Brothers by Choice

Brothers by Choice

A/N: Well, I don't have much to say yet, as it is a new story. Let me know what you think.

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Chapter One: OWLs Are Over

The weather was perfect for Quidditch, and with exams over with, neither James nor Sirius planned on letting it go to waste. The two boys had bound from their room, past the few who were meandering sleepily through the common room, and through the portrait hole. Like most mornings, they were the first to the breakfast table, inhaled a copious amount of eggs, toast, and bacon, drank a gallon of pumpkin juice between the two of them, and cheered. It was a perfect day for Quidditch.

“Man, have you seen a better day?” Sirius asked as they abandoned their classmates at the table. James grinned and shook his head.

“Perfect amount of sun, a light, variable breeze, and I'd be safe to bet a spongy pitch, all the signs of a perfect pickup game of Quidditch,” James said cheerily as he pushed through the door of the great hall. They didn't slow down as they headed out of the castle, instead sprinted to the pitch with eagerness of two fifth years done with their exams.

“I swear, those losers that insist on going over every little exam question, holed up in the common room, should be carted off,” Sirius laughed. James grinned.

“You mean like Remus and Lily?” James asked as they tapped their wands on the broom shed door, which opened with a loud creak. The brooms quivered in anticipation. “Accio broom.”

“Yeah,” Sirius said as James' broom zip from among the masses of brooms and was caught deftly with a resounding slap. “Accio broom. I mean why waste a perfect day like this going over an exam we've already taken. It's not like the extra studying can change the results.”

Brooms in hand, the two boys headed to the pitch. Within a few minutes, both boys were up in the air, soaring around the field. One on one, they couldn't play much of a Quidditch game but they could race around the field, dodging and dipping, their shoulders knocking against each other as they tried to knock each other off their brooms. They laughed as they tried their hardest to knock each other from their perching places.

“Going soft on me, Prongs?” Sirius teased as he body checked him. James roared with laughter.

“When have you ever known me to be soft, Padfoot?” James countered as he threw his body into Sirius', pushing him aside. Sirius veered off course for a moment before pulling even with James.

“Nice one, Prongs! Almost had me there,” Sirius teased.

The boys continued to race and battle, trying to knock the other off of his broom until lunch time, surprised by how few people actually joined them, certainly not enough for a pickup game. Good naturedly, the boys shrugged and shed their brooms before heading back to the common room to save Remus from Lily.

“Half a day is more than enough for one man to take,” Sirius said solemnly as they climbed through the portrait hole.

“Ah, well, she's not that bad, Padfoot,” James said shrugging as he saw Peter and Remus playing a game of wizarding chess. Peter was losing horrible, his pieces cowering at his every move for fear that they'd be next to fall at Remus' expertly delivered moves.

“Moony, really, holed up in here with these losers when you could be out with us, playing Quidditch?” Sirius questioned as he and James flopped down in the seat of the couch, causing poor Peter to bounce off of it and onto the floor. Sirius laughed as James offered his hand to help the kid up.

“I got it,” Peter grumbled as he pulled himself back onto the couch. James snickered and shrugged.

“I only just left the post O.W.L. exams review with Lily,” Remus said nodding toward the red haired girl sitting at a table in the corner, pouring over thick tomes. James glanced at her.

“Hey, EVANS!” James called loudly across the common room. The girl looked up at him, glaring at the obvious intrusion to her studying.

“What is it Potter?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“You wanna spend the last weekend here with me in Hogsmead?” James asked. Lily made a face.

“You'd think you'd know the answer by now,” Lily replied as she turned back to her notes. James shrugged.

“Perhaps tomorrow then,” James said as he turned back to the boys. He picked up Peter's rook and forced it to move. Remus' knight over took the rook immediately, the poor piece flying through the air and shattering against the wall near Lily. She shot him a rude look, frowning, but turned back to her studies.

“You'd think you would have learned that Lily's just not into you,” Peter commented. James raised and eye brow and put Peter in a headlock, the small boy's head buried in James' sweaty pit.

“What'd you say?” James asked as Peter struggled and coughed, gagging.

“Oh… my… God,” Peter gasped. “You… smell… nasty!” James released Peter and sniffed, not noticing any aroma that wasn't more than pure manliness and strong Quidditch. He offered a pit to Sirius.

“I don't smell anything,” James commented. Sirius sniffed James, then his own pit for comparison.

“Nope,” Sirius said shrugging.

“You both smell like the back end of a Hippogriff,” Remus teased. James and Sirius looked at him, affronted, and shook their heads.

“We do not,” James defended. Sirius grinned.

“How do you know what the back end of a Hippogriff smells like?” Sirius inquired. Remus' cheeks turned slightly pink.

“I can only guess,” Remus said quickly. James laughed loudly, causing a few student to look at them curiously. James shook his head at them and stood.

“Perhaps, then a shower,” James said. He glanced over at Lily, who had looked up at the word shower and grinned. “Care to join me?”

“Not particularly,” Lily said sourly as she turned back to her work. James snickered again and left the common room. Armed with his towel and a change of school robes, he headed into the showers. He couldn't have cared less if he smelled, but he had a date with some Ravenclaw sixth year and suave James Potter never went on any date without being completely fresh and clean. He grinned to himself as he turned on the water. There would be plenty of time to get dirty again later that evening, perhaps in the astronomy tower.

Stepping under the water, James flattened his hair. It was one of the few times his hair wasn't casually messy. It felt odd not having is waving in the wind as he dashed from girl to girl, or class to class. Every girl he had ever gone on a date with begged to run their hands through those wildly messy locks of raven softness. It was one of his many charming qualities that no girl was immune to, well almost no girl. There still was Lily.

He had asked her out every day since first year, and every day she would flat out turn him down. She never gave a reason, just a plain `no' or `heck, no'. A weaker man would have given up, but James loved a challenge. It was like Quidditch, he knew he was great enough to get what he wanted. In Quidditch, it was plenty of scored goals. He no longer saw Lily just as an object of lust, though he did still find her mildly attractive, but as a challenge. The more she told him `no' the more he was determined to get her. James grinned. She was a feisty one, for sure, and could be a little abrasive. He chalked that up to her muggle upbringing. He had dated a few muggle born girls over the years, and they tended to be a little distant in the beginning.

James shook the thoughts of Lily and the muggle born girls he had dated in the past. He needed to focus on that Ravenclaw girl he'd be spending the evening with. If he was lucky, and he usually was, he could count on spending the night with her as well. James poured his shampoo in his hand, always using way more than he needed, and scrubbed his scalp. He loved the way that it felt, the thick lather tangling in his hair.

“Hey, you still in here?” Sirius called out as one of the other showers burst to life.

“Yeah, number seven,” James called. Sirius laughed.

“Always for lucky number seven, aren't you?” Sirius teased. James laughed too, getting a choking amount of water in his mouth. He coughed and spit, the soapy water stinging his eyes. “Don't drown yourself in there. I don't doubt that I could handle your date and mine at the same time, but I'd rather only play a little one on one tonight.”

“I wouldn't dare dream of inconveniencing you with such prospects,” James teased as he rubbed his eyes and rinsed off. Sirius' laughter was lost in the sound of the noisy wash room as others trickled in to occupy the various showering vestibules. The raucous noise of fifth year boys showering and goofing off was deafening, and James was happy that he was nearly done.

Stepping out, towel around his waist, James headed to the mirror, to shave. He didn't have much in the way of facial hair, just a few random stubble here and there, but he liked to be baby smooth when he knew he'd be entertaining a woman. James nicked himself with the razor, a tiny cut near his jaw line gushed as if it were a mortal wound. Swearing silently, James whipped off his towel and pressed it to the cut, staunching the blood after a moment.

“Oh my God, really!” Peter squeaked as he stepped next to James, realizing a moment too late that James was quite naked. James frowned at Peter and glanced down at his nakedness. Whereas James was naked, Peter had his towel wrapped tightly around his chest, tucked under his arms, as if he had breasts to cover. James snickered. That wasn't far from the truth. The portly boy did seem to be sporting a set of man-boobs.

“What?” James asked as he turned back to his reflection, checking to see if the blood had finally dried. Satisfied, he grinned at his reflection and raked his hands through his rapidly drying hair.

“You're…n-naked!” Peter cried out. James glanced down at his manliness.

“I am?” James questioned, feigning shock. A cruel smile crossed his face. “Come on, Peter… we've been friends for like, what, four years or so… it's not like this is the first time you've seen my twig and berries.”

“Y-your twig and b-berries?” Peter stammered. Sirius stepped out of his own shower, seeing the way that Peter's eyes were transfixed to James' groin area with a bewildered look on his face. Having seen it plenty before, it certainly didn't need such a look of horror that Peter had plastered on his face. Sirius' laughter was louder than all of the miscellaneous noise in the wash room, the sound echoing off the tiled walls and floor. James glanced over at Sirius, grinning.

“Come on, Wormtail,” James taunted. “Don't be such a girl. It's just a dick. Isn't that right, Padfoot?”

“Right-o, man,” Sirius said joining them at the sinks, taking to Peter's other side, his towel abandoned on the bench. Peter tore his eyes away from James' body long enough to get a glimpse of Sirius and the Black family jewels. Peter turned a pasty white and passed out.

“Ah, you killed him,” James taunted. Sirius laughed and snapped the hand towel at James, a red mark on his right buttocks. James laughed and rubbed the spot to lessen the sting. “Ouch, man.”

“Did not,” Sirius said. He went to work, shaving as James started to get dressed. Within ten minutes, the boys were properly dressed and ready to leave the wash room.

“Should we wake him or something?” James asked as he elbowed Sirius. The two boys glanced at the still passed out Peter Pettigrew. They glanced at each other, mischievous looks on their faces.

“We really shouldn't leave him on the floor,” Sirius said grinning madly. James nodded, his own face mirroring Sirius.

“No, it wouldn't be nice,” James said as he pulled out his wand. “Wingardium Leviosa.”

“Hell, you a mite nicer than I would have been,” Sirius said as he held open the door. James levitated Peter a foot off the ground and guided the unconscious boy out the door. “I would probably have used Levicorpus.”

“Yeah, but then I think Peter'd wake up from being on his head like that, now wouldn't he?” James said as he struggled with the heavy little boy. “Open that door so I can set him in, will you?”

“The girls' lavatory?” Sirius asked with a delicious smile on his face. He hurried to the door, opening it wide as James' spell threatened to deteriorate before he had placed Peter strategically in the most visible shower vestibule in the girls' washroom.

“There, this should be interesting!” James snickered quietly as he backed away slowly from the shower vestibule.

“This will make it better!” cheered Sirius. “Accio towel.”

The two boys ran hurriedly, stifling a laugh as they passed a large group of girls heading towards the washroom. Among the girls was Alice and Lily, and James could feel his side splitting from pent up laughter as he and Sirius sprinted down the corridor. When the girls discovered Peter, neither James nor Sirius wanted to be close enough to be fingered as the culprits.

“Get rid of the towel!” James hissed as the sound of many screams echoed through the castle. Everyone in the main corridor stopped what they were doing, some mid step, and looked up to the seventh floor hallway that James and Sirius had just exited out of. James shrugged as Sirius uttered a mumbled curse and the towel shrunk until it was no bigger than a wash cloth. Sirius shoved it into his pocket as Professor McGonagall stepped in front of them

“Why do I suspect you two have something to do with the screams coming from the girls' wash room?” Professor McGonagall asked sternly. James and Sirius tried to flash their charming, innocent-boy smiles, but the unyielding woman just crossed her arms. “I want to see both of you in my office straight away.”

“But Professor,” they both started. She glared at them, causing them to shut their mouths. They were smart enough to know that they needed to keep their mouths closed. Both boys nodded and headed straight to her office while she went to investigate what the continuous screams and shouts were all about.

“Do you think she can give us detention?” James asked casually as he entered Professor McGonagall's office. It was sinfully neat, and for a moment Lily flittered into his mind. He squashed the red haired girl from his mind and focused on wilting Fluxweed plant in an old terracotta pot.

“Probably, but we leave on Monday for Summer Holiday,” Sirius said casually. James grinned.

“Knowing her, she'll just hold us over until next year,” James said. Sirius rolled his eyes but nodded.

“Too right,” Sirius said as he took the wash cloth sized towel out of his pocket and stuffed it behind Professor McGonagall's bookshelf. “Can't have that on me, just in case.”

“It's not like there were any witnesses, aside from Remus, but I think he was too busy shaving his hairy back,” James laughed. Sirius laughed, privy to the joke that Remus was super self conscious about his `furry little problem'. When there wasn't a full moon, the boy was a shiny as new born baby. His sandy colored hair barely registered as a real man's color.

Professor McGonagall walked into her office, a pensive look on her face. She walked past them and took a seat behind her desk. She glared at them, the boys sitting casually across from her with looks of unconcerned curiosity on their faces. She remained silent, watching for any indication that they were, in fact, the perpetrators of the shenanigans. She cleared her throat gently.

“Your roommate, Mr. Pettigrew, was found naked in the girls' wash room,” Professor McGonagall said slowly. She watched the boys for any change in their expression. The feigned shock.

“What was he doing in there?” Sirius asked as he fought valiantly against the smile tugging on the corner of his mouth.

“I was hoping you or Mr. Potter could enlighten me.” Professor McGonagall said. James shook his head, his face still.

“I'm shocked, really,” James said. “Why didn't I think of that?”

Professor McGonagall looked at the two of them and sighed dejectedly. She knew she was up against the masters when it came to pranks and shenanigans. Rarely caught with evidence undisputed, James and Sirius walked away from more detention than seemed right. Without proof, though, what were the professors and authority figures of Hogwarts supposed to do? Professor McGonagall shook her head.

“I hope that you have a good summer holiday, and hopefully when you return for your sixth year in the fall, you will have a bit more maturity in your noodles,” Professor McGonagall said as she gestured weakly to the door. James and Sirius stood and exited, hearing the woman mutter something about her nerves with these two hooligans running amuck.

“Think we went too far?” Sirius asked. James shook his head.

“Nah,” James said. “Too far was when you tried to get Slimy Snape eaten by Moony on the full moon.”

“Yeah,” Sirius said thoughtfully as they walked back towards the Great Hall for dinner. He turned and looked at James. “You had to admit. The world would be a much better place without that slimy git sulking around in the shadows all of the time.”

“Too right!” James laughed as they pushed through the large wooden doors and took their seats near the other rising sixth years midway up the Gryffindor table.

“Slytherins should all be so luck to meet up with a werewolf on a full moon,” Sirius said as he glanced over at his younger brother, sitting proudly among the pure blood, muggle hating Slytherins. “How he and I came from the same parent's I will never know.”

“Be thankful you're a Gryffindor,” James said. “Otherwise who would I have to pull pranks with?”

“I donno,” Sirius said as he helped himself to a copious amount of fat-laden food. “But I swear, if McGonagall said `noodle' again, I was going to lose it. All I could think about was how Wormtail was just gawking at your `twig and berries' as you so lovingly referred to them.”

“What'd you rather I call them?” James asked.

“I like to think of my as the `family jewels',” Sirius said with his mouth full. James laughed. “Except mine are Black family jewels, so you know that they're tarnished.” James laughed harder, a half chewed piece of meat lodging in his throat. He began to choke. Lily, sitting three down from him, rolled her eyes.

“He really shouldn't joke about things like that,” Lily said huffily as she turned back to her conversation with Alice.

“I think he's serious,” Alice chimed in, concerned. Sirius grinned a second.

“No, I'm Sirius, he's James,” Sirius said. Lily and Alice both rolled their eyes. Sirius stood up, leaning forward over the table and thumped James hard on the back, the piece becoming dislodged and landing poetically in Lily's pumpkin juice. Sirius started laughing hysterically as he sat down, tears streaming down his face as Lily shot James a dirty look and began fishing the half chewed beef from her cup.

“That's just disgusting!” Lily grumbled as she flung the meat back at James. James grinned and pushed it aside, ready to finish his meal and go on his date with the Ravenclaw girl.

“Thanks, man,” James said loudly. “Glad someone was willing to come to my aid when I was about to choke to death.”

“The only thing I think you'd ever do to death, my friend, is Quidditch,” Sirius laughed as Lily rolled her eyes again and turned her body away from them.

“And what a hell of a way to die!” James cheered.

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A/N: Of those of you who have reviewed, I am glad that you've given feed back! Thanks for reading and for taking the time to review. It's good to see familiar names! I am sorry that this has taken so long to get this second chapter out. I took a break to read a highly recommended story, which was quite enjoyable and made me fall in love with the Marauders all over again.

Disc.: All this, I own naught.

Chapter Two: Last Day 5^th Year

James could feel the hand of the Ravenclaw six year on his hand, her birdlike nails painted an iridescent color. She wasn't anything remarkable in the grand scheme of things, but she wasn't totally terrible to look at, either. She had light colored hair, much like Remus' hair, and big, bright blue eyes. James felt bad for a minute. He couldn't remember her name at the moment, and he could only focus on the quiet, thoughtful way she spoke.

“Did you know your arms are much less hairy than Xeno's arms?” the girl said loftily. “The other day he was telling me that the hair on your arm indicates whether a wrackspurt is likely to invade your mind.”

James looked at the girl with his head cocked to the side, uncertain as what a `wrackspurt' was and whether or not he should be concerned that he wasn't as hairy as this guy named Xeno. James smiled and brushed some of her hair from her face, the wispy pale strands practically glowing in the moonlight. Dangling from her ears were tiny half-eaten radishes. He fought back a laugh.

“Um, did you know that there are half eaten radishes hanging from your ears?” James asked. The girl looked at him and nodded, her fingers gently touching them.

“I got hungry earlier and nibbled on them for a while,” the Ravenclaw said loftily. James shrugged and leaned forward for a kiss, a grin on his face.

“Circe!” James exclaimed suddenly, startling the Ravenclaw. She nearly fell over.

“Yes?” The Ravenclaw said with her blue eyes wide.

“Oh, um, nothing,” James said shaking his head. He grinned at her, glad that he remembered her name. There was nothing like rolling over in the morning not to remember the name of the girl next to you.

“You must have been affected by the wrackspurt, after all,” Circe said shaking her head. James shrugged.

“Maybe I have,” James said feigning affectedness. “I probably shouldn't be left alone tonight, with me in my condition.”

“Of course,” Circe said with a look of true concern.

Sirius was sitting at the Gryffindor table eating a bowl of cereal and reading the Daily Prophet. He glanced up as James walked in, wearing the same clothes from the night before with his tie loose around his neck and his shirt slightly wrinkled. The boys grinned at each other as James took his seat, pulling a bowl of cereal toward his side of the table. Sirius folded the paper and set it aside, James moving to look at it.

“I swear,” James said shaking his head as he looked at the modified Daily Prophet. Whereas before serious articles of disappeared witches and wizards plastered every square inch of the paper, it was now covered in crude jokes and funny little stories. Sirius had charmed it to read as a more comedic piece while still making it look like he was concerned about current events.

“Hey, girls love a guy that they think is up on current things,” Sirius said shrugging. He flipped James' tie up. “So you didn't come back to the room last night.”

“Nope,” James said grinning.

“So did you and that Ravenclaw?” Sirius asked quietly as he lowered his voice as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Ah, well. A gentleman never tells, does he?” James said as he spooned the fruity cereal rings into his mouth. Sirius grinned.

“Good thing you're not a gentleman, then,” Sirius teased. James hesitated then grinned.

“Too right,” James said as he put his spoon down. He leaned forward. “We didn't, you know, do anything really. She kept going on and on about Xeno Lovegood. Apparently she's engaged to him, but she wanted to see what it was like to go out with me.”

“What girl doesn't,” Sirius commented.

“I know, right,” James laughed. He glanced to Lily.

“She doesn't count,” Sirius warned him. “I don't think she's even human, you know? Some sort of robot programmed to always follow the rules and study like a fiend.”

“You sum her up perfectly,” James laughed. He leaned back. “Yo, Evans! You, me, and Hogsmead today?”

“You call that asking me out?” Lily asked making a face. A slight smile threatened to flood her face. James shrugged.

“So, that'd be a no then?” James asked.

“That'd be a no,” Lily confirmed.

“Ok, well there's always next year then,” James said shrugging. He turned back to Sirius.

“Wait, that's it?” Lily asked. James turned back to her.

“Yeah, that's it,” James said. He grinned.

“Why do you even bother asking me anymore?” Lily asked shaking her head at him. “I always tell you no.”

“Because one day you might say yes,” James said. She looked at him quite annoyed but for a moment, James was certain that he saw a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. He looked at Sirius, ending the conversation with Lily as a large owl dropped a letter in front of Sirius.

“Great,” Sirius grumbled as he slid his finger along the flap.

“What is it?” James asked curiously. Sirius looked up at him uncertainly.

“It's from my mother,” Sirius said distastefully.

“Ah, good ol' Mrs. Black,” James said.

“Right, good,” Sirius snorted. James grinned and continued on his cereal as Sirius read the letter. “God, they disgust me.”

“What is it?” James asked.

“She's begging me to not to embarrass the family at Regulus' Dark Mark Ceremony on Saturday next week. Well, she's threatening to lock me in the attic if I even step out of the line of all that is sick, twisted, and evil,” Sirius moaned. “The fact that I even have to be there, it just doesn't make a lick of sense. I am already such an outcast, and right damn proud of it, but I've been lumped in with crazy ol' dead Phineas Black for being a blood traitor.”

“You know, you can always come and stay with me,” James offered. Sirius rolled his eyes but nodded.

“I know,” Sirius said. “I'm not about to be running out with my tail between my legs.”

“I can imagine that,” James teased. “London zoo over Easter holiday.”

“That was one time,” Sirius said lowering his voice. “You know monkeys give me the creeps. The way that they stare at you like they're intelligent.”

“I think that they might be. Studies state that primates have sub-human intelligence, and are as smart as most Slytherins,” James reminded him. They both grinned at this fact. Sirius shrugged.

“Well, you know,” Sirius said. “They still creep me out.”

“Offer still stands,” James said as he tipped the bowl and sipped the milk.

“Gotcha,” Sirius said. The two sat in silence before James stretched and stood.

“I'd better finish packing,” James said. Sirius nodded and also stood. They passed Remus as they exited the great hall. Remus waved at them, but they continued on their path back to the Gryffindor common room. They stopped in shock as the opened up the door to their dormitory. All of their clothes had been bewitched to dance and run around like they were being worn, but on the ceiling out of reach.

“Had to be Remus,” Sirius murmured.

“Always looking out for wee Wormtail,” James said. He raised his wand. “Accio clothes.”

One by one, the clothes pelted and rained down upon them, coating the room in dirty garments. James laughed and looked around, hearing the tale-tell sound of a rat's snickering squeakily. Hidden between the chest of drawers and an upright truck, Peter crouched with his hand over his mouth. James nudged Sirius and the two boys pounced on him, dragging him from his hiding place.

“You think you're funny, don't you?” James taunted as he jerked the tubby little boy's shirt up.

“It was only a joke,” Peter defended as James and Sirius rapidly hit Peter in the stomach with open hands. They stopped when Peter's belly was bright red. The three of them were laughing and breathless as Peter struggled under the weight of James and Sirius holding him down.

“It was clever!” James said rolling away from him.

“Remus told me how,” Peter confessed as he stood.

“I knew it smelled of werewolf,” Sirius laughed. He looked at the mess of clothes and shook his head. “Wingardium Leviosa.” The clothes began to levitate and between James and Sirius, were distributed to the correct trunks.

Later on the train, James had his feet up on the seat of the compartment that he, Sirius, and Peter inhabited. They knew eventually Remus would join them, but that he was off doing his prefect duties and it would be a while before he could dash out on Lily and rejoin the others. James was doodling a bit on what looked like a piece of spare parchment, forever adding to the Marauders' Map. Outside of Hogwarts, it didn't work in the same way as everyone was on the train, naturally but James knew that place like the back of his hand.

“I can't believe that we get to spend the summer as animals, if we choose,” Peter said in an exited voice. Sirius shot Peter a look and closed the compartment door.

“Keep it down, Peter,” James chided him. “We could get into some serious trouble if someone finds out that not only can we do it, but that we haven't immediately reported to the ministry for registration. Remember Professor McGonagall was saying in transfiguration that unregistered Animagi could get into serious trouble.”

“You don't think she knows, do you?” Peter asked worriedly as James continued perfecting the map.

“No,” James said quietly. “But no need to go rising suspicions, you know?”

“When did you start paying attention in Professor McGonagall's class?” Sirius teased. “I thought the only thing that you paid attention to in class was the girls.”

“Very funny, Sirius,” James laughed. He tucked his quill behind his ear and blew on the paper, hoping to dry the ink quicker. He held the map to Sirius. “Can you think of anything I've missed?”

“No,” Sirius said as he searched the paper. “But to be honest, we know all those passages like the backs of our hands. Aside for knowing where everyone else is, we really don't need a map.”

“It kept us out of trouble,” Peter piped up. James smiled smugly and nodded.

“Ah, we could have taken those prefects,” Sirius scoffed at them. “There were only eight of them, four of us.”

“You're full of yourself,” James teased. “You were just as worried as I was. You pretend to be all bad and what not, but you care just as much as I do.”

“Shhh,” Sirius said, covering Peter's ears. “The child might hear you.”

“I'm not a child,” Peter complained pushing Sirius' hands off of his ears. James laughed.

“He means that in the nicest way,” James assured Peter lightly. “Anyways, the Marauder's Map really isn't for us, in the sense of knowing our way around the school. It's our legacy.”

“You stole that from me,” Sirius declared, crossing his arms laughing.

“Did not,” James countered.

“Did so. Remember in first year, right after we both got that week long detention for de-panting Snape in the corridor on our way to Defense Against the Dark Art, we were sitting in Professor Artemis' classroom and I told you that we needed to leave a hell of a legacy,” Sirius said emphatically. James laughed.

“I know,” James joked. “I was just screwing with you Padfoot. Don't get all excited, now. Can't have you peeing on the carpet, can we?”

“You're a real funny man,” Sirius laughed shoving James roughly. James shoved him back, and the boys started to rough each other up in the compartment. Peter flattened himself against the window as the boys struggled to be victorious. For good measure, Sirius socked James in the gut as James put Sirius in a head lock.

“Have you… ok, really, you're rising sixth years!” Lily exclaimed loudly as she stepped into the compartment and tried to pull Sirius and James apart.

“Sod off, woman,” Sirius laughed as he continued to take shots at James.

“Let us be,” James said as he clamped harder on Sirius' head.

“As a prefect, I can't just sit back and allow you two to kill each other,” Lily said defiantly. “You really must stop or I shall give you both detentions.”

“It's summer holiday,” the boys protested as they continued to struggle with one another.

“Not until we get off the train!” Lily said shrilly.

“I don't know what I see in you,” James grumbled as he and Sirius broke apart. “What is it that you wanted?”

“Cross are we Potter?” Lily said self satisfactory as she crossed her arms.

“Spill it or walk, Evans,” James said neither amused nor pleased that she was breaking up what he was certain was going to be a James-dominated fight between Sirius and himself.

“Have you seen Longbottom's toad, Travis? He's managed to lose it yet again,” Lily said quickly as James stood there.

“Didn't that frog thing die like two years ago?” Sirius asked James coyly. James laughed and Peter snickered from behind his small, boyish hands.

“No,” Lily snapped. “So have seen the damn toad?”

“Now who's cross?” James said smartly.

“You are SO infuriating James Potter! Sit on a tack!” Lily said as she turned and walked out the compartment.

“Sit on a tack? What kind of threat is that?” James asked, making a face at Sirius.

“Lame,” Sirius said as he lunged for James, putting the messy haired boy in a tight headlock. James landed a few good punches to Sirius as Remus slipped into the compartment.

“Man, Prongs. You really managed to piss Lily off,” Remus said as he closed the door behind him and slip into the seat closest to the window. He had to step wide to avoid the two boys struggling for dominance on the floor of their compartment. James opened his mouth to say something but Sirius shifted and accidentally kneed James in the groin.

“Oh, hell Prongs, sorry,” Sirius said as he jumped up off of his best friend.

“Ugh,” James groaned as he remained on the floor for a moment.

“This is the reason that you are not supposed to be goofing off in the compartments,” Remus said. James shot him a look as he struggled to his seat.

“Nothing wrong with a pair of boys wrestling around,” James said in a strained voice. He glanced at Sirius. “I think you've sterilized me.”

“The world'll be a better place,” Sirius teased lightly.

“ANYWAYS, Prongs, what did you do to Lily? She was in such a good mood until she came in here, and now she's acting like a…” Remus trailed off as he thought of a proper word to describe Lily's change in temperament.

“Bitch?” Sirius said. James laughed.

“You wish,” James taunted. “Woof woof.”

“Oh, I didn't mean like that,” Sirius laughed, realizing that James was referring to the term for a female dog.

“I was going with more of a temperamental prefect,” Remus said.

“I didn't do anything,” James said shaking his head. “She just hates me.”

“And yet, my boy Prongs here refused to stop asking her out,” Sirius taunted as he mussed James' hair.

“Eventually, she'll agree. I'm not going to worry about it,” James said shrugging noncommittally. “So, what are the big Marauder plans for this summer?”

“Beach house? Say around July?” Remus said shrugging. Sirius nodded.

“I don't know that my mum is going to let me go for an entire week,” Peter said. Sirius shook his head, and even Remus gave the boy a pathetic look. James threw his arm around Peter.

“Come on, Wormtail. Its seven days of sun, serf, and fun! If my parents are letting me go, yours should too,” James said.

“You have your parents wrapped around you little finger, though,” Peter whined. James grinned. “My mum is strict.”

“Well, should you not be there, I'll gladly take your share of the ladies,” Sirius taunted. “Sweet luscious ladies clad in only bikinis and getting trashed by the bonfires.”

“I'll ask,” Peter said sighing. “But she's not going to let me go.”

“So, are you taking the Knight bus home?” Remus asked as the train pulled to a stop at King's Crossing. James looked over at him as he pulled his trunk free.

“That's what I told Mum and Dad,” James said grinning. “They're not getting any younger and Mum doesn't do well in London traffic.”

“Your parents are rather old,” Sirius laughed.

“Hey,” James said punching him in the shoulder. “Only I can say that about them, and anyways, I was a blessing. Mum and Dad thought that they were going to be childless.”

“And after you were born, they wished that they were,” Sirius teased. James punched him again but laughed. The two of them stepped free of the train, laughing. James glanced at Lily briefly; her parents were always so interesting to watch. Muggles always were so wide eyed about magic, especially when their daughter or son was the first of their kind to be a witch or wizard.

James glanced at Sirius as Mrs. Black embraced Sirius' younger brother, Regulus. Sirius' jaw was clenched, a slight tic to his eye, and clenched fist around the handle of his trunk were his only tells. The was that look of hatred and disappointment in Mrs. Black's beady eyes as she looked at Sirius, her nose turned up as if she smelled something foul. James hesitated, giving Sirius a look. Sirius rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and trailed after them. Seeing that there was nothing more for him to do at the moment for Sirius or to get Lily, James gathered his trunk and headed toward the barrier. He stopped when he saw his father appear from the barrier and head toward him. James couldn't help but grin.

“I thought I said that I'd just take the Knight bus,” James said as his father gathered him up in a hug. James could feel that the old man was thinner than when he had last seen him but said nothing.

“Your mother wouldn't hear of it, James,” Mr. Potter said as he reached for the trunk handle. “The woman nagged my ear off until I promised I'd drive here to retrieve you. I tried to explain to her that you are sixteen years old, and by far old enough to ride the Knight bus home. But you know how your mother gets about you.”

“I've got it, Dad,” James said as he took the trunk. Mr. Potter nodded, his own wild hair dancing with the motion. James hoped his hair looked that good when he was as old as his father. The hair was the color of snow, thick; with the same unruly wildness that was the Potter trademark. Every male in the Potter family had James' hair, it started off as dark as midnight and ended up as white as snow.

The two Potters headed out to the family car, the trunk eagerly gobbling up the trunk before the two climbed into the car. James laughed, though he had seen it plenty of times before. The old Bentley was one of the original models, and still in pristine condition. Mr. Potter had charmed it himself to fit a grand amount of luggage to accommodate Mrs. Potter's tendency to over pack.

“You know, James,” Mr. Potter started as he pulled the Bentley into traffic. “You ought to get one of those muggle licenses so that you can drive around this summer. I bet they'd be wicked easy to get, and frankly, with your mother the way she is, I'm positive that you aren't going to want to hang around the house all summer.”

“A'right,” James said. He scratched his head a second. “Speaking of this summer, the boys and I were thinking of spending a week about midway at the beach. Do you think that you could breech it to mum?”

“I'm sure she'll agree, but I'll do it,” Mr. Potter laughed. “You have that woman so tight around your finger that I'm surprised that you can get your Quidditch gear on properly.” James laughed as his father clapped him on the shoulder. James always missed his father's sense of humor, even though Sirius was a very funny guy to hang around with.

-->

Disc.: All this, I own naught.

A Rainy Night

James' mother had embraced him, as if he was the lone hero returning from war. James kissed both of her cheeks and smiled at the way her eyes twinkled in the light of her den. Her hair was just as white as Mr. Potter, neatly pulled into place with silver pins. She always looked so put together, even at her advanced age. Her skin was still baby smooth, and firm, with only the start of lines appearing at the corners of her mouth and eyes. She had claimed she'd never give up a single one of those lines. She had earned them from years of laughing and loving, both her husband and her son.

“I do say, James,” Mrs. Potter said as she held her son at an arm's length. “You look more and more like your father every day.”

“Thank you Mum,” James laughed. She was, in his opinion, the most beautiful mother there ever was. He didn't care that she really was old enough to be his grandmother. He wouldn't have changed her for the world.

“Now, I know that you did try harder this year, James, but honestly,” Mrs. Potter chastised gently. “Did you really have to set loose badgers and snakes in the great hall?”

“It was all in good fun, Mum,” James defended. Try as she may, Mrs. Potter was unable to hold her stern look. He flashed a grin, and the poor woman melted further.

“Well, honestly,” Mrs. Potter laughed. “I don't know what Minerva will do once you graduate. I dare to think you've aged her in your year there. I do only hope she can survive what is left.”

“Darling, James' means well enough,” Mr. Potter interjected. James nodded.

“Mum, I will try harder,” James said. She smiled at him and nodded once.

“Two more years, James,” she said simply as she dropped her hand from his shoulder. She sat down in her favorite chair. “Stroke the fire will you, son?”

“Yes, Mum,” James said as he added a log to the already sweltering fire and poked it a few times for good measure. Sweat beaded his brow and he wiped it off with the back of his hand as he rose. It wasn't uncommon for it to be the dead of summer, in the middle of a heat wave, and for there to be fires burning in the hearths of the Potters. James knew that older witches and wizards had a tendency to get chilled easily, their skin paper thin, and his mother was no exception. He had grown used to it over the years,

“Tea, James?” His mother asked as she poured him a cup. He nodded, despite not really being thirsty. This was their tradition, to share a cup of tea each time he came from school. It was comforting. He knew that he could forward to it, no matter how naughty he had been at school.

“Thanks,” James said as he spooned more than twice the amount of sugar into it. Mrs. Potter raised an eye brow at him but said nothing to the effect. The three sat in silence while they sipped their tea and ate their cookies.

“So,” Mrs. Potter said as a devilish twinkle entered her eye. She placed the delicate cup on the saucer. “Any change in your quest for a certain lady's heart?”

“No,” James said as heat tickled his cheeks. He hid behind his cup, pretending to sip long from the nearly empty cup.

“Shame,” Mrs. Potter said smirking. She laughed lightly. “Ah, but it is what it is. She'll come around yet, my boy, in her own good time.”

“That she will, Mum,” James grinned as he put the empty cup down.

“Well, perhaps a bit of a nap before supper,” Mrs. Potter said. James nodded and stood, offering his hand to his mother. She took it, hoisting herself to her feet. She held on a bit longer now, steadying herself. Mr. Potter offered his lovely wife his arm, and the two of them headed out of the room.

“Master Potter,” a low growl of a voice said. James looked down at the family's house elf.

“Hallo to you, Faldo,” James said to the shriveled creature before him. The house elf bowed so low, his nose was smashed to the side from its contact with the floor. Its embroidered clothing was pristine as it started to clean up from the early tea.

“Your things are in your room,” Faldo said as he balanced the sinfully large silver tray.

“Thank you,” James said as he headed toward his bedroom. He passed his parents' closed door very quietly, not want to disturb either of them while they took their midday nap. He carefully closed his bedroom door before he stripped off his school clothes. He nearly let out a cheer at their removal, the whole summer laid out before him not confined behind sweater vests, ties, and trousers. He stood in the middle of the room, looking around. His bedchamber never changed. It always looked as if he had been there the day before, and it had just been cleaned.

James suspected that his parents had the house elves clean it ever day. Anytime he had come home unexpectedly, it was as it was now: perfectly tidy. James silently admitted that it was nice to have a clean room. It was hard for them to keep their dormitory neat. Five guys living together could really manage some pretty wicked messes. James glanced at his school uniform. It was haphazardly on the floor, crumpled and wrinkled. He grinned at his reflection.

“Hello handsome,” James said. He sucked his stomach in a bit, his hand on his under shirt as he stood there in his boxers. He went to undress further but a knock interrupted him.

“James, can I talk to you?” Mr. Potter said quietly as he entered.

“Sure Dad,” James said as he whipped out a pair of sweat pants and pulled them on quickly.

“Do you think you've missed out?” Mr. Potter asked quietly. James frowned in confusion.

“Missed out on what, Dad?” James asked.

“Well, on stuff other boys your age do? I mean other boys your age are off playing Quidditch with their old man. You know… father-son things?” Mr. Potter asked. James hesitated a second before shaking his head.

“Nah,” James said grinning. “I was lucky enough to absorb you genetically good flying skills. That is all I needed. Plus having a professional Quidditch player for a father and mentor was enough.”

“Ex-professional player, son. I had stopped playing twenty years before you were even born,” Mr. Potter laughed. “Even then, I was the oldest Quidditch player known.”

“Until Dregrick McLaugin,” James completed.

“Well, at least I never was foolish enough to grow a beard and get it caught in the hoop,” Mr. Potter roared with laughter.

“That was a pretty funny reel to watch,” James said laughing. The old man wiped tears from his eyes.

“I know people think we're weird, James, to have had you so old, and I know that people think I am odd because I refuse to grow a stately beard, even at my advanced age,” Mr. Potter said. “But I want you to know, son, your mother and I love you very much. You are the best thing that could have ever happened to us.”

“Thanks, Dad,” James said. He hugged his father. “And so you know, odd is better than ordinary any day, hands down.”

“I couldn't agree more, James,” Mr. Potter said. He pulled away and headed toward the door. Stopping, he turned to look at his son. “So you know your mother is fine with your trip in July.”

“Thanks Dad,” James said grinning. “You're the best.”

James liked being home with his parents. Sure they weren't young and hip like some of his friends parents were, but he didn't mind. At his parents' ages, they had seen double and triple the things a lot of his friends' parents had seen. They both told the greatest stories and James wouldn't trade either of them for anything in the world.

Every night, after dinner, the three would retire to the parlor of their home. Mrs. Potter would work on her knitting or embroidery while James and Mr. Potter would play board games, like wizarding chess. It was not uncommon for them to play until as late as nine at night before heading off to bed. James may not have ever mentioned to his school chums, but he was just as likely to go to bed early when there weren't the influences of his fellow students or his reputation to defend. James kind of liked rising with his parents and watching the sun come up over the horizon. The way the early sun warmed his face, standing between his parents, it was something he'd remember always.

It was late one night in middle June, and James had decided that he had to start conditioning himself to the later bedtime for the sake of not ending up the business end of one of Sirius' practical jokes. He had some stuff spread out across the top of his desk, quills and parchment, and a few tomes that were opened up to various pages. From the outside, anyone who did not know James Potter would have assumed that he was hard at work, studying for some life altering exam.

The door bell startled James, though it was neither close nor loud. He had grown accustom to the silence of the house after nine at night, the sound of rain hitting the window, and the roll of thunder. Standing, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, he headed out into the hallway. His father had already immerged as well, wand drawn. These were, after all, dark times and for a witch or wizard to come calling at such an hour to a house like the Potters never bade good news. Mrs. Potter was slower coming to the hall way.

“You two, wait here,” Mr. Potter warned. James noticed his father's wand hand trembled slightly and James wondered if it was fear. Surely no dark witch or wizard could seriously want to recruit the ancient Potters. The thought, though, of his father being scared did leave James unsettled. The rumble of thunder seemed the shake the house.

Mrs. Potter seemed so frail standing there in the dark hall way, light spilling over her from her open door. She wasn't wearing makeup and her hair was up in rollers. She seemed void of all color. She clutched James' arm feebly and her wand in her other arm. James would have laughed at the thought that his mother was poised to protect him, if it wasn't so tense in their house.

“This is just like what happened to Magadha Twigg,” Mrs. Potter whispered, her breath shallow. “Visitors in the middle of the night, and she was slain in her night clothes.” James went to reply but his father had gotten to the door, his wand aimed.

“Can I help you?” Mr. Potter asked as he threw the door open, puffing himself up to be an intimidation man. Even though he was well into the triple digits, he could put some power and force behind his speech.

“Mr. Potter? Is James home?” Sirius said as he stood there, drenched in rain. His school trunk rested on the steps.

“Sirius?” James said as his mother released him to move forward. Sure enough Sirius stood on the stoop, soaked to the bone. Mr. Potter ushered the boy in, using his wand to levitate the trunk into the hall. He peered outside before he closed and bolted the door behind him.

“I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Potter,” Sirius said. His voice sounded hollow. “I just didn't know where else to go.”

James watched Sirius walk into the parlor, and though he couldn't be certain he thought he saw tears in Sirius's eyes. James shook his head. Sirius Black wasn't one to cry, ever. James wrote it off that it had to have been the rain and nothing more. Faldo brought Sirius a towel to dry off.

“Have a seat, Sirius,” Mrs. Potter said, appearing. She seemed to have quickly made her face up, and she gestured to a group of chairs. Sirius hesitated. “No worries, Sirius. Rain never killed anyone or anything destined to be destroyed.”

Sirius quickly took a seat as James walked past him, crouching in front of the hearth. James placed a fresh log on the dying embers and stoked it several times with the poker. Within moments, the air was heated and Sirius began to dry. He had his hands folded in front of him, leaning forward so his forearms rested on his knees. He wasn't looking at the Potter's; instead he was focused on the patterns in the carpet.

“I'm sorry, really,” Sirius mumbled. “I know you go to bed early, but I couldn't take another minute of being there. James said that I could stop by any time, and I would have sent word if I could.”

“Sirius' mother is very strongly involved in the dark arts,” James explained needlessly.

“We know,” Mrs. Potter said to her son, squeezing his shoulder. “Most of the Black Family is known Death Eater supporter and followers of Voldemort.”

“You know?” James asked. He had a look, as if a horrible secret he had been keeping all this time had been found out.

“Of course,” Mr. Potter said. He glanced at the boy sitting before him.

“Dad, please don't make Sirius go back there, please,” James begged.

“Of course not,” Mrs. Potter said immediately. “James and Sirius can bunk up tonight and tomorrow we can discuss things. Faldo will clean and dry your clothes. I am sure James can let you borrow something for the night.”

“Thank you Mrs. Potter,” Sirius said rising from the chair. She nodded at him and the two boys disappeared up the stairs and into James' room. They didn't say anything as James pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a tee shirt for Sirius. He held them out to Sirius, who took them, and the two undressed without words. They didn't need to speak.

“Please tell me you're not studying,” Sirius said as he glanced at James' desk. James grinned.

“I'm planning and organizing the pranks we are going to pull next year,” James said. Sirius laughed as they extinguished their lights and climbed into James' bed. They remained silent for a minute. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” Sirius said. He took a deep breath. “And anyways, it is the same old thing, you know? I constantly had to listen about how I am a pathetic waste of space. Like I needed that, you know? Plus, it's not like she and I will ever see eye to eye.”

“I thought you didn't want to talk about it,” James said lightly. Sirius laughed and punched him in the arm.

“And you wonder why Lily won't give in,” Sirius snorted.

“Oh, that stings Paddy,” James laughed.

“You know,” Sirius said after a few minutes of quiet. “You and I are closer than brothers. I mean, you are closer than I am with my own brother.”

“More than best friends,” James murmured sleepily.

“Yeah,” Sirius said. “You know, I think I'd rather have had you for a younger brother than Regulus.”

“Nah,” James yawned patting Sirius' face in the dark. “Then I'd be the one walking around with a dark mark permanently burned into my forearm.”

“Too right,” Sirius said.

“But I know what you mean, and I am glad we are more than best friends, too,” James laughed sleepily. “Now, just don't get it in your head that we are more.”

“You're as funny as Remus,” Sirius chuckled.

“Hey,” James laughed as he snatched Sirius' pillow from under his head and pelted the boy in the face.

“Don't start something you can't finish, Prongs,” Sirius laughed as he snatched James' pillow and began to join in the assault of his very closest friend.

-->

Disc.: All this, I own naught.

Hide and Seek

James rolled his eyes as his mother kissed Sirius's cheek, warning him to be good while they were at the beach. She had embraced Sirius as a second son since his arrival over a month previous, and there had been relatively little friction in their family. James laughed as Sirius shared the same look James had in regards to Mrs. Potter's mushy, motherly good-bye.

“Now, I want you guys to remember…” Mrs. Potter said as she stepped back and looked at them.

“We know, we know,” James said. “Behave.”

“Actually, I was going to tell you guys to remember not to use your wands,” Mrs. Potters said shaking her head. “I'd take them away from you if I wasn't afraid that you'd need them.”

“Oh, yeah,” James said grinning.

“You two are under age until your next birthday,” Mrs. Potter reminded.

“Now, honey, they know that,” Mr. Potter said quiet. Mrs. Potter smiled and nodded.

“Right, right,” Mrs. Potter said nodding again. “I just worry about you both. Wouldn't you rather just stay home?”

“Not really, Mum,” James said. He hugged her tightly. “We're going to be fine. Two weeks at the beach. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“Famous last words,” Mrs. Potter said laughing. “Always your famous last words.”

“Mum, we've already pushed it back nearly a month as it is,” James said as kissed her cheek. “We will drive safe, have fun, and be home in two weeks. I'll call you when get to the beach.”

“Remember when you two get back, we have to start shopping for Hogwarts,” she reminded them gently as she finally stepped back enough that James could get into his father's car.

“Yes ma'am,” they both said as they climbed into the car. They waved one last time as James put the car into gear and began to head away from his childhood home.

“Let's get inside,” Mr. Potter said as he gently took his wife's arm.

“I just want to watch them a few more minutes,” Mrs. Potter said wistfully. “Just until they disappear from sight.”

“Alright, dear,” Mr. Potter said as they watched the car turn down a street and out of sight.

“Your mum is such a worrier,” Sirius teased as the two headed out of town and towards the main highway.

“I know,” James laughed.

“It's not a bad thing, mind you,” Sirius added after a second.

“I think we deserve a little mischievousness, since we've been perfect angels for a month now,” James grinned as he hiked the radio up loudly.

“I love this song!” Sirius shouted as the song `She May Have Got My Cauldron, But She'll Never Get My Heart' came on.

“Who sings this?” James yelled as the chorus blared loudly through the speakers.

“Broomstick Britches,” Sirius shouted back. It was a catchy tune, James had to admit, and a right clever name. He had listened to the classics growing up with such old parents, and while he was aware that there was current music that he liked, it had taken Sirius for him to really take the time to learn some of the newer tunes.

“It's like muggle country,” James murmured as another song came on, about the time they were hitting some major traffic.

“Yeah, sort of,” Sirius said as he turned it down a bit. “Can't have the muggles catching on, y'know.”

“Remus had me listening to some song by the Twister Cysts,” James said. Sirius laughed and shook his head.

“I could never get into them, though their song `Knut In My Pants' was funny as hell,” Sirius said as he pointed at a petrol station. James glanced down at the gage and turned off, realizing that his marker was nearly on empty.

“Grab me something to drink, will you?” James told Sirius as he began to fill the tank.

“Sure,” Sirius said.

Within an hour, the two were back on the road and nearly at the beach house. They had lucked out that Frank Longbottom didn't mind them switching the week. He could have been a real jerk and said no, but the boy didn't want to get on the bad side of his roommates, and plus it increased the likelihood they might ditch Peter and let him join the foursome.

The house was unremarkable in the sense it looked like any other weathered house on the beach, the white paint peeling and the steps rickety. James adored it. He spied a hammock and vowed to sleep in it at least one night, even if it belonged to the next door neighbors. Sirius had already climbed from the car and James scrambled after him, not wanting to look like an idiot sitting behind the wheel and grinning at an old rope hammock. Remus and Peter came out of the house.

“You're looking peaked,” James called to Remus, waving as he pulled his luggage free.

“You're so funny,” Remus said grinning.

Once the luggage was half-assed put away in the bedroom Sirius and James were sharing, the group of five guys stripped down to their trunks, grabbed their towels, and headed down to the beach. They dumped their stuff in a sandy pile and tore off into the surf. The five of them laughed and goofed off as the jumped and dove in the surf, depantsing Peter no less than three times. The final time, James took the chubby boy's trunks and ran back up to the house.

“Give them back!” Peter whined as he ran, trying to catch up with his dorm mates. The five pulled to stop, frozen in place as Mrs. Longbottom brought Alice and Lily out on to the deck.

“I forgot to mention,” Frank whispered to James. “Lily and Alice are staying in the beach house next door.”

“Fantastic,” James grinned.

“James Potter, I swear with friends like you,” Lily snapped as she snatched away Peter's swim trunks. “Who needs enemies?”

James laughed as Lily averted her eyes and went to thrust the swim trunks into Peter's spare hand. He grabbed at it with the hand he had been using to cover himself with. Alice screeched and covered her eyes. Peter blushed bright red as he climbed back into his trunks. James and Sirius laughed until they were nearly breathless.

“Frank, did you tell them about our fun plans?” Alice asked as she continued to keep her eyes covered.

“He's decent, and no I haven't,” Franks said. Alice sighed audibly and dropped her hand.

“Since we knew that none of you would come up with good activities, Lily and I came up with a whole list of activities,” Alice said happily. Everyone groaned, not fond of Alice's idea of fun.

“Like?” James asked as he grinned. “I can think of a few things that we could do.”

“Ugh,” Lily frowned as she stepped closer to Alice.

“A full island scavenger hunt,” Alice said clapping. It was James' turn to frown.

“We're not on an island,” James reminded her. Alice grinned and pointed to a speck in the distance.

“That is the Bayle Island Chain,” Alice said. “Hope you boys like sailing.”

“Don't worry, Potter,” Lily said patting his shoulder as she walked by. “We won't let you drown.”

“I can swim,” James said smugly. “But if you want to brush up on your CPR skills, I'll let you practice a little mouth to mouth, preferably underneath a starry sky.”

“You are so infuriating,” Lily huffed as she and Alice headed through the screen door to where Mrs. Longbottom was preparing meat for the grill.

“You two are staying for dinner right?” Mrs. Longbottom asked. Alice looked at Lily pleadingly as Lily shook her head at Alice.

“Please Lily,” Alice whispered, her hands clasped before her. “I really, really want to eat dinner with Frank. Please Lily.”

“Alright,” Lily folded and made a face at James who was currently focused on a pair of blonds with Sirius. James wasn't stupid. He knew she was looking at him, but he knew that it was more likely to make her jealous if she thought that he wasn't interested, or as interested.

“Thank you Lily,” Alice said embracing her best friend.

The seven of them sat around the table outside, the ocean breeze rocking the boughs of the trees. James chose to sit between Remus and Sirius, away from Lily. Though no one said anything aloud, it was much to all of their surprise. Sirius raised an eyebrow at James but said nothing. James smirked to himself. Had he been sitting next to her, he wouldn't have gotten to catch her eye from time to time. James didn't have it all planned out yet, but he was forming the plan quickly in his mind.

“So, a scavenger hunt?” James asked as he wiped his mouth. “Doesn't that sounds a little juvenile?”

“No, it'll be great. We'll break up into three teams and hit the island with our list, and by the time lunch starts, we'll all meet back and the team who gets the most items on the list wins,” Alice said brightly.

“Uh,” James said. “So there are an odd number of us, won't one team be at an advantage over the other.”

“There is no way I am getting into a boat with you,” Peter said quickly as he shook his head. “I don't know how to swim and there is no way I am getting into water that goes over my chest.”

“So, pretty much nothing deeper than a puddle,” Sirius teased. James laughed even though Lily shot him a dirty look.

“Well, inequality fixed,” James said as he grinned at Lily. He looked away first, returning to his meal. Alice and Lily shot each other a look but said nothing. The rest of the meal went uneventful. James jumped up and offered to do the dishes for Mrs. Longbottom, who was slightly taken aback but smiled and nodded.

“That would be a big help since Alice's mother and I were planning on heading into town to do a little shopping and catch a movie,” Mrs. Longbottom said. James smiled at her and nodded.

“You cooked this wonderful meal,” James said shrugging. “It's the least that I could do.”

James was alone in the kitchen, frowning at the plates. He personally hated doing the dishes, but he had heard that women took notice of a man willing to roll up his selves and do a little women's work. While he wasn't obsessed with Lily, he was still interested in her. If this would get him closer to a `yes' he'd do it in a heartbeat. While he didn't have sleeves to roll up, he still threw himself into the task of scrubbing and cleaning. The door behind him opened loudly and he glanced over his shoulder to see Lily standing there, her arms crossed.

“What are you doing?” Lily accused. James turned back to the sink of soapy water.

“Obviously the dishes, Lil,” James said coolly. He grinned at the frothy soap bubbles.

“I know that, but why?” Lily asked. She had stepped closer, leaning against the counter top closest to James.

“I appreciate all of the hard work Mrs. Longbottom went through to cook dinner,” James said honestly. “It's her vacation, too.”

“Really?” Lily said skeptically. “That is your only motive.”

“I don't have to have ulterior motives to be nice to others,” James said quietly as he placed a freshly scrubbed plate on top of several others. “I'm a really nice guy, whether you want to believe it or not.”

“Oh,” Lily said quietly. She stared at him for a second as he stayed silent. James could practically hear the internal struggle within her head and he silently cheered. He was making her have second thoughts about him. It was one step closer to him being where he wanted to be.

“C'mon guys,” Sirius called through the screen door. “We're going to play hide and seek while the parents are out.”

“Go on and do a round or two,” James told him. “I've got dishes to do.”

“Fine, man,” Sirius said as he headed out of the door way.

“You ought to go play,” James said as he nudged her shoulder gently with his own. He forced a smile, knowing damn well he liked having her standing so close.

“Wouldn't you want some help?” Lily asked. For a moment, James thought he almost heard a bit of hopefulness in her voice. He grinned and patted the drying towel over his shoulder, the red towel a stark contrast to the white shirt he was wearing.

“I've got it, Lil. You go and have fun,” James said as he dropped another plate into the sink. Lily hesitated.

“It'd go faster with the two of us,” Lily suggested. James laughed.

“Fine, fine,” James said shrugging. “If you insist, stay and help, but no funny business, ok?”

“Like what?” Lily asked as she took the towel, beginning to rinse and dry the dishes.

“I don't know,” James said as he scratched the back of his head, leaving soap foam clinging to his dark hair. “Don't like shove me up against the kitchen surfaces intending to take advantage of this poor, lonely only child.”

“As if!” Lily exclaimed in disbelief. James laughed.

“I was only kidding,” James said grinning. “It's summertime, and time to put aside for the season my undying pursuit to make you mine.”

“That's more like it,” Lily said as she continued to work alongside of James. The pair worked in silence until the last dish was put away and the wash bin was drained. James took the drying towel and draped it over the edge of the sink.

“Shall we join the others for a pickup game of hide and seek?” James asked offering her his arm. She looked at him suspiciously. “It's just a friendly gesture, Lil. I'm not asking to walk you down the aisle. If I was doing that, I'd hope I was the one standing at the altar.”

“Um,” Lily said pressing her lips together, expecting him to retract that last statement, but he looked at her expectantly. She reluctantly took his arm and he led her outside of the weathered beach house.

“You're finally joining us,” Sirius panted as he held his side and gripped the rail. “Oh, and I am on base, damn it. Stop tapping me, Peter, and go find Remus.”

“Bollocks,” Peter swore as he took off into the darkness again in search of others. James dropped Lily's arm, much to her surprise and headed over towards Sirius.

“Base!” Remus cheered loudly into the darkness as his hand slapped down on the rail next to Sirius's hand. “Though that Peter would never leave base.”

“I sent him off towards the dunes looking for Alice and Frank,” Sirius said grinning. “Those two are tucked inside that rubbish bin.”

“Ewe, really?” Lily said shaking her head. Sure enough, the two popped out of the can looking mighty guilty as Peter rounded the bend. He saw them the moment that they saw him, and it was an all out race to see who would make it to base first. Poor Peter lost and all he had to blame was his stumpy little legs.

“Ok, Pete,” James said. “Count to a hundred and come and find us!”

“I don't want to play anymore,” Peter said pouting.

“How about a different game?” Lily suggested gently. “One we'd play back when I was a kid. Hide and go kill.”

“How's that go?” Sirius asked curiously as he looked like an eager boy ready to play a violent game.

“Everyone but the murder hides,” Lily said dropping her voice for affect. Everyone leaned in closer. “The murder then starts his killing spree. Once you hide, you can't move unless the murder moves you. The murder then pretends to stab you in the chest with a close fist and you've been murdered. Once everyone has been murdered, the last victim is it.”

“Ooh, Lils,” Sirius laughed. “You had a positively violent childhood didn't you?”

“No,” Lily laughed. “Just a lot of free time on our hands. So, you guy interested.”

“I'm it,” Sirius insisted. Everyone agreed and Sirius began counting…

James took off in the same direction that Lily was in, but then second guessed himself. He was confident that things were looking hopeful, but he didn't want to rush things. He had his entire life to make her realize she and he would be a good, fun match. Instead, James headed towards the sand dunes and tall grass. He hoped that Sirius wouldn't sniff him out among the smells of the ocean as he dove over one of the dunes and tucked himself into a patch of grass.

James waited in still silence, and then out of nowhere a body landed next to him. James glanced over to see Lily crouching down beside him. He went to open his mouth and say something but Sirius called out that he was starting his rampage. She took his hand. James felt his heart start pounding and she looked at him, pressing her finger to her mouth. It was no good. They were Sirius's first victims and by `law' had to remain still and there, hand in hand, until the game was over. Not that James minded much. He thought she had some of the softest hands.

“So you know,” James whispered. “That's my hand you're holding.”

“Dead people don't talk, James,” Lily whispered back as she flashed him a disarming smile. James felt his resolve not to rush things melt just a little bit.

-->

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, and sorry this one is so long.

Disc: All this, I own naught.

Scavenger Island

James was in the middle of an intense dream when Mrs. Longbottom woke him up. He blinked at her sleepily and confused. She was wearing her dressing gown, covered in a robe made of silk. Her hair was still tied up in a scarf and a thick, now crumbly mask of seaweed was on her face. James screamed.

“James, your mother is on the phone,” Mrs. Longbottom said quietly as she continued to shake his shoulder gently. James stopped screaming and blushed.

“Sorry, Mrs. Longbottom,” James said sleepily as he put his glasses on. He threw back his blankets and headed down to the beach house's only phone. There by the refrigerator in the kitchen. Yawning, he stumbled to the phone and picked it up, placing the receiver to his ear.

“James Potter,” his mother started in on him. “You told me that you would call and assure me that you and Sirius made it to the beach safely. I'm disappointed in your lack of responsibility.”

“Mum, I'm sorry, really,” James said as he closed his eyes, resting the back of his head against the refrigerator. It couldn't be any later than eight in the morning.

“You know how much your father and I worry about you, and to be honest, I'm starting to wonder if you are old enough to be at the beach,” Mrs. Potter chastised her son.

“Mum, I really am sorry,” James apologized. “You know I'd never make you worry on purpose. I was going to call, but then I just kind of got caught up with everything and I was out late last night playing around with the guys.”

“And the girls? Mrs. Longbottom told me that Alice and Lily are staying in the house next door,” Mrs. Potter said.

“Honestly, I didn't know that they were going to be here,” James promised. “I plan on being a gentleman, Mum. Nothing less than what you and Dad would expect of me, I swear. I'm planning on keeping my hands to myself and my junk in my pants, Mum.”

“I don't want to hear about anything related to that! I want grandchildren, James, but I want you out of school first, preferably married,” Mrs. Potter laughed. “You had me worried about you, though.”

“I know, Mum,” James said remorsefully. “I'm sorry. I'm safe. Sirius is safe, and we're going to behave.”

“I know, I just worry,” Mrs. Potter said. “I'm sure I woke you up, so I'll let you head back to bed. I'll see when you get home. I love you, James.”

“I love you too, Mum,” James yawn. He replaced the phone and started out of the kitchen.

“That was just too sweet, James,” teased Lily. James turned to look at the girl sitting quietly at the table. She had her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee.

“Lily, what are you doing here?” James said in surprise. He blushed slightly. Lily left his face, traced his body, and met his face again, a smile playing on her lips.

“Mrs. Longbottom makes the best coffee, so I stopped in with Alice to have a cup. Alice disappeared upstairs to wake Frank. The half naked look suits you,” Lily said suddenly. She blushed deep red. James grinned.

“I should get something more than boxers on,” James said. “If I pass Alice, I'll send her down to you.”

“I'll make you a cup, if you like,” Lily offered. James looked back at her surprised.

“Thanks, but I'm particular about the way I like my coffee,” James said.

“I know, 2 parts coffee, 3 parts sugar, 1 part cream,” Lily rattled off quickly. James smiled and nodded. Lily blushed bright red, but didn't say anything further. James raised an eyebrow, smile playing on his lips, and nodded once before bounding up the stairs.

“Potter,” Alice said. James continued down the hall way.

“What's up Alice?” James asked. She let her gaze leave his face for a second. He signaled to his face, causing her blush ever so slightly.

“Be nice to Lily, will you? This is her vacation, too,” Alice said. James grinned.

“When am I never nice, Alice?” James asked. “If you recall, I've not asked her out once since I've gotten here.”

“The week is still young,” Alice said. James nodded.

“It is, but as you recall, I only ask her out to aggravate her at Hogwarts,” James said. He shrugged. “Since neither is a deciding factor, its safe to say I'll not be asking her out on this vacation.”

“Why not?!” Alice demanded in a whispered voice. James looked at her confused.

“I don't understand,” James said. “I thought you wanted me to go easy on Lily.”

“I swear,” Alice said storming off. “Boys don't know anything!”

“Nutter,” James tossed back at her, laughing as he headed in to the room he was sharing with Remus and Sirius. The two of them were just dragging themselves out of bed.

“You know Prewett is wandering around out there,” Sirius said as he nodded at James.

“I ran into her,” James said laughing. He fished a pair of swim trunks off the floor and discarded his boxers in a hasty manner for the swim trunks. He pulled a plain tee shirt on, covering his chest, and slipped his feet into his shoes sockless. “No big deal, but she's completely nuts. She got on to me about being nice to Lily but then got completely pissed when I practically promised I'd not ask her out.”

“That's a woman for you,” Remus said. Sirius snorted.

“As if you would know,” Sirius laughed clapping Remus on the shoulder.

“I'd know,” replied Remus as he pulled away. “There was Shale Kinsley, Annette Doughty, and Leslie Palmer.”

“That was the beginning of the third year,” Sirius said. “I haven't seen a girl on your arm since.”

“Man-whore, you've made up for it for me,” Remus laughed shoving Sirius.

“Now, boys, let's not rough house,” James chastised. The two looked at him skeptically. James burst into laughter and shoved them both. “You know I have room to talk.”

“I swear, if you could get a disease from dating the number of people you dated, you'd be festering,” Remus said. James laughed and nodded until he got the hiccups. Sirius started laughing hysterically at James who couldn't stop hiccupping.

“Attractive,” Sirius gasped between his laughter.

“Not-hic-funny,” James gasped.

“Yes, it is,” Remus laughed.

“No-hic-it's-hic-not!” James said shaking his head as the three of them headed out of the room and down the stairs.

“What was all that noise upstairs?” Mrs. Longbottom said at the stove as she looked up from the mountain of scrambled eggs she had just finished cooking.

“Noth-hic-ing,” James hiccupped. Sirius and Remus started laughing hysterically.

“James has the hiccups!” Sirius laughed.

“Do you now?” Mrs. Longbottom said with a smile.

“Try sugar,” Lily said. Sirius made a kissy face at James and batted his eyelashes tauntingly. Remus laughed.

“Mature,” Alice said rolling her eyes. Lily stood and headed over to the counter. Pulling out a tablespoon, she dipped it in the sugar bowl and signaled for the hiccupping James.

“Open your mouth and swallow this slowly,” Lily commanded. James shrugged, starting to get really annoyed with the involuntary spasms of his diaphragm. Within a minute or so, the sugar had dissolved and the hiccups were gone.

“Wow, thanks Lil,” James said. Lily nodded once as she places the spoon in the sink.

“Muggle remedy,” Lily said as she retrieved the cup of coffee she had made him. She handed it to him and rejoined the others at the table.

“Ooh,” the others cooed playfully. Lily and James both blushed but said nothing more. James joined the table and the group ate breakfast.

“So, the scavenger-hunt,” Alice said as she pulled several copies from her messenger bag. “I figured that right after breakfast we'd head down to the dock and take a motorboat over to the island for the day.”

“What happened to sailing?” Sirius asked frowning. “I was so hoping to play pirate on the way to the island.”

“One of the many reasons we are not taking a sailing vessel,” Alice said raising an eyebrow.

“That, and the fact that the wind to wave ratio is odd because of some strange weather pattern,” Lily said absentmindedly as she stirred her coffee. Every looked at her with grin.

“You're such a book worm,” Remus laughed. Lily laughed back.

“Such words from someone who was one of the top of our class,” Lily teased. Remus blushed.

“We don't know that,” Remus chuckled. “We haven't gotten our O.W.L.s back yet to know what we all scored.”

“I'm sure you goobers scored perfectly,” Sirius said. He shook his head and grinned. “Just like James and I probably scraped by with an acceptable or something.”

“Hey,” James complained. “Don't lump me in with you.”

“Whatever,” Alice huffed as she held out a small bag. “Take a stone and see who you've been paired with for the hunt. I still have to dart back next door to get the lunch.”

Each person reached into the small bag, their hands closing on a small stone. One by one they opened their hands to see the stones. Alice and Frank both had blue and were thrilled to get each other. Remus got James, and Lily was paired with Sirius. James laughed and patted Sirius on the back good naturedly. Everyone could tell that they were going to drive each other insane. Only a tiny bit of James was jealous and disappointed that he was not the one paired with Lily.

Picnic packed and stored with their knapsacks, the six of them strapped bright orange lift vests on. For a second, James panicked. He could find his wand. Just as he was about to blurt out that he thought he had lost his wand, he remembered he had stowed it in his underwear drawer back at the beach house. They had all talked about it over breakfast, and thought it would be best not to bring them.

“The island is protected naturally by antimagic spells,” Lily had rattled off absent mindedly as she perused the Daily Prophet. Her endless supply of seemingly random and useless information never ceased to keep the others from teasing her about it.

“Damn muggle life vest,” James swore as he dropped the buckle for the third time. Lily rolled her eyes and snapped the final buckle into place. “Hey, I would have gotten it eventually if it wasn't for the fact that they insist on putting like twelve on here.”

“You are such an exaggerator,” Lily teased quietly as she pushed his shoulder lightly. He laughed and pushed her back, sending her head first into the water. Her head broke the surface of the water as she sputtered and coughed.

“You're an idiot,” Alice told him as James reached down to Lily to help her up.

“It was an accident, Alice,” James snapped at her. He turned his attention to Lily. “I'm so sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to push you into the water.”

“It's ok,” Lily said rolling her eyes. “I'd have ended up there sooner or later. Now, I just get to sit in my wet clothes all day.”

“No, you don't,” James said as he retrieved his back pack. He pulled out a spare shirt. “Wear this until your clothes dry, you know, over your swim suit. It's better than sitting around for a while in wet jean shorts.”

“Gee, James. I don't know what to say,” Lily said surprised. She hadn't expected him to be so nice to her. James shrugged as they climbed aboard the small motorboat. James headed to the bow of the boat, kicking his feet up on the seat across from him. Sirius joined him, knocking his feet aside to sit.

“You are mighty suave,” Sirius teased. He leaned forward. “Do you want me to chat you up good while she and I are off doing that stupid scavenger hunt Prewett thought up?”

“No, that's ok. I don't think I really like the idea of you discussing me,” James laughed. “I know how your mind works and I am liable to get run through.”

“If you say so,” Sirius said shrugging. He hesitated, thinking for a minute before he added. “You mind if I pursue since you're not this summer.”

“Go for it,” James said absent mindedly as he looked over at Lily. She was standing there, the sun hitting her just right. Her hair was darker because of the water, but the sun caused it to look like it was aflame. Her wet clothes had been discarded to the floor of the boat and she was in the process of unfolding James' favorite tee shirt. At the moment, she was clad in her bathing suit, the white bikini contrasting nicely with her gentle tan. She glanced up at that moment, her eyes meeting James.

“Uh-huh, right,” Sirius replied, seeing the momentary charge of electricity between the two. Lily smiled slightly, almost uncertain, and pulled the shirt over her head. The hem of the shirt just barely covered her bottom. Alice asked Lily a question and she broke eye contact with James. “Like I'm to believe that there is nothing there between you?”

“Believe what you want man,” James said looking back at Sirius. He grinned.

“You sure you're not looking for a little summer romance with Lily Evans?” Sirius asked. James shook his head.

“We are only here for the week,” James replied. “I'm here for one thing: having a good time.”

“You know,” Sirius said suggestively as he glanced back at Lily, wiggling his eye brows. James laughed and rolled his eyes.

“If you want to go after Lily, you won't find me standing in your way,” James said. Sirius grinned and patted his shoulder firmly.

“You've always been a great friend,” Sirius said as Alice started the boat, its engine roaring to life. James nodded without any other words as Sirius leaned back and the two sat in the roar of the wind as whipped through their hair. It was too loud to talk anyways, even if there had been more words to say between them.

They ran the boat pretty close to shore, anchoring it in the sand before they hopped off the stern into thigh high water, holding their belongings above their heads like soldiers wading in the jungle rivers. They set up a base camp for the day, stacking their bags and the picnic beside a huge tree. The milled around for a few minutes before heading off in various directions to start their scavenger hunt.

“Are we really going to do this?” Remus asked as the two walked down the beach. James shrugged and looked at the list.

“I don't really care too,” James said. “I'd rather go exploring the island instead.”

“Me, too,” Remus said balling up the paper and throwing it into the water. James looked at him surprised. “What? I can be a rebel like you and Sirius, too.”

“Yes, I suppose you can,” James said grinning. The two took off running down the beach at full speed laughing and running in and out of the water, soaking their shoes. James rushed at Remus to shove him into the water, but Remus anticipated such from James and the two tumbled fully clothed into the ocean water.

“Thought you'd get me huh?” Remus laughed.

“I'll get you yet, Moony,” James threatened good-naturedly as they stripped off most of their wet clothes. Remus made a face, shaking his head.

“In the end, I'll always get the last laugh,” Remus boasted as they both sat down on the beach.

“Yeah,” James said nodding. “Probably.”

The two sat in silence, the sun warming their skin. Remus shifted slightly, obviously looking to break the silence with something important he wanted to discuss. James waited, knowing that his best friend would spit it out when he finally was ready. He didn't want to rush Remus so he remained silent and still.

“Do you like Lily?” Remus asked. James glanced over at him.

“Of course,” James said.

“I don't mean like-like, the reason you asked her out every day while we're at school. I mean really honestly like her,” Remus said uncomfortably. “Like the way Frank likes Alice.”

“Frank doesn't like Alice. Frank loves Alice,” James corrected quietly. Remus hesitated.

“Do you love Lily?” Remus asked. James looked at him with skeptical look on his face.

“Why do you ask?” James asked suspiciously.

“Lily is my friend,” Remus asked. “Not as good of a friend as you, but still a good friend none the less. I just wondered how much of you asking her out and this flirting thing the two of you have been doing is part of your persistence to get everything you go after, and how much of it is because you really like her.”

“What?” James asked with a look of confusion. “Are you asking me if I am in love with Lily Evans?”

“No,” Remus said. He paused. “Well, yes, actually. Are you in love with Lily Evans?”

James opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. He closed his mouth and looked back over the ocean. Thoughts swirled in his head. It was true. James was a persistent little bugger, always eventually achieving whatever he sought. It was that persistence that had him asking Lily out every day like clockwork. It was habit, maybe, but could it mean he felt more? Remus remained quiet and join James at the oceanic stare down.

“I don't know,” James said suddenly. Remus glanced at him.

“Maybe that is why you're not pursuing her this summer,” Remus offered. James grunted in response but didn't confirm or deny Remus' statement. He didn't know.

“We should start heading back,” James said as he glanced at Remus' watch. The two gathered their stuff and walked back toward the other's should be.

“I'm starved,” Remus said as he threw his stuff down near their picnic. They both looked up as Alice came running down the beach. Frowning, they watched as she yelled for them, her words lost on the breeze that had begun to pick up. James and Remus both looked at each other and started towards her, slowly at first and readily picking up speed.

“You guys have to come with me!” Alice shouted hysterically. She looked like she was crying and there was blood on her hands.

“What happened?” James and Remus shouted back at her.

“An accident,” Alice cried out. “Come on!”

Alice grabbed them both by the hand, ignoring the stickiness of her hands, and the three ran full force down the beach to where sharp, jagged rocks jutted out of the water. On this side of the island, the water was rougher. Alice wasn't able to tell them anymore, the wind was howling on this side and a storm was starting to roll in. Alice pointed at a point in the jagged rocks.

“Sirius,” Alice cried. James jerked away from them, and headed out across the rocks, glancing up at the sky for a moment as he carefully made his way through the uneven rocks, his hands gripping other rocks to steady him. It seemed to take forever, but James finally made it to where Lily and Sirius were. Sirius was still, splayed out on the rock. The water lapped at Sirius' shoes as his lower legs hung into the water.

“I told him not to climb up there!” Lily cried out. She was standing over Sirius, trembling. James looked at his best friend. The rock behind Sirius' head was dark. James squatted down and touched the rock. It was covered in blood. James felt a wave of blind panic well up in him.

“Sirius? Sirius?” James begged as he touched the other boy's shoulder. Sirius didn't stir.

“I told him not to go up there! It's all my fault!” Lily cried. “I told him we had to win, and we needed just a feather from a sea gull. I told him we had to win.”

“Lily, just SHUT UP,” James snapped at her before he returned his attention to Sirius. Sirius was breathing but he was still. Without hesitation, James ran his fingers through Sirius' hair, checking for lumps or damage. His fingers found a three inch gaping gash in Sirius' scalp just beyond his left ear. James frowned, worried, and yanked his shirt off wadding it up and pressing it against the gaping cut in Sirius's scalp.

“Is he going to be ok?” Lily asked. James looked up at her and shrugged, unable to speak. A lump had formed in his throat, threatening to choke the life from him.

“We need to get him on the boat and back to main land,” Remus shouted over the roar of the ocean and the rumble of thunder. They all shivered in the rapidly dropping temperature.

“He's bleeding really badly,” James shouted as Frank joined them out on the rocks. Frank and Remus lifted Sirius up off the rocks as carefully as they could while James continued to hold his shirt to Sirius' head.

Sirius groaned. James couldn't have been happier at his friend's auditory complaint. The six were heading back to mainland as fast as the boat would take them, the wind causing the rain to sting like little needles. James laughed in relief as Sirius tried to get up.

“No, you hit your head really hard,” James said as he tried to force Sirius back to the supine position.

“Explains why my head hurts like hell,” Sirius groaned. “What happened?”

“You fell on your head,” James said as they pulled up to the dock.

“Thank god there's nothing in there to damage,” Sirius said laughing and wincing.

“Sirius, thank goodness,” Lily cried as she practically crushed him as she threw her arms around him. “You are the stupidest person I know! I told you not to climb up there! But did you listen? No! Of course not!”

“Easy Lily,” Sirius said. He held out his hand after retrieving something from his pocket. “We won. I got the feather.”

“I don't care about the stupid scavenger hunt,” Lily cried out at him in anger. “You could have been killed.”

“You worry too much,” Sirius said as he struggled to a sitting position. He took over holding James' shirt to the gash.

“My mom will be able to heal you,” Alice said as Frank started to tie the boat to the dock. Sirius was a little unsteady on his feet but refused to let James help. They headed straight home. Mrs. Longbottom immediately sent Sirius up to bed while Alice went to get her own mother. Mrs. Prewett didn't seem surprised that it was Sirius that had went and cracked his skull. As a skilled healer, Mrs. Prewett was able to un-crack Sirius' skull and fused the skin.

“He'll need to stay in bed today but should be back on his feet in the morning,” Mrs. Prewett said to Mrs. Longbottom. “I don't even want to know what you kids were doing on the island.”

Peter joined the others in the room, everyone randomly hanging out on the other two twin sized beds. Lily sat on James' bed, rearranging his pillows behind her as she made herself comfortable. James sat in a chair, it flipped backward and his arms resting on the back. Alice and Frank crashed on Remus' bed. They were quiet.

“So, how did Sirius end up with his head cracked open?” Peter asked.

“What do you think?” James laughed. “Sirius was being himself.”

“Hey, at least we won!” Lily and Sirius both said in unison. The others laughed.

“Yeah, we didn't even find one item,” Frank admitted blushing. “We were distracted.”

“Ooooh,” teased the others as Alice lightly slapped Frank's arm with a grin on her face.

“I can't believe you told,” Alice said to him.

“I can't believe you made us do that stupid scavenger hunt. If you wanted some happy alone time, you could have just gone off,” Sirius said. He looked at them with a remorseful look. “Now I have brain damage.”

“Now? Haven't you always?” Remus laughed and teased. The others, including Sirius, laughed.

“I guess we're `camping out' for dinner up here,” Frank said. “Who wants to tell ghost stories since it's storming out?”

“Sounds like fun,” the others cheered.

At ten that night, the rain started to slow and Frank went to walk Alice back next door. He volunteered James into walking Lily back. Alice and Frank asked James and Lily to give them few minutes, so they did. They stood in the misting rain while the other two disappeared for a few minutes. James had his hands shoved deep in his pockets. Lily wasn't exactly standing still, leaning against the tree near the hammock.

“Want to sit a minute?” Lily asked. James nodded and the two sat on the edge of the hammock. He grinned.

“I plan on sleeping out here on night, this thing looks so comfortable to sleep on,” James confessed as he wiped the back of his hand against his forehead.

“It does, doesn't it?” Lily replied as she reclined back in the hammock. She grabbed James by the shirt and pulled him back, almost making the two of them spill out of the hammock.

“Lily, wow, you could've warned me,” James complained as he gripped the edge of the hammock.

“I didn't think you'd have resisted so much,” Lily confessed. “You've been chasing after me for years.”

“I don't know if I'd go that far,” James laughed. “I've asked you out, yeah, but James Potter doesn't chase after girls.”

“Right,” Lily said as the two of them swayed in the breeze that was picking up. They were getting soaked.

“I only ask you during the school year to annoy you,” James said nonchalantly. “You've noticed I've not asked you out once since school let out.”

“So, you don't really like me?” Lily asked frowning. James hesitated.

“Well, sure I like you,” James said. “If you weren't so annoyingly smart and a know it all, I'd want to hang out with you more.”

“What a hell of a thing to say, James,” Lily said frustrated.

“Well, it's not like you make it easy to like you more than that,” James said huffily.

“You don't exactly make it easy to like you either,” Lily snapped. “You walk around like you're some God's gift to women. You're always ruffling your hair to look like you just got off your broom. You're a bully.”

“I'm not a bully,” James interjected angrily.

“Yes, you are,” Lily snapped. “Severus tells me all the time how you bully him because he's poor.”

“No I don't,” James defended. “I don't bully, and if I did, it'd be because he is so weird, not because he is poor. Remus is poor and we don't bully him.”

“Severus is not weird! He's just intense,” Lily said.

“If he's not weird, how come you've stopped hanging out with him?” James challenged.

“What's my friendship with him got to do with me liking you?” Lily snapped angrily. James hesitated.

“You… like me?” James asked hesitantly. He tried to turn to look at her, but the hammock was unstable and they nearly fell out of it.

“I… no… I mean,” Lily stuttered. She blushed red. “You're James.”

“Yeah,” James said slowly. “So, then, you don't like me?”

“I don't know!” Lily said suddenly. “I mean, you act one way when we are at school, and that James' I don't like. But the James you've been since you've gotten here, even though you yelled at me on the island, I like that James.”

“I'm sorry for yelling at you,” James said after a minute or two. “I was worried about Sirius.”

“I know,” Lily said as she as she turned towards James. Her face touched his shoulder and her hand rested on his chest.

James thought about kissing her suddenly. Her eyes seemed to twinkle in the porch light that managed to meet them from the porch. The desire to kiss her twisted his stomach and caused his heart to start racing. She looked at him in surprise, her hand registering the increase in his heart rate. James blushed and pulled away.

“I… I think it's time for us to say good night,” James said quickly as the two of them climbed off the hammock.

“Is it something I said?” Lily asked uncertainly. James forced a smile and shook his head.

“No, of course not,” James said. “But I think we should part for the night. I think I heard more thunder and frankly I'm a little damp from the rain.”

“Ok, then,” Lily said as she stood beside him. “Until tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” James said. He hesitated before swooping down, intended to kiss her cheek. She turned just in time and their lips met. James found his hands tangled in her hair and her soft hands on his face. They stepped away from each other, breathless and hot.

“You kissed me,” Lily said surprised.

“You kissed me back,” James said with the same surprised sound in his voice. Lily smiled and shrugged.

“I guess we can talk about it tomorrow,” Lily said shrugging again with a smile. James grinned.

“Yeah,” James said. “We can talk about this tomorrow.”

-->

Disc.: All this, I own naught.

Bonfire Destruction

James walked into his room in a daze, a time-warped haze. He began pulling his shoes from his feet before he realized he wasn't wearing shoes. He glanced up at the others in the room, all sitting around watching him with concern.

“Where have you been?” Sirius asked looking at him.

“I walked Lily back to the house,” James said frowning.

“You left two hours ago,” Remus said. James looked at Frank.

“We left together,” James said. Frank nodded.

“And I was back in ten minutes, fifteen minutes tops,” Frank said raising his eye brows at James.

“I guess… I guess I lost track of time,” James said shrugging. “I was swinging on the hammock with Lily and we got to arguing.”

“Jeeze, always with the arguing,” Remus said shaking his head.

“Well, so I walked her to the door and… and I came right back,” James said quickly. The others caught the hesitation in James' voice.

“You came right back?” Sirius challenged. James fought to suppress a stupid grin. He looked down, focused on his shorts. His fingers fiddled with the ties. Sirius grinned and patted the bed beside him. “Come sit down and tell big brother all about it.”

“Nothing to tell,” James said as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He threw himself onto the bed as the others crowded closer.

“Nothing my ass,” Sirius said. James shrugged.

“I went to kiss her cheek and she turned her head,” James said simply.

“She turned her head? Like towards you or away from you?” Frank asked. James shrugged.

“Come on, quit being coy,” Sirius urged.

“We kissed, that's all you need to know,” James said. “On the mouth, hands on face, etcetera.”

“So, are you going to ask her out?” Remus asked. James opened his mouth and hesitated.

“No,” James said quietly as he looked down at the floor a second.

“Why the hell not?” Sirius demanded to know. James looked up at him and laughed at his best friends outburst.

“I thought you wanted to ask her out,” James countered grinning.

“I did, but only because she on the very short list of Hogwarts' girls I've never dated. I don't like her like you do,” Sirius said punching James in the shoulder hard. James cringed and rubbed his shoulder. “Now, why the hell aren't you going to ask her out?”

“I… I don't just want a summer thing,” James blurted out. He blushed as the others sat in awe. “I mean, she's not perfect, I get it, and she can be a real witch in the complete sense of the word. She's up tight. Sometimes I want to choke her or pour ink on her head, but I think I am falling for her.”

“Falling for her?” Frank pushed gently. James nodded once, almost hesitantly.

“I mean, I don't want things to change,” James said simply. “So, I'm not going to tell her any of this. I kind of like dating around. It's exciting.”

“Dating Lily could be exciting,” Remus suggested. James laughed.

“As exciting as spending the perfect Quidditch weather holed up in the library,” James said. Sirius laughed and nodded. “Anyways, Lily's that kind of girl that you become steady and staid for. I don't know if I can do that yet.”

“God, you're a bit full of yourself,” Sirius snorted. “You don't even know if she'd even say yes to you.”

“Oh, she would,” James said confidently. Remus grinned and raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

“She's not said yes to you yet,” Remus reminded him. James made a face.

“Good point,” James said. He shrugged. “All the better not to ask her.”

“Let's just talk about this in the morning, a'right?” Peter yawned. “Today's been a long day.”

“What with all the knitting you and Mum did?” Frank teased. Peter scowled but pulled himself up off the bed and headed out the room. Frank laughed and joined the boy to the room they were sharing.

“This conversation isn't over with,” Sirius warned as James threw himself onto his own bed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” James yawned. “Whatever.”

The morning woke them with a summer storm, but it was fleeting and the sun burned off most of the clouds and haze shortly after lunch. The seven found themselves having a great time wake boarding and hanging out at the coast side. The others watched James and Lily carefully, but it was as if they had never kissed each other. There wasn't that awkwardness that they had almost expected in anticipation. Instead, Lily and Alice chased each other into the waves, leaving the boys in their dust as they went in search of the big waves caused by the storm from earlier.

Their whoops and hollers could be heard all along the beach, and they all looked like they were having a great time. Still, the others were unconvinced that neither James nor Lily were unaffected by each other's seemingly innocent yet intimate moment the previous night and so they watched and waited, half expecting one of them to jump the other one at any minute. James laughed as a huge wave knocked Lily over, the red head jumping up out of the water with seaweed on her head.

“You think that's funny, Potter?” Lily challenged as she pulled a huge clump out of her hair.

“I do,” James laughed. With a loud splat, a wad of seaweed caught him opened mouthed in the face. He made a face, the salty water and seaweed gagging him slightly. “Don't start something you can't finish, Lily.”

“Who says that I can't finish it?” Lily laughed as she shoved water at him with her hands. He splashed her back hard, and the two proceeded to splash each other to death.

“Give it up, Evans. You can't beat me,” James laughed. Lily got a real coy look on her face and started towards him slowly. Her fingers went to the tie at the base of her neck.

“Really, James? You don't think I know your weakness?” Lily said carefully. Without meaning to, James got really nervous and took a step back.

“W-what are you doing?” James stuttered for a second, nervous.

“What do you think I'm doing?” Lily teased as she pretended to tug on one of the ties.

“I-I think I hear Remus calling me,” James said as he turned to leave, suddenly very aware of a certain condition cropping up just south of the boarder. He grinned at her nervously and started heading away. He stopped when he felt her hand on his shoulder.

“James,” Lily whispered in his ear. He shivered.

“Yeah?” James said swallowing, aware that his friends were watching them from the shore. She jerked him backwards into the water, his feet flying into the air, and she removed his swim trunks.

“I got your swimsuit!” Lily cheered as she ran at full speed back to the shore. James stood in waist high water, looking down as his bits and pieces hung freely in the water. He laughed.

“You think my not having a swim suit is going to stop me from coming to shore?” James called as he followed her.

“You wouldn't dare,” Lily said clutching his shorts as a shield. He stopped at the edge of the water, barely covered. Lily's eyes shot south of his belly button and the slightest hinting of a show more to come. She turned beet red.

“Try me,” James challenged. He moved to go forward and received his wet bathing suit in his face. Stepping back into his suit, he joined the others on the sand. Remus signaled to James, pointing at Sirius, who was sleeping heavily and had missed James' little almost peep show. James started covering Sirius with sand, carefully as not to wake him, until he and Remus had completely buried the boy to his neck.

“Give him breasts,” Remus whispered loudly. James laughed and nodded, forming a pair of two perfectly round sand breasts.

“Bigger?” James laughed.

“Make them more realistic,” Lily and Alice both said from their towels.

“They're sand breasts,” James said shaking his head. “How in the world would we make them more realistic?”

“I don't know,” Lily giggled. She pulled two shells out of a bucket nearby and put them in the middle of sleeping Sirius's sand breasts. The six of them laughed loudly, waking Sirius. He looked down at his new rack and laughed, giving one a gentle squeeze.

“If I had a set of these, I'd never leave my room,” Sirius as he pulled himself free from the sand. “Good thing I don't, then.”

“Party pooper,” Lily said as Sirius started shaking the sand off.

“I don't think I'm going to ask why there's so much sand in my trunks,” Sirius grinned peeking down the front of his trunks. “Anyone want to take a peek?”

“No!” the others all said laughing.

“We should do a bon fire tonight and roast weenies,” Peter said suddenly. Sirius grabbed the front of his trunks protectively.

“Hell of a thing to say, Peter,” Sirius said scowling. “It's a great idea, but hell of a thing to say when I just offered to show you what makes me the best man on the beach.”

“I'll go ask Mrs. Longbottom if she minds,” James said loudly, changing the subject. Sirius grinned.

“Want me to come up there with you?” Lily asked. James hesitated before he shrugged. Lily joined him on the quick jog back to the house. James glanced back at the others as the crested the top of the sand dunes; they were grinning with their thumbs up in encouragement for James.

The beach house was silent. James pulled a note off the door of the fridge and leaned back against the counter reading it silently to himself. It was from Mrs. Longbottom, stating she'd be out for the evening and that it was a fend-for-yourself night. James went to hand Lily the letter.

“Ah, Alice's parents are out with her,” Lily said. She tossed the letter down on the counter.

“Yup,” James said.

“Look, James, about last night,” Lily started. James grinned.

“Need not say anything,” James said shrugging. “It was an accident. I meant to kiss your cheek and it was…”

“Fantastic,” Lily said.

“What?” James asked as he crossed his arms.

“It was a good kiss, James. Fantastic,” Lily said slightly nervous.

“Uh, thanks,” James said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, heat rising to his cheeks every so faintly. “I just don't want things to change between us. Not yet.”

“Fair enough,” Lily said as she stepped forward. “There is nothing worse than changing the things that are working.”

“Right,” James said.

“So, does that mean you're going to go back to asking me out every day once we get back to school?” Lily asked after a second.

“Only if you promise to turn me down,” James teased. “I just don't want this to be a summer fling between us, and frankly I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in my dating towel just yet.”

“Me, neither,” Lily said. “Sixteen is too young to be tying ourselves down forever and ever. Plus I'm not sure how much I really like you. I mean, School Potter and Summer Potter are two different people. I just don't want to rush things, either, James.”

“Good to know,” James said as he put out his hand for a handshake. “Nothing changes?”

“Nothing much changes,” Lily said as she quickly kissed his lips and rushed out the back door.

“Damn, Lily,” James said to the empty kitchen. “You're going to be the death of me one of these days.”

Between the five boys, a giant pile of driftwood and the like was collected. Shortly after dark, the boys lit the fire and the group of seven roasted hot dogs and marshmallows on long sticks. Several times, the boys caught their marshmallows on fire and had to launch the flaming ball of sugar into the ocean. They laughed and told ghost stories around the fire, some of which were corny, some of which were quite terrifying.

Sirius, by far, told the scariest story. His was one about a haunted chamber deep within the bowels of the school where a snake was rumored to sleep waiting patiently to attack students and make them their lunch. The others listened as he talked about the snake attacking a girl in the bathroom, spilling her blood on the bathroom floor and how Hogwarts covered it up. Sirius was quiet when finished by stating that the snake remained at Hogwarts waiting until his next attack.

“That's so creepy,” Peter squeaked as he shivered in the damp, night air.

“That's a true story,” Sirius said. He glanced around. “I overheard a few Death Eaters talking about it, happening back when my aunt and uncle were at Hogwarts. They lovingly called it the Snake of Slytherin.”

“Not likely,” Alice denied. “Why would they tell you? You're a name-traitor to the house of Slytherin.”

“They didn't tell him,” James defended. “He just said he overheard them.”

“Do you think it could be true? More than just Slytherin boasting?” Lily asked uncertainly. Sirius shrugged.

“I don't know, but I do know they acted like they were thrilled this monster snake killed,” Sirius said. Everyone collectively shivered.

“Oh, look,” Remus said changing the subject. Everyone looked to where he was pointing in the night sky to see shooting stars. They all settled back on their beach blankets as the fire died down to just glowing embers. James tucked one of his arms behind his head and watched. The air rustled his hair and for the moment, he was completely at ease. He felt Lily drop her hand into his and heard her sigh.

“Muggles believe that you are supposed to wish on a shooting star,” Lily said quietly. There was no need to talk much louder than she spoke; everyone heard her.

“Don't muggles know that they are just meteorites?” Frank asked after a few more shooting stars.

“Yeah, they know,” Lily said. “Muggles don't have all the wonderful things to entertain them like we do in the magical world. To them, witches are the bad guys, dragons are meant to be slain, and there is no such thing as magic.”

The seven were quiet. The air became cool and still. A glowing green light drew their attention, slowly at first as it begun to glow brighter and greener. They climbed uncertainly from their beach blankets and stood, looking in the direction of the beach houses. They looked at each other apprehensively, only just able to make each other's faces out in the green glow.

“Is that a dark mark?” Alice asked hesitantly. “Over my parents' beach house?”

“Alice, wait,” Frank said as he went to stop her. She slipped from his grasp and ran full speed toward her parent's beach house. As they drew closer, their feet kicking up the loose sand from the dunes, there were screams and sounds of unimaginable torture. The others were right there with her as she stopped, frozen in fear, as Mrs. Longbottom fought with two Death Eaters, spells bouncing back and forth between the two and Mrs. Longbottom.

“Protego!” Mrs. Longbottom shouted as she back toward the kids. “Into the house kids, ready your wands.”

The seven rushed into the Longbottom beach house, their wands already there, as if their wands knew the kids would need them. A little battle worn, Mrs. Longbottom rushed into the living room the kids were all standing in armed and ready. She rushed to the fireplace.

“Incendio!” Mrs. Longbottom said as she pointed her want into the grate. Flames burst out of thin air. She grabbed a handful of powder from a jar on top of the mantle. “Potter Manor, 7 Westchester Lane.”

She shoved Sirius in first without as so much as another word. He disappeared into the bright green flames. She repeated the action, shoving Alice and Lily in next. James pushed Peter and Frank to next in line. James looked at her as she sent Remus to the Potter Manor.

“Let me stay and help!” James demanded.

“There will be plenty of time for you to fight, James,” Mrs. Longbottom said. “Alice's parents are dead and Lord Voldemort is on his way to get Sirius. Your friends need you now. If anything happens to me, take care of them, James. Take care of them all.”

Mrs. Longbottom kissed his forehead and sent James through the floo network, the boy snatching glimpses of other grates as he flew from the fireplace at the beach house. He tumbled out of the fireplace onto a group of struggling bodies as everyone struggled to right themselves. They were covered in ashes and dirty. James's glasses were broken, having smacked his head on someone's hard head. Mr. Potter was there in a flash, pulling people to their feet and trying to brush the ashes free from their sticky bodies.

“What happened? What happened?” Alice cried as she shook James' shoulders. Mrs. Potter stood there, her face encompassing. “Where are my parents', James? Why was there a Dark Mark over my parents' house?”

“Alice,” James said quietly. “Your parents are…” He looked at the girl remorsefully, unable to complete the statement. Alice scream-cried something unintelligible and collapsed into James' arms, her fists pounding on his shoulders as she shook her head. James immediately wrapped his arms around her tightly, hoping that he'd be able to keep her together.

“No, it can't be,” she gasped through her hot tears. Mrs. Potter wrapped her arms around Alice, allowing the child to grasp her in desperation. Lily followed as Mrs. Potter led the girl upstairs. James sunk down on the small table, knowing his dad wouldn't get on to him about sitting on the furniture improperly.

“James… my mum?” Frank asked hesitantly as he placed his hand on James' shoulder.

“She said…” James started. “She said that if anything were to happen to her, to… to take care of you… all of you.”

Frank slumped down in one of the chairs, not even realizing he was getting it dirty. At the moment, it was unimportant. Dirt on a too fancy chair was the least of their worries. James looked at his best friend and for the first time, he was really scared for Sirius. He wondered how far the dark side would go to get to Sirius. As if Sirius could hear his thoughts, he looked at James. James felt even more afraid when he saw that Sirius was just as scared.

“I've put Lily and Alice up in your room, James,” Mrs. Potter said as she broke the silent reveries that each of them were in. “James and Sirius can bunk up together, and the three of you can sleep in the spare room.”

One by one, the boys headed up stairs showered and changed, and headed to bed in a solemn silence, barely grunting their final good nights. James and Sirius climbed into Sirius' bed, and for the moment they didn't care what anyone thought. They were brothers, and they were terrified. The two of them rested side by side, staring at the ceiling in silence. Lightening occasionally flashed, lighting the room, and rain streaked the window panes. James glanced over at Sirius, uncertain if the shadows on his face were reflections of the rain running down the window pane or if they were tears. James took a deep breath, stepping out on the limb knowing full well that he could be wrong and be ridiculed for it. For Sirius, he was willing to take the risk.

“I'm scared,” James whispered into the dark. He heard Sirius struggle to keep a quiet sob at bay.

“Me… too,” Sirius said. Nothing else needed to be said between the two. They already knew the bits and pieces to the conversation that neither of them needed to have.

-->

A/N: Yes, I realize that it's been months since I posted, and I am sure that few are still following it, but I still wanted to write, and I didn't want to leave this story undone. I was suffering from the six/seven chapter syndrome (also known as the SSCS). It's when you sit down to write the sixth or seventh chapter and completely can't figure out what you want the direction to head in. I blame that or my real life (or the two stories I wrote in between).

Disc.: Plot mine. Characters not.

At Home

It was near midnight, and all through the house of Potter, there were the silent sounds of sleeping souls. James and Sirius were passed out in Sirius' room, Peter, Frank, and Remus were asleep in the small spare room, Lily and Alice nestled in James' bed, and the matriarch and patriarch Potter in the master suite. Not even the wind brushing the tree's leaved branches against the old lead glass could wake them. All was peaceful and all was calm, despite their arrival at the house of Potter. It was no surprise that the door chime, echoing through the halls of the house woke them all quite immediately, their hearts in their throats, pounding away quite mercilessly. Each of the being sprung from their beds, wands drawn, as they rushed from their rooms. Despite the tension, James couldn't help but grin to see Lily clad in his favorite tee shirt and sweat pants, both much too big for her small frame. At Mr. Potter's insistence, the kids remained on the stairs behind Mrs. Potter, who stood as a frail barrier between them, as Mr. Potter opened the door.

“Augusta, thank God,” Mr. Potter said as he pulled the weary woman in, pulling her into a strong embrace moments after securing the door. Frank, seeing his mother, pushed his way through the masses and nearly tackled the small woman as she stood there with Mr. Potter. She smiled weakly as she threw her arms around her son, holding him to her tightly. Tired and battle worn, she hung on to her son tightly, not wanting to release him quite yet. Mr. Potter gestured to the parlor, where Faldo immediately appeared with a large tray of tea. Frank helped her to the nearest chair at Mrs. Potter's suggestion and eagerly handed her a cup of tea. She was tired; her face cut up and bruised.

The kids remained in the door way a bit as tea was poured and Mr. Potter gestured for the frightened young witches and wizards to put away their wands and join them. James watched as Lily and Alice slowly entered the room, still gripping onto each other's arms for stability.

“Alice, honey,” Mrs. Longbottom said pulling herself to her feet, embracing the young woman. The others remained quiet as Mrs. Longbottom hugged her. “You are going to come home with me and Frank. You needn't worry about anything, child.”

“My… my mom,” Alice sobbed as she fought gallantly to maintain some control, though her parents had only died but hours before.

“Your mother was my best friend and we made arrangements on both ends to make sure you kids were ok,” Mrs. Longbottom said wearily.

“What happened, Augusta?” Mr. Potter asked quietly. The kids were piled around the room, Alice having abandoned the elder Longbottom's arms for Frank's arms. For a minute, so brief and fleeting, James wondered what it would be like to have someone in his arms like that. He shook the thought from his head and joined Remus and Sirius on the long sofa; Peter took a spot on the floor. Lily sat near them, tucking her legs under her as Mrs. Longbottom settled back against the chair.

“Jan, Ted, and I came back to the beach houses after having spent the evening out, to find that the house had been ransacked,” Mrs. Longbottom said. “This was above and beyond the normal teenage boys look the house had kept. I heard a crash from next door, and I rushed over there immediately, but Jan was… already… hit. The house was crawling with Death Eaters. We, Ted and I, battled a good many of them, but then we heard the kids coming, and Ted yelled for me to run and get the kids to safety.”

“There were so many of them, the Death Eaters, demanding to know where Sirius was. Whatever they wanted with him, I didn't wait to find out, just shoved Sirius through the grate first, then the others. Right after James went through, a swarm of them crashed through the door and I just barely escaped with my life. If members of the Order hadn't shown up, I don't know what would have happened,” Mrs. Longbottom said quietly. Several minutes passed in silence.

“Augusta, you did what needed to be done and the important thing is the kids are all safe, thanks to you and Ted and Jan. Nothing else more needs to be said,” Mrs. Potter said quietly, patting Mrs. Longbottom's arm. She turned to the kids. “Boys, you will have to squeeze in with Sirius and James tonight. Faldo will get the cots from the attic. Augusta, you can take the spare room and stay as long as you like.”

“You've always been so kind,” Augusta murmured as she nodded to Mrs. Potter. James felt his heart swell for his mother, for she really was a wonderful woman. Mrs. Potter looked over at her son with worry and concern, but said nothing.

“I think the kids should head back to bed,” Mr. Potter said calmly. “There will be time in the morning to discuss more, should more need be discussed.”

“But,” the kids all complained weakly. Mr. Potter shook his head and pointed, each of them knowing that he meant it. Frank, Alice, and Lily all stopped to hug Mrs. Longbottom before heading towards the door to the parlor. James hugged his mother, and Mrs. Longbottom pulled Sirius into a hug, before the seven were sent off to bed.

Sirius' room was crowded, James and he in the big bed while three canvas cots were crammed on either side of the bed and at the foot. There was hardly any room to move around. It was dark in the room, Peter's soft snores almost deafening in the silence. James tucked his arm behind his head, deep in thought.

“You awake?” Sirius asked in a whispered voice, poking James in the shoulder roughly.

“If I wasn't, I'd be about now,” James whispered back.

“Me too,” Remus piped up from his cot.

“As would I,” Frank whispered. The four hesitated, almost expecting Peter to chime in, but his snores punctuated the night.

“I feel responsible for Alice's parents',” Sirius said quietly. “I mean, I know Prewett and I don't get along that great, but I feel like it is my fault that her parents are dead.”

“It's not your fault,” James implored as he pushed himself into a sitting position on the bed.

“The Death Eaters were there because of me,” Sirius said crossing his arms. Remus and Frank crawled onto the end of the bed, ignoring Peter's whimpers and snores.

“Sirius, they'd have come after us all anyways,” Frank said quietly. “My mum was talking to Dumbledore and they are recruiting left and right. Its only a matter of time before one of them comes looking for one of us. Your time just happened to be up.”

“Still,” Sirius said shrugging. “I feel awful.”

“I'll be ok,” James promised. The others looked at him skeptically. They knew he was full of it. There was no way that James could legitimately say that with much convincing.

The boys finally fell asleep before dawn and were awake well before noon. The mood at the breakfast table was subdued. Lily and Alice both looked like they had been crying most of the night, their faces red, splotchy, and puffy. James glanced over at her several times, worried about her. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were quiet, dignified as they are, the teenage boys a little less so. Mr. Potter had the paper unfolded, reading it. Without words, Mr. Potter handed it to Lily.

Sirius and James exchanged a look, uncertain. Lily opened it and read without comment or word, folding over the top page to look at the names listed. It was then that James realized that Lily was reading the obituaries. James watched her eyes widen slightly, her breath caught in her chest. He watched her struggled with control for a moment before she drew a shaky breath and passed the paper to the next person, skipping Alice.

“Alice, Frank, and Lily,” Mrs. Longbottom said quietly. “We're going to stay here for a few more days at Dumbledore's request.”

“Ok,” Alice and Frank said. Lily only nodded once, and continued to focus on her thoughts.

“Maybe the kids would be more comfortable outside in the garden once the Order starts to arrive,” Mrs. Potter said. Mrs. Longbottom nodded.

“We want to stay,” James protested. Mrs. Potter raised her eye brow. “I want to join.”

“You're too young,” Mrs. Potter said shaking her head. “When you're out of school, I'm sure that Albus and the rest of the Order will be more than happy to have you in their ranks.”

“But mom…” James said in a borderline whiny tone. Sirius kicked him under the table as the door bell rang. Everything and everyone froze, fear gripping their hearts. James felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. The fear was starting to wear on them in quite a painful way.

“Stay here,” Mr. Potter said as he swiftly rose and headed out of the dining room. Mrs. Longbottom and Mrs. Potter followed, pulling their wands out at the same time. They could feel their hearts pounding in their chests as they also moved to the doorway, crowding to see.

“Oh, thank god,” Mrs. Potter said as Professor Dumbledore entered the foyer followed by an older man with a thick, stately beard.

“Sorry I didn't message ahead,” Professor said apologetically. He lightly kissed the cheeks of Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Longbottom. “Augusta, your holding up spectacularly.”

“As good as can be expected,” Mrs. Longbottom said. He nodded grimly. Professor Dumbledore's eyes fell on the children.

“Ah, nearly all of my rising sixth years Gryffindor students, including my prefects,” he said beaming. He turned to the man who up to this point had not been addressed. “Alphard, do you see him?”

“Aye,” the well dressed man said nodding once in a distracted way.

“Perhaps, if you'd be so kind, Sirius, Alphard, and I may use your drawing room?” Professor Dumbledore asked politely as he addressed Mrs. Potter. She hesitated before nodding once.

“Sirius, come along,” she said as lead the way away from the dining room, across the foyer and into the other room. Sirius looked at James; the two boys shared a look of uncertainty. Professor Dumbledore chuckled.

“I promise no harm will come to you,” Professor Dumbledore said. Sirius nodded once as he eyed the other man warily. Mr. Potter signaled for the rest of the kids to continue their breakfast without Sirius.

It was three hours later when Professor Dumbledore, Sirius, and the man called Alphard exited the room. The three of them looked pleased with whatever the outcome was. James and the others had spent that time, sitting on the stairs, waiting. Sirius looked up at James, grinning, and gave him the thumbs up signal. James grinned back, relief spreading through him. Professor Dumbledore saw Alphard out of the house before joining Mr. and Mrs. Potter, and Mrs. Longbottom in the other room.

“It's fantastic,” Sirius said as he hurried up to where James was sitting. “That man, Alphard, is my mother's brother. Another twisted branch in my family tree, and he's financing my education. I don't have to worry about anything, he promises.”

“That's fantastic,” the others said. James frowned.

“You were worried?” James asked. Sirius shrugged. James scowled. “You shouldn't have been. You know my parents think of you as their son. They'd have taken care of you.”

“I know,” Sirius huffed slightly. “Still, I didn't want to impose and now I don't have to.”

“So… you're like, going to leave and live with this uncle of yours that you never met?” James asked slightly annoyed. Sirius frowned, crossing his arms.

“You want me to leave?” he asked, affronted by James' frown.

“Did I say you had to leave?” James said. Sirius glanced up to see the others retreating, except for Remus who probably remained to be a mediator.

“No, but…” Sirius said. He frowned, a crease forming on his forehead. “Why are you suddenly so pissed?”

“You're supposed to be my best mate,” James said. Sirius looked at him with wide eyed surprise.

“I am,” Sirius assured him.

“You didn't tell me you were worried about the money thing,” James protested in a growl. Sirius laughed loudly.

“Dude, if I knew it was going to cause so much problems, I'd have asked you for some money or something,” Sirius teased. James was still tense. Sirius laughed louder. “How about this, you can buy me some new Quidditch pads. I think last year's are going to be too small. They were a bit snug. Oh, and new underwear. I think I left more pairs between Hogwarts and the Shrieking Shack than I brought.”

“Is that what happened to all my underwear last year?” James said making a face.

“And you thought it was the house elves,” Sirius laughed. He thumped James in the shoulder hard and the two boys started snarling and snapping playful at each other.

“Mum! Should we see if there are any stray dogs needing castration?” James called as Sirius sprung on him, the two wrestling around on the landing. Alice, Lily, and Frank popped their heads out the door to look at what was causing the commotion. Peter, the elder Potters, and Mrs. Longbottom watched as Remus backed up, allowing the two to wrestle around playful.

“At least we never have to worry about those two,” Mrs. Potter said as she smiled weakly at them. Frank and Lily laughed, despite themselves, at the antics.

“I've bested you,” Sirius said putting James in a pinned head lock. “Say uncle.”

“Ugh, fine,” James grumbled. “Uncle.”

“Haha,” Sirius cheered. “I won.”

“This time,” James said as he pulled himself upright.

The members of the Order arrived soon after, gathering in the dining room while the kids ate dinner that night in the upstairs room. It was a simple meal of soup and sandwiches, the kids nervous as the noise increased slightly with each passing person. Mrs. Longbottom and the Potters remained for the meeting, the three of them in the Order. James frowned, crossing his arms.

“I don't like how we're being pushed aside,” James grumbled.

“We're all just sixteen. You can't expect that they'll just let us join up at our age,” Lily said knowingly. “When we're of age, I'm certain that they'll let us join.”

“Us?” James asked skeptically.

“Yes, us, why?” Lily asked as she crossed her own eyes. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“It's just…”

“What, and think carefully about your words, Potter,” Lily said. James shrugged.

“I just didn't take you as the type that would be a fighter,” James said. “That's all.”

Lily smirked.

“You don't know me at all, Potter. That comment alone proves it,” Lily said.

“I guess I should get to know you better,” James said. Lily raised her eye brow at him again.

“Or not,” Lily said under her breath. Remus heard her, his eyes snapping to hers. Lily grinned at him and continued to eat.

“So, you want to fight? That's great,” Sirius said loudly. “See, and here we were worried that once school was done, we'd all walk out of each other's lives forever.”

“Yeah, like we'd be able to get rid of you that easily,” James teased. James received an open sandwich to his face, mustard side to skin. He glared at the now laughing Sirius.

“Wasn't me,” Sirius gasped with laughter. Remus was the only one who didn't have a sandwich in front of him. James glared at Remus. Remus emphatically shook his head.

“Lily,” Remus said. Lily looked at him in surprise.

“I'd never throw a sandwich at you, James,” Lily lied with a straight face. “And as you can see, I still have my sandwich in my lap.”

“Since when did you start eating peanut butter with chicken and tuna salad,” James asked skeptically as he looked at the half eaten sandwich in her lap. Lily glanced at it.

“Remus turned me on to it,” Lily said as she picked it up off the plate. She didn't hesitate as she took a large bite of the sandwich. James retched.

“That's disgusting,” James said. Lily grinned and politely spit the bite back into her napkin. Lily pushed the plate back onto Remus' lap and took a sip of her water.

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. James picked the piece of sandwich that had hit him and offered it back to Lily. She laughed and shook her head.

“Ah, well,” James said and he polished it off in two bites.

“Ugh,” the others grunted in disgust.

“Tomorrow is the full moon,” Remus said suddenly, as if it just occurred to him. The others froze, looking at him for a moment. Lily sighed and patted his shoulder.

“It'll be ok,” Lily promised him. She snickered. “You think you have it bad. One night of being out of your element. Women have a few days of PMS, up to a week of flow, and then a few more days trying to get back to usual. I'd trade it all for one day.”

“I could help you with that,” Remus teased. Lily laughed as James glared at him in horror.

“Jeeze, Potter,” Lily taunted. “It's a joke.”

“I'm taking Frank and Alice home tomorrow,” Mrs. Longbottom said quietly that next night at dinner. Mrs. Potter nodded understanding. Remus and Peter had departed that morning, on the eve of the full moon, and everyone knew that they had to get back to living eventually, lest the Dark Lord win.

“I'm going home as well,” Lily said. She glanced up to meet James' worried expression but returned her eyes to her plate almost in a flash.

“Well, know dears, you are all always welcome here,” Mrs. Potter said. “Our home is your home.”

James knew he'd hate to see them all go, even with the new school year fast approaching. He did look forward to getting his old bed back and a little privacy, not to complain about sharing a bed with Sirius, but the poor boy seemed to be shedding a lot. James knew all of them were under an intense amount of stress. It would be good, though, James thought, for Alice to start healing because listening to the faint sobs at night was heartbreaking to say the least. He and Alice had never been best friends, but they had been friends none the less, and seeing a friend in pain hurt as much as being in pain yourself.

The house was quiet by breakfast, Sirius and James sitting across from Mr. and Mrs. Potter at the table, soundless sipping the scorching tea. Mrs. Potter glanced up from the paper. She watched as the two boys sat before her solemnly.

“We will be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to do school shopping,” Mrs. Potter said as she nodded to the two envelopes on the table.

“Are our OWL results in there?” Sirius asked hesitantly.

“They are. Dumbledore brought them late last night. Everyone else should be getting them this morning,” Mr. Potter said quietly. “He said that you both did surprisingly well for as much goofing off you two did last year.”

The boys grinned as they scooped up their letters. They tore them open, ignoring the rest of the pages that fluttered to the table. They both cheered. They had done well enough to continue with the classes that would allow them to become Aurors. Mrs. Potter had grinned, thankful for the short burst of light that fought to emerge from the dark cloud that still seemed to hold back the sun.

“The best part,” James said as he cheered. “Lily and I will still have some of the same classes together.”

“Oh, yeah, because you know things are going to change when we get back to school,” Sirius laughed as he rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, man,” James teased. “You're just jealous that I very well may be able to say I've dated every single girl at Hogwarts.”

“Good,” Sirius smirked. “Once you're done with the girls, there are some Slytherin boys that could pass as girls for you to work on.”

A buttered biscuit whizzed through the air and bounced off of Sirius' face.

“This means war.”

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