That day, during breakfast, the Marauders overheard Lily telling Marlene, "There was something in the room, I tell you! I showed you the broken bottle!"

"It must've been Peeves," said Marlene calmly.

"No—no, it wasn't. Peeves would announce himself—" Lily was starting to get worked up.

"It might've been something else," said James. "Or someone," he added in a deadly whisper.

"Potter." Lily looked up at him, wearing her familiar furious look. "It was you." It was a statement.

"No, it wasn't. Really it wasn't me—" began James.

Lily ignored James.

"Your fault," hissed James to Sirius.

"Evans is a useless puffed-up prig, James! When will you get over her?" asked Sirius.

"I dunno, do I?" muttered James.

--------------------

Remus was frequently absent from the common room on account of Prefect duties.

"I told you a Marauder shouldn't be a Prefect! It wastes time!" said James.

"Not to mention that he gets to hang out with Evans all the time," added Sirius.

"There's a Hogsmeade visit next week. D'you that Evans will go out with me?"

"Not the ghost of a chance."

Sirius' discouraging reply did not deter James. He approached Lily in the evening.

"Hi, Evans!" James messed up his hair.

"What do you do that for?" said Lily. "Think it makes you look cool?"

"Er—" said James, very much on the back foot.

"It doesn't. It's too bad that most people can't see how arrogant and cruel you and your friends are," said Lily.

"C'mon, Evans, we're not that bad...we've won a lot of points for Gryffindor."

"In Quidditch? And haven't you lost more than enough points for bullying, hexing and misbehaving?"

James stared at her for some time.

"Er...what I came to say is—" James' hand jumped to his hair automatically. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"In your dreams," said Lily rudely. She turned back to her books.

--------------------

"Cheer up, Prongs!" begged Sirius after an hour during which James had continuously sulked.

"Hi, Sirius!"

They looked up to see Marlene smiling down at them.

"What?"

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Hasn't someone already said this today?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, but it was your best friend asking my best friend. Now I am asking you. Will you?"

Sirius scowled suddenly. "If your best friend won't go out with my best friend, I will not go out with you."

"Shut up, you two," groaned Remus, who was trying to study.

Marlene decided it was best to retreat.

"We will go to Hogsmeade together—the four of us," said Peter timidly.

"You're right, Pettigrew. No damned girl ever comes between Marauders, all right, James?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah, ok."