~*~Author's Note~*~ Hey everyone, did you miss me? Anyway, I know it's been forever since I've updated due to school and the devil incardinate, writer's block (AHH!), but at least I got this chapter up.  Before you keep reading I wanted to clarify a few things as there seems to be some confusion.  A.  The Weird Sisters is a man band (I got this from Quidditch Through the Ages) B. Remus is in the same year as the rest, which is fourth year, he was just the chess champion in his first year C. Sirius will definitely not hurt Lily (I hope).  Now that that's over with... I'd like to dedicate

This chapter Evie Who, the best friend/muse in the world (yeah!) who definitely got me out of my writer's block by helping me out with this chapter!

*Disclaimer* blah blah blah blah blah... You know it all.

                        CHAPTER 4: WILL YOU BE PAYING IN CASH OR MAJOR CREDIT CARD?

            "Lily?" whispered Sirius, trying to shake her awake.  She wouldn't stir.  They had fallen asleep the previous night watching the stars.  Sirius had pointed out all the constellations he knew, including Canis Minor, which consisted solely of the star Sirius.

            "It's the brightest star in the sky," he had boasted.  "I think that's why my parents named me after it."  Lily had simply rolled her eyes and laughed.

            Now she was fast asleep in his arms with a content smile and her hair falling over her face in just the right way to remind Sirius of Virgo, one of his favourite star patterns.  The second part of his plan to beat James was going as smooth as silk.  He looked to the right of the lake at the horizon.  Judging by the fact that the sun was just peeking out of the Quidditch pitch, he estimated that it was about six in the morning.  He looked back down at Lily, who obviously wasn't going to wake up anytime soon and did what any compassionate guy would do.  He slowly and carefully lifted her up, not wanting to wake her, and threw the invisibility cloak over them both.  It would look odd if a body was just floating around Hogwarts, after all, but that didn't stop Sirius from thinking how funny it would be to scare some of the "ickle-firstie" Slytherins.  Against his better judgment, for he was sure Lily would not want to be used in a prank without being consulted first, he headed straight to Gryffindor Tower.

            He pulled off the cloak in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, who said, "Password?" with a bemused smile upon her pudgy face.

            "Panthera leo," he panted while wiping sweat from his brow.  He had never thought that carrying a girl from one end of the castle to another would be so hard.  The portrait slowly swung open and he stepped through the short stone corridor into the crimson common room.  Few people were in there as it was only six-thirty, but those who were stared as Sirius headed up the girl's dormitory stairs, Lily in his arms.  He walked past three doors before coming to one that had a banner saying "Fourth Years" that was bewitched to sparkle red and gold.  He shifted the dormant form he was carrying and knocked three times on the door, but to no avail.  He knocked again and groans could be heard coming from within followed by the shuffling of feet.  Finally, the doorknob turned and Zahra Malik, another fourth year, appeared.  Her cocoa eyes, which were semi-glazed with sleep, quickly snapped fully open as her eyebrows shot straight up into her tousled hair.

            "Special delivery for bed number three," Sirius said cheekily with a smile to match.  Zahra simply stepped aside, still dumbstruck, without asking how he knew which bed was Lily's.  As he walked over to her bed, four sets of eyes peeked out from between crimson curtains and, one by one, each reflected Zahra's face. 

            Sirius tried hard not to wake his "special delivery" as he laid her head down on her floral-print pillowcase, but he did so in vain.  No longer than her head hit the pillow, her eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings.  She looked upwards and saw Sirius' smiling face as the words, "Morning sunshine," floated to her ears.  She smiled up at him sleepily; he looked like a living paradox with the permanent devilish glow in his eyes and a halo of sunlight 'round his head; but her smile quickly vanished as panic consumed her.

            "What time is it?" she exclaimed looking wildly around for a clock.

            "It's six-forty-five, sleepy-head!" called Venus through a mouthful of toothpaste.

            "Crap," she muttered underneath her breath, "Only forty-five minutes until breakfast."  The girls started to get ready and Sirius was pushed out of the room by Zahra's best friend, Katerina Deveux. 

            He walked back down the stairs to the common room where he saw people whispering behind their hands to new people who had trickled in after he and Lily disappeared up the dormitory staircase.  No doubt, they were hypothesizing where he and Lily had been and what they had been doing.  Sirius chuckled to himself about all the thoughts that could be running through their minds; he did, after all, have a reputation for being wild.  He flashed them all a winning smile as the occupants turned to look at him as one.  They started to whisper more franticly than before and he headed up the staircase, shaking his head at how predictable adolescents could be.

            Before opening the door to his room, he took a deep breath.  James looked up from where he was standing, struggling with a sock that just didn't seem to want to go onto his foot. He either didn't notice or was trying to ignore Remus, who had fallen off his bed in a silent laughing fit.  About ten seconds after a loud thud he emerged from under the bed, his face still red because he was holding his breath.

            "Long time, no see.  Where have you been?" he asked with a grin and a twinkle in his eye.

            "Oh nowhere," Sirius replied in a nonchalant tone.  "Just out and about... with Lily."

            With one final attempt, James thrust his foot into his sock, lost his balance, toppled over his trunk and landed on the floor with a resounding, "Ow."

            Sirius smirked and walked over to his trunk to get his robes for the day while Remus -no longer able to contain himself- burst into laughter, not sounding unlike a hyena.

            "Shut it, you," snarled James.  James was usually a morning person, the first one up, and the first one to start whistling a song that was stuck in his head, but this morning he was oddly testy.  First of all because he was losing his bet with Sirius, and now because his head was throbbing in pain.  He walked out of the room and off to breakfast, still rubbing his head and muttering under his breath.

            There was a shadow over the Great Hall as clouds hung darkly in the bewitched ceiling above.  James walked in with a scowl on his face and sat down next to Luna at the Ravenclaw table.

            "What's wrong?" Luna soothed, fluttering her eyelashes, while she rubbed his back.

            "Nothing," James said unconvincingly, but obviously trying to regain his composure.  "What's for eating?"  Luna passed him some scrambled eggs after taking some herself.  For a couple of minutes neither of them said a word.

            Their silence was broken suddenly by James choking.  Sirius had just clapped him hard on the back and began laughing.  James glowered at him through narrow eyes.  Sirius' chuckling stopped almost immediately as his face took on a business-like expression.

            "So, James, will you be paying in cash or major credit-card?"

            James furrowed his eyebrows, "What's a credit-card?"  His friend gave him a knowing look (even though he himself did not know what one was) as the sun came out from the clouds above.  Turning his head towards the door, Sirius watched Lily glide in from the Entrance Hall.  There was a sparkle in her eye and a smile playing on her lips as she sauntered over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Venus.  She bent her head in and started whispering excitedly before erupting into giggles.  Sirius smiled broadly as he saw James' face burn with fury.

            Everyone knew just how much James hated to lose.  One time, when Gryffindor had lost to Hufflepuff on the Quidditch pitch, he had broken his brand new Silver Arrow broomstick in two over his knee.  Luna glanced between Sirius and James, and then over at Lily.  Sirius could see trouble brewing and excused himself with a quick, "Excuse moi, good monsieur."

            He strolled over to his house table with a coy smile on his face.  "Buenos días, my fair señoritas," he greeted as he lowered himself down beside Lily.

            "Hola, mi majo. *  Y ¿Cómo estás este día muy bueno?" she replied slyly.  Sirius blinked his stormy gray eyes blankly.  He didn't really know Spanish and Lily knew that.  He had learned the phrase out of an old pick-up-line book from a Muggle bookshop he had browsed through.  He and James were trying to get extra-credit for Muggle Studies in their third year.  "That's what I thought," Lily continued with a smug look on her face.

            "Will you come down to the lake with me during lunch?" he asked, cocking up an eyebrow.  Lily's smile slowly spread all the way to her eyes as she nodded.  "That's what I thought," he smirked.

*Majo is an untranslatable word meaning handsome, dashing lover.

*A/N* Hey, you know what's really fun?  Reviewing!  Yay!  So just drop me a note saying, "I loved it!" or, "That sucked!" and I'd be extremely happy!  Thanks!  Also, if you want to read and excellent fan fic, go read and review Evie Who's story, "I'm the Face."  Es muy excelente!

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