Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine. And I wish I owned the Marauders (specifically Sirius and Remus) but most unfortunately, I do not.

Last Chapter: Lily gets drunk, she finds out about James's bet way back in fourth year, Remus gets spectacularly drunk, Sirius and Janine eventually have a heart-to-heart and make up, and just to clear up all confusion, the answer is YES, they did have sex. Not that that won't be evident in this chapter, of course.

X-X-X-X-X

Lily awakened to find the world spinning, her head pounding, and the alcohol she'd imbibed about to come up her throat.

Jen woke up three-and-a-half minutes later to hear a retching noise from the direction of the bathroom. She glanced around the room to find two beds empty: Janine's and Lily's. "Bloody hell," she grumbled.

"What's up?" Alyssa asked sleepily.

"Looks like Lily came back from her prefect rounds after we all fell asleep and left early this morning to do more," replied Jen crankily, scowling at Janine's vacant bed. "And Janine's bed isn't even slept in. She was probably out partying 'til dawn and didn't want to come back completely drunk. Stupid girl."

"Why?"

"She should have taken us with her!"

"Maybe," Marlene suggested with a yawn, sitting up, "she was partying with Rosier. Would you want to be present for that?"

"Urgh. Good point."

"How d'you all know about Janine and Rosier?" demanded a weak voice from the bathroom. Lily gripped the sides of door fiercely, to keep herself from falling, her hair frizzy and her face pale, with deep shadows beneath them. "Bloody hell. I hurt all over and I have a bleeding headache."

"What were you doing on prefect rounds last night?" asked Marlene in amazement.

"I wasn't on my bleeding prefect rounds, Marly," snapped Lily. "I was with bleeding Potter and his bleeding friends in bleeding Hogsmeade getting bleeding drunk for bleeding Black's birthday."

"Okay. So reading between the lines and the many bleeding's in there, you went partying with James Potter and he got you roaring drunk. Did he take advantage of you?" asked Jen. "Because if he did, I'll kill him for you."

"No, he didn't!" Lily felt inexplicably annoyed and very much wanted to be left alone. "Where's Janie?"

"Not here. Never even came in to sleep."

"What? But I could've… she was certainly here when I came back, I do remember that…"

"Couldn't have been," Alyssa told her gently. "Janine never even came up here. You must be imagining things… then again, if you're drunk, it would make sense, wouldn't it? You wouldn't remember. You were probably dreaming… maybe even hallucinating, you know? Alcohol does funny things to your mind."

"I'm never getting drunk again," Lily moaned, pressing a hand to her mouth. "And I hope… I hope I didn't do anything stupid last night."

"You could always ask Potter," suggested Jen carefully. "He'd be the only one who'd know. Wouldn't he?"

"I s'pose. You said Janine never slept here?" Lily sighed. "I hope she wasn't with…"

The door slammed open; Lily flinched and doubled over, clutching her stomach. Janine stood in the doorway – and there was no other word for it – glowing. Exhausted and tired, but glowing nevertheless. She looked as radiant as a new bride, but for some reason, Lily could not picture her friend in a long white wedding dress, or even white wedding robes. Her face didn't seem to fit.

"Where've you been, Missy?" asked Alyssa in a disapproving motherly tone. "Not with a boy whose name begins with 'E' and ends with 'van', I hope."

"Not at all." Janine beamed. "Try this: starts with 'S' and ends with 'irius.'"

"So you've made up, have you?" Marlene asked. "About damn time, too."

Jen was frowning at Janine the moment she entered; now she gasped. "Oh my God!" Everyone turned to her. "You guys totally did it!"

"You can't intone God when you're talking about sex," Marlene interjected. "It's… wrong."

"Blasphemous?" suggested Jen with a wide smirk.

"That too, I guess, but mostly just wrong." Marlene smirked, too. "So, did you? Was it your first time? If it was, in general, or just with Black? And how was it?"

"Oh, god, that's really gross, Marly!" Alyssa shrieked, just as Lily said, "Ew, I might be sick again." There was a silence, and as one, both girls whispered conspiratorially, "How was it?"

Janine laughed. "It was – god, it was bloody amazing, that's what it was! And of course it wasn't my first time," she added in Marlene's direction. "With him, yes. In general? No. And obviously, yes, we did." She grinned.

"So where is the dashing Mr. Black, then?" Lily asked with a grin.

"He – oh…" Her voice trailed off, and she flushed. "Still sleeping, I think."

"Janine!" cried Jen in horror. "You left him asleep? That's part of the experience – waking up together!"

"I know, but I just…" She blushed. "I didn't want him to wake up and tell me it had all been a mistake, that's all." She rubbed her arms. "I'm going for a shower now, so nobody bother-"

"The password to the prefect's bathroom is 'Jobberknoll feathers,'" Lily offered. "Why don't you go take a long bath? It'll make you feel better, probably…"

"No – I feel like I've just been through a Quidditch tournament," she confessed, and then flushed brightly. "So – I'll just go take a quick shower, and then go for a run, all right?"

"You've been up all night and you still have energy?" Jen asked, smirking.

"Sod off, King!" Janine shot affectionately at her, before vanishing into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She added, in a loud voice, "I'll meet you girls later, outside by the lake, all right?"

Lily made a face. "Oh, hell, she's taken up the bathroom now. Does anybody mind if I'm sick out the window?" All of her friends scrambled away from her. "Gee, thanks," Lily said, and she went over to the window and leaned out, not being sick, but allowing the cool April breeze to refresh her.

X-X-X-X-X

Days passed, turning into weeks. Exams were approaching; teachers scrambled to finish teaching concepts and to assign mountains of homework that kept nearly everyone busy. Lily herself found that, more often than not, she was seated in the library, writing an essay for this subject or burying her nose in research for that one. It was no better in her friends; Marlene frequently bemoaned that her fingers were being worked to the bone; Alyssa became weepy as she got horribly stressed; Jen had taken to sitting in a corner of the common room, her dark head bent over a book, snapping at anyone that got within five feet of her; even Janine, normally the least studious of the lot, had taken to hauling around a tote bag full of library books, snarling at anyone who asked if them might borrow one, unless the person was Sirius.

There were light moments, of course – seeing Janine shove Sirius into the lake, watching him drag her in afterwards; seeing Jen and Remus talking to one another with shy smiles on their faces, and her kissing his cheek lightly as they parted; Marlene, regaling them with the newest letter from her brother as they sat, pretending to study under a beech tree; Alyssa shoving fashion magazines under all of their noses, insisting that it was already time to shop for the summer.

Oddly enough, Lily found herself spending a strange amount of time with James Potter. Since Sirius's birthday, he and Janine had been virtually inseparable, attached to the hips. It had made Lily laugh to see them studying by the lake, Janine with her feet dangling in the water as she read, Sirius with his head in her lap, listening to her read aloud from a Potions text that rather gruesomely described the effects of a potion-gone-wrong, laughing at inopportune moments at things that nobody ever found funny.

Jen and Remus, of course, would retire to corners of the library (when Jen wasn't in the common room, anyway), sitting together with their heads bent over a book, occasionally touching hands. Remus would always jerk away, as if worried that he might burn her, and every so often, Jen would gently weave her fingers in between his, or she casually shrug her shoulders under his arm, and he wouldn't try to get away from her.

Alyssa had found herself a clique of Hufflepuff girls to study Herbology and discuss fashion with. It wasn't uncommon for Lily to find her blond friend surrounded by a group of girls from their year, as well as plenty from the under-years, and even a few seventh-years. It was one of the few times that she didn't look stressed, and so Lily didn't warn her friend that she ought to study, knowing that Alyssa needed what few moments she had.

Marlene spent every moment with Fabian, sometimes just studying with him, other times massaging his tense shoulder as he studied frantically for his N.E.W.T.'s. He would always glance up gratefully every so often, thanking her for just sitting with him, and more often than not, their study sessions winded down to them sneaking behind a bookshelf or surreptitiously disappearing from the common room before anybody noticed.

Peter, too, had been studying with a very nice girl from their Charms class named Anna Bradshaw, and Lily and her friends had cooed and aww'd when they saw him walk into class, holding her hand, as his friends made loud catcalls while Professor Flitwick tried to quiet them. Lily had gone up to him later and talked to him about Anna; she was quite smart and very nice, pretty in a soft sort of way. She'd ascertained that he really did like her, and accordingly congratulated him.

This left Lily and James with not one of their friends to spend time with, and so they took time to spending with one another. She was startled to learn that, really, he wasn't quite so awful. Two years ago, and she never would have said the same thing, even a year ago, she would never have thought it. But beneath the smug, arrogant façade that sometimes appeared around large groups of people, he was generally a decent bloke.

Often, he would tell her anecdotes of his childhood, about his family, his friendships with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, as well as his friendship with Janine, the ties between their families, his favorite things to do, about his love for Quidditch. Since that first disastrous flying lesson, they hadn't had another one, and although Lily had been eager for them at first, she'd smartly decided to discontinue them until after exams.

"Lily," James asked one day, "what's your family like?"

So she told them. "My mum's got my red hair," she said, "but she looks much prettier with it. And Dad, he has green eyes like mine. And my sister Petunia…" Lily trailed off. "Well, I told you about her."

"Yes, but what're they like?"

"Mum – likes to cook. And sing, too. And she's an awfully good painter. And she likes to garden. I don't know – she just seems so good at things." Blushing, Lily added, "I tried to make toast once, and I burned it beyond belief. Haven't gone near a toaster since…"

Marlene had found this story very funny, when Lily had related it to her in the first year, but James only looked blankly at her, and asked, "What's a toaster?" She laughed at him.

Sometimes, their conversations were more serious. Once, out by the lake: "This Voldemort fellow… d'you know the girls are all afraid to say his name?"

"Can't blame them, really," admitted James slowly, picking a blade of grass. "He really is – well, he's a bit scary, isn't he? We've already lost students to him. And you know, I've heard there've been attacks on Muggles," he added in a low voice. "And, well – I'm a bit scared too, Lily. Those kids, you know? A lot of them had Aurors for parents. I don't want that happening to my Dad."

"It won't," she said comfortingly, placing her hand on his shoulder. The old Lily would have jerked away (perhaps gone and washed her hand numerous times, for good measure). This one didn't. He leaned into her hand, and after a long while, she dropped it. "Bit like Hitler, isn't he?"

"What?"

"Hitler – you know, World War II. Isn't he? Almost like genocide… he kills off Muggles and Muggleborns because he thinks they're inferior, right?"

James shuddered. "Blood superiority and all that." Taking a deep breath, he added, "A lot of people believe that, you know. Lots of pureblood witches and wizards. Like Sirius's parents. Regulus, too, and his cousins: you know, Narcissa, Bellatrix… Andromeda's not bad, and really, Narcissa isn't all bad either. I think a lot of it is Malfoy's influence on her."

"Do you know, Janine had a crush on him first year?" James's face contorted. "Oh, it's true. She was terribly obvious about it, too. If I had been a meaner person then, I would have teased her mercilessly." James made a questioning noise. "What, didn't you know? We weren't friends until halfway through second year, and McGonagall threatened to kick Janine off the Quidditch team if she didn't pull up her History grade…"

And so the conversation turned to lighter topics.

As Lily and James at last headed back to the castle, just in time for the sun to set, they saw Sirius and Janine seated on the front steps, his arm draped casually around her. The pair hadn't noticed them, and, deciding not to disturb them, they decided to go around to the side courtyard to enter from there. Even so, Lily couldn't help overhearing.

Janine snuggle up to him, leaning her head against her shoulder. "Did you love my yesterday?" she asked sleepily.

"Mm-hmm." Sirius pressed his cheek into her hair. "And I love you today, too."

"Will you love me tomorrow, though?"

"No idea. Probably, I think."

This struck Lily as such an odd response to the question that she turned around to see if he was joking. But his face was completely solemn, and his arm tightened around her.

"Carpe Diem, remember?" he added quietly. "That's your philosophy. Mine, too." She half-turned, and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into the side of his neck.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed, voice muffled. "Carpe Diem indeed."

Lily would have stayed to hear more, but James was tugging on her arm. "We're going to miss dinner," he whined, "and I get ever so disagreeable when I miss dinner."

"Prat," she replied in a friendly manner, and they walked inside in silence, as Lily mulled over the conversation.

"He told her that he wouldn't be able to love her forever," he said suddenly, breaking the silence. Lily jerked her chin up, surprised. "He said that he couldn't promise that. It wasn't in his nature. He said he'd love her for the moment, and that would have to be enough. I think she decided it was." He glanced at Lily. "Would that ever be enough for you?"

"Never," was Lily's only response. "I'd have to be completely certain that somebody would love me before I gave myself to them like she did." Pausing, she added, "I think I can understand his philosophy, though. What about you?"

She'd meant it as "Would that be enough for you" or even, "Can you understand it" but that wasn't how he answered. "I would never do that," he said quietly. "Promise someone I could only love for the moment. I'm not like that." He turned to look straight into her eyes, and it felt as if he was seeing straight into her soul. "When I love someone," he explained in a low voice, "I love them now and forever. And that won't ever change."

Lily was about to call him on that, saying it technically violated the rules of their agreement, although she hated to ruin the moment by mentioning it, and she really was beginning to think he might be worth it, when his stomach growled loudly and demandingly. Lily burst into laughter as James gave her an embarrassed grin.

"What a way to kill the conversation," said James when Lily was done laughing. "But if we miss dinner, I'll have to sneak us into the kitchens, and think how that would look on the reputation of a prefect?"

But since becoming friends with James and the other boys from her house, Lily had gained a slightly new perspective – and she could understand the theory behind 'carpe diem,' certainly, although perhaps not so much in the context Sirius had used it. She grinned recklessly at him. "Terrible, I imagine. Want to skip dinner and go there now?"

He grinned back. "I thought you'd never ask."

And so it was that what had initially begun as a rivalry, transformed into a mutual loathing, and soon followed by a one-sided infatuation, evolved into a friendship. Lily and James became friends, Sirius and Janine were often in their own world, as were Jen and Remus, Alyssa held a fashion court, already planning what her shop would look like when opened one out of Hogwarts, Marlene spent her spare moments with Fabian, and Peter found himself spending an increasing amount of time thinking about Anna, rather than himself and his friends.

But outside of their comfortable world of Hogwarts, a hidden war was raging. Voldemort was by no means unnoticed by the student population of Wizarding England, Ireland, and Scotland, but he was more so evident in the depths of magical society, noticed by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well as the Department of Mysteries, and, of course, the Minister of Magic. But there were other people keeping an eye on the current situation, as well.

People like those who skulked in the bowels of Knockturn Alley, those purebloods who were secretly terrified that, if they did not join, their families would be decimated, those who were Muggleborn and worried for their lives and the lives of their families, those who were only looking for a place to join up, and, of course, Albus Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore often found himself sitting awake in his office, dressed in a faded red dressing gown that a much younger Minerva McGonagall had given him, blushing. The memory still brought a smile to his face. He sat, and pondered the choices he had made in his lifetime, where they had led him, and the choices he would now have to make.

A good deal of time had passed since Sirius Black's birthday (yes, he knew all about that particular excursion, and he also knew that sometime after the five Gryffindors had arrived back at Hogwarts, something had passed between Sirius Black and Janine Garnet, and a seeming peace seemed to permeate the sixth year dorms of Gryffindor tower, between all of the sixth years – yes, all of them.)

It was now late May, and with exams scarcely two weeks away, Dumbledore saw his students scurrying about, completing last minute assignments and already beginning to cram.

And while the students studied and the professors wrote up their exams and Madam Pomfrey brewed calming draughts for anyone who was fifth year of beyond (and some particularly zealous fourth years, as well), Professor Dumbledore thought about choices, and one in particular: who to choose for the Head Boy and Girl in the coming year.

There was no question at all, of course, for the Head Girl. Not only was Lily Evans certainly the smartest witch to come through Hogwarts since, possibly, Minerva McGonagall herself, but she was an authoritative figure. Younger years looked up to her, older years and even those in her own respected her, including the Slytherins. She had an aura of power, and though she had yet to realize the complete potential of her character, she could be charismatic, even charming, as well as a loyal and good friend, a brave fighter, and she possessed a dry and ready wit. Yes, there was no question whatsoever in his mind that Lily Evans was certainly the best and most capable young woman for the job. He had high hopes for Miss Evans, and he knew he would not be disappointed.

The choice for Head Boy, however, was far more difficult. Harsh times were coming, this he knew. He would need a pair of students to lead the rest of the student body through the hardest of times. He needed someone who was a natural leader, a young man whom students flocked to as they did to Lily, but someone who would temper her stern nature, someone to lighten her mind when she burdened herself, someone as stubborn as she was, someone who could match her fiery and often temperament moods.

There was Remus Lupin, of course. Dumbledore considered Remus to be an excellent student and a wonderful person in general, but he was no leader. He was hardly a follower, of course, but students did not immediately look to Lupin to lead them in times of difficulty. Not to mention, he would never be able to control his friends; he simply loved them too much, not just for being his friends, but also for remaining his friends even after discovering his horrible secret. For that reason alone, Remus would never be able to keep his friends under rein. In retrospect, Dumbledore ought to have seen that from the start and perhaps not appointed Lupin prefect. Although the most likely to enforce the rules with himself, he would never do so with his friends.

Severus Snape was out of the question, certainly. Although Dumbledore held an immense respect for Snape, he knew at once that the young man would never be able to work with Lily, or with him. Snape was very set in his ways and his opinions, and there was, of course, always the possibility that he might choose to follow Tom. That was a chance that Dumbledore could not afford to take. In any case, students did not flock to Snape either.

That left the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw prefects, of course. Andrew Cobalt and Daniel Johnson, respectively. Both were men of excellent character, like Remus Lupin, but also like Remus Lupin, neither was capable of being an effective leader. However, they seemed to be the only choices left.

Unless, of course…

X-X-X-X-X

It was a beautiful day, and with only two weeks left until exams, Lily ought to have been studying, but she kept glancing out the window, her gaze drawn to the sparkling lake. Nobody was out there; everyone was in the library or the common rooms of the Great Hall, studying. Except for Lily.

Janine came in, throwing her bag into the corner, pulling her hair free of her ponytail. For about a week after Sirius's birthday, she had been meticulous about her appearance, further straightening her already straight hair, delicately applying makeup to her eyes, picking her clothes so that they flattered her figure. It appeared to have paid off, as Sirius's eyes lit up whenever he saw her, but Lily wasn't entirely sure that had so much to do with her appearance as just with her. In any case, she'd abandoned that, proclaiming it to be entirely too much work, and more often than not through her clothes on, scraping her hair back into a ponytail.

As it was now Sunday, Janine was dressed in a pair of Jen's jeans (as most of Lily's friends tended to mix up their clothes all the time), and a blue shirt that declared loudly: "KISS ME, I'M IRISH." Lily stared. "I never knew you were Irish!" she cried indignantly.

"Oh, I'm not," answered Janine airily, stretching out onto her bed. "Lily?"

"Hmm."

"I got a letter from Lyon."

"Anything interesting?"

"Ooh, yes. He's engaged now. I got a letter from Marie – d'you know, she's really very nice, I never took the time to notice much before – and he's planning his wedding just for the end of August. Will you come?"

"I'll try. Why?'

"Because I'm certain to get horribly bored during the reception, and you always keep me entertained. By the way, here's your book on Shakespeare – I've been meaning to give it to you for ages, I just kept forgetting – did you know that Sirius has read Shakespeare? Lots of him, too." She pursed her lips. "I never took the time to notice it before, but he's really very smart. He can sing and play the piano and dance and all sorts of things, too."

Lily listened to Janine ramble for a few moments, smiling a little. Sirius hadn't wavered in his attention lately – as least, not that Lily knew of. She dearly hoped it would last.

"Do you know," she said thoughtfully, after a time, "it's really not the first time I've read Shakespeare. I have all of his plays in my bedroom, you know. I've even read some of them, but I never cared. I had dance tutors, voice lessons – which I hated, by the way, I'm nothing special, but Alyssa really can sing, you know – and painting lessons, of course, and all sorts of manner of things. I think I have a violin collecting dust somewhere, too. I should get it out and play again – I won all these ribbons when I was a kid. It always made me feel superior to beat out that little berk Regulus Black in the violin competitions."

Lily laughed, loudly. "And here I was, thinking you were an uncultured Quidditch-playing barbarian! This silly bint who spent all her time in the sun whacking great balls around at other people!"

"I am not!" she said indignantly, and then said, " 'Mislike me not for my complexion/ The shadow'd livery of the burnished sun.' Act 2, scene 1." Lily whistled, impressed. "Besides, I play Chaser. I don't go whacking great balls around at other people – that's what Beaters like Sirius do. I send great balls flying through great hoops. Honestly, Lily. Get it right."

Lily launched a pillow and Janine and missed completely. Janine smirked. "I stand by what I've told you before – you'd make an excellent Beater, you know, but a completely awful Chaser. Your aim is absolutely terrible."

"Quiet, wench," Lily said, grabbing her pillow out of the air as Janine tossed it back. Hugging it to her chest, she said, "It's been forever since we talked, do you know? You're always with Sirius."

"Yes, I am," Janine said, and then added slyly, "and you're always with James. Or did you think I didn't notice? The two of you looked quite cozy sitting by the lake."

"Not half as cozy as you and Sirius usually look," shot back Lily, and then she added, "Besides, it's not like we have anybody else to – oh, I give up. I do like him. He's been a terrific friend."

"But not more than that? You've only got a two or three weeks left of this, you know, before you have to give him a proper answer."

"I know, and I'm worried. I just – I do like him, at least I think I do. And you know – he is an awfully good kisser. But… a relationship. I'd… hate to ruin this. For you and Sirius, it was easier. You weren't friends before you started dating. Bloody hell, Janine, I don't even know if you're friends now."

"We're getting there. We don't have to be snogging every minute," she explained. "We do sit and talk, sometimes. Just like we're doing, although about less frivolous things, lots of the time."

"Like?"

"You know – his family. His parents, his brother. His cousins. Andromeda's scandal – you know, running of with that Muggleborn? Awfully brave of her, if you ask me. I'd never have the nerve to do it." She shrugged indifferently. "But then, I'd never want to. I don't plan on getting married."

"Oh, really? So there aren't going to be any little terrors by the name of Sirius Black Jr. running around?"

"Nope. I don't want that; neither does he. And even if I did… well, if I ever want marriage and a family, I know not to go running to Sirius Black. Anyway, I'm not even seventeen yet. I don't want to think about that." She blinked, and then said, "Oh, very clever. You have artfully steered the conversation away from yourself and one James E. Potter. Let's bring it back there, shall we?"

"Damn, you figured me out," answered Lily. "I just… we're just getting to be friends, aren't we? I don't want to ruin that by trying a relationship, only to find out that it ruins any chance for a friendship because it doesn't work out."

"You can't know that it won't." Janine chewed on her lower lip contemplatively. "He's going to be hurt if you turn him down."

"I know he is." Lily glanced at her hands. "The worst part is, I don't even know if I want to turn him down. I don't know. I think… I think I'm going to stop analyzing this and take the friendship for what it is, and make my decision when it comes right down to it." She glanced up at Janine, who was gazing at her thoughtfully. "Carpe Diem and all that, right?"

"Right, right," answered Janine, sitting up on her bed. "Right."

X-X-X-X-X

"Hey, Prongs! Never see you anymore. Things getting on with Evans?"

"Getting on just fine." James was bent over his Transfiguration book, raking his fingers through his hair as he frowned. Unlike everyone else, he hadn't started studying, and since Lily was in her dormitory reviewing her Herbology notes, James had taken the opportunity to review his Transfiguration text. It wasn't going well, though. If he thought that being near to Lily would help allay his obsession, for lack of a better word, he was wrong. He spent as much time as possible with Lily, and when he wasn't with her, he thought about her. Even now, he couldn't stop.

He'd always liked and respected Lily; since getting to know her, he only did so more. And he liked to think that she might return some of that respect, and hopefully some of that liking.

"Well, things are getting on all right me and Janine, too," Sirius said, falling onto the bed and dislodging some of James's notes, to his dismay. "Although – it's hard, you know?"

"What is?"

"Well, take this morning for example. We were sitting at breakfast – not even talking, just sitting there – and I look up and I see this seventh year, Caroline Robertson, and she's smiling at me."

"Just smiling?"

"Yes, but in that way." James knew what he meant. That coquettish way that clearly said: "Want to come meet me outside in ten minutes? We could have fun." He'd seen it a million times, and he knew that Sirius had as well, and he knew that both of them often indulged in it, too. "And I was thinking, I'd like nothing better to go off with her – and then I look to my right, and Janine is sitting there, tucking her hair behind her ear, and the sunlight catches her earrings, and…" He trailed off. "James, be honest. Who is the prettiest girl in our year – hell, in the school?"

"Janine," James answered promptly. "At least in terms of conventionally pretty. If you look at all the females, that's what you'd say, although I have to admit that Narcissa does come in as a close second. But… for me, Lily's always going to be best. I know her, I like her. I would never be attracted to Janine. But with Lily…"

"It's different. It's all different."

"Right. What do you and Janine talk about? Do you talk? Or do you just snog?"

"We talk all the time," Sirius replied. "Sometimes it's about class, sometimes it's about people, and sometimes it's about… Him." They both knew which 'Him' he meant. "And my family, of course. I really can tell her anything, you know. Sometimes I worry, if things don't work out, will I regret telling her so much? And then I think – Carpe Diem. It's the most important thing right now. Our lives… won't go on forever. I have to take what I can get, when I can get it. You know?'

"Which is why you told her you couldn't love her forever."

"How the – she told you, didn't she?"

"She wanted another opinion. Not one of her friends' opinions. I don't think she told them, thought. I have to say, Padfoot, that I can't understand that way of thinking."

"Well, no, you can't. You've been in love with Lily Evans – I mean really in love – since about fifth year, right? Besides, you've been surrounded by a loving family your whole life. When you love, you love completely and with all of you. I think… I think I'm too scared to do that." He paused. "I think Janine is too scared to do that, too…"

"I suppose." James looked out the window. "Am I wasting my time on Lily? What if she rejects me? What if she doesn't like me like I think she does? What if she's only doing this to shut me up once and for all? What if she doesn't even want to be my friend after this silly deal? What if-"

"What if the grass turns red and the sky turns green and your hair lies straight and your eyes get better and your nose falls off?" James blinked in surprise. "You can what if yourself to death, Prongs, and it won't change things. Carpe Diem. Remember?"

"Yeah. Carpe Diem. Sure." James sighed, and tried to focus on Transfiguration again. But he had been looking at the lake, and he remembered sitting there, just talking to Lily about nothing important – and he remembered the way the sun had caught her reddish-orange hair, making it gleam and shine, and the way she had laughed, and it was so infectious that he had too, and the way her green eyes had danced when she stopped, saying, "You're going to give me a stitch in my side, stop!" and then he'd pounced on her, tickling, and even though it hadn't been innocent in his mind, it had felt innocent, and it was nice, just to be having a good time with Lily, forgetting about all the other things, their friends, that their friendship was a fake, just a deal, and most importantly, forgetting about the darkness that was steadily growing outside of Hogwarts.

X-X-X-X-X

Author's Notes: End of chapter 31! (or Chapter 30, seeing as the first one was the prologue…) So, I know this chapter was a bit long-winded and probably boring for a lot of you, but I have to say that I had SO MUCH FUN writing it. I really like this chapter, and I have no idea why. Anyway, I've been reviewing my earlier writing – you know, the beginning chapters – and I think it's time to rewrite. Not going to change anything major, mind, just some editing and replacing a few choice words so that the story flows better, that's all. Don't worry: none of you have to go back and reread; this is just for my own personal satisfaction.

So, apparently this story is going to finish a lot faster than anticipated. Who knows? Maybe you guys will get lucky and I'll finish before I disappear for the summer… or maybe not. We'll have to see how it goes. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter – although I guess it was boring, wasn't it? It does give you a nice view in Sirius, Janine, Lily, and James's minds. I think, in the next chapter or so, I'm going to focus more on my other characters, maybe bring Bellatrix or Snape in for a brief cameo; not really sure.

One last note: When I post the last and final chapter to this story, I will post the first chapter/prologue of its sequel simultaneously, so you don't have to wait. Strangely enough, I've already begun writing parts of it – even though I have finished this. It's going to be called "Shades of Gray" or "Shades of Grey" – British spelling, that is – I think. That is subject to change. Anyway… leave me a review PLEASE! Thanks - xoxo