April was rainy.

It seemed to rain every single day, even on the night of the full moon, so that the Marauders spent their afternoon in the Shrieking Shack playing muggle board games that Sirius stole from the Muggle Studies classroom.

"Bloody hell, I fucking hate this game!" Sirius cried, flipping the board over with a flick of his wand - sending plastic hotels and little metal game pieces (a dog, a car, a thimble, and a hat) flying across the room. "Bloody fuck muggle money! The math of it makes no sense at all!"

Remus watched the thimble roll under the table, "Temper, Sirius. Really." Remus was quite irritable, thanks to the moon.

Peter was especially sad because he had been winning.

Sirius had paced about for some time from end to end of the room until Patti Pig started choking, having eaten the little metal hat and he and James had to spend the next hour trying to accio the thing out of the piglet's throat. "Blast you, pig," Sirius grumbled as the pig tried to squeal around the piece, "Hold still. Accio game piece!"

Peter looked nervous, "She isn't going to die is she?"

"SHE CAN'T DIE!" Sirius cried.

"She isn't going to die," Remus groaned.

"Can she die?" James asked, "After all, she isn't a proper pig. Technically, she's a lamp."

"Maybe we should turn her back into a lamp," Remus suggested in a grumpy tone.

"Maybe we should turn you into a lamp," James said.

Sirius spun about, "Don't even try it."

"I wouldn't," James said.

"Good. I'd bloody pulverize you, mate," Sirius said. "Nobody touches my Moony."

"Even your other boyfriend?" Remus asked snarkily.

"He's only my boyfriend on Tuesdays and Bank Holidays," James supplied.

Luckily, Remus Lupin's mood steadily improved after the Full Moon was passed, and despite the gloomy weather outside - rain and winds that stirred up a smell of seaweed and mildew from the lake - the Marauders wasted no time in bringing cheer about the castle. They pranked the younger kids and set spells on the books to annoy the fifth years studying for their O.W.L.s, which kept Filch running with his broom as they set off confetti every time they were opened. They were still serving detentions for using a brew similar in nature to Polyjuice on the breakfast on April Fool's Day (though even Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle every time the offense was mentioned and McGonagall looked the other way when all four of them simply didn't show up for their detention assignment).

James was feeling a bit better, too, as April came on because the teachers were finally expecting the same of him as they did the others. He was actually happy about it when Slughorn scolded him in front of the class for having shirked on an essay he was to write that was shorter than anyone else in the class and had entirely erroneous information contained within. Lily shook her head as James beamed proudly over the fact that he had received a Troll.

"You should be really worried about that," Lily scolded him, "Trying out for the auror program next year, aren't you? They're going to care whether you received Troll grades."

James waved his palm, "They don't give a blast about one little essay way back in sixth year, Evans."

"They might," she warned.

James rolled his eyes - but she did notice that he was taking better notes and working harder on assignments after that, and she had a feeling perhaps her warning had been heard.

Lily was rather impressed, honestly, with the amount of effort that James put in during April. He was actually on par with Remus and herself for raising his hand to answer questions and was usually right or at least close enough to get nearly full marks. His notes were very detailed and if James Potter was caught drawing in class, it was because he was making diagrams and sketches of the things the teachers were talking about. McGonagall noticed this, peering down her nose through her spectacles after suspecting James of doodling notes to Sirius Black, and Minny's lips twitched ever so slightly in amused approval.

"I swear, you're her bloody favorite," Sirius said, shaking his head, "You can do no wrong. Even now that they aren't giving you special treatment."

"Of course I'm her favorite," James said, grinning, "I'm bloody amazing. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I should be Minny's favorite," Sirius said.

"You are her favorite," Remus intoned. "You both are."

"You can't have two favorites," Sirius argued.

"You do," Peter pointed out. "James and Remus are your favorite friend."

Sirius made a thoughtful face. "True, that's true."

And nobody noticed the hurt flicker in Peter's eyes that Sirius didn't correct him and say that he had three favorites, actually.

"Besides," James said, " I was actually doing no wrong. I was taking my notes."

"A likely story," Sirius nodded.

Lily cut in, "He actually was."

Sirius gave James a look like he'd gone mad. "Why?"

"Dunno, maybe so I can pass?" James asked, then, "You might try it sometime." And Sirius and James ended up wrestling each other down as a result of the attitude.

Toward the end of April, Lily got a handful of muggle magazines about films that her parents forwarded her by owl. She was sitting in the common room flicking through them one night when she looked up. "James."

"What?" James looked up from a Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment he was working on, which required them to design a defensive plan against use of the imperius curse.

Lily said, "There's a new space film coming out this year. It's opening in May - well, in the United States. Here it's in December. It's supposed to be even better than Doctor Who, it says!"

James say up, "Better than Doctor Who?" He shook his head. "Impossible. What's it called?"

"Star Wars," Lily replied. "We should go."

Remus and Sirius both looked up, their eyes locking on James, waiting.

"Alright," James answered.

They both looked at Lily expectantly.

"Alright," Lily agreed. Then, voice tremulous, "Alright. It's - it's a date." She bit her lip.

Remus and Sirius looked at James.

He'd turned back to his homework. "Yeah," he agreed cluelessly.

Lily stared at the top of his head. "Yeah," she said. Her heart was racing, and she didn't dare say another word. When Sirius opened his mouth to speak, she shook her head and he looked very much like he might combust, but he held his tongue.

Which, Remus thought, was a bloody miracle.

It was especially a miracle when, two days later, James mentioned the doe he'd seen in the woods again.

"I had another dream of that doe."

Sirius looked at James. They were in Defense, and Sirius was working with James on a practical assignment, taking it in turns to attempt to imperius and throw each other off. "Was it en-deer-ing?"

"Shut it."

"It behooves me how you're still obsessing over this, doe," Sirius was grinning.

"Imperio," James said, catching Sirius off guard and managing to get him. "Admit your jokes aren't punny!" James commanded.

"My jokes aren't p— ppp—" and Sirius threw him off and said, "PLEASE! My will to believe myself fucking hilarious is way stronger than your magic to contain me."

James rolled his eyes, "Only making you admit the truth."

Sirius smirked, "How about you admit a truth then?"

"What?" James asked.

"When did you get so bleedin' stupid?"

"Stupid?" James asked.

"Yeah, bloody blind!" Sirius said.

"How so?"

Sirius faked at waving his wand since Elphinstone Urquart was looking their way. "I mean you and Evans and your date."

"What date?"

"To see that star movie thingy?" Sirius prompted.

"What?" James looked blank a moment then guffawed, "Oh bloody hell, Sirius. It's just as friends is all she meant. Don't be an idiot, mate."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "I don't think I'm the one being the idiot," he said.

"Okay. But you are. It isn't even until December. It probably won't even happen. It's just a thing we both might enjoy. She isn't asking me on a real date, Sirius."

Sirius said, "But what if she is?"

"She's not."

"But if —"

"Sirius. No. Just let it go alright?" James rolled his eyes. "I'm over the whole Lily Evans thing. I know it's never going to happen, alright. I know that. I have come to terms with it. It isn't healthy to keep obsessing over it any longer. So let it drop, please."

Sirius sighed. "Alright but — perhaps it would be a bit healthier than this doe obsession you've had lately, hey? I mean at least Evans is human."

James looked down at his wand and contemplated a moment. "Well. That's true. But I know nothing is going to actually happen with me and the doe, it isn't that I think that. It's just funny dreams is all, honestly."

Sirius shrugged, "I'm just saying, mate, that's all." He grinned. "Imperio." And within moments he had James dancing about in the DADA room, singing quite loudly so that everyone in the room laughed and watched as he took center stage on Elphinstone Urquart's desk as he belted it out, Sirius looking on with a great smirk until James managed to throw it off. Everyone in the room clapped and James turned quite red about the ears.

Sirius, however, was not ready to give it up. Not the imperius, but the topic of whether Lily Evans and James Potter were scheduled for their first date. He cornered Lily in the hall after class, pretending to the others he had to double back to ask Elphinstone Urquart a question.

Lily was walking along quite to herself when a leather clad arm suddenly stuck out before her, catching her about the middle and tugging her into a secret passageway. Lily squealed in surprise at first but quickly composed herself and stared up at Sirius with beady eyes. "Don't start with me, Black."

"Don't you start with me, Evans," Sirius replied.

Lily crossed her arms resolutely.

"Is it a true date, then? What you've asked Potter on?" he asked.

Lily stared at him squarely, "Ask Potter."

"Did."

"And?"

"I didn't like his answer."

Lily shrugged, "If we all got what we wanted, Sirius, then the world would be quite boring, now wouldn't it?"

"Would it?"

"Yes."

"Or would you be on your way to the trophy room passage right now to make out with James Potter?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"Bugger off, will you?"

Sirius grinned. "Is that a yes, then?"

"It's a declaration that if we lived in a world where we all got what we wanted, then you would have buggered off by now," Lily replied and she tried at dodging around Sirius only to have him leap into her path again. She closed her eyes and counted to keep from slugging him. "Sirius - please."

"I think you need my help."

Lily was nearly pressed against him, so close had he come when he jumped before her. She stared at him sidelong. "No."

"You do! Blimey, for the sake of the sanity of the school, you both need me," Sirius said.

Lily rolled her eyes, "I'm perfectly capable on my own."

"Okay. Yeah." Sirius snorted.

Lily looked quite perturbed. "I am, thank you very much! I have had boyfriends, and if I wanted James Potter, I —" she stopped mid-sentence because she could see that Sirius did not fall for her act so easily as everyone else.

"You've already gold me once," Sirius reminded her. "This mumbo-jumbo might be enough for everyone else, but not me, alright?"

Lily's jaw set.

"Evans, if this were a film, this scene would cut with you saying you'd accept my help, and we'd split into a musical montage of the next six months, in which I taught you the basics of becoming James Potter's girlfriend."

Lily considered this. "Two questions."

"Yes?" Sirius asked.

"One, what makes you the authority?" Lily asked.

"He's my boyfriend on Tuesdays and Bank Holidays," Sirius answered.

Lily accepted this without question.

Sirius grinned. "And the second question?"

Lily was contemplating. Then; "What song would it be?"

"The montage?" Sirius asked.

Lily nodded.

Sirius's mouth trembled with a grin. "Jackson 5 - A B C. Obviously."

"Obviously," Lily ceded.