is this for real? } james, sirius, lily, alice

[Remus Lupin]

There was no denying it - the last weeks of summer were upon them. Sadness, along with the reluctance and restlessness that settled in the inner depths of his friends was becoming even more clear with each passing day as they inched closer towards the start of their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Of course, that looming feeling hadn't really stopped James and Sirius from having their fun - they always had their fun no matter what the circumstance. Sometimes he wished he was like that, but of course, Remus Lupin was the rational one, and he always had to think and worry about the future, looking forward since no one else seemed to have the time or care to.

Sitting down in the huge main dining room of the Potters' mansion, Remus had been in his friends' home for two days - they were going to spend the last week of summer together before going off to school, which was quite fine with him. Life outside of Hogwarts wasn't too different - he was by himself and it was about quarter to noon - once again, he seemed to be the only one up besides the servants, just like he was always the first one in their dorm to wake. He had never been one to sleep in too late, aside from the few days that followed the full moon. Rubbing his forehead as he thought of those dreadful days, he smoothed the front of his hair down before reaching for his cup of tea. The earl grey tasted wonderful, and the porcelain of the cup that held it was so fine, smooth and beautiful - his hands could feel no imperfections. He chuckled to himself as he reached for the Daily Prophet - from his behavior, one would never be able to tell that James came from a family of immense wealth.

A sharp tapping at the window alerted the boy and he turned his head to see a large majestic-looking brown owl, flapping his wings to remain in the air while clutching the familiar letters that Remus had gotten so accustomed to seeing. Oh the irony, he thought, getting up from his chair and puling the small window knob to let the owl in. Dropping the letters into his hand, the owl pecked at his ear once before fluttering out from whence it came. With a puzzled look, Remus shrugged and walked over to the sprial staircase as he looked down and shuffled through the parchment envelopes in his hands. One each for him, James, Sirius, and Lily - though, they seemed heavier this time than he could recall from the other years. Perhaps the required book and reading list had gotten longer - great.

"James, Sirius, Lily!" he yelled loudly - yes, he could be loud if he wanted to - and even if they didn't hear him, James' butler would probably let him know that he was being called. "Hogwarts letters! And brunch, too!" he added, turning on his heel and going back to the dining room. Grabbing a biscuit, he started to spread some strawberry jam. Oh well. Remus was a simple and patient person - even if they didn't come down any time soon, he'd wait to open his letter anyway - he'd just eat and continue reading today's Daily Prophet like he had been doing before. No big deal.

[James Potter]

James was buried in his blankets. Never mind the fact that it was one of the hottest days of the month . . . He had all of his blankets on his bed, and was currently curled up in to a ball. If anyone was to look into his room, they would think there was just a bunch of clothing and . . . something on his bed. James’s room was extremely messy. He was too lazy to clean it. Besides, that’s what the servants and the House Elf was for.

His alarm clock had been set to go off at ten in the morning . . . so he didn’t sleep the entire day away. Yes, James would sleep the day away. He’d actually gone and slept four whole days away and had only gotten up because Sirius had jumped on him, dragging his arse out of bed. Of course, the consequence of that was that he was up two weeks with no sleep. It was now eleven thirty and yet he was still in bed. His alarm clock? Smashed to pieces and laying scattered along his far bedroom wall. Yeah . . . James was not a morning person, never mind the fact that it was late morning. MORNING was the key word here.

There was yelling from down stairs . . . he vaguely recognized it as Remus’s before he turned back over, dropping off again. But it wasn’t long until there was a knock at his door. “Go away!!” came his muffled reply, as he tightened the blankets further around his body. He heard the door open before another voice spoke.

“Master James, Master Remus has called for you, Master Sirius, and Mistress Lily. Your Hogwarts Letters have arrived for you, and it is time for Brunch.”

There was a few moments pause as neither moved or said anything. Eventually, James poked his head out of his blankets and looked at the butler. He glared at him, as if it were his fault the letters had arrived so early. He then waved the man off, muttering that he was coming.

Five minutes later, James was walking into his dining room in nothing but boxers and his flannel sleeping pants. His bare feet hit the marble flooring lightly as he ran his hand through his bed ridden hair. He mumbled a greeting to Remus before grabbing his letter and balancing it in his hand. “Damn . . . it’s heavy. More reading material, great.” he sulked, glaring at the wax seal of the Hogwarts crest.

[Alice Logan]

Alice had been up since eight, and though it was earlier than she would have liked as there were still three weeks left in the summer holidays, she had somewhere to be. So she'd pulled herself from her bed and penned a letter to Remus telling him that she would be there sometime that day[as her parents had told her she could go just before she'd gone to bed, and it being somewhere around eleven at night, she hadn't wanted to bug him then], adding in that she had her hopes up for this year; she felt that it would be a good one, and in years past, her feelings had been correct. It was something of an inside joke between their little group, her ability to tell how the year would be. After sealing the letter in an envelope and sending it off with her family's owl, she'd proceeded to shower, skipping breakfast altogether. Then again, she did that most days now; she was always so distracted with the upcoming school year and thoughts of being accepted into Auror training running through her head, though the latter was almost a year and a set of examinations away. But she was optimistic, and she'd dreamt of being an Auror since she'd heard the first rumors of Dark Wizards.

Currently, the auburn-haired girl was hopping around her room, pulling off her socks. First her right foot, then the left, all the while holding a toothbrush in her mouth. Once her socks were dropped into her clothes basket, she resumed scrubbing at her teeth, grabbing a towel and her robe and moving into the bathroom connected to her room. She shut the door, finished her teeth-cleaning, and turned on the tap. Waiting until the water was warm without being scalding, she'd pulled the stop on the faucet to divert the water flow to the shower head, then proceeded to shower. A full ten minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, rubbing at her hair with a towel and clothed in her robe. She dressed, choosing a simple sun dress that matched her eyes and didn't clash with her copper hair and a pair of sandals, as it was supposed to be scorching out that day, and she didn't feel like wearing trousers.

A minute or so later, Alice was again hopping around her room, this time pulling on her sandals, in the same manner as before; right foot first, then the left. That done, she glanced into her vanity mirror. Pondering for a moment, she grabbed a pale grey eyeliner pencil and lightly brushed it along her lash line on both eyes, just enough to barely tell it was there. She stared at her reflection again and smiled, satisfied. Besides, it was much too hot for anything else. She brushed a hand through her now nearly-dry hair, deciding to let it flow where it would for today but nabbing a hair tie from the table and slipping it onto her wrist just in case she felt like putting it up. She was turning towards her bed to grab the small bag she'd left there when she heard tapping on her window.

Blinking, Alice turned toward the tapping, raising an eyebrow at the strange owl she saw there. That wasn't her father's, obviously; he'd come back already, and Ali had heard him screeching for his breakfast over the water in the shower. She opened the window to let the creature in, stepping aside as it flew to her dresser and dropped it's delivery[Hogwarts related, by the wax seal she saw] and watching as it exited the way it had entered. Alice frowned and walked to where the envelope lay, noting that it was thicker than it had been, and picked it up. She opened it and turned the envelope over, eyes following the small object[and apparently the reason it was so thick and heavier] to where it landed on her dresser. She set the envelope down, picking up the thing and unwrapping it from the thin parchment that it was contained in. A smile spread across her face as her eyes took in the scarlet and gold badge, with a 'P' superimposed on the Gryffindor Lion. So she'd been made a prefect.

Alice grabbed the envelope, still holding the letter inside it, and moved to grab her bag from her bed. She then proceeded down the stairs, and upon reaching the kitchen, had hidden the letter and the badge in the bag. She smiled at her mother and father, still seated at the kitchen table. "Hello Mum, Dad. I'm off to the Potter's now. I'll be back this evening!" She gave both a peck on the cheek, smiling at their replies, before heading toward the fireplace. She took a handful of powder into her hand and threw it into the flames, stating her destination["Potter Mansion!"] clearly and watching orange change to emerald before stepping into the fireplace. She held her arms to her sides and shut her eyes, waiting to feel the spinning stop before brushing herself off and stepping into the Potter's own den. Alice glanced about, smiling slightly before calling out quietly. "Anyone home?"

[Remus Lupin]

Having consumed two biscuits by now - slowly, mind you - Remus had gotten sick of the sweetness of the jam. It was good, but perhaps he had had too much on the last one. As he reached for the teapot in the center of the table, James walked in, looking tired and disheveled, from the looks of it. Actually, Remus couldn't quite tell whether or not he had a long night (for whatever reason) or if that was just his hair being normal. He had gotten used to his friend walking around shirtless in his company, especially at school - James loved to show off, he loved the attention from the ladies and just anyone.

"Erm...morning, mate," Remus said cheerfully, pushing the plate of breakfast bread items towards James' place. "Sorry to wake you...rough night?" Making eye contact with the other boy, he refrained from chuckling as he watched him sit down and grab his letter from the table's surface. "Where's Sirius and Lily at? Sleeping still? I don't know how you folk can sleep so late..." He wasn't sure if Lily had spent the night in his arms, but either way... "Yeah," he agreed, putting down his teacup and reaching for his own letter. Weighing it by guess in his palm, he glanced at the red wax seal imprinted with the Hogwarts crest. "I hope McGonagall didn't lengthen the required reading or whatnot...what a nightmare..."

About to break the seal, his head looked up from the letter and turned to the direction of the den when he heard another voice - a female's, one that didn't belong to Lily. Shoot. Was today the day she was coming? "Oh right, sorry - I forgot to tell you Alice was coming to visit at some point this week," he said to James, embarassed. Remus could feel his cheeks coloring as he cleared his throat and called out to Alice, "In the dining room, come have brunch." It had been about a week since he had last seen her, having met her for dinner in Hogsmeade...and they both still hadn't told any of their friends. When she came, Remus stood up from his seat and pulled out the chair next to him, being all gentlemanly-like as he always was. Making eye contact with her now, there was a twinkle in his eye that conveyed everything he needed to say, without saying it. "You're just in time for letter opening. Did you get yours?"

{ergh, sorry it's crap >.<}

[Sirius Black]

Sirius didn't hear the beckon to come to breakfast. Why? Well, he wasn't in the house. Before dawn he'd gone out onto the front grounds for a walk in his dog form. He'd woken a bit restless and after turning over and over, had finally gotten up. Now an hour later he trekked back up toward the house, shaking the dew from his fur. His paws padded to the side of the house where he'd left a change of clothes for when he returned. Making sure no one was looking through any of the windows above, he turned back into his human form and clambered into his sweats. He looked for shoes and cursed when he realized he hadn't brought any.

His body and hair still damp with dew, he darted around the house, his bare feet padding up the front steps and into the house. He could smell the delicious scent of brunch as soon as he'd entered. His mouth watered and a devious grin crept to his lips. Food! He was starving.

Practically running through the house now, he grabbed a pair of slippers off the stand in the hall way and hurried to the dining room. He looked like a right mess when he entered. Bouncing up and down from one foot to the other to put his slippers on, he only grinned as he plopped down at one side of the table. His shirt was now damp, as was the mess about his head. Feet covered in bits of grass, he looked like something that just crawled out of a deep grave. He smelled of forest, marsh and cedar. That didn't bother him though.

"Ahh, I see we have a guest," he said smiling at Alice from across the table. "Welcome," he added before pulling an omelet his way. It was as he was smacking on that did he notice the pile of school letters littering the table. "Mwetters!" He said through a full mouth. He swallowed and grinned. "Fantastic!"

He grabbed his out of the pile tore it open, looking for anything remotely interesting, but found nothing. "Another boring year then," he said sliding his letter away. He took another hardy bite out of his omelet, looking first at Remus standing behind Alice's chair, then Alice who was blushing and finally James who looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. He followed his friend's gaze to his letter and smirked.

"You going to open that or will I have to?" He was very impatient, liking to get the excitement over and done with without all the guessing in between. He nudged James underneath the table.

"Hey, where's Lily?" He said, finally realizing she wasn't there.

[James Potter]

Hearing another female voice that didn’t belong to anyone from the mansion, James blinked, turning his head slightly towards the Den area. When Remus said who it was and that he’d invited her over, James shrugged. “Okay. Doesn’t matter to me.” he said. His parents weren’t due back until the day before term started, so he could have thrown a party if he wanted. It didn’t matter to him who was invited over as long as they weren’t Slytherin’s or Dark Arts supporters. And seeing how Alice was Lily’s best friend, he knew she was good.

He sniffed the air and made a slight face as he looked at Sirius as he walked into the dining room. “Next time I want my house to smell like forest, I’ll call on you Pads.” he said with a grin. He grabbed a biscuit and shoved it into his mouth, plotting down next to his best friend. He figured, by the looks of him, that he had let Padfoot out for a run . . . which wasn’t a bad idea. It’s been a while (the last full moon) since he let Prongs out. He’d have to do that later.

"You going to open that or will I have to?"

He rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out at his friend. “Be patient.” he said, chuckling as he turned his letter over and broke it open. He pulled out his first letter. Something small and shiny fell out onto his lap from the envelope. He blinked, looking down at it before picking it up. He threw his Envelope onto the table, never noticing the second piece of parchment inside that would have told him what the thing that fell on his lap was. He’d only grabbed his book list.

He blinked, looking at it. It was a small badge with the Hogwarts coat of arms, with the words ‘Head Boy’ written on them. He blinked, looking at it for a few seconds before tossing it at Remus. “I think that’s yours mate.” he said. He wasn’t a Prefect, so there had to have been a mistake. He looked at his book list. So there really wasn’t that much to do . . . except for N.E.W.T.s, but he had a feeling that would be easy.

"Hey, where's Lily?"

He blinked, looking at Sirius as he nudged him under the table. He shrugged his shoulder slightly. “Sleeping? I don’t know, I was in my own room.” he said to him. Honestly . . . He could control his Hormones. He’s been doing it for six years.

[Remus Lupin]

Pouring himself another cup of tea as he, James, and Alice adjusted their positions at the table, only a few moments had passed when Sirius was the next to arrive - albeit with a very distinct smell of the outdoors. While James cracked a joke about it, Remus just mustered a small smile while shaking his head. "Dunno, I think he smells nice," he teased, but only slightly - unlike them, he rather liked the smell of dew and tree, perhaps becuase he was used to the scent by now after prowling around the forests during those hard times each month. "Did you go prowling without me, Sirius? Why, I'm sad!"

Watching as Sirius grabbed his letter and tore it open, he took that moment to glance over at Alice. Underneath the table, his hand moved to cover hers, his palm touching the top of her hand before entwining his fingers with hers. "Pfft, you know this year won't be boring, despite the letters. I could only imagine the kind of pranks you've got lined up to get yourself in trouble." There were endless tricks in Sirius' bag, he and James were on the same level always, and they'd always had a competition going between them - who could out-do the other and who could get Severus riled up first. Hell, he thought, this year was not going to be much different - this was their last, and Sirius definitely wouldn't let the Slytherin boy forget it. Remus actually felt sorry for him - but Severus had disliked him from the get-go, despite the fact that Remus rarely ever had anything to do with James or Sirius' animosity towards him.

His thoughts were disrupted when James opened his letter, and Remus' hand abruptly let go of Alice's as he looked up in time to catch the object being thrown at him. Blinking as he glanced down at the object, his eyes widened. Head Boy? Really? Looking back to James, he was amused and was trying quite hard not to laugh. "I...well..." He reached over the table and grabbed the other letter that his friend hadn't bothered to look at. "No, mate - they've chosen you. Have a look," he said, pushing the letter towards him and then the badge, pointing at James' name that was engraved below the crest. "Congrats, Lily will be impressed."

He didn't really wonder - no, he did wonder, but he couldn't deny the fact that James did deserve something. He was crazy at times, but the fact of the matter is that he wasn't stupid - he had a lot of things that Remus did not. But he was genuinely happy for him, though the thought of James having to do Head Boy duties made him snicker a little. "Good luck trying to resist the temptation to put Severus in detention." Finally cracking open the seal to his own letter, Remus too found a badge - he had been made Prefect of Gryffindor again, which had been expected by himself and the rest of his friends, being that he had held the position since their fifth year. "Yep." With a sigh, he put the papers and badge down on the table next to his cup and reached for another biscuit.

[Lily M. Evans]

A lot had happened this summer already! For one James and her were dating; which really was a shock, however after their 'heated' snogging session in his bedroom it was easier to wrap her head around it. Not that she didn't enjoy it, no she would NEVER break James' Heart! She loved him! Yes, she was totally, completely, and madly in love with him. Of course, it wasn't love at first site although she believed it happened all the time however now that she really, really saw james as her boyfriend, she was MADLY in love! To the point that he was almost in her every thought.

Feeling the sunlight on her face she woke up and smiled seeing the sunlight. Her hand immediately went to her neck where she felt James' mark that he had left there. Smiling she remembered the moments from his bedroom, smiling all the while.

Finally she got up and walked over to the shower, once she was done she dried her hair and left it down, trying to cover the mark, and she placed a pure white sundress on. Finally she made her way down to where James, Alice, Sirius, and Remus were. Grinning she ran over to Alice. "ALLI!!!" She smiled and hugged her tight before taking a spot between James and her, then she placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Morning baby." She had almost forgotten that everyone else in the room. Thankfully she wasn't doing anything so she just curled up to him. "What am I impressed by?" She asked anyone in general then looked at James curiously. " Oh Hogwarts Letters!! Oh no, more reading." She sighed seeing how thick the letter was.

[Alice Logan]

Alice had been to James' house before; their families knew each other well, and they were related somewhere along the line. She didn't exactly know where, but that was only because she didn't care one way or the other. Blood was blood, everyone had it. What did it matter if you had a 'pure' bloodline or not? She let her eyes wander over the vaguely familiar surroundings she found herself in, smiling faintly. Alice was always smiling - call it her default expression if you will - and the only time that changed was when she was thinking or upset about something. She was a generally happy person, and she had always had a rather sunny disposition. She liked it; it enabled her to see the best of things, even when the situation was bad.

She heard voices off down the nearest hall and smiled as she recognized them. How could she not? They had changed over the years, but their owners were still the same friends she'd met in her first year. Although, one of them held a different title at the moment. Remus and Alice had been 'together' since the end of last term, though they had been keeping it a secret from James, Lily and Sirius. Never mind Peter; he was oblivious almost all the time, so secret keeping around him wasn't difficult at all. Still, Alice wished they could figure out how to tell the other three without it being a big deal. It was difficult, having to hide their time together from them. Her smile grew as she heard Remus call to her, and she wandered off down the hall toward them.

She was still smiling when she entered the dining room, though she blinked at James' appearance. She didn't comment however, remembering that James wasn't a morning person and rather not wanting to be grumbled at. "Morning, James." She turned her attention to Remus, smiling again as she saw the look in his eyes. Her own eyes echoed it, and she walked over to where he was and took the offered chair. "I did, but I'm not saying a word about mine until everyone else opens theirs." Her smile faded slightly as she got a wiff of Sirius, and she brought it back when he followed it into the room. "'Lo, Sirius. You didn't happen to sleep outside last night, did you?" She raised an eyebrow at him, a wicked glint in her eye. It was a game between them, trying to see which could annoy the other first. She was related to Sirius more closely than she was James, and she'd known him since she was a little girl. When he noticed the letters, Alice made a face at the fact that he was talking with a mouthful of food. The face didn't stay long, however, as she felt Remus take her hand. She glanced at him and gave a smile while Sirius was distracted, happy as she twined her fingers with his as well.

In what seemed like an instant, his hand was pulled from hers as he caught the badge, and Alice smiled slightly. Things like that never did, really. They couldn't. Someone always walked in, or Remus had Prefect duties... But then, so did she, now. She liked the sound of that, and was now looking forward to the year a lot more. Alice poured herself a cup of tea, She was just about to take a sip when she heard Lily call out her name and felt her best friend hug her. Alice smiled, laughing lightly. "Hey, Lils. How are yo-" She paused as Lily kissed James, laughing again. It was a bit of a shock, seeing that after watching the two bicker for years. Ah, well. She'd just have to get used to it. She picked up her cup and took a sip, looking at her friend. She saw the mark on her neck and almost commented, then thought better of it. "Aren't you going to open your letter, Lily?" She questioned, putting a hand to her neck innocently and hoping her friend would get the hint.

[Sirius Black]

" “Next time I want my house to smell like forest, I’ll call on you Pads."

"Glad I can help," he said grinning toothily.

"Dunno, I think he smells nice,"

Sirius pretended to swoon and chuckled. "Thanks Moony. At least...someone in this room appreciates... the scent of mother earth," he said between bites of toast.

"Pfft, you know this year won't be boring, despite the letters. I could only imagine the kind of pranks you've got lined up to get yourself in trouble."

"Only twenty so far. That's not much," he said winking at James. He had to do something to preoccupy himself this summer and he just happened to have alot of really good ideas for pranks that should carry him over until graduation. He had to go out with a bang, right?

'Lo, Sirius. You didn't happen to sleep outside last night, did you?"

"Oh, I decided to give it a try, you know, get in touch with my tree hugging side," he said smirking at her. He adored Alice, almost more than he did Lily. He gave her a knowing wink which said they'd have to catch up later and turned back to his food.

Now a bit stuffed, Sirius leaned back in his chair and watched as James opened his letter. His eyes widened at the sight of a badge. Obviously someone hadn't paid attention to whose envelope they were filling because there was no way James was Head Boy. Not his mate of six years. He leaned forward and placed his chin in the palm of his hand and watched as Remus surveyed the badge and then grabbed for the letter.

"No, mate - they've chosen you. Have a look. Congrats. Lily will be impressed."

He choked on his spit and had to beat his own chest to keep from passing out. Not James too! Eyes watering, Sirius' mouth dropped open and then close. What was the world coming to?

The rest of the conversation going on around him went by in a blur. At some point Lily entered, but he could only stare ahead in a slight daze. It felt like the world was spiraling out of control. First Lily and James dating, now James was head boy? Remus was inviting Alice over. Since when did they become the best of friends. Peter was off doing hells knew what and he was stuck between sixth and seventh year wondering what the bloody hell was going on.

He heard Alice's voice from a distance and he focused in on her.

"Aren't you going to open your letter, Lily?"

His eyes flickered to Lily and he grimaced. "Yeah, let's see what surprise awaits you. Head girl perhaps. You and James should make quite a pair." He kept his voice light and joyous, because, though it felt like he'd stepped into some sort of strange time continuum, he could see the upside to all this.

James being Head boy meant power. They'd thought they had free reign around Hogwarts with Remus as Prefect, with his best mate as Head boy he could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. He wasn't aware that he was smiling like a retard until he started laughing manically.

"This is...wow!" He said looking around at everyone. "Yeah, this will be a good year," he said grabbing a muffin. He knew he was talking out of his head, but his mind was filled with the numerous number of things he could do now that the possibilities were endless. Complete and utter freedom. This is what he needed--to be immature and reckless. This was his last chance before everything changed, before he was forced into adulthood.

[James Potter]

James was about to happily dig into his breakfast when he heard Remus speak.

"I...well... No, mate - they've chosen you. Have a look."

His eyes popped out of his head as he stared at Remus. He then looked at the other letter he hadn’t noticed and the badge again as it was pushed towards him. He picked up the badge and stared at it. Sure enough, his name was engraved on it. He then quickly looked at the letter, reading it. He looked at the badge again before tossing it onto the table as if it had burned him. He looked at it in horror.

What had he done?!! What had he done wrong to get that badge!??! He ran his hands through his hand, pulling at it slightly as he thought, a deranged look on his face. Pranks . . . bullied . . . been a git . . . arrogant . . . Big-headed . . . Where had he gone wrong!? His arms dropped to his side as he continued to stare at his table without really seeing it. So caught up in his own head was he, that he hadn’t even been aware of Lily coming down and kissing him until she curled up against him. He jumped visibly, having not expected it. He was standing now, looking at Lily and then to Sirius who looked beside himself with joy.

“You think this is good!?” He asked his friend in horror. He pointed his finger towards the badge, the letter still grumbled up in his other hand. “Your excited about that? Have you lost your mind, mate? You have ANY idea what that means?! I can’t be a Marauder no more. I have to follow the rules, I have to set an example, I have to be a model student . . .” his breathing was getting slightly panicky as he looked back at the badge in horror.

He ran his hands threw his hand again, swearing loudly. “What the bloody hell did I do to deserve it!? Dumbledore’s finally snapped! He had to have!! I can’t have that!! I wasn’t even a PREFECT for crying out loud. It should be Remus’s badge, I don’t want it!!” he said. He uncrumbled the letter and reread it. He reread it for a third time . . . a fourth . . . a fifth. There was no way that could be his!! None!! He grumbled up the letter and threw it at the table. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten out of bed!!!

[Sirius Black]

Sirius could only smile as James went off on a tangent. Clearly he wasn't seeing the upside to this. It was shame really seeing as they'd dreamed about this their first year at Hogwarts. He could remember it clearly.

They'd been put in detention for the fifth time in two weeks. James was scrubbing the sticky floors of the potions classroom and he was cleaning the vials from each potion class. It had been hard work seeing as they couldn't magic (not that they knew how at that age). The head boy was overseeing their detention, but he had been dozing off. He had gone to James and whispered. "Now if I had his job I'd rule this school." James had agreed. Head boy looked like a job sent down from heaven. Those chosen two students had the school at their feet. They could order around other students at their personal whim. It meant power, irrevocable, irresistible power.

Sirius caught the letter before it rolled to the floor and unfurled it. He read each joyous line, smile growing wider and wider. This was a miracle. His dream had come true. Sure, he wasn't Head Boy himself, but James was his other half. What James had he had and vice versa.

He didn't want to make James more angry by knocking some sense into him right there at the table, so instead he folded the letter neatly and tucked it inside his pocket for safe keeping. He didn't want someone at the school questioning James' authority. He had physical proof and James had his badge.

"Well, I'd love to sit around and watch the display of extreme happiness and sing about gumdrops and rainbows, but..." he sniffed underneath his arms, "I smell like hell," he said chuckling. He rose from the table.

"Cheer up mate," he said ruffling James' already disheveled hair. With that he left the dining room, skidding along the slippery floors as he hurried back to his room.

Exit Sirius

[Lily M. Evans]

"Okay I will."

Lily smiled at Alice. She couldn't deny it. She was praying to Merlin that she would get it . Although she highly doubted she would. They were plenty of girls in the running for it. She was just a lone candidate. Who happened to be one of Dumbledore's favorites along with James. Technically she felt Alice should get it! Although she hoped it was her!

Suddenly her eyes widened as she noticed what Alice was saying and she discreetly let her hair fall in front of the mark and kept it covered, mouthing a thanks, with her cheeks turning a red color for a minute then returning to normal color. She was definately going to have to use a spell to cover it while she was at school. Not that she was ashamed, but she didn't want everyone talking about what Potter did with Evans over summer break. That was strictly between those two.

. "Yeah, let's see what surprise awaits you. Head girl perhaps. You and James should make quite a pair."

Lily looked at him skeptically and took a deep breath, as she picked her letter up. Slowly with her hands shaking she saw the letter as the envelope was open. Then to her surprise she read the font.

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to welcome you back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Included is a surprise that I have added you in for.

Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore

Was this it?! HAd she really gotten head girl?! Then she opened the envelope further and held it upside down, and a badge fell out with her name inscribe. That's it! She had done it she had gotten Head Girl!! Smiling she felt full of energy! " I got Head Girl!!!!!" She smiled and hugged James before hearing him start ranting. Had he gotten it too?! “Your excited about that? Have you lost your mind, mate? You have ANY idea what that means?! I can’t be a Marauder no more. I have to follow the rules, I have to set an example, I have to be a model student . . .”

He had! She smiled at him but then saw the look of horror on his face. He had earned it! Putting a serious look on her face she walked in front of James and grabbed his arms. " JAMES BLOODY POTTER STOP IT!" Memories of the years before popped in her mind. " YOU DID DESERVE THIS! SURE REMUS DID TOO BUT YOU'VE ALREADY SHOWN THAT YOU CAN LEAD! YOU'RE THE CAPTAIN OF THE QUIDDITCH TEAM. AND YOU CAN STILL BE A MARAUDER!"

Lily sighed and looked over at Remus giving him an apologetic look, then raised her eyebrows at him and alice then turned her attention back to James. "Baby please calm down. This is an honor. If it helps I am very impressed. And I still love you." Smiling she lowered her voice and walked closer to him, letting her hands rest on his chest. "This is an honor."

[James Potter]

James watched as his best mate got up and walked off to take a shower. He looked after him as if he’d been betrayed. His mind froze enough so that he could let the other information sink in. Lily was Head Girl . . . Either that was just a freaky, scary coincidence, or Dumbledore planned it all out. He shook his head slightly as Lily rounded on him.

"JAMES BLOODY POTTER STOP IT! YOU DID DESERVE THIS! SURE REMUS DID TOO BUT YOU'VE ALREADY SHOWN THAT YOU CAN LEAD! YOU'RE THE CAPTAIN OF THE QUIDDITCH TEAM. AND YOU CAN STILL BE A MARAUDER!"

He blinked, looking at her. So what, he deserved it just because he was able to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team? That was why he got it? He could feel his hands tighten into fists. He had no idea why he was angry all of a sudden, he just was. He didn’t think he deserved it. He shook his head as he glared at Lily. Her next words weren’t heard over the pounding of his blood in his ears. His eyes darkened, the gold turning as cold as steel . . . a dangerous sign.

He took a step to the side of Lily, not wanting to be around her at the moment. It wasn’t that he had anything against her . . . Merlin no! But James knew he had a hard time controlling his emotions. And right now, all he could think about was how unfair it all was. He stormed over to the table, grabbing a parchment and quill that were laying there. He then began to scribble a note to Dumbledore, telling him he made a mistake and that the badge should go to Remus, that he deserved it more.

“Honor my arse! I don’t give a damn why he choose me. I don’t deserve that badge. One redeeming quality doesn’t make up for everything I’ve done. I don’t want it. Remus deserves it more than me, it should be his badge.” he said, glancing up as his friend as he spoke his name. How could Remus not get it? Look at who he had for best friends. A wimp, and two idiots. James wanted Remus to have it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the responsibility. No, he wasn’t afraid of that, as he proved when he stepped up and took the Quidditch Captain position. Responsibility was something he could handle. But he felt that he was somehow cheating Remus out.

And James didn’t want to cheat his best friend out of anything. James already had everything he wanted. He felt that if he had this too, it would be too much. Too much of what, James wasn’t sure. It was just too much. His knuckles were white from the force of gripping the quill in his hands, his writing sloppier than it normally was, and the tip of the quill pushing into the letter. Once it was written, he folded the letter and stuffed it into an envelope. Grabbing the damned badge, he put it in the envelope and held out his arm. He gave a light, single whistle as he did so, and a beautiful, large Barn Owl swooped down onto his arm. He gave it to the Owl.

“You take this to Hogwarts or where eve it is Dumbledore spends his Summer vacation. I really don’t care what you do to make him accept it, just make sure he does.” he said to the owl. It hooted softly in acknowledgement before lightly nipping at his ear and taking out the window. Still to angry to do anything, he sat down and stuck his hands in his hair. There! If his hands were in his hair, they wouldn’t be hurting someone else . . . .right?