Sirius was staring so intently at Remus and Kagome that James was a little worried that they would spontaneously combust. He hadn't heard of any cases to support his hypothesis, but he was sure he'd find out any moment now if he was indeed correct.

"Quit brooding mate. You're starting to scare the young children." James teased as he waved his quill in front of Sirius' face.

Sirius swatted angrily at the offending quill, annoyance clearly evident on his face. "I'm not brooding." He groused but did not remove his eyes from the pair sitting a few tables away.

James rolled his eyes.

Denial.

"Sure and Snivelly looks good in pastels." Peter laughed at James' joke but it did little to ease the mood. In fact it seemed to worsen it.

"Ugh, why would you ever say something like that?" Sirius complained, finally turning to look at his friends angry that the image of Snape in a brightly colored argyle vest had been implanted into his mind. He made a sour face.

"Because I knew it would have that effect on you." James grinned, blowing a raspberry at Sirius who continued to mumble malicious things about his best mates under his breath.

"I assume you're cursing so much because you care." James said cheekily; his eyes alight with mirth as he looked at his friend over the rim of his glasses.

Sirius ignored James' comment.

James pinched the bridge of his nose to quell the frustration that was slowly mounting. Sirius could be as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be. It just so happened that now was one of those times. "You might as well go talk with the bird." James said pointedly as he focused his attention back on his parchment in an attempt to get some work done on their assignment.

Sirius scoffed. "I'm Sirius Black; I don't need pointers on how to get girls from you."

A small grin tugged at James' lips. He knew he was walking a dangerous line, but it sure was fun to push his best mate's buttons every once and a while, and to be fair Sirius was walking right into it.

"Now let's think about that phrase for a moment. I am currently dating the lovely Miss Evans while you're still pining away for a girl who'd rather associate with Snivelly than you." James was hard pressed not to grin impishly when Sirius nearly snapped his quill in two.

Knowing he'd better let him cool down for a few moments, James waited to proceed with his teasing.

He sent Peter a sly look.

"I'm just saying that it might help to go talk to her since you've been too chicken to do anything else about your crush."

Sirius pretended not to care as he focused his attention on McGonagall's transfiguration essay, but James and Peter were not fooled by his studious act. They knew he was still thinking about Kagome.

Kagome was all Sirius could think about as of late. She had somehow worked her way into the playboy's heart without even trying. Sirius' crush had started shortly after they had arrived at Hogwarts when the Marauders had not yet joined forces. Her eyes had been the first thing to captivate him even as she glared at him from under soot colored lashes. He'd insulted Snivelly instantly gaining his soon to be friend's approval but her disdain.

Even at eleven she had been a sight to behold with creamy alabaster skin and a delicate heart shaped face. She was unlike anyone he had ever seen and unlike anyone he had ever known. She rose up to challenge him and did not back down easily. A quality the Sorting Hat had recognized instantly.

Now seven years later all he had managed to do was drive her into any other seventh year male's arms with his trademark wit and charm. He clenched his fists as he thought about the gits she had dated.

She'd dated an older Ravenclaw when they were fifteen, but he'd dumped her when she wouldn't help him cheat on his N.E.W.T.s. Then she'd briefly dated a Hufflepuff boy who had tried to take advantage of her on a Hogsmeade weekend. Needless to say, the student was hexed something fierce before getting tossed out on his arse.

After that he had assumed she had been single, but Lily had recently informed him that Kagome had been involved in a pretty serious relationship for the past two years with a boy from Durmstrang but had ended it over the summer when she found out the slimy bastard had been cheating on her with her cousin.

His knuckles bled white at the thought. If he ever met the sodding arsehole he'd make sure the poor git never got out of St. Mungo's.

He lifted his gaze briefly to look upon her once again. "Ugh," A strangled groan left his lips as he watched Remus gently push a stray lock behind her ear which earned a pretty smile from Kagome.

James was silently rejoicing seeing his best mate suffer. It was a nice change from his normal behavior. In fact he was so pleased he could have kissed Kagome. However, due to threat of bodily harm from both Kagome and Lily, he remained seated.

Plus it was so much more fun to tease Sirius. Especially when he was making it so easy. A wicked thought made its way to the forefront of his mind. He knew exactly how to get under Sirius' skin. Peter recognized the mischievous look immediately.

"Moony is going to snatch her up before you even get a chance." James sing-songed knowing that it would irk Padfoot. He didn't have to wait long for the desired effect to occur.

At those words something snapped inside of Sirius and he tossed his quill onto the table.

"Watch this." Sirius rose and straightened his tie before flashing Prongs and Wormtail his trademark smile. James could only grin as he watched Padfoot strut over to where Moony and Kagome were studying. A few bewildered second and third years watched Sirius approach the couple.

Sirius stopped at the edge of the oak table and waited for them to acknowledge his presence. It didn't take long before Kagome scowled at the devilishly handsome, young womanizer before her.

On his way over he had given himself a little pep talk but standing in front of her with that cool gaze burning through him had all of his charm and intellect heading for the hills. Sirius had mentally told himself to woo her with his charm and intellect, but he found the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"I could find a better use for that mouth than scowling." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. His eyes taking on an edge as he leaned in toward the young girl.

If James would have been where Remus was sitting, he would have slapped Sirius upside the head. Their lines may have worked on countless airheads and bimbos, but Kagome was not going to fall for any of them. In fact, if the way her eyebrow twitched was anything to go by, James surmised she was downright livid.

Not to mention poor Remus. He seemed very out of sorts as he looked between the two uneasily. If it would have been anyone else, he would have grinned but as it was the girl sitting in front of him was quite spunky and unpredictable, and he feared for the safety of Sirius who, for a lack of better words, thought he was God's gift to women.

She groaned and set down her quill, pinning Sirius with a look that rivaled McGonagall's. It was his Gryffindor courage that kept him firmly rooted to the spot despite her evident displeasure. "Why can't you be more like your name?"

He chuckled heartily. "Babe, if I were black I'd have twice the amount of women to fend off," He smirked at her before he continued. "But you know that they say once you go black you never go back."

Internally he was beating the snot out of himself, but it seemed his mouth had a mind of its own.

Kagome huffed angrily. She supposed, somewhat dejectedly, she had walked into that one. She would have to remember to choose her words very carefully when speaking with Sirius.

"Or perhaps you wish me to be a Muggle hating git?" He questioned his voice dripping with sarcasm. It was no secret how the majority of the Black family felt about muggle-borns, so he had turned the school upside down in his first year when he had been sorted into Gryffindor much to his mother's displeasure.

Kagome attempted to swat the young man but he evaded her grasp. "You know what I meant." Her azure blue orbs flashed in annoyance.

He grinned. He had grown accustomed to the fire that sparked behind her sapphire like orbs. Although he supposed he would like it more if it were directed at him under more appropriate means or inappropriate means.

"Where would the fun be in that?" He settled down on top of the table again, effectively obscuring Remus's view from Kagome's face. He reasoned Remus had had enough time to look at her.

Moony rolled his eyes. If Sirius thought this playboy approach would be the ticket to Kagome's heart he was sadly mistaken, but he was not about to voice his opinion. After all he got just as much enjoyment out of seeing Sirius suffer as James and Peter did.

It seemed quite fitting that the one woman he wanted barely gave him the time of day. There was some poetic justice in that Remus supposed.

"Life is far too short to be serious."

Her eyes narrowed into slits. "So you think that playing pranks and getting into girls' knickers is just a way to pass the time?"

He guffawed which earned a sharp 'sh' from Madame Pince. Kagome looked a little embarrassed, but Sirius ignored the old bat. "My dear Kagome are you sure you're quite right in the head? I believe you know me better than to ask that."

If looks could kill he'd have been dead a million times over. Even the Slytherins in the vicinity cowered in fear. Kagome had quite the reputation for her fiery temper, and Sirius Black was quickly earning himself a one way ticket to the infirmary.

"Grow up, Sirius."

His grin only widened at her suggestion. "I don't think you could handle me if I was any more grown up." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively causing a few Hufflepuffs to twitter like imbeciles.

Kagome took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. Her fingers itched to hex him into next week, but she did not want to cause any more of a scene or lose house points, so she settled for giving him a fierce glare.

Once she was sure he had seen just how displeased she was she turned to Remus with a sweet expression.

"Remus can we study a bit later?"

The werewolf simply nodded as he watched the young witch grab her things and leave in a huff. As soon as she had left Sirius rubbed his face vigorously. "Tell me I didn't just mess up again."

Remus wanted to reassure Sirius, but he couldn't. "Sorry mate, but you really put your foot in your mouth with that one."

Sirius groaned. Remus felt a little sorry for him. Sirius was usually so charismatic and such a smooth talker that most women just fell at his feet. However, it seemed that nothing he did or said had any effect on Kagome other than to make her mad.

Sirius felt like ripping out his hair. He was getting nowhere and fast. With graduation less than a month away he was running out of time.

"Punch me."

"What?" Remus exclaimed, bewildered by the sudden request. Shortly after he did Madame Pince made a face at the two seventh years. Remus had the decency to look sorry. Sirius ignored her all together.

"Remus, punch me." Sirius repeated. Remus looked uneasy. He didn't want to punch Sirius.

"I don't think you're thinking clearly."

"I'll help." James said as he quickly strode over and punched Sirius square in the jaw. A couple of Ravenclaws scurried off as Sirius landed on the stone floor with a heavy thud.

Even the normal quiet of the library was eerily silent as the other students stopped to stare. James was sure the whole castle would know by dinner. It was quite a rare occurrence for the Marauders to be 'fighting.' They usually presented a united front, so it was quite uncharacteristic for one of them to be punching another. Especially when it involved James and Sirius.

"Mr. Potter what is the meaning of this?" Madame Pince screeched as she stormed toward the Marauders. Her eyes wide with rage.

"In my defense he did ask for it." James replied cheekily with a slight grin on his face. Peter and Remus shook their heads in astonishment. Never in a million years would they have imagined they would witness James punch Sirius.

"Mr. Potter forty points from Gryffindor and detention with me." She sent one last withering glare at the four young gentlemen before vacating the area. She believed Minerva would like to know what had transpired.

"Yes, ma'am."

James waited until Madame Pince was out of earshot before he grinned at his friends. "It was worth it."

Sirius rubbed his jaw. He would be one hell of a bruise tomorrow, but he supposed he had asked for it. James held out a hand to help him up.

"Now back to the important matter at hand. You, my friend, need to get your feelings sorted out. We're graduating in a matter of weeks and you're still hung up on Kagome." It was sometimes scary how quickly James was able to change emotions.

"It's a lost cause." Sirius complained as he ran a hand through his long hair. He was quite disturbed Kagome was able to reduce him to a sodding git with only a look.

Remus frowned. "Perhaps you shouldn't be yourself when you talk to her."

Sirius would've glared but something Remus said had struck an odd chord within him.

They instantly recognized the look on his face. It had been the same look he had when he'd suggested they attempt to be animagi. A look which certainly meant trouble for all of them.

"Remus I could kiss you."

"I hope you'll refrain from such lewd behavior. Although I suppose it should be expected." A voice drawled as the four boys turned to see Snape standing there in all his greasy glory. His normally vacant expression conveying the signature sneer that belonged to the Slytherin house.

Sirius and James were on edge instantly. Their hands itching to draw their wands, but they decided against it as they had already caused quite the commotion.

"Shame she'll never give you the time of day Black." Severus looked positively smug. That fact did not sit well with any of the Marauders.

"What makes you say that?" Sirius challenged his eyes narrowing into slits.

"You haven't heard?" This only seemed to widen the smirk that played on Severus's lips.

The Marauders were losing their patience. "Spit it out Snivelly or mind your own business." James barked, his normally bright eyes dark with unbridled anger. He would never forgive Severus for calling Lily a mudblood.

"Kagome is going to accompany me on the last Hogsmeade trip."

It took a few moments for the words to register, but when they did Sirius understood the implications of the statement. The last Hogsmeade trip was reserved only for Seventh year students and was one of the more well-known traditions Hogwarts had to offer.

Hogwarts had far too many traditions to count, but there were some that every student made a point to remember. Hogwarts: a History detailed how the founders had unknowingly started a tradition regarding the last Hogsmeade trip.

With a lot of meddling from three of the founders, they had convinced one Seventh year boy to break the arranged marriage he had with a pureblood witch to propose to a muggle born witch. Despite everything the pair had to overcome, she had said yes. Thus after that the last Hogsmeade trip became synonymous with professing one's love. Even though the history book described it as a tradition of living without regrets more often than not many Seventh years still took it upon themselves to confess his or her feelings to someone he or she cared deeply about.

Sirius found he was at a loss for words.

Kagome had accepted his invitation. She had to know what Severus intended. All color left his face as an even more horrifying thought filtered through his mind. An image of the pair snogging made its way into his thoughts followed by dark haired, greasy children. It was terribly repulsive and made him want to heave the contents of his stomach onto the floor of the library.

He took a deep breath hoping it would rid him of the feeling to retch. Sirius had barely pulled himself together before James shot Snivelly with a 'silencio' and pulled him from the library. Peter and Remus followed suit deeming it unnecessary to linger any longer.

It didn't seem to faze the greasy git. Severus merely smirked at the retreating group knowing he had won their little row, knowing he had something Sirius would never be able to obtain.