoot for hours on end without trying to strangle either of them; she can not only handle her own in the kitchen, but actually enjoys it; and she likes reading up on the transfiguration textbook before hand as well? I am so very screwed, He thought with a smile.

Over the wind, James could hear Padfoot whisper to him 'Why didn't you tell her you can do non-verbal spells too? And I know you can, because you've been practicing on me since I got here.'

James smiled as he looked at her form zooming across the pitch and explained 'I don't want her to think that I was showing off, or make her feel bad. I didn't know that she already knew how, and I obviously can't do much more about it now, but at least we got her to play quidditch. Thanks for helping out.' He told his best friend, and they both picked up their speed in an attempt to entice Lily into a real game, positive that this time, she would not refuse.

Lily knew exactly what James and Sirius were up to, but she really didn't mind so much, at least once she was back on a broom. After quickly determining that they would rotate positions to see which one she liked best, Lily started off as playing Keeper to James' Chaser and Sirius' Beater – with more than a little bit of nerves, as those were the positions the boys normally played.

'Ready, Lils?' called Sirius.

'Let's do this.' Answered Lily, refusing to let her nervousness show in her voice.

As the game commenced, it became apparent that Lily was not a skilled Keeper, however she certainly wasn't the worst one the team had ever had. Soon enough, James swapped with her so that she could try out the Chaser position, and while that went marginally better, he knew that she would be more restricted in her flying than what she'd be best with. There was also the matter of the other members on the team, and their positions, which James –as the quidditch captain- nearly forgot about. Sheepishly, he considered his options; as it stood, there was only a Seeker and a Beater position available anyways, as James, Marlene and Dorcas were the team's Chasers- and all had superior skills than Lily at said position- Sirius was the remaining Beater- sadly, Brown had left at the end of last year- and Frank was the Keeper- once again, not the right position for Lily regardless. The previous Seeker, Amelia Bones, had left that year as well. So, with those positions in mind, James decided to change things up. He had Lily do drills, trying to see how fast her reflexes were and how just how well she could maneuver her broom –and Merlin, was he impressed.

From what Lily could see, James was practically jumping with glee on top of his broom. 'Oi, Potter! You'd better not fall before you tell my why you're so bloody happy.' She hollered.

'Happy? You think this is merely James being happy?! Evans, he is bloody ecstatic. Hell, we could've won the championship for years had you been on the team! I'm more pissed that you weren't on the team before, but James has always looked on the positive side of things.' Sirius said, as he flew over to her to get a better look at his friend, who was now in the middle of doing victory laps. 'C'mon Prongs; Evans here has some eggs that need cracking. If you can manage to not break your neck in the meantime, I'm starving and Lily's in charge of breakfast.' Sirius bellowed as he and the ginger landed on the grass, James following shortly behind.

Remus had heightened senses once a month, thanks to his "Furry Little Problem" as James had royally dubbed it in their second year -most of their class were under the impression that Remus had a poorly behaved rabbit, and James and Sirius never done anything to discourage that. However, he still had better eyesight as well as a stronger sense of smell than normal people. This did not apply to animagus', and so while he knew when James and Sirius went downstairs to bake –Remus was a light sleeper, and it was a very common habit of theirs - neither he nor Peter stirred until they could smell the bacon, eggs and pancakes, among other things, cooking sometime around eight in the morning. Recognizing the smell of some foods that he'd ever only seen Lily make, he smiled and wondered at what state of living his two friends would be in when they encountered the definitely-not-a-morning-person redhead (however, that implied that she'd actually gone to bed, which never happened).

Sure enough, just as Lily was finished with the first round of food, the other three boys' toes touched the floor of the main floor, noses up in the air and practically running for the kitchen. As Remus was the only one to expecting it to be Lily cooking, he was the only one that didn't come skidding to a stop in shock, like Peter did, thereby causing Frank to run into him. It ended when Lily resolutely stepped over the mountain of teenage boys on the floor, already on her mission of going upstairs to wake up the girls.

Five minutes and much screaming later, Alice, Dorcas and Marlene were coming down the stairs completely soaked, while Lily sported brown fur, ears and a tail that resembled that of a doe –Sirius chortled over his pumpkin juice at this, as did Remus and Peter as they looked between Lily's grinning and unabashed face, and James' own pleasantly confused one. 'What- what happened to you four?' Managed Remus, in between fits of laughter.

'They didn't want to get up. And apparently, they didn't like the way that I woke them up; so, they retaliated. I don't know if any of you boys could pull this look off, but I seem to be rocking it.' Lily stated simply, with a bright smile as she finished serving everyone just in time as the Daily Prophet arrived with a plain barn owl. After making eye contact with the rest of the Marauders, James paid the owl and took the paper, proceeding immediately to bury his face while reading, effectively smothering his sniggering.

'James!' Dorcas gasped, 'You can read? Who knew.'

'Aw Dork, at least he knows where the library is at Hogwarts.' Countered Sirius.

'Like you're one to talk, Black.' Marlene joined in, a small but wicked small on his face. 'You're the only person I've ever met who got a paper cut and went running to Poppy, screaming about the dangers of blood loss and how you insisted on being admitted over night. "Oh! The agony!" ' She said, with in an almost perfect imitation of her friend's wailing voice.

Remus cackled as Sirius stuck out his tongue and opened his mouth to continue the discussion, only to be interrupted by James. Sirius smirked, thinking that his friend was coming to his defense, but the smirk fell away soon after James started speaking; 'What's a six letter word for irritatingly loud?'

'Sirius.' Called Lily, as she had just sat down beside James, so that she could better see the crossword he was working on.

'Hey!' Pouted Sirius

'Ha! It fits! Thanks Lils.' James said with a wide smile, causing Sirius to frown even more –much to their friends exceeding amusement. 'What's a word that's a mix between angry and sad?'

'Disgruntled' offered Remus.

'Miserable' added Alice.

'Desolate' contributed Lily.

'Smad.' Said Sirius, with a triumphant expression on his face. However, the intended effect was rather ruined by the overly-dramatic wink he directed at Lily and James, who were directly opposite him and looking at him with a mix of exasperation and amusement on both of their faces. Everyone else just huffed, and Remus told him to stuff his face with breakfast before he did it for him.

Sirius had just opened his mouth once more when Remus spoke up. 'You know… duct tape can't fix stupid, but I'm sure it could muffle the sound.' Remus said wonderingly, glancing at an offended Sirius with a polite smile on his face as everyone else started sniggering into their food.

Once the kitchen was all cleared up and they had all sat back at the table, two people could be heard bickering as they emerged from the fireplace. Sharing confused looks with Sirius, James called out 'Mum? Dad? Is everything okay?'

'Oh yes, James don't worry about it. Your father here's just being the biggest prat I have ever seen. Honestly, Fleamont; you know better than to move things around in the pantry. It's why you aren't allowed in there in the first place!'

'Since when have I been banned from the pantry, Euphie?'

'Since the last time you moved things around!' Mrs. Potter huffed, storming into the kitchen with a redness to her cheeks, her husband following sheepishly behind. Looking slightly surprised at the amount of teenagers gathered at the kitchen table, Mrs. Potter greeted them all with 'Good morning, dears. Sorry to excuse myself so early, but someone has a pantry that needs to be organized and restocked.' And with one final glare at her husband, Mrs. Potter turned on her heel and left the kitchen, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like bloody potatoes.

Mr. Potter, who had refused to make eye contact with any of them, suddenly looked up with a brilliant smile on his face and started laughing. He laughed for all it was worth, finally managing to gasp out a question, addressed as they usually were to the Marauders. 'Okay –which one of you –broke into the pantry –and hid all of the potatoes?' He laughed.

Peter, James and Remus turned quizzical expressions on each other, before turning to point at Sirius unanimously, with laughter in their eyes.

Taking another minute to compose himself, Mr. Potter high-fived Sirius, ruffled James' hair –not unlike the way his son has a habit of doing so –and left the kitchen, trailing after his wife –but not before he shared some words of wisdom to every male seated at that table; 'Arguing with a woman is like getting arrested; everything you say can and will be used against you.'

The group of friends tried to avoid eye contact, that is until James felt Lily's shoulders shaking with repressed fits of laughter and he couldn't contain his own any longer. The rest joined soon after, the sounds reaching all the way to Mrs. Potter's semi-annoyed ears and smiling face.