This Is Why We Get Along So Well

by Patriceavril

"Thanks, Evans," Sirius said, taking another sip from the flask before passing it across to her. "Did you mean that? About being scared, I mean?" She took a swallow of firewhisky and nodded. "Course I did. Why do you think I'm not dating James yet? It's okay to be scared. It's perfectly normal. Having feelings for someone, putting yourself out there, being in a relationship - that

12. Trousers are a requirement

Sunday, October 2, 1977

The events of the previous evening came rushing back to James before he even opened his eyes in the morning, and he savored the memory of what he was sure would turn out to be a dream. When he did open his eyes he found himself not in his bed, but nestled on the couch next to… When he saw Lily asleep in his arms he had the urge to shout for joy, but resisted and instead spent a few minutes just holding her. As he listened to her slow, steady breathing and felt the rise and fall of her chest, he tried to memorize everything about this moment. It was silly, really: the sunlight was shining in his eyes and his arm was asleep under Lily's head and his bladder was uncomfortably full, yet he couldn't remember ever feeling so content. He remained this way for as long as he could, running a finger along Lily's arm where it peeked out from the blanket, kissing the top of her head, stroking her tousled hair. When he could prolong it no longer he gently disentangled himself from Lily and kissed her forehead before heading off to the loo and to change into his running clothes.

The chilly morning air felt good against his face as he set off around the lake at a brisk jog. He always found his morning runs invigorating and enjoyable, but somehow everything looked better than usual today. The sun was brighter, the autumn leaves more brilliant shades of red and orange, the castle even more majestic and impressive silhouetted against the clear blue sky. Even his running felt faster and more effortless as his feet carried him around the lake and along the Quidditch pitch. His mind kept returning to the most enjoyable bits of the previous evening, and although he still had moments where he was convinced it was all a dream, it was starting to feel real to him.

By the time he slowed to a walk and climbed the steps to the castle, sweaty and gasping for breath and in desperate need of a shower, his jumbled, euphoric thoughts had sorted themselves out to form a plan. The situation with Lily had a lot of unknowns and seemed in need of something to make it official, so he resolved to ask her out one last time. It felt fitting to be able to hear a yes after years of hearing no. The next Hogsmeade trip was this coming weekend, which also felt fitting. He began to whistle as he climbed the many sets of stairs to bring him to the seventh floor. Everything's falling into place.

Lily's eyes snapped open, and she spent a few moments in a frenzied panic when she realized she was not in her bed, until her sleepy brain recognized the familiar surroundings of the Gryffindor common room. She sat up and stretched, intending to go up to her dormitory and get ready for the day, when the memory of last night came crashing back and she slumped back down onto the sofa. I snogged James Potter. Bloody hell, I snogged James Potter.

Her cheeks burned as she recalled the things they had done in the Head Office, and in his chair by the fire, and in this very sofa. She could feel his lips on hers, his arms around her waist, his fingertips on her skin. Merlin, they had been all over each other in front of everyone. She rested her head in her hands and tried to clear her head, but her mind kept returning to the way his bare chest had felt under her hands and the little sigh of satisfaction he had heaved when she kissed her way up his neck.

"Good morning." Remus's words made her jump, and her blush deepened even though he couldn't have guessed at the nature of the thoughts running through her mind.

"Morning." She took several deep breaths as he crossed the room and sat down next to her on the sofa. "Merlin, you look tired." She frowned at the circles under his eyes, glad to have something else to focus on.

Remus rubbed his eyes and grinned. "It was pretty late by the time I went to bed. I, er, went for a walk to give Mary and Sirius plenty of time in the dormitory. I don't even know what time it was when I got back." He glanced sideways at her and raised his eyebrows. "You and James were asleep. You looked very cozy."

"Oh no." She leaned her head back against the sofa and closed her eyes for a moment in hopes that blocking out the day would also somehow banish the humiliation that threatened to swallow her up. "We slept down here together all night, didn't we? Did everyone see?"

"I don't think so," Remus said, chuckling at the look of horror on her face. "James gets up earlier than most people. And I think everyone else had gone to bed by the time you fell asleep. So it was just me and, er, just me." He touched her shoulder when she did not pick her head up or respond. "It's all right. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We're all really happy for you."

She sighed and sat up, turning to face him with her face twisted in an expression of complete panic. "I'm just, well, I suppose I'm freaking out a bit."

He frowned. "Why?"

Her eyes fell to the sofa as her mind scrambled to remember the end of the night. A combination of alcohol and sleepiness made the memories blurry around the edges, and she wasn't sure how they had transitioned from passionate snogging to falling asleep in each others' arms. It terrified her to consider what might have happened if they hadn't fallen asleep. She had held out for so long, yet one kiss had made her abandon all her reservations.

She shook her head and tucked her legs underneath her. "It's just a lot to process all at once, you know?"

Remus rolled up the sleeve of his cardigan as he considered this. "I think it's understandable that you're a little freaked out, because you've both been building up to this for a long time, so now that you're finally here I'm sure it feels like a big thing. But at the same time, it's not really a huge new thing, because you've been thinking about this and working towards it for ages. Does that make sense?"

She tried to make sense of his words, but her mind kept circling back to the adoration on James's face and the sound of his voice murmuring 'You look beautiful' right before she had kissed him for the first time.

"I don't know," she said as she took a deep breath to clear her thoughts. "Not really."

"Well, who the hell am I to give relationship advice, anyway? You should talk to James about this. He'll be fine with taking it slow, if that's what you want. He's just so happy to be with you, I think he'll do whatever it takes to make sure you feel comfortable."

His smile was full of comfort and reassurance, yet his words threw her even deeper into an anxiety spiral. He's just so happy to be with you. Did that mean they were already in a relationship? They had never even discussed it, and now it felt assumed, inevitable. Was she even in a position to be in a relationship? 7th year felt so weighty and significant: she had Head Girl duties, and N.E.W.T.s to study for, and a career to think about, never mind her nagging worries about everything happening outside of school. Could she really afford a distraction, when she had so many other things to worry about?

"Hey," Remus said after she failed to respond and only sat there, eyes wide with terror. "Are you okay?" He seemed to recognize the panic on her face, because instead of waiting for a reply he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. The light pressure of his embrace calmed her, and as she rested her head on his shoulder she breathed in the scent of his soap mingled with what she suspected was chocolate, and she began to feel more in control.

"Thanks," she said when he pulled away and sat looking at her with concern still creasing his face. "That helped, actually. I think you're right. I just have to talk to him and get this sorted out."

Remus nodded. "Good. I think you'll feel better once you do." He checked his watch. "He should be back any minute now."

"Do you think I have time to run upstairs and brush my teeth? Maybe wash my face and try to make it look like I didn't pass out drunk on the common room sofa?" She patted her hair and grimaced as she realized how wild it must look.

"Go ahead. I'll tell him to wait here if he gets back while you're gone." Remus pulled a book from his back pocket and settled into the sofa to read. The discarded blanket caught his eye and he reached for it, then turned to her, frowning. "Is this blanket safe to use? Or should I wash it first?"

Lily felt her cheeks heat up again. "Bloody hell, Remus, of course it's safe. I wouldn't - I mean, we didn't-"

"Sorry, I only asked out of habit," Remus explained as he tucked the blanket around himself. "I've become overly cautious after hanging around Sirius. I didn't mean to imply anything." His long fingers fiddled with a stray thread at the corner of the blanket. "Although, if you did do, well, anything, you shouldn't feel embarrassed or ashamed or anything. None of us would judge you." He chuckled. "Sirius would probably throw a party."

Lily could not even begin to respond to that, so instead she retreated to the loo to brush her teeth and splash water on her face. Once she suppressed the thought of what she and James might have done under that blanket, the cool water on her face made her feel more human, and she formed a plan as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She would go down to the common room and get James to take a walk with her, and then she would explain that last night had been a mistake and she simply could not commit to a relationship at this point. He would be disappointed, but she couldn't do anything about that. It had to be dealt with now, before he could flash her that idiotic grin or tell her how beautiful she looked, because she was sure she would not be able to resist that James Potter charm, and she couldn't let him down easy if she was too busy snogging him.

When she returned to the common room, dressed in fresh clothes and with her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, she spotted James sitting on the sofa next to Remus. The sight of him prompted a new wave of memories, and she felt a powerful urge to kiss him even dressed in his running clothes with his hair damp with sweat. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the feeling of crushing panic she had experienced only ten minutes ago, then approached him with her hands in her pocket and a businesslike expression on her face.

"Hi," she said, trying not to let her eyes linger on his lean, toned arms revealed by his cut-off shirt. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Course you can." He stood up and leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away even though everything in her being was screaming at her to do the opposite.

He frowned, hurt clouding his features, but then he grinned and gestured at his damp clothes. "Sorry, I smell awful, don't I? I can shower before we talk if you like."

She shook her head and nodded at the portrait hole. "No, that's okay. Let's talk now. We can take a walk."

He followed her out of the common room and down the corridor until they reached the window where Sirius and Mary sometimes went to smoke. She leaned against the wall and tried to gather her thoughts.

"So I've been thinking a lot ever since I woke up this morning," she began. "About last night, I mean."

He seemed to misunderstand the direction of the conversation, because he smirked and took a step closer. "Me too. It's all I can think about."

She sighed and sat down against the window sill. "No, that's not what I mean. Just listen, all right? I've been thinking about everything that happened between us, and I just don't think I can be with you right now."

The grin vanished from his face as if he'd been slapped, and he looked at her with such hurt and confusion that she almost lost her resolve. "What? Why?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea. I have so much going on - we both do, with everything we have to do as Head Boy and Girl, and studying for the exams, and then we have to figure out what to do with the rest of our lives, which is a huge bloody decision, and then there's that little detail that we might have to go to war so people like me can have the right to just exist without someone trying to kill us!"

"Evans-"

"No, listen! Things are just so crazy and uncertain, I just can't afford to be distracted right now. All it took was for you to be a bit nice to me when I was upset, and I forgot all the reasons I was holding back. I just went bloody wild and would have ended up shagging you on the sofa if we hadn't fallen asleep-"

"Evans!" He put both hands on her shoulders, and she could see the pain and worry clouding his hazel eyes. "Just hold on for a minute, all right? You're panicking and that's okay, I understand why, but Merlin, just take a couple deep breaths and try to calm down."

For some reason the slow, steady cadence of his voice infuriated her. "I don't want to calm down! I want you to listen to what I'm saying."

"I am listening. I just think maybe you're being a bit rash and you should think about what you're saying-"

"I'm not being rash! I have thought about this. Last night was when I was being rash. I should never have gotten drunk and done… all that. It was a mistake." She stared down at her feet, unable to look at the devastated expression on his face.

"Are you saying you didn't enjoy any of last night?" He rested his hand on her chin and gently tilted her head up until she met his gaze. "Evans, do you really think it was all a mistake? Did you mean that?"

The raw vulnerability in his voice was almost unbearable, and Lily thought she detected unshed tears in her eyes before she looked away, unable to face the pain she was causing him. She couldn't speak for a few moments, and when she did force out a reply her voice shook with emotion.

"I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I just can't be with you, and if you're really my friend like you say you are, you'll accept that." The words echoed in her head, causing her little ripples of pain as she turned and ran down the corridor before blurting the password and retreating through the portrait hole. She didn't stop until she collapsed onto her bed, and only then did she let herself succumb to the tears that had been threatening to spill out throughout the entire conversation. As she lay there sobbing and second-guessing every decision that had led her here, she desperately hoped that James was handling this better than she was.

James stood there for a minute after Lily left, too stunned to move. The words It was a mistake kept replaying in his head, causing him a little stab of pain with each repetition. After several more torturous minutes he forced himself to move, putting one foot in front of the other until he broke into a run. He shouted the password at the Fat Lady and stumbled through the portrait hole, then darted around the Gryffindors heading for breakfast and retreated up the stairs to his dormitory. In his haste he almost collided with Mary as she descended the stairs, and he had to grab her arm to keep her from toppling over.

"Sorry," he muttered, ignoring her questioning look and continuing up the stairs until he reached the dormitory, where he retrieved a Snitch from his trunk before collapsing onto his bed.

"Hey, Prongs." Sirius lounged on his bed wearing only a pair of pants and a lazy grin. "How was the rest of your night? Moony said you and Evans spent the night together on the sofa." His grin faltered when he noticed James's stony expression and the tension in his hand as he released and caught the Snitch. "What's wrong, mate?"

James continued toying with the Snitch and did not reply. Puzzled, Sirius stood up and joined James on his bed.

"Prongs?" he asked, his tone hesitant.

James made a grab for the Snitch, but he had waited too long and it fluttered away across the room. "Oh, bloody hell," he said, then sat up and rested his head in his hands. "I've fucked it all up, Padfoot."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad. What happened?"

James picked his head up but kept his eyes fixed on the duvet as he ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want Sirius to see how upset he was, how close he was to breaking down, because that one sentence, It was a mistake, had wiped out years of unflagging optimism and left him broken, defeated, and on the brink of tears. How was it possible that only ten minutes ago he had felt happier than he ever had in his life?

"Evans just told me she can't be with me. There's too much going on and she doesn't want the distraction of a relationship. She said-" His voice broke and he had to take a deep breath before continuing. "She said last night was a mistake."

"No she bloody didn't!" Sirius sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing with anger. "Why the fuck would she say that?"

James shrugged, still unable to meet Sirius's eye. "I dunno, but she seemed pretty sure about it. I suppose she only did it because she was drunk. I must've been an idiot to think she would actually want to give it a go with me."

"No. Shut the fuck up, Prongs, and look at me." When James shook his head and kept his gaze trained on the bed, Sirius gave his shoulder a light punch. "Oi! Look at me, you prat, and listen, all right?" Once he was satisfied that he had James's full attention, Sirius continued. "Right, so this is fucking unacceptable, and we're not going to stand for it. You and Evans are meant for each other, and she's obviously having some sort of temporary existential crisis. You honestly think she sees last night as a mistake?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I saw her face when she looked at you, mate. I've never seen her so fucking happy. She's just panicking, because she's Evans, and nothing is simple when Evans is involved."

"But you didn't see her face when she told me all that just now," James insisted, his voice hollow. "You didn't hear her. She really meant it, Pads. And she knows how I feel about her and what this would do to me, and she just fucking dropped this on me and walked away. Bloody hell, I've got to get out of here." He got to his feet and took a step forward, but Sirius grabbed him by the wrist.

"Where are you going?"

"I dunno, for a run, I suppose." The room felt like it was closing in on him, and James longed to push his body to the limit until his brain was too exhausted to feel pain.

Sirius did not release his wrist. "You've just come back from a run."

"Well, then, I'll take my broom out for a bit. I don't care, I just have to get out of here or I'll go mad." He just wanted this conversation to be over, because if he had to talk about this for even a moment longer, he was convinced he would lose the fragile thread of self-control keeping his tears at bay.

Sirius nodded, and James knew he must understand the need to escape. "Okay. Do what you need to do. While you're doing that, I'm going to talk to Macdonald and get to the bottom of this. Don't worry, Prongs. We're going to fix this. Okay?"

James nodded, trying to ignore the fierce determination in his friend's voice, because it was so touching how upset Sirius was on his behalf that it almost pushed him over the edge.

Sirius hesitated a moment, then shrugged and pulled James into a hug. "It's all right, mate. You're almost there, so don't you even bloody think about giving up now. We'll come up with some ridiculous James Potter plan and you'll get her back. Cause she's mad about you, I don't care what she fucking says. All right?" He released James and clapped him on the back. "Also, don't tell anyone about this, because this makes two hugs and a fucking pep talk in less than 24 hours, and I have a reputation to maintain."

James bit his lip and nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak, so instead he flashed Sirius a grateful smile before turning and heading back down the stairs to make the trek down to the Quidditch pitch.

Sirius sensed James needed time to pull himself together, so he gave him a minute's headstart before bounding down the stairs to the common room. He scanned the room and spotted Peter and Remus seated by the fire, but saw no sign of Mary.

"Padfoot, do you want to go down to breakfast?" Peter called, waving him over.

"Oh no. Padfoot, I thought we talked about this." Remus shook his head and heaved an exasperated sigh. "Trousers are a requirement in the common room!"

Sirius looked down and realized he was still wearing only pants (which he had a sneaking suspicion might belong to James). He shrugged and waved away Remus's objections. "I had no time to get dressed, Moony, this is urgent."

"Is our dormitory full of Fiendfyre?" Remus asked.

"Moony-"

"Is there a bloody dragon on the loose up there? Is the star player of the Chudley Cannons down in the Great Hall signing autographs, but only for the next five minutes?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Not that I am aware of."

"Then what possible situation is urgent enough to make you leave the dormitory wearing just pants?" Remus demanded.
"For fuck's sake, Moony. Evans is being, well, Evans, and she's told Prongs she has too much going on to date him and last night was all a big mistake. So as you can imagine, he's pretty bloody upset, so I've got to get Macdonald down here so I can figure out what's going on and how to fix it."

There was a beat of silence as they processed this, then Remus raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, shit."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah."

"Poor Prongs," Peter said, looking distraught.

"I talked to her earlier," Remus said. "She seemed kind of, I dunno, overwhelmed, I guess, so I gave her a hug and told her to talk to James. But I didn't think she was going to say that! I thought she was just going to ask him to take it slow or something."

"It's all right, Moony, you didn't know," Sirius assured him.

"But what can we do?" Peter asked. "How can we fix this?"

Sirius tapped his fingers against the side of his face as he thought. "I think we need to come up with some stupid, over-the-top plan to remind her how much she likes Prongs, don't you think? We just need to figure out what the plan is going to be. And I really feel like we need to talk to Macdonald before we do anything else." He surveyed the room, frowning. "Who can I get to go up there for me… Oi! Kath!"

Kath turned to face him and shot him a curious look before leaving her game of wizard's chess and crossing the room to join them.

"Hello," she said, and her look of curiosity deepened as she noticed his lack of clothing. "Why aren't you wearing trousers?"

"That's not important right now," Sirius said. "I need a favor."

She frowned and studied his face. "Are you drunk?"

"What? No. It's only, er, well I dunno what time it is, but I haven't started drinking yet. Although you're starting to make me want a bloody drink." He sighed in irritation and crossed his arms. "Will you do me a favor or not?"

"Hmmm." She paused to consider this. "Depends what the favor is."

"Can you go up to the 7th year girls' dormitory and get Mary Macdonald for me?"

She bent closer and poked a finger at the scar on his chest. "How'd you get that?"

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"My favorite answer is he was attacked by a Peruvian Vipertooth," Peter said with a grin. "But the knife fight with a goblin is also excellent."

Kath narrowed her eyes. "Those both sound like a bunch of rubbish."

"Well, I don't recall asking for your opinion," Sirius snapped. "You know what, forget it. I'll ask someone else." He waved across the common room and called, "Hey, Seven!"

When Seven joined them her cheeks were pink and she appeared slightly flustered, which Sirius assumed was due to his limited clothing.

"Sorry, I know I'm not wearing trousers which is apparently unacceptable in the common room, my deepest apologies, blah blah," he said, rolling his eyes and shooting an annoyed glance at Remus. "Anyway, will you do me a favor? I asked this one but she's more interested in asking stupid questions than actually helping me."

"He claims he got that scar from a Hungarian Horntail," Kath interjected. "That can't be true, can it?"

"Peruvian Vipertooth," Peter corrected.

"I thought it was a hippogriff," Seven said, frowning. "But anyway, what's the favor?"

"Can you go up to the 7th year girls' dormitory and ask Macdonald to come down? Tell her it's urgent, but not just really want to shag urgent, actually urgent."

"Got it," Seven said, nodding and heading for the girls' staircase without another word.

"See, that's the correct way to respond when someone asks you for a favor," Sirius said, glaring at Kath. "No stalling, no asking dumb questions, just bloody do it. You could learn a lot from Seven."

Kath grinned and sat down on the arm of Peter's armchair. "I know. I've already learned loads from her. She's an amazing Seeker, and she's really dedicated to the team. She's a bit intense, though, isn't she? Seems like it would do her good to let loose a bit once in a while."

"I've seen her let loose once or twice," Remus said.

"I'm sure you have," Peter said, and this struck Sirius as an odd thing to say, but he was too occupied with watching the girls' staircase for Mary to give it much thought.

"So you and Mary Macdonald are dating, right?" Kath asked, and her question broke Sirius's concentration. "Did you have a fight? Is that why you needed someone to go get her for you?"

"We're not dating," Sirius said with a sigh, because for fuck's sake, how many people were going to ask him that? "We're friends."

She fell silent for a moment as she mulled this over. "But she was sitting on your lap the other night. And she's always going up to your dormitory with you."

"Yeah, well, we're shagging," Sirius said with a shrug.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "Padfoot, she's eleven."

Kath rolled her eyes. "I know what shagging is, thanks. I just thought when two people are shagging on a regular basis that means they're dating, but I'm eleven, so what do I know? Anyway, if that's not it, what's this all about? Maybe I can help."

Sirius looked at Peter and Remus; Remus shrugged and Peter nodded, so Sirius took a step closer to Kath and fixed her with a searching look.

"If we tell you, you better actually help and not just ask a bunch of unrelated questions, all right?" She nodded, eyes wide. "Right, so as you've probably gathered, seeing as you have eyes and ears and can form semi-coherent thoughts-"

"Thanks, that's kind of you," she said with a wry smile.

"Anyway, you've probably figured out that James is in love with Lily Evans. She's actually pretty mad about him, too, but they're both bloody idiots so it's taken ages for them to get their heads out of their arses and get together." He paused and held up a hand. "Hang on, have you heard the words 'arse' and 'bloody' before, or have I completely corrupted your innocent ears?"

She laughed. "Don't worry, it's pretty much impossible to make it through a Quidditch practice without hearing Potter shout one of those words, so I've heard it all."

"Good, just wanted to check before Professor Lupin scolded me," Sirius said, glancing sideways at Remus and smirking.

"Sod you," Remus said.

"Now who's using rude language in front of first years?" Sirius shook his head primly and turned his attention back to Kath. "Anyway, things were looking great for them last night-"

"You mean when they were sitting in that chair feeling each other up?" Kath asked, gesturing at the empty chair next to Remus.

Sirius grinned. "Yup, that's what I mean. So it seemed like a sure thing, but now Lily's gone and changed her mind and said it was all a mistake, which is clearly rubbish, so we're going to figure out how to get her to reconsider."

"But if she says it was a mistake, why would you be able to change her mind?" Kath asked. "Sounds like she just doesn't want to date him, which is unfortunate, but it happens that way sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Nah, she just needs some convincing," Sirius said.

"Besides, you don't want to see what James is like if she doesn't change her mind. The Quidditch team will completely fall apart," Peter added.

This seemed to spur Kath into action. "So what can I do?"

"Hmm." Sirius drummed his fingers against his chin as he thought. "Oh, actually, you're friends with the kid I got the ukulele from, right?"

"You mean Robby?"

He shrugged. "I think so? I just call him Ukiluki, because that's what this one thought a ukulele is called." He nodded in Remus's direction and grinned. "Anyway, can you find him for me?"

"Sure. He'll either be at breakfast or the library. I'll be back," she said, hopping down from the arm of the chair. "Oh, by the way," she said over her shoulder as she paused by the portrait hole, "I quite like the name Ukiluki." She waved before slipping out of the common room.

"Well done, Moony, she likes your made up word," Sirius said before returning to staring at the girls' staircase.

"What did you want to see him for?" Peter asked.

"I think I need to learn how to play that stupid bloody Paul Simon song," Sirius said, scowling.

Remus laughed. "What good's that going to do?"

"I think Evans would like it," Sirius said with a shrug. "I dunno how it'll fit into the plan, but I expect we'll figure it out." He settled into his chair to wait for Mary, humming "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard" under his breath.

The sound of Lily's favorite Paul Simon album greeted Mary as she stepped through the door into the dormitory. She was looking forward to a long, hot shower before breakfast, but the muffled sounds coming from behind Lily's curtains made her pause.

"Lil?" She peeked her head in through a crack in the curtains to find Lily curled on her bed with her face pressed against her pillows. "You all right?"

"I'm great," Lily said without lifting her head from the pillow. "Just bloody excellent."

Mary stood there twirling a strand of hair as she considered the best course of action. "Right. Well, I'm going to take a shower, and when I come back we can talk about why your day is so bloody excellent, all right?" When Lily failed to reply, Mary shrugged and retrieved her shower things before heading to the loo.

When she returned twenty minutes later, wrapped in a towel and bringing with her a whiff of Sleekeazy's and shampoo, she found Lily unmoved and the Paul Simon music still blasting as loud as ever.

"Okay, we're turning this down," Mary said as she hurried over to adjust the volume to a level that didn't hurt her ears. "I can't hear myself think, and I think Olivia is still trying to sleep."

"Sleep is surprisingly difficult to come by these days!" Olivia called from behind her curtains.

"Yeah, well, it seems to be a pretty eventful weekend, sorry about that," Mary said. She rummaged through her trunk and turned around to dress. "To make up for it I'll buy you a Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks next weekend, and you can borrow any outfit you like, all right? But you may as well get up now, because I have a feeling this is not going to be a quiet conversation."

Once she finished dressing she sat on the edge of Lily's bed and touched her friend's shoulder. "Want to tell me why you're sobbing in bed when just last night you were the happiest I've ever seen you?"

Lily sighed and rolled over, then propped herself up to lean against her pillows. Her eyes were red and swollen, and there were dried tear tracks on her cheeks. As she began to speak, her lip trembled, and Mary was afraid she was about to cry again.

"I told James that I don't want to date him and last night was all a big mistake," she said, her eyes wide with despair.

"What? Why the fuck would you do that?"

New tears filled Lily's eyes at the anger in her friend's voice. "Because it's true! I have too much to get on with without adding a boyfriend into it. I dunno what I was thinking, snogging him like that-"

"I know exactly what you were thinking!" Mary interrupted. "You were thinking you like him because he's bloody adorable and sweet, and you thought you'd quite like to snog him, so you did. It was what you wanted, so how was it a mistake?"

"Because I can't just drop everything and start dating him! I have to do patrols-"

"You told me you spent your last patrol night together playing cards," Mary said, rolling her eyes.

Lily ignored Mary's interruption. "And I have to study. And what about everything that's going on? I can't afford to get distracted at a time like this."

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything? At a time like what? Lily, you're not making any sense. Look, I know you're scared-"

"I'm not scared!" Lily's eyes widened in indignation.

"But you are, obviously," Mary insisted. "And that's okay, but don't let that get in the way of something that will make you so happy."

Lily sprang to her feet and glared at Mary with her hands on her hips. "Don't project your own insecurities on me!"

Mary frowned. "Sorry, what?"

"Just because you and Black are too afraid to tell each other how you feel because you might end up hurt doesn't mean that's what's happening with me," Lily said, her voice rising.

Mary stood and glared back at Lily. "I'm not-" she spluttered. "I never said - that's just your perception!"

"No, it's pretty obvious to all of us," Lily said. "But what I'm feeling is not the same at all. So don't stand there and tell me I shouldn't let fear stand in the way of my happiness when it's not only hypocritical, but completely irrelevant to the situation."

"Well that's-" Mary began, but she was spared from having to come up with a more coherent answer when there was a knock on the door, and she opened the door to admit Seven.

"Hey, Macdonald? Sorry to interrupt," she said. "Black wanted me to ask you to come down to the common room."

"Well he can wait a bit," Lily snapped. "Sorry, Seven, but we're sort of in the middle of a conversation here."

"That's all right, I'm not particularly enjoying this conversation," Mary said.

Seven toyed at the end of her braid. "He, er, said to tell you that it's urgent."

"Well that just means he wants to shag," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"No, he specifically said it's not shagging urgent, but actually urgent," Seven said with an apologetic smile. "He seems a bit, er, unsettled. He's down there in the common room in just pants."

Lily sighed "Lovely."

"Oh, Merlin, James has probably told him what you said and it's upset him," Mary said, frowning.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "I don't see what he has to be upset about."

Mary twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she considered how to explain. "Well, he's not usually much for relationships and love and all that, but you and James are the exception. He thinks you're really meant to be. Bloody hell, last night we were talking about getting drunk and dancing together at your wedding!"

"That's ridiculous!"

Mary nodded as her face split into a wistful smile. "I know, but we were drunk and excited about you two finally getting together. Anyway, I think he sees you two as proof that maybe love's possible even in this fucked up world, so he feels like if you and James can't work it out, then there's no hope for everyone else. I can see why it would throw him into a bit of a panic."

"Well, if he's going to be dumb enough to make plans years in advance, then he should be prepared to be disappointed when it doesn't work out exactly as planned," Lily said, throwing her hands up in irritation.

"It's Black," Mary said with a shrug. "He doesn't exactly think things through." She turned to Seven. "Don't tell Black all that stuff I said. He wouldn't appreciate people talking about him having feelings."

Seven nodded. "Don't worry, I'm good at keeping my mouth shut."

Mary glanced at Lily. "We'll talk later. Maybe you'll be more inclined to actually listen to me if you take some time to think."

Lily scowled but didn't reply, and Mary shrugged and turned to follow Seven out of the dormitory.

"He's not drunk, is he, Seven?" Mary asked. It had not even been an hour since she'd left Sirius, yet she knew he could do a good amount of drinking in a short amount of time when he needed to, and she wanted to know what she was walking into.

Seven turned to smile at her over her shoulder. "No, I don't think so. Just not wearing a lot of clothes."

When they reached the common room Seven waved and headed to a table by the window while Mary went to join the boys by the fire.

"What are you trying to do to me, Black?" Mary asked, looking him up and down and smirking.

"Macdonald!" His face lit up, and she detected a hint of panic in his eyes that was not quite disguised by his grin. "Did Evans tell you-"

"Yeah, and it's a bunch of bull shit," Mary said as she leaned against the arm of his chair. "I'm not happy with her."

"So what can we do?" Sirius asked, standing up and beginning to pace the floor in front of the fire. "We've got to do something, right?"

"Yes, of course we do, even though I'm not that keen on helping Lily at the moment." Mary scowled and sat down in Sirius's chair. "I'd rather give her a good kick in the arse, to tell you the truth."

"What did she say to make you so angry?" Remus asked, amused. "I assume it's more than her just rejecting James."

"Never mind." She shook her head and pushed her hair out of her face. "Right, so as far as I can tell she's panicking because she's realized how much she likes him and is afraid of getting hurt. So I guess what we need to do is get her to realize that it's worth the risk, right?"

Peter nodded as he considered this. "Except it's not even much of a risk, is it? Prongs isn't going to break her heart."

"You're both right," Sirius said. He tapped his fingers against the side of his face as he paced. "I think he just needs to lay it all out there and tell her all of this, except we need to make sure she'll actually listen to him."

"She just needs some time," Mary said. "I think she's already regretting what she said, but she's too stubborn to admit it. Wait until tomorrow and she'll be about ready to crack."

"I think what we need is a classic James Potter over-the-top gesture, as much as I think those are ridiculous and obnoxious," Remus said.

"I know I've said it before, but there should be fireworks," Peter added. "Don't you think?"

"Lily loves fireworks, actually," Mary said. "That could work." She stood up and grabbed both of Sirius's hands. "Stop pacing, will you? You're making me dizzy."

Sirius shrugged and returned to his chair, pulling her down onto his lap. " I'm going to have my first year buddy teach me to play that stupid song she likes on the ukulele," he said.

"'Dancing Queen,' you mean?" Mary asked, giggling.

"No, 'Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard,'" Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I actually like 'Dancing Queen,' but it would sound ridiculous on ukulele."

Remus laughed. "You say that like the ukulele isn't a ridiculous instrument in general, made even more ridiculous by your insistence on wearing that cowboy hat every time you play it."

"That cowboy hat is not ridiculous, it's bloody excellent, and speaking of my cowboy hat, where in the name of Merlin is it?" Sirius peered around Mary to scan the common room.

"Hang on, I think I saw it somewhere," Peter said. He sprang out of his chair and walked around, peering under chairs and behind sofas until he located it and returned, wearing a proud grin.

"Thanks, Pete," Sirius said, grabbing for the hat and jamming it onto his head. "I couldn't handle this rubbish with Evans and losing my hat all at once."

"Well, thank Merlin it's been found," Remus said. His eyes lingered on the hat, and his expression was a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"So what's the big over-the-top gesture going to be?" Mary asked. "Should we brainstorm?"

"Nah, we usually leave that up to James," Sirius said. "He's good at coming up with that stuff. He'll have the big idea, and then we'll sort of fill in the details and help make it happen."

"We do have a good supply of fireworks already," Peter said. "So that shouldn't be a problem."

"But will you be able to learn that song by tomorrow?" Remus asked. "If you really think that is essential to the plan, I mean."
"Of course it's essential to the plan," Sirius said, as if this should have been obvious. "And I'll be fine learning it in one day. I work best under pressure. I'll have to offer him something extra to drop everything to teach me a song on such short notice, but I'm sure he won't complain if I offer him a bit of firewhisky-"

"Padfoot!" Remus scolded. "For fuck's sake."

"Only joking," Sirius said, grinning. "I just love seeing that look of disapproval on your face. It brings me such joy."

"Well, I'm glad my objection to the corruption of innocent first years is amusing to you."

Mary stood up and tugged at Sirius's arm. "Come on."

Sirius frowned. "Where are we going?"

"Up to your dormitory so you can get dressed. It seems a bit weird to have a first year give you ukulele lessons while you're wearing just pants."

Sirius sighed and got to his feet. "Fine." He turned to Remus and Peter. "If you wait a few minutes, we can go down to breakfast. We can bring something back for Prongs, but I doubt he'll eat anyway." He set off for the dormitory, feeling much less panicked now that they had formed some semblance of a plan.

It was midafternoon by the time James dragged himself up the many staircases to the Gryffindor common room. His body was heavy and sore after hours of pushing himself to the limit, but the exhaustion helped slow the whirl of thoughts that had plagued his brain since his conversation with Lily. The crushing sadness still weighed on him, but it was muted by the ache in his limbs. He considered heading straight for the dormitory to take a nap, if only so he wouldn't have to think for a while longer. When he reached the common room, however, he spotted Peter and Remus in their usual spots by the fire, and he crossed the room to collapse into his own chair.

"Where's Padfoot?" he asked as he stretched out his legs and rested his head against the back of the chair.

"He's up in the dormitory," Remus said. "That first year is teaching him a song on the ukulele."

"You okay?" Peter asked. "You've been gone ages."

"Were you trying to make yourself too exhausted to think?" Remus asked.

James nodded. "It was somewhat successful." He glanced around the common room before lowering his voice and leaning closer. "Have you seen-"

"She hasn't been down all afternoon," Remus said. "I think she's hiding out in the library."

"Macdonald said she was really upset earlier," Peter added. "She went to look for her a little while ago."

James frowned. "She was upset? Why? Do you think I should go try to talk to her?"

"No," Remus said, shaking his head. "Mary said she definitely needed time, so you shouldn't try to talk to her before tomorrow. Come on, we'll go up and see how Padfoot's getting on with the song."

As they climbed the stairs, faint snatches of music could be heard before they even reached the dormitory. The sound grew louder until James pulled open the door and saw Sirius strum the final chords of "Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard" before emitting a whoop of triumph and turning to the first year with an expectant grin.

"That was it, wasn't it? I think I've got it!" He noticed his three friends standing there and beckoned them over. "Did you hear that? Not bad, right?" He went to his trunk and rummaged around before pulling out a Galleon and handing it to the first year. "Here you go, mate. Thanks a lot. You can go if you want." He bent closer and lowered his voice. "I'll get you the other thing later."

The first year frowned in confusion, then shrugged and waved before heading for the door.

"What's the other thing, Padfoot?" Remus demanded.

"Not important," Sirius said as he sprawled out on his bed. "Have a seat, Prongs. You look half dead."

"That was the goal," James said, plopping down onto his bed and grimacing as the motion made his sore muscles twinge in protest. "Do you have a specific plan in mind, or am I meant to come up with it and somehow incorporate you playing that song?"

"You always think of the best plans," Sirius said. "So we figured we wouldn't waste our time when you'd think of something ten times better."
"We did decide the plan should include fireworks," Peter said. "Actually, we should probably take a look at what we still have." He went to his trunk and began digging around.

"Macdonald said you just need to do something to get her attention, and once she's listening you should just lay it all out for her. Tell her how you feel and convince her that it's worth the risk," Sirius said.

"Because she's just afraid, apparently," Remus added. "She's realized how much she likes you, and it's a little scary so she's panicking. But I think if you can get through to her, you can persuade her to give it a shot. And I think you need to do something ridiculous to get through to her."

James grinned. "But you hate my over-the-top gestures. And I thought Evans did too."

"I won't hate it if it works. And I don't think she hates them as much as she says she does." He crossed the room and sat down on the side of his bed, watching with interest as Peter sorted through the box of fireworks.

James fell silent for a minute, mulling over ideas in his head. He had a few over-the-top gestures stored away for emergencies, but somehow none of them seemed right. The effort of thinking made his mind begin to whirl again, and he sought to recover the sense of focused calm he had attained during his hours of Quidditch training earlier. He closed his eyes and remembered the tug of the wind at his hair and the familiar feel of the broomstick under him as he soared over the grounds and around the castle. Just the memory made him feel more in control, and as he took a deep breath he felt the pieces click into place in his mind.

"All right, I have a plan," he said.

Sirius stopped strumming the ukulele, Peter paused as he divided the fireworks into different categories, and Remus set down the book he had been thumbing through to find his page. Amused by their rapt attention, James sat up and ran a hand through his hair before he continued.

"I'm going to fly my broom outside the girls dormitory and get Lily to come to the window. I'll say my spiel while Padfoot serenades her - nice touch, by the way, I think she'll love that, especially because she knows you hate that song - and then at the end Moony and Wormtail will set off fireworks that spell out 'WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?'"

The other three nodded and grinned.

"It's perfect," Peter said. "Will you help me mess with the fireworks?"

"It's so simple but brilliant," Sirius said. "Why didn't we think of this?"

James shrugged. "I mean, you basically did. You thought of the over-the-top stuff, and I just sort of put it all together." He frowned. "Do you think you could control your broom while playing the ukulele?"

"Merlin, Prongs, that sounds like a disaster," Remus said, shaking his head in dismay. "Why don't you just have him sit on the back of your broom? Still not ideal, but at least you can handle controlling the broom and you could make a grab for him if he falls."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, Moony, of course I'm not going to fall. I'll just need to practice a bit." He raised his eyebrows at James. "You work on figuring out what you're going to say while I go get my broom, and Moony can help Pete start working on the fireworks." A wry smile tugged at his lips as he got to his feet and clapped James on the back. "And I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but you may want to consider a shower."

James grimaced as he realized how he must smell after running four miles and training hard for at least three hours, then stood and began gathering his things to take a shower before setting to work on The Plan.

Hours later the four of them were still holed up in the dormitory, occupied with their various tasks. James lay sprawled on his bed, scribbling notes on a piece of parchment and pausing every so often to re-read and scratch something out. Remus and Peter were putting the finishing touches on the fireworks and were discussing the pros and cons of setting one off as a trial to see how it would come out. Sirius sat atop his broom, hovering over a pile of pillows and blankets as he played the same song for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Okay, I think I've finished," James said as he rolled up the parchment before standing up to stretch. "Padfoot, I think you've got it, mate. I love you for doing this for me, but if I hear that song one more time I might go mad, so how about you give it a rest and help me instead?"

Sirius grinned and tossed the ukulele onto his bed, then let himself fall from the broom onto the pile of pillows. "What do you need help with?" he asked as he disentangled himself from a blanket and got to his feet.

"I was thinking we should get some things together for both, er, outcomes." He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the dread that threatened to overwhelm him when he considered the possibility of her saying no. "Better to be prepared, you know? So it's all right there for us. We could have a happy box and a sad box, with all the necessities for celebrating like idiots or drowning my sorrows."
Sirius nodded. "I like it. Hang on, I'll find some boxes. I know we had some empty Ogden's boxes around here somewhere."

As he searched, James went to his trunk and began pulling out various items. Remus and Peter abandoned the fireworks and came over to help.

After a few minutes, Sirius located the two cardboard boxes under Peter's bed. "Okay, what goes in each box?" He reached for two bottles of firewhisky that James had removed from his trunk. "Firewhisky for the sad box, right?"

"And champagne for happy," James said, placing a bottle of champagne in the other box.

"What about the Bertie Botts?" Remus asked. "And the Jelly Slugs?"

"Bertie Botts are happy, Jelly Slugs are sad," James said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Moony."

"Sorry, how could I not have known that?" Remus chuckled and placed the candy into the two boxes.

"Hang on, I think you've mixed up the boxes," Sirius said, reaching in to swap the Bertie Botts and Jelly Slugs. "I'm going to label them." He bent down in front of the boxes and tapped each of them in turn with his wand, then gestured at his handiwork a moment later. The happy box now bore the image of James's face wearing a wide smile, while the sad box showed James frowning.

"Nice," James said, grinning.

"But why's the ukulele here?" Sirius asked as he picked it up from the pile.

"Should that be for the happy box?" Peter asked.

"No, the sad box," Remus argued. "So Prongs has something to break."

"Sod you," Sirius said, placing the ukulele safely back onto his bed. "This ukulele is going to be what pushes Evans over the edge to say yes, mark my words."

"What about the chocolate?" Remus asked

"Oh, that's for you." James handed him the chocolate bar, grinning. "You looked hungry."

"I feel like we need a banner of some sort," Sirius mused. "I can work on that in a bit, but I'm going to take a walk to have a smoke and maybe get us something to eat? Unless you all want to take a break and actually go down to dinner."

James shook his head. "Not hungry. I'm too nervous to eat." He frowned and reached into his trunk to pull out another box of Bertie Botts. "Do you think you might run into Evans?" He put the box of candy into Sirius's hand, an anxious expression on his face. "Give her this if you do, because I doubt she'll have eaten either, and I don't want her to starve on my account."

Sirius slipped the Bertie Botts into his pocket and set off down the stairs. When he reached the common room he took a quick glance around in search of Mary, but when he didn't see her he stepped through the portrait hole and made his way along the corridor alone, glad for a few minutes of solitude to ponder the day's events. Lily's sudden change of heart had shaken him more than he cared to admit, because throughout the past years James had never lost faith, even after very public rejections and the sort of setbacks that would make anyone else give up. And yet he had seen a hint of defeat mingled with the sadness in his friends eyes, and this made him question everything, because if the two people he believed to be literal soulmates couldn't even figure it out, what chance did someone as fucked up as himself have?

The evening air was chilly on the Astronomy Tower, but it felt bracing against Sirius's face as he leaned against the railing and pulled his cigarettes from his pocket. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't realize he was not alone until he sensed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Lily seated on the other side of the tower with her back against the cold stone.

"Evans," he said, crossing the tower to join her. "What are you doing up here? This is sort of my brooding spot."

She sighed. "I can leave if you'd like."

"Don't be stupid, I was only joking." He lit a cigarette and offered her one, and after a moment's hesitation she accepted.

"I just needed to get out of the dormitory," she said after lighting her cigarette and taking a tentative puff. "I could barely hear myself think in the common room, and even in the library Mary kept pestering me, so I told her I was going to the loo and came here instead." She smiled ruefully and watched the smoke from her cigarette curl away into the night. "I think I'm getting better at smoking, but I don't know if that's a good thing."

Sirius grinned. "Sure it is. It means you've been hanging around with me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the box of Bertie Botts. "Here," he said, holding them out to her. "James wanted me to give you these. He was worried you might not have eaten today, and he said he didn't want you to starve on his account."

She took the box and stared down at it, her face clouded with sadness. "I haven't eaten anything today," she admitted. "Of course he would be worried about me skipping meals when I've just absolutely crushed his dreams." Her face crumpled and she burst into tears, flinging herself onto Sirius's chest and forgetting all about her cigarette, which dangled from her fingers dangerously close to his jacket.

"Merlin, Evans, it's all right," Sirius said as he patted her back with one hand and plucked at her cigarette with his other hand before it could burn a hole through the leather. "I wouldn't say you've absolutely crushed his dreams. He hasn't given up hope yet." He put his cigarette to his lips, careful not to let any ash drop into Lily's hair. "This might be a stupid question, seeing as I'm not very good at feelings and all that rubbish, but if you're this upset about it, why did you say it in the first place?"

She did not reply, and her shoulders shook as she sobbed harder. Sirius took one last drag on his cigarette before grinding it out against the stone and wrapping his arms around Lily. He held her without speaking, unsure what to say or how to comfort her, until she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed and shook her head. "What a mess I am. Yesterday James comforted me while I cried like an idiot, and today I've gone and done the same thing to you."

He shrugged. "It's all right, although I'd recommend Remus if you go for a third time. He's much better at knowing what to say to comfort people." He pulled his flask from his pocket and took a sip before offering it to Lily. "This is the best I can do."

She laughed and reached for the flask, then took a much larger sip than he would have expected. They sat in silence for a few minutes, passing the flask back and forth in the growing darkness. After another impressive swallow of firewhisky Lily broke the silence.

"I didn't answer your question before because I honestly don't know the answer. At first I was so convinced that I was right to say what I did, because I do have a lot going on and it seems foolish to start a relationship when things are so uncertain and there's so much that could go wrong." She sighed and studied a crack in the stone floor. "But now I'm starting to feel like it was a bit stupid." She raised her eyebrows at him. "That's what you think, isn't it?"

He grinned. "I don't think it was a bit stupid. I think it was completely stupid."

"Well, that's nice, you git," she said, shoving his shoulder. "I've just finished crying my eyes out and you say that?"

Sirius laughed. "Hang on, let me finish. I understand why you said it, because it is all pretty bloody terrifying. But at the same time, just fucking go for it. It's just like what you told me before, about how doing things that terrify us is just kind of what we do as Gryffindors, right?" He grinned and patted her shoulder. "It'll be great. There's no way it won't be."

"You think so?"

"Well, James is absolutely mad about you and will do literally whatever it takes to make it work. I've never seen him as happy as he was last night. Just bloody on top of the world. And you looked the exact same." He picked up the box of Bertie Botts which Lily had dropped during her crying fit and placed it in her hand. "Also, I've never seen anyone have such an emotional response to a box of candy that has been known to taste like earwax and grass, so I think that further proves my point."

"Hey, the grass ones are better than you think." A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she traced the bright lettering on the box. "Thanks, Black." Her eyes darted up to meet his, and he felt her pierce through his nonchalance to detect the vulnerability hidden underneath. "What about you?"

He shrugged and reached for the flask. "What about me?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You know what I mean. All this talk about being afraid but going for it anyway. Are you going to take your own advice?"

Her words shattered the temporary sense of calm he had gained from the cigarette and firewhisky and cool night air, but he swallowed back the pang of uncertainty and forced his face into a casual grin.

"I'm not nearly drunk enough to talk about my feelings, Evans, and the flask is almost empty." He gestured at the box of Bertie Botts still clutched in her hands. "Are you saving those to cry over again, or are you going to offer me some?"

She sighed and handed him the box. "You know, Mary's in love with you."

He paused with a handful of beans halfway to his mouth and gaped at her, too overcome by his rush of emotions to feign indifference. "She is?"

She nodded, and her knowing smile prompted him to hide the earnest hope that he had allowed to show on his face.

"She didn't say that," he said, rolling his eyes as if he didn't care one way or another.

"No, but she doesn't have to say it." That same knowing smile remained on her face as she glanced sideways to fix Sirius with a piercing gaze. "Just like you don't have to say it. I can just tell."

For a moment Sirius relaxed the defenses he maintained except for the rare occasions he was too drunk to bother, and he let himself wonder if Lily might be right. Various memories flooded his brain: Mary singing David Bowie at the top of her lungs while she scrubbed his bathroom floor; the tickle of her hair against his chin as she lay curled against him in bed; the gentle touch of her hand as she dabbed blood from his cut lip; her voice on the other end of a payphone, breathless and dreamy. Another vague fragment of a memory hovered at the edge of his mind, but it dissipated as soon as he tried to grasp it, and he gave up and closed his mind to these disconcerting thoughts.

"Like I said before," he said as he popped the handful of Bertie Botts into his mouth before reaching for the flask and draining the last drops, "I'm not drunk enough for this conversation. I'm going to go get some food that James will refuse to eat, and then I'm going to take a look at the homework I've ignored all day because of the crisis you've created. Would you like to come with me, or are you going to stay out here and brood a while longer?" He stood and offered her a hand up, slipping the empty flask and his cigarettes into his pocket.

"No, it's too cold for any more brooding," she said as she grasped his hand and pulled herself to her feet.

As they walked side by side down the stairs and through the corridor, Lily glanced over at Sirius with an uncertain expression creasing her face.

"Do you think…" She bit her lip and glanced down at the floor. "Er, do you think I've…"

Sirius raised his eyebrows at her and grinned. "Spit it out, Evans."

She sighed. "Do you think I've ruined things? If I decide I still want to give it a go with James, I mean. Is there still a chance?"

Sirius laughed and shook his head. "Are you kidding? It's James. Of course there's still a chance. Just give it a day and see how things play out."

She grinned. "He's planning some ridiculous last ditch effort to change my mind, isn't he?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Sirius said, smirking, but then he turned to her and his expression became more serious. "Hey Evans?"

She frowned. "Yeah?"

"Do some soul searching or whatever you need to do to figure your shit out. Because if you pull something like this again, I won't be anywhere near as nice. James can be a bit of an idiot, but he's a bloody good person and he doesn't deserve to be jerked around. Seeing him as sad as he was this morning nearly broke my heart, and that's saying something, considering I don't think I even have a heart to break. So if you hurt him again, Evans, I won't hesitate to hex you." His eyes held a stubborn glint as he met his gaze, and then it was gone again, replaced by his usual casual grin. "Have you started the Defense essay yet?"

"You sure you don't want to go down to the common room?" Peter asked.

James sat on the floor propped against his bed, tossing a Quaffle into the air with so much force that he had hit the ceiling at least four times. A Snitch fluttered by the window, abandoned after James realized he did not have enough brain power for the hand-eye coordination catching a Snitch required. Every few minutes he dropped the Quaffle and seized the parchment next to him, re-reading a sentence or crossing something out before discarding it and returning to his restless tossing. The dinner Sirius had brought him sat uneaten on his bedside table, along with the refilled flask that was also untouched. Everything was ready for tomorrow: the fireworks, the happy and sad boxes, a flashing banner that read "SHE SAID YES!" with a photo of Lily and James casting shy glances at each other. Sirius had abandoned his broom and ukulele for the night after proclaiming himself an expert on airborne ukulele noodling.

"I can go have a look and see if she's down there, if you like," Remus offered.

"She won't be down there," Sirius said, looking up from the parchment and books he had spread out on his bed. "I told you, she's already regretting what she said. She'll be hiding out in her room, pining over your stupid hair and Quidditch muscles and wishing she could be snogging you instead of sulking like an idiot."

A hint of a smile appeared on James's face, but he shook his head and continued throwing the Quaffle. "It's all right. I'd rather stay up here, but you can go down if you like. You don't have to stay here on my account."

"Don't be stupid, of course we're staying here," Sirius said.

"Yeah, we don't mind," Peter added as he adjusted his position on the floor.

"It would probably be hard to concentrate down there anyway," Remus said. He frowned down at a sentence on his parchment, then scratched it out and started over.

"But-" James began, but Sirius waved away his protests.

"No buts, Prongs. You're stuck with us, so shut up and play with your Quaffle." Sirius gestured at the flask next to James. "And if you're not going to drink that, hand it over, because I'm thirsty and this homework is making my brain hurt."

James raised his eyebrows but passed it over. The four of them lapsed into silence for a few minutes save for the soft smack of the Quaffle against James's palms and the scratch of quills. After he caught himself staring down at his essay without writing a single word, Remus sighed and set down his quill, then heaved himself to his feet.

"I'm going to take a quick walk to the library," he announced. "I forgot to get a book earlier. I'll be back in a bit."

His words felt awkward and rehearsed in the hushed dormitory, yet his three friends did not seem to notice as they nodded and waved. Remus set off down the stairs, trying to conceal the nervous excitement that bubbled up inside him at the prospect of talking to Seven. When he reached the common room he scanned the crowded space, but she was not in any of her usual spots. Undeterred, Remus climbed through the portrait hole and headed down the corridor, sure he knew where he would find her.

He drew to a stop outside the tapestry, and his nervous anticipation intensified as the memories from the previous night burst unbidden into his mind. A smile spread across his face as he let himself linger on the most enjoyable moments before he took a deep breath to clear his head.

"Seven?" he called. "Are you in there? Do you mind if I join you for a minute?" He shoved his hands into his pockets so she wouldn't notice them shaking.

"Yeah, come in," she said, and he pushed aside the tapestry and stepped through before he could second-guess himself and retreat back to the dormitory.

The pile of pillows and blankets almost swallowed up her petite body, and a novel lay face down on the pillow in front of her as she peered up at him. She looked surprised to see him but also pleased, and Remus felt a thrill of excitement as she patted the cushion next to her and he sat down. The soft cushions and dim light were making it difficult to ignore the flashes of memory that kept interrupting his thoughts, and he struggled to focus on her smile and the way her slender fingers tugged at the end of her braid rather than the way her lips had felt on his or the insistence in her touch as her hands had wound through his hair and crept underneath his jumper.

"I haven't seen you most of the day," she said. "Have you been up in your dormitory this whole time?"

Remus sighed. "Yeah, it's been a day." He raised his eyebrows. "I assume you've figured the whole story out even though we didn't explicitly tell you, because that's just the sort of person you are?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I have. It wasn't exactly hard to put it together."

She shifted her legs to a more comfortable position, and Remus's heartbeat quickened when he realized how close they were now sitting.

"Well, anyway," he said as he tried to maintain a coherent train of thought, "I think the crisis is mostly averted, but James is still in a state. He won't eat or leave the room, or do anything besides throw the Quaffle. I doubt he'll sleep much." He sighed again as a pang of guilt cut through him at the thought of James, distraught and left behind in the dormitory while Remus lied to sneak around and meet up with a girl. "And Sirius is a bit thrown off by all of this, too, even though he'd never say so."

Seven frowned and nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that earlier," she said. "Are they all right? If you need to get back I understand." Her eyes were wide with worry, and Remus felt touched by her concern for his friends.

"They'll be fine. Tossing the Quaffle keeps James at least semi-calm, even though it drives me absolutely mad, and Sirius is working on what I suspect is his second flask, which is sort of his equivalent to throwing a Quaffle at the ceiling." He glanced at her and smiled, very aware of how close their hands were, how close their bodies were, how easy it would be to take her hand or lean over and kiss her.

She returned the smile and moved even closer. "How'd you know I'd be here?"

He shrugged. "You said it's your secret reading spot. The common room is pretty loud, so I just figured this is where you'd go."

"Well, I'm glad you came and found me. I know you had a lot to deal with today, but I kind of thought you might be avoiding me after last night." She fiddled with the end of her braid as her eyes darted down to the floor.

"Why would I do that?" He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

She stopped toying with her braid and smiled as she looked down at their intertwined hands."I dunno, I thought you might regret what happened, like maybe you thought it was a mistake."

His eyes widened. "Of course I don't regret it. Last night was…" His voice trailed off and he grinned as he glanced sideways at her. "Well, it definitely wasn't a mistake." He hesitated. "Unless, you know, you think it was."
She shook her head. "Not at all." She leaned in to kiss him, and for a moment Remus forgot to breathe. When she pulled away she studied his face, a hint of concern in her eyes. "You look tired."

"Well, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night," he said, and he blushed as the best parts of last night came rushing back.

She reclined back against the pillows and pulled him down next to her. "You should lay down for a bit. It's quite comfortable."

"It is comfortable." He rolled onto his side and pulled a crocheted blanket over them. "Did you bring these pillows and blankets in here?"

"Course I did. I needed somewhere to sit when I read, and I can't read without a blanket because I'm always cold." She tugged the blanket up to her chin and reached for his hand.

He grinned. "Me too."

"I know," she said, leaning in to kiss him again. When she pulled away she looked at him with a curious expression on her face. "Did you tell anyone? About last night, I mean."

He blinked and tried to focus on the words coming out of her mouth rather than the taste of her lips that still lingered on his. "What?"

She laughed softly. "Did you tell your friends about last night?"

"Oh. No, I didn't. There wasn't really an opportunity, between Sirius running around in his pants, and charming a whole box of fireworks, and listening to 'Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard' played on the ukulele about a hundred times, except half the time it wasn't even the whole song because Sirius fell off his broom halfway through." He laughed when he saw the puzzled frown on her face. "Don't ask."

"I wasn't going to." Under the blanket she trailed her thumb up and down his hand. "I didn't tell anyone either. I wasn't sure if you'd want to keep it quiet."

He mulled this over, or tried to, although the proximity of her body to his was making it hard to think clearly. "I think I would like to keep it quiet for a bit, but not because I'm ashamed or don't want people to know or anything. I just think…" He struggled to put his feelings into words, and she waited in silence and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I think I'll do better if my friends aren't all excited about it and asking me a million questions. I think that's why I sort of freaked out last time, because, I dunno, it felt like so much pressure, and then I got in my own head and started thinking about all the reasons I shouldn't let myself be with you, why I didn't deserve you-"

"Why would you ever think that?" Her eyes were bright as she touched his face gently, and her fingers rested against the scar that ran along his jawbone.

"It's complicated." He sighed, hating to brush away her question, yet unable to answer with any more detail.

"Is it, though? You're kind and hardworking and smart, and funny when nobody expects it, and I don't know anyone who looks more adorable in a cardigan." Her hand drifted down to examine the arm of his jumper. "I thought so - this one has elbow patches. I love that." A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "And I really like you. So what's complicated?"

One particular complication came to mind, ever-present and impossible to forget, but her hand now resting on his shoulder and her lips tantalizingly close to his made his furry little problem easier to ignore for the time being. Something about the earnest tone of her voice and the hope in her eyes made him think that maybe, just maybe, he could let himself do this, at least for a little while. So he smiled and snaked an arm around her waist as he pressed his lips to hers.

"I really like you, too," he said when he pulled away. "But I think you'd look even more adorable in this jumper than I do."

"Let me borrow it sometime and you can see for yourself," she murmured before covering his mouth with hers and putting an end to the conversation.

When Remus opened his eyes it took a moment for him to place the unfamiliar surroundings. A tingling pain told him his arm was asleep, and he removed it with some difficulty from underneath Seven. She faced away from him with her body pressed close against his, but the movement caused her to stir and roll over.

"Hi," she murmured, smiling and nestling closer to him. "I was wondering how long you were going to sleep."

"Were you just lying here awake the entire time?" He glanced at his watch and groaned. "I've been gone ages. You should've woken me up."

"I drifted off for a bit, but then I woke up and felt bad disturbing you when you looked so peaceful and it was my fault that you were tired in the first place. I figured you could use the sleep."

He sighed. "Seven, tired is my normal state of existence."

She grinned and tucked the blanket around his arms. "I know, but I still felt bad waking you up." He pulled his arm free, and she reached for his watch to check the time. "It's not that late. Stay and nap a bit longer. If you want to, obviously." She laced her fingers through his and guided them back underneath the blanket. "Or stay and don't nap. Either way."

The sly smile on her face and the warmth of her body so close to his reminded him how much he had enjoyed waking up next to her, and for a moment he was tempted to ignore his reservations and allow her to stay curled up next to him while he drifted back to sleep (or didn't, either way). The nagging thought of James and Sirius, each struggling to cope in his own way, brought Remus back to reality, and with a sigh of regret he shook his head.

"I'd love to stay and nap. Or stay and, er, not nap." She raised her eyebrows and trailed a finger along the exposed skin at the top of his trousers where his jumper had ridden up in his sleep, and it took an incredible amount of effort for him to stay focused on the words he needed to say. "But I have to get back. They'll be wondering where I am."

"That's okay. I understand."

Her finger continued its path for a moment longer, and when she pulled it away he had to repress the urge to beg her not to stop, because it felt amazing and was driving him mad and honestly, would his friends even notice his absence?

"Sorry, I'm not making it any easier for you, am I?" she asked, giggling as she noticed his expression.

He smiled and took a deep breath. "It's all right," he said, but he had to take several more deep breaths before kissing her softly and throwing back the blankets. As he stood up and pulled on his shoes, he cast one last longing look at the pile of cushions and blankets and the girl still nestled between them before heading for the door. "Thanks, Seven," he said, pausing at the door. "Thanks for being so understanding about everything, and for a great nap." He hesitated, then smirked and added, "And also thanks for a great, er, not nap."

She grinned as she sat up and began to rebraid her hair. "You're welcome. You know, you're pretty adorable when you're sleeping."

He rolled his eyes. "You think I'm adorable when I do pretty much anything."

"That's because you are adorable when you do pretty much anything."

He didn't reply, but chuckled and waved as he stepped through the door and set off for the common room. An irrepressible smile lingered on his face, and he was so absorbed in dwelling on the events of the last hour that he nearly collided with Mary as she headed for the portrait hole from the opposite end of the corridor.

"Oh, hi," she said, gesturing for him to give the password and step through the portrait hole first. "I've been looking for you."

Her words sent a jolt of panic through him and he froze, which caused her to almost collide with him a second time in less than a minute.

"Sorry." He began walking again so she could follow him into the common room. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well I was looking for Black, really, but someone said they'd seen you leave, so I thought I'd look for you and see how everything's going. I figured you'd be in the library, but I checked and didn't see you." A curious expression crossed her face as her eyes roved over him, taking in his tousled appearance.

"I was in the library, but you might have missed me. I sat down in one of the cozier aisles near the back, and I fell asleep for a bit." The words sounded natural enough, but his cheeks felt warm and he hoped she didn't notice the nervous widening of his eyes.

"Is that why your hair's a bit, er, bedroomy?" she asked, grinning, and he hastened to run a hand through his hair in an attempt to smooth it. "Anyway, I would've just gone up to the dormitory, but I wasn't sure if I would be interrupting, I dunno, some sort of emotional male bonding that I shouldn't bear witness to."

He chuckled and shook his head. "You won't be interrupting anything except James throwing his bloody Quaffle at the ceiling for the third straight hour and Sirius trying to achieve just the right amount of drunk so he's happy and relaxed but still functional enough to do his homework."

"Merlin, sounds like you've had a fun evening," she said, and Remus cast a sharp glance at her before he realized she was responding to what he'd just said and not calling him out for being with Seven. "And what's Peter doing?"

He shrugged. "What Peter always does, I expect. Trying to stay out of the way and keep both of them happy." He hesitated a moment, but the earnest concern he could sense behind her amused nonchalance convinced him, and he gestured at the staircase. "You may as well come up, if what I've said hasn't scared you off. Maybe it'll help, having you there."

"Yeah, all right,"she said, nodding before following him up the stairs.

When they reached the dormitory, Mary saw the situation was much as Remus had described it. At some point James had abandoned the Quaffle and retrieved the Snitch, and now lay slumped sideways on his bed, making grabs for the Snitch every few seconds. Peter was frowning over his homework, yet he seemed hesitant to ask the others for help despite his obvious struggle. Sirius's parchment and textbooks had fallen to the floor, and he was now staring at the ceiling and taking occasional sips from the flask.

"Hey, Black." Mary strode across the room and sat down next to him on the bed. "What're you up to?"

He raised his flask in the air. "You're looking at it."

She plucked the flask from his hand and took a sip before setting it down on his bedside table. "Come on, let's have a cigarette." She glanced over at Remus. "Do you mind?"

He shook his head and collapsed onto his bed. "Nah, it's been such a bloody strange day that a bit of cigarette smoke is the last thing I'm worried about right now."

"Can't I just smoke mine right here?" Sirius asked. He still had not lifted his head from the pillow, and he began to feel around in search of the flask.

"Nope. We're going over to the window. It's the least we can do. Come on, you too, Potter. You look like you could use a cigarette, too." She headed for the window, navigating around the box of fireworks and Sirius's abandoned pile of pillows and blankets.

"I don't smoke during the Quidditch season," James muttered, still clutching the Snitch in his fist after his latest catch. "It fucks with my endurance. Slows me down."

"Come on, I know you make exceptions sometimes." She opened the pack and pulled out three cigarettes. "You clearly need this."

James sighed, then released the Snitch and rolled off his bed to drag himself over to the window, and after a moment Sirius did the same. The three of them sat on the floor in front of the open window, smoking in moody silence until Mary touched James's shoulder and grinned.

"It's going to be fine, Potter. You know that, right? You're going to do your ridiculous stunt tomorrow and she's going to say yes, and you'll have your date at Madam Puddifoot's and live happily ever after." She took a long drag on her cigarette and watched the smoke float away out the window, then turned to Sirius. "Right, Black?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell him." Sirius stretched his legs out and leaned his head against Mary's shoulder. The combination of nicotine and alcohol had eased the tension in his face and limbs, and most of the panic had faded from his eyes. "Except don't go to Madam Puddifoot's, for fuck's sake."

James tried to smile, but the nervousness still vibrating through him made it look like a grimace. "I know it's probably going to be fine, theoretically, at least. But it doesn't matter how many times I tell myself it'll be fine, because I keep circling back to 'Yeah, but what if it's not fine?' And I know it seems like it shouldn't matter, because she's said no loads of times and I just brushed it off and tried again, but this time's different because we've actually gotten somewhere." He paused to take a drag on his cigarette, but it did nothing to soothe the desperation in his voice. "If she says no this time, that's really fucking it, you know? And if she doesn't want to be with me, I mean, I'll be bloody crushed, but I'll manage. But I'm terrified that after this she won't even want to be friends." He stubbed out his cigarette on the windowsill and ran a hand through his hair, but the motion did nothing to hide the pain on his face. "If we're not friends…" His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

"Prongs," Sirius began, but Mary held up a hand and he fell silent.

"Listen. I know it probably doesn't help having someone else tell you the same bloody thing you've been hearing all day, but I promise you it's going to be okay. Lily absolutely wants to be with you and will say yes tomorrow. This is just a minor setback because she's an idiot and doesn't know how to get out of her own way. So do whatever you have to do to shut your brain off so you can stop worrying and relax a bit, all right? Because it's killing all of us to see you like this, and it really is going to be fine." She hesitated, then pulled him into a hug. When she released him, she detected the tiniest hint of a smile.

"Thanks, Macdonald."

She grinned and heaved herself to her feet. "Don't mention it. Did you manage to finish the homework for tomorrow?"

James shook his head and stood up, then crossed to his bed and let himself fall backwards. "My head's too much of a mess to do homework," he said as he tried to locate his Snitch again.

"Rubbish. What if you get detention and it somehow interferes with you taking Lily to Hogsmeade?" Mary said, raising her eyebrows. "What about you, Black? Did you write anything coherent, or is it all drunken nonsense?"

Sirius Summoned the parchment he'd knocked onto the floor and studied it, frowning. "I think it's somewhere in between coherent and drunken nonsense."

"Remus? Peter? Either of you finished?"

Remus shook his head, and Peter held up his parchment to display a half-finished introduction.

"Right, we'll cobble something together, then. I'm going to go get my stuff and check on Lily, and then we're going to put our heads together and get this done. And I'm going to bring a reward for us, but we can't have it until everyone finishes the homework. All right?" Without waiting for a response she headed for the door, giving them a thumbs-up over her shoulder as she went.

After much cajoling, swearing, and crumpled parchment, as well as a spilled pot of ink and a minor injury resulting from Sirius's ill-advised decision to throw a trainer at Peter, the five of them had complete, passable essays rolled up and ready to turn in tomorrow. Heaving a sigh of satisfaction, Mary sat down on Sirius's bed and gestured for the rest of them to join her. She pulled two joints from her pocket, then held them above her head as Sirius plopped down next to her and made a grab for them.

"I think we've earned these," she said as she lit the first joint and handed it to James, who had settled on the floor beside the bed. "And then we can fall right to sleep and be well-rested to watch James and Lily officially get together tomorrow."

"Don't jinx it," James said in between coughs as he passed the joint over to Remus. "We don't know for sure that she's not going to call me an arrogant toerag and push me off my broom."

"Don't be stupid." Sirius was now stretched out sideways on the bed with his head hanging upside down off the side. "It'd take more than Evans to knock you off your broom." He chuckled at James's unimpressed scowl. "Relax, Prongs, she's going to say yes. It's going to be a great bloody day, I can feel it."

When they finished the joints Mary and Sirius both sprawled out on the bed while James lay stretched out on the floor and Peter and Remus stumbled off to their own beds, giggling about something only they thought was funny. Mary rested her head on Sirius's chest and studied one of the motorbike posters on the wall, enjoying the relaxing effect of the marijuana and the cozy familiarity of the bed.

"Thanks, Macdonald," James said from his spot on the floor. His eyes followed the Snitch as it fluttered above Sirius's bed and over towards the window. "I think I do feel a bit more relaxed."

"Course you do. How do you think I put up with my mum's drunk shenanigans all summer?" She turned her head to face him and frowned. "You should move to your bed. It's much more comfortable than the floor. I swear this bed is more comfortable than mine."

"It's also longer, because the beds are longer or shorter depending on how tall you are. Did you know that, Macdonald?" Sirius laughed and blew a lock of Mary's hair out of his face.

"What a load of rubbish," Mary said, turning to look at Sirius. "Who would believe that?"

"Our favorite cardigan-wearing prefect would," Sirius said, picking up his head to look across the room at Remus. "Right, Moony?"

Remus sat on the side of his bed, unwrapping a chocolate bar although he looked half asleep already. "What? If you're having a go at me, knock it off, because you know I can't defend myself properly when I'm stoned."

"I'll defend you, Moony." James hauled himself onto his bed and slid under the covers. "That was a perfectly reasonable thing to believe and was not at all ridiculous or silly." A thoughtful expression came over his face as he studied the ceiling. "One way or another, everything's going to be different at this time tomorrow. That's strange to think about, isn't it?"

"It's going to be great, Prongs. We're going to be pouring champagne all over you while you ignore us and snog Evans. Now go to sleep, you prat." Sirius toyed with one of Mary's curls and yawned. "I'm too comfortable to even get up and take my clothes off."

"How do you think I feel? I have to walk all the way to my dormitory." Mary draped her arm over

Sirius's chest and moved closer to him, unable to even fathom moving. The bed enveloped her and drew her in until she felt like she had become one with it, and curling up next to Sirius like this always made her feel safe and sleepy. "I can't seem to get the motivation to move at all, let alone walk all the way to my own bed."

"Then don't." Sirius glanced over at her and grinned, then reached for the blankets bunched at the foot of the bed and pulled them up to cover them both.

"Really?" She was already sinking deeper into the bed, burrowing closer to Sirius as they lay tucked under the blankets, but his words surprised her, because sleeping in his bed two nights in a row seemed like the sort of thing a girlfriend would do, and hence the sort of thing Sirius would not approve of.

"Why not? You're already here, and if you stay you can help me get undressed." He reached out

and tugged the curtains around the bed shut.

She laughed and rolled over to face him. "Why would I help you get undressed? I'm too lazy and comfortable to take my own clothes off."

"That's all right. I'll take off your clothes for you." He trailed his hand down until he found the button of her trousers and began fiddling with it until it came undone.

"Shouldn't we just take our own clothes off, then?" She lifted her hips up so he could wriggle the

trousers down more easily.

"Come on, Macdonald, that's not as fun." He pulled her shirt up over her head, and she sighed and began unbuckling his belt.

"If you're thinking I'm too stoned to hear you shagging, you're wrong, so don't even think about it," Remus called from his bed.

Sirius leaned over Mary to poke his head through the curtains. "What kind of perverted degenerates do you think we are, Moony?"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "The sort of perverted degenerates to shag out by the lake under the Invisibility Cloak. And down in the common room, and on Peter's bed, and in a broom cupboard in the middle of Charms class, and in Slughorn's classroom-"

"Hang on, that last one wasn't me!" Mary said, laughing and pulling aside the curtain. "Remus, don't just assume every weird sexual thing Black's done has been with me." She turned to Sirius. "Who did you shag in Slughorn's classroom?"

Sirius smirked. "I'd rather not say. And we didn't actually shag, we just did, er, other activities."

"Lovely." Remus shook his head and closed the curtains around his bed. "Good night, you degenerates. If I wake up and hear you going at it I'm going to tell you off and ruin the mood, so don't even think about waiting a bit for me to fall asleep."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Moony," Sirius said as he pulled the curtains shut again and fell back against the pillow, then leaned close to Mary's ear and murmured, "That's exactly what we're going to do."

Later when the room was dark and filled with soft snores and steady breathing, Mary thought Sirius might have fallen asleep, and she was about to drift off herself when he rolled closer to her and whispered, "Hey, Macdonald? Thanks for coming up here and forcing us to be functional human beings tonight. Usually James is the one to handle a crisis, but if he's the one having a crisis it falls to me, except for whatever reason today I was sort of…"

"Also having a crisis?" Mary finished, idly tracing the scar on his chest as she remembered the panic that neither Sirius's trademark grin nor a flask and a half of firewhisky had been able to conceal.

"Yeah, I suppose I was, a bit," he admitted. "Sorry, it's just…"

"I know. It's okay." The vulnerability and the slight slur from the joint and the firewhisky reminded her of his voice on the payphone this summer. I have feelings for you. She felt a rush of affection for him, and before she even realized she was doing it she had her fingers laced through his and her lips pressed to his cheek. "I kind of felt the same way, except instead of falling apart I sort of got angry and then took charge to make sure you idiots were all right."

Her mother was always in the middle of one crisis or another, so anger and then focused action had become Mary's way of managing. Sirius seemed to know this without being told, because he turned his head to kiss her, and the kiss somehow conveyed gratitude and understanding and comfort without a single word being spoken.

"Thanks, Macdonald," he said again, before pulling her closer to him and adding, "I think they've all fallen asleep by now."

"Black," she said. "Remus specifically asked us not to." The desire in his voice was already persuading her, but she hated to ignore Remus's request, especially when he had been so nice about them smoking in the room, and they already did so many things that irritated him, and he was just such a gem with his chocolate and books and those damn cardigans.

"It'll be fine." He kissed her again, and she felt her resolve weaken as he twined a hand through her hair and trailed the other hand down her waist. "We'll do Muffliato."

Sirius's hands were making it harder and harder for Mary to remember why she had been protesting in the first place, so she reached for her wand to perform the courtesy Muffliato before giving in to the insistent caresses of his fingers and the press of his body against hers.