Operation Crowd Control

A/N: Ok here comes chapter two. In this chapter, I sort of introduce the OC's (i.e. Lily's friends) and kind of start up the plot. Oh and I forgot to mention that this is the beginning of November in their 7th year.

Thanks go to:

Anonymous: Thanks!!! I'm glad that you thought it was interesting.

Lady Starlight: Thanks!!! Chapters will usually be longer.

Aliasfreak: Thanks so much!!! Very encouraging review.

Without further ado, here's the next chapter.

CH. 2- Wooing Said Strumpet

Remus woke up on Monday morning to find James fully dressed, sitting against the wall with a dazed look on his face… and his bed was made. This was truly a new sight for Remus; he rarely saw James awake this early and rarely - no, never saw James' bed made unless the house elves did it. Oh no; who died? Remus wondered. But that still doesn't explain the bed being made…

“James?” Remus asked. James didn't respond. Remus got out of bed and walked over to James, waving his hand in front of his eyes. Again, no response.

“Oy, Padfoot!” Remus said, looking over to Sirius' sleeping form. He looked around the clothing strewn floor. He found a sock and lodged it toward where he thought Sirius' head would be. It hit target, covering Sirius' nose. For a few moments, Sirius didn't do anything, and then he suddenly threw off the sock and started coughing and sputtering. After his bout of wheezing, he looked around and saw Remus laughing.

“Come on now, that wasn't necessary Moony,” Sirius scolded.

“Well, if you would clean up after yourself…” Remus said, only half-kidding.

“Well, your side of the room isn't exactly…” Sirius looked over to Remus' “side of the room” and found that it was exactly whatever he was going to say it wasn't.

Remus smiled smugly. “Anyway, what's wrong with James?” Remus asked.

“Huh?” Sirius looked over at James and saw his vacant eyes and a frown upon his brow. “I dunno… Is he sick?”

Remus reached over and felt James' forehead and when he summoned that there was nothing wrong with him, he looked back at Sirius and shrugged.

“That's it,” Sirius said, climbing out of bed. He walked over to James and proceeded to shake him with all his strength. It was then that Peter woke up, surprisingly, as it would usually take some sort of natural disaster (like a tornado or more likely an earthquake) to wake up Peter.

“Whas goin' on?” Peter slurred sleepily.

“There's somethin' wrong with Prongs and I'm gonna beat it outta him,” Sirius panted.

“Yeah… that's real likely to work,” Peter mocked.

James shoved Sirius off. “I'm fine.”

“No you're not or you wouldn't be sittin' there starin' into space lettin' me beat you up,” Sirius said.

James mumbled something incoherently.

“What?” Sirius, Remus, and Peter asked simultaneously.

“I think I mumble, mumble, mumble ” James said again sullenly.

“Spit it out, dammit!” Sirius said impatiently.

“I think I like Evans, dammit!” James yelled, but clearly.

“I knew it!” Sirius said triumphantly.

“Oh yeah, that's why you were shaking me like a drunken house elf,” James said skeptically.

“So what if you like Lily? Why are you sulking?” Peter asked.

“I am not sulking!” James said defiantly.

“More like pouting really,” Sirius said absent-mindedly.

James scowled at Sirius.

“Yeah, what's wrong with liking Evans?” Sirius asked.

“Well, I dunno… I guess it's just because we've been pranking each other since first year and we've always been sworn enemies and…” James thought for a moment.

“And now, liking her changes everything you've ever felt about her starting from about 6 years ago, and now your confused because you're so used to hating her,” Remus finished for him.

James gaped at him for a while and then said quietly, “Yeah.”

“Well, aren't you going to stop the acts of despair and oddness and woo said strumpet? I mean, you've gone out with a lot of girls (not as many as me, of course),” Sirius chuckled good-naturedly, “why not Evans. I'm sure she won't be able to resist your devilish charms, you sexy beast,” Sirius teased.

James looked heartened by what Sirius had to say. “Yeah, you're right. She's just like any other girl, right? I might as well put her out of the misery of not being able to say she's gone out with me and let her go out with me. Like you said, girls are lining up to go out with me,” at this Sirius started to mumble that that wasn't what he said but James went on, “why wouldn't she?”

“What are you gonna do?” Peter asked.

“I'm going to ask her out at breakfast,” James said confidently.

“Well then, we should probably get down to breakfast,” Sirius said.

The Marauders all got dressed, got their books for the day, and walked out of their dorm.

“Hi James,” cooed a pretty, blonde girl, wiggling her fingers at him as the Marauders walked through the Common Room.

“Hey…” James said, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember her name even though she was one of the many girls he had gone out with recently.

“Ashley,” the girl supplied, looking a good deal hurt that he hadn't remembered her name.

“Right,” James said as he walked by.

He, Sirius, Remus, and even Peter were bombarded by quite a few more flirtatious girls, similar to Ashley, as they made their way to the Great Hall.

James approached Lily's table with his usual confidence and his signature smirk that made all the girls swoon. He ran a hand through his hair when he saw Lily sitting with her three best friends, all of which were on the Hogwarts Hot Bird List (so to speak).

Keira McAllister had a china doll complexion, was short, thin, and had frizzy shoulder-length dirty blonde ringlets and midnight blue eyes. Keira liked sports but realized in her second year after being on the Quidditch team that they weren't as fun to play as to watch so she became the commentator. She was a pureblood, not that her family really cared: they were poor and really didn't follow the “pure-blood code of conduct”. Keira had three older brothers: Michael, Tyler, and Todd, but all of them were already out of Hogwarts. Sitting next to Keira was Nicole Crystal.

Nicole was beautiful by most standards but she didn't care about her looks. She was tall, tan and she had long, layered black hair (though she usually wore it up) and long fringe that parted off to the side, most of the time covering her sea green eyes. She was one of the star chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and her house had come to know her for her talent out on the field and respect her for it, instead of just seeing her for her looks; she liked it better that way. She was muggle born, but people really didn't bother her about it after she broke Lucius Malfoy's nose in first year for calling her a MudBlood.

Across from Nicole and next to Lily was Jeanette O'Ryan. Jeanette was average height (depending on what you consider average) and had large hazel eyes and highlighted blonde hair. Jeanette was the fashion conscious one. Every hair on her head was perfectly straight and every eyelash was curled just right; every outfit she wore coordinated perfectly and her nails were always manicured. Jeanette was a pure blood and grew up with a lot of money. She always got what she wanted, but she wasn't selfish: she was always giving people gifts out of the blue and she liked to help people.

And then of course, there was Lily. Lily was also of average height and had stunning emerald eyes and thick fiery curls. She was the rule-follower and the bookworm of the group of friends. She had the top grades in every subject except for Transfiguration and Potions. She was generally awful at Transfiguration, but made up for it with studying harder and still managed to achieve O's; and of course, Potter was the only one that was beating her in Transfiguration. The Potions teacher and Head of Slytherin House, Professor Sylvestine, hated Lily 1) because she was muggle born and 2) because she was in Gryffindor. Even Professor Sylvestine couldn't fail her though and she still got by with O's, although Severus Snape was beating her in score. In fifth year, she became Gryffindor's prefect along with Remus and now in 7th year she was Head Girl alongside (by some Satanic force) Potter.

The rest of the Hogwarts population watched James with baited breath, thinking that Lily and James were going to have one of their rows again. But to their surprise, when James sat down next to Lily he actually acted civil.

“Hey Lily,” James said.

Lily looked up suspiciously and said, “Hi?” She gave him a look that clearly said, “What do you want?”

“Yeah, would you like to go somewhere quiet where we can `talk' after breakfast?” James inquired seductively.

The population of the Great Hall thought as one: So much for civility.

“Are you kidding me?” Lily asked incredulously. When James smirked at her she said, “No! I don't want to do anything with you or anything that involves you especially if that involves `going somewhere quiet' you arrogant berk!”

“Did you just say `no' to me?” James asked. “No one says no to me!”

By now, the entire Great Hall was staring at them.

“Well, I think I just did! And I'd do it again!” Lily yelled defiantly, her face reddening as their argument progressed.

“Evans you'll pay for this; no one defies a Potter and gets a way with it!” James yelled, standing up furiously and in doing so knocking over his chair.

Lily stood up then as well, and though she was about a foot shorter than James was, it still made quite an impression. “I'd like to see you try Potter,” Lily said, her voice laced with venom. She poked him in his chest and pushed him.

“You're on, Evans. You're going to regret this,” James whispered dangerously, and walked furiously to where the remaining Marauders where still standing.

“Well, you certainly handled that well,” Sirius said sarcastically as they walked towards their usual place at the Gryffindor table.

James glared at him.

“I have a feeling things are about to get a little interesting,” Remus said. Understatement if there ever was one.

A/N: There's the second chapter. I'm really sry - I hate to write James as an ass but don't worry James fans he'll get better in time. Plz review and any suggestions are welcome. Anyway, plz review.