...

I realized that in most James Potter oneshots they end up making Lily very meh because they had to have James freed up in SOME way, but in this I tried to make Lily just politely say no... not sure how well it worked? Also, I couldn't remember many people who would've been in the marauder's years so I made up characters, sorry. It also came to my knowledge that Alice and Frank were older than James and Lily (I think? Unless the source I found is wrong) after I started writing, but I changed it because I thought it fit better with the storyline.

...

I pulled my parchment towards me and reread the paragraph on it before glancing back to one of the many books I'd pulled off the library shelves. I stared at my quill, annoyed, because I couldn't chew on the end of it. If it was a normal pen I could! But no, we had to use quills at Hogwarts. Not that I usually found it annoying.

I sighed and spotted a mistake in my wording. I tapped my wand against it and the ink disappeared so I could rewrite it. Satisfied, I moved onto the next paragraph. Merlin, why were essays so annoying? I stayed in the dark library for another half hour until Madam Pince shooed me out, saying it was getting close to curfew.

I packed up my supplies and checked out a few books before heading out into the hallway, only to run into someone who was talking animatedly with a girl, a familiar girl. I dropped one of my books and almost hit the boy over the head with my other one. What in the name of Merlin was he doing? Parading around as if he owned the school?

"James!" the girl scolded, looking at me with an apologetic look. That's when I recognized Lily Evans, one of my dormmates. "Are you okay, Kane? James is a serious klutz sometimes."

The boy, James, rolled his hazel eyes at Lily and grinned at me before picking up my book, "Yours, yes?"

I took the book and looked at the two. Lily had complained a lot about a James yet I had never seen him, somehow, "You're James Potter, aren't you?"

"Hah, look, I am well known! You just didn't want to admit it, did you? You were probably too scared to be seen liking me," James smirked at Lily and slung an arm over her shoulder with a wink.

She rolled her eyes and removed his arm, "There goes your big head."

"So it is true, the famed James Potter is big-headed?" I asked Lily, already knowing the answer from the gossip talks we had often in the dorm but also knowing that asking the question got a very amusing reaction.

She glared at James, "Yes, very true. He has the biggest head around. Gets very annoying, actually."

"How dare you, Evans! Maybe if you went on a date with me..." the two walked away, arguing.

I watched them leave with interest, James seemed exactly like the rumors that flew around. Arrogant, check, mischievous, check, good-looking? Well, check. Smitten with Evans? Definitely a check. I shook my head and headed towards Gryffindor tower, curfew was in a few minutes. I entered the common room to immediately spot Potter already there, lounging on one of the couches with his three friends sitting near him. I didn't bother to question how he had gotten there before me.

I shook my head and went to my dorm to dump my bag into my trunk and, hopefully, find someone to talk to. I entered the familiar space and attempted to throw my bag into my trunk but no such luck. It flew past and hit Alice's bedframe with a loud crash. I winced and retrieved the bag before looking around the room.

No one else was in it.

I sighed and went back out to the common room. I saw Lily and Alice chatting near the fire but I couldn't spot any of our other dormmates. Were they all out after curfew? Merlin, that sounded like them, especially Joselyn. I rolled my eyes and went to join Lily and Alice.

"... he's so annoying!" I heard Lily say as I settled on the couch next to Alice.

"Who's annoying?" I asked, knowing that butting in wasn't polite but also knowing that my dormmates were well aware of my habit.

"James Potter! He won't stop nagging me!" Lily gave us a look that meant 'don't disagree or I'll jinx you', "I don't even know what he sees in me! Plus, he's insanely mean to Severus."

Alice patted her shoulder, "He's a boy in love, don't blame him."

"Yeah, he'll move past it. Soon he'll be chasing another unlucky girl," I assured our friend.

Lily nodded, "Thanks, but I'm not sure how much longer he'll be after me. I've said no many times and I'm starting to feel rude! What should I do?"

"I don't know," I admitted while Alice shrugged as well.

"Thanks, you're both great advice givers," Lily smiled teasingly at us and we met her look with our own.

...

After that conversation, I couldn't keep a certain annoying boy out of my mind. He kept appearing with mischievous smiles out of nowhere in my thoughts and in reality. He had a horrible habit of popping out of nowhere, mostly to bother me about getting Lily to go on a date with him. Merlin, he really was annoying.

"Kane!" I turned around to see Potter coming towards me, surrounded by his friends.

"What?" I asked, shifting my bag to my other shoulder.

"Have you asked -"

I cut him off before he could finish with an exasperated sigh and firm response, "No, for the last time. I'm not going to bother Lily into going out with you!"

The three marauders next to him laughed.

"Come on, Evans will relent soon!"

"How do you know?" I asked, turning around and walking off, knowing he would have to catch up.

And he did. He quickened his pace before slowing down again at my side, where he continued to annoy me, "I know because I've been thinking..."

"Oh, really? I didn't know you had a brain to think with," I commented immediately, causing more laughter from his inseparable group of friends.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Kane. Now, I know Evans will relent soon because she's been spilling all her feelings to her dormmates, that means she's getting annoyed! If she's annoyed, she'll tell me yes so I'll stop bothering her. See my logic?"

"Nope, not really," I stopped in front of the Fat Lady's portrait and announced the password before climbing inside, hearing the boys entering behind me, "Why can't you just go away, Potter?"

"Well, I could but I still have another question."

"Spit it out then," I insisted, heading towards an empty table, "I don't have all day."

"Have you finished the Transfiguration essay?"

Honestly, I hadn't. I was going to work on it after he walked away but I didn't feel like telling him that so I set my books down and glared at him, "You haven't finished it yet?"

"You haven't either, I can tell from the look on your face. Let's do it together," he smiled, "I'm a great study partner, Kane."

I rolled my eyes but didn't protest as he went to get his essay. Which turned out to be an empty piece of parchment since he hadn't even started. I looked at his blank paper before looking back at mine, which was almost finished.

"You're not copying mine, if that's what you're hoping for," I took out my quill and inkwell as I spoke, watching Potter to make sure he didn't look guilty.

"I wasn't going to copy... I was going to read over yours and get inspiration for mine!"

"Sure, sure," I went along with his words and finished my last few paragraphs for the essay quickly. As soon as I'd written the last line Potter snatched the paper away and started to read it intently.

"You made a spelling mistake," he held out the paper and pointed to a word, "See?"

I picked up my wand and, reaching out, tapped the misspelled word with the tip of my wand. The ink disappeared and I held out my hand until he returned my essay so I could write the correct word onto the parchment. When I was done, he took my work again and finished reading it.

"Seems good," he commented.

"Thanks, now I'll take it back since you wanted to just get inspiration," I made to reach for my essay but he held it out of my reach, smirking annoyingly.

"I think I'll keep it... for reference."

"James Potter, hand me back my essay, now."

He made a face at me while quickly grabbing his stuff off the table. Before I could stop him he had already sped away with his stuff and my essay. Great. That's how I learned that studying with James Potter was a hassle.

Not that it stopped him from bothering me again.

...

I walked through the mostly empty hallways with Alice, Lily, and Noelle. The rest of our dormmates had already gone ahead but Alice, Lily, and I had decided to wait for Noelle to finish up her assignment for one of her classes.

The four of us made our way down multiple staircases and through many hallways until we emerged in the Great Hall, where students were already chattering away and eating their food. I looked around until I spotted Diane waving us towards her and the empty seats she'd saved.

I settled onto the bench while Diane engaged the others in a conversation. I was not in the mood for talking, I was starving and if someone got in the way of my dinner... I might murder them.

I looked at the plates of food around me before reaching for one that held baked potatoes. Before I could serve myself some of the delicious food, though, a hand snatched the plate away and dumped all, yes, all, the potatoes onto their own plate.

I was about to let it be and get something else when I realized the person taking all the potatoes was Potter. I stared him down when he gave me an innocent smile, "Potter! No one needs that many baked potatoes! You're just hogging food!"

"What if I'm hungry, Kane? Who knows, maybe I missed lunch too," he grinned mischievously when he said the last words.

"Potter, I did nothing of the sort so I guess you've just admitted that you skipped lunch?"

"It's no big deal, really, since you do it all the time. What do you do anyway, when you're skipping lunch?" he leaned across the table as he talked, holding my gaze with a 'knowing' glint in his eyes. Merlin, he acted like he knew everything about me.

"If you really need to know, even though you don't, you nosy idiot, I have to get caught up on homework. I've fallen behind."

"See? That wasn't too hard to admit, was it Kane?"

"Guess not but I also know it wasn't the answer you were hoping for," I shrugged and, before he could respond, I took my fork and stabbed one of the many potatoes that sat untouched on his plate. I smiled innocently and cut off a bite of the potato before asking, "What now?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

I was about to respond to him when Black suddenly turned on the bench to nudge James' side, "Prongs, Evans is looking at you."

I attempted to roll my eyes as James turned away to nag Lily. Black smirked at me in a way that said 'isn't falling in love stupid?' I couldn't help but smile, Black really was the charming guy that other girls dreamed about. I probably would've been chasing after him too, if James wasn't their friend. Having James around when I tried to talk to the other marauders made the experience horrible since the annoying boy always needed attention.

Speaking of James, he was beginning to bring up the 'you'll come to your senses soon' conversation.

"Evans, have you finally listened to your heart and realized that I'm amazing?" James asked, grinning at Lily.

"Not really."

He chuckled, "Don't worry, you will soon."

"Sure," Lily rolled her eyes, "If you count never as soon."

Black laughed and slung his arm over James' shoulder, "Too bad, Prongs, better luck next time."

James looked at Lily before turning to Black and nodded, "Yes, better luck next time."

After he said the words he looked at me. Merlin, was he thinking I was going to help him? I swore on Godric's soul if he bothered me -

"Kane, want to go down by the lake before curfew?" Noelle asked suddenly, leaning back on the bench and reaching behind Alice and Lily to tap my shoulder to get my attention.

I tore my gaze away from the marauders and nodded, "Yeah, sounds good."

Noelle sent a look at Alice and Lily but the two shook their heads, saying that they had told Joselyn that they'd help her attempt to rescue her cat, which had suddenly decided to squish itself behind one of the dressers in our dorm for some reason.

"I guess it'll just be you and me," Noelle said to me.

"That's fine."

We finished eating before sliding off the bench and exiting the Great Hall. We pushed open the huge doors and closed them behind us before making our way down to the Black Lake. The sky was darkening and there was a cool breeze but the quietness was extremely calming. Schoolwork was piling up like crazy since the year before and I couldn't help but envy the Ravenclaws, who seemed to be having no trouble with the extra work.

"Have you ever wondered where the squid came from?" Noelle asked as we settled onto the rippling grass next to the banks of the lake.

"I have, actually, and I assume it was brought here at some point."

"Makes sense, or... maybe the lake used to be connected to another body of water and the squid's parents or something were from that?"

"Hm, that makes sense too. Maybe I could ask one of the professors, they'd probably know," I offered without actually knowing which professor to ask.

"It's not important, you don't have to."

"You sure?" I asked, knowing that often when Noelle brought up a question, she needed it answered or she wouldn't focus on other things until she figured it out.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"All right," I smiled with the knowledge that she was definitely going to ask a professor the question herself. After a few minutes I looked back to the castle, "We should head back, curfew is soon."

Noelle nodded and stood up, holding out a hand for me. I took it and she hauled me up before we returned to the castle, walking in silence until we were about halfway to the entrance.

"How often does Potter bother you?" Noelle asked, pulling on a loose thread on her sleeve.

"Oh, Merlin, more than once every day," I rolled my eyes. Seriously, for Godric's sake, why couldn't he bother someone else for once?

"I thought he bothered the rest of us a lot, why do you think he bothers you the most, though?"

"Honestly? I have no idea, Alice knows Lily better so you would think he'd annoy her."

"True, maybe you're just the easiest to annoy?" Noelle pushed open the entrance hall doors and we entered before softly shutting the huge doors behind us.

"Not really, Ruby would be easier to annoy. She either relents too easily or gets really mad."

Noelle let my words drop into silence as we started to climb the grand staircase. Now that I was thinking about it, why did Potter bother me most? He seemed to bother me more than Lily herself! Although, that probably wasn't true. He was absolutely smitten with Lily so why would he bother to talk to me? A random girl getting in his way of his "one true love"?

When we reached the Fat Lady's portrait she looked at us as if we'd broken the rules even though we hadn't. We were ten minutes early! She demanded the password and Noelle quickly gave it. The portrait swung open and the two of us climbed into the common room.

With silent agreement, we both went up to the girls' dorms. When I opened our door the room fell quiet until they realized who it was. The chatter started up again and I caught a few words. Those few words were enough to know that they were having the who fancies who conversation again. We probably had that conversation once a week, at least.

"Noelle! Who do you fancy?" Ruby asked as soon as Noelle and I stepped into the room. Ruby loved to gossip, not that she'd ever admit that though.

"Uhm, well, honestly? No one."

Noelle's confession earned many confused faces and questions. Sadly, I knew I was next. As soon as they were done interrogating Noelle then they would turn to me. The last time we'd have the conversation of who fancies who, I had been humiliated because I had stammered "no one" and they took that to mean "someone". Godric's soul, this time they would definitely be able to prod the answer out of me.

"Kane! What about you?" Ruby rounded on me, turning everyone's attention to me as I forced myself to look calm as I answered.

"Same as Noelle, all the boys in our school don't catch my attention," I knew the words were a lie but I said them anyway with such calmness that the girls actually accepted my answer. They accepted my answer! I could've laughed with joy but I didn't, instead, I got ready for bed and sat down on my bed to listen to the rest of the girls laugh and chatter late into the night.

...

The rest of the girls fell asleep early in the morning and, thankfully, I had been able to tune them out around midnight so I had gotten some actual sleep. Sadly, though, I wasn't allowed to sleep in since a quidditch game was taking place. Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Joselyn dragged us all out of bed insanely early and she didn't seem tired at all, even though she'd stayed up the latest! How unfair!

She snapped at all of us to hurry up and the dorm was filled with scrambling and stepping on each others' feet as we tried to find our things. Merlin, that dorm was so messy. As soon as we were all done, or mostly done since Ruby had yet to put on her sweater and tie, Joselyn shoved us out of the dorm and out to the common room, leaving Ruby to messily do her tie and pull her sweater over her head while attempting to catch up.

The seven of us headed out to the quidditch pitch, hurrying more than we needed to since Joselyn insisted on making sure we weren't late. "It's almost the last game of the year! We can't be late, so let's go early!" she told us all. Early for her meant being there an hour before anything happened.

We sat there and chatted for about half an hour until the two teams came out from the castle, obviously both expecting to be able to get a bit of last-minute practice in. The two captains argued down on the pitch until there was not enough time to do the practice they were hoping for. The teams stomped off into the changing rooms as the stands filled slowly.

Soon, my friends and I were surrounded by a sea of gold and red. Around the rest of the pitch, similar seas screamed and waved flags as the two teams emerged below. It seemed like Ravenclaw was rooting for Gryffindor while Slytherin was rooting for Hufflepuff. Honestly, I wasn't rooting for either, I would congratulate however won... never tell that to Joselyn though, she would have a heart attack after jinxing me.

The game begun as the teams rose into the air and the balls were released. James took hold of the quaffle and soared towards the goal posts, dodging bludgers and staying close to his fellow chasers that guarded him in case he dropped the quaffle. Of course he didn't drop it though, he scored with ease and Hufflepuff took possession of the red ball.

The game continued with increasing competitiveness, the beaters were working hard to knock opposing players off their brooms and actually succeeded in sending one of Hufflepuff's chasers tumbling towards the ground. Thankfully, the chaser had been flying low and had around an eight-foot fall. Still hurt though, from the looks of it.

Half an hour in, James flew past the Gryffindors, flying low towards the watching students. What an idiot. He could've hit someone! He did some tricks before heading towards us. He waved at Lily and blew a kiss to her before grinning at me. I rolled my eyes before he flew off again.

The game ended five minutes later with Hufflepuff catching the snitch, however, Gryffindor won by 10 points, 220 to 210. The Hufflepuff chasers must've had bad luck, or the Gryffindor keeper was doing really well. I couldn't tell which but the crowd went wild. More or less. Some were angry and others were happy.

Joselyn insisted on waiting for the teams to come out, since she had a crush on one of the Gryffindor beaters, so a few of us decided to wait with her. Alice, Lily, Ruby, and I waited while Noelle and Diane returned to the castle.

We waited a good fifteen minutes until the Gryffindor team emerged and climbed up the stands when they spotted us. Joselyn started to chat with the beater she fancied while Ruby hovered behind her, pretending not to listen. Alice, Lily, and I waited while James came up to us.

"Evans, you were my good luck charm," he announced to Lily with a huge grin, "We won right after I flew up to you!"

Lily rolled her eyes, "You sure?"

"Definitely, now, as celebration, want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" James slung his arm over her shoulder.

"Godric's soul, Potter, are you never going to drop this?" Lily asked, half teasing and half exasperated.

"I'll drop it after you go out with me."

"Merlin," Lily sighed, "Won't you move on?"

James' face seemed to fall as he looked at her before glancing at Alice and I. He swallowed before leaning down to whisper something into Lily's ear before he straightened up, removed his arm, and left with the rest of his team.

As soon as the team was gone, Joselyn excitedly announced that her crush had asked her out. Ruby demanded to know the details afterwards and Joselyn reluctantly agreed, knowing that Ruby wouldn't drop the subject otherwise.

The five of us made our way down the stands and out of the pitch. We walked across the lawn before entering the castle and climbing up the grand staircase. Eventually, we made it to Gryffindor common room and stated the password. The Fat Lady swung forward to reveal a raging party on the inside.

Immediately, a group of fellow Gryffindors surrounded Ruby and swept her off as she started to tell a story to them. Go to Ruby when you needed the latest tea. Noelle was perched on the back of one of the sofas, listening to one of the seventh years as they chattered about something. I spotted Diane in one of the corners, sipping a drink while watching everyone else. Joselyn split off from Alice, Lily, and I to disappear into the crowded room and a few minutes later, Lily and Alice went off to find some butterbeer, if there was any left, and I was left standing in front of the portrait hole awkwardly.

Soon, other Gryffindors corralled me further into the common room as the party continued on. I could see the quidditch team being hoisted onto others' shoulders and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of James bobbing above the crowd.

A load roar filled the room as James was swept through the students on the shoulders of Black and Pettigrew. I quickly stepped out of the way as he flew past, followed by a train of other students. What in the name of Merlin were they doing?

I found out soon enough.

James was brought to a stop in front of Lily and I immediately knew what he was doing. He was going to ask her out in front of everyone to see if he could make her say yes from nerves. That boy!

"Evans!" James shouted and the watching crowd quieted a bit to listen, "Go out with me?"

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as Lily turned around and looked up at James before calmly stating, "No."

The crowd burst into laughter as James eased himself off his friends' shoulders and walked up to Lily, whispering something to her. She shook her head. He looked at her and she held his gaze until he turned and walked off, earning tons of teasing from the watching students.

Merlin, if James was willing to be embarrassed in front of all the Gryffindors for Lily, what else was he willing to do for her?

The question didn't leave my mind for what seemed like weeks.

...

The day that term ended, I had been sitting outside with my dormmates, enjoying the hour we had in the sun before we left for the Hogwarts Express. The giant squid was swimming lazily in the Black Lake with students milling about over the lawns, obviously having the same train of thoughts as my friends and I.

Noelle was showing me a book she'd dug out from the bottom of her trunk while Joselyn, Ruby, and Diane were sprawled on the grass with their eyes closed. They were probably trying to sleep, since they'd stayed up chatting late into the night again. Lily and Alice were quietly chatting under the shade of the tree we'd settled next to.

Noelle flipped the page of her book when four figures seem to appear out of nowhere in front of our group. Ruby bolted upright and glared around until her eyes settled on the marauders in front of us. She scowled before laying back down, grumbling about annoying people.

"What now, Potter?" Joselyn asked, with her eyes still closed. She'd probably been able to tell who it was from Ruby's reaction.

"Nothing that involves you, Joselyn," James said, looking at Lily who had yet to acknowledge him.

I shot a glare at James for being rude to Joselyn but he didn't see it since he was staring so intently at Lily. She continued her conversation with Alice until she couldn't hold up the act any longer and turned towards James, "Could you please stop? I've tried so hard not to be rude to you but you keep asking! My answer isn't going to change, James."

James stayed quiet for a moment before sighing, "I'm still harboring hope, Lily."

He turned and walked away, closely followed by his group of friends. I watched his retreating back, feeling insanely sorry for him. He had been smitten with Lily since the first month of our first year and he couldn't accept that she didn't like him back. Love was painful. Love was a game. One I didn't want to play.

...

My summer before my seventh year was filled with visiting each of my friends in turn for a week or two each.

With Ruby I spent the week visiting different stores around her city, since her family was surprisingly well off and she'd picked up the habit of buying new trinkets. I'd found a nice jumper in one of the malls we visited, though, so I wasn't complaining much.

I joined Diane's family when they went to the beach for a week and a half and I swear that I swallowed gallons of seawater during the splash fights we'd held. Diane had a brother who was two years older, a sister that was three years younger, and another brother who was four years younger. The five of us split ourselves into teams based on skill and held a series of games. It was one of the best memories of my life, to be honest.

Joselyn and I spent our week together with going to the movies. She'd bought an insane amount of movie tickets and we went to two or three a day, of course buying lots of snacks with each one. Her younger sister, Jayden, often joined us too, since her parents weren't home to watch her. Jayden was pretty fun though, she didn't whine or butt in when Joselyn and I tried to talk to each other. She even made hilarious jokes.

My two weeks of Noelle consisted of a road trip, since her parents loved to travel. We visited many places and, of course, learned the history of each place we visited. The trip was incredibly fun since Noelle and I were allowed to wander on our own at times and had our own hotel room. Her parents weren't strict at all but that was because they didn't have to be, Noelle had never broken a rule in her life and was insanely good at stopping people from being stupid.

Finally, I spent a week with Alice and Lily. The three of us mostly spent the time avoiding Lily's sister, Petunia, and hung out with Severus. Severus really wasn't a bad guy when you got to know him. James jumped to conclusions way too quickly.

My fun-filled months came to an end when the time to return to school came around. My dormmates and I met up in Diagon Alley and shopped for our school supplies together. Lily shared amazing news to us before we split ways again, she said she'd been made head girl! We all congratulated her then parted ways, saying we'd see each other on the Hogwarts Express in a week.

That week seemed to take forever.

...

The land outside the window flew past as the Hogwarts Express moved smoothly across its tracks. Our compartment was a bit squished from the eight of us, since Severus had joined us, but it was full of laughter. After an hour or so Lily had to go to the prefect meeting though, since she was head girl after all. She said she'd see us during the start of term feast.

When the journey to Hogwarts ended we all climbed off the train and made our way towards the carriages. The seven of us split into two groups and clambered into carriages before they started to head towards Hogwarts.

When the carriages stopped, we hopped out and entered into the castle. A feeling of happiness flooded into me as we stepped into the Great Hall. Godric, it was amazing to be back in the castle.

My dormmates and I split off from Severus and joined our fellow Gryffindors at the table to wait for the sorting to begin. As we waited, the marauders unsurprisingly came up and sat across from us.

"Where's Lily?" I asked James after he had settled onto the bench.

He gave me an offended look, "You ask about Evans before saying hello? Where're your manners, Kane?"

I rolled my eyes, "Hello, Potter, where's Lily?"

"Should be coming in soon," he answered, glancing towards the doors before looking back at me with intensity that hadn't been there before, "How was your summer?"

"Great, spent a lot of time with my friends," I answered, holding his gaze.

"Did you miss me?" he teased with a smirk.

I attempted another eye roll but failed when I laughed, "You wish."

Our conversation ended when the doors opened again and the first years flooded in. The sorting begun and we gained more Gryffindors because, obviously, we were superior. Merlin, I'm joking! The other houses are amazing too!

The feast begun and I looked around at the food that had appeared in front of us. Everything looked amazing, as always, and I couldn't decide. Maybe a pork chop? Before I could make a decision James tapped his fork against my cup, making a small ring.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Yes?"

He didn't answer but simply started at me for a moment before looking away, starting a conversation with Black. Merlin, boys were odd, I thought as I served myself a pork chop and started to eat.

The feast ended a bit later and we headed up to our dorm, well, Joselyn, Ruby, Noelle, Diane, Alice, and I headed up to the dorm. Lily had to help first years figure things out. As we made our way through the familiar corridors I couldn't help but feel sad. That was my last year in a place that had been my home for the previous six years of my life. I still hadn't even decided what I was going to do after Hogwarts!

The stressful thoughts plagued my mind as we climbed through the Fat Lady's portrait and went up the stairs to the girls' dorms. As always, the familiar space had seven four-poster beds with trunks set at the foot of the beds. The window was opened slightly to let a warm breeze in.

I threw myself onto my bed without a moment's hesitation. Hogwarts had ended up feeling more like home than my actual home did over the years and I hoped it would always be the same. Hogwarts was something I knew I'd never forget. The time I'd spent roaming the hallways with my friends, avoiding James like my life depended on it, and spending hours on homework. Merlin, I was going to miss it all so much.

I pushed the thoughts away as I got ready for bed. Lily entered the dorm a bit later and the seven of us didn't bother to chat, we were all too tired. I fell asleep minutes after settling onto my bed, my eyes drifting shut and my mind brushing away the worrisome thoughts as the feeling of peace filled mind instead.

...

The feeling of peace didn't last long. Homework piled up after a few weeks and I hated to admit it but I didn't do any of it until the last minute. I found myself frantically working in the common room while everyone else chattered and laughed with each other. Merlin, why was I so stupid? Leaving all the work until the last possible moment? I guess that's why I wasn't a Ravenclaw.

I was finishing up a Charms essay when someone came up behind me and shook my shoulders so suddenly I almost screamed. The someone laughed at my reaction and came around so they were in front of me. Merlin, I almost slapped them right then and there.

"Kane, you're so jumpy, how're you a Gryffindor?" James asked, sitting on the table instead of using one of the chairs.

"I just am," I snapped, "Now could you go away? I'm trying to finish all this bloody work -"

James cut me off, "We could work together then! I'll sneak down to the kitchens for a late-night snack then come back and we can work on our homework."

"Aren't you supposed to be setting an example for the other students, now that you're head boy?"

"That's true, I'll just get my bag then we can start," he walked off towards the boys' dorm without waiting for my answer. He returned a few minutes later with his bag slung over his shoulder and a smile on his face, "Ready?"

"Sure, but sit down like a normal person," I gestured to the chair and, to my surprise, he slid into it before pulling out his own Charms essay.

"How far are you in your essay? I've finished it, I was just wondering if you could check it?"

I rolled my eyes but took the outstretched parchment from him and read the work quickly before handing it back, "Seems fine to me but I'm not a genius so there could be a lot of mistakes."

"Nah, I trust your judgement, Kane."

I let his statement hang because I couldn't muster any words to respond with. Merlin, he made getting over him really hard. We worked late into the night, chatting when we needed to ask each other questions but mostly remained silent. I finished before him, since he had forgot the reading he needed for Care of Magical Creatures, so I pushed my stack of work aside and set my head on the table. I could wait for him to finish, right?

Turns out, I couldn't. I fell asleep at some point and I woke to find myself spread out on one of the sofas near the dying out fire. I bolted upright and looked around until my eyes landed on the sofa across from the one I was on. James was sprawled across it, glasses askew and snoring like mad. I fought off the urge to laugh before scanning the common room again before sighing in relief when I saw our stack of homework on the table we'd worked at the night before.

I sat up and rubbed sleep out of my eyes. What time was it? I looked out the window and saw pale light filtering in. It was probably about six in the morning, so I could hopefully get another two hours of sleep if I was willing to give up some of my breakfast time.

I turned my gaze to the sleeping James, realizing he had to have lifted me onto the sofa. Merlin, I almost died of embarrassment. He'd probably thought I was lazy! Or stupid! Or something! I tugged on a strand of my unbrushed hair before getting up and grabbing my homework before setting off to the girls' dorm.

I opened the door quietly and stepped in, closing the door softly behind me. I worked my way silently towards my bed and was able to get safely under the covers and close the curtains without waking any of the girls. Luck was on my side that morning.

I was shaken awake what seemed like moments after I'd closed my eyes and blinked sleepily at Diane, the one who had woken me. She gave me an apologetic smile before walking off. I rolled over and saw that most of the other girls had already left for breakfast. I sighed before swinging myself out of bed and got ready for the day.

I stuffed my finished homework into my bag before heading down to the common room. I pushed open the Fat Lady and climbed out, trailing after other late risers. I entered the Great Hall and joined my dormmates, taking a few pieces of toast and buttering them before biting into one.

Merlin, even if homework was annoying I couldn't help but still feel content. The castle had that effect. The next few months passed in a blur of homework, avoiding James, and spending way too much time chatting with my friends late into the night.

...

After breakfast in late November, I headed to my first class, Charms, with Joselyn since she was the only other one to have Charms at that time. We entered the classroom and settled into our normal seats near the front, watching as other students filed in. Around five minutes later, class began with Professor Flitwick collecting our essays.

Bertram Aubrey, a Ravenclaw, who had sat in front of Joselyn and I for the past two weeks, turned around while Flitwick was busy and smiled at me, "How're you, Kane?"

I smiled back, Aubrey had turned it into a habit to greet me at the beginning of each Charms class and it really was nice to chat with him, "Great, you?"

"Amazing," he turned back around as the lesson started and Joselyn elbowed my side, giving me a look with raised eyebrows that screamed 'I need the details'. I smiled a bit and shook my head.

The rest of the class passed in a slow blur and I continued through my lessons until it was lunch time, it was finally lunch time. I entered the Great Hall with Joselyn and immediately we joined our dormmates at the Gryffindor table. We chattered and ranted about our lessons before heading outside for the rest of lunch, it wasn't the best of days but walking in the bit of snow from the evening before was nice since it made fun crunching noises beneath our shoes.

We wandered across the lawn until I saw someone jogging across the stretch of grass-turned-white towards us. His blue robes flapping around behind him. I stopped and the others followed my lead as he came to a halt in front of us. It was Aubrey.

He smiled at me, "Kane, could I talk to you?"

I looked at my dormmates before nodding, "Of course."

He turned and headed towards the Black Lake with me trailing behind. He stopped on the banks and suddenly looked nervous. He tugged on his scarf before blurting, "Go to Hogsmeade with me?"

I blinked stupidly for a moment until he started to look crestfallen. I snapped out of my confusion and reached out to place my hand on his arm, "Of course."

He grinned and I returned the smile. He and I set the time we'd meet and where before he set off again, smiling like mad. I returned to my friends and refused to tell them about what had happened. I did it because I knew it would annoy them greatly.

...

The week passed and soon my, well, date with Aubrey was in a few hours. My friends insisted on picking my outfit and choosing my makeup and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Why did I need to dress up when Aubrey knew me? Honestly!

I let them do it anyway, however. I felt odd as I made my way down to the carriages, where Aubrey had promised he'd meet me. He was already there, standing nervously, when I approached the waiting carriages. When he caught sight of me he grinned and took my hand when I was close enough.

We climbed into a carriage and set off for Hogsmeade. The trip there was quiet but after we climbed out, Aubrey returned to his normal chatty self. He offered me his arm, which I took awkwardly, before asking where I wanted to go.

We had visited Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks, and Spintwitches Sporting Needs before Aubrey suggested walking down to the Shrieking Shack. I bit my lip before nodding. Nothing would happen there, right? It was the middle of the day and the odd things happened at night. Plus, I had my wand so I could defend myself.

The two of us made our way to the Shrieking Shack and I went to lean against the fence to stare at the building. It didn't look that scary. I pondered on the thought for a bit longer before catching a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye.

Before I could respond, Aubrey pointed his wand at me and hissed, "Petrificus totalus!"

My arms and legs snapped together and I fell backwards into the snow, immediately feeling the biting cold seep through my jacket. I looked up at him with hurt as he pocketed his wand.

"Sorry, Kane, but I just won myself a bet," he smirked, laughed, then turned and walked away.

My eyes darted around as I lay there. Merlin, I would freeze to death since no one ever came up to the Shrieking Shack! I stayed there, petrified and shivering, for hours. At some point, I guess I passed out since I woke up in the hospital wing.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw someone hovering over me. I flinched before fully comprehending who it was, Madam Promfrey. I bit my lip and looked at the witch.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

She gave me a sorry look, "Mr. Potter said that your... date left you petrified in the snow. Correct?"

"Well, I guess," I mumbled, too embarrassed about the whole situation.

Merlin, I was stupid. Aubrey had suddenly started talking to me only a couple weeks before the date! Why, oh, why had I not found it suspicious. I lay there grumpily for a few more minutes before a thought came to my mind.

"Wait, Potter?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter brought you here with Mr. Black. The two then set off in a rush and just an hour ago I heard they got detention for hexing Bertram Aubrey. They used a nasty one on him, pretty sure it was illegal too," she made a tutting noise before handing me a glass of water and left me to my thoughts.

I fell asleep again an hour or so later but I was woken up by a gentle shaking. I jerked away to see no one around me. I scowled at the air, "James Potter, stop lurking about!"

I heard a small chuckle before the troublemaker threw off his cloak and grinned at me. Grinned!

"You idiot!" I hissed, "Why'd you get yourself detention by hexing Aubrey? Yes, I know he's a bloody rat but that's no reason to use an illegal hex on him!"

"Actually, it was a reason to since you could've died out there in the snow. And, since I know you're curious, I found out because your dormmates said you were on a date but hadn't returned for hours. Thankfully, Diane had seen you and Aubrey heading out for the Shrieking Shack and I was able to sort the clues out," James insisted before wrapping his cloak back on and disappeared.

I was going to strangle that boy as soon as I was out of the hospital wing!

...

A couple weeks after the previous incident I forgave James, more or less, and we returned to normal. Sort of. I still avoided him a bit since he'd gotten himself in serious trouble but it was hard, especially when he went out of his way to bother me when I was trying to do other things.

On such an occasion, my dormmates and I were in the library, settled at a table, when four certain some ones showed up again.

"Evans, could I speak to you?" James asked, ignoring the rest of us.

"Fine," Lily stood, shared a look with Alice, then followed James away to another part of the library, leaving us and the other three marauders in awkward silence.

Finally, I decided to gesture for Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew to come sit in the empty chairs next to Noelle and I and they happily took the opportunity. They settled into the seats and Black took one of the books sitting on the table and fiddled with the worn cover.

I reached out and snatched the book from his fingers, "Stop that, you're ruining the cover."

"Really?" he grabbed the book back, "Or are you just trying to start a conversation?"

"What if it's both?"

He grinned, "That's all right."

I smiled back and we fell into silence again until James and Lily returned. The marauder had a smug kind of grin on his face as he and the others walked away. Ruby turned to Lily as soon as the boys were gone and started her rapid fire questions.

"What happened? Did he ask you out again? Did you say yes? MERLIN, ABOUT TIME!" she yelled the last part after Lily nodded.

It felt like a blow to my heart. I knew James obviously didn't like me back but it hurt and I couldn't control it. I forced a small smile and congratulated Lily before saying I wanted to go back to the dorm room and read one of my books.

Noelle offered to come with me but I shook my head, I needed to be alone.

...

After that day, I avoided James whenever I saw him approaching. I didn't have the courage to talk to him... wow, I was such a great Gryffindor. I even avoided most of my dormmates during this time, knowing they would see right through me.

On a Sunday though, the day after Lily and James' Hogsmeade date, I was in the library attempting to study when James appeared. I had been tucked away in a corner and I realized that had been a bad idea. Now I couldn't escape... unless I ducked past him.

I shoved my stuff together and rushed past him before he could stop me. I hurried out of the library and heard him following. I made it down the hallway before he caught my wrist and pulled me to a stop.

"Kane, why're you avoiding me?" he asked, a look full of worry on his face.

"You don't need to know," I answered, pulling my wrist away.

He stared at me, "I do need to know, especially since it seems like a habit of yours."

"Fine, you really want to know?" I asked, hoping he would change his mind and say no so I could run away and say nothing.

"Yes."

I took a deep breath before speaking in a rush, "All right, you asked for it. James, when I first met you... honestly? I was enchanted. You seemed like the perfect guy, nice and teasing but smart and mischievous. But... you were in love with someone else. It hurt, it hurt like mad. Especially when you started to hang around more, chasing after one of my best friends without even glancing my way... you only acknowledged me for homework or for your antics to bother Lily. You had no clue."

I turned to dash away but his next words halted me in my steps, "There won't be a second date."

"What?" I whirled back around, "I thought Lily was your 'soulmate' though, according to you?"

"The date wasn't how I pictured it... something didn't feel right," he admitted.

I looked at him, slightly stunned before, attempting to tease, I said, "Lily isn't that horrible..."

He stepped towards me, holding my gaze with such intensity it made me want to fidget and shuffle backwards, "This may sound stupid but... Kane, I think you're the one for me."

I held his gaze for a second longer before looking away. Had he really just said what I thought he said? I cleared my throat and, without glancing at him, asked, "Are you sure, Potter? You've been chasing Lily around for years and now that she finally said yes... you move on?"

My eyes flicked up to him as he ran a hand through his hair, looking sheepish, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I think my feelings changed sometime last year."

"Great," I muttered quietly.

"Kane," he said my name softly and I raised my eyes again to see him standing closer, looking slightly down at me since I was frustratingly not as tall as him. Merlin, why couldn't I have been just a few inches taller? I was already tall so what was a couple inches! I stopped my mind from wandering as he reached for my right hand, "We don't have to do anything now, we can wait as long as you need."

I squeezed his hand for a moment, taking a deep breath, before admitting, "I don't know, this is all so... overwhelming. Give me a few days?"

He smiled and nodded, "Of course."

A sudden whistle came from the end of the hallway and we both turned to see Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, Ruby, Joselyn, Noelle, Diane, Alice, Lily, and a lot more students. Merlin, where had they all come from? And how had they all been so bloody quiet?

I flushed, releasing my hold on James' hand but he held onto it, keeping me next to him as he glared at his friends. The marauders showed no remorse and instead grinned. Well, Black did while Lupin had a small smile on his face and Pettigrew simply looked confused.

"Took you long enough, Prongs!" Black called, laughing and smirking.

"Shove off, Padfoot!" James responded, half teasing.

I smiled at the joking friends and let myself get lost in the moment. I was standing with James Potter, the boy who I had fancied for the past year, and was surrounded by friends. The feeling was amazing.

...

Hope y'all liked it! I think I did pretty well on this one, compared to Pranking Partners! Although, I still feel as though there was a bit too much timeskipping. Eh, well, I'll have to work on that in the next ones. Speaking of which, the next one is, hopefully, going to be out next week! I'm starting Thanksgiving break and Roblox is kind of broken so I'm going to spend a lot of time writing! I'll try my best to get at least one, but hopefully two, more out next week! Anyway, if any of you want to request a oneshot, please do! I would love to write one for you!

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[Word Count: 8644]

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