Chapter 2:
The next morning, everyone gathered excitedly at breakfast in the Great Hall to discuss their schedules for the year as well as the latest gossip about newly forming couples and newly forming breakups. The Marauders sat together discussing their latest agenda of pranks for the upcoming weeks, but Sirius was lacking his usual spirit as his latest conquest had failed. He kept casting longing looks in Constance's general direction.
"Give it up, she doesn't like you," Peter chuckled snidely.
"Shut it, Wormtail," Sirius snarled back. Peter looked slightly hurt as he poked rather violently at his oatmeal with his spoon.
"Everyone else has been saying it," he muttered half to himself. "I don't see why I can't." Alice soon sat down beside Peter and began to pick at her own bowl of oatmeal while making pained attempts at polite conversation with him.
"Alice, where's Lily?" James asked as soon as he noticed her.
"She should be along soon. She overslept a bit," she replied nonchalantly. Lily walked up to the table at this point with a displeased look upon her face.
"I did not! I just decided I didn't need to spend the extra three hours primping to make a good impression on my first day like the rest of you girls," Lily stated defensively.
"I didn't take three hours! Who am I trying to impress? I've already got Frank!" Alice protested.
"Alright, well, not you, Allie, but everyone else."
"That's because you're a natural beauty, Evans," James offered with a suave smile. "If you spent time trying to make yourself any more beautiful I'd have a heart attack on the spot after having sighted such a dazzling vision."
"Shove off," Lily replied evenly as she sat down at Alice's side.
"You need to learn how to take a compliment, Lily," Alice told her with a pointed look.
"Not from him I don't," she replied with a derisive snort. "He couldn't possibly mean it. He just likes to poke fun at me. It's his pathetic excuse for leisure."
"Lily, darling, I have lots of hobbies. Like snogging you in dark corners for one," James returned effortlessly. Remus choked a little on his own breakfast at this point and turned to Lily with a look of utter alarm.
"I think before it can be considered a hobby you actually have to have done it in real life, not just in your twisted, perverted fantasies," Lily replied, dishing large amounts of oatmeal into her ready bowl and giving Remus a sidelong wink.
"Consider it a future hobby then. I have every intention of making it one."
"And I have every intention of strangling you in your sleep, but if I did that I might very well find myself on a little vacation in Azkaban. So, you see, we can't all get our wish."
"Lily, my dearest, the only reason I'd ever die is of a broken heart if I find it's really true you don't love me," James stated dramatically, pouting like a child.
"Well then, I'll make the funeral arrangements," Lily offered pertly.
"Like a dagger in my heart, Evans. Like a dagger in my heart," James responded sadly, shaking his head slowly back and forth.
"Oh stop going on you two, you're no better than a couple of children," Alice admonished in a very motherly way.
"Yes, and there are more important things at stake," Sirius announced, "such as my manhood. Lily, Alice, how should I go about attracting an impossible woman?"
"I don't think you could attract a clam if you tried," Lily replied nonchalantly. Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Sirius, honestly, if you want a girl to like you then be nice to her, be yourself. Don't put on an act because that's what you think she wants," Alice explained patiently.
"That's the most boring advice I've ever heard," Sirius returned with a yawn. "Come on, I need a scheme!"
"Sirius, honestly, I don't think a woman could be attracted to you unless she lacked a brain," Lily continued, ignoring Alice's sincere advice.
"Well then, Sirius, you're in luck," James declared with a grin. "He's happened to pick just that kind of a girl as his next target."
"She's a nice girl!" Remus insisted.
"Perfectly nice, and perfectly dizzy in the head," James threw in.
"Who are we talking about anyway?" Alice questioned, almost fearing the answer.
"Good morning, James," an overly peppy voice exclaimed, interrupting the conversation with very fortunate timing. James turned suddenly, his usual grin disappearing off his face.
"Oh, Constance, good morning to you, too," he replied rather robotically.
"What class do you have first?" The blond questioned excitedly, twirling a piece of her impossibly blond hair around a finger delicately.
"Uhhh…" James paused, looking around helplessly. "I think I have Transfiguration, but—" James was cut off suddenly by a squeal of delight.
"Oh, James! Me too!" Constance shrieked. James looked incredibly taken aback.
"Great?" James questioned, bracing for another shriek.
"Jamesy, is it okay if I call you Jamesy?" She asked without pausing for an answer. "You just have to walk me. Won't you walk me?"
"I think Sirius might be thrilled to walk you." Constance looked in Sirius's general direction with a look of extreme distaste.
"Oh? Well, I was really hoping you would, Jamesy," she insisted with a smile.
"Well, I mean, the Marauders usually walk together," James stumbled for a way out of this awkward situation.
"James, please! Let's not be rude!" Sirius rose immediately and took her arm. "Since Jamesy is being so rude, I'll escort you," he continued as he pulled her away unwillingly. Constance looked over her shoulder with great displeasure as she clucked at Sirius for pulling her away from James, who looked tremendously relieved.
"Ugh, I cannot believe this!" Lily cried out with disgust.
"I know! Isn't she annoying!" James said in disbelief.
"What?" Lily questioned with a blank look. "Oh, that. No, I'm not talking about her. You have Transfiguration first? What did you do, stalk me so you could take every class I do?" James's look of disbelief suddenly changed back to his regular disarming smile.
"Evans, there's no one I'd rather learn with than you."
"I'll transfigure you into a rock."
"They say such bantering back and forth between a young man and lady is a sure sign of true love," Frank Longbottom acknowledged with a sly grin as he approached the table.
"Frank, no!" Alice declared with a look of horror. "Lily and James aren't meant to be. Everyone can see that clearly Lily's meant to be with a certain other boy," she continued on knowingly.
"What other boy?" James questioned spitefully. Alice shot him a look that clearly told him to shut his mouth before turning to smile deliberately at Remus who blushed furiously in return.
"I, for one, don't think Lily's the girlfriend type," Peter muttered sullenly.
"She certainly is!" Remus called out defensively.
"Well I wouldn't have her. She's much too outspoken," he continued, his nose twitching back and forth like that of his characteristic aniamgus.
"She wouldn't have you either, I'd imagine," James cut in. "Now enough of this nonsense. It wouldn't look good if the Head Boy was late to his first class." Lily looked up with sudden surprise.
"Why, I never thought I'd see the day! James Potter is worried about getting to class on time! Now if memory serves me correctly, I do believe you missed well over half of the classes of last year's Transfiguration for various, somewhat questionable reasons."
"Lily, I keep telling you, my love, I've turned over a new leaf. James Potter is a changed man."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
"Enough bickering, he's right," Frank stated authoritatively. "It's time for class."
The whole group filed off to class, James leading the way heroically, or so he liked to think, while offering a running commentary on all of the basic personality flaws of the typical Slytherin and why they should all be burned at the stake. They arrived a few minutes early, and the whole class gasped with awe as they observed a sight never before seen in Hogwarts.
"The Marauders coming to class on time?"
"I think the world's ending."
"I think James is Head Boy now so he has no choice," Sirius piped in.
"I think James Potter is a very responsible young man," Constance stated, looking indignant. James ruffled his hair uncomfortably as he smiled awkwardly at Constance before sitting as far away from here as possible. She immediately arose from her seat next to Sirius and started in James's direction, eyeing the empty seat next to him.
"Evans, please," James pleaded, motioning to the seat at his side.
"No," Lily replied simply as she started in the other direction. James grabbed her wrist gently and tugged at it as he gave her his best puppy dog impression.
"Please!" Lily rolled her eyes with exasperation as she looked longingly towards Remus who was sitting among several empty seats motioning for her to have a seat next to him. Constance came bouncing up, her blond hair swinging behind her, a wide smile on her face.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked James, blinking her lashes heavily laden with mascara rather rapidly. James shot Lily another beseeching look.
"Actually, yeah, I'm sitting here," Lily jumped in, not even believing that she was saying these words. Constance's smile instantly turned to a sullen frown.
"Want to trade with me?"
"No, thanks. This seat has really good note-taking light," she explained. Constance looked as though she were growing more and more upset with Lily.
"I see. Well, then, Jamesy, I'll sit with you next time. Don't you worry," she promised cheerfully before turning on her heel and sauntering away with a purposeful swagger of her hips. James just nodded helplessly while swallowing hard. As soon as Constance had returned to her seat next to Sirius, James shot Lily the biggest grin.
"Hey, Lily," he said quietly, "thanks. I really owe you."
"Don't get used to it, Potter. I don't know what made me want to help the likes of you." James made no response, he just continued grinning at her happily.
Class went by rather uneventfully. The professor spent most of it recapping previous lessons so as to refresh their memories after a long summer of inactivity. James fell asleep no more than six times, though he managed to snore only once. At the end of the lesson, everyone filed slowly out of the classroom, the boring subject matter having drained them all of any enthusiasm they'd had going into the first day of classes.
"Lily, why didn't you come sit by me?" Remus questioned as he caught up with Lily at the door. Lily ran a hand through her long red hair as she furrowed her brow anxiously, not knowing herself why she'd come to James's rescue.
"Well, Potter apparently needed rescuing from that blond," Lily paused here, unable to think of an appropriate description. "That blond…thing." Remus suppressed a laugh as he smiled broadly.
"Well, I don't want to be mean, but she's so—well—I don't really think there's a nice word for it," Lily concluded with a sheepish grin.
"Jamesy! Jamesy! Do you have a break now, too!" A shrill voice resonated throughout the hallway as everyone turned to stare at the blond-haired girl shouting urgently. James's face immediately gained a rather pained look as he sped up his walking pace rather drastically in the opposite direction. "Jamesy! Wait!"
"Constance, wait! I have a break now!" Sirius ran after the two of them with an eager look in his eyes. Remus grabbed his arm as he ran by.
"Sirius, no offense, but I think you should end this particular pursuit. Besides, I saw Sarah shooting longing looks in your direction all of class. You should talk to her. She's such a nice girl," Remus tried reasoning with his friend. Sirius nodded distractedly as he watched Constance continue to run down the hallway after James.
"Look at that hair bounce. Just look at her. She's stunning. No, I must have her," Sirius responded, his eyes not moving from Constance.
"Shall I wipe the drool off your chin for you?" Lily offered as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure Sarah's hair bounces, too!" Remus sighed with frustration.
"Not like that," Sirius exclaimed as he took off into a run once more. Remus shook his head slowly.
"Why am I friends with him again?"
"Don't look at me. I haven't the slightest idea," Lily responded with a shrug.
"Sarah's liked him forever."
"Everyone's liked him forever. Well, and James, too," Lily concluded. Remus turned to look at her questioningly.
"And you? You too?"
"Please, Remus. What do you take me for? One of their brainless Barbie doll admirers?"
"So you don't like James?" Remus bit his lip anxiously as he ran his hand through his hair. He looked as though he almost feared Lily's answer.
"Remus! I despise him! Can't you tell?" Lily scoffed in disbelief. She couldn't believe Remus was asking such an outrageous question.
"Just checking," he returned with a nervous chuckle. "I like to keep on the latest Hogwarts gossip." Lily couldn't help but notice that his eyes twinkled a bit more brightly and his smile seemed more genuine now that Lily had reassured him she wasn't harboring a secret love for James.
"Yes, I'm sure," Lily replied suspiciously. "Why do you care so much?" Remus didn't offer a response, he just shrugged and smiled.
"Want to take a walk around the lake before Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"You're taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, too?" Lily looked hopeful, and felt hopeful, too. She really wanted to him to say yes, which surprised her a bit.
"I sure am," Remus replied with a grin as he began to walk towards the grounds.
"Sure, let's go," Lily answered happily as she followed. Alice passed the two of them in the hall and grinned ecstatically.
"Where are you two off to?"
"The lake for a walk," Remus offered. He paused for a moment and then added reluctantly, "do you want to join us?"
"No, no, no. You two go. I've got to meet Frank." She stopped to smile at them both knowingly and she squeezed Lily's arm emphatically before walking away happily.
"What was that all about?" Remus shot Lily a quizzical look. Lily played with her hair apprehensively as she thought for a moment.
"Oh, who knows? You know how Alice is. Her head's always in the clouds since she started dating Frank."
"I suppose." Remus held the door open for Lily as they started towards the lake. The air smelled pleasantly of flowers in bloom, a hint of summer still evident in the warmth of the sun. Lily breathed in deeply as she surveyed the vast expanse of the Hogwarts grounds with her shining green eyes.
"I missed Hogwarts." Remus smiled at her fondly as she looked around contentedly.
"Me too. Well, I missed some things about it more than others. And some people, too," Remus stated meaningfully as he continued to gaze at Lily, his heartbeat increasing slightly. Lily was still looking at the lake, oblivious to Remus's intense stare.
"I know. It's so boring at home with my wretched sister. I miss everyone here so much. Writing letters just isn't the same."
"You probably missed Alice a lot, didn't you?" Remus asked with a sigh.
"No, she actually visited me quite a bit during the summer," Lily replied with a faint smile. "I missed other people more. You didn't write enough, for example," Lily teased.
"I didn't want to annoy you by writing too often," Remus admitted. "I thought you'd get sick of me."
"I missed you the most!"
"You did?" Remus's cheeks began to glow slightly, which Lily was pleased to notice.
"I did," Lily repeated as she turned to face Remus. They had reached the edge of the lake and a breeze was rustling gently through their hair.
"I missed you, too, Lily. A lot," Remus said softly, his eyes shining warmly.
"Good! Write me more often next summer then! And during Christmas, too!"
"I will, I promise." They both sat together underneath a tree, looking the waves slowly forming in the lake.
"And come visit me, too! I'm always telling my mother about you and the rest of the Marauders. She wants to meet you!" Remus's grin stretched even further across his face.
"Anything you'd like. We'll all come, Lily. And I'll make everyone behave."
"Well, I'm not asking for miracles, here. Just a simple visit will suffice."
"They'll behave like gentlemen or I'll hex them all," Remus vowed. Lily felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she realized the full intensity of what she was feeling.
"You're great," was all Lily could say to express her emotions. Remus looked thoughtful for a moment, and then slowly began to move closer towards Lily.
"Jamesy! You're just too cute! Why did you run away from me like that? To think I'd find you hiding in the Forbidden Forest! You're so silly." James suddenly came running into view as he continuously glanced nervously over his shoulder. Not watching where he was going, he tripped over Lily and went tumbling to the ground.
"Ouch!" Lily and James grunted in unison as they each nursed their respective injuries.
"Potter! Watch where you going, stupid git," Lily fussed as she rubbed her elbow. James opened his mouth to apologize when he suddenly realized how close Lily and Remus had been sitting together.
"Hello, Remus," he said emotionlessly. "What were you two doing?"
"Lily was just telling me how she wants all the Marauders to visit her during Christmas," Remus explained. "Lily, are you alright?" He rubbed his fingers lightly over her elbow, concern evident in his eyes.
"I'm fine. No thanks to Potter," she growled with a sneer in his direction.
"You want us to visit you?" James asked, disregarding her menacing look.
"Yes," she admitted reluctantly. James grinned broadly in response.
"I'll be there, Evans," he proclaimed jubilantly.
"Jamesy! There you are!" Constance beamed happily as she flipped her blond hair over her shoulder in an obvious attempt at flirtation. Her eyes darted to Lily for a moment and her overly tooth grin disappeared. "Lily, hi."
"Hi, Constance."
"Jamesy, why don't you leave the happy couple alone and come with me? We don't want to intrude on their time together." Remus and Lily both blushed immediately in response.
"They're not a couple!" James shouted at her.
"Sure, they aren't, dear," Constance returned with a roll of her eyes.
"Well, we'd better be getting to class," Lily announced, breaking the awkward silence.
"Uh, yeah, we'll be late," Remus added as they both scrambled to their feet. They started to walk away as James cast them a pleading look which clearly said, 'Don't leave me alone with this psycho.' Lily heaved a deep sigh as she slowed her pace a bit and looked deliberately at James.
"Potter, come on. You still haven't told me about your summer. Tell me on the way to class," Lily stated firmly. James shot her a look full of gratitude as a smile reached his lips.
"Sure thing, Evans." He turned to Constance and gave a small wave. "See you later."
"Jamesy, I'll come with you!"
"What class do you have next?" Lily questioned the blond vixen.
"Potions," she answered with a pout of her lips and a longing glance towards James.
"What a shame! We have Defense Against the Dark Arts, which is in a completely different area. So, I guess we'll see you later, 'Stancey. Ta ta!" Lily grabbed James's arm with one hand and Remus's with her other as she tugged at them to indicate they should pick up the pace.
"Jamesy! I'll see you later! We can snog in the tower tonight!" Constance called after James, desperation evident in her voice.
"I have to do homework tonight," James shouted over his shoulder.
"Constance!" Sirius suddenly came running onto the scene and immediately began to engage Constance in meaningless, shallow conversation.
"She can't possibly be that stupid, can she?" Lily questioned in disbelief.
"I think she believes if she drops her IQ 50 points, she'll somehow be more attractive to guys," James offered. "But that only works for Sirius. He likes his women stupid. That way they won't know he's just going to dump them in a few weeks."
"Lovely," Lily replied shortly.
"Hey, don't get angry with me. I like my women smart," James offered. "Smart and ambitious. Like you, Lilykins. And only you."
"Lucky me," Lily responded sarcastically.
"Lily, dearest, I love you for your mind and your devastatingly good looks."
"Swell."
"You are the flower of my life."
"Mm-hmm," Lily shot Remus a look of annoyance, and he nodded sympathetically. They were walking along the edge of the lake now, making their way back towards the school.
"Shall I recite some poetry to convince you of my undying love?"
"No, but I'm about to push you into the lake with undying disgust."
"Well, I would like a good swim."
"Brilliant," Lily said simply. She reached out and gave James a firm push. He stumbled sideways and then fell gracelessly into the dark waters of the lake.
"Lily!" Remus burst into hysterical laughter. James surfaced suddenly, thrashing his limbs about wildly.
"Bravo, Evans," he called from the murky water. "I didn't think you had it in you." He dragged himself out of the lake and shook his hair like a wet dog. He then proceeded to wrap his arms around Lily in a giant bear hug.
"Potter! You stupid jerk!" James continued to hold her in his wet embrace until she was thoroughly soaked. Remus stood by helplessly, not sure how to react.
"There you go, Lily. My gift from me to you." James smiled triumphantly at Lily as he rubbed his wet hands on her hair for good measure.
"Get stuffed," she shouted at him. James laughed gleefully as he began to wring the excess water from his robes. Remus wrapped his own robe around Lily without a word.
"Don't catch a chill," he told her softly as he rested his hands on her shoulders for a moment. She smiled warmly at him. James cleared his throat suddenly and rather violently.
"No one cares about me catching a chill," he muttered sullenly.
"I'm sure Constance would care," Remus offered.
"I hate you both."