"WHAT??"

The outburst hadn't been Lily but rather Sirius.

"Is there a problem with that Mr Black?" Professor Matthews asked him, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"No. I mean yes sir, I can't be with Evans. It's not fair" Sirius whined.

"Would you care to explain to the class Mr. Black?"

Sirius looked at him for a moment before answering, "No, sir."

"Good. Now, James Potter, your partner is Casey Jenkins." James looked at Professor Matthews in horror before turning towards Casey. Casey was everything that James hated; spoilt, blonde, nosy and not Lily. What was worse was that Casey was a leading member of the James Potter fan club, and followed him around religiously. It didn't matter that Casey was one of the most popular girls in school; he had dated her in fifth year before he knew any better and had dumped her after one date of incessant chatter about clothes and make-up. The fact that she had been dumped had not deterred Casey from becoming James' number one fan though, and now James was going to have to work with her for a whole year! Professor Matthews hated him, James decided, or he wouldn't have done this to him. James looked over at Casey and saw her hyperventilating at the thought of working with him.

Oh. Good. God.

How the hell was he supposed to survive this year in one piece?

"Sirius Black?" Lily whispered to Mandy and Sarah, sounding slightly hysterical. "Sirius Black?! He's almost as bad as Potter for God's sake!"

"Well mine's not much better!" Mandy whispered back. "I'm with that Slytherin prick Severus Snape!" Mandy shuddered, looking at the greasy head that was at the very front of the class. "And he smells! Why couldn't I have gotten your partner Sarah?"

Sarah smiled, looking over at where Remus was sitting. "I have to admit that it seems that I got the better deal out of this than you two."

"You're damn right about that!" Mandy whispered furiously. "Partnering me with Snape in a subject I already hate! What the hell was Matthews thinking? Snape's the most horrible, annoying-"

"How am I meant to pass this subject with Black as my partner? He'll think it's all some big joke and leave me to do all the work! As if I haven't got enough to worry about this year what with my Head Girl duties-"

"I really don't mind that Remus is my partner. I wonder what our first assignment will be. Remus is hard-working and nice so I'm sure we'll get on. What I don't understand is why he's a Marauder though. He's not like them at all yet he hangs about with them as if-

Professor Matthews cleared his throat directly behind the three girls who immediately stopped talking. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" he asked while the rest of the class sniggered.

"No sir."

"No sir."

"No sir."

"Good. Now that you're listening you might hear what your first assignments are," he informed them all. "With your newfound partner, I want you to write me an essay on what you both think is the best defensive spell against an opponent. Once you've written an essay on it and handed it to me on Friday, we'll try them out in class and see what you all think is the best. Now quills out, I want you taking notes…"

"James, mate, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be partnered with her, promise. I can always try again to talk to Matthews and get him to swap me with somebody else," Sirius prattled on as they walked towards the Great Hall for dinner.

"What?" James asked, having finally noticed that Sirius was talking to him. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not as if you planned this. No, I'm more worried about Casey. I think that by the end of this year I may just have to kill myself. Or her," he added as an afterthought.

"You mean you're not mad?" Sirius asked, disbelieving.

"Nope."

"Even though Lily seems to be in love with me?"

"Oh that's right, I forgot to tell you. Turns out that she was winding you up Padfoot," James laughed when he saw Sirius' face.

"You mean she doesn't fancy me?" Sirius looked quite gutted at the thought.

"I thought that's what you wanted!" Remus exclaimed exasperated.

"Well…yes. But I've already told everybody she is," Sirius muttered, ashamed.

"Sirius! Why the hell did you do that?" James demanded.

"Well it seemed like a sure thing and I wanted to brag that the famous Lily Evans had finally fallen for someone! Is that really so wrong?" Sirius asked innocently.

Remus looked at Sirius for a full minute before replying. "You do realize that Lily will most likely kill you when she finds out, don't you?"

"Puh-lease I am not scared of a tiny thing like Evans! What's the worst she can do? Punch me with her tiny fists?" Sirius said, looking highly unconcerned,

"Do you not know Lily Evans?" Remus asked him.

"I've been in the same classes as her since she was 11. Of course I know Evans!" Sirius bragged.

"Then you'll know that Lily is top of the year in Defence Against the Dark Arts and could hex you with both eyes closed and arms tied behind her back. You'll be wishing you'd gone to Durmstrang like your parents wanted before the end of the week. Remember how she got her revenge on Kevin Craig after he cheated on her? He wasn't able to walk for a week and to this day the teachers still have no idea who did it." Remus reminded him.

"Ah, but Kevin was a jerk and he wasn't her partner in a subject and let's all remind ourselves that Miss Evans will do anything to get top marks in a subject, and that means having to talk to me. So you see, I've got nothing to worry about! She'll have to talk to me if she wants to do well this year and as we know, Lily Evans would rather die than fail a subject," Sirius laughed smugly.

"Wow Padfoot. I am genuinely surprised! I wouldn't have thought that you could work that all out but you did!" James clapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Well done mate!"

"I know!" Sirius grinned. "Wait a minute-"

"So! James, did you hear about the Prefect meeting?" Remus quickly interrupted.

"No," James replied sullenly. "Why?"

"It's been changed to Friday instead of Saturday."

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Remus looked at James, shocked. "Yeah, but why are you shouting? I thought you would have been pleased!"

"Of course I'm glad it's been changed but after all that grief she gave me when she must have known she was going to change it all along! That little bit-"

"You heard about the Prefect's meeting then?" Lily said brightly from behind James. "Yeah, I know that I said it would be Saturday but it turns out that Saturday didn't suit me either so I changed it to Friday night at 8 instead. Hope that's ok. See ya later!" And with that Lily cheerfully walked past them.

Sirius looked confused. "Did that just happen?"

The other boys seemed to be in as much shock as Sirius. "Why wasn't she yelling?" Remus asked, dazed. "She should have been pissed at you Sirius but I think she actually smiled as she went past."

"I love that girl," was all that James had to say.

"Weren't you angry with her before?" Peter asked, even more confused than Sirius.

"You have to admit, that's something that one of us would probably have done," Sirius said admiringly as they all sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Remus shook his head to clear it, "Anyway, I've talked to Dumbledore and we're all go for Saturday night. It was really weird though, I think he knew that I wouldn't be alone."

"What? He can't. We haven't told anyone and it's not as if anyone would guess," Sirius exclaimed, forgetting to lower his voice.

"Keep your voice down you idiot!" James hissed.

"Well, I wasn't that surprised to tell you the truth," Remus told them. "Dumbledore's Dumbledore. Nothing rarely happens that he doesn't know about. What was weird was that he seemed almost proud! Like three of his students becoming illegal Animagi didn't bother him but the fact that they had, made him proud."

"Dumbledore's cool! He wouldn't mind so long as we were careful, and we always are," Sirius told them through his mouth full of mashed potato, the result being that James, who was closest to him, had flecks of potato all over him.

"Sirius! Shut your freakin mouth! I look like I have dandruff now! That is just gross!" James cried out, trying to get the mashed potato out of his hair while the others almost wet themselves laughing.

"Urgh you are such a pig, Black," Mandy told him as she walked past them to sit beside Lily and Sarah.

"You love it really, Jones," Sirius grinned at her, showing more mash in his mouth.

"My last names Johnson you moron," Mandy said, disgusted.

"Why did I always think it was Jones?" Sirius asked James.

"Cause you're an idiot?" James suggested.

"Why is she always pissed at me though? She talks to you alright James and she gets on fine with Remus, so why doesn't she like me, the most charming of the Marauders?" Sirius wondered, vaguely aware that the thought of Mandy not liking him annoyed him more than he thought it would.

"It might be because every time she's around, we don't make sexist comments about her," Remus informed him.

"They're not sexist! They're just funny!"

"Sirius, you are the only one who ever finds those jokes funny," Remus told him while the others nodded.

"You're just jealous of my comic talent!" Sirius said looking miffed.

James rolled his eyes, "Yeah and my name's Albus Dumbledore."

"Yeah, and you're an asshole," Sirius said, grabbing more mashed potato and waving it threateningly at James who hastily backed away.

"Do you still have the Invisibility cloak, James?" Remus asked him.

"Yeah it's upstairs in my trunk," James replied, still glancing warily at Sirius and his mashed potato. "What'll it be this time, Remus? Sick mother?"

"Nah I used that one too much last year. I was thinking of going with my dog died," Remus let them know, looking around to make sure that nobody had overheard.

"I didn't know you had a dog?" Peter said, looking surprised.

"I don't. But nobody here knows that do they?" Remus explained.

"And of course, because Remus is such a caring person, the whole school will fall for his having to go and comfort his younger sister," James finished for him.

"Yeah, like that will ever be possible. You know that my Mum and Dad haven't trusted me with Hannah for three years. Ever since…well, ever since she nearly…you know…they haven't left me alone with her. As if I might suddenly turn when I'm alone in the same room as her. I used to look into her eyes and see now much she loved me but now when I do…I see fear. I'm her big brother. I'm meant to protect her but instead she needs to be protected from me. How screwed up is that?" Remus laughed wryly, not quite managing to hide the pain that marred his face.

The others looked at each other and nodded. "Come on," James said, grabbing Remus by one arm, Sirius grabbing the other while Peter followed his arms full of bread rolls.

"Wait! Where are we going?" Remus protested, trying to resist while most of the Great Hall stared in astonishment.

"You need cheering up," James declared.

"It's best not to think about one's family too much," Sirius explained. "Heck look at mine! I'd be depressed for the rest of my life if I spent too much time thinking about them. That's why we're taking you to the Hog's Head to get completely plastered."

"What?" Remus looked astounded. "We can't! James you're Head Boy for God's sake and I'm a Prefect! If we're caught we'll be expelled!"

"So?" James asked. "Some things are more important than being Head Boy or a Prefect. As our friend, it is our responsibility to cheer you up when you're low. So come on Moony! Let's go cheer you up with some alcohol!"

"Oh God! My head!" James groaned early the next morning.

"I hate you all," Remus told them, fighting the urge to throw up.

"What time did we get back last night?" Peter mumbled from beneath his bed covers.

"I think it was about 3," James said, managing to lift his head from the toilet seat enough to answer. "Sirius you lazy bugger, get up. We're going to be late."

In reply their was a moan from behind Sirius' hangings.

"Remus, is there none of that potion we made last year left?" James asked hopefully.

"No, we finished it over the summer. We were meant to make a new batch once we came back to Hogwarts," Remus said, dashing James' hopes of a swift recovery.

"Does that mean I'm going to have to cope with a hangover all day?" Sirius complained, having finally gotten up.

"Yep."

"God. Why the hell is there not a spell for hangovers? James, remind me to invent one," Sirius told him.

"So that's to go on the same to do list as beating Dumbledore in an arm wrestling contest and making out with Jessica Chang?" James asked him.

"Ah, Jessica Chang. She is one hot chick," Sirius sighed wistfully. "I don't understand why she still won't make out with me though?"

"Because she is one of the most poplar girls in school and already has a boyfriend?" Remus suggested.

"You know what Remus?" Sirius said, getting out of bed. "It's your fault that we're feeling like this!"

"My fault? How the hell in your twisted mind did you work that one out?" Remus demanded.

"Well, if we hadn't had to cheer you up we wouldn't be feeling like crap this morning."

"Had to cheer me up?" Remus glared. "Oh please, you were just looking for an excuse to go out and get drunk."

Sirius laughed suddenly. "Yeah but we did have fun, you have to admit it. Do you remember that barmaid you tried to hit on?"

James started to laugh as well. "And you were so drunk you didn't realise that he was actually a guy until he started speaking!"

Remus looked angrily at all three of them before giving up and laughing himself. "That wasn't as funny as Sirius being slapped by those three girls he snogged last night once they realised he'd snogged them all."

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed when they all fell to the floor as they were laughing so hard. " Well…well… do you remember how Peter slipped as we entered the bar? That was hilarious!" The three of them stopped laughing and looked up at Sirius questioningly.

"How did we ever come to be friends with him?" Remus asked for the hundredth time.

"I think we felt sorry for him," James answered, shaking his head. "And please Padfoot, can you put some more clothes on? The sight of you in your boxers makes me want to puke again."

"Do you not know how many girls would pay to see this?" Sirius wanted to know. They all shook there heads. "Well… a lot!"

"Oh God I'm gonna be sick," James moaned, running to the bathroom.

"Feeling alright Black?" Lily asked Sirius who was sitting next to her with his head in his hands.

"Just great, thanks Evans," Sirius said sarcastically, lifting his head and glaring at her.

"Good, because we really need to keep going if we're ever going to finish this homework Professor Matthews set us," Lily told him.

"It's Tuesday night, Evans. We got that homework yesterday. You actually dragged me to the library for this? When I could be in bed recovering?" Sirius demanded.

"Recovering from what exactly, Black?" Lily asked smugly.

"I hate you right now, Evans, you know that don't you?" She had him and Sirius knew it. He couldn't admit that he was hung over or else she would have known he had been drinking and would have no qualms about turning him in. He was hers. For the moment.

"I know. But for now lets focus on this homework and not your hatred of me, Alright?" Lily continued without waiting for an answer. "Now I think we should do the Shield Charm. It casts a temporary invisible wall around you, deflects minor curses and-

"Will be what most of the class are doing," Sirius finished for her.

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Lily asked, irritated.

"As a matter of fact, I do. James and I came across a spell in our fifth year that's not used very often but is very effective. We were looking for spells to-" Sirius stopped suddenly. "Well, that's not important. Anyway we came across this spell that was in two parts. The first part of the spell supposedly formed a shield around your entire body and absorbed the spells that were sent at you."

"That's what the Shield Charm spell does. Are you sure it's not the same-"

"Would you let me finish?" Sirius looked at the affronted Lily, daring her to say something. When she didn't he continued. "Well, not only did this spell absorb the spells that were directed at you, it sort of, stored them and when you said the second part of the spell, all the spells it had absorbed could be directed at whoever you wanted all at once."

Lily looked shocked for a minute. "So you're telling me that it re-uses the spells that it absorbed against whoever you want? Like the person you're fighting?" Sirius nodded. "And it directs them all at once?" Once more Sirius nodded. "I've never even heard of a spell that comes close to doing that! But could we learn it? I mean, with a spell that can do that, it must be pretty tricky to learn."

"Oh it's not hard. Me and James got it on our third try," Sirius announced to a speechless Lily. "What? We got curious so we tried it out! I'll teach it to you. It really isn't that hard. There is a flaw with it though. You can't actually create any of your own spells and if you accidentally make the shield falter or drop it without having released the spells…" Sirius trailed off.

"What? What happens then?"

"Well…all the spells are released and have nowhere to go except into… well, you." Sirius explained.

"Sirius, what book did you find this in?" Lily asked, slowly, forgetting to call Sirius by his last name.

"How the hell am I meant to remember that?"

"Well did you get it from the Restricted Area of the Library or from the main library?"

"It wasn't from the Library. It was one of James' Dad's books that he'd brought with him." Sirius told a relieved Lily. "I'm pretty sure we saw the same book in the restricted Area of the Library once, though," Sirius added, ending Lily's brief moment of relief.

"Don't you see, Sirius, we can't use it if it's in there. And even if it wasn't, I don't think I would want to learn it."

"Why not?"

"Because it must be in there for a reason. Plus it sounds dangerous. Imagine your in a battle and your suddenly distracted and your shield falters. All those spells attacking you at once," Lily shuddered. "And that goes for the person who the spells are all aimed at. Supposing you were fighting someone you didn't want to kill and you aimed all those spells at them! There would be no chance of survival! " Lily looked stricken at the thought.

"Alright, why are you freaking out? It was only a suggestion." Sirius glanced sideways at her. "What spell do you want to do then?"

"I don't know. If we're not using the Shielding Charm and we're not doing the other spell, then I guess we'll just have to come up with another one." Lily shrugged, grabbing the nearest book and scanning its content list, while Sirius sighed, defeated and did the same.

It only took them forty five minutes of brain storming before Sirius was bored and feeling worse than ever.

"Ok I think I've got one," Lily said for the fiftieth time. Sirius looked up from the book he was attempting to read, hopefully. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but what about the Impediment Jinx?"

"The one that slows and obstructs attackers?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not as good as the Shield Charm if you want to protect yourself from spells, but it gives you time to run away from your attacker. So what do you think?" Lily asked him.

"I think that if it gets me out of here then let's do it," Sirius complained.

"Oh I'm sorry. Is this not important enough for you to actually have to spend some time on it? If so I'm sorry for being such a bother to you," Lily stood up, ready to start a yelling match. She had been in a bad mood ever since it was announced that Sirius was her partner, so she felt that yelling at Sirius would get it out of her system.

"What the hell's wrong with you Evans? One minute you seem almost normal and the next your some psycho bitch who's on my case for a homework that's not even due for another THREE DAYS!" Sirius yelled, also standing up.

"WELL I'M NOT THE ONE WHO KNOWS ILLEGAL SPELLS!"

"WELL I'M NOT THE ONE THAT'S AN UPTIGHT BITC-"

"Mr Black! You will refrain from swearing at once! I will not have such language in my library!" Madam Pince the librarian scolded. "And Miss Evans, I expected better from you. And you being Head Girl this year. I want you both out of my library at once. And the next time you two feel up for a shouting match please do so outside my library." And Madam Pince proceeded to shoo them out of the library where Lily, with a last glare at Sirius, stormed off.

Ok so I'm sorry that this is just a bit of a fill in chapter until we get to the main one where it all kicks off, hopefully after the next one. Hope you enjoyed this one anyway and leave me a review!