Remus glared up at the Teachers Table, where the Sorting Hat was sitting on a stool, waiting for the First Years to stumble through and be sorted. Remembering his first year at Hogwarts, his expression lightened slightly.

He turned around, ready to face the world… and his friends, then he saw James, the Head Boy badge flashing on his chest, waving and grinning around the table. He rolled his eyes and narrowed his eyes again at the Sorting Hat.

"Hey, Moo-oony." Called Sirius, waving a hand in front of his face, "Back to the present moment if you please."

Remus turned the full intensity of his glare on Sirius, who leapt backwards, "Woah!" He exclaimed, "Someone's Moody." He paused, "Hey, that rhymes." He bounced happily, chanting, "Moody Moony, Moody Moony."

Remus rolled his eyes, "You're worse than Peeves."

Sirius grinned and shrugged, then the opening doors drew his attention to the First Years entering through the doors of the Great Hall. He nudged Remus in the ribs, "Hey, Moony!" he whispered, "That's my cousin!"

Remus tried to lift himself out of his grumpy mood. He looked up, "Which one?"

"That one!" He pointed at the thirty students who had walked through the doors.

Remus glared at Sirius, "Oh, how very helpful that was." He said sarcastically.

Sirius grinned, "You can't figure it? Well, the one with the bright blue hair."

"Oh."

"You can see her now?"

"Difficult to miss, that hair."

"She's a Metamorphagus." Sirius said proudly.

"You can pronounce such a long word correctly? Sirius, I am pleased and proud."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at him, and turned to watch. After several minutes came the call, "Tonks, Nymphadora."

"Nymphadora?" asked Remus in a pained whisper.

Sirius shrugged, "Her mother was obsessed with it."

Remus pulled a face, "Poor girl."

Spinning around in his seat, Sirius grabbed Remus's sleeve, "Make me a deal."

"What?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"Always call her Nymphadora. It annoys her so much." He chuckled evilly, "Fun too!"

Remus raised an eyebrow, "Perhaps."

Perhaps luckily, Sirius couldn't implore any more because Tonks's House was called out. Sirius cat-called her, "Nymphadora!" he waved at her to get her attention and she changed direction to walk past them.

"Sirius," she mumbled, "Do you have to call me like that?"

"By your name? But it's such a beautiful name!"

Tonks glared and cuffed him half-heartedly over the head, knocking a goblet from the table. Remus, who had been half-expecting such an occurrence, caught the goblet as it fell towards the ground. "Here." He offered, giving it back to her.

Tonks blushed and smiled sheepishly, "I always do things like that," she explained. She looked around the table at the other people. James waved with a wink at her, grinning at Sirius and Remus. Tonks's eyes widened as she noticed the badge on his chest, "You're friends with the Head Boy?"

Sirius leaned towards her, "We only let him out occasionally. All this attention tends to go to his head; too much of it and… well. Kaboom!"

James had now tuned into their conversation, "Why, thank you for that, Padfoot." He said dryly.

"Padfoot?" Tonks asked sceptically.

"You like Tonks. I like Padfoot."

Tonks grinned evilly, "Okay, Sirius."

Sirius glared, "Don't even think about it."

"Oh I will," Tonks said, starting to walk again, "Seriously."

James laughed, "She's good."

Sirius turned his glare on James, "Yeah." He said shortly.

At the Teacher's table, Dumbledore stood, drawing everyone's gaze and making the chatter die down, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I hope you enjoy it as much as I will. For the First Years (and all the other Years who have been anxiously waiting for this moment) I would like to introduce you to your new Head Boy and Girl.

Our Head Girl is Lily Evans!" he looked down to where Lily was blushing slightly but smiling as she waved timidly at the clapping students around her. "And our Head Boy," he continued, "Is no other than Mr. James Potter!"

James stood up, with both hands in the air, grinning as the crowd laughed and cheered for him. Sirius tugged him down, laughing, "Idiot." He said, then looked back up at Dumbledore, who was beaming at them all.

"Well," Dumbledore said, "With that announced, you can eat. Enjoy."

The gold plates filled with food, and James attention was diverted significantly between the pork on plate and Lily Evans along the table.

"So," Sirius began after several helpings, "Moody Moony. Why so?"

Remus raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Why so Moody?"

Remus turned at stared at James, who was waving around at people again, and appeared to change the subject, "James is exuberant."

With a puzzled smile, Sirius said, "Yes?"

"Very annoyingly so."

It clicked in Sirius's mind that if Remus expected to get the Head Boy badge, he'd be more than a little jealous. He decided to lighten the situation, "That's cause he's gotten to Stage Two!"

Remus frowned, "What was Stage One?"

"Being unconscious on the floor."

After a few minutes, comprehension flickered into Remus's eyes and he grinned. Sirius grinned back: proud at himself for getting the first smile of the day from his grumpy friend. "What's Stage Three going to be?"

"Finding out how much work it's going to be."

Remus smiled slightly, "And Stage Four has nothing to do with being Head Boy."

"How did you know I was plotting?"

Eyebrows raised Remus explained, "You get an evil glint in your eye as soon as you think of Lily and James in the same sentence."

"I do not!"

"Do so." Remus paused, "You know what? You need a different project."

Sirius shook his head, "This project is just fine. It's the Get Lily And James Together Before They Die Of Old Age And Arguments project. Otherwise known as GLAJTBTDOOAAA project."

Remus goggled at him, "How in Merlin's Name did you remember all those letters?"

Sirius blinked. And again. He looked at Remus blankly, "I didn't."

Remus looked at him strangely, "Let's just rename it, okay?"

"Okay!" then Sirius's eyes lit up, "Like a secret code name that we can use right in front of them, and they don't know!"

"Yeah, if you like. What is it then?"

Sirius waved a careless hand , "I'll think of the tiny insignificant details later." He clapped his hands together, "Right now let's plot!"

Remus laughed, "We can plot later. The Main course has gone."

"Dessert!" Sirius yelped, horrified that he hadn't got the first helping of the chocolate tart.

At the end of the meal, Dumbledore bid them goodnight. James sat as the other students filed around him, yawning and dragging their feet. He waved at them and waited for Dumbledore to show himself and Lily where to go.

After ten minutes he did. He strode energetically between the tables to where James was sitting. "Hello you two!" he greeted them joyfully, "Hope becoming the Head of the School was a pleasant surprise for the year?"

"You have no idea." James mumbled.

Dumbledore beamed at him and lead them along many corridors and up staircases. James sincerely hoped that Lily was remembering this, cause it was going straight over his head.

Eventually, the winding path that Dumbledore had lead them through the maze of corridors came to an end. They were standing in front of a portrait of a forest. It was a glade with a stream of water running through it. James sighed as he looked at it; it was very peaceful. Beside him, Lily sighed as well. Apparently, she was thinking the same thing.

Dumbledore turned to them, the eyes behind his glasses twinkling merrily, "Well, I'll leave you two to explore inside. The password is Gesundheit." As he finished the password, the portrait swung open. He turned and left.

James peered in through the doorway. "Wow." He said as he stepped through.