At thirteen years of age you turn from a child into a teenager. Yet it is 14 when the age of cooties becomes a thing of the past. When the gossip mill is set in motion, who likes who always being the hot topic, and girls start planning their future husbands, decorating their notebooks with hearts filled their the lucky guy's name.

It is during this time that people start discovering who they are. New friendships are forged, as old ones seem to slip away. It was during this time that four boys turned from four children into the Marauders, the biggest practical jokers and troublemakers Hogwarts has ever come up against. Yet their peers looked up to them and the majority adored these four Gryffindor boys. It seemed that the girls were starting to notice how 'cute' they were and especially noting their ringleaders, James Potter and Sirius Black, who defined cool.

With the Annual Christmas Ball nearly upon them, and the fourth years having the first chance to go, not ever being allowed before, the gossip mill was working overtime and girls could be seen giggling and making eyes at the boys twice as much.

"There are too many to choose from," James commented to Sirius as they made their way into the Gryffindor common room. "I mean Fay hinted that she wanted to go with me, but I would rather go with Anya and then there is… "

Sirius cut him off, "Anya is going with Kurt."

"Yes, but that is before I have asked her." There was a snort of laughter from behind James.

"Get over yourself Romeo!" replied a cool feminine voice.

"Romeo? Who's Romeo Evans? Your new boyfriend?" he laughed.

She rolled her eyes, "It's a muggle thing, don't worry."

"Shakespeare James, Romeo and Juliet, the most tragic love story ever written. They fall so deeply in love that they die for it." Sirius said, shocking both James and Lily.

"Well that's just stupid." quirked James, "Who would die for love!"

"Not like you would understand James," she replied as she made her way to the girls' dormitory.

"And you would know all about it hey Evans, you and your…" he paused and smiled nastily, "oh I forgot, who would go out with you."

"You're such a… arg!" she said as she stormed off.

"Smooth James," Remus quipped.

"Shut up Moony," replied James, glaring at his friend, "She's not even worth it."

"What do you mean she isn't worth it James!" Sirius cried in outrage, "This is the same girl we are talking about. You know, Lily Evans, smart, pretty, bold and mischievous, what do you mean she isn't worth it?"

"Exactly that! She isn't worth it; there are much better girls at Hogwarts than her. She thinks she is so much better than everybody else. She needs to get over herself. Look, if you think she is so great, you go after her, but… " And with that James got up and walked off to the boys' dormitory.

"Sirius, close your mouth," chuckled Remus.

Nothing more was said about Sirius going to the ball with Lily Evans until after a Potions lesson in the dungeons with Professor Slughorn. Lily had yet again astounded 'Old Slughorn' with her brilliance and cheek, and Sirius had been watching her most of the lesson, resulting in a lot of black smoke and rotten smells being emitted from his cauldron.

"Sirius my boy, what's this?" Slughorn asked as he shook his head and quickly backed away from Sirius cauldron.

"Huh? Oh sorry sir," replied Sirius still in a daze.

James and Remus, who had been sitting a bench away from Sirius, and Peter, who was sitting beside him, all stopped dead. They had never heard Sirius ever call anyone 'sir', let alone apologize without trying to charm someone.

"What is up with him lately?" James asked Remus, bewildered by what had just happened.

"Sirius has fallen hard," he replied.

James just gave him an odd look, obviously not understanding what Remus had meant and turned back to look at Sirius. The blank look was still plastered on his face, his mind obviously being miles away. Peter poked Sirius cautiously to try and make him snap out of it, as Slughorn called to pack away.

As the class moved towards the doors, Sirius seemed to suddenly awake and, shoving his books and materials, ran quickly out the door.

"What has gotten into him?" Peter asked whilst catching up with the other two.

"I don't know. Remus said he fell, but I didn't see him," James replied as Remus tried not to laugh.

As the three boys got outside they saw Sirius standing next to Lily Evans. James and Peter shared a confused look and Remus just sighed.

"What Sirius wants, Sirius gets," he said quietly.

As the boys approached, they heard Lily tell Sirius that she would think about it and then walked off to catch up with her own friends. Sirius turned and looked at his three friends, grinning from ear to ear.

"Boys, I think we should go celebrate," he said happily.

James was shocked. "Did you just ask Lily Evans to the ball Sirius!"

"You told me to go for it," Sirius replied, "You don't like her, do you?" he asked hastily.

"Me! No, of course not!" James said, his cheeks turning a slight pink that only Remus noticed, "Who would want to go out with Evans? That skinny little brat, she's…" he stopped as he looked at his best friend, who just shrugged.

"Just means there is less competition for me," he said still grinning.

"Looks like someone else has fallen too," Remus said quietly so only Peter heard.

"Who fell, Remus? I didn't see anyone fall," he queried, looking thoroughly confused.

A/N: Thanks again to Lauren for her speedy return of this chapter. Keep reading, chapter two should be up soon…