Illusory § Order of the Phoenix

XXXVI. BITE

The sun beat down on the sprawling grounds of Hogwarts. They lounged beneath the shade of a towering tree, its branches swaying gently in the warm breeze. Remus sat with his back against the rough bark, a tattered muggle novel resting in his lap — Catch-something. He couldn't remember, but the pages fluttered as he absentmindedly flipped through them. Like him, his attention was divided until James spoke.

"What would that achieve?" Remus asked, looking up from his book.

Sirius himself was sprawled out lazily on the grass beside Remus and lifted his head to peer at James with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, Prongs, what's the grand plan there? Besides confusing everyone?"

James grinned, undeterred by their skepticism. "Think about it, Padfoot! We could wreak havoc in classes without anyone suspecting a thing."

Peter, who had been lounging on his stomach, propped himself on his elbows and frowned at his friend. "I thought we had all the same classes?"

"We do," Remus said pointedly, "which is why Prongs' idea makes absolutely no sense, considering it would still be the four of us regardless."

Sirius snorted. "And since when did we need Polyjuice to disrupt class anyway?" he commented.

James threw his arms up wildly. "Well, I don't hear any of you coming up with better ideas. Besides, there's nothing wrong with our usual mayhem."

Remus bit his lip, a small smile tugging at the corner of them. "I'm sure Professor McGonagall would beg to differ."

"He's got a point, Prongs," Sirius chimed in. Then his grin widened as he looked at his exasperated friend. "And you don't have to lie to us. If you wanted to woo Evans without being hexxed into next week, all you had to do was ask."

"Is that even possible?" Peter dared to ask.

"Maybe, but where's the fun in that, Pads? It's half the thrill," said James, rolling his eyes.

"Let's hope she doesn't miss this time," Remus mumbled.

"Moony, you wound me, really."

"Let's face it," Sirius exhaled, "talking to Evans is only half the battle. You'll never get her to like you with Snivellus always prowling about."

"Oh, don't remind me," groaned James, flopping onto the grass. "Lily needs to see the real me — the charming, dashing, utterly irresistible me."

Remus raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Right, because you've been hiding that side of yourself for all these years."

Sirius cackled. "Face it, Prongs. She won't even give you the time of day."

"And why not?" his friend asked indignantly.

"Because she thinks you're an arrogant toerag and hates your guts," Peter supplied innocently — like it was just a fact.

Remus was hard-pressed to cover his snort of amusement.

Just as Sirius was about to layer on another joke at his friend's expense, he caught a flash of dark blue in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he spotted a girl striding past them towards the north courtyard. The blue was a lavish scarf that draped over her shoulders. She was a sight for sore eyes, with a mane of loose, dark waves, but maybe that could be attributed to the fact that he'd never seen her before.

"Hey, isn't that the new girl? The one in Ravenclaw?" Peter exclaimed, breaking the momentary silence.

Well, consider his interest piqued.