"i want him to irritate me forever"

*

DETENTION REFERRAL FORM

Student: James Potter
Professor: Albus Dumbledore
Date Served: April 2, 1978
Date of Occurrence: April 1, 1978
Reason: Charming Professor Dumbledore's beard to be a shockingly vibrant violet. (Note: Professor Dumbledore would like to offer his congratulations to Mr. Potter, as his charm was a neat bit of magic, but sadly, rules are rules).

Student: Sirius Black
Professor: Minerva McGonagall
Date Served: April 2, 1978
Date of Occurrence: April 1, 1978
Reason: Attempting to bet a kiss from Professor McGonagall on the outcome of the upcoming Quidditch match and walking out of class when she refused.

Student: Peter Pettigrew
Professor: Argus Filch
Date Served: April 2, 1978
Date of Occurrence: April 1, 1978
Reason: Enchanting the jello at dessert to explode at dinner.

Student: Remus Lupin
Professor: Minerva McGonagall
Date Served: April 2, 1978
Date of Occurrence: April 1, 1978
Reason: Using no less than twenty-seven curse words to describe his annoyance with his friends.

Student: Eva Taylor
Professor: Minerva McGonagall
Date Served: April 2, 1978
Date of Occurrence: March 29, 1978
Reason: Claiming that a dog ate her homework for the fifth time this year.

Student: Marlene McKinnon
Professor: Alexander Wicker
Date Served: April 2, 1978
Date of Occurrence: March 6, March 15, March 27, March 28, April 1, all in the year 1978
Reason: Repeated disrespectful behavior towards Professor Wicker.

Note: Today's group will be split into separate classrooms, as Potter and Black are no longer bothered by detention as long as they're together.

A crumpled piece of parchment hit Eva on the side of the head. Her head snapped up and she rolled her eyes at Sirius, who just winked and leaned back in his chair.

"Feet off of the desk, Sirius."

Sirius rolled his eyes but obeyed. "I don't have enough room for my long legs under the desk, Minnie!"

"Come off of it," Remus retorted from another corner of the room. He didn't really mind being in detention because he most definitely deserved it. After his, ahem, outburst, James had to ask what a few of the words meant. Not all of them were even in English. "You're five foot nine."

"Yep. And you're a freaking giraffe. We get it."

When they arrived at Hogwarts as eleven-year-olds, Sirius had a good five inches on his new friends. By their second year, Remus towered over everyone, and in their fourth year, James shot up, too. He never let it go and Sirius never got over it.

"Back to your lines," McGonagall instructed.

Sirius picked up his quill and assumed the air of a well-behaved student. Once again, McGonagall struggled not to chuckle. "What am I supposed to be writing again?"

"I will not act inappropriately towards my instructors."

"Ah, that's the one."  He wrote a few sentences, then looked up again. "I don't know if I should make promises I can't keep. Then I'd be supporting dishonesty."

"You'd better try, unless you'd like to spent Friday night with me, too," answered McGonagall, keeping her lips in a thin straight line, lest they accidentally curve upwards into a smile. The class of 1978 held a special place in the professor's heart, with their jokes and friendships and relationships. They made her remember what it was like to be young and full of life again.

"Are you asking me on a date, love?"

The crumpled up piece of parchment now hit Sirius in the head, and Eva instantly went back to writing her own lines: I will keep both annoying dogs and annoying boyfriends away from my schoolwork.

"Because I've got to say, Minnie, you flatter me, but I already have plans," Sirius said.

"Nice save," muttered Remus. I will not speak of my friends with foul language, even if they are stupid enough to deserve it.

"Oh, that's right." Sirius turned in his chair and addressed Eva. "We have plans Friday night."

She put her pen down as a smile grew on her face. He always loved surprising her. "We do?"

"Yep." He grinned as pink tinted her cheeks and freckled nose.

"Wait, I can't. We have Quidditch practice," she said guiltily, but the final game was the following Saturday, and she needed her team to win.

Sirius groaned dramatically. "You're killing me, Blondie! Okay, we'll just rain check."

"As much as I appreciate your plans, I would appreciate it greatly if you didn't make them during my detention."

The three students returned to writing lines and McGonagall peered at them over her wire-rimmed glasses. She'd spaced them out so that they each occupied their own corner even though she knew it wouldn't stop their chatter.

In one corner sat Remus, hunched over his desk as he wrote, a thin smirk on his scarred face. His task clearly amused him, which brought a smile to the Transfiguration professor's face. He needed to smile more. Right before Christmas, she noticed that his spirits plummeted, but slowly, they'd risen again.

In another sat Sirius, who was ironically the stillest one of all. Minerva suspected his proper upbringing was to blame. He sat at the desk, writing in his signature looping cursive with his left hand. Then, when he'd grow bored, he'd switch to his right hand and continue on with the punishment in normal print handwriting. It was one of the most chaotic yet interesting things she'd ever seen the boy do, which was saying something.

Eva occupied yet another corner, diligently scrawling away on her parchment with a Muggle writing utensil. She'd already drawn flowers up one of her arms out of boredom. Just by the look on her face, Minerva could sense her distaste of writing lines when she had better things to do.

"Miss Taylor, would you happen to have Quidditch practice tonight?"

Eva glanced up from her writing. "Yeah, at eight. I moved it back."

"Because I have a very strong suspicion that a dog did indeed eat your homework, I'll let you go a half an hour early if you get an extra hour of practice in with the team and promise to keep your assignments away from canines in the future."

She perked up instantly. "Really?"

"Really," McGonagall said, smiling thinly at her enthusiasm. "Take these-" she wrote out two short notes, "-to Professor Wicker's classroom and rescue Potter and McKinnon so that they may join you."

"Thanks, Professor!" She ran out, eager to save her friends and get back out on the pitch.

"Miss Taylor!" Eva poked her head back into the classroom, a cute action that nearly made Sirius laugh out loud. "Do try and win, will you? I don't want to give away the House Cup. I've grown rather fond of it, and I don't care to find something new to adorn my shelves."

Professor McGonagall pointed to a silver trophy sitting on a shelf. Eva's green eyes rested on it for a moment before mock soluting.

"Aye-aye, captain. Bye!"

Once she left, Sirius stood, handed his parchment to the professor, and tried to leave.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I'm Gryffindor's personal cheerleader, their morale doubles in my presence, so they probably need me at practice-"

McGonagall pointed to his desk with a quill. "Park it."

Sirius sighed and retreated to his seat, tilting his head with a handsome smirk. "How you wound me, Minnie."

*

When Professor Wicker was too absorbed in papers to pay attention, James stole a glance at the mirror. Seconds later, a gray eye winked at him.

"How much longer is Minnie keeping you?" He whispered hurriedly, then went back to work in case someone would look.

Sirius' voice sounded muffled through the glass. "Dunno, but Eva's coming to rescue you and McKinnon."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. I've got to go, McGonagall's giving me the death glare again."

"Cool."

James shoved the shard of the mirror into his bag and hummed Queen under his breath, pretending to grade papers like a diligent student. The two-way mirrors were really perfect. Even in separate detentions, he could still talk to his mate.

"Excuse me?"

Sure enough, there was Eva, a timid smile on her face. With her yellow t-shirt and jean overalls, she didn't look like she should be in this room, which Wicker kept full of dark objects they studied in class. Her light didn't belong in such darkness.

Professor Wicker looked up at her, a sour attitude written all over him. "Yes, Taylor? It's obviously after hours. Did you need something that couldn't wait until morning?"

She frowned. Each time he spoke, she felt uncomfortable. The professor's behavior towards her puzzled the girl, mainly because she'd never done anything to warrant such open hostility. "Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you see, I have these notes and-"

"Spit it out or stop wasting my time."

James saw her visibly shirk away at the harshness in his voice. Across from him, Peter's lips turned down at the corners and Marlene's blue eyes flashed white-hot.

"These are for you." She dropped two slips on his desk and stepped away as quickly as possible.

The professor's eyes scanned the slips. "Fine. Potter, McKinnon, you're dismissed. Give me your papers."

James jumped up and raced to hand in his work, ready to get out. Marlene took her time, letting everyone watch her meander her way through the desks at a pace that made snails faster than cheetahs.

"McKinnon, are you taking the scenic route of my classroom?" Wicker finally snapped. She turned to look him dead in the eyes, a sweet smile on her face.

"I was trying, but there's nothing interesting to see."

"Hmm," he mocked. "You could look more if you join me in detention next week."

"Do you seriously have nothing better to do than spending your nights with me? Good Godric, I spend more time in here than I do in the dormitory anymore," Marlene said without a trace of fear in her voice. "This dungeon of a classroom's really starting to warm up to me."

With a flourish, Professor Wicker signed off a new detention slip. "Tuesday evening, McKinnon."

"Good. I so enjoy our conversations."

"All right, Marlene, come on." James grabbed her arm and yanked her out the door, but Eva lingered, having just come up with a completely risky idea.

"Professor McGonagall also wanted Peter to come to her office and finish his detention there."

The minute the words spilled out of her mouth, she wanted to stuff them back in, but the hopeful grin on Peter's face made the chance worth it. She wouldn't leave him here alone.

After a moment of silence where he sized Eva up, he nodded. "Pettigrew, you may go."

Once they were out in the hallway and out of earshot, Eva winked at Peter.

"You're dismissed."

"You're incredible, you are," Peter said excitedly, pulling her in for a quick hug.

"Stay out of sight," Eva said with a growing smile on her face. "He'll have my hide if he finds out."

"Later, guys! Good luck at practice!"

Peter ran off to take a shortcut to Gryffindor Tower, leaving the rest of them to head down to the Quidditch pitch.

"Marlene, you've really got to shut your mouth sometimes," said James as they walked down the hallway.

Marlene rolled her eyes. She'd recently taken to lining them with electric-blue eyeliner because a few fifth-year boys nearly tripped over themselves the day she winked at them while wearing it.

"James Potter, you are telling me to shut my oversized set of red lips?"

"Yeah, I am," James replied. He quickly cleaned his glasses off. "You're going to get in big trouble if you keep messing with Wicker."

"I don't care." Marlene caught her reflection in a window and fluffed her hair before turning back into the conversation. "He only has power over me for another month and a half. I've played a good girl for years, and frankly, I'm sick of being quiet."

Eva held up her hand for a high five. "Amen, sister!"

"You two are bloody impossible," James grumbled at the two witches before running off. "I'm going to find the rest of the team! Meet you down there!"

"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" Marlene exclaimed, skidding to a stop. "We got the apartments!"

The girls found a listing in The Daily Prophet for two apartments across the hall from each other in London. Because they had already been considering being roommates after graduation, they jumped on the chance, and Lily sent in an application. No one heard from the owner in weeks and they figured that the offer from four teenage girls wasn't enough.

"What?" Eva shrieked. Marlene threw her arms around her and the two began to jump up and down in the hallway. "We got the apartments!"

"I know! I said that already!" Marlene finally released Eva from the bone-crushing hug. "Merlin, we're adulting."

"Yeah, we are. That's so weird."

"What do you want out of the future?"

Eva thought about it. All her life, she wanted to change the world. Do something big. Make a name for herself. Prove everyone wrong. Now, though, her priorities had shifted.

Her mind wandered to the people she loved, first her parents, who she had lost, and then her friends, who she couldn't bear to lose. More than anything, she just wanted to protect them, but that wasn't the kind of answer her friend wanted to hear.

"I want to be happy."

Marlene snorted. "That's not exactly what I meant."

"It's true, though. I want to stick with you all. You guys make me happy."

She thought of Sirius in specific, and her heart surged. She loved everything about him: how he always put her first, his sense of humor, that half-smile that still sent chills up her spine and butterflies through her stomach, and by Merlin, the way he made the rest of the world fade away for a while. Love overwhelmed the young woman at his name, and every day, she realized more and more that she wanted to spend her life with him.

They weren't conventional, and she was grateful for it. Life with Sirius would be leather jackets and late nights, fireplaces and motorcycles, rock music and kissing just because. And she wanted it. Never mind the war. It could take the backseat for a while.

"Thinking about him?" Marlene asked slyly. Eva laughed a little as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail for practice. "I always thought Jily was going to be the couple of the century, but you two give them a run for their money, I swear."

"Just because you're too girl-power to fall in love," Eva shot back, smiling.

"Just I'm too exciting to settle on anything this early in life," Marlene replied. Her face lit up as she spoke of her future. "Think about it. I don't want to get married. I don't want a partner. I don't need one. I've got friends, and I've got a job lined up with The Prophet. Once I get out of here, I'm not living some stuffy life. I'm going to write what I want and I don't care what others think of it. I'm going to breathe in the fresh air and I'm going to see the world!"

A warm breeze blew over them as they walked down towards the changing rooms. "You're going to change the world, Marls."

"You think so?"

"I think we're all going to light a fire, but you're going to be the one to light the match."

*

"Come on! Go! Go! Go!"

A thunderous cheer rose from the Gryffindors as James threw the quaffle through past the Ravenclaw keeper and through the left hoop.

"Marlene's just got to catch the snitch so this can end already," Remus said, keeping his focus on the game. It was one of the fastest-paced matches he'd ever seen, maybe because it was their last. "They're really playing tough."

Sirius rolled his eyes as the announcer continued his tiring narrations of an actually interesting game. "I can't believe they replaced me with that stupid idiot Lockheart."

Lily slapped him on the shoulder. "Shut up, will you? We're all trying to pay attention."

"Sure, Ginger. You're definitely trying to pay attention to the game. Right."

She hit him harder this time.

On the pitch, Eva kept a tight grip on her broom and tuned out her surroundings. It didn't matter that she threw up that morning out of sheer terror. It didn't matter that the outcome would determine the House Cup winner. It didn't matter that the match had been going on for hours and she was exhausted from a sleepless night. All that mattered was in the moment.

One of the blue-clad chasers launched the quaffle in her direction, but she caught and quickly passed it to Frank, who gave her a thumbs up before speeding off amidst more applause and screaming.

"Taylor passes to Longbottom passes to Potter, quaffle is then intercepted by Davies, then re-intercepted by Potter. Wait, re-intercepted? Is that even a word?"

"Shut up, you bloody blond idiot," Sirius grumbled. "No one cares."

"Popcorn?" Peter offered his friends a bag full of snacks, and Lily plunged her hand into it without a second thought.

"How do you do that?" The redhead demanded.

Peter shrugged. As resident snack-man and secretary of secret Marauder meetings, it was old hat to him anymore. "I have connections in the kitchens."

"-I'm not quite sure if it is a word, but nevertheless, it was true. What's even happening? What have I missed?"

"Gryffindor scores again!" McGonagall yelled into the microphone in a voice that illustrated how clearly she regretted her new choice in an announcer. "Another ten points!"

"Fascinating," Lockheart murmured into the microphone. "Holy Merlin, McKinnon takes a nosedive! I think she's spotted the snitch!"

Everyone held their breath as Marlene flew straight-down. The Ravenclaw seeker took off after her, but it was too late. Marlene's fingers closed around the golden snitch and she pulled her broom up, ending the last Quidditch game for the class of 1978.

"YES!" Eva pumped her fist in the air as Marlene held up the struggling snitch. "YES!"

All of Gryffindor House began to flood the pitch against the wishes of Mr. Filch, who tried in vain to keep them from trampling the newly-tended grass, but no one would be able to stop the stampede of gold and red.

Eva barely touched the ground and set the broom down before James dragged her into one of the tighest hugs she'd ever received.

"WE DID IT!" He screamed into her ear, but it was still hard to hear his words over the noise surrounding them. "EVA, WE DID IT! WE WON!"

"WE WON!" She screamed back, messing up his already-messy hair just because she could. "WE WON THE HOUSE CUP!"

A new set of arms wrapped around her waist and spun her around, causing her to shriek. Sirius instantly put a hand to her face and kissed her deeply before lifting his girlfriend up onto his shoulders. He almost dropped her because neither one could stop laughing. A sea of their house colors surrounded them, yelling and congratulating and jumping.

Peter and Remus were there too, high fiving everyone with wild grins on their faces. Even though Kriss' team lost, her real team was down there celebrating, and Eva watched the Ravenclaw girl work her way through the Gryffindors just to be with them.

James kept hugging everyone he saw, never really taking count of who he actually embraced. Excitement overcame the chaser and he wanted everyone to feel even a fraction of the happiness coursing through him because he'd never felt better in his entire life. He craned his neck, looking past his classmates for one person in particular, and he found her.

Lily launched herself into his arms and he spun around, both laughing uncontrollably. He wanted to memorize everything about the little redhead in his arms, from the flower painted on her cheek to the spirit in her green eyes.

Merlin, James didn't know what to say to her. Staring into her eyes, he couldn't even hear the roar of everyone surrounding them. He set her down, still smiling, but at a total loss for words.

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his lips to hers, and there was nothing to say.

If the crowd was loud before, that was nothing in comparison to its reaction when Lily Evans kissed James Potter.

Eva gasped and nearly fell off of Sirius' shoulders again, and he nearly tripped over Kriss. She had just thrown her arms around the closest person, who happened to be Remus. In the high of the moment, he forgot everything and almost kissed her, but the two distanced themselves seconds later, giving each other awkward smiles. Wolf-whistling the entire time, Marlene and Peter began to exchange winnings from a bet, and in the distance, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall could be seen doing the same. Members of their house cheered because after seven years of phony proposals, snarky comments, harsh glares and sweet moments, it finally happened.

As soon as Lily moved away for a brief second, James immediately closed the distance again, desperate for the one thing he had waited years for. He'd imagined kissing her, of course (a girl that wonderful, who wouldn't?), but never, not in his wildest dreams, did he expect it to be like this. Sweet like chocolate, intoxicating like firewhiskey, and by all means, absolutely unforgettable.

They separated again, but their foreheads still touched. James laughed a little under his breath and Lily just stared in wonder.

"All right, Evans?" he whispered.

"More than all right, you perfect idiot," Lily said, her laugh a tinkling in his ear. "I've been waiting so long to do that!"

"Bet you didn't have to wait seven years," James quipped, a mischievous expression on his slightly sunburnt face. He tilted her chin up. "So I think I win."

Lily only shook her head and kissed him again.

It was a day none of them would forget.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I've been so pumped for this chapter, it makes me smile so much! I hope it brightened your day/night/whatever time.

QOTD: Anyone reading a good book right now?

AOTD: My current read is 'Looking for Alaska' by John Green. I HIGHLY recommend it!