The Misadventures of Padfoot and Prongs

"Oh, this is vile," said Sirius as he held up the jar of Flobberworm Mucus.

"Give it here," said Lyra, "Quick, before he comes back."

The two of them were in Slughorn's stores of potion ingredients, gathering all they would need for the Sleeping Draught. Peter was their distraction, ensuring that Slughorn was far away from them at the moment, but knowing Peter, he'd accidentally forget to keep him busy long enough.

"Okay, I think that's everything," said Sirius as he climbed down from the step ladder.

"Let's go," Lyra looked warily at the door.

The pair of them left the room as quickly and quietly as possible, taking care not to be seen.

"Where are we going?" whispered Sirius.

"Shhh!" Lyra slapped his arm. "Just follow me."

They eventually reached the abandoned girl's bathroom on the second floor. Lyra pushed the door open with her hip and walked inside, Sirius not far behind her.

"You're sure no one will come in here?" asked the Gryffindor, as he looked around the room.

"Relax," she said, "The only other person who comes in here is Moaning Myrtle, and I asked the Grey Lady to keep her away for a few hours."

"Wasn't she suspicious?"

"No, I don't think so. She likes me."

"Ah, well, let's get started, shall we?"

Moving to the pewter cauldron, Sirius and Lyra set down the ingredients they'd need: Lavender, Flobberworm Mucus, Valerian Sprigs and some Standard Ingredient.

"Okay, you start crushing the lavender and standard ingredient in the mortar and I'll work on the Flobberworm mucus," Lyra slid the mortar closer to Sirius and then reached for the jar of mucus.

The thick liquid inside the jar was a vibrant green, smelling strongly of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Whatever it was, it was fairly putrid. Crinkling her nose in distaste, Lyra added two blobs of the stuff to the cauldron, followed by two measures of Standard Ingredient. She gently heated the mixture for a short while, careful to prevent it from burning.

While she waited, she looked to see Sirius' progress. He had added the four sprigs of lavender and two measures of standard ingredient to the mortar and was now grinding it into a creamy paste using the pestle.

"Almost done?" she asked.

"Almost..." said Sirius, giving the pestle a few more twists. "There. That should do."

Lyra took the potion off the heat and added three measures of the lavender mixture to it. Once everything was incorporated, they needed to let it simmer for one hundred minutes on very low heat.

To keep them occupied, Lyra and Sirius took to playing Exploding Snap. Unfortunately, this grew to be quite boring after the first hour was through, so they abandoned the cards and just talked.

Lyra sat on the edge of one of the sinks, while Sirius walked aimlessly back and forth in front of her, twirling his wand between his fingers.

"So, how are things with the boyfriend?" Sirius teased, though, if he was honest with himself, he genuinely wanted to know.

"Oh, um," a light blush appeared on her cheeks, "He's alright."

"Hmm.." Sirius took note of her body language, which indicated there was something she wasn't telling him. "Just alright?"

"Well.. If I'm honest.." she started, but then shook her head.

"Oh, come on, out with it," he stopped pacing and leaned against the wall facing her, "You can tell me anything,"

"Okay," Lyra took a breath and then continued, "The thing is, Octavian is a really nice guy. He's sweet, he's romantic, he's thoughtful, and I like him a lot. But.. I feel like something's missing."

"How so?" Sirius tried to look nonchalant, but he had to admit that there was a certain pleasure he took in knowing that Octavian was somehow inadequate.

"I'm not sure. He seems to be more... invested in the relationship than I am. Like he expects more than I can give him." Sirius stood up straight.

"He's not pressur-"

"No, don't be silly," said Lyra, assuring him that wasn't what she meant. "I only mean that he seems to care for me more than I care for him."

"Ah, I see," Sirius tried to hide the involuntary smile that came to his lips. "What about him isn't to your satisfaction?"

"Well, for one thing, he's too serious," she held her index finger against he palm, indicating that she was about to start a list. Sirius thought that if James were here, he'd say something like "He's too Sirius?", and was instantly glad he wasn't. He'd heard that one all his life.

"Doesn't enjoy a good joke, does he?" asked Sirius.

"It's not that he doesn't particularly enjoy them, it's that he doesn't understand them much. He doesn't have the best sense of humor. For example, I can't joke with him the way I do with you or the boys because he wouldn't find it that amusing."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully and then gestured for her to continue. "Go on," he said.

"He doesn't much understand the concept of personal space. Since we're in the same house, he always wants to spend time with me in the common room, which I can't exactly blame him for, but sometimes I'd like to spend time with my friends, you know? Boyfriend free. You can't have any exciting Girl Talk with your boyfriend standing over your shoulder, can you?"

"Well, I wouldn't know," Sirius said, "I'm not much for girl talk."

"You know what I mean," a short laugh escaped Lyra as a mental image of Sirius gossiping animatedly with her friends came to mind.

"Anything else?"

"He treats me too much like a lady."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, not having anyone ever complain to him about being treated like a lady. "How so?"

"It's like he thinks I'll break or something if I get up to do something for myself. It was sweet at first, when he would offer to get a book from across the room for me that I needed, but was too lazy to get myself. Now, though, if I go to get something he runs to do it himself, all the time. It's a bit annoying. I'm not a China Doll that needs to be handled with excessive care, I'm a young woman who isn't helpless or incapable."

"So, what you're saying is, you need a boyfriend who is nice to you, cares about you, has a great sense of humor, gives you space, and treats you like a regular person?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"Sound like anyone we know?" Sirius flashed her his trademark grin as he leaned back against the wall lazily, arms folded across his chest.

Lyra picked up on his meaning and quickly took action. She hopped off the sink and sauntered up to Sirius. She waited until she was right in front of him before she spoke.

"I think I know who you're talking about.." she trailed off, raising her right index finger and dragging it down the length of his chest. She held Sirius' full attention, his grey eyes studying her closely. Lyra leaned in close to him and whispered "But I don't think I want James flaunting after me like he does Lily Evans."

Sirius let out a laugh and leaned his head back against the wall. "Oh, that was clever," he said. Lyra laughed as well, then her eyes squinted for a second before she set them back on the grey orbs of the boy still standing close in front of her.

Both students looked at each other, taking in a silent moment. Biting his lip, Sirius took a chance and stroked her cheek with his fingers. As his hand reached her chin, he let his thumb trace the outline of the girl's bottom lip. Lyra's breath hitched in her throat, and she glanced down to his plump lips for a split second.

"Sirius," she spoke in just a whisper, yet it was enough to snap herself out of whatever mystical moment they were in. "Sirius, we need to finish the potion."

Sirius dropped his hand, stepped back (although there wasn't much more room between Lyra and the wall), and averted his eyes. "Yeah," he spoke softly, and began rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He looked back up to her, smiling sheepishly, and said, "What's next?"

"Um, we have to.." Lyra took out a slip of paper from her breast pocket and examined it. "Add two measures of Standard Ingredient to the cauldron."

Grateful for the distraction, Sirius got to work. Once it was added, he needed to put it on high heat for one minute. He did so, though the silence was beginning to become slightly uncomfortable. He wanted to say something, but he really didn't know what.

"Okay, now put four Valerian springs into the cauldron and stir it seven times, clockwise."

Once the potion was completed, Lyra took a glass vial out of her robe's pocket and bent down to ladel the potion into it.

"Sirius, stop staring at my arse," Sirius blushed and glanced anywhere but where the Ravenclaw was. "Done. Now we just need to slip it in his food or drink, and we got this."

The Gryffindor turned to her and held out his hand, "I'll be sure to give this to James."

"James?" Sirius nodded. "If James is gonna knock him out, then what are we gonna do?"

Sirius smirked, "Have any experience with Fillibusters?"

James sat with his nose buried in a book-Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, in fact- when Sirius crawled through the portrait hole. Glancing up, the boy said, "Took you long enough- what's with that dreamy look, mate?"

"What?" asked Sirius as he snapped out of his thoughts. "What'd you say?"

James smirked and set down the book. "Anything you wanna tell me, Padfoot?"

"Yeah, actually," Sirius said, taking a seat in the squashy armchair next to James. They were alone in the common room, so he took now as the opportunity to get what happened with Lyra off his chest. "Lyra and I had an.. interesting conversation. Well, maybe it wasn't exactly the conversation that was interesting."

James eyes brightened like a child on Christmas morning, "Did you kiss her?"

"Well, not exactly, no, but-"

"What?" James jumped up off the couch. "What do you mean no? If you had an interaction, and didn't kiss her, what the hell did you do?!"

"We were in the girl's bathroom on the second floor, brewing the Sleeping Draught. We had to wait a while for it to brew, so we started talking. After an hour or so, I asked her about Octavian, and she told me all about his flaws as a boyfriend. From what she told me, I told her, in a nutshell, what she was looking for in a guy, and what she was looking for seemed to fit my description exactly."

"Oh," James wiggled his eyebrows, but then gasped and pointed his finger at Sirius, "So why didn't you K-I-S-S her?!"

"Well, I was going to, but I'll get to that in a bit. So, after she agreed with my synopsis of what she was looking for in a man, I smiled at her and said 'sound like anyone we know?' and she just jumped down from the sink she had been sitting on and started walking toward me-"

"She walked toward you and you didn't-"

"James, I swear to Merlin if you don't shut up and let me finish, you will never know what happen between Lyra and me!" James mimed zipping his mouth shut and gestured for Sirius to continue. "Okay, so as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, she was only a few inches away from me, trapping me against the wall, and said 'I think I know who you're talking about' and then trailed her finger down my chest, really slowly. I couldn't've moved even if I'd wanted to. Then she moved in closer and whispered 'but I don't think I want James flaunting after me like he does Lily Evans'!"

"Well, I never!" James mimicked an old lady and placed his hand over his heart dramatically. "I do not flaunt," Sirius gave him a look. "Okay, maybe I do a little, but anyways, you were saying?"

"So, we laughed about it for a bit, but then it got quiet and she still hadn't moved. Being so close to her, I don't know, something just came over me and I lifted my hand to her face and ran my finger down her cheek. She let me do it too, and she sort of stopped breathing for a second. I saw her look at my lips like she wanted to kiss me, then she said my name, but before I could kiss her or do anything, she snapped herself out of it. We went back to finishing the potion and then I came back here."

James patted Sirius on the back, "Sorry, mate. You'll be able to kiss her next time, seeing as she is willing."

"I don't want to be that guy, though. You know, the guy who steals someone else's girl, or gets caught in a love triangle. She has a boyfriend. It's not like Lily who's single, so you can chase after her all you want and no one will have a problem."

"So... what now?" James said, looking at Sirius in thought. "What are you gonna do after an encounter like that?"

Sirius put his hands on his face and dragged them down, looking somewhat defeated and frustrated, "I really, really don't know."

James suddenly got up, "Stay there, I'll be right back." Sirius sat back and curiously watched as his best friend ran up to the dormitory. He heard a thud, a bit of muffled yelling, and then James came traipsing down the stairs, followed by a yawning Remus.

"Alright, who died?" Remus said, slumping down into the couch.

"No one. Sirius is just in need of some advice," said James as he took his seat.

"What's the problem?" asked Remus. Sirius told Remus the entire story, including his confusion over what he should do.

After all was explained, Remus thought to himself for a moment.

After a few minutes of quiet reflection, Remus asked "How much do you like her?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius.

"Well, it doesn't exactly pay to steal her from another guy if you don't like her enough to want to have an actual relationship with her, does it?"

"I guess not, no," Sirius looked down in thought. How much did he like her?

"Before you do anything rash, think about if it's worth it," Remus said. "If it is, if she is worth it, then do everything in your power to win her over."

"But what about Octavian?" Sirius said, slightly worried as to why Remus was so passionate about something seemingly silly.

"You said it yourself that she feels unhappy with him," said Remus. "Besides, girls want you to fight for them, not in the literal sense, per say, but you get what I'm saying."

"So he should kiss her then," said James with a smirk on his face.

"Not exactly," replied Remus. "Prove that he is the better man-that is if you do like her enough- doesn't mean that he should cause Lyra to feel guilty for breaking her commitment to Octavian."

Sirius thought this over. "So I don't kiss her or anything like that, but... Well, what exactly do I do?"

"Treat her like a gentleman should treat a lady," said Remus with another yawn. "Open the door for her, carry her books, but only to the classes you have with her. Stuff like that."

"That's one of the issues with Octavian, though," said Sirius.

"Octavian takes it too far," Remus replied. "Being a gentleman means that you do these things as a sign of respect, not because the lady is weak. For instance, if you and Lyra were walking together and you come to a door, open it for her. If you were not walking together and let's say you see her about to walk through a door, do not run up to her to open it, just to turn right back around and go the opposite way."

"So, hold open the door, and carry her books, but only when going to the same place," Sirius repeated.

"Well, you can carry her books for her even if she isn't going to the same place," Remus said. "But don't take them from her. Offer to walk her to where ever she is going and offer to carry her books. The offer means more to a woman that anything. Isn't that right, Lily?"

James and Sirius turned toward the staircase as the redhead stepped off the last step and made her way to them.

"Wait, you're explaining how to be a gentleman?" Lily asked, "To Black?"

Sirius huffed, "I have you know, Evans, that I found a girl that I actually want to start a committed relationship with, and I would like it if you didn't mock me."

Lily's eyes softened and she took a seat in the empty lounge chair. She assessed Sirius for a moment, and found him to be telling the truth. "Remus is right, you know." Sirius' head shot up and grey eyes met green ones. "I'm guessing the girl is Lyra Sumner, in Ravenclaw?" Sirius nodded. "And she is dating that guy, Octavian Baines, right?" Once again, Sirius just nodded. "Well, Sirius, just start treating her less like a friend and more like a woman. Not even girls like to be placed in the 'friend-zone'.

"Just remember that her feelings matter, as well, so don't break her heart in the process. We may not be fragile beings, but-especially as teenagers- our emotions get the best of us, and sometimes we don't think straight."

"Thank you," Sirius said, smiling at her. "Lily."

She smiled back, and Remus spoke up as he stood, "I'm off to bed. Coming, Sirius? James?"

Sirius nodded and stood up as well. James just waved them off, saying, "I'd like to speak with Lily real quick," he turned to the Gryffindor prefect, "That is if you don't mind." Lily sucked in a breath, but nodded and set her gaze upon her hands.

"Goodnight, mate," said Sirius. "Night, Evans."

"Goodnight, Lily," Remus spoke as he ascended the stairs behind his friend. "James."

Once the pair was gone, James stood up and started pacing; his mind raced trying to figure out the proper words to say. Finally he stopped in front of her, got down on his knees, and held her hands in his.

Still Lily Evans averted her eyes.

"Lily, look at me," James pleaded, almost silently, but green eyes soon met his own hazel. "I'm so sorry. I should have never kissed you when you were so vulnerable. I understand that you can't stand me. I can be arrogant, spoiled, and most of all selfish. I tend to forget that others have feelings as well, and I treated you with such a lack of respect that I can understand your hatred for me. I can't say I regretted kissing you, but I do regret doing so distastefully. You deserve better than that, Lily, and I just want you to know that I'm changing. I'm not going to be that arrogant, spoiled, selfish git you have come to know. I'm gonna show you the true me, Lily, and maybe in time you will let the real James Potter kiss you as passionately as the arsehole James," the young man pushed his glasses up further the bridge of his nose, and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry that I have treated you so badly, Lils, and I hope you can forgive me."

Lily looked into his hazel eyes, biting her cheek as she studied him. Finally she sighed and gave James a gentle smile, "Alright, James, I forgive you. Thank you for stepping up and admitting your fault. That takes a lot of courage," James smiled, but Lily held up a finger. "However, you still have a lot to prove if you want me to believe you have really changed, Potter. So until then, I still refuse to date you, kiss you, and above all marry you."

James smiled and they both stood up. He opened his arms and gestured Lily to hug. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his thin waist, sighing at the comfort she felt as his arms went around her shoulders.

"All I ask is that you keep your mind open to the possibility of loving me, Lils," James whispered into her ear. "But until then, I would like to start new."

James broke away from Lily, holding his hand out to her. Raising an eyebrow and allowing a smile to play on the edges of her lips, Lily complied by placing her hand in his.

"Hi, my name is James Potter," James spoke confidently, grinning a bit. "I'm in my sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I belong to the House of Gryffindor, and I am Team Captain and one of three Chasers for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

Lily's smile broke out completely as she replied, "Lily Evans, sixth year at Hogwarts, Gryffindor prefect, and I absolutely love Quidditch."

"It's nice to meet you, Lily," James said, brushing his lips to the back of her hand.

"The pleasures all mine," she said as a smirk played on her lips, "James."

James smiled and pulled her into another hug, chuckling lightly. Lily complied, and allowed him to kiss her cheek before they pulled back.

"Goodnight, James," Lily said, a small smile once again gracing her lovely face.

"Goodnight, Lily," the boy responded. They both shared one more smile before turning to go up to bed.

It seemed that there might be hope for James yet.