A/N: I wrote this in some spare time I had, but I've not had a proper chance to go through it and edit it yet. If there are any typos/obvious mistakes/anything of that sort, please let me know!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Bishop to E3."

The boy frowned at the chess board and bit his lip in concentration. His dark hair was styled so that it fell across his face in waves, half obscuring his stormy grey eyes (eyes that were currently alight with interest while he analysed the board for the best move to make).

His name was Sirius Black and he was the epitome of 'dark and mysterious'.

"Rook to B5," he said, a smirk playing around his mouth. He glanced up at his opponent. "Check."

Peter Pettigrew, a small boy with blonde hair and watery blue eyes, blinked a couple of times. "Dammit, Padfoot."

Sirius laughed.

"King to E4," Peter said after some consideration.

Remus Lupin looked up from his book to watch what would be the final few minutes of the match. He was a tall boy, the second tallest of his group, and was without doubt the most studious of the four. He didn't play much chess himself and wasn't particularly interested in the game, but did enjoy watching the final moments.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of chasing Peter's King around the board, Sirius finished the game.

"I thought I had you for a minute then," Peter said with a good-natured sigh.

"Sure, mate," was Sirius's response, coupled by a growing grin.

Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius was an excellent chess player, the best of them all by far, and the only time he'd come close to losing to one of them was last spring. He had been playing with James Potter, the fourth Marauder, and had slipped up because his infatuation-of-the-time, Emily Carter, had sat next to him, shamelessly flirting away. He'd found it difficult to concentrate, but sure enough, he'd finished the game, victorious.

After that, it was an unspoken rule that girls were only allowed near the board if they were playing. They took their chess seriously.

"Wanna go again?" He offered, resetting the board.

However, before Peter could respond, the portrait door swung open and a very dazed-looking James Potter wandered in. Think of the devil.

"Prongs!" They called, catching the boy's attention.

James Potter was Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain and Hogwarts' Head Boy. He had some of the highest scores in class (particularly transfiguration), but equally, the highest number of detentions over the six-and-a-bit years of attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His interests involved running around with a werewolf every full moon, exploring the hidden and long-forgotten areas of the school with his three best friends… and a redhead by the name of Lily Evans.

Currently, the Head Boy wore a grin that could challenge the sun in a 'whose the brightest?' competition.

His fellow Marauders exchanged glances.

"Are you all right, James?" Remus asked, looking up at his mate. James slowly sat down in an armchair and looked at him, as if he was not quite seeing him. He was in his own little world.

"What?" He asked, blinking. "Yes, I'm fine. Brilliant. Yes, thanks."

Remus looked at Sirius in bewilderment; if anyone was able to understand James at a time like this, it would be the boy's closest friend, Sirius Black – the two were inseparable and it seemed that they often ran on the same mind lengths. Sirius grabbed Remus' forgotten book from the edge of the sofa and whacked James round the back of his head with it.

The reaction was immediate.

"Ow!" James wailed, clutching the back of his head and blinking rapidly. "What was that for, you great prat?"

"Sorry mate," Sirius said, quite unapologetically. "We thought you were high or something."

James narrowed his eyes at his best mate.

"Can't a bloke just be happy around here?"

"You did look like you'd been hit by a cheering charm. Or, you know... Ten." Peter said, muffling his laughter with a hand.

Remus bit back a laugh.

"Where the hell have you been, Prongs?" Sirius questioned, with a suspicious glance towards the portrait door. "I had to play Wormtail. You know how bad he is at chess."

"Oy!" Peter said, grinning and throwing a cushion from the couch at his friend.

Sirius dodged and the boys looked at James for an answer.

"Oh. I was just at the library."

At this, they all broke out into laughter. Remus frowned through his amusement. "James, you hardly ever go to the library. What were you doing there?" They all had their suspicions.

James shrugged, attempting nonchalance. "Just the transfiguration homework, is all."

Peter grinned. "Was Lily Evans there?"

James cheeks turned the slightest bit darker, but the Marauders picked up on it non-the-less. Just like that, all their suspicions had been confirmed.

"Now that you mention it," James began, feigning concentration, "I think she might have been."

"You were stalking her again, weren't you?" Sirius said.

James tensed and looked at Sirius. "What? No! No, I wasn't."

They had a running joke. James was completely and utterly infatuated with Lily Evans, and had been for at least two years. Said infatuation often brought out James' more drastic emotions and they teased him mercilessly over them. For example, he got extremely jealous over the most ridiculous things; be it a kiss, a hug… a glance. One time in fifth year, he had come into the Gryffindor common room to find her sitting in front of the fire with Dean Hawthorne, holding his hand. James had immediately jumped to conclusions and, in a fit of envy, had stormed off to the quidditch pitch to fly in the dark for hours… which it turned out, was completely unnecessary. Dean was not interested in Lily that way (nor any other female, for that matter) and had simply come to Lily for some friendly advice on his long-distance relationship with a boy named Kevin. Apparently Dean's sexuality was common knowledge, but James claimed he had had no idea.

James had felt like a right fool for months and the lads never let him live it down.

Also, Lily always seemed to have a habit of leaving James speechless. He often made a fool of himself in her presence in an attempt to show off and get her attention… But, as things do, these attempts usually found a way to backfire on him, leaving him looking like an arrogant fool (a phrase she regularly used to describe him). The Marauders found it quite hilarious to see their friend (usually so proud and confident) a dumbstruck mess.

But the thing they liked to make fun of him for the most, however, was his 'dedicated interest' in her (his words, not theirs). He went out of his way to run into her, just so he could spend a few moments in her presence; he made sure that if it was an option, he would sit opposite her in class or in the main hall so that he could see more of her pretty face (for she always seemed to be walking away from him); and it's not his fault that so many things reminded him of her. Truthfully, he didn't stalk her and wasn't obsessed with her... But it could be considered border-line.

"Did you speak to her while you were both coincidentally there?" Remus asked, smiling at his mate's discomfort.

"I didn't," James claimed, toying with a loose thread in the sofa.

The other lads looked at each other.

"But...?"

"But what?" James said, seemingly disinterested.

"But then what happened?" Remus asked. They were starting to get impatient, and James knew it.

"What do you mean?" James questioned.

"What was with the crazy grin, Potter?" Sirius exploded, his voice rising above 'acceptable' and effectively gaining the attention of the students in the common room. A few listened in, curiously, until James shot them all a 'mind your own business' glare.

He lent in to the three boys and they followed suit, waiting for him to tell them the news.

"Meadowes asked her to Hogsmeade."

There was silence. The boys seemed to simultaneously frown and stare at James, as if waiting for a 'got you!'

Here he was, after years of chasing after the girl, grinning because another boy was taking her on a date? It didn't take a genius to realise that it was off.

James was still looking at them with that grin, as if expectantly waiting for them to share his joy.

Finally, Peter asked the question they were all dying to: "What?"

James laughed. "He asked her out and she said no!"

And suddenly, the world started turning again.

"I thought I'd gone completely mental for a minute there," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

Remus couldn't help but agree with him. Quite frankly, there was about as much chance of James getting excited over the prospect of Lily dating other people as there was of Voldemort falling in love with a muggle. The idea was incomprehensible.

Peter frowned. "That's it, though?"

"Well, no," James confessed. "There's more."

Sirius sighed distractedly. "Please, do tell." His best friend often made a huge deal out of minuscule things ('a mountain out of a molehill,' as Remus would say) especially when it came down to Evans, so this was something he dealt with on a regular basis-

"She fancies somebody else!" James blurted out, his hazel eyes dancing with excitement.

- but this captured his full attention.

"She does?" He said, his eyebrows rising. "Who is it?"

"Is it you?" Peter asked, smiling at the idea of James' (late) fortune in capturing the girl's heart.

James was still chuckling. "Maybe! At least, I hope so."

This floored them once more.

"What do you mean, 'maybe'?" Remus asked.

"Well, I think it's me."

Oh, well Sirius thought, sarcastically. With a sound argument like that, who could doubt it? Once more, it seemed James' imagination had got the better of him.

Peter coughed a little to get their attention. "So, she might fancy you... But she might fancy someone else. And you're... happy about it?"

"Well," James said, frowning at his friend's logic. "I'd rather not think of it like that, Wormtail."

"I'm confused." Peter admitted, shaking his head.

"Ha! We all are, mate," Sirius said, patting him on the back once. "Prongs has gone mad."

"-der" Remus added in an undertone, and Peter laughed. James caught it anyway, and glared at his best mates.

"You could at least be happy for me, you know."

Remus hung his head in feigned shame. "Sorry, Prongs. What did she say?"

James blinked at him for a few seconds, confused.

"What was her wording?" Remus tried again.

"Her wording when?" James asked, raising an eyebrow and running a hand through his hair (a nervous habit of his).

Sirius let out a choked exasperated sound. "When she said she fancied someone else, you idiot."

"Oh! Well, she didn't exactly say she fancied someone else..." He said, frown lines slowly appearing on his forehead. "…Exactly."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

Sirius blew his hair out of his eyes and sprawled back across the sofa, yawning. James did his best to ignore his exaggerated movements and focused on the other two.

"Well, Meadowes asked her out and she said 'no'." After a few seconds of silent prompting on Remus and Peter's side, he continued. "And he asked her why and she blushed." A few more seconds, then "she just said she was really busy and stuff."

Sirius snorted loudly, effectively ending his faked indifference. He sat up and stared at James. "So this whole 'she fancies someone' thing is just a theory you've cooked up in your head, in the hopes that she falls at your feet begging for you to take her there and then?"

"No! That's not true!" James argued, miffed that they weren't taking this seriously.

"Sure it isn't," Sirius said, smirking. Peter remained silent, watching the two boys fight, but Remus was locked in thought.

"You didn't see her, Padfoot. She went really red."

"You're absolutely hopeless, Prongs."

James sighed. "I'm serious! Okay, yes. It's a theory and there is no solid evidence. But why would she be embarrassed about being busy? Clearly she's not going for an embarrassing reason. So... she fancies someone else but doesn't want to say anything. He didn't ask who, but who would make her blush so much? Me! She fancies me!"

Sirius opened his mouth, ready to retaliate, but Remus beat him to it.

"I don't want to get your hopes up, James, but it could be possible."

They all turned to stare at him.

He cleared his throat. "You've changed a lot since fifth year, and though she's probably not noticed, or more likely been in denial over it, with Dumbledore appointing you Head Boy, it's kind of unavoidable. You spend a lot of time together and she's able to see it for herself. You don't hex people in the corridors for no reason anymore, and you actually care about your school work and the students here. The pranks you play are fun and harmless. This year, you've had two detentions in as many months; that's got to be some kind of record for you." He finished and the other three continued to stare at him, mouths open.

"Also," he added as an after-thought, "she glances at you quite a lot in prefect meetings."

"She glances at me?" He said, a grin appearing on his face. "Like... Lustful glances?"

Remus' mouth twitched but he stayed straight faced. "I don't know about that, but I've noticed her looking at you a few times."

"Why did you never say anything?" He burst out, his tone a mixture between anger and giddiness.

"I didn't want to give you false hope."

James ignored him. "Do you three realise what this means? She turned down Meadowes... For me!"

Sirius looked at Remus and shook his head. "Nice going, Moony."

Peter brought the conversation back to the original point.

"Did you ask her out when you were in the library?"

James shook his head. "Nah, I've not asked her yet."

"Oh, didn't want to reveal yourself from under the cloak?" Sirius teased.

James dream-like mood dropped back to the ground and he shot a stinging hex at Sirius. "I wasn't under the cloak!"

Sirius continued to laugh and Peter joined in. "Ah, behind the bookcase, then?"

"Sod off, Wormtail. I wasn't spying on her and I don't stalk her, all right?"

"In all fairness, James, from past experiences you can see where they get their ideas from." Remus chimed in with a mischievous smile.

"Face it, Prongs. You're her stalker." Sirius said, sniggering.

"Don't be mean, Padfoot," Peter cut in. "He prefers the term 'admirer'."

James dropped his head into his hands and they shared a grin.

"Of course, he does! That doesn't sound a quarter as creepy as 'stalker', does it?"

"I'm not creepy!" James yelled, the sound muffled by his hands.

"You're a little creepy, Captain," came a fifth voice.

The four boys looked up to greet the newcomer, and were faced with Marlene McKinnon.

Marlene was a fellow seventh year Gryffindor and played chaser on the quidditch team along with James and another boy called Arnold. (Another thing to note was that she was close friends with one Lily Evans.)

"Hello, Marlene," Peter said, smiling up at her.

"Marls!" Sirius sang.

"Hey, Pete." She said, returning the smile, then nodded her head at the others. "Boys. Don't call me 'Marls', Sirius. What are we talking about, by the way?"

"Nothing," James said, willing the others to drop the subject. Sadly for him, they didn't hear his plea (and if they did, they ignored it).

"Just James' stalker-like tendencies when it comes to a certain Head Girl." Sirius said and shrugged, while James hoped for the ground to swallow him up.

Marlene smiled, as if she'd been let in on a secret. "Ah, I see."

"I'm not-" James tried again, and the others just looked at him. "Oh, forget it."

"James innocently witnessed her turning down Ryan Meadowes in the library this afternoon and believes he knows the reason for this."

"Mates," James cut in, looking at them sharply. He could just imagine them telling Marlene his suspicions and her running off to tell Lily. They would have a right laugh at him if he was wrong.

Marlene looked thoughtful, but smirked at the wording. "'Innocently witnessed'? Now why do I doubt that?"

"I have no idea," Sirius said, winking at her. "You have no reason to."

"Do you know if she fancies anyone?" Peter cut in, studying Marlene's face shrewdly.

Wow, subtle, Wormtail. If she didn't suspect already, now she's sure what my theory is. James thought, desperately. The image of Lily laughing at him, mocking his idea, burnt into his eyelids.

Marlene looked at them all evenly before saying, "I do, Peter."

James perked up a little.

"Is that an 'I do know whether or not she fancies someone' or a 'she does fancy someone but I'm not going to tell you who it is', 'I do'?" Remus asked her.

Marlene laughed; a light tinkling sound. "It's both."

"Who is it?" James questioned her immediately, moving to sit on the edge of the seat.

"I think you missed the part where she said she won't tell you who it is, James." Peter said, laughing at James' eagerness.

James shot a look at him. "Shut up, Peter."

"He's right, James. I can't tell you." She said, biting her lip in amusement.

"Aw, come on, Marls." Sirius said, looking at her with smouldering eyes. It was the look that melted the hearts of the Hogwarts' female population, the look he used to get something (whatever) he wanted… Marlene seemed to falter for a moment, before frowning angrily.

"Stop calling me 'Marls'! And I'm not going to tell you, James. I'm not at liberty to say."

"Not at liberty to-" James cut off, shaking his head. "What? Why?"

"I'm sworn to secrecy, Potter." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

Remus looked between Marlene and James. "Okay, well can you give us a clue or something? We have a desperate Head Boy on our hands."

"I'm not 'desperate', thank you very much," said a very affronted Head Boy.

"You hid behind a bookcase in the library so that you could overhear Ryan Meadowes asking her out and see what her reaction was." Peter said.

"I was looking for a book." James declared. "My intent was innocent."

"Once, you made me follow her around Hogsmeade on a date. Do you know how weird that was? I had to gage her reaction to everything she did and analyse how strongly she felt for the bloke, then report everything back to you." Peter was oblivious to the reactions his words were having on his friends. Marlene was choking on her laughter, Remus was pursing his lips in an attempt to not laugh, and Sirius (loyal best friend as he was) looked like he was struggling for air.

James's neck and cheeks were heating up, but whether that was from embarrassment or annoyance, nobody knew.

"That... I was just curious." He claimed.

"You had Sirius and I question her friends." Remus added.

"Whose side are you on, Remus?" He asked, glaring at the werewolf. "Besides, that's not even true."

"Objection! It actually is," Marlene interrupted. "I was one of said questioned friends."

"All right," James continued, firmly. "I was very curious."

"Last month we all hung around outside the girls' dorm for about fifteen minutes, listening to them talk about crushes and dates and... Experiences!" Peter practically shouted, triumphantly.

Of course, it was that moment when there was a lull in conversation in the common room, so everyone heard him.

Peter flushed in embarrassment and sunk lower into his chair, but his grin remained.

"That was Sirius' idea!" James countered.

"Aye, it was. But I had other things in mind that listening at the door." He said, his mouth morphing into a devilish smirk.

Marlene looked like she was about to jump in with a comment, but Sirius beat her to it.

"Oh, and then there was that time when James dragged me up there to rifle through the girls' underwear."

The other three boys looked at Sirius incredulously, but the audience they had gained didn't take note of this; whispers broke out across the common room and conversation gradually started up again.

"You did what?" Marlene asked in a harsh whisper.

"Me? I didn't do anything!" James said, shaking his head innocently. "Sirius, that was you. You went up there alone, by your own free will.

"I did, but this lot don't know that." He said, waving around at the other students in the room.

"Oh, Merlin," James whined. "There's going to be rumours about that now."

Sirius started laughing but Peter frowned at him.

"What if Lily hears?" He asked, gaining a groan from James.

"I'll deal with that," said Marlene. "We all know that Sirius is a sneaky pervert. I'll clear your name with her, Captain."

"Thanks, Marls." James said, "I appreciate it."

"Don't start on the 'Marls', Potter." She rolled her eyes and glared at Sirius. "Stop using that name, you've got your mate saying it too now." She looked back to James, "and keep at it, all right? Don't give up on her just yet."

"What?" James looked at her, and then back at his friends.

"She's as stubborn as a mule, but she's worth it. So if you really do want to be with her, now would be an awful time to give up."

"Is this your way of saying Evans likes our James, here?" Sirius asked, eyeing her.

"It's my way of saying 'don't give up on her'. Maybe you're reading too much into it, Sirius. I'll see you lot at dinner, yeah?" She said, waving to them and walking towards the portrait door.

Sirius called out, "later, Marls," just as she stepped out, and a muffled, "I hate you, Black," could be heard in reply.

Remus looked at James. "What's the plan then?"

He shrugged in return. "All I've got to go on is 'don't give up', but my own advice is pretty similar and I've been following that for some time. I guess it's starting to work."

"We still don't know who it is though. I mean, yeah, it might be you, but what if it isn't? What if it's some other bloke?" Sirius said, his expression sceptical.

"Or what if it is you, but she hasn't come to terms with that yet?" Remus added.

James looked at him, tilting his head. "What do you mean, Moony?"

"I mean, she's got it in her head that you're an arrogant toe-rag, right? So then one day she realises that she fancies you. She's not immediately going to jump for joy and celebrate that. It's taken her this long to admit that you've matured. If you ask her out, it might put you back in square one."

"But it might be what she's waiting for."

All eyes turned to Peter Pettigrew.

"She might not know how you feel about her."

Sirius burst out laughing and James scoffed, but Remus backed him up.

"He does have a valid point. She might think James is over her."

"How could she possibly be unaware of his feelings though? She'd have to be dumb, deaf and blind." Sirius said, still chortling.

"But Prongs hasn't asked her out this year," Peter put forward timidly. "She might be waiting for him to ask her."

James was peering at the fire. "Do you think?"

"It's a possibility, James, but none of us know for sure," Remus said. "What you do now is up to you."

"She could totally rip your heart out, mate," Sirius said, with a pat on the back. "Again."

Encouraging, James thought.

"She could," Remus agreed, nodding his head slowly.

"Or... She could say yes." Peter argued.

James stood up and brushed his shirt down, running a hand through his hair and messing it up.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"