Friday, September 23, 1977

"Can I ask you all something? But you have to promise not to have a go at me or tell James I've asked you." Lily set down her book and looked around at her friends, biting her lip as she gathered her courage.

"Ask away," Sirius said, his face lit with interest as he turned his attention away from his Exploding Snap cards to meet her gaze.

"You won't tell James?" she repeated, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and trying to convince herself it was perfectly normal to feel this nervous about such an innocuous request. "You sure you won't drag him away and report back to him the moment he gets back from Quidditch practice?"

"Of course I won't," Sirius said. "Well, unless it's something he absolutely needs to know."

"Well, he doesn't need to know!"

Sirius shrugged. "Well, then, no need to worry about it. I won't tell him."

The panicked expression did not fade from her face. "But what if you don't agree, and you decide he does need to know?"

"Evans, I can't answer that if I don't even know what you're talking about," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Just spit it out. I'm sure it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be."

"What, Lily Evans make a big deal out of something small?" Mary was stretched out on the floor with her back resting against Sirius's legs, and she turned around to smirk at him. "You're talking crazy, Black."

Remus put down his Exploding Snap cards and turned to Lily, a reassuring smile on his face despite the dark circles under his eyes. "Ignore them. What do you want to ask us?"

Peter said nothing, but watched Lily with an eager, earnest expression on his face, and somehow his silent encouragement gave Lily the push she needed to voice her question.

"Right, so Slughorn is having one of his dinner parties next Friday," she began, toying with the cover of her book. "And he's, er, well he's encouraging me to bring someone." She sighed and stared into the fire, then let the rest of the words tumble out. "Not just anyone. He's got a specific person in mind, and I don't think I'll ever hear the end of it if I don't bring him."

"Is it Pete?" Sirius asked. "Because he's free and I'm sure he'd love to go."

"Oh, shut it. You know perfectly well who I mean," Lily snapped before flashing Peter an apologetic smile. "No offense, of course. It would be lovely to go to one of Slughorn's parties with you, Peter."

Peter laughed and shook his head. "No need to apologize. Merlin, I wouldn't make it more than five minutes at one of those things."

"But anyway, do you think he would, er, like to go with me? Just as friends, obviously." The beat of silence that followed her jumble of words made her nervous, and she was considering retracting her question when Peter broke the silence.

"Is that a real question?" His eyes widened as he realized what he had said, and he hurried to clarify. "Sorry, I just mean, well, why wouldn't he want to go with you?"

"James would love to go with you as more than friends," Sirius explained. "But he'll be thrilled to go as friends, too. He's just happy to spend time with you at all."

"Are you honestly worried he might say no?" Remus asked.

"Well, a bit," she admitted. Whenever she imagined asking him, her mind flashed back to that drunken flirtation in the common room. The rush of hot embarrassment almost paralyzed her every time, and she wasn't sure she could handle that sort of rejection a second time.

"Lily Agatha Evans." Mary stood and fixed Lily with the full force of her glare. "How many times do I have to tell you? James is mad about you, and there's no way one drunken misunderstanding could ruin that. You two obviously like each other and want to be together but can't get out of your own way, which is possibly the most infuriating thing I've ever witnessed in my life. So get your head out of your arse and just ask him to the damn party, for fuck's sake. Now quit worrying and play Exploding Snap with us, will you?"

Lily stared at her for a moment, reeling from the unexpected outburst and struggling to form words. Finally she laughed and reached for the deck of cards to deal herself in. "I can't remember the last time you told me off like that. Or told off anyone, actually. That was a Lily Evans level telling off."

Mary sat down again and settled herself against the back of Sirius's chair and grinned. "Well, you're acting Lily Evans level ridiculous. I figured a taste of your own medicine might snap you out of it a bit. Now, are you going to ask him when he gets back from practice, or do I have to shout at you again?"

The thought of pulling James aside and stammering out an invitation made her heart pound, but Lily forced herself to take a deep breath and concentrate on the cards in her hands. "Maybe not tonight, but I'll do it. I promise." She fanned out her cards and selected one, then looked up at Mary. "Should I go, then?"

Sunday, September 25, 1977

The usual evening dormitory sounds washed over Remus as he lay curled under his blankets, lost in thought. He had dragged himself up to bed over an hour ago after falling asleep in his chair for the third time, but he had awoken from his doze several minutes ago when his three friends entered the room, trying and failing to be quiet. Soft rustling noises indicated that Peter was behind his curtains, changing into his pajamas, and Remus could hear water running in the bathroom as Sirius brushed his teeth. A rhythmic swoosh followed by the sound of a ball meeting a palm suggested that James was lounging on his bed, tossing a Quaffle into the air as he thought. Remus sighed and burrowed deeper into his blankets, enjoying the comforting familiarity of his surroundings that almost made him forget about the dull pounding headache that had been plaguing him all day and would only worsen as the full moon approached.

When they had all settled into bed, James rolled over and propped his head on his elbow. "Do you think it would be okay if I show the Map to Evans?"

"I say go for it," Sirius replied. He was stretched out on top of his blankets wearing nothing but pants, and Remus felt cold just looking at him, but somehow Sirius always woke up sweating no matter what the temperature. "She's practically one of us at this point. You may as well show it to her."

"I agree," Peter said. "It's some of your best work. She'll probably be so impressed she'll drop everything and snog you."

"'My best work,' what are you on about?" James said. "You helped make the Map too, Wormtail. We all did." He fell silent for a moment. "Moony? You awake? What do you think?"

The words She's practically one of us echoed in Remus's mind, and he had to swallow back the wave of panic that threatened to overwhelm him as he mulled over the implications of what Sirius had said. "One of us" meant more than just going to pool parties at James's house and getting drunk in the common room together and staying up late doing homework and eating way too many Bertie Botts. It meant being privy to their secrets. All of their secrets. Just thinking about anyone else finding out what he was made Remus's chest tighten and his heart race. He took deep breaths and repeated You're okay, you're okay to himself before responding.

"I think you should go ahead and show her the Map," he said, and his voice sounded faint and strained even to his own ears. "Because I do feel like in some ways she has become one of us. And I think that's great. As long as it doesn't mean, you know, telling her everything…" His voice trailed off and he kept his gaze fixed on one of Sirius's motorbike posters on the wall, forcing himself not to imagine the shock, horror, and disgust that would cloud Lily's face if she ever discovered Remus's secret.

"Fuck, Moony, you know I would never tell anyone," James said, his voice full of concern.

"None of us would. It's not our secret to tell," Peter added.

Sirius rolled over to face Remus and widened his eyes in alarm. "Bloody hell, it's all right. There's no need for that panicked Moony look. You're okay."

The last two words made Remus feel calmer, and he felt some of the tension leave his body. He nodded and tried to arrange his face into some semblance of a neutral expression, but he was not sure how successful it was.

"Listen to me for a minute, though, Moony," James said, his voice urgent and insistent. "I would never tell, obviously. And I don't mean to pressure you or anything. I was just thinking, if you maybe decide to tell Evans eventually-"

"No," Remus said. The words sounded sharper and more stubborn than he had intended, but he found he didn't care.

"But listen," James persisted. "Don't just shut down and wait for me to stop talking, actually listen to me, yeah?" He gazed over at Remus, waiting for a response, and after a moment's hesitation Remus gave him a tiny nod. "Evans loves you, Moony. She really does. You could tell her and she'd probably just give you a hug. I know what you think. I know what you're afraid of. But anyone who knows you and cares about you - actually, no, fuck that, anyone who's a decent human being won't think any less of you." His eyes shone with righteous anger, and Remus felt touched by the depth of his friend's convictions. "Just think about it. It doesn't have to be right away, and you don't have to tell her at all. All I'm saying is, you can trust her. All right?"

Remus thought about all the prefect patrols he and Lily had spent talking about homework or comparing notes on Muggle novels, all the lazy afternoons they had spent reading next to each other and sharing chocolate bars in the common room, all the knowing glances they had exchanged when James had said or done something idiotic. Over the last two years Lily had progressed from a mere classmate to the sort of friend who gave him drunken piggyback rides and fell asleep next to him on the sofa in the common room. The idea of her finding out still terrified him, but the terror was less paralyzing when he considered how close their friendship had become. It was too much to think seriously about today, or any time soon, but maybe James was right. Maybe he could trust her.

"Yeah, all right," he said, trying to keep the fear and uncertainty out of his voice. "I'll think about it."

"Good. Now I'll shut up, because you'll need sleep if you have any hope of making it through classes tomorrow. Night, Moony."

"Night."

Remus rolled over and fell asleep within minutes, despite the tangle of thoughts still swirling around his head. He had been asleep for almost an hour when he awoke with a start.

"Prongs?" he whispered. James was asleep, but Remus knew he was the lightest sleeper out of the four boys and could be roused with only a whisper, and sure enough he heard a soft response a moment later.

"Why're you awake, you prat?"

"You and Lily have been doing patrols mostly on Tuesdays, but this Tuesday you'll be, er, otherwise occupied." The thought had just struck him, rousing him from a deep sleep and sending little pangs of worry through his exhausted body.

"I know, don't worry. I already considered that when we made the schedule for the month. We're doing Thursday instead this week. I told her I have something for Quidditch on Tuesday." It was too dark to make out anything but vague shapes, but Remus was sure James was grinning. "Don't underestimate me, Moony. I've got this."

Remus sighed, letting his eyes close again as the relief washed over him. "Thanks, Prongs."

"Don't mention it. Now go to sleep, because I'm not arguing with your stubborn arse when you can't keep your eyes open in class tomorrow but don't want to go take a nap because you're afraid of missing something important."

Remus tried to reply, but the pull of sleep was too strong, and he drifted off before his lips could form the words.

Tuesday, September 27, 1977

"Are you going to ask him tonight?" Mary and Lily lagged behind the others on the way back from dinner, and Mary kept her voice low so there was no chance James would overhear.

"I suppose I should," Lily said, although she could think of fifty other things she would rather do. "It's just, I dunno, what if he says no? What if he has other plans?"

Mary laughed. "What other plans? Sitting around the common room playing Exploding Snap and listening to Black butcher songs on the ukulele? I think he can pencil in Slughorn's dinner."

"Keep your voice down," Lily chided, although James, Peter, and Sirius were too far ahead of them to discern her words. "All right, I'll ask tonight. I just need a bit of time to work up the courage, that's all.

When they reached the common room, the girls took the usual seats by the fire, but the boys bypassed their seats and headed straight for the stairs to the dormitory.

"You want to work on Transfiguration in a bit, Black?" Mary called to Sirius's retreating back. "Maybe take a break halfway through to, er, get some energy out?"

Sirius turned and flashed her an apologetic smile. "That's tempting, but no can do, Macdonald."

"The usual you'd tell me but then you'd have to kill me sort of thing?"

He nodded. "Yup. Sorry about that. We can do it tomorrow, though, if I'm awake enough. Transfiguration, I mean, obviously. I'm always awake enough for shagging."

"What's that all about?" Lily asked once Sirius had followed the others up to the dormitory. "Why's he have to be so mysterious?"

Mary shrugged and pulled a book from her bag, resting it on her lap and flipping through to find the correct page. "Who knows. It's part of our non-dating agreement. I'm not supposed to ask a lot of questions so he doesn't have to lie about whatever the fuck they get up to, so I just go with it."

"But what do they get up to?" Lily asked, frowning as she searched through her bag to find her Ancient Runes book. "And why wouldn't he be awake enough?"

"I just told you, I have no bloody idea. But whatever it is, it keeps them up all night. They're always nodding off in class the next day." She blew a stray curl out of her face and tucked her legs under her. "I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it, because it's none of my business, and I assume Black would tell me if he could, so I just leave it alone."

The nonchalant tone of Mary's words only irritated Lily and inflamed her curiosity, but she did not press the issue. Instead she focused her attention on her homework and tried to ignore the endless questions that nagged at her.

"If you're going to ask James, you'd better do it now," Mary said, nodding her head in the direction of the staircase.

Lily followed her gaze and saw Sirius, Peter, and James emerging into the common room, moving with purposeful strides towards the portrait hole.

"They won't be back tonight?" Lily asked, alarmed.

"Doubt it," Mary said. "I tried to wait up once. I made it until around 2:30 in the morning before I fell asleep and woke up the next morning. If they came back, it was bloody late."

"Well I can't just ask now, without working up to it," Lily said with a sigh. She waved at James when he turned and called, "See you later!" over his shoulder, then returned to her homework, feeling antsy and frustrated.

Fifteen minutes later, she was still trying in vain to translate the first sentence on the page, and she abandoned the book to stare into the fire. As she watched the crackling flames, she puzzled out why she felt so unsettled. For reasons she couldn't, or wouldn't, explain, it made her nervous not knowing where James was. Perhaps they were just sneaking into Hogsmeade to get drunk at The Three Broomsticks, but if that was the case, why all the secrecy? Lily sighed and scowled into the fire, wishing the six of them were sitting around the fire, laughing and joking and distracting each other from homework like any other night.

"I think it's just something you have to accept and be okay with." Mary's voice startled Lily out of her moody thoughts, and she glanced up in surprise.

"What is?"

Mary had a funny expression on her face that was difficult to read. "The vague answers and mysterious disappearances," she said. "Going along with that is just part of being friends with those four. Do you know what I mean?"

Lily considered this for a moment. She did know what Mary meant, but that didn't mean it would be easy. Everything in her being resisted being kept in the dark and accepting something without asking questions or getting all the information. Still, she would have to make peace with it, because Mary was exactly right. She would have to accept the vague answers and mysterious disappearances if she wanted to continue to grow closer to the four boys. Not only did she enjoy and value their friendship, but she knew if she wanted any sort of relationship with James, the other three sort of came with the territory.

"I think I do," she said, sighing and putting away her Ancient Runes book. "I can't focus. Want to take a break and read me something stupid from Witch Weekly?"

Mary put down her textbook and rummaged in her bag until she found a battered magazine. "I'd love to. There's an excellent bit in this issue about what your favorite flavor of Bertie Botts says about your personality."

Wednesday, September 28, 1977

James eyelids felt heavy, and the warmth of the classroom and the rhythmic cadence of Professor Babbling's voice kept lulling him to sleep. He had jerked awake several times during the class; the last time Lily had dropped her book on the floor to get his attention, and his eyes snapped open, wild with panic before he remembered where he was. After that he forced himself to run through Quidditch plays in his head, but even this failed to keep him awake, and he slipped into a doze as he was imagining the Hawkshead Attacking Formation.

"James?" His eyes fluttered open at the sound of his name, and his face split into a bemused, sleepy smile when he saw Lily peering down at him, her face creased with concern. "Are you all right?"

He heaved himself to his feet and nodded. "I nodded off again, didn't I?"

"A bit," she said, then nodded at Peter. "Peter too. Babbling wasn't pleased, but she seemed in a hurry to leave. I think she had to use the loo, so I told her I'd wake you two up." She approached Peter and gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

"Oh, shit, I was meant to be taking notes," Peter said, rubbing his eyes and looking down at the parchment in front of him. "I must've been half-asleep when I wrote this last bit, because it doesn't look like English or Runes."

"Can we copy your notes, Evans?" James asked, gathering up his things and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Not for us, for Remus."

Lily smiled and nodded. "Of course you can." Somehow she looked even more beautiful than usual, but James wasn't sure how accurate his perception was in this exhausted state. "Come on, let's go back to the common room so you sleepyheads can take a nap."

The trek back to the common room was a blur, and James only avoided walking straight into a suit of armor when Lily grabbed his arm and yanked him away at the last second. When they reached the portrait hole Peter tried to give the wrong password three times before Lily stepped in.

"Hogwash," she said, and the Fat Lady swung forward to admit them to the common room.

"I could've sworn the password was noodle," Peter said, climbing in after her.

"It's never been noodle, Peter," James said, stumbling into the common room and heading straight for his favorite armchair. Sirius was already sprawled in front of the fire with his head propped on his arm, looking surprisingly awake.

"You're a noodle," Sirius said, then sat up and shrugged when James and Peter both shot him odd looks. "Sorry, I have no idea what we're talking about. Are you two napping down here, or are you going up to the dormitory?"

"I'm not moving," James said.

Peter did not reply, but stretched out on a nearby sofa and closed his eyes.

Sirius nodded. "In that case, want to come upstairs with me, Macdonald? I'm not quite ready for Transfiguration, but I'm up for other activities."

James frowned and looked around, surprised to see Mary seated next to Sirius by the fire. How did I not notice her there? She's right in front of my bloody face. He rubbed his eyes, his entire body longing for sleep.

"How are you so awake, Padfoot?" he asked, watching Sirius hop to his feet before helping Mary up. "Did you skive off Muggle Studies?"

"No, she sent me to the library to work on my research project, so I hid in one of the sections nobody ever goes down and took a nap. Madam Pince found me eventually, and I thought I was done for, but I think she was so relieved I wasn't back there shagging someone that she just cleared her throat and made sure I was awake." He smirked at Mary and led the way to the stairs, turning and calling over his shoulder, "Get some sleep so you're not useless when we go see Moony later."

"I'll make a copy of my notes while you sleep," Lily said, sitting down in the chair next to James and pulling the little side table closer so she could spread out her parchment.

"You don't have to," James said through an enormous yawn. "I can do it when I wake up. Or Peter can do it, since he was on notes duty."

"Don't be silly, it'll only take me a minute. I don't mind. It's the least I can do. I feel bad that Remus is ill."

There was a beat of silence where she opened her mouth as if to say more, but she seemed to decide against it and instead took out her wand to make a copy of the notes. James studied the little crease on her forehead and the uncertainty lurking in her eyes, trying to decipher her expression, but found he was too tired to try to figure out what went on in Lily's brain.

"Well, cheers, Evans," he said, resting his head against the back of the chair and closing his eyes. "Wake me up in an hour, yeah?"

"Sure." She said nothing for a moment, but James heard her rustling around and then felt her tuck a blanket around him. "Sleep well," she murmured, and James was already half asleep and might have imagined it, but he could have sworn she kissed him on the forehead before returning to her notes. He smiled to himself as he dozed off, heading for dreams of Lily.

Thursday, September 29, 1977

"Ready?"

James stood beside Lily's chair, bouncing on the balls of his feet with his hands shoved into his pockets. The eager grin on his face created a sharp contrast to the overwhelming nervousness and dread Lily felt at the prospect of asking him to Slughorn's party. Her mind presented her with various excuses to put it off, but seeing as the dinner party was tomorrow, it really was now or never. She sighed, then closed her book and joined him.

"Don't look so excited," he said, raising his eyebrows at her. "Is patrol duty with me really the worst thing in the world? I know Moony is probably a more responsible patrol buddy, but I thought we had fun last time."

"No, it's just…" She cast around for a reasonable excuse for her sour expression. "I'm just not exactly in the mood for patrols at all tonight. It's nothing to do with you."

"Well I think you'll like what I have to show you, then. Come on." He linked his arm through hers and strode across the common room toward the portrait hole, waving to the rest of the group.

"What are you going to show me?" The anticipation on his face piqued her curiosity despite the task that was weighing on her mind, because anything James Potter was excited to show her was undoubtedly quite impressive and also against the rules.

"You'll see. I think we need to stop in the Head office first." He had released her arm, but a faint warmth still lingered from the contact. As they strolled down the corridor side-by-side, she rehearsed the well-worn phrases she had already gone over countless times. I've been meaning to ask you something. Slughorn's having one of his little dinners tomorrow, and he specifically told me to bring someone. It'll be dead boring, but do you fancy going? In theory it should be easy, but actually forming the words and speaking them aloud felt impossible.

"What's wrong?" Concern replaced his usual confident grin as he held the door for her before following her into the Head office. He sat down in one of the chairs and set a pack of Exploding Snap cards, a box of Bertie Botts, and a folded piece of parchment on the table, still looking at her with worry etched on his face.

"Nothing, just go ahead and show me whatever it is you wanted to show me," she said, sitting down in the chair next to him and frowning at the Exploding Snap cards. "What are those for? We've got to do patrols, we can't just play cards. What if someone checks?"

He waved away her questions. "I'll explain in a minute, but I'm not doing that until you tell me what's bothering you." He ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "I know you're dying to know what it is I'm going to show you, so you might as well just get it over with. I'm a good listener, you know, once I actually shut up long enough to give someone the chance to speak."

That familiar James Potter gesture and his gentle, urging tone invited confidence, and this combined with her curiosity convinced her to speak.

"Fine." She sighed and reached for the deck of cards, shuffling them to give herself an excuse to avoid looking James in the eye. "So, er, I've been meaning to ask you something." The words caught in her throat, and she took a deep breath and forced herself to focus on the smoothness of the cards in her hands. "Well, apparently Slughorn is having one of his dinner things tomorrow, and I've got to go or he'll never let me hear the end of it, and for some reason he specifically told me to bring someone, which I have a theory about but anyway-" Her words broke off as she botched her shuffling and sent the deck of cards cascading all over the table and onto the floor. "Bloody hell," she muttered, bending to pick them up, but James reached out and touched her hand to stop her.

"Evans," he said, his face lit with open, unabashed joy. "Are you asking me out?"

"As friends," she corrected. "I figured we could go as friends. Just because, well, a dinner party with the Slug Club isn't exactly a very romantic first date, and asking me out is sort of your thing, so I wouldn't want to, er, steal your thunder or anything." This was not part of her rehearsed spiel, and she blushed as she realized what her words implied. "But obviously if you don't want to, I understand. It'll probably be dead boring, and it's very last minute. I meant to ask you sooner, but I just kept putting it off, and then Tuesday I was going to do it but you disappeared, and then Wednesday I almost brought it up except you were half asleep, and then earlier-"

"Evans." He held up a hand and she fell silent. "I'd love to go to Slughorn's dinner party with you."

She felt her face split into a huge grin. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It'll be brilliant." His hand still rested on hers, but neither of them seemed to want to pull away.

"And you're okay with going just as friends?"

"I'm fine with going as friends, potions partners, Head Boy and Girl, Bertie Botts enthusiasts, the world's most horrible dancers, or all of the above. Honestly, I'm just happy to spend time with you, whatever the circumstances." Their eyes met, and they sat there, grinning like idiots, until Lily blushed and looked away.

"So now that's settled, what did you want to show me?" she asked, then regretted her question when he pulled his hand away to unfold the parchment he'd placed on the table.

"Are you ready for this, Evans? Prepare to be amazed." He reached for his wand and pointed it at the parchment, then muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Lily watched as the blank parchment began to fill with writing, then revealed a detailed map of the entire castle. Little labeled dots moved around the various rooms, and she bent closer to examine one. Filius Flitwick seemed to be on his way back from the kitchens. She traced the map until she found the Gryffindor common room, where many labeled dots were clustered together, then located Sirius Black and Mary Macdonald in what must have been the 7th year boys' dormitory.

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Does this show everyone in the castle?"

He grinned and nodded. "Yup. Pretty bloody excellent, right?"

"How did you manage it? This must have taken ages. The Homonculus Charm alone is really tricky, never mind how long it must have taken to map the entire castle."

"It took a good chunk of fifth year," James said. "Once we finished our other, er, side project, we needed something else to keep us out of trouble-"

"How is a map that allows you to avoid teachers and prefects so you can sneak around the castle going to keep you out of trouble?" she asked, chuckling.

"All right, we needed something to keep us busy, so we started working on this. Mapping the castle did take a while, but the Homonculus Charm is actually-"

"Not that difficult once you understand the theory?" she finished, grinning. "That's what you and Sirius say about every advanced spell you have no business knowing how to do."

He shrugged. "Well, it's true. You could figure this stuff out just as fast as we did. Probably faster, to be honest. We wasted a lot of time agreeing on the phrases to activate and clear it." He grinned and shook his head. "It took us ages to convince Sirius we weren't going to use 'Fuckery accomplished' to clear the map."

"I don't see why you wouldn't go for that," she said, chuckling. "What did you decide on instead?"

He pointed his wand at the map and said, "Mischief managed," and the moving dots and drawing of the castle disappeared, leaving only an empty piece of parchment.

"I dunno, I think I like Sirius's phrase better." The pride that shone from his face struck her as adorable rather than arrogant, and she wondered how long he had been dying to show off his most impressive magical accomplishment to her. "As much as I hate to inflate your ego, I have to say I'm impressed."

"It has a repelling spell, too," he continued. "It insults, er, certain people that shouldn't be able to use it."

She raised her eyebrows. "What happens if I try to use it?" Without waiting for a response she reached for the map.

"Oh, I don't think you should-" he began, but she ignored him.

"What am I supposed to say?" She pointed her wand at the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I'm about to cause trouble?"

Words began to etch themselves onto the map, but instead of the same title and map of Hogwarts that had appeared before, it was a single phrase in a familiar loopy scrawl: Mr. Prongs offers his compliments to Miss Evans for looking particularly lovely today.

Another phrase soon joined the first, this one written in larger, rounder letters: Mr. Padfoot would like to point out to Miss Evans that Mr. Prongs is the second-sexiest bloke at Hogwarts and would make an excellent boyfriend.

Mr. Wormtail agrees with Mr. Padfoot and would like to encourage Miss Evans to attend the next Hogsmeade trip with Mr. Prongs.

Mr. Moony apologizes for the idiocy of Messrs. Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail and would like to point out that he strongly advised against aforementioned idiocy.

Lily stared down at the writing, then burst into laughter. "Merlin, this is quite something."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he said, running a hand through his hair and avoiding her eye. "Then again, a lot of things seemed like good ideas that year that were actually really bloody stupid ideas, so in comparison this isn't even that bad."

She laughed and touched his shoulder. "It's all right. I still think the map is excellent, even if you did somehow get it to ask me out." She let her hand linger for a moment longer before pulling away and returning to the Map. "So how do I actually make it work again? I assume your plan was to use the Map instead of actually patrolling so we can sit around and play cards all night?"

James nodded. "That's the plan, yes." He pointed his wand at the map and repeated the phrase. "I figure we check the broom cupboards every so often, and keep an eye out for anyone wandering the corridors. If a teacher comes by here for whatever reason, we can just say we came in to check the patrol schedule or something."

"You don't think they'll notice the cards?" she asked.

"Just stand in front of the table and block it from view, it'll be fine." He reached for the cards and began dealing them out. "I think we're going to start really enjoying patrol duty."

"I was already enjoying it," Lily said, recalling her last evening stroll through the castle with James, then blushed and turned her attention to her cards. "Anyway, shall I go first, then?"