Chapter edited and reposted – 13th July 2006

I've added a few more lines to the patrolling bit, mostly talk about friends and relationships. Again, nothing plot damaging!

Disclaimer: Not me, HER! Get away from me you evil copyright person!

Reviews:

Test Tickle-There will be some fights, don't worry, but there are more between the Gryffindors and Slytherins than between the girls and the Marauders.

Tai Greywing- Happy Birthday Tai! Thanks for the review. Enjoy!

Ashley- Yes we're all slightly mad aren't we? I'm actually a lot like my character in real life. I sing at random moments and I do swear quite a bit. Anyway, volia! Enjoy!

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Tai Greywing. Happy Birthday Tai! I did the world aid walk on Monday, and my legs really hurt! Anyway, enough about me, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 4

"Some day Tash's having hey?" James said at dinner. Lily nodded briefly before returning to her steak and kidney pudding. She was left to sit with James and Peter. Sirius was still with Tash in their dormitory, and Jenny and Remus had disappeared to the library to study together.

"Do you think Padfoots going to come out of her dorm alive?" Peter asked shovelling food into his mouth.

"Alive, probably," said James. "In one piece, definitely not."

"Can I ask you guys something?" Lily asked. "All jokes aside, does Sirius like Tash, or he just constantly hitting on her because she's the only girl in Hogwarts that he hasn't gone out with?"

"All jokes aside?" James asked. "That's a very hard task Lils."

"Don't call me that!" Lily said. "Does he like her or not?"

"I don't know," James said thoughtfully. "I think to him, she's a challenge because she's showing no response. Most girls wouldn't hesitate to go out with him, but because she's freezing him out, it's making him more determined."

"Very deep insight," Lily said mildly. "What about Remus?"

"What's with all the questions," Peter asked. "You normally stay as far away from us as possible?" James silently cursed Peter for asking that.

"I am showing concern for my friends Peter," Lily scowled. "Does Remus like Jenny for real or not?"

"Yes," James and Peter replied in unison. Lily smiled and returned to her dinner. She was glad that at least one of her friends was on the right track. Now she just had to find the right guy for her.

'God she's beautiful when she smiles,' James thought to himself. Before he could fantasise anymore, Sirius practically skipped into the hall and sat down.

"Tash put a cheering charm on you didn't she?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow," said James. "You're still in one piece. She didn't hex your manhood off did she?"

"She likes me," Sirius grinned.

"Really?" Lily asked. "I was getting the opposite impression."

"Ah you see that is where you are wrong Tiger Lily," Sirius said grinning at her in a boyish way. "She keeps telling me she's not interested, when inside she wants nothing more than to have me snog her senseless…"

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Peter frowned. "Look through her diary for evidence?" Sirius gave a mock-affronted look.

"I would never invade a girls privacy!" James and Peter snorted with laughter. Sirius looked at Lily. "You believe me don't you Tiger Lily?"

"No," Lily said instantly. Sirius looked very hurt.

"Let me see…" James said, stroking an imaginary beard. "…Third year, you looked through Polly O Brian's bag for evidence of her crush on you."

Lily looked horrified at Sirius. Sirius didn't look ashamed at all. On the contrary, he frowned.

"Yeah, how do girls keep so much in their bags without them splitting?" he asked. Lily ignored him and continued to listen to James.

"Fifth year," James continued. "You poked your head into the classroom where Ludo Bagman was making out with Sandra Hope. Sixth year, you stole Lily's diary to find out if she liked me…"

"I knew that was you!" Lily gasped, brandishing a finger at Sirius, who now looking slightly ashamed of the very unflattering things that James was telling everyone.

"Alright I get it!" he said, before James could continue with the list. "I am a nosy bugger. Happy!"

"Very," James said turning back to his meal and shooting Lily glances out of the corner of his eye. She was looking at Sirius in complete amazement. At this point, Tash stomped into the hall. She looked very moody and kept giving huge yawns.

"See!" Sirius said loudly. "She can't stay away from me!"

"I probably could if I tried Black," Tash assured him. She flopped into the seat next to Lily and pulled the nearest bowl of potatoes towards her.

"Anyway," she continued. "I came down because we have Quidditch practise and I can't chase on an empty stomach. Also I wanted to get started on the plans for our prank against the Slytherins."

"Are you sure you can stay on the broom when you're that tired?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.

"James, you worked us for six hours straight one Sunday morning last year," Tash reminded him. "I can handle one evening."

"I remember that," Sirius said wincing. "I had one hell of a sore ass at the end of it."

Tash nodded in agreement before changing the topic.

"So the Slytherin prank," she said. "That is if you guys don't mind me tagging along. I know you four like to do things together…"

"We might need the extra hands," Sirius said immediately, obviously not wanting to pass up the chance to spent time with Tash.

"What are you going to do?" Lily asked in spite of herself.

"Well we haven't quite decided," James said.

"How about…" Tash trailed off. "We drop dungbombs down the chimney of their common room."

"No we've done that before," Sirius said.

"How about putting strengthening solutions in their shower gel?" Tash suggested.

"No we've done that too," James said.

"Put cheering potion in their breakfast?" Lily said.

"Done that," Peter said.

"Colour changing?" Lily said.

"Done that," James and Sirius said in unison.

"How about…" Tash stalled again. "We put Nifflers down their chimney." The three boys grinned.

"What you've done that too?" asked Lily.

"No we haven't," said James. "It's brilliant. We can drop them while they're sleeping. Imagine the chaos! Why didn't we think of that!"

"Right," Tash sat up straight. "Firstly, when are we going to do this?" I'm thinking this weekend, cause it'll mess up their free time while they try to clear up the common room."

"Umm… We're busy this weekend," James said. He shot a look at Sirius who nodded. It was the full moon on Saturday.

"Okay," Tash thought for a second. "How about Monday?"

"Sounds good," Sirius grinned at her, but for once Tash ignored him.

"Where are you going to get Nifflers from?" asked Lily.

"Hagrid likes animals," James stated. "Maybe he can help."

"Yeah and what are we going to say?" Tash asked scornfully. "Hey Hagrid, can you lend us a dozen Nifflers to drop down the Slytherin chimney?"

"Please love!" Sirius waved his hand. "We're going to need more than a dozen. I'm thinking three or maybe four dozen…"

"Okay d'you want a prank or complete carnage?" Lily asked. James and Sirius looked at each other and grinned.

"Carnage!" they both said at the same time. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," Tash said. "Hagrid's not just going to give them to us."

"The Care of Magical Creatures department might have them," Sirius said. "We can nick them."

"Of course that's going to be so easy!" Tash said sarcastically.

"Not to mention so against school rules," Lily reminded them. "And another thing. How are you going to sneak off to the Slytherin common room with your arms full of Nifflers?"

"Invisibility cloak," James and Tash said at the same time. They looked at each other in amazement.

"You have one too!" Tash asked.

"Yes," James nodded. "How else do you think we manage to sneak around the school so much?"

"Well if you have one," Tash said. "Then we're okay."

"It won't cover all of you plus the Nifflers," Lily pointed out.

"Tash'll let us borrow hers, wont you Tash?" Sirius asked. Tash scowled at him. The phrase 'over my dead body,' was clearly echoing in her mind. Lily knew Tash was very protective of her cloak.

"Okay how's this," said James. "You provide the extra cloak and an extra pair of hands, and we'll get a hold of the Nifflers. Deal?" Behind him, Sirius gave the cutest puppy dog face possible. Tash rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Damn the puppy dog face!" Sirius cheered causing Tash to elbow him the ribs.

OOO

"How were the tryouts?" Lily asked later. Tash and Jenny fell into the seats next to her both still clutching their brooms.

"Great," Tash said. "I'm bloody exhausted."

"How did you do Jen?" Lily asked.

"Not that good," Jenny said shaking her head.

"Oh don't be so negative!" Tash said. "Don't listen to her Lils. She was brilliant. I think James is really considering her."

"I'm really considering what?" came a voice from the door. James and Sirius trudged through the Portrait hole and sat next to them. Lily couldn't help noticing that James's shirt was sticking to him in all the right places, showing the outline of his muscles. He really did look good.

'Lily! Pull yourself together!' she mentally thought to herself.

"Just assuring Jen that she did well," Tash said offhandedly.

"Everyone did well," James pondered over the list of people who tried out. "That's the problem. Narrowing it down."

"Well don't judge me Jen," Tash stood up and turned to Jenny. "But I'm going to use the shower first."

"No you're not!" Jen cried, racing after her up the girl's staircase. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Now that Jenny's gone?" she asked.

"She's defiantly Beater," James said. "As for seeker, we have a problem. No one was really that good except for Clarissa Travis."

"You mean the hot sixth year who used to be on the team as chaser?" Sirius asked. James nodded. Lily frowned in puzzlement.

"She used to be chaser but she gave up in her fourth year," James explained. "Now her OWLs are out of the way she wants to come back."

"How about Prongs," Sirius said. "She plays chaser, and you play Seeker. You're not that bad at Seeking and she's better at goal scoring than searching for the snitch." James grinned.

"Padfoot you're a genius!"

"Well I do have my moments," Sirius said shrugging.

"But they're few and far between," said Tash, coming back downstairs. It seemed Jenny had got the bathroom first. "So who's making the team?"

"Jen's going to be Beater," James said scribbling down the results. "And Clairssa Travis is going to be chaser, and I'll take over seeker."

"Sounds good to me," Tash said.

"Have you done your Transfiguration essay?" Lily asked.

"I'm going to do it now," Tash assured her. "Oh and Lily, you're supposed to be patrolling the corridors now." She pointed at the portrait hole, where Remus had just returned from patrolling duty.

"Merlin you're right!" Lily said, hurriedly shutting her books.

"Hey guys," Remus sat down next to them. "Where's Jen?"

"Aww he's missing her already!" Sirius teased, causing Remus and Tash to hit him over the head with cushions.

"She's taking a shower," Lily said, throwing her books at Tash as she sat down again with cushion still in hand.

"Tash can you take those up for me? Come on Potter!"

"Relax Lily," James said. "We're not going anywhere until I've had a shower okay?"

"Until you've had a shower!" Lily asked incredulously. "You haven't got time to have a shower! We have to go!"

"Lily," Tash said. "You know as well as I do that if you don't shower after playing Quidditch, you smell worse than the toilets in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Let the poor boy go have a shower."

Lily hated to admit it, but she knew from living with Tash, who had been playing Quidditch since her third year, that she was right. She sat back down scowling, as James hurried up to the boy's dormitory.

OOO

"So we have two hours. Where are we patrolling?" James asked.

"Anywhere likely to have couples snogging," Lily said. "The most popular locations are the broom closets on the ground floor, the empty classrooms on the first floor, the trophy room and the Great Hall." Lily recited from memory, having been a Prefect for the last two years.

"People snog in the Great Hall?" James asked incredulously. "That's a bit high risk."

"Maybe it's the ceiling," Lily shrugged. "Gives it a romantic feel. Ask Sirius if you're interested. I've caught him in there at least a dozen times."

"Sirius? In the Great Hall? With who?" James asked.

"Almost the entire female population at one point or another," Lily said, as they walked down to the sixth floor. "Minus the Slytherins of course."

As they walked slowly down the stairs to the sixth floor, Lily retold her last encounter with Sirius, which involved a fifth year Ravenclaw and a not so private corner of the Great Hall. By the end, James was chuckling. Lily couldn't help smiling at the memory.

As the evening progressed, (with a deduction of eighty points from four couples) Lily couldn't help but notice how easy it was to talk to James. It was no more difficult than talking to her friends. By the time they were down to the entrance hall, both of them were quite cheerful (a huge feat considering that it was almost midnight).

"So what do you want to do after school?" James asked, as they checked the first broom closet in the hall.

"I don't really know," Lily said frowning to herself. "I've thought about being an Auror. I want to do something to help against Voldemort, but I honestly haven't decided. What about you?"

"Definitely an Auror," James said. "My parent are both Aurors and I want to help fight."

"It's a dangerous career though," Lily pointed out. "That another reason why I'm not sure. I don't think I'd be brave enough."

"What do you mean?" James asked. "You're a Gryffindor, of course you're brave enough. Besides, I've seen you against the Slytherins. If you can face them, why not Death Eaters."

"Because they're not Death Eaters," Lily pointed out.

"Not yet, but they're foul enough to be them," James said, checking the second broom closet. There was a squeak from inside and Sirius came out, followed by a very sheepish fifth year Hufflepuff.

"Black! This has got to be the hundredth time I've caught you!" Lily raged.

"Actually," Sirius put on his most charming grin. "It's the hundred and twenty sixth time you've caught me."

"And she's just a fifth year!" Lily continued gesturing to the girl, who was being given a stern talking to by James.

"Really! You are hopeless! And I'm going to have to take twenty points from Gryffindor…"

"Oh come on Lils," Sirius put on his puppy dog face.

"That doesn't work on me Sirius," Lily said. "Tash might fall for the puppy face but I don't. Now get up to the common room." Sirius flashed her another smile before disappearing up the staircase. James had already sent the Hufflepuff on her way.

"Honestly!" Lily tutted. "One hundred and twenty six times! And I thought you said he was going after Tash now?"

She looked at James who was grinning slightly. He would have great fun teasing Sirius when he got back.

"He is," he assured her. "But you know Sirius. He can't just settle for one girl. He'll get bored."

"So you're saying if he finally does get her to go out with him, he'll still be snogging other girls?" Lily asked as they made their way through the entrance hall.

"Maybe," James shrugged. "Depends on the girl. Mind you…" he trailed off. "He does talk about Tash a lot more than he did any other girl."

"Really?" Lily asked raising and eyebrow. "What about?"

"Well it used to be about how annoying she was," James said. "And how she always shut him down. Now all he does is tell us how he's convinced that she's secretly burning for him. Then we get to the low down on how hot she is…and this goes on for a while."

"Hmm…interesting. What about Remus and Jenny?" Lily asked. "D'you think they'll be together by the end of the year? Or will we have to watch them turn red and dive under tables for another ten months?"

"I think this year could be the year," James said as they walked into the Great Hall. "You should hear Remus. If he's not glancing at Jenny out of the corner of his eye he's talking about her. It's an obsession."

"Same in Jenny's case," Lily said. "I sometimes think she's linked telepathically to him. Have you noticed how they always glance at each other at exactly the same time?"

"Yeah," James trailed off. "Its like they're constantly aware of each other…now if that's not a sign I don't know what is."

Lily nodded and glanced around in all the corners of the hall. "No one here tonight."

"Is that all the rooms?" James asked.

"Why? Getting bored?" Lily asked.

"No," James protested. "I just want to go and tease Padfoot into the next century."

"Well we are finished," Lily checked her watch. "So I guess we can go back up."

They walked up to the first floor.

"I wish the tower were closer," Lily grumbled. "All these stairs means it takes about ten minutes to get back up there."

"How about," James paused in the middle of the corridor.

"How about what?" Lily asked, not quite sure what to make of the tone of his voice.

"There's a secret passageway to the fifth floor here," James said. "We'll get back to the common room quicker."

"How did you know there's a secret passageway on this floor?" Lily asked half-suspicious half amused.

"I'm a Marauder!" James said by explanation, moving part of a nearby tapestry aside to reveal a set of stairs. "Voila!"

"Well if it gets us there quicker," Lily said walking past and up the stairs. "Maybe being a Marauder does have perks. Any more secret passageways I should know about?"

"Millions in this school, but they wouldn't be secrets if I told you would they?" James pointed out. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Alright be secretive," she sighed, they continued up the stone stairs. "So who do you think you're going to be paired against in Defence?"

"Probably a Slytherin if I know Ramton," James said bitterly. "Ramton's doing the duelling in all the years. But I tell you this, I pity the poor person who has to fight Bellatrix."

"Can you imagine if it was Tash?" Lily asked. "She'd probably think the Quidditch World cup had come early."

"Now that would be sweet," James drifted into thoughts of his favourite sport, before Lily cleared her throat to indicate that they were at the top of the stairs.

"We getting out of here?" she asked. James tapped the wall with his wand and the exit appeared. They both made their way along the fifth floor corridor.

"Are you coming to the first match?" James asked.

"Probably," Lily said. "Got to watch Tash and Jenny."

James continued the animated Quidditch discussion all the way up to the common room. When they got back they found it deserted.

"Night Lily," James called going up to the boys dorm.

Lily paused at the bottom of the stairs before replying.

"Goodnight James."

A/N: Sorry! That was a very crap ending. I though I was rambling a bit so I decided to wrap it up quickly. Can you review anyway? Please? In regards to the Quidditch team, I know there is a lot of debate as to whether James was seeker or chaser (has this argument been resolved by JKR yet? If so can you tell me?) so I decided to cover them both.

Next Chapter: Full moon and confrontations.

May Stardust fall in your dreams!