*** The Marauder Chronicles is a fan fiction. It isn' to be sold, reproduced or taken as true. The main characters and most locations belong to J.K. Rowling, as do all publishing rights. No copyright infringement is intended.***

Part Eleven: The Term's End
"See into the future; take a chance."

Things slowly got back to normal for the four Marauders. James arrived back the day after Sirius and Lily had left him feeling miserable in his house. It was as if nothing had happened to him. He came back to Hogwarts just as himself, nothing different about him, and nothing appeared to be bothering him. Lily knew otherwise. James was a great actor when it came to what he was feeling deep down, and Lily was the only one who could sense his inner conflicts; a woman's gift, if you will.

But his hidden feelings didn't affect anything going on. The first thing he did upon his arrival back, was to examine the Quidditch team, and he was sorely disappointed.

"For one, practices are to be held four times a week. If there is a match approaching with in a month, six times a week. No excuses. I am sorry that Sirius gave you a break, I never would have," he said to his six fellow team members.

So the team went back to their rigorous practices nearly everyday.

Spring could be seen creeping over the snowy hills of the school; licking away at the snow covered roofs, and dancing across the ice toped lake. Baby birds could be heard chirping down the corridors, different colored flowers blossomed on the water's edge, and first years played freeze tag after class.

But, for our main characters, the only new scenery they saw were test books. Spring meant a number of things: Quidditch Final, Summer holidays, Inter-house Championship, and last but by no means least, unfortunately, end of year exams, followed by the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams, or O.W.L.s. James, Sirius and Lily had all picked up top marks on their tests their fifth year, and did exceptionally well on their O.W.L.s. But now they had to work the same magic again, only this time it was going to be a bit harder.

Undaunted by the large task, Lily took to studying whenever she could. She was leader of many fifth years, and above, who all looked to her for advice, and assistance. Among them was of course, Remus, Peter, Jade, and Liz, who did well in their fifth year, but could improve. James and Sirius on the other hand, couldn't be bothered. They had done just fine last year, with just a tad bit of studying, and they intended on doing the same this year. After all, they had the Quidditch cup to win.

The others scorned them for their lack of study habits, but as Sirius pointed out, "What are study habits?"

Just to keep her happy, James opened the occasional book and wrote down some random facts for Lily. "It's not like I have anyone breathing down my neck anymore, for me to do well on these damn things," he pointed out to her.

"How can you take that attitude? You have to take these tests for yourself, not your mother and father. They help you assess where you are on the scale, keep you on your toes, let the rest of the world know that you can do magic better than anyone," she told him.

"You actually believe those lies they tell you?" he asked laughing. "Are you doing it for yourself? Because you are the smartest girl in the year, it's not like you have to study. I just think you're taking the extra effort to go above and beyond anything your sister ever did, am I right?"

"How immature," Lily said, but she went slightly pink, and discontinued the conversation.

It was good that James and Sirius were so smart, because whatever free time they did have, they spent it going over Quidditch strategies. Occasionally, Sirius would go out for a jaunt with Annika, his new girlfriend, whom he had been sneaking out with, for quite a while.

"James, she could be the one, my match, my Lily," he said to James at lunch one time, while the others studied in the library. "I mean, she's smart, funny, intelligent, pretty as hell, and a damn good kisser."

"I don't know," James responded. "How can you be so sure?" He was still harboring the belief that maybe it was Jade that was right for him. She was always so quiet now, not really talking to him, not as happy as usual. But James was impressed by how she held herself, never yelling, or fighting with Sirius, never telling him how she felt when she saw he was happy. And that made him wonder.

"How can you be so sure that Lily is the one?" Sirius asked, but he didn't really need to.

"I just know. I have no doubt in my mind. I never said, 'she could be the one' I said she is the one. I just know."

"Well good for you. It took you six years to kiss her, longer to confess your undying love for her, and probably five years for you to get down on one knee and propose to her."

"Oh now that hurt," James said smirking.

"Any way, how about Seekers?"

"Seekers, yeah, how about them. Who do you think should go out for it?" James asked.

"I don't know. We won't be able to stop Jackson, but he has such heart for it. I see him out there flying around all the time. He's terrible though, it's just so sad," Sirius said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"I know. I was looking at Cara Lanigan, she's small, light, nimble. I've seen her fly around in the afternoons sometimes, and with a little practice I think she could fill the bill."

"What year?"

"Third."

"Hmmmm....Cute?"

"Sirius," James said exasperated, "what's that got to do with anything? See, I knew this Annika character isn't the one. If she was, you wouldn't be asking about a possible seeker being cute."

"It was just a question, I'm curious. So is she?"

"I guess," James said, frustrated.

"So who else is there?"

"Scott Parker, fifth year. Slender, yet compact, and quick, but not so maneuverable."

"That can be worked on. I've seen him too, he's not bad. I think we should hold some Pre Try-outs, you know? Technically we can't start the official try-out's till next year, but we could give them all pointers."

"That's for sure. I'll post something on the board in the common room."

"Hey Sirius," it was Annika. She had her hair in soft curls today, and she wore a small diamond pendant around her neck. She smiled at him, and french kissed him as she sat down next to him.

"Now, Annika," he said smirking, "This is our table, no Ravenclaws aloud." He grabbed her waist, and tickled her, kissing her repeatedly on her lips, cheeks and neck.

She giggled loudly. James scowled at them.

"Hi," James said, smiling politely. "We haven't been introduced, I'm James," he said, putting out his hand.

"I know," she said shaking it. "I'm Annika. I'll be flying circles around you on Saturday," she said with a competitive edge.

"You think so, do you?" James asked sarcastically. "We'll see about that, won't we Sirius?"

Sirius, however, was running his hands through her hair, without listening. "Huh?" he asked stupidly.

"Well," James said getting up, "I'll leave you two to your, um, touching, and go up to the tower to get my things. See you in Binn's." James gathered his books and his bag and headed for the tower.

Once he had collected his books, he headed back down for History of Magic. He didn't know exactly where Remus and Peter were, but had a good idea. As he was walking down the corridor, he saw Jade walking alone, which was eminently unusual. Aside from wondering where Lily was, he thought it would be a good idea to have a talk with her.

"Jade," he called, "Wait up a second."

She turned around and smiled as she waited.

"Lily's still in the library giving some fifth years advice on the test," she said.

"Ah," he said, thinking it was stupid he hadn't realized that in the first place. "I actually wanted to talk to you for a second."

"About what?" but she asked it as though she knew what he was going to say. She looked sheepishly down at her feet.

"Sirius," he said softly, so other's wouldn't hear him.

"What about him?" pretending that it was an odd question to have asked. James looked at her and grinned.

"Is it that obvious?" she asked, blushing just a little.

"Well, no. But I saw the look on your face a couple of weeks ago when that Annika girl came up to him. You looked like someone had told you that you had just days to live. That gave it away."

"Does he know?"

"Sirius? Are you kidding me? No way. He's clueless to the whole situation. That's just how he is. Of course, I didn't know either, I just thought the two of you were friends. Guess that says something about me, too. So I guess the point of this conversation is, do you want me to say anything to him?"

"No," she said very suddenly. She kept shaking her head, "No, I don't want anyone to say or do anything, I would like to do this on my own. He should be able to figure it out himself, I don't want everyone pointing it out to him."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean? Does he really like that chick? Is he talking of marrying her or something?"

"Absolutely not," he assured her. "I don't think there is anything there at all, other than physical attraction. I don't know why he keeps doing this, over and over. It's always the same with him."

"I don't want to be one of those girls he puts on his mantel as a trophy. I really like him, don't ask me why. He's just so fun to be around, he's smart, sweet and handsome, but why does he have to be so blind? Does he like me at all?"

"Yes," James said confidently. "Yes he does. He was the first to say that you should be the one to help us out over Christmas. He was the one that went to you back in September. He likes you very much, but let me tell you something about Sirius. He wouldn't see true love if it danced naked on his nose."

Jade laughed at his expression. "Why can't you have a brother?"

"Sorry about that one, out of my hands. He's as close as they get though. Don't worry about Annika, she'll be gone in a few weeks, and then he'll be depressed again. And that's when you come to the rescue."

"Yeah, maybe. I just thought by now that he would at least have some clue that I cared for him."

"Were you listening to me at all?" he asked smiling. She nodded, and smiled back. "I can point him in your direction, but you don't want me to, yes?"

"Yeah, I've waited this long, I can wait some more."

"Maybe you shouldn't wait," James said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I always got steamed whenever some hot shot started talking to Lily. I was real jealous, perhaps he is too. Just strike it up with some guy, and watch him fume, I guarantee he will."

"You really think so? Lily suggested it, but I didn't think he would fall for it."

"So she talked to other guys to get me angry?" he asked, completely forgetting about the latter part of her question.

"James, focus please. Why do you care anyway, we're about to do the same thing to Sirius."

"Right, sorry. Let me think for a bit. There's Dominic, a year up. He's a bit good looking, and taller than Sirius, it'll look like good competition."

"He's a little sure of himself don't you think?" she asked with a hint of timidness.

"Have you met Sirius?" he asked with a raised brow. "They don't get more confident than him. Anyway's this is just a test run, see what he does, you know? Who cares who it is, it could be me or Remus if we were available. Hey wait a second," he broke off. Wouldn't it almost be better if it was one of them, or both, or all. Yeah, now he was thinking.

"What is it?"

"I need to discuss this with Lily, Liz and Remus, but you could act a little giddy around Remus and I, and strike it up with Dominic, when Sirius is around. If that doesn't knock him out of the sky, I don't know what will."

"A love potion would do the trick," she said lightly.

"No way in hell," he sternly replied. She looked at him funny, but he didn't turn to match her. "I'll talk to Lily about it though, Okay?"

"No, just Dominic, I want to do this. I don't need it to be a group thing. Thanks though," she smiled as he opened the door to the class, and they took their usual seats.

Sirius came in just after they did, and sat next to James, looking disheveled. Jade, turned the other way when she saw him. James made a motion to Sirius, by passing his hands over his lips.

"You've got lipstick all over yourself, mate," James whispered to him.

"Oh," Sirius said, looking around madly for anything reflective. "Jade, can I borrow a mirror?"

James rolled his eyes, this must be ripping her apart. Without looking around, Jade passed a mirror behind her, and he took it. He started wiping his face with his black sleeve, then decided to improve his hair...

"You look pretty, Sirius," Lily said as she took her seat beside Jade. Sirius looked up at her and laughed. "Thanks," he replied.

As always, no one actually paid attention in Professor Binns' class. Sirius lay his head on the desk, Jade kept her eyes half open, Peter stared at the blackboard, drool dripping down his chin, and Remus had the talent that everyone envied: sleeping with his eyes open.

James and Lily looked like they were actually alert and paying attention to all the Goblin Wars, and Resolutions the Ministry made, but they weren't. They kept passing a paper back and forth without him seeing it. Occasionally one of them would smile, and almost laugh, which made the rest of the class suspicious, but did not deter Binns from his daily droning.

Once the class ended, which seemed like days later, they all headed up to he tower for a bit of a rest. Lily started to prepare her next lesson for the younger student's who needed tutoring, Remus and Liz went to a corner and told each other how wonderful they were, Peter disappeared through the portrait door to see Fran from Hufflepuff, and Sirius and James, were writing an advertisement for the Pre-Try-outs for the open position of Seeker.

Seeker Needed to fill the large shoes left by penny

Thompson. If you think you are up to snuff, come and

Show us what you got, on May 3rd. All years invited,

If you do not have your own broom, one will be

Provided for you. Must have good Marks, and good

Flying capabilities to fill the Job. We alone hold the right to turn down anyone at all. You have been warned.

Your Captain and co-captain,

James Potter and Sirius Black

Happy with what they wrote, they posted it on the message board, then headed down for practice. As Annika had said, Gryffindor would be playing Ravenclaw this Saturday, and practice was therefore six days a week, which most of the team thought was a bit excessive, but "Do you want to win the cup, or not?" as James would say.

After what seemed hours on the Quidditch pitch, the team had finished and headed back up for a late dinner. Back in the common room, Lily was teaching some third years about magical creatures. But all of the students, Sirius noticed, were boys, who weren't taking a single note.

"You've got competition," Sirius whispered to James, as he pointed this out to him. All of the young boys were smiling at her as she spoke. James laughed.

"Why hello, Professor Evans," James said to her, putting his broomstick on the wall, and sitting next to her. "What's the lesson for today?" he yawned.

The boys stopped smiling as he came over; they had been caught in the act.

"Kappas," she said to him.

"So, what have you all learned about them?" he asked her young fan club. None of them said anything. They looked at one another, searching for what to say. "Surely you learned something, Lily is a great teacher." But still, no words.

Lily looked upset at them, "I have been talking for twenty minutes, and you have learned nothing?"

James bent in closer to her, and whispered in her ear, "They think you're pretty."

She looked at him, as if to say, "don't be silly," but then she looked at the boys, and made up her mind. "Well, I have some things to do, myself. Next time, gentlemen, I won't be so kind." The group of boys scattered quickly, and ran upstairs.

James chuckled a bit. "Thirteen, what an age."

"So you talked to Jade, then, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes, yes I did. I know you said to say nothing, but I don't think she cared. I kinda told her how to work this whole thing."

"Yeah, she appreciated it. That was nice of you. Have you done any studying for the end of the year exams?"

"Um..." he said, suddenly interested in Kappas, "well..." he fumbled once more.

"James, have you at least opened a book?"

"Yes."

"And read the words on the page?"

"No, but I have a good excuse fo that."

"What?" she asked, but she dreaded the answer.

"Lily, the Quidditch cup is coming, I can't shrug that off, now can I? The entire house is depending on us to win, I can't go breaking their hearts."

"Okay, then why don't you study now?"

"Because I'm tired," he yawned, "and my brain is having trouble with the simple things. What's your name agian?"

"Ha, ha ha," she said, clearly not amused. "Come on, James, open a book and read from it. Just this once."

He looked at her for a while, considering it. Then he pulled out one of her books and opened it, not even knowing what it was.

"Okay, studying, here we go. We're studying now, yehaw, he we go. Page 107, oh boy, this is fun. 'Human transformation, the basics' yeah, this is good stuff. 'Human transformation can be very dangerous,' duh, 'and should be done under the supervision of a highly trained wizard.' Gee wiz, I need to write this down, this is important," he said sarcastically pulling a pad toward him.

Lily was smiling from ear to ear.

"Human transformation," he repeated as he scribbled swirls on the parchment pad, "is very dangerous and should be done under supervision, got it. Next line. 'Transfiguration is not to be used as a punishment on other human beings' what would you use it on, dogs? That was a stupid phrase, 'or the transfigurer will be punished accordingly.' Yeah, so far I have learned squat. Here's a question. So you use the Imperius curse on someone and tell them to eat a cookie, and you end up in Azkaban. Right? But you transfigure some stupid Prat, lets use Snape as an example, into a toad and you just get detention? What kind of messed up law is that. I mean, I could turn old Snape into a fly, and squash him, and no one would know about it. But God forbid I use the Imperius curse on him and tell him to make obscene faces at Dumbledore."

Lily laughed.

"This is why I don't study. There is nothing to learn from this crap," and he started laughing, because Lily was laughing so hard. "Am I right? I mean, come on! This book tells you nothing."

"What is so funny?" Sirius asked.

"You are," James said, Lily laughed harder, she started to slap her leg.

"What, you're laughing at me?" he asked, no trace of a smile. Lily looked at him, her face red.

"No, you stupid git," James said, looking at Lily and trying not to smile, which proved difficult. "We're not laughing at you."

"What then? Tell me."

"We're laughing at your fat ass," he couldn't contain the laughter now. Lily was in tears, and the look on Sirius's face was so heart breaking it was hilarious. "I'm only joking," James said, trying to calm down.

"You think I have a big ass?" Sirius asked, glancing back at it. This just was too much for Lily.

"Oh, Sirius," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "your bum is fine."

"Why were you laughing then?" He looked almost hurt.

"We were just joking with the whole concept of studying out of this lame book," James said, "that's all."

Sirius looked at both of them, as if trying to see through them. "I like it better when you two are kissing," and he walked away.

Lily was silent for a while, as she watched Sirius head upstairs. "He does kinda have big bum, though, doesn't he?" she said.

And then they laughed again, the entire common room staring at them, but smiling, none the less.

* * * * *

To Annika's displeasure, Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw 310 to 20. It was the worse defeat they had ever suffered. James even made it an effort to fly circles around Annika, just before he intercepted the Quaffle.

She was upset by such a runaway, and from then on, didn't want to have anything to do with James, which severely cut time she could spend with Sirius, seeing as how they were the best of friends. This of course made Sirius upset, but Jade started to perk up again.

At this point, there was no possible way, unless Hufflepuff beat Gryffindor by 420 points, that they would lose the cup, but it didn't stop them from practicing. James cut back to three practices a week, and the team was grateful. Try-outs were held for seeker, and to James and Sirius's great surprise, 30 people showed up to train.

"Whoa," Sirius said, as the two of them stepped out onto the field. "It looks like there are just a few who want that position."

"Yeah," James said, slowly looking around at the large group of people, "just a few." James and Sirius made their way to the crowd in the center of the field.

"Good evening," he said to them, "If you haven't seen me before in your life, or never heard me yell across the hall-

"Or seen him collide into stationary objects," Sirius added with a grin. The group laughed. James couldn't help but smile just a tad.

"I am the captain of the team. You can call me James. So this is how this is going to work. Since there are so many of you, I will take half, and Sirius will take half, and we will see what you're all made of."

Some young girls standing in the back giggled when he said this, and pointed at him, blushing.

Sirius, bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"We will tell you what to do, not how to do it. When we finish, we will tell each of you how to improve, or tell you never to return, because you stink. Don't let either phrase inhibit you from your training. Anyone can try out for seeker in September. Is that clear?"

The crowd nodded. Sirius whispered into James's ear, and pointed at the girls in the back row, who appeared to be quite taken with James.

"And one more thing," James said, raising his index finger, "There will be no inter-Quidditch-team dating."

The girls in the back frowned, Sirius fought a chuckle. "Okay, let's see what you've got."

James took one half, the half without the girls, and Sirius another. The began by simple drills: who could fly the fastest from one end to the other. But there was a challenge to it. James's group was at one end, Sirius's at another, and they were to fly toward each other. "And one more thing," they both said to their groups, "we have released the bludgers, so watch yourselves." This got many of them to raise their brows, but it didn't discourage them. They all raced to the opposite ends as fast as they could, trying to dodge each other and the occasional bludger that would veer past their ears. James and Sirius both flew high over the mass chaos to discuss who looked good, and who didn't. Only three of them were exceptionally good at it, the others were just alright.

"Parker looks good," Sirius said, as he watched him dodge a bludger, then quickly dive under two oncoming students.

"Yeah, he does," James agreed.

"So does she," Sirius pointed to a very small first year girl, her hair in pig tails.

"Who is she?" James asked.

"No idea," Sirius responded. After about twenty minutes, people were beginning to fatigue. Parker and the first year girl, however, were still doing very well.

James blew the whistle, and Sirius went to collect the bludgers. James instructed them all to land, and he started asking their names. When he came to the first year girl, he shook her hand.

"And who are you, little falcon you?" she smiled, but didn't giggle like the other girls, who incidently, were lying in the back, exhausted.

"Amanda Davies," she said in a small voice.

"You did very well Amanda, you keep practicing over the summer, and see what happens in September," he winked at her, so that only she could see. Then he continued on with the rest, telling them that they had to work on form, speed, and their own body weight if they wanted to win the position.

"Good idea we had," Sirius said to him, as they started back up to the tower.

"Very good idea. Now we know what to expect in just a few months."

"Sirius!" Annika called from the entrance hall. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Why lookie who!" James said to her, "It's the chaser slash looper. How's it going, been dizzy lately?"

She frowned at him, and drug Sirius away, he wasn't struggling. "Nut case," James mumbled to himself as he walked up to the tower amongst all the seeker hopefuls.

"James, James!" Jackson called, he was very hyped and enthused.

"What, what?" James asked smirking.

"What did you think? Did I make the team? Did I make it then?"

"You need to work on your redundancy. Um...I don't know yet, there were quite a few good people, just work hard over summer, and we'll see, alright?"

He looked slightly disappointed, but nodded.

Once in the tower, James crashed into a chair by the fire place, and closed his eyes. He was very tired, it felt very nice, lying here, in the cool room....

He was playing Quidditch, or he thought he was. He was flying high above the field, looking down on the players, but there were already seven on the field. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw, just as they had last weekend. But it wasn't his team, all the chasers were girls, and a different commentator was telling the game. Gryffindor was in the lead. James tried to move his broom closer to the action, but he was stuck there. He leaned forward to get a better look at the players.

"That's weird," he said as he looked at the top of the new seeker, "I don't remember seeing him at practice. Just then the seeker looked upwards. James shouted. But the boy didn't hear him, he just rushed down ward very quickly to try to grab the snitch. The funny thing was, the boy looked just like him.

Some one was poking him, pulling him away from this strangeness. "James," he heard, but James didn't want to go, he wanted to see who this boy was, who had just pulled a great maneuver and caught the snitch as the crowd screamed. He hoped the commentator would mention his name, but something kept poking him, "James," came a voice from the distance.

James opened his eyes and stood up very suddenly. He looked around him and saw Peter, who had awoken him. James just stood there for a while, then looked at Peter.

"What is it?" he asked him. "I was sleeping, you woke me up."

"So sorry," Peter said hesitantly. "I just wondered if I could borrow one of your books."

James was still thinking of that seeker. If only Peter would have left him alone. "Sure," James said distantly. "No problem."

Peter smiled at him, and raced upstairs. James sunk back into his chair and wanted to sleep again, but he couldn't. Maybe if he went to bed he would dream it again. James got up, looked at his watch; it was very early still, but he didn't care. He went back upstairs, took off his robes, put on a large t-shirt and sweats and lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and drifted off in sleep. But the boy was gone, nothing but blackness passed through his mind.

* * * * *

He could never remember having a dream like that, and he never had one like it again. Ever again. It was as though he was looking down at himself, from the sky, which was very strange. He went down to breakfast the next morning, very quiet, not wanting to say anything, really. He had woken rather late, so everyone was already down in the Hall eating breakfast, and were happy to see him.

"Why hello, sleepy head," Sirius said as he sat down next to him. James didn't reply.

"You alright, James?" Remus asked. Peter and Sirius looked at him too.

"Fine," he said, looking up at them as if they had asked an inappropriate question.

"You look thoughtful," Remus continued.

"What's wrong with thoughtful?" James asked.

"Nothing," Remus answered, "nothing at all. What are you thinking about?"

"Just stuff," James lied.

"Good morning all!" Lily said as she sat down across from James. "What's up with you?" she asked him.

"See," Remus said, "Told you, you don't look right."

"James," Lily asked, "Are you doing Okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. I just had a strange dream that's all."

"Really, so did I. What was yours about?" she asked, taking a sip of orange juice.

"You tell me first, what was your's about," he asked, leaning forward.

"Well, I was just laying on the most beautiful beach in the world, and a handsome man was massaging my back. The cool wind tickled me. Not a big deal," she said lightly. James looked down at the table, but Remus and Sirius stared at her.

"No, mine was different," James said, as if he hadn't really heard hers. "A lot different."

"What was it James," Lily said, leaning forward and taking his hands. "You want to tell us, don't you?"

"Not really, I just keep thinking about it, and I don't really know why. Weird," he said as he scratched the back of his head.

Just then, the mail arrived. Instinctually, James looked up, but who would write him now? He looked back down quickly, and started to poke some eggs with his fork.

A white envelope dropped in front of Lily and she opened it rapidly. Once she unfolded the letter, she gasped.

"She married him!" she yelled, almost fuming. "I can't believe she married that sl..." she stopped suddenly and looked at everyone. They all smirked, they knew what she was going to say, slob, but she never insulted anyone, or tried not to at least. She turned back to her letter. "Mrs. Vernon Dursley, yuk. She got married without even telling me. Without inviting me, without telling me-

"You said that already," James said. "Don't tell me you would have gone to the wedding if she had invited you."

"I would have!" she said defensively.

"Lily," James said raising his eyebrows and smiling. He took her hands back.

"Okay, you got me," she admitted, "I just wanted to turn her down, there. Happy? No, I might have gone, depends on how horrible she was to me. I would have gone, I would have. And I would have been gracious and polite, just the opposite of her."

"Is there a picture at least?" Remus asked cautiously.

"Um," she said, looking in the envelope. "Yeah, there is. But before I show you, let me just say, that I think Petunia was adopted. I see no resemblance between me and her, and if anyone of you suggests it, Ill hex you."

"Fine, let's see the picture," Sirius said. Lily put up the photo. She was right. Right about both of them.

"Was the camera out of focus?" Sirius asked.

"No, that's how they look," Lily said.

"He's kind of a pudge boy, isn't he?" Sirius said smirking.

"I think your right," James said to Lily, "She must have been adopted. She looks like a horse."

"One that's been set to pasture," Sirius said.

"She looks happy," Remus said. "Maybe they're right for each other."

"Oh there's no doubt about that," Lily said with confidence. "No doubt in my mind. He is dull, rude, boring, lazy, and has no sense of humor."

"So you like him then?" Sirius asked.

"They're going to have really ugly children," Remus pointed out.

"Ew," Lily said. "The thought of seeing them in that kind of...ew," she covered her eyes, and shook her head. Peter looked at it, then tossed it back to her.

When the bell rang, the headed for potions, their least favorite class.

"Oh good," James said sarcastically, "Over and hour with Snape. Hip hip horay. I can't wait."

"Me neither," Sirius added.

They all had to wait outside while they waited for the professor to come to class. Snape was in a large group of people, including Robert Lestrange, Jacob Roiser, and William Knott, who all loved the Dark Arts.

James would bet his broomstick that they had all celebrated his father's murder, and he was glad that he wasn't around to see it, out of fear that he would have killed the whole lot of them. Lily tried to distract him from looking at them, but he was still angry at their kind of people.

"James," Lily said quietly, "James, just ignore them. You're better than them, remember that."

"No comparison, James, there's no comparison," Sirius said patting James's shoulder. Snape turned and looked at James with loathing, just as usual. But he hadn't crossed his path since he had given him warning about Lily. That relaxed him a little.

"Good Morning, class," Professor Wicks said to them. He opened the door and let them enter. James took Lily's hand, still watching where Snape was at all times.

"Sit with me," he whispered in Lily's ear. She smiled at him, and nodded. They sat down at the usual spot, Sirius sat on James's other side, and Jade sat next to him.

James looked down at Snape, and saw he was looking at them, mostly at her, and he didn't stop glaring when James spotted him. But James just stared right back into his cold eyes.

"Are you alright, baby?" she whispered to him, passing her smooth hand on his cheek. Snape didn't like that at all, and he finally turned to face the front.

"Fine," he said.

"Today," Wicks began, "We will be reviewing for your final exam. There is much that you need to know about the five poisons that we have discussed. You will need to know the ingredients of each of them, and the antidotes, though I will only ask for you to make two."

So they reviewed the poisons, one causing a horrible sickness, which would result in vomiting, and nausea. Another one would cause temporary blindness. The Funfilla potion would result in memory lapse for up to 36 days, that was Sirius's favorite. He thought that maybe he could have someone give to him next year when they had to take the N.E.W.T.s so he would be able to get out of it. Sharpson's poison would cause ugliness, and disfiguration lasting for up to ten years. But the worst of all, to the boys in the room, was the Steringer's poison, which led to baldness, and infertility.

The rest of the class was spent taking notes, though James and Snape kept giving evil glances to one another. But James was almost certain that Snape was just toying with him. But if he wasn't, James would have no hesitation in killing him.

At long last, the final week of school was here. The final exams had been given, and O.W.L.s administered, now they just had to wait. To no one's surprise, Gryffindor took the Quidditch cup for the fifth year in a row, which meant that they would no doubt win the inter house championship as well.

It was beautiful outside on the grounds, the grass rippled like a deep green sea as the wind swept past. Amanda Davies, along with other Gryffindors, took their broomsticks and flew in the Quidditch field, having the time of their lives.

As expected, Sirius and Annika broke up, just two weeks before the term's end. Jade, James could tell, tried to pretend that she was sad for him, but when Sirius wasn't around, she was very cheerful. But Sirius wasn't so happy. Tuesday afternoon he walked down to a grassy hill and sat down, alone. Only the giggling from his left told him that he wasn't alone, but might as well have been.

James and Lily were both lying on their backs and staring at the clouds as they rolled by. She turned on her side and rested her head on his chest, her arm across his torso. They looked very happy.

Sirius looked at them and smiled a bit, but then he looked away, and then he too lay flat on his back, looking at the sky. "I'm going to be single forever," he mumbled to himself. "Probably live alone all my life," he continued to the sky.

"Are you okay?" Jade asked, as she stood over him. "Are you talking to yourself?"

"Yeah, the only person I can agree with most of the time," he said sitting up. She sat down next to him and smiled.

"Any plans over the summer?" she asked.

"Just keeping an eye on him," he said, as he nodded over in James's direction. Jade looked, and giggled. Sirius turned to see. Now Lily was on top of James, kissing him very enthusiastically.

"Ew," Sirius said, turning back to Jade, who didn't seem to think it gross at all.

"I think it's sweet," she picked a flower, and started taking off the petals one by one.

"We should do something to them," he said.

"Like what, throw water on them? They won't stop."

"I'd hate if some first year saw the two of you!" he yelled over at them.

Lily turned to look at him, as did James, but neither one said anything. Instead, Lily looked around her, shook her head, saying, "there isn't," to Sirius, and then without a wand, she pointed her hand to a large rock, and made it sail over her, and landed it between them and Sirius.

"Now you don't have to watch!" Sirius heard James yell from the other side.

"He's really going to miss her over the summer," Sirius said.

"Yeah, he's going to miss all of them."

"He'll still have me, that he won't miss, never will either. I'll always be around."

Sirius reckoned it was either spring, or the fact that they weren't going to see each other everyday for two and a half months, that Lily and James were in such a "kissy" mood. Sirius even made the comment to Lily, when she had come up for air, "I thought you were shy? So why are your lips locked all the time?" With which she answered, "The four of you have had a very bad influence on me," and then she resumed making out with James in the corner.

Sirius rolled his eyes, and looked around for someone else to talk to. He would have James all summer, so he didn't mind that he wasn't around him now. It occurred to him that maybe the "kissy" mood was contagious, because three couples were doing it in the common room. Liz and Remus were as well, though not like the other two couples. They actually looked tasteful, talking to each other and kissing briefly, not as passionate as the other two.

Jade was having a deep conversation with Dominic, a burly seventh year, who looked pleased with this. Sirius moved in to investigate.

"I'm going to Paris this summer," Dominic said, smiling at Jade. "Maybe you could come along."

"That's sounds fun," she said, as Sirius sat on the table, feet from them.

"Hello Sirius," Dominic said, unaware that Sirius had his arms crossed, and didn't smile back at him.

"Hello," he said cooly. Jade smiled.

"Dominic has invited me to go to Paris with him over the summer. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Really," Sirius said, looking at him and smiling. "Is that so? Shouldn't you look for a job? I mean, you have to support yourself now, graduating and all."

"That's why I am going to Paris," he responded, "I am looking for a Job as a professor. There aren't any opening's here, and I wanted to learn french. I was hoping to teach Transfiguration or Defense Against the Dark Arts at Beauxbatons Magic Academy."

"Is that right?" Sirius said, not sounding impressed. "So it's a business trip then, not a pleasure vacation?"

"I plan on seeing the French Riviera, the Louvre, and the Ifle tower while I am there, it's a little of both. Besides, why do you care?" he asked, getting a little defensive. He sat up in the couch, and stared at Sirius.

"I don't. Your offer just doesn't sound very nice."

"Can you offer anything better? It just sounds like you're jealous of me, Black,"

"Jealous of what? There's nothing you have to be jealous of."

Dominic stood up, Sirius did too. Silence fell over the common room as the tension rose. Remus looked at Sirius, "Is everything alright?" he asked.

James opened his eyes, and stopped kissing Lily to see what the awkward silence was about. Once he saw what was going on, he whispered into Lily's ear, and she smiled.

"I'm warning you now, Black, one more word and I'll-

"You'll what, insult me?" he asked, moving closer to Dominic.

Dominic looked around the room for a second, then punched Sirius in the stomach. Sirius bent over, not expecting that, then stood back up and hit Dominic above his eye.

"Ooooo," the room said. James started walking towards the two of him, but Lily pulled him back, not wanting him to get in the middle.

"Knock it off!" Remus yelled, but they didn't. Sirius took Dominic by the collar, and threw him on the wall. But he wasn't like Snape at all. He was a tall burly 18 year old, and could handle himself quite well. He didn't like being shoved on the wall, at all. He pushed Sirius away, then slugged him with his left, then his right on the face, Jade started yelling.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Remus and James went to stop the fight. James, because he was taller and well respected, held Dominic back, Remus took Sirius.

"What's wrong with you two?" James asked, trying to sound confused.

"This shithead was insulting me!" he answered pointing to Sirius.

"Who are you calling shithead, ratface?" and Sirius lunged for him, but Peter went to help Remus hold him back.

"Relax you two," James commanded. "There are just days left in the term, I'd hate to see either of you expelled."

Just then the portrait door swung open, and Professor McGonagall walked in. James, Remus and Peter let go of their classmates. McGonagall looked perturbed.

"What's going on in here?" she asked, but no one said anything, they stared at her. "Potter, what has happened?"

Why did she have to ask him? "Some of us were having a heated debate about, um, French and British relations," he lied quickly.

She didn't look convinced, but didn't press the matter. "I have come with the results for the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. Let me just say, that it is clear that some of you could care less about this test, and your mark reflects it." She looked around at the older students. "Potter," she said. Oh crap, he thought, he blew it. Too much Quidditch, Lily was right. "Your score," here it comes, the worst score in history. And he thought it was easy. "Your score, Mr. Potter, was the highest in the class, my congratulations."

He stood there shocked, applause poured into his ears. No way!

"Miss Evans," she continued, this time smiling, "You also scored with Mr. Potter, at the very top," more applause. "If I didn't know you two as well, and didn't know that you were seated on opposite sides of the room, I would suggest foul play, but, seeing as how it was impossible to cheat, congratulations are in order." The room filled with cheering and clapping, Sirius ignored Dominic and hugged the two of them.

"It wasn't cheating, but Osmosis!" he said to them.

McGonagall started to hand out the test scores to each student. When she came to Sirius she smiled, "Good job, Mr. Black," and she winked at him.

"What did you get?" Lily asked.

"Twelve! Better than last year, how about you two?"

"Thirteen," they said in unison.

"You know what this means, don't you? Having the highest score in the year?"

They shook their heads.

"Head Boy and Girl! They have to pick the two of you, it's a perfect match! Before you know it all will be playing tongue hockey because they admire you both," he said laughing at his own joke.

"Aren't you romantic," James said grinning. "They'll never make me Head Boy, I've got a record number of detentions, there's no way I'll get it. But Lily, for sure."

She blushed and didn't debate the issue.


End of year Exam scores came in just after, and James, Lily and Sirius got the top marks in the year, Jade and Remus in close second. Before they knew it, it was time to pack up and leave Hogwarts for the Summer holidays.

Loading their trunks in the storage compartment, they all looked back at the castle, ready to greet her again in just a few months.

"When we come back, we're going to rule the place," Sirius said to James.

The train ride back was short but enjoyable. James kept his arm around Lily the entire time, and Sirius had to pull him away from her kicking and screaming when they arrived at the platform.

"I'll come to see you," she said to him, "I promise."

"Okay," he said, but he didn't let go, he looked pensive.

"James," Sirius said, "Don't do this again, she said she'll see you, I believe her. Because if she is lying," he said looking at her grinning, "then I will hunt her down and bring her to you because I know that you will drive me crazy because you aren't with her."

They both laughed. "Okay," James said again, still looking pensive, a dreamy look on his face.

"What is it, you want to tell me something, don't you?" she asked.

"Well, not exactly," he said smiling, fumbling with something in his pocket.

"What then?" she asked, looking at him confused.

"Um," he said, "Okay, promise not to freak out, but," he said, going down on one knee and taking her hand. He quickly pulled a soft white box from his pocket, "Will you marry me?"