Love confessions between James and Sirius (For Hayla)

The sun bared down upon the castle grounds and a light breeze played in the lush grass. For most, the exams were over and students could be found relaxing in the blazing heat, or else sheltering in the shadows cast by the trees that lined the Forbidden forest. The surface of the Black Lake shimmered in the balmy weather and the branches of the Whomping Willow stretched lazily, it's leaves shivering as though it had just awoken from a lengthy nap. The sound of excited chatter filled the air and not a single textbook lay in sight. However, there were still those trapped within the stone walls and the heat of summer taunted them maliciously. 

Having opted for the Astronomy class, both Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew sat inside the Gryffindor common room, their minds being forced to focus on their studies. Their final examination was to be held that night, and as there was not a cloud in sight, the weather was optimal for stargazing. Remus refused to look up from his notes, knowing full well that his OWLs were only twelve months away and his entire future relied on his passing of the upcoming exam. In order to secure a career after Hogwarts, his grades had to be beyond the expectations of his teachers, and even if he managed it, given his condition, a career might be a very far-fetched dream. This fact, however, did little to stop his ambitions. Peter, on the other hand, simply wanted to pass. An Acceptable grade was good enough for him.

The two remaining Marauders stepped out into the summer grounds, both grinning after having just completed the last of their tests. Sirius gave a bark-like laugh and he threw his head back with joy. James ran his fingers through his scruffy, black hair and turned to grin at the open window that separated him from the Gryffindor common room. He knew well that his friends would be too preoccupied to be gazing out at him, but nonetheless, he smiled back at them as he continued to follow Sirius down the sloping, grassy hillside. Sirius pulled off his jumper and shook his head rapidly before tossing the discarded clothing towards the lake and planting himself beside it. He leant back on his elbows, letting them sink into the soft grass and waited for his friend to mimic these actions.

James wondered casually over to the water, but before he had a chance to sit down, a soft voice caught his attention. Lily Evans was walking a few yards away accompanied by Severus Snape. James' eyes widened at the sight of Lily, but soon narrowed and he glared at Snape's back. Fierce jealousy rose up inside him as Lily laughed animatedly and let her delicate fingers connect with the black robes of Snape's arm. 

"Done," Sirius stated defiantly, his attention upon a large tentacle that belonged to the resident giant squid as it waved lazily in their direction. "No more work until September, at least if I can help it." Sirius turned to grin at James and James smiled dully back before taking a seat beside Sirius. "What's up?"

James shook his head, but glanced over towards Lily and Snape as they strolled around the castle edge and out of sight. Sirius lowered his head.

"Right. Anyway, I'm not really looking forward to another summer spent solely with my mother. Mind if I crash at your place for a while?"

"Yeah, thats fine." James responded half-heartedly. 

"Come on, mate! Cheer up. After all, we are now officially on holiday." Sirius grinned once more at James, but this time the smile was forced. "Listen, if she's going to continue to be in the company of Snivilus, she's not good enough for you." Sirius looked hopeful.

James sighed, "I suppose you're right." He repositioned himself into a more comfortable position on the grass, but Sirius became agitated. His hand was resting beside him and his fingers twitched. 

"As I'm spending the summer with you, I recon it's a good time to do more work on becoming--" His voice dropped to a whisper "Animagi."

At the excitement of this idea, James' mood seemed to suddenly improve. "Yeah! And we can get Peter and Remus to join us. Extra help wouldn't go amiss, and neither would the company."

"Actually," Sirius' face gained a slight colour that had nothing to do with the scorching sun. "I was hoping it would just be you and I."

"Oh," James looked taken aback. "Why?"

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno, I like spending time with you. You know, without the others."

A smile spread across James' face at these words. "Yeah? I'm just that great am I?"

"Well, yes."

"And you, Padfoot, aren't too bad yourself." 

Sirius smiled to himself and his fingers twitched again as the back of his neck became a deeper red. 

"The things we could get up to with just Padfoot and Prongs. I can just smell the mischief." James said as he closed his eyes, smiling.

Sirius winked at James and the latter blushed. Obviously the two friends had slightly different ideas. 

"I would never be opposed to the idea of mischief." Sirius hinted, but James sat up.

"What about, you know-- Lily? Mate, you know how I feel about her and it's getting harder as the years go by to spend an entire two months without passing her in the hallways."

Sirius sat up, too. His face was now level with James'. "You never pass her alone, though. She's always with that Snape kid, and you're only hurting yourself pining over her. Maybe it's time to move on and give someone else a chance." 

James knew where this was going, but he decided to give Sirius the benefit of the doubt. "Do you have a someone in mind, because you know I'm not into blind dates."

"I did have someone in mind, actually." Sirius responded, his fingers continuing to twitch. "You're being coy."

"I'm sorry, Sirius. It's just different, you know?"

"I know. But why settle for normality? It's boring."

James considered these words as he looked towards the lake, but his mind was so preoccupied he barely saw the shimmering waters. At long last, he came to a conclusion. "I've known for a while. You're not the most subtle of flirts."

"Neither are you." Sirius retorted, but his speech wasn't defensive. "Where do you stand in all of this?"

"At the beginning," James said, and in one swift movement, he rested his hand atop of Sirius', and although Sirius jumped as though he had been shocked, his fingers discontinued their twitching at James' touch. "We'll take this one step at a time, but every relationship has to start somewhere."

"Relationship? You mean you'll consider it."

"I think I already have. No, this is my final decision. I couldn't hide it forever, and besides, you're right. Lily isn't good enough for me if she refuses to stop hanging around with the wrong crowd."

"And the Marauders are the right crowd?"

"I don't need a crowd." James stated simply. "I just need you."

Together, their heads tilted until their black hair connected and they both leaned against each other, James' hand still resting on Sirius'. The sun beat down on their necks giving them a warm glow of comfort and companionship. The trees waved their branches happily as though rejoicing in a slow motion cheer, and the water rippled delicately across the Black Lake.

From inside the tiny window that connected the seventh floor to the grounds, Remus Lupin gazed dreamily down at his two friends, a relieved smile stretching across his scarred face. Finally.

Ron vs. Draco over Hermione (Head Canon for Tazmyn)

The golden flames from the torches that lined the third-floor corridor were the only source of light that dimly lit the sleeping portraits that hung against the stone walls. The sounds of the painted figures could be heard as they stirred in their sleep and snored while they dreamed. The night was still, and even the trees that could be seen through the arched windows were motionless against the non-existent breeze. Spring was just arriving and the once snowy grounds were scattered with the remains of dew and ice. Greenery was peaking through the view and the Forbidden Forest was thickening at its edges. The silence was eery, despite the snuffling portraits. But as still as this night was, movement disrupted the stationary grounds at the end of the hallway.

Whispering grew gradually louder and the sound of laughter broke the silence like the crack of a whip. The sight of bushy brown hair flicked around the corner accompanied by a streak of red. Rule-abiding Hermione Granger was not frequently seen roaming the corridors after hours, but since the appointment of the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher seven months prior to this night, Hermione had little tolerance for 'silly' rules, and Professor Umbridge certainly had the habit of constricting the students' freedom this year. Hermione's companion was more than willing to follow these footsteps.

The conversation between the two was nothing more than pointless banter, but nonetheless entertaining for them. Hermione's arms swung to the rhythm of her steps, whereas Ron's hand rested lightly by the side of his jeans, occasionally twitching when the former's fingers moved close. While he was a risk-taker in the wizarding world beside his bespectacled and black haired companion, Ron became ferociously more contained in personal situations. His ears glowed crimson as Hermione laughed playfully at his childish joke and his fingers gave an uncontrollable twitch as she lightly stroked his arm. Was this flirting, or was Hermione completely oblivious to the colour of his ears? Either way, the late evening was still an enjoyable one. However, it was about to take a different route as the couple turned the stone-lined corner.

"Oh look, it's Weasleby. What's wrong with your ears? Trying to blend into your hair?" Draco Malfoy stood leaning against one of the hidden doorways that lined the castle walls, his arms folded in a casual defense, his wand clutched securely in his right hand. As Hermione made a startled movement beside Ron, Malfoy straightened himself and turned to face the two Gryffindors. His blond hair caught the torchlight and it glowed ominously beside the darkened window between them.

"What are you doing here so late, Malfoy?" Ron asked taking a firm step forward.

"I could ask you the same thing. Although I'm sure you're used to spending these cold nights without a warm bed. Your family couldn't even afford for you to sleep on the floor."

With a movement as quick as a flash of lightening, Ron drew his wand and pointed it straight at Malfoy's heart, his breathing becoming rapid and his teeth bared in a low growl. Malfoy mirrored the move and directed his ward right at Ron's face.

"Stop it, both of you!" Hermione commanded and moved to stand between the boys, but Ron pushed her aside.

"I'm sick of him insulting my family."

"Too much truth for you to take, Weasel-King?" Malfoy sneered. There was a spark of anger in his eyes that erupted when Ron moved Hermione out of the line of fire.

Ron swore loudly at Malfoy and Hermione looked around, hoping not to find a patrolling teacher catching their loud voices.

"Ron, stop it. Let's just go back to the common room and --"

"No, Hermione!" Ron interrupted her. "I've waited for this chance all year. That stupid Inquisitorial Squad has made it hard to even breath in the castle, and now I've caught their ring leader."

"Feeling brave, are we? Well that's a first." Draco scoffed, his wand still pointing at Ron.

"Draco," Hermione pleaded.

"Draco?" With this distraction, Ron lowed his wand and turned to face Hermione. "Since when do you call him Draco?"

This time it was Hermine's turn to blush. Even Malfoy's pale face gained a little colour.

"Now, Ron, don't jump to conclusions." She began, but the fury had risen too far in Ron to tolerate any demands.

"YOU!" He yelled at Malfoy, his wand once again pointing in his enemy's direction.

"Me." Malfoy stated. "It's not as though I have much competition with you hanging around like a bad smell."

BANG!

Red sparked shot out of the tip of Ron's wand and hit the stone door behind where Malfoy had been standing only moments before the latter ducked. The door swung open to reveal a miss-matched staircase heading towards once of the lower floors of the castle. Having almost toppled down the steps, Malfoy aimed at Ron and greeny-blue flames swirled in the air, their tip targeting Ron, who blocked the impact with a counter-curse that, with little aim, just missed Malfoy's left shoulder. With a movement like a slashing sword, Malfoy shot what looked like lightening at Ron, and it hit Ron square in the hip. Ron's robes began to smoke and he growled like a dog at Malfoy and limped forward. With one last effort, he shot more red spark's at the Slytherin's face, but found his spell blocked.

"Protego!" An invisible shield momentarily glowed blue as Ron's curse hit it and the short-lived duel had ended. Hermine had her wand out and was not about to release her protective shield. Both boys were panting now. Malfoy's blond hair was askew and Ron's hip, still smoking, seemed to be secreting a yellowy-green liquid. They both looked over at Hermione. Her shield was hovering directly in between the duelers, but Ron's eyes her on Hermine's shoes. She stood a good four feet to the right of her shield, closer, by far, to Malfoy than to Ron.

"Well." Ron adjusted the robes on his hip to a more comfortable position. "Fine." He brushed his sweaty hair from his face. "I see, then."

"Ron, don't." Hermione's voice was tiny.

"No, there's nothing to explain here. I suppose I won't wait up for you in the common room then." And with a struggled movement, Ron turned on the spot and limped back down the corridor.

Hermione groaned, but Malfoy was not grinning. He looked from Ron as Ron disappeared around the corner, to Hermione, who was stroking her right arm with her left hand as though it had been bruised.

"I'm-- I'm sorry." Malfoy spoke softly, but Hermione shook her head. Gingerly, he wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder, but instead of pulling away, she rested her head against Malfoy's chest.

Without another word, the couple turned away and walked in the opposite direction to Ron and down the newly revealed steps in the wall. From outside the still frosted window, the trees began to sway in the breeze and the leaves on its branches shivered in the chilly wind.