James yawned. He had been staring off into space for quite a while now. He looked at Remus and Peter. They were his friends, but it just wasn't the same as having Sirius around. None of them had really talked to him over the past few weeks. After the funerals, Sirius had become even more detached from them.

Rose seemed to be doing well… if you counted living on work doing well. She threw herself into her studies. Lily had told him that Rose was drowning herself in her classes to become an Auror for the Ministry one day. James thought it might also have had something to do with forgetting her pain, but he had kept quiet on the subject of Sirius. Around Lily and Melody, Sirius was a dangerous subject. They ignored his existence and whenever someone had mentioned his name, they would glance quickly at Rose if she was around. Sirius had become a hated disease. Rose didn't talk about him much… she didn't talk much at all. She could usually be seen with her head buried in a book, working on some complicated essay or another.

James looked at Remus. He was the lucky one. Somehow, he had gotten the girl of his dreams… with a little help from Rose.

James wanted to be with Lily more than anything else in the world, but he couldn't work up the courage to talk to really talk to her about anything other than Rose. He also couldn't bring himself to ask Rose for help where Lily was concerned. It seemed selfish. He knew above all else that he also couldn't win Lily over easily without some sort of guidance. The headstrong red head was the biggest challenge on legs he had ever met and every single time he had tried to win her love, he had come out looking like a big, fat idiot.

James frowned. The one thing that he needed help for was the one thing he couldn't bring himself to ask help for. What am I going to do?

xoxox

"Hey, Rose."

Rose looked up from her potions book. "Oh, hey James," she whispered back.

"I know you're under a lot of stress right now and uh… I was just wondering… er… I was wondering… Can you help me with something?" he blurted in a rush.

"Sure." Rose marked her place and put down her book. "Want to go out for a walk? I've been inside all day. You can tell me all about this problem of yours along the way." She stretched and gathered her stuff.

"Great idea!" he replied, relieved.

Rose took her stuff to the girls' dormitories and met James outside the portrait hole.

"So, what's up?" Rose asked as she stepped over a crack on the ground.

"Well, you know how you agreed to help me with my… uh… Lily problem?" James asked softly, looking around.

Rose laughed. "Oh, James… you've been worrying about this the whole week, haven't you?" She smiled at him. "You didn't actually think that I'd endanger the happiness of my best friend just because I had just gone through a traumatic experience did you?

"You guys belong together… Lily just has a hard time believing that. Don't worry though, she will soon enough." Rose sighed.

"So how do I win her over?" James asked.

"Be her knight in shining armor… everything she would want plus all that she can't resist, but be true to yourself."

James stopped and frowned at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. "How do you do that!"

Rose laughed. "One step at a time, Potter. Don't worry, Lily will be yours. You two are a match made in heaven. The hardest part will be convincing her, so… first..."

James looked at the mischievous light in her electrifying blue eyes and knew that he had a long way to go and a hell of a lot to learn.

xoxox

Melody gaped at Rose. "What?" she asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, come on, Mel," Rose said. "Do it for me? Please?"

"But… do you think it's a good idea?" Melody asked.

"Mel, think about it… if we don't even try to intervene, do you think she'll ever get over her stubbornness?" Rose asked.

Melody sighed and looked at Rose. "I guess not, but are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure. She's my best friend. I care about her. There's always a risk that it might not go so well, but we have to try." Rose smiled.

"Well… okay. I'll do it." Melody smiled. It's worth a shot.