Disclaimer: I don't own Hogwarts, or N.E.W.T's. I don't own the Marauders, either. I really wish I did. That would be awesome. At least I own Shane. That's not so bad… right?

Shane Spencer

June 2nd, 1978

I didn't know how to explain that morning. It was the first morning that I'd ever woken up in Sirius' arms. It was the first time I'd been able to watch him sleep. It was the first time he'd helped me get dressed. And, to tell you the truth, I loved it all.

"I'm hungry…" Sirius yawned, pulling his arms above his head as I grabbed his shirt from the floor.

"Doesn't surprise me." I mumbled, tossing it at him.

He laughed. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you calling me fat?" He pulled his shirt over his hand and wrapped his strong, tree-trunk-like arm around my shoulders.

"No," I told him, looking back over my shoulder. "It's just that you're a seventeen year old boy."

"So?"

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind," I shouldered him and ran to the door. "Race you to the Great Hall." I didn't even give him a choice. I just started to run. However, I knew I wouldn't get very far before he caught me. His legs were longer and more powerful, it was just nature.

As I ran, I kept a careful eye on Sirius. He was trailing behind quite a bit. Either he was really tired, or he was letting me win. Both were very, very possible answers.

"C'mon, Sirius," I groaned, almost yelling so he could hear. "Don't cut me any slack!"

I heard him laughing, and I had to glance over my shoulder to watch. I loved watching him laugh. He was getting closer now, and I really had to book it. So I did.

My short legs carried me quickly, but he caught up just as soon as I thought he would. He was only five feet behind me when I burst through the doors of the Great Hall. Of course, everyone had to look my way. Things got worse, though. Sirius, being the idiot he was, ran in and wrapped his arms around me.

"Caught you!" He yelped, a large smile on his face.

I elbowed him as I stared at all of the people watching us. I didn't really care about anyone, except for three specific people. The first was Regulus, who was most likely ready to tear Sirius' head off. The next was Lily, and the last was James.

"Whoops…" I heard him mumble as he removed his arms from my person. "That wasn't the smartest move, huh?"

I nodded and watched James stand up. He glared at me, and I tried to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat. However, when I swallowed that one, another formed. And another. And another.

"C'mon, I have a feeling he's going to want to talk to us," Sirius whispered in my ear, grabbing my hand and tugging at it. However, his grey eyes never moved from James. "And, trust me, it'll be easier without all of the people."

I nodded and began to back out of the room as Sirius tugged me away. I kept my eyes locked on James'. Finally, I knew what I'd done to the Marauders. All of my pain had been nothing compared to how they were feeling.

I let my feet push me past the large, wooden doors and into the small hallway. My hands started to shake as Sirius led me out to the Entrance Hall. I was nervous, and I never got nervous.

"Calm down, Shane." Sirius mumbled, enveloping me in his arms. "I'll get him to see sense. And, once I do, he'll welcome you back with open arms. I promise."

These words barely registered in my mind, as it was going into overload. Sirius couldn't promise such a bogus thing. He wished he could, but he couldn't. That was all up to James.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" My breath hitched in my lungs, and I struggled to turn around and face him.

As always, he stood tall. His hazel eyes were hard, and his jaw was set. The way he folded his arms scared me. He was being protective. Did he think I'd hurt Sirius? Wait, did he think I'd hurt Lily? Or Remus or Peter? Personally, I was hoping that I was wrong.

"Where the hell were you last night?" His gaze was directed at Sirius, who gently pushed me behind himself as if to protect me.

"I was busy." He told James, keeping his hand on my arm.

"With her, were you?" James nodded towards me stiffly. "I thought you broke up with her? Did she beg to have you back?"

"Yes, and no." Sirius answered, keeping his temper under control, but just barely. "Actually, I begged her to give me another chance."

James' jaw tightened, if that was possible. His eyes seemed to burn holes in Sirius, and it was making me nervous. I didn't want to ruin their friendship. I never had. That's why I didn't hang out with any of them after Sirius and I broke up.

"Fine," James muttered, keeping the hidden glare on his face. "Have fun with your slut…"

And snap! Sirius' control disappeared, and he lunged at James. I watched as his fist headed for James' face. Of course, James fought back. This was the last thing I wanted, and much less what I needed.

"Would you two stop it?" I yelled, shoving myself in between them and pushing them apart. James jumped away at my touch, but Sirius still pushed against me. I'd never seen him this mad. I'd never seen him this mad at James.

"He just called you a slut, and you're standing up for him?" Sirius growled at me.

"I'll do whatever it takes to earn his forgiveness. It'll make life a hell of a lot easier for you too." I growled back, a fierce look in my eyes. I turned to James. "I know I haven't been the nicest person lately, but you need to know that I'm sorry."

He sneered, turned around, and walked back into the Great Hall. It disappointed me a little bit, but I wasn't surprised. If I was him, I wouldn't forgive me either.

"Well, that did a whole lot of good." Sirius growled from behind me. He was still angry, and there were very few ways to calm him down.

"C'mon, let's go for a walk."

He stumbled as I grabbed his hand and pulled him after me. We walked through the large, oak doors and into the courtyard. Seeing as it was early in the morning, the sun was just beginning to rise and the golden light seeped through the trees of the Forbidden Forest.

"Shane, where are we going?"

I ignored him and kept walking. He always thought there had to be a destination. For once, he should enjoy the journey.

"Shane?"

My thoughts moved to James. I'd never seen him act that way towards Sirius, and I really wish I never did again. It scared me to know that I had the power to rip apart their friendship.

"Shane?"

"What?" I flashed my eyes to Sirius, who'd been staring at me since we left the castle.

His eyes were soft, and he didn't seem mad anymore. However, I knew he could see that I was upset.

"He'll come around." He mumbled, pulling me into a tight hug. I relished the warmth, and the smell. It was nice to know that there was at least one person who would stick with me. I didn't want to let go of him ever again.

"Shane!"

I knew that voice.

"Lily!" I yelped as I gently ripped myself from Sirius' arms. "Lily, Lily, Lily!"

I ran towards her as she did the same to me. When we met in the middle, we enveloped each other in a monumental hug. I'd missed her so much.

"You and Sirius are back together, right? You're moving back into the Gryffindor Tower?" She asked as she gently pushed me away and smiled at me. "It's been so lonely and boring without you."

I smiled at her. "Lily, I think I should hold off on that for a little while," I told her. "I'd rather not wake up every morning and have to deal with James' attitude."

She nodded. "Completely understandable. I had to deal with the opposite thing for years, and I can't put you through anything that could put you in danger."

"She wouldn't be in danger," Sirius interrupted, stepping up behind me. "She'd have both me and Remus on her side."

Lily snorted. "Yes, she'd be so safe." I'd always loved her hatred towards Sirius, and her tacky sense of sarcasm.

I sighed. "C'mon, let's head to Divination." I smiled as Sirius offered me his arm like we were walking down the aisle. I gratefully took it with a curtsy and we began to walk.

All the way through the castle, Lily told me about her newfound relationship with James. Apparently they were getting along swimmingly, and they were already planning a marriage. She also asked me to be her Maid of Honor. I didn't think James would like that.

Exams. That's all that was happening this week. Exams, exams and, oh, more exams. At least I got to spend my evenings with the Marauders. Well, not the Marauders, but everyone other than James. Remus understood, Peter loved me almost as much as Sirius did, Sirius was my boyfriend, and James kept pushing me away.

Other than James, all of the Gryffindors had forgiven me for my rude and nasty behavior towards them. Mary, Sam and Alice had all told me to come back to the dorm before the term was up so we could talk. The boys (Gryffindor boys, that is) told me that, if Sirius ever had second thoughts again, that I could always go to them for comfort. Sirius had quickly pulled me away from them.

Today, we had our History of Magic and Transfiguration exams. I had a feeling I was going to do fairly well on both of them. Sirius, however, had a different idea of how his own exams were going to go.

"Maybe I should just skip today. Y'know, sleep all day and pretend I have a fever or something." He mumbled as we walked down the hall to our first class.

"Sirius, you're going to do fine." I told him, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. "You do have the best tutor to ever walk these halls."

His brow furrowed and a confused look framed his face. "But you're my tutor, not Moony."

I smacked him, and he smiled. He was always smiling now.

"You know that I was just joking, you're the most amazing, smart, beautiful person I know."

"Oh my god, you actually know people other than me?" I asked, my mouth hanging agape. "And stop trying to get in my bed, it's not working."

"Ah, but I've already been in your bed," He pointed out, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Several, several times."

"Sirius, just sleeping in my bed doesn't count."

"Touché."

"Oi, lovebirds, you're sort of freaking me out here!" I looked back over my shoulder at Remus and cracked a smile.

"Let's make love, Sirius."

"Augh, Shane!"

I started laughing, and Sirius was right behind me. Remus was shaking his head violently, obviously trying to rid himself of those disturbing mental images. Peter had begun staring at my chest, and I quickly made sure to keep a firm hold of Sirius' hand.

"Really, you two, save it for the bedroom!"

"You'll hear it there as well, Moony."

"I meant Shane's bedroom, not our dormitory!"

"Yeah, so did I."

I chuckled. "We're not that loud, Sirius."

"Have you heard yourself?" He asked, an amused smile on his face. "You're like a whale giving birth to twins!"

"You're one to talk, Sir Grunts-A-Lot."

"Alright, off this subject!" Remus yelled over us, separating our bodies and standing between us. "Can we get back to talking about the tests, please?"

I chuckled, and nodded. "I have a feeling we're all going to do just fine." I said, a proud smile held on my face. "Well, save for Pete."

"Hey!" Peter squeaked from behind me, a frown on his round face. "I've studied hard, I'll do just as good as you!"

"I was just kidding, Peter," I chuckled. "But, I don't think you'll do quite as well as me."

"Oh, Shane," Sirius sighed, staring at me with that look in his eyes. Y'know, the one that tells you he's doing something devious. "It all depends on who you sit next to."

"Sirius Pollux Black, you are not cheating on this test!" I yelled, a frown framing my face. "You can do it on your own, so why cheat?"

"I was kidding, Shane," He mumbled, holding a hand up in a defensive position. "Really, can't you take a joke?"

"Yes, I can, but that wasn't a joke. I know you too well to let your lies slide past like that." I told him, placing my hands on my hips and trying to make myself look bigger. Like a porcupine being attacked by a predator.

He rolled his eyes. "You sound like a mother," He sighed. "But, because I love you, I won't cheat on the test."

I nodded in satisfaction.

"However, when I fail, it's on your head."

I smiled. "I think I can live with that." I leaned over and kissed his cheek, which was covered in morning stubble. This action earned me another groan from Remus, and a stalker-ish stare from Peter.

A/N: I'm so happy. I'm finally back into the groove of writing. Not only that, but I'm probably going to extend the story by a couple of chapters. Add in a little bit of Josh drama, just like the Regulus drama. Maybe even a little bit of Remus drama, but I wouldn't count on that.

Anyways, school's going good. I have this big Greek God project due in a week, and I'm putting it off. I'm not happy about it, but oh well. I get to go tubing next week too, so that should be fun. Being as happy as I've been recently, I'm planning on getting the story back to the cheery, playful story it was when I started. I feel like it's gotten just a little too serious. Ha, see what I did there. I know, way overused.

I hope you all enjoyed, I know I had fun writing it. Reviews would be loved and read with tears of joy in my eyes. They always are.

R&R