Disclaimer: Already mentioned in Chapter 1 :)

James barely talked to any of the Marauders over the next few days, least of all Sirius. Sirius was upset with what he had done, but for Remus' and his' plan to work it had to be this way - sometimes he wondered, however, why it couldn't have been Lupin to go out with Lily, for he and James never had more than minor disagreements and it was unbearable not to be talking to him. Desperate to keep himself cheerful, Sirius reacted by playing a lot more pranks than usual; even covering Snape from head to toe in unicorn droppings wasn't the same without the aid of James and Remus - still, it had certainly perked him up a bit, especially when McGonnagal had forbidden him from entering the castle smelling so foul and made him bathe in the lake first.

On Tuesday for the last Quidditch practice before the end of term, (lessons finished on Thursday in time for the ball on Saturday,) Sirius came down from the dorm room with his broomstick over his shoulders, expecting James to be there waiting for him. The two always went to practices together. He had been disenhearted when Lupin told him that James had left five minutes ago - even during practice he noticed how hard James was trying not to stare at him; even during their warm-up when every player went into a circle and passed about the Quaffle James stubbornly refused to even throw it in Sirius' direction, however he looked like he would very much like to chuck it at his head.

Sirius couldn't help but notice how much James' attitude had changed over the past few days. His impeccable flying skills had went swiftly downhill and he was having a lot of trouble concentrating during his classes; the Quidditch Captain had reprimanded him, but James had simply shrugged his shoulders and put it down to pre-holiday spirits. None of his teachers mentioned anything, but Sirius saw the way they stared at James puzzled as he refused to put up his hand to answer any questions and spend period after period with a bored look on his face. He felt a lot of pity for James, but he knew any attempts at breaking the ice would lead in him being fobbed off rudely or jinxed.

Sirius voiced his concerns to Lily when the two were sitting together at breakfast. "Hes so mad at me; when I told him I was going to the dance with you he went mental. I was kinda scared he was going to hex me or something."

Lily patted his back reassuringly, yet she couldn't help being inwardly pleased at such a violent reaction - James must really like me, she thought. "Don't worry about it. He'll come around when you break the news to him."

Sirius was becoming increasingly worried about that idea - how the hell was he going to tell James the truth? He couldn't break off his date with Lily, because then he would have no-one to go with himself, and he had already found out that James was taking Jennifer, (who, incidentally, had asked Sirius out.) Remus would have to help him out....

After classes were done Sirius sprinted upstairs and put on his Gryffindor scarf and gloves - he blatantly refused to cover his long hair with a hat when Lupin told him his ears would get cold, and tried to ignore the growlers being shot at him by James as he dashed downstairs to meet Lily. When he met her he made sure everyone saw him peck her on the cheek, before taking her hand and leading her outside into the snow.

Lily and Sirius walked and talked for a while, mainly about James' feelings for Lily - Sirius told her how long he had liked her, (practically forever!) and why he was too scared to do anything about it. Lily basically told Sirius she felt the same about James, and he could tell that she wished that she was with James at the moment. Trying to steer her onto happier thoughts the two walked along hand in hand - the phsyical contact was not uncomfortable, but it certainly felt weird holding hands with one of his best friends!

THUD! Sirius span around and drew out his wand as Lily shrieked. She had been hit from behind by a large snowball, and instantly Sirius saw the attacker - Lupin was standing at the top of the stairs leading out of the main doors, a large snowball in one of his hands and a wicked grin on his face. "Sorry, Evans!" shouted Remus. "Bad aim!"

"I'll get you for that, Lupin!" screamed Lily, and, drawing out her wand, she muttered a complex charm under her breath that Sirius couldn't hear. The snow surrounding her began to mould itself into large balls and they all fired at Remus, who began to run; they chased after him, whacking him in the face and head, until he collapsed in fits of laughter.

Sirius and Lily ran over to him and Lily pulled out her wand once more; there was a flash and suddenly Lupin was upright and covered with snow, looking like a particularly well-sculpted snowman. Smiling, she turned to Sirius and winked - he had to hand it to her, she got revenge quite well. She stood, beaming at Lupin, who apparently couldn't get out. "Ok, Ok, you win! C'mon, lemme out!"

The large oak doors creaked open once more and all eyes snapped round - James Potter stood at the top of the flight of stairs. Lily instantly scooped up a snowball and hurled it at him, hitting him square in the jaw. "Hey, Potter, come join the fun!"

Sirius was surprised to see him walk over to join the trio, and he smiled weakly at his best friend. Amazingly, James returned the gesture, and after standing laughing at Remus for a few moments he beckoned to Sirius.

The two walked over the the gamekeeper's hut and James cleared his throat, apparently at a loss for what to say. "Well, I just wanted to tell you....emm...."

"Sorry." blurted Sirius, cutting his words short. "I know I shouldn't have asked out Evans but I couldn't help it.....I didn't think you were gonna do it."

James shook his head. "I don't think I would have...anyways I wanna tell you I've thought about it and I'm being stupid, not talking to you. I was wondering if you and Lily would come to the dance with me and Jennifer?"

Grinning stupidly Sirius nodded, and together they walked back to Lily and Remus - soon would be time for the final part of his plan....