Anything you recognize is not mine. In other words, I only own Liz Powell. I blame J.K. Rowling, if only I were her.


Merlin Help Me

"Mr. Potter! Ms. Powell!" Headmistress McGonagall yelled at us.

My red hair flew over my face as I bent over, laughing hysterically. Sparing a glance toward my partner in crime, his black hair even messier (who knew that was possible) around his face, he's in a position similar to my own.

"Twenty-five points from Gryffindor," McGonagall tried to flick some of the frogs that were clinging to her dress off. "Each."

Earlier in the day, he and I had decided to pull a harmless prank on his younger brother's Slytherin friends. Completely harmless. Just because the Slytherins are different now (like they wouldn't call me a Mudblood just because I'm Muggleborn) did not mean that we would stop causing them slight embarrassment now and then. I mean honestly, it's kind of fun.

But anyway, the prank involved lots of frogs, chocolate and real. If I do say so myself, it was pretty creative. Yet again I am the one that planned most of it. Scratch that, all of it. The thought came to me as I was reminiscing the day we met, six years ago.

~~~~~**Flashback**~~~~~

"Whoa," I breathed as I looked at the great Hogwarts Express in front of me. The sleek red train gleamed in the light of the station and some children were saying last minute goodbyes to their parents.

I rolled my trunk over to one of the doors and pulled it up with me onto the train. Rolling it into a compartment, I set it down and plopped onto one of the seats.

"There is no way I'm going to get that up there," I said to myself while looking up at the metal rack.

"You know," came a voice from the doorway. "Talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity."

I turned my head to see a boy about my age raising a hand to his messy hair.

"Can I sit here?" he asked. Glancing at my trunk, he continued. "Need some help?"

I nodded, "Yeah," and together we got both of our trunks onto the rack.

"So," I breathed as I sat down, "I'm Liz Powell."

He shook my outstretched hand. "James Potter."

I nodded and he stared. "You're not going to ask about my father?"

"Um."

Was this another strange wizard custom? Asking about fathers?

"Are you Muggleborn?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I think that's what they call it," I scratched my arm, "Why?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank Merlin."

I laughed at the choice of 'slang', "Why?"

He looked at me and started to laugh also. Once he calmed down, he told me all about the War and the guy who called himself Lord Voldemort. Apparently his father had defeated the so called 'Dark Lord' and is famous in the Wizarding World. Just as he was about to start telling me about Hogwarts, a woman opened the door.

"Anything from the Trolley dears?" she asked us.

"Erm," I brought the odd coins out of my pocket. "What do you have?"

"Well," she smiled. "Let's see, do you like chocolate?"

My eyes lit up and I could also see James perk at the mention of chocolate. "I love chocolate."

"That'll be two of the silver coins then," she handed me some boxes and went to James.

The box had the words, 'Chocolate Frogs' on it. "It's going to take me awhile to get used to this," I mouthed to myself.

Looking up as the woman left the compartment; I noticed James had also gotten Chocolate Frogs, but a few more than me.

"I take it you like chocolate?" I smirked.

He looked to me, "I only have it every other—"

"Surely not day?" I was horrified at the fact of not having chocolate every other hour.

"Actually, I was going to say hour," He took a card out of a box.

Finally, someone who understands the greatness of chocolate!

I nodded and smiled, "You and me, James, I've a feeling we'll make great friends."

~~~~~**End Flashback**~~~~~

So after all these years, we're still friends. I go over to his house during break and he came over to mine. We went through the ups and downs together. Although it was hard when my parents died in a car crash in second year and I was sent to live with my godmother who hates me and all things magic. She was happy every summer when the time came for me to go to James' house and not see me until the next year.

Of course, James helped me get through it. I'm positive James told his father about my life at home because one day in the summer between third and fourth year, Mr. Potter spoke with me on the matter of not having parents and living with a Muggle like my godmother. He also had to grow up with magic-hating Muggles, which came as a shocker.

And when Lily and Albus came, I treated them like my own siblings, even if the latter's in Slytherin.

Anyway, back to the present.

"THAT was irresponsible! Shame to the House of Godric Gryffindor!" McGonagall went on and on while James and I were still laughing. Seeing that we were no longer (or never started) paying attention, she stalked away mumbling about, 'Horrid genes. Mistake of thinking he'd be nothing like his namesake.'

After she had turned the corner, I stood up straight and turned to James. "Wonderful job saying the spell, Mr. Potter."

"Lovely job distracting McGonagall, ," He smirked and pushed his glasses back onto his face.

"Why thank you," I grabbed his arm. "Now what do you want to do for the rest of the day? I mean since you didn't want to go to Hogsmeade."

"What was the point, to little of an amount of people went this time. That meant it was the perfect time for a prank," He looked to me out of the corner of his eyes. "Besides, you're the one who came up with the prank."

"Obviously," I grinned innocently. "I mean, I am the brains of all our operations. Also the one who does all the work, and the hard parts of the pranks."

"Really? Hmm, than what am I?" he faked anger.

"That's easy, you're the one who's never noticed and does nothing," I shrugged and started running down the hallway as he chased me.

"You know you can't catch me!" I sang.

"Oh really?" He yelled as I rounded the corner ahead.

Laughing silently, I looked around. "Oh shit."

I was cornered. No escape. James was going to get to me.

"What am I saying, I'm Elizabeth Powell, I can get out of anything," I mumbled to myself. "Oh!"

I pulled open the small door to the broom closet and jumped in, moving random mops and such over. Sitting on a bucket, I waited a few minutes until I heard James outside the closet.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" He flung open the door to my hiding place and stepped inside, eyes glinting evilly.

"Oh, please," I wailed. "Have mercy!"

"I don't think so," and with that, he pounced and started tickling me.

"I—regret—ever—letting—you—find—out—'bout—my –ticklish—spot—," I got out between laughs.

"You should start thinking about what you say before you say it," he smirked and I heard the door close behind him.

James tickled me for what seemed like a few more minutes and then leaned back, out of breath.

"Well?" he asked me.

I sat up from my place on the floor of the broom closet. "I don't think so."

"You honestly want me to come over there?"

I snorted, "James, you're, what, not even arms length away from me?"

"Still," he inched closer.

"Fine," I said, feeling my back hit the wall. "James Potter is the all powerful master at tickling. Come on, what are we, five?"

"At heart," he grinned and leaned back against the wall again. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," I thought about how long we'd been in here. "The few that went to Hogsmeade are probably getting back by now."

"Yeah," he stood up and reached for the door handle. "Let's go."

He turned the handle, but the door wouldn't open. He tried pulling, but that wouldn't work either. Taking out his wand, he tried to unlock the door, but it still wouldn't budge. "Damn it."

"Move over, James," I stood up beside him. "Let me try."

I took out my wand and tried every unlocking spell I knew. "Um, I think we may be stuck."

"Really?" he said sarcastically. "Cause I thought the door was playing a joke on us."

"James," I glared at him and sat on the bucket I'd previously occupied.

"So you're just going to sit there?" he asked angrily.

"Yep," I grinned cheekily.

He sighed, "Well, I guess there's no point in wasting energy. Someone will miss us eventually."

"That's the spirit!"

He flipped over another bucket and sat across from me. We were silent for a few moments.

"What do you want to do to pass the time, Lizzy?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, how about we--," I never got to finish that sentence because I tried to lean back.

Now I doubt you've ever tried to lean back on a bucket in a broom closet, so let me tell you, it will not work. You will most likely end up like I did, sprawled on the floor of the closet with a dirty mop and other unknown items piled on top of myself. Not fun.

"Are you okay?" James asked, pulling me up from the ground. I could tell without even looking at him that he is trying so hard not to laugh.

He burst out laughing.

Obviously not hard enough.

"I fine," I sighed and sat back on the bucket. "Ass hurts though."

He's still laughing, unbelievable. Oh, wait. It's James Potter, of course it's believable. "That was quite a fall."

"Don't mock me," I slapped his arm.

"Ouch!"

"Baby," I stuck my tongue out at him. "Baby, you fragile baby."

"Shhh," he held his hand in front of my mouth. "I think I hear someone coming."

I ripped his hand off my mouth, "Idiot! We want them to hear us!"

"Right," he shook his head and started pounding on the door. "Anyone out there?!"

"James?" came a voice.

"Albus?" I groaned, he won't be any help.

"Powell? No way, what's going on in there?" I could HEAR him smirking.

"Wouldn't you like to know," James said from my right.

"Ugh," I hit James upside the head. "Albus, can you get us out of here?"

"Why, aren't you busy?"

"NO! We just happened to get locked in here," I hit the door.

"You sure?" Albus Potter asked. "I wouldn't want to interrupt anything."

"Thrust me, you aren't," James said to his younger brother. "Now can you get us out or not?"

"Not after what you did to me and Scorp. Those frogs hurt."

"Aww, is ickle Al scared of some harmless frogs?" James crooned.

"I leaving," Albus stomped off.

"Great, we're still stuck in here," I sighed and stood up. "What to do?"

James shot up fast, "I know. We can—"

He didn't get too far in that sentence because I, a klutz if you hadn't already noticed, was shocked by him standing up so fast. The next thing I knew, I'd started to fall, only to be caught by none other than James Potter.

I opened my eyes, one by one and my own hazel eyes looked right into James' deep pools of brown. He still held me in his arms, staring into my eyes.

"Erm," cleared my throat. "What was your idea to pass the time again?"

"Forgot," he said breathlessly and leaned forward. I barely had time to process what he was doing before his lips were against mine. I stopped breathing for a moment, but gladly complied after realizing he was kissing me.

Kissing me. James Potter is kissing me. No, my best friend, James Potter, is snogging me. Oh Merlin and I think I may be enjoying this amazing snog. My life may have just gotten complicated, but no time to worry about that. I'M SNOGGING JAMES POTTER!

Too soon for my liking, he pulled back and looked into my eyes once again.

"Lovely job, Ms. Powell," He breathlessly said.

"Ditto," I replied before replacing my lips on his own.

I have no clue how long that next kiss lasted, but when I look back on this, the one thing I will remember is the look on Headmistress McGonagall's face when she unlocked the broom closet to fine us. It was actually pretty interesting, a mix between fury and slight amusement.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Powell, would you kindly get out of this closet and go to your dorms," She said to us. "Five points from Gryffindor for this also."

I sighed, but stepped out of the broom closet with James. McGonagall nodded in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room and we turned in that direction.

Behind us I heard McGonagall say to herself something involving the words Potters and redheads.

Right before we turned the corner, I looked behind me and spoke to our Headmistress.

"You know, talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity!"

I grabbed James' hand and we ran back to the Common Room, strangely enough, McGonagall didn't give us a detention.


A/N: Now, this has been up here for a while, and I was just looking at the number of views to the number of reviews. I was extremely dissapointed. So, please, review with comments, suggestions, whatever you please. They really do help me.