Author's Note: Have I mentioned how annoying it is that it's so much easier to write these characters than the characters in my own original works? I guess that's because these characters are already fairly fleshed-out and it's easy to work out their relationship dynamics. I guess that's the fun part of fanfiction. Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun with writing these characters as 15-year-olds just being dicks to each other.

Content Warning: Drug use (marijuana).

CHAPTER 3

Landslide

REMUS

"Are you sure you've got everything, love?" my mother called to me from the other room.

"Yes!" I answered her.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She entered the sitting room where I stood by the fireplace, her face showing unconcealed concern. "The last full moon was pretty bad." She was in front of me, gazing into my eyes. She put her hands to my face, lightly touching a scratch that hadn't yet faded.

"I'm going to be fine," I reassured her. "Once school gets started I'll have plenty to preoccupy myself with. And I'll be with my friends the whole time." She nodded, though her expression didn't change. Little did she know, my full moons would soon be looking a lot different. If everything went according to plan, that is.

"Okay then," she said. "I guess it's time for you to go." She didn't look pleased about it. "Say hello to James and Sirius and Daisy for me. And remember to thank James's parents for having you!"

"Yes mum," I replied, kissing her on the cheek. She held me very tight for a moment, not wanting to let me go, but she did. She sent me through the fireplace and vanished in a burst of neon green flames.

"REEEEEEEEE!" was the first sound to break through the crackling and rushing of the fireplaces as I passed through them. "MUUUUUUUUS!" was what I heard when I finally came to a rest, on my nose. Before I could even take a breath of recovery, I had been picked back up and thrust into an awkward side-hug with Sirius. No sooner had this happened, I was removed from his arms and dispensed into those of James. After the whirlwind of fire and embraces, I felt a little lightheaded, and everyone stepped away from me to give me air.

"All right?" I greeted them after letting out a few dusty coughs.

"It's been ages!" Daisy said then, her arms around my neck in a considerably more comfortable hug. "You've grown!" she added as she pulled back to look up at me.

"And you're still as short as ever," I goaded.

"Oh, break it up, you lovebirds!" James cried.

"Sod off, Jim," Daisy said, flipping her middle finger up at him over her shoulder and rolling her eyes at me.

"Yeah, we don't need you here, James, bugger off," I added, hauling my trunk up from where it had fallen awkwardly.

"Oh, you would evict me from my own home? Heartless," James replied, putting a hand to his chest with a scandalized expression on his face.

"No, just from this part of it," I said.

"Well, you're on your own with that trunk then," he said.

"Sure I wouldn't need your help with it anyway."

"Oh, you think you're stronger than me, huh?"

"Well, I am."

"Not as strong as me!" Sirius intoned, striding forward to pull the trunk from my hand and drag it towards the stairs.

"Oi, I've got it!" James said, grabbing it from the other end and lifting it high. The two of them carried it up the stairs like that, each making out like their end was lighter.

"Impressive," Daisy said, her eyebrows raised approvingly.

"Who needs brawn when you've got brains," I said with a shrug.

"Little do they know," Daisy said, leaning in towards me conspiratorially, "I'm actually the strongest of all of us." She gave me a wink, and I felt something jolt in my stomach suddenly and uncomfortably. I couldn't tell whether there was something different about her, or whether it had just been a long time since I'd seen her. Maybe I just wasn't used to being around girls. "You feeling okay?" she asked, and I realized I'd been staring.

"Oh," I looked away quickly. "Let's go see how they're coming along." I hastened up the stairs, not looking back to see whether she was following.

We played Quidditch in the garden that afternoon. James insisted we do, said he needed practice for when we go back to school, but I've always had a sneaking suspicion he just really enjoys being the best at it. Sirius is quite good, but you can tell he doesn't have a competitive bone in his body, and could care less about winning. James used to want us all on the Gryffindor team with him, but he gave up real quick when he realized how much of a liability Sirius would be; he'd probably just dismount and walk off in the middle of a match as soon as he lost interest. As for the rest of us, well, let's just say it's a lot safer for everyone if we don't get too far off the ground. Poor Pete actually refuses to go near a broom ever since he nearly fell to his death in second year.

But the rest of us are good sports, we can manage a quick game here or there. At low altitude. Anyway, it can be quite difficult to say no to James, especially when he's hosting. Not that we feel we owe it to him or anything, it's his parents that are accommodating us. It's just that James gets that much more pushy when he's on his home territory. You can tell his parents spoil him.

"Oh, come on!" James was shouting as the rest of us landed and dismounted. "One more, just one more game!"

"We've already done twice as many as we originally agreed to," I replied. He was still in the air, doing lazy loop-de-loops.

"Yeah, my bollocks are killing me," Sirius chimed in. "I don't know how you can manage to sit on that thing for so long."

"That's because I gave you the shabbiest one," James called back. "The comfort charm's busted, innit?"

"You what?"

"What, you think I'd give that one to the little lady?" James said, landing among us. Daisy stuck her tongue out at him.

"And what about Remus?" Sirius threw a hand out towards me, but we were so close together that he ended up smacking me in the face. I swore and rubbed at my nose.

"Dear, sweet Remus?" James asked innocently. "You don't think he has it bad enough already?" He put an arm around my shoulder and patted affectionately at my chest. "What with that face of his. You know."

"Boys! Supper!" James's mother called from inside the house.

"Food!" Sirius shouted, dropping his broom and bounding indoors.

"You hear that, Daze?" James said, ruffling her hair. "My mum thinks you're a boy!"

"Wish my mum did too," Daisy said, smacking his hand away.

We ate in the dining room where James sat at the head of the long table with his arms extended to either side of him as though he were some great lord presiding over his subjects. You could never accuse James Potter of being modest. And nobody ever has as long as I've known him.

Sirius is sitting to his right, and Daisy on his left. I'm sitting on Daisy's left, across from James's mum, while his dad sits at the other end of the table. One might argue that his father is at the head of the table, but it would be a futile argument as James has very much convinced himself of his superior position. I doubt his parents would bother either, they are so devoted to James, I bet they also think of him as a young lord. It might well be an inconceivable miracle were he and Lily to ever get together, but I think it would be good for him. He could do with a girl who isn't afraid to put him in his place.

"Remus, honey," James's mum said, reaching across the table to touch my hand. "Are you all right? You've barely touched your food."

"Must be your cooking, mum," James said, even as he was in the middle of wolfing down seconds.

"No, the food's great!" I said quickly. "Just a little tired. Recovering from the flu. Still haven't quite got my appetite back."

"Oh, you poor dear," James's mum said. She looked so genuinely upset, I felt bad about bringing it up. Should've taken smaller portions. "Don't you worry, you won't offend me by not eating it all. Don't let James pressure you." There's an idea, all right. I smiled at her gratefully and ignored the faces James was making.

I hadn't wanted to say anything, but it was true, I was still feeling a little rough. I hated for the others to know about it, though. James and Sirius never let on that it worried them, but I could tell it did. Pete was honestly too obvious about his anxiety, but then again, he always was. Absolutely no poker face, that one. And Daisy…well, that was something else I didn't like to think about. She was looking at me now the way she always did when she was concerned about me. Those soft eyes and that sympathetic smile, they made my skin feel like it was on fire and my heart started racing. I had to look away.

Later that night, the four of us sat out on James's balcony, watching the sun set with tea and biscuits. There were only a few days remaining of August, and the sun had begun setting earlier and earlier. The nights were cooler too, and we each had a blanket in case we started getting cold. The balcony was equipped with two chairs and a loveseat, each with thick square cushions that were easy to sink into, and less easy to get up out of. At the centre there was a small end table that supported an ashtray of brown glass, and a box of matches.

Daisy had curled herself into one corner of the loveseat, tucking her knees up under her chin. I had resisted the urge to share the seat with her, and had quickly chosen one of the armchairs. Sirius, on the other hand, had made directly for the loveseat and flopped down heavily on the other half of it, throwing his arms over the sides and spreading his legs out to take up as much space as he could, which meant that one of his feet ended up in Daisy's face.

"Excuse me!" she said, trying to shove his leg away.

"You're excused," he said with a grin.

"Ugh, what is with you three and needing constantly to be on top of me?" she asked. I found myself blushing and I looked away quickly.

"Face it, love," Sirius replied. "It's the closest you'll ever be to getting lucky. Might as well enjoy it."

"Thanks, I'd rather be celibate," Daisy said. She gave Sirius an almighty shove and he tumbled off her and onto the balcony. He stood up, dusted himself off, then sat back on the loveseat sideways, taking up less space this time, but still draping a leg over the back of the seat with the other bent so it came just short of Daisy's feet.

James had taken up his position in the other chair and was already lighting a joint, rolling it in his fingers so the flame licked the end of it evenly. He put it to his lips and puffed at it, the smoke spiralling upwards to momentarily obscure his face. He leaned back and blew a series of smoke rings that wobbled lazily away.

"Oi, don't bogart the spliff," Sirius said impatiently. "Pass it on, there's a lad." He had leaned over and grabbed the joint from James's hand and stuck it between his own lips. He drew a few deep, long breaths, then leaned forward and put the joint to Daisy's mouth. She rolled her eyes at him, but allowed him to hold it there while she took a couple tokes.

"Such a gentleman," she said through a cloud of smoke. Sirius leaned away from her, holding the joint out for me to take.

"What, you're not going to hold it to my lips?" I asked, affecting a disappointed tone.

"I will if you want me to, baby," Sirius said and got up. He moved forward and flung himself onto my lap, putting one arm around my shoulders while the other one raised the joint to my lips.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, you're heavy," I wheezed before he put his hand to my mouth. As I smoked I could feel his other hand playing with my hair.

"Keep going!" he said as I tried to pull away for air. He was holding my head in place now.

"Jeez, Sirius, you're gonna suffocate him," Daisy said. "Let him go!"

Sirius released me with a devilish grin on his face and I started coughing, the smoke coming out in a rush. My throat was burning and my eyes were watering. Guess I asked for that one.

"What?" Sirius said innocently, getting off my lap. He passed the joint to James and reclaimed his place beside Daisy.

"You are absolutely incorrigible," Daisy said, frowning at him. "You okay, Remus?"

I was still coughing, but I nodded and gave a thumbs up. We continued on that way, though none of us would accept Sirius's kindly offers of help anymore, until the joint was nothing more than a tiny nub that burnt our fingers. We all leaned back in our seats, looking up at the darkening sky as the first stars began to appear. The gentle music of the Grateful Dead wafted through the cool night air as "Box of Rain" played on the radio.

"Fuck," James breathed pleasantly. "Does it get better than this?"

"I dunno," Sirius said. "A scented candle might just take it over the top."

"You're so right," James agreed, but none of us made a move. I personally felt entirely incapable of movement, my body seemed to have grown roots that secured me in place.

"We should start a band," Sirius said after several minutes of silence.

"We can't play any instruments," Daisy said.

"Did that stop the Beatles?" Sirius asked seriously.

"They could play instruments," Daisy replied.

"Yeah…I guess so," Sirius conceded. "Still, I think it'd be a gas."

"What instrument would you play?" I asked him. He appeared to think of it for a long time.

"What's the one the Animals use in House of the Rising Sun?" Sirius asked.

"Uh, guitar?" said James.

"No, the other one."

"I think it's an organ," I replied.

"Yeah, that's it, I'll do the organ."

"Psh, you would do the organ," James said, grinning. "The old skin flute."

"Oh, Mr. Potter, why must you be so crude?" Sirius asked in a falsetto impression of Daisy.

"Hey!" Daisy said, but the rest of us had already dissolved into laughter. She attempted to look indignant, but soon joined us until we had all exhausted ourselves and sat breathless and silent. The waning moon came out from behind a cloud and bathed us in its pale glow. I felt my smile slip off my face as I looked up at the moon, that object so distant, yet so deeply entwined with what I had become. I could feel the rest of them watching me now.

"We're almost there, aren't we?" I asked. I didn't need to clarify, they knew what I was talking about.

"The night of the feast," James said. "The final steps, after all these years. Can't really believe it."

"Then we'll be able to keep you company," Daisy said gently. I looked down and met her eyes. The moonlight dusted her hair with silver, and illuminated her delicate features. I looked away again.

"And just think what we'll be able to get up to once I can fly," James said dreamily.

"You think you'll be able to fly?" Daisy said with a laugh.

"What, you don't think I'm capable?"

"Well, technically you can already fly," I said. "Your animal form is supposed to reflect your personality."

"And you don't think I'm birdlike?" James asked, sounding hurt. "What if I'm a dragon?"

"More like an insect," Daisy said. "Dragonfly."

"Well, that could still be fun," James said huffily. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You'll see, you'll all be dead jealous of my form."

"What do you think Pete'll be?" I asked.

"Toad," Sirius said immediately. "A big lumpy round one."

"Sirius, you are such a prat," Daisy said, but she was laughing. And then, just like that, we were all off again on another wave of laughter.

At length, we all started yawning, and Daisy announced that she was off to bed. She bid us goodnight and went back inside. No sooner had the door to James's bedroom closed behind her, then Sirius leaned forward and eyed James and I seriously.

"What?" I said.

"Oh, come on," Sirius said. "Like you haven't noticed."

"Noticed what?"

"Daisy grew tits," he said, and put his hands in front of his own chest to emphasize his point. I had just taken a sip of tea, and found myself choking on it. I started coughing and spluttering. James reached over and patted me hard on the back.

"She's our friend," was all I managed to say.

"Yeah, our friend with a brand new set of boobs," James said.

"Oh, don't give us that look," Sirius said.

"That's Remus, for you," James said. "Much more interested in books than boobs."

"Wha—hey, that's not true!" I protested. "I love boobs!"

"Suuure," Sirius said.

"Yeah, prove it," James said.

"Why would I have to prove that?" I asked.

"Because if you don't, we'll have to kill you," Sirius said.

"You've made a valiant effort at that tonight already," I said. I took another sip of tea to soothe the sore throat I had gained from the coughing fits I had been subject to, all thanks to Sirius. I had taken such a large gulp and burned my mouth, the tea being kept warm by the Ever-Hot Teapot. This really wasn't my night.

The topic of conversation had turned from Daisy to the rest of the girls in school. Who had tits, who had an ass, who was cute, who was sexy, who was unbearably annoying. James of course would hear no bad things about Lily. Unless, of course, they were said by him. Funny how that works.

One thing we could all agree on was the remarkable development of one Tracy Jennings who had not only shot up height-wise, but also returned to school the previous year sporting an admirable set of curves. And they were admired, by boys and girls alike. She knew it too, which nearly placed her in the unbearable category, as she had grown more than a little full of herself. Still, the physical qualities she possessed combined with her undeniable sense of confidence made her a force to be reckoned with. Half the lads in our year were falling all over themselves to be noticed by her. Even the upperclassmen were not immune to her charms.

I was the next to retire for the evening, I couldn't keep the exhaustion at bay anymore. I was also still feeling a little strange about the turn the night had taken. It bothered me that James and Sirius would lump Daisy in with the rest of the girls they spoke about as though they were pieces of meat. I knew they didn't think of her that way, at least, I hoped they didn't. But they were teen-aged boys, it was impossible not to notice these things. Of course, I had been trying to avoid looking at Daisy as much as possible, which was probably just as obvious as ogling her.

We had arranged to meet with Pete in Diagon Alley a couple days later, so James, Daisy, and I stepped one by one through the large fireplace in the Potters' sitting room, to be swallowed up by green flames. I emerged last of all into the receiving room at the Leaky Cauldron. It was simply a big empty square job with a row of fireplaces along one wall and a door that led to the rest of the pub. There were several enchanted brushes and dustpans that floated around after the new arrivals, brushing away any soot or ash that had come off on them on their journey. There was one working away at my head and shoulders as I joined James, Sirius, and Daisy, who were by now mostly tidy.

"Shall we?" James said with a dramatic flourish towards the door.

"Ladies first," Sirius said. Daisy made a move for the door, but Sirius held her back. "Not you! I was talking to James."

"Oh, of course," Daisy said, falling back. "My mistake."

We passed through the smoky interior of the Leaky Cauldron, through a collection of older, red-faced witches and wizards drinking, smoking pipes, and occasionally chatting. They eyed us suspiciously as we went by, as if hundreds of students didn't come through every day in the weeks leading up to the start of term.

In the back alley, James tapped the bricks with his wand and they slid back to reveal the clamouring street beyond. No sooner had we stepped through the newly-formed passage than we were assaulted by a very short, though rather rotund, boy with a fringed shag haircut. He was so eager he had collided with the four of us, then bounced back with a squeak.

"Pete! You were supposed to meet us at Gringotts," I said, wincing at the pain in my toe from where Sirius had trodden on it as he stepped back.

"Yeah, well, I was waiting there but you guys didn't show, so I thought maybe you got lost, so I went and walked around for a bit, then I thought maybe you were just late so I came here…" he said, all in one breath, then trailed off. He was looking, vaguely slack-jawed at Daisy, or more specifically, her chest. James, Sirius, and I exchanged looks, then burst into laughter.

That morning, James and Sirius had frowned when Daisy came out wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans. They had spun her around and walked her back into the guest bedroom where half her clothes were strewn about on the bed. They had then encouraged her relentlessly to change her outfit. She had stared around at all of us, bemused.

"What's with the sudden interest in being my personal stylists?" she had asked, as Sirius held a floral print tank top in front of her, while James pulled out a pale blue mini skirt to match it.

"Well, if you're going to be seen with us, you have to do better than that," Sirius said, gesturing to the outfit she was currently wearing.

"Yeah, you don't want to embarrass us, do you?" James asked, tossing the skirt at her face. "Chop-chop, we don't have all day!"

Then the three of us had left, and she had shrugged, closing the door behind us.

"Can't wait to see Pete's face," Sirius had said, and I had to grin along with them at the thought.

"He won't be able to speak a coherent sentence," I said. "Do you think it's fair to Daisy, though?"

"Oh, she'll think it's hilarious," James said, waving a hand dismissively. "Anyway, it's not like she's going to suddenly stop having boobs. Pete'll notice eventually. Might as well get it out of the way now."

He had a point. Pete had been terrified of girls for as long as we'd known him. It had taken him forever to warm up to Daisy, and that was just because he'd had no real choice in the matter. She'd become a part of our group by force and it was either get used to it, or find new friends. And he wasn't very good at making new friends. Then when the girls in our year had all started hitting puberty, and growing tits and asses, it was even more impossible for him. He'd just stare at them with wide eyes and a steadily reddening face. Maybe he'd be able to stammer a word or two out, but really he was just hopeless. And who knew, maybe he'd get better at it now he'd be forced to spend time with Daisy, and her newfound curves.

We were still laughing as Pete's face turned bright pink, and he looked around at the three of us sheepishly. Daisy had put a hand over her face, but I could tell she was laughing too. Eventually, we were all red-faced, and Daisy turned to us, folding her arms across her chest (which only made her breasts more obvious, and which drew Pete's eyes back to them immediately, with a look of vague panic).

"Okay, very funny," Daisy said to James, Sirius, and I. "Now I see why you suddenly became so interested in women's fashion this morning."

"Guilty as charged," James said. "Now come along, children. We have some banking to do."

We didn't stop for long outside the imposing building of white marble that was Gringotts, the wizarding bank. I'd never liked looking at it much, the way the pillars seemed to be about to give out at any moment always made me slightly uneasy. But, of course, there was more than just stone and physics keeping the building up. And anyway, most of the bank was actually underground, vast networks of tunnels connected by rails. The ground beneath Diagon Alley was honeycombed with vaults and caverns and who knew what else. And it was necessary to visit the bank every year to gain access to the modest savings of my parents. James was always more eager to visit his family's vault. The Potters' funds were considerably more extensive, and James, not one for modesty, would basically launch himself into the piles of gold coins that awaited him.

This year was no different, and the goblin that was attending us stood impatiently outside the vault door, glowering as James took his sweet time. The rest of us stood with him, shuffling our feet and feeling awkward. In the Black vault, Sirius shovelled as much coins as he could into a sack, declaring that he might as well take as much as he could, because he might be disowned by his pureblood family at any moment. They never had recovered from the betrayal of his being sorted into Gryffindor, or the fact that he had absolutely nothing against muggles, or muggleborns.

As for the rest of us, we tried to get in and out of our vaults as quickly as possible. I personally was never that ashamed of not having much money, but the sight of my own vault always seemed to sting a little after seeing James and Sirius's. And I knew Pete felt inferior by the comparison of his family's finances to the wealth of the Potters and Blacks. As for Daisy, her vault was a mix of her parents' frugal contribution, through the muggle currency to wizarding currency exchange rate, and the bursary that was allotted to muggleborn students each school year. I gathered that she was happy just to have anything at all, and was grateful that the bursary existed, as her parents didn't seem to keen on funding her magical education.

Needless to say, it was a relief to reach the end of the journey back to the surface by means of the rickety railcar that rattled sickeningly fast through the dark underground passages. The discomfort of the whole experience was made even worse by the companionship of the goblin bankers who made no effort at concealing their distaste for wizards, and the requirement to be made subservient to them. I had read about the unfair treatment of goblins by witches and wizards, but I had no desire to attempt to sympathize with them, as I was certain they would only see it as an insult.

"Well, where should we go first?" Pete asked, consulting the supply list he had balled up and shoved into his pocket. He peered at it and frowned. "Dress robes?"

"Ohh, you know what that means!" Sirius said.

"What?" Daisy asked.

"It means we'll need dress robes this year," Sirius replied. "Obviously."

"How very astute of you," Daisy said as she rolled her eyes at him. "To Madam Malkin's, then."

"Can't we just owl-order them?" I said with a groan. "That's a thing, right? There's gotta be a catalogue."

"Might as well get it out of the way," Daisy said. She was already heading towards the shop, and we had no choice but to follow her.

Madam Malkin was busy fitting a couple of first years for their school robes when we entered, so James, Sirius, Pete, and I meandered over to the wizard's dress robes section and picked out the first fabrics that we could find, in different colours though. It would never do to match like some kind of magical boy band. Daisy disappeared into a fitting room with a handful of items. Eventually, Madam Malkin got to us, taking our measurements and tutting at our impatient squirming as she adjusted the robes to fit us. After she'd dealt with the four of us, she sized up Daisy, performing various adjustments behind a screen. Then it was over, and we were out of there, with the rest of our shopping to take care of.

"Merciful Merlin, that was bloody awful," James said as we left the shop each with a brown paper package tied up with string.

"I feel like she pokes and prods on purpose," Daisy said, rubbing at her side. "It's like she wants it to be the most uncomfortable experience of school supply shopping."

"Don't think she fancies repeat customers," I said. "Think she hates the lot of us."

"Probably," Pete said. He was squinting down at his list again and I grabbed it from him.

"What did you do to this thing, feed it to a flobberworm?" I asked as I tried to smooth it out. Pete looked sheepishly at me.

"My mum sent it through the wash," he said.

"Naturally," I said, giving the piece of parchment back to him and pulling my own letter and supply list out of my pocket. There was a tinkling sound as something solid fell out and hit the ground. I bent to pick it up, but Sirius got there first.

"What's this?" he said, holding it up to examine. "A Prefect's badge? Did little Reemy make Prefect this year?" His face was the picture of delight. "Oh, this is brilliant!"

"Why?" Pete asked.

"Because, my forgetful little friend," Sirius said, mussing up Pete's hair. "Remus will now have access to the Prefect's bathroom. Which means we will now have access to the Prefect's bathroom."

"No, it doesn't," I said.

"Oh, come on!" Sirius said, pouting at me. "Why not?"

"Because that would be highly irresponsible," I said. "And if you got caught it would be extremely obvious that I gave you the password."

"Selfish," Sirius shot at me.

"Guess so." I shrugged.

We carried on with the rest of our shopping, and were laden-down with packages by the time we entered Flourish & Blotts to purchase our schoolbooks for the year. The shop was bustling with fellow Hogwarts students, but not one of us was surprised when James immediately left us to make a beeline for the only redhead in the store. The rest of us followed, torn between exasperation and mild curiosity. It was always quite entertaining to watch James try and fail at charming Lily Evans. She was very sharp, and could come up with biting remarks in an instant. Not that that ever stopped James.

"Evans," he said, sounding very sure of himself. A self-satisfied smile spread across his face as he sidled up beside her. She turned and let out a groan as soon as recognized him.

"I was looking forward to not having to deal with you for another week," she said.

"Well, you're in luck," James said, as her comment failed completely to penetrate his thick ego. "Here I am. I know you've been dreaming about this moment all summer."

"You mean the moment I finally give in and kill you?"

"Kiss me? Well, if you insist," he said, grinning.

"You're amazing," she breathed, looking at him in disbelief.

"I know," he said.

"I didn't think it was possible to be that full of yourself," she continued. "What do you even need me for? You seem perfectly capable of sucking your own dick."

"Oooh, dirty talk," he said. "I like that in a woman."

Lily rolled her eyes and moved away from him to the front of the shop where the school supply list books were kept so as to be easy for students and parents to find. James followed her, that stupid grin never leaving his face. The rest of us, near mesmerized by his display of idiocy, went with him.

"Lily, my love," James said, leaning on a precarious stack of 1, 2, 3, It's as Easy as Abracadabra! (Arithmancy for Beginners) and messing up his dark hair. "Why must you continue to resist me? We all know you can't bear to be without me."

Lily's face broke into an expression of awe at his delusional statement, but she seemed to be trying a new tactic, and walked away from him again, looking from her supply list to the stacks of books in front of her. She grabbed a book and added it to the basket hanging from her arm, then moved on. James wasn't giving up that easy, though.

"So, I was thinking," James said, leaning against a table. "How would you like to spend an afternoon with the Marauders?" His tone suggested the highest of honours.

"No," Lily said immediately, still not looking at him.

"Oh, come on," he said, his face falling and his tone betraying a hint of desperation.

"No," she repeated, grabbing one last book, then referring to her list. She seemed to be satisfied with her selection, and made for the till.

"What if I were to beg?" James asked, following her. He got on his knees as she passed the basket to the wizard behind the counter who began ringing up her purchases while watching James with a concerned expression. It was impressive, I had to admit, how James managed to maintain not only his dignity, but also his arrogance, while literally begging on the floor of the shop. Lily paid for the books and accepted the parcel and receipt the sales wizard passed to her, then she finally looked directly at James again. He gazed up at her, hands clasped in front of him.

"No," she said for the final time, then turned and walked out of the store.

James let out a deep, dramatic sigh of longing as he got to his feet, watching her leave in a swish of long hair.

"There goes the love of my life," he said, a dreamy smile on his face. I heard myself, Sirius, Daisy, and Pete let out simultaneous exasperated breaths, then we all looked at each other and laughed at the predictability of the whole situation. Daisy gave James a shove, and he seemed to snap out of his reverie.

"Can we move it along?" she asked.

We travelled around the store in a swarm, grabbing five copies of each book off the list, then piling them at the front counter and paying for them separately as the sales wizard stared at us warily. Sirius leaned against the counter and gave the wizard a wink, which made him stop looking at us entirely.

After that, we replenished our supply of quills and ink and parchment, as well as stopping at the apothecary to acquire whatever potions ingredients were required for the year ahead. By the end of the day, we were fully worn out with shopping and were happy to collapse at a table on the patio of Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour with a large sundae in front of each of us.