Marauders (Things We Lose Trilogy: Book 1)

James Potter, Muggle Superhero Extraordinaire

Spring had truly arrived, and the Hogwarts students knew it. Not just because a certain date on their calendars marked the beginning of a new month and a new season. The air was warmer, the sun brighter. The snow around the castle had melted away last month, in April when Spring first began, leaving frighteningly icy puddles where the students always seemed to step in them, making their socks unbearably cold and soggy.

This made the students of Hogwarts appreciate the sunny days, not to mention the fact that the Easter Holidays and Easter itself would come in no time at all. Sirius was currently planning what he would need to buy from Hogsmeade on their last visit before Easter Sunday. He required a large amount to give to his friends. Another contributing factor was that he often gave Remus more for Easter than he gave him for Christmas. They did joke about Remus being in love with the very idea of chocolate, but he wasn't really. He did, however, enjoy eating it, it was his favourite food. Had there have been a holiday for bacon, Sirius would have received many gifts at that time. It was the same thing with Remus and his chocolate.

Sirius was not compiling his list of gifts at the moment though, because he was currently dozing off at the back Transfiguration on the last day of Hogwarts' second term of school. He jerked awake as the bell sounded the end of term. Luckily, McGonagall had not seen him taking his nap.

Finally, it was time to relax. It was a plus that he wouldn't have to go home for Easter either, considering that students scarcely went home over the short break. He left the classroom with James and Remus. James stopped suddenly, causing Sirius to hit his head on the back of James's. Sirius saw his friend's hand fly to his scruffy hair. Lily Evans stalked past them, her long red hair rippling in the afternoon light. Seeing James, she turned her nose up and walked faster. Her friends Alice, Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, and Emaline Vance trailed behind her. James stared as she walked by, seeming somewhat entranced by her apparent beauty. His mouth was half open to say some form of greeting, but Lily had marched away before he got a chance to say anything.

"Come on Prongs.. let's go up to the common room", Sirius turned his friend in the right direction and moved him along.

When they arrived in the Gryffindor common room, they found Peter waiting for them after another free lesson in the library. He greeted them as he usually did after time spent in the library on his own, mostly complaining about how dreary it was in there, as well as how he wished he could have been as clever as them, so that he might have achieved more classes. He did cheer up slightly when Remus offered to play a game of Exploding Snap with him. As the two of them set up the cards, Sirius followed James over to the window.

"Nice weather, isn't it", said James positively, taking in the view of the sunlit grounds

"Ah, yeah", said Sirius.

James was acting strangely. Sirius wasn't sure what it was, but James seemed even more lively than he usually was (if that was possible). Sirius was worried, because after their recent sighting of Lily Evans earlier, and now James's heightened confidence, he was sure James was going to do something that wasn't very well planned.

"I want to go flying", said James, "I mean, the sky's clear."

"Oh, right", said Sirius.

James started staring out of the window again, this time he looked as if he was thinking.

"Are you going to enlighten me of the cause for this sudden urge to take to the air?" asked Sirius, curiously.

"No", said James, "I mean, just wait here I'll get my broom. You don't need to worry about yours".

"You do that", said Sirius, now watching his friend with concern.

Sirius stood and observed James going up to the dormitories. He stood there, thinking rapidly about what James was going to do. Not that Sirius really minded James partaking in hair-brained schemes, as long as he got come along too. He was, however, fully aware that this could possibly be some kind of outlandish attempt at asking Lily on a trip to Hogsmeade. Sirius had been waiting for the point when James would resort to making rather grand gestures to win Lily's heart. He had not done anything drastic yet, mostly trying to chat with her, asking her out from time to time, as well as incessantly annoying her. But what would James do? Fly around and show off at her. No, he had done that during Quidditch matches many times, and Sirius felt that his best friend had different plans. Sirius was drawn from his pondering as James descended the dormitory steps, now with his broom tucked under his arm.

"Wha-", he was about to ask James what he had been looking at when the man himself was pulling Sirius away by his arm.

Sirius looked long enough to see a glimpse of red hair on the lake side, and his worries grew.

Sirius followed his best friend silently, intrigued as to were they were going. Before long, James had lead him out of the castle and towards the lake. He stopped under a beech tree. This was the very tree were Snape had called Lily a Mudblood the previous year. Sirius did not want a repeat of her reaction to James's presence on that occasion. Sirius turned his view towards the lake to see Lily and her friends sitting close to the water's edge.

"Right. I need you to distract Evans", said James.

"What?", exclaimed Sirius.

"Shhh, quiet down", warned James.

"How in the name of Merlin's boxers am I supposed to distract Evans?" Sirius was not too keen on this idea. If James had have just brought him along for a prank or some fun, he wouldn't have minded, but this was not his cup of tea.

"I don't know!", James whispered harshly, "Go talk to her or something".

With that, James pushed Sirius out into the open and walked off with his broom over his shoulder. Sirius froze like a deer in headlights as he noticed all five girls were staring at him.

"Heeey. Evans. Ladies", he said slowly. None of them seemed very happy to see him, "How are things?"

"They were good until you arrived", said Lily coldly.

Great idea Prongs. Just leave me here to talk to the only girls in the school who hate me, Sirius thought angrily.

"So, the- the weather", he seized the first thing that entered his head, remembering James comment on the sky earlier, "Yes! The weather! Spring, such a lovely time of year. You know, for the grass to grow and stuff. The, ah, rabbits really like it, I hear. That's probably why Muggles have that fat bunny thing that apparently gives them Easter eggs-"

He was just blindly blathering on, trying to think of something else to say. Lily was looking extremely unimpressed, as were her four friends, Marlene in particular. But thankfully, Sirius was saved, though not in the way he had expected. Something came in at top speed from the air and collided with Sirius and the group of girls. Marlene and Emaline fell backwards into the lake, squealing at the chilly water, and Sirius, Alice, as well as Mary fell over on their backs on the grass. Lily was nowhere to be seen.

Sirius looked around to see what it was when he spotted James soaring away on his broom, which know carried a kicking and screaming Lily. Sirius stood up with lightning speed to get a better look at the spectacle. However, he fell back down with hysterics at his friend's antics. James was looping and twirling in the air, and Sirius could not control his laughter, James had surely gone mad.

"PUT ME DOWN NOW, POTTER!" shouted Lily from above.

"Evans- please just hear me out!", James said back loudly, no doubt trying to shout over the wind.

They were making quite a racket. Students were now gathering around the shore, looking up at the pair on the broom with disbelief on their faces. Only now, did Sirius notice there was something wrong. Lily had started trying to control the broom with disastrous results. It flipped upside-down, dropping both her and James into the lake water with resounding splashes. Sirius's laughter quietened as he saw their heads bob up from the water. He new James had gone too far this time.

Lily clambered onto the shore, where she was helped up by Mary and a shivering Marlene. The five girls marched past Sirius, glaring as they went. Next came poor old James. He sloshed half-heartedly out of the water carrying a soggy broom.

"I really hope you find a better way of flirting, Prongs", Sirius regarded him with pity.

"Yeah, well now I'm all wet", said James grouchily, "And she still didn't want to come for a fly."

"Surprising, that", Sirius remarked rather dryly, "Still, that is a rather literal way of sweeping Lily off her feet..."