James and Sirius left Remus and Peter to talk to McGonogall on their behalf, and had headed up to see Dumbledore. It would be easier with just the two of them.

They quietly strode down the familiar halls towards the headmaster's office. When they reached the door, it opened and Dumbledore greeted them warmly. They went into the office, took a seat and got comfortable. Dumbledore smiled. The number of times that the boys had been in his office was many, but few were voluntary visits. Dumbledore nodded towards a large jar of sweets and waited, but the guys were uninterested.

After they had refused candy, indicating to Dumbledore that they were incredibly upset, they began the meeting.

James was the first to speak.

"Let's begin by saying that both Sirius and I trust your judgement completely. But...What the hell..."

"We realize that we have no right to question your decisions," Sirius cut in, trying to keep his friend from losing his temper before even discussing the matter, "but we are concerned with the amount of trust you are putting in such an unreliable person as Snape, whom we both assumed was an endorsing member of a dark and dangerous circle of friends."

"Gentlemen," Dumbledore addressed them, as Sirius put a calming hand on James' shoulder, "trust me when I say that no small amount of thought was placed into the arrangement, not too much and not too little."

"What about Lily?" James interrupted quietly.

Dumbledore paused and took note of the guys' appearance. Sirius and James seemed for a moment to have switched personalities. Sirius was sitting calmly with the demeanor of having everything under control, acting the part of a loyal friend to his uncharacteristically frazzled counterpart.

"She'll be safe," Dumbledore promised solemnly.

James bit his lip. "Swear it."

"I swear it, James," Dumbledore promised.

"Well," James resigned, regaining some of his usual poise, "I trust you to protect the most important person in my life."

Sirius nodded his agreement.

Dumbledore was moved by their concern for Lily, but concluded the potentially awkward conversation and proceeded to ask the guys how "their" Quidditch team was doing. This concluded the somber attitude from the young men's presence.

James and Sirius had been Quidditch players, and James had gone on to play professionally after Hogwarts. Sirius had gone with him and worked as a trainer for the team, after a fight with his cousin during a game in fifth year had prevented him from playing himself. Even after his ban was lifted, he had been unable to prepare for the professional level James had reached through uninterrupted training and encouragement from his dad, who had also played professionally.

James was incredibly disciplined and ambitious, always working to get what he wanted. Sirius was more driven by whims.

But this only made them more involved in "their" Gryffindor house team. The conversation continued for a few minutes, but was halted when an owl flew through the window.

Distractedly, the boys were dismissed from Dumbledore's office, leaving the headmaster to attend to his business.

The guys found themselves walking down the hall towards the exit that led to the Quidditch pitch to check up on things.

As they rounded the corner toward the Great Hell, the guys locked eyes for a split second, and then they set off in a dead sprint, just as they had done countless times before.

James and Sirius had never respected the rule of no running in the halls during their years as students, and found no need to respect it now. They barreled down the hall, laughing and racing just as a mob of teachers decided to exit the Great Hall to head off to their first period classes.

The scene before the older teachers was oddly familiar and they couldn't help but smile. Hogwarts' favorite boys were racing competitively down the hall toward the doors, laughing maniacally. A certain pretty redhead was frowning disdainfully at the action, with her hands placed firmly on her hips. And a certain hooked nosed man wore a sneer at the immature spectacle.

Just as the teachers were reminiscing, a group of older students came out of the Great Hall, also recognizing the scene.

"Go Potter!" or "Get him Black!" resounded from the group around the hall. James and Sirius picked up speed, enjoying their audience.

And then the teachers seemed to come to their senses, "Potter! Black!" came the voices of professors everywhere, and the two oblivious boys tried to stop so fast at the noisy rebuke that they both fell, causing a roar of laughter from the students.

As James rubbed the back of his head, the guys caused even more laughter with their commentary.

"New school record!" James exclaimed.

"Another one?" Sirius asked.

"The most detentions attained two years after graduation!" James responded.

"Rightfully earned, I'll say," Sirius ventured in his nonchalant, laughing voice.

The professors were unsure of how to respond to the two grown men making such a spectacle, but were saved from dealing with the situation when an adversary of the two stomped through the scene in a huff.

James and Sirius were immediately sobered and rose to face the man. But Snape muttered a few choice words, sneered and swept down the corridor.

James and Sirius exchanged enraged glared and both turned irate eyes towards their enemy's direction. The crowd seemed to hold a collective breath to see what the guys would do.

But Lily, in her typical way, took control of the situation. She pushed through the crowd and grabbed an elbow of each man, turning them down the hallway and towards her classroom.

They needed to have a talk.