He awoke when he heard the others rising and preparing for a day at Hogsmeade. Feigning sleep, he wriggled out of his wrinkled and dirty clothes. He didn't want to be too late—just long enough so that Lupin, Pettigrew, and Black wouldn't see him. As soon as the other fifth years were gone from the dormitory, James lept out of bed and dressed at top speed. He tried to smooth his hair, but it was a hopeless cause. Instead he ruffled it to be even more untidy. Then he grabbed his jingling money bag and headed down to the entrance hall to meet Malia.
"James, hello," Malia said smoothly, smiling at him.
"Hey, Malia," James replied, feeling his stomach lurch. "Ready to go?"
"Yes. I've never been to Hogsmeade before. It's the only all-wizarding village in England, right? I lived in a wizarding village back in America. It was in Canada, and it's hard getting used to this. At least the climate is right. I visited Brazil once and it was so hot, even though it was February."
Malia talked almost constantly, and James listened intently, interjecting approriate comments and being a very attentive listener. Despite the constant talk, Malia was not chattering. She was telling James things that she thought were interesting, things that were interesting, not mindless chatter. The afternoon passed quickly as they poked about the wizarding shops. James could not keep back a grin when a villager warned them to stay away from the Shrieking Shack, as it was severely haunted.
"Let's get a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks." James suggested, wrapping his cloak tighter about him. He was just beginning to notice the cold, for before he had been too intoxicated with Malia's presence. Malia agreed, and the two found a table in the back. It was relatively safe to sit here with Malia, he decided, and he ordered them butterbeers and enjoyed himself immensely.
"Time to go back to the castle, I think," Malia said after a while, pushing back from the table and standing up. "Are you staying for the Christmas holidays?"
"Yeah," James answered immediately, although he had been planning to return home. "How about you?"
"Me too!" Malia said, and James was pleased to see she looked happy about this. "I will see you, then, okay?" Malia smiled at him, and kissed him on the cheek. Before he could respond, she was waving at him from the door as she left.
"Merlin's beard!" James said under his breath, and then he hurried out so he could make it back to the castle before his three friends.
"I can't believe you didn't come to Hogsmeade!" Sirius said thickly, his mouth full of a cream puff. Remus, Peter, and Sirius all displayed a range of new items they had purchased at Zonko's Joke Shop, told James excitedly about the new teashop being built, and recounted their adventures. "So, what did you do all day?"
"Not much," James answered casually. "You guys leaving tomorrow?"
"Yeah, it's holiday, Prongs," Remus said quizically.
"You're coming, too," Sirius added. "I mean, I'm staying with your parents."
"Yes, well, I've decided to stay here at the castle for Christmas," James replied indifferently. "To catch up on my studies and all. I'm going to get more O.W.L.s than you lot at this rate."
It was no suprise that his three friends all eyed each other, exchanging worried glances. Everyone knew that Remus would be the one to get the most O.W.L.s, Sirius and James were intelligent enough but spent as much time reading books as picking their noises, and Peter was just too dumb. Sirius shrugged off this revelation, however.
"I'll stay too, then. A little studying never hurt."
"You can't stay!" James blurted out. "I mean, my parents are expecting you and all. You'll get along fine, don't stay because of me. I doubt I'll be much fun. Studying puts me on edge."
"Right," Sirius said doubtfully, "Are you coming to supper?"
Together they went down to the Great Hall, which was festooned in Christmas decorations. James tried not to look at the Slytherin table, tried to pay attention to some wisecrack Sirius was making. It wasn't working. Of their own will, his eyes wandered over to scan the seated Slytherins, until they lighted upon a radiant face. As if she could feel his gaze, she looked up and smiled. James winked at her and then quickly interjected a comment into the conversation. Just let anyone say that he was involved with a Slytherin.
"Do you think we should tell someone about those spiders we saw last night?" Peter asked nervously, buttering a piece of bread.
"No!" Remus was quick to negate the suggestion, always fearful that Dumbledore would find out about Remus's betrayal of trust. "How would we explain it? Students aren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest, and for good reason. Like those spiders."
"You're right." Peter agreed. "Let's not go back to the Forest anymore. I think we still need a bit more Hogsmeade study."
"We already know so much about Hogsmeade and Hogwarts we could probably make a map," Sirius snorted, biting into a piece of chicken with gusto.
"That's a great idea!" Remus said, his eyes lighting up. "We could make a very good map. And it wouldn't have to be just any old map. We could put ourselves in it, you know? Kind of like, guiding other people who use it."
"The Marauder's Map!" Sirius snapped his fingers. "Got a ring to it."
"If we made it so that only we could read it, or people we told how to!" Despite his preoccupation with Malia, James was interested in this new idea.
"That would be easily accomplished," Remus waved his hand. "The hard part would be what I have in mind. Showing were there are people in the school, using dots or pictures or something."
"Could we make it so they were labeled? With names?" James asked eagerly, picturing it in is mind. "I bet that'd be real hard."
"Hard, yes, but definitely doable." Remus said, rubbing his chin. "I'll get started laying some of the basic enchantments and charms, and then we can all work together on it."
This new scheme gave James something else to think about, like he needed it or something. His mind had been sufficiently distracted from Malia—she was not forgotten, nor was she even pushed to the back. She was simply moved slightly aside to make room for other things. Sirius and his attempt to woo their Potions Professor, The Marauder's Map, their monthly exploits, O.W.L.s, Christmas vacation, large spiders in the Forbidden Forest, and, if this all became to dull, there was always that nasty Severus Snape to torment. Really, life was getting slightly back to normal.
