"James!" A tall sixteen-year-old boy whispered urgently at his friend. He was staring at a piece of parchment, and every so often he would swipe a piece of his long black hair out of his grey eyes. "Filch is coming!"

"How far away is he?" The boy called James whispered back. Like his friends James was tall and had black hair, but James' was shorter and messy and he had hazel eyes.

"Just around the next corner," Came the reply.

"I'll be back in a moment Sirius, I'll go get Remus." James whispered sprinting down the hall.

Sirius sighed in relief as Filch's dot on the map turned up another hallway. Deciding it was safe; he followed James down the dark corridor.

It was the last night of the boys' fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the three friends were setting up their annual end-of-the-year prank, to be executed at breakfast the next morning.

Sirius saw James' black head and Remus' blonde one leaning over the feet of a suit of armor. Deciding to have a bit of a laugh, Sirius snuck up behind his friends and whispered, "Boo!"

Both boys jumped, making the helmet of the suit crash to the floor. "KIDS! OUT OF BED! YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!!" Filch's voice screamed from a distance too close for comfort.

"In here!" Remus whispered, his blonde hair falling into his chocolate brown eyes in excitement.

Remus, Sirius, and James sprinted into a door to their left and locked it behind them.

"Idiot!" Remus growled, smacking Sirius' head. "We were almost done! Now we'll have to start all over!"

"Sorry but if you had been…" Sirius began to retort.

"Guys, guys, look at this," James whispered, interrupting his bickering friends.

James was in the middle of the abandoned classroom, staring at the giant mirror in front of him.

"What is it?" Sirius whispered, staring at it in awe.

"It's the Mirror of Erised," Remus said, smugly.

"How did you know that?" Sirius cried.

"It says it on the top," Remus replied smirking.

Sirius stepped in front of the glass, and caught his breath. "What is it?" James called, from the side of the mirror where he was looking at the engravings.

Sirius stuttered for a moment before he could speak clearly, "I'm leaving my house, with all of my stuff." He said quietly.

"Do you think it shows the future?" Remus asked, after a pause.

"No," James said quietly. "Look 'erised' is 'desire' spelled backwards."

Remus moved in front if the mirror, "I see myself, standing outside during a full moon, completely normal."

"It must show what you want," James mused, staring at the engravings around the edge of the mirror. Yes! Look! 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi'" he read.

"What does that mean?"

"Backwards, it says 'I show not your face but you heart's desire.' It shows what you really, really want, I guess. Pretty cool." James answered, grinning at their discovery.

"Yeah cool." Sirius answered. "What do you see James?"

James stepped in front of the mirror and immediately paled. "What do you see?" Remus asked.

"N-nothing," James stammered, stepping away from the mirror quickly.

"You can tell us, James." Remus assured him.

James shook his head, his mind taking him back to earlier that day.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter."

"I wouldn't go out with if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."

"You make me SICK."

Lily Evans' cold, biting voice rang in James' head like she was in the room.

"James, mate. Where were you?"

"She hates me, doesn't she?" James asked, looking at his feet.

"Who, Lily? Yeah, she does." Sirius said, snickering. "She all but said that earlier."

"Not helping, Sirius," Remus said, glaring at the boy. "James, I don't think she hates you, exactly, just strongly dislikes you. You are a bit of a jerk around her."

James sighed, "I can't help it, I just automatically have to impress her." He mumbled.

"I think you like her, mate." Sirius said, all traces of his laughter gone.

"LIKE her?!? I don't like her, I freak'n love her!" James burst out.

Sirius and Remus stared at James in shock. "Love's a big word, James. Are you sure?" Sirius asked. James nodded.

"You saw her," Remus began softly. "In the mirror, didn't you?" James nodded again.

After a few moments of heavy silence, Sirius perked up, "I got it!" he shouted. "We'll think of a brilliant plan to make Evans like you back!"

"The previous ones didn't work out too well," James reminded him.

"No, but we'll think of one together. With my brilliance and Moony's logic we'll think of a plan in no time."

"We'll try it, over the summer." Remus agreed. "We can get Peter to help too."

"Where is Wormtail, by the way?" Sirius asked, looking around the room, as if he was expecting the fourth member of their group to jump out of the shadows.

"In the hospital wing," James sniggered. "Remember he walked into that column and broke his nose, because he was laughing at you."

The next morning the four Marauders went down to breakfast in better moods than the night before. Peter's nose was fixed, and Sirius was making fun of James' inability to think properly in the morning.

Just as they entered the hall, James got fed up with his friend teasing and spun around, socking Sirius in the eye. The hall gasped. "Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall screeched, rising up from her chair.

"Sorry, professor!" James called back, grinning at her. She just shook her head and continued eating.

"What was that for Potter?!" Sirius cried, outraged, glaring at James.

"You were annoying me Black." James replied calmly, glaring back.

Suddenly in the middle of their glaring contest, Sirius sniggered, "You can call me 'Black-eye' from now on."

"Why?" Peter asked.

"It makes me sound like a cool pirate." Sirius replied, grinning.

"It makes you sound like a infection," James retorted, going over to Gryffindor table and sitting down.

"So about our you-know-what," Sirius said a few minutes later, motioning to Lily Evans who was sitting a few seats down from them.

"It's a mission." Remus replied grinning, "an impossible mission."

"Mission Impossible." A voice came into their conversation, all four heads snapped up to look at Lily Evans, who was looking back at them, and slightly blushing.

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked.

"Sorry. Mission Impossible, it's a muggle movie."

"What?"

"Okay," Sirius said, drawing it out. Then glaring he added, "Thanks for listening to our conversation, Evans."

"Well, maybe if you didn't talk so loud Black, I couldn't hear them!" she replied hotly.

"Leave it, Sirius." James interrupted tiredly, when his friend went to retort.

Both Lily and Sirius stared at James in shock, Sirius because James never passed up a chance to talk to Lily. And Lily because James never passed up a chance to talk to her, but he now was practically ignoring her.

"Mission Impossible. Very good James," Remus said, smiling at James, who winked in reply.