Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and Co., however much I wish I did.

"Checkmate"

Sirius Black fixed Peter Pettigrew with a sullen glare. "I don't understand it, I can beat you in any class blindfolded, but when it comes to wizards' chess, Wormtail, you cannot be defeated."

Peter grinned sheepishly.

"Moony, why don't you give this a shot? Maybe you can win me back my chocolate frog."

"Sorry, I learned my lesson before you did."

Sirius made a disgruntled noise before lifting himself out of his comfy armchair and stretching luxuriously.

The Gryffindor common room was warmed and lighted by the blazing fire in the hearth on this autumn Thursday. There wasn't any more noise than usual: the murmured conversations by the fireside, the occasional cough or sneeze, one group's joyful laughter. The house elves had somehow suffused the air with the nose-tingling scent of cinnamon. It was mid-October, and there was a relaxed, contented quality to the atmosphere.

"Well, I'm off to bed, mates. See you in the morning."

The handsome 6th-year made his way out of the crowded common room, taking care to pass a group of pretty girls busy with their Potions homework so as to wink at them.

Remus Lupin rolled his eyes at James Potter before returning to his Astronomy homework. He had delayed finishing it until the night before it was due. Astronomy was his least favorite subject, after all.

James Potter slapped his transfiguration book shut, rubbed his eyes, and yawned widely.

"What time is it, Moony?"

"10:30."

"A.M. or P.M.?"

Remus shot him an amused glance.

"Well, I can hardly tell. I feel like I've been up all night."

"We should both go to bed, especially since we've got double Potions tomorrow. Did you manage to finish Slughorn's essay?"

"Yeah, but it's not as long as it's supposed to be."

"How long is it?"

"Two paragraphs"

"Prongs! You've had two weeks to work on it."

"I know. What's so interesting about itching potions? And it doesn't matter anyway. I'll never be able to best Lily in that class."

Remus cast James a knowing look before remarking, "Not with that attitude you won't."

But James had stopped listening. He was staring thoughtfully at Lily Evans, who was studying with her friends at a table across the common room.

"Mel, it's Boomslang skin and Lacewing flies, not boomslang flies and Lacewing skin. Maybe you should get some rest and save this 'til tomorrow."

Melinda Parker shut her book and dropped it into her bag, seemingly half-asleep. The other 4 girls at the table followed her example, but none of them rose from their seats. Charlotte Atcomes ran her fingers through her short black hair and rested her elbows on the polished oak of the table.

"Guys, I know this is kind of a weird question, but if and when you have kids, what would you name them? Because I was scanning "Great Wizards of the Middle Ages" and I came to this list of crazy names like Nymphadora and Alastor, and I got to thinking about how I'd never burden one of my kids with a name like those. Then I though, 'What names would I use?' and now I'm rambling so I will go to bed and not bother you any longer." She started to stand up.

"You're not rambling," Melinda murmured, her voice muffled by her arms, on which her head was resting.

"It's a good question," Kimberly Lanford said.

"I kind of like 'Alastor,' actually," volunteered Rachel McKenna.

"Then you're mental," teased Kimberly.

"Yeah, but we knew that already." joked Rachel, hitching her bag onto her shoulder. "I'm going to bed. G'night, girls."

"G'night, Rache," her friends chorused.

The 4 6th-years chatted a bit more before heading off to bed themselves, one by one. Lily was the last to leave (She was more of a night owl, and liked to people-watch.). On her way to the stairs she was forced to pass the 6th-year boys' table, and as she did so James Potter caught her eye. He raised his eyebrows goofily and wolf-whistled at her, causing Remus and Peter to giggle and Lily to roll her eyes as she continued past them. James gazed after her until she climbed up the stairs and out of sight.

"How can I get her interested in me, Remus?"

Remus was slightly startled by James's question, for 2 reasons. #1, James had called him by his true name, which he hardly ever did, and #2, James had never sought his advice about girls before.

"Well, er...you could try not whistling every time she walks by."

"I thought girls liked that."

Remus rolled his eyes for the second time that evening.

Waiting for Remus to finish polishing up his Astronomy chart, James When Remus had finished and was packing away his book and quill, James cleared his throat to get his attention.

"When's the next Hogsmeade visit? Do you know?"

"Yeah, Halloween weekend, 2 weeks away, why?"

"Cuz I've got an idea."

Well? What do you think? Please R&R! Pretty please with a chocolate frog on top! Hold nothing back! Be brutally honest! I want to get better and I need all the constructive criticism I can get!