HI GUYS! Sorry for the super long wait. I'm sure you want to read, so I'll be brief.

I get out of school on the 10th, so from then on I will have more regular updates. Until then, you are going to have to wait a while. Sorry!

Please review, I'd really appreciate it!

Warning: I do not own Harry Potter, etc. etc. etc. I'm sure you get the picture.

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There is something incredible about being in Diagon Alley with your friends at your side and bag e full of galleons bouncing on your hip. The ground seems to sparkle; the sun glows, and the window shave a special shine to them. I felt like dancing down the freshly swept street, singing at the top of my lungs. Which, trust me, is not something you want to hear or see. Instead, I settled for jumping up and down while screaming loudly, an action my friends eagerly copied.

"Oh my god!" we screeched in unison. I flung my arms around them and we screamed as all four of us toppled over. Luckily, the streets were both clean and dry. I threw my head back and laughed. That was about my life in a nutshell.

Lily looked more embarrassed than amused. She quickly picked herself up, brushing off her robes, which were parted to show a warm, green sweater-dress. "Jeez, Aria. We've only been here a minute and you've already managed to make a fool of us all. You really are something."

I winked at her. "It's a talent, isn't it? You should be so proud." By now, I was the only one still sitting on the ground, my red dress riding up my thighs. Rayne, who was wearing a chic, streamlined blue dress, extended a hand down to help me up. I scrambled to my feet, trying to preserve as much dignity as I could. As soon as I was up, I took Lily and Kristy's hands. "Come on, my sheep! It is time to go make my parents poor!"

"A truly honorable ambition." I froze. I knew that voice. But it couldn't be… "Mind if we help?"

I spun around and stared in shock. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here, Sirius Black?"

He grinned at me, eyes sparkling with amusement. His gaze caressed me, obviously encouraged by my… mistake earlier. 'You thought we would let you celebrate your birthday without us? You were sorely mistaken, love."

Lily was frantic. "You shouldn't be here. It's illegal! You have to get permission from the Headmaster and-"

"Don't fret, Lily-flower." James was suddenly standing at Sirius's side. "Old man Dumbledore himself let us through."

Kristy's lips were disappearing in a harsh frown. "Look, you stupid clowns. Aria arranged this day for us, and us alone. I don't know what you are up to, but I suggest you fuck off."

Most days I would be shocked by Kristy's profanity. She was normally very clean spoken. But today, I could understand. This was our day to fix things, make things between us right again. The presence of Sirius was not going to help that.

"I agree with Kristy." Rayne's mind was made up. "Get lost. I don't want to have to deal with your crap."

The boys were beginning to look a little desperate. Apparently, having all four girls telling them to bugger off was not how they imagined this would go. Although, I don't know how they could have expected anything else. Did they think we would be overjoyed to have them along? I was happy James was here, sure, but it wasn't worth having Sirius bug me my whole birthday.

"Well, it's Aria's decision in the end." James claimed, panicked, but still trying to play it cool. "Come on, Rs." A new nickname, just for my birthday. Lucky me.

I looked at him, preparing to deliver the final 'no', but James was looking at me with his big, sad, hazel eyes. I could almost hear his voice, imploring me to let them stay, for his Lily's sake. I felt myself beginning to melt.

"Damn you, James!" I groaned, stomping a foot. "It is so not fair of you to use the puppy dog eyes."

A spark of hope lit in his eyes. "Please, Rs?" The sad, help-me look became even more unbearable. As usual, I couldn't seem to find it in me to deny James anything. "Please?"

"If I beg too, would that help?" Sirius's voice broke the mental battle I was having with myself.

"Save your energy, Black." A malicious grin curled my lips up. "You can come… on two conditions."

"Whatever you say, Aria." Remus and Peter appeared, joining the other two in putting their hands over their hearts. I smiled even wider. Four was so much better than two.

"Condition Number 1: You can't embarrass us or act crazy or draw unnecessary attention like you normally do. You have to be polite and calm."

"We can do that!" James vouched confidently. The others nodded.

"And Condition Number 2…" My heart was thumping in my chest. I'd wanted to do this for so long. "You have to let me try and fix James's hair."

"What?!" Lily screeched. "That is your second condition? You could have had something like 'you have to stay silent' or 'you have to do whatever we say', but no. You want to mess with Potter's hair!"

"Look at it!" I defended myself. We all turned to look at James, whose hand jumped to ruffle that hair. It was spiky and tousled and all over the place. "You see! Poor James has probably lived his whole life missing out on opportunities because of his hair. Girls won't go out with him, guys won't play on his team, and mothers cover their babies' eyes, all because of that hair! But the time has come for change! From now on, James's hair will no longer be his downfall. It will be… completely, wickedly awesome!" I beamed, pleased to have so clearly gotten my point across.

James was looking at me oddly. "Many girls tell me my hair is sexy!"

Was he delusional? "Are you delusional?" Oops… said that out loud. Now that I have embraced the idea of speaking my mind, I tend to take it a little too far.

James self-consciously patted his hair. "Is it really that bad?" He looked to Lily, who has taunted him about his hair for forever. Did he think she just did it for fun?

Lily opened her mouth to reply but I cut her off. "James, there are orangutans out there with better hair."

James threw his hands over his head. "Chop it off! Just chop it off! I'd rather be bald!"

I moved as if I was going to acquiesce, but Lily jumped in front of me. "NO! Don't touch his hair Aria; I'll kill you, I swear! It's gorgeous and sexy the way it is!" She said this all very fast, the way a person does when they are blurting out a secret.

I had never intended to chop off James's hair at all. I'd merely meant to call his bluff. But this was… unexpected. An idea began to blossom in my head. Perhaps having the Marauders on my birthday would be a good thing after all.

James dropped his arms and stared at her, a goofy gin on his face. "You think my hair is gorgeous and sexy."

Here, I'd like to insert something. This is an important chemical equation for this story. You will be seeing this reaction a lot. Ahem.

Lily + James + words like 'sexy – Lily being already mad at James = bright red Lily & a very pleased James

Clear enough?

Lily turned beet red. "I only did it to assure you, so you wouldn't let Aria mess up your hair."

James persisted. "But you must like my hair if you don't want her to change it." Sometimes the pure and restrained attraction between those two was so intense you just wanted to shout, "Hurry up and snog, doggone it!"

"I do not like it!" Lily looked like she might hit someone. Probably James.

"Alright, break it up lovebirds." I needed to bring the happy couple back to real life. "James, Sirius, Remus, Peter… do you accept these conditions?"

"I do." Sirius was the first to confirm. His silver eyes were on me (when weren't they, these days?) and his hair was slightly wind blown. I resisted the urge to reach up and correct it.

"I do." James had figured out something was going on. It wouldn't take him too long to realize my brilliant idea, code named Operation: Get James and Lily Together Finally.

"I do." Remus was quiet, sticking to the back round. I had the oddest feeling that he knew more about me than I was really comfortable with. I needed to get to know him better. He would be a powerful ally, and good friend.

"I do." Peter followed the leader of course. Creeper.

The girls were glaring at me. I would have to fill Kristy and Rayne in on the Operation later, so they would understand. Oy Vey!

"Contrary to your request, Lily, I am going to do something about James's hair. But, I can promise it will not be permanent." I was watching my redheaded friend. It was important to see how she took it.

Lily harrumphed. "I don't care what you do to his bird's nest. Have fun."

I stuck out my tongue at her. "In denial," I muttered. I pulled James over to a nearby table and sat him down. "Let me just get a better idea of your hair." My hand hovered over his head for a minute before plunging into the black tornado.

His hair was soft, silky, and smooth, but it was stiff and stubborn as well. It reminded of someone else's hair, a long time ago. I ran my hand searchingly through the choppy black locks and James laughed.

"What?" My hand froze.

He laughed again. "It's like getting a head massage… it's nice."

I smiled, moving my hands again. "You have good hair, mate."

"Thanks mate." He paused. "Can I say something? It'll sound totally weird, but it's a kind of compliment."

"Shoot." I was highly aware that all of our friends were watching. Most looked bemused, but Lily looked murderous and Sirius's face was utterly devoid of emotion. I felt uncomfortable, seeing no feelings on that normally expressive face. He'd had Slytherin training too. I'd almost forgotten.

James spoke slowly and thoughtfully. "I just… if Sirius wasn't perfect for you and Lily wasn't my soul mate, I think I would totally think you were the one."

A shock went through our chums, but I just snorted. "Sadly, I had the exact same thought." I paused, winding a piece of his hair around my finger. "It wouldn't work though. There are things about you that I love as a friend, but would irritate the heck out of me if we were romantic."

James nodded. "We are much better like this, as good mates."

"I never thought I'd say this… but thank Merlin for Lily and Sirius." Then it struck me. I pulled my hands out of James's hair. "Sirius, get over here."

Sirius came slowly, but willingly. "You called, love?"

I rolled my eyes. Without speaking, I reached up and grabbed a piece of Sirius's hair.

I could feel him freeze in front of me. I knew what he would be thinking, but I ran one thumb down the strand of hair. It was just like I remembered it. Of course. He and James were practically twins, after all.

"Love." Sirius's voice was low, but clear. "When you are doing that, I feel very inclined to snog you on the spot. As I'm assuming you don't want to do that in public, you should probably stop."

I glared at him, moving quickly away. Everyone was looking at me like my hair had turned silver and green. "Sheesh people! I was just testing something. And I was right. Sirius's hair is just like James's. Texture-wise."

Kristy huffed, exasperated. "So you decided to feel Sirius's hair up to determine that?" Including the Marauders was not the wisest thing I could have done for our friendship. However… if she wasn't able to separate me from Sirius liking me, then maybe we hadn't been that good of friends after all. I had stayed her friend when she dated the guy I despised. She should be able to stay my friend while the guys she liked was in love with me.

"Yeah, I did." I shifted into a defensive stance. I felt like I was a cat, about to scratch Kristy's eyes out. Yikes. "As you can see, Sirius's hair is actually rather stylish. If hair of the same texture can look like that, I know I can style James's hair wonderful. I'm thinking a flatter, sleeker, anime sort of look."

"What is anime?" Sirius was racking his tiny brain for the answer. James was also confused, but not quite as obvious about it.

I slapped my forehead. "Don't you ever pay attention in Muggle Studies?"

"Uh… I might have once. Or twice."

"Well then, too bad. Figure it out yourself." I took the initiative, striding off down Diagon Alley. "Come on!" I called over my shoulder. "The days a-wastin' and we have a lot to do!" My friends easily caught up with me. James half hugged me on my right and Kristy took my hand, silently apologizing, on my left.

Suddenly, my day seemed so much better.

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Hope you liked it! I'll try to update fast!

3 you all!