James woke up when a pair of lips pressed against his neck and slowly travelled up to his face. He opened his eyes and was disoriented for a moment. It was early morning, the sun was just rising up and sent a few golden rays into Gryffindor tower. Without his glasses he was hard-pressed to recognize any details, but even half-blind he recognized the face and the blond curls looming over him.

'Amber,' he said, his voice still thick from sleep. 'What are you doing here?'

'Rise and shine, birthday boy,' she said with a smile on her face. She pressed her lips against his again and buried a hand in his hair. James groaned.

'It is way too early,' he groaned, when she had pulled back. 'Not that I am glad to see, but could you just come back in an hour or so?'

'You are such a grouch in the mornings,' she said, amusement colouring her voice. James could not see the humour. He hated being woken up from his slumber. 'Don't worry, I am going to make it worth your while.'

'Are you know?' he asked interestedly. 'And what exactly did you have in mind?'

'Well, what do you think?' she asked, running her hand down his bare chest and kissing him again. 'What do you give a seventeen year old on his birthday?'

'I think I am getting more interested now,' said James, pulling her closer.

'I can tell,' she said, sneaking a hand down to his boxers and giving his erection a squeeze. 'Not so angry I came by now, are you?'

'Why are you still dressed?' asked James. To his displeasure, she was wearing her Hogwarts uniform minus robes. She had lost her shoes, but her socks were still on. 'Please tell me that you are not wearing any underwear under your skirt.'

'Sorry to disappoint love, but I am wearing underwear,' she said pressing a kiss on his chest. 'And we are not going all the way today.'

'What?' said James. 'Why ever not? You crawled into my bed for Merlin's sake! So what is preventing a nice good morning shag?'

'Are you sure you want to know?' she asked. When James just nodded, she continued. 'It is my time of the month.'

'Eww,' said James. 'I should have known better than to ask.'

'Well, you wanted to know,' said Amber, who was blushing slightly. 'It is a really bad timing, but I thought I should pay you a visit anyway. Fortunately, I still have some ideas what when can do.'

'Really?' asked James, perking up at the thought. He was uncomfortably hard now and really wanted to get off. 'And what exactly did you have in mind?'

'You will see,' she said mischievously. 'Just lay back and relax it is your birthday after all.'

She gave him another deep kiss. James groaned into her mouth, but before he could get adjusted to a proper snogging session, she broke the kiss and started to kiss his way down his body. James hummed in appreciation at what was about to happen. He loved getting sucked off. His birthday was getting better with every minute.

After he was spent, they cuddled for a few minutes trading lazy kisses. It felt weird being the only one naked, but James did not mind too much. His mind was still slightly hazy and he found it hard to worry about anything at all.

'That was a very nice start to my birthday,' he said, pressing a kiss to Amber's forehead. 'I think it is going to be a good one. The party tonight is going to be a blast.'

'About that,' said Amber looking sheepish. 'I don't think I am going to be there. I have Quidditch practice in the evening and I will probably be too exhausted to party. And I still have a lot of homework to finish.'

'Oh,' said James, trying to hide his disappointment. He had been looking forward to spend some more time with her. He had thought that she would appreciate the opportunity to have some fun. After all, her life was going to become quite different as soon as she graduated from Hogwarts. 'Are you sure, you can't make it?'

'I am sorry, but I doubt it,' said Amber not quite meeting his eye. James knew her well enough to realize that she was hiding something. He briefly wondered whether he should ask her. She tended to stay out of his affairs and he appreciated that, but he had the gut feeling that she actually wanted him to ask. That did not really make sense, but James had long ago abandoned all hope of ever completely understanding girls. He decided to go with his instincts.

'I have the feeling that something else is going on here,' he said. 'Is there something you want to tell me, Amber? You are not skipping the party because you are playing Quidditch, are you?'

'Well, it is not the only reason,' she said. She hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing. 'It is just that I received a letter from my parents yesterday. The want to use the upcoming Hogsmeade weekend to go dress shopping with me. You know, a wedding dress.'

'Oh,' said James. 'I thought you were getting married after finishing school.'

'I do, the week after school ends,' she said. James was not sure how to read her emotions at the moment. He had enough trouble making sense out of his own. He always tended to forget that Amber was going to get married to Peter Fawley when the topic was not breached for a while. It was so easy to fall into a rhythm with her and the relationship was remarkably effortless. That made it easy to forget that they were going to run out of time very soon. James did not know how to feel about that. He could sense some anger, but he was not quite sure at who that was directed. He had no business getting angry after all. He had known what he was getting into. Not for the first time he wondered whether this stint with Amber had been a good decision.

'My parents did not want me to waste any time,' she continued. 'And I am fine with that, I guess. After all, I am going to spend the rest of my life with Peter, so waiting for a few months really does not make any difference. Still, the letter reminded me of what really is going on. I was so busy with studying for N.E.W.T.s, Quidditch, my friends and spending time with you that I forgot everything going on outside of Hogwarts. I almost felt like a normal school girl for the first time in months. The letter pierced that bubble and I find it hard to spend the night partying at the moment. I think it is time that I get ready for becoming Mrs. Fawley. I am running out of time.'

'So, what are you saying?' asked James. 'Do you want to end things?'

'No,' said Amber. 'I just need some time to think things over and I can't do that on a bustling party.'

'It's okay,' said James. He was not happy with her not being there, but he could empathize with the problem. He was not going to apply any additional pressure to her. 'I will be fine. You go and take all the time you need.'

'Thank you, Jamie,' she said, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

'Jamie?' he asked, wrinkling his nose at the name.

'I think it is a cute name,' she said, kissing him again. 'A cute name for a cute boy.'

'It sounds like a child's name,' protested James. 'And it is what my mum calls me.'

'Well, I like it and you are going to get used to it,' she said with an air of finality. 'I have got to go. Go back to sleep.'

'No, I am going to have a long shower and go down to breakfast,' he said, rising up.

'Alright, I will see you tomorrow,' she said. She gave another quick kiss, before rising from the bed and leaving the dorm. James could hear her greeting Sirius on her way. He left his bed as well, not caring that he was naked only to come face to face with Sirius.

'Well that it is a nice view,' said Sirius. 'Did you have fun with Amber?'

'Yes, I had and it is none of your business' said James curtly.

'You seem quite grumpy, birthday boy,' said Sirius. 'Trouble in paradise?'

'It is fine,' said James. 'Now, be a good boy and leave me alone, will you? I have to get ready.'

'Yeah, about that,' said Sirius. 'You might want to put on some clothes. I know that you are not particularly modest, but I would rather not look at your bits hanging out.'

'I was heading for the shower, you git,' said James, rolling his eyes. 'It seems rather pointless to put on clothes only to undress again minutes later.'

'Sure, make up excuse for your exhibitionism,' said Sirius with a grin on his face. James had enough of his friend's antics by now. He needed some time to think and a long hot shower was exactly what he needed. He pushed Sirius aside roughly and entered the shower, hearing his best mate laugh behind him.

When he left the shower twenty minutes later, he felt a lot more relaxed. He had thought about what was going on with Amber and had come to the conclusion that would just ride it out and see where he would end up. It was normal that their relationship was a bit hot and cold, after all being promised to another men was a great way to dampen the mood. He had briefly considered making a clean cut, but he had discarded the thought almost immediately. He was enjoying spending time with Amber too much to give it up. Not for the first time, he wondered how life would be if Amber were not promised to another men. Would the two of them even started seeing each other in the first place or would she have stayed with Michael Knight? Would they even work as a proper couple or in a long-term relationship? He thought so, but he could not be sure. He pushed these thoughts away as well. Playing these kind of what-if-games was only going to confuse him even more. A small voice in his head which sounded suspiciously like Remus told him that things were only to get tougher in the end and that he should make a clean break now, but James refused to listen. Maybe it was stupid and weak, but he was not ready to give up on Amber just yet.

James had tied a towel around his waist just to avoid further ribbing by Sirius and walked over to his bed to get dressed properly. By now the rest of the Marauders were up as well, but it seemed that trouble was brewing already. He heard Remus and Sirius argue with each other long before he had reached his bed.

'What do you mean, you did not get it?' asked Remus angrily. James could tell that his werewolf friend was close to losing his temper completely. Normally, he was quite even tempered, but things got ugly fast, whenever he was truly ticked off. Interested, he moved a little close, so he could see them arguing over at Remus's bed. Neither of them seemed to notice him.

'Now, look it is not my fault,' said Sirius. 'I ordered the stuff off McMillan, but he promised to get the bottles cheap. He just told me yesterday evening that he could not deliver.'

'Sirius, it was your BLOODY JOB to get the drinks,' snarled Remus. 'You have known that for close to a month and now you tell me that you can't deliver? When did you tell McMillian to get them for you?'

'I told him last week,' said Sirius defensively. 'We never had a problem with him before and he is usually quite fast. So I figured that that was more enough time. You know this would not be a problem if you had not talked James and me out of entering the alcohol business ourselves. Then everything would be fine.'

'Oh, excuse me for preventing you from surely getting expelled,' said Remus venomously. 'If McMillian is stupid enough to risk expulsion for some quick galleons, then he can be my guest, but we are not doing the same rubbish ourselves.'

'Now don't be like this Moony,' said Sirius. 'I have told you it is McMillian's fault! If he had just told me...'

'Fuck McMillan,' snarled Remus, who was rather red in the face by now. James was surprised that he was that angry about some missing drinks. Either he had been really looking forward to getting drunk tonight or something else was going on here. 'And fuck you, Sirius! I ask you to do one thing, ONE BLOODY THING, for James's party and you manage to cock that up! I've had it with your irresponsible behaviour! You are a lousy friend, that's what you are!'

Sirius's eyes had grown wide at Moony's anger, but now they were narrowed. Clearly, Sirius was not going to take that comment lying down.

'Oh, drop the holier-than-thou-attitude Remus,' he said angrily. 'I know you like to harp the fact that you are a prefect, but it is getting ridiculous. So, I have forgotten something, big deal. Don't act like you have never forgotten anything in your life.'

'You seem to be developing a bad habit of forgetting critical things,' said Remus nastily. 'Sometimes you forget to buy some drinks and sometimes you forget to keep some secrets. It is the strangest thing.'

That was a low blow. Sirius grew very pale and James could see his fists clenching. He had to do something before this got out of hand. It was not very nice of Remus to dredge up the incident with Snape, but James was not surprised. After all, they were still recovering from Sirius's betrayal.

'Is there a problem here?' he asked, walking up to the two of them. Both seemed to be surprised to see him here. Apparently, they had been so involved with their little spat that they had not noticed him stepping out of the shower. Fortunately, his appearance seemed to dampen their rage. James was not overly surprised. After all, he was still only wearing a towel around his waist and it was rather hard to stay focused on a fight when suddenly a half-naked friend joined the discussion.

'No,' said Remus with a tight voice. 'Everything is just fine. I have got to go, though. Happy birthday, James.'

He hurriedly left the dormitory. James was not surprised that it was Remus who had ended the fight by moving away. He normally tended to avoid confrontations after all.

'Well, you are clearly making progress,' said Sirius, pointing at the towel around James's hips. 'Maybe in an hour or so you will have managed to put on some pants.'

'Shut up and tell me what on earth that was about,' said James. 'What have you done to annoy Mooney that much? It can't just be these few missing bottles of firewhiskey.'

'I have no idea what his bloody problem is,' said Sirius. 'He is totally overreacting! It is not my fault that McMillian is an unreliable git! And it is still hours until the party starts. I still have a lot of time to fix that mess. Why on earth did he drag that Snape business into this? That was totally uncalled for!'

'So it is all about the missing whiskey?' he asked. 'You did not put itching powder into his pyjamas or anything?'

'I have not done a thing,' said Sirius. 'Have you even been listening to me? He is totally out of order!'

James pondered that for a moment. It was not hard to figure out that Remus had only reacted so harshly, because he was still harbouring some resentment at Sirius about him revealing their secret to Snape. He could empathize with that. After all, Remus had been the one most affected by the betrayal and it was only normal that it took time. He was not going to point that out to Sirius though. Sirius would never understand Remus feelings in that point. After all, he had apologized and for Sirius that meant that the issue was closed. He would only scoff at Remus's lingering resentment and maybe call him a baby at the next opportunity.

'How are you going to get that firewhiskey now?' asked James.

'I am going to sneak into Hogsmeade and buy them from Rosmerta,' said Sirius.

'You know, you don't have to do that, right?' said James. 'We still have the butterbeer and a nice stash of weed. We will be fine without the whiskey.'

'What?' said Sirius. 'Oh, no that is totally unacceptable! You have turned seventeen today, James! We can't celebrate your seventeen birthday without firewhiskey! I am going to get that firewhiskey, mark my words!'

'Alright, alright,' said James, surprised at the intensity of Sirius's reaction. Was he only trying to make up for failing to get the whiskey or was Remus not the only one dragging past mistakes into the present? He would have to think about it. There was no point asking Sirius about this as his best friend was exceptionally good at avoiding conversations which made him uncomfortable. And talking about this feelings made him very uncomfortable. 'Just make sure you don't get caught. Take the map and the cloak if you are going.'

'Will do,' said Sirius. 'Don't worry about me. In contrast to you, I have never been caught sneaking into Hogsmeade.'

James scowled.

'That was almost three years ago, how you are you going to harp on about that?' he asked. 'Back then, we did not have the map yet, so it was harder to avoid getting caught.'

'Sure thing, James,' said Sirius, with an annoying smirk on his face. 'You know, I should probably head out straight away. That way, I can get to the Three Broomsticks before the lunch rush sets in and hopefully catch Rosmerta on her own.'

'That's probably a good idea,' said James. 'Get going then.'

'I will,' said Sirius. 'Happy birthday, James. Enjoy the presents.'

James glanced at the heap of presents at the foot of his bed and found his spirits rising. He had always loved opening presents. He wandered over to the pile and picked up the first present. Turning it around in his hands, he tried to figure out what it could be. Before he could make up his mind, he heard Sirius chuckle behind him.

'It is always funny to see how much you love your presents,' said Sirius. 'You are such a spoiled child. Well, have fun, I will be leaving.'

'You do that,' said James absentmindedly. 'I am rather busy at the moment.'

He could hear Sirius's barking laugh again, before the door to the dormitory opened and closed and he was finally alone with his presents.

James's party started on the evening of the same day at eight o'clock sharp. The rest of the Marauders had strictly forbidden James from taking any part in organizing the party. They had stressed the fact that it was his birthday and that he should enjoy himself rather than slaving around trying to get his own party going. James had pointed out that they were being ridiculous and that he had organized his party for the last five years, but they had insisted. In fact, they had even kicked him out of the common room, saying that he should do something productive and not meddle in their affairs. So, James had found himself with a lot of free time at his hands and without company. As he had already finished all of his homework, he had headed down to the Quidditch pitch. He could not go flying today, as the Ravenclaws were training, but he figured he could check out the competition nevertheless. After all, they still had to play against them and James would have to fine tune his team's tactics if he wanted to win. He had killed an hour with sitting on the stands and watching the Ravenclaws. The air was crisp and slightly chilly, but with a warming charm it was perfectly pleasant to stay outside and smoke a cigarette. James had to admit that the Ravenclaws were playing well at the moment. It was not going to be easy to beat them. Amber's flying was rather good as well. She was no natural like he was, but he could see all the hours she had put into getting a job on the team. He was proud of her. While he did not believe on working overly hard for his school marks, he did believe in hard work on the Quidditch pitch. People tended to overlook the thousands of hours professional players spent training each year and just assumed that their skill was due to their natural born talent. James knew that to be rubbish. He considered himself quite gifted at playing Quidditch and even he had profited greatly from regular and intense training sessions.

After seeing his fill of the Ravenclaws he had headed up to the party at eight o'clock sharp. As usual, everyone in Gryffindor as well as selected members of other houses were invited. This extensive guest list was a relic of his first year, when he had wanted to make a name for himself in Gryffindor house. By now, he would have preferred a more intimate party, but he could not back down. He had a reputation to uphold after all. So, James had no choice but to delve into the party. Now, he was standing in the midst of the throng of partiers within the Common Room drinking his way through a butterbeer. While Sirius had fulfilled his promise of getting them the Firewhiskey, though he had not told them how he managed to win Rosmerta over, James wanted to have a spliff later in the evening and Firewhiskey and weed did not mix well for him. It was nine thirty o'clock by now and the party grew busier by the minute nicely in sync with the level of alcohol in the bloodstream of most students. James had to admit that his friends had done a good job, though he could have done without the portrait of himself on the ceiling of the common room. As usual, they had gotten a lot of food from the kitchens and were well stocked with alcohol, including some Butterbeer for the younger students. Remus had insisted that they prevented anyone younger than fifth year to get drunk. Sirius had objected heavily, as he did every year, saying that forth years could handle some drinks, but in the end Remus had won. So, they had placed a nifty charm on the bottles, so that they were impossible to open to for anyone younger than fifteen and could not be passed to one so young. James knew that this charm was not perfect and that there ways to beat that protection, but it was enough to calm Remus and to get the rest of the prefects out of his hair. He took another gulp from his butterbeer, enjoying it warming him from inside. The dance floor started very close to him, but so far he had avoided stepping onto it. While he was a quite good dancer, he did not enjoy it overly much and without Amber beside him it was hard for him to get in the mood. Sirius had no such issues. He was currently dancing with Tiffany Clearwater, a very pretty seventh year, after having knocked back some shots of Firewhiskey. James shock his head at his best mate's antics. Tiffany was exactly his type: pretty, rather flirty and had just went through a breakup. Sirius has always been partial to rebound relationships as they tended to self-destruct very quickly. He searched for the rest of the Marauders and found Remus talking to Mary McDonald and Peter playing a drinking game version of Exploding Snap with a group of Gryffindor boys. James spotted Marlene sitting in an armchair in one of the corners of the common room. He could see Alice keeping her company and was startled to see her looking rather unhappy. He frowned. He had not noticed her slipping into the party at all. As was common with big parties, he was fluttering from one person to the next only spending a few minutes with each of them. He was the birthday boy after all and everyone wanted a piece of him. He decided to find out what was going on over there. Marlene was his oldest friend after all and he did not want her to be unhappy on his birthday. He made his way over to the armchair and plopped down on another empty one close to them. Marlene noticed him immediately and to James's horror, her eyes filled with tears as she spotted him. That was unusual. Marlene was normally a rather composed girl. If she cried it was mostly about relationship trouble. James groaned eternally. If Charlie Davies, the bloody git, had broken her heart, he was going to beat him to a bloody pulp. Why he normally stayed far away from Marlene's love life, he still was almost her brother. And brothers did not like bad boyfriends one bit.

'Marlene, what is the matter?' he managed to ask, before she catapulted herself out of her armchair and sat on his lap, hiding her face in his chest. On dear, that was not going too well.

'She just broke up with Charlie,' said Alice gravely.

'What?' asked James. 'Whatever for? Last I heard everything was going well. What on earth changed? Do I have to jinx the tosser?'

'He proposed,' said Marlene in a short pause of her sobs, before crying even harder.

'He what?' asked James. 'But why are you so upset about that?'

'She said no, obviously,' said Alice, rolling her eyes at his cluelessness. 'He... did not take it too well. Things got rather heated and now they are done.'

'Bloody hell,' said James. Well, he had not been expecting that. He had already pictured all the jinxes he wanted to place on Davies, but that revelation made it rather hard to stay angry at him. He could not fault a bloke for proposing to his girl after all. In fact, James was rather pleased that Davies had not been leading Marlene on. He wondered what made him propose to her now. He was a seventh year, so maybe he wanted to tie the knot before leaving school. Marlene still had a year ahead of her and maybe Davies had wanted to give her extra motivation to keep the relationship alive during the long distance relationship. Marrying at seventeen was not that early in the wizarding world. It was even rather common for the traditional pure-bloods. Wasn't Davies the bastard son of a pure-blood wizard? Yes, that was it. So maybe he wanted to do the traditional thing and marry Marlene straight away. It was a good plan, but James could have told him that it would probably backfire. He had had to listen to a lot of Marlene's complains about boys in the past and therefore knew that she hated being pressured in a relationship. She believed that everything would just fall into place in a perfect relationship. So, she probably had reacted rather brusquely when Davies popped the question. He winced at the thought. Poor bloke. Getting shot down when you want to marry your girlfriend was probably very painful. But he was not here to mend Davies's feelings. He had to take care of Marlene even though he rather agreed with her now ex-boyfriend. He had never particularly liked him in the past, but he had to admit that Davies was a rather decent bloke all Quidditch rivalry aside. Marlene could certainly do worse.

'Oh, Marlene,' said James, stroking her hair. 'Don't cry. It will be alright. Once both of you have calmed down, you are going to talk things out. It is just a misunderstanding. He should not have sprung it on you like that, but it will be fine in the end.'

'No, it won't be,' she said, between sobs. 'I... I have been so horrible to him! What kind of girl insults her boyfriend, because he wants to marry her?'

She went back to crying. James sighed. Here goes nothing. He knew that she would be fine after some sleep and some time to consider. Marlene was not the type of girl to pine after some bloke. She probably would have a new boyfriend or be back with Davies within two weeks.

'You are a nice girl, Marlene,' said Alice. 'You just got a bit emotional because he surprised you. That is all. James is right. I am sure Charlie will forgive you as soon as you two talk it out.'

'No, he won't', said Marlene with a strangled voice. 'You did not hear what I said to him after things get heated. He HATES me now! And I think I hate him too for ever putting me in that situation. He should have known better than to ask me!'

'Alright, that's enough,' said James. 'What you need know is a good night's sleep. Tomorrow everything is going to be much cleared.'

'I suppose,' said Marlene with her voice muffled by his shirt. James bit back a smile. She acted like such a little girl today. He was going to bring that up the next time she was giving him a hard time. 'Can I sleep in your bed, James?'

James rose an eyebrow at that. They had often slept in one bed when they were younger, but by now sleeping with a girl in his bed was not as innocent as it used to be. He pushed that thought away immediately. That was Marlene he was talking about! She was like his sister and if she needed him than he better should be there.

'Of course you can,' he said, ignoring Alice rather surprised look. 'You should get up there now and get settled in. Being on this party is not going to do you much good.'

'I will,' she said, finally letting go of his chest and wiping her eyes. 'I am sorry for ruining your party like that. Don't head up early just because you want to take care of me.'

'It is fine,' said James. 'Go now, I will see you later.'

Marlene hugged him and made her way up the stairs of the boy's dormitory.

'Puh, that was intense,' said Alice.

'Yeah, things are bad when she wants to spend the night with me,' said James. 'I guess she cared more for Davies than I had thought. Merlin's beard, I need a smoke.'

He left Alice at the fireplace and headed over to Moony to grab a spliff. As usual, their responsible friend carried the weed, both because less people suspected him and because Sirius and James tended to have rather limited self-control. Remus handed him a spliff and James headed out of the common room. He walked up a staircase and made his way over to the windowsill were he usually smoked if he wanted some solitude and still wanted to stay inside. To his surprise, Lily was already sitting there staring out into the night sky. James sat down next to her, startling her. 'Oh, it's you,' she said, when she recognized him. 'Happy birthday.'

'Thanks,' said James, while opening the window. 'Do you mind if I smoke?'

'No, go ahead,' she said. James had expected her to object, but she probably had not realized that he was holding a spliff rather than a normal cigarette. He opened the window, lit up with his wand and took a deep drag, before blowing the smoke out in into the velvety night.

'I did not see you at the party,' he said after a while.

'I was out with Luke,' she said. James ignored the twinge of jealousy at the mention of that name. 'I did not want to bring him to the party as he was not invited, but I was planning to show up later.'

'You could have brought Palmer if you wanted to,' said James. He was surprised to realize that he meant it. 'I don't mind having him around. It is a big party after all.'

'Thanks, but I don't think that he would have liked it,' said Lily. 'He does not like parties overly much. What are you smoking? That does not smell like tobacco.'

'It isn't,' said James. 'It is weed. Do you want to take a drag?'

He was starting to feel more relaxed by now and wanted to share some of the happiness with Lily. He knew that she would never accept it, though. She was way too proper.

'No, thanks,' she said. She looked contemplative for a moment before continuing. 'You don't happen to carry a regular cigarette with you, do you?'

'Actually, I have some fags in my pocket,' he said. 'Why? You don't smoke.'

'Not regularly, but I think tonight is a good time to smoke,' she said. 'Can I bum a cigarette, please?'

'Sure,' he said. He reached into his pocket, extracted a package of magical cigarettes and handed one over to her. She took it and looked at it quizzically.

'Do you have a lighter or should I use my wand?' she asked. 'They are not of much use as long as they are not lighted.'

'These are magical cigarettes,' said James. 'You don't need a lighter for them. Just placed them in your mouth and gently suck on them.'

Lily did as he told her and the cigarette ignited immediately. She took a quick drag before blowing out the smoke again. James could tell that she was not a practiced smoker.

'Very handy,' she said.

'I usually use my wand to light up whenever I smoke Muggle cigarettes,' said James. 'Sirius buys them sometimes. You know that he is very into Muggle things.'

'Why though?' asked Lily. 'He is as pure-blood as they comes. What does he care about Muggles?'

'It is mostly to piss off his family,' said James. 'They are blood purists and detest Muggles. Sirius does not get along with them. He does a lot of things just to stress how different he is from them. He only took Muggle Studies because he knew it would annoy his parents immensely.'

'That must be very difficult for him,' said Lily. 'My parents don't know much about my life and sometimes it feels like I am growing more and more apart from them, but at least they care about me. I can't imagine how things must be for Sirius.'

'He deserves better,' said James. 'Sirius is not perfect, but nobody deserves to be born into such a foul family. Fortunately, he can spend much time with me and my parents. They think of him as a second son already.'

'That's very nice of them,' said Lily.

'They have always wanted children, but had trouble getting them,' said James. 'They had already given up when I came along. I have always wanted a sibling, but things did not play out that way. So, I was not surprised that they started to like Sirius.'

'Trust me, siblings are not that great,' said Lily darkly. James laughed.

'Right, I had forgotten about your lovely sister,' he said. 'Hm... I should tell Sirius to pay her a visit. Maybe she would like him more than she did like me.'

Lily snorted.

'Right, because Petunia is the type to fall for the rebel with a devil-may-care-attitude,' she said. 'I think she would hate him even more than you if you think that is possible. She berated me for the company I keep after you had visited us. She especially hated your hair. She said it was a symbol of how much of a freak you are.'

James laughed.

'Well, you can't please anyone. It seems that you and Petunia have one thing in common after all: You both dislike my hair.'

'I don't dislike your hair.'

'Really?' asked James, ignoring how quickly his heart beat all of the sudden. 'I seem to remember you telling me how much you hated it when I messed it up.'

'I did say that, but this is not about your hair, but about what you are doing with it,' she pointed out.

James scowled.

'Now you are arguing semantics,' he said.

'Semantics, are important,' she said. 'You should know after all. Semantics are everything in transfiguration. Otherwise you end up somewhere close to your target, but not where you actually want to end up.'

'I suppose you are right about that,' said James.

Silence fell between them. Both were content just to sit there, smoke and gaze into the starry night. Only when James had finished his spliff and was moving to get up, did Lily speak up again.

'Did you have a good birthday, James?'

'It was a mixed bag, but it is getting better in the end,' he said. 'Well, I am heading to bed. Good night, Lily.'

'Good night, James. Thanks for the cigarette.'

'Anytime,' he said, and headed back to the common room. The weed had made him sleepy and all he wanted to do now is curl up in his bed and get to sleep. It was not his best birthday, but he could not help feeling pleased about the moment he had just shared with Lily.