The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Twelve

"Fine, I guess I'll be going then. Goodbye Remus, I'll see you in lessons tomorrow if you ever make it out alive." As she stood up, knocking Potter's head off her lap, she felt hands grasping at her legs, pulling her back down. She kicked them away but they came back, pushing her back down onto the sofa. "Please stay?" Potter asked, pouting and pulling what he most likely assumed was an adorable face.

"No Potter," she frowned, "I'm going to bed."

"Please?" he begged as Lupin pulled a face at her from behind Sirius' flailing arms.

"I'll see you later," he said. "Prongs get off her, she wants to go to bed and you're molesting her."

"You're really not going to stay?" Sirius asked, managing to combine being incredibly annoying with sounding incredibly hurt.

"No, I would rather not be jumped on by you louts," she sighed. "Besides I'm tired – Potter let go of me!" she shouted. "I'm not going to stay down here!"

James immediately let go of her and let her head up to her dorm; from behind her she could hear their chatter and cries as well as the high pitched squeaks of Peter's laughter as he revelled in whatever it was that they were doing down there. Potter's reaction had surprised her though, in previous years it had taken her far longer to get him to do anything and, even then, she had rarely managed to make him do something he wasn't already going to.

As Lily vanished upstairs James stared after her wistfully until Sirius hit him on the head. "Come on Prongs!" he cried. "We've got a lot of work to do and we need you focused, not pining over Evans!"

"I like pining over Evans," James moaned as he rubbed his head. "I've been doing it for so long that I can't not pine over her."

"James, if you don't mind me saying, I really don't think that this obsession of yours with the poor girl is particularly healthy," Remus pointed out.

"I know, you've told me that hundreds of times Moony my friend," he replied, "and I will give you the exact same answer I have given every other time you said that: it's not an obsession because let's be realistic – Snivellus is obsessed with Evans. I just admire her from afar. I know – no let me talk Moony – I know you all think I'm crazy and that it's creepy and that I ought to leave her alone but it's not like I'm... following her around trying to smell her hair or asking girls in other years to bring me her toothbrush, I just really like her and I want her to at least give me a chance – although preferably that chance would last rather a long time."

"Okay fine," Sirius said as Peter nodded his head enthusiastically along with James, "but can you please 'like her from afar' later? We have a lot to do tonight if we're going to have this prank be ready for tomorrow morning."

"Will you be joining us in detention then?" James asked.

"No, you know I can't risk it," he replied as James jumped in his chair and shouted, "I knew it!"

"Oh come on Prongs!" he groaned. "Please, let's not talk about this now!"

"I am merely saying that I don't think it's very fair for me to have to put all thoughts of Lily aside when you will not even be taking part in this evening's activities for fear of jeopardising your Sunday afternoon meeting with Jones," he said.

Sirius shook his head and sighed, running his hands through his unruly hair. "It's different Prongs," he said, "whereas you, because you hold no appeal whatsoever for Evans, can only dream of her, I have the actual chance to spend time with Cassie and no, I don't want to 'jeopardise' it," he mocked. "Besides, I am focusing on the task at hand and putting in my all even though I won't be taking part in it."