A/N: Sorry it's been a few days on updating. Ang

Lily threw her quill down in frustration. She had been working on her Transfiguration homework for the past two hours, and she wasn't getting anywhere on it. She just couldn't seem to understand what old Professor Kaladi was asking of them. James glanced up from his chair where he was studying Charms. Remus, Sirius, Peter, Amy, and Michelle were playing Exploding Snap in another corner of the Common Room.

"What's wrong, Lily?" James asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Lily smiled faintly.

"Transfiguration, as always. I just don't get it." Lily sighed. James hesitated, and suddenly looked at her hopefully.

"Hey Lily, you understand Charms, right?" James inquired cautiously. Lily nodded, not quite understanding why James had changed the subject.

"It's my best subject. You know that, James. But why?" Lily's curiosity took over most of her mind, almost driving out the thought of the horrible Transfiguration assignment in front of her. His response drove the last shred of Transfiguration out.

"Because I'm horrible at it, yet somewhat decent at Transfiguration. I'd be willing to help you on Transfiguration if you'll help me with Charms." James volunteered, a slow smile crossing his features. Lily paused, and grinned.

"You've got a deal." Lily responded. Remus grinned to himself as he watched James move over to Lily's table, and the two of them bent their heads over the books to work.

This arrangement continued all year long. It was so common a sight to see James and Lily working on homework together, that one warm evening in May, everyone was in shock to see them on separate sides of the Common Room. Remus glanced warily at Sirius.

"I'm not sure that I want to know what happened, Remus." Sirius told him. Remus nodded.

"Me neither, but Lily's my best friend. And James is yours." Remus reminded Sirius, who grimaced.

"Ok, fine. You talk to Lils, I'll talk to James." Sirius conceded. They both gulped as Sirius went to James, and Remus sat down next to Lily.

"Lilybean. . .?" Remus asked her, extremely scared of her response. He knew Lily's temper well enough to know that if she was mad, she may take it out on him. To his surprise, Lily lifted her eyes, and Remus saw a tear rolling down her cheek. His protective side kicked in instantly.

"Lily! What happened?!" He demanded, ready to strangle anyone who had hurt Lily. She shook her head.

"He has a girlfriend, Remus." Lily told him miserably. Remus understood instantly. He had known for a while that Lily liked James, and how much it must be hurting her that he was with another girl. Remus hugged her tightly.

"Lily, I don't know what to say. . ." Remus's voice was soft and loving. Lily curled up against Remus. Across the room, James muttered a sound of disgust.

"Look at that, Sirius. Lily and Remus. And they claim they're just friends. Yeah right." James scowled. Truth be told, he was incredibly jealous of Remus's and Lily's friendship. Sirius knew that he was walking on eggshells in this conversation with James.

"James, Lily's a great girl. She and Remus have been close all their lives. You know, kind of like you and me. Now please trust me here. I'm your best friend. Don't ruin this friendship with Lily. You're very likely to lose Remus too, if you do. And I'm not taking sides, James." Sirius warned gently. James scowled again.

"Are you trying to say that this is my fault?!" James demanded. Sirius slammed his head down on the desk in frustration.

"James Potter! That's not what I said at all! Of course, we wouldn't be in this damn situation if you hadn't asked the trashiest girl in the entire school out." Sirius's patience, what little he had, was long gone. James glared at Sirius.

"Ashley is not trashy! She's. . ." James knew full well that there was no way to defend his girlfriend. But he had to try. "Get out of here, Sirius. I can't believe you're siding with Lily. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. You've been after her all year."

Sirius looked at James in shock. Never in all of the years that they had been friends, had they said anything like this to each other. Sirius glared once more at James, and stormed up to his dormitory. Peter was already up there.

"What happened to you?" Peter squeaked nervously. Sirius muttered something under his breath, and turned to Peter.

"James happened. He asked Ashley Morse out today. So he and Lils are fighting, and guess who got to calm Lily down? Remus, the lucky little. . . Anyways, I was stuck trying to talk to James. Bad idea." Sirius threw himself onto his bed. It was going to be a long month before school ended.

Contrary to popular belief, the school year actually ended quite quickly. The next thing that any of them knew, they were boarding the Hogwarts Express for home. The Marauders shared a cabin, and Lily, Michelle, and Amy sat in their own. James and Lily hadn't spoken since the fight, even though he had ended things with Ashley the next day. Both of them were far too stubborn about their beliefs.

The fight between Sirius and James, however, had ended almost immediately, much to the relief of Peter and Remus. They were all pleased with their marks, but some more than others. James hadn't found another Charms tutor, so his Charms marks were fairly low. Lily, however, had the highest marks of their year in all of her classes, including Transfiguration. The last part was due to Remus volunteering his help.

The Hogwarts Express pulled into London far too quickly for any of the group. They grouped together to say their goodbyes. Remus and Lily departed towards where their parents and Petunia were all standing. Sirius and James were picked up by James's dad. Peter, Michelle, and Amy all went home with their respective parents.