James frowned at his parchment; this bit of Transfiguration theory was particularly troubling. With a sigh he pulled out his book and flipped through the pages to where he knew he could figure out the answer. Finding the key bit of information, he looked up to rest his eyes. The rest of his friends were also frowning at their work, in various states of concentration -- Sirius had an incredulous eyebrow raised, as if he couldn't believe he was struggling; Peter was one stage between doubt and helplessness; Remus was ... James peered more closely at him. He had his usual furrow of thought on his forehead, but what was attracting James' attention was just above that -- standing out dully among the brown hair was a hair that could only be described as grey.

He knew that he shouldn't distract them, but he couldn't help it. He blurted, "Moony, is that a grey hair?"

Remus' irritation at being interrupted modulated quickly to chagrin, then with admirable aplomb he smoothed his face and replied dryly, "You can rest assured you put it there."

Sirius leaned across the table to see. "Oh, would you look at that. You're showing your age, Moony."

"I thought you were sixteen, Remus," Peter said, mock affronted. "Have I been letting a creepy old man sleep in my dormitory disguised as a student?"

"Har har," Remus muttered. "It's just one hair, you guys. Lots of people get one or two in their teen years, especially if they have to go through the kinds of things I go through with you lot as my friends." He glared around the table. "James, since you so obviously aren't having trouble, help out those of us that haven't discovered how to Transfigure ourselves into animals."

"And maybe one of us that has," Peter added. "It always makes so much more sense when you explain it, James."

James glanced at Sirius, who shook his head. James would've been surprised if Sirius had needed the help. With a sigh, James picked up the book, found the right page again, and began expounding to his friends the necessary clues to figuring out the problem McGonagall had assigned. Meanwhile, Sirius was scribbling on a spare piece of parchment. When James picked up his quill to write his own homework down, Sirius slid over the paper.

What are you getting Miss Evans for Valentine's this year? it read.

Nothing, James replied briefly. He made a show of being very involved in finishing his essay to forestall further questions. Sirius did have a knack for asking them at just the wrong time. He couldn't think of Lily now.

Right on schedule, Remus checked the time, closed his book, and stretched. "I'm knackered," he said. "I can't believe how long it takes to catch up on my sleep."

"Well, maybe the fact that you're always up early trying to catch up on classes has something to do with it."

Remus acknowledged the idea. "Either way, I'm going to bed before I make a pillow of my Ancient Runes textbook."

"I think I might turn in, too," Peter said. "Maybe this will all look better in the morning."

"'Night," James said, waving at the two of them as they left for their dormitory. The common room was now empty except for James and Sirius.

"I'm hungry," Sirius remarked after they were gone. "Fancy a stroll?"

"Sure. I could use a midnight snack." James reached into his bookbag and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. "Ready when you are."

"Let me check the map for Filch," Sirius said. "Can't tell you how much I love this thing."

"I know. I've thought of a couple modifications, though, if Remus ever has the time to discuss them."

"Poor bloke," Sirius sympathized. "I've been proud of him all year -- N.E.W.T. classes are way tougher than before and he's still going right through."

James glanced at his best friend under the cloak. "You know that grey hair wasn't caused by us."

"Well, McGonagall likes to claim we give her grey hairs too, so it's possible ..." Sirius joked.

"But not likely. I'm really starting to worry about him, you know? We're closer to the real world now, and that world won't be kind to him and his furry little problem."

"We'll be kind to him, though. With your money and my good looks and charm, we can go places and take him with us."

"What charm?" James retorted. "And my money? I like that. You'd squander my inheritance at a moment's notice. Remind me to tell Mum never to put you in the will."

"Just talking about Remus here," Sirius said placatingly. "I fully plan to make my own way in the world. Your mother does love me, though. She might put me in anyway."

"Between us we should be able to support Remus, if he'll let us. While we're at it, you think Peter will be okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be able to get in some ground-level Ministry job and be fine. Not as much prejudice against fat people as werewolves."

"Pretty sure he lost a couple pounds last month," James noted.

"Looks much better, doesn't he? We'll see if he can keep it off. Now, Prongs." Sirius turned to James, stopping them a corridor away from the kitchens. "What do you mean you're not getting Lily anything for Valentine's Day? You've given her something for the past three years!"

"Yes, and she's thrown it in my face, on the ground, and into Peter's soup. I'm not really enthusiastic to try again and have her throw it at Professor Dumbledore." He kept walking and Sirius necessarily followed so he wouldn't become visible.

"You gave her a Christmas present," Sirius reminded him. "And if she threw it away, she at least didn't tell you about it. C'mon, Prongs! You guys are finally starting to get along. Why wouldn't you give her a little Valentine's gift?"

"Exactly because we are finally starting to get along. I don't want to ruin it by making her think I'm the same old James, that annoying prat, trying to woo my way into her good graces. This is the closest we've ever been to friends, and I'm almost happy where we are."

"You could give her a valentine as a friend."

"You've never given a valentine in your life, so I don't believe your advice to be very useful."

Sirius rolled his eyes and reached out to tickle the pear. The night shift of house-elves was hard at work, though they all stopped to bow.

"Will you be wanting something special tonight, Masters James and Sirius?" asked the head elf.

"Nah, just whatever you've got around," Sirius replied.

A few minutes later, each of them carrying a bag of treats, they made their way back toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Got any more studying to do tonight?" James asked Sirius.

"Well, I do need to finish my Charms essay, but I was planning to use the rest of the night writing valentines."

James glared at him. "You're fooling with me."

"Not at all." Sirius reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment which he flourished under James' nose. "Behold."

"This lists every girl in our year!" James exclaimed. "And the one above?"

"Yep," Sirius replied cheerfully. "You'll notice there are quite a few from the year below, too."

"Why, Padfoot? Why?"

"So you'll take my advice and get Evans a present. Now, give me that --" he snatched the list out of James' incredulous hands -- "and eat your treats quietly, there's a good boy."

They clambered through the portrait hole -- the Fat Lady rolled her eyes when she saw them but apparently didn't have energy for a lecture -- and plopped down next to the fire.

"Are you working on Charms?" Sirius asked, after situating a giant stack of pink parchment on his lap.

"Potions," James replied with a sigh. "It was worth getting an E on the O.W.L. to see the look on Snivelly's face when I walked in the classroom but I'm really thinking of dropping." He looked askance at Sirius' red, scented quill, then back at his textbook. "Then again, maybe Peter has a point about things looking better in the morning."

"Thanks for the walk," Sirius said, not looking up from whatever he was scrawling. "Enjoy your beauty sleep -- you need it."

"Thanks. Have fun writing your hundreds of valentines." James shook his head and went up to bed. Before he fell asleep, he couldn't help but wonder: what could he get Lily Evans for Valentine's Day?

***

James' alarm went off an hour before breakfast. He took a quick shower then trundled off to the common room, where Remus was sitting reading.

"Getting caught up?" he asked.

"Yeah." Remus yawned. "It's not too bad, really. What are you doing up so early?"

"I have to finish my Potions essay. Sirius was putting me off by writing valentines so I went to sleep instead."

"Valentines?" Remus raised his eyebrows. "That's ... unprecedented."

"Tell me about it." James pulled out his essay and read through what he'd already had written.

"Speaking of valentines, are you doing anything for Lily this year?"

"You too?" James put on a pained expression. "I wasn't planning to. Still trying to decide, though. What do you think?"

Remus shrugged. "I think she's expecting it."

"Oh, is she? When was the last time you two patrolled together?"

Remus smiled a little. "She did bring it up; she wants fair warning if anything embarrassing is going to happen."

"Well, that's not the plan right now. Those displays never seemed to do much for me." James sighed. "I should decide once and for all if I'm going to do it so I can stop obsessing over the idea. I can't concentrate."

"I don't think there's any harm in trying," Remus said quietly. "But do whatever will make you happiest."

"Thanks," James said dryly. "I'll do that." He picked up his quill and got to work.

Sirius was still doing his hair when Peter came down, so the three of them left for breakfast without him.

"He overslept," Peter informed Remus and James. "Were you guys up late last night?"

"He was up later than I was, writing valentines," James replied.

"Really?" Peter's voice squeaked at the end of the word. "Don't make fun of me, my throat is hoarse. But he's really writing valentines? How many?"

"Just about any girl you can think of," James said. "At least he's not settling on one."

"Maybe I should do that," Peter mused. "Do you think the girls would notice me if I sent them a valentine, or would it just be creepy?"

Remus and James glanced helplessly at each other. "Maybe just a little -- " Remus started.

"Fine, fine, I'll leave it to Sirius." Peter waved his hand dismissively, but James felt bad. If even Remus had decided to send valentines to a bunch of girls he'd get good results, but there was something about Peter that set most girls on edge. He was pretty good at being nice, but James and Sirius had privately decided it was his humble way of going about things that made people uncomfortable. Girls liked a man with a little more confidence, which was why Sirius would be certainly be mobbed once his valentines went out. (Too much confidence could work against a man, too, James conceded to himself. His struggles with Lily Evans could put proof to that.)

Sirius came down to breakfast about fifteen minutes after the rest of them. His hair did look nice, but the bags under his eyes were working against him.

"Talk about needing beauty sleep," James remarked when he sat down. "Did you get them all written last night?"

"I got on a roll," Sirius muttered. "I'll find time to take a nap."

"Get all what written last night?" Lily was sitting a few seats down, looking curious.

"Nothing," Sirius said quickly, before any of his friends could give away the game. "You'll find out later."

"Okay." James liked the way she looked when she clearly wasn't buying an explanation. He'd had to learn to like it, since she'd used it on him for years. After a moment of skeptical surveillance, Lily turned back to her breakfast and whatever Mary was murmuring to her. James allowed himself to look for one second more, then also turned back to his breakfast. She deserved something special for Valentine's Day -- would she appreciate it if he gave her nothing?

Finally, the inevitable could be put off no longer. "I'm going to class," James said. "Have fun, you lot. See you later."

"Enjoy Potions," Remus said. James laughed sarcastically and waved.

He'd just finished the first staircase when he heard a vitriolic voice say, "Out of bed again last night, Potter?"

James turned around; there was Snape. "What's it to you?"

"Well, if you don't care that your voices carry..." Snape trailed off, smirking.

"You heard something." James glared. "Nothing you haven't heard before, unless you've forgotten what happened at the Whomping Willow."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Indeed, your desires for Lily are well known and nauseating. But you might consider that other people aren't aware of your other topics of conversation, others that also wander the halls, looking for trouble."

"And I'm sure you'd be the first to lead them right to us! Well, I assure you that I can handle you and your friends, and if I ever hear you say a word about Remus I swear, Snape, I will never let you forget it. He is my friend, and I will protect him from the likes of you."

"Yes, we'll see how far that protection goes." He sneered. "Poor little pup. Depends on his friends to help him through. You should ask them, you know."

"Ask who what?" James said through gritted teeth.

"Which prejudices they find more constricting. Being fat, or --" James' wand suddenly pointed between Snape's eyes. "Or dealing with a 'furry little problem'." He met James' eyes between the wand. "There's definitely a more powerful one. Consider it."

James itched to hex him and his smart mouth. But then he saw someone behind Snape that made his heart fall into his stomach. Lily had been on her way to Potions as well, but she was frozen on the steps, eyes wide with horror. James wrenched his gaze back to Snape, his hatred multiplying as he realized what had happened.

"Are we done?" he forced through the lump in his throat.

"For now." Snape smirked once more then pushed past him. "Wouldn't want to be late to class." He never saw Lily behind him.

James, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off her. As soon as Snape was gone he started towards her, made anxious by the stiffness in her stance, the shock in her face.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, touching her arm.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," she said absently, blinking at him. "I mean, I guess so. I just never really believed -- I thought Se -- I thought he was just being cruel."

"He generally is," James said, without too much rancor. "But he was right that we don't want to be late to class. Come on. We can talk later if you want."

"Okay." The two of them walked down to the dungeon, where Slughorn was just writing the instructions on the blackboard. The professor's eyebrows rose when he saw them together, but he didn't say anything. Snape didn't look up, not even to cast a sad glance of the kind that always made James want to throttle him.

Hope I can concentrate after all this, James thought. He set up his cauldron and peered at the instructions. Maybe he could actually make this one to specifications.

***

James didn't have a chance to talk to Lily until lunch, and even then there was little opportunity for serious talk. Sirius was in high spirits and kept everyone around him laughing at his witticisms. James was glad to see Lily participating, even though she kept glancing at Remus consideringly, as if shifting her paradigm. It wasn't a bad look, though, so James tried not to worry.

Remus noticed, though. He leaned over to James and whispered, "What's up with Lily?" James couldn't help but see how the sunlight from the enchanted ceiling caught on his grey hair.

"She ... Snape clued her in this morning," James said, deciding not to beat around the bush. "Not on purpose, this time. I think the fact that I wasn't denying anything helped."

Remus glanced over at Lily, who blushed and looked away. "She's taking it well," he remarked. "I wonder if the years of persuasion by Snape helped her become accustomed to the idea, even if she didn't think she believed."

"Depends on your definition of 'taking it well'," James said. "Let me know if she starts treating you differently. I could kill Snape."

Lily looked back over to find the two of them looking at her. She blushed again but managed a tentative smile.

"That's about my textbook definition of taking it well," Remus said decidedly. He raised his voice. "Pass the salt, would you, Lily?"

"Of course, Remus," she said, hardly skipping a beat. James couldn't help but smile.

***

The next night Lily and Remus had an hour of prefect patrol duty. Lily looked at the clock and grimaced -- she hated telling people to get to their dormitories, and on the night before Valentine's Day there were couples abounding, whispering to each other of what great surprises were in store the next day. At least she was with Remus, who . . . was still Remus. Her knowledge of a thing shouldn't affect the thing itself, should it? It shouldn't, she told herself again.

"Are you thinking about tomorrow?" he asked, after they'd dispatched yet another lovestruck pair.

"Not really. Potter truly doesn't have anything cooking?"

Remus laughed. "Not that he told me, anyway. And I think, at this point, he would tell me." He glanced at her sidelong. "Do you wish he did?"

Lily looked down. "No, of course not. I always hated -- well. It might be nice to shut him down again, like old times. But on the whole, I think knowing that he's not planning anything gives me a certain sense of relief." She lifted her head suddenly. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes," Remus replied simply. Of course, she thought. Better hearing. "Doesn't sound like your typical Valentine couple."

"No," Lily agreed, peering through the darkness. "Sounds like trouble."

And trouble it was, when they turned the corner and found Avery and Mulciber with their wands out, menacing a fourth-year girl. Her partner was already unconscious next to her, blood congealing around his nose.

"Here now," Remus said sharply. "You know that you can't carry on like this."

Mulciber turned, his eyes lighting up. "Look who it is, the Mudblood ... and the Monster."

Remus stiffened; before she realized, Lily shouted, "He is not a monster. I don't know what vicious rumors you've been listening to, but if anyone is a monster here, it's you." She whipped her wand at the two of them and ropes came to bind them. Once they were incarcerated, she couldn't help but hex some boils on them for good measure.

Meanwhile, Remus had revived the boy and helped him and his girlfriend up. "We should probably take you to the hospital wing," he said.

"I'm okay. I can take Gerry myself," the girl said, holding out her arm for him to lean on. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Lily said, still seething. "I'm sorry that such a thing happened to you." She watched them go out of sight, then turned to Remus. "We should talk to McGonagall about this."

"Yes, let's call it a night and go now." Remus smiled at her. "Thanks, Lily."

She shrugged. "It makes me mad when people spread lies about you." She glared at the two Slytherins, still bound on the floor. "We'll leave them here and let Dumbledore deal with them."

As they walked up to McGonagall's office, Remus started and said, "Oh! By the way. James isn't planning anything, but I would be wary of anything from Sirius if I were you."

"Is that what he was working on the other day?" Lily asked. "I'm anxious to see what happens."

***

Lily entered the Great Hall with some trepidation the next morning; things appeared to be normal enough. She noticed that of the sixth years only Peter was already at the table; she smiled a greeting at him as she sat down.

"Heard you caught some Slytherins last night," he said. "They're getting bolder."

"They are." Lily frowned. "Maybe we should double the patrols."

"Oh, don't say that." Remus had joined them, and he groaned at the thought. "I have enough to do without spending all my free time looking for Slytherins."

"Guess that's true." Lily looked around. "No Sirius yet." She didn't want to be caught looking for James.

"I think he's planning on making a grand, calculated entrance," Peter informed her. "You'll see."

Most of the rest of the school was at breakfast now; the mail should be there any minute. As Lily was helping herself to some oatmeal she heard the signature sound of the owls' swooping wings. There was more mail than usual, of course, but some owls were so laden with pink envelopes that Lily noticed something amiss.

"Here's one for you, Lily," said a fifth-year Gryffindor Lily recognized but whose name escaped her. "I think we all got one!" She giggled and returned to her seat to read the missive.

"This from Sirius?" she asked the boys across from her. They eyed it speculatively and nodded. "Then I will hesitate to touch it."

"Probably a good plan," Peter agreed. "Look around."

Lily could practically see hearts coming from the heads of the girls around her as they read whatever sappy note Sirius had written. Each of them turned to gush at her neighbor; the gushing quickly turned to bickering. Lily was impressed at how quickly it degenerated into hair-pulling.

"What did he do?" she exclaimed.

"And I think it's time for a calculated appearance," Remus mentioned, glancing at the doors. Sure enough, in sauntered Sirius Black -- his hair perfection, his uniform draped perfectly over his frame. Chaos ensued as all of the older girls made a rush for him. Their boyfriends tried to hold them back to no avail. The younger students looked on, bemused.

And Sirius laughed, safely behind a shield that kept even the most rapacious of admirers at bay. Peter was falling over laughing, and even Remus was chuckling. Lily allowed herself a giggle as one of the Slytherin girls climbed to the top of the heap and was promptly thrust head-over-heels to the bottom, but said sternly, "He's surely broken the rules. Love potions are a serious offense."

"I think at most he used a charm." James had joined the table unnoticed in all the hullabaloo. "A minor Entrancing Enchantment that won't last past breakfast, not at this magnitude."

Lily looked down at her valentine from Sirius. To her surprise another piece of plain-colored parchment had been left on top. She picked it up and opened it: it was from James.

Dear Lily,

Thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Love,
James

James was very determinedly watching the spectacle that Sirius had put on, so Lily took the time to read the short message again. This was all she would get -- no flaming chocolates, no ceramic pigs. It was simple and sincere. She smiled.

"Charm's wearing off," Peter noted. "Look how mad McGonagall is."

"Look how mad those boyfriends are. I'm predicting a month of detentions," James announced.

"Two months," Remus replied calmly. "This is chaos on a larger scale than usual."

Lily dared to peek at her pink valentine, now that the danger appeared to be over. When she opened it, she laughed. When the boys looked across the table inquiringly, she handed it over to them and they read:

Evans,

Are you kidding? James would kill me.

Sirius