A ricocheting of bangs and knocks upon the wood bedroom door split the silence of a once-peaceful morning. The hinges of the door creaked and groaned, having been put through this knocking drill too many times in the past.

"Hey, mate you better get up! Your mum's got us breakfast all made up downstairs! And it's getting kinda late. Knowing you, you haven't packed yet!" The sniggering voice of a boy spoke to the wooden door out in the hallway. When they were given no sign of life within the room beyond, he rapped his knuckles on the door once more.

"OY! Are you alive in there, James?"

The room within was well lived-in and full of spare parchment upon the floors and desk in the corner. Thick books which read bizarre titles were stacked in piles in corners, and a window that let in the morning rays of golden sunlight was open above the bed. Within the small confines of the room something stirred in the mattress beneath the sheets. A hand slithered out and grasped a pair of round glasses that were sitting perched on a bedside table and retreated back into the mass of tangled linens. With a load groan accompanied with an enormous yawn, a tousle-haired boy of about 17 emerged into view. James Potter rubbed the sleep out of his hazel eyes and then replaced his glasses. Stretching and standing to his fairly-tall height, the boy finally answered to the one who stood in the hallway, still pounding upon the closed door.

"All right, already, Sirius! I'm up, all right?"

"Well, would you let me in at least!?" came Sirius' disgruntled reply as he jiggled the apparently-locked handle.

James reached for a thin piece of wood that also lay on his bedside table. He lazily twirled it in his hand, yawned loudly again, and then pointed the tip of the wood at the door as the words "Alohomora" fumbled lazily out of his mouth.

Sirius Black, James' best friend to date and partner in mischief at their wizarding school, threw open the door and marched in talking as he came. "Dunno, why you keep that door locked anyways, mate." Sirius dawned jet black hair like his friend James, but it lacked the many cowlicks of the bespectacled boy. His bright gray eyes were constantly full of laughter and his mouth usually held a permanent smirk.

At Sirius' words about the locked door met James, he pointed his wand at some papers on his desk, whispered something out of the corner of his pursed lips, and they disappeared from view.

"Gotta keep those burglars out, you know?" James forced a laugh. "Isn't that what muggles call the people who break into their houses? I can't believe anyone would even bother going to all the trouble of breaking into someone's house if you're a muggle. What work it must be for them, not having any magic to unlock the doors," James replied casually, hoping Sirius hadn't noticed the vanishing parchment.

"Whatever you say... anyways, you'd better pack this mess up now before your mum finds out. She's already stressed enough what with us leaving for our last year at Hogwarts," Sirius informed James, nodding towards the hallway beyond and where there could be heard clangings and clatterings coming from somewhere else in the house. Mrs. Potter was apparently busy at breakfast in the kitchen downstairs.

"Ah, good ole Hogwarts...can't believe it's our last year, can you, Padfoot?" James addressed Sirius with his old nickname. He sighed and flicked his wand at an open trunk by his bed. His belongings began to fly simultaneously from their places and into the trunk untidily.

"Yeah, pretty exciting I suppose." Sirius ducked as socks and underwear leapt from a drawer behind him and into the trunk. "You looking forward to going back, Prongs?" Sirius winked as he said this to James, and then sniggered.

"And what do you mean by that?" James frowned as he questioned the smirk on Sirius' face.

"Oh, don't act so oblivious. I know you're itching to get back because of a certain red-haired beauty, eh?" Sirius knew he had hit a nerve when he said this to James.

"And what makes you say that, huh?" James' disgruntled attitude was not very well hidden.

"Oh, I know you've been trying to get Lily Evans to go out with you since 4th year. I was only wondering if you're still gunna hopelessly waste your energy with that charade again this year."

"Hopelessly? What, you think she'll still say no again?"

"James," Sirius tried to put it nicely, "She's turned you down every time, mate. What can I say?"

"Ok well why don't you put your money where your mouth is, huh?" An evil grin curled on Sirius' lips as James suggested this.

"All right then. 20 galleons says you can't get Evans to go out on a date with you." Sirius began. "That should be easy enough for me to win right there, because you've failed the past three years at that task anyways, but..." He was interrupted.

"Done! HAH that should be simple! AND how rich I shall be!" James rejoiced at the simplicity of the bet. Sure, it was true what Sirius said, how Lily Evans had given him the cold shoulder, but he had a feeling this year would be different.

"Ah, my friend, but I was not finished. AND you have to kiss her. And no putting her under the Imperius Curse or anything," Sirius chuckled at his own joke, " because it has to be by her own free will."

For a second, James looked dumbfounded. Sirius finished, casting aside some fallen locks of raven black hair off his forehead and crossing his arms to lean against the wall and sneer at James. His reluctance to the bet lasted only a few moments though, and almost immediately he held that manic look in his eyes, destined to win those 20 galleons at all costs.

"You're on." James breathed through gritted teeth. He raised his chin in confidence and returned Sirius' sneer. Sirius turned on his heel and walked from the room. James could hear him upon the stairs down the hallway, apparently going towards the wafting smells of Mrs. Potter's going-away breakfast being prepared for them.

As soon as Sirius had disappeared, James let out a long breath of air in a deep sigh. What had he just gotten himself into? Lily Evans, the red-haired, green-eyed beauty of 7th year, had for so long wanted nothing to do with James Potter, and James seriously doubted she would magically warm up to him when he returned to Hogwarts later that afternoon. But anything having to do with Lily would have made James unaware of anything else in the world because of his complete fascination with her. He couldn't say what he felt for her. She was beautiful and had a fiery spirit he couldn't resist. James walked towards his desk and flicked his wand at the spot where some papers had disappeared earlier. With their reappearance, he pick one up. It was a letter addressed to none other than the very girl Sirius and James had spent the past few minutes discussing. James quickly crumpled the parchment and set it a-flame with his wand tip. His thoughts retreated back to the situation currently at hand.

He realized that his competitive spirit had gotten the best of him in that situation, and denying his best friend a bet wouldn't have been that risk-taking spirit that the two both held and cherished. What was he going to do about Evans though? He had to successfully ask her out, (for about the twentieth time, he might add) and their little date had to close with a "goodnight" kiss? This was going to be much harder than any Quidditch game James had flown in. Yes, when it came to the subject of girls, they seemed much more foreboding than a treacherous and deadly bludger flying at you with top speed during a game of simple Quidditch.