A/N Thank you all so much for reading. My view counter and all of the kind reviews have blown me away. You all rock. There is nothing more encouraging than knowing you're out there. Two chapters today :) I would have posted chapter 3 earlier, but I really wanted chapter 3 and 4 to come out at the same time. You'll see you'll see. As always hope you enjoy.

Sirius collapsed on the scarlet duvet. The journey up to Gryffindor tower was a nightmare, as it always was the first night back, but the dormitory was as inviting as ever. The first night at Hogwarts was always his favorite. It was sad this was the last time he'd experience it. Something about the camaraderie, the homecoming, the tradition of staying up all night talking about break, it all felt right.

It had been a difficult summer, especially for James. There was no escaping the war. But they were all safe now. Hogwarts was like a vacation, the safest place in Britain.

"Whew!" James threw himself on Sirius' bed, turning his head to give his best friend a wide smile, "I don't know about you but I'm STUFFED! I'm going to miss the food when we graduate. Those elves sure can cook." Sirius smiled in turn and sat up on the side of the bed, shoving James playfully.

"Budge up, eating seven tons of treacle tart is no excuse to take over. If you want to be a bed hog your four-poster is over there, Mr. Head Boy." James laughed and sat up too. The door creaked open and Remus and Peter entered the room and walked over to their respective beds.

"Moony! Did you see?! Did you see?! I'm Head Boy! Look it!"

Remus and Peter smiled at James.

"Yes James I saw," Remus said rummaging through his trunk, "You told me over the summer, and on the train, and at dinner."

James was bouncing up and down on Sirius' bed, "I guess I did didn't I…. but did you see who Head Girl was?" James looked around expectantly as the other boys rolled their eyes in unison, "IT'S EVANS! LILY EVANS! Isn't that great?!"

"Oh yes Prongs. Perfect. Wonderful. So happy for you…" Sirius said patting him on the shoulder. As James began to voice his agreement, Sirius interrupted him, turning to Remus, "And how was your summer Remus?"

Remus smiled at the reprieve. "It was great. Uneventful. My Great Aunt Ingrid came to visit. I spent a lot of time attending to her. You know how she is."

James frowned obviously put off by the change of subject. Sirius brightened.

"Your Great Aunt Ingrid came Moony? Don't tell me your cousin was there too?! What was her name… Victoria. No, no, Veronica! That girl is gorgeous and such a good lay…"

Remus pursed his lips, "Yes Sirius, Veronique was there."

"Well why didn't you tell me?! I'm wounded Moony, you wound me." Sirius clutched at his chest and James snorted.

Peter blinked, not entirely following the conversation. "You slept with Remus' cousin Sirius? When did that happen?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't remember… sometime after fifth year I think. Summer. Or Winter. Who knows…"

Remus' ears turned pink and he hurriedly changed the subject. Not wanting to hear about his cousin's sex life. "How was your summer Peter?"

Peter scratched his head thinking deeply. "It was alright. I went on vacation to Brighton with my parents. The beach was fun but I got sunburned." He rolled his sleeve up exposing a pudgy arm. The bottom half red and raw and the top so pasty it looked as if he was wearing a white T-Shirt. "That's why I didn't make it to the funeral."

At the word funeral Remus and Sirius stiffened and their eyes immediately went to James. James blinked a few times looking a bit lost. Peter didn't seem to notice and pressed on, "How was it James? Are you ok?"

"I… I…" James swallowed hard, "Of course I'm fine." Sirius placed a hand on James' shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Peter, with the emotional intelligence of a wet blanket, did not let up on the subject, "What happened? The papers didn't say and neither did your letters?"

Sirius shot Peter a dirty look for the insensitivity. After James' parents were murdered back in June, Remus and Sirius had spent months helping him through the grief. Sirius had been there full time. He helped sort through their personal effects, plan the funeral, and put the finances in order. Remus had been there too, at every available opportunity. Peter however was nowhere to be found.

It was difficult for him. He considered Mr. and Mrs. Potter a second family so of course he was sad, but James was destroyed. Sirius was there through the grieving process. Some nights he would wake up and find James in the kitchen red eyed with a half empty bottle of Firewhiskey, other nights he would wake up to screams and find James surrounded with destroyed Potter family heirlooms. But months after the devastation James had gotten better, even if he hadn't forgotten. James tended to deflect any uncomfortable situation by making it into a joke, and that was the place he was currently at. Perhaps some would look down on it, but Sirius understood completely. They were men. Sometimes you couldn't talk about real feelings; sometimes you had to push through them in your own way.

He was about to give Peter the what for but then James started speaking.

"My parents died heroes…" he began in a whisper, "They were working so hard… trying to convince some of the neutral pureblood families to give Dumbledore public support. And well… the Death Eaters targeted them… They were fighters. Maybe not on the battlefield, but they gave everything to the cause." James' voice broke. He covered it with a cough and looked at Sirius, desperate for a way out of this conversation.

Peter looked puzzled, "How do you kn-"

Sirius clapped his hands together forcefully, cutting Peter off. "So," he said in a loud voice, "James you were talking about… Evans…" He inwardly grimaced at his sacrifice.

"Evans? Oh right! Evans! She's Head Girl it's perfect-" James grabbed on to the topic like a life line and Remus and Sirius gave forced smiles, as they let James talk about his pointless crush for the millionth time, "Speaking of! I have something to show you guys!" James stood grinning from ear to ear and bounded over to his trunk taking out a leather bound journal. He held it proudly in his hands, "Gentlemen this is my greatest work to date!"

Remus and Sirius exchanged a quick look of exasperation before James could notice. "What is it?" Remus asked, feigning interest.

Sirius watched as James handed over the book and Remus began to flip through the pages. If Remus' expression was any indication this was going to be just as obnoxious as he feared.

James began to pace the length of the dormitory.

"Marauders. This is our last year at Hogwarts. Knowing this I spent the majority of my summer working on a plan. As you all know Lily Evans has yet to accept my advances, but this year I am at an advantage! I will strike while the iron is hot, make my move, and Lily will finally agree to be my girlfriend. That," he said pointing to the journal in Remus' hands, "Is what will lead me to victory!"

"James…" Remus said slowly as if speaking to a small child, "This is mostly just a list of possible operation names with a bunch crossed out…"

"Well… yes, yes," said James waving a dismissive hand, "but jus-"

Sirius leaped over onto Remus' bed and looked into the book, "Remus is right it's just a list and… then the other pages have a bunch of photographs of lilies pasted in…"

"Just hear me out alright! Geez, everyone knows you can't have a successful Mission without a proper name!"

"And what is it then?" Remus asked.

James swelled up with pride, "Operation Tiger Lily."

"Operation Tiger Lily?" Sirius asked, his skepticism obvious.

James went on unperturbed, "I know! Brilliant isn't it?! It's the perfect name. You see the flowers right! Every Lily is beautiful, but I had to come up with the one that fit her best. I'm proud of myself. I was leaning towards a Queen's Promise Lily, because of the way her cheeks flush when she's flustered, but then I realized Tiger Lily was a much better fit."

Peter seemed to be the only one impressed with James' wisdom. He nodded affably while Remus and Sirius grimaced. James huffed.

"Come on! Tiger Lily! Lily is feisty." He gestured at his lost looking friends, "Like. A. Tiger. Obviously." He rolled his eyes, "Plus she is vibrant and has really cute freckles! And thus, Operation Tiger Lily."

"James I don't think Herbology is going to help you land a lady," said Sirius, unconvinced.

"But this is my year Sirius!" James said desperately, "I've got the Head Boy badge so surely she can tell I'm a pretty great guy. And what with all the extra time we'll be spending together, it's perfect! It's destiny! Not to mention Snape is no longer a thre- factor to consider." James fumbled at his slip up, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "James, there was never any reason to be jealous of Snape."

"I WASN'T JEALOUS OF SNAPE!" At the accusation, James voice slipped into hysteria. He quickly cleared his throat and assumed a tone of nonchalance. "I mean... I wasn't jealous of Snape. Don't be ridiculous. I just mean... they used to spend a lot of time together. So it's easier to get her alone now…"

While James ranted Sirius attempted to exchange a look of disbelief with Remus, but Remus was currently staring at his lap, twitching slightly. Sirius ignored his mate and tuned back in to James' tirade, "…Did you hear that she rejected him again? I heard it from Marlene, she saw it happen. Last year he came to the courtyard begging her to take him back and she heard Lily say 'I never want to speak to you again!' Serves him right! Fucking bastard, I still can't believe he called her the 'M' word."

Remus' tremors increased and he began to grind his teeth as James went on and on and on...

"I can't believe it! What kind of asshole do you have to be to beg someone to take you back when you call them something like that?! And... it doesn't make sense I mean. It's obvious he fancies her."

Sirius snorted, "As if he even has a chance. Can you imagine Lily Evans dating the greasy dungeon bat? Can you imagine anyone dating the greasy dungeon bat? He's so disgusting."

James quickly latched on to his best friends insults, "Yeah. The way he's always eating with the first years, glaring at everyone, and following Avery and Mulciber to classes. Carrying their books. Worshiping the ground they walk on."

All too eager to contribute Peter jumped in as well, "Yeah, Snape sure is gro-"

"CAN WE STOP TALKING ABOUT SEVERUS SNAPE?!" Remus shouted at his friends, completely fed up with the disparaging remarks. The three other boys jumped at stared at their usually even-tempered friend. Remus blushed at his outburst.

"... of course Moony..." said James. All three boys deflated and sat in awkward silence until James broke the tension.

"So what do you think of my plan?"

He looked around eagerly, but his friends were all refusing to make eye contact. Frustrated he threw himself on his bed, "Come on Padfoot," he whined melodramatically, "you're really good at relationships. Give me some advice."

"Alright Prongs since you asked so nicely. Step one. Stop pursuing Evans."

James sat up looking as if he had just been kicked, "Whaaaaa- But... but it has to be her. I love her."

"Step two. Don't date girls to fall in love with them."

Remus turned his head and gave Sirius a look of disgust, "That's... horrible Sirius."

Sirius was unfazed, "Whatever. My method works."

James perked up, "Well. What is it then?" he asked.

"What's what?" Sirius scrunched up his face at James' question.

"The 'Method' tell me your method!"

Sirius stood up and walked over to James' bed. He sat down next to him slinging an arm across James' shoulder as he imparted his wisdom, "Alright James. This is how you get a girl. If you want a shag go for the slutty ones, if you want a snog go for the easy ones. If you want a date to Hogsmeade go for the desperate ones."

James blinked in confusion, "What about love?"

Sirius smacked himself in the face, completely fed up with James' hopelessly romantic attitude towards Evans. "James can you shut up? You sound like a preteen girl! All this talk and gossip about 'who fancies who' and our 'love lives.' First night back isn't about brainstorming openings for Lily to reject you. It's for important things. Like brainstorming openings to drop Mrs. Norris off the astronomy tower."

James huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Fine! I guess I'll have to pursue Operation Tiger Lily on my own."

Sirius gave a sigh of relief, "Thank you! Now onto pranking. My first order of business is Snape!"

This time James was the one to groan, "As always. And you say I'm obsessed..."

Sirius shot his friend a dirty look, "Hey! I'm being serious."

"Well of course you're being Sirius, who else would you be?"

James snickered at the worn out pun as Sirius gave him a friendly bonk on the head, "Ha. Ha. Ha. Never heard that one before. Come on James this is important. That son of a bitch got me kicked off the Quidditch team. I want to get him back!"

"Snape did not get you kicked off the Quidditch team. YOU got YOURSELF kicked off the Quidditch team." Remus' voice cut through the jovial atmosphere making James and Sirius stiffen and turn, eyes wide. Sirius looked at Remus. He was grinding his teeth and shaking. The effect was terrifying. Sirius had never seen him this angry before.

Remus stood up and started pacing the room, his voice laced in sarcasm. "Why even bother pranking Snape again? You almost MURDERED him last time so do tell, how are you going to top that one?"

Sirius tried to speak, but Remus spoke over him. He had been holding it in too long and now everything was spilling out. "Did you ever stop to think that it was your fault? Did you ever stop to think the reason you're not in Azkaban right now is because of James? That left to your own devices you would have ruined your own life AND MINE."

James shifted in his seat and laughed. Trying to diffuse the situation the best he could.

"Oh ho! Padfoot. Might want to go to Madame Pomfrey to take care of that burn!"

Remus though, simply rounded on James and continued fuming, "And you! James Potter, I have had it up to here with six bloody years of Lily Evans plans. They don't work James! They never work! Because you don't get someone to like you with a crackpot scheme!"

James eyes widened even further, not sure how to handle being on the receiving end of Remus' fury. Remus stomped over to his bed. Grabbing James' stupid book. "You want to know how to get Lily Evans to finally like you James?" He grabbed a self-inking quill from his bag and began to furiously write in the journal. "Step one: Be. A Nice. Person. And to other people too, not just Lily, and not to get her attention, but just because it's the right thing to do. That will get Lily's attention."

He threw the book back at James harder than necessary, hitting him in the face with it.

"Take responsibility for your own actions. You are acting like children. You want pranks? You want girls to like you? We're in the middle of a war! So how dare we sit in our tower and obsess about pranking Snape. Here's a novel idea, how about we don't? How about tonight we make a promise to ourselves to be decent human beings."

James and Sirius were looking at the book, unable to meet Remus' eye. Remus stalked to his trunk and put on his night clothes in silence before sitting on his bed.

"You guys are my best friends. But I can't do this anymore." With that he closed the curtains of his four-poster, leaving the three others in shocked silence.

James looked as if he was about to say something, but instead went to get ready for bed. He looked deep in thought. Sirius and Peter followed suit.

As Sirius finally sunk into the mattress ready for sleep, James spoke once more. "I promise Moony," he said, voice sincere.

"Me too," came Peter's voice.

Sirius inwardly groaned, but wanted to keep the peace more than he wanted to fight, "Yeah. No more pranking Snape."

Remus opened his curtains; eyes, red and puffy. He sat up straight as if nothing was wrong and nodded. "Thank you, I'm sorry you guys. I didn't want to yell, but after what happened last year… I don't want to be a part of hurting Snape anymore. It's wrong."

"You're right Moony. You're totally right." James said quietly.

Remus nodded in gratitude and he laid down once more.

When the last light went off Sirius' mind was going a mile a minute. Perhaps Remus was right. Perhaps it was time to turn over a new leaf. Tossing and turning away from the feelings of guilt, he sought to recall positive thoughts about the upcoming school year. Even if they wouldn't be pulling pranks, he looked forward to spending time with his best friends. NEWTs would be stressful, but between casual sex and hanging with the guys, the school year couldn't get much better than that. It was already starting off great (apart from Moony's outburst). Classes might start tomorrow, but really who could complain when the first day of classes was a Friday?

A/N As always, reviews are appreciated