Chapter Two

Girls and Boys

oOo
(Sirius does some serious thinking.)

The Fat Lady had returned to the portrait hole by the time Sirius reached it. "Anser Albifrons" he said dully before she had a chance to protest at how late it was. She pursed her lips, but swung forward to admit him.

The Gryffindor common room was as cheery as ever- lit by a large fire that blazed in the hearth, the light flickered against the red walls. The couch was unoccupied, so Sirius strode forward and plopped himself down on it. He did not notice the person that was sitting in an armchair next to the fire.

"Sirius?" it was Frank Longbottom, holding a long roll of parchment, his quill poised.

"Oh, hello, Frank," he said, faking a smile.

"S'matter?" Frank, although he was a rather bumbling young man, was very perceptive. He lay his quill down on a small table next to him.

"Nothin', Frank. Is that your Potions essay? 'Cause I haven't done mine, and I was wondering…" He trailed off hopefully.

"Er, no," Frank said, rolling up the parchment hastily and tucking it away inside his robes, "No, it's just a letter I was-"

Sirius stood up. "Oh, right. Well, I think I'll just head up to bed, then…" Turning away from the fire and his friend, he climbed the stairs, leaving a very worried Frank Longbottom.

Frank watched as Sirius disappeared up the stairs. Knowing that his friend would not appreciate his company right now, he merely pulled the parchment back out of his robes. But he was still worried.

Unrolling the parchment, his eyes finished scanning the paper. It read-

Dear Frank-

How are you, son? I hope this letter finds you well. I am as fine as I can be, although my search for the highly confidential letters that were stolen from the Ministry has not been going well. On a happier note, your mother is well, and has just received fifty galleons for those red dress robes she has been working on for so long.

Life at Hogwarts going well? I hope that Malfoy boy isn't bothering you much anymore- is he? (Here Frank snorted. "I'm not a little boy anymore, dad,") I'll have you know that his father, Randolf Malfoy, was just brought before the Wizengamot on charges of murder and an possession of dangerous materials. Of course, he got off- I suspect money exchanged hands somewhere in the process.

I have just spoken with Charles Nestlie- the Department head of the Department of Aurors. I believe you said you know his son? Anyway, he told me that they are now on a severe shortage of Aurors. You might want to consider becoming one. Of course, I would be happy with any career you choose…

Now, about this girl you were talking about. Her father is highly influential in the Ministry- in a good way. I believe, correct me if I am mistaken, she is in Hufflepuff? Her father seems to think she should be in Gryffindor- I heard him complaining about it over the water bubbler. But seriously- I think you should go out on a limb and ask her. The worst she can say is no, right?

And a warning- something is about to happen- something very important to the magical world. I can't say any more here, but you'll find out soon enough.

In the meantime, don't worry too much about that Alice. She's just a girl.

Love,

Dad

Frank sighed and tucked the parchment back into his robes. What would his father know? "She's just a girl- pfft." He muttered angrily. "Maybe, but a very beautiful, smart-". He stopped abruptly as the portrait hole swung forward again. In tumbled Rachel Cole, another fifth year, apparently alone. Suddenly, three more people appeared out of thin air. "Hullo, Frank!" said James as he tucked the Invisibility Cloak inside his robes.

Frank looked quizzically at Rachel, who looked irate and disheveled, then at James, Remus, and Peter, who were grinning. "You weren't doing anything- against school rules, were you?"

"I wasn't," Rachel declared hotly. "But I can't vouch for them!" Then she pushed past them and stormed up the stairs to the girl's dormitories.

"What did you do?" Frank said, grinning.

James looked suddenly sheepish. "Well, I think we killed Lucius Malfoy- and I kind of made a fool of Sirius- but it was Sirius that made her mad." He pointed at the stairs.

"Way to go, mate!" Frank said happily. "Lucius Malfoy, dead! It does seem too good to be true!"

James plopped himself down on the couch, followed by Remus and Peter. "So, how's it going with Miss Alice?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, well… I don't think she even knows I exist…" Frank trailed off, watching the fire. Then he snapped back into reality and glared suspiciously at James. "Wait. How did you know…?"

Remus chuckled. "How could we not?" Peter nodded, grinning. "After all, you do moan her name in your sleep several times a night..." While most of the dorm rooms contained only four people, there were too many first years this year, and Frank had ended up having to share a dorm with the Marauders until the teachers were finished spelling the tower to expand.

The three watched as Frank turned several shades of red. "I do?" he whispered, mortified. James curled over, laughing heartily. "Yeah, Frank, y'do. All the time." Suddenly, he put a hand to his ear. Turning around on the couch, he grinned wolfishly. "Do I hear the lovely sounds of Miss Lily Evans?"

Sure enough, footsteps and voices could be heard coming down the stairs from the dormitories. Lily Evans and Felicia McDaniels came into the light of the common room, chatting. Lily's deep red hair caught in the firelight, and her eyes were sparkling. Felicia, a plain girl with strawberry blonde hair, was in the process of telling a story, waving her hands animatedly in between fits of giggling. She stopped when she noticed the four boys in the common room, turning slightly red.

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend's boyphobia. She couldn't see James or Remus because of the tall back of the sofa, but she did notice Frank and Peter. Knowing that Peter rarely went anywhere without the help of one of his friends, she figured she'd be right in assuming that Potter, Remus, or Sirius were nearby. Wheeling around quickly, she dashed back up the stairs, pulling Felicia with her.

If I can avoid Potter for just one night, she prayed, feet pounding on the stairs, I'll send Petunia a card for her birthday. Ignoring the protests of her friend, she whipped open the door to the girl's dorms and slamming it behind her. Much more calmly, she moved toward the set of stairs that led to their own dormitory. Felicia trotted to keep up. "Lily! Lily, slow down!" She gasped, out of breath. Of all of Lily's friends, she was the least in shape.

Lily kept moving, deep in thought and angry as hell. Trust Potter to ruin her night by showing up. They'd have to wait until the morning to retrieve the note. Great.

When they reached the door to the dorm, both girl's slowed and stood outside it for a moment. "Sorry, Licia... I saw that Pettigrew kid and figured Potter'd be nearby. Sorry!"

Lily stared at her friend for a moment. "Licia?"

Felicia grinned at her, attempting to hide her blush. She had only caught a glimpse of him, but seeing Frank Longbottom had made her night all that much better. "Yeah, that's okay, Lily. Don't worry. Let's just go to bed."

They crept into the dorm room quietly. Jennifer Stalls and Hilary Niall were both fast asleep in their respective beds. Neither made any indication that they heard their friends come in. As silently as they could, Felicia and Lily changed into their pajamas and crept into bed.

Sirius Black wasn't the type of person to be angry with his friends for very long. He wasn't sure if this was due to the short attention span he had been blessed with, or because of his generally genial nature, but there was no denying it: no matter how many times he replayed the scene in the Room of Requirement inside his head, he couldn't bring back the anger he had found inside himself towards James.

It wasn't like what he had said had been particularly embarrassing, either. The one thing all four Marauders knew was that they had an unspoken rule never to embarrass each other. James had just been...

Trying to help.

Maybe.

From where he sat by the window in his dorm room, Sirius could see lights flickering off one by one down in Hogsmeade. His thoughts turned to the last time he had been there. Just last night, as it were. He and his friends had spent the evening joking with Madam Rosmerta, drinking mug after mug of Butterbeer. Of course, they were there after curfew at the school and had had to sneak to and from Hogsmeade under the invisibility cloak that James had received from his father a year earlier.

His mind wandered back to last summer. James had invited him over to spend the summer at Potter Mansion, a large and comfortable summer home. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had treated him as if he were a second son, giving him whatever he wanted and letting him and James have free reign over their activities. They had spent the summer flying around the country (James on his broom and Sirius on his flying motorcycle), hanging out at the private beach near the house, or strolling around the muggle village nearby. It had been quite fun.

Thinking about earlier, he wondered why he had never noticed Rachel before. They were prefects in the same house, and they would have had to do rounds together. Now that he thought about, he realized that he had never really paid attention during any meeting between the prefects.

He resolved to less attention to Gina Millerton's curves and more attention to what the other prefects were saying or doing during meetings and rounds. It would be difficult, he told himself, but he could do it.

Yes he could.

He stood up, filled with new resolve, and headed back down into the common room, thoroughly more cheerful. Coming down the stairs, he ran into his friends, who were coming up.

All four stopped, and an awkward silence ensued. Sirius, realizing it was his turn to say something, cleared his throat.

"Er... look, Prongs, I'm, er, sorry for punching you, uh... earlier." He trailed off, looking at his friend hopefully.

James stood silently for a moment, and then swung his fist toward Sirius's face. The collision made a slight thonk noise, and he stepped back, grinning. "Apology accepted," he said in a very good impression of his mother, who was famous for saying the exact phrase.

Sirius clutched his face for a moment, and then grinned back. "I deserved that, didn't I?"

His friends nodded, obviously relieved that he hadn't been too pissed at them. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah. Okay." There was another awkward pause.

Remus cleared his throat. "Rachel got back to her dormitory safe and sound, in case you were wondering..."

James's grin spread wider across his face. "And, I got to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Lily-Billy!"

Peter, turning slightly red, decided not to mention his elation at seeing Felicia McDaniels. It would be better for him if they didn't know. They'd never let him hear the end of it. He pictured them ragging him during breakfast about it. He shuddered, following his friends up the stairs into the dormitory.

Here is the place where I
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tresdrole: Rachel has had a bad day. Don't blame her for the way she acts. And I hope this chapter explains a little more fully the reason Sirius didn't know she was a prefect. Thanks!

XHorocruxesx00X: thanks a bunch, although I'd hate to see a "class b" story, if this is an "A"...

Authoress's Note:

I was thinking of not posting until I got more reviews, because, sadly and pathetically, I only have TWO... but its been somewhere longer than three months, and the reviews have not added up.

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Until next post,

your tired authoress