"Okay, so here's what I'm thinking," Sirius spoke in a hushed tone, the boys all listening eagerly. He leaned closer to ensure no one else was listening. "I've been working on this potion for a few months," he told them. "And I've finally got it perfect."

"How do you know it works?" Remus asked curiously. He had closed his book a while back, his focus on the prank.

"I tried it on a first year," he shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Peter, we'll just need you to get under the invisibility cloak and drop a bit in the Slytherin's cups."

"Why me?" he whined. "It's always me."

"Because you're the smallest," James pointed out. "If any of us did it, our feet would stick out which would be pointless.

"Romi is smaller," he countered and the girl looked up at this. She raised an eyebrow, "N-not that I am suggesting that you should do it!" He spoke quickly, "It was just an observation, I swear."

James laughed slightly at this, his eyes locking with Romi's. Her once irritated expression softened and she smiled. The two had talked and had also agreed that there was a lot more to discuss. But they decided to try, and really try. Romi wasn't allowed to chicken out because she was scared and James couldn't push her. About a month had passed and they were happy.

The Marauder's had been planning for their annual April Fools prank for a while now, brainstorming different ideas but Sirius swore up and down that he had the best plan. The boys were letting him have this one, but if all else failed, James had a backup plan. He always did.

"Here," Sirius said, handing the vial to Peter, "Just one drop and it'll work." He stood up, reaching down to help Remus off the floor, "We'll head to dinner. Don't worry, we'll save you a plate."

He huffed, standing up as well, "Fine, but if this goes poorly, I'm telling them it was you."

"It'll be alright, Pete," James told him, patting him on the back, "Don't stress too much."

James crossed the way to Romi, reaching his hand out to her. She passed her book to him, which he tucked in his back pocket and she smiled. She placed her hand in his and he pulled her up. She pressed a quick kiss to his nose before the two followed Remus and Sirius toward the Great Hall.

"So," James said, swinging their conjoined hands back and forth. "There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up in a few weeks," he told her. She looked up at him, amusement flickering in her eyes. "And I know they aren't your favorite," he went on, "but, I was sort of hoping we could go. On, like, a date?"

"'On, like, a date?'" she repeated, clicking her tongue in thought. "What would this entail?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, raising their hands and sticking his finger out to swipe at the tip of her nose. "No need to be so snippy," he pointed out. "I figured we'd walk around a bit, go to the bookstore and the sweets shop."

"Hmm," she said and he frowned. He stopped walking, allowing the boys to go ahead of them. "Oh, relax," she rolled her eyes, "I just figured you'd want to go to Madam Puddifoot's, is all."

James's eyebrows pinched together in confusion, "You want to go to Madam Puddifoot's?"

"I didn't say that," she countered. "But this is your first date, isn't it?" He blushed at this, his face turning a crimson red. "Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," she told him, "I just meant it should be special."

"It'll be special if you're there."

"I knew you'd say some cheesy shit like that, Potter," she rolled her eyes, flicking his ear. He covered it with his free hand. "I agree so long as I get to plan the meal portion of our date."

"Alright, deal," he said before tugging her in the direction of the Great Hall, "Let's go before they start asking questions."

The pair entered the Great Hall, and James grew confused upon seeing Peter sitting there. "What happened?" James asked as they both sat down.

"Tell him, Wormtail," Sirius huffed, tossing his fork onto the table. "All my hard work down the drain."

Peter grew red, "Well, I had just put the cloak on when some kid bumped into me." He covered his face with his hands, mumbling something incoherent.

"What?" James asked.

"I dropped the potion and it broke," he admitted.

James turned to Sirius, "And I assume you don't have any more?" Sirius shot him a look and he huffed, "Wonderful." The boy raised his drink to his lips, taking a sip. Of course this happened. But that's why he always had a back up plan. "At least I-" he began, but stopped, as he realized he was singing. Romi choked on her own drink, the water spilling out of her mouth and down her chin. "That's why-"

"Why are you singing?" the girl belted out and everyone at the table turned to look at her. She immediately covered her mouth, her eyes narrowed. She turned to Sirius, who appeared amused by the situation. She lowered her voice, the words coming out in a rushed, quiet, tune, "What have you done?"

"Romulus-" James cleared his throat, his eyes narrowed on his friends. "Let's go to Pomfrey," he suggested and Sirius laughed. Not in the discreet way he had been attempting prior, but a full guttural laugh that drew the Hogwarts population's eyes to their table. "I'll get you back for this."

James stood up, grabbing Romi's arm before she could lunge at Sirius from across the table. Sirius, Remu and Peter were all laughing and the two walked away, their irritation clear in their faces. The door slammed closed behind them and Romi immediately said, "I'm going to kill theeeeem."

The boy smiled slightly and she glared at him, "It's funny!" He turned to look at her, "If it wasn't us, you'd be laughing too."

"You had a backup plan?" she asked him and he nodded. "Good. Because the second we can both stop singing, they'll regret every decision they've ever made."

"That is very 'villain in a musical of you'," he pointed out and instead of responding, she pulled him in the direction of the infirmary.

As soon as the two were fixed up by Pomfrey, the pair set to work. James had set his prank up for a more grandeur scale and they needed to tone it down a bit. An explosion of that size in a smaller area could hurt someone.

They entered the boys common room and Romi placed her bag on the desk that she always did when she came in. Her eyes were narrowed on the boys who all looked amused, clearly remembering earlier. James and Romi entered his area, closing the curtains around him. They both set up the spells that would protect them inside and prevent the others from hearing them. Thirty minutes and revenge would be served.

James grabbed a hold of Romi and pulled her into his bed. She laughed as she fell on top of him and he smiled up at her. He raised his hand, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Even after running around all day, you still look absolutely breathtaking," he told her, scanning her face in awe. She smiled at this, despite herself, "How is that?"

"Magic," she muttered in response. "And if you wanted me to kiss you, Potter, all you had to do was ask." She leaned down, pressing her lips against his. She was slow and gentle at first, allowing him to set the pace. She was careful with him, always. Like he was a sacred sculpture that could break with the wrong amount of pressure.

Her legs were wrapped tightly on either side of his waist and she pressed her palms into his chest. She pulled away for a moment, a smile on her face. James was flush, his skin pale as he took deep steady breaths. "You know," she said, trailing her hand down the side of his face. "You always make it a thing to remind me of how beautiful I am. But you..." she trailed off, "Merlin, you're mesmerizing." His mouth turned upward at this and her thumb pulled down on his lower lip. "I could just stare at you all day and I'd be happy for the rest of my life."

James grinned, "I wouldn't complain." She smiled as well, her heart swelling in his chest. She had promised that she wouldn't push him away, not without a reason. But this terrified her beyond measure, and she tried to push the feeling down. She didn't want to hurt him - emotionally speaking - and she was on edge a lot of the time. James frowned, noticing a shift in her behavior, "Hey, what-"

James and Romi jumped in surprise, neither prepared for the noise even though they had planted it. James's head nailed Romi in the chin and she yelped. This was followed by the boy's shouting from outside their curtain. James was quick to aid Romi, immediately checking her chin to make sure she was okay. "Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry, Ro," he told her, gently brushing over her chin. A faint bruise was already starting to form and he grimaced, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she told him, rubbing her jaw, "You have an incredibly thick skull." She crawled off of him, adjusting her clothes, "Come on, don't you want to see this?" James got up as well and the two made their way out of his area. Romi's eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her. The entirety of the room was covered in purple, green and brown glitter. The three boys stood there, covered as well and Romi stifled a laugh.

"What have you three gotten yourself into?" James asked as he looked around the room. He turned to the boys, "The place is a wreck."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, "This has your name written all over it, Potter." He pointed at the two, "You're starting a war you can't finish."

"Wanna bet?" Romi inquired, crossing her arms over her chest. James placed a hand on Romi's shoulder and she huffed in annoyance.

"Clean this up," James suggested to the group. Peter looked baffled and Remus was almost impressed. Almost being the key word. "We don't need Frank coming in here and seeing the mess you three made." Sirius moved to grab the boy but Remus was quick to pull him back. "We'll be in the common room. You have a lot of work to do."

James and Romi were quick to leave the room and James grinned, pulling the girl into him. He pressed a kiss on her head. Romi smiled, looking up at him and he smiled in return. "We make a good team, don't we?" he said.

She forced her smile to stay on her face, "Yeah, we do."