Padfoot and Prongs (James)

[sirius black]

The full moon was high in the sky as a big black dog trotted across the Hogwarts lawn, a large bag of candy in its jaws. To any onlookers it would be quite the peculiar sight, but Sirius was careful to keep to the shadows. His mind was still swimming with thoughts of Zara, and had he not been in animagus form, a grin would surely be spread across his face. He was lovestruck.

Sirius stood just inches away from the Womping Willows reach, doubtful that he could get through unscathed as a dog. He let out a howl in the trees direction, the signal to his friends that he had returned. He felt guilty that he had disregarded them and spent the day with Zara, but just couldn't bring himself to regret it. Not even close.

He knew that they would have to wait until the morning to enjoy the treats he was bringing and to scheme with the knew practical jokes, after all they couldn't risk taking their human form with Remus in such a state, but he figured his friends wouldn't die of a few hours anticipation. He just hoped they weren't too upset with him.

[James Potter]

James could feel his stomach growling. Really, really loudly. And anyone who knew him knew that James Potter was never someone who could withstand hunger. He turned into a psycho when unfed.

His best mate Sirius Black should know that. How many times had he irritated the hell out of Sirius when he got hungry at midnight? How much has he pestered him to follow him to the kitchens in the dead of the night over the past 5 years. And yet the silly boy had not made it to Shrieking Shack yet.

James was still in his stag form, devicing a plan to run his antlers through Sirius' butt, when he heard the howl. Quickly changing into his human form, he asked Peter to go press the tiny, secret knot so that Sirius could come in.

Usually, all of them would be still in their animal forms, keeping Remus company when he had to turn into a werewolf. But that full moon, the transition had ended pretty early, and the human Remus was already snoozing. It was just the human James who was close enough to turn into a werewolf thanks to his growling stomach. He could almost hear the Whomping Willow slow down as Peter, in his human form, touched the knot. Sirius would be here soon. James had to be ready to pounce on him for being late with the candies.

[sirius black]

When Sirius saw his human form, he assumed that it was safe to transform himself. He walked towards James, trying to hide his clear happiness, and put on his best apologetic expression. "Sorry Prongs, I got sidetracked, completely unavoidable" he said, grinning and dropping the treats at his best mates feet. "But hey, I brought enough to feed an army!" he added with a chuckle.

Sirius knew that James was upset with him, and that he would get his revenge, but it was worth it. He was suspicious of his pal as they started down the tunnel, staying out of arms reach, but grinning and bantering with him the whole way "So, the cycle ended early, huh? Lucky for the lot of us" he commented, glad that Remus was out of pain and back to normal. He really did feel bad for his friend, and knew that if he ever crossed the werewolf that so maliciously infected Remus, it would be the last thing that mangy mutt did.

[James Potter]

The moment Sirius made it into the run-down room, James literally pounced on him as planned, smacking him over the head before grabbing the bag of candies off the floor and plunging his hand into it. All this was done with minimal noise, because James didn't want to wake Remus from his nap, who was just in the adjacent room. He should be really tired.

"Oi, Padfoot, you have any idea how bloody long you took to get your butt over here?!" he asked him, before grabbing two Chocolate Frogs and chucking them into his mouth simultaneously. James was well-known for his horrifying table manners, but he didn't really care. His friends were pretty much like him. "I wa' starfin', as' Pete how restles' I wa'" he said through his munching.

Once he swallowed at least a quarter of the candies, he paused long enough to observe Sirius a little more closely. "Wipe that grin off your face, mate. You look like a giddy thirteen-year-old girl. What's gotten you into such a good mood? The gorgeous lady at Pudifoot's gave you treats again thinking you were a poor, stray dog?" he asked Sirius, grinning as he waggled his eyebrows.

[sirius black]

Sirius' attempt to dodge James' attack failed miserably, and before he could even react his best mate was shoving candy down his throat and the side of Sirius' head ached where he had hit it. Oh well, he had deserved it anyway. He grinned as James' attempted to complain through a mouthful of chocolate frogs. "s'rry Prongs," he said, mocking his muted vowels with a sense of comradery, "I Di'nt thin' you'd die of 'arvation!". He grinned, and punched him in the shoulder.

Sirius had joined the feast, and was now making faces as he tried the every flavored jelly beans, which happened to be every flavor [/]. He grimaced as he forced down a particularly unpleasant one, "Why do we eat these again?" he asked, popping another into his mouth. He laughed loudly at James' comment about the lady at Puddifoot's, not bothering to take any offense. "Nope! Better" he replied, a mischievous grin on his face. He thought again of the amazing Zara Girard. He had it bad.

[James Potter]

James sniggered at the expressions Sirius was giving as he ate the Every Flavour Beans. "Why? Oh my dear friend, where's the fun in life without such risks?" he smirked, taking one and popping it into his mouth. Peppermint. Hmm, not that bad.

He shot his best mate a weird look when he continued grinning and said something about it being even better. "Okay, Padfoot, now you're just scaring me. You look like how I look when I see my Lily-bee, and you're not talking right. Did you hit your head somewhere? I knew I shouldn't have let you gone alone. You would be clumsy!" he exclaimed.

"So before I pack you up and send you to Madam Pomfrey, who'd probably force a nasty potion down your throat no matter that you're feeling fine or not, out with whatever that happened. And please, not with that grin. My eyesight is poor as it is," he joked, grinning.

[sirius black]

Sirius chuckled as James teased him, "Well, probably from looking in the mirror so often! And LilyBee?" he retorted, grinning. He felt like a giddy schoolgirl the way he couldn't get Zara out of his mind. He couldn't wait to tell his buds about it. "Anyway, sorry for being late, just decided to spend some time with my girlfriend" he said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic, but failing miserably.

He had often teased James for the way he acted around Lilly, the way he talked about her, but now he understood. It was like a new light had been cast over him, and even the thought of Zara put a smile on his face.

Sirius told the Maruaders, with the exception of the snoring Remus, about his day with Zara Girard, recounting everything from HoneyDukes to the river, leaving out the mushy conversation. When he was done he looked up at his friends with another one of those grins that scared his best mate so much. He hardly dared to believe the happiness he was feeling, very un-Sirius like. He didn't feel like the feeling would ever fade.

[James Potter]

James gasped in mock horror when his friend made fun of his appearance. "You kidding, mate? When I look into the mirror, I remember why so many girls come after me. I'm just so irresistable..." he smirked, chuckling a little. He was just sucking on his liquorice wand, when he heard SIrius talk something about...his girlfriend?

"Girl what?!" he exclaimed, and then remembered Remus was just in the other room, and reduced the volume of his voice. "You've got a girlfriend? Since when did you refer to your shorter-than-Slughorn's-hair flings 'girlfriend'?" he asked him, in shock. As far as James knew, Sirius Black had never been interested in a girl for too long. He flirted, he loved doing that. And then he lost interest. Even then, girls fell at his feet. James knew why - Sirius Black was a handsome man. Just like him, might he add.

"Mate, have you really hit your head that hard? Have you become so delusional? Oh wait. ARE YOU POSSESED?!" he asked, this time distancing himself a little from him. He was just joking, of course. But he still couldn't get over the shock. "So...really? You really got yourself a girlfriend? Who's she?"

[sirius black]

Sirius chuckled at James' reaction; Priceless. Just like he knew it would be. It was admittedly unlike him to fall for a girl, it even surprised himself, but Zara just made him so happy. "Alright mate, i'll tell you before you go into complete shock" he said, grinning again, "Zara Girard." He though about the wonder day they had spent together. She had totally accepted him for who he was, something he had never found from anybody aside from the marauders.

"We met up at hogsmead to chill, and ended up kissing by the river" he said, with a nonchalant shrug, but the happiness in his face said otherwise. It was as if everything was glowing, and he couldn't remember a time without her. Sirius Black couldn't wait to see her tomorrow, he was even looking forward to their classes together.

Suddenly that feeling of foreboding sent a pang to his heart. What if it all fell to pieces? He had never made himself so vulnerable before, that was the reason for his 'shorter than slughorns hair flings'. He was scared to death of being hurt, though he would never admit it. But Zara- She was worth the risk wasn't she?