James was standing at the open window of his dormitory, leaning heavily on the windowsill. His Hogwarts trunk lay on the floor behind him, next to his bed. He should have unpacked it by now, but he didn't feel like doing it. He had only arrived back in the castle today and dinner was over already. The rest of the Marauders were down in the common room, busy with last minute holiday homework and mingling with the rest of the house. James had excused himself, stating that he needed some time to unwind by himself. His friends had thrown him rather concerned looks, but had let him go without comment. James suspected that they had started discussing his recovery the moment he had left the room. They shouldn't worry too much: He was fine. It had been ten days since his kidnapping and he was feeling stronger every day. St. Mungo's had kept him in the hospital until the last day of the holidays. James had protested, naturally, but the healer in charge had been insistent. Given the fact that he had been cursed by a very powerful wizard, the healer felt that closer monitoring was necessary. Fortunately, the improved potion had worked very well. James was still a little weak and suffered from occasionally headaches, but otherwise he was as good at new. His recovery was certainly faster than it had been the last time.

James reached into his pocket and pulled out the spliff Remus had rolled for him during the train ride. The weed helped fight the headaches and James plans for the rest of evening were to get stoned and go to sleep. He had lessons tomorrow and he didn't fancy missing sleep because of the dull pain behind his temple. He opened the window, lit up and inhaled deeply. The smoke filled his lungs and James held it in for a while, wanting to make the most out of it. He had just taken his third hit, when the door to the dorm opened and a single person entered the room. James did not turn around, but he could tell by the sound of the steps that it was Lily who was visiting him.

'I am not sure you are supposed to smoke this stuff,' she said once she had reached him. She rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his cheek. 'It could react badly with the potion.'

'I have noticed any side-effects so far,' said James dismissively. 'But it helps with the headaches. Do you want a hit?'

She looked torn for a moment. James took a closer look at her and noticed that she was chewing her lips. He frowned slightly: She only did that when she was nervous, but what did she have to be nervous about?

'Fine, give it here,' she said, holding out her hand.

'Really?' asked James, shocked. 'You don't even smoke.'

'Yes, but I have tried smoking, so what is the harm of trying this once?' she asked. 'I know that I does not kill you given how much Remus, Sirius, Peter and you smoke.'

'Hey, compared to Remus, I barely smoke at all,' said James. 'I am only hooked on the fags. Here, take a drag, hold it in for a while and then exhale.'

She took the spliff from his hand and did as he had told her. She coughed slightly, but still managed to hold the smoke in for a few seconds. After a few drags, she passed it back to James.

'How do you feel?' he asked her.

'Relaxed, but a bit dizzy,' she said. 'It is not bad, though. Tastes a lot better than cigarettes, too.'

'Do you want another hit?'

'No, finish it by yourself, I need my wits together.'

'Really?' asked James. 'Why is that?'

'I have to talk to you,' she said, looking serious.

'Am I in trouble?'

'Be serious for a moment here,' she said. 'And don't hit me with some lame pun.'

'Wouldn't dream of it,' said James, smiling. He had been thinking about making a serious-Sirius-joke. It had been so long since he had made one of these after all. 'Alright, what is it?'

'You know, I did a lot of thinking over the holidays,' said Lily, not meeting his eyes. 'When Sirius told me that you had been abducted by Death Eaters, I was so shocked I could barely process the words. And when I saw you lying there in the hospital looking as though you were one inch from death, I realized something: I don't want to lose you James.'

'Oh, Lily,' said James, putting an arm around her and pulling her closer. 'You are not going to lose me.'

'How can you say that?' she asked. 'You have barely escaped death just a few days ago, James. We are at war and you are a prominent target! If the Death Eaters win, both you and I will be in grave danger. Something horrible could happen to anyone of us every day!'

'Maybe,' admitted James. He pulled the almost completely gone spliff out of his mouth and vanished it. It didn't seem fitting to smoke during such a serious conversation. 'But what does it mean? You don't have control over everything in your life. All we can do is make the most out of life has dealt us. And I can tell you that I have no intention of leaving you alone.'

'I know that,' said Lily. 'What I am trying to say is that I don't want to waste any more time. We will be done with school in a few months and then we will enter the real world. We will have to look for jobs and the shelter Hogwarts has given us from the war will be gone. We have been given a small respite and we shouldn't squander it.'

'I am still not sure what you are trying to say.'

'I don't want to hide anymore,' she said softly. 'You were right all along. I was too afraid of what people would think about us, too afraid of what I would have to endure from the Slytherins. My priorities were wrong and I am sorry. If it is alright with you, we can tell the rest of the Gryffindors tonight. That is if you still want to.'

'Don't be daft,' said James, cupping her cheek with a hand. 'Of course I want to. I have wanted to shout from the rooftops for months that I have finally snagged you.'

He bent down and pressed a hungry kiss to her mouth. She responded eagerly and for a moment all that existed were the two of them. James pulled away a short while later, feeling like in his chest was swelling from happiness. He felt a soppy grin take over his face.

'You are enjoying this way too much,' said Lily though she was smiling widely as well. 'Just wait until Marlene hears about this. You are going to be in even more trouble than I. She is going to be ruthless.'

'I am going to let Sirius handle her if she is too much of an annoyance,' said James dismissively. 'But let's not tell anyone directly. It is more fun to just act like a couple and see how long it takes them to figure it out. I doubt Marlene is going to notice it quickly, given how wrapped up she tends to be in Sirius.'

'I think you are underestimating her perceptiveness,' said Lily. 'But you just said that you wanted to shout it from the rooftops that we are a couple. Even I was looking forward to telling Alice and Marlene.'

'I prefer actions to words,' said James. 'And I think I prefer telling everybody about our relationship by kissing you for all the school to see to just tell them. It just has more style.'

'You are a quite mad, do you know that?' said Lily. 'Fine, we do it your way. People might freak out a little if you just start snogging me in the common room, but I guess it all part of the show.'

'I aim to please,' said James. 'And I quite a born entertainer. You know, I am just thinking of something else.'

'What?'

'We are in an empty dormitory, all by ourselves and will probably have at least an hour until somebody bothers us. I think we can find something else to do rather than just talk.'

He put on his hands on her bum and pulled her close to him. He could feel her breath on his face now and her eyes fluttered slightly shut.

'That is a horrible idea,' said Lily weakly. 'Your friends might walk in on us or one of the girls might come looking for me. We really should find someplace more private. It is too risky.'

'The risk is what makes it fun,' said James. He pressed his lips on her and kissed her hungrily. Lily's reluctance melted away and they lost themselves in a blur of mouths, limbs and hastily removed clothing.

They made it to the bed eventually. After everything was over, James was lying on his back starting at the ceiling. Lily was curled up at his side, her breath deep and relaxed. James assumed that she was about to go to sleep.

'Love, are the girls going to worry if you sleep here?' James asked quietly.

'I don't care,' she said sleepily. 'I just want to sleep and you should rest too. You are still healing.'

James chuckled softly. Even when she was almost asleep she still found has the power to try to boss him around.

'Alright then,' he said. He grabbed the blanket and put it properly around her form. 'Here that's better. Good night, Lily.'

'Good night,' she mumbled. James remained quiet for a moment and after a few minutes here breathing evened out. She was fast asleep. James felt a smile take over his face. Today had been a wonderful day. He closed his eyes and sleep took him after only a few minutes.

James whistled a merry tune under his breath as his quill scratched over the parchment. His thoughts poured out his head straight onto the paper and the rather lengthy arithmancy essay almost seemed to write itself. Remus glanced up at him, looking amused at his antics. It was the afternoon of the next day. Remus and he shared the same free period and had decided to use the opportunity to do the homework they had gotten just this very morning. Normally, James would have protested at the mere idea of doing homework that early and on the first day back, but such slacking was no longer on option so close to the end of their final school year. They were sitting in the common room, close to the blazing fire. Even though it was spring, the weather remained chilly and wet. James was grateful for the warmth of the fire as he hated being cold.

'You seem chipper today,' said Remus. 'You do know it is rather annoying, don't you?'

'Being in a good mood?' asked James distractedly.

'No, whistling Paranoid under your breath,' said Remus, rolling his eyes.

'Oh, right, sorry,' said James and stopped whistling. 'You know I like to whistle when I am feeling cheerful.'

'I wonder why, though,' said Remus. 'You normally moan and groan whenever the holidays come to an end. But you haven't complained even once today and you did not even protest when I suggested getting started with homework early. That is highly suspicious, James.'

'Can't I be in a good mood for no particular reason?'

'Not on the first day of school,' said Remus. 'If I had to guess though, I would wager that it has something to do with the guest who spent the night in our dormitory.'

'How do you know that?' asked James quietly. 'Lily snuck out before you even stirred.'

'Yes and that would have been more impressive if you had managed to move all of your clothes to your bed. I found her bra next to your bed yesterday evening. It was not hard to connect the dots from there.'

'Ah,' said James. 'Yes, I see.'

'You know, I think there is something you are not telling me,' said Remus. 'While you are usually over the moon for Lily, your exuberant mood is not just caused by getting some action. What is going on with the two of you? Did you propose to her?'

'What? No! Are you mental? She would skin me alive if I did that!' protested James. 'Besides, it is a bit early to think about that isn't it?'

'Hey, I am just asking,' said Remus, raising his hands in surrender. 'But I figured it was not a too outlandish idea, given how long you have fancied her and the war.'

'What has the war to do with this?'

'People are nervous, James,' said Remus. 'If you consider it quite possible that you are dead tomorrow, there is little reason to wait for anything. Look at Andromeda, Sirius's cousin. She has run away with a Muggle, married him straight away and is going to be a mother. I don't think she would have moved that fast if we are living in peaceful times.'

'True, but from what Sirius has told me, she did most of this to annoy her parents,' said James, grinning slightly. 'But I guess you are right. Long-term plans are kind of out of fashion at the moment. In each case, marrying Lily is going to cause an uproar no matter when I do it.'

'The heir of a filthy rich pure-blood family marrying a middle-class at best Muggle-born witch in the current war,' said Remus. 'Yeah, I can see how this would cause a ruckus. It is going to be seen as a political statement, no matter if it is intended to be one. The Death Eaters will view it as a provocation, the pro-Muggle-born activist as a commendable effort to bridge the gap. You are probably going to catch a lot of heat for this.'

'Sometimes I hate being a pure-blood,' muttered James. 'It is nobody's business who I want to marry. But I can't do anything without it being inspected closely and put into context with whatever is going on at the moment and whatever my father is scheming currently. It is a bloody menace! Muggle-borns are lucky in that regard. They can do whatever they want. On the flipside, they have to deal with a lot of stupid prejudice, so I guess it balances itself out.'

'Trust me, being a pure-blood is a lot better than being a Muggle-born,' said Remus dryly. 'Do you think you parents would support you if you wanted to marry Lily?'

'That's a tough question,' said James. 'My mum would probably be alright with it. She believes in true love and all this romantic rubbish. My father is probably not going to be pleased.'

'Lily told me that she had a bit of an argument with your father back in the hospital,' said Remus, smiling slightly. 'She was rather mortified about it. Apparently, she lost her temper with him and now feels terrible about it.'

James snorted at that.

'Yes, she was quite intense,' he said. 'Well, why should I be the only Potter male who has to deal with her temper? My father is tough, he is not going to hold a grudge because she overreacted in a strenuous situation. I think he rather likes her to be honest. Still, he is not a fan of marrying early. He wants me to live my life before committing to a lifetime with a single woman.'

'Wasn't he married straight out of school?'

'Yes, and in an arranged marriage to boot,' said James. 'Even though he and my mother learned to love each other over the years, he is still slightly bitter about it. He is going to see it as a mistake if I marry early. He will feel like I replicate his own mistake even though I actually have a choice. The fact that I am going to paint a nice big target sign on my chest by marring a Muggle-born is not going to help.'

'I figured as much,' said Remus. 'Well, he has a point, hasn't he? But that is not going to stop you, will it?'

'You are getting ahead of yourself,' said James. 'I am not going to propose to Lily anytime soon. She would take it badly and I am not sure we are stable enough for this step. I don't want to end up like Davies did when he proposed to Marlene. Poor bugger. Hey, that reminds me: Where are Marlene and Sirius? They have a free-period as well.'

'Sirius told me something about going down to the Quidditch pitch,' said Remus. 'He said that Rosie O'Connell asked him to give her some flying tips.'

'O'Connell?' asked James. 'You mean the pretty fifth year, who only barely didn't make the cut as reserve seeker this year?'

'Yeah, that's her,' said Remus.

'Her flying is quite good,' said James. 'And she is a seeker, not a beater. What is Sirius going to show her? It makes no sense of her to ask him for help unless... oh no.'

'Do you think she is making a move on him?' asked Remus. 'Sirius is going to have enough sense to turn her down if she does, won't he?'

'I am not sure,' said James. 'She is very pretty after all. Have you paid attention to her chest? Her boobs are huge and you know how much Sirius likes a full chest. However, I do believe that Sirius is really fond of Marlene. He is not going to throw it all away for a quick shag.'

'Maybe,' said Remus. 'Still, I have a feeling that the rules between Marlene and Sirius are not that clear. I mean they stress every bloody day that they are not really dating. So why shouldn't Sirius have some fun with Rosie?'

'You don't really believe this whole not-dating rubbish, do you?' asked James.

'Of course I don't. I think the only people who do are Marlene and Sirius, because they are not comfortable with the thought of a proper relationship. But I think when push comes to shove they are a lot more serious than they realize. And I highly doubt that Marlene would be pleased about him fooling around with Rosie.'

James winced at the thought. Marlene had quite a temper and despite her aversion to classical relationships she would most likely react badly to any unfaithfulness of Sirius. It was exactly what he had been worried about when he had first heard about his two best friends dating. Both Marlene and Sirius was quite capable of hurting other people by sheer accident. It was a volatile combination to say the least.

'Rosie should know to stay away from Sirius' asked James. 'Marlene and he are always making out in the common room after all. Everyone knows that they are sweet on each other.'

'Yes, but they constantly state the opposite,' said Remus. 'She only has to ask Marlene whether Sirius and she are dating and Marlene will deny it. It is easy to come to the wrong conclusion in this scenario.'

'Bloody hell,' spat James. 'Why does every girl in this bloody castle has to lust after Sirius? Aren't there any other blokes they can bother?'

'Well, let's hope for the best,' said Remus. 'Maybe we are being too paranoid about the whole thing. Maybe Rosie will leave Sirius alone or even if she tries something, it doesn't mean that Marlene will know about it.'

Just in this moment, the portrait hole opened and a rather dishevelled Sirius stepped into the common room with Marlene hot on his heels.

'I really don't see why it is such a big deal,' said Sirius sharply. 'And I am done discussing this with you.'

'Not a big deal?' hissed Marlene. James could tell that she was very close to start shouting. 'Instead of spending the free period with me you went down to the Quidditch pitch and when I get down there to see what you were doing, I walk into you kissing that slag. Tell me again how this is no big deal.'

'I have told you, she kissed me,' said Sirius obviously annoyed. 'It happens. Every girl in the castle wants to snog me after all. What was I supposed to do? Beat her off with my broomstick before she can close the distance? It didn't mean anything.'

'Rubbish! I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't walked in. Would you have shagged her right there on the pitch?'

'Probably not,' said Sirius in an icy voice. James heart sank. His best mate's patience was clearly running out. James had enough experience in fighting with Sirius to know what would happen next: Sirius would lash out with some deliberate cruel remark to get out the corner Marlene had backed him in. It was a recipe for disaster as Marlene was probably going to react in kind. James rose from his chair to help broker a peace, but he couldn't prevent Sirius's next words. 'I don't really like shagging outdoors, so I would have taken her back to the locker room.'

'Bastard,' hissed Marlene and slapped at his face. Sirius deftly dodged the blow and took a few steps back.

'Maybe we should discuss this later when you have calmed down,' he sneered. 'Honestly, I thought you would have been okay with this. I thought we were on the same page: We are not dating, but just enjoying each other's company.'

'That doesn't mean that you are free to shag whomever you want,' said Marlene hotly.

'Funny, I thought that was exactly what it meant,' replied Sirius. 'I thought you were shagging Fowler on the side given how often the two of you have been studying together.'

James stopped in his tracks: Sirius, the bloody idiot! Marcus Fowler was a Ravenclaw seventh year. Marlene and he had a mutual passion for ancient runes and had started to study together for their N.E.W.T.s a few weeks back. While Fowler was very handsome, James was quite sure that Marlene and him were truly only studying. In fact, he had heard some quite convincing rumours claiming that Fowler was a shirt lifter. James was not sure whether these were true, but he supposed they made sense as the Ravenclaw's appearance was just too polished. Naturally, Fowler would never admit to it, given the still strong taboo on this subject.

'I have told you already that there is nothing going on between Marcus and me,' snarled Marlene. 'Stop being such a bloody idiot! You cannot seriously tell me that you thought I would be okay with you shagging O'Connell.'

'Don't tell what I can or cannot do,' said Sirius icily. 'Frankly, I don't know what you are complaining about. You wanted something fun with no strings attached and I have given you exactly that. You knew what you were getting into from the very start. In fact, I remember you approaching me in the first place. You chose me because you know I am hardly overly romantic. Well, I haven't changed and I am not going to just because you have suddenly changed your mind about what you want.'

'Oh, so I am just supposed to sit idly by and let you shag other witches?' asked Marlene hotly. 'Have you lost your mind?'

'Well, if you want a more active role, you are free to join in,' said Sirius with a slight leer on his face. James groaned and started moving again and drew his wand. He should silence both of them before things got really ugly.

Marlene's face darkened to a rich purplish colour. She whipped out her wand and was just about to curse Sirius when James's timely disarming charm hit her. Her wand flew through the air in a graceful ark and James caught it deftly.

'Alright, that's enough,' he said firmly his voice ringing with authority through the rather empty common room. 'Both of you need time to calm down. Sirius, get up to the dorm room and have a smoke. Marlene, get back to the Quidditch pitch and go flying. It will clear your head.'

'I should have known that you would take his side,' hissed Marlene. 'He deserved the curse I was about to hurl at his fat head.'

'I am head-boy, Marlene,' said James gently. 'I cannot just stand idly by why you curse a fellow Gryffindor directly in front of me. I would have to put you in detention and I doubt that you would be happy with me in this case either. And I am not taking anyone's side. I would have disarmed Sirius as well if he had been the one going for his wand.'

'Ugh, I can't believe you,' said Marlene. 'You are both gits!'

She turned on her heel and strode out of the portrait hole through both Sirius and him filthy looks as she went.

'Thanks,' said Sirius gruffly. 'She probably would have hit me with something nasty.'

'Give one good reason why I shouldn't punch you in the face right now,' said James heatedly.

Sirius blinked. Then his face darkened rapidly.

'Don't tell me you are taking her side on this,' he hissed. 'I am not in the wrong here. We both agreed that we are not in proper relationship.'

'I don't care what you have agreed on,' said James. 'I was no fan of this relationship from the very start and you intentionally hurting Marlene has not improved my opinion. I am going to give both of you some time to cool down and when you have, I want you to figure something out with Marlene. I am not going to spend the last few months of school playing mediator between my two best friends.'

Sirius glared at him for a moment, but didn't speak. Instead, he turned around and stormed up the stairs leading to the boy's dormitory. James sighed heavily and want back to his seat at the fire. Remus gave him a sympathetic look when he slumped down in the chair.

'Well, that was dramatic,' said Remus. 'I guess we should have known that something like this would happen. Maybe Marlene and Sirius are just too similar to each other.'

'Yeah maybe,' said James. 'Come one, let's finish these essays. I don't want to talk about them at the moment.'

They lapsed back into silence and focused on their work. The common room grew steadily fuller as the free period ended. Lily entered the room about half an hour later and hurried over to them. She gave James a quick kiss on the lips which caused Remus to raise an eyebrow in surprise. However, he refrained from commenting, obviously not quite sure what to make of this public display of affection.

'Hey, you two,' she said. 'Had a nice free period?'

'It was eventful,' said Remus and started filling Lily in on Sirius's and Marlene's disagreement.

James was content just to listen to the story. He had intertwined his right hand with Lily's left one and despite his anger at both of his friends, he was quite content. Relationship trouble hardly was something special after all. In fact, it was a nice breath of normalcy in these tempestuous times.