Authors note:

Sorry I'm late updating, one words for you – exams -.-

*1 month later*

"Time for the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL!" Remus shouted at the Marauders in the morning whilst hitting a saucepan with a wooden spoon "Rise and shine!"

"Mrrffghhhhh" Sirius groaned whilst dragging himself out of bed. "Boring"

"Sirius it's exams for goodness sake" James moaned as he came out of the bathroom ruffling his hair "Of course it's boring"

"You know we haven't punished Snivullus for messing up Lily yesterday, now he's become one of them" Sirius suggested.

"Brilliant, I'm not having him get away with doing something like that, he needs to see that he's done something wrong" James agreed "I'm not letting that git think just because Lily's run away he's free of responsibility.

"Yes, yes, you're going to bring justice and blah blah blah, but can we please not be late? We need to do well in this to get the subjects needed to become Aurors" Remus pointed out as Sirius was trying to fall asleep again on the floor.

"Alright Moony no need to ruin the fun" James had resorted to pouring water onto Sirius to get him up so he finally got changed and they were ready to go.

"Good luck guys!" Sirius said to them as they walked into the Great Hall "Peter you're going to need it"

"Bloody hell" Peter sighed as they left "I think I answered one question right. The name box does count as a question, right?"

"Yes Peter. Of course it does" Sirius joked ruffling his hair "But I just so happen to know the exact thing which will cheer you up" he grinned and nodded towards Severus who was walking up the hill to the large oak tree through a crowd of people.

"This'll be brilliant" James smiled as they ran up towards him "Hey guys check this out!" He shouted getting everyone's attention "Oi, Snivullus!"

"What now Potter?" He mumbled, turning around. On seeing the look on James' face he got out his wand in defense.

"Oh not, whatever will I do now?" He laughed "Expelliarmus!" The wand flew out of Severus' hand"

"Nice one James" Sirius grinned. The crowd around them were now cheering them on, laughing at Severus as he stood there helpless. "Helpless, just like he made Lily feel" James thought to himself. He could never control his anger when he started letting it out, the only thing he could think of was getting Severus back for what he did, and he wanted it to be good.

"Levicorpus" He said, and Severus flipped upside down and hovered in front of them "Who wants to see Snivulus' trousers come off" The crowd egged him on. James was about to do it when he heard a high pitched gasp come from behind him.

"James?" Lily came up behind him and stared in disbelief at what he was doing, Kara and Sasha close behind her.

"Lily, we're just getting him back for what he did" James tried to explain, as he turned around he stopped concentrating on Severus so he fell to the ground and ran away quickly.

"James that was cruel, you don't need to protect me" she sighed "I thought you'd grown out of this"

"I have, it's just, er, Sirius made me do it" he muttered, looking down at his shoes like a child getting told off.

"Of course, Sirius made you do it" Lily tutted before walking away. Sirius slapped James in the face as soon as they left for blaming him.

"Guys I've had a knew brilliant idea!" Kara announced as her, Lily, and Sasha walked into the common room. "Shoes that walk under water"

Lily was about to tell her what a terrible idea that was when they came face to face with a giant sign saying sorry with a letter taped to it.

"He could just say these things to me" Lily sighed as she picked up the letter.

Lily,

I know I could just say these things to you but I want you to know how much you mean to me.
I know I can be immature and stupid, and I act without thinking, but I want to put that in the past.
I only did what I did because I wanted to get him back for betraying you but I know I took it too far
Please forgive me

James

"It's so romantic!" Sasha swooned.

"Sasha you're a hopeless romantic" Kara sighed "Do you forgive him Lily?"

She thought about everything that had happened and everything he'd done to her and was about to say no when she remembered the nice James she'd seen over the last couple of months. The one that gave up his duvet when she fell asleep in the common room, who saved her from an acromantula. She realized he had the same intentions when he did that to Severus as he'd had for all of those things and she made up her mind

"Yes. I do"

"How do you think you did?" Sasha asked everyone as they walked out of the Great Hall after their final exam.

"Absolutely amazing" Sirius boasted.

"Aced it!" James exclaimed.

"Probably the only one I did well on" Peter muttered.

"How on earth did you all get such great scores in a transfiguration exam!" Kara asked, astonished at this revelation. "It's, like, the hardest one out of all of them"

"Kara, when you have the amazing skills that we have" Sirius started, putting his arm around her should "Pure awesomeness will get you through"

"Oh shove off" Kara yanked his arm off her should and elbowed him playfully in the ribs "I know I did rubbish"

"I don't see why I can't get transfiguration right!" Lily clenched her fists. "I've been revising all year for that test and I bet I only just scraped an E"

"Oh no, poor Lily, only getting an E" Kara muttered under her breath.

Sensing the tension slowly building Remus butted in "Well then, we get our results back next week so there's no point in worrying about them now – the common room?" He suggested. With nothing better to do then sit around moaning about exams everyone agreed and traipsed up to the common room, sitting it a circle by the unlit fire.

"It's the holidays in a week!" Kara announced joyfully.

"Oh I'm going to miss you guys so much" Sasha moaned "My family are just going to be going to Wales for a week."

"Well a pair of tough titties to you my little friend, me and Prongsy here will be having a blowout do everything holiday" Sirius bragged, acting out a silent party.

"What about you Lils?" James asked awkwardly.

"Er, nothing to be honest, my family never do anything. I used to hang out with Petunia and Severus but…" she just cut off and everyone was left sat in awkward silence.

"Um, well I'll be living it up in Australia" Kara attempted to break the void.

"Cool, cool" James muttered, constantly catching Lily's eye then looking away blushing.

"Oh get a room" Sirius sighed after watching them for a couple of minutes.

"I have no idea what you mean Pad" James said through gritted teeth, trying to get him to shut up about him and Lily.

"Oh you know, I saw you..." James leapt on top of Sirius and put his hand over his mouth.

"Anyone want to go get someone to eat?" He shouted over Sirius' protesting shouts, everyone mumbled a yes and left as quickly as possible.

"OH MY GOD ALL O's!" Lily screamed in the middle of the common room, making everyone turn in annoyance. "Uh, sorry." she muttered.

"Wait, ALL O's?" Sasha asked.

"Well I don't count divination, of course" Lily excused.

"A, A, A, P, P, A, T, O" Kara reeled off her card mournfully.

"Wait, you got an O in something?" Sasha looked over suspiciously.

"Divination" beamed "As has been proved, I have the inner eye!"

"I think inner idiot is more likely" Lily muttered.

"We got an E, another E, then an E, yes an E" The Marauders all came into the common room chanting "Then it's O, O, O and O! Apart from Peters, T's" they laughed.

"Shut up!" Peter moaned. "You know I'm not good with grades.

"I'm guessing the OWL's went good for you three?" Lily guessed sarcastically.

"Same backatcha Lilsypop!" Sirius laughed whilst hi-fiving her. "Now it's time to get happy about holidays!" He whooped whilst doing a cartwheel out of the common room, the rest of the Marauders trailing after him.

"So, James, I think you'll find yet another year of Hogwarts has gone and you still haven't managed to 'woo' our Lilypop" Sirius announced as they were packing their bags.

"Yeah, but I think we can all agree that I've made a lot of progress over the last year, so it's really completely unnecessary for…" James tried to excuse yet another year of failure but Sirius wasn't having it.

"No, no, no, let us refer to the wardrobe of vows, dares, and general scribbling's for this"

The wardrobe of vows, dares, and general scribbling's used to belong to Amos Diggory but his constant preening and general vanity was close to becoming greater than that of the Marauders so they 'saw to it' that he left, and strangely no-one wanted to replace him. It held written versions of every single Marauder bet, vow, and argument. since the start of the first year, from 'Sirius bets Peter can't eat twenty five pies in under ten minutes' (Sirius lost that one) from third year, to first year with 'James vows that for every year he isn't going out with Lily whilst at Hogwarts the Marauders are allowed to place upon him any dare they wish and James must do it'.

James had been very cocky about his chances with Lily in first year, and so far he'd spent a night locked in a cage in the owlery, done a penguin slide from one end of the Gryffindor table to the other, spent the whole train journey to Kings Cross station dressed as a woman, and sat next to the Great Lake dressed as an octopus telling everyone he was going back to nature.

"But guys! This should at least count for something!" James moaned, wishing he'd never made that stupid bet.

"I'm sorry James, I don't make up the rules" Sirius replied solemnly.

"Yes you do!" James groaned, Sirius' cocky face annoyed him so much, until a thought crossed his mind "Hey, Sirius?"

"Yes?" He said carefully.

"Can I quickly take you back to the start of the year when you just so happened to develop a massive crush on our good friend…" James couldn't finish his sentence as Sirius was already on top of him with his hand over his mouth.

"You dare Potter!" He threatened.

"Oh, shame I have to do this dare then…" James muffled voice came through Sirius' hand.

"Damn it Prongs!"

The seven friends stood in saddening silence as they stood on the platform waiting to be ushered onto the train, the heavy smell of smoke filling their throats.

"Six weeks then" Peter said awkwardly through the silence, and Sasha just broke down in tears, hugging everyone.

"Don't forget me!" She whimpered.

"Sasha, we're meeting up for swimming next Tuesday" Kara joked, pushing her off her shoulder.

"Yeah, well it's just not the same!" She grumbled, in turns everyone said goodbye.

"Guys thanks for always being there" Remus told the Marauders, and they did a knowing nod in return before slapping each other on the back and doing a weird hand shake.

"Lilypop, it's been your honour" Sirius beamed at Lily. After slapping him Lily said.

"What's with this Lilypop rubbish all of a sudden?" Lily didn't realise the terrible humour of the Marauders stretched as far as lollipop word play.

"You're one of us now, we all have nicknames, just thank your luck stars your not named after a soil dwelling creature and a monkey feature" Sirius raised his eyebrows over to Wormtail.

"What about Kara and Sasha?" Lily whined, not wanting a ridiculous name pinned to her.

"Well they do but they'd be too offensive to say out loud..." Kara and Sasha simultaneously slapped him and frowned.

"Don't get too cocky Black" jokingly, then moved on to a hug with Sasha and Kara that seemed to last a lifetime, then when everyone else was saying goodbyes James and Lily were left on the side on their own.

"So, Lily…" James had absolutely no idea how to finish that sentence, but was luckily disrupted by Lily.

"James, you're a cocky, self-absorbed doufus who always finds a way to mess things up. You can be obnoxious, spoilt, and you and Sirius together are my worst nightmare"

"Uhh" Was all that James could say.

"But it just so happens that on top of that deep down you're kind, caring, always there for your friends and family, and you're a great person" and with that Lily got up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, before grabbing Sasha and Kara and boarding the train. Luckily only four could fit comfortably into those carriages so they wouldn't have to face the after-awkwardness over what she had just done.

"Lily?" Sasha asked precariously once they had got into the carriage.

"Hm?" Lily replied happily.

"Well you just kissed James… I thought we'd get some sort of explanation" She hinted.

"I. I don't know" Lily said in a daze.

"James?" Remus poked James in the shoulder as he sat staring out of the window in deep thought frowning slightly.

"Yeah?" He said, not taking his eyes of the view out of the window.

"Why didn't you go after her?" Remus said in disbelief.

"It didn't feel like the right moment…" James started to think it over.

"Yes, because when Lily kisses you on the cheek it's clearly a sign that she wants you to leave her alone" Sirius remarked.

"You think she was giving me a sign?" James asked in disbelief.

"Of course I do you idiot!" Sirius slapped him in the arm "I'm not exactly going to expect you to completely back off now, am I?"

"Why was I supposed to be expecting a sign? She's never given me a reason to expect a sign!" James started hyperventilating "I GONE DOOFED GUYS"

"Why do you turn into an upper class gentleman when you're annoyed?" Remus marvelled as James paced the tiny carriage.

"Oh darn it" He cursed under his breath, not hearing Remus' comment.

"Snap out of it!" Sirius got up and slapped him in the side of the face "Now you find her, tell her how you feel, AND GET YOUR GIRL!"

"We can't move about the train until we arrive" Peter meekly pointed out.

"Now you find her, tell her how you feel, AND GET YOUR GIRL! In approximately two hours" Sirius corrected, at least making James chuckle and sit back down, spending the rest of the journey waiting for his moment.

The noise was overpowering when the four Marauders were bustled off the train, screaming children, parents calling for their children, the deafening screech of the train's whistle. There was a surge of movement as a thousand students tried to get out of the train at the same time, a constant sense of panic surrounded them.

"LILY!" James shouted as he shoved his way through everyone, frantically searching for the flowing curls of Lily's fiery hair in the crowd. He saw Lily, Kara and Sasha busily chatting as they waded through the crowd over at the door at the side of their carriage. "LILY" he yelled over the noise.

"James?" Lily looked around hopefully. James started to barge through the crowd to get to her.

"Lily I'm over here" James called over to her.

They finally met in the middle and grasped hands so the crowd didn't sweep them away.

"You never told me why!" James shouted over the crowd.

"I didn't think I'd have to!" She laughed.

"I don't suppose I could have another shot at it?" James suggested whilst smiling directly at Lily, and Lily didn't even have to reply.

It was as if the raging crowds vanished as James and Lily stood in the middle of it all. It felt like a romantic wave rushing to his heart, taking her hand and pulling her into him James couldn't help beaming as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

"Lily! Lily we're over here!" Lily's mum called over merrily over to them.

"I've got to go" Lily whispered sadly up at James.

"Come with me!" James suggested,

"Sorry James, I can't leave my mum" and with that Lily slowly slipped her hand out of his, mouthed a goodbye, and walked off with her mom clutching her luggage.

"Uh, James?" He heard Sirius ask behind him "We need to talk"

Sirius lay on his bed, contemplating the past year at Hogwarts, just waiting for the moment James would send the signal patronus through his window so he knew it was time to leave the hell hole in which he was forced to live.

Until them Sirius vowed to not leave his bedroom in which he had attempted to make as anti-dark wizard as possible. He had used permanent sticking charms to plaster his walls with muggle pictures, Gryffindor posters, and endless moving photos of him and the Marauders messing around. The latest picture was one of him, James, and Lily sat in front of the great lake laughing. He saw his muggle photos as defiance against his parents but the magic photos were a constant reminder of the good people in the world, it got him through the bad times with his family.

After about an hour of reliving the past year there was a scream of delight from downstairs. Curious to find out what had happened Sirius snuck downstairs and into the room where his mother and father were sat in the same positions as always.

"Sirius." His father said blankly, as the heir to the Black family his dad always looked down on him as a disappointment.

"I, er, just wanted to know what the fuss was about" He stuttered.

"Oh why should you care Sirius?" His mum said blankly from her chair in the shadows "you'll only tell us how ashamed you are of us again"

"Sorry for asking" Sirius replied sarcastically, but as he still wanted to know what had happened he just stood there awkwardly.

"If you must know we just heard about a new advancement in the cause" His mum bragged as she strolled over to him. "One day you'll see, Sirius, that this is the best way forwards, and soon you will be a part of this revolution" She beamed whilst cupping her hands around his face.

"What do you mean soon I'll be a part of it?" Sirius spluttered.

"Well you're sixteen in a few months, and we want you to be a part of the greatest thing to ever happen in wizarding world" His mum beamed down at him.

"Believe me I am NOT becoming part of Voldemort's criminals!" Sirius yanked his mum's hands from his face and took a step back.

"You do not say his name, Sirius!" she tried to grab his hand but he pulled it away. On seeing this rebellion Sirius' dad stepped up for the first time and towered over him.

"As long as you live under my roof, Sirius, you will do what me and your mother think is best for you" he boomed.

"Well maybe I don't want to live under your roof!" Sirius yelled.

"Fine! Get out of my house!" His dad thundered pointing at the door.

"FINE!" He screamed, stormed up the stairs, dragged his suitcase of his wardrobe, he didn't have time to tear down him posters, and he didn't have enough room to shove all of his memorabilia into the suitcase, so he threw all of his clothes, school books, his box of pranks, his end of the mirror, and his combs in. He then stormed down the stairs, banging the suitcase as hard as possible on each step, flung the door open, and slammed it behind him.

"Where now?" He thought to himself as he turned and looked at his house for the last time.

James leapt down the stairs and threw on his old tattered trainers before grabbing his hoodie.

"Dad?" He called.

"In here son!" He heard the deep voice of his father call from the living room.

"I was going to call for Sirius, but if I don't think you'll be alright on your own" James looked sadly down at his depressed father, while his mother was recovering the only times that James saw him happy was when they visited his mother and he would sit clutching onto her hand as if she'd float off if he let go.

"Don't worry about me, you're young and I don't want to hold you back" He murmured, his head stuck in the paper.

"No, not with you like this, I'll just go and call Sir…" there was a desperate banging on the door.

"What on earth?..." James swung open the door to reveal a disheveled looking Sirius clutching a suitcase and a cauldron cake.

"What on earth happened?" James pulled Sirius into the house and took his bag from his hands "And why do you have cake?"

"I've left my parents. I moved out!" Sirius exclaimed, exhilarated with the joy of leaving that hell hole and taking a huge bight "This is my celebration" He then said through a mouthful of cake.

"Oh My God! You can't just leave home! Where will you go?" James questioned looking at Sirius worriedly.

"Here?" He said expectantly.

Authors note:

Om my goodness I'm sorry for being so late, I started this on Sunday and time just flew – I promise I will start writing the next one as soon as I finish updating this Don't forget to review - ]the box is just there!

Mischief Managed.