Boys Never Learn

Yay-ness! The sequel is here! I'm pretty busy this week, I'm writing a literacy test that I have to pass to pass through high school so I might be a tad busy with that… Which is why this first chapter is nice and long. Expect the next one… maybe by Thursday? Thanks to everyone who reviewed Sirius's Top Ten, I hope you like this one too…

I feel so special! Someone's written a story based off mine! See Evil-Angel-911's 'The Hogwarts Top Ten'. Plus, I've decided that some of the chapters are going to have songs, this one does at least, seemed appropriate, a nice hint to what's going to happen… gasp

Chapter 1: Soo-prize?

Summer lovin', had me a blast
Summer lovin', happened so fast
Met a girl crazy for me
Met a boy cute as can be
Summer days drifting away
To, uh oh, those summer nights!

- Summer Nights, Grease

"So you're friends with Lily then?" Sirius asked, leaning over James's shoulder to take a peek at what he was writing. Instinctively, James adjusted his arm to cover the parchment from Sirius's view. Sirius grunted. "You're friends?"

"Yes, Padfoot. Now could you please leave me alone? I'm trying to concentrate." James replied irritably, dipping his quill into the ink well on his desk to replenish his supply.

"You're friends," Sirius repeated, causing James to groan loudly, "and you write her every single day?"

"Why not?" James asked in disbelief. "She's my friend, she'll want to know what I'm up to."

"Nothing has happened since you wrote her yesterday." Sirius said agitatedly. "You know why nothing has happened? Because all you do is sit around and plan out your bloody letters, then write them."

"So?" James replied stubbornly. "I already told you that she's my friend and I want to keep in touch."

"So… If I didn't live here, you'd write to me every day too?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"Of course." James lied, using a tone that made it quite obvious he was doing so.

"Really Prongsie?!" Sirius asked, ignoring his tone and squealing like a little girl.

"Sure, Padfoot." James said tiredly, rubbing his temple in hope of defeating his oncoming headache.

"Well in that case," Sirius said with a mischievous grin. "I'm off." Acting as serious as he possibly could Sirius marched to James's bedroom door and swung it open deftly, causing it to bang on its hinges loudly, and James's head to finally pop up.

"Where are you going?"

"Not sure." Sirius paused for a moment to look thoughtful. "Somewhere though. And I'll be gone for the rest of the summer, so you'd better write me."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I ever 'kid', Jamesie dearest?" Sirius asked innocently, before skipping out the door.

Apparently Sirius wasn't kidding. After yelling out into the backyard, threatening to tell Cass that Sirius loved her, searching the house top-to-bottom and asking Mrs. Potter if she'd seen the impish Marauder, James still hadn't found him. James wasn't worried, of course; only curious as to where Sirius might have gone. He wrote quick owls off to Remus and Peter, who both responded saying they had no idea where their friend was, Remus making a point of expressing his dismay that James hadn't written yet that summer and asking for a more detailed reply. James, of course, after reading Remus's letter, tossed it aside, groaning in disbelief. "Where are you, Padfoot?"

Much like his owner, Feathery-Beast was an owl that liked to make an entrance. He was a large screech owl, brown-feathered and well groomed, who was known to be as loud as his owner. Just as James spoke, a tapping on the window alerted James of the owl's presence.

After James opened the window, the owl circled the room a few times, hooting loudly just in case anyone else in the house was unaware of his presence. James rolled his eyes in a fashion similar to Lily.

Seeing James's annoyance, the owl dropped the letter from its claws and promptly soared out the window. James grabbed the letter impatiently and tore open the envelope. He'd already written a letter to Lily that day, and was now bored without his wild friend. His eyebrows were furrowed as he unfolded the thin parchment, and they rose substantially as his eyes scanned the page.

Dear Jamesie-poo,

Just writing so you and your mum don't worry. I expect a letter tomorrow, F-B will be there to pick it up, as you're such a dafty and you don't have an owl. Your mum's owl wouldn't be able to find me, or make it back if he did.

Padfoot.

------

"Lily! A friend from school's here." Charlotte Evans called up the stairs, causing Lily to drown. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and an old, large sweater of James's that she'd found, which he must have forgotten at Christmas. Her hair was damp and wavy, she was in the middle of painting her toenails, and she was sick.

"Who?" Lily called back grumpily.

The muffled apologies of Mrs. Evans came from the hall, and before Lily could even question whom it might be, Sirius Black burst through the door. Ignoring her gob-smacked expression, the handsome young boy began to rant almost immediately.

"Can you believe him?" Sirius asked allowed, pacing Lily's room and gesturing wildly in the air, as if to emphasize his point. "He didn't write today! He said if I went away…"

Lily gave him a bemused smile. "Care to explain, Sirius?"

Sirius shot Lily an exasperated look. "He's written to you every bloody day of the summer!"

"Who? James?"

Sirius nodded gravely in response, and Lily laughed, before quirking a brow. "So what's your problem with James writing me constantly?"

"My only problem, Lily-love, is that he spends every friggin' moment either writing to you, or deciding what to write." Sirius replied. "And he said that if I didn't live with him, he'd write to me too, but obviously he was just making excuses to give you special treatment! Just friends my arse."

Lily laughed again, a throaty, gentle laugh, before going straight into a coughing fit. Sirius glanced over for a moment, looking somewhat concerned. "Okay there, Lily-love?"

Lily nodded, though she was still coughing and covering her mouth with one hand. As the coughing fit subsided, she found her voice, which came out scratchy and dry. "Yeah. I'm sick. Did you leave the Potter's?"

Sirius nodded, his arms crossed over her chest immaturely. "And Jamesie still hasn't written to me! I've been sleeping in a bloody cardboard box for two days, and he still hasn't written me."

Lily smiled sympathetically. "If it makes you feel better, he's written to me about you."

Sirius's face brightened. "Really?"

Lily nodded. "About what a stupid twat you are for abandoning him, how immature you're being, and how mad his mum is that you left without saying where you were going."

Sirius winced. "I probably should write Mrs. P. Just to let her know I'm safe with my Lily-love."

"I thought I was 'Lily-kins'. Where's this Lily-love thing coming from?" Lily asked curiously, as she stood and wobbled over to her desk, trying not to walk on her toes and mess up the still-wet polish.

"Yeah, well. Things change." Sirius answered wisely.

Lily snorted, although it ended out rather disgustingly, as her nose was stuffed up, and she quickly grabbed a tissue, wiping her nose before handing Sirius a blank piece of parchment.

Sirius looked queasy as he carefully took the parchment from Lily, as if it were contaminated. "I think I might stay with someone else, Lily-love. Just 'cause I don't wanna get sick."

Lily quirked an eyebrow, looking unconvinced. "Who will you stay with then?"

"Err… Remus."

"He's on holiday in Majorca with his parents." Lily replied knowledgably. "You'd you if you or James ever wrote to him."

"Peter then." Sirius suggested, in a defiant tone.

Lily chuckled. "His mum hates you. She wouldn't let you stay."

"Fine! Scott then."

"Abby?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Why not?" Sirius defended.

"Err… I dunno." Lily admitted. "It just seems odd. You've never been that close, and I assumed your fan club would be next."

Sirius shrugged, deciding not to mention he'd rather spend the rest of the summer with and date Cass than have anything to do his fan club ever again.

"Besides," Lily continued. "She, Cass, and I are going to Spain for a few weeks. That's why I'm packing." Lily gestured to her suitcase, which was empty but surrounded by piles of clothing.

Cass. Sirius hadn't mentioned it to James, who was constantly busy writing to Lily, but he missed Cass even more now than he had when they were at school, and he saw her everyday. He could picture her perfectly in his head, the way she looked at the Halloween Ball before the whole mess with Lily and James had started. Her dirty-blonde hair had been curled into ringlets similar to Lily's natural ones, and her dress had made her ice-blue eyes stand out.

"What's wrong Sirius? Need to chat?" Lily asked, in a sincere tone as she watched him fall into deep thought, which didn't happen often.

"Yeah, I think I do." Sirius confessed, surprising Lily, who'd assumed he'd just shrug her off. "What do you do, dear Lillian – "

"Lily." Lily corrected.

"What do you do, dear Lillian," Sirius repeated. "When you're in love with someone?"

Lily's eyes widened considerably, but once she was over the shock of his question, she was able to offer a somewhat intelligent answer. "Tell them?"

Sirius shook his head. "No… Things are kinda uncomfortable between us."

Lily's grinned playfully. "Does the lovely lady who's stolen Sirius Black's heart have a name that starts with a C?"

Sirius grinned nonchalantly. "Maybe."

"LILY!" Charlie roared, bounding up the stairs three at a time and flinging himself into Lily's room, red-faced and breathing heavily. His hair was still the flame-red Sirius remembered, but slightly longer; his face was more freckled, and he was several inches taller. "IS IT TRUE – " His eyes widened as they fell on Sirius. "SIRIUS! YOU ARE HERE!"

Lily winced as her younger brother yelled. "Keep it down Charlie, honestly – "

"I thought Mum had gone psycho when she said you'd come." Charlie told Sirius eagerly, ignoring Lily. "Here to teach me more about Quidfish?"

"Quidditch." Lily corrected mindlessly.

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry mate. But James and I will pick up training when you join us at Hogwarts, yeah?"

Charlie sighed loudly, but nodded. Lily smirked and stuck out her tongue at Charlie, who, recently had been acting more and more like a boy.

------

"Can you believe him?" Lily asked, still in disbelief about Sirius's sudden appearance at her door. "So he stayed for a few days and then went off to bunk at Bryan Bell's."

"No comment." Cass replied, as she grabbed Lily's hand and tugged her along faster as the three weaved through the crowded airport. In her other hand she gripped her suitcase, and had her dirty-blond hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, while Lily tugged along a duffel bag and Abby lugged two suitcases.

"Lily, get over it." Abby answered, "We're going to miss our flight if you don't shut up and keep moving." Cass nodded in agreement, and Lily pouted.

"It's not fair, you two always gang up on me."

Cass rolled her eyes. "Come on, Lily. We hardly ever gang up on – "

Cass was interrupted as she fell forward, only to be caught by the boy who had knocked her over. Pulling herself away from him, Cass glared openly at the boy, who was tall and tanned with short black hair; too angry to notice he was quite good-looking. Lily and Abby did though.

"Could you watch where you're going?" Cass asked furiously, pushing herself farther away from him.

"I am sorry. Very sorry." The boy spoke in rough English, gesturing wildly with his hands. "I did not see you… I am…"

"Clumsy." A second boy finished, popping up behind his friend. This one was shorter, about Lily's height. "I am Fabio."

Cass snorted. "And I'm not interested."

"Well," Abby said brightly, putting on a false smile. "It was nice to meet you, Fabio. We've got a plane to catch. Come on girls."

Abby was still determined to be the matchmaker who would patch everyone's relationships up back at school – Lily and James and Cass and Sirius. She knew from experience now that Latino boys were trouble, and it would probably be hard enough to get everyone back together without two attractive boys tossed in the mix.

"And I am Elias!" called the first boy, waving frantically, his eyes resting on the back of Cass's head as the trio sped away.

"And we don't care!" Lily called brightly over her shoulder, causing Abby to smile to herself. Maybe other boys wouldn't be as much of a problem.

The girls checked in quickly and grabbed a coffee at a tiny café once they were in the terminal. After an hour or so, in which they chatted about their upcoming year at Hogwarts, the girls boarded their airplane, and were in quite good spirits until a familiar-looking boy dropped down in the seat next to Cass.

"Hola hermoso." Elias said with a grin, pushing his rucksack under the chair in front of him.

Cass glared at him in response, before looking to Lily and Abby who were too interested in a magazine to notice who was sitting beside her.

"Are you going to ignore me the entire trip?" Elias asked, his thick accent rolling his r's and causing his voice to sound quite husky.

"Hello." Cass said with a polite but irritated tone. "My name is Cassidy. Now please leave me alone?"

Elias smiled mysteriously. "I sense you are… urting?"

Cass frowned in confusion. "Urting?"

Elias nodded insistently. "Yes, urting from love."

A look of realization dawned on Cass's face. "Oh. You mean, hurting from love… Why would you say that?"

Elias shrugged. "I can tell these things. The way you hold yourself."

It was then that Cass realized how similar Sirius and Elias were in appearance. Both were tall, with dark black hair (though Elias's was shorter) and both seemed to be rather pricky too…

"Am I right?"

Cass was jolted from her thoughts of Sirius by Elias's question and, surprising herself, she nodded.

"Tell me about him." Elias ordered, sounding much more like a long-lost friend then a boy she'd just met on a plane.

"He goes to my school." Cass answered, her voice already wobbling slightly. "We started being friends just this year, and we grew close… I started to like him around Christmas… And then on Valentine's Day… he kissed me."

"He is your boyfriend then? Yes?" Elias asked, as if he were asking if the weather was bad or not.

"No. He said it was a mistake."

"Then he must not be as great as you said he was." Elias said with a wide smile. "I think you are beautiful, Cassidy, mi amor, and I promise I would not do such a thing to you. If you gave me a chance…"

Cass snorted. "You don't know me, Elias."

Elias smiled. "But I am willing to learn."

------

Dear Remus,

Spain is great, although we haven't seen much of Cass as she's spending all her time with this Spanish lad we met at the airport (in London, no less!). But Lily and I are having fun. It's been sunny and hot all week, and I'm almost as tanned as you now, and Lily's sunburnt, so she looks like a tomato.

I miss you though, and I can tell Lily misses James too, but don't mention it to her. I've heard rumors down here about a potion that's being developed that might help with your illness, so I'll look into that. We definitely should meet in Diagon Alley before term starts.

Missing you,

Abby

------

Dear Abby,

Thanks for your letter, my summer's dull and boring without you. I'm sure you've heard how Sirius has moved out of the Potter's house, purely so that James will write to him? Well since I'm in Majorca, he's been staying at Bryan Bell's, and owling me constantly about how bored he is without me. I won't mention the Spanish boy to Sirius, or he'll blow a casket.

That potion sounds interesting, although I was a bit more interested in hearing more about you. It must be nice not to be staying with your parents. I've gone on seven different tours all looking at the same bloody waterfalls, but my parents just can't get enough of them.

I miss you. Write again soon, and I'll definitely see you in Diagon Alley.

Remus.

-----

"Mum." James whined as he staggered down the stairs early one Tuesday morning, about two weeks after Sirius had left. Feathery-Beast showed up every day to pick up a letter, but James had thus far refused to write on. He and Sirius had been friends for as long as he could remember, and he knew eventually Sirius would get bored and come back home. Remus had been sending James letters every few days, telling him when Sirius was staying then, as he was shuffling around quite a bit, and James was quite surprised he'd chosen to stay with Bryan Bell for the last week or so.

"Yes, pumpkin?" Mrs. Potter replied in a sarcastic babying-tone, pinching her son's cheek as he strode into the kitchen.

"I hate summer." James pouted.

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes. "If you'd planned to do some things with your mates, you wouldn't be."

"But they all abandoned me."

Mrs. Potter gave her son a skeptical look. Since dating Lily, he'd gotten quite mature, and obviously something had happened between the two, as she now had her whining, acting-like-a-four-year-old son back. She wondered if she should remind him he was sixteen. "They didn't abandon you James, now grow up. You were too busy writing letters to Lily, so Sirius got bored and decided to do something about it. You knew Remus would be in Majorca, Lily and her friends are traveling, Peter's studying all summer so he can have a good head start next term – "

"That's a fine idea! You ought to do that too, James." Mr. Potter commented as he joined his family in the kitchen, pecking Mrs. Potter on the cheek.

James snorted. "What? Study all summer?"

Mr. Potter nodded. "It's nice to see someone taking initiative to improve his marks."

"Dad. Peter's been studying every summer since he came back from first year. And he still flunks."

"James…" Mrs. Potter warned. "That's no way to talk about a friend…"

James shrugged. "But honestly, Mum – "

"Lily word!" both Mr. and Mrs. Potter yelled at the same time, pointing at one another enthusiastically.

"Pardon?" James asked, looking bewildered.

"I said it first!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed.

"I doubt that!" Mr. Potter replied.

"Hello?" James yelled over both of his squabbling parents. "Could someone please explain what's going on?"

"You said a Lily word." Mr. Potter stated simply.

"Pardon?" James repeated.

"A Lily word. A word you got from Lily." Mrs. Potter expanded. "We're keeping track of who can notice quicker you use them."

James chuckled. "Well, as I was saying Mum, I think I'll visit Lily down in Spain, just for something to do."

Mrs. Potter nodded her approval. "Take your broom and invisibility cloak then."

James nodded, heading for the doorway, so he could go upstairs and pack, before turning to face his parents once more. "And you tell me to grow up Mum. Honestly."

James disappeared upstairs too quickly to notice his parents silently pointing at each other and mouthing 'Lily word' furiously before beginning to argue over who had spun around and pointed at the other first.

-----

"I absolutely love Spain." Abby decided, rolling over onto her back, attempting to tan more, though there was really no point. Abby was dark now, and her brown hair was bleached with lighter, natural brown highlights. Lily on the other hand, looked relatively the same, except for the fact that her skin was bright red. Abby had been quite accurate when she said Lily looked like a tomato.

"It would be more fun if Cass was around… Or J–" Lily stopped herself as quickly as she could. She was sitting on a beach chair under a large beach umbrella with a book and a hat on, while Abby lay sprawled out on a towel on the sand.

"Or James?" Abby asked curiously, looking up at Lily with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Lily blushed slightly, though Abby couldn't tell since Lily's cheeks were permanently red from sunburn. "I do miss him, Abs. But…"

"But?" Abby prompted.

"I don't know." Lily admitted. "Being with James is awesome, and I know I love him, but last year was just so…"

"Did he explain to you why he got so insecure and jealous?" Abby asked.

Lily nodded. "He said he was afraid to loose me. That I was too good for him."

"That's sweet." Abby said dreamily. "I wish Remus would say things like that."

Lily frowned slightly. "He doesn't?"

Abby motioned casually. "Well, we love each other, that's certain. But we'll never have something like you and James."

"What something?"

"The something that makes you care for that person with your entire being." Abby answered smoothly. "That makes you willing to overlook all their flaws, be willing to put yourself in harm's way for them… You and James have that."

"We're only sixteen." Lily protested reasonably.

"All the better." Abby insisted. "You've found it early, and you've got more time together."

Lily looked apprehensive for a moment, before nodding. "Alright then. It would be even more fun if Cass were around… or James."

Abby beamed. "Yes, I definitely agree."

-------

Cass smiled to herself as Elias led her toward who-knows-where, his large hands covering her curious blue eyes, his arms wrapped around her as he did so, pushing her gently toward his 'soo-prize.' She was enjoying spending time with Elias, and had decided not to question their relationship, as that would lead back to thoughts of Sirius. Mostly, she just wanted to enjoy this holiday, and Elias was working hard to make sure she did.

"Soo-prize!" Elias said happily, removing his hands from her eyes. In front of her was a sailboat, a large one with a big deck and an old wooden steering wheel at the back. There was a table set up by the mast, lighted with lanterns and candles and loaded with food, and Lily and Abby sat there smiling. Both Lily and Abby had assured Cass that they didn't mind Elias, in fact Lily quite liked him, but they'd kept away just the same.

"Happy birthday!" Lily said with a grin.

"Oh…" Cass could barely string a sentence together, she was so surprised. She'd been having so much fun with Elias she'd forgotten about her birthday herself. Yet her two friends were there on the boat, with food and a pile of presents and cards.

Elias gave the girls some space and took the helm, steering the boat out onto the ocean, while the girls chatted and Cass opened her presents. They had to hide several of the Wizarding presents from Elias, who was a muggle, but the rest Cass proudly showcased for him, holding them above her head so he could see from the steering wheel.

Her parents sent money. Lily and Abby had pitched in for a new dress, a pair of jeans, a sky blue string bikini, and a sweater. Remus had sent along chocolate frogs; Peter, surprisingly had sent along a handful of quills; James had sent a book entitled 'Useful Charms for the Beginning Prankster' (To be shared with Lily, he'd added in the note). Lily and Abby had also compiled a scrapbook of their sixth year, all of them having fun, and Cass was quite content to look at all the pictures and laugh instead of opening the only envelope left in her gift pile, which she recognized was from Sirius.

Elias, however, didn't realize this, and picked up the envelope as he joined the girls. "Cassidy, you forgot this one."

Cass took it slowly. "Thanks, Elias." She held it for a moment, but with an expectant look from Elias and anxious ones from Lily and Abby, she tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter, her eyes fleeting across it as if it held no meaning.

Dear Cass,

I'm pretty sure I've buggered up our relationship beyond belief, but it doesn't mean I can't say happy birthday, right? Happy Birthday Cassidy Flemmings. I'm sorry I'm such an arse. Let's talk at Hogwarts. Hope you're having a good summer.

Sirius.

Her friends were silent as Cass read the letter, all eyes on her, the only noise coming from the constant rolling of the waves as they hit the side of the boat and moved on again. Finishing the letter, Cass set it down with a grim expression. "Well, who's up for some cake?"

-------

It'd taken James about four days to figure out exactly where Lily was. He knew she was in Spain, as she'd written him and told him so, but, he was sad to discover, Spain wasn't exactly a small country. There were any number of cities she could be in, and James had to put all of his Marauder instincts into deciding which ones she most definitely wasn't it. He knew she wasn't in Barcelona, but otherwise she could be in any other city, such as Seville, or some isolated fishing village on the coast. It was only after three days of pondering that he realized Lily would have told her parents where she was, exactly where.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were quite surprised to see James Potter standing on their doorstep on an early Sunday morning, holding a broomstick, a large cloak, and several shrunken bags. Charlie had been thrilled, Petunia was disgusted, and Vernon looked him up and down guardedly, as if James might attack at any moment.

Charlie was quite disappointed that James wasn't staying to teach him how to play quidditch, but very keenly showed James his Hogwarts letter that had arrived that week.

"See James?!" he asked excitedly. "It's addressed to me!"

James nodded. "It's great Charlie!"

"And Lily got one too!" Charlie added, his face flushed with enthusiasm.

James nodded again. "Yep. She gets one every year."

"Yeah, but this one had a badge in it." Charlie exclaimed, puffing his chest out importantly.

"A badge?" James asked curiously, his attention peaked. Pleased that he'd finally gotten James's attention, Charlie nodded importantly.

"Yup. She's Head Girl."

James grinned. "I knew she would be. Does she know?"

Charlie shook his head. "Nuh uh. She left for Seville before the letter came."

"Is that where she went?" James asked with an innocent smile. "Seville?"

Charlie nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! She's written me twice already! There's a Spanish boy who won't leave them alone! She says he's funny."

James's pleased expression faded into a mixture of hurt, jealousy, and disbelief. "Pardon?"

"Uh uh." Charlie continued, oblivious to James's feelings for his sister. "She says he looks just like Mario, except he's nicer and less of a…" Charlie paused, trying to remember Lily's exact words. "Prat! That's it!"

James smiled as serenely as possible, ignoring his cheeks, which were now tinted pink with restrained anger. "Well, Charlie," James said through clenched teeth, "I'd love to stay, but I have to go visit another friend of mine."

Charlie looked somewhat disappointed, but nodded with understanding. "But… you'll take me to Diagon Alley, won't you? You and Lily?"

James smiled. "Sure."

--------

Lily snuggled into her blankets, sticking her face into her pillow and yawning slightly. It was way too early to be up, especially by Lily's standards. It was six o' clock in the morning, and they'd only gotten back from the boat at one. She'd been sleeping soundly until she heard an odd clicking noise, which kept her awake. It was relatively constant, but then would stop, and she'd start to doze off again. Then it would start again. Lily groaned into her pillow and sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Who on earth would be making these clicking noises as such an hour? They sounded exactly like… 'Pebbles on the window!' Lily realized, hopping from her bed with a burst of energy, dashing across the room to the window and throwing it open.

The night's cool air hit her, but immediately she looked about for the source of the noise. Another pebble soared up, flying right past the side of her head.

"Bugger!" A voice below muttered.

"James?" Lily called out cautiously, leaning over the window-ledge to be greeted by a pleased-looking face and mop of black hair. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you." James answered simply, retrieving his broom from the side of the house, where it had been leaning. He mounted it, and pushed off, floating up to her and grinning.

"About?" Lily asked curiously.

"Things." James answered vaguely, landing neatly on the window ledge and slipping into Lily's room.

"Were these things that important that you needed to tell me right now?" Lily inquired, stepping back from the window to make room for James, who was at least two inches taller than when she'd last seen him.

"Yes."

"Alright." Lily was getting slightly irritated, as she was tired, it was too early, and James was being all vague and mysterious. "What?"

"Who's this guy Charlie told me about?"

Lily frowned for a moment, before realization dawned on her face and she smiled impishly. "You mean Elias?"

James nodded briefly. "What's with you and him?"

Lily laughed. "Nothing. There's stuff between him and Cass, though."

James's face visibly relaxed and he grinned slightly too.

"Is that why you're here, James? Jealous again?" Lily asked softly.

James shook his head. "It's not only that. Lily… I tried to stop, but I can't." James said softly, gently brushing a loose ringlet from Lily's face. They were less than six inches apart now. " I love you, and being friends is too hard. Give me a chance, and I'll be better, I promise. I trust you, I truly do. Either we're not friends, or more than that, it's your decision, but – "

Lily interrupted him, kissing him forcefully on the lips, but James pushed away, holding her close to him, but looking for answers.

"Does this mean?" he asked cautiously, causing Lily to smile.

"Yep. You're stuck with me again."

-------

Sirius groaned as James bounced into the room, smiling gleefully and clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. Sirius had finally returned to the Potter's house after James had written a lengthy letter explaining what a horrid friend he was. Sirius wrote a note back agreeing. It was mid-August now, James hadn't mentioned his little trip to Spain but had been cheerier than Peter had been when he found out he actually passed Potions.

"What?" Sirius muttered irritably. "Did Lily send you a letter? You're not going to piss yourself with excitement, are you? That would be very Wormtail-ish of you."

James rolled his eyes. "That happened once, okay? You really should give Peter a break about that."

Sirius snorted loudly. "Pah. You used to think it was funny. What'd Evans do this time? Tell you to lose your personality and she might like you again?"

James glared at Sirius. "Don't start, Padfoot."

"Why the fuck not?" Sirius asked angrily, his bad mood escalating in fury as he stood up, walking to his friend and giving James a good shove. "You're not yourself anymore! You're a friggin' priss! You hardly ever pull pranks or joke, or hex Slytherins! Evans has turned you into some rule-abiding ninny! Next thing you know you'll be wanting to let the Ministry know we're animagi. I bet that's what Evans wants, she already knows, doesn't she?"

James's face hardened. "I've changed a bit Sirius. I've grown up a bit. But I still joke and prank. And I'd never tell Lily about Remus and us unless I absolutely had to. That's our secret."

Sirius was silent for a moment, before he nodded slowly. "I'm sorry mate… I just… I know you'll never tell Lily about certain things, and that you're not a priss. In fact, Evans has changed you for the better I think… I just… I wrote Cass and she hasn't wrote me back."

James smiled weakly. "Who would have thought the mighty Marauders could go this fanatical over women? We used to have handfuls to pick from and now we're stuck on one each."

Sirius nodded gravely. "It's crazy. At least Remus has his girl though."

James sighed his agreement and the two boys sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, each deep in their own thoughts. Sirius wondered if Cass would ever forgive him, and worried about his friends. He felt like he was loosing them, and they were all he had left. James wondered if he should mention Cass's new boyfriend, Elias, that he and Lily were back together, or that Peter had peed himself on more than one occasion.

"I'll bet you that I can get Flemmings to go out with me before you can get Evans back." Sirius said with a spirited grin.

"Padfoot, you're already my slave for next year, you don't want to loose again, do you?" James asked with a smirk.

"I won't loose. And that's the point. I need to cancel that out." Sirius replied knowledgably.

"Sure." James agreed, shaking Sirius's hand loosely. His face hid any clue that he indeed had already gotten Lily back, and this time he thought he'd let her in on the joke.

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"You mean to say that Sirius made up another contest?" Lily asked, her voice full of contempt and disapproval for the final word.

James nodded slowly. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but they were in a safe public place in Diagon Alley, and Charlie could always hold Lily off while he ran for it.

"To see who can get back who first?" Lily continued, prompting another nod from James. "And you want me to know about it but go along with it, and have Cass go along with it too?"

"Yep." James answered simply. "For once the joke could be on him. We won't let him know about us, then Cass can let him chase her around and constantly put him down, then we can announce our back-togetherness after he's embarrassed himself enough for our liking, and we have a slave for another year. All of us."

Lily looked slightly skeptical, her eyebrow arched as if she were deep in thought. She was still absent-mindedly measuring Charlie's potion ingredients for next year as he stared at the dragon's liver and annoyed the shopkeeper with stupid muggle-like questions.

"Lily! Can I get… powdered root of ass… assfowdell?" Charlie asked anxiously, trying to pronounce the name correctly and pointing at a bin with great enthusiasm.

"You mean asphodel?" Lily asked nonchalantly. Charlie shook his head vigorously. "No, you don't need it yet, Charlie."

Charlie stuck out his tongue and moved on to another bin, James taking his turn to look at Lily anxiously. "So?"

"So?" she replied.

"What do you think?"

Lily looked at him, a mischievous glint flickering across her emerald eyes. "As long as Cass is in too… I'm in."

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