Hello, all! Thank you for reviewing; I greatly appreciate it!
Trinity - Thank you for pointing that out; I must've typed it wrong - oops. I'll fix that in a bit. I wanted to leave Peter out, but I also wanted (and still do) to stay as true to the book as possible, so he stays. Traitor brat. Him, not you, obviously. I'm very glad you found it easy to read and hope you enjoy the second chapter, too. As for writing it, most of it pretty much just came to me, but I had to fiddle to get the exact mood I wanted.
Lil-Brat - What's your name, if you don't mind? I don't like writing these things and having to use usernames if it can be avoided... I'm glad you liked the beginning; I messed with it several times to get the effect I wanted.
Sky - Thanks for the review! Glad you like it!
Tessa - Thank you for both of the reviews, especially the first one! The first review's always special...
Now, on to the story; sorry this chapter's so short...
CHAPTER III - IN WHICH JAMES LOSES HIS TEMPER
(Weird title; oh well)
Immediately after lunch, James, Sirius, and Remus said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. Strolling down the lane that looked, to James, at least, as though it had sprung to life from the pages of a storybook, Sirius and Remus chatted animatedly to each other about who- knows-what. James had drifted back into the usually vaguely familiar territory that is human thought, though his thoughts had been trodden over many times. First, he thought about Lily. Surprise, surprise. Then, to try and rid himself of the memory of last June, he pulled out his book list and read it again... And again... And again. Each time, however, something, from a book he'd seen her read to the emerald ink, reminded him of Lily Evans, the first girl he'd ever really liked and the only girl who wouldn't go out with him. Well, only girl not in Slytherin that wouldn't go out with him, but they don't count.
As the three boys passed Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor, James suggested, in yet another attempt to distract himself from thoughts of Lily, that they stop for ice cream. It was the perfect day for one of Fortescue's sundaes (not that there ever was a bad day for ice cream), so the other two hurriedly agreed, and they all marched inside. James ordered three hot fudge sundaes and paid, while Sirius and Remus picked a table by the window to "satisfy Sirius's inner child." As he passed out the ice creams, James cast around for something to talk about. Remus, the perceptive one, picked up on this and began finalizing pranks. As much so as you can a few weeks to several months ahead of time, anyway.
About twenty minutes later, just as James had temporarily forgotten about Lily, Sirius got one of his ideas. "You know, if she still won't go out with you..." Here he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "... you could prank her. I have some ideas that won't-"
"NO!" James cut him off sharply. "I WILL NOT!" Everyone in the ice cream parlor was staring at the boy now on his feet; some of the girls didn't seem to notice the fact that he was angry and were staring with hearts in their eyes.
"Fine, fine," Sirius said, seeming shocked at his friend's outburst. "It was just a suggestion."
"Yeah, well," James told him, still with his voice slightly raised. "It wasn't a very good one." And with that he stormed out, leaving a half-finished sundae and a stunned silence behind him.
Storming down the alleyway, James turned many heads, some glaring at him, others looking sympathetic, but he was oblivious to them all. How DARE Sirius even suggest it! He knew how James felt, and he still had the nerve... Stopping for just a moment, James decided to start shopping for his school things. After all, he had nothing better to do, and as he was outside Flourish and Blotts', he decided to start there. Pulling out his booklist and marched into the store, starting off on another furious tirade about Sirius as he went.