An earlier post than last time me thinks.

It's been over a year and a half since I started writing this, and I'm getting close enough to the end that I can taste it. This will go through chapter seventeen and its done!

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through sporadic, sometimes unexpected and random updates. This will be finished, I promise!

Also…the next chapter shouldn't be expected until sometime in August at least, as I'm going on a vacation in the end of July.

-&-

Twirling a thin, pale finger through her bright red hair, Lily looked up at the messy haired boy leaning down next to her at the table from under her lashes. "Explain it again James…is it like this?" Picking up her quill, she drew a diagram slowly, adding an extra swirl on purpose and biting her lip hopefully.

James smiled gently and shook his head, reaching down and plucking the quill from her fingers. "No Lily, listen; Remus explained it quite clearly. This is what you do" Leaning over her, he let her place her hand on the quill under his own and began guiding her through the drawing, leaving out the extra curling flourish at the end. "Now try it yourself."

Lily took the quill back and gave James a calculating look, smiling gently to herself before placing the tip to parchment and drawing the diagram, replicating the mistake she had made before perfectly and smiling up at James brightly. James laughed and shook his head. "Maybe I should ask Remus to teach you…he's much better at this kind of stuff." Pouting gently, Lily dropped the quill and scooted closer, parting her lips softly and giving him her most innocently seductive look. "I would much rather you keep trying James…you understand me better…"

Blinking softly, James cleared his throat and nodded slowly. "Erm…alright then…let's move on to the next incantation at least, this one seems a bit…hopeless…"

-&-

Yawning softly, Sirius rolled over and shifted slightly, pressing his face into-nothing. Blinking blearily, he opened his eyes slowly and stared at the empty hollow where his lover had previously been sleeping in confusion. "James..?" He sat up slowly, looking towards James' bed and finding nothing. Running his fingers through his hair messily, Sirius slid his legs off the edge of the bed and padded over to his trunk, pulling clothes out slowly and dressing himself, running through a list of possible places his lover could be hiding.

-&-

James moved closer to Lily, reaching up to pluck an imaginary bit of fluff from her brilliant red locks, letting his hand linger a little longer than necessary on the flaming hair. Shifting slightly, he let his leg move so his knee brushed against Lily's, all the while staring at her with adoring eyes. Lily glanced up from her work every few moments, giving one of her customary sweet smiles and fluttering her eyelashes softly, enjoying the quiet flirting as much as he was.

-&-

Yawning widely, Sirius stepped into his large black boots and clumped out of the room without bothering to tie them, pounding down the stairs noisily and pushing into the common rooms. Blinking blearily at the sudden light of the more open room, he looked around slowly for James and, spotting the familiar dark hair across the room, switched direction and hurried over.

As he got closer, Sirius was presented with a rather uncomfortable sight. James was indeed sitting at the table he had spotted him at, but he was not alone. Lily Evans sat next to him, by this point practically in his lap, and the two teenagers were staring into each others eyes in a manner that reminded Sirius very much of two love struck puppy dogs. James was running a hand through his hair slowly, his eyes fixed on Lily, who was twirling a lock of her bright hair between her fingers, lips parted slightly.

Swallowing angrily, Sirius looked around the room quickly and, spotting a leftover ratty notebook on one of the tables, snatched it up and tossed it at the back of James' head before whirling around and storming out of the room, fuming.

-&-

Snapping his attention away from Lily's brilliant green eyes at the sudden slamming of the portrait, James turned just in time to see a flash of curly dark hair and a thick soled boot disappearing through the hole. Cursing softly, he threw an apologetic look to Lily and stood up, hurrying to the portrait and slipping through after Sirius.

He caught up with him at the end of the corridor leading to the Gryffindor tower, reaching out and catching his arm as Sirius was about to enter a secret passage the two had discovered that led directly to a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. Grabbing Sirius' arm, James whirled him around to face him and glared down at him gently. "What the bloody hell was that about, storming out of the commons like that? You'd think a bee flew in your bonnet with how fast you left…"

Sirius whirled towards James, his grey eyes glinting with anger as he jerked his arm out of his lovers' grip. "Perhaps because there is a bee in my bonnet James Potter, and her name is Lily fucking Evans!" James blinked and took a step back, staring at Sirius in confusion. "What did Lily ever do to you Sirius...?"

"She was born, that's what!" Glaring at James furiously, Sirius crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you don't see anything wrong with the fact that you were all over each other five minutes ago!"

James shot a confused look at Sirius. "All over each other? Sirius…Lily was just talking to me…about how she's used to the idea of you and me together! Lily and I are friends now…just friends!"

Rolling his eyes, Sirius glared harder and turned his face away to keep James from seeing the threatening tears glistening at the corner of his eyes. "I might have believed that before James…but after seeing the way you were looking at that wench, I don't now." He turned slowly to face James, narrowing his glittering eyes slowly. "I'm tired of playing games…it's either me or her James Potter."

The messy haired boy standing rigidly in front of Sirius' shoulders sagged, and he flinched back visibly, turning hurt eyes on his curly haired lover. He opened his mouth to speak, closing it with an audible snap. Swallowing slowly, James turned from Sirius and slipped past him silently, headed for the door to the passage he had just stopped Sirius from entering. Turning back to his friend, he said softly, "Perhaps I choose neither Sirius." With those words, he turned silently and stepped through the door, leaving a gaping Sirius staring after him.

-&-

James still wasn't back. It had been hours since Sirius had exploded at him…and he was still absent, at least from the commons where Sirius waited for his return. Pacing from one room to the other, Sirius narrowed his eyes at the look Remus was giving him and changed direction, heading for the portrait hole. "Alright, you've got me! I'll go find him." Grumbling softly, he slipped out of the hole and headed for the passage he had last seen James go down, deciding to take a chance that his stray lover had fallen asleep in the clearing.

As he walked, Sirius considered the situation from earlier that had caused problems between him and James in the first place, deciding that he may have been overreacting. He shook his head softly and grinned to himself. "Jealous of a bloody girl...get a hold of yourself Sirius. James is with you now."

Sirius crawled out of the tunnel at the end of the passage, stopping in the crowd of bushes separating himself from the clearing. If James were still there…he needed a plan to approach him, as he would likely still be pissed. With this in mind, Sirius lifted his head and parted the branches of a bush, peeking through them into the clearing right as a soft, feminine moan split the silence.

Nestled in the grass in the middle of the clearing, two partially clothed figures withered and rubbed, panting and moaning in the throes of passion only a few feet from where Sirius crouched. Red hair mingled with messy black, a deeply tanned muscled chest pressed against a soft, pale breast. Both sets of eyes were closed with ecstasy, both blissfully unaware of the gaping audience they had acquired.

Sirius felt as if he had lost his heart. His mind was fuzzy, telling him not to believe what he was without doubt seeing before his very eyes. His James…he felt the world sink a notch, knowing the fantasies he'd had from the beginning were suddenly lost to him. His mouth opened unconsciously, and a strangled gasp escaped, enough to snap James out of his stupor long enough to look up in Sirius' direction. Their eyes met, and Sirius felt his world fall apart completely. Without another sound, he turned back the way he came, refusing to look back at the couple who continued as if nothing had happened.