Author's Note: Flame at your own peril! I'm just kidding. All reviews are welcome. Seriously, though, about those flames…
By the way, characters setting and the rest of the good material is property of J.K. Rowling, not me.
It all started that morning…
It wasn't just any morning either. James had awoken extra early from a fitful slumber. Then he had decided to do the strangest thing that he had ever done-he attempted to groom his hair. He had been fussily arranging the mess atop his head in the mirror that he shared with the other occupants of the Gryffindor dormitory when Sirius yawned from behind him,
"You look fine. Evans'll just get scared off if you actually look like you brushed your hair."
James started, but didn't turn and continued as if this was no big deal. How long had he been watching?
"Why don't you just wear your best dress while you're at it?"
"Yeah. Some nice perfume might be a cute touch too!"
Startled, James whirled around to find, not only Sirius, but Remus and Peter smirking at him as well.
Sirius, gray eyes grinning as much as his lips, turned to Remus. They exchanged a significant look as he caught those golden irises. Peter's blue orbs continued to stare avidly at James. His short, blond hair was still sticking up from sleep, unlike Remus' shoulder length dark gilded curls and Sirius' equally long black locks drifting casually, almost elegantly over his forehead, ending just above his brow.
"C'mon, Jamesie. Unless you'd rather make yourself look pretty." Remus snorted. "We're going to eat." Sirius finished.
It took less than five minutes to finish preparing for the day. It would have taken less, but Remus, Sirius, and Peter, continually messed up James' hair.
The Marauders, sauntering into the Great Hall, tried to appear nonplussed by the change in décor. Festive red, white, and pink hearts drifted lazily from the enchanted sunny ceiling like snowflakes, only to vanish a moment after settling on the tables, floor, and the tops of heads. Valentine's Day had arrived at Hogwarts.
Taking a deep breath, James strode as casually as he could to seat himself beside Lily Evans, who he had been trying to impress since first year.
She was very attractive; thick, dark red cascades of tresses fell to just below her shoulders on her slender form. Her bright, verdant almond shaped eyes twinkled. A good sized volume lay open before her, but her eyes were no longer roving the page.
"Hullo Evans!" James said, attempting to appear nonchalant. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
"And same to you." Lily answered, still staring at the book. Sirius and Remus were whispering, but James didn't care. He had more important things to do.
"Er…next weekend's Hogsmeade…" James began hesitantly.
"Mm hmm…" She still wasn't looking up.
"Well," he said, helping himself to oatmeal, but not really paying attention. "I was just wondering…"
He never got to voice what he had been wondering because he'd chosen this moment to take a spoonful of oatmeal into his waiting jaws. He froze. This was not oatmeal. This was confirmed with Remus and Sirius bursting out laughing. Peter merely looked mystified. Obviously, he had not been included in the joke.
"Padfoot…Moony…" he addressed Sirius and Remus, mouth still full of who- knows-what. Lily began to giggle. "What the hell is this?"
"You don't wanna know, mate." Sirius said.
"Ask Snape. We nicked it off of him." Remus added.
"You see, the chunks were really hard to mash-
"And it kept yelling at us in Japanese-
"How it managed that, I'll never know, seeing as how it didn't have a face!"
That was more than James needed to hear. This was definitely not something that he wanted in his mouth. He did the only thing he knew to do in this sort of situation. He spit it out at his doubled over friends. Knowing James, the two ducked the disgusting projectile easily. Instead, whatever it was hit a passing Slytherin in the side of the face. The Slytherin turned threateningly, but James had already disappeared beneath the table.
Two for one! Remus and Sirius thought jovially.