James and Lily Potter: Second year

Chapter 4: second year

"Look at this! A week after school starts and our homework pile is piling up!" complained James Potter, throwing up his hands in frustration. "How does Evans finish all this?"

"She doesn't procrastinate like you do, Jamie-boy," said a work-absorbed Sirius Black lazily, as he tried to concentrate on remembering all the Potions antidotes. Finally, he threw up his hands in the air as James had done, causing the new first years to be startled. "God, Hurst is trying to kill us, he is! How does he expect me to remember all these?" Sirius shoved a long piece of parchment into James, revealing a whole long list of complicated Potions antidotes.

"He doesn't," said James. "He's just trying to make everything harder so that we can all fail. Then when he sees the Slytherins failing, he can just change the answers so it'll look like they memorised them better than us. 'Course, Evans isn't clever enough to figure this out so she studies anyway."

"Stupid git," muttered Sirius. James looked delighted.

"You mean Evans?"

"No, you moron, I was talking about Hurst!"

"Oh." James sounded dejected and went back to scanning his own Potions notes.

"Hey Jamie-boy, can I borrow your potions notes?" asked Sirius, after a while of silence.

"Why?" asked James suspiciously. "Don't you have your own?"

"Of course I do," snapped Sirius. "I just want to use yours, since i take the worst notes in Potions. In fact-" he showed James his potions notes. "I don't really have much on those stupid antidotes."

"Sirius, you don't have anything on them!" cried James. "What do you do all Potions class? Drool at Arabella?"

"Pretty much."

"Wait 'till Evans hears this and she'll have a fit."

"I'm so scared."

"Yeah, right you are."

"Hey, Lily has a pretty high temper gauge, you know!"

"I know," said James, wincing, as he remembered several painful experiences.

"Will you guys shut up for a minute?" hissed Remus, impatiently, rubbing his forehead in concentration. "I'm trying to memorise these antidotes here!"

"Sorry Remus," apologised James. "But don't you realise what Hurst is trying to make us do?"

"Fail?" suggested the tired boy.

"Exactly. So we shouldn't study!"

"Er- right."

"I think that you should study for everything," said a stern voice from behind them. A weary-looking redhead was glaring at the four boys.

"Hi Lily!" said Sirius enthusiastically. "How're you doing today?"

"Fine," was all Lily managed to say, before she glared at James.

"You would do a bit better if you actually studied," she snapped ferociously.

James was taken aback. "Aww, come on Lily, you think the high and mighty James Potter would actually study?"

"No. But you should... if you're going to pass the second year." Lily smirked.

"I'm calling Deanna!" whined James.

Lily snorted. "Think again, boy, because Deanna's with another boy now." she pointed to a corner of the common room, where Deanna was flirting with a blushing fourth year.

"Who's that?" snarled James.

"I think that's Kevin Patil," replied Remus, squinting at the couple.

"You should've paid more attention to her, Jamie-boy. Now she's dumped you for that fourth year."

"Whatever." James looked extremely put -off at the prospect of a girl dumping him but began to hyperventilate at the announcement of Quidditch tryouts at the end of the week. "We certainly need better players!" he roared enthusiastically, as he dragged Sirius to the battered bulletin board. They were in need of one chaser, one beater, and a keeper since the three of those players who played last year graduated from Hogwarts. "Quidditch," said James loudly, so that Lily could hear him, "is something that Evans cannot do."

"Shut up Potter," snapped Lily grumpily, as she studied her Potions notes again.

"Evans insulted me!" cried James, causing several girls to look up and glare at Lily.

"Potter is an egotistical idiot," muttered Lily, before retiring to her dormitory for the night. Arabella followed her but shot daggers at James before walking up the staircase.

Sirius frowned after her. "Now look what you did, Jamsie. The girls are turning against us."

"Shh! Sirius, I have a brilliant plan to help Remus."

Sirius' eyes widened. "How?" he whispered excitedly.

James showed him his careful Transfiguration notes he took that day and whispered excitedly, "Animagi."

The two began whispering and plotting excitedly until Peter stepped up to them, frowning. "What are you talking about?" The two boys looked at each other and let Peter in on the conversation. After what seemed like hours of plotting, they decided to wake up Remus and tell him their 'ingenious' plan.

"Remus!" The three boys shook Remus, who was asleep in an armchair by the fire.

"Wha-what?" he murmured sleepily. The boys then began discussing their plan to Remus, who listened, wide-eyed.

"You mean- become Animagi? For...for me?"

"Of course," stated James. "Why is that so unusual?"

"You'd really do that for me?"

"Course." The three boys nodded in assent.

Remus broke into a true smile that lit up his whole face. "You guys are the best friends anyone could ever have." 

A/n sorry it's a bit short, getting back into the story so I gotta try to remember my ideas :)