A/N: Er… I kind of forgot my start-of-the-chapter-thankyous last time! I'll just thank xEngulfedInDarknessx (again!), PremzaWitchOfWeirdos (again), rupertisahottie05 and russianchikk (again) now, then. Anyway… I know I kind of copied J.K.R's chapter name 'Cat, Rat and Dog' from PoA, but I couldn't think of another one. So there.

Disclaimer: Yeah… right.

"Eww, Sirius, your breath stinks." Said Peter.

"Yeah, well, yours doesn't exactly smell like a bouquet of roses."

James, Peter and Sirius were walking slowly together underneath James' invisibility cloak. They had to walk slowly, otherwise the cloak would be sure to come off, they were getting too large for it to cover them all properly like it used to.

"How could she have known it was me?" wondered James, and he, Sirius and Peter shuffled down the Entrance Hall. Sirius and Peter didn't have to ask who he was talking about.

"Dunno, mate, but that was a close shave. Thank God for your invisibility cloak." Said Sirius.

"But how did she know it was me? I mean, we were invisible, after all."

"Why are you asking us?" said Peter. "We don't know!"

"I want to know how she knew-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" yelled Sirius.

"Sorry" mumbled James. "But we didn't make that much noise. I just want to know how she was aware of our (well, my) presence." Their conversation had taken them out of the castle and on to the grounds. The grass was damp and springy underfoot as they crossed the grounds, heading for the Whomping Willow.

"Well, let's think. Who made a noise just before she yelled James' name out?" Said Sirius, glaring at Peter.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault!" squeaked Peter. "She stepped on my foot! And it hurt, too! Stupid Lily."

"Are you insulting the love of my life?" James whipped out his wand.

"No! I, er… meant to say… um-"

"Sshh!" whispered Sirius suddenly. James turned to see the school's matron striding up to the castle. Peter stopped uttering excuses as she passed them by.

"Anyway… who says Evans is the love of your life?" asked Sirius, as soon as Madam Pomfrey was out of earshot.

"Me." Said James, as though this settled the matter. "And I'm hers, too."

"Yeah, of course, because slapping people in the face is a sign of undying affection for them." Sirius put on a high pitched voice. "Oh, James! I love you so much I'm going to yell at the top of my lungs at you!" James raised a fist in warning. Sirius ignored it. "Oh James! Whenever I call you a fathead it really means I have the hots for you! Oh, James! I refuse all of your date offers, yet I am truly yearning for you with all my heart! Oh, James! I- OUCH! What was that for?"

"For making fun of me. She loves me and you know it."

"I do not know it."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"We're here." Pointed out Peter glumly.

"Do no- Oh, right." Said Sirius. There was a pause in which James and Sirius stared at Peter.

"Poke the knot on the trunk, already!"

"Oh yeah." Said Peter, comprehension dawning on his face. He transformed into a rat and scrambled out from under the cloak. Magically, the Whomping Willow froze.

James sighed and looked up at the sky. If it weren't for the stupid moon he'd be in Hogsmeade with Lily. Why did she have to get so angry? How could she possibly think he wasn't madly in love with her?

Something cold and wet touched James' leg. A black, shaggy dog was pressing its nose against his shin and looking up at him impatiently.

"Alright, I'm coming." James felt the familiar, warm, tingling sensation he usually experienced when transforming into a stag. His head grew heavier from supporting antlers and his arms became legs.

The invisibility cloak now lying forgotten on the grass, James followed Sirius to the Whomping Willow with a heavy heart.

He was dwelling on his bad luck when there was a loud, frantic squeak at his feet. Peter was running around frantically, jerking his tiny, rat head towards the castle. Sirius turned around, too, and gave a meaningful bark.

Alarmed, James turned around to see the doors of the castle open. Light flooded from inside, and it took a while for James' eyes to register the brightness. Someone was standing in the doorway, slowly coming in to focus. James froze.

It was, unmistakably, Lily Evans.

A/N: Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn! Ok, yes, extremely predictable, but I love writing this, so you can't stop me even if you do review and say you'd rather teach giraffes how to speak French than read one more word. I'd rather get that review than none, anyway, so just click that little grey button in the corner! I'm begging you!