Ellei and Cj and Tsuki

"You act like I'm the only one running around after her," James said gravely, eying down Snape.
"Yes, the only difference is, she cares about me. You're simply a big-headed idiot of a Gryffindor. You shame the house. All of you do," Severus said, motioning at the rest of us. "Blacks belong in Slytherin, your mousy friend there is obviously a duffer, so I'd say Hufflpuff, and the know-it-all goes to Ravenclaw. As for you, Potter, I don't think you belong here at all. You seem to be wasting the time of students and teachers alike." Snape looked smug at his long speech and I had to hold Padfoot by the arm to keep him from charging over to clock Snivellus for saying he belonged in Slytherin. If there was one thing that Sirius was proud of, it was the fact that he was the first in his family to be a Gryffindor, full of bravery.

"That little...how dare he say I belong in Skytherin." I wanted to pucnh Snivvy in the nose but Lupin was holding me back. James looked offended.

"Ok I agree with you on Wormtail." James replied icily. Wormy squeled indignetly. I laughed. "But both Padfoot and Prongs both belong in Gryffindor, as do I." He said. "I don't see why your here either Snivilous, your none of them your too stupid to even be in Hufflepuff."

"Did I just hear you say what I thought you said Potter." A voice growled. I turned and saw Lily standing by the door.

"Hello Evans." James said brightly.

"Get a life Potter." She replied,

I felt happy that James had defended me, but the second I saw Lily I knew that I was going to lose every last bit of my favorite fudge. "Eurgh, Wormy. You might as well take all your winnings now. With Lily here, James will just go all wobbly in the knees and give in." Sirius laughed and jingled his coins together.
"It's not over till the fat lady sings," he said.
"Oh, is that so? Are we supposed to hear her from all the way down here? Gryffindor common room is a long way up." Even Peter laughed at this and we were momentarily distracted. When we looked back at the impending fight, Severus Snape was holding his nose and Lily Evans was beating at Prongs's chest as if she would kill him. James did nothing to protect himself, only stood there, probably enjoying that Lily was that close to him. "What happened?"

I laughed. "Any way I was going for Snivvy I think you heard me wrong Moony." I smiled at him and winked. "I'll half it with you if you agree with me." I whispered. Lupin nodded.

"We may have Padfoot, lets see hwo it turns out."

"Wait who was I going for?" Wormy asked,

"You wanted James to win." I lied grinning.

"I did?"

"You did."

*Lily*

I was furios. That Potter and his no-good freinds. I walked down the stiar.

"Leave him alone Potter." I growled.

"Why should I?" James snarled, and I was surprised at the antipathy in his voice. I'd never heard him talk to Lily so harshly, but I was certain that he would regret it later. "It's not like he's ever tried to be civil to me." He crossed his arms and stared greedily at her, and I could almost read the thoughts behind his eyes "He's got her, and doesn't even know it. He doesn't even take advantage..." I shook my head. This was something that bothered Prongs often, the fact that Snape spent all his time with Lily and obviously fancied her, yet he had never tried to be anything more than her best boy mate.
I glanced at Padfoot and wondered if all of this stress was good for him. Normally he would have enjoyed himself in a situation like this, but lately they had begun to make him anxious. Actually, he was more anxious all the time, although others probably interpreted it as him being slightly more hyper than usual. "Hey, are you sure you wanna be around for this? You're looking a little green around the edges," I said, hoping that I could get him off by himself.

*lily*
I laughed. "your always green Potter, so full of yourself. Go bug someone with your own stupidity." I snarled. "And leave me and Sev alone."

*Padfoot*

"Looks like you just lost Wormy." I laughed,

"I did?"

"You did." I winked at Mooney who smiled slightly trying to stop James from doing wahtever he was going next.

"Come on Sev." Lily said.

"Your Lucky Evans was here Snivilous." Prongs spat.

I watched as the backs of our least favorite Slytherin and James's favorite Gryffindor disappeared. This was starting to get out of hand. It seemed like every other day we were getting into some sort of disagreement; if not with Snape, it would be with each other. I'd heard James and Sirius argue over BISCUITS that morning at breakfast, honestly. Times were getting strained and I wasn't really sure why.
"Pay up, Wormy," Padfoot demanded, and I smiled as Peter dug in his pocket and produced several grimy coins. We split them between ourselves and each kept our original bets, although Padfoot, being his normal selfed, nicked a piece of my fudge when he thought I wasn't looking.
"You know, I'm not usually one to say this, but I'm bored," I remarked as we sat on the steps. It was a shame to spend such a pretty day moping about our varioius fates.

(I was bored so I thought I'd edit my post )

I smiled as Wormy forked over his money then nicked some of Moony's when I thought he wasn't looking. Munching on the chocolate I grinned at Prongs who looked herart broken.

'Agrred." I said to Lupin then to James. "Cheer up mate, but I doubt she'll ever like you.'

'I dont think that's helping.' Lupin sighed. I grinned at him.

*Lily*

I sighed and walked around the school wishing Potter and his idiots of freinds would just leave me and Sev alone.
"Watcha Lil." Someone said. I looked up and saw Tonks.

"Oh Hey Nymph." I said.

"Nymph? That's a new one." She grinned and glanced at me, "Whats up?"

"Potter's being a jerk to Sev." I muttered,

"Hmm...yea." Tonks said not really paying attension, she seemed sidetracked.

"Don't go about grinning like that, Padfoot! Can't you see we're all horribly upset over James's failed love life?" I couldn't help but smile surreptitiously at him, though. Sirius's grin was infectious and even when we were all upset, a couple of insanely random remarks was enough to have us all laughing again. Well, usually. Prongs as a special case lately.

"I just don't get it. I think I'm going to throw myself off the Astronomy tower. Tell my parents I love them, won't you, Pads? They can keep you as replacement son, you'll be the Potter heir. Not so prestigious as the House of Black, but hey, there's money! You like that. And I'll be dead. Dead where Evans can no longer rip my heart to shreds." James continued on his melodramatic rant and I only shook my head at him.

"It's not the end of the world, James. She's one girl. Admittedly, she's nice and quite clever, but she is not the moon and the sky ad the stars." Stars. Sirius was a star. And that wasn't me being all sappy either, that was facts. But that would be a dumb thing to mention, wouldn't it? Either creepy or dorky, or both. "You know, you could try going after her in a decent fashion."

"Prongs." I sighed. "If you threw yourself off the astronmy tower who would I have to get into trouble with?"

"I dont get it." Prongs grumbled. "How can Snivvy get her? She doesn't loath him and he's a Slytherin, and a slimy git and-"

"Yes. yes we know." I muttered.

"He just wants to be freinds, and she like adores him." He made a face.

I smiled sadly. Prongs got into these weird moods all the time now. He was always obsessing over Evans and how Snape had her, and he only wanted to be freinds with her, and how Snape didn't deserve her and how every other girl would jump at the prospect.

"You need to face it Prongs. She's just not that into you."

"But why?"

"Who knows." I shrugged. "Girls have weird brains."

*Lily*

Tonks walked off after we talked for abit, to be truthful I didn't feel like talking to anyone much, I felt like punching Potter again. Stupid git. Didn't he get that I didnt like him? Didn't he get that I thought he was a aggnorant git that thought he was awesome when he's not? Didn't he get that I wasn't about to fall head over heels for him? Seriously I could tolerate some of the Slytherin's better then I could tolerate that annoying excuse of a person.

"Weird? More like incomprehensible. Woman begins by resisting a man's advances and ends by blocking his retreat." I smiled at the quote but James frowned at me.

"How do you just say things like that, Moony? I bet you could just talk at a girl and she'd fall down and worship you. Bloody brains."

"I don't just say them, Prongs, it's Wilde. Oscar Wilde. You'd know nothing about him, he was a downright Muggle, and a bent one at that. You know, you could read up a bit and say just as many things as I do."

All three of my friends cracked up. Right. Books were apparently a joke unless they were gettng you good marks in school, and sometimes not even then, seeing as my single test paper was much easier to read than a dozen textbooks. I sometimes wondered just how ignorant they would be without all of my help.

"Honestly, Prongs. You could try being decent to her, you know. Try things like, dunno, NOT insulting her best friend and NOT talking about how brilliant at everything you are? It might deflate your head a bit."

I finally went back to Gryffindor common room and sat by the fireplace. It was empty, it was too nice a day to spend indoors, but outdoors you had the chance of running into the Maruaders, A chance I didn't want to take as I had already bumped into them twice today and it was not something or someone I liked bumping into, abnoxious gits.

*Sirius*

"He does have some good advice." I said chomping on the chocolate I had nicked from Moony earlier.

"But Snivvilois is such a annoying-" Prongs kept ranting and the rest of us zooned out. Like we usaully did when James went on about soemthing non-stop. Ok Evans was pretty but do we need to hear hi smay everyfive minutes? No we did not. It tended to get on ones nerves.

"I'm bored." I complained cutting into James' ranting. "Lets do something fun that doesn't include Evans telling Prongs he's an idiot, because as amusing as that is, it will not lift his mood." I sighed and finished the chocolate and leaning back on the tree. I liked hanging out outside with my freinds. It was fun, jsut to hang out and annoy Snape even if it did end in Evans shouting at Prongs. Peter wasn't usually a very livley person, he just followed what we did not really caring, not really contributing. It was like he was a follower not a freind.

I watched as Sirius finished up the chocolate he was eating (had he nicked that off me? If he had, I hadn't noticed) and I vaguely wished I could taste it. The logical part of me told me that I still had Ghoul Fudge in my robe pockets, but I didn't reach for it. "Well, let's see. Things that keep us far away from Lily. She's always in the library or the common room, so we can't go there. Errr. Forbidden Forest, bad idea. Shrieking Shack, same. I don't know. Padfoot, you're the fun one, you think of something!"

"Yeah, but you're the smart one," Peter said, glancing up from where he'd been picking at his fingernails. "It's your job to think of things, isn't it?" Sirius nodded in agreement and I heaved a sigh.

"Well, I'm fresh out of ideas You have exhausted my brain cells at long last. I am not all body and no mind. Might as well be wolf all the time like this. No use for me now, is there? Just leave me here to die." I was simultaneously having a bit of a whine about how the boys saw me and also getting to wallow around in drama just as much as James did. It wasn't nearly as fun as I though it'd be, but they were paying attention to me, which was always a good sign. It still amazed me even after all these years that I really had friends, good ones at that.

And Padfoot. I had him. Whatever he was. Awkward best mate whose eyes make me go all poof-y and start thinking about stars. Miraculously, he has not noticed. I don't think any of them have really. They are delightfully oblivious and I wonder if that should make me happy or sad.

I made a face. "Then I'd be left with Wormtail to hang out with if Prongs jumps off the astronmy tower and we just left you here to die."

I sighed and wracked my brains for ideas. "I havn't got a clue. What do you think Prongs?" I asked him. James always had idea's not matter how stupid they were. They were idea's.

"I wish it were the full moon then I'd have soemthing interesting to look forward to tonight."

*Lily*

I scowled at the empty mood. It was as if the Marauders main purpose it life was too annoy the life out of Severus and me, which I had to admit they were pretty good out. I couldn't understand why half the girls in the school liked they, expically Potter and Black. Lupin was fairly ok, but he was the kind who kept to himself and wasn't worried about girls or anything like that. He worried about tests and school worked. He actually helped balance the Maruaders out. He had a calm scence of thinking and actually I was surprised he wasn't a Ravenclaw. He got fairly good marks and liked to study for them. Pettigrew I had no clue how he got into Gryffindor. He didn't seem brave. Personally I thought he would be better in Hufflepuff, Potter and Black could join him too for all I cared.

"Well, that's four days from now, as I'd know, and as none of us have got a time-turner we're out of luck. Don't know why you're so keen on me turning into a killing machine anyway. Hurts like hell," I said, rubbing a spot on my back that never seemed to stop hurting. Every time the ache started to fade it was time again, and I'd phase and the muslces would rip apart again.

"Because you're a fun killing machine," Peter said, and although it was probably the dumbest thing any of them had ever heard, James nodded in agreement. Peter grinned happily at the acceptance of his theory.

"Well, it's no fun for me, at least the first bit and the last bit. And the in-between is sort of a blur later, so..." I shrugged. It was true. I ran with the boys all those nights mostly for their benefit, even if I did know it made the wolf to be happy to be able t run free. "Anyway, no full moon. Er, we could go to the Room of Requirement?" I asked. We'd found the room one day while prowling around with the Map but we rarely visited. James and Sirius preferred to do any and all of their deeds in public so that they could be praised later.

I shrugged. "That could work..." I yawned tiredly. "Well as no-one has nothing better to do, I vote we do that." I attemped to stand up got my foot tangled in a tree root and fell over landing on top of Remus. I grinned broadly. "You make a very soft landing Moony." Prongs looked over and laughed at us. "You two are going to be the death of me." He swore smiling at us and then getting up easily. I attempted to stand up again but fail misrably. "Any help?" I asked James holding out my hand. He grabbed it and half pulled me up but let go when I was halfway up. I landed with a thump on the grass. I stood up and tackled Prongs sending us both flying to the ground.

Padfoot's clumsy feet somehow led him to fall directly across me, although much more gracefully than I could have managed. How one can fall gracefully is beyond me, but unlike me, who'd be gettng knees in unfortunate places and half his hair tugged out, Sirius has landed softly and is smiling wickedly instead of nursing wounded body parts. Before I had a chance to register more than the fact that he smelled like chocolate and also vaguely of dog treats, he was rolling about in the grass with Prongs and Peter was laughing and cheering and I couldn't help the slight frown that crossed my face. It was always James, wasn't it?

"Oi, aren't we going someplace?" I asked impatiently. Digging about in my robes (and sticking my fingers through a fair few new holes as I went...it must be time to start patching again) I pulled the map out and waved it before their faces. "Y'know, the room that contains all your dreams? Oh! James have you tried thinking that you really need Evans while walking past it? Could work, mate." Of course it couldn't, but seeing his face light up with hope was good enough for me, and he was shoving Padfoot off, grabbing the map, and setting off rather swiftly towards the castle.

After tumbling after for a bit. Moony said something about walking past the door and wanting Evans. I snickered. If he fell for that...and he did. I laughed getting up and brushing grass and twigs off my robes. James was marching as fast as he could towards the castle and the rest of us had to fast walk, run to catch up with him. We got to the room and James walked past the door. He opened his eyes and frowned at it when a door didn't appear.

"Ohwell." I muttered shoving him out of the way and walking past it. I opened my eyes and swung open the door. "Don't you just love the pool?" I asked them walking in and sitting down on the edge. The Room of Requirment never seised to amaze me with it's wonders. Looking to the edge I noticed some swiming trunks and pulled them on. Before James had any time to compose himself, I grabbed him and pushed him into the pool falling in with him as my hand had gotten stuck in his robes.

"Padfoot you prat." He said trying to swim to the edge. Which wasn't a easy feat in robes. "Now it's all wet."

I shrugged. "You'll live." I ducked under water and swam to the other side of the pool

I laughed as James gave up on making Evans appear in the room, but groaned inwardly as Padfoot conjured a room with a pool. I watched as he slipped into swim trunks and pushed James in happily. Carefully, trying to appear content, I removed my socks and shoes and dipped my feet into the shallow end.

"Come on, Moony, swim with us!" Peter burbled from the deep wend, where he looked as if he was paddling for his life.

"Yeah, Remus, you can come doggy paddle Sirius!" James said, cracking up over his own (stupid) joke. I shook my head quickly and looked away. "Oh, come on, Moony. We see all your bits and such every full moon, is it so bad to put on a pair of swim trunks?" This time I nodded fervently and gave a resigned shrug.

"I just...I don't do it, okay? I'm not going to show off these scars like some kind of badge of honor. They ought to be hidden Besides, they're hideous."

I swam over to the edge where Moony was sitting and clibed up to sit next to him dripping water everywhere. "They are not hideous." I said grinning broadly. "They are bloody awesome, you my friend are to self concious for your own good." I muttwered shaking my head sending water flying everywhere and mostly on Remus. He was such a downer sometimes, never fully joining in in some activities. We couldn't get rid of the scars so he might aswell learn to get along with them. I sat there quietly for a few seconds. James managed to pull himself out of the pool to go and get ot of his robes but I stood up and pushed him back. "Liven up Moony." I said pushing him in too. Then running and bombing into the pool, Peter squeeked. I laughed,

"Padfoot, you have obviously lost whatever was left of your m-," and with that I was being pushed in. I bobbed back up to the top quickly, spluttering and trying to get all the water out of my nose and mouth. "Did you put chlorine in here Sirius? Do you even know what chlorine is? It burns something awful!" I whinged. As I looked down, it was obvious that my robes were going to attempt to drown me. Ah well, I thought, in for a Knut, in for a Galleon. Instead of strugglng about like James I pulled my wand from my pocket (who knew the effects of chlorinated water on the wood and core of the wand? That was research for another time.) and vanished my clothes. A pair of blue swim trunks appeared on the side of the pool and I pulled them on. My clothes, which if we had been anywhere else would probably have landed in Majorca, were netly folded up at a safe distance from the pool, dry.

Frowning down at the many marks that ran across my body like a perverse sort of map, I fumbled around to the shallow end and tried to linger in the corner where it'd be hard to get a good look at me, but the boys were having none of it, pulling me out to the middle of the pool where I was visible from all angles, pale and blotchy in embarrassment. "Okay, I'm thoroughly humiliated now. Was that strictly necessary?" I asked, but then Jame and Peter and Sirius were all splashing about, dunking each other, and I couldn't help but join in. Sometimes, I supposed, it was okay to forget to worry and just be a guy. Well, a guy who was being distracted by his only partially clothed best mate, but close enough, eh?

Sirius smiled broadly as the boys started to dunk each other then swim as fast as you could before they got you back. Unless you dunked Peter he just swam there flailing his arms and legs attempting not to drown. Sirius wondered if Peter had ever had swimming lessons before coming to Hogwarts because he would have drowned himself the first time they swam in the lake, if James hadn't run...well swam over to help him. They had spent the last of the afternoon attempting to teach Peter to swim, which didn't really work so they gave up and swam out in the lake, if Peter wanted to join them he could learn how to swim himself. Sirius dunked James then sped off but didn't get out of arms reach before James' grabbed his ankle and sent him under, they had a underwater wrestling match untill they both got to the top gasping for breath.

I finally let go and enjoyed myself that afternoon with my friends. However, it also meant that I ended up staying up extra late that night, making sure that all of my assignments were completed. The next four days passed in a blur of things as usual: James was nearly killed by Lily at least twice, Sirius punched 6 different people in the face for various reasons, Peter told James how great he was every five minutes and lost a load of money and sweets to Sirius on bets. I, for the most part, felt more and more uncomfortable in my own skin as the full moon neared. Even if I did enjoy running free with my friends, the phase was still painful, and the few days before the moon was a perfect sphere in the sky always put me ill at ease. I was often on edge and every time I snapped at one of my friends (especially Padfoot) I felt horrible. I couldn't wait for the night to come so that I could get the phase over with and let my mind and body go back to normal for a while....or at least as close to normal as a werewolf ever gets.

The next four days passed quickly, not much happened apart from the fact that Lily nearly killed James a few times and I punched some people in the face. In my defence they deserved it. Peter copied my homework that I had copied off James whohad copied off Remus, so all in all Remus did about four lots of homework by only doing his own. On the day off the full moon the four of us were distracted by various things and all up ended losing about fourty points from Gryffindor by the end of the day. Professor Slughorn told James off for nearly setting fire to his robes and for setting fire to mean which resulted in both of us getting detension. (which I thought was unfair as I hadn't done anything) and the loss of twenty points. We got to the great hall and none of us really ate much, we never did on the night of the full moon which left us starving the next morning for all our running about and not eating. I pushed my plate away after about two bites and grinned at James.

I was too anxious to keep too much of a check on the boys that day, and I felt more and more on edge as they slowly ate away at Gryffindor's hard-earned points. Finally, it was the end of classes and I found myself pushing my food around my plate, staring longingly at the bits of steak I so desperately would've loved to have eaten. It was hard to eat before the change because my insides already felt like they were twisting into the shapes they would form tonight under the moon's light. I looked up at James, Sirius, and Peter, who were all grinning like mad. I wished that these nights were the same for me as they were for them - a fun time to be had, that they could stop when they tired of it. I smiled faintly at them.

"Ready for another night of taming the beast, mates?" I asked, trying to look forward to the night. Beyond the phase, it usually was a good time, running free with my friends, but it was never quite enough to make the pain worth it.