Chapter 1:

That look. She'd seen that look before. It was the same look that Frank Longbottom gave her last year before offering her a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. It was that pained look of a friend who wanted so badly to be more than just that. It was sweet and flattering, really. His hazel eyes lit up with that intense adoration which emanates only from a person who is truly in love. Much to her dismay, Lily's heartbeat quickened ever so slightly as her own eyes gazed back into his. That look was a dangerous look. It was a look years in coming. James had been claiming he felt some sort of affection for Lily for years, but it had always been so easy to dismiss. James Potter was hardly ever serious. Lily had just arrived at Platform 9 3/4, her heavy trunk dragging awkwardly behind her. James, upon seeing her struggle with her obviously overfilled trunk, rushed to help her load it into a compartment. He'd done all of this without a word. It wasn't until after he'd loaded the trunk that he'd stop and turned to face her. He allowed himself to stare into her startlingly green eyes, and with that look he had unwittingly betrayed the true vulnerability of his feelings. It was in that moment that Lily realized he was sincere. That realization shook her core beliefs about James Potter, and she couldn't help but be taken aback by it.

"Err--how was your summer, James?" she questioned awkwardly, brushing several strands of long, red hair out of her eyes. James looked at her in response with a startled gaze.

"You called me James," he declared in amazement. "You're going soft, Evans." Lily returned his gaze unblinkingly.

"Yeah, well--I just figured--since we're Head Boy and Girl now, it's only proper that we at least show each other respect," Lily responded uneasily. "I still can't believe Dippet made you Head Boy," Lily muttered half to herself.

"You know what that means?" James asked with a suggestive lift of his brow.

"What?" Lily questioned suspiciously.

"You and me on late night duty, patrolling the halls," James offered with a wink and an impish grin.

"Ugh. Can't you ever be normal?" Lily demanded with a skyward roll of her emerald eyes.

"I'm afraid it's not in my genetic code, Lily darling," James responded solemnly. "I blame my parents."

"You know, for a minute, I thought maybe you'd grown up a bit over the summer. I thought maybe you'd matured enough to actually be able to handle Head Boy responsibilities. I see I was very much mistaken," Lily spat as she turned away from James, forgetting quickly the deep emotion he'd displayed just moments before with his telling look.

"Ouch, Evans. Ouch," James responded, holding his hand over his heart.

"The name's Lily," she asserted before walking away. Lily was more than a tiny bit frustrated with this whole situation. She thought Headmaster Dippet quite out of his mind for having made James Potter of all people in the world Head Boy at Hogwarts. Everyone knew that James, ringleader of the Marauders, was the root of most trouble to begin with at the school. How could he be trusted to be responsible and keep his cohorts from committing heinous acts? And that look, where on earth had that come from? Sure, James always liked to joke about being in love with her, but she'd never for a moment seriously entertained the idea of it all. It was absolutely ridiculous. She didn't need to worry about these feelings of his being real and therefore having to protect him from being hurt. Lily uttered a frustrated groan as she came upon a friend of hers. "Lily! How was your summer?" a handsome sandy-brown haired boy asked. Lily couldn't help but allow a grin to break upon her lips at the sight of him.

"Hi, Remus. My summer was fantastic, thanks. How are you doing?" she asked as she swept him into a hug. Remus grinned at this action and allowed himself to exhale deeply as he held her briefly in his arms.

"I'm doing just wonderfully, Lily," he responded as she released him.

"You should have been Head Boy!" Lily exclaimed suddenly with a rather sullen look. Remus let out a hearty chuckle as he allowed himself to glance over in James's general direction.

"He'll do a good job, Lily," Remus promised. "He only shaped up enough to be Head Boy in the first place to impress you. He's not going to blow his opportunity now."

"What opportunity?" Lily questioned warily.

"His opportunity to impress you," Remus stated simply.

"Now come be a good Head Girl and sit in our compartment with us," he continued with a persuasive smile. Lily, quite honestly, found it rather difficult to say no to Remus. His deep blue eyes shot her a pleading look and she found herself nodding unconsciously in response.

"Fine," she agreed grudgingly, straightening her robes and hair.

"No need to primp. James always thinks you look beautiful," Remus pointed out with a strange look upon his face. "We all do," he added quietly as he turned away.

"I'm far from beautiful," Lily replied under her breath with a grimace. Remus spun immediately to face her.

"Lily, if there's one thing in the world that you are—it's beautiful. Both inside and out," Remus declared adamantly with a meaningful look aimed at Lily. She regarded him with surprise, nervously playing with a strand of her deep red hair.

"Well, thank you, Remus," she returned awkwardly as she followed him onto the train.

He led her down a hallway towards a compartment near the rear of the train. He quickly slid the door open to reveal James, Sirius, and Peter laughing boisterously together over a book opened in Sirius's lap. Remus cleared his throat sternly and three guilty faces quickly snapped to attention. James reached down instantly to eagerly close the open book. He then fixed Lily with a wide-eyed look of innocence.

"What are you three up to?" Lily questioned instantly, taking a stride in their direction.

"Evans! I'm so glad you came to join us!" James declared with a disarming grin as he passed his hand purposely through his already messy black hair.

"Well, I hardly wanted to, but Remus here…"

"I told her how much you'd love to have your, umm, colleague with us," Remus finished for her, tossing James an explanatory look. James glanced suspiciously at Remus before turning his eyes to Lily with a pleased look.

"Glad you're here, Evans, dear."

"Sure, fine. Look, I think it's only fair warning that I tell you all that you four cannot possibly continue on with your juvenile pranks this year. I will not allow it to happen while I'm Head Girl, and don't think that simply because your little ringleader is Head Boy means that you all get special privileges," Lily lectured.

"Bravo," Sirius proclaimed as he saluted Lily. "Well, you've certainly got me convinced. I'll be a reformed man."

"That's very likely, I'm sure," Lily replied with a disdainful snort. "Now what is it exactly that you three are looking at with such great interest?" Lily extended her hand out to reach for the book, but before she could confiscate it from them, James clasped her hand in his own and shot her an overly dramatic look.

"Lily, darling, I didn't know you cared that much! How sweet that you want to hold my hand." As James kept Lily's hand clamped tightly within his own, Sirius stood up quickly, threw the book down on his seat, and sat on top of it.

"What are you hiding!" Lily tore her hand away from James and turned her full attention to Sirius.

"Lily, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Sirius replied nonchalantly. "I'm not hiding a thing." Lily gave a deep sigh as she rolled her eyes.

"Fine. As long as you're not planning on murdering anyone, I guess it's not absolutely necessary that I found out what that book contains right now." Lily paused for a moment, obviously deep in thought as she played with a strand of her deep red hair. "Uh, just for the record..."

"Lily, darling, we promise there will be no body bags involved," James cut in with a grin. "Now have a seat! You look tense, let me give you a massage." Lily shot James a look of death.

"Touch me and die."

"Does this mean our date's cancelled tonight?" Lily chose to ignore James as she sat down as far as possible from James and turned to talk to Remus.

"Well then, Remus, the only sane person in this compartment aside from me, how are you?"

The train ride to Hogwarts passed fairly quickly as Lily used the time to catch up with Remus. However, she couldn't help but notice that Remus kept giving James sideward glances as he filled her in on his summer activities. Once in a while, James threw in some snide remark and engaged Lily in conversation briefly, but it never lasted more than a few minutes. Lily made a conscious effort not to be quite as mean as she had previously been to James, for the sake of their working relationship, and possibly his feelings. So when he did try his occasional conversation starter, Lily tried very hard not to immediately tell him to shut up.

"Land ahoy!" Sirius exclaimed as the train chugged slowly up to Hogsmeade. "Let another year begin!"

"Let's hope this year you actually manage to behave, too," Lily muttered under her breath.

"I wouldn't count on it," Sirius responded with a mischievous grin. "You know how the ladies like the rebels." Lily narrowed her eyes at him as she let a sneer develop on her lips.

"Children, children, play nice!" James's eyes glinted as he began to gather up his belongings. "Lily and I are going to make sure that everyone does behave this year. That's why we're going to have weekly strategic planning dates. Each Friday night we're going to eat dinner together and then sit by the fire for hours on end and plan our defense tactics. And Lily will have to hold my hand, because I'll be frightened by all the wrong-doing occurring all around us at Hogwarts. How can children with such promise go down the wrong path so quickly? It's a shame. All that wasted potential just makes me so sad. Lily…hold me." James lunged towards Lily who took a very swift step backwards. She immediately grabbed her heavy chest with a grunt and began to heave it away as she shot a reproachful look over her shoulder at James.
"Clearly, she's looking forward to it," James stated confidently to Sirius, who nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

"You scare her to death, I hope you know," Remus scolded James as he rushed out the door after Lily.

"What's his problem?" James's brow furrowed slightly as he ran his hand through his mess of hair.

"You know Lupin, he's just a little tightly wound," Sirius offered with a sympathetic grin.

"Do you think he..."

"No, James, no. He doesn't. He wouldn't."

"What are you guys talking about?" Peter chimed in suddenly, oblivious as usual.

"But he always talks to her," James continued on, ignoring Peter entirely.

"They're just friends," Sirius offered with a shrug. James grabbed his trunk with a little more force than necessary.

"Friends...right."

"Lily, wait!" Remus chased after her as she rushed down the aisle of the train. "James is just kidding. He doesn't know it might make you uncomfortable."

"James is a jerk," Lily called out over her shoulder. "An arrogant jerk. He doesn't make me uncomfortable, he just constantly reminds me how stupid he is." Remus caught up to Lily as she began to make her way down the platform at the train station and tore her trunk from her grasp.

"It's heavy, Lil, let me take that," Remus muttered as he took control of the trunk. Lily stopped for a moment and looked at Remus. His sandy brown hair had fallen into his eyes obscuring his current expression.

"Hey, Remus," Lily began softly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Lily reached out hesitantly and brushed some of his hair from his face gently so she could see his eyes. Remus looked at her with amazement as his cheeks began to glow like embers in the fire.

"Y-you're welcome," he stuttered as he turned his eyes away.

"Aw, Remus, always the gentleman," James stated almost coldly as he approached from behind Remus. "I can take that, don't strain yourself," he added as he grabbed Lily's trunk from Remus. Lily shot James a reproachful look, but deciding she'd rather not argue with him, she simply hopped into the next available carriage and ignored James completely, leaving both James and Remus behind.

"James, I was just trying to smooth things over for you and give her a hand with her trunk," Remus began to explain hurriedly. James raised his eyebrows slightly and shot Remus an appraising look. He sighed heavily and for a moment seemed deeply lost in thought.

"Thanks, Moony," James replied after a while, a smile creeping onto his face. James hopped into a carriage, leaving Remus behind on the platform looking slightly stunned. Sirius hopped right in after James and shut the door behind him leaving Peter behind looking dull and confused as usual.

"Prongs, I'm all for being humane and all, but what was with the nice-guy act with Remus?" Sirius leaned forward curiously as James gazed out the window, refusing to meet his eyes.

"I can't help who she fancies. If it isn't me, then it isn't me," James responded wistfully. "At least she'll be happy," he added softly.

"Wow. I must say, you've really got it bad for this Lily Evans. Does this mean you're giving up on her?"

"No. I can't just give up on her. Not until I see that she's completely head over heels for Remus. When I have proof of that, I'll leave her alone."

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she gazed absent-mindedly out the window.

"I saw you were sort of cozy back there with Remus, Lily. "

"He was just helping me with my trunk, Alice," Lily responded carelessly as she gave her friend a brief sideward glance.

"Lily, please, he treats you wonderfully. You really should give him a chance you know," Alice urged with a warm smile.

"Alice, not everyone can be as happy as you and Frank are," Lily replied with a knowing laugh. "He'd follow you to the end of the earth and back three times over." Alice blushed slightly at this but her smile spread wider across her face.

"Everyone deserves a Frank."

"Oh, indeed they do," Lily replied kindly.

"But, honestly, Lily, about Remus," Alice began in a motherly tone, her intense gray eyes shining with concern.

"Alice!" Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. "I get it! You think Remus and I should give it a go. Honestly though, Alice, I'm not even sure he likes me." Lily sighed and pulled uneasily on the sleeves of her robes.

"And you? How do you feel about him?" Alice gazed intently at Lily, awaiting her answer.

"Alice, I don't know!" Lily laughed as she ran her fingers through her deep red hair.

"Hmm, well, you might want to figure that out, Lily."

"I'll work it out, Alice. Don't worry." Lily looked away from Alice and pressed her lips together, a bright shade of red overcoming her cheeks as she thought about the look Remus gave her after she'd brushed the hair from his eyes.

"I think I already know the answer," Alice responded with a smirk. The carriage came to a stop at the main doors to Hogwarts and both girls got out of the carriage and entered the Great Hall. Every five minutes, Alice shot Lily another knowing glance and nodded wisely.

"Alice, stop looking at me like that! Like I've just told you some big secret."

"Oh, you didn't have to tell me. I can see it in your eyes."

"See what in her eyes?" A voice asked from behind Lily and Alice, who had by this time made their way to the Gryffindor tables.

"Oh, well, clearly Lily's got feelings for—"

"Treacle tarts, I'm obsessed with treacle tarts," Lily finished quickly as she turned around to see who would be so nosy. "Oh, James, of course," Lily added aloud as a mop of messy black hair came into her line of vision. Lily slumped down onto the bench in front of her with a sigh of exasperation.

"I'm glad you're so happy to see me again, Evans," James returned easily. "Don't you think the head boy and girl ought to sit next to each other during meals? You know, to show our solidarity?" James gave Lily an exaggerated wink as he squeezed onto the bench beside her.

"I actually don't think that, no. In fact I think there's more power in separation. So why don't you go sit as far away from me as possible, Potter?" Lily suggested flatly.

"Evans, you're losing your touch. You could at least have added in some remark about how foul I smell or how brainless I am. I'm really quite disappointed. That's not the girl I fell for."

"Potter, as much as I'd absolutely love to watch after you every moment to make sure you're behaving, I don't have time to baby sit you this year. So you're going to have to be a big boy and behave like a grown-up, okay?" Lily patted James on the head patronizingly and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Oh, Evans, you know just the way I like my hair. You notice all the little details. That's how I know you really care," James cooed affectionately as he scooted closer to Lily on the bench.

"Please don't make me vomit, Potter. I hear it's not appetizing." As Lily and James had been bantering back and forth, Sirius, Peter, and Remus had caught up and were now seated across from them at the table.

"Oh, will you two just put a sock in it and admit you've got it bad for each other?" Sirius demanded with a mischievous grin. "It can't be healthy to keep your true feelings bottled up inside for so long."

"The only thing James Potter makes me feel is nauseous," Lily replied with disgust.

"Aw, isn't that sweet? I give her butterflies!" James exclaimed excitedly. Peter and Sirius laughed appreciatively, but Lily realized suddenly that Remus was sitting in complete silence, a sullen look on his face as he stared blankly at the table in front of him. James continued laughing at his own joke until he noticed Lily's look of disgust had turned to a look of concern. "Evans, you're supposed to insult me back. That's just the way it works."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry," Lily replied distractedly, her eyes still on Remus.

"Okay, everyone shut up now. Headmaster Dippet's about to speak," Alice commanded forcefully as she cast a stern look at the entire group. Headmaster Dippet stood at the front of the Great Hall and raised his hands to demand silence. A hush feel immediately over the Great Hall.

"Welcome back, students. I hope that this year will be a wonderful year for us all. However, first and foremost, as you probably all have suspected, there will be much stricter security at Hogwarts. This is in light of recent events, which I'm positive you're all aware of. Lily looked around the room at this point and saw many somber faces looking worriedly back at Dippet, with the obvious exception of the Slytherin students. At the Slytherin tables, eager looks and smirks were readily exchanged by many students as Dippet continued his speech about the uprising that was currently occurring.

"Look at those insensitive idiots," Lily whispered to Alice as she nodded her head in the general direction of the Slytherin tables. Alice turned her head to follow Lily's gaze and her lips turned downward in disgust.

"Those stupid purebreds think they're so great. Well, I've got news for them, that much inbreeding makes them all a bit loopy in the head," Alice spat bitterly. Dippet continued his speech very solemnly and then conducted the sorting ceremony as was the yearly tradition. After the ceremony had ended, and all of the students' stomachs were growling hungrily, Dippet rambled on still absent-mindedly about how important it was to keep a well-balanced diet. Eventually, he sensed that the entire hall, staff included, was becoming very restless.

"And now, finally, to introduce this year's new Head Boy and Girl," Dippet announced ceremoniously. "Miss Lily Evans and Mr. James Potter." Lily and James rose to their feet awkwardly as everyone in the Great Hall applauded appreciatively, except of course for the Slytherins. James slipped his arm around Lily's shoulders and pumped his fist triumphantly in the air. Lily took this opportunity to slap James and take her seat once more, which of course brought on even more applause and cheering as James skillfully milked the whole incident for much more than it was worth by doubling over in exaggerated pain.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Potter, that will do," Dippet scolded from the front of the hall, at which point he launched into another speech about the importance of keeping ones robes clean and well-pressed. Eventually, Professor Dumbledore stood up, smiling good-naturedly, and whispered something briefly in Headmaster Dippet's ear.

"Ah, I see. Well then! I've been informed that it's getting late and you're all very hungry! And so, let the feast begin," Dippet announced in a jolly tone. There was a collective sigh of relief that echoed throughout the Great Hall as food finally appeared in mass quantities on each table.

James piled vast amounts of food greedily onto his plate with great vigor while the rest of the table stared at him, mouths wide open with shock.

"Uhh, James, if it all possible, dear lad, could you leave some food for the rest of the starving children?" Sirius made his request with an impish smile. James looked up suddenly and froze halfway through adding another heaping mound of potatoes to his already full plate. He gave a suave chuckle as he gently replaced the potatoes back in the serving dish and nodded his head.

"Of course, of course. But you do know that dinnertime is survival of the fittest, don't you?"

"Well then, you're bound to lose," Lily muttered as she tore the bowl of potatoes away from James, who looked completely unfazed by her comment.

"So, Evans, what courses are you taking this year?" James questioned casually in what could clearly be construed as a desperate attempt at changing the topic.

"Whatever you're not taking," Lily replied cheerfully as she began to eat heartily from her plate. James glanced at her momentarily, one eyebrow raised.

"Play nice, Evans," he added with a half-serious look.

"No, really, Lily, which classes are you taking? I want to know if you're in any of mine," Remus questioned eagerly from across the table. Alice elbowed Lily hard in the side and stifled a giggle. Lily, in turn, gave her an annoyed look as she flipped her long red hair over her shoulder.

"I don't want to say out loud, Remus. I wouldn't want to ruin my dreams of having a completely Potter-free schedule." Remus laughed loudly at this remark, which earned him a glare from James's general direction.

"Luckily for me, my pet, you can't avoid me this year. In fact, I imagine we'll be spending inordinate amounts of time together patrolling the hallways, having impromptu meetings in impromptu places," James stopped here and winked for dramatic effect. Just as Lily was about to reply with a disgusted remark, Severus Snape strolled by the Gryffindor table and casually dumped a goblet of pumpkin juice on top of Lily's head.

"Oops, sorry. It slipped," Severus explained with a sneer. James and Remus were both at once immediately on their feet.

"How dare you?" Remus questioned menacingly. James simply gave an animal-like growl as he violently slapped the goblet out of Severus's hands and watched it shatter on the ground.

"Don't ever come near her. Ever," James snarled.

"Aww, is big bad Potter going to protect defenseless little Lily?" Severus questioned in a childish tone. Lily rolled her eyes as she wiped the excess juice from her hair and resumed eating her food as she mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "boys."

"Ten points from Slytherin!" James shouted with a triumphant look.

"For what!" Severus demanded.

"Careless conduct," James returned with ease.

"And also for being a greasy git," Sirius added helpfully. Severus looked as though he were about to argue the deduction, but decided not to at the last moment.

"I'll get even," Severus threatened.

"Go ahead and try," Sirius answered nonchalantly. Severus narrowed his eyes angrily as she stalked back towards the Slytherin table. Both Remus and James returned to their respective benches, looks of fury etched on their faces.

"Good job, boys," Alice called out with a smile. Remus looked rather sheepish at this approving statement as he was usually so calm and mild-mannered that being angry rather bothered him. James, however, looked to Lily for approval.

"You're an idiot," she stated simply, not lifting her eyes from her plate. "But, I must say, you did handle that rather well without losing your temper and hexing him. Maybe it won't be the absolute most awful thing in the world for you to be Head Boy," Lily added slowly. "Perhaps just the second most awful thing." James took this as the most highly-paid compliment and beamed uncontrollably throughout the rest of dinner as he chattered cheerfully with the rest of the table as though he were a normal person.

After everyone had eaten until they could no longer even entertain the thought of taking another bite, everyone shuffled towards their respective dormitories, led by the Prefects. Alice grabbed Lily's arm as soon as they were out of the Marauder's hearing range.

"You'd better thank Remus for sticking up for you," Alice whispered with an encouraging smile.

"Look, Cupid, I haven't even got time for love this year. It's our seventh year! I've got plenty of other things to worry about other than if my new beau's going to break up with me in the middle of the Great Hall after he's had a bad experience with that morning's eggs. I'm not the girlfriend type anyway. I hardly care at all about my appearance, and I'm not one to hang all over a guy just because someone's decided to label us Hogwart's newest 'it' couple," Lily explained with exasperation. "It's just not in the cards, Alice. Let it die."

"Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself, Lily," Alice replied smugly. "I happen to think you and Remus would make a wonderful couple."

"Ooooooooh, Lily and Remus!" a voice chimed in excitedly. "You two would be totally awesome together!"

"Umm, thanks. Do I know you?" Lily asked the pert looking little blond who seemed so excited about Lily's future prospects.

"Duh, of course. We've only been in classes together for seven years," the girl responded with a disapproving look.

"Right…" Lily looked rather uncomfortable.

"My name's Constance!" The blond half-shouted with annoyance. "Constance Spire. And I think you and Remus would be wonderful together. I've thought it for over a year now."

"Well, umm…Constance, thank you for your opinion, but as I was just saying, I'm really not the girlfriend type."

"Well that's just the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Constance stated bluntly. Lily's mouth hung open a bit in shock. She was formulating a quick-witted reply to Constance's blatant rudeness when Remus suddenly interrupted her thought process.

"Hey, Lily, I'm sorry for getting so upset earlier…a-about Sirius," Remus muttered quietly, hanging his head in shame. Both Constance and Alice shot Lily an urgent look before they hurried off towards the front of the group. Lily turned to Remus awkwardly and smiled.

"No, Remus, thank you for standing up to him for me," she replied softly. "I appreciate it." Remus glanced at her with surprise.

"Oh, oh, well then…you're welcome, Lily," he said with a broad smile, his whole face lighting up. "I just thought that since you yelled at James you might be mad at me as well," he continued on. Lily couldn't help but let a smile play briefly upon her lips. She stopped suddenly and grabbed Remus's hand, stopping him as well.

"Remus," Lily paused briefly as she gazed into his eyes, trying desperately to catch some sort of confirmation of her suspicions about his feelings for her. Remus stared back steadily, his eyes filled with what Lily could only assume was at least intense fondness. "Remus, I could never be mad at you," Lily finished as she gave his hand a quick squeeze. "You're one of my best friends." Remus cringed slightly at the word "friend," but quickly recovered and smiled graciously.

"You're one of my best friends, too, Lily," he returned softly. Lily smiled back at him affectionately as she threw her arms around him instantaneously.

"Remus, we just had a moment! A best friend moment!" Lily exclaimed. "We bonded!" Remus laughed awkwardly at her sudden outburst.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just ruined the moment, didn't I!" Lily released Remus as she blushed a shade of scarlet almost deep enough to match her hair.

"Lily, there are some things you don't know about me," Remus muttered under his breath.

"What?" Lily questioned with an arched brow.

"N-nothing. Um, let's get upstairs and get some sleep," he concluded as they walked through the portrait hole into their common room.

"My, my, how presumptuous! Remus, I didn't think you were the type to be so forward!" Sirius exclaimed from a nearby couch, James at his side. "You and Lily are going straight up to bed, hmm?"

"Stuff it, Sirius," Lily shot back at him with a look of disgust. "I'll see everyone tomorrow. Though, hopefully not you," she added with a sneer in James's direction.

"Goodnight, my love! Dream of me!" James called after her with a suggestive wink.

"I'd rather choke on my own spit and die!" Lily called back sweetly. Sirius and Remus laughed jovially at her quick return. James simply smiled, clasping his hand to his heart.

"That's the girl for me, my friends. She's the one."

"James," Remus began cautiously, "you actually sound sincere."

"I am! She's perfect," he replied, still grinning. "She's just got such—such spirit, I guess. Spunk, or liveliness or something like that. You know, that thing that makes girls agreeable."

"So eloquently stated," Sirius proclaimed, wiping a pretend tear away from his eye. "James, you're going soft on us, my friend. And I, personally, will hate you forever if you begin a committed relationship with a girl and act all devoted-boyfriend-like. So I hope for all of our sakes that Lily Evans has hateful burning feeling directed towards you for the remainder of our natural lives."

"Noted. Now then, Sirius, who's your prey of the year? Which poor, young, unsuspecting girl will fall victim to your hopelessly good looks and boyish charm?" Remus questioned in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"Well, actually," Sirius began effortlessly, "I believe this year I may switch to victim of the month, because I found that destroying the spirit of just one girl a year just wasn't enough of a challenge for me any longer."

"How gentlemanly of you," James offered.

"Precisely," Sirius returned with an unnaturally wide grin. His eyes suddenly locked in on something and he snapped to attention, striking a very masculine pose and stretching his smile even further to the point of discomfort. "Don't look now, boys," he managed to utter through his tightly clamped teeth, but here comes the first item of the month." Remus and James swung their heads around immediately to stare conspicuously at the perky blond girl who was fast approaching the trio, a coy smile on her lips.

"Hi!" She greeted the three of them very excitedly, blinking her extremely blue eyes at a very rapid pace. "How was your summer?"

"It was absolutely splendid!" Sirius began animatedly. "I did a bit of traveling, you know, just here and there, and I spent a lot of time with my mother. We're so close. I'm her little pride and joy, you know. She says it's because I'm just so sensitive. She goes on and on about me," he continued eagerly. He paused for a moment, expecting an appreciative nod from his audience.

"That's nice," the girl responded dismissively, "I was actually asking James, though," she added. James and Remus immediately broke out into laughter.

"That's right, put him in his place," Remus stated approvingly.

"My summer was very good, Constance. And yours?" James asked politely with a purposeful sideward glance at Sirius.

"Oooh, her name's Constance!" Sirius mouthed wordlessly to Remus with a wince.

"Fine, thank you," she replied pleasantly. "I hope I see a lot more of you this year, James. I hardly saw any of you at all last year."

"Well, maybe we'll have some classes together," James suggested.

"I really hope so," she replied enthusiastically. "We should really sit down and get to know each other some time, James. We've been in the same house seven years and yet I don't know a single thing about you other than you're a horrific student and an awe-inspiring quidditch player. Oh, and of course, also that you're quite good-looking." Constance winked in a very subtle way at James before tossing her blond hair over her shoulder and flouncing up the stairs.

"How could you not even know her name!" Remus exclaimed in horror. "You were going to hit on her and you didn't even know her name?"

"Eh, what's in a name? A rose by any other—"

"Sirius, my friend, I think you ought to pick another victim of the month," Remus suggested.

"No. She's this month's flavor," he replied stubbornly.

"I think she's more interested in James."

"Well, I'm not interested in her," James countered quickly. "She's got a tiny piece of fluff for a brain. It might just up and fly out one day when it's windy."

"Well that was just cruel," Remus scolded. "She's a perfectly nice girl."

"I like my girls dumb as a bag of rocks," Sirius said defensively. "It makes the pursuit a bit easier for me. If I wanted someone smart I'd go after Evans."

"And I'd kill you," James added.

"So you've said."

"You'd kill him for going after Lily?" Remus asked, a note of panic evident in his voice. James shifted his gaze towards Remus.

"Well, only because he's pond scum. If Lily was interested in him, though, I could hardly help it," James explained with a meaningful look.

"Enough of this talk. We're the Marauders! We don't need women."

"Well, if you ever want offspring, you might actually need a woman. I hear it's common procedure," James interjected.

"No, no, haven't you ever heard of Clive Minton? He once was trying to do a transfiguration spell on a pig and he somehow ended up pregnant. The first ever documented case of it!" Remus and James both stared at Sirius as though he'd just sprouted a second head.

"Yes, well…off to bed then," Remus suggested as he and James ran up the stairs to their dormitory.

"I'm just saying! And you know, another thing! I need, and I do mean need, to figure out how to get up the stairs to the girl's dormitory this year! It's essential to my very being!" Sirius continued to yell after his quickly retreating friends. "Right then, I guess I do need a woman," he muttered to himself after his friends had left.