13 November 1976

"Potter! Great match today!"

"You were incredible, James!"

"Thanks for slaughtering those filthy snakes, Potter!"

Remus shook his head in amusement as he followed James, Sirius, and Peter into the castle from the Quidditch pitch. James was basking in the glow of his admirers, with Sirius's arm slug around his shoulders and Peter clucking sycophantically in their wake. It was such a familiar scene, but one that Remus never quite tired of seeing.

"Hey—Remus!"

Remus paused in his tracks, looking over his shoulder. Lily was hurrying through the oak front doors, her long red hair windswept and her cheeks pink from the wind. Remus waited for her to reach him, and the two of them began making their way towards the marble staircase together, a little ways behind James, Sirius, Peter, and the rest.

"He's enjoying himself, isn't he?" Lily rolled her eyes scathingly at James, who was now barely visible over the entourage of Gryffindors escorting him up to the seventh floor.

"Yeah, normally we'd take the mickey, but we like to let him have his Quidditch victories," Remus said, smirking as, suddenly, James was lifted onto the shoulders of several rowdy seventh year Gryffindors.

Lily snorted, but didn't say anything further. For several minutes, she and Remus walked up the stairs in comfortable silence.

Then— "Hey, Remus," Lily said casually. "The Slytherin Seeker—that's Black's younger brother, isn't it?"

Remus looked at Lily in surprise. "Er—yeah, it is," he said slowly. "Why—?"

"No reason," Lily said quickly. "I just…I never really noticed him before, but I think he and Sev—Snape are friends, now, or something." She paused for a moment, staring straight ahead, her expression inscrutable. Then, she gave her head a little shake, turning back to face Remus. "Black and his brother look rather alike, don't they?"

"Best not let Sirius catch you saying that," Remus said lightly.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "They don't get along?"

Remus snorted. "You'd be hard-pressed to find family members Sirius does get along with, Lily."

Lily glanced at the procession of Gryffindors that was now a flight of stairs above Remus and herself. Sirius was busy leading an enthusiastic chorus of the Gryffindor Rally Cry.

"I heard he was disowned," Lily said quietly.

Remus shot her a sideways frown. "Where did you hear that?"

Lily looked embarrassed. "Nowhere. It…it was just a stupid rumor going around last year."

Remus didn't need to hear more. Lily was no gossip, but at the end of the day, she did share a dormitory with Cat Deverill and Maggie Wickersham, two of the biggest scandalmongers in the sixth year.

"Lily…Sirius's family—they aren't…normal witches and wizards," Remus told Lily in a low voice. "They…they're sort of…well, blood purists." Lily's expression hardened with comprehension. "And about a year ago, Sirius decided he'd had enough."

Lily blinked, several times. "So, he just—up and left? Where did he go?"

Remus smiled. "James's house. James's parents took him in."

Lily stared at Remus. "What?"

"Yeah, the Potters let him kip at their place," Remus shrugged. "I think Sirius is planning on moving out next summer, now he's of age. Mind you, he's going to have to fight Mrs. Potter on it—I reckon she's gotten a little used to having two sons."

Lily looked stunned. "Potter just took him in? No questions?"

"Well, James already knew the sort of people Sirius's parents are," Remus said quietly. Then, he gave Lily a wry smile. "But come off it, Lily, is that really so hard to believe? When has James ever been the type to ask questions?"

Lily didn't answer. They had reached the portrait hole.

"P-password?" hiccupped the Fat Lady. Remus noted the bottle of wine dangling from her left hand—clearly, she had decided to join the Quidditch festivities.

"Carpe diem," Lily said, shooting an exasperated look at Remus.

"Absolutely, miss," the Fat Lady slurred, swinging open, and Remus and Lily clambered inside.

"Moony! Over here!"

Remus looked around—and he burst out laughing. James was sitting atop an enormous throne made up of about twenty different maroon sofa cushions from various parts of the Gryffindor common room. Grinning, Remus walked over to join his friend. To his surprise, Lily followed.

The moment James saw Lily, he sat bolt upright in his makeshift throne, his eyes widening slightly. "All right, Evans?" he asked warily.

"Potter," Lily said coolly. She considered him appraisingly for a moment. Then— "Congratulations on the match today. You flew well."

James's mouth fell open. He gaped unabashedly at her; Remus had to bit his lip to restrain his laughter.

"I think he's saying 'thank you,'" Sirius informed Lily, smirking at James. "I can't be sure though. I don't speak lovesick fool."

Lily threw Sirius a withering look. Shaking her head, she turned on her heel and left to join her friends by the fireplace. James watched her go, his expression dazed.

Remus clapped his shoulder, grinning. "You owe me for that one, mate."

12 February 1977

For the third time in the past several minutes, James let out a loud, dramatic howl of pain, doubling over in the middle of the first floor corridor and clutching his left shoulder.

Remus came to a stop in the corridor, as well, and released an exasperated sigh.

"For the love of Merlin, Prongs, if you don't get your arse to the Hospital Wing right now, we won't have time to go down to the kitchens and get food for the party," Sirius said impatiently, seizing James by the scruff of his Quidditch robes and attempting to drag him down the corridor.

James cried out in pain, jerking away from Sirius. Then, he sank to the floor and closed his eyes, his breathing shallow. "It's too far…" he panted. "Just go on…without me…"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Prongs, you're the reason we've got to go anywhere at all. Come on, up you get. The Hospital Wing is just at the end of the corridor."

James let out a whimper.

"You're such a baby," Sirius barked, reaching out and yanking James to his feet by his collar. "Moony's looked twice as bad as you before, and we never heard him complain this much."

"Well, Moony's a bloody saint, isn't he?" James said through gritted teeth, as Sirius began marching him roughly down the hall.

"I don't understand how you managed to keep playing with your shoulder like that," Peter said in an awed voice, as he trotted alongside James and Sirius, gaping at the odd angle from which James's left arm was swinging.

James shot Peter a half-incredulous, half-haughty look.

"I'm team captain, Wormy, and we were down forty points," James said in a voice filled with bravado. "It's not worth taking a Bludger to the shoulder unless we win."

"If only you applied yourself so much to your schoolwork," Remus muttered. James ignored him.

The four of them managed to make it halfway down the corridor before James's legs buckled again. With a loud, drawn-out groan, James dropped to his knees, his face glistening under a pearly sheen of sweat. "This is the end," James gasped, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his robes. "I see the light. At least I'll die knowing it was for a good cause." Breathing heavily, James looked at Remus. "Moony, my dear friend, give the team my love…tell King he's captain, now…and tell Shacklebolt he can move up from the reserves…he's ready…I've taught him everything I know…"

"You know, I've no idea why that theater instructor you had as a kid thought you were a lost cause," Remus marveled, shaking his head at James. "You're a natural."

"Hey! Potter!"

Remus turned to see the willowy outline of Lily Evans appear at the far end of the corridor. As she hurried towards them, her long red hair dancing behind her, James leaped to his feet so quickly that Remus heard his knees crack. Sirius snorted loudly.

"Hey, Potter, are you all right?" Lily asked James breathlessly, as she reached the Marauders. "It looked like Bertram nailed you pretty hard out there."

"Please, Evans," James scoffed, puffing out his chest. "It's going to take more than a measly Bludger from your ex-boyfriend to bring me to my knees."

Remus caught Sirius's eye and had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the incredulous expression on his friend's face.

Lily's eyes fell on James's dislocated shoulder, and she winced. "God, Potter, that looks awful. It must hurt terribly."

"What, this?" James asked, gesturing towards his shoulder. "This is just a scratch. I hardly feel it anymore."

Without missing a beat, Sirius reached out and lightly flicked James's shoulder. James jerked backwards and let out a loud cry of pain, tears springing to his eyes.

"You might want to take a step back, Evans," Sirius said in a tone of great seriousness. "We wouldn't want you to faint from that raw, rugged show of masculinity."

Lily ignored Sirius, but Remus was fairly certain he saw her lips twitch. Deciding to take pity on James, whose face was now nearly as red as his Quidditch uniform, Remus cleared his throat.

"Lily," Remus addressed his friend, smiling politely. "Would you mind escorting James to the Hospital Wing? Sirius, Peter, and I really need to be heading down to the kitchens if we want to get food and drinks to the common room in time for the party."

Lily's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "What? Remus, I don't think—"

"Oh, Evans, you're a peach," Sirius interrupted, smirking hugely. "Thank you so much for helping out." Slinging a hand around Peter's neck, Sirius blew James a kiss, before heading in the direction of the nearby staircase.

"Give Madam Pomfrey our best," Remus told Lily brightly. And with that, he turned and hurried after Sirius and Peter, leaving a dumbstruck Lily and a red-faced James alone in the middle of the corridor.

14 May 1977

"What's the score now?" Sirius asked, leaning over the balcony of the stands and squinting up at the sky.

Remus craned his head in the direction of the professors' stands, where the commentator's podium and scoreboard were. "One-sixty to one-seventy—Hufflepuff's leading."

Sirius swore under his breath.

In his six years as a Hogwarts student, Remus had never attended a Quidditch final quite like this one. Fouls and penalties were being called left and right. Both Gryffindor Beaters were sporting half-healed broken noses. The Hufflepuff Keeper's left arm was in a sling. And worst of all, Lewis King, the Gryffindor team's star Seeker, had been taken in halfway through the match after a nasty Bludger to the back of his neck—the sickening crunch had echoed through the Quidditch pitch.

After a short, tense timeout, the Gryffindor team had returned to the game despite the loss of the key player. James had replaced himself with second year reserve Chaser Kingsley Shacklebolt. Then, the crowd had watched James put on King's Seeker gloves and fly out onto the pitch to play the position himself, his jaw clenched and his expression determined.

James was easily the most versatile member of the Gryffindor team, but it was clear to Remus that he was nowhere near as confident a Seeker as he was a Chaser. He looked supremely frustrated circling the pitch in pursuit of the Golden Snitch—as though he didn't think he was doing enough to propel the team towards a victory.

Suddenly— "And that's Shacklebolt, evening the score for Gryffindor!" boomed Davey Gudgeon's reedy voice from the commentator's podium. "One-seventy, all!"

The Gryffindor stands erupted with raucous cheers as Kingsley did a celebratory loop around the pitch. Remus clapped enthusiastically along with the rest. He had to give it to Kingsley—for someone who had been given five minutes' notice of his new position, the younger boy looked extraordinarily calm and collected.

"If Gryffindor doesn't win by at least two hundred points, I'm going to be out about a hundred galleons," Sirius muttered under his breath, as the Quaffle went back into play.

"I still don't understand why you bet all your savings on this match," Remus said in a grim voice, hefting his binoculars up to his eyes so he could see the pitch more clearly.

"I've got to find some way to finance a new flat this summer, haven't I?" Sirius asked darkly. "My parents cleared my vault when I left. And I don't care what Prongs says—I'm not accepting another knut from his parents."

Remus lowered his binoculars, looking at Sirius. But before he could think of something comforting to say, there was a collective roar of outrage from the Gryffindor stands and Remus snapped his gaze back to the air. Bobby Rickett, a Hufflepuff Beater, had accidentally knocked his burly elbow into James's ribcage, sending his broom ricocheting.

Remus gasped, and Peter cried out in shock. Sirius let out a stream of expletives that earned him amused looks from a group of third year boys sitting nearby.

James deftly regained control of his broom, looking annoyed but otherwise unharmed. Madam Hooch awarded Gryffindor a penalty shot, which was effortlessly carried out by Chaser Meredith Fredericks, putting Gryffindor in the lead by ten points.

Over the next several minutes, the three Gryffindor Chasers scored ten points apiece. Then, Hufflepuff scored two goals in quick succession.

"I can't watch anymore," Sirius groaned, covering his face with his hands. "I can practically feel myself losing money."

"Look at something else, then," Remus suggested mildly. As he said it, his own gaze wandered over the Gryffindor stands. He quickly spotted Lily's unmistakable mane of red hair a few rows below—she was chewing her lip anxiously as she stared up at the sky. Sitting on either side of her were Honora and Mary—and next to Mary, looking rather out-of-place in the sea of scarlet and gold with his black and yellow scarf, sat the scrawny, ginger-haired form of Reg Cattermole. Remus noticed that he and Mary were holding hands.

He blinked. The sight didn't seem to hurt him anymore. Remus's brief relationship with Mary—if it could even be called as such—felt almost like a fading dream, now…

Hufflepuff and Gryffindor scored ten more points, each. Then, to Remus's amazement, Kingsley Shacklebolt invigorated the Gryffindor spectators by scoring three incredible goals, one after the other. The score was now two-fifty to two hundred, Gryffindor in the lead.

"Come on, Prongs," Sirius said under his breath. "Find that bloody Snitch already."

Remus spotted James flying high above everyone else, circling the pitch counterclockwise.

Suddenly, Peter gasped, pointing towards the grass. "No! Stebbins has seen it!"

Remus's heart plummeted to his feet—Peter was right. Hufflepuff Seeker Lance Stebbins certainly had his eye on something—he was speeding towards the base of the Gryffindor goal posts, his yellow robes buffeting behind him—

"Damn it, Prongs!" Sirius bellowed up at the sky, cupping his hands around his mouth. "What the hell are you doing?"

Heart pounding, Remus looked wildly around—and his jaw dropped. Rather than diving towards the goal post like Stebbins, James—who was already at least ten feet above everyone else—had shot upwards. A confused, panicked buzz ignited the stands, spreading like wildfire, until it was almost a rumble. On the pitch, several players—Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, alike—paused in the act of whatever they were doing—Stebbins took his eyes off the Snitch, craning his head to look up at James—

"Bloody hell!" Sirius bellowed in a strangled voice, while Peter cried out in shock. Remus's heart stopped. From nearly forty feet above the ground, James had executed a steep, hairpine dive—he was a red blur, a rippling jet of light—Remus couldn't make out heads or tails of his friend as he streaked towards the grass, shooting past an utterly dumbfounded Stebbins like a bullet, his fingers outstretched—

"YES!" Sirius roared, jumping to his feet and punching the air. "Merlin's bloody beard—he did it! He did it!"

The Gryffindor stands exploded with noise as James pulled up sharply and landed on the grass, his hair sticking in every imaginable direction as he brandished the Golden Snitch in the air, grinning ecstatically.

Unable to keep the beaming smile off his face, Remus, along with Sirius and Peter, joined the enormous wave of scarlet-clad spectators pouring over the barriers onto the field. Shouting, chanting, laughing, the three of them maneuvered their way through the thick crowd, trying to reach James where he stood in the middle of the pitch with the silver Quidditch cup raised high above his head—but someone else got there first.

For the second time that afternoon, Remus felt his jaw drop as Lily suddenly pushed past them, towards James, her red hair streaming behind her like an enormous Gryffindor banner. Remus watched James press the Quidditch cup into Kingsley's hands as he saw her coming, his expression blazing. And then, under the dazzling sun, in front of the entire school, in the middle of the Quidditch pitch on a Saturday afternoon, Lily Evans threw herself into James Potter's arms and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

Author's Note:

Ah, Quidditch. Bringing couples together since at least the 70's. XD

With this chapter, we are officially 1/3 of the way done with this story! 50 chapters left!

Ari