Life was busy at Hogwarts, and I soon forgot all about Sirius Black and his infuriatingly confusing ways. As our professors kept reminding us, exams were quickly approaching, and Bertram was insistent that we dedicate at least one hour a day to exam prep, on top of all of the other schoolwork we were assigned. He planned to increase his studying allotment incrementally through the rest of the year, but I already felt one hour was asking too much of myself. Between patrol duties, classes, homework, studying, and sleeping, I already felt rather run down.

I was sitting in the courtyard, the brisk Autumn breeze held off still by the lingering Summer heat, working on an essay that I'd put off for too long. I loved being outside; I relished in the feeling of a soft breeze, caressing my face as the waning sun warmed my body. I loved the Forest – the way it smelled of dampness, the rich color of the green trees, the mystery. The Forbidden Forest had always held a sway over me, and as a younger student, I used to wander around the edges, daring to see how far I could venture without getting caught. Once I'd become a Prefect, I'd had to stop, but it still called for me, calling for me to wander inside and discover the secrets it held. I'd contented myself, for today, with my spot near the Lake, a wide view of the entire grounds, and allowed myself to enjoy the remainders of the nice weather. Soon, the grounds would be covered in snow, students would be outside throwing snowballs and building forts, and I would have to hole myself inside until spring arrived.

There were other groups of students gathered under various trees and sitting by the Lake, dipping their feet in. One of the girls, sitting with a group of Ravenclaws, squealed and tore her foot out of the water, shrieking that the Giant Squid had touched her. I rolled my eyes; it was doubtful that the Giant Squid, who lived near the bottom of the lake, would be lingering near the surface, looking for student's toes.

A particularly strong breeze blew one of my papers away, and in the process of trying to catch it, I upended a bottle of ink on the essay I'd spent the last two hours working on. With a curse, I pulled my wand out of my bag and started poking at the parchment in frustration. I managed to siphon away most of the ink, but by the time I'd finished, I was too frustrated to continue sitting outside. I gathered all of my stuff into my bag and got to my feet. I made my way back to the castle, my head down. Various groups of students passed me on their way down to the grounds for a quick walk before dinner. I figured I could probably find Bertram or Flor before dinner to finish up my essay; I pulled open the door to the Entrance Hall and made my way over to the staircase.

"Russo!" Someone called from behind me. James Potter and his group of friends must had followed me up to the castle – it was odd that I hadn't heard them, as usually they could be heard from a mile away.

I turned, sighing. "Potter." I leaned against a wall off to the side of the staircase, waiting for the group to catch up to me.

He came to a stop in front of me, a friendly smile on his face. His brown eyes were bright, almost twinkling. His black hair was standing up in all directions, his signature untidy mop. I understood why girls thought he was attractive, not that they had any chance with him. He was too in love with Lily to so much as look at another girl. "How are you?" He asked conversationally.

"I'm…good," I said slowly. Black stood behind Potter, examining his fingernails with a bored expression on his face. Pettigrew was staring at me, his eyes wide. He was a small, nervous little boy – I'd never actually heard him speak before that night in the Trophy Room. Remus was standing next to Potter, an easy look on his face. I liked Remus – he was kind, and gentle. He wasn't as barbaric as his friends, and he and I had patrolled together many times. He was quiet, but with a dry sense of humor that I greatly appreciated.

"Hello, Frankie," Remus said kindly.

"Hi, Remus," I said back, smiling. "What's going on?"

"James has a question for you," Remus explained, looking pointedly at Potter. "Well, not really a question, more of a favor. I already told him he's wasting his time, but his big head is…"

"Oi!" Potter interrupted him, good-naturedly. "My head is not that big."

"It is, mate," Remus said with a laugh. I had to agree with him, although I kept my mouth shut. Pettigrew looked like he didn't know what to do, so he settled halfway between a look of sympathy and amusement. It made him look slightly constipated, but I stifled the chuckle that threatened to burst through my lips.

"Anyway…" I said, once Remus had stopped laughing. "What's the favor?"

Potter looked at me, eyes bright, and said with an insufferable smile, "I need you to help me get Lily to agree to go on a date with me!"

A great silence followed his words. I stared at Potter, wide-eyed, completely lost as to why he would be asking me, of all people for help. He and I had barely had more than two conversations in the entire seven years we'd been at school together, and I wasn't friends with Lily. There was nothing I could do to help him, even if it wasn't a hopeless situation.

The smile never faltered from Potter's face as he stared at me in expectation of my answer. I realized he wasn't going to speak again at the same time that Black looked at me in irritation, his eyes once again filled with hatred. "What?" I croaked, cocking my head to the side.

"I told him that it was stupid," Remus sighed, rolling his eyes.

Potter made a noise, saying, "It's not stupid! You managed to get out of the friend zone! I figured you could just help me do the same."

I stared at him, shocked again. "What in the name of Merlin's soggy left bollock are you talking about?" I exclaimed, lost.

At that, Pettigrew and Remus burst out laughing, while James looked taken aback by my foul mouth. Black looked mildly amused, his lip twitching as though he too wanted to laugh. "Sorry," I said, softly to James. "I just have absolutely no idea what you mean by that."

"Aubrey!" Potter exclaimed, as though it were obvious. "You've been friends for so many years, and now you're dating. I just think if I knew how you did it, it could really help me get Lily to agree to a date with me. You've got to help me!"'

I exchanged a look with Remus; he'd brought a hand to his forehead, and shook his head at me, urging me to answer Potter and get this over with. He and Pettigrew were both still trying their hardest to stem their laughter, and failing miserably as they kept erupting into giggles.

"Uhm…I hate to break it to you Potter, but Aubrey and I are not dating," I said, trying to make myself sound sympathetic. James's face fell slightly, but he quickly bounced back, a grin back on his face.

"But you two spend all of your time together, and he walks you to all of your classes," he insisted.

"If you haven't noticed," I said through gritted teeth, my irritation growing, "Florence is always with us too. We happen to take the same classes, so of course we walk to class together."

"But, Sirius said you two were dating," James said, furrowing his brow.

My head snapped to Black, but he merely shrugged, shaking his head slightly. He looked completely over this conversation, as though he'd rather be anywhere than standing in front of me right now. "Well, Black clearly has no idea what he's talking about," I snapped angrily. "Bertram and I are just friends. Merlin, even thinking about dating him makes me feel some sort of way."

"I told him as much," Remus said, throwing his arms in the air. He'd finally managed to stop laughing. "He can't seem to understand that a girl and a guy can just be friends."

An astute silence followed Remus's words. I figured I should probably just be blunt with Potter and hope that he walked away. I didn't need to be involved in whatever hair-brained scheme he thought I could help out with. "Potter…" I began hesitantly. "You do know that you and Lily aren't even friends, right? She bloody hates your guts. I don't think trying to get me involved is going to do much to fix that."

If my words hurt James, he didn't show it. I hadn't meant to be rude, just honest. I couldn't understand how after seven years of Lily rejecting him, he hadn't given up. Surely his friends must have told him it was hopeless? Surely, they can't be encouraging him, could they? "Possibly," he said. "But I have to try. You'll help me, won't you?"

"I really don't think I'm the right person for the job," I said panicked, shooting Remus a pleading look. He just shrugged. I turned to Black, who was staring down at his shoes, completely ignoring the conversation that was taking place. Pettigrew just looked happy to be included, if I was being honest.

"I know you lied to her," James said quietly, taking a step forward. My heart rate increased at the sudden closeness, but I kept my face impassive.

"What do you mean?" I asked nonchalantly. Or at least as nonchalantly as I could – I wouldn't be winning any awards for my acting lately.

Potter snorted, smiling at me once again. "Please, Padfoot and Wormy couldn't wait to tell me that they were behind the whole Head Prat thing. More specifically, they couldn't wait to tell me that a prefect had actually seen them, and yet had done nothing. Very odd, you know, seeing as how I'm Head Boy and could put you in detention. I really should put you in detention for aiding and abetting criminals." He tapped his lip, pretending to be deep in thought, contemplating how he should punish me.

"Stop playing with her, Prongs," Black said in a bored voice. He wasn't looking at me, but I suppose that was better than his hatred-fueled stare.

"If you're trying to threaten me, you need to do a better job at it," I said exasperatedly. "You lot really know nothing about me, but detentions don't scare me."

"Not much scares you, does it," Black mumbled grumpily.

"Look, Russo, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't desperate. I'm running out of time, and I really need someone else's perspective. You're a girl, you must know something about this stuff!" Potter exclaimed pleadingly. I felt my heart deflate a little bit at the earnest expression on his face. He really did look desperate; and he must be, to be begging a girl he didn't even know for her help.

I sighed, taking pity on him. "Look, Potter, I'm really no expert – I've only ever dated one person, and he was my brother's best friend, so he barely counts – but I can give you some advice. You need to cool it with her – stop hanging on to her every word, giving in to her every whim, and especially…stop allowing her to speak to you as though you are less than the dirt on her shoes. She doesn't treat you with any kindness, or like you have any feelings. Stop letting her walk all over you, and maybe she'll learn to respect you and see the decent guy that lies beneath the image she's conjured of you."

Potter looked thoughtful, nodding his head slowly, taking in the information I'd just basically snapped at him. Remus was smiling at me, and Pettigrew looked shell shocked. Black, however, was staring at me as though he'd never seen me before. His eyes were wide and his jaw slack. As I made eye contact with him, he immediately diverted his gaze – moving so quickly I almost thought my gaze had burned him.

I hesitated, unsure if I'd crossed a line or not, but decided that if I was going to tell James Potter what I really thought about him and Lily Evans, I might as well say everything in one shot. "Potter…are you really sure about her? Why do you like her so much? She's not really all that nice…is she really worth all of the torment you've put yourself through?"

Black barked out a laugh, surprising me. I snapped my head towards him, as he doubled over in laughter. He wiped imaginary tears from his eyes as he stood straight, "Mate, I've been saying the same fucking thing for years. I'm glad there's finally someone else sane around here." As he finished speaking, he looked over at me, this time not with anger, but with curiosity.

Potter glared at Black, but in such a way that did tell me that they'd had this conversation before, probably several times. Potter turned back to me, his expression softening. "She's perfect," he mooned, his eyes taking on a far-away look. "I know she might not seem it, but she is perfect. She's brilliant, witty, giving, and gorgeous to boot. I…I honestly haven't given her much reason to be nice to me, so I understand why she isn't. I'm just hoping that I can change that and get her to see how much I really like her, underneath all the bullshit. I just…have absolutely no idea what to say to her to get her to understand that I'm actually a decent guy; and it's not like this lot has any experience."

"Oi," Black protested. "Speak for yourself."

"Your hand doesn't count, Pads," Potter chuckled. My cheeks burned at the comment, but Black merely punched Potter on the arm. From what I had heard about Black, he had more experience than anyone else at this school. But he'd never had a girlfriend, or even taken a girl on a date. He may have fucked a bunch of girls, but I doubted he had any idea how to help James get a girl that he actually liked. As far as I knew, Sirius Black wasn't big on feelings.

"I'm not talking about my hand, you wanker," Black snapped, although he didn't sound angry. "Besides, you're the one who spent 20 minutes in the shower this morning."

"I was tired! Besides, I have experience with girls…"

"Betsy Wellington kissed you on the cheek one time in third year," Remus teased. "That doesn't count as experience, mate."

"Fat load better than you, Moony," Black shot back. "You wouldn't know a girl from the Bloody Baron."

Remus looked as though he was about to say something back to Black, but I interrupted. "Merlin, Potter, with this lot as your friends it's no surprise you have no idea how to talk to girls."

"Frankie!" Remus protested, his eyes wide with amusement."That's mean! I'm not that bad." He turned to point at Pettigrew. "Wormy once thought Alice Brown was in love with him – turns out she thought he was the easiest way to Frank Longbottom. He bought her a Christmas present and everything!"

Pettigrew's face turned bright pink, and he opened his mouth, but I cut him off.

"Remus, I tried to snog you one night in fifth year when we were patrolling together, and you spent the entire hour I was trying to make a move on you lecturing me about the dangers of Venomous Tentacula," I deadpanned.

Remus's face went stark white, while Sirius broke into a wide grin and let out a loud bark of a laugh. "That's my new favorite story," he said, a twinkle in his eye. "Merlin, Moony, how thick can you get?"

"I..I thought…I thought you were just being friendly!" Remus spluttered.

I rolled my eyes. "I asked you if you'd heard a noise coming out of three different broom cupboards…"

"I thought you were hearing things!"

"I was trying to get you into the broom cupboard, you giant loon."

"This is priceless," Black said, still grinning widely.

"Can we get back on track here?" James demanded. He was, however, also grinning at his friend's misfortune.

"Fine," I said. "It's obvious that you really need my help, so yes, Potter, I will help you. I don't know what I can do, but I guess if you have any questions you can ask me. I just beg you, please don't ask this lot. I don't think any of them would know a girl was interested in them if they came up and flat out said, "I want to fu…", well, you get the point."

It was odd, agreeing to help James Potter with something. I felt, standing there with the four Marauders staring at me, as though I'd just made some sort of large decision. A decision that would alter the course of my life, somehow. Which was bloody ridiculous given that I'd just agreed to give the guy dating advice, not agreed to save the world with him. But I guess, you never really know how one decision can change your life. As I stood there with the four boys staring at me – James with a face full of hope, Pettigrew looking apprehensive, Remus looking passive, and Black looking guarded – I realized that there are some choices that are just out of your control. It would have been easy to walk away and chalk this up to a crazy stunt James Potter pulled; it wouldn't be the first time I'd written him off. But this felt different; it felt as though I had been pulled to this very spot for a specific reason.

So I stuck my hand out, waiting for James to take it. "There's one thing I need you to promise me, if we're going to do this," I said earnestly, looking James in the eye. He clasped my hand in his.

"Anything," he said immediately.

"Bertram never finds out. He bloody hates you, and he's my best friend."

"Deal," Potter said, without blinking.

I turned my head to the side, looking at him more seriously. "I mean it, he can't ever know that I'm helping you with this."

"Yes, yes. Deal!"

"Promise?"

"Merlin, Russo, he promises," Black barked impatiently.

"Fine," I said, shaking Potter's hand. "Then we have a deal."