I got bitten by the writing bug again, at twelve am in the morning, so please read with caution. Completely unedited Lily and James. And Sirius. I love Sirius. :)

What You Do For A Bet...

She scoffed. "Please. Girlfriend trumps best friend, anytime."

"No way," Sirius disagreed. "When you have a best friend like me and James --- it's a bond."

Lily gagged. "Not Potter, you idiot. Why would I want to be his girlfriend? In any case, are you actually saying that a girlfriend doesn't have a bond with her boyfriend? If so, that is one of the most asinine things I have ever heard."

"'If so that is one of the most asinine things I have ever heard,'" Sirius mimicked, before rolling his eyes. "Who talks like that, Evans?"

"Obviously," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I do. So get over it."

"Not the point. I still say best friend over girlfriend."

"Well, I say the opposite."

"We're not getting anywhere, so let's ask for outside help," he said logically, looking around the hall to find someone to ask, only to see Lily staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Just the fact that you said anything remotely sensible scares me," she shrugged. "So what's your plan? We have a poll?"

"No. We merely walk around and choose someone --- any one person --- and ask, if you had a girlfriend and blah." He shrugs.

She smirked. "We ask that question to a guy, right? Because asking a girl that would kinda freak me out."

Sirius gagged. "Jeez, Evans. Of course we ask that to a guy. It's a given. Now let's go."

"No need to be so pushy," she grumbled.

Sirius nodded as a girl hurried past the corridor. "How about him?"

"Sirius, that's a girl."

"Seriously? No pun intended, but… I would have sworn it was a guy." He looked disturbed.

Lily looked grossed out, as well. "I'm pretty sure it was a girl."

"Weird."

They walked further, to run into a guy they knew as Dan. He was looking out the window as he walked, holding a book in one hand. He looked like a Ravenclaw. Somehow.

"Hey," Lily greeted.

"Hey."

"So we have a question for you, Dan --- it's Dan, right?" Lily asked.

He looked intrigued. "Yeah."

Sirius looked at Lily, but Lily shook her head. He sighed. "So, it's kind of personal --- kind of not --- if that makes sense. Anyway. If you had a girlfriend… and you also had a best friend and you had to choose between them, who would you choose?"

They looked at him expectantly.

He furrowed his brows, thinking it over for a long time. "Neither."

"What?" Lily exclaimed.

Sirius looked equally annoyed. "Yeah --- what?"

"I would treat them both equally," he shrugged. "It's the logical explanation. And if I came into a situation in which I had to choose, I would choose the best for that particular situation. It's as simple as that." He smiled at them, before moving on.

Sirius and Lily looked at each other, their eyes disappointed and disgusted.

"We should never have asked a Ravenclaw," Lily groaned.

"No kidding --- let's ask this guy!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Sirius."

"What?"

"That's a First Year."

"So?"

"We are not asking a First Year that."

"Why not?"

About two hours and twenty-two attempts later, Sirius and Lily still hadn't found the answer to their argument. They had gone as far to ask Peeves, which was useless, as the poltergeist had thought they were insulting him and went on to call them various names.

"That was useless," Lily grumbled, collapsing on a couch in the Common Room.

"That knight in the portrait didn't have to take offense," Sirius whined. "How were we supposed to know that his girlfriend was killed in a massacre caused by his best friend?"

"But I think the worst was Kevin, from Hufflepuff --- he'll never talk to us again," Lily groaned.

Sirius flopped down beside her. "Never liked the bloke much, anyhow."

"Not the point," Lily said, infuriated. "I can't believe you grabbed his robe and demanded he answer us."

"It's a simple question," Sirius defended, "and he said he couldn't answer it? What kind of idiocy is that?"

"Now who's using big words?"

Sirius sighed, before leaning back against the chair. "We still haven't gotten anywhere. No one actually answered the simple question."

Lily sighed, too. "We'll probably never find out, anyway."

Sirius gray eyes suddenly lit up. "Evans?"

"Yes?"

"What if I could guarantee you an answer?" Sirius grinned at her, his famous Black smile. "What if I had one person who I'm hundred percent sure would answer us?"

Lily eyed him skeptically. "And who would that be?"

"You have to say yes to asking him, first. And no takebacks."

Lily frowned suspiciously, before sighing. "Oh, alright. Yes."

"Good," Sirius grinned satisfactorily. "Because I see James sitting on that chair near the fireplace."

"Hey, Prongs," Sirius said cheerfully, dragging a redhead behind him.

"Hey Padfoot." He looked at Sirius with furrowed eyebrows. "Why is Lily hiding behind you?"

"Because," Sirius said, giving Lily a tug so she stood in front of him rather than behind him, "we have a question to ask you."

James nodded slowly, squinting up at his best friend. "And that would be?"

"Why are we asking him?" Lily said petulantly, looking anywhere except the boy --- man, she corrected herself --- boy she corrected herself again --- does he look like a boy? --- oh, who cared?

"Because," Sirius explained, "he's sure to give us an answer."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Lily demanded.

"Because it's real for him," Sirius explained exasperatedly, as if it was so obvious.

"I'm sorry, but I don't get it."

Sirius sighed. "When we ask James the question, it's --- real, for him. I'm his best friend and you're ---"

"Not his girlfriend," Lily looked horrified.

"But he wants you to be --- it's practically the same thing," Sirius insisted.

James shook his head. "No, it isn't."

"Well," Sirius demanded, turning to James, "if it came down to it --- would you choose Lily or me?"

Lily gulped when James' expression turned dark and he stood up. He was actually glaring at Sirius, as if telling him something. His eyes which were according to some people, definitely not Lily, of course, normally hazel, were now darker. Maybe it was the lighting.

But he looked really, really angry. Sirius stared back coolly, with a raised eyebrow, as if telling James something back. You had to admire him for his calmness. Most people wouldn't like to or have the courage to face an angry James Potter.

Lily wondered if she would just back away slowly…

"Evans!" Sirius barked, turning his angry looking gray eyes on her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Lily didn't want to get into a fight right now, as strange as that may sound. "Er. Away. While you settle your differences and all that, I figure I'll just go and join Alice… in the…" she trailed off at his stony expression. "Or not."

"Do it, James. Choose," Sirius hissed, turning back to his best friend. "But you don't have to tell me, because I know. Just tell her." With that he walked away, not caring that the entire Common Room had watched the little drama.

James sunk back into his chair running a hand through his hair automatically.

Lily wondered if she should say something.

"So what was the question," he said tiredly, looking at her.

"'Would you choose your girlfriend or your best friend?'" she echoed, before biting her lip.

He had sighed again. "Well, just so you know," he said, standing up, not looking at her, "if I really had to choose," he picked up a quill and a piece of parchment he had been writing on, "I would choose," he walked over to the stairs quietly, before looking back at her, straight into her eyes, "my girlfriend."

Choosing his girlfriend was not like choosing her. Because, theoretically, realistically, she corrected, she wasn't James' --- Potter's girlfriend. He was just telling her a personal life choice. Best friend, girlfriend --- girlfriend.

He wasn't choosing her, or anything.

Of course not.

And why was she obsessing about this, anyway?

Because in what universe were she and Potter even boyfriend and girlfriend?

The universe of no universes!

So contemplating this was of no use and a complete waste of time.

"So what'd he answer, Evans?"

She turned around from her position on the rug, leaning back against a couch, staring at the fire, to look at Sirius Black. She sighed. "He answered girlfriend."

"So you win."

"What do I win?" she said tiredly. "I wish we'd never started the thing in the first place."

"Well," Sirius said thoughtfully, "it looks to me as if you've won a guy. If you're as smart as I thought you were, you'll understand me." Then he walked away for the second time that afternoon.

Damn Sirius Black. And James Potter. And her poor confused head. This was what happened when you played around with the Marauders. You got total, utter confusion.

"You've set the seeds," Remus observed, coming down for the dormitory. "James is cracking."

"How broken's the room?" Sirius asked, not taking his eyes from Lily.

"Not bad, all things considered. Table's split in half and he threw that hideous vase at the wall." Remus shrugged. "But not bad work, Padfoot."

"Well," Sirius grinned, "it only took the cooperation of twenty-six guys and my brilliant plan."

"You are unbelievable," Remus said, shaking his head, although he was suppressing a grin.

"You wait and see," Sirius grinned, "they'll be together before tomorrow."

"What you'll do for a bet…"

"I bet ten galleons on tomorrow."

"You and your bets," Remus groaned. "And the rest of Hogwarts," he added as an afterthought. "Is it true that Professor Flitwick actually joined the bets?"

Sirius snorted. "Yeah. He bet on Graduation Day. Two galleons. And you can't blame us --- all of us --- to bet on a couple that is so obviously predestined that it's a shame not to bet on them."

Remus shook his head, trying to hide a smile. "It'll be your regret when you lose the money."

"Eh. I'll win." He looked over at Lily, who was staring moodily into the fire. "I'm sure of it."

So... after that, would you mind reviewing? I know it's... shaky, but it's one a.m! So... review? Please? It'll make my lack of sleep worth it. Please?